Bears are fun...

CLO CLO IS MY GOD

So is there anything better than Claude Francois?

I think not.

Le Jour D'apres/ Siku Ya Baadaye/ Independence Cha-Cha

Ok so this song in kinda awesome...it makes me smile and want to go set up a boom box in the street and Cha-Cha!  also some really cool Papa's and Nana's gettin groovy!

Challah and Focaccia - Easy Bread Recipes

Focaccia

Ingredients:
1 packet of yeast
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 cups of flour
Salt
Water
Rosemary
2 tablespoons of olive oil

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 245 degrees C
2. Dissolve yeast, sugar, ½ cup warm water, and let stand for 5-10 mins 
3. Mix flour and salt together and add the yeast/water mixture
4. Slowly add water until dough comes together 
5. Kneed dough on floured surface until smooth 
6. Let dough rise for ½ an hour 
7. Punch down dough ball and kneed dough for 1-2 mins 
8. Press into oiled pan and let raise 5 mins 
9. Brush top with oil and cover with salt and rosemary 
10. Bake for 10 mins 
11. EAT!!!!!

Other options:
     Instead of salt and rosemary add any herb, dry cheese,
     tomatoes or flavored oil



Challah

Ingredients:
1 ½ packets of yeast (1 ½ tablespoons of yeast)
1 tablespoon and ½ cup sugar
½ tablespoon of oil
5 eggs
1 tablespoon salt
8-8 ½ cup flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees C
2. Dissolve yeast, 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 3/5 cup warm water 
3. Whisk in oil, 4 eggs (one at a time) sugar and salt 
4. Gradually add flour until dough comes together 
5. Kneed until soft and let rise for 1 hour 
6. Punch down and let rise for another 30 mins 
7. Kneed for 1-2 mins and divide into 3 sections and roll into long ropes 
8. Braid and brush with beaten egg 
9. Bake for 30-40 mins or until golden

Great for French Toast or just plain!! yum yum

Weekend In SC

So Axel and I decided to take a weekend to hide out and relax in SC... we went to the beach, hiked in the Redwoods, enjoyed living in more than a closet, and made a German meal to get us excited for Berlin!!!
We met a guide in the Redwood grove that told us a cool story about a Frenchman.. that I now cannot remember... but it was interesting, insightful and touching... way to go memory loss... does that happen at 23?? Am I getting old?? AAHHH WHERE ARE MY KEYS!!!!!!


Ok I'm done freaking out, I realize I am a 23 unemployed recent grad with 8 months of free intern work ahead of me... ahhh youth... when luxury is visiting the parents for a weekend and having multiple rooms to enjoy! 

So here are some pictures, but after experiencing Mike's god-like Leica camera we have seen perfection and are now set for constant disappointment in the resolution and quality our 100$ digital camera from Radio Shack....Gives us something to dream about!!!

Umm PS who loves my Duck castle... its all the rage in castles these days... ask anyone...

So now I'm back in SF listening to the fire truck sirens, looking for non existent jobs and fully enjoying the sun!

Comments

So I have now fixed the comments section so that you do not have to have an account to comment!  You can comment with your name or anonymously. 

YAY!

Axel's thought of the Day

Direct quote, Axel


          " So you open your fridge and take the things out, you are luckey when it is a day where the food is matching, if not whatever.  you put it all together and on top of cous cous, voila its amazing enough, time to eat."

As you all can tell we have the next big thing to hit the Culinary sceen, naturally his French heritage give him the ability to transform whatever is in our fridge in to unrecognizable mash and eat it with cous cous...

Looks like I will be having yogurt for dinner.

Berlin Ticket!!

I have now officially bought my tickets to Berlin! In a few short months I will be a very important intern who done important inter stuff at the Institute of Cultural Diplomacy.  So official and important I'm sure there will be no data entry and coffee getting at all... only top secret important things...


Ha back to real life...How do I say "would you like cream and sugar?" in German... 

Auf Weitersehen San Francisco!

Tarte Aux Pomme

Ingredients
3-4 Large Granny Smith apples, (or any tart apples) peeled cored, thinly sliced and sprinkled with lemon juice.
Cinnamon sugar, for sprinkling (maybe around 4 tablespoons sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon).

For the filling:
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup  sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup flour, sifted
1 cup Marzipan
Optional: 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

Directions: 

• Mix together butter, sugar, marzipan, eggs and flour
• Roll out pastry dough into pie pan and spoon in filling
• Slice apples very thin and arrange in a circular pattern starting from outside in on top of the filling. 
• Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar
• Bake at 375 for 30 min or until slightly golden

Ski Trip to Utah

Axel and I had a great time in Utah!!!

 Axel tried snowboarding for the first time in 10 years... he did pretty well...As you can see by his suave look.

Actually this was Mission Merde... completed only by two of the most professional agents...

 We also had delicious Raclette for New Years!! Yum!

 It was a pretty awesome trip... except for how I look in that hat...

Boeuf Bourguignon

Bouef Bourguignon

3 oz. bacon, cut into lardoons        1 tbsp vegetable oil          1.5 lbs. lean stewing beef cut into 2-inch cubes
salt and pepper                               1 small sliced carrot         1 small sliced onion        2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups red wine                        2 to 3 cups beef stock      1/2 tbsp tomato paste
a bouquet consisting of 1 clove of garlic, 1/2 bay leaf, and 4 sprigs of thyme
9 to 12 brown braised white onions     1/2 lbs. sautéed mushrooms

·        Preheat the oven to 450ºF.

·        Blanch the bacon in boiling water for 10 minutes. Remove from the boiling water and dry.

·        In a large dutch oven, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. When the vegetable oil is hot, cook the bacon in it until the bacon is browned. Remove the bacon from the dutch oven and reserve the bacon.

·        Dry the beef in paper towels. Season with salt and pepper. Brown the beef in the dutch oven on all sides, in batches if necessary. Remove the beef and place it with the bacon.

·        Brown the sliced carrots and onions in the dutch oven. Pour out the fat.

·        Return the beef and bacon to the dutch oven. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the flour and stir. Put the dutch oven in the oven for 4 minutes. Stir the contents and return to the oven for 4 more minutes. Remove from the oven and change the temperature to 325ºF.

·        Deglaze the pan with the wine. Add enough beef stock until the beef is barely covered. Add the tomato paste and mix well. Add the bouquet garni and bring to a simmer on the stove top. Cover the dutch oven and place in the preheated oven. Cook for 2 to 3 hours or until the meat is fork tender.

·        While the beef is cooking prepare the onions and mushrooms. They will be reheated in the boeuf bourguignon before serving.

·        When the meat has finished cooking, remove the dutch oven from the oven. Taste the sauce for seasoning. Simmer the sauce over medium-high heat if it’s not thick enough. If it’s too thick, add more beef stock. Add the mushrooms and onions and simmer for several minutes, until the contents are equally warm.Serve with boiled potatoes or egg noodles.

Brown-braised Onions

9 to 12 pearl onions        1 tbsp butter        1 tbsp vegetable oil        1/4 cup beef stock        salt and pepper              2 parsley sprigs, 1/2 bay leaf, and 2 sprigs of thyme

·        Peel the onions and cut off the root and stem ends. On the root end, cut an x into the base.

·        In a sauce pan, heat the butter and oil over medium heat. When hot, add the onions and brown for 10 minutes, shaking the pan or stirring regularly.

·        Add the beef stock and bouquet garni and season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to 50 minutes.

Sautéed Mushrooms
1/2 lbs. button mushrooms        2 tbsp butter        1 tbsp vegetable oil

·        Scrub the mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Cut off the bottom of the stem and cut the mushrooms into halves if small or quarters if large.

·        Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet over high heat. When the butter stops foaming, add the mushrooms and cook until browned, about 6 minutes.

Thick and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies/ Épais et moelleux biscuits au gingembre

Thick and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies/ Épais et moelleux biscuits au gingembre

3 cups flour (689.76 grams farine)
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed (172.44 grams cassonade)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate de soude)
1/2 teaspoon salt (sel)
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon (cannelle moulue)
1 Tablespoon ground ginger (gingembre moulu)
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (clou de girofle moulu)
1 1/2 sticks butter, slightly softened (172.44  beurre ramolli)
3/4 cup molasses (172.44 grams melasse)
2 Tablespoons milk (lait)

Combine your dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Then mix in the brown sugar. In another bowl, mix together the molasses and milk till evenly combined. Cut up your butter into tablespoon pieces and sprinkle them over your flour mixture. With a pastry blender or knives or even with your fingers, work the butter into the dough until it resembles a fine meal. Then add a third of your molasses/milk mix to the bowl and combine. Repeat two more times until all the molasses/milk is incorporated into the flour.

By now, you should have a soft, even dough. Gather it into a ball and divide it in two. Place one half of the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap and roll it to a 1/4 inch thickness. Repeat with the other dough half. Stack the two plastic wrap sandwiched dough sheets on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for two hours or overnight.

Once the dough is firm, remove it from the fridge. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Take one sheet of dough, flip it over and peel off the bottom piece of plastic wrap. Place the plastic wrap back on and flip it all back. Now peel off the top sheet of plastic wrap and begin cutting out your cookies with your cookie cutters, placing the cookies onto the parchment-lined trays as you cut. Bake the cookies for 8-11 minutes, depending on how large your cookies are (8 minutes for 3-inch shapes and up to 11 minutes for 5-inch shapes).

They should be set when taken out of the oven, but not hard. Let them cool on their trays for a few minutes, then let them finish cooling on a wire rack. When the cookies are totally cool, you are free to decorate them however you want.

Blog Part 1

This blog is to document my travels, studies, life experiences and mishaps.  It all starts in San Francisco California, in a 250 sq ft apartment with a moisture problem.  And so it begins....