Top Ten Tuesday: vegetables

I'm suffering from a woeful case of blog-block. I'm working up data (it's currently loading, and it takes awhile) so most of what's on my mind is "man, I was really fighting with the interferometer that day, but the other day looks great!" So I present, my top ten favorite vegetables (in no particular order).

1. Mushrooms. Button, portabello, morel...pretty much all but that stinky block Chinese mushrooms.
2. Onions. A perfect complement to mushrooms, they can lend a nice raw bite or they can be sweet and buttery, if, you know, you've cooked them in butter.
3. Zucchini. Raw, dipped in ranch. Pan-fried, dipped in...ranch again, I guess. Added to pasta, rice, marinated in Italian dressing and grilled...it's the best thing about summer, pretty much. Baked in bread, cake. Tia also loves zucchini.
4. Spinach. Because hey, it's really versatile. Not as much usable iron as they tell you, but fiber is good for you too. Raw on a sandwich, cooked and added to pasta or rice dishes.
5. Tomatoes. Thick slabs of red, meaty, juicy tomatoes. Raw with or without a little salt or sugar or on a sandwich.
6. Peas. Not the canned variety, of course. My favorite are sugar snap or snow peas, still in pods. Raw or cooked.
7. Corn. Because I'm from the Midwest.

And it turned out I can only think of 7 that I would consider my favorites. I guess carrots could get an honorable mention, and maybe cabbage.

On to the top however many that I HATE:

1. Cauliflower
2. Green peppers (red are not my favorite either, but they're tolerable)
3. Celery
4. Water chestnuts
5. Cucumbers

Anyway, that's all I got today. Back to work!!

Cheese Strata: no really, the good kind

Fourish years ago, Tjett's mom gave us a huge packet of her recipes. On the one hand, this was great...we got tons of Christmas cookie recipes that were much needed. However, the recipes for meal-food weren't as spectacular. One recipe was for Cheese Strata. It contained white bread, cheese, and milk. It was a very classic "Tjett's Family" recipe, as they're not big vegetable or exciting food eaters. But it sounded reasonable, so we made it one night.

It. Was. Disgusting.

As in, we didn't even bother wrapping up the leftovers. We just threw it out. I NEVER do that. But it was awful.

Fast-forward to a couple years ago. We went to Tjett's dad's house for Christmas (and brought Tia...that's a disaster for another day). One morning, his step-mom made us some kind of delicious eggy, bready, cheesy thing for breakfast. We asked what it was. You guessed it, it was Cheese Strata. "No way!" we said. "Way," she didn't really say. So we got the recipe, and it's become a staple for us for brunchy potlucks. And I'm going to share it, here:

Delicious Cheese Strata

The recipe calls for 12 slices of bread, top crusts removed. I am a fan of using grocery-store-bakery sliced French bread, or last time I used "Mountain Boule" (I don't even know if that's a thing). Regardless, I think the better the bread (tasty, a little chewy, well-structured), the better this will turn out. Probably a white bread, however.

Anyway, cut out 12 "doughnuts" and "holes" of your bread. I usually just take a shot glass to the bread, collect my "holes" and then just use the remaining square-ish pieces of bread as my "doughnuts". If the bread is large enough, I can usually get two "doughut/hole" pairs out of 1 piece.

Fit scraps, or cut-up remaining bread, in the bottom of the pan.

Grate 12-16 oz. cheddar cheese over the bread scraps.

Put 2 cups of chopped ham or turkey ham over the cheese...the last time I made this, I couldn't find turkey ham, so I used all 16 oz. of cheese and forewent the meat.

Arrange your bread doughnuts and holes over the top. I typically fit 4x3 of the doughnuts, and then put the holes around the edge.

Mix:
6 eggs
3 1/2 c. milk
2 T instant/minced onion
1/2 t salt
1/4 t dry mustard

Pour the egg/milk mixture over the entire thing, making sure all the bread on top gets wet.

Cover, refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 325 deg. F.

Bake for 55 minutes.

Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

A caveat on the time...The recipe card she gave us says to "check doneness with toothpick in the center". The problem is that this isn't cake or brownies. My toothpicks ALWAYS come out a little milky...even after 75 minutes... and I'm not sure what they're supposed to be. Generally, If the cheese is melted and the bread is a little browned, it's probably done. Don't be freaked out by any milk that comes up if you push on it...having it stand for a little while takes care of it.

A Day in Haiku; Part I: mostly some data; and wasting the day

Morning

Cough, cough, spit, cough, spit.
Tia, please don't eat that sock.
Time to go to work.

Morning II

That cannot go there.
Throw out damaged lenses now.
Organization.

Morning III

Data, data, dat-
a, data, data, data.
FROZEN COMPUTER!

Morning IV

Wrestle with data
Beat me into submission
Question life choices

Afternoon I

I deserve to eat.
J. Gumbo's for Jean Lafitte
and some good reading

Afternoon II

I just remembered
easy data procedure.
Wasted the morning.

Afternoon III

Compare Day Camp to
Menudo; yes, I am a
spicy latin boy.

Afternoon IV

Amazing lecture!
I learned some biology
and stayed wide awake!

Afternoon V

Writing some haikus
until my bus picks me up.
Data tomorrow.

Failed already/Two reviews

Good morning, BEDA Day 2.

Review #1: O'Charley's

O'Charley's is a chain restaurant, but not one that I'd ever seen before moving to Urbana. My husband and I discovered it one day, and we ended up frequenting it. The rolls were phenomenal, the food was pretty darn good, and the prices were very reasonable. The only real problem was the service...there is something peculiar about the service in Champaign/Urbana, and by that I mean that across the board in this town, the service is terrible. O'Charley's was even worse. But, because of the aforementioned rolls and food and prices, we kept going there.

For some reason or another, we just kind of stopped. We hadn't been there in probably two years. I got a coupon in my email for their chicken tenders, so we decided to go last night.

Oh, O'Charley's, what have you done? Your prices went up but your quality went down. The rolls were still good, but not as. The chicken tenders, that used to be massive, tossed in a chipotle BBQ sauce that used to be amazing, were tiny, dry, scant, and the sauce was a definite 'meh.' And that is the last time I believe I will ever go there.

Review #2: A Song of Ice and Fire

I am just about finished with book 2 of George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire," A Clash of Kings. I LOVED Game of Thrones, and I mostly am liking this book. But seriously though...EVERYBODY DIES. It's getting a little old. One thing I like about reading, especially epic fantasy books like these, are the attachments I get to certain characters. At this point, there are frankly few characters left who I feel invested in, and I doubt that they'll all last the rest of the four, thousand-page books. I've heard that one of the big criticisms of these books is that he takes forever to actually have anything happen, and at first, I didn't mind. I like reading, I like devouring books like these that are well-written...but I'm starting to feel like I'm watching Passions. That's not fair, I suppose. But come on...

I am the Lord of the Pies (Right Close) [1]

I am throwing a friend of mine a baby shower this Saturday. Since it's pretty much mandatory that there is a dessert at baby shower, I asked her what kind of cake she wanted. Turns out she doesn't like cake. Does she like pie? Why yes! Any particular kind of pie? Pie with berries in it!

Ok. Pies. Berry pie. Um...turns out I have no idea where in this town to buy pie [2]. If we still had a Baker's Square, I would have gone with that. But I really have no idea how Perkins pies or Bob Evans pies are, and I really don't want to have store-bought pie. Especially berry pie. It just doesn't seem like it would be that tasty.

So how hard could it be to make a pie?

Well...

I have, very wisely I think, decided to make practice pies. I made my first practice pie on Sunday, left it at home yesterday, but remembered to bring it to work today. I had an issue with the crust: mostly, the recipe told me I should use a food processor. I don't have a food processor. Turns out I probably could have just done it with a fork, but that seemed complicated. So I forwent the crust. And put it in a square pan. Tjett refused to refer to it as a pie. I liked to call it a "pie".

The berry filling was pretty tasting. I used frozen berries, that happened to already be sweetened, and used about half of the remaining sugar the recipe called for. And tapioca, as a filler.

It had a streusel topping. It looked oh-so-pretty when I put it together, but sometime in baking it all fell into the "pie" and I was left with a streusel island.

The verdict: Not bad, but could use improvement.

Tonight is attempt #2. Same filling (except I used more sugar since apparently Schnucks brand frozen berries are unsweetened). Same topping...except that I'm going to let the pie bake for 20-odd minutes before putting it on. I'm considering broiling it for about 5 seconds at the end, just to try to get the topping crunchy and nice. I might totally f up the pie. But that's why it's a practice pie, yes? Also, there is a crust. While there were rave reviews for the crust, I decided to go with Jiffy pie crust mix. While there was some love put into it (and I couldn't find 'regular' pre-made pie crust), it's easier than the crust recipe.  And I have it on good authority that adding a little butter to it makes it super-awesome. And if this doesn't work out, I'll try a shortbread pre-made crust.

The boys in my lab should be happy.


[1] In high school marching band we did Appalachian Spring. One of our drum majors used to sing/instruct "I am the lord of the dance, right close." Oh Benny...
[2]If you ever happen to drive through western Wisconsin on....I-90, maybe?, make a stop in Osseo. It's a tiny tiny town almost exactly 2 hours east of my hometown; about an hour and a half east of the MN/WI border. The restaurant/bakery is called the Norske Nook. They have really good food, and the BEST pie. And the receipts say 'pop' on them. And all the waitresses (some of whom I recognize from stopping there every year with my family on vacation...they stick around!) wear these cute Norwegian dresses.

Things I Love Thursday

• My boot. I'm in a boot! Which means that I can take it off!! It's great. The only discomfort I have with it is that my heel gets rather excessively tired and sore throughout the day, but everything else about it is great. It even has one of those sweet Reebok Pump deals. Just like the shoe, I can't REALLY tell when it's inflated, but it is super-fun doing it.
• Marathon phone calls with my big brother. I am HORRIBLE at keeping in touch with people. It's not that I don't want to, and it's not even that I don't like talking on the phone. I don't honestly know why. My brother called me a couple of weeks ago, and like the terrible little sister I am, I put off calling him until a couple of days ago. So bad am I at calling him, he was convinced that I was pregnant and that's why I was calling. Must get better at that. Anyway, we had a FABULOUS conversation, and I even got to talk to his girlfriend for a few minutes. I love my big brother!
• Mango and sticky rice. Since my favorite lunch buddy is graduating, we have decided that we should go to Basil Thai a few more times before she does. On this week's trip, we realized that in the 5 years we've been coming here, not once have either of us ever tried a dessert. They had two: Tiramisu and mango with sticky rice. Feeling that Tiramisu would not exactly be the most 'authentic' Thai dessert, we opted for the mango/sticky rice. Oh. My. Goodness. I can't believe we've never gotten it before. I like mangoes ok, but I'm not really wild about them. But these were good...they were the exact ripeness that I think they should be; soft and sweet without being mushy or cloying. And the rice! Really, I would have been happy with just the rice. It was not overcooked or in a rice pudding as we expected at all. It was just...rice...with some kind of delicious, sweet 'binder' for lack of a better term. Not quite a sauce. So. Good. And the rice was hot. For some reason that surprised us both.
• Productivity! Since returning to work, I can't say that I've been the most productive I've ever been. I have to take lots of 'sit breaks,' and a lot of things that I need have mysteriously moved over the last month and a half. A lot of what I'm trying to do now is laser diagnostics, and yes, that is exactly (or less) as exciting as it sounds. Which gives me even less motivation, and makes sit breaks all the more appealing. This morning though, I decided that I wanted to get this one thing done. And I so totally did. It was probably the most productive day I've had since I've been back. 

Yeah Boyeeeee!

I don't so much have the energy to write a long ranting blog post today. When I do, I promise it'll be good. So for now, all I'll say is...Tjett and I ate at Flav's Fried Chicken on the way home from Iowa today. The chicken is actually pretty darn good...hot, tender, juicy, greasy (as fried chicken should be). The sides are another story. They were out of corn bread, greens, the hot, mild, and BBQ wing sauces, ribs, and most fountain drinks (that they substituted with 2-liters). Apparently the delivery guy came, but no one was there to pay him. Anyway, the mac & cheese was more like mushy noodles in "cheese"...really no worse than what you would expect at any fast-foodery, but we couldn't finish a small between us. The corn on the cob was likewise mushy. Also when we got there we were pretty sure they were closed...no lights, no cars in the parking lot. Turns out we had just gotten there a little before lunch rush. We took our pictures with one of the several air-brushed Flavor Flav likenesses on the wall. They're on Tjett's phone.

BEDA Day 1: Well hello!

Hello! Today marks the first day of Blog-Every-Day-In-April. Since I am lousy at introductions, I figured I would give you little "Katie tidbits" in the form of one of those fancy poems, that I cannot for the life of me think what it's called. You'll understand:

BEDA: Introduced to me by Becky, one of the most creative people I have ever known!

Lasers: My livelihood. These are what I use in my research, which will someday give me a PhD?

Olives: I prefer green. The best I've ever had were in Italy, with some sort of awesome marinade. 

Green: My favorite color. (Which is not why I like green olives better than black; they just taste better.)

Evan's canal osteotomy: One of the procedures I recently had on my foot. Hence the surgery posts.

Voracious appetite: Man I love food!

Elizabeth: My middle name.

Rick-rolling: I still think it's funny.

Your mom: I still think it's an appropriate response to insults.

Dog: Her name is Tia. She is very grumpy that I can't walk or play with her for awhile. 

A blue rubber used-to-be-squeaky bone: Tia's "baby," and her very very favorite toy.

Yep, I dye my hair: Right now it's dark brown. I like it.

Industrial: I've had it for a year. I love it. I'm enjoying it while I can, before I have to look professional.

Nachos: A perfectly acceptable meal.

Alice in Chains: My favorite band, ever. I have mentioned them an embarrassing number of times.

Perrier: Overpriced, but I'm a fan. I just happen to like fizzy water... 

Running: I did for about 9 months before I broke. My goal is to start again in about 5 or 6 months.

Iced Tea (as opposed to Ice-T): Unsweetened. Definitely. Unless it's Jeremiah Weed Sweet Tea Vodka. Mmm, mmm.

Lut'ran: Oh sure, you bet. Hotdish and red Jello.

Things I Love Thursday

It's been a really long time since I posted anything, and I figured that a TILT post would be a good one to go with...

• Indian food: It had been awhile since I'd gotten Indian, so yesterday my friend Rachel and I went to Bombay, the local/campus Indian restaurant (the owners also have a bigger restaurant a little farther away that has a killer lunch buffet). Bombay has its food organized by price: $6.99, $7.49, $7.99, $8.99, and $9.99. Unfortunately, most of my favorite dishes are in the $7.99 category...not terribly expensive, but it makes me kind of sad. Thankfully, they have a $6.99 daily special, and usually it's some kind of chicken masala. Yesterday it was Himalaya Chicken Masala...served up with a huge piece of naan. Mmmmm....The best part? Leftovers! Hooray for lunch!!! 

• Tia: Well, of course I love her. But this morning she was SO GOOD, or at least until about 10 minutes before I left. I hope she's feeling ok...

• My rock opera: I've decided that it's my new life goal to write a rock opera. I realize that I lack really any writing or composing talent (all the 'original' tunes I think of are really just conglomerates of songs I've heard)...but it's fun to think about. I'm thinking it'll be a Faustian story, perhaps with Vikings. Mephistopheles (or whatever Devil-esque equivalent I think up) will have to 'sing' in near-death growls...like maybe not so much that you can't understand him, but growely enough. The love interest can maybe be Bjork, so someone with a really unique and intense soprano voice. (ETA: The girl from Evanescence. Definitely.) As for the hero? I'm debating. My obvious choice would be Jerry Cantrell, but I like him even more when he's harmonizing. Maybe Viking Faust could have a buddy...

Just add butter.

Hands down, my favorite kind of food is what I like to call Americanized Ethnic Food. For example:

This morning I ate lefse that I bought in WI. For those of you who don't know, lefse is kind of like a Scandinavian tortilla made from riced potatoes. Amazing. I am not Scandinavian, myself, but I grew up Lutheran in Minnesota, so it's close enough. I love it. It is one thing I absolutely must get when I go home (that, and Fat Squirrel beer from the New Glarus brewery...Minnesota is my home, but Swissconsin has some darn good food on my route!). However, lefse is often traditionally eated with lutefisk. Lutefisk is gross. There is no other word for it. It is a white fish (often cod in the US) that is soaked in lye. It has the consistency of translucent Jell-O. I like to eat lefse with butter and cinnamon sugar. Or chicken and gravy. America.

Italian food. When we were in Italy, the food was good...but they don't use as much sauce, and the pasta was much more al dente than it is here. That whole 'dip the bread in the olive oil, parmesan, and pepper' thing? Maybe we were just in the wrong part of Italy, but we got some funny looks when we tried dipping the bread in the olive oil. Of course, there is no substitute for a good Tuscan chianti and gelato every day, but frankly, I tend to prefer Olive Garden.

Chinese food. Think about the best Chinese restaurant you've ever been to. Chances are, they had an American menu and a Chinese menu. If you are fortunate enough to have Chinese friends, they might order for you from the Chinese menu, and some of the food will have been magnificent. However. There is a reason they do not put the whole fish or the chicken feet on the American menu. And I am fine with that.

This past weekend I was in Minnesota, and my brother took me out to a sushi bar. Now here is a more-or-less authentic Japanese tradition (according to my Japanese post-doc). At Ichiban in Minneapolis, you have the option of sitting at their All-You-Can-Eat-For-One-Hour sushi bar. The chef stands in the middle of an oval bar, and prepares the sushi fresh. In Japan, the chef apparently puts the sushi on a conveyor belt. Here, he puts them on BOATS. No kidding. There is literally running water around the bar, with BOATS. You just take whatever sushi you want off of the boats. I have discovered that I really really like salmon sashimi and even eel. I do, however, draw the line at what my postdoc claims is delicious, and that is horse sashimi (raw horse meat). Yep, horses. God bless America, where the only raw food we eat is from the ocean.