To Thine Own Self, Be Food

Chiffon. 1. A fun French word to say.  A chiffarific word to say, actually. 2. A word that, for me, evokes a certain kind of glamour and elegance. Probably because of this... As a youngster, chiffon was a word that described a very gauzy, light, delicate, and pretty fabric that dresses were made out of.  See the picture at left.  Dresses like that . Dresses I never got to wear...ever...especially at proms in the 90s, which were all satin and sequins. Naw...these types of frocks were reserved for the cast of Dynasty and princesses. So, the question today is: how did this particular type of fabric become the name of a particular kind of pie or cake? Answer: both chiffons require delicate handling and result in delicate, light products. We have the beautiful dress above (incidentally, I do have a dress like this in my closet, and I wear it only when I'm baking chiffon cakes or pies).  And we also have chiffon pies, which are gelatin-based and are rath...

I am currently awaiting creative writing and culinary inspiration, and thus, today's post in the Kitchen Alphabet Challenge is quite a s-t-r-eeeeeeeeeeee-t-c-h. I was recently thumbing through a food publication and was instantly intrigued by a clever little tip to quick-peel mangoes.  The process involves a knife, a glass, and a cutting board.  Start by segmenting the mango into four or three wedges (mango pits are, indeed, the pits).  Make a slit in one mango segment end and wedge it over the lip of your glass.  Use both hands to slide the peel down the glass, and the whole mango piece comes off like Boy Howdy! Note: You ARE pressing down with a fair amount of force on the glass, and if you don't pick a sturdy enough one... Lesson learned.  Fortunately, NO injuries were sustained.  That. Would. Have. Been. Horrible. However, now that I know...further danger will be averted in future. Cheers!

Key Lime Pie. Oh.   Whoa.  Just had a thought.  If I did a Key Lime-Mango-Nectarine-Orange Pie...I would get KLMNOP all in one go.  Not that there's Guinness World Record for that, but still, impressive enough to put on a résumé, yeah? Anyway, pie.  Yeah, pie!  My relationship with pie has evolved through the years.  Out of the three desserts I grew up the most familiar with, pie was my least favorite.  Cake was first, followed by cookies, and pie brought up the rear.  (I would not experience such delights as créme brulee, panna cotta, Bavarian cream, cheesecake, etc under years later.) Since culinary school and, in particular, my baking classes, I've developed a new appreciation for pie.  Cakes can be fussy, and can require add-ons like...frosting.  If we could just eat it, as is, out of the cake pan, it would be great, but generally society frowns upon that kind of savagery.  And then cookies.  Yes, there's a fair...

As a former English teacher and long-time writer, I enjoy playing Scrabble.  However, it's been my experience that 'K' is one of the tougher letters to work into a decent-scoring word.  It is likely that it's really not that hard, and that I'm functioning at a low level of competence.  Or maybe I'm having bad letter luck.  Or, maybe...it really is that hard to use the letter K. But when it comes to the culinary world, K abounds everywhere.  The vitamin K. Kimchi. Kiwi. Key lime (that's tomorrow). And on and on and on... But, we're outside the box a little bit today.  No worries, yeah?  Here we go. I live in Iowa.  Southeast Iowa, to be somewhat geographically precise.  A few more miles east of me is a thriving, vibrant, visible Amish and Mennonite community.  One of the primary centers of this faith/lifestyle is a little town called Kalona.  The main town is chockablock full of quilt shops, cabinet stores, quaint bakeries...a...

Today is January 13.  This month is almost half-over.  Incredible how time flies, yes? I'm not one for New Year's resolutions, because it's been my experience and theory that people usually intend to change something about themselves or their lifestyle...something they are unhappy with, but up until December 31, they have not quite galvanized themselves to change.  January 1 seems to be as good a time as any to cast away bad habits and begin new ones.  And, then for some reason, those resolutions fall apart in the dreary, icky, cold grayness that is usually January (here in the Midwest, anyway).  And then, for all that, I did actually make resolutions for myself this year.  Even though I expect to fall off the wagon a lot, I feel I must have something to work towards. 1. I have endeavored to be more creative this year.  I did repair my son's First Act guitar and I have the primary instruction books.  I'm going to teach myself how to play gui...

First of all, a healthy and happy start to the New Year for all my readers!  Let this be the year of great things! This last year has certainly been an unprecedented one for me.  A new job for the husband and a new business for me.  The wheels of life continue to turn and there have been many ups and downs, and we will see exactly what 2016 has in store for us. For the last several New Years, we have spent the night festivaling at a cousin's house...he usually fixes a decent amount of food, we bring drink and games and we have a great old time ringing in the new year.  He's done a theme, food-wise, for the last couple of years, and last night's was Italian.  He made his own lasagna noodles and bread, and we brought over a nice Chianti and an antipasta platter. I was at the mercy of the local grocery store's wares in regards to meat, cheese, and olives.  As you can see, we're looking at a pretty standard plate.  Despite this averageness, the co...