The Recipes

I loosely followed the recipe here for potato pancakes http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes.aspx/potato-pancakes-with-chunky-gingered-applesauce using reconstituted dehydrated potato shreds, and adding some parmasan cheese.

1/2 cup Original Biscuit mix
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
3 cups finely shredded uncooked potatoes

Combine the biscuit mix, milk, salt, and eggs, then stir in the potatoes, and let sit for a minute while you prep the pan. Heat over medium heat with a little butter or oil in the pan. Spoon about 1/4-1/3 cup batter into the pan and flatten. cook until the edges brown, then flip and finish cooking the other side.

Elliot thought they could use butter and syrup, I thought they could use butter and cheese. Needless to say these are versatile.


As to the omelet, I blended two eggs with a bit of finely grated cheese and a tablespoon or so of milk. Butter went into the nonstick pan (going with Julia on this one). Heat to high, and put the egg mixture in. I proceeded to swirl with a spatula until the eggs were aaaaalmost set, with just enough liquid left over to coagulate everything together into a cohesive mass. Let the eggs go until they are just about to your preferred consistency, then add a tiny bit of whatever topping you are using, just over one side. Once done, slide the omelet out onto a plate until it is about halfway out of the pan, then fold in half as you slide the other side out (clear as mud?).

Woot! New Cookware

.... and even better, clearance, good-quality cookware :D

You see, our hand-me-down cookware was rather worn



mostly due to not being so careful about high temps and metal utensils. So out they went!




A perfect little omelet pan...


for a nice little omelet...




and a larger pan for the potato pancakes, for which I probably did not really need all that oil lol!


Making sure I do not over heat the pan:


Here's Alton Brown on the subject of omelets. I basically followed his french omelet procedure.

Pics from the SF Academy of Sciences!

Took a trip for my birthday awhile back http://www.calacademy.org/ .

Wow! Talk about overwhealming! I didn't even take pictures of most of it, but I got a few great shots of the birds in the rain forest exhibit.

Squash Tomato Sauce with Pasta and Focaccia

Tonight's dinner consists of a very chunky tomato sauce served over pasta with focaccia. IF the water for the pasta ever comes to a boil lol!

In the mean time, here is what I tossed together:

1/3 of a large white onion
4 cloves of garlic

These were sautee'd until lightly golden, then in went:

1/2 of a very large zucchini picked up from the farmer's market for 50 cents
1/2 of an average sized yellow crookneck squash
2 or 3 tablespoons pesto

I then covered the pan to cook the squash slightly. Then I added a can of italian-style stewed tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, 1 cup beef broth, and 1 lb. browned ground beef. I simmered this without a cover to reduce it's volume by about a quarter, just enough to thicken it. Put a lid on while got the water going for the pasta.

I just toasted some wonderful buttered focaccia which I also picked up at the small farmer's market. The weather was great for it, warm with a good breeze, and the smell of fresh-cut grass wafting about.

*Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh*