Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Pit stop in Madison
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Documenting the documentation
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Thursday, June 24, 2010
G&G are here
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Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Afternoon Entertainment
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Monday, June 21, 2010
We drove to Rhinelander to get more supplies (mostly beer and 40% DEET spray). We made BLTs and corn on the cob for dinner. Now we are playing scrabble and enjoying our beverages. I am in last place, Chris is winning at the moment.
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Sunday, June 20, 2010
Day 1
Then we went into Minocqua to rent a 4th Mountain Bike. We got back to the cottage and each couple went canoeing. Now we are grilling out and drinking beers and wine.
Great day.
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Saturday, June 19, 2010
And Vacation Begins Now!
Stay tuned for our upcoming adventures!
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Thursday, June 17, 2010
FINALLY found a hairstylist in SLC
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Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Green Cake with Pistachios and White Chocolate Ganache
Chris and I both have spinach coming out of our ears. We bought 2.5 pound bags of the stuff for each residence at Costco. So, it was perfect when we picked up the Edible Wasatch magazine at the Farmer's Market on Saturday and it had this recipe:
Serves 10-12
Cake:
Generous 1 pound spinach, trimmed of large stems and cleaned
4 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cake flour
1/2 cup potato starch flour
1/4 cup powdered sugar
Add the spinach, along with 1/4 cup water, to a large non-reactive pot or pan. Cook over high heat, stirring, until the spinach is just wilted and bright green, about 1 minute. Refresh the spinach under cold water and drain well. Press the spinach lightly to remove most of the excess liquid. Puree the spinach in a food processor or blender, adding a little of the spinach cooking liquid if necessary, then press the puree through a fine sieve. Reserve for coloring the cake and frosting.
Add the egg yolks, 1/4 cup of the spinach puree, and the vanilla extract in an electric mixer. Add 1/2 cup sugar and beat on medium high speed until the mixture is fluffy and ribbons from the beater, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the salt and flours and sift. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 3-inch deep, 9-inch cake pan or springform pan lightly. Line the bottom with baking parchment or aluminum foil and butter.
Beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Add the powdered sugar in two batches, beating well after each addition. Beat the meringue mixture until it holds stiff shiny peaks.
Loosen the yolk mixture with about one-quarter of the whites. Add the flour, alternately with the remaining whites, in three batches.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake the cake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the sides begin to pull from the pan, and the top springs back when pressed with a finger.
Loosen the sides of the cake from the pan with a spatula, or remove the springform sides. Invert the cake and remove it from the pan, leaving the parchment or foil on the cake.
Set the cake, parchment or foil side down, on a rack to cool to room temperature. The cake may be used when cool, or double wrapped and refrigerated for a few days, or frozen for up to a month.
Ganache:
1 3/4 cup whipping cream
3 tablespoons spinach puree
6 ounces white chocolate, chopped fine
In a heavy-bottomed, non-reactive saucepan, scald the cream with the spinach puree. Remove from heat and let stand for 2 or 3 minutes. Pour the scalded cream and spinach mixture through a strainer into a bowl. Sprinkle white chocolate over the hot cream, and stir it into the cream as it melts. Stir until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture is glossy and smooth. Lay a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the ganache and refrigerate until well-chilled. This will take about 2 hours, but you can do this up to 24 hours ahead.
With a whisk or whisk attachment on a mixer, whip the cold ganache until stiff peaks just start to form, just as you would for whipped cream. It will be too soft if you don't whip it enough, if you whip it too much it will separate. Once you whip the ganache, you should be prepared to assemble the cake.
Add the egg yolks, 1/4 cup of the spinach puree, and the vanilla extract in an electric mixer. Add 1/2 cup sugar and beat on medium high speed until the mixture is fluffy and ribbons from the beater, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the salt and flours and sift. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 3-inch deep, 9-inch cake pan or springform pan lightly. Line the bottom with baking parchment or aluminum foil and butter.
Beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Add the powdered sugar in two batches, beating well after each addition. Beat the meringue mixture until it holds stiff shiny peaks.
Loosen the yolk mixture with about one-quarter of the whites. Add the flour, alternately with the remaining whites, in three batches.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake the cake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the sides begin to pull from the pan, and the top springs back when pressed with a finger.
Loosen the sides of the cake from the pan with a spatula, or remove the springform sides. Invert the cake and remove it from the pan, leaving the parchment or foil on the cake.
Set the cake, parchment or foil side down, on a rack to cool to room temperature. The cake may be used when cool, or double wrapped and refrigerated for a few days, or frozen for up to a month.
Ganache:
1 3/4 cup whipping cream
3 tablespoons spinach puree
6 ounces white chocolate, chopped fine
In a heavy-bottomed, non-reactive saucepan, scald the cream with the spinach puree. Remove from heat and let stand for 2 or 3 minutes. Pour the scalded cream and spinach mixture through a strainer into a bowl. Sprinkle white chocolate over the hot cream, and stir it into the cream as it melts. Stir until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture is glossy and smooth. Lay a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the ganache and refrigerate until well-chilled. This will take about 2 hours, but you can do this up to 24 hours ahead.
With a whisk or whisk attachment on a mixer, whip the cold ganache until stiff peaks just start to form, just as you would for whipped cream. It will be too soft if you don't whip it enough, if you whip it too much it will separate. Once you whip the ganache, you should be prepared to assemble the cake.
Assembly:
1/2 cup unsalted, shelled pistachio nuts, lightly toasted and chopped medium-coarse
When the cake has cooled completely, cut it into 3 thin horizontal layers with a serrated knife. Place the bottom layer of cake on the platter and frost it with about one-quarter of the ganache. Sprinkle with about one-third of the pistachios.
Continue layering and frosting the cake, sprinkling the pistachios only on the two bottom layers. After the top has been frosted, frost the sides of the cake. Lightly press the remaining pistachios into the frosting on the bottom layer, where it meets the platter. Refrigerate the cake for at least an hour, or until ready to serve. Remove the cake from the refrigerator about 15 to 20 minutes before serving.
1/2 cup unsalted, shelled pistachio nuts, lightly toasted and chopped medium-coarse
When the cake has cooled completely, cut it into 3 thin horizontal layers with a serrated knife. Place the bottom layer of cake on the platter and frost it with about one-quarter of the ganache. Sprinkle with about one-third of the pistachios.
Continue layering and frosting the cake, sprinkling the pistachios only on the two bottom layers. After the top has been frosted, frost the sides of the cake. Lightly press the remaining pistachios into the frosting on the bottom layer, where it meets the platter. Refrigerate the cake for at least an hour, or until ready to serve. Remove the cake from the refrigerator about 15 to 20 minutes before serving.
**The cake turned out to be a lovely pistachio green and was very dense but only got an inch high. Maybe because I substituted regular flour for the potato starch flour, or didn't have powdered sugar and used regular. Or because I didn't sift the flours and salt. I also didn't sieve the puree...The most important part is that it tastes good. I will take it to work, the guys I work with will eat it.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
nook
Erica and I are now proud nook parents. The nook is the digital book reader from Barnes&Noble. We absolutely love them! My nook is named nookie and Erica's is named snook (all nooks get a name). They never cry and they never poop themselves...what could be better. We have also recently discovered the world of free books online and the ability to download ebooks from our local libraries. I have been making the rounds all over Colorado during a couple evenings and I now have six library cards to use at various library groups to check out and download ebooks. Erica has a couple from the SLC area and still has access to the Kansas City library. We use OverDrive to search for ebooks and check if they are available from our local libraries. Reading has never been so much fun! And it has games and a web browser and on and on and on...
Monday, June 14, 2010
Meet the Girls
Erica first spied a little gourmet cookie shop not too far from the apartment months ago. This weekend, we finally went to check it out. The shop is called My Dough Girl and they serve a dozen different gourmet cookies that are named after 1950's pin-up girls.
On a side note, this business owner is currently in a legal battle with Pillsbury as they are challenging the trademark of My Dough Girl because it is too close to the Pillsbury Dough boy name.
We went about an hour before closing, so not all of the cookie types were available. Chris was sad there weren't any Zoey's (blueberry lemon poppy) left. But, we did snag:
On a side note, this business owner is currently in a legal battle with Pillsbury as they are challenging the trademark of My Dough Girl because it is too close to the Pillsbury Dough boy name.
We went about an hour before closing, so not all of the cookie types were available. Chris was sad there weren't any Zoey's (blueberry lemon poppy) left. But, we did snag:
They were all absolutely delicious. Best cookies ever. Chris says, "Mmmm, mmmm good!"Saturday, June 12, 2010
I Would Walk 500 (or 5.83) Miles
We are having a fantastic day!
We left the apartment around 10:30 this morning. We walked to Pioneer Park for opening day of the downtown Farmer's Market. We met up with Varun, the new summer intern at Erica's office. Then we headed to the Salt Lake City Public Library to return some library books. We passed some cute restaurants and shops on 300 South that we had never taken the time to look at before, so we went to check them out.
First stop was the Retro Rose which was full of, you guessed it, everything retro. Then on to the Green Ant to check out some vintage modern furniture. On the way, Chris spied Ken Sanders Rare Books which was a great coincidence because he is currently reading The Man Who Loved Books too Much, and Ken Sanders from Salt Lake City is a main character in the book. We walked around Ken Sanders Rare Books and also browsed Misc. Boutique which has vintage women's clothing. The saleswomen at Misc. Boutique told us Ken Sanders is quite the character and well known throughout the neighborhood.
From there we went to the Frosty Darling which is a cute gift boutique. By now, it is almost 1:00 and our stomachs are starting to growl. So, we walked to Sicilia Kitchen for pizza. We ordered the Mediterranean: chicken, white sauce, hot sauce, green olives, artichoke hearts, jalapenos, feta, and tomatoes. It was really good, and not just because we were hungry-starving.
With renewed energy from the pizza, we were ready to walk to The Gateway outdoor shopping mall for a quick trip to Barnes & Noble. Then back to the apartment to rest our feet. Total mileage: 5.83.
Now we are a little pooped, but thinking about what to do next...
We left the apartment around 10:30 this morning. We walked to Pioneer Park for opening day of the downtown Farmer's Market. We met up with Varun, the new summer intern at Erica's office. Then we headed to the Salt Lake City Public Library to return some library books. We passed some cute restaurants and shops on 300 South that we had never taken the time to look at before, so we went to check them out.
First stop was the Retro Rose which was full of, you guessed it, everything retro. Then on to the Green Ant to check out some vintage modern furniture. On the way, Chris spied Ken Sanders Rare Books which was a great coincidence because he is currently reading The Man Who Loved Books too Much, and Ken Sanders from Salt Lake City is a main character in the book. We walked around Ken Sanders Rare Books and also browsed Misc. Boutique which has vintage women's clothing. The saleswomen at Misc. Boutique told us Ken Sanders is quite the character and well known throughout the neighborhood.
From there we went to the Frosty Darling which is a cute gift boutique. By now, it is almost 1:00 and our stomachs are starting to growl. So, we walked to Sicilia Kitchen for pizza. We ordered the Mediterranean: chicken, white sauce, hot sauce, green olives, artichoke hearts, jalapenos, feta, and tomatoes. It was really good, and not just because we were hungry-starving.
With renewed energy from the pizza, we were ready to walk to The Gateway outdoor shopping mall for a quick trip to Barnes & Noble. Then back to the apartment to rest our feet. Total mileage: 5.83.
Now we are a little pooped, but thinking about what to do next...
Friday, June 11, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Stayin' Alive, Stayin' Alive
Chris has kept our newly potted flowers alive for a week. At this rate, we might be able to work our way up to a pet someday! ;)
Saturday, June 5, 2010
ElliptiGO
After running the BolderBoulder, as Erica and I were on our way to get picked up, we noticed a couple riding around a parking lot on some crazy contraptions. I did a double-take and realized they were riding ElliptiGOs. ElliptiGO is a company that was started by Bryan Pate and Brent Teal. Brent is a friend from my early days working at GE in Salem, VA. I was able to take one for a spin. It was very easy to ride and it was pretty fun.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Shame On You!
Utah is a strange place. Local unions hire protestors for $10/hr to picket all kinds of things. all over the valley. Today they were putting some shame on Target over a labor dispute (sorry for the bad drive by picture).
If you don't promote unions in your business or choose to contract with non-union third parties, chances are you will be picketed.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
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