Face palm

You know you've been sewing too much lately when you cut pie crust strips on the bias so they bend better.

Tuesday Ten: 10 foods I want to integrate in my diet

I'm going to start a new feature here on Made From Scratch called the "Tuesday Ten" - each week I'll make a list of ten things related to frugal living, sustainability, or healthy living in general. Continuing my nutrition theme, this week it's ten foods I want to integrate into my diet.

Eating right is an evolutionary process for me. I feel like I eat well most of the time, but when I don't eat well, I really don't eat well. I've decided that I need to put more structure into my diet again, which means more meal planning. But that's a topic for another post. Here are ten foods that need to be in those meal plans:

1. Sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of several vitamins, including vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B6, and copper. It's also a good source of dietary fiber and has powerful antioxidant properties, which help fight against free radicals, unstable atoms or molecules that damage other cells by stealing their electrons. Free radical damage can lead to cancer. How will I eat them? Maybe sliced up and baked or fried like chips, or baked and mashed with honey and a bit of brown sugar.
2. Avocado. Avocados are a great source of potassium and folic acid. Potassium helps keep blood pressure low, while folic acid helps keep skin healthy. It also guards against anemia and decreases the risk of birth defects. How will I eat it? Besides making guacamole, avocados go great on salads. 
3. Whole grains. I already eat almost exclusively whole grains - whole wheat bread, brown rice, oats - but the reason I'm singling it out is because I want to start using at least half whole grain flour in my baking, and I would like to start baking my own whole grain bread. The bread I buy (without any artificial ingredients) is $4 to $5 a loaf, and it would cost way less to make it myself. Whole grains are rich in fiber, b vitamins and iron. Eating adequate fiber can help with weight management because it keeps you fuller longer, and b vitamins are important for a healthy immune system. As a woman, it's imperative that I get enough iron in my diet. In addition to bread, rice, and oats, I also eat cereals high in whole grains (yeah... the expensive ones).
4. Raisins. I've mostly overlooked raisins since childhood, but they're another good source of iron. They spice up oatmeal and bread and make a tasty and healthy snack on their own.
5. Yogurt. The trick for me and yogurt is that it can't be plain - I've tried and I can't stomach it. So I'm going to have to find flavored yogurt without any artificial flavorings or added sugar. I'll edit this post when I find that elusive brand. The benefits of yogurt include those probiotics you hear so much about - active "good" bacteria that aid digestion and the immune system. In addition, since yogurt is dairy, there's a good helping of protein, calcium, and potassium, all in a low-calorie package. I'm going to try out yogurt for lunch, mixed with oatmeal and fresh fruit.
6. Asparagus. Asparagus is full of vitamins and minerals. It's also an antioxidant and helps lower blood pressure. How will I eat it? Sauteed, steamed, or perhaps cut up and added to home-made pizza.
7. Spinach. Spinach is a power vegetable. It's a low-calorie, nutrient-rich food, full of vitamin K, vitamin A, magnesium, folate, iron, calcium, vitamin C, vitamin B2, potassium, and vitamin B6. Spinach is a good source of protein, fiber, and even omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce inflammation and guard against heart disease, among other things. Omega-3s are also a big reason why number seven is...
8. Fish. The reason I don't eat much fish is because it's expensive! But I want to try and eat fish at least once every other week. Salmon is my favorite kind of fish which has a lot of omega-3s, but tuna and other small oily fish also fit the bill. Try to avoid eating big fish like shark or swordfish, as they can contain high levels of mercury. Fish makes a great main dish, with rice or pasta and a salad. Speaking of salads, salmon salads are yummy (with spinach - hey!), as well as tuna sandwiches for lunch.
9. Blueberries. Blueberries are a great antioxidant, and studies have also shown they can help preserve vision and short-term memory loss. But I don't want to get too specific here...
10. Fruit! Fruit is amazing. It's nature's candy, and there's no better way to satisfy your sweet tooth than with fresh fruit. Fruit is full of vitamins and nutrients and works especially well on an empty stomach, so it's a good choice for breakfast. Some of my fruit favorites that I want to eat regularly: bananas, oranges (I love making fresh orange juice for breakfast on the weekends!), strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, pineapple, grapes.

Of course, I left out tons of delicious and healthy vegetables and other items, but I only wanted to include those foods that I'm not already eating a lot of. Most of the things on this list are relatively expensive compared to other things I could be eating, particularly the fruit. But as my mom always says, expensive compared to what? If I can start substituting fruit for dessert, homemade sweet potato chips for tortilla chips - you get my drift, my diet will be ten times better and I know I'll feel healthier and have much more energy.

The main sacrifice that eating well requires is preparation time, not money. After logging every thing I buy at the grocery store for five months, I spend far less on fruits, vegetables and dairy than dry foods and eating out. All it takes is the will power to cook and plan ahead, which I try to cultivate every day, with varying success. But the more you cook, the more fun it becomes, and I look forward to adding these ten foods to my meals!

Photo credit: Flickr user Darwin Bell.

Purse Construction: Day One

First things first: cutting the fabric. I cut off the tape from my cardboard mock-up and used those pieces as my pattern pieces. I cut the front piece in half to cut the front and back on the fold.The purse has four layers: the satin, then stiff interfacing, then felt, then the flowered canvas lining.

Sewing together the lining pieces took no time at all. Then I decided to stitch the satin onto the interfacing since most of the pieces will be gathered or pleated onto it.

I tried simply gathering around where the front leather decal would go, but it wasn't laying the way I wanted so I eventually took out all the gathering stitches and decided to pleat the front into place. Here's the front with the pleats pinned before I sewed them down:

It seems that my sewing machine won't play nice with the faux leather, so all the leather has to be stitched by hand. It's slow work, but great practice, because I'm not very good at it. Hopefully by the end of this project my handstitching will have improved.

This purse is the first thing I'm making under my own brand name, 1801. I went to Things Remembered to get an 1801 metal plate made for the front of the purse. Unfortunately, the one I wanted cost $37 - more than the fabric! But it was the best choice, so I went with it. Looking at it on the front of the purse, I know I made the right decision.

This weekend I will be away in Las Vegas for my 21st birthday (woo!), so I'll keep the blog updated on my progress next week.

Book Review: Food Rules by Michael Pollan

First off, this is not a nutrition manual or a diet book. Food Rules is a collection of guidelines for how we can both enjoy our food and eat well without making drastic lifestyle changes. It is a celebration of food, real food, and makes the reader think harder about our relationship to food and where it comes from. Michael Pollan sums up his food philosophy in seven words:  

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

The beauty of this little book is in its simplicity. Aside from the introduction and acknowledgments, the book consists of 64 food rules, which are a witty and memorable combination of scientific advice and the kinds of common sense adages repeated by your grandmother.

Pollan's goal is to make choosing what to eat uncomplicated again, in an age where we don't see "foods anymore but instead look right through them to the nutrients (good and bad) they contain." The rules (which he prefers to call "personal policies") help guide the reader in a broad sense to follow his food philosophy.

Rule #1 is "Eat food," and all other rules stem from it. By "food" Pollan means real food, not the highly-processed "edible food-like substances" found in the middle of the supermarket. Rule #3 refines this: "Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry."

Other memorable rules include #11, "Avoid foods you see advertised on television," #20, "It's not food if it arrived through the window of your car," and #51, "Spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare."

Food Rules: An Eater's Manual. 112 pages, Penguin 2009

Salmon cakes

Tonight's dinner came together in a somewhat eclectic manner. I got home late from a long day of class and meetings so I wanted something quick and easy - so waiting for my frozen salmon filet to thaw was out of the question. But then I remembered that I had a can of salmon in the cupboard, so I decided to make salmon cakes. Here's what I did:

I scraped out the can of salmon into a bowl and added probably around a half cup of crushed Triscuits (the only sort of cracker I had around). Then I added dill, lemon pepper and lime juice to taste. If I had an onion I would have added that too, but they tasted great regardless. Then I whipped an egg and added it to the bowl and mixed everything together. At that point I formed salmon patties and cooked them over medium heat on a skillet coated with oil, a few minutes per side.

For garnishes I steamed some asparagus and served the salmon cakes on a bed of chopped tomato, avocado and more lime juice. Simple, but delicious!

A new handbag

I've long needed a black handbag - it's a wardrobe staple. The reason I still don't have one is that I have somewhat expensive tastes, but there's no way I can spend hundreds of dollars on a purse. So the solution was to design my own.

The design

This is my cardboard mock-up. Finished, the bag will be about 14'' long, 4.75'' wide, and 8'' tall.

The fabrics

I bought all of the fabrics from fabric.com, and for a yard of each of the three fabrics below (including one yard of faux leather), the cost came to $24.00. Not bad! The exterior of the purse will be black satin with faux leather detailing and straps. It will be lined with the flower-print canvas and interlined for stability.

Deviled Eggs

Today I made deviled eggs for the first time, and man, this is definitely not the last time. Here's what I did:

• Hardboil 12 eggs, then peel and slice in half
• Put the yolks in a mixing bowl and add:
• Mayonnaise until mixture is creamy
• Approximately 2 tsp mustard
• 1 cap full of apple cider vinegar
• dash salt and pepper
• dash paprika

Then I put the mixture into a gallon ziplock bag and cut a hole in the corner (which was too big - ah well, next time) to squeeze it out into the whites. Then I sprinkled paprika on top.

I can't wait to eat them at Easter brunch later today!

Theo chocolate factory

Today Dom and I went for a walk on the Burke-Gillman trail from the Cold Stone in Fremont well into Ballard and back. On our walk we stumbled upon the most awesome thing that I've experienced in awhile: a chocolate factory. At first we just saw the sign for a chocolate shop, and of course we had to go in. What we didn't expect was that they would offer free samples of every kind of chocolate bar.

Theo Chocolate is also the only certified fair trade and organic chocolate factory in the United States. This means their chocolate is more expensive ($3-$5 per bar), but it's definitely worth it. My favorite flavor was chai milk chocolate, but the dark chocolate chili was also delicious. There had been some cancellations on the factory tour, so we got to tour the factory for $6 each, which also meant more free chocolate, including a free confection.

By the time we left, we probably ate enough chocolate to cancel out anything we might have gained from our three-mile walk. But oh, it was worth it. We came home with chocolate bars for ourselves and Dom's family, as well as a box of confections:

On the left is a chili pepper-caramel, then peanut butter and jelly (which really did taste like a bite of pb&j - you almost couldn't taste the chocolate!), then Earl Grey (yummmm) and Scotch. We are definitely looking forward to going back enough times to sample all of the confections... but we're going to try to limit ourselves to once a month.

A Mexican food-inspired week

This week was all about Mexican food, which is probably my favorite kind. I could eat it every day, and indeed, this week I did. This first meal was inspired by a similar entree at Red Robin.

Dish 1: pico de gallo grilled chicken breast

First off, I made fresh pico de gallo. It was the first time I've ever made salsa, and everything was to taste. Here's a rough recipe:

• 2 off-the-vine tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• lime juice from 1 lime
• cilantro to taste

Mix everything together and enjoy!

After that was done I sprinkled two chicken breasts with chili powder and cumin and grilled them on my George Foreman grill, which literally takes about five minutes. I cooked a box of Spanish rice as a side dish, and served the chicken breast with pico de gallo over the top, crushed tortilla chips, and extra lime juice.


Dish 2: beef taco salad

My mom has a friend who raises cows, and every year she buys part of a cow from her. The beef we get is the most delicious I've ever had. This year my mom gave me some ground beef, which I used to make taco salad, and then had in tacos for the next couple of nights.

I cooked the ground beef with half an onion and liberal amounts of chili powder and cumin. When it was done I dished it out on top of a bed of lettuce and added crushed tortilla chips, shredded Monterrey jack cheese, and leftover salsa. I also had leftover Spanish rice.

St. Patrick's Day

This is the first year I've done anything special for St. Patrick's Day. I made the traditional corned beef and soda bread.

The corned beef was a 4lb brisket from Fred Meyer. It barely fit into my crockpot. I cooked it for nine hours with two potatoes, several carrots, and an onion. Most of the pot was filled with Guinness, and I topped it off with water. The meat was delicious and tender, but for some reason the potatoes and onions never fully cooked - I have no idea why.

I got the soda bread recipe from Allrecipes, as usual, and it was amazing. I have to make it again.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces
• 1 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup cranberries
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease 2 baking sheets.
2. Stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl until evenly blended. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or your hands until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Stir in the raisins and cranberries, then make a well in the center and pour in the milk and vinegar. Stir with a spoon until the dry ingredients are moistened.
3. Turn the dough out onto a well floured work surface, and knead gently 8 to 10 times. Divide the dough into two balls, and place onto the prepared baking sheets.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 degrees F, and bake until the top of the bread is golden brown, about 15 minutes more.

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Meat Pie

Several weeks ago now, when the weather was typically Seattle dreary, I decided a warm hearty dinner would be just the thing. I made a meat pie for the first time ever, and it was delicious. I definitely have to make them more often. I even made the pie crust from scratch! I found the recipes for the pie crust and the pie online, and I made some changes to the pie recipe. Next time I make it I'll use three potatoes instead of two.

All-butter pie crust

• 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• 1 cup cold unsalted butter
• 3 to 6 T ice water

Combine flour, salt and water in a medium bowl. I found that it worked best to grate the butter into the bowl with my cheese crater and turn until combined. Sprinkle 6 T of ice water over the mixture and, using a rubber spatula, fold to mix. [Note: I could not get it to mix well enough this way, and ended up having to knead it with my hands to get it to come together]

Flour your hands and rolling pin generously. Divide the dough into two balls and flatten each into a 4-inch disk. Wrap both separately in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour before rolling.

This crust was extremely rich and delicious, and though it cracked at the edges when I rolled it out, I was still able to fit it into my 9'' pie pan.

Savory Meat Pie

Ingredients

• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1/4 lb ground beef
• 1 chicken breast
  
• 3/4 cup sliced green onions
• 1 large carrot, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon celery salt
• Pinch ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup chili sauce
• 1 Pastry for double-crust pie (9 inches)
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon milk

Directions

1. In a saucepan, cook potatoes in boiling water until tender; mash and set aside. Meanwhile, in a skillet, brown the beef; drain. Stir in the next nine ingredients. Simmer for 4-5 minutes. Stir in potatoes, parsley and chili sauce; remove from the heat. Place bottom pastry in a 9-in. pie plate; brush with mustard. Add the meat mixture. Top with remaining pastry; seal and flute edges. Cut slits in the top crust. Brush with milk. Bake at 450 degrees F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F. Bake 25 minutes longer or until golden brown.

The Olympics and cheap TV

Deal of the month: free HD channels for a one-time fee of $12.

Last year I bought a 32'' Vizio HDTV when it went on uber-sale. It's a great TV and up until a few days ago its only purpose was for me to watch DVDs by hooking it up to my laptop; usually Pride and Prejudice (1995) or the Lord of the Rings special features - I like to watch those while I'm cleaning or cooking or doing homework. Cable is in very expensive and it's kind of a temptation I don't want to give in to, even if I had the money; something about having all those channels at the touch of a button makes me feel like if I had cable, I would watch TV way more than I should. I haven't watched much TV in years, and in general, I don't think I'm missing much.

However, during the first week of the winter Olympics I started feeling sad that I was missing out on them. I felt a little too awkward to invite myself over to one of my friends' houses with cable, and anyway I had a paper to write. But it still bothered me. Enter a $12 antenna from Best Buy, and now I get all the network channels for free, in HD! I know this isn't a revelation, but that was definitely $12 well spent! I've been happily watching the Olympics since. And it's nice to know that if I want, in the morning I can turn on the news to check the weather instead of using the internet. As a plus, if I ever take up learning Spanish or Chinese, I get three Spanish channels and one Chinese channel (which so far has only seemed to show crazy game shows).

Where I've been this weekend

The happiest place on Earth!

Walnut Bread

Today I used one of my favorite recipes and made walnut bread. I found the recipe years ago on Redwall.net, and I've made it many times since then. It's a sweet bread, but it's not too sweet, and it's always wonderfully moist. The original recipe called for 1/4 cup shortening, but I always use apple sauce instead.

Nutbread

• 2 c flour
• ¾ tsp salt
• ¾ c sugar
• ¾ c milk
• ¾ c nuts
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ c apple sauce
• 2 eggs

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Cream sugar and apple sauce. Beat eggs and add to mixture. Add milk and flour mixture. Grease and line pan. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees. Makes 1 loaf.

Financial Reflections and Goals for 2010

I'm approaching the end of my first year of keeping a budget! I'm proud of this accomplishment, but I have so much farther to go before I'll be where I want to be in the struggle between controlling my money and having it control me. So before I start in on the negatives, here's what I'm proud of from the last year:

• I actually stuck with it! Every few days, for the last year, I've gone over my statements and transferred everything into my meticulous budget spreadsheet. Now it's habit.
• I got in the habit of saving. Except for a few months where I was too cash-strapped, I've been putting away $100 or $200 each month toward going to Italy. After that trip I plan to continue saving. Saving makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
• Contrary to my fears, now that I can look at the whole year in review, most of my budget slip-ups weren't from profligate eating out expenses or other small expenses - it was because every few months I made a pretty major purchase - a computer, a TV, birthday/Christmas gifts, a mattress (I couldn't avoid that last one, but still). Luckily resisting big-ticket impulse spending is fairly easy. I'm now entrenched in a stubborn "I'm poor" attitude.
• I'm getting a lot better at cooking and making use of what's in my kitchen. My diet has definitely improved.
  

And now for the negatives...

• Try as I might, this year I just kept getting poorer. After the summer I quit my tutoring job, because it's very hard to be a full-time student with two part-time jobs. Then financial aid kept decreasing in conjunction with tuition going up 14%, culminating with this quarter where suddenly I had to start paying out of pocket for books and $100 of tuition. Yikes. I'm trying to get out of here with as few loans as possible, but I definitely need to plan for this next year. The situation will likely get worse.
  
• I suck at not eating out. Lunch isn't the offender - I'm very good at either bringing it or going hungry. It's going out to dinner with friends. The answer obviously isn't to become a recluse, so the most likely way to deal with this cost is to trim spending elsewhere. I already order the cheapest things on menus and don't get drinks.
• In general, I need to think long and hard about whether I need something or just want it before I buy. This has been getting easier in the last couple months: I rarely go to places where I have the opportunity to buy things. Mostly I just go to the grocery store. When I did my Christmas shopping yesterday I almost felt empowered; passing chic clothes, handbags, and all sorts of baubles, I thought, "I don't need you! I already have everything I need to make me happy!"

Goals for 2010

The most obvious goal is: don't spend more than you make in one month. For several months in 2009 I bankrupted myself by using September's first paycheck to pay off the rest of August's expenses. Naively I thought I could get by on one paycheck for September, and when I couldn't, the cycle continued.

Not anymore. I want to start 2010 with a clean slate, which means spending this month living on one paycheck - for real. Luckily, I'll be going home at the end of the week, so I won't have to worry about food/gas/electricity and all of the uncertain expenses of living on your own. Unfortunately, this month is also December. Because my family is awesome and supports me so much, they deserve Christmas presents. But in order to start off 2010 clean, I gave myself a budget of $50 for all of my Christmas shopping this year. Here's how it worked out:

• Every few months I get a free $25 amazon gift card as a perk for using their credit card. I saved the latest one and used it to buy presents for my dad, stepmom and boyfriend. Score!
• My mom, stepdad and sister came to a grand total of $54, but to help offset this I sold some old textbooks today and got $36 back! Yes!
• Everyone else will be getting yummy and lovingly-wrapped baked goods.
  

Besides this Christmas spending, I've tried to absolutely reduce all non-necessary spending to zero this month. The one slip-up came when I took on an extra shift at work in the middle of the day - I hadn't brought anything in for dinner because I thought I would be home, so I bought something because I was starving. But, I'm on track to start the new year in the green.

One thing that this month has taught me so far is that it's really not all that hard to not spend. There's enough food in my kitchen to last a couple weeks. After about a week I wouldn't be eating fresh vegetables or fruit anymore, but my nutrition wouldn't take a very big hit. It just takes meal planning creativity and getting myself up off the couch. Last night I made homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese, which definitely hit the spot on a cold and dreary Seattle night.

So besides actually living within my means, here are some other financial goals for next year:

For about a year I've been saving up to go to Italy with my parents this summer. Once that trip is over, I want to keep saving monthly:

- Build a $500 emergency fund. Within five months at the latest (putting away $100/month) I want to have $500 in the bank to be used in case of emergencies: unexpected car costs, health costs, and other unforeseen and unplanned emergencies.

- Keep a $200 fund for recurring expenses. Keep $200 set aside at all times for recurring expenses throughout the year: textbooks, out-of-pocket tuition expenses, and gifts. This way these expenses won't take me by surprise and bankrupt me ($200 is a lot when you make just under $8,000 a year!).

- Don't make a large purchase until all of it has been saved. This one is probably a no-brainer, but unfortunately I need to make it a rule. Last year I was saving $3- or $400 for a TV and caved to purchase a great deal when I was still $100 short. While it's been a great TV, ultimately I don't need a TV and I'm a little ashamed that not waiting until I had all the money ready meant that I had to do some scrambling to cover that $100 I didn't wait for.

My usual method for saving for fun things (like the TV, or things like a weekend trip to Victoria) is to take 10% off each paycheck and put it in savings. This is a small enough number that I can manage its loss, but it still adds up relatively quickly. The amount of time it takes to save for something also has the added benefit of helping me realize if I really want it or not. Of course, sometimes I just sabotage all my well-thought-out plans. But I'm determined to learn from my mistakes.

A Christmas tree decorating party

Photo by Matt Wei

Though I live in a small apartment in Seattle, I was determined to put up a Christmas tree this year. My family has a 'spare' fake tree that my mom let me use, along with a box of lights and ornaments that we haven't used in years. It was the perfect opportunity to bake lots of cookies and invite friends over last weekend to decorate.

I spent Saturday baking: gingerbread men, chocolate chip walnut cookies, peanut butter hershey's kiss cookies... I bought store-bought sugar cookie dough because there just wasn't enough time. I cut the cookie dough into bells, trees, stars, and snowmen for everyone to decorate with colored frosting.

Photo by Matt Wei

Since I don't have a rolling pin, I used the next best thing: a wine bottle! After a thorough scrubbing it worked quite well.


My friend Katie brought her famous Santa cookies and homemade frosting. After eating one of these cookies you'll very likely go into a sugar coma and be unable to consume anything else for about a half hour. But they're delicious.
It was a great night. We decorated cookies, ate pizza, drank spiced cider, watched A Christmas Story, and, of course, decorated the tree.

Photo by Matt Wei's handy 10-second timer

And the tree!

Filet Mignon

Last Friday I made dinner for my boyfriend's birthday and invited two of our best friends over to help celebrate. I decided to pull out the stops and make something that we could never afford out: bacon-wrapped filet mignon. I was so busy preparing for dinner and having so much fun when we were eating it that I completely forgot to take pictures, which is a shame, because it was beautiful and delicious!

My first-ever dinner party was a success, I'm happy to say. On the menu was bacon-wrapped filet mignon, cooked to medium-rare perfection thanks to the handy meat thermometer I got off Amazon (I'm far too paranoid to cook meat to anything but well done without one). I also made rosemary-garlic red potatoes and steamed asparagus. Our friends brought a 2002 Merlot and we drank the rest of the red zinfandel that I used in the sauce. For dessert I bought a box of Ghiradelli walnut brownie mix (delicious!) and served it with fresh raspberries on the side.

The hardest part was timing everything so it was all done when they arrived, especially since almost everything had to go in the oven at different temperatures. The potatoes could have cooked a little longer, but everyone said they tasted great. I was pretty nervous and jittery while cooking the filets - I almost never cook beef - but I'm sure with practice it'll get easier. Although the presentation on the filets wasn't the best (some of the bacon was falling off), they tasted great.

Cost

I bought everything except the wine at QFC.

4 ~8oz filet mignon: $37.60
4 slices of bacon: $1.40
Red zinfandel: $8.49
2 T shallots: less than $0.50
6 red potatoes: $1.71
2 cloves garlic: $0.26
1/2 onion: $0.63
Rosemary and olive oil is negligible, and I had both already.

Ghiradelli brownie mix: $1.99
Raspberries: $6.99

For a total of $59.57 for four people, or about $14.89 a plate! While this is certainly not a meal I can afford to make every month, it was a great special occasion meal and muuuch cheaper than buying it at a restaurant.

And now for the recipes!

Pan Seared Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon in Red Wine Reduction Sauce

• 4 filet mignons wrapped in bacon (6 or 8oz each)
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots (or to taste)
• 3/4 cup red wine (I used a red zinfandel)
  

Sprinkle steaks with a combination of garlic powder and ground pepper. Pat into steaks and let the steaks sit covered and unrefrigerated for approximately 1 hour.
Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat; turn oven to 375 degrees F. Add 2 tablespoons butter and let foam. Add the steaks and cook for 4 minutes per side. You should get a nice sear on each side. Remove the steaks and put them in the oven on an oven proof platter or casserole dish.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining butter. Once melted, add the shallots and cook for about 1 minute until they soften, then add the wine and thyme. Raise the heat to high and let most of the sauce bubble away. Reduce heat to low.
Cook the steaks about 8-10 minutes. When the steaks are close to cooked - 140 degrees F at their thickest point - remove the steaks from the oven and let sit for 2 minutes. Toss the steak in the pan with the sauce, and then serve with a coating of the red wine sauce.

Rosemary garlic potatoes

• 6 red potatoes, quartered
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• rosemary to taste
  

Combine ingredients in a gallon-sized ziplock bag and shake until potatoes are evenly coated. Cook potatoes for 30-40 minutes at 425 degrees F or until outsides are golden brown.

A Halloween Murder Mystery Party

Who says hosting a dinner party has to break the bank? I certainly don't!

For Halloween this year my friend Katie and I decided to throw a murder mystery party. We began planning for it in... oh, August. She decided to take care of the housing and the actual dinner, and I would take care of the murder mystery. I researched online for a few days but couldn't find anything for free. I wasn't about to pay $60 to buy someone else's party, so I decided to write my own. It's actually wonderfully fun and a good exercise for a creative writing major.

Writing your own murder mystery party takes a lot of time and planning, but can be really rewarding! Here are some tips for writing your own:

• Choose your theme! The possibilities are limitless: Hollywood glam, pirates, Jane Austen... we chose to do a Halloween-themed 1940s murder mystery.
• Look at murder mystery kits online. Many of them provide party samples and character descriptions. They'll also help you familiarize yourself with murder mystery party formats.
• Decide on your party size and guest-list. It's a lot easier to plan your guest list in advance. You'll have to make up each character, and it can be helpful to pair guests with a certain character personality at the get-go. As you can imagine, the smaller the party the easier it will be to create fully-fleshed characters. For our party we had ten characters.
• Start by writing a party premise. What happens leading up to the murder? Here's ours: 

Hollywood Actress Jean Heather is throwing a dinner party to celebrate her newly released film Double Indemnity, and you’re invited! Not long into the party, Jean realizes she forgot to buy mint for the mojitos! Jean's fiancé, Harold, runs down to the grocer's to buy some, but he never returns. Eventually Jean gets worried and goes to look for him - and finds him sprawled in the lobby. While waiting for the police to arrive, the guests start to wonder if foul play was involved, and if one of the guests themselves could be the culprit…

•  Now you'll need to create the characters, decide on whodunnit (and why and how), and plan the order of events.
• After you're done with all the writing, it's time to create an invitation! (Or, if you're not the creative type, ask a friend who is)

• In addition to the invitations, there are of course more things that need to be printed out: character descriptions, objectives, the evidence, nametags, and the solution to be read out at the end of the party.

The name tags and objective (A) envelopes waiting for everyone at the start of the party.

• And finally, think about printing off awards to give to the guests who guess the murderer correctly, best actor/actress, and best costume!

While I was busy writing the murder mystery, Katie was busy planning the menu. She wanted a fall menu since it was Halloween, and I have to gratuitously include it, because it was amazing: there was hard cider and red wine to drink, then arugula salad with pecorino and toasted pine nuts, crushed red potatoes, and pork medallions with sage and mustard sauce. For dessert she made chocolate hazelnut brownies with vanilla ice cream, and I made pear apple crisp with pine nuts.

If the cost of dinner would be prohibitive, you could ask each guest to bring a dinner dish (or at least a bottle of wine). Our group of friends rotates hostess duties, so at the end of the day we all come out pretty much even.

Happy partying!

Hotroot Soup

When I was a kid, the Redwall books by Brian Jacques were one of my favorite series (in addition to Harry Potter). The stories take place in a world inhabited by talking animals - mice, hedgehogs, squirrels, moles, otters, hares, and badgers were among the "good guys," and stoats, weasels, rats, foxes, and cats were among the "bad guys." Each book featured clashes of good against evil (where good always triumphed, of course), coming-of-age tales, and lots and lots of descriptions of feasts and food. I always salivated while reading them. Over the years my friends and I experimented with Redwall cuisine: when I was in high school we had a "Redwall feast" featuring "Deeper'n Ever Turnip'n'Tater'n'Beetroot pie," (a mole specialty) "Daynurr's Zoop," (an original creation) strawberry scones, nutbread (still one of my favorite bread recipes), and sparkling cider.

Our Redwall feast

But my favorite Redwall dish is Hotroot Soup. This was the otters' specialty, and it is supposed to be very spicy. I can't handle spice too well, so I put in as much as I can handle. Here is my hotroot soup recipe, adapted from a recipe on redwall.net: (Edit: I made this again on 11/16 and have updated the recipe)

Hotroot Soup

• 1lb cooked shrimp
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes (or fresh, naturally)
• 1 15oz. can corn
  
• 2 tsp basil
• cayenne pepper and chili powder to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 cups water
• Vegetable bullion
  
• 1 cup brown rice

In a pot or rice cooker, cook 1 cup of brown rice (should yield about three cups cooked). In a large pot, add 3 cups water and vegetable bullion and set on high. Coat a skillet with olive oil. Salt and pepper the oil, then add onion, red pepper, celery, and spices and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until tender. Pour into boiling broth and stir in tomatoes, corn, and basil. Mix in the shrimp. Cover and simmer 30-40 minutes. Add cooked rice, mix well, and cook another 5 minutes to heat through. Makes about six servings.

Fall baking

For me fall isn't complete without the smell of goods baking in the oven. On Wednesday I made oatmeal butterscotch and chocolate chip cookies, and on Thursday I made pumpkin bread. They both turned out great!

The pumpkin bread is amazingly moist, and though the recipe said to use three loaf pans, I only have two, so I made it work. I had to cook them about fifteen minutes longer to make up for the fact that there was more batter in each pan.

Here is the recipe, from Allrecipes.com:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 3 cups white sugar
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
3. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Now I've got enough sweet things to keep me happy for awhile :)