Online Bake Sale

We have all been touched by the tragedy in Japan and so many of us have wanted to help but have been at a loss on what to do.   Well, now we have a way to help.  Sabrina from The Tomato Tart has organized an online bake sale.  Over 90 bloggers from all over the world are contributing goods to help raise money including yours truly. All pro­ceeds will be donated to Sec­ond Har­vest Japan, that nation’s first food bank.

I am not a very skilled baker, but there is one thing I can make - Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Actually, they were the first thing I thought of when I decided to participate in the bake sale.

When I lived in Japan I would fly back to the States twice a year to visit friends and family.  I would always ask my Japanese family what they wanted me to bring back and they always said, "Homemade chocolate chip cookies."  Not having an oven in Japan, the only chance I had to make them was when I was back in the States.  The last night before I was returning to Japan I would make up a big batch of chocolate chip cookies to take back with me.  These are completely organic with the best ingredients.  They ship well staying both crispy and chewy.  I am including the basket as well as a little touch of Japan.

So bidding starts at $20 and begins tomorrow morning on 9 am eastern time!  Be sure to check it out at The Tomato Tart!

Older, Wiser & Fatter

Today is my birthday and for the first time in a very long time I am actually excited about it.  I have finally come to terms with the fact that I am getting older.  Of course I have always known I am getting older, but now I am okay with it. I think it really hit me last week when we were celebrating March birthdays at work and I asked the girl next to me what year she was born in and it was the same year I graduated from college.  I am old enough to be her dad!  When did that happen?!!  I don't feel like a dad!  Then I thought, what am I supposed to feel like?  The answer is just the way I do.  I am never going to wake up and suddenly be interested in the stock market or talking about whatever it was I thought people my age should talk about.  I still want to dance around my house, giggling and singing at the top of my lungs; shows like "Glee" and "Gossip Girl" will always be my favorites; I will always see wonder in life; and, I will always sleep with a teddy bear when Joey's not here.  I will always just be me.  A new and better version of me, but still me down deep.

I have learned a lot in my years and for that I am grateful.  Some things came naturally over time, like being happy feels a lot better than being a grouch; and, some things came through a lot of trail and error, like knowing that no matter what my intentions, I am never going to be good at drinking alcohol.  (I can drink it, just like everyone "can" sing - I am just not good at it.) I know I am a lot wiser than I was ten years ago and that I will be even wiser in ten more.  I like the person I have become and am becoming with one glaring exception - I am getting fat.  Not chubby, FAT.

Now, I have nothing against fat per se, but when my big boy pants are starting to get tight, I know there is a problem.  They say, "you are what you eat," and I am becoming a big bean burrito with sour cream and extra cheese.  So, with that in mind, my goal for this year it to lose weight and learn to live a healthy lifestyle. How I am going to do this is up for debate, but however I do, I have decided to make it an adventure.

I am lucky to have Joey with me to take on this journey.  Right now we are weighing our options.  There are a lot of diets out there and everyone has an opinion on what works best.  However, we need to find what works best for us.  For the next couple of weeks Joey and I are going to be looking at different plans and will make our decision by mid-April. I thought this would be a good topic to blog about, so I am happy to say I am waking up Cooking With Sean & Joey to document this journey. I am hoping that I can prove you can always teach an old dog new tricks even an old dog like me.

Lemon Tart

Almost every week Joey brings home lemons from his mother's lemon tree. I hate to see them go bad, but I have been running out of ways to use them.  The other day we were at the Metreon and saw that the Chronicle Book Store was having a closing sale.  Right there was my solution Luscious Lemon Desserts by Lori Longbotham.  Right on the cover was this lemon tart that I just had to make. I usually don't like to bake, but I had a tart pan so I decided to take this one on.  I was an easy recipe to make and turned out amazing despite the fact that my tart pan was 9-inch and the recipe called for an 11-inch.  I didn't notice mine was smaller until I took the shell out of the oven. Ooops! It made the tart a bit more like a huge cooking with lemon filling, but is was still good! I am actually torn between getting the right size pan or continuing with my happy mistake.

The prep for this was pretty easy.  I first made the crust and while it was baking made the filling and had it done by the time the crust came out.  Total prep was probably 35 minutes. For the recipe I used about 6 small lemons, which was perfect for the zest and gave me a little extra lemon juice.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 pinches salt
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup fresh lemon juice (about six small lemons)
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• Powdered sugar for dusting

Special Items

11-inch tart pan (or 9-inch for a thicker crust) with removable bottom

Instructions

Crust

1. Position rack in middle of the oven and preheat to 350°
2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, add 1 Tbsp of the zest and let stand for five minutes.
3. Whisk together flour, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl.
4. Pour in the butter mixture in a fine stream, stirring with a fork.
5. Continue stirring until the dough begins to come together when a small bit is pressed between your fingers.
6. Transfer the mixture to the tart pan and press it with your fingertips evenly up the side and into the bottom.
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until the crust is light golden brown.
8. Let cool on a wire rack while making filling.

Filling

1. Process the remaining 1 cup granulated and the remaining 1 Tbsp lemon zest in a food processor until the zest is finely ground.
2. Whisk together the eggs, the sugar and zest mixture, lemon juice and another pinch of salt in medium bowl until smooth.
3. Beat the heavy cream with an electric mixer on medium-high in a medium bowl just until it forms soft peaks.
4. Whisk the cream into the egg mixture just until blended. 

Baking

1. Place the crust on a baking sheet and place in the oven.
2. Pour the filling into the still warm crust.
3. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes, or until filling is just set in the center.
4. Let the tart cool on a wire rack.
5. Before serving sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Mickaboo

I wanted to talk about something near and dear to my heart.  All my friends know how much Joey and I love our boys.  Each one of them brings us special joy and I can honestly say it's hard to say who is my favorite.  All of them are at one time or another. They all have such different personalities.

Max, our conure (in the back of the photo), is a big baby.  He needs attention like no other, but only on his terms! He can drive me crazy with noise but then looks at me and says, "Hi Baby" and all is forgiven.   We got Max totally by accident on a trip to PetCo.  While I don't really recommend buying birds there, this guy knew exactly how to get Joey and me to take him home.  We knew in a minute that he was meant to be with us.

Ray, in the middle of the photo, was a planned addition to our family. He is a little socialite and adventurer.  He loves nothing more than finding a place to hide, usually a cupboard, and waiting for me to find him. Once in awhile it puts me in a panic, but most of the time it's fun. Ray gets along with almost everyone, well except Mojoe. That is another story!

Mojoe is our newest addition and he is certain he is an eagle. This little guy shows absolutely no fear, which is cute and troubling at the same time. If there is something to get into Mojoe will probably find it. He is a little love, though, and loves to sleep in my hand at night while we watch TV, like in the picture below.

Then there's Billy, our blue lovebird.  We got Billy through Mickaboo Companion Bird Rescue. He was found starving and shivering in someone's backyard and taken to Mickaboo where his foster parent nursed him back to life.  Billy has had the hardest life of any of the birds and it shows. He is very shy and I still can't really touch him.  However, each day he gets a little bolder and he and Ray are best friends. I often look at Billy and wonder what would have happened without Mickaboo.  I actually look at all of my birds and think of how lucky we all are and then I think about all the poor birds that don't have it so lucky.

That's what I am really writing about. Every day Mickaboo helps so many birds in need and gets them to their forever homes, like they did with Billy.  I try to help out Mickaboo in small ways, like by updating their Facebook page and donating when I can.  But it's just a drop in the bucket.  SO......if you feel so inclined, donate to Mickaboo by clicking the link below.  Any amount would make a difference and be greatly appreciated.

Padrón Peppers

Last year Joey and I were out with a couple of friends having a glass of wine on the sidewalk when the restaurant's product truck pulled up and parked there on the street.  One of our friends noticed they had Padrón Peppers and suggested to buy some and try them.  Apparently, they were a great price.  He said all we had to do is fry them up in a little olive oil, add some sea salt and eat them.  Okay, right. Nothing is ever that easy!  We bought some anyway because we were curious and can't resist a bargain even if we don't know what we are buying.

We took them home and, guess what? He was right!  They are delicious and literally all we had to do is heat up some olive oil, throw them in the hot oil and take them out when they start having small while blisters on them.  Then we sprinkled them with a little sea salt and served them with pita bread.  YUM!  We were hooked! However, there was a problem.  We could not find these suckers anywhere! Finally, we found them at the Farmer's Market in the Ferry Building at the Happy Quail Farms Booth.  Now we make special trips just to get these!  They are only in season through the end of the month, so if you see them snatch them up.  You will be hooked, too.

I Want to Be a Farmer

Well, I would at least like to have the pride and passion they do.  It's not just farmers, it's the bakers, cheese makers all the people that sell their goods at the various Farmer's Markets in the area.  A couple weekends ago Joey and I waddled down the the Farmer's Market at the Ferry Building.  It's a good walk for us and we always find some amazing things there to make for dinner. I was so impressed by everyone as they let us sample their amazing food.

First we got some Padrone Peppers from Happy Quail Farms.  If you have not had these they are amazing and not that easy to find.  According to the merchant they are only available through October, so we stocked up since they are good for a week or two.  Next, we got some Salmon Spread from Cap'n Mike's Holy Smoke. I don't know if we were talking to the Cap'n himself, but whoever he was he told us he had just made it that morning and it was delicious.  Right next to the Cap'n was a man from Bodega Goat Farm and he was so proud of the cheeses that he had just made the day before I had to get some.  We got a chive goat cheese that was very light and refreshing.  We wanted just one more cheese for that night and headed over to the folks at Cowgirl Creamery and picked up a ST Pat at their suggestion, which is one of their seasonal cheeses.  It's wrapped with stinging nettles, but obviously doesn't sting.  I think this was Joey's favorite.  As we were getting ready to leave we noticed a guy with these beautiful grapes and he was giving children small bunches.  He seemed so happy with what he was doing we got some of those, too.  In fact, everyone seemed to happy and proud of their work. I really wanted to feel like that.

When we got home I decided to make some sour dough bread.  I still do it in the bread machine, but we both really love it.  When it was done and we set out our spread I was so proud.  I guess I took some of that pride from the market home with me.

Slow Cooker Chicken Adobo

Last weekend I took on my biggest culinary challenge ever.  I decided that I was going to make Adobo for Joey's mom. I have been trying to cook for her lately; and, besides cupcakes, I have not been very successful. I thought maybe I would try something that I knew she would like - Chicken Adobo. However, there was a slight problem - I had never even had Adobo, much less made it! Add to that the fact that I was making it for a native of the Philippines and a fussy one at that!

So off to the internet I went searching for just the right recipe. The problem was I had no idea what the right recipe was. Some recipes I knew were wrong right off the bat. I was pretty sure cooking sherry and coconut milk were not in the mix. Finally, I found one that seemed right enough on Recipezaar. Even better it was a slow cooker version. It turns out Adobo isn't really that hard.  It's just a few ingredients.  The hard part is getting the proportions right. I made a few modifications (not many) and came up with this recipe. So, how did it turn out? Well, Joey loved it, but then again he loves almost everything I make. I really loved it, too. The chicken was amazingly tender and the seasoning was delicious. So, did the mother-in-law like it? Well, she wants me to make it again, so I will take that as a resounding yes!


Ingredients

• 3-4 lbs chicken (preferably with the bones in)
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1 cup water
• 2-3 bay leaves, crumbled
• 2 teaspoons peppercorns (whole)
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons salt (optional, the dish is pretty salty as is.)

Instructions

1. Brown the chicken in a saute pan and transfer to the slow cooker.
2. Saute the onions in the same pan and place over chicken.
3. Combine all the remaining ingredients in a large bowl then pour over the chicken and onions.
4. Allow chicken to marinate for 15 minutes.
5. Cook on high for 3 hours (or you can cook on low for 6)
6. Serve with white rice.

Notes

The recipe recommended to tie the spices in a cheese cloth if you don't want to bite into peppercorns. I didn't mind the peppercorns, but kids might.