BAH HUMBLOG!

Even when you take two or three weeks off  from classes, you can still call yourself a full-time student, right?  So the same should go for blogging.  Well, I have 'started a new semester', so to speak, and am now back to my regular blogging schedule.

I couldn't get focused during the holidays, and it was all I could do to get a bit of decorating done, however slight.  This year, WE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A CHRISTMAS TREE!!!!  I just strung a few lights around, set up a couple lighted mechanical reindeer in the yard, and did a little cooking, but I really only just wanted to curl up in a chair with some hot tea and crochet the days away!  The market bag I was designing proved to be quite time consuming.  I'm getting it almost done though.  Here it is in it's crude form, with end strings still dangling and the base is all rippled.  I will possibly remedy that with a strip of leather reinforcement.  My idea is to find the right size leather belt from a thrift store, but it has to be exactly the right size and color.

I still plan to attach a buckle on that tab/band that extends out at both of the bottom corners.  Those will attach to side straps and can be cinched up however much I desire, depending on how rounded I want the overall shape to get, or it can be let out if I have something square and boxy to pack, such as a binder or album.  I also have a long shoulder strap in the works, which can be easily clipped on or removed.

With a bigger section of the crochet done, you can see the pattern much easier.  The grids of both colors are independent of each other and they may shift around a little, but they can't go far, as they are inter-woven and that stops them.  A little higher up on the bags shows a slightly tighter version of this same weave, and then the rim is made with several rows of single crochet stitches to support the handles better.

I'm not sure when I'll get the chance to run into Austin for some brass buckles, D-rings, clips, etc.... but I do have most of the straps crocheted.  In the photo above, you can see the small holes I worked in for the buckle prong to be inserted.  I can't really easily describe the way all these pieces will go together, but I can show you in the next couple of weeks (or years!), whenever I get it finished.  (I won't bore you with my new year's resolution of finishing old projects before I start new ones, but I'm sure you'll agree I'm exempt from it if I am held up because of waiting for a particular material, tool, piece, finding, or other ingredient!)

So, since that can't be shown off in its final form, how about a complete recipe?  I devised a spread a few days ago that reminded me of hummus, though it had little in common with true hummus.  It was very delicious, and I'm calling it 'yummus'!

Yummus Spread

6 hard-boiled eggs, roughly chopped

about 12 small carrots, likewise chopped

about 4 ounces of cheddar cheese, cubed (I used sharp white)

Puree these three ingredients together in a food processor, and then you can add any number of seasonings and flavors that appeal to you.  In my case, I felt it needed some water, as it was too thick and dry, and then I added a lot of garlic powder, some salt and pepper, onion powder, a pinch of jalapeño powder, and a few drops of sesame oil.

Granted, it doesn't look all that great, but it tasted amazing on a toasted baguette with some fresh spinach leaves and chopped onion!  "Bah YUMblog!"

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Have you purchased truffles lately? Not the chocolate kind, but the edible subterranean fungus. Truffles are neck and neck with the price of silver, which today, just happens to have dropped to $28 per ounce after having recently hit $30.




So, as you can imagine, this ingredient isn't one to be taken lightly or squandered in any way. I have eaten truffles in egg dishes and on pasta, but my favorite use of the truffle is to incorporate it with brie cheese in a pastry. Calling what I'm about to share a 'recipe' is an overstatement. All you really need are guidelines to create your own impressive appetizer.

The short version is: slice a brie round horizontally in half, spread your choice of filling, replace top, wrap in thawed puff pasty, bake. Nothing to it. I chose to use truffles in my filling, but the beauty of this is that you can insert whatever ingredients you like. Typically, you would use one or two large brie rounds. However, I found some personal sized, mini brie rounds and thought they would be easier to share at a party.

For the filling, carmelize about half a small onion, minced, in a tablespoon of unsalted butter. Let it drain on a paper towel.

Mix onion with a couple tablespoons of softened cream cheese and about a half an ounce of black truffle, minced finely.

I am using Oregon Black Truffles from Alpine Harvest that I purchased at Whole Foods.
Spread the filling in between the brie pieces, fitting them back together like sandwiches.

I used about a heaping teaspoon of pastry on each piece of brie. This quantity of filling should be adequate for one 5-6 inch brie round or about 9 or 10 small ones like I've made here.

Place each brie on a circle of softened puff pastry, large enough to come up the sides of the brie where it can be pinched to another smaller round of pastry dough placed on top. This creates a 'seam' all around the top edge. I pinched and re-pinched this seam, as I've had it split open in the past. A little beaten raw egg helps it stick together, though too much and it gets slippery and doesn't hold. This time, I also inverted the pastries when baking, tucking the seam somewhat underneath. At this point, you can decorate it with scraps of pastry dough, or leave it plain. Brush all the top areas with beaten egg, being careful not to let egg touch the sides of any cutouts. Egg would 'glue' them tight and prevent them from expanding and puffing as they should. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown. (I usually bake on a Silpat sheet or line the baking sheet with foil for these.) Let sit about 10-15 minutes after removing from oven. Set them out with crackers, toasted baguette pieces, or just by themselves.

If you serve these at your next dinner party, you're bound to get rave reviews.

You can bank on it!