link-o-rama

My google reader has given up, and now just says "1000+." My goals for today are, 1) go hiking and see some beautiful wildflowers, 2) clean the house a smidge, and 3) 0 unread items. Woohoo! Here we go!

I figured as long as I was filtering through my rss feed, I might as well share the highlights with you. Here's what caught my eye:

Frozen rhubarb and banana charlottes, by Tartelette, via Tastespotting. I am a-MAZED by how adorable these are. And I don't like rhubarb, or banana desserts! Seriously, you have to go see them. They have a BOW.

Vegetarian Kofta, by Cookworm, via Tastespotting. I had no clue what Kofta was until I read this, but the vegetarian version has lentils, and I'm still trying to figure out how to make lentils that I love. I think this will go on my list o' things to try. It's a big list.

Asian Black Pearl Layer Cake with Ginger, Wasabi and Black Sesame Seeds, by Pretty Tasty Cakes, via Tastespotting. It's tempting! I'm normally all about the straight-up chocolate, but all the spiced chocolate I've had has been pretty spectacular. I'm hesitant about using wasabi -- for some reason, I think I'd be more comfortable entering the spicy-chocolate world with some good old chili peppers. But if I'm ever braver, I'll totally give this a shot. (The charlottes up above? Those are just going to be admired from a comfortable distance.)

Garlic Knots, by Cast Sugar, via Tastespotting -- I need to make these the next time I make pizza. I need to have a huge, carb-happy Italian dinner party with pasta and pizza and really good bread and an excellent salad and these things. Confession? Those cheesy pizza-strips that you can buy from cheapo pizza joints are one of my favorite things ever. I think they're pretty gross, but they're still so good. And these look like they are the platonic ideal that those pathetic, limp little mozzerella-covered sticks are aiming for. Long story short, I am cooking these suckers.

My Modern Gingerbread House, via Tastespotting. My sister and I have made a gingerbread house (or castle) every Christmas for the last couple of years. It's a pretty fantastically fun thing to do. But this? This is amazing. Midcentury modern -- and because I've been reading the Homes section of the paper and those butterfly roofs and mid-century ranch styles are very popular around here, I actually sort of get it.

Bread to die for -- Pane di Prato, at A Life (Time) of Cooking, via Tastespotting. Another bread recipe! Woohoo! Sadly, I have had to put french bread city off for a while, as I am still unable to find somewhere I can buy yeast for less than $34/lb. I know it is cheaper if you buy it in bulk, but damned if I can find a store that will let me! And I don't want to spring for another 4-ounce bottle knowing that it will be gone in no time. I will try again, hopefully with more luck, next weekend. Alas. Anyway, this bread looked yummy, and that is all.

Traditional Hummous, at The Gluten-Free Hippie, via Tastespotting. I really want to make my own hummus. I haven't yet, because I'm the only one who eats it and I don't want it to go bad, and so far I can't think of anything else I'd use the tahini for -- but I would like to. And this reminded me of it. Mm. Look at that.

How To Make Roasted Garlic Oil in 3 Easy Steps, at 64 sq ft kitchen, via Tastespotting. I love garlic! Also...

Nigella's Sesame Peanut Noodles, at What Did You Eat?, via Tastespotting, totally calls for garlic-infused oil. Sounds like fate talking to me!

Also, I read ANOTHER solid endorsement of Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. I need to bake THAT, too! Damn! What am I doing, sitting around reading blogs instead of tracking down cheaper yeast and getting my hands floury? I've spent almost 20 years of my life not baking, how am I ever going to catch up with all the delicious things I need to be making??

A Slice of Spring, at La Tartine Gourmande, via Tastespotting, features red currant and almond tea cakes with lemongrass and poppyseeds. They look delicious. I want them with my afternoon tea right. this. moment.

Wow. This is taking forever. I'm going to have to start talking less!

Not Your Grandma's Palmeritas, at From Argentina With Love, via Tastespotting. I'm in love with Argentina, thanks to a fellow named Jorge Borges, and am totally psyched about this site now that I've discovered it. These kinds of pastries aren't my thing -- but if they're yours, check out the recipe. Storebought puff pastry plus a little bit of time equals delicious, apparently.

Chocolate Nemesis Cake, at One for the Table, via Tastespotting. I've had a cake called Chocolate Nemesis before, but it was at the Artful Dodger, where they changed the name of their delicious chocolate cake every couple of weeks for a while, and the recipe remained delightfully intact. Chocolate Vengeance, Chocolate Betrayal... I can't remember any of them now. That was a good cake, though. This is... flourless. I have not yet had any luck with flourless chocolate cake. Maybe someday.

Smoky Refried Bean Soup, at Fatfree Vegan Kitchen, via Tastespotting. Sounds simple and delightful. Even if it is fat-free. I'd fix that by adding oil at the beginning, and cheese at the end. NOW we're talking.

And here's another recipe for tortillas, this one calling for letting the dough sit for twice as long as I have been. Maybe that will help me out.

Garlic Soba Noodles Recipe, at 101 Cookbooks, via Tastespotting, sounds good, but it's their tofu recipe that's hooked me. CHEESE-covered tofu. That's brilliant! Why haven't I thought of that before? Oh man. That's totally going to be part of a dinner coming soon to a kitchen table near me.

Chocolate Pull-Apart Sticky Buns, at Little Corner of Mine, look like tasty, healthier, chocolate versions of monkey bread. The real reason to visit that post is to read the comments -- so many people asking, "what are biscuits?" and "what are HOMESTYLE biscuits?" and, "wait, biscuits come in a CAN in the states??" I know. I think that biscuits in a can are kind of strange, too. But trust me on this one -- they are pretty darn delicious. And as I am anti-packaged foods, that hurts for me to say.

That's it. I am DONE with things catching my eye! I will be more discerning from now on, I swear!

Mini Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Buns, at fact or fiction? you decide, via Tastespotting. Pretty much adorable, and very seasonal. I will think about observing Easter with them.

Broccolini, Morel and Campari Tomato Pizzetta, at Julie's Kitchen, via Tastespotting. Also adorable! Okay, so I don't know what any of those ingredients are, except for "tomato" -- I've heard of morels before, but, um, I'm not entirely sure what they are, and I know that Broccolini (like Broccoli Rabe) is not actually broccoli, but other than that? I haven't a clue. But that's okay. Because I know that a pizzetta is a little bitty pizza, and that is ADORABLE. (P.S., I did actually read the post and morels are mushrooms and campari tomatoes are a kind of tomato, and wikipedia says broccolini is PRETTY MUCH broccoli, but different. I just didn't want you thinking I was all, "hur hur hur, broccolini and morel and campari tomatoes, delicious combination, the campari really merges well with the morelness and anti-broccoletta!" and pretending like I knew what I was talking about. Because I really don't know any of this stuff. And I thought "campari" was one thing and "tomato" another. Oops.)

Better than Sex Cupcakes, at Cupcake Project, via tastespotting. WOW. That is all I can say. Because these are dark chocolate cupcakes with chocolate chips and a chocolate mousse filling and a dark chocolate ganache and white chocolate on top and I just DIED.

Poached Pears at Cookbook Catchall, via tastespotting, just look absolutely delicious.

Okay. That got me through Tastespotting and about 600 posts. 21 out of 600 -- I culled out the top 3.5% of those posts for you. Aren't you glad I'm doing your legwork? Unless you eat meat, of course, in which case you'll have to do it yourself. It is very nice to be able to bypass anything meaty -- makes decision-making in restaurants much easier, as well as hastening my trip through tastespotting.

Moving on...

Brownie Fudge Tart at Almond Corner: oh my goodness. I won't make this one, because the metric system makes me uncomfortable yet and also I'm not so sure about the cream cheese, but a brownie pie does sound like pretty much the best thing ever.

Honey-glazed Roasted Carrots, Simon-style at Cheap Healthy Good... maybe the boy will eat carrots with his dinner if I cook them like this. Ya think?

I cheated and read a little bit of slashfood... but there's this awesome little story about how some eighth-graders protested their short lunch period by paying for their lunches in only pennies. How totally awesome is that? Way to go, punks!

Baked Apples, at Cheap Healthy Good... like the best part of an apple pie, without all the work. Yeah. Totally on the list.

Potato Gnocchi at Cheap Healthy Good (yeah, that's a particularly good blog... check it out) I have been wanting to make gnocchi for a while, but my one and only attempt at making pasta was disheartening enough that I am going to do a lot more research before I tackle it again. I consider this article phase one of that research.

Cucumber Sandwiches with Dill and Creme Fraiche, at Gourmet Girl. I absolutely love taking tea. It is one of my favorite things ever. And I hate hate hate white bread, but this... makes me consider maybe buying some. Just a little! And she's going to do a whole SERIES of tea sandwich posts. I am psyched!

Ode to my Bench Knife at JoyTheBaker. And now I want one!

Cinnamon Rolls at JoyTheBaker -- I've tried making cinnamon rolls twice, and they've been delicious each time, if I do say so myself... but they haven't been good. They've been delicious mostly because it's hard to go wrong with loads of sugar and cinnamon, but the dough itself hasn't turned out lovely and tall and flaky like I've been going for. This recipe looks a bit different. Maybe I'll give it a try.

Falafel mix at The Perfect Pantry... my world has just been turned upside down. Lydia at The Perfect Pantry says falafel is better when made from a mix. What do I do???


Whoo! All done! I won't be cooking for a little while -- Andrew's girlfriend was in town, so he cooked for us all last night and tonight we tried to get Peruvian food, but it was closed, so we wound up at this awesome little Thai place. Somehow William and I ended up with EVERYBODY's leftovers... so we have a lot of great thai food to go through before I start catching the stove on fire again.

Ah well. I guess I'll survive the wait.