Fiddle-Dee-Dee, Said Scarlett

Whoot, spent the last hour getting caught up on tags! I've been a bit preoccupied with Behind The Scenes things these last few days and kind of failed at that. But Chaos is settled and going smoothly - I'll be posting more on that in its own entry - and the Other Thing I'm working on might be done a lot sooner than I'd thought.... Still having a ton of fun at rapturereborn! Eddie and Reno get along pretty much exactly as was predicted. :D

I need to update my LJ user info.

It's the day before grocery shopping day, which means supplies are down. And I'm going to be cleaning out the fridge as soon as I can convince my body it wants to get off the couch. :D Lunch is a mystery! ;)

I found an amazing rice pudding recipe yesterday that I want to share with you all:

Lychee coconut rice pudding:

* 1 lb fresh lychees, peeled, pitted and torn into pieces (can substitute canned lychees)
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
* 1 1/2 cups short-grain brown rice
* 2 cans coconut milk (400ml each)
* 3 cups milk (low-fat or whole)
* 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
* 1/2 tsp ground ginger
* 1/4 tsp salt
* dusting of cinnamon (optional)

Mix the lychee pieces with the sugar in a bowl. Let sit about 1/2 hour, stirring occasionally. The sugar will draw the juices out of the fruit and create a syrup, which you'll add to the cooking rice. (If you're using canned lychees, open the can and drain the fruit, reserving the juice.)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until brown and fragrant, about 10-15 minutes. Set aside.

In a saucepan, combine the rice, coconut milk, milk, brown sugar, ginger, salt, and the syrup from the lychees. Bring to a simmer and cook gently, uncovered, until the rice is very tender, at least 90 minutes. There should always be liquid covering the rice - if the mixture starts to look at all dry, add more milk or some water. You want it like soup. When the rice is tender, stir in the chopped lychees and the toasted coconut, remove from the heat, and cool. Chill in the refrigerator at least four hours before serving.

Serve sprinkled with cinnamon, or with more toasted coconut if you have it.

Lychee coconut rice pudding, close up

Fridge is cleaned out.

Dishes are done.

SomeTrash has been taken out.

RPs are posted to.

Bean dip is made.

Internet is fixed! (For the moment, at least, and through no doing of my own.)

So why the hell do I still feel like I've done essentially nothing today? Ah well.

Made homemade pizza last night that came out quite good. It's a simple, quick, honey and garlic herb dough:

1 packet Quick Rise dry yeast
1 cup warm water
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp honey
2 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp garlic powder (no salt)
1/2 tsp onion powder (no salt)
1/2 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Basil


Mix yeast and water in a glass bowl. Add other ingredients and mix well by hand. Let sit in bowl 5-10 minutes, covered by towel. Flatten on a greased pan. Add your toppings! I just did a mild, smooth pizza sauce and a blend of cheese. Bake at 450 degrees for about 12-15 minutes.

I served it with Garlic Mediterranean Dipping sauce, which complimented it quite nicely.

The Monte Cristo, in my opinion, is one of the royal members of the sandwich family. I'm still not sure how these ingredients come together to taste as good as they do, but stranger things have happened. It is one of my favorite sandwiches, and one that can be difficult to replicate perfectly at home, depending on your cooking equipment.

This is a simple recipe for a Monte Cristo sandwich.

Ingredients:

Sliced ham
Sliced turkey
Four pieces swiss cheese
Egg
Milk
Cinnamon
Vanilla
Powdered sugar
Blackberry jam (or strawberry, if you don't have blackberry)
Two slices of bread

Mix the egg, milk and vanilla together to make a french toast batter. Butter your pan and soak the bread in the mixture, then place in pan. Once you flip it the first time, place two slices of swiss cheese on the top side of the french toast so it melts as the french toast browns on the other side. Repeat this with the other piece of bread. Add your ham to one piece of bread and cheese, the turkey to the other. Combine to make a sandwich! Sprinkle with powdered sugar and cinnamon, and add a dollop of jam on top.

To those who have never had this sandwich before, I know what you're thinking. "Meat...sugar...and jam?". But believe me, it's absolutely delicious. A lot of people also use clotted cream instead of the jam, but I have no access to clotted cream. Which is sadness, because I've a wonderful recipe for scones I'd love to try.

Okay, sorry to spam you all, but!

One, I made cheese soup (and garlic cheddar biscuits) for our big meal today, and thought I'd share the simple, tasty recipe!

2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
As much cheese as you want, shredded, any type. I use about two cups of a blend of cheddar, swiss and colby. With Parmesan on top.
Salt
pepper
Galric powder

Bring the chicken broth to a boil. Let simmer. Mix flour, milk and dry ingredients in a bowl. Add slowly to the chicken stock. Bring to just bubbling, add cheese, stir until melted. Remove from heat and serve!

It's nummy with bread of any sort - breadsticks, biscuits, garlic bread, whatever. easy, quick, and deliciously filling!

SECOND!

I HAVE STARTED MY OKTOBERFEST FIC! 100 WHOLE WORDS! GO ME!

1 1/2 teaspoon yeast
2/4 teaspoon brown sugar
3/4 cups hot water
1 egg
2 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon salt
3 or more cups flour - one half white, one half whole wheat

Dissolve the sugar and yeast in the water, allow to sit for fifteen minutes. Beat egg, add oil. Add oil and egg to yeast mixture. Stir in the salt and start beating in flour a little bit at a time cup at a time until dough is dry and doesn't stick to your hands. Knead for five to ten minutes, place in lightly oiled bowl, cover and allow to rise for 2 hours.

Roll dough and divide into rounds of about four or five inches and relatively thick so they won't fall apart when you fold and press them. Fill with filling, fold over into a half circle, brush with melted butter and bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

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I like ham and cheese, beef and cheese, and chicken and herbs for the fillings. But really, you can stuff them with anything.