Another CSA Post

Boy, this has been the week from hell--I can't even believe I finally made it to Friday. Yesterday was the third to last CSA pickup of the season and it was one of the heaviest! I should have brought stronger bags--every available bag I had was crammed with potatoes, sweet potatoes (so good), cauliflower, celeriac (I've never even seen celeriac before!), onions, butternut squash (yay!), and a giant bag of these carrots. Look at how crazy this one is!


Siamese carrot! I have plans for most of the vegetables already (and definitely going to be using some of these for Thanksgiving next week) but I have no idea what to do with the celeriac. I'm guessing Google or the Joy of Cooking will come to the rescue, though.


And speaking of the CSA, a short while ago I came across this very interesting blog,Grapes and Greens, and specifically this post, all about Deborah's experience with the CSA. I was pretty tickled to recognize the site where I also pick up my veggies (although by the time I make it there, it's dark!). I was even MORE tickled to see the recipe for kale and butternut squash gratin that she had posted--I think at that point, I had two or three weeks worth of kale to use up, and this was an easy, delicious way to use up about a week and a half.

Sorry that this is not the greatest photo--I baked it in a really old, banged up dish which is, um, terribly ugly. So you get a closeup of the squash instead! The sweetness of the squash plays off really nicely against the savoriness of the kale and this is a winner in my book. Please visit Grapes and Greens for this recipe (and other ones that look just as good).

Tonight I am going to go watch Kevin Geeks Out About Dummy Deaths with the lovely Tenebrous Kate & Co.--I've been promised mannequins in peril and death dummy themed cupcakes, so, you know, watch this space. Because who doesn't need more cupcakes in their lives? (Oh, right, me.)

HAVE AN EXCELLENT FRIDAY!

"Totoro" Cream Puffs!

Surely by now you have seen annathered's fantastic step-by-step tutorial on how to make everyone's favorite forest spirit in glorious edible form. If you have not, you absolutely need to go visit her blog and squee at the cuteness. (While you are there you should also check out her amazing Domokun marshmallows.)

(And, doesn't Totoro look like he's running away from the Labbit? I need to photoshop a scream of panic into it.)

Anyway, Mr. Pyota knew a good thing when he saw it and promptly sent the link my way. And with a weekend coming up, I knew what I was going to be doing! The reason I said "Totoro" in my post title is that my puffs are definitely not up to snuff compared with annathered's, but I like to think that if you squint, they bear a slight resemblance to Totoro.


(As an aside, My Neighbor Totoro is one of my favorite movies and if you have not seen it, DO IIIIIT. What are you waiting for! It's so good, trust me. And you'll feel happier at the end of it.)


This is what my puffs looked like after baking but before decorating. I used a half recipe of choux paste from the Joy of Cooking. As this was my first time making choux paste (I know!), I had a bit of trouble piping it out evenly and had to guess at how big to make the shapes. Fortunately I found that going over it with a damp finger to smooth everything out fixed most of the problems, and I was able to reshape some of the ears. Still...no, these do not look like Totoros much.


And here is what happens when you don't read the directions properly and you put the features on BEFORE dusting with green tea powder and powdered sugar. Whoops! Well, let's move on from that, shall we, and talk about filling. I made a small batch of pastry cream and flavored half with vanilla and the other half with about a teaspoon of green tea powder. Actually that turned out to be too much green tea (for only about half a cup of custard), but flavor as you wish! It did ooze out of the cracks of some of my puffs, making some ZombieTotoros.


Someone said to me that they wouldn't be able to eat such cute puffs. That's why there are 10 more living in my freezer, startling me every time I open the freezer door...

Merry Christmas!!!

This post has nothing to do with food, but I just had to show off my awesome new Christmas present, so Totoro and I want to wish everyone happy holidays!

And we did feast royally (lamb for lunch, steamboat for dinner). There, now it is a food post!