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Ask me questions about age. http://www.formspring.me/demeterschild

Semi-philosophical question: Is nudity inherently sexual?

I'm gonna go with yes. There's definitely a biological imperative that pairs genitals with sex. Animals see exposed genitalia as sexual excitement, it's just that most of the time even though they're naked, their genitals aren't really exposed. Since we don't have fur, we need clothes. That said, I think nudity can be desexualized among groups of people who are comfortable with each other.

Ask me anything!

Do you say what's on your mind?

It depends on who I'm talking to.

Ask me anything!

What's your definition of bravery?

I learned about bravery from Mufasa a.k.a. James Earl Jones: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rw45nBcWNbQ&feature=related

Play

Ask me anything!

Making Granola

I ran out of granola yesterday. Instead of buying more, I decided to use that box of oatmeal that no one eats to make some for myself. This recipe is loosely based off the the one from Chow.com.

Granola

- 2 1/2 C Rolled oats

- 1/2 C Sliced almonds

- 3 Tbsp sugar

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- 1/4 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 300 F. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Add:

- 1/3 C Honey/molasses mixture

- 1/4 C canola oil

Stir everything together. Spread evenly on a large baking sheet. Bake for 20-30 min, stirring once or twice. When you pull the granola out of the oven, stir it a bit as it cools, or you'll be left with a large, solid sheet of granola. When it's cooled add:

- 1/2 C dried cranberries.

Store in an air-tight container.

Chicken and Potatoes

Wow. I can't remember the last time I just threw something together and it was this fucking delicious. I mean, sure, when you just wing it, it usually tastes good, but this takes it to a whole new level. I didn't measure anything, so all of the measurements listed here are estimates.

Chicken and Potatoes

1 chicken breast (boneless, skinless)

1/2 Tbsp salt

1/2 Tbsp Old Bay Seasoning

- With a meat tenderizer, pound the chicken breast to about 1/2 inch thick (lacking a meat tenderizer, a juggling club works surprisingly well).

- Rub both sides of the breast with salt and Old Bay. Put chicken in the fridge for half an hour.

2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

1/4 cup white onion, diced

2 Tbsp butter

1 potato, thinly sliced

1/3 cup chicken stock (or broth)

1 Tbsp chicken fat (schmaltz)

2 Tbsp flour

- In a large skillet, melt 1 1/2 Tbsp butter on medium heat.

- Toss in garlic and onion. Cook until onion is translucent and just starting to brown.

- Increase heat to high. Add potatoes, tossing to brown them evenly.

- Pull chicken out of fridge, rinse salt off, pat dry with paper towels.

- Clear a space in the skillet. Add lat bit of butter and chicken. Brown chicken on both sides.

- Add broth, reduce heat to low, let everything simmer for 5-10 min, until chicken and potatoes are cooked.

- In a separate pan, melt schmaltz and slowly add flour to create a roux. Add this to the other pan to thicken the stock into a thick sauce.

- Empty the entire pan onto a plate, accompany with a light salad.

I dare you not to lick your plate clean.

Pickled Eggs

This summer I developed a taste for pickled eggs after discovering them at Tandem Ciders. The recipe that they use calls for five dozen eggs, so I had to cut it down to a reasonable size. Here is the slimmed down version of the recipe.

Pickled Eggs

10 hard-boiled eggs

2/3 cup cider vinegar

2/3 cup white vinegar

4 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pickling spices

- Hard-boil the eggs, let them cool, peel them and place them in a quart jar.

- In a sauce pan, add the vinegar, sugar, salt, and spices. Stir on a low heat until sugar and salt are dissolved.

- Pour vinegar into jar on top of the eggs. Put the lid on the jar.

And that's it! Let the eggs sit for at least two weeks, and you're ready to go.

Hummus sans tahini

Last night, I whipped up a batch of pitas while watching Dead Snow (amazing Norwegian zombie movie). While pitas and zombies are good, what a pita really needs is humus. The Joy of Cooking (my culinary bible) has only one recipe, and that calls for tahini, which I am sadly out of. So I turned to the 'net to find a tahini-free recipe. What follows is a hybrid of the Joy version and some recipes that I found on the 'net.

Hummus

1 can (15 oz) chick peas, rinsed and drained

2 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 cloves garlic

1 tsp cumin

pinch of salt

pinch of pepper

- Put chick peas, garlic, lemon juice and cumin in a food processor. Mix on low speed.

- Slowly add olive oil until proper consistency is achieved (may be slightly less or more than 1/3 cup).

- Add salt and pepper to taste.

Now, with three cloves of garlic, the garlic is very strong. If you're not a fan I recommend using only one or two cloves. Enjoy!

Recipe: Double Chocolate Truffles

This recipe is pretty damn easy and, depending on whether you go with brand names or not, fairly inexpensive. During the winter time you can just as easily cool the chocolate by sticking it on the porch or patio for a bit.

Software:
-2.5 packages (20 squares) of semi-sweet baking chocolate, divided
-1 package (8 ounces) of cream cheese, softened
-decorations such as sprinkles, nuts, chocolate shavings (optional)

Hardware:
-Small/Medium Pot
-Mixer
-Medium/Large mixing bowl
-Baking Sheets
-Wax Paper
-Fork/ fondue fork/ kebab stick

Procedure:
In the mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until creamy. Melt 8 of the chocolate squares until consistently smooth (you can use the microwave for this but I don't recommend it). Blend the melted chocolate into the cream cheese. Refrigerate until firm. Prepare the baking sheets by covering them with wax paper.

When the mixture is firm, use your hands to shape it into bite-sized balls. Place the balls on the paper-covered baking sheets. (Your hands will get very chocolatey, just so you know.)

Melt the remaining chocolate. You can use a fork to dip the truffles, though I find this to be difficult and I frequently drop them in the pot (bad news!), alternatively you can spear the truffles with the fondue fork or kebab stick (or even toothpicks) and dip them that way, then use a fork to gently remove the tool. After dipping, place the truffles back on the baking sheet, then decorate. Refrigerate for one hour, then serve.

I defy you to eat only one of these.

Recipe: 'On the Fly' Rye

Baking is a science. Or is it? Conventional wisdom dictates that baking is a precise and exact science, and that you can very quickly and easily mess it up. Lacking the ingredients for my usual bread (whole wheat), I decided to tempt fate and the bread gods by improvising. No, I did not add my own little twist to an existing recipe. I made up my own recipe! On the fly (hence the name)!

I made up this recipe last week pretty much as I was making it, writing things down as I added them. It's loosely based off of several other bread recipes (and more importantly, the ratios between the ingredients). To my surprise, it totally worked out. And, just to be sure, I made several more loaves to make sure that the recipe was actually successful before posting it here.

'On the Fly' Rye

3/4 cup warm (105° F) water
1/2 Tbsp. yeast
1 cup rye flour
2 1/4 cups bread flour
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup milk

- Mix water and yeast. Let sit for 3-5 minutes.
- In a bowl, mix both flours, sugar and salt. Add in the liquid ingredients (including the yeast/water mixture).
- Turn dough onto a well floured surface. Knead for AT LEAST 5 minutes (I try to go for 10, but I'm lazy). Dough should be just slightly sticky. If too dry, add water; Too wet, add more flour.
- Put dough into an oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and leave it to rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
- Punch down dough and shape into a loaf (or place it in a loaf pan). Let it rise for 20 minutes.
- Slash the top of the loaf with a sharp knife several times. Bake at 400° F for 30 minutes, or untill the bread is golden-brown and and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
- Let the bread cool before eating.

Makes 1 loaf.

If I remember to take photographs next time I bake this, I'll put them up.