Thai-Style Mussels

I know my blog has been heavy on the cooking posts, but this turned out too good not to share. These mussels are very quick and simple to make, and taste very much like the kind you’d get in a Thai restaurant.

You’ll need:

mussels
2-4 shallots
2 stalks of lemongrass
2 red chili peppers
fresh mint leaves
lime juice
fish sauce
green onions
fresh cilantro

Wash the mussels, discarding the open and broken ones. Place in a large pot.

Dice the shallots and lemongrass, and thinly slice the chilis. Throw these in the pot with a few torn mint leaves, a generous amount of lime juice, and a dash of fish sauce.

Cover and cook on high for about 5 minutes, until all the mussels have opened. Slice the green onions into curly ribbons (kitchen shears work well for this). Garnish the cooked mussels with the green onion ribbons and fresh cilantro .

 

Grapefruit Poppy Seed Cake with Honey Whipped Cream and Grapefruit Curd

Recently I noticed that grapefruit and coffee compliment each other really well. That got me thinking about the possibility of a grapefruit cake, and this is what I came up with:

It’s one of those dense, rustic cakes that I love, with the poppy seeds yielding a subtle crunchiness. The yogurt and olive oil provide richness and complexity without overpowering the delicate grapefruit flavor. Whipped cream flavored with a touch of honey and fresh grapefruit curd are the perfect accompaniments. That, and a cup of coffee.

Grapefruit Poppy Seed Cake (makes two 8-inch round cakes)
I started with this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, but if you compare the two you’ll see I modified it a lot.

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
juice of one grapefruit
zest of one grapefruit
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1/2 cup olive oil, preferably extra virgin
1/4 cup poppy seeds

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease two 8 inch round pans.

Sift together the flour and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs, then add the grapefruit juice and zest. Add the olive oil and yogurt and mix until well blended. Slowly add the flour mixture until it is all incorporated. Fold in the poppy seeds.

Pour the batter into the two prepared pans and bake about 45 minutes, until the cake is just starting to crisp at the edges and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes, and then remove from pans and cool completely.

Grapefruit Curd
For this recipe I took my basic lemon curd and swapped out the lemons for grapefruit.

3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp grapefruit zest
2 eggs
2/3 cup fresh grapefruit juice
2 tbsp butter

Combine the sugar, zest, and eggs in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring continuously. Cook until the sugar dissolves and mixture is light in color (about 3 minutes). Stir in grapefruit juice and butter; cook, stirring continuously, for 5 minutes or until the mixture thinly coats the back of a spoon. Cool. Cover and chill (the mixture will thicken as it cools).

Honey Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp honey

Whisk together the cream and honey. With an electric mixer at high speed, whip up the cream mixture until peaks form.

 

Butterfly and Rose Cupcakes

I brought these strawberry lemon cupcakes to my friend’s exhibit at Artomatic on opening night. Half are topped with gold-dusted buttercream roses, and the rest with delicate filigree butterflies. The butterflies were made with candy melts and a piping bag outfitted with a size 1 tip.

Sorry the pictures are crap, but you get the idea. This was my first time doing filigree work, and I’m officially hooked. It looks so impressive but it’s a LOT easier than it looks.

 

Poached Egg with Arugula and Shallots

This is a nice springtime dinner I came up with last night. It looks so elegant, but takes less than 10 minutes to make. The bitter arugula, creamy egg, spicy mustard, and sweet shallots play off each other really well.

You will need:

1 Egg
Butter
1 Shallot, sliced thinly
Dijon mustard
Baby arugula
A thick slice of tomato
Salt and pepper

Get a small pot of salted water boiling for the egg. There are several different ways to poach an egg; I used the vortex method. Use whichever method you prefer.

Meanwhile, sauté the shallots in the butter until they get soft and golden. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon, and add a little more butter if necessary. Add about half a spoonful of Dijon (a little goes a long way here) and some water or white wine to make a sauce.

Throw in a few handfuls of arugula and sauté for a few seconds until it is coated in the sauce and the leaves are wilted. Remove from heat and stir in the shallots. Heap the arugula mixture onto a serving dish and keep warm.

Wipe out the pan and get it really hot. Sear the tomato slice on each side, pressing down on it gently, until it is slightly charred. Position the charred tomato on top of the arugula pile, and top with the poached egg. Grind fresh pepper over the entire thing.

 

Asymmetry and Extraneous Zippers

Made from two shirts: one grey and one black. Also two colorful zippers from my zipper stash. The blue zipper opens up a little pocket in the front, and the yellow is being used as a strap.

 

Spa Water

I’ve trying to cut back on caffeine and alcohol, but I don’t enjoy drinking plain water. So this “spa water” is nice to have around; it’s just water that’s been infused with herbs and other refreshing things.

I made mine with sparkling mineral water, cucumber and lemon slices, and fresh mint. I think rosemary, basil, grapefruit, and gingerroot would be nice additions as well. You could use plain seltzer instead of mineral water, or even regular non-sparkling water.

 

When a Workout Top Isn’t Working Out

Made from a racerback workout top and one of those long rectangular scarves they have near the registers at A.C. Moore.

The workout top was so tight that I could barely breathe in it– perhaps it’s a sign I should have been using it for its intended purpose?– and cutting off the straps made it a lot more comfortable.

I like the textural contrast of the braided scarf in front and the soft loose scarf cascading down the back.

 

Tutorial for Reconstructed T-Shirt

Several people here and on Craftster wanted to know how I made the shirt. Here’s the basic procedure:

1. Try on the shirt and mark where you want the new neckline to be.

2. Cut the neckline, leaving an inch or two extra for the hem. If the shirt has a collar, you will need to cut that off. Then, hem the neckline.

3. Try on the shirt again, and pinch the fabric at the bust so it gathers attractively. Mark where the gathering begins.

4. Starting at the mark, fold the fabric accordian-style. With a threaded needle, sew up though the accordian, then back down again. Do this a couple times to reinforce it. Knot securely and break the thread.

5. Try on the shirt again, tying the scarf comfortably around your waist. You may want to pin it under the gathered part. Mark or roughly cut the scarf so it’s the width you want. If you are using a long rectangular scarf, you should not have to alter it much. If you’re using a square scarf, like I did, you will probably need to cut it along the diagonal.

6. Unpin the scarf and cut it to shape– it should look something like this. Hem along the raw edges.

7. Try on the shirt on more time, and pin the scarf on under the bust and at the sides. Take it off and sew down the center of the scarf, from right under the bust to the bottom edge of the scarf. Sew a couple stitches on each side, near the top edge of the scarf. And you’re done!

 

Quick Sewing Project

This was last night’s project; it didn’t take very long and I’m happy with the results.

Before: Cheap t-shirt from Forever 21, and a $1 scarf (not pictured).

After: A sexy new top.

 

In Love

I have a new girlfriend.

She’s absolutely beautiful…and a lot older than I am. 25 years older, to be exact! But she’s so energetic and full of life, you’d think she was still in her teens.