Cookies!

Good Afternoon,

Well, the winter blah is out in force around Columbus today.  The entire DD household is down for the count with flu-like symptoms.  However, this has not stopped the production of....

Christmas Cookies! *TADA*

Monday brought the creating of sugar cookie dough for some cutouts.  I used the basic recipe from the Better Homes and Garden's cookbook, then added a splash of hazelnut extract for fun and depth.  The cookies are good, but could use some tweaking in the future.  I think maybe adding some spice or candied citrus peel to them would work well.  For now they are dusted with cinnamon/clove sugar or red/green crystals.

Yesterday I happened upon these wonderful ginger cookies and made them immediately.  *Ree, I think, is a goddess of the kitchen, and you should read her blog.*  I used some butter, which made them a bit crispier than hers look.  I just couldn't bring myself to use the shortening...  I DID however, put in the fresh ginger and will stand by that decision forever.

I don't have any original recipes for you today, and I'm sorry.  Hopefully the creative gene will come back after the holiday is over.  For now, happy eating, and happy holidays!

DD

We Make the Rockin' World Go 'Round

First, let me apologize for being conspicuously absent for a MONTH!  Admittedly, winter hit here in Ohio, this means gray rainy skies almost every day.  Pair that with working and holidays and other madness and you have a very deviant blogger indeed.  So, I'm sorry, I'll try to be better in the future!

Today we are feeling very deviant.  I want you to picture, for a moment, your own favorite mental image of a housewife.  (I tend to picture frilly aprons and crinolines, c. 1950, perfect hair, and that sort of glazed happy look on her face as her children provide background music.)  Now let us compare that picture to the reality here in the DD home.  Your truly is decked in a band t-shirt, flannel, and a hoodie which would make any 1980s child proud.  Also, my background music is Queen, played slightly too loud...

However! We are accomplishing very domestic things.  Meal planning and shopping is completed, and there are ingredients for Christmas Cookies setting out on the table while the butter softens.  This batch will be basic sugar cookies, though I'm hoping for a gingerbread house sometime in the next week.  More decorations will be added to the existing tree and garlands this evening, and half of the holiday cards are in the mail!  (No wonder we need a little classic rock to balance everything out.)

I promise more recipes and hopefully a few pictures in the near future.  For now, hello again, and we'll see you soon!

DD

Adventures in Brussels Sprouts Pt.1

Good afternoon!  Welcome to Monday and the third edition of the Deviant Domestic.  Today has been a whirlwind day, complete with lounging, exercising, and snow!

I would love to say that I accomplished something useful today, but alas I did not.  I am reading a surprisingly excellent book (Elantris by Brandon Sanderson) and thus spending a lot of my free time rooted to the couch with book in hand.  I did manage to get out to the gym this morning, mainly because I knew it would take me close to my second destination... The Grocery Store.  I went in looking for green beans and chicken, forgetting that green beans have decidedly gone out of season here in Ohio.  I found instead some nice looking brussels sprouts.

"Self?" I said. "Do we know how to prepare brussels sprouts?"

"Well," Self responded "no, but the Internet does!"

And into the basket they went.

I consulted a few recipes, glancing briefly at The Flexitarian Table which was dismissed due to time constraints, and coming to rest at Coconut & Lime for tonight's recipe.  Simple, tasty, and fuss free.  I highly recommend this one!  The lovely sprouts were paired with roasted sweet potatoes (dressed lightly in olive oil, salt, pepper, and paprika) and herb crusted whole roasted chicken legs.  All together, a very satisfying winter dinner.

And I do mean winter... it started snowing in earnest today!  

Keep warm, until next time...

DD

Lazy Weekend Food

On the occasion that I find myself lucky enough to have a day off with no plans, I often spend most of that day cooking.  This weekend was a lovely food extravaganza!  Saturday dinner saw a roasted delicata squash paired with an oven risotto.  We still have quite a few apples left over from apple picking season, so we decided to put them to good use for dessert.  We made a half-size apple pie!  I wish I had pictures... it was delicious.

Sunday morning I got up early to make cranberry bread, one of my favorite holiday treats.  The recipe can be found in the children's book A Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin.  I cut the sugar to 3/4C to make it more suitable for breakfast, and left out the raisins.  This bread uses orange juice for the liquid and therefore has a very nice tang that is perfect for breakfasts!

Sadly dinner on Sunday was somewhat abbreviated due to rehearsals.  I did manage to make a hot spinach salad to go with our pre-prepped lasagna though.  I will include the recipe for it below, it was wonderful!  What have you been cooking this week?

Wilted Winter Spinach Sauté

you will need:

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1/4 - 1/2C onion, chopped (i used a purple onion)

1 large bag of fresh spinach (about 4-5 hands full), shredded lightly

chevre cheese for garnish 

2-3 T bacon fat (better flavor) or butter (more handy)

In a cast iron skillet melt butter or bacon fat.  I used both!  Sauté the onion until it becomes tender, add the garlic.  Stir in spinach in small handfuls, adding more as it wilts down, adding salt and pepper as you go.  Once all spinach is incorporated dish onto plates and garnish with crumbled chevre cheese. (If you live in Ohio, I suggest Blue Jacket Dairy or Lake Erie Creamery)

Happy Eating! 

a subtle swerve

de-vi-ate

1. to stray especially from the standard, principle or topic

2. to depart from an established coarse or norm

We are living in interesting times.  Sixty years ago it was still the woman's place to keep house and raise children, while remaining beautiful and fresh to receive her husband in the evening with dinner hot on the table.  Forty years ago women started to rebel, and by the end of the generation women were expected to shoot for the highest executive job in the market.  Women can do anything now, and that's great!  But what about those of us who don't want to...

(Men should not feel left out here, I know many men who don't want to work in the office either, my other half included!)

So it is that I come to this:  A woman who was trained for the corner office, but would rather sit in the corner of her sewing room.  A woman who was taught to shake the world, but would rather whisk an egg.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not ready to trade in my slacks for a frilly apron just yet, and I will never learn to let my partner do all the talking.  I will, however, continue to strike a balance and be unashamed of my enjoyment of housework!  This blog will be about my adventures in the home against a backdrop of normal work life.  I plan to share recipes, projects, and a healthy dose of sarcasm.

Welcome to the Deviant Domestic, drop your shoes at the door... the teakettle's on!