tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31858470054318392222012-02-02T20:56:22.948-08:00Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.comBlogger271100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-88826647662116406182008-04-09T01:33:00.000-07:002008-04-09T02:29:12.427-07:00

I think we're almost there.... Sure, it was raining all afternoon, but it was sunny all morning, and the trees look like this:Spring, right?But the clearest sign is that last weekend was the first Farmer's Market of the season - I think winter is on its way out. I neglected to bring my camera along, but I'll try to at some point in the coming weeks, to explore the beginning of the Market, as

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-53865690773773504942008-04-01T10:31:00.000-07:002008-04-01T10:29:18.643-07:00

I've had it.It's spring, right? So why is it 36 degrees and hailing daily? I'm talking drifts of hail, people, ankle-deep in the courtyard of our apartment building. (Perhaps I exaggerate about the ankle-deep, but not the rest of it - I promise!) In New Mexico, it's 70 and sunny, and all I know is that I'm ready for that here. I'm ready for summer, really, with the sun setting at nine, and the

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-1932979851927519762008-03-17T14:37:00.000-07:002008-03-17T19:04:27.375-07:00

My friend Katie is heading for Japan in the next couple of months, and while I've warned her that I'm going to be sending a shopping list along with her, I'm having a hard time deciding what to put on it.The problem I'm having is that most of what I want from Japan isn't the type of thing that you can put in a suitcase and carry around with you - it's less tangible than that. What I want is the

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-30310924056027975912008-03-11T15:19:00.000-07:002008-03-11T19:10:47.248-07:00

I usually go for variety when it comes to food. I mean, sure, I have favourites, comfort food, and a dishes that I turn to when otherwise uninspired. Every cook needs some sort of standard repertoire. But I feel somehow dissatisfied if a week's gone by and I haven't tried something new. I am definitely a creature of habit and of routine... but that routine must include something new.The dish that

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-67508987272161904182008-03-04T17:41:00.000-08:002008-03-04T17:49:01.248-08:00

Matt has joined the blogging realm and started Dark Coffee, a coffee blog. He'll be writing about his experience as a barista and sharing some of what he's learning about espresso.Most enticingly, perhaps, he'll be posting weekly latte art photos - go take a look.

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-23408831636447682022008-03-03T22:31:00.000-08:002008-03-03T23:08:57.480-08:00

I'm jonesing for summertime.Yes, I profess to love rain, and yes, fall is my favourite season, and yes, I did whine all last summer that it was too hot, that it was too humid, that I couldn't wait for it to be over. But now I'm sorry, really I am, and all I can think about is tomato season, and berry season, and the farmer's market, and oh god sunshine. We got a little taste of spring this past

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-51350228728449201122008-02-17T23:40:00.000-08:002008-02-18T17:46:33.330-08:00

I've never been one for Valentine's Day. Don't get me wrong - I'm not really a cynic. I'm a huge fan of love and the expression thereof, but why only be romantic one day a year? Why fight other couples for jewelry and flowers and tables at over-booked restaurants?But I'm not here to expound on the foolishness of the holiday. It is one thing, and that's a great excuse for chocolate.I used my

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-68570665301108693802008-02-13T23:25:00.000-08:002008-02-14T00:03:28.495-08:00

So the graduate school application is in, I'm more or less settled into the new job (I hope!) and anonymous readers are telling me to update.I guess I owe you all some doughnuts, don't I?Please excuse the lighting on the photos - it was fairly late at night when we began, and by the end of the process, we were far more interested in eating doughnuts than in photographing them.Originally, my

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-41507620939437693732008-01-28T23:11:00.000-08:002008-01-28T23:13:45.436-08:00

If you look over to your right, below the recipe index, you may see that Itadakimasu now has a mailing list. Join, and I will send you an email every time I post a new recipe.Tell me that's not a tempting offer.

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-17012805757549881142008-01-28T21:58:00.000-08:002008-01-28T23:09:48.050-08:00

I am a neglectful blogger.I don't mean to be, and I have a good excuse - several of them, actually. My application for graduate school is going in on Thursday, and I start a new job tomorrow, so I've been somewhat distracted as of late. But while life may conspire to keep me away from my camera and computer, I'm still in the kitchen.And the bread has been turning out awfully well, lately.It looks

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-57228964929204819542008-01-09T22:48:00.000-08:002008-01-10T12:37:06.758-08:00

I really don't know what's gotten into me with the cream puffs since I started writing Itadakimasu. I had never made them before, but I tried them once, and it was all over. Pate a choux in any form has become my go-to dinner party dessert - and once I found pearl sugar, chouquettes became my new obsession.But that's for another day. I just stopped in tonight to post a recipe for these:Pretty,

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-12882245777798076932008-01-07T23:16:00.000-08:002008-01-08T00:22:05.898-08:00

Well, Portland has certainly welcomed us back in what I understand is true Northwest style: rain everyday since we returned on New Year's Day. We saw the sun for the first time since our vacation today. Not to sound ungrateful - it's lovely to be back. I missed our cats and our tiny, overheated apartment and the low, grey skies - the light in New Mexico is so terribly bright, so very clear. I've

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-78381564533616569032008-01-05T21:56:00.000-08:002008-01-05T22:13:29.839-08:00

Zoe ?, 1992 - 5th January, 2008I heard from my parents today - Zoe, one of our two dogs, passed away today, and they buried her under a cottonwood tree in the back acre.She was an amazing animal: sweet and beautiful and absurdly charismatic, and she had a way of looking at you as though you were the most important person in the entire world, as long as you were petting her. She was the scourge of

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-60038081097757214952007-12-19T22:14:00.000-08:002007-12-24T19:15:30.606-08:00

Among the many, many terrible versions of Christmas carols playing on satellite radio at work, somehow a rendition of "A Few of my Favourite Things" seems to have slipped in. I've never really considered the song a carol (correct me if I'm wrong), but regardless, it served as something of an inspiration. No, not for cream-coloured ponies or schnitzel with noodles - but Pork Adobo, one of Matt's

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-10727852165588411842007-12-14T23:01:00.001-08:002007-12-24T19:15:56.693-08:00

Sorry I've been so lax about updating lately... we are in full swing of Holiday Hell here in retail-land, and by the time I get home from a grueling day of customers and cookware, it's all I can manage to put something together for dinner... let alone photograph or write about it. But I had a day off yesterday, and so I offer these, the most Christmas spirit I've exhibited so far this season:

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-13394037897633940892007-11-29T21:31:00.000-08:002007-11-29T22:54:03.443-08:00

To be honest, I've never really understood the fuss about Thanksgiving. I am a fairly recent convert to mashed potatoes, turkey's never done much of anything for me, and it was always just a lot of fuss and family... usually right before finals.This year, while calmer in terms of family (my folks flew out to visit, so it was just the four of us) was a blur of work and baking and kitchen heat.

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-89972843541246155302007-11-13T23:25:00.000-08:002007-12-24T19:16:30.296-08:00

Company for dinner is often little more than a cover, here at Itadakimasu. I know, we look sweet and innocent, but you have no idea what's lurking once you're ensconced in a chair and well fed.... Because once you're wined and dined and unsuspecting, we pull out the big red box of Scattergories and dig in properly.Matt introduced me to the game shortly after we got together, and I'm an unashamed

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-39723558776791546012007-11-11T23:31:00.000-08:002007-11-11T23:33:20.910-08:00

Itadakimasu now has a handy recipe index - look to your right!The index will be growing as the site does, but I thought I'd get started on it early, just so as to make things easier in the long run. Go peruse - and find something to cook and eat!

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-7394456384511731402007-11-11T20:03:00.001-08:002007-12-24T19:16:51.797-08:00

I swear I've been trying to post for the last week. First real life ate me, and then blogger ate my post twice in one night, and I decided that was probably a sign that I should go study or something like that. Anyway.I made this Apple Kuchen shortly after my last post, when we still had apples and were wondering what to do with them. And then I took the name to work and got one of my co-workers

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-53283046026753271742007-10-29T22:47:00.000-07:002007-12-24T19:17:06.069-08:00

We liked them just fine. Liked them for two days and a whole galette, no less.When we got home from the farmer's market, I had a bag full of apples and a mind full of pie... and then realized that I didn't really want to spend the entire afternoon peeling and coring and slicing. So I went with the slacker's version of apple pie: an apple galette, which combines beautifully flaky pie crust with a

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-87130841866145397372007-10-27T20:10:00.000-07:002007-10-27T21:14:14.601-07:00

Matt and I finally managed to get a day off together - and a proper day off, with no class and no work and no real necessary errands. Instead of sleeping in though, I dragged him out into the sunlight at the brutal hour of 12 o'clock to catch this:Our local farmer's market, on the Portland State Campus.It was pretty jam-packed by the time we got there, due to the pumpkin carving

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-3116887926460475472007-10-25T23:27:00.000-07:002007-12-24T19:17:27.702-08:00

I'll be the first to admit that I have mixed feelings about living in Portland - and that I get miserably homesick for little ol' Albuquerque. Laugh if you like - I was so desperate to leave Albuquerque for so long, and now I can't wait to go home for a visit over Christmas....Don't get me wrong - Portland has its moments.Like that one. We've had a spell of dry days, recently - relatively clear

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-27307907615821387382007-10-14T23:00:00.000-07:002007-12-24T19:17:58.578-08:00

Matt and I haven't really had time for one of our lazy Sunday mornings, recently. I work full time, so my "weekend" is comprised of the two days I go to class, and Matt goes to school full time, so his "weekend" is comprised of the two days he spends at work. But the last time we had a day off together, I made us a breakfast (probably sometime around two pm) of what I now call French Toast with

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-73894861275489605722007-10-12T23:00:00.001-07:002007-12-24T19:18:35.575-08:00

Sorry about the hiatus there - between school, work, and random viruses, I've been a little preoccupied. But I've returned, and I come bearing recipes.Back in Albuquerque, Matt and I used to visit a little Thai cafe fairly regularly. It's called Tina's, and for all of you who are in/near Albuquerque, it's in the back of the Baptist student union building, on University and MLK, and it's fantastic

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-44272867705623782372007-09-18T22:28:00.000-07:002007-12-24T19:18:54.986-08:00

Besides update once already, I mean.I spent the afternoon making these: Pate a choux aux framboises.Aren't they pretty?Of course, saying that I spent the afternoon doing this makes it sound terribly labour-intensive, and it was really very simple. I had brought home some end-of-the-season raspberries, and was poking around Chocolate and Zucchini when I found this recipe and was instantly inspired

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-80048371699013218552007-09-18T11:44:00.000-07:002007-12-24T19:19:56.770-08:00

I admit it freely - I'm scared of the winter here in Portland. I come from a desert - I'm used to sunshine ALL the time. And while I don't like it, it's what I mostly expect.Earlier this week, though, there was a sudden change in the weather here - it clouded over and got cold, and it's now officially fall. And I am taking full advantage of the change to start on the cold-weather culinary range,

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185847005431839222.post-4975721777134795872007-09-12T19:53:00.001-07:002007-12-24T19:20:38.288-08:00

It seems fitting that my first post here on Itadakimasu should feature my birthday cake, and photos of said cake taken with my birthday camera (thanks, Mom and Dad!)So here it is: Matcha Chiffon with whipped cream and raspberries.I've been craving matcha chiffon cake for a while now - since last summer, actually, when I was most recently in Japan. While it's not exactly a traditional Japanese

Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03784041805763515139noreply@blogger.com5