8.31.2010

bounty dinner

So I originally titled this post bounty hunter, accidentally of course. But maybe that was my unconcious trying to make excuses for my month-long absence. And isn't that a good one? Oh I'm sorry I missed updating my blog and all but I've spent the last thirty days on the road hunting down the bad guys like the bad a** I am.
Come to think of it, that's a fantastic reason not to post regularly so I'm sticking to my story. Yeah, I was temping as a bounty hunter but now it's back to the 9-5 (or rather eight to five) daily grind of office work and telephones and paperwork. When one is a bounty hunter one does not have to do much paperwork.
However you do have to eat when you are a bounty hunter, which is something I did do during my sojourn away from these hallowed, erm, halls. And this was one meal I made during that time, a hearty filling meal with much of it's produce derived from a fantastically productive garden I was able to scavenge from (and by scavenge I mean that I stayed there and they filled my pink floral cooler with deliciousness like potatoes and plums) and make this bountiful spread.
Starting off I had a bag full of the smallest, cutest, creamiest baby potatoes.


Which I scrubbed and cleaned and then proceeded to roast mercilessly in a dish in the oven with fresh dill and pepper and olive oil. More on that later.

Next was a cache of brussel sprouts which needed to be taken in hand and made to feel my wrath. AKA I soaked them and got rid of all the bugs.

Then I chopped them in half (and admired their pattern)and threw them in a skillet with some water so they would cook through.

With some fun things in there like spices and brown sugar and lemon juice (I know weird right but don't sass my about this cause it tasted mighty good) and just as the water had all evaporated, they grilled a bit without getting burned. Win!

And then a whole bunch of other stuff went down, like cooking up some sausages and grilling some onions with that. Can I get a YUM? And throughout this whole operation there was a halved acorn squash chilling (or rather baking) in the oven with the potatoes, just hanging with it's bad self, and absorbing all the delicious flavor or maple syrup and cinnimin and nutmeg. And then it was all dished up and we stuffed our faces. Me and my unnamed-for-their-safety sidekick that is. All in all a fantastic meal, which of course produced an alarming number of dishes.

And not one to leave well enough alone and let my poor tummy recover from that onslaught of flavors I proceeded to finish off the night with a strawberry plum upside down cake. Made with sour cream so it was creamy and sort of spongy. Also the sugar and butter and strawberry juice carmalized in the pan into something not of this world. Magical I tell you. I named it the make-you-feel-better-strawberry-plum-happiness-upside-down cake. Yes I like long names (it's a bounty hunter thing) and yes it is able to make one happy. It is happiness cake after all.

And after a slice (or two-don't tell) thanking my stars I was wearing elastic waist pants, I continued on with my quest for wrong-doers and bail-jumpers alike. Safe in the knowledge that my tummy was full of a delicious feast of veggies topped with dessert and that's the best any bounty hunter can ask for.

*note* I will attempt to get back in the groove with more regular blog posts from now on. This is like a fresh start, and hopefully my shame over my abcense will guilt me into regularity if nothing else!

*also* for all concerned persons, I must add that I am not in actuality a bounty hunter nor a gun for hire (perhaps a spatula for hire if such a think exists? I will look into it). That is just something I made up to cover up the fact that I just didn't post anything -not because I was not making and or baking, as quite the contrary my kitchen has been vastly productive and my desk reasonably so- because I have been busy and running around like a headless chicken and it's been a choice between eating the food I've made or posting it and *sigh* I did choose selfishly to consume it.
But I have tropical drinks, painted suitcases, chocolate-dipped oat/nut bars and sparkly headphones in the future, so hopefully I can redeem myself yet after my wrong-doings of the past. forgive me?