Space Place House

Hawaii,plants, rain and surf

March 5, 2012 by vclayton

On Hana road, took a photo of this plant in a shopping area off the highway

Sent from my iPad

Posted in vacations | Tagged hana, hawaii, highway, maui | 1 Comment »

raspberry dutch pancake

February 26, 2012 by vclayton

raspberry dutch pancake

here is the recipe

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons butter
1 cup raspberries (fresh preferred)
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 egg white, at room temperature
2/3 cup milk, at room temperature
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoon all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Powdered sugar, more cinnamon, and lemon juice for topping

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 425°F. Put a 10-inch cast iron skillet into the oven and heat for at least 8 minutes.

2 Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan or in a microwave. Of the 3 tablespoons, one tablespoon will be for the batter and two for the pan.

3 In a blender, put the eggs, egg white, milk, 1 tablespoon of the melted butter, sugar, flour, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Blend until you have a smooth, creamy batter. This should take about 30 seconds. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the blender carafe with a rubber spatula if necessary.

4 Carefully remove the very hot skillet from the oven. (Watch out, the handle is HOT! Make sure to use a thick pot holder so you don’t burn your hands.) Pour the remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter in the pan and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Gently pour the batter into the hot skillet, making sure not to splatter batter all over the sides of the pan. Put in one cup of fresh raspberries. Carefully return the pan to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. The Dutch baby will puff up around the edges, even to the point that the sides will obscure the center. It’s a wondrous sight to behold when watching through the oven window! Do not open the door to peek, though, as opening the oven door even a crack while baking may cause your Dutch baby to fall.

5 Once the Dutch baby is done baking, remove the skillet from the oven (again, take care, the handle is HOT) and use a thin spatula to gently coax the pancake onto a large plate. It may fall slightly once removed from the heat, which is totally normal. To serve, cut into wedges and sprinkle with powdered sugar (and more cinnamon if you wish) and a splash of lemon juice.

Yield: Makes 1 10-inch Dutch baby pancake. Feeds 2 or 3 people for breakfast.

Simply Recipes http://simplyrecipes.com

Posted in food, Recipes | Tagged breakfast, dutch, pancake, raspberry, sugar | Leave a Comment »

Dandelion Greens from the garden

February 23, 2012 by vclayton

In my back yard I picked these today and we will devour tonight

also the root is good as a tincture for liver cleansing

chop it up and combine with 1/4 cup vodka for two weeks in a tightly closed jar, strain and use with dropper after that in your water

Posted in food, vegetables | Tagged dandelion, greens, raddichio, roots, salad | 1 Comment »

a dark dress for portland from BARBARAIGONGINI

February 21, 2012 by vclayton

12967741361.jpg

Posted in fashion | Tagged black dress, winter days | 1 Comment »

martha stewart and jim cramer

February 20, 2012 by vclayton

a photo i took from the tv screen of a recent show that jim cramer was on with martha stewart, they both looked terrified at one point as they were talking about the recession, i found it odd and funny at the same time

Posted in photography | Tagged jim cramer, martha stewart, recession | Leave a Comment »

beef stirfry

February 18, 2012 by vclayton

so delicious! and authentic! just need a wok!

I changed out some of the vegetables and used what I had in the refrigerator but here is the basic recipe:

Black Pepper Beef and Stir-Fry

Serves 2-4

INGREDIENTS

Stir-Fry:
9 oz beef sirloin, fat removed
and meat cut into 1/4-inch
slices
1 tbsp of cornstarch
2 tbsps of peanut oil
1-inch piece of fresh
ginger, peeled and grated
11 oz mixture of sliced snow
peas, broccoli, sugar snap
peas, baby bok choy, red
cabbage, ribbons of
carrot, and baby scallions
Dash of light soy sauce or
to taste
Marinade:
1 tbsp of dark soy sauce
1 tbsp of light soy sauce
1 tbsp of Shaohsing rice wine
or dry sherry
2 pinches of ground black
pepper

DIRECTIONS

My grandmother always said that if we ate vegetables of every color of the rainbow, we would stay as healthy as anything. This is the perfect way to ensure you get more than your five a day.
For the Marinade:
Mix together the ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl, then add the beef and stir to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 20 minutes to marinate, then remove from the marinade (reserving it) and dust with the cornstarch.

For the Stir-Fry:
Heat a wok over high heat, and when it starts to smoke, add half the peanut oil. Add the ginger and stir-fry for a second or so, then add the vegetable mixture and toss together in the wok. Add a drop of water to create a little steam for cooking the vegetables. Cook for 1 minute and transfer to a plate.

Place the wok back over the heat and add the remaining peanut oil, followed by the beef. Let the meat settle for a few seconds, then stir in the wok for 1-2 minutes. Add the stir-fried vegetables and toss together with the beef. Season with additional light soy sauce, then transfer to a serving plate and eat immediately.

Posted in food, Recipes | Tagged beef, chinese, steak, stir fry | 2 Comments »

Eating at Dave’s BBQ in Portland by the airport

January 30, 2012 by vclayton

all their crazy sauces

lovely wall backdrop, much like a theatre

and the ribs, corn and pasta salad

Rating: 1-5 I give it a 3

Posted in restaurants | Tagged airport, bbq, dave's, portland, ribs | Leave a Comment »

a birthday feast-portland fish house(shall remain unnamed)

January 8, 2012 by vclayton

sevruga caviar, small bottle of vodka, champagne sampler YUM

john on 45th birthday devouring caviar

black ink past with tomato sauce

surf and turf, lobster and steak

Posted in food, restaurants | Tagged birthday, caviar | Leave a Comment »

New Year’s eve in Wong’s King Chinese restaurant 2012

January 1, 2012 by vclayton

Duck sliced at our table, the crispy skin sliced off the carcass and

then placed on rice chips served with sliced green onion and a sweet hoisin sauce

small crescent shaped buns come with it so you can layer your duck inside of it
we also had lobster, and chinese greens, which I forgot to photograph from being overly occupied with eating!

Posted in food, restaurants | Tagged duck, eve, lobster, new year | Leave a Comment »

salt cod recipe

January 1, 2012 by vclayton

visnja’s salt cod with potatoes

1 lb salted cod
soaked in water 2 days and water changed once a day

drain soaking water and cook cod for 10 minutes in fresh low boiling water with a few leaves of laurel, reserve water

take cod out and cool. flake it up and pour 1 tbsp olive oil over it, salt and pepper a bit

saute one sliced large yellow onion in 2 tbsp olive oil for 10 min, add 1 tsp saffron to onion mixture then add 2 tsp chopped garlic and turn off fire.

Peel and slice into 3/8” round slices two large russet potatoes and cook in same water the cod cooked in for 5 minutes, until semi cooked

take out of water and cool

reduce in a medium pan 1 cup heavy cream, 1 cup white wine and 1 cup cod cooking water to 1 1/2 cups

layer in round 8” ceramic casserole or soufflé pan olive oil, potatoes, cooked onions, cod, parsley and liquid, in two layers

top with 1/2 cup grated gruyere, bread crumbs, 2 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp chopped parsley

cook at 275 for 30 minutes and then 2 minutes under the broiler