Disco is My Cosmos

Trying new things can be scary. I liken it to taking a bath. When you are in the bath, it's all warm and cozy, and you feel so relaxed and content. But you know that, in a little while, the water is going to become lukewarm, and your hands are going to get prune-y. So you know that you can't stay in that bathtub much longer. But the one shoulder that's sticking out of the water knows that, in reference to the water you are in, the room temperature is lower. It's a bit of a shock. "Should I get out?" you ask yourself. You waiver. You could turn on the faucet and add more hot water, but that's just delaying things (and I don't know about you, but I have one of the smallest hot water tanks ever, so if there's any hot water left after filling up the tub, it's a miracle). So you take that leap, step up out of the bath, and realize the temperature isn't as bad as you thought. It's actually quite pleasant (let's assume it's e...

Three things I recommend to have in your kitchen cabinet at any given time to use for cooking: Vermouth, Marsala, and Sherry. Vermouth: You can use this in risotto, sauteing shrimp, in black bean soup, for sauteing chicken, or pretty much any recipe that calls for white wine. There's sweet and dry: I have been cooking with dry, but you can experiment. Marsala: This is delicious for chicken marsala, but also can be used to saute all sorts of mushrooms, particularly portobello. What I recommend is cooking the portobello mushroom in the marsala, and then putting grated manchego cheese on it and letting it melt while the mushroom is still in the pan. Yummy! Again, there are dry and sweet marsalas; I've tried both, and I've had much success with both. Sherry: This is particularly excellent for stewing fruits like apples and pears. Add them to the saucepan with some sweetener like honey or agave nectar and bring them to a boil with the sherry barely covering them. Cover an...

These are the three most useful tools in the kitchen: 1) food processor 2) toaster oven 3) wok or shallow cooking pan 1) food processor: This is one of the best things ever! You can do so much with it. You can make soups, gazpacho (cold soup), burgers (especially vegetarian ones), hummus, salsa, and I'm sure there's more. I have a 15-20 year old Robot Coupe http://www.robotcoupeusa.com/ and it's really, really good. One thing about food processor cooking is that, although it's good to follow recipes, you can add or delete ingredients and amount of ingredients at your discretion. For example, tonight I made falafel balls in it (and baked them in the oven) and I looked at an online recipe but pretty much added ingredients to my liking. I call it the "zen" way of cooking. Just always remember to do this when you are not distracted by anything else (including pets or significant other, and absolutely no tv!) 2) Toaster oven: I was only introduced to this when ...