we've moved!

nope, not the blog, the us.

amidst the madness of grad school, bill, audrey, gus, penny, the library and i relocated to a sweet first-floor unit in a triplex three towns over.

you guys, it has a separate dining room.

also: a tiny kitchen.

one of my courageous space-saving efforts is a no-nukes experiment. we're hanging on to our microwave, but trying to see if we can avoid using it for a month. after that? who knows.

as children of the eighties, we've lived our whole lives with the convenience of zapping radiation into our leftover and then eating them. YUM-O! but so far this week, the option has been unavailable.

the result? so far, so good. i've warmed up (french pressed) coffee in my kettle, and mu shu veg, curry chicken and angel hair on the stove top. soon, i'm sure i'll venture to use the oven.

also soon, i'll be back. i'm planning cooking & baking projects on my study days, and the switch from electric to gas should be... a gas.

savory shortbread experiments: basil & sun-dried tomato

this recipe has been adjusted for what i think mine lacked, namely, SALT. i've added scratch cheese and sea salt to this recipe, but i can't make any promises. they were good but... eh. they needed salt.

ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomato (NOT packed in oil) chopped fine
• 1 tbs scratch cheese
• 1 tsp ground sea salt
• 1 tbs fresh basil, chopped fine or 1/2 tbs dried basil, chopped fine
• 1 1/4 cups flour

prep:

• allow butter to soften
• preheat oven to 350*
• butter 2 baking sheets

actual cooking:

• beat butter until lightened in color (about 1 minute)
• add tomato
• add basil
• add cheese
• add salt
• add flour until just combined
• shape into 2 5" logs (mine were rectangular, which helped)
• wrap in plastic and chill IN THE REFRIGERATOR (not the freezer, not not not the freezer) for 1-4 hours until firm
• slice 1/8-1/4" thick bake until edges are golden brown