Here’s a recent meal that we had that was kind of based on a recipe I saw in Bon Appétit, but I changed a lot of it, so it ended up pretty different. It started with a butternut squash on the counter that I really had to use and a recent trip to Pok Pok shack for Khao Soi Kai (the noodly-chickeny-coconut soup) and its accompanying hot chili paste, plus extra tasty embellishments (cilantro, lime, pickled things, crunchy things). What to do with the leftover chili paste? Hmmmmmm…

Then I see a recipe for squash, coconut milk, lime, curry paste, jalapeno and noodles. The wheels start to turn. turn. turn. turn. I go to the store and pick up a few more things, defrost the shrimp I have in the freezer and here I am with:

Butternut Squash with Coconut, Lemongrass, Shrimp & Basil, etc…
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1/2- to 3/4-inch pieces
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 - 1/2 tsp Thai chili paste (or 1 minced, seeded jalapeño chili, or some other kind of hot chili paste, or etc..)
1 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled
1 piece of lemongrass, cut in half
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can light unsweetened coconut milk
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 big handfuls of fresh baby spinach
1/2 lb shrimp, cleaned and if desired, tails removed (I do that when I put it in soups, just because it’s easier to eat)
Juice of 1/2 a lime
12 ounces dried udon noodles or linguine
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Extra Garnissh: Chopped green onions

Shrimp waiting patiently…

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic and squash. Sauté until nice and slightly golden, about 7-10 minutes. Add the curry and cumin seeds and mix to combine.

If your skillet is big enough to hold everything, use it for the rest of the soup. If not, use a big soup pot for everything and transfer the squash, onion mixture to the bigger pot after you add the broth. So, add broth and scrape up any golden, cooked tasty things from the bottom of the pan. (Transfer here if needed). Add the ginger piece and the lemongrass. Stir in coconut milk and chili paste — just a bit here, you can always add more. I probably added about a 1/4 teaspoon total and it was plenty hot and spicy.

Simmer uncovered until squash is completely tender and liquid is slightly reduced, about 8-10 minutes. Season to taste with salt.

Add the spinach and shrimp. Cook 2-3 more minutes until spinach has wilted and shrimp is about done.

Meanwhile (and you should start this step when you add the coconut milk and everythign else to the squash), cook noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain noodles. Add the noodles into the squash mixture and toss to blend. Give it all a squirt of lime and top with basil and green onions, if desired. Try to fish the lemongrass and ginger out. Serve. Have extra chili paste on the side for crazy people. Plan the next trip to Pok Pok for more soup and all the soup extras.

Edited to add, yay! It got there to Andrew at Spittoon Extra. It’s really cool to think that my art project from the basement last weekend is now in England!

I recently registered for What’s for Lunch Honey’s Blogger Postcards Around the World event. So fun. Buy or make a postcard for your secret postcard buddy, mail it off and receive another postcard from your own food blogging sender. I’ve received my recipient (not telling yet!), made my postcard this weekend, and it’s all ready to go in the mail Monday. Going to the post office and everything.

The one thing is as it’s a whole lot of acrylic paint and ink jet ink, I’ve decided to put the postcard in a vellum envelope, lest the receiver open their mailbox to a gloopy, wet mess if the postcard gets rained or snowed on en route.

I think I’m still honoring the spirit of the postcard as you can see the postcard clearly through the envelope, this way, it should just get there all intact. And cost a bit more in postage but no big deal.

The green smudgy thing is sort of the Hawthorne Bridge — eh, it’s expressionist!

The recipe on the back is for a quick pasta sauce that I make occasionally — it’s especially good with gnocchi. It’s also nice as you can add to it — feta, meatballs, sausage, more veggies, whatever you are in the mood for.

Spicy Valentine Tomato Sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup white onion, chopped
1/4 cup carrots, finely diced
Salt & pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup green or black olives, chopped
1 tsp fresh oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup red wine

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add the onions, a little salt and black pepper and sauté until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic, carrots, tomatoes, wine, olives, basil, oregano, and cayenne. Stir in the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.

Remove from the heat and purée in a food processor or blender. Serve with pasta.

Thanks again to What’s for Lunch Honey for arranging this whole valentine postcard exchange. I hope my postcard gets to where it’s going safely and I’m also really looking forward to my postcard! Who will it be from??? Where will it be from???

Updated to add that my postcard is officially on its way! I even guessed correctly at the postage needed. Gave it to the mail man and everything. It should be there in about a week.

Stay tuned…

Yep, it’s another Friday so it’s time for another Super Food. This recipe is for a side dish, so I figured it was okay to only incorporate one super food in this one. Pumpkin. I love the pumpkin. I made this, however, with an acorn squash. Either will work and either are good for you.

This turned out very well and looked beautiful on the plate. It’d make a great side for almost anything — we had it with some rosemary pork tenderloin. Recipe is based on one from Mario Batali, aka: Comic Book Guy.

Sweet and Sour Pumpkin: Zucca Gialla in Agrodolce
1 pound sugar pumpkin or acorn squash
1/2 small white onion, sliced
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
pinch of red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tbsp honey
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 bunch fresh chopped basil
1 tbsp fresh chopped mint

Leave the rinds on and remove seeds from the squash. Cut the flesh lengthwise into wedges, each about the length of your hand from fingertip to wrist. In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the pumpkin wedges and onion. Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes — just a few.

Cook until soft and deep golden brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Don’t toss the wedges roughly. Drizzle first the honey and then the red wine vinegar over the pumpkin pieces and cook until they reduce to a glaze, turning the pumpkin pieces as needed. Add half the basil and mint at the last second. Transfer pumpkin wedges to a platter and drizzle pan juices on top. Serve hot with the remaining basil and mint as a garnish on top.

Next week: an art project, pasta, another Super Foods Friday and more!

Actually, a better name would have been, “Sugar High I’m an Idiot Day.” I thought it was due on the 26th, (Friday) but entries were due yesterday.

*sigh*

I need to read directions better. Regardless, food bloggers everywhere (with good reading comprehension skills) have posted their recipes and they have been rounded up here. Please give it a read and feel the chocolate love!

What I chose to make was a recipe from the current Eating Well Magazine — Chai Chocolate Pots de Creme, using Dagoba organic chocolate from Ashland, Oregon. The type I used was Milagros 68% - Peru - Single Origin — two bars, $8.00 total at a store by my house. Well worth it, in my opinion. And actually, it was jwa’s $8 as he paid for the chocolate and a bag of rigatoni at Pasta Works last weekend.

A quick note on chocolates — if it doesn’t specifically say 68% cacao or some higher percentage like that right on the package, it’s most likely under 65%, so you’d use more chocolate and less sugar as noted below in the recipe.

Chai Chocolate Pots de Creme
It says this makes eight pots de creme but I say six — I guess it depends on the size of your ramekins.
2/3 cup whipping cream
4 cardamom pods, crushed
7 whole cloves
4 slices fresh ginger
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (if your chocolate is under 65% cacao, use 4.5 ounces instead), shaved, chips or other small pieces
1 1/2 cups fat free milk (or 2%)
1/4 cup sugar (again, if using less than 65%, use 3 tbsp sugar instead)
1 large egg
3 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
Garnish: Whipped cream
Garnish: Crystallized ginger

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place ramekins in a baking dish — if there’s a lot of extra room, place the ramekins on top of a tea towel or a few paper towels to keep the ramekins from moving around.

Heat the cream, cardamom, cloves and ginger in a small pot. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and let sit 10 minutes. Return to the heat and briefly bring back to a boil.

Place the chocolate in a large measuring cup and pour the hot cream through a strainer and down over the chocolate. Press down on the spices to extract as much of the cream as possible. Let the cream/chocolate mixture sit for three minutes. Don’t stir.

After the inactive three minutes, stir away until the chocolate melts and it is all smooth and you just want to slurp it up with a straw. If it’s not melted completely, pop it in the microwave for about 15 seconds.

In the pot you used to boil the cream, add the milk and sugar and bring to a simmer. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Slowly pour about 2/3 of the hot milk into the chocolate while stirring.

In another bowl, whisk the egg, yolks and vanilla in a small bowl. Slowly, while whisking, pour the remaining 1/3 hot milk into the egg/milk mixture. Strain that into the chocolate mixture and mix it all to combine.

Evenly divide the custard among the ramekins. Place the baking dish on a low oven rack and slowly pour hot water into the baking dish so that it comes up about 3/4 inch up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until the tops of the custards are barely set — about 16-20 minutes.

Let cool for about 1 hour and then refrigerate for about three hours until well chilled. Or, enjoy them at room temperature — that’s what we did. Couldn’t wait for refrigerator time. So good.

Garnish with whipped cream and sliced crystallized ginger.

It was a success! It was also our appetizer during Life Aquatic Fest ‘07. We snacked on it while watching some Jacques Cousteau. I never really thought I liked calamari, then I had some a few years ago at the Monterey Bay Aquarium — at the restaurant, that is, I didn’t just grab some squid out of the tank or anything. Crunchy coating, tender inside — it was so good. Who knew? Well, lots of people, I suppose.

Now whenever I see calamari on the menu while we are out, I have to get some. The best so far: mbay, Pacific Way Cafe — cumin-dusted!, Jake’s and Iorio.

This is the first time I attempted it at home. Since it was an experiment, I just grabbed a bag of frozen rings at Trader Joe’s. Next time, since this attempt worked so well, I will go all out and find some with little tentacles. Regardless, these results using the defrosted, frozen rings were crunchy, tender and nicely seasoned.

Instead of the romanesco sauce WS paired these up with, I opted to try a curried tomato dipping sauce. Excellent.

This calamari recipe is one I came across on the Williams-Sonoma Web site and the dipping sauce is from Dan and Steve, who are awesome and who need a much better time slot.

Fried Calamari
1 lb. fresh or thawed frozen calamari, cut into 1/2-inch rings, tentacles left intact
1 cup milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Peanut or canola oil for deep-frying
1 cup rice flour or all-purpose flour
1/2 cup coarse yellow cornmeal or polenta
1 tbsp paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Optional: Chopped, fresh parsley for garnish

In a bowl, combine the calamari, milk, and a pinch each of salt and black pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 4 hours.

Place an ovenproof platter in an oven and preheat to 150°F. In a heavy, deep fry pan or wide saucepan, pour in your oil to a depth of 2 inches and heat to 375°F on a deep-frying thermometer. Drain the calamari. In a large bowl, combine the rice flour, cornmeal, paprika, cayenne, parsley, salt and black pepper.

Add half of the calamari and toss to coat evenly, then transfer the coated calamari to a colander and shake gently to remove excess flour.

Add the coated calamari to the hot oil and deep-fry, using a wire skimmer or slotted spoon to push it gently into the oil occasionally, until crisp and golden brown, about 1 minute. Using the skimmer or spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain briefly, then place on the platter in the oven. Coat the remaining calamari and fry in the same way.

Garnish the calamari with some fresh parsley if desired and place a small bowl or ramekin holding the sauce in the center of the platter. Serve immediately.

Curried Tomato Sauce
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Pinch ground cloves

Put the tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, curry powder, salt, pepper and cloves into a saucepan and place over high heat.

Bring to a boil, stir to dissolve the sugar and cook until the tomatoes have broken down and the mixture is slightly thick, about 10 minutes.

Pour the mix into a food processor and pulse until smooth. Let cool to room temperature before refrigerating.

Waiter, There’s Something in My…is a new event hosted each month, alternatively by Spittoon Extra, Cook Sister! and Passionate Cook. The first theme is stew and is being rounded up here.

The timing for this food blogging event was perfect as jwa and I had been planing a Life Aquatic film festival. And what goes well with The Life Aquatic? Stew! Seafood Stew!

Steve Zissou: Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go on an overnight drunk, and in 10 days I’m going to set out to find the shark that ate my friend and destroy it. Anyone who wants to tag along is more than welcome. But first — some fish stew.

Also, I’m really happy to see a new general cooking event now that IMBB seems to have died out and I’m even happier to be participating in this one. We started the festivities with an episode of Jacques Cousteau’s Odyssey, while munching on fried calamari (recipe tomorrow) and then, a Spanish fish stew while watching The Life Aquatic. It was a very nice way to spend a chilly Saturday afternoon.

This recipe is based on one that I found at the Whole Foods Market for a Spanish Fish Stew with saffron, smoked paprika and ground almonds. The original recipe however, just said to use about three fish fillets, which was um, pretty unspecific. So, I chose some salmon and shrimp, both of which we had in the freezer. I used a pound of seafood total — one half pound of each. The salmon worked pretty well but I think halibut would be really good in this also. Or cod. Or uh, whatever looks good that day at the store. Or whatever you have in your freezer. It’s all good.

Cue the storming the beaches of the Hotel Citroen music, grab your red hat, your campari and soda and let’s go…

Life Aquatic Fish Stew
There’s a lot of ingredients but don’t let that scare you off…
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and diced (or a combination of red, orange or yellow bell peppers)
2 oz prosciutto, diced
3 lb ripe tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted and finely ground
1/2 tsp saffron threads
1 tsp dried thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 tsp sea salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 smoked paprika
1 cup dry white wine
3 cups vegetable stock, a light chicken stock or fish stock (if you use fish stock, omit the clam juice and use 3 1/2 cups of stock — I used no-chicken chicken broth, as neither jwa nor I wanted an overly fishy fish stew — I know, weird, it being a fish stew and all…)
1/2 cup tiny shell pasta
1/2 cup clam juice
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 pound halibut, salmon, cod or whatever, diced into bite-sized pieces
1/2 pound shrimp, cleaned and de-tailed if you like
6 lemon wedges, for garnish
parsley, chopped, for garnish
wedges of grilled country bread for serving

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Sauté the onions until translucent. Add the garlic and red bell peppers and cook 5 minutes more, until softened. Stir in the prosciutto and cook 3 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.

Add the tomatoes and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring frequently to prevent scorching, until the liquid has evaporated. Stir in the ground almonds, saffron, thyme, rosemary, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and white wine. Boil until the wine has nearly evaporated.

Pour in the stock, clam juice, lemon juice and pasta. Bring to a boil and cook 5-6 minutes until the pasta is almost done. Add fish and simmer, 3 to 5 minutes longer, until fish is done and pasta is tender. Adjust seasonings and remove rosemary sprigs. Serve with lemon wedges and toasted bread.

It’s funny — I really made the fish stew to go with the movie, rather than really, really wanting a fish stew. jwa was, in fact, wary of the fish stew. But — this was so good! A bit spicy and saffrony, it had a great flavor and was very filling. I really can’t wait to make it again. Now, I just need to decide what will make a good meal with the Rushmore/Royal Tenenbaums Festival that’s in the works…

Thanks to Spittoon Extra for hosting this month’s event. I’m already looking forward to next month’s theme!

Today’s Super Foods recipe is a little like falafel — ‘cept it’s not. Instead of garbanzo beans it uses lentils. I was very surprised by the overall flavor difference, in that there was one. These have a nuttier taste and were very, very good. Even jwa expressed a surprised liking for these. That’s quite a recommendation as he typically does not get too excited about lentil recipes.

These were a little crumbly, so you probably don’t want to over stuff the pita. Two-three patties per each sandwich.

Next week, Sugar High Friday kicks Super Foods Friday to the curb.

Lentil Fritters with Yogurt Mint Sauce
From a recipe in Gourmet Magazine
1 1/4 cups lentils, picked over and rinsed
1/2 cup rolled oats
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
dash of red pepper flakes
1 large egg, beaten lightly
Olive oil for frying
6 pita pockets, split (or flat bread)
Spinach leaves
1 tomato, chopped
1/4 cup olives, chopped (mine were feta-stuffed)

Yogurt Mint Sauce
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup cucumber, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced

Add lentils to a large saucepan of salted water and bring water to a boil. Cook lentils at a bare simmer until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.

In a blender or food processor grind oats into meal.

Drain lentils and combine in a bowl with the garlic, coriander, pepper flakes, cumin, and 3 tablespoons of the ground oats. Mash mixture with a potato masher.

Stir in egg and salt and pepper to taste and form mixture into small patties — I got about eight.

Coat burgers with remaining ground oats and chill, uncovered, 15 minutes.

In a small bowl stir together yogurt, mint, and salt and pepper to taste.

In a large skillet heat a liberal coating of oil (a few tablespoons) over moderately high heat until hot but no smoking and fry burgers, in batches if necessary, until browned and crisp, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side.

Serve burgers in pitas with lettuce and yogurt mint sauce.

Super foods used: beans (lentils), oats, and yogurt.

Tábor
Downtown at SW 5th and Stark
503-997-5467

Mmmmmmm…schnitzelwich
Before I even tried Tábor, I thought it was the lunch cart with the most personality. The colorful Eastern European cottage facade, the music from the outdoor speakers … cute! After reading the little write up in Portland Magazine I finally managed to stop by for lunch and now I am in love with the schnitzelwich.

Breaded pork loin or chicken breast in a Ciabatta roll with lettuce, paprika spread, sautéed onion and horseradish $5.00.

It is, first of all, huge. H-U-G-E. I eat half for lunch, wait an hour or so, then eat the rest because I loved the first half so much. Crispy chicken, caramelized onions and horseradish, you say? Fabulous. Sign me up.

I need to try a few of the other items on the menu — the potato pancakes and chicken paprika are especially calling to me — but it’s hard to not order the sandwich. They have all sorts of authentic Czech food including goulash, soups, dumplings and sausages. They also cater and (their web site says) will offer cooking classes. Fun! I try to go there once every couple of weeks, as I know my desire for hot, crispy, big sandwiches will leave me once the weather gets warm. Stupid summer.

When I visited during the snow storm yesterday, before getting to go home early, the owners were telling me how they got in early that day, before all the snow and now they were stuck at work. Bad for them but good for me. I got my schnitzelwich.

Schnitzelwich. Schnitzelwich. So much fun to say too.

I had no idea that it was supposed to snow today, Neither, apparently, did Trimet. It started out as a nice walk in the snow at 7:20 AM, down to the bus stop at 34th & Hawthorne.

Once there, I only had to wait about 5 minutes before a bus came. It was packed but I got a spot right in the front, standing just a hair behind the yellow line. Good for me but bad for everyone at stops past 30th, as we had no room and he didn’t make any other stops.

Once we hit Madison though, it was all backup and no bus lane. So, I decided to get off at Grand and walk the rest of the way into work. So did a lot of other people. I even beat the bus across the bridge by walking it.

Got to work at 8:20 so it took me about 60 minutes. It usually takes 30 minutes so not too bad.

Another bridge picture.

View from my office window.

Around 11:10 I decide to go out and forage for lunch, walk around and take a few pics.

Snow covered octopus outside Greek Cusina.

Snow outside Tabor Cafe where I grabbed some lunch

Art-y snow pic back by office, across the street from Mother’s.

The awesomeness of the Schnitzelwich — more on that tomorrow.

Get back to work and find out we all get to leave at noon. Yay! Eat half of lovely schnitzelwich and tasty sobe green tea and check the Trimet page for bus tracking. It said there was a Hawthorne bus due at the corner of SW 2nd and Alder in 10 minutes. I’m somewhat skeptical, though, as it had said this for the last hour. Got my stuff and started out anyway.

When I get there, it’s chaos. There’s 25 or so people standing about and a Trimet dude trying to help people with the new bus stops downtown. I asked him if the transit tracker was lying when it says there was a 14 coming in 10 minutes. Two ladies waiting for the 15 laughed. They had been waiting for the Belmont bus already at this stop for 1 1/2 hours. They had not seen a 14 come by in all that time. In fact, no buses had been by at all. I start walking home.

Called jwa and informed him of my new (and improved?) transit plans. He said he’d leave the house now (he had a full, work-from-home snow day), and that we’d meet on Hawthorne and walk back home together. How sweet.

Looking back at downtown.

We met up around SE 18th and stopped in Starbucks so that my legs could warm up, as they were frozen by this point. Got a green tea latte, defrosted a bit and headed back out. Further up Hawthorne, around 25th, a bus has wiped out and was blocking the right, east-bound lane. Now it just sat there, deserted, stuck and forlorn.

Boo.

We got home around 1:30 and now I am going to curl up on the couch with a book, Tim Powers, Three Days to Never, which I highly recommend.

Hmmmm, wonder if tomorrow will be a snow day too?

Spinach Gratin on the holiday table

Looking for something to do with a gallon of whole milk? Well, today’s a two-fer. Sure, the holidays are over and so is the time for cream and non-non-fat milk, but if you do choose to splurge anytime soon, here are two really good recipes to make and enjoy. Add a roast chicken to the mix and you have a whole cold weather meal.

The Spinach Gratin is from Ina Garten and the rice pudding is from Giada Delaurentis aka: Little Big Head.

Spinach Gratin
(works well halved)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
4 cups chopped yellow onions (2 large)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups milk
3 pounds frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
1 package button mushrooms, sliced (10-12 mushrooms)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions and mushrooms, saute until soft, about 15 minutes. Add the flour and nutmeg and cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes. Add the cream and milk and cook until thickened. Squeeze as much liquid as possible from the spinach and add the spinach to the sauce. Add 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese and mix well. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Transfer the spinach to a baking dish and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and the Gruyere on top. Bake for 20 minutes until hot and bubbly. Serve hot. Leftovers? Use it to make a decadent spinach lasagna by alternating noodles, red sauce and your spinach mixture. Top with extra red sauce and mozzarella.

Next, this is an awesome dessert. The orange/vanilla combo gives it a really great dreamsicle quality. If you don’t have dark rum, you can use some grand mariner. The risotto rice makes it extra creamy.

Vanilla-Orange Rice Pudding
5 cups whole milk
2/3 cup Arborio rice or other short-grain white rice
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons dark rum or Grand Marnier liqueur
1 teaspoon grated orange peel

Combine the milk and rice in a heavy medium saucepan. Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean; add the bean. Bring the milk to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the rice is tender, stirring frequently, about 25 minutes. Mix in the sugar, alcohol, and orange peel. Discard the vanilla bean. Cook until the mixture thickens, 5 to 10 minutes longer.

Spoon the rice pudding into bowls. Serve warm or cover and refrigerate until cold, about 5 hours.

Snow!
Whoo! It’s snowing in Portland! We have about 2 inches so far and we’re supposed to have snow until 4pm today. How high will the accumulation be then? I made it into work (took 60 minutes instead of 30 on the Hawthorne bus). But, will I make it home tonight? Perhaps I will be walking. We’ll see. When I get home, I’ll have some snow photos of downtown and the SE!