Plane Date

Planes and Ice-cream

I like planes.  I don't always care to ride in them, and I don't know random facts about a 747.   I do, however, like watching them.  I find them intriguing.  It blows my mind how humans are able to fly in the air with these things.

Besides being amazed at the ability of flight, I also like to imagine where a plane is going or what the people are thinking that are in the plane.  I like to imagine what vacations are heading to or family they are going to visit.  Sometimes when I am inside a plane, I imagine someone wondering the same things about me.

When I was an SM, the island was incredibly tiny.  We could pretty much get right up to the fence of the runway and watch planes take-off.  Unfortunately, because it was such a small island, planes rarely landed.  A couple times I was able to just stare and watch a plane take-off.  Since we've been in Taiwan, we've gone to a couple parks and watched the planes land in the middle of the city.  I thought those experiences were great, but now, I know how silly that was.  This last Wednesday Zach took me on a date to watch planes, and our new location was phenomenal.  We were right up against the fence.  The first plane that landed was, my guess, a Boeing 777.  It came in really slow and as it was almost there, I actually felt a little scared.  We were right in front of it, and it looked like it was going to land right on us.  As it flew over us, I nearly fell over from the wind and exhaust.  It was as impressive as watching a whale breach, which I haven't seen in it's entirety, but I imagine they are similar.

Someone asked me shortly before leaving for our date, "What exactly do you do when you watch planes?"  "Just watch them.  I like having something simple to watch and let the conversation flow."  We didn't take any pictures of our date, but if we had, they would have looked something like these pictures.

After we were finished staring and gazing at planes, we headed home for a special Coldstone treat.  I absolutely LOVE Coldstone.  Unfortunately, all the Coldstones in Taiwan have Asian flavors.  Yeah, they still have some staple flavors like vanilla, cheesecake, and sweet cream, but they also have rose, green tea, and earl gray.  Gross.  Needless to say, we don't frequent Coldstone as much as I would like to.  For the date, I decided to make our own Coldstone.  We were each given a list of items (all of which were available in our home), and we created our own creation.  Delicious! 

This was Zach's creation cookie dough, sprinkles, and whipped cream.

Mine was ridiculous.  I had cake pieces, pie crusts, caramel, sprinkles, and whipped cream. 

Knoefla and Spaetzle Soup

         Knoefla                     &                  Spaetzle    

One of my favorite meals in the winter is knoefla or spaetzle; two very similar soups.  Knoefla is typically made with potatoes and dumplings.  Whereas spaetzle has carrots, celery, and you use a spaetzle press to make it.  Unfortunately, I don't have a spaetzle press.  Therefore, the soups look quite similar to one another. 

Since this is a German recipe, the only way to truly make it is to not follow a recipe.  You just kinda have to learn how to make it.  I'll try my best to give measurements for the soup.

Knoefla/Spaetzle

First, cut up some onions.  Put them in a little water and boil them until they're pretty transparent.  

Next, cut up some potatoes. The more you cut, the more soup you'll make.  You can determine how much soup you want to make. 

Once the onions are translucent, add the potatoes to the mixture.  Cook the onions and potatoes slowly. 

Then, make your dough.  You can make it so it's quite wet, or you can make it a little more stiff.  This time I made it more stick, and I used a scissors to cut it into little chunks.  

To make the dough, add egg(s), flour, salt, water, and a little baking powder. 

Cut the dough in small pieces into a boiling pot of water. 

Add the dumplings to the potatoes and onions. Add salt, other seasonings, and cream.  

 

If you're making spaetzle, add carrots and celery.  

Mmmm....

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

It's frigid in Taipei.  Even though baking sounds like a great way to warm up the house, I feel like I don't have the will-power to get up from my warm, cozy spot on the couch to do anything.  It can easily drop down to 40 degrees in our house.  Brrrr....  One of the most important things I learned while living in the Marshall Islands for a year.... I don't like cold weather.

Well last Friday evening, despite the cold, I decided to make some bread.  In the summer when the humidity is out of control, I think about making bread.  I find myself saying, "I'll make it in the winter."  Well, the winter comes and goes and very little bread making happens.  Currently, I have 1 week left before I start my next grad. class.  So, I've decided to do all those "winter" things.

Mixture of cinnamon, sugar, melted butter, soymilk, warm water, and yeast.

 Add flour and knead the dough for a few minutes.

 Let the dough rise until doubled. 

This is how I cook when it's cold: layers of sweaters, scarf, and apron. 

 Roll out the dough into a rectangle.

 Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.  (I used more cinnamon and sugar than the recipe called for).

 Roll up the dough like you're rolling up cinnamon rolls. 

Let the dough rise in the pan for about 30 minutes.  

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

adapted from Recipegirl

Yield: 10 to 12 servings (1 loaf)

Prep Time: 35 min + rising time

Cook Time: 45 min

This Cinnamon Swirl Bread is delicious sliced up and toasted, and it's equally good when dipped in egg batter for French Toast...

Ingredients:

BREAD:
1 Tablespoon butter
1/2 cup milk  ( I used soymilk)
2 Tablespoons granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)
3 cups all-purpose flour, divided + more for surface work
FILLING:
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
2 Tablespoons granulated white sugar
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a microwavable up, heat butter and warm milk in short bursts; stir together until butter is melted.
2. In a large bowl, stir sugar, salt and cinnamon. Pour warm butter/milk mixture into the bowl; stir.
3. In a glass measuring cup or small bowl, mix yeast and warm water until yeast is dissolved; pour into the bowl and stir.
4. Mix in 2 1/2 cups flour. Turn out dough onto a floured board (dough will be sticky). Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of flour onto the dough and knead until the dough is soft and smooth (4 to 5 minutes). Add additional sprinkles of flour, if needed.
5. Put dough into a greased bowl; turn the dough over so the top of the dough is greased too. Cover with a clean dish towel and let rise in a warm place for about 60 minutes, or until doubled in size (see tips below...)
6. Punch down the dough in the bowl with your fist. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 1 minute.
7. Roll dough out into a basic rectangular shape. Use a butter knife or your clean fingers to spread 2 Tablespoons softened butter on the surface of the rolled out dough. In a small bowl, mix white sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle this mixture on top of the butter.
8. Roll up dough and form into a loaf. Place into a buttered 5x9-inch bread pan, seam side down. Cover with a clean dish towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
9. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
10. Score risen dough in the pan by cutting 3 slashes diagonally across the top of the loaf with a sharp knife. Bake bread for 35 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Fully baked bread should sound hollow when tapped.
11. Turn out bread and let cool on a wire rack.

Pasta Primavera

I love zucchini.  I believe it's my favorite vegetable.  Unfortunately, zucchini is quite expensive in Taiwan.  I was hankering for some yummy vegetables a couple months ago and decided to splurge on 3 zucchinis.  This recipe was amazing!  It is definitely restaurant worthy.  You can make it as healthier by using less cream.  I did that a couple times, and it still was delicious.  Buon appetito!

Pasta Primavera  
    Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound angel hair pasta or spaghetti  (I used penne pasta)
• 1 small bunch broccoli, about 1 heaping cup of florets
• 1 small zucchini, diced
• 1 small carrot, shredded
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 3 Roma or other paste tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 12 basil leaves, chopped
• 4 Tbsp. butter
• 1/4 cup chicken broth (I used McKay's vegetable broth for a vegetarian option)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Salt

METHOD

1 Get a large pot of water boiling. Salt it well. It should taste like the sea. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Boil the broccoli for 2 minutes.  Remove and plunge them into the ice water. Once they’re cool, drain in a colander.

If you want, you can boil your pasta in the same pot you boiled the broccoli in, or you can start over and boil new water; I use the same water.

2 In a large sauté pan, heat the butter over medium-high heat. When the butter is hot, add the garlic and zucchini and sauté 1 minute. Add the diced tomatoes and sauté another 2 minutes, stirring often.

3 Pour in the chicken or vegetable broth and turn the heat to high to bring it to a boil. Add the cream and toss in the broccoli you boiled. Stir to combine. Turn the heat down until the cream-chicken broth mixture is just simmering, not boiling.

4 Add parmesan cheese (optional) and stir to combine. If the sauce seems too thick – it should be pretty thick, but not gloppy – add some more chicken broth, cream or water.

5 Boil the pasta. Note: If you are using spaghetti, you will want to start cooking it before you begin sautéing the garlic and zucchini. Angel hair will only need 1-2 minutes to cook, vermicelli or spaghetti can take 8-12 minutes.

As soon as the pasta is done, transfer it with tongs into the sauce and stir to combine. Add the basil now, and taste for salt. Add salt if needed. Grind some black pepper over everything and serve immediately.

Yield: Serves 4.