Yet to make Peace wtih the Past, but Trying . . . .

“Not till we are completely lost or turned around... do we begin to find ourselves.”
― Henry David Thoreau

February 11^th, 2012

And he we are pages into the chapter of February and nothing much of anything to show for it as of yet.  Today, I will join my other self in attempting to work towards some goals lest I return to California in March with an empty vase.  Spring approaches, so does my job offer & my trial date – Scotty is rearing to make some dividends and make a difference in all directions of life.

Not much to report today other than I didn’t win the Florida Powerball Lottery.  I’ve never been one for luck despite my zodiac sign claiming such fortune.  To bad, 250 million would have come in handy . . good news is nobody else won – I’ll play again tomorrow with a snippet of optimistic.  Meaningless conversation of the married folks has me thinking that I might discuss further this concept of marriage and the recent declaration that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.  And so I provide this mornings example of chitter-chatter between my step-dad & mother:

“That flowering bush is so pretty”, mom says.  “They don’t bloom all season, you should get a picture of them”, says Dan.  Mom replies, “They are really, really pretty.”  Dan continues, “Do it on a sunny day though”  Dan continues his stretches whilst Mom rummages through the fridge for more blueberries and asks, “So what are we going to do with the dog when we go to the rookery.”  Dan replies, “We said we were going to take him with us, it’s not hot out.”  Mom drifts off into a new topic, “I don’t know what I did with my water Dan, I never took it . . . do you know where it is?”  Dan mumbles, “I know there was an empty water bottle on the counter last night, it sat there (he points).”

This is what we (I say we only because I too happen to fall into the category of homosexuals) have to look forward to . . . companionship that grows bored, the wrinkles like rings around a tree trunk depicting the good years, those of drought and those of flood.  Valentines Day is just around the corner and aside from one’s anniversary, for many this day will be the only day of 365 to embrace the forgotten concept of romanticism.  Who am I to speak on this subject?  I’ve only had a Valentine 2 years of my 15 as an “out of the closet” participant.  I look forward to the reward of love and I’ve envisioned the magical, sweep me off my feet feeling of a wedding procession but again embrace this holiday in solitary fashion.

My blog has dragged on for 3 days . . . it’s time to just post it and start anew tomorrow before I have enraptured myself within too many concepts.  Tomorrow is a new day and as for food . . . I cooked last night for some of my Mom’s friends.  The menu:

Stone Crab & Florida Prawn stuffed Hungarian Peppers

Chipotle-Tamarind poached Tilapia with Fennel-Pickled Pepper Relish

Roasted Eggplant-Hamburger Bun Crouton Hash Hash (it was off the hook!)

Caramelized Plantain Terrine with House Spun Mozzarella & Fried Polenta

Banana Clafoutis with Caramelized Starfruit

So that’s what I cooked and here I offer you a recipe for Clafoutis which is a marvelous dessert . . I cross between a custard and cake, this was by far the best one I’d ever made (I’ll post the photo later)

With Culinary Blessings,

                  Chef Scotty

Recipe for Clafoutis

Choose any fruit of your liking, I’ve always liked to add almond extract with bing cherry and I always replace half of the milk with yogurt and in yesterdays case I added ginger, starfruit (which was super ripe from the farmers market) and blended up 3 bananas).

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons white sugar, divided
• 14 Italian prune plums, halved and pitted
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/3 cups milk
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Butter a 10 inch pie plate, and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar over the bottom.
2. Arrange the plum halves, cut side down, so that they cover the entire bottom of the pie plate. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar over the top of the plums. In a blender, combine the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar, eggs, milk, flour, lemon zest, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt. Process until smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour over the fruit in the pan.
3. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and lightly browned. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.