These were so good, I have no pictures! The mocha flavor wasn't as pronounced as I'd like with just coffee, so perhaps I'll try a double-brew espresso next time.

1/4 strong espresso, cooled
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 all purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup chopped, toasted pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together wet ingredients; espresso, buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla.  In another bowl, mix dry ingredients: flour, sugars, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Stir wet into dry ingredients roughly, then mix in chocolate chips and pecans.  Divide batter equally in muffin tins, about 2/3 full. Bake 25 minutes, rack and cool.

Adapted from this Epicurious recipe.

SHOWStudio: Design Downloads offers free sewing patterns from great designers like John Galliano and Junya Watanabe.


Print out the pieces on letter size paper, tape them together, and voila a pattern to trace. The Yohji Yamamoto design is fairly simple though it takes some thinking to work out the construction.

I'm moving up from a flawed 1970's Singer Fashionmate 288 so I'm no expert on machines, but so far I'm liking my new Juki set up. I've also used the Bernina mechanicals at school, and a borrowed Singer from the 80's or 90's.  At The Sewing Machine Shop (Walnut Creek, CA), I tried the Pfaff Creative 2134, the Babylock Decorator's Choice, and Janome's 2010.  Since I got home, I've been hovering over the machine, turning it on and off (it makes a bzzzt! noise), and generally sort of just letting go of my new purchase jitters. Oh, and taking pictures!

The handle of the machine fits through the hard case, which is padded inside with some molded pieces of cheesy styrofoam glued into place.  Seems sturdy enough, but I'm not sure it will hold up for 30 years... Side pocket full of stuffs: handbook, extra bag full of accessories (walking foot, darning, plus others), cables, foot pedal, and the knee lifter. The Juki is pretty plug and play. No hitches there.

Here's the accessory tray with some included feet, bobbins and the like. Beneath the tray is space for the buttonhole apparatus, which is a sensor type that plugs in to the side.

The threading and stitch chart from above.  Apparently, the bobbin winder has a separate motor. 
With the case off, the free arm is, well, free. I forget what that grey button is, but now a little lever is exposed that drops the feed dog. There's a slot in the back side of the case for stuff storage, but it's an awkward space I probably won't use.

Conclusions: The Pfaff was slightly smoother feeding then the Juki with that built in walking foot/IDT, but the stitches looked close enough to my untrained eyes. While the saleslady could just whiz away at the faster Pfaff speed, I know I rarely get out the gate that easy at home. Also the Pfaff has a 9mm max stitch width (apparently easier to sew zippers) where the Juki only has 7mm, which is not a dealbreaker for me. However, none of the other machines at this price point had the same kind of features as the Juki. Once I started using the auto cutters, it was hard to go back. I think the only function I liked that the Juki doesn't have was the tie off stitch. Finally, the auto needle threader isn't as easy to use as the Babylock, although again, not terrible.

In any case, I have 30 days to change my mind. The only remorse I have so far is that I didn't bargain harder for extra needles, bobbins, discount, free service, classes and whatnot. In fact, there was a sign that said if you spend a certain amount you get a gift card, and I emailed them but have yet to hear anything back. They offered me basically nothing except a toll free phone number. No one else sells Juki in the area so they had me over a barrel unless I bought online, but really I prefer to support someone local. I did ask for a tax break to even it all up but the owner said nix. Honestly, the folks there are friendly and helpful, so no major complaints. I probably was just obviously too sold. 

Tomorrow, the pillow making test begins.

I bought the Juki F600 and brought this bad-boy home today after much deliberation. As I unpacked it and started to sort through the goods, I noticed that Juki really put some thought into how parts of the machine fit together.


The accessories stow really neatly into a side compartment on the hard case and the foot pedal slides into its own niche. There's a hole on the right where the cables come out, so I can cover the machine without unplugging everything all the time (though the manual says you should...or get a good surge protector.)  I'm going to go through the nicely illustrated and large font size manual tonight. Tomorrow, I'll find out if I can't set it up wrong!



And then macaroni and cheese.  Again! Smoked pork chops, fresh broccoli and pearl onions.

We received a Cuisinart Toaster/Convection Oven for the Holidays.  The thing is hefty and about the size of our microwave oven, but it has a deep mouth, enough for a 12" pizza.  Pizza came out pretty good, perhaps even a bit better than the aluminum pan in a regular oven.  The oven has a hot spot in the right hand corner that I suppose could be rotated, but this way the well-done people get an "end" slice and I don't have to wait forever for the oven to preheat.  The dough is super easy with the new recipe, and I store it in the fridge/freezer no problem.  Now pizza is a quick meal!

 Don't miss all four parts of Signe Chanel on Youtube!

 

This year, we had a traditional Japanese New Year dinner, Osechi, with all the dishes served in pretty lacquered boxes.* I was inspired by the generous spread to make one of my favorite dishes.

Shira Ae 

 
1 loaf konnyaku, cut into matchsticks
2 small carrots, peeled and grated
1 small loaf tofu or half large loaf - silky styles
bunch of leafy green, like spinach or komatsu, cut into matching lengths
3 tbsp white sesame seeds
1 tsp oil
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp soy sauce, preferably light colored
1/3 cup dashi
1/4 tsp salt

In a large pot of boiling water, blanch greens briefly, rinse in cold water and squeeze dry. Blanch carrot for about 20 minutes or till just tender and drain well. Bring konnyaku to boiling and drain immediately. Bring tofu to boiling, simmer for 5 minutes and let cool. Wrap tofu in a piece of muslin and twist to squeeze out the moisture. Rub through a sieve and let the tofu drain.

For the sauce, heat oil to high heat. Add sugar and briefly caramelize. Add dashi, soy sauce and salt. Bring to low boil and reduce to half. Cool.

Roast sesame seeds lightly in a dry frying pan and grind into a fine paste. Mix with tofu and sauce. Toss konnyaku, and vegetables in dressing. Adjust salt and drizzle with a little sesame oil.


My salad had a bit too much tofu but I adjusted the recipe to compensate. To make sure the salad is just right, double the sauce and toss/taste ingredients little by little. Ingredients and tofu need to be dry as possible so the dressing doesn't get watery.


* Some other traditional dishes:
Kurikinton - Chestnuts in sweet potato puree
Acharazuke, Kikuka Kabu - Small turnips cut into a mum pattern with vinegar dressing and yuzu zest
Kobumaki - A kelp roll with gobo filling and tied with a little kanpyo bow
Kuromame - Blackened sweet soy beans
Datemaki - Egg and fishcake roll
Tazakuri - Candied tiny fish
Namasu - Pickled carrot and daikon
Kinpira Gobo - Sweet marinated gobo 
Kazunoko - Herring Roe
Simmered Satoimo/mountain yam, Renkon/lotus root, Koubaininjin/carrots, bamboo
Buri Teriyaki - Teriyaki-style broiled yellowtail 
Baked mochi puffs in light miso broth with greens, chicken and yuzu peel   
Lightly vinegared rice, with snow peas, shitake and shrimp.
Kohaku Kamaboko - white and pink fish cake

Dishdash -  Sunnyvale

Middle Eastern food with reasonable prices and large portions.  Great for groups.  I had the Mansaf, a mound of shredded lamb and rice sprinkled with almonds and floating in a sea of sauce.  The dish was salty, strong, and deliciously rich.  I think I prefer the Beriani however, which is a similar beef dish but with the sweetness of raisins to alleviate the heavy sauce.   Alex had the M'Tabaq, a sort of salmon, eggplant and rice timbale with a sea of tomato, sumac sauce. For dessert we had the Kenafeh, hot melty cheese wrapped in crispy shredded filo and topped with a pretty confetti of green pistachio.

Jang su Jang - Santa Clara

A relatively upscale Korean BBQ place where the servers wear spotless traditional Korean garb and talk like secret serviceman into little black earpieces. The wait is long, so make reservations in your best pretend Korean or prepare to wait with your vibrating pager.  Pan chan was fresh, including the kimchee, which was a little young for the taste of those present.  The pink and grey jello was my favorite, as well as the unusually thick seafood pancake.  Being overstuffed with goodies, the Pa Jun wasn't particularly crispy, so the purists didn't think it was that great, but I enjoyed it nonetheless as a sort of Okonomiyaki.   For meat, we had sizzling plate marinated pork that was very tender, table fired Kalbi on the bone, and thick griddled bacon (sometimes a bit gristly.)  The Korean grandmother at the table was unimpressed with the soy bean pan chan, and got up during the meal to provide grill service because the waitresses were lagging.  I missed having Shikye at the end of the meal.  Instead, the restaurant served us little bottles of yogurt drink, which I'm not a big fan of anyway.   Not sure I will go back on my own but not bad for a nice get together.