Salvage operation: deviled egg toast

I've gotten in the habit of keeping hard-boiled eggs around. They're easy to make (eggs in pan, cold water to cover, bring to a boil, cover, let sit for 12 minutes, cool in a bowl of ice water) and handy for mid-afternoon protein boosts at work or when the occasional craving for deviled eggs hits, like it did last night. When I set about peeling a couple I had in the fridge, I realized that I had screwed up the timing with the most recent batch and had half a dozen gorgeous CSA eggs with yolks that were barely set and whites that were jellied and, truth be told, a little gooey.
I figured they'd still work for egg salad though and mashed them up with a big spoonful of grainy mustard, a handful of chopped cornichons, dollop of mayonnaise, paprika, and salt. Creamy and flavorful, spread on wheat toast and sprinkled with more paprika, it made a mighty fine light dinner, maybe even more delicious than a plate of deviled eggs would have been.

Easy apricot jam

Quart of apricots, 2 c sugar, juice of a lemon, apply heat, spread on toast.

I feel like superwoman. :)

Photos excavated from a flash drive at the bottom of my purse

The theme is: Things That Will Kill You.
I don't know what these are even called: fake body outline cutouts where you put your face there? It's one of those .... of DEATH.

Scary basement piano, ready to eat you

Dolls are scary generally, but lots of them in formation? AHHHHHHHHHH. If you installed this lamp in your home, it would inch closer and closer one night while you were sleeping and then they'd all KICK YOU TO DEATH WITH THEIR COLD, POINTY FEET.

"Ha ha," I said, when I saw this chocolate on my hotel bed. "The way they wrote 'good night' makes it sound like drugged chocolate that will put you to sleep." And we laughed.
And then I turned it over and OMG IT IS DRUGGED CHOCOLATE THAT WILL PUT YOU TO SLEEP.

Summer soup

In a blender, combine a little garlic, a peeled and seeded cucumber, a chopped avocado, pinch of cayenne, juice of a lime, a few scoops of plain yogurt, dash of salt, and buttermilk to cover. Cool and creamy, with a gentle bite. It's my new favorite.

While I've been blog-absent...

...I've been working on my ripple blanket and playing with fun camera apps.

"Go stand over there and I'll take your picture."

That's something you hear a lot when you go anywhere with my dad.

Sol LeWitt show, MASS MoCA

My new favorite summer treat

A little bit of sweetened heavy cream poured over a very tart granita.

DUDE.

It's one of those things that magically turns out to be far more than the sum of its parts. The granita is all crunchy crystals, but the cream settles around them and refreezes, softening the edges, while still maintaining the essential structure. And it tastes pretty fantastic.

You start by making a granita out of whatever juice you like. I've only tried it with the kind of thick, tart juices I wouldn't want to drink straight — black cherry, concord grape, some kind of blueberry/pomegranate concoction — but I bet something more mellow, like pear, would be good too. There are nice step-by-step directions here, though I don't add extra sugar to the juice. When it's frozen and you're ready to eat, pour a couple of tablespoons of heavy cream into a ramekin, add a teaspoon or so of sugar, and stir until the sugar dissolves. This should also thicken the cream a bit, though not to the point that it'll hold peaks. Pile some granita into a little dessert cup, pour the cream on top and give it a minute to merge. Magic.

Out of context, this photo would be totally gross.

Cajeta

My supply of Fat Toad Farm goat's milk caramel is running low. It's splendid stuff, but at nearly $8 for that size jar (not that I begrudge them! they have goat maintenance to pay for!), I figured it was something worth trying to make for myself. I've made not-very-exciting dulce de leche in the past, but thought that it was worth having a go at a goat's milk version.

I used this recipe, though I halved it (except for the vanilla. because in all the excitement of looking to see if I had any vanilla beans left and realizing I didn't, I forgot and threw in a whole tablespoon of extract. lord knows that keeping track of four whole ingredients is awfully taxing) and added a cinnamon stick while it cooked. And it turned out pretty well! It took a lot less time than that experiment last year, just about an hour and a half. The color is pretty close to the Fat Toad stuff and while it's a little bit thinner, I noticed that they list cornstarch in their ingredients so they're helping things along a bit. I think it would have been better with half the vanilla, but it's a minor quibble and easily corrected next time.