More Food & ERMIE News

I did it. I made this.
We ate it just as it was featured in the webisode- with carne asada. The pomegranate seeds are a genius addition to this dish. Little, sweet, juicy, crunchy pops of flavor that go so well with the queso fresco and the charred beef. The cactus I wasn't so crazy about. It was definitely fun to cook with- but even after cooking it for 20 minutes or so- it still had a viscous quality to it...similar to okra, which, incidentally, I've never been crazy about either.

But it's fun to cook with new foods and I'm glad I gave this a shot. The dish was a nice change of pace from our usual fare...and it also gave us the opportunity to use one of the pomegranates from our bumper crop we've had this year, as well as some chilies from our garden.

Last night I made a roasted chicken- it's cavity stuffed with a cut & squeezed lemon, fresh rosemary, parsley, oregano & marjoram from our garden-the outside of the bird rubbed with softened butter, and coated with generous amounts of salt & pepper.
I added carrots, garlic cloves, & baby fingerling potatoes tossed in olive oil, salt, pepper, herbs de Provence, and a few shakes of Penzey's BBQ 3000 rub.

It's so easy. You stick that bird in a 375 degree oven and just let it sit there for a couple of hours. Covering the bird loosely with a sheet of tin foil when it's browning too quickly, and making sure to uncover the bird once or twice to toss the veggies in the juices, and at the very end to allow the skin to crisp & brown.
Could not be easier- it turned out perfectly crisp & juicy- not dried out at all. Love dishes like this where I can mostly forget about them when they are cooking, and do other things like look at all of the used books I've purchased recently from Alias (more on that soon).

Oh, I made these cookies too. Best chocolate chip cookies ever. Worth the effort & the wait.

** Other News: I'll be accepting pre-orders for ERMIE F/W '11 due to several requests to do so. I'm going to set up a page in the next few days where you can view all of the styles & prices until the official look book comes out (shooting for early November for the look-book release date). There will be a few things in the look book that won't be previewed here on the blog: chiffon scarves, hand crocheted belts by Cheryl Cambras, and a couple of prints I'm working on at the last minute.

As long as you have a Paypal account you may pre-order. Pre-orders will ship in early to mid November, orders placed after the look book is released will ship late November, & early December. Just email me if you have any questions!