Carolyn Erickson

Charmian Christie Charmian Christie has a delightful blog about the goings-on in her kitchen – food she’s making, gadgets she’s trying out, and even a dramatic saga about whisky called “As the Barrell Turns.” (How does she get her friends and loved ones to pose for those cute pictures?)

I don’t consider myself much of a foodie, and yet I probably spent over an hour there reading the posts. Growing up, I had no time for the kitchen; I was busy reading books. It wasn’t until maturity knocked me over the head with a rolling pin that I realized I should graduate from the can opener and microwave and learn how to make things.

I started with a basic herb-roasted chicken, which came out of the oven absolutely perfect. I was amazed that all I had to do was open a book with pictures and follow the numbered steps and I could produce something delicious and impressive.

The next big challenge was what they call gravy in the South and Béchamel on the Food Network. What starts off as a weird lumpy mixture of butter and flour becomes – well, so many things. Alton Brown did a whole show on gravy. It’s that important.

I moved to breads and pie crusts. (Homemade French bread tastes 32,000 times better than store-bought. And the best part? Casually working into the dinner conversation that it’s homemade, thusly: “Oh, how is it? I might have let it get too warm during the second rise.”)

And did you know you can make yogurt? Recently I made yogurt after writing an article about food safety. That’s a job hazard right there. As I’m cooling the milk to just the right temperature I realize I’ve got my own little bacteria factory.

They’ll tell you not to bake bread on the same day that you make yogurt because the yeast stymies the growth of the cultures. I can tell you right now I’m never going to need that information. Are there actually people who make homemade yogurt AND bread on the same day?

Now for my picture, since I’m trying to be like Charmian, who is as talented with a camera as she is with butter tarts. This isn’t something I make, but I enjoy it every day – my husband roasts all of our coffee, using the best green coffee beans from around the world. Every morning is a geography lesson while I sip the hot black brew du jour. If you are jealous, you should be. He makes the best coffee. Here’s a picture of the beans cooling after being roasted:

And that monstrosity behind the coffee beans? That’s one reason NOT to be jealous, I guess. That’s our restaurant-grade espresso/cappuchino maker taking up half of my counter space. On the other hand, it does make great espresso and we can have it any time of the day or night, so yeah. I should be thankful.

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