Kettle Style Potato Chips... in your Microwave?!

So late one night a couple weeks ago, I had a serious jones for potato chips. Which we didn't have. Nothing else really does it if all you want to crunch down on is some chips. So after Zips did a little web surfing, she announced that we would make our own. right now. ...in the microwave.

I was seriously skeptical. I thought potatoes would be floppy and perhaps eventually leathery if left in the microwave too long. But eventually, I gave in, and sliced a potato as thinly as humanly possible.

Then coated them with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and arranged them in a single layer on a microwave-safe plate.

We microwaved the plate for 2 minutes, flipped the chips over and gave them 2 more minutes. Then again. After about 6 minutes or so, the slices started to yellow. I gave it another minute and a half, then drained the chips on a paper towel.

When they cooled, they were crunchy. But more importantly, They Were Potato Chips.

We ended up making 3 batches, which isn't terribly energy or time efficient. But we just couldn't believe it! They were delicious. The thicker slices ended up tasting and crunching like kettle chips. The thinnest slices, the translucent ones I was sure would adhere to the plate and burn in the microwave ended up crisp and identical to original Lays. Curse my skepticism. Point: Zips.

Vicarious Trips to Italy and Accidental Lowry's Seasoning

Another major project this past week has been a back-to-school care package of sorts for some of our favorite colleagues-- one of whom went to Italy this summer. Since I'm trying to become proficient with my beloved pasta machine, we decided to go all-out on a Little Italy extravaganza. I made a batch of spinach fettuccine (we bagged some and ate the rest!),

and an amazing raspberry vinegar, some of our home brew limoncello (which Zips has started referring to as moonshine),

some raspberry/strawberry syrups (not italian, but it goes well with the moonshine-- ooh, and you could use to make italian soda!), and some biscotti. (Chocolate and Almond Cranberry. I have the best recipe from a holiday issue of Vegetarian Times. I'll probably come back to this when we make it again in the fall!)

We got some cardboard boxes that looked like suitcases, so I painted and tricked them out to look like well-traveled steamer trunks.

Then packed the goodies in-- (this is before I had decided to make up a batch of the spinach pasta)-- Zips also made a great retro Franco-Italiano music mix that we dubbed "limoncello lounge".

In the process, we tried several other recipes for this and that homemade goodie, one of which was a "spice blend"-- that I realized, after whipping up a batch, tastes almost exactly like Lowry's Seasoned Salt. So much so, that after snapping this photo of it (with the Lowry's in the background), I literally dumped the entire homemade batch into my already opened Lowry's to top it off. (I decided not to gift it-- I didn't want our friends thinking I gave them a little glass jar of store-bought seasonings, pretending it was homemade!)

If you're interested, here's the recipe. It tastes fine. In fact, I will be happy to use this, since it is very flavorful and has no salt. Maybe I'll see if I can't whip up some Mrs. Dash's seasoning next!

The Accidental Lowry's

1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

3/4 tsp. thyme

1/2 tsp. oregano

1 1/2 tsp. onion powder

1 1/4 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. ground celery seed

1 1/2 tsp. white pepper

1 1/2 tsp. ground mustard

1 tsp. black pepper