Iced Coffee Owns My Soul...wait, isn't that like four things that do now?

Geez, my soul must be huge for me to have so many things that own it.

I love iced coffee. It has much more caffeine (double, from what I hear!) and is super refreshing in the spring/summer. Here in NYC it goes from winter, to spring for two days and then it's insanely hot. Lately, though, the weather has been slingshotting around and no one knows what the hell is going on.

Iced coffee concentrate. Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?

Anyway, my day job is in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and there are like fifty coffeeshops near me (I'm sorry, Gorilla Coffee, I love you). Not kidding. I can look out the shop door and see two. It's insane. With my love of iced coffee, I had stopped in to get some and immediately wanted to never do it again. I loved the taste, loved the aroma, hated how much I had to pay. I get it, coffee is expensive, but I'm a cheapskate at heart so this needed to be fixed. Well, my fix needed to be fixed. Wait, what?

So I sat down and asked the internet how to make my own iced coffee. The plethora of articles I saw was incredible, such great info and little tidbits! However, I have next to no kitchen supplies anymore and I sure as shit don't have a french press. I had to play around and experiment!
I love experimenting.
Don't take that the wrong way.
Or do. Whatever. I won't tell you how to live your life.

I had to stop myself several times before gulping the crap out of  this on my walk to work.

Using the basics from The Nourishing Gourmet, I put together what I could and used this method:

Cold Brew Iced Coffee the Mande Way
Ingredients:
1 1/3c of coffee grounds (I have a huge bag of Blonde Roast coffee from Starbucks that my roommate gave me, but if you can get it ground fresh do so, the darker the better)
4c water
2 coffee filters
Salt, pepper (kidding, kidding!)

Method:
Mix together the coffee and water in a medium sized container (I didn't have one, so I used a small stock pot). Once it's properly mixed and all the grounds are immersed, pop it in the fridge overnight. By overnight, I mean at LEAST eight hours. You have to give it time to cold brew.

This is the part that takes a bit of time after you've waited a thousand years for your concentrate. I don't own a fine mesh strainer, so I had to improvise. I used a coffee filter positioned over another container and strained it that way. I had to do a bit at a time and be a little careful, but it worked just fine. Then, for good measure and because I know some grounds got through, I strained it a second time. This is why you'll need two filters.

Make sure you have ice cubes. I know this sounds stupid but I can't tell you how many times I wanted something cold and I don't have any. Alright, maybe it's just me.

Put a few ice cubes in a glass, and add in 1 part concentrate to 2 parts cold water. If you like to bastardize your coffee, go ahead and toss in sugar and whatever weird milk thing you put in there. Sometimes I like to add a boatload of sugar to it, but for the most part it tastes fine to me so I leave it.

This will yield about 8 cups of coffee. You can keep that concentrate up to a week in a sealed container, but honestly who can resist having 4 cups of coffee a day? You? Oh. Well don't you have some self-control.

---
And that, my friends, is cold brewing iced coffee. I'm going to keep mine in a mason jar and drag it to work with me, so I can be hyperactive and obnoxious all day long.

Roasted Vegetables and Mouthgasms!

No lie, I really wanted to title this "Roasted Veggies and Oral Orgasms" but I figured I'd get the wrong kind of traffic.

Anyway, I happen to have pretty awesome news. I think it's pretty obvious that I love cooking. I don't always love the eating part, but the idea of cooking and trying new methods and generally being in a kitchen is overly appealing to me.

So after waffling around on this for forever, I finally decided to follow my dream and do what I want to do for a living. I scheduled a tour of the French Culinary Institute and also put out my resume to a few places, explaining that I wanted to learn, had no professional experience, but God damn it did I want this bad.

I toured the school. I fell in love. Deeply, passionately in love. But then I saw the cost, and in all honesty I don't want the debt. I had gotten an e-mail the same day I sent out my "for God's sake, hire me" e-mails about meeting with some people about it. So I went to one that was disastrous, and got pretty discouraged. That lasted for all of ten minutes before I sucked it up and put my foot forward to the next place.

And holy crap, I had the greatest interview ever. The chef was realistic, reminding me that this is stressful, I'll get yelled at, I won't have a life and forget about dating. I told him I know that, I can take being yelled at, I already don't have a life and I don't care about dating. He asked me to come back for dinner service.

It was kinda grueling. I cleaned oysters, which I figured I'd be doing grunt work the entire night (which I didn't care about), then I chopped potatoes for brunch the next day, and learned how to shuck oysters. After refraining from making a reference as to my ability to shuck all night long I was called upstairs. For service. In a kitchen where people can see me. I was PUMPED. It was even better because I got to wear the cook outfit and I looked adorable.

I was put on the salad/apps station, and the chef who was running it was super patient and taught me how to do everything without getting frustrated with me. His patience was incredible especially when I'd forget to add extra sauce or how much to coat chicken with, etc. But eventually I took care of certain dishes that came up, leaving him able to focus on learning himself (this was his second night at this place though he'd been in the industry for a long time). I had a great time. I was soaked, tired, achey and I have a blister on my hand from beating the crap out of ice to crush it for the oyster plates. SO. MUCH. FUN.

Chef asked me how I liked it, and after gushing like a normal person would after a successful first date, he told me he'd take me on and teach me. We'd work on my knife skills, my speed, getting me ready for service and up to par. For now it's an internship, but he'll open a spot for me at the end if I survive. I lost it internally: I get to be taught by a chef how to do all this stuff. Holy crap!

So that is my exciting news, and I can't wait to get started. The only downfall is that I need to buy crocs - because I'm seriously going to ruin my only good pair of sneakers and they're not non-slip.

ANYWAY. Food!

I had an unexpected early day today (I really should pay more attention to my schedule) so I came home and cooked myself some noms. After raiding the veggie bin last week I wanted to roast up some in the toaster oven and have them over rice. But my protein intake has been awful, so I decided to add an egg in there and it. was. heavenly.

"But where's the lamb SAUCE?!"

It's super simple. Just veggies roasted up nicely, tossed over quick rice and topped with an egg. But the best part?

No one gets me like you do, egg yolk.

Total mouthgasm am I right? Of course I am. LOOK AT THAT. Whenever I break the yolk I hear Gordon Ramsay in my head: "It's the customer's privilege to break the yolk!"

Gordon Ramsay is in my head a lot actually. I should probably stop watching Kitchen Nightmares so much.

Anyway, I can't believe I'm even posting a method at the end, but it's easy stuff.

Method

Set your toaster oven to 425, and toss cut up veggies with EVOO, salt and pepper. Arrange them in one layer on some foil and put them in the toaster oven for about 20-25 minutes, depending on how you sliced your veggies and how done you'd like them. Also, if you're making 'softer' veggies, you'll need less time. I had parsnips on there so you know those take a bit longer.

Learn to embrace Minute Rice. Honestly. Until I get another rice cooker this stuff makes me beyond happy. Just make a bag and have it ready on the plate.

Once the veggies are soft and delicious and you haven't eaten all of them as a taste test ("Taste everything!" Ramsay says. Oh God, help me) then toss them over the rice.

Since making an egg over easy takes all of one minute I usually just do it fresh at the end instead of having it ready. Coat a skillet with cooking spray, get the pan all warmed up and crack the egg into it. I add extra sea salt and pepper to the egg and cook away. Once the egg white hardens a bit, flip it. Don't break the yolk or Gordon will be so mad. It's true. He'll come to your house and have a freak out. Anyway, it only takes about 20-30 seconds on the other side before it's ready. Flip it back, place it over your veggies and tell your mouth it's in for a good time.

Chicken Chorizo Sausage w/ Thin Spaghetti: Oh Em Gee

Hi, guys! Long time no see. Apologies for the absence - life has a crazy way of working.

In news, I moved from Connecticut back to Brooklyn! I'm so thrilled. The opportunities here are much more abundant and I feel like I'm back at home again.

Also, being back 'home' means cooking a lot more, since eating out in NYC can get pricey! I love going to Key Foods and picking out what looks good and loading up my basket for whatever I'm going to throw together for lunch.

And then I saw it.

And I freaked out.

Guys, no one understands. I love chorizo. Love, love, love it. I don't eat a lot of meat, but when I do it's chorizo and chicken sausage. I haven't been able to find this stuff ANYWHERE in Connecticut, so imagine my complete freak out when I saw it at Key Foods. I'm surprised they didn't call the funny farm people on me.

Regardless, I restrained myself and only bought one (even though they were ON SALE thank you very much) and put it in the freezer to decide what to do with it. This is the Holy Grail of chicken sausage people, it was not a light decision to decide what to make.

So I spend that weekend in another state halfway across the country, and came home and had to hit up the grocery store again because I am perpetually out of milk (I might survive on cereal. Don't judge me).

One of my absolute favorite things to do is check the discount produce box/bin/cart. The Key Foods near my house has a little box and I rummage through it on my way home from work every day to get fresh stuff on the cheap. I squealed when I saw they had zucchini (omg) and broccoli (omg) so I snagged those up and headed home to make delicious foods.

I'm a big fan of throwing stuff together and calling it a meal. Well, I mean, I guess that's what we ALL do but I really like doing it. Whatever. Lunch time rolled around and I like to make huge batches of food so I have leftovers for lunch/next dinner since I seem to always have too many irons in the fire.

So after this long rant about nothing, I bring to you!

Chicken Chorizo Sausage w/ Thin Spaghetti
Ingredients:
1 package of al fresco chicken sausage w/ chorizo, sliced
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 head of broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 apple (red), cubed into small pieces
Half a package of thin spaghetti
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Salt & pepper
EVOO

Method:
You should be doing this during: Boil a large pot of water for your pasta. This is the easiest part of it: just let it keep on truckin' until it boils, throw in your pasta and cook to al dente via package directions. Don't forget to salt the heck out of the water. Once finished save 1 cup of pasta water and drain the rest.  Keep spaghetti to the side and don't snack on it.

Put your EVOO in a pan (enough to lightly coat it) and bring it to medium heat. Once the pan is all ready to go, toss in your broccoli and zucchini; salt and pepper to taste.
Let those marry together for a while, and then add in the chicken sausage. The sausage is already cooked so really you're just getting some color into it and letting the flavors meld.
Add in garlic and red pepper flakes, and reduce heat. Once the chicken sausage has some color on it, add in the apple (you don't want to cook the crap out of it, just enough so that it's refreshing but not cold).
Take your spaghetti and fold it into your chicken sausage love bath. Add in a bit of the pasta water at a time until you make something of a light sauce, as much or as little as you want. Once the pasta heats through again and everything is mixed together, you're finished! Transfer to a serving bowl and enjoy.

Quiona Salad w/ Chicken and Artichoke Hearts

If you're like me sometimes you go a little bananas trying to figure out what to do with your leftover rotisserie chicken. Should I make soup? Chicken salad? What about throwing it together with bow tie pasta and a fresh tomato and calling it a day?

The possibilities are endless, and now I'm going to add another possibility to that! You're welcome.

Quiona Salad with Rotisserie Chicken Breast, Artichoke Hearts and Pecans
1 cup Quiona (cook according to package directions - I use my rice cooker which allows me to be lazy is easier)
1 rotisserie chicken breast, shredded
1/2 palm full of pecans, chopped
6-7 artichoke hearts from a can
EVOO
Salt
Pepper

Method:
Get a small saucepan and put about 1/2 inch of oil in it. Allow this to heat up and toss in the artichoke hearts. Let them get to a golden brown, then place them on paper towels to drain. **
In a small sautee pan toss in the pecans so that they toast up nicely. Put to the side to save for a garnish on the salad.
Place the shredded chicken into the pan and let it heat through, adding some salt and pepper. Once it's thoroughly reheated, add in the quiona and artichoke hearts. Let them marry for a few minutes, then serve on a plate! Garnish with the toasted pecans and you've got yourself a meal.


**Alternately: Before frying the artichoke hearts, fry some thyme and rosemary in the oil to give the artichokes an even better taste!

A Pretty Personal Post

Good morning!
I didn't plan on getting this blog up and making many person posts. But in light of the recent SNAP benefits challenge some other bloggists are following, I wanted to post a few things.

I'm on unpaid medical leave from my bank job. I use SNAP benefits to help pay for groceries. My boyfriend buys the rest, and we pool our money for groceries. These are some thoughts from seeing some posts.

First, I'll share what I planned for and what I bought this week:

Currently, this is my meal plan:

Monday
Sweet and Sour Stir Fry

Tuesday
Leftovers

Wednesday
Samosas w/ white rice

Thursday
Mini shepherd's pie

Friday
Tuna cakes w/ white rice

This is a list of what I purchased at the grocery store, Big Y. I got a big discount on milk since we had a "coin" that gives us extra discounts on certain items (like a loyalty program)

Dairy:

Fat Free Milk ($1.88), Large eggs ($2.15), Cream cheese ($1.50)

Frozen Food:

Fillo dough ($4.39), Mixed frozen veggies ($2.50), Raspberry sherbet ($1.67), green peas ($1.50), ice cream sandwiches ($2.88)

General Grocery:

Yellow cake box ($1.25), chocolate frosting ($1.59), tuna (2 cans for $2.50), chicken ramen (2 for $0.50). pepsi cola ($1.34), pineapple chunks in syrup from the discounted grocery area (2 for $0.64), oatmeal ($2.99), whole wheat bread ($2.50), bagels (buy one get one free: $2.49)

Meat:

Chicken sausages ($3.99)

Produce:

Bananas ($1.65), granny smith apples ($2.57), scallions ($0.99), ginger root ($0.76), jalepenos (2 for $0.84), 2lb bag red potatoes ($4.99), strawberries ($1.99), mint ($1.99)

Total: $56.78

Looking through there's many things we could have not splurged on (such as the chocolate cake, the pepsi and ice cream sandwiches), but everyone's entitled to have something nice once in a while.

A few things:

1) Meal plan, meal plan, meal plan. I can't say it enough! Okay, I can, and that's it, but seriously do this. Go through your cupboards and see what's going on in there. I clean out my fridge and freezer every week to make sure everything is usable and start with proteins.

2) Rice! Oh my God rice. Yeah, I could have gotten healthier rice but I already had a bag of jasmine rice so I used that. I always have a bag at the house. Leftover proteins are easier to have as a meal over rice or with a rice side. It helps with not having to figure out two new sides each meal.

3) EAT before you go. I know you've heard this before, but man those grocery store owners are bastards. The bakery smells right next to where I'm going to buy my produce? You play a dangerous game, grocery store.

4) Take a list. I keep a text file open all week to jot them down when I think of them (vs. losing a piece of paper) and then e-mail it to myself. I also think of the snacks and other things I'll need and put them on there. Make sure you don't forget cat litter, paper goods, etc. Grocery stores usually put toilet paper on sale one week, and then paper towels the next so if you don't see a deal, just wait!

5) Cut down on the drinking. Not just alcohol (Andrew and I don't drink), but soda! I budget myself one bottle each week. I'm a hardcore caffeine addict, and it's been difficult but try to cut back and see how it goes. I'm drinking much more tea and enjoying it immensely. It's also a good drink for meals since I have to wait to drink it and sip it slowly.

So to conclude my rant, seriously think about your groceries. Go through them and think about what you DO need, what you're BUYING and what you can do without. I keep my receipts each week to look over them and make sure I don't overspend. Review it, and really see where your money is going!

Weekend of Firsts!

Happy end of the weekend! Mine was eventful!

On Saturday Andrew and I took a hike on the Vernon Rails-to-Trails that's nearby where we live. It's a nice four mile hike with lots of beautiful sights to see. It's a part of a 19 mile bigger hike that we're working up to during the summer.

This was our first time at this trail and we really loved it.

There are plenty of smaller trails off the main trail that lead you to some very beautiful views.

This dam was next to a biiiig pipe that we saw in the ground near a well:

Then on the way back we spotted a buck in the woods!

My phone's camera isn't the best for wildlife photos.

But we thought it was pretty cool! A lot of people bike the trail and road right past him.

After our hike we were starving, so we decided to go to Chipotle. I've been there when I lived in New York City, but Andrew hasn't so it was a first for him.

He had some tacos.

While I had a bowl of pretty much everything.

So our Saturday was great and today we went swimming in the rain which was so fun! The pool only had a few people there and we got in a great workout!

I hope everyone's weekend is going great!

Recipe Review: Whole Foods' Chocolate Chip Soda Bread with Raspberry Butter

I read a lot of food blogs

A lot. It's disturbing how many.

But recently I've been in an incredible rut of what to cook. I feel like the kid opening up the fridge 10 times thinking they'll find something new in there each time. And it's not helpful.

But the other day I came across Whole Foods' recipe for Chocolate Chip Soda Bread w/ Raspberry Butter and I just had to try it out!

I did it according to all directions on there. Cutting in the butter with my fingers made me a little nervous as they never really went to "pebbles" as it described on the website. However the rest was simple to follow and very straightforward.

Andrew isn't a big fan of soda bread, so next time I might break it down in half since the loaf is pretty big for one person. It's definitely filling and more of a desert bread.

The only thing I did not enjoy was the raspberry butter. The amount of fat in it made me a bit sick to my stomach, so I recommend skipping that and macerating some raspberries or strawberries and putting those on top. It makes it a big lighter and not so butter heavy (you can see the recipe calls for a stick and a half which is a LOT).

All in all I enjoyed the bread and have something to snack on during the week.

What's one of your go to recipes that you've changed up because of feedback?

Summer Leftovers

During hot months, I truthfully don't mind being in the kitchen.

Seriously.

Stop looking at me like that.

But for real, I don't mind the heat. It takes until it's over 80-ish in the apartment for me to turn the air on, and once I'm around the 75-ish degree temperature I turn it off and keep the windows/doors closed. If things are really bad, I'll take a dip in the condo pool but otherwise I'm okay with keeping hydrated and making sure I'm not doing a lot of moving around (<- no probs there!)

Today I woke up at 9am, took a run/walk around the complex and cooked pancakes for breakfast. I wasn't a fan of them so next time I'll try a recipe I saw on Good Life Eats for 5 Grain Pancakes w/ Flax.

I was going to go for a walk in the afternoon with Andrew but we had to postpone. I offered for us to walk twice as much tomorrow so we'll see! I'll need to be up early again for a doctors appointment.

Anyway, I was feeling a bit lazy and I had some leftovers for dinner. I had some leftovers veggies from when I had a chicken sausage attack earlier this week and some chicken leftover that Andrew made for fajitas last night.

I threw all that in a pan with some chopped sweet pepper and fresh kale, drizzled with a bit of lemon infused olive oil and ta da!

Of course that wasn't all of it, so I tossed the rest in a container and tossed it in the fridge.

What you miss off camera: me shooing away the cat. See, even Kumari knows this is the good stuff.

So I ask of you, what do you make with your leftovers? Do you keep sides from a finished entree to ensure you always have some quick veggies on hand?

Peach Cake with Cherry Vanilla Frosting

This squirrel thinks it's hot.
The cats think it's hot.
I think it's hot.

So what should we do when it's hot?

BAKE A CAKE!
I KNOW! I come up with the greatest of ideas.

Even though it's hot, you know what it means, right? It's peach season! And aside from eating them normally, baking them into stuff is a great way to get them into you if you're not keen on eating fruit that drips down your arms (What's wrong with you?)

We used some fresh peaches we had sitting around, because if I can avoid using something from a can I do. Plus, I love fresh stuff.

Boyfriend and I frequent the "reduced item" racks at the grocery store each time we go, and we find the best deals. We picked up a yellow cake mix box for $1.50 because it had a dent in it. Nothing bugs me about a dented box. Aside from that, we had a coupon for this!:

My coupon gave me the frosting "mix in" for free, saving $1. All in all frosting my delicious fresh peach cake cost me $2.

Andrew thinks the "A" is for Andrew. It's totally for Amanda.

CAKE TIP: When icing your cake, put waxed paper under it so that you can just slide the waxed paper out and your plate won't look like a very inexperienced baker frosted your cake.

So for reals guys, this came out delicious. I had a slice before dinner. I'm having a slice after dinner. I'll have one at 3am that no one will tell Andrew about. So I bring you:

Fresh Peach Cake with Cherry Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix

2 peaches

3 eggs

3/4 cup of milk (whole)

1/2 cup veggie oil

1 small packet of orange gelatin

Method:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the box of yellow cake mix, milk, veggie oil, and gelatin. Mix it together and add each egg separately. Puree the peaches in your food processor or in my case, use the chopper attachment to your immersion blender (my FAVE kitchen tool, second to the mandoline). Fold the peaches into the mix and whisk with your whisk attachment or use an electric mixer for a few minutes until it looks like this:

We used two cake pans (make sure if they're non-stick you put cooking spray at the bottom!) and put them into your oven for 28-32 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out without any friends attached to it).

Once baked, let them cool then frost with the above mentioned pre-made frosting.

This cake was incredibly simple to make and it was amazing!

What fruits do you like in cake? Do you have a preferred fruit that you only eat fresh?

Thanks for stopping in!

Chicken sausage owns my soul

Guys.
I have an addiction.

And it's chicken sausage.

It's invaded everything forever always in my soul. I love it. I love adding it to great dishes and biting into it and not being terrified of gristle (shut up, it's a thing).

Earlier today I dehydrated some tomatoes in my oven so that I could make my dinner that I found on Bev's blog, Bucatini with Chicken Sausages and Garden Veggies.


I know. You're like "It's like 5000 degrees outside, why on earth are you willing to let your oven go for SIX HOURS?" But it's worth it. I had to throw them in a jar (no oil) before I started eating all of them. I don't like fresh tomatoes and I'm thrilled I like these.

So honestly, I cheated with a few things.

I used apple chicken sausages instead of hot Italian ones (I will try those next time), my green beans were canned and my spaghetti was from a box. But even with all these changes it was delicious!

I urge you to give it a try and mess around with it to suit your palette. Boyfriend isn't a fan of lemon so I barely squeezed any lemon on his, while on mine I used the lemon olive oil I purchased from O'Live a Little. Give them a try if you have one - the olive oils and vinegar are unmatched. 

(Note: If you are giving a foodie a gift, give them a gift card to this place!)

(Et hem.)

(Just sayin'.)

So thanks to Bev for posting that delicious recipe, and if you have some time please go around her site and look at all her delish food! I'm addicted.

Hope everyone has a happy fourth!

A three hour tour!

♫The weather started getting rough,
The tiny ship was tossed,
If not for the courage of the fearless crew
The minnow would be lost, the minnow would be lost!♫


I know, I know! I'm sorry, it's in your head now as well. But Boyfriend and I are taking a three hour car ride to my sister's house in New Jersey for my eldest nephew's graduation from middle school. I remember changing that kid's diapers, now he has a smart phone and a deep voice! What happened?!


Anyway, since it's impossible to get Boyfriend to eat breakfast, I decided to make a bento we could nom on the way over to my sister's house.

Top bento: Boyfriend gets potatoes, tamagoyaki, a muffin and some strawberries (he doesn't like grapes, pffft)
Bottom bento: Granola bar, tamagoyaki, potatoes, grapes, strawberries and a muffin

My muffins came out differently this time. I didn't have any regular milk on hand, so I used almond milk. They came out much denser and richer (not a bad thing!) but I think next time I'll use 3/4c almond milk and 1/4c water.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Affording the movies

So some of you may know that I'm currently on medical leave from my job, which leaves me at home and usually very rarely able to afford to go out unless it's free.

My local movie theater has $5 Tuesdays, and I love going to the movies for so cheap. It's not buying the tickets that bothers me, it's the damn snacks! I love movie theater popcorn. It's like crack to me. I need it. But it's so darn expensive that I just can't justify buying it.

This Tuesday my friends and I did a double feature of Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (ridiculous movie, wasn't supposed to be funny but it was hilarious) and Brave (touching, adorable, Pixar nailed the mother-daughter relationship). I needed food in that time!

It's a good thing that bag that a sewed for myself can easily pack all this stuff! I popped low-calorie popcorn at home and added sea salt, had a container of kiwi, grapes and strawberries and a small bag of low-calorie nuts. I ended up just eating one bag of the popcorn but both of the alternates. So delicious! I also snuck in a can of Pepsi and a bottled water. No one batted an eye. I'm a ninja!

It's been a weird week so I'm in a bit of a cooking rut. Sorry! Hopefully things will pick up again soon.

Take care!

Rainy, rainy day!

Well! It's been a bit whacky here in the Northeast. Today I woke up, thought about going to the pool because it was already hot, but knew it was going to rain. And boy, did it rain!

The rain made it's own pool at our complex!

Makeshift bird bath!

Where's all the seed? What's this nonsense?

Alright, enough with bird photos.

I had a bit of a whacky night in the kitchen, honestly! I decided to make these potato cakes earlier in the week since our potato supply needs to be used up. I had looked at a few different recipes, and came up with one that worked for me.
And, surprisingly, I was in the mood for a "meat and potatoes" meal. As many of you already know I rarely eat red meat so this came as a surprise! So I grabbed a can of green beans, the potatoes, and made myself a delicious meal!

Potato Cakes
4-6 baby red potatoes, mashed (Already cooked them with skins on, added 2tbsp butter, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic salt and almond milk, mashed em up and let them cool)
1/2 C Italian bread crumbs
1/2 C Chipotle panko bread crumbs
1/4 C chicken broth
2 tbsp chopped onions
Salt, pepper, garlic salt to taste
2tbsp oil for frying

Mix all the ingredients together and form them into patties. Fry them until golden brown and let them cool on a cooling rack placed over paper towels.
Also:
Add brown gravy to make them even more delicious!
Makes about 8-9 patties
When flipping them over, pat them lightly back into shape by poking them with your spatula.


---
Honestly, I was so sad when I made my first batch. I used WAY too much oil and they fell apart in the pan. So I decided, eh, whatever I'll just try it again. I loathe making such stupid kitchen mistakes. But sometimes, all you can do is throw it in the disposal, wipe your hands on your apron and go again.

And they came out DELICIOUS!

See the mini bell peppers at the top? ANOTHER kitchen mistake! I have an electric stove, and ended up heating up my cast iron griddle instead of the pot I needed for the gravy and figured hell, if it's already hot I might as well throw something on it.
Protip: I love the sound the seeds make as they pop inside the peppers! It makes me smile for some reason.

Anyway, boyfriend had to work tonight so I decided to throw together a bento for him!

He has: Carrot sticks, wheat thins, pepperoni, potato cakes, green beans, kiwi and strawberry.
These potato cakes are so delicious I might be going from referring him as Boyfriend to Husband. He'd marry me for these cakes. And now ladies, you too can make your man want to marry you with potatoes!

After all these kitchen mishaps and very silly wedding thoughts I wanted to treat myself. I've found that I'm in love with Pinkberry - but am poor on a budget, so I had to make do with what was at home!

Raspberry sorbet with kiwi chunks, chocolate chips and whipped cream! YUM!

I hope your evening wasn't rained out and that delicious food came from your kitchen!
Take care!

Breakfast is the best time of the day

It's no secret: I love breakfast. Any meal that I can sit around in my pajamas and cook is a great meal to me. There are so many different great breakfast recipes  out there that there's a plethora to choose from - it's almost overwhelming!

But the other day I was sitting around in my PJs watching TV when I saw Melissa d'Arabian make a Dutch Baby and it looked delicious.I figured it's an easy enough recipe that I couldn't really mess it up, even if I was half awake.

So to cut the story short, it's over 100 degrees outside and where am I? In the kitchen. Oy vey.

The Dutch Baby was easy as heck to make, and I followed the recipe to the T. Then I added some caramelized bananas on top and it was heaven on a plate.

Caramelizing bananas are easy by the way:
1. Let 1 tbsp of unsalted butter melt in a pan
2. Slice bananas lengthwise then across
3. Cover them in brown sugar. I didn't go bananas overboard on the sugar because I didn't want it to taste like sugar and butter. I like bananas.
4. Place them in the pan and let them brown. Patience is a virtue with this. If you've ever had to caramelize onions you know it can take a while. Just let them groove. It'll all work out in the end.
5. Take them out and put them on a plate and top everything with them. I mean everything. French toast, ice cream (make a little breakfast sundae? Yes please!)

So that was my breakfast/lunch, and it was incredibly easy and done within 45 minutes. That gave me plenty of time to wake up a little bit and plan for my day while breakfast baked/sizzled away.

If you live in the northeast, what are your plans to beat the heat? I plan to be at the pool most of the day under a very protective layer of sunscreen. I'm painfully Irish so it's SPF 5000 for me.


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Cinnamon Apple Oaty Bake

I'll be the first to say it: I'm not a baker. I'd much rather be throwing random ingredients into a pan and figure it out as I go along. There's just so much planning and thinking with baking.

But then I thought, well why can't I just throw together what I have? It wasn't baking itself that was holding back my creativity, is was my own mental block with baking!

And so I decided that I wanted to have something oaty with cinnamon. And why not apples? And crap, I bought this soy flour and can't find the recipe I wanted to use, so I'll just throw that in there too! And a little bit later, with some common sense guidelines to ingredients, I came out with my Cinnamon Apple Oaty Bake.

And oh my goodness is this delicious.

My favourite way that I've discovered I like this is warm with some of your preference of jelly. I had some pomegrante raspberry jam that I put over the top. Oh em gee!

Cinnamon Apple Oaty Bake
Ingredients:
1/2 Apple, peeled & sliced (I used fuji, but granny smith would hold up well)
2/3 cup old fashioned oats
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp soy flour
2/3 cup milk (fat free)
2 tbsp & 2 tsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp salt

Makes 4 muffin cups

1. Preheat your oven to 290 degrees F.
2. Put four muffin wrappers in your muffin tin
3. Combine all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
4. Disperse "batter" between four cups evenly.
5. Bake at 290F for 25 minutes, until browned on top
6. Let cool and eat or serve warm with jelly!


I hope you can experiment with this and come up with fun varients. Enjoy!

Strawberry Festival

Over the weekend I had the fun opportunity to go to the Strawberry Festival they hold here in my town. They had 150 crafters, including: jam makers, jewelry makers, wood cutters and stone masons! It was really awesome and I had a great time.

I picked up some strawberry jam that goes amazingly on my Cinnamon Oat Bake that I'll be posting later this week. I love good food!

I leave you with some photos from the day, mostly involving animals!

My first "couple" bento...

...and it's kind of a work on progress, like all relationships! (*Sips tea and nods wisely*) LOL!
I've never worked with molding rice before, so it didn't work out perfectly. But that's okay, because it's a learning experience for me.

Boyfriend will be home later tonight, and I'd like to eat dinner with him!

From top left: grapes with a "flower pot", strawberry, Cinnamon Oat Apple Bake (will post that in a later post), stuffed pepper, kiwi butterflies, asparagus, onion dip, crackers, hard boiled egg, cucumber, and rice bunnies on "carrot grass." Look, I tried.

Mine was similar - grapes, strawberry, Cinnamon Apple Oat Bake, stuffed pepper, kiwi butterflies, asparagus, crackers and pepperoni, hard boiled egg, cucumber and rice bunnies on Ninjin Shirishiri (Borrowed from soul soup soap)

All in all it was fun to put together. Now that my stomach is pretty much fixed I anticipate this being a great dinner tonight!

More food for others!

Hi bentoers!

I'm posting another bento that was meant for me but went to Boyfriend. I'm still pretty ill and not able to eat normal food yet. I had blood work and an abdominal x-ray today - waiting for the results maybe tomorrow. Please wish me luck, I'd like to get over these stomach issues.

Anywho, onto the food!

It's a pretty straightforward bento. Top tier cucumber slices, hard boiled egg, stuffed pepper, charred pepper slices, tamagoyaki and rice.

Bottom tier has strawberries, kiwi, fried tofu, almonds, grapes and a sauce fish for the tofu.

Boyfriend had never eaten kiwi with the skin before, but the skin is the healthiest part of it! 

It took me forever to find cute cat fabric at the store to make that pillow. Cat haters.

And now it's 1am, and I'm following my cat's example.

Late night dinner bento

Boyfriend works second shift, so he's at work from about 5pm to 11:30 or 12 at night. Sometimes later. So when he gets home it helps to have food that's easy to reheat or easily cooked.

Enter girlfriend with too much free time! I make him bentos when I can so that he can enjoy a healthy meal at home instead of stopping at McD's. Of course it doesn't stop him during the day but a girl can only do what she can.

From top left: strawberries, grapes, watermelon, bacon tamagoyaki, cucumber, stuffed bell pepper, hard boiled egg, asparagus on top of more charred bell pepper and rice.

Boyfriend loved the stuffed bell pepper. They're so cute and bento sized and stuffing them are totally easy!

i hope everyone has a great day.

Headache Bento

I've finally got a good freezer-to-bento flow going on, and just in time. I've been struck with the Migrane from Hell - and unfortunately I took it out on my poor lunch for today. At least one was made!

Here's hoping tomorrow is a better day.

Top left are some strawberries and grapes. Bento contains rice, asparagus, stuffed zucchini, cucumbers, bell pepper, almonds, fried tofu and a soy sauce fish.

It was a great lunch and VERY filling! I needed it for all the time I was spending at work.