i make things

Cucumber Salad Recipe

What tastes like summer? Watermelon, freshly squeezed lemonade and cucumber salad. Nothing beats fresh cucumbers straight out of the garden unless you add some mayo, fresh dill, salt, sugar and a little vinegar. Waalah! Now you have a cucumber salad.

Here's what you do.

1. Grab 3 cucumbers and cut them up with your knife or slicer.

2. Thickness depends on your own preference. I prefer mine a little thicker. I don't like them wobbly when I eat them. So I cut them 1/8 of an inch thick or so. I didn't break out the ruler or anything, just eybe-balled it.

Throw these in some tupperware. Note: we are going to be keeping these in the fridge. Pick something that will keep these air-tight.

3. Gather your "mix" ingredients: white distilled vinegar (although I imagine apple cider vinegar might be tasty too. I haven't tried that yet though.), mayonnaise, salt, sugar and...wait for it....fresh dill (although you can use dill from a jar too. I have in a pinch.)

 4. Add ingredients to the bowl:

• 1 c. mayo
• 3 tsp. vinegar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 tbsp. sugar

*Note: I figured out a handy trick while making it this time. I was trying to get as much of the mayo out of the bottle as possible and thought...why not put my vinegar in there and then shake it up and dump out? The vinegar should loosen the mayo up and make it a little more liquid, thereby make it easier to empty?

So...I tried it.

Worked like a charm!

Use whatever salt you have on hand. I wanted to use this sea salt w/grinder so that's what I chose but you could use regular table salt or pink Himalayan sea salt if you're feeling fancy. (I've got that too and will use that too depending on my mood or tastes.)

Add some sugar. I believe this helps balance out the flavors. You won't even know it's there but it'll be there helping out the entire taste sensation.

6. Whisk whisk until combined nicely. My preferred consistency is a little bit more liquidy so I'll add more vinegar if it seems too thick. If you like it thicker go for it. This is all about your own preference.

That's what makes cooking fun. You can adjust a recipe to fit your style.

Fresh dill...that sweet smell. It always reminds me of when I was a kid out on the farm baling hay. ahhh...fond memories.

7. Chop up this lovely piece of heaven very finely.

Take a peek at your pile and add more if you think it doesn't have enough. FYI I added more.

8. Whisk for a sec. into mixture.

9. Now pour over cucumbers, mix if you want each cucumber to be covered, seal and put in fridge. I let sit usually at least an hour or overnight. The longer they sit the better they get.

These cucumbers should last about a week or more. Although if you're anything like me they last about 2 days. I'm constantly going back to the fridge to stick a fork in and grab a few more. They are that tasty. :)

Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoy this recipe. Check the navigation bar for more recipes.

 

Smoked eggs wrapped in bacon

MMmmmmmm....

Smoked eggs wrapped in bacon. Oh. Yeah.

Here's the super hot Chef, Bruce. Who also happens to be my boyfriend. Ain't he cute? :) I think I fell for the dimples first. Did I say dimples, I meant face pits. LOL Nah I'm kidding I fell for him because he was so nice...the dimples definitely helped though. :)

Enough about Mr. Hottie.

A close up for you. Oh my. Hooahhh (think Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman).

If that doesn't make your lips water you either don't like bacon, which should be a crime, or you don't like eggs, which is also a little shameful. (I jest, you can like what you want. I just happen to be a self-proclaimed bacon lover and bacon snob.)

Pretty simple recipe.

• Hard-boil some eggs. We usually go with a dozen. A nice round number. LOL
• Put them in cold water until they are chilled.
• Peel off shell then wrap them in bacon. Use the thin bacon it bakes quicker.
• Poke a toothpick through both sides of the bacon and eggs so that the bacon will stay on.
• Then smoke in the smoker for 20 minutes or so.
• We usually end up finishing in the oven for about 5 minutes.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

I will say depending on your equipment and altitude you will have to play around with the times on this one. Could be more of less depending on how much smoke you want or how well-done you want your bacon.

I'm thinking about working on a batch with some type of maple-glaze on the bacon.

Enjoy.

This guy could probably eat the whole dozen, he loves them that much.

Thanks for stopping by and reading this post. Please stop by again.

Any comments or questions leave below. :)

Strawberry-Yogurt-Oat Parfait

 

I I was watching the Food Network the other day and I came across a show I never watch, Hungry Girl, which is odd because I watch the Food Network quite a bit. They always seem to have good food on.

Anyways, the woman was making a big breakfast that looked like dessert. I was enthralled...which is probably a strong word to use to describe breakfast but hey, it's food we are talking about here.

The dessert is called "Berry 'Nana Oatmeal Parfait". Sounds good right? I thought so too. Since I'm getting a little tired of my normal breakfast of an organic Chewy chocolate chip granola bar and a piece of fruit leather I thought I'd try something different.

I did have some reservations about trying this because #1 I'm not a big fan of oatmeal it never has much flavor and is usually gummy or hard #2 You have to cook the oatmeal. #3 I want something I can take with me in the car easily not a big parfait dish but despite these reasons it looked tasty and healthy and I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Here's what I came up with:

I changed her recipe a bit to suite my tastes.

Here is her recipe:

Ingredients

Oatmeal:

• 1/3 cup old-fashioned oats
• 3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (recommended: Blue Diamond Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze)
• 1 no-calorie sweetener packet
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Dash salt

Parfait:

• 1/2 cup sliced strawberries
• 1/2 cup fat-free vanilla yogurt with about 100 calories per 6-ounce serving
• 1/2 banana, sliced

Directions

Combine all ingredients for oatmeal in a small nonstick pot on the stove. Add 3/4 cup of water and mix well. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 9 minutes, stirring often, until somewhat thick and creamy. (It will thicken more upon chilling.) Remove from heat and allow to slightly cool. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 1/2 hours.

Stir oatmeal thoroughly until uniform in texture. Spoon half of the oatmeal into a pint glass, and top with 1/4 cup of sliced strawberries, 1/4 cup of yogurt, and half of the banana slices. Repeat with the remaining oatmeal, strawberries, yogurt, and banana.

PER SERVING (entire recipe): 285 calories, 4.5g fat, 359mg sodium, 54g carbs, 6.5g fiber, 21.5g sugars, 9g protein

I changed it to fit me.

1. I used real sugar instead of a sugar packet in the oatmeal. I don't like using artificial sweeteners even if they are less calories.
2. I used almond extract instead of vanilla because it punches up the flavor a bit more. Sometimes vanilla dies out for me.
3. I didn't use bananas because my local grocery store didn't have any brown ones. They were all green...I don't like green. :)
4. I finely diced my strawberries because it's easier to get a biteful when they are smaller. Plus I added a teeny bit of sugar to freshen them up.
5. I added granola as a layer because I like a little bit of crunch and this parfait is full of smooth textures. It gave it just the right amount of kick.
6. I used less oatmeal in my parfait because I added the granola.
7. I used more than 1/4 cup of strawberries...because I LOVE strawberries and I thought it would be healthier to add MORE strawberries plus it adds more flavor.
8. I still don't really care for oatmeal but somehow with the mixture of yogurt, granola and real strawberries it's not so bad. It still doesn't have quite the flavor i was hoping for (which was MORE flavor) but in the end it's okay when mixed with all this stuff. :(

Doesn't that look tasty? I think so. I'm drooling writing this post.

 I made up a recipe card complete with picture.

Quick-er Chicken Noodle Soup

This is my quick-er version of chicken noodle soup for those days when I just don't have time to make my own broth.

First I throw in about 2 tbsp. of butter into a dutch oven and melt it. Then add some diced up onions and cook that until it's transluscent and smells good.

Then add some diced up carrots. You can dice them finely or you can dice them chunky. However you prefer to eat your soup.

Then add some diced up celery. Small or big, however you like it.

This is called a mirepoux, what you just put into your pot. It's a fancy way of saying, "this is the flavor behind the soup." It's the base. Cook the mirepoux until the vegetables have softened some, at least a couple of minutes.

While my base is cooking I take the roasted chicken that I picked up from the grocery store and pull it a part and cut it up.

You can tear it, dice it, chunk it, perfectly cube it, or whatever your heart desires. I usually just cut the breasts off and cut those into pieces then pull apart the legs, wings and thighs with a fork.

After the base for your soup is softened add the chicken stock or chicken broth and bring it to a boil. Once at a boil turn the burner down to low and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.

Now you can add your herbs and spices. You can basically add anything you want but these are the flavor combinations I like most in my soup. Left to right: Parsley (for color), sea salt for flavor, turmeric for color and thyme for flavor.

Just remember that a little goes a long way and you can always add more but you can't take back. So have an easy hand with the herbs and spices. Add them slowly, especially the salt, until the flavor is where you like it.

This is the mixture of seasonings I added. It smells so good. You can use fresh cut up herbs if you like but I usually just go with my dried seasonings on my spice rack.

Now add the chicken and noodles. For noodles I like the frozen, short and fat noodles (Reeme's??) because they are nice and chunky.

Now let this sit and simmer until the noodles are done. Then eat hearty!

How to Make a Tasty Homemade Carrot Cake

I don't know about you but I've always loved a fresh homemade carrot cake. Nothing beats it. When I go to restaurants and I see they have it on their menu and I usually will order a slice but am always disappoitned because it isn't fresh, it's hard and tasteless.

So now I make my own. It isn't hard. It isn't tedious either. It's just like making a regular cake. Seriously. You can make it gourmet by spicing up the decorations like piping on your own colored carrots or adding swirls but that just adds extra time and takes away from eating the cake that much sooner.

So, here we go. How to make a TASTY Homemade Carrot Cake (including tons of pictures):

This recipe is from a lady I work with. She's had it in her family for years. She knows how much I love to cook and bake so she gave it to me. It's really good. I used Pioneer Woman's recipe for frosting though...because it makes more and it's a butter/cream cheese mixture.

Here are the recipes:

I saw another blogger do this on her site and I thought, that's clever. Use an off-set picture of the food and use the "white space" to put the recipe. Clever!

So, anyway, back to the purpose of this post. Making carrot cake.

First thing. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Just thought I'd add this picture because nobody posts pictures of their oven. LOL

Next, you are going to want to get your pans ready. I like to make a tall round cake instead of a sheet cake...because it looks cool and seems more exciting than a sheet cake but you can just do a sheet cake if you like, no need to get crazy like me.

I spray pam on each 9" round pan. Make sure to get all of the bottom and sides. Then I take one spoonful of regular flour and drop it in the middle then just tilt and tap the pan to move around the flour to coat all of the bottom and sides. Don't worry if you don't get all the way up the sides. It's okay. Your main priority is the bottom so the cake doesn't stick to the pan.

Dump out any excess flour when the pan is coated.

Now you need to grate your carrots. You need about 3 cups. I do this first so I have the carrots ready to put in after I mix the wet and dry ingredients together. I like to be prepared. I'm a bit anal. I'm an accountant by trade...so there you go.

I like to use the largest grater on my rectangular grater. It's easier to grate than the smaller sizes plus the size of the carrots coming out is a bit larger which makes the cake at the end have more visible orange color. Don't worry, you won't bite into a huge chunk of carrot. They will bake down in the oven.

To grate carrots and not shave off your knuckle, which I've almost done. Yeah, I bled all over the place. It wasn't fun. There was a lot of swearing involved.

Anyways, what I've found that works best for me is to cut off the top part of the carrot (about a 1/2 inch) and some of the smallest part of the root on the bottom (1/2 inch to an inch depending on how thick the carrot is). Then I cut the carrot in half and grate each part separately.

I like this approach because the carrot starts off big at the top and tapers down to a much smaller size. So if you split this up and take the larger part and grate it then take the smaller part and grate it it's easier to hold. Because it's smaller it's less likely to break while you grate because it'll fit nicely in your hand.

I also make sure not to grate too far down on the carrot because the closer you get to your knuckles the more likely it'll be for you to grate off a piece of your knuckle.

Okay, enough of that.

Here are the ingredients other than the cake's namesake, Carrots. (p.s. You don't have to use the exact ingredients I do because some of them are more expensive than regular ingredients and this economy is rough for everyone. I just like to show exactly what I use.)

Plain granulated sugar, regular flour (not bread flour), baking soda (fresh otherwise the recipe won't turn out), cinnamon (good Vietnamese cinnamon from Lunds and Byerly's), some fine Himalayan pink sea salt (I have been using this lately as it is organic and is said to be one of the purest salts there is plus I think sea salt as opposed to regular salt gives more flavor), vegetable oil, eggs (organic...because that's what I picked up at the grocery store), carrots (organic), Hope butter (because it's the BEST! handmade by a small creamery in Hope, MN...and because it's the best it isn't as cheap as regular butter but well worth it in results), cream cheese, Madagascar Bourban Vanilla Bean Paste (again the best, such good flavor plus you can see the vanilla bean specks in the frosting) and some chopped pecans (so tasty and organic.

I chopped about 1 cup of pecans in my manual food processor (I'm saving for the real deal but the one I want is $200 or more). Just chop them somewhat finely. They are going in your frosting. You can leave these out too if you don't like or are allergic to nuts. The cake is still good. :)

You can use a food chopper or cut them with a knife by hand but I like this way because it's the fastest and easiest and least messy.

Okay, now that we have the oven pre-heated, the pans buttered and floured, the carrots grated and the pecans chopped we are ready to go.

We are going to start with the dry ingredients first. We separate the dry and wet because we want to mix them evenly by themselves then add them together. That's the main goal in baking. Even distribution of ingredients.

First we sift the first five ingredients together: flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. cinnamon...ahhh....the smell of this is divine and gives the cake it's slightly darker color.

and 1 tsp. of the pink sea salt.

Now give it a stir with a whisk. Using a whisk makes it easy to get the ingredients mixed together evenly. You can use a spatula but I find it's easier to get a more even distribution with a whisk. That's what you want. Even distribution. This only takes a sec.

This is what it looks like when you're done. All mixed nicely together. You can't really see the 5 different items you just mixed.

Now dump the dry ingredients in the mixer bowl.

Now turn your mixer on beat. Start off slow and add the 1 1/2 cups of oil in slowly so it mixes evenly. Again, even distribution. Once you've got a little liquid in the mixture, turn up the beater one notch and keep adding the oil.

The reason you don't start the beater off higher is because if you did this the dry mixture would fly all over the place. I've done this. Not pretty. Makes a big mess. So start slow then gradually crank it one notch.

Mixing away.

Now, this is mixed well, you won't have to mix it forever. It just needs to be neatly combined and a tad bit chunky. It'll smooth out when we start adding the eggs. Here, take a peek at the mixture now.

Now, add each egg, one at a time until all 4 eggs are added. You want to mix each egg in thoroughly before the next egg is added. You want to do this to make sure they are evenly distributed.

You can tell it's evenly distributed because you don't see any of the egg yolk. It will slightly yellow the mixture and will be a smooth color. No yellow streaks.

This is how it looks after you've added all 4 eggs. Smooth and evenly colored.

Look at that. Makes you want to just stick a finger under that beater and sneak a taste doesn't it? Go on, it's okay. I usually do just to make sure it doesn't taste funky. Really, if it tastes funky you've got an ingredient problem. :)

Now add in your grated carrots and beat together. Just let it mix together on the beat setting. Your objective is to just mix it evenly together. If it's not even some portions of the cake won't have any carrot flavor or texture and some will have too much.

This is the cake batter in all its gloriousness. Sorry that was a bit dramatic but it looks luscious doesn't it?

 

Now, pour your batter evenly into each of the two pans or into the single rectangular pan. In order to get them even you just kind of have to eye-ball it. That's what I do. I pour a little bit into the first pan, then some into the next, then go back to the first and do it again.

I do this so that I don't dump too much into the first one then realize it was too much and have a hard time scooping out the batter from the first into the second.

See, that's about even. Even if they aren't perfect, don't worry, nobody will notice anyway. They'll be too busy stuffing this cake into their mouths as fast as they can.

Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes or so. You can tell when they are done because the tops will be slightly brown and if you push your finger lightly down in the middle it should fluff right back up. If it doesn't fluff back up then that means your cake is still doughy and needs to cook longer.

If you cook it too long it'll be very brown on top and slightly hard. To avoid this just keep an eye on the cake. I usually set my timer on 30 minutes, check it then put the timer on for a couple minutes then check it again. That usually works for me.

Here's what the final looks like. Isn't this beautiful? Notice how the edges are slighly browned and slightly pulled away from the edge. The middle is slightly light. This is what you want.

Let the pans cool on a rack until they are cool. In Minnesota I have an advantage. I put these bad boys out in my back porch where it is cold and they cool in about 15 minutes. Nice.

Now you are going to want to get these cakes out of the pans without breaking them. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

All you do is take one pan at a time and cover with the wire rack. Put one hand on the top and one on the bottom (so one hand on the rack and one on the bottom of the pan) and quickly flip over. If the cake doesn't fall out easily just give the bottom of the pan a couple of taps. This always works for me.

Take the pan off and flip your cake back over by just putting your whole hand over the cake, your other hand on the rack and flip it. It should be cool enough now that it won't fall apart when you do this. Wahlah!

Repeat with the other cake.

You can arrange them on your cake pedestal once you get your frosting done. I'm just sayin' you have to put this cake on a pedestal. It's that good. Really. It is and we haven't even gotten to the frosting yet.

Now make your frosting...um...sorry about no pictures. I was in such a hurry to get this done and eat it that I neglected the frosting picture portion of this post. Dang it. Sorry.

All you do for the frosting is cream together 1 stick of softened butter and 1 8 oz. package of softened cream cheese. Soften as in just let it sit out on the counter while you're making the cake. That should be plenty of time for it to soften up for you.

When I cream these two items together I start off slow then gradually increase the mixer spead. This works well because you don't overwhelm your mixer right off the bat. Mine doesn't have much horse power so I don't want to wreck it by going max speed right off the bat.

Then once mixed together and once again, evenly distributed, add the powdered sugar and the vanilla. Make sure you start slow otherwise your powdered sugar will fly all over the place. It will. Your kids might get a kick out of a huge tornado of powdered sugar all of the place but you won't. It's a mess.

So beat slowly then gradually get faster as the mixture incorporates together. I usually mix for awhile, stop, taste it, if it seems grainy or the flavor seems too buttery I keep mixing or add a bit more of powdered sugar. It should have a firm but smooth consistency when you are done. Easily spreadable but not liquidy.

Then add the chopped pecans and beat together until evenly distributed.

Now put your first cake layer down, put a 1/4 to a 1/2 cup of frosting down and spread with an offset spatula. Don't spread to the edge of the round cake or it'll squeeze out onto your edges when you put down the next layer.

Add your next layer and spread the frosting on top and along the sides. It doesn't have to be perfect. No one will care. They'll be too busy stuffing their face.

Eat!

 

 

 

 

 

Project Life 2012: Week 4

Sunday, January 22 - Saturday, January 28th.

Here is my layout for the week. (You can click on any of the pictures and it will bring up a larger picture.) The full album is here Project Life 2012 or you can click on the the album on the left-hand side of my blog.

I am being consistent with putting the week days and the week number up in the left hand corner (p.s. I put the wrong week. It should be 4, I will be changing that...nobody's perfect. :)

Page 1:

I used the numbers paper up on the left because this week was all about work (see journaling) and I am an Accountant so it was numbers numbers numbers and more numbers. I literally worked every single day of this week. Not kidding. So I wanted to put something up there that show-cased that...in an off-handed way.

My favorite picture of the week. Little Korby. He's so cute. I had to watch him on Sunday because Mom was sick and she was supposed to so I did instead. He had a cold and was snotting all over the place. LOL Which is probably why I got a cold after that day. Anyway, he didn't cry when I picked him up as he can do to people. I took him home with me and plopped him on my bed to get some good pictures of him because he either had to eat, play, mess his diaper or not cooperate. LOL This is the best one. He looks so happy.

I added the Korby on the picture before I printed. Sometimes when I don't want to dig through my scrapbooking supplies I will just put journaling directly on the picture. This week was one of those.

The picture on the left is from my phone. I just download the pictures to my computer put them on a 4x6 blank canvas in Photoshop and then print them. Usually they are a bit small so I make them bigger then trim off any excess that is over 4x4 in size.

The journaling I used a piece of paper that looks like old Accounting ledger...again I was reinforcing the "This week was all about work!"

This is also a picture I took with my phone. I added a subtle black border to it...I keep thinking it looks like a passport picture. Anyways, I printed it on a 4x6 piece of photo paper and it was to big so I cut it down leaving a little white space on the side for journaling. I added the huntington's and symbol from their business card. I kind of like the idea of adding little touches like that.

I copied the movie poster for Haywire. I left white space on the right and put in my journaling. I knew it was going to be a lot so I just did it in photoshop. I added the 5 stars because I thought that would be something fun to do. Add stars to each picture I put for movies. That way you can tell how much I like it. 5 means I will definitely buy it and watch it a lot. I am probably going to go back and put stars on the other movies I've seen. :)

This picture is from a couple weeks ago but I used it this week because I wanted a visual of pool to put in here instead of just journalling. I wrote the journaling directly on the picture in Photoshop (yes, again. LOL) Then added cut outs of the week's standings ont he left and right.

Page 2 of Week 4:

Notice on the upper left. The picture of Korby. I extended the pictures of Korben and the journaling related to me babysitting him all across the page. I just wanted to keep it all together instead of sporadic.

The middle section is a 6x12 section. I sized several pictures to 3x2" then put them together on an 8x10 canvas and printed it out. Then cut out the grouping and put it on a 6x12 piece of patterned paper.

A picture from my phone that I put into black and white. (Babies are so cute in black and white pictures)

Then on the right side is just a piece of white cardstock with a heart stamp and some ink on the edges and a border made with a black pen. Nothing fancy.

Another picture from my phone with a black border and I added the heart on his chest. On the right I kept it sweet and simple. I used a stamp with the W Questions and then a heart stamp on the top right. Easy to keep it simple and include one or two facts. I might have to use that again. :)

The middle of the photo grouping. I added a hand-drawn border just to give it some pop otherwise it seemed like just a blob of pictures. I also added the smiley face with the tongue...just 'cause.

The picture is of the herbs after I put them in the soup.

Picture of the final product. It was seriously good. It wasn't exactly homemade but close. LOL I didn't have time to make my own broth...that takes several hours and this was a work night.

Jayde took some to work the next day for him and a co-worker and his co-worker said, "Damn she can cook." Jayde said he shoveled it in like he hadn't eaten for days. Stuff like that makes me happy. I love it when my cooking is that good. It feels like an accomplishment, something small, but it still just makes me feel better.

I used large white letter stickers and outlined them with a fine black pen then wrote my journaling around there...only because it looked bare.

The bottom row is basically pictures of food. I like to do that. Take pictures of things I cook or foods I like to eat. I think in the future I will find this interesting...or crazy. LOL

More food and a book.

Things that I've noticed over the past couple of weeks:

1. I can make this project a lot of work or I can make it simple. Last week was work but this week was easy.

2. I enjoy getting my pictures down in a book with a bit of journaling. Even if it isn't life changing.

3. Getting pictures of the everyday...aka food. LOL Seems mundane and stupid but I think, looking back, I will enjoy seeing these small things.

4. I often have more pictures than I need.

5. I am using a combination of pictures from my phone, my point and shoot and my DSLR. I like that. Some are good and some are bad but that isn't the point.

6. I like doing inserts. I can add more pictures. LOL

7. I am making it a habit to pick out and journal on pictures on Sunday, put the layout together on Monday night and photograph and post on this blog on Tuesdays. I hope I can stick with this. It might change some once summer starts and I am busier. :)

8. I often wonder...does anyone really care about these Project life posts?

 

 

What I've Been Ogling Lately

Just some stuff that I am putting on my WISH list....stuff I am sort of saving up to buy. Well, saving because I don't really need it but I want it and it would be useful to have or just nice to have...however you want to word it. Even if it's a want instead of a need it fulfills something for me personally.

• Le Creuset Stoneware Canisters. (Williams Sonoma) They would look lovely on my future kitchen counter. Don't you think? and they match the color of my dutch oven...also made by Le Creuset. It was one of the best birthday presents I ever received. I use it all the time. (ask my mother)
• Citrus Juicer (Williams Sonoma)- I already have a small juicer but this one looks so function and sturdy and it would last for years. It isn't made of of plastic so you know you could have it forever...and damned if it doesn't look like it would juice the crap out of a lemon without much effort or waste of juice. (I found a perfect homemade lemonade recipe hence the reason I want a juicer)  
• Wusthof 7" Santoku Knife (Cheapest place I can find it) - My current 7" knife which I use all the time has a crack in it. Not really sure how that happened but it did so I need a new one soon. This would be such a lovely knife. It wouldn't match the other knives in my block but I wouldn't care as it would be the best.
• Cuisinart 9-cup Food Processor (Cheapest place I can find it)- I don't really know if I want the 9 or the 14 cup. I'm not sure of any recipes that I know of that would require a 14 cup food processor...on the other hand what if I need a big food processor in the future? Then I'd had to buy a new one and why when I'd already have a decent one? So that makes me think bigger would be better in this case...although sometimes bigger is just bigger. The jury is still out on this one.
• Longaberger Woven Traditions Medium Oval Casserole in Cornflower (Longaberger-blue not yellow) - I have some plates, bowls, coffee cups, soup bowls and a couple other odds and ends. I love the high class quality of their pottery. I've always wanted a casserole dish like this with a lid. Part of me wishes it was round instead of oval but I'm not that picky. LOL
• Pampered Chef Cutting Board - I have the small one now I want the larger one. They are really nice. They don't get sliced up as much as the cheaper ones and they have some grip along the edges so they don't slide around when you are cutting something.  
• Pampered Chef Cookie Sheet - I love the one I have but it would be easier if I could have another one then I can put one sheet in the oven and get the next one set up and ready to go in. These cookies sheets are the bomb! They don't contort in the oven while you are baking they stay miraculously flat and even. I love that! 
• Pampered Chef Large Scoop - My mom has this one and the medium one and they both work like a charm whenever I'm doing anything like making cookies or cake balls or putting liquidy batter into a pan (aka muffins/cupcakes). Or even scooping out ice cream...although if I'm honest it's really just a spoon and a pint of Ben and Jerry's except on the special occassion when I have an ice cream cone. LOL
•  Glass Pitcher (Williams Sonoma) - I love this traditional classic glass pitcher. When I was growing up we always had the plastic ones from tupperware which were just fine but now that I'm older this one looks like so much fun...and I don't have to take the top off to guess what's in it. One drawback would be you could tip it over and it would spill...but we always had accidents with the plastic one too. LOL
• Martha Stewart Pies and Tarts (B&N) - this book has a lot of pictures and good instructions...it's just scrumptous...plus I've always wanted to make a good pie and tart. I love fruit so much I'm surprised I haven't done it already.  
• Betty Crocker Cookbook - (B&N) - While I have a lot of cookbooks already. Mostly ones that people have given me and they are good ones I thought this would be an all-around book to have. Something with a little bit of everything.  

Okay so far that's it. I know there are more things that I want but right now I can't think of them or can't find exactly what I want so I'm not going to post about it until I do. (i.e. I want some new strainers...ones taht have very fine openings for straining things like lemon juice to get all the pulp and small seeds out but I haven't found one I like yet)




 

 

 

Dolcini from the Olive Garden

I attempted to duplicate the Dolcini Dessert at the Olive Garden called Dark Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Mousse and Caramel Cream.(closest dessert on the right side)

Not too easy. Not really. I used 4 different recipes to re-create the dessert. It is very tasty but tedious. I probably won't make it again just because it takes so much work but I will say it was worth it.

Step One: Make the dark chocolate cake.

I used the hot fudge layer cake recipe from Fine Cooking. I've made this recipe before and the cake comes out moist and delicious. I used a very large 9x13 pan. In retrospect I would probably should have cooked it in two pans because it gets very thick. At least 3-4 inches high. Making little torts would be easier if you have a flatter cake.

Here is the recipe Hot Chocolate Layer Cake

Step Two: Cut out the hot chocolate cake.

I used a circle cookie cutter that was probably 2 inches in diameter and put the cake in a small tumbler like an oversized shot glass. This dessert is very rich so you don't need a huge container for it. p.s. Make sure the cake is cool to the touch or it will fall a part when you cut the cake in circles.

I just cut out a section of the cake, put a spatula underneath the part I cut out (so it wouldn't fall a part) and then placed it in one of these plastic glasses and squished it down some because it was quite deep.

Step 3: Make Chocolate Mousse

I think chocolate mousse can be quite difficult to make because if you over mix it at any point it can start to separate. So you have to be careful with this portion of the dessert.

Melt the chocolate. Do this slowly otherwise it will turn into a gummy/pasty mess and won't be edible. I mean slowly. Use a double-boiler. The water under the top pan should be barely simmering. So on the lowest temperature. I like to get start with about an inch of water in the bottom pan, turn it on medium to get it close to boiling then turn it down to low and then melt the chocolate. That works for me.

You have to whip the heck out of the egg whites and the cream and then fold them in gently with a spatula. Using a machine is too much so use a spatula, it reminds you to do it slowly and gently. So beat the egg whites until they are fluffy and stiff and do the same with the whipped cream. Whipping them gives the mousse it's airy texture.

When you fold them in separately with the melted chocolate it will look nasty but keep going slowly eventually it'll blend together and look heavenly.

Before you top the cake with the chocolate mousse make sure it is completely cool. If it isn't it could make your mousse separate.

Step 4: Make your Caramel cream frosting

You do this step next because the recipe I made calls for the frosting to cool and stiffen up a little in the fridge which is good because you do not want liquid frosting.

This makes a delicious caramel cream cheese frosting. I didn't think the recipe called for enough frosting so I added a couple cups of powdered sugar to the mix until I thought there was enough frosting. I don't think it hurt the recipe...it made it a tad bit sweeter which is good. You can also add a small amount of vanilla extract if you like. That will give it a bit more flavor too.

Also I don't have vanilla beans handy so I just used vanilla extract. 1/2 tsp. for a 1/2 a bean.

Don't be afraid to beat this frosting for awhile. Extra beating won't hurt it. In fact it makes it creamier and you don't get as much sugary texture.

Step 5: Make the caramel sauce.

This was difficult for me because this is like making candy and I don't do that much. So I would suggest having a thermometer so you can check the temp instead of going by color.

Also, This was more like a sauce not a cream so in the future I am going to look for more of a cream than a sauce. Or thicken this recipe some.

Note: You have to let this cool down completely or if you put it on your dish hot it will melt it and it'll turn into a big soupy mess. LOL So cool this overnight with your frosting.

Step 6: Put together

Put the caramel sauce on top of the mousse. Doesn't that look creamy and delectable? I think so.

Just use a spoon and swirl it on. I made sure to cover the mousse as completely as I could so that in every bite I got some of this caramel.

Then I piped on the cream cheese frosting. (I just used a regular piping bag and cut a hole in the end. I didn't use a tip or anything, didn't need to get that fancy) I actually put it in the mixer first to loosen it up  because it had been sitting in the fridge all night. I would recommend that. It makes it easier to spread and it warms it up enough so it's at a creamy consistency that makes it easier to eat.

Here it is! You can garnish it with chocolate swirls if you like. I chose not to. It gives it a bit of a crunchy texture on top so I might next time. Doesn't that look good. Layers of choclate and caramel. ooohhh....Tasty. Very rich and very tasty.

 

 

 

 

Banana Nut Bread

I made Banana Nut Bread for the first time last night.

It turned out pretty good. I don't think I baked it long enough so it was soft but you know what. I like soft bread. I don't want something that is so overbaked that it tastes like you are chewing on cardboard or bark. I like my cookies soft too. So anyways. That's my story.

Did you know that technically it isn't a bread...it's more like a cake. I think so. It doesn't taste like a bread it tastes like a dense cake. It's good though. I carved up a slice for breakfast.

Here's the recipe. Banana Nut Bread

My first attempt was this:

Chocolate chip banana bread. I failed though. I didn't cook it long enough because I wanted to get started on the Banana Nut Bread so I took it out of the dish and it collapsed. LOL I kind of laughed but you know...it wasn't that good of a recipe. I tasted some of it that didn't flop and it was good but way too chocolatey and not enough banana. So I'm going to try and find that Starbucks Banana Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake and try to make that instead.

 

Roasted Vegetable Minestrone

Last night I made this Roasted Vegetable Minestrone from the Pioneer Woman.

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Ahhh...so nice and chunky...more like a stew actually in my lovely red Le Creuset pot.

I ate a big bowl with my Bolillo bread with Hope Butter (oh so tasty) and warming. I was sweating when I was done eating.

Here's the close up Mr. Demille. Look at all those lovely vegetables! Yes Guys vegetables. You ca eat them, they have a lot of flavor, are hearty and are good for you. Yes, you will live. Just try it.

There's tomatos, carrots, zucchini, yellow squash, celery, green beans, mushrooms and some pasta (not a vegetable in case you are keeping track). 

It was tasty. Really good. I was full after eating a bowl.

It was very easy to make and didn't really take too long. I left out the beans because I just don't like 'em but if you want some protein in your soup/stew (I say stew because I have lots of thick chunky vegetables and less broth so it's more of a stew without the meat) add the beans.