surly kitchen

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

2012-03-01T07:00:00.001-05:00

I have really been slacking in the kitchen lately. Poor Mr.Surly, I'm barely able to scrape together enough food to feed him; I just don't have the energy. I'm going through a "rough patch" medically, waiting for it to pass so I can get back in the kitchen. I have a long list of recipes bookmarked I need to get started on.

I forced myself to make these cupcakes because I have been craving chocolate and peanut butter. Maybe because Target is in Easter mode and I saw my favorite treat; Reese peanut butter eggs. But since my stomach can't handle them right now, I thought I'd try to incorporate these flavors in cupcake, not candy, form.

The result was phenomenal. The cupcakes are moist and spongy, and the frosting tastes just like bakery icing--extremely sugary sweet, which complemented the cupcake perfectly. I even left out some of the sugar the recipe called for in the icing. I'm glad I did that, otherwise, to me, the frosting would have been too sweet and sugary.

I must admit, after eating this cupcake I felt extremely sick; it was not good for my GI issues. I did this to myself, knowing that I'm not supposed to eat chocolate nor peanut butter (both are high oxalate and on my "not allowed" food list). I think I'll let Mr.Surly finish off the rest of the batch.

In the meantime, I think I'll stick to my low oxalate diet so I can feel better and get back in the kitchen.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Printer-friendly recipe
Makes 6 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
½ c milk
½ tsp apple cider vinegar
1/3 c sugar
2 Tbl +2 tsp canola oil (I used flaxseed oil)
¾ tsp vanilla extract
½ c flour
2 Tbl + 2 tsp cocoa powder
¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
Generous pinch salt
¼ c peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl whisk together milk and vinegar; set aside to curdle.

Mix sugar, oil, vanilla into the milk; mix til foamy.

Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, and salt, in batches to wet ingredients. Beat until smooth and no lumps.

Stir in peanut butter chips

Fill cupcakes ¾ full. Bake 18-20 min until toothpick comes out clean. Transfer cupcakes to wire rack to cool compeletely.

For the Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting:
¼ c butter
2 Tbl shortening
1/3 c creamy peanut butter (I used TJ’s natural unsalted PB)
1 Tbl maple syrup
1 ½ tsp vanilla
1 ¼ c powdered sugar, sifted
1 Tbl milk
mini peanut butter cups, if desired, for garnish

Cream together butter and shortening til smooth.

Add peanut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla. Beat.

Beat in sifted powdered sugar, a little at a time, beating on low speed. The icing will become stiff.

Add the milk and beat until tan and fluffy.

Pipe onto cupcakes. Top with mini peanut butter cup, if desired.

Source: halved and slightly adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

Yellow Curry Sauce with Chicken

2012-02-23T11:02:00.006-05:00

I love spicy food. I love curry. I love Trader Joe's Thai Yellow Curry Bottled sauce. I posted a recipe with it a long time ago, when my blog was new and my photo skills were poor because I was using my trusty canon point&shoot. That post is one of my top 5 most popular posts.

I figured there must be a way to make my own curry sauce so I went about creating one. It was actually pretty easy; it only took a few attempts to perfect. I'm not sure how "authentic" it is but it sure is tasty. It's a great sauce and for vegetarians and vegans, tofu can easily be used instead of chicken, and veggie broth could be used instead of chicken stock.

Yellow Curry Sauce with Chicken
Printer-friendly recipe
Serves 3-4

2-3 cloves garlic
~1 inch (~thumb-sized) piece fresh ginger, peeled
1 shallot or small yellow onion, diced
2 Tbl butter
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 c chicken stock
1 c coconut milk (regular milk works, too)
2 ½ Tbl curry
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
14 oz (~ 5-6 medium) yukon golden potatoes, cubed (Trader Joe’s has a 14 oz bag of small golden potatoes which I used)
2.5 oz (~1/2 c carrots, cut or diced)
1 lime, juiced
2 tsp cornstarch (opt)
2 tsp cold water (opt)
Cooked rice, quinoa, couscous, millet--any grain you want (I used Trader Joe's Brown Rice Medley, which is to-die-for)

Grate the ginger with a microplane or cut into small pieces. Add butter to a skillet and sauté ginger, garlic and onion about 3-5 minutes. Add chicken, salt and pepper.
Cook until chicken is browned on both sides and cooked. Remove to cutting board, cover with tin foil tent to keep warm.

Add chicken stock to skillet to deglaze, scraping up all the browned bit from chicken and shallot. Add milk and spices, stirring constantly. Add potatoes and carrots.

Cut up chicken into chunks; add back to skillet.

Cook, covered, until potatoes and carrots are tender and chicken is cooked through.

Squeeze in lime juice.

At this point your done if you like thin, soupy curry sauce. I like mine a little thicker, so I add a slurry (2 tsp cornstarch+ 2 tsp cold water mixed together, then added to skillet).

Pour over rice, couscous, quinoa, or any grain you want.

I used scallions as garnish, but cilantro would also be great.

Salsa

2012-02-16T10:59:00.012-05:00

This post marks Mr. Surly’s cooking debut. Are you as excited as I am? I'm always happy when he makes food. And this time I was able to photo document it, though I don't think he was too happy to have me hovering around with a camera, even though I tried to stay out of the way.

This salsa is so good and so simple; it's his family's recipe.

It's just peppers....

...Roma tomatoes...

...cilantro...

...and hot sauce...

...stir to combine...

...then salt and pepper to taste..

...and you're done.

Enjoy.

Mr. Surly’s Salsa
Printer-friendly recipe

2 (28 oz) cans crushed tomatoes
2 jalapenoes
2 Hungarian (large banana) peppers
4-6 Roma tomatoes
1 small yellow onion
1 lime
1 (5 oz) bottle hot sauce
Bunch of cilantro

Pour both cans of crushed tomatoes into a large bowl, set aside.

De-seed all the peppers (I like to do this with a small spoon so my fingers and nails don’t burn). Put in food processor.

Quarter the onion and add to the food processor along with the peppers. Pulse until finely chopped.

Add to bowl with crushed tomatoes.

Cut Roma tomatoes in half and de-seed (again, easy to do with a small spoon)

Add to food processor and pulse a couple times, then add to bowl.

Add a bunch of cilantro, pulse in food processor, then add to bowl

Pour in the entire bottle of hot sauce.

Squeeze in the lime juice.

Add salt and pepper

Taste, and adjust seasonings as necessary.

Stir, allow to refrigerate a couple hours, then dig in.

NOTE: We used the Ninja food processor, which we received as a Christmas gift. We love it; it's like the Magic Bullet on steroids.

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T13:02:00.003-05:00

Need a quick dessert? Try these cookies. Pillsbury heart cookies that are just place and bake.

Or buy the Betty Crocker Peanut butter cookie mix where you just add an egg, some water and oil. And instead of putting a hershey kiss, press a heart-shaped chocolate into the warm cookie. Easy peasy.

Gourmet's Romantic Road Trip

2012-02-09T08:23:00.012-05:00

About a month ago, I received an email from BlogHer asking me to participate in their Romantic Road Trip where they were featuring cities all over the US for romantic restaurants. I wrote a review about a restaurant Mr.Surly and I love Trilussa La Trattoria, submitted it, and promptly forgot all about it.

Then a few weeks ago I was contacted by Gourmet to ask permission to run my piece. I was shocked my entry was picked as one of 15 out of the thousands I'm sure BlogHer received.

I'm so excited about it. If you want to check it out click here to read it on the Gourmet Live Blog.

I'm the fourth blogger down :)

Oh, and if you are ever near Chapel Hill, you must eat here. The Chef is the sweetest guy; he visits every table to see how the food is and to make sure everything is to your liking. He's even made dishes for me when I was doing my elimination diet, and other times when my GI issues were acting up, that were not on the menu to accommodate me. And check out how adorably quaint his restaurant is. I love that the menu is in Italian (with English descriptions below).

Champagne Cocktails

2012-02-06T07:56:00.005-05:00

Mr.Surly and I love sparkling wine from L.Mawby winery in Michigan. While on vacation in Michigan last August, we bought a case of wine (Cremant and Sandpiper).

I have always wanted champagne coupe glasses and for Christmas, much to my delight, we received some.

Inside the box, there was a piece of paper telling the story of New York's Stork Club and its signature drink, the champagne cocktail.

We tried it and it's actually pretty tasty. I was a bit dubious about the sugar cube, so I substituted a tsp of sugar in each glass...

...then added a few dashes of the bitters (which I found at SuperTarget in the mixer aisle)...

....now it's time to pour in the ~~champagne~~ sparkling wine...

...and, finally, the twist of lemon...

...now you're ready to toast and enjoy.

This drink has a pinkish hue (from the bitters)it would be a nice cocktail to serve to your Valentine.

The only think that isn't clear from the recipe is whether you are supposed to add more sugar and bitters when refilling your coupe. I guess it's up to personal taste and preference.

Need some drink ideas that also use Angostura Bitters? Try these:
Sufferin' Bastard
Phoenix Rising

Football Food

2012-02-01T11:25:00.002-05:00

I can't believe the Super Bowl is this weekend. It's time to start thinking about food that is good for snacking while watching the big game. Below is my list of man-friendly foods worthy of any Super Bowl bash.

Wicked Good Salsa

Cilantro-Jalapeno Hummus

Slowcooker BBQ Pulled Chicken

make your own pizza:

Favorite Pizza Dough

Mexican food is always easy to make....

Spicy Mexican Pulled Chicken and Vegetables

...as are these divine chicken fingers:

Crunchy Garlic Chicken Fingers

Chili and Stew are also good foods to have around:

Guinness Beef Stew

Pressure-Cooker Chili

This mac-n-cheese is the ultimate side or main meal

Baked Three Cheese Mac and Cheese with a Kick

And you can't forget dessert, starting with the BEST cookie ever made:

White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies

These cupcakes might be a little bit more man-friendly:

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

And one of my favorites:

Oatmeal Date Bars

Hope everyone enjoys the big game. GO PATS!

Caramelized Apple Peanut Butter Biscotti

2012-01-30T08:08:00.001-05:00

I have recently discovered that peanut butter brings on severe GI attacks. I know I'm not even supposed to be eating peanut butter since it's on my low oxalate diet "bad" list but I can't help it. My afternoon snack is an apple with peanut butter and cinnamon. Now I can only eat the apple :( It's frustrating because I experimented by eating a handful of peanuts--nothing; no attack. It's bizarre, and a mystery, what will set off my GI attacks.

Needless to say, I have been craving the apple/peanut butter combo. It took a few days for me to decide to try to make some kind of apple peanut butter biscotti.

It took a few attempts, but I finally tweaked the recipe just right.

I started with caramelizing apples in butter, brown sugar and spices....

Then I stirred in the rest of the ingredients and formed my loaf:

Baked, and out came deliciousness. I polished these off in record time.

Caramelized Apple Peanut Butter Biscotti
Printer-friendly recipe
Makes one small loaf

2 medium (~7 oz) apples. diced (I used gala)
1 tsp cinnamon*
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg*
Generous pinch cloves*
Generous pinch allspice*
Generous pinch (~1/4) ginger*
Generous pinch (~1/4)cardamom*
¼ c brown sugar
4 Tbl butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
¼ c granulated
2 eggs
1 ¼ c flour
2/3 c quick oats
1 Tbl ground flaxseed meal (0pt)
½ tsp baking powder
generous pinch salt
¼ c peanut butter chips, plus more for drizzling
1.5 oz (generous ¼ c) chopped walnuts

*NOTE: on the spices these are just estimates. I didn’t measure them out, I just sprinkled them over the apples and sugar. Feel free to add more ginger and nutmeg, I’m not a fan of these spices, so I used less of them.

Combine apples, brown sugar and spices in bowl; give it a quick stir to combine.

Over med-low heat sauté the apples, until tender and caramelized about 3- 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl, stir together flour, oats, flaxseed meal, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, add sugar, melted butter, and vanilla in a bowl. Whisk in the eggs.

Add the apples and stir. Stir in the dry ingredients, along with the chips and nuts, and with a rubber spatula (or wooden spoon), stirring until just combined. Cover dough and chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes minimum.

When ready to bake, remove dough from fridge and preheat oven to 350F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. With wet hands, take the dough and form it into a rectangular loaf. Bake for about 30 minutes, until golden brown. Remove.

Allow to cool for 15 minutes. Using a serrated knife, cut loaf into desired portion size. Bake the pieces for about 6 minutes on each side, until golden and toasted.

Drizzle melted peanut butter chips over pieces. ** Allow to cool completely, before storing in an airtight container.

**NOTE: I put a handful of peanut butter chips with a bit of vegetable shortening into a snack size Ziploc bag. Leaving bag open I microwaved, on defrost, in 30 second intervals until melted. Then seal up the bag, squeeze the chips to one corner, snip off a tiny bit of the corner and drizzle over biscotti.

Or you could just melt the chips and drizzle using a spoon or fork.

Philadelphia Snowman Cookies

2012-01-25T14:07:00.004-05:00

These cookies are one of my favorite holiday treats; they are so addicting. The recipe comes from my sister. She usually makes the dough ahead of time, freezes it, then thaws and bakes the cookies. Then we all help decorate them.

Philadelphia Snowman Cookies
Printer-friendly recipe

1 (8oz) pkge cream cheese, softened
1 c confectioner’s sugar
6 oz (1 ½ sticks) butter, softened
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 c all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda

Cookie sheets (**I line mine with parchment paper, but if you don’t use parchment paper, then don’t grease)

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, butter and vanilla with an electric mixer at medium speed until well-blended. Combine flour and baking soda; add to the butter mixture and mix well.

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.

Shape the dough into an equal number of ½-inch and 1-inch balls. Using 1 small ball and 1 large ball for each snowman, set the balls, slightly overlapping, on cookie sheets. Flatten the snowmen to ¼-inch thickness with the bottom of a glass dusted with flour.

Bake until cookies are light golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

To decorate: sprinkle sifted confectioner’s sugar, paint on facial features, scarf, mittens, buttons, etc, with colored gel or icing. Miniature peanut butter cups can be cut in half and used as hats.

___________________________________________________________________________________
Nutrition stats
Per cookie: 126 calories, 2 grams protein, 12 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams sugar, 8 grams fat, 15 milligrams cholesterol, 80 milligrams sodium

Thanks to my sister for sharing and typing out the recipe :)

Honey-Roasted Almonds

2012-01-17T18:20:00.009-05:00

These are some delicious, honey-roasted almonds my sister made for us over Christmas. I didn't eat any, since I'm trying to be better about eating low oxalate, but Mr.Surly gobbled them up. They looked and smelled wonderful.

Honey-Roasted Almonds
Printer-friendly recipe

2 c whole natural almonds, unsalted, roasted**
¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp honey (you can also use ½ cup, but I found I had a lot left over with that much)
1 Tbsp butter (or 2 Tbsp if you use ½ cup honey)
¾ cup turbinado sugar

**(you can buy these almonds pre-roasted, or buy raw unsalted almonds. Pre-heat oven to 350-degrees, place almonds in an ungreased jellyroll pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown; stir once or twice for even browning)

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and stir in honey – bring to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in almonds, simmering for 2 more minutes.

Line a jellyroll pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper (or, spray with non-stick cooking spray); with a slotted spoon, scoop almonds onto this in a single layer.

Allow to cool slightly. Put almonds and sugar into a medium plastic food storage bag. Shake to coat.

Spread back on jellyroll pan to cool completely.

Store in an air-tight container.

___________________________________________________________________________________
Thanks to my sister for the photo and recipe :)

I Can't Believe I Actually Ate That

2012-01-09T13:48:00.005-05:00

Alright, I still don't have a food post ready, so I thought I'd share a bit about food and drink I had while in NYC. Again, these are just straight out of my camera; no editing so I apologize in advance. Some of these should have been cropped.

Yes, that is a bone in the above photo. The bar had bone marrow on the menu, in addition to other typical pub fare. I was very skeptical about it, I can't even eat meat off a bone, why would I ever eat what's inside the bone.

My sister-in-law (SIL) is the one who convinced us to try it. I thought what the heck, how often does a person have the opportunity to try bone marrow.

My SIL prepared it for me. First you use the stick to pull out a piece of marrow, which is kinda gummy, plop it on toast, then you top it with cucumber relish and a bit of sea salt.

I was not a fan. I couldn't really taste much, but I really disliked the texture; too mushy for me. But at least I tried it.

Now, let me tell you about the bar, because it had great ambiance.

I want this clock

I'm in love with their light fixtures

Look at their signature votives *swoon*

They have a wide variety of great beers and microbrews....

...but since I was battling a sore throat I ordered a hot toddy.

If you're in NYC and find yourself in the financial district this pub would be a great place to pop in.

The Growler Bites & Brews

Still Trying to Ring in the New Year

2012-01-03T12:50:00.008-05:00

Is anyone else exhausted from the Holidays? I definitely am. Mr.Surly and I drove up northeast and when we got home we went on a cleaning-up-the-clutter spree, so this year our chi can flow easily through our home.

Hopefully, this week I can get a food post up but today I'm feeling too tired. I'm going to cheat and show you a few things I did over the holidays. All the photos are unedited, straight out of my camera; I couldn't muster up the energy to attempt editing them. So I'm sorry if they are dark, kinda blurry, or badly framed.

First, we went to the City of Brotherly Love to visit my family. We decided to go visit Valley Forge, George Washington's winter camp during the Revolutionary War. Growing up, my dad was a huge history buff and kinda passed that on to me and my siblings.

cabins for the troops

inside one of the cabins

Look, it's Martha Washington

House Washington rented for him and his officers

Next, it was time to spend time in the Big Apple with Mr.Surly's family. We took the NJ transit from Hoboken and passed Carlo's Bakery along the way. We wanted to stop in, but the line was literally 5 or 6 blocks long.

It was cold outside, but I loved seeing the city all lit up for Christmas.

Tree at Rockefeller Center

Can you make out the Chrysler Bldg thru the trees?

Tree at Bryant Park

Those are just a few of the highlights. Again, sorry they aren't edited; I know they would've looked a lot better, but I just couldn't bring myself to spend the time.

Hope everyone else had a wonderful holiday.

Peppermint Mochatini

2011-12-26T07:37:00.003-05:00

This drink is basically a combination of the Naughty Maid and the Mocha Espresso Martini. It's tasty; I love peppermint, chocolate and coffee.

Peppermint Mochatini
Printer-friendly recipe

makes 2 cocktails

2.5 oz espresso or strong coffee (cooled)
2 oz Smirnoff vanilla vodka
1 ½ oz Godiva dark chocolate liqueur
2 oz Kahlùa peppermint mocha liqueur
½ oz peppermint schnapps
2 oz gin (we used Bombay Sapphire)

1 oz heavy cream

Measure out ½ oz of espresso and set aside.

Add the rest of the ingredients to an ice filled cocktail, shake well. Pour into martini glasses.

Pour the reserved ½ oz espresso to give a layered appearance. If desired, garnish with espresso beans and/or candy cane.

Sufferin' Bastard

2011-12-12T06:51:00.004-05:00

On the twelve day of Christmas my bartender made for me a much needed hangover remedy…

Today wraps up the 12 cocktails of Christmas. We thought for the last post it would be appropriate to post a hangover recipe. We picked this one because we loved the name. The drink itself turned out to be really good. As for the claim of curing a hangover, the verdict is still out on that issue.

Suffern’ Bastard
Printer-friendly recipe
Makes 1 or 2 cocktails

1 oz bourbon (we used Maker's Mark)
1 oz gin (we used Bombay Blue Sapphire)
¼ oz fresh lime juice
Dash of angostura bitters
3-4 oz ginger ale

Shake in cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into ice filled highball glass. Or, to share with a friend in need, pour into two ice filled rocks glasses.

Bartender's Note:to share this drink it can be poured into two rocks glasses or 2 martini glasses.

Source: Ultimate Bar Book: The Comprehensive Guide by Mittie Hellmich

Peppermint Twist

2011-12-11T07:34:00.006-05:00

On the eleventh day of Christmas my bartender made for me, a Peppermint Twist so yummy...

I got this recipe from my sister; I'm not exactly sure where she got it. This turned out to be exceptionally good. You can't go wrong with chocolate and peppermint.

Peppermint Twist
Printer-friendly recipe
Makes 1 large or small 2 cocktails

3 oz crème de cacao (dark)
2 oz cream
2 oz peppermint schnapps
Crushed peppermint candies

Put peppermint candies in Ziploc bag and crush into small pieces; put on plate.
Line glass rims with crème de cacao, press into crushed peppermint candies. Shake ingredients with ice; strain into glass(es).

Note: the original recipe calls for the drink to be served in two vignette Port wine glasses. Our bartender suggests either pouring the entire drink into a highball glass or into two rocks glasses or 2 martini glasses.

Wassail

2011-12-10T07:16:00.005-05:00

On the tenth day of Christmas my bartender made for me wassail to share with friends and family...

I've never tried wassail before and this Cocktails of Christmas provided the perfect opportunity to make some. I thought it was really good; I love dark beer and hard cider. Since I think of England when I hear wassail, we chose to stick with English beer and cider. Good choice.

Wassail
Printer-friendly Recipe
serves ~6-8

1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cloves
½ c brown sugar (maybe need to decrease to ¼ c)
juice and spiral peel of 1 orange
juice and spiral peel of 1 lemon
4 oz hot water
16 oz (2 c) brown ale (we used Newcastle)
6 oz hard cider (we used Strongbow)

In large, nonaluminum pot, combine spices, sugar, citrus juices and spiral pieces with hot water. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, til hot. Add the ale and cider, cook to steaming (not boiling). Ladle into heat proof mugs, garnish with an orange twist.

Source: Ultimate Bar Book: The Comprehensive Guide by Mittie Hellmich

Ultimate Cosmo

2011-12-09T07:04:00.003-05:00

On the ninth day of Christmas my bartender made for me, an Ultimate Cosmo for me and my ladies…

Ultimate Cosmo
Printer-friendly recipe
Makes 1 cocktail

2 oz Absolut Citron vodka
¾ oz Grand Marnier
1 oz cranberry juice
½ oz lime juice

Shake with ice. Strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a twist of lemon.

Bartender’s Note: We used an organic 100% cranberry juice which is the reason our drink turned out an orangish/pink color. Using cranberry cocktail juice instead would give the drink a more familiar pink coloring.

Naughty Maid

2011-12-08T07:10:00.003-05:00

Naughty Maid
Printer-friendly recipe
makes 1 cocktail

2 oz gin (we used Bombay Sapphire)
1 oz Kahlua
1 oz Godiva dark chocolate liqueur
1 oz heavy cream

Shake with ice. Strain into chilled cocktail glass.

Vesper Martini

2011-12-07T07:32:00.010-05:00

On the seventh day of Christmas my bartender made for me, an (almost) authentic James Bond martini….

Both Mr.Surly and I are big James Bond fans. So when it came to Day 7, I immediately thought of agent 007. We have a bar book we bought that contains the authentic drink of James Bond, with directions straight from Ian Flemming's Casino Royale.

The drink's name is derived from Vesper Lynd, the double agent James falls in love with. Russian vodka is used to symbolize Vesper's ties to the Russians. The orange twist is used to compliment the Lillet Blanc, which is made from oranges and a combination of french wines and is a substitute for vermouth. Our bar book said to garnish with an orange to compliment the Lillet blanc, even though Bond asked for a thin slice of lemon peel. (Click here to watch the scene from Casino Royale where Bond (Daniel Craig) orders the drink).

Bond prefers his martini served in a champagne coupe, but not having those, we opted for a martini glass. I love the look of the champagne coupes, I must add some to my stemware collection.

Mr.Surly claimed this drink; I had a sip and it was really, really good. But also very, very potent, so one drink and you'd be feelin' real good.

We didn't have Gordon's dry gin, but we used Bombay Sapphire which is a dry London Gin, so at least it's British, which I feel is appropriate.

For vermouth we used Martini and Rossi dry vermouth.

Vesper Martini
the (almost) authentic James Bond drink
Printer-friendly recipe
makes 1 martini

2 oz gin (Gordon's to be authentic)
¼ oz vodka (Russian vodka to be authentic)
1/3 oz dry vermouth (Lillet Blanc to be authentic)

Shake with ice, strain into martini glass or, to be authentic, a champagne coupe. Garnish with a twist of orange (lemon to be authentic).

**Note** Mr.Surly was able to find Lillet blanc (which is a french after dinner wine) and bought some Gordon's gin. My goodness what a difference it made to this drink. It's so smooth you don't even taste any alcohol. To keep it on the dry side, use just a splash of Lillet. To make it a bit sweeter add 2 splashes of Lillet. Ever since he brought these home he has had one as his cocktail ever evening.

Source: Ultimate Bar Book: The Comprehensive Guide by Mittie Hellmich

Chai Eggnog

2011-12-06T07:25:00.005-05:00

On the sixth day of Christmas my bartender made for me, Chai Eggnog to share with others besides just me...

I wanted to include some traditional Christmas drinks with some kind of twist to make them different. I love Chai lattes, so it was a no-brainer to add Chai concentrate to spice up the eggnog. I just wish we had the National Lampoon's Christmas moose mugs to drink it in.

Can you believe I have never had eggnog before? Am I the only one? It just never really appealed to me because I don't like milk. But after tasting this, I'm totally a fan, maybe because of the Chai. I really wanted to use coconut milk instead of regular milk, but we didn't have any. I will make this again for Mr.Surly and myself using coconut milk. Mmmmm, it will be like a coconut chai latte spiked with booze.

If you can't find Chai concentrate, here is a good recipe to make your own from spices and sweetened condensed milk.

Chai Eggnog
Printer-friendly recipe
Serves ~6

1 c chai concentrate (we used Oregan Chai Concentrate Original)
1 c milk
1/3 c sugar
½ vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
4 large egg yolks
½ c cold heavy cream
1 oz bourbon
1 oz rum
Freshly grated nutmeg, for sprinkling

Heat milk, sugar, and vanilla bean and seeds in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, whisking until sugar has dissolved. Whisk yolks in a large bowl. Pour hot milk mixture into yolks in a slow, steady stream, whisking.

Return milk-yolk mixture to pan, and cook over medium-low heat, whisking often, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 20 minutes (do not let simmer). Pour through a fine sieve into a bowl; discard bean. Whisk in cream, bourbon, and rum. Let cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour (up to 1 day)**.

Serve sprinkled with nutmeg.

**since we were just photographing we skipped the refrigeration step.

Source: halved and slightly adapted from Martha Stewart

Golden Sunset

2011-12-05T07:26:00.006-05:00

On the fifth day of Christmas my bartender made for me a glorious golden sunset cocktail...

This drink was really tasty, similar to the Phoenix Rising; a nice tropical drink to remind me of warmer days, when our temps were in the 80s instead of the 60s. I don't think anyone "claimed" this drink exclusively, we all just kept sipping out of it. Luckily, we got our photo before we started sampling it.

Golden Sunset
Printer-friendly recipe
Makes 1 drink

2 ½ oz Absolut Citron vodka
1 oz pinapple juice
¾ oz Cointreau
Orange twist, for garnish

Shake all ingredients with ice. Strain into a rocks glass or tumbler filled with ice. Garnish with an orange twist.

Phoenix Rising

2011-12-04T08:00:00.004-05:00

One the fourth day of Christmas my bartender made for me a phenomenal Phoenix Rising Cocktail...

This drink calls for using Angostura bitters. Not being a bartender, I had no idea what bitters were. According to Angostura's website, bitters are “a unique blend of natural herbs and spices which is used to flavor a wide variety of food and drinks."

We debated using it, not sure how easy it would be to find, but we found it at the liquor store for only $7. It was in the same aisle as grenadine, right above the vermouth. It's a little bigger than a mini sized liquor bottle. There were about 4 different kinds of bitters. It was also in the wine/beer section of the grocery store. You only use a dash of it, so we had plenty left over. On the website they have recipes for food that call for a dash of the bitters; I'm curious about what it would taste like in food.

I really liked this drink, as you can see by the lower volume; it was kinda tropical tasting. I kept sipping it while my mother-in-law set up the props and it looks like I sipped a bit too much--oops.

Phoenix Rising
Printer-friendly recipe
Serves 1

2 oz vodka
1 oz pineapple juice
2 oz ginger ale
Dash of bitters
Lemon oil from 2 large lemon peel strips

Shake ingredients with lemon peels. Pour into ice filled rocks glass.

Crème Brulée Martini

2011-12-03T07:55:00.007-05:00

On the third day of Christmas, my bartender made for me, a classic crème brulée martini…

I know there seems to be a martini theme going on with my cocktails, but I promise there are some drinks served in punch cups and rocks glasses. In fact, I think tomorrow is my first non-martini.

I found this drink too sweet for my liking, but my MIL(mother-in-law) and SIL(sister-in-law) loved it. I was never a big fan of Frangelico because I don’t like the taste of hazelnuts.

I don’t think any of the men got to try this drink because my MIL and SIL kept taking turns sipping it down. It didn't last long.

We did a rim of festive green holiday sugar, but a cinnamon sugar combo rim would also be delicious.

Crème Brulée Martini
Printer friendly version
serves 1

2 ½ oz Smirnoff vanilla vodka
1 ½ oz butterscotch liqueur
1 ½ oz Frangelico liqueur
1 ½ oz Caramel Bailey’s
Cinnamon, for garnish

Shake ingredients in cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into glass. Add a dash of cinnamon if desired.

Note: A cinnamon sugared rim can be substituted instead of the dash of cinnamon.

Mocha Espresso Martini

2011-12-02T07:00:00.010-05:00

On the second day of Christmas my bartender mixed for me, a marvelous mocha espresso martini…

This was one of my favorite drinks; I love espresso and chocolate. We were pretty much fighting over who got this drink; my mother-in-law won out in the end.

Mocha Espresso Martini
Printer-friendly recipe
makes 1 (8 oz) cocktail

2.5 oz espresso or strong coffee (cooled)
2 oz Smirnoff vanilla vodka
½ oz Godiva liqueur (dark chocolate)
1 oz Kahlùa peppermint mocha liqueur
½ oz peppermint schnapps

Measure out ½ oz of espresso and set aside.

Add the rest of the ingredients to an ice filled cocktail, shake well. Pour into martini glass.

Pour the reserved ½ oz espresso to give a layered appearance. If desired, garnish with espresso beans.

English Pear Martini

2011-12-01T07:00:00.012-05:00

One the first day of Christmas, my bartender made for me, an Absolut perfect pear martini…

I have found a new favorite vodka--Absolut Pear. Any cocktail my sister-in-law used this alcohol in was delicious. This martini is like drinking a ripe pear with a hint of pineapple (oh, how I love pineapple). Too bad pears are out of season; a fresh pear slice or even a big chunk of pineapple that had been soaked in vodka would make a great garnish. Also, a light sprinkle of cinnamon to finish it off as well. This is definitely a drink I'm going to bookmark and enjoy over and over.

Pear Martini
Printer-friendly version
makes 1 (8 oz) martini

2 oz Absolut Pear vodka
1 oz Bombay Sapphire Gin
1 oz pineapple juice
¼ oz lime juice
½ oz simple syrup*

Shake ingredients together in cocktail shaker, strain into chilled glass. Garnish with a lime twist (or even better a pear or pineapple slice), if desired.

*to make simple syrup, mix equal parts sugar and water and heat until sugar is dissolved. We used a couple Tbls of each and microwaved in 30 second intervals, stirring each time; just because we didn't want to bother with the stove.

Cocktails and Dreams

2011-11-28T14:23:00.006-05:00

Can you believe it's almost December? I'm really excited because then I can share my 12 Cocktails of Christmas. For those of you who want to join in December 1st is this Thursday! But anyone, at anytime, can contribute a drink(s) during the 12 days.

I had so much fun with this 12 cocktails of Christmas. I had an amazing bartender, my sister-in-law, as well as a fantastic food stylist, my mother-in-law. Basically, all I did was take the pictures. If only I had their help on all my posts I could post more often.

We had a great time, making, and sampling our cocktails. Just don't make and drink them all in one day--trust me, it's not pretty.

We tried to tie them in with the song "The 12 Days of Christmas" to make it more festive. Some of them were a stretch, but I feel we came close enough.

The fun begins on Thursday; hope everyone is as excited as I am.

**update** here's the list of cocktails we made with links to the posts.
1.English Pear Martini
2.Mocha Espresso Martini
3.Crème Brulée Martini
4.Phoenix Rising
5.Golden Sunset
6.Chai Eggnog
7.Vesper Martini
8.Naughty Maid
9.Ultimate Cosmo
10.Wassail
11.Peppermint Twist
12.Suffern' Bastard

Thanksgiving

2011-11-21T07:49:00.001-05:00

I can't believe Thanksgiving is this Thursday. I thought I'd post some tasty recipes that would be a delicious addition to any Thanksgiving feast.

breakfast:
Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

Pumpkin Bourbon French toast

First Course:
Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Curried Carrot Soup

Fall Harvest Soup

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Side Dishes:
Apple Cranberry Stuffing

Baked Cranberry Sauce (with Bourbon)

Cranberry Nut Quinoa

Roasted Sweet Potato Balls

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope everyone enjoys their holiday.

Dark Chocolate Espresso Cake

2011-11-17T16:22:00.011-05:00

I should call this cake death by chocolate, it's so rich. I first time I had this recipe was 2 years ago, when I was gluten free. It was love at first bite. I like that this flourless cake doesn't have a lot of butter in it. A lot of flourless chocolate cake recipes call for 2 sticks of butter--no thank you, my stomach would be in knots.

This recipe is perfect. The cake is so dense, and moist and delicious. It's wonderful served with whipped cream and raspberries. A note about the cake; it rises when it bakes and falls when it cools, resulting in a crackled top. But don't worry, the cake will be gone before anyone notices a cracked top.

Dark Chocolate Espresso Cake
Printer-friendly version
6 tablespoons butter, plus more for pan
8 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate or (1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips)
1 Tbl instant espresso powder
1 Tbl vanilla (I used TJ’s bourbon vanilla)
6 large eggs, separated into whites and yolks
½ cup sugar
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Whipped cream, for garnish

Preheat oven to 275 degrees; with rack in center. Butter a 9-inch springform pan. Place butter and chocolate in a large bowl. Microwave in 30-second increments, stirring each time, until melted; cool slightly. Stir in vanilla and espresso powder Whisk in yolks.

In another bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add sugar; beat until stiff and glossy. Whisk 1/4 of whites into chocolate mixture; gently fold mixture into remaining whites.
Pour into prepared pan; smooth top. Bake until cake pulls away from sides of pan and is just set in center, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack. Serve dusted with confectioners' sugar or whipped cream.

source: slightly adapted from Martha Stewart

The 12 Cocktails of Christmas

2011-11-02T12:16:00.006-04:00

I have been waiting to post about this for weeks. But, since it relates to Christmas (and it's not even Thanksgiving yet), I forced myself to wait until November to share this with all of you. That way, if you want to participate, you have a month to come up with some drinks.

I came up with the idea of doing a 12 cocktails of Christmas, where each day, Dec 1-12, I'd feature a new holiday cocktail. I've been brainstorming different flavor combonations and drinks, along with the help of my sister-in-law (an NYC bartender). So many people do 12 treats or desserts of Christmas that I thought it would be fun and different to feature cocktails instead.

I'm extending an open invitation to any blogger who wants to join in. You drinks can be virgin, spiked, old posts, new posts; there really are no rules except it has to be a beverage. You can join me in posting every day or once, twice, as many times as you want, I'm pretty easy going.

If you're interested, leave a comment or email me (surlykitchen@gmail_dot_com). That way I can remind you as the time comes closer to December 1st. I'm setting up a code for the picture above, which will serve as a button in your blog's side bar, if you want to add it.

I'm actually really excited about this because it involves no cooking! I'm still adjusting to my new doses of medications, and have no energy and no desire to cook. But I promise as soon as I feel better I will post all kinds of deliciousness.

Fall Harvest Soup

2011-10-20T11:08:00.009-04:00

Poor Mr.Surly, I haven’t made a full dinner in months. I'm not sure how much longer he can get by on my spartan dinners. I’ve been busy with hospital tests and doctor appointments and when I get home the last thing on my mind is food. All I want to do is to crawl onto the couch with my beloved heating pad and relax. Finally, all my medical appointments are winding down; my last 2 appointments are next week. By Wednesday I should know whether it’s a bad kidney or a bad pancreas that is causing my abdominal pain. Not sure at this point which option would be better. At least by knowing I can stop worrying about it and the doctors can start treating it properly. Then I can get back into cooking and baking. Sorry, about my medical rant; I'm just frustrated about it.

On a happier, seasonal note, I love the flavors of fall: pumpkin, apples, and especially acorn squash; warm, spiced comfort food. Lacking inspiration and feeling lazy, I decided to take some of my favorite fall foods and add them all together in a soup. It turned out creamy, dreamy, and delicious. Most importantly, for me, this was easy to make, yummy to eat, and caused minimal abdominal pain and bloating. Yay.

The soup is sweet from the apples and apple juice and gets a nice kick from the cayenne pepper. It is creamy enough that you don’t need to add the cream. I only added it because I need the extra fat and calories, since I'm still trying to gain weight.

Fall Harvest Soup
Printer-friendly recipe

1 acorn squash, halved and seeded
1 sugar pumpkin, halved and seeded (or 1 can pumpkin puree)
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 large, or 2 small, apple(s), cored, peeled and diced (I used Gala)
2 Tbl butter
brown sugar, to taste
cinnamon, to taste
pumkin pie spice, to taste
cardamom, to taste
cayenne pepper, to taste
thyme, to taste
~2 c water
apple juice (I used a kid’s juice box that was 6.75 fl oz)
½ c cream (opt)

Preheat oven to 400 F

First, roast the veggies:
Place squash inside side up on a baking sheet. Lightly sprinkle some kosher salt on the halves and drizzle with olive oil.

Place the pumpkin halves, inside side down, on a foil lined baking sheet.

Place sweet potato cubes on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and lightly salt (I also drizzled some agave over them).

Roast the veggies until tender, either separately or all together, in oven. The squash and pumpkin took about 30-45 minutes; they are done when the shell is easily pierced with a knife. The sweet potato cubes took about 20-30 minutes; they are done when tender.

Allow squash and pumpkin to cool, then scrap out the insides into a bowl with a spoon or melon baller. Add the sweet potatoes.

Make the soup:
In a dutch oven or large pot, melt the butter. Add apples and sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and cardamom. Sauté apples to caramelize, about five minutes. Add the apple juice and veggies along with 1 cup of water. Add a ½ to 1 tsp thyme and ¼ tsp cayenne pepper, and a pinch of sea salt. Simmer about 10 minutes or so to allow flavors to meld together.

Using an immersion blender puree the soup; at this point I needed to add another cup of water. If you don’t have an immersion blender, puree the soup in batches in a blender. Taste to adjust seasonings, if necessary.

Stir in cream, if using, and remove from heat. Serve and enjoy.

It Does a GI Tract Good

2011-10-12T09:02:00.007-04:00

I have been a terrible food blogger lately. I've relied heavily on the help of others for my posts because I haven't been well enough to make anything. I had a renal venogram last week that I'm still recovering from. I never thought putting a small catheter with a camera in my vein would hurt so much. I was unable to be completely sedated because I had to follow commands, such as: "breath in deeply", "hold your breath", and "is that where your pain is"? 'Lucky' me, I was the first patient at the hospital to have this procedure done; I was the first patient they have seen who actually has nutcracker syndrome. Needless to say, the doctors and surgeons were pretty excited to see me and my rare condition.

They snaked the catheter/camera up from my right femoral vein (in my groin) all the way up to my left renal vein. I could feel every where the doctor snaked that catheter. I even asked if it was supposed to be so painful. My nurses were wonderful, they felt bad for me so they were rubbing my head and giving me more pain meds every 5 min. Even though it was painful, I found it fascinating what modern medicine can do. Afterward my insides felt like spaghetti; like someone had taken a knife to my insides, just chopping and slicing away.

After all that, the doctor looked at my images and was unable to make a recommendation on what to do next because he has never seen nutcracker syndrome before. He is going to consult with other doctors before putting me through an invasive surgery involving making a new renal vein to bypass the compressed one.

Anyway, I'm sorry to go into all that, but I just wanted to let you all know I'm not (completely) lazy; I've been dealing with a lot of things. And the next two weeks will be filled with doctor appointments, questions, and decisions about a possible surgery. For this reason my cooking has dwindled down to almost nothing. Poor Mr.Surly has been reduced to eating canned soup and Lucky Charms.

Sorry about my little rant that has nothing to do with this delicious apple brandy, Calvados. I was introduced to it back in August while on vacation. We went out to eat at a wonderful French restaurant and I had forgotten my Creon pills. These are pills that contain 3 pancreatic enzymes to help me digest my food; I have to take them every time I eat anything. Well, I ate the meal anyway, knowing I was going to be in a lot of pain later.

We had after dinner drinks and I chose this apple brandy that sounded good. Little did I know how good it would turn out to be. First of all, it tastes phenomenal; great apple flavor. After my first sip, I felt the warm buring in my throat and all the way down my esophagus; relaxing everything. By the time I finished my brandy (just a few ounces) my entire GI tract was relaxed. I didn't even feel the ill effects I usually feel when eating without taking my enzyme pill. The Calvados had relaxed everything, dulling my pain.

Ever since we returned from vacation we've been looking for this brandy for me. I want to have it around in case I eat a meal that causes my abdominal pain. Mr.Surly finally found it for me. He also bought these brandy snifters/cognac glasses that are supposedly made for french brandy.

Now, I'm not a medical expert, so I don't know if this would help all people with abdominal issues (maybe it would exacerbate it in some). All I'm saying is that it works for me. And for you lucky people with no GI issues, it makes a wonderful after dinner drink.

__________________________________________________________________________________
Not a paid advertisement

Spicy Hot Bloody Mary

2011-10-06T09:04:00.008-04:00

While on vacation in August, for some reason, someone in Mr.Surly's family got a craving for a Bloody Mary. No one really knew how to make a bloody mary, so Mr.Surly's sister, an aspiring NYC bartender, took charge of the task. The result was delicious; so good, in fact, that once home Mr.Surly requested a bloody mary one Saturday afternoon. I had to text Surly-SIL (sister-in-law) for the recipe. She gave me the ingredient list but I had to play around with the ratio's to get it to Mr.Surly's liking (it took a couple of attempts).

Warning about these; they are hot and spicy. If that isn't your thing, just use regular V8 and maybe omit the creole seasonings.

Spicy Hot Bloody Mary
Printer-friendly recipe
Serving: 1 glass

ice cubes
1 shot (2 oz) vodka
1 tsp lemon juice (fresh squeezed is best)
1 tsp Claussen pickle juice (from kosher dills)
1 tsp Worchestershire sauce
Spicy Hot V8 juice (I used the Spicy Hot low sodium V8)
celery, for garnish

spices, to taste:
Creole seasoning (Tony Chacere's)
sea salt
black pepper
tabasco sauce
garlic powder

Fill your glass half full of ice cubes. Then add the vodka, lemon juice, pickle juice, and worchestershire sauce. Pour in V8 juice until glass is 3/4 full.

Sprinkle with seasonings, adjusting any (or all) ingredients to taste. Then kick back, relax, and enjoy.

Wicked Good Salsa

2011-09-30T08:12:00.011-04:00

Football season has begun, which means on weekends football is always on our tv. Mr.Surly is very into watching college football, especially the Big Ten teams. He is an alumni of "The" Ohio State University (yes, there was a note of sarcasm in adding the word "the").

I, on the other hand, attended Ohio University where we were known more for our partying and Halloween bash than for our sports. Sports Illustrated even wrote an article on the Halloween celebration and this year they were ranked #7 party school by PubClub. Seriously, it's out of control; when I was there both Playboy and Girls Gone Wild had camera crews there. It's not all partying, it is a good school, I promise. I received a great education there. But, none of this has anything to do with this salsa.

The recipe is courtesy of my good friend, Carolyn. Afew years ago she had a housewarming party and this was one of the foods she served. It was so good I couldn’t stop eating it; I had to have the recipe. She kindly obliged. I was skeptical of the Italian dressing in salsa, but Carolyn assured me that it was necessary to the recipe.

This salsa is so addicting. I like to use Tostitos Scoops because it makes for an appealing presentation. This is a perfect snack for a weekend of watching football.

Wicked Good Salsa
Printer-friendly recipe

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can blackeyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles (or with zesty jalepenos)
2 serrano (or jalepenos) peppers, seeds removed and diced
2-3 cloves garlic
1 bell pepper (any color) diced
½ small onion or 1 small shallot (opt)
½ c Italian dressing

Add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix to combine. That’s it. Refrigerate til ready to eat.

I usually leave out the onion because it's a food that hurts my stomach.

Easy Canvas Prints

2011-09-27T15:29:00.008-04:00

I was so excited recently when I was contacted by Brendan at Easy Canvas Prints. I’m not much of a home décor person; basically that means my walls are bare. Not because I don’t like art, but rather I’m just not good at interior design for rooms. I’m embarrassed to admit this, but Mr. Surly has a better eye for interior design than I do.

Therefore, when I was given the opportunity to review a product that turns photos to canvas , I jumped at the chance. Deciding which picture to use was hard. I went through my pictures and picked out ones I liked and thought would be great for a canvas print. After narrowing down the contenders, I asked Mr.Surly for his opinion we finally decided on a picture of my wedding bouquet (I love tulips, they are my favorite flower).

After logging onto their website I uploaded my picture, then you choose the size you want. It’s cool because they have a couch with the size of your canvas hanging over it so you can get an idea of how it will look on the wall; a great tool for a visual person like me.

Once your photo is uploaded and you choose the canvas size, you can move the picture around to get the composition just the way you want it. After that, you can choose from various borders. I chose the "reflective" border. I love how the print wraps around the sides of the canvas, it gives it an elevated look in my opinion.

Then, they show you what your final canvas print will look like. It took me awhile to get the composition just right; I’m such a perfectionist.

When the box finally arrived, I tore it open to look at my print. I love that they include a hanging bracket on the back; such a useful, small touch.

These would make great, personalized Christmas or birthday presents for friends and family.

Thanks Easy Canvas Prints; I am in love with my new picture. Now I just have to decide where to hang it. Sounds like a good job for Mr.Surly when he gets home.

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Note: All opinions in this review about this product are my own

My Fountain of Youth

2011-09-19T14:27:00.003-04:00

I know I have been a bad food blogger, not posting about food I made, rather relying on others for food posts. But, dear friends, you are in luck; I am about tell you about the most amazing skin care product I have used to date; my secret to beauty.

I admit I’m a bit vain when it comes to my looks, I see a dermatologist twice a year, I wear sunscreen, and basically try to avoid prolonged exposure to direct sunlight for fear of premature wrinkles and age spots.

I smile a lot, and about a year ago, noticed that I’m starting to get crows feet and some fine wrinkles on my forehead. Nothing too noticeable, but I’m not about to let them to deepen and get worse. I spoke with my dermatologist and she recommended a this serum. She gave me a sample, and I tried it out for a month, but didn’t experience any noticeable results.

My next stop was Sephora, my go-to beauty destination. I love that place. There is this amazing sales associate whom I seek out whenever I’m in there. She knows both me and Mr.Surly since we buy all our skincare products from her. I trust her implicitly, she has never steered either of us wrong. Anyway, after discussion of what I was looking for, she recommended a product from Peter Thomas Roth, this Un-Wrinkle serum. The bottle was pricy ($120) which I didn’t want to spent on something I wasn’t sure would even work. Instead, I purchased the Un-wrinkle kit, which has the whole line of Un-Wrinkle products for $68.

Now, I love Peter Thomas Roth products. I have been using his glycolic acid cleanser for years. And I recently discovered his anti-aging glycolic cleanser. I can't pick a favorite between the two cleansers; all I can tell you is that they both leave your face squeaky clean. I only use the cleanser about 3 times a week; I have sensitive skin that is easily irritated, so I don't want to use the cleanser everyday.

Ok, sorry about the tangent, back to the Un-Wrinkle kit. I was mainly interested in the serum, and was skeptical about the results. I used it every day for a month (just one pump is all that is needed for your face) and noticed that my forehead lines were actually going away. I couldn’t believe it; a beauty product that actually did what it claimed to do! At first I was using it twice a day, morning and night, but now I just use it at night.

The serum in the kit lasts me about 3 months, so I'm guessing the full sized $120 version would last 6-9 months. Totally worth the money, in my opinion.

On Peter Thomas Roth's website, it claims to see instant results. While my results weren't instant, I did notice that my forehead wrinkles vanished after a month. So, if you're vain, like me, run to you nearest sephora. Or you can order the products of Peter Thomas Roth's website. Click here for the Un-Wrinkle serum and click here for the Un-Wrinkle kit.

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Note: Not a paid advertisement. I just really love Peter Thomas Roth's skincare products

Tiramisù

2011-09-13T09:21:00.007-04:00

Here is another recipe typed up from my sister. We both love tiramisù. I remember the summer I spent in Italy, I ordered tiramisù while out to dinner with my cousin and her friend while visiting Milan. The waiter, who had been friendly and joking with us American girls, stood behind me and, putting his arms around me, picked me up. I was confused. He then explained to us that, in Italian, tiramisù, literally means "pick me up." Don't worry if you find this dessert a bit runny, authentic Italian tiramisù should be that way. It's an involved recipe that takes a bit more effort to make, but in the end it's worth the extra work.

Also, sorry about the crappy photos. I forgot to take my camera flash to Philly, so the photos didn't turn out well. But don't worry, it still tasted amazing.

And now onto my lovely sister for the recipe.....

Tiramisù is one of my favorite desserts. I’ve started with Williams-Sonoma’s recipe and found it made WAY too much, so after many experimentations, I came up with these ingredient proportions that make just the right amount for me. This recipe is a commitment; however, even with using an electric mixer to perform the whisking, be prepared to use a lot of cooking bowls and utensils (for those more along the lines of being culinary neophytes, although it may be tempting to just reuse your whisk(s) and bowls between steps, remember the cream and egg whites (separately) should be whisked in a clean bowl with a clean whisk. Get a sink full of soapy water and wash things in between steps (running under cold water for the final rinse) if needed.

So yes, afterward you may find yourself surrounded by a mound of accouterments, but since this delectable treat won’t be ready for 4 hours, this can be time well-spent.

Tiramisù
Printer-friendly version

4 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
¾ lb mascarpone cheese, softened
1 ¼ cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp rum
½ tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp + 3 ½ cups espresso
3-4 egg whites
30 full lady fingers (or 60 halves – it depends how the store packages them, or if you want to slice them length-wise)
Cocoa powder (optional) for dusting on top

*Note: Dish for the finished dessert. This recipe will fill a 9x13 pan. You can also use a deep 8x8 or 9x9, which will affect how many lady fingers you need. I’ve experimented with this recipe several times and have adapted it to the way I like my tiramisu. For a smaller dish, you could use 3 egg yolks, a little less than 1/3c sugar, ½ lb mascarpone cheese, 3 egg whites, and about 20 full lady fingers)

Put 1 medium mixing bowl in the freezer or refrigerator to chill (you’ll need this for whipping the cream.) Technically you could skip this step, but I found a chilled bowl helps whip the cream faster.

Use another medium mixing bowl that will fit in a sauce pan, but won’t touch the bottom. Add some water to the sauce pan, bring to a boil, then turn down to simmering.

In the mixing bowl over (but not touching) simmering water, whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl. Eggs should turn a place yellow and thick ribbons should fall from whish (about 4-5 minutes).

Transfer to mixing bowl with mascarpone cheese (since the bowl with the egg/sugar mixture gets hot from being over the simmering water, I will use a different bowl. I’m not sure if it makes a difference). Beat until smooth, about 2-3 minutes

Using the chilled mixing bowl, whisk the cream to stiff peaks. Add rum, vanilla, 1 Tbsp of espresso (*on this step, sometimes I add some Kahlua and/or Bailey’s Irish cream – about ½-1 Tbsp total*).

Using a rubber spatula, fold the cheese into the whipped cream until blended and smooth.

Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks (invert the whisk and peak should hold its shape). Add about half the egg whites to the cheese/cream mixture and blend gently. Add the rest of the egg whites, folding gently until smooth and blended.

Pour espresso into a long, shallow dish/bowl. (Lady fingers can get very soggy very quickly, so this step can get messy). I usually quickly dip a few ladyfingers in at once (one brand I buy had them connected on the sides) then immediately place them in the serving dish. Another option is to add some rum/Kahlua/Bailey’s to the espresso.

Cover the bottom of your serving dish in a layer of lady fingers. Spread ½ the mascarpone cheese mixture to even layer.

Add another layer of lady fingers. Top with remaining mascarpone mixture. Dust with cocoa powder to create a rich, dark topping.

Refrigerate 4 hours before serving.

Source: adapted from Williams-Sonoma

Beach Birthday Party

2011-09-06T08:56:00.004-04:00

Our northern vacation this year happened to fall during my sister-in-law's birthday. She wanted to have a cookout on the beach. So my mother-in-law(MIL) planned out this awesome beach-themed party. I helped out a little but mostly I was shooting pictures of the process.

First up, we made veggie kabobs. After cutting the veggies we spread them on the table and began assembling the kabobs.

There was no set pattern as we skewered the veggies. Once finished they looked so good.

I think my MIL just put salt, pepper, and maybe some olive oil on them.

Due to my inability to touch raw meat, I sat out while the chicken kebobs were assembled, then put in a bag of teriyaki sauce to marinade.

At the beach we had a small charcoal grill to cook our food. First up, the veggie kebobs:

mmmm, looking good

Next it was time to cook the chicken:

ewww, raw chicken

ahhh, that's better

Now for the cake. Since the party was taking place at the beach, my MIL planned a beach themed dessert; pudding topped with graham cracker crumbs to look like sand. She bought a sand pail and filled it with chocolate and vanilla pudding:

Then, after covering it with graham cracker crumbs, we added Sponge Bob fruit snacks of sea creatures, Swedish fish, and gummy life savers. It turned out looking very beachy. The finishing touch, pirate candles, would be added later, at the beach.

We used the sand shovel as a serving spoon after the candles were blown out.

It may not look appetizing after serving, but it was delicious.

Farmer's Market

2011-09-02T18:00:00.003-04:00

Well, I'm finally home from my vacations; I'm still settling in. I have so many pictures to edit, upload, and post. I thought I'd start off with pictures from the farmer's market we went to while on vacation. I figured this would be an easy post as the pictures speak for themselves. No need for my commentary.

Mmmm, I love heirloom tomatoes

I love how the jalapenos are packaged standing up

Mr.Surly LOVES Michigan cherries

Baked Three Cheese Mac and Cheese with a Kick

2011-08-29T10:33:00.007-04:00

I'm still in Philly visiting family. While here it has been nice to not be head chef, but rather sous chef. My sister made this delicious baked Mac and Cheese, and I convinced her to write a post about it (she is a more eloquent writer than I am). This stuff is amazing and, as a bonus, it's low oxalate. The spiciness takes this mac and cheese to a whole new level. I can't wait to make it for Mr.Surly

Homemade macaroni and cheese can be spiced up: it’s fun to experiment with different pasta shapes and various cheeses. We like to add a little “kick” to our mac-n-cheese by using buffalo-wing cheese (if you have a hard time tracking down buffalo-wing cheese, you can just add a few teaspoons (or tablespoons, depending how spicy you like it) of wing sauce. I also like using different cheeses: asiago, romano, fontina, etc. The proportions of cheese aren’t important – you could use all cheddar cheese, or 1 pound of cheddar with ½ pound of fontina; it’s totally up to your preference.

It’s also fun to experiment with various pasta shapes: gemelli, fusilli, farfalline, vermiglioni, ruote, are the types I’ve tried.

Baked Three Cheese Mac and Cheese
printer friendly version

1 pound shaped pasta or elbow macaroni
6 Tablespoons butter
6 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 Tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon salt
1.5 pounds shredded cheese
(this time I used ½ pound gruyere, ½ pound super-sharp cheddar, ½ pound buffalo-wing cheddar cheese* (if you can’t find buffalo wing cheese, you can use another ½ pound of cheddar and add buffalo-wing or hot sauce to taste))
approx 1-2 cups bread crumbs (panko work nicely – it’s also good to buy the seasoned bread crumbs)

Follow the instructions on package to cook pasta to al dente. Drain and set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt butter. Sprinkle flour over butter and cook 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Whisk until a roux forms. (A good way to judge is by smell—it should smell toasty and not buttery) Add cold milk; vigorously whisk until dissolved. On medium-low heat, cook until thick and bubbly (this can take up to about 15 minutes). Whisk in heavy cream. Stir in all cheeses, salt, pepper and cook until cheeses are fully melted. Stir occasionally.

Stir in the pasta to the cheese mixture. Place in a 13X9 baking dish (or 2 smaller baking dishes if you are planning on freezing some) and top with bread crumbs.

At this point, you can cover in foil and keep it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it. But, if you’re ready to go, then bake at 325 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. (If baking from the refrigerator, then I usually do 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees).

Source: inspired by/heavily adapted from Food Network

Guest Post: Chicken Salad with Tarragon Vinaigrette

2011-08-22T08:00:00.011-04:00

Alright, here's week two's guest post. Haley has graciously agreed to share this amazing chicken salad recipe with all of you while I'm away, this time in the city of brotherly love. Haley and I have been blogging friends for a long time. She amazes me. She was in college, and now nursing school, and she still finds the time to post more often than I do. Amidst all this, she is training to run a 10K. I wish I had her energy. A bonus of her part time job allowed her to be an assistant instructor at a kid's culinary camp. I loved seeing the creative desserts the students came up with. They were much prettier than any cupcake I've ever made. I urge you to check out her blog if you haven't had the opportunity. You'll find a lot of delicious recipes. And now for Haley and her best chicken salad ever...

Hello!

I'm Haley from The Girly Girl Cooks and I was so honored when I was asked to write a guest post for the fantastic blog, Surly Kitchen!

Summer is all about picnics, weddings and BBQ's, so I thought this recipe for Chicken Salad would be perfect for any three of these occasions. Besides being absolutely delicious, this chicken salad is great for all of us watching what we eat because it's made with a delicious vinaigrette and not loaded with guilty mayonnaise! I have the fantastic job of assisting chef's teach culinary classes at work, and this chicken salad sandwich was a total crowd favorite.The bright flavors, colors and freshness of this salad are unbelievable and the dressing is so light and delicious! I know for a fact that you are going to love it!

Chicken Salad with Fresh Tarragon Vinaigrette
Printer Friendly recipe

Here is what you are going to need:
-Meat from 1 Roasted Chicken
-1 small can of Pineapple Chunks, drained and finely diced (1/4")
-1 Red Bell Pepper, finely diced (1/4")
-1/2 small Red Onion, finely diced (1/4")
-Scallion washed and cut into 1/4" slices, greens only

Fresh Tarragon Vinaigrette
-1/4 cup Cider or Red Wine Vinegar
-2 tsp Dijon Mustard
-Zest and juice from 1/2 Lemon
-1 cup Olive Oil
-Leaves from 2 sprigs fresh Tarragon, chopped
-Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Dice chicken into bite-size pieces and place in a large mixing bowl. Add diced pineapple, red pepper, red onion and scallion.

2. Prepare vinaigrette. Whisk together vinegar, mustard, lemon zest and juice. Add olive oil in a slow steady stream, whisking continuously. Add tarragon and season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Add vinaigrette to salad contents and toss to blend. Salad may be preapared to this point a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator.
That's it! Super easy to make and totally delicious! It tastes great right when you make it, but even better the next day too!
I hope you enjoy this at your next summer event!

Thanks Amy for inviting me to do a guest post for your awesome blog!
~Haley @ The Girly Girl Cooks

Click here for Haley's original post on this delectable chicken salad.

Guest Post: Fresh Corn and Chicken Sausage Skillet

2011-08-15T08:00:00.015-04:00

I'm delighted to have my first guest contributor, Megan of Wanna Be a Country Cleaver, while I'm away on vacation. Have you seen her blog? It's amazing; you must check it out. I don't remember how I discovered it, but I'm glad I did. She has the sweetest finace, cutest dog, and killer recipes. And she can make amazing cakes. I love her blog and she is the friendliest person. She graciously agreed to do this guest post for me while I'm away on vacation. When I saw this recipe for Fresh Corn and Chicken Sausage Skillet I wanted it, and I'm not even a big fan of sausage. But this, this I could handle. Her pictures of the food prep are as amazing as the picture of the finished dish; I wish I had the gumption to take prep pictures; I'm just too lazy to do it. I have one word for this recipe: Stunning. And now, here's Megan.....

Quite possibly the best thing about the blogging community is the warmth and friendliness that emanates from every direction. These inviting groups of people share their zest and passion for any topic that speaks to them – in our particular realm of the digital world, it’s food. When Amy approached me to write a guest post for her, I jumped at the chance (perhaps a little overenthusiastically) to introduce myself to her loyal fan-base and share my love of simple food, and a somewhat country-esque lifestyle while residing in what I call “the big bad city”.

Amy is a kindred spirit with a heart of gold and I am monumentally excited and honored at her guest post proposal. For this little share session, I wanted to bring my A-game with a quick and incredibly healthy (in my eyes, because there is No butter involved) dish that’s a one-skillet supper ready in under 25 minutes. Prepping to plate in under 25 – this is what week night meals were made of.

So, I hope that you enjoy this little dish and thank you so much for indulging me with your time.

Corn straight off the cob is one of the most luxurious experiences of summer. It screams afternoon barbecue surrounded by your closest friends and cheery children tuckering themselves out at the local swimming hole. Bursting those kernels full of sweet nectar between your teeth is what a picnic is all about. When it's so readily available you have to jump on it and gobble up all you can.

For this latest Fresh Food Challenge hosted by America's Test Kitchen the secret ingredient was - corn. Brilliant!

When I got to making this recipe I wanted to ensure that it maintained as fresh of an appearance and taste as possible. And it needed to be quick. After a long weekend or busy day at work, slaving over a hot stove isn't the first thing on your to-do list.

My one requirement - its prepping to plate in 25 minutes or less. And this one achieved all of those pesky parameters.

Fresh Corn and Chicken Sausage Skillet
Printer-friendly recipe

I started with two small zucchinis, lopping off the ends...

...slicing them lengthwise down the centers, and then turning them flat side down, slicing them lengthwise again.

After turning the quarters to a 90 degree angle, I diced them into about 1/2" cubes and set them aside in a small bowl.

When the fresh corn into the picture, I wanted a little variation and ended up using one yellow and one white ear. They each have their own character - delicious in their own right.

After shucking the ears, I placed them on their ends and took a knife to the kernels stripping them away from the husks. Right into the bowl they went with no chasing of the kernels all over the table. Who's got time for that?

These were set aside and lastly the chicken sausage was prepped. I opted for a roasted garlic chicken sausage since it was light and flavorful, making the executive decision that a beef kielbasa would be too heavy for such a veggie filled dish.

All four sausages were sliced on a diagonal angle to give them a pretty appearance.

What would a fresh veggie skillet be without a pint of fresh cherry tomatoes? Now, we're all ready to go!

Even though they were fully cooked, the sausages needed to be reheated and crisped up a bit.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, I placed them into the pan and they were sprayed with an ample amount of Pam cooking spray. Lighter then butter and less guilt.

I sautéed them for about 5 minutes until a beautiful brown crisp formed on the outside. When they reached this state, the sausages were set aside and kept warm in a bowl wrapped in foil.

In the already heated skillet, I poured in the cubed zucchini and corn spraying them again with Pam. After an additional 5 minutes of sautéing time, and constant stirring they were nicely browned and ready for the addition of a pint of fresh cherry tomatoes.

Since there was plenty of garlic in the sausages, I (amazingly) resisted the urge to add in more, opting instead for about 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper instead and 3 tablespoons of water.

The whole pan was covered and left to steam for another 7 minutes, just until the tomatoes begin to wrinkle or barely burst. When this happens you're ready to throw back in the cooked sausages, give it one last stir and plate!

How easy was this?

It's wonderfully refreshing and perfect for quick summer time nosh. You really can't lose.

Click here for Megan's original post
Printer friendly recipe

Bar Keepers Friend

2011-08-08T17:45:00.008-04:00

I remember being so excited when I received my shiny, new All-Clad d5 cookware. I was elated and promised myself that I would do everything in my power to keep them in pristine condition. The lady at Williams-Sonoma assured me that they are easy to clean, the food ‘just wipes right off so easily’, she claimed. Hmph.

I had no idea how difficult it would be to learn to cook in these pans. They heat up so well, that I have to cook on low heat. If I bump the heat up to medium I end up burning my food, no joke. I’ve made chicken 3 times in the skillet, and have burned my chicken all three times. Luckily, each time the chicken had a coating, so we just peeled off the burned parts before eating them. I eventually had to google “how to cook with all clad.” I’m not even kidding, as explained below.

Cleaning the pans became a hassle. If you don’t remove all the food film from them, the next time you heat your pan, you will get a blue discoloration, as explained on a “how to care for your All Clad” sheet that comes in the box. You can see if there is film left over after hand washing and wiping dry. For stubborn stains they recommend a paste of baking soda and vinegar (or cream of tartar and lemon juice) and rub it with your fingers or a soft cloth to remove stain. I admit this method does work, but you have to repeat the process like 3 times. I bought a nylon scrubber (again, as recommended) specifically for cleaning my All Clad, and, again, it works, but after some elbow grease.

Finally, after burning yet more chicken breasts, I decided to get on the internet for some All Clad cooking and cleaning tips. On All Clad’s website they tell you to cook on low to medium heat. For cleaning, they recommend a product called “Bar Keepers Friend.” I’d never heard of it, so I Googled it. Turns out it’s cheap ($3.99 at my local grocery store, and an even lower $1.75 at my local super Target) and reminds me of the Comet powder my grandma used to use to clean her bathroom sink and tub. There is also a liquid version, but the store only had the powder kind. The instructions from All Clad are ‘add the Bar Keepers Friend to a wet cloth and rub in circular motion’. Oh my goodness, what a difference. This time, the pan was cleaned with just a few swipes of a washcloth. My whole pan sparkled like it was brand new. And I barely did anything, just a gentle wipe was all it took. I’m so delighted I found this product! I wish I had discovered it earlier.

It works on porcelain, too, so I tried it on the inside of my Le Creuset dutch oven that was a bit discolored on the bottom. A few shakes of Bar Keepers friend, a quick wipe or two, and the inside looks like new.

I love this stuff. It has multiple uses which you can find on their website. I feel like Billy Mayes going on about this product. But seriously, I feel like it’s a magic powder I just discovered and had to share with everyone.

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Note: Not a paid advertisement. I chose and paid for this product myself, and LOVE it so much I just had to share it

No More Oil Slicks

2011-08-04T13:34:00.007-04:00

I’ve mention before my plight of fine hair. If I don’t wash it every day it gets greasy. Sometimes, I’ll take a shower in the morning and by that night it’s already greasy. Ugh, what I would give for glorious, thick hair. I used to put baby powder in my hair, and though it does help minimize the grease, it leaves me with white-powdered hair. Not a good look.

One day I decided to search Sephora.com my go-to beauty store. I like reading the reviews. I did a search for “dry shampoo” and it listed various results. This one, by Fredric Fekkai, received rave reviews. I decided I would give it a shot. It’s an online only product, so I waited anxiously for the UPS man for the next few days. I was so excited to try it. Finally, it came and I couldn’t wait to try it out the next day. I parted my hair on the side (which is where I normally part it) and ran the tip of the dry shampoo along the part. Then I vigorously rubbed my finger tips along the part the distribute the product into my hair. I looked in the mirror and I was definitely looking less greasy. So I parted my hair on the opposite side and did the same thing. It worked, my head no longer looked like an oil slick. Granted, it didn’t look shiny and beautiful like I just stepped out of a salon, but at least I could go out in public without being embarrassed by other people thinking I don’t shower. My hair wasn’t powder-white and it actually gave my hair a bit of volume; an unexpected, pleasant surprise.

The only complaint I have about this product is the smell. I can’t really smell it so much since it’s on my head, but Mr.Surly does not like the smell. I can’t sit near him because he hates the smell and says it gives him a headache. I guess all beauty come at some price. *sigh* But the smell doesn’t deter me from using this amazing dry shampoo. Thank you Frederic Fekkai! If you’re interested in trying the product for yourself, you can find it here, on Fekkai's website. I checked Sephora’s website, but they are no longer carrying this brand.

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Not a paid advertisement. I purchased this product myself and loved it so much I wanted to share it with others.

No Bake Cookies

2011-08-01T08:00:00.002-04:00

I haven't had a no bake cookie in a long time; I almost forgot about them. I remember when they were popular back when I was growing up; we used to make them often. I love chocolate and peanut butter, separately, together, whatever. Recently, I came across this recipe from my aunt for them and thought they would be perfect to make during these hot, summer temperatures. As an added bonus, they are quick to make, which is necessary for me, since recently I have been feeling more sick than usual.

I was a bit worried about making them with natural peanut butter and, as feared, they turned out to be runny. No problem, the next time I made them (the first batch didn't last long) I added more oats and it took care of the problem. I ended up with beautiful, delicious no bake cookies.

No Bake Cookies
Printer-friendly recipe

2 c sugar
3 Tbl cocoa
pinch salt
¼ c butter
½ milk
½ peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 ½ c quick oats

Place oats in a heat safe bowl, set aside.

Add sugar, cocoa, salt, butter, milk, and peanut butter to a saucepan. Bring to a boil, and boil one minute. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Then pour over oats. Stir with a rubber spatula (or wooden spoon). If the mixture still seems runny you can add a handful of oats to thicken it up.

Drop by Tbl onto waxed paper. You can use two spoons or a Tbl cookie scoop (which is what I used). Allow to cool and set up, then store in air tight container. Then watch as they quickly disappear.

White Chocolate Macadamia Biscotti

2011-07-26T16:56:00.006-04:00

I’m finally getting around to posting some recipes. I have just been so exhausted and lethargic the past week or two, all I felt like doing was sleep. But this week I’m trying to get caught up in posting. I wish I had an assistant to help me take and edit the photos, as well as type out the recipes and posts.

I love to have some kind of treat with my morning cappuccino. Biscotti is a favorite, so are cookies, date bars, etc. I had some macadamias, and decided to make a biscotti version of the best cookie ever. It took me a few attempts to get the right ratio of dry to wet ingredients, but all the disasters were still delicious, even if they were too crumbly.

These went fast, I had them with my morning coffee and again in the afternoon with some chai tea. Next time I’m going to make two loaves, as even Mr.Surly was a fan.

White Chocolate Macadamia Biscotti
Printer-friendly recipe
makes 1 small loaf, serves about 4

½ c sugar
4 Tbl butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 ¼ c flour
2/3 c quick oats
1 Tbl ground flaxseed meal (0pt)
½ tsp baking powder
generous pinch salt
¼ c white chocolate chips
1.5 oz (generous ¼ c) chopped macadamia nuts

In a bowl, stir together flour, oats, flaxseed meal, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, add sugar, melted butter, and vanilla in a bowl. Whisk in the eggs. Add the dry ingredients, along with the chips and nuts, and stir with a rubber spatula (or wooden spoon) until just combined. Cover dough and chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes minimum.

When ready to bake, remove dough from fridge and preheat oven to 350F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. With wet hands, take the dough and form it into a rectangular loaf. Bake for about 30 minutes, until golden brown. Remove.

Allow to cool for 15 minutes. Using a serrated knife, cut loaf into desired portion size. Bake the pieces for about 6 minutes on each side, until golden and toasted.

If desired, drizzle melted chocolate over pieces. Allow to cool completely, before storing in an airtight container.

Blueberry Walnut Pancakes

2011-07-22T11:43:00.005-04:00

It’s Friday, which means (for us), tomorrow is pancakes day. These pancakes are a staple for us; I make them almost every Saturday, unless we have fried egg and cheese sandwiches.

Use this recipe as a base recipe. I change up the fruit on occasion, sometimes adding cranberries, sometimes banana, or any other fruit I have on hand. These pancakes are great because they are thick and fluffy. I love the texture of the rolled oats. The spices as well can be changed up based on what you’re feeling. Sometimes, I only add cinnamon because I’m feeling too lazy to grate nutmeg.

Blueberry Walnut Pancakes
Printer-friendly version
serves: 3-4 (unless you eat like Mr.Surly, then it serves 2)

1 egg
1 c milk
1 Tbl flaxseed oil (or canola oil)
3 Tbl brown sugar
1 Tbl agave or honey
1 Tbl ground flaxseed meal (opt)
1 c pancake mix
1 c rolled oats (like Bob’s Mill Extra Thick Rolled Oats)
(generous) ½ c finely chopped walnuts
(generous) ¾ c blueberries
cinnamon, to taste ( ~½ tsp)
nutmeg, to taste

In a large bowl add egg, milk, and oil. Whisk together, then add brown sugar, honey, flaxseed meal, and pancake mix; whisk to combine. Using a rubber spatula, stir in oats, blueberries, and spices.

Heat griddle to 350F or a nonstick skillet over med-low heat. Pour batter by ¼ c onto griddle. Once bubbles appear and pop around edges, flip pancake and cook on the other side. Once cooked, put on a plate and cover with a tent of tin foil to keep warm until all pancakes are cooked. Serve with syrup and enjoy a lazy, relaxing weekend morning.

Source: inspired by and heavily adapted from Tasty Kitchen

Totally Touchable Tresses

2011-07-19T10:33:00.009-04:00

I love beauty products (of all kinds), always have ever since I was a little girl. Back then, I used to sit at my grandma’s vanity and play with her makeup. I loved it and could not wait for the day when I’d be old enough to have makeup of my own.

Same thing applies for hair products. I have very baby fine, thin hair. It’s hard for me to find hair products to use that don’t weigh my hair down and make it look greasy. I’m constantly trying new things. Since I color my hair and take a lot of medications, my hair is dry at the ends and prone to breakage. I was searching for a hair product to restore my hair back to its original silky, shiny, smoothness.

I bought this hair treatment from Kerastase:

It’s a hair masque for fine hair. But the smell of it is too purfumey and strong for me. It works great, but I don’t like the way my hair smells afterwards. I use it once every few months. I'm happy with it, but then I found this damage remedy product from Aveda (pictured at top of post)

I've tried products from Aveda before. I’ve used their pure abundance shampoo/conditioner for fine hair. It has clay in it that is supposed to help your scalp from looking greasy. My hair is so thin and fine I have to wash it every day, otherwise it’s greasy. With them, I was able to wash my hair every other day. I liked them, but I not blown away so I only buy them occasionally, not regularly.

Recently, I saw this dry remedy leave in conditioner/detangler. Intrigued, I purchased it, and I’m so glad I did. I noticed a difference after one application. My hair was noticeably softer. And now, with regular use, the shine is finally back in my hair and my flyaway’s have been tamed. The best part is that it doesn’t weigh my hair down (I apply it to the ends, not the roots of my hair).

I love this stuff so much I just couldn’t keep it to myself, I had to share it with others.

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Note: not a paid advertisement; just my opinion and experience with the above products

Cilantro-Jalapeno Hummus

2011-07-11T15:02:00.003-04:00

This hummus is Mr.Surly’s favorite. I was waiting until my cilantro grew big enough to make this dip for him. Mr.Surly likes things hot and spicy, so I use serrano peppers instead of jalapeno peppers. Whenever I make this, it’s lucky to last 2 days. We don’t like Tahini, so I substitute almond butter or cashew butter. I’ve made it using both and I don’t really notice much taste difference. I've also used a lime instead of lemon, it makes it equally delicious. This time I used a lemon because I was all out of limes.

This is ridiculously easy to make; you just put everything in the food processor and puree. It only takes about 10 minutes to make, if even that. Gotta love easy, delicious dishes when the temps are in the upper 90’s/low 100’s.

I didn’t eat any of this because of the beans and almond butter; I’m still trying to limit my oxalate levels. But Mr.Surly had no problem polishing this off.

Cilantro-Jalapeno Hummus
Printer-friendly recipe

1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
Juice from 1 lemon or lime
2 jalapeno (or serrano) peppers, seeded
2 cloves garlic
1 bunch cilantro (I don’t measure, I just grab a big handful)
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
½ -1 tsp cumin (depends on your taste)
~2-3 spoonfuls of almond butter, cashew butter, or tahini
salt and pepper
olive oil
water

Add all ingredients except water and olive oil to food processor. Pulse a few times. The process, adding a stream of olive oil and water until desired consistency is reached. I put water in a 1 c measuring cup so I can add the water in a stream, too. Adjust to taste and/or consistency. Sometimes I need to add an extra spoonful of cashew butter, sometimes more salt or more cayenne. Serve with pita chips, tortilla chips or veggies.

Source: adapted from Buff Chickpea

Black Bean Lasagna

2011-07-05T08:00:00.003-04:00

This lasagna is something I just threw together the other day when I didn’t feel like making much for dinner. I’ve seen lasagna rolls on various blogs and, one day, wanted to take a stab at making my own. I don’t like ground beef and I knew if there was no protein in this dish there was a chance Mr. Surly would find this dinner neither filling nor satiating. In order to curb and avoid possible post-dinner kitchen foraging, I added black beans for protein.

Now, black beans are on my “avoid” list for the low oxalate diet, but I haven’t been following the diet too strictly recently. My GI doctor ordered more tests, and wants me to eat as I normally would to get accurate results. I have been eating all the chocolately treats I can in the meantime. This accounts for my recent scrumptious Chocolate Stout Cupcakes post.

This meal was easy to prepare, while my noodles boiled I mixed up the filling, and seasoned the tomato sauce. The rolls aren’t too hard to assemble. If you roll too tightly the filling pops out but that’s not a big deal; you just pinch it back in.

Both Mr.Surly and I enjoyed this, though he did comment it could use more spices. I thought it tasted great, but with my GI issues I have acquired a very bland palate, much safer for my GI tract that way.

thanks for the new dish MIL :)

Black Bean Lasagna Rolls
Printer-friendly recipe
makes 12 mini rolls
serves 2

1 (14.5 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 bell pepper (any color), diced
2-3 cloves garlic
~2 Tbl olive oil
1 (16 oz) container ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese)

spices to taste:
*basil
*oregano
*marjoram
*Italian seasoning

a few Tbl chopped fresh basil (opt)
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
6 lasagna noodles, boiled, cooled and cut in half
1 (28 oz) can tomato sauce (or jar of marinara sauce)
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

make the filling for the rolls:
In a small nonstick pan over medium heat, sauté garlic in a Tbl for about 2 minutes. Add bell pepper, black beans, and ~1-2 tsp of each the dried spices. Sauté for about 3-5 minutes, until garlic is fragrant. Remove from heat and put into small heat-safe bowl. Add the ricotta cheese and fresh basil (jf using), stir to combine. Add a small handful ~¼ to 1/3 shredding mozzarella and ~ ¼ c grated parmesan cheese. Mix well.

Pour tomato sauce into a small bowl and season with more (1-2 tsp) dried spices, salt, and pepper. Add a splash of olive oil and the red pepper flakes; stir. Put a few spoonfuls into the bottom of a small baking dish. Using a spoon, scoop out some of the filling, and add it to a lasagna noodle, rolling the noodle around the filling. If filling comes out, place your index finger and thumb over the open ends and pinch the filling back into the roll. Place seam side down in baking dish. Repeat til all the noodles are used. Pour remaining sauce over rolls. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top and cover with foil.

At this point you can either keep it in the fridge until you’re ready for dinner, or bake immediately (or you could stash it in the freezer for another day).

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 and bake, covered in foil, 45 min to an hour, til heated through and sauce is bubbling a bit. Remove foil, and bake an additional 5-10 min until cheese is browned. Allow to cool about 10-15 min before serving, then enjoy.

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

2011-06-30T14:14:00.007-04:00

I have been trying to make some kind of new dessert this week. Monday, I tried to make a pie, but the filling didn’t set so it was really runny. I just chalked it up to being crazy on meds and forgetting to add some important ingredient. Besides, I’ve never been successful in making a fruit pie, despite numerous attempts. Tuesday, I decided to stick to what I know and make some biscotti.

This is how it turned out:

Disastrous, but delicious.

Still undeterred, I decided on Wednesday to make cupcakes. Finally, success! Third time must be the charm.

And the best thing about making eggless cupcakes; licking the bowl and not worrying about salmonella.

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes
Printer-friendly recipes
Yield: 6 cupcakes

for the cupcakes:
3 oz (6 Tbl) milk
½ tsp apple cider vinegar
½ c + 1 Tbl flour
2 Tbl + 2 tsp cocoa powder
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp (generous pinch) salt
2 Tbl stout (I used 2 generous Tbl of Murphy’s Stout)
generous 1/3 c sugar
2 Tbl + 2 tsp canola oil
¾ tsp vanilla

for the crumb topping:
2 Tbl flour
2 Tbl cocoa powder
2 Tbl sugar
1 Tbl canola oil

Make the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 F

Whisk milk and vinegar together in mixer bowl, set aside.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, and salt; set aside.

Add stout, sugar, canola oil, and vanilla to the milk; beat til foamy. Gradually add in the dry ingredients, beat for about 2 minutes.

Fill 6 muffin wells ¾ full of batter; these really puff up during baking.

Make the crumb topping:
Sift together the flour, cocoa, and sugar in a bowl. Drizzle in oil, while mixing with a fork. Continue to mix with a fork until you have a lot of crumbs. (This took a couple minutes, but this is what I ended up with):

Sprinkle crumb topping on top of batter, don’t let it sink in.

Bake for about 20 minutes, the muffins will puff up, til done.

Cool on wire rack.

Source: halved and slightly adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

No Cook Pasta Sauce

2011-06-21T20:16:00.007-04:00

This is an accidental recipe I made up the other night simply because I wasn’t feeling well. I had been in pain all day and just couldn’t bring myself to make dinner. As the time drew closer for Mr.Surly to come home, I had to think of something. I decided on pasta because it’s easy to make. We don’t eat jarred marinara sauce, I like to make my own. Usually tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, spices, etc simmered together. But this particular evening I didn’t feel like cooking the sauce. I just wanted to throw it together and let it sit on the counter so I could get back to the couch and my heating pad. The following is the result, and it was really good. Light and easy, I’m definitely making this again. I think I allowed it to sit for about 2 hours.

No Cook Pasta Sauce
Printer-friendly recipe
serves 2-4

1 (14.5oz) can petite cut tomatoes
salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
~ ½ tsp marjoram
~ ½ tsp oregano
~ ½ tsp Italian seasonings
~ ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes (opt)
dash sugar
dash red wine vinegar (or white balsamic vinegar) (opt)
dash olive oil
~10 fresh basil leaves, minced or torn
Mozzarella cheese, opt

Put everything into a small glass bowl and set on counter, at room temperature, until ready to serve. I let mine sit on the counter for a couple hours, I would stir it occasionally.

Cook and drain your choice of pasta. Drain and put back into pot. Add sauce and toss to coat. I had some string cheese (mozzarella) in the fridge, so I cubed a stick of that and added it to the pasta for a bit of cheese.

Serve and enjoy the free time you saved by making such an easy dinner.

Mediterranean Chicken and Peppers

2011-06-15T17:00:00.004-04:00

This is one of my favorite meals for 2 reasons: 1) it's delicious and 2) it's easy. I love bell peppers and this dish is chock full of them. Plus, it has my beloved balsamic vinegar in it. And who doesn't love a dish that you just throw together, pop into the oven, and forget about it. The longest part is chopping all the peppers and that only takes a few minutes.

If you like olives, some Kalamata olives would be a tasty addition to this. I don't like olives, I find them too salty, but Mr. Surly loves them.

I have served this over quinoa, millet, couscous, and rice. Sometimes I add cubed potatoes to the dish. This dish makes a regular appearance in our menu rotation.

Mediterranean Chicken and Peppers
Printer-friendly version
serves 2

3 bell peppers, any color, chopped
¼ c balsamic vinegar
1/8 c Worcestershire sauce
1/8 c olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
½ Tbl dried basil
½ tsp Italian seasonings
~ ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
~½ c cherry tomatoes, halved (optional)
2 chicken breasts

any cooked grain: wild rice, millet, couscous, quinoa, etc

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Put peppers and cherry tomatoes (if using) in large bowl.
In liquid measuring cup combine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, garlic, and spices. Stir, then pour over peppers, tossing to coat.
Place chicken breasts in the bottom of a baking pan sprayed with cooking spray. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour the pepper mixture over the chicken arranging them evenly over chicken.

Loosely cover the pan with a piece of foil and bake until chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes. I checked my chicken after 30 minutes, and spooned liquid over the chicken to keep it moist.

Serve over grain of your choice. This time I served ours over wild rice and pinenuts.

Source: adapted slightly from Karina’s Kitchen

Coffee Cake Muffins with Crunchy Almond Topping

2011-06-07T08:00:00.006-04:00

A couple weekends ago Mr. Surly made a comment on how coffee cake sounded good. On weekends he likes sweets that compliment his coffee. I haven't had coffee cake in years, so I set out to make some. I knew I wanted them in cupcake form for perfect individual portions. I went onto Tasty Kitchen to view some recipes. I finally settled on this recipe as a base; of course I had to make my own tweaks.

I wanted to make a crunchy nut topping. I figured a few oxalates from the almonds wouldn't hurt me. I would rather have used walnuts instead of almonds, but I didn't have any. Without the nut topping these would have been a good low oxalate treat.

I messed up the recipe a bit, you were supposed to reserve some of the filling and use it as the topping. But my medicated brain missed that step--ooops. It didn't matter though, I made my own topping and got a few extra cupcakes from the batter.

These were delightful. A perfect accompaniment to Mr.Surly's coffee and my cappuccino. These did not last long. I think they only lasted 2 days. Which is good, since I have a list of other sweets I want to make.

Coffee Cake Muffins with Crunchy Almond Topping
Printer-friendly recipe
makes about 9 muffins

for the cupcakes:
1 ¼ c flour
¼ c + 2 Tbl sugar
½ c brown sugar
~½ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
¼ c + 2 Tbl applesauce (or oil)
½ c buttermilk
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp apple cider vinegar (or white)
½ tsp vanilla

for the crunchy nut topping:
1.5 oz whole almonds (~ 1/3 c)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbl flaxseed oil (or melted butter)
2 Tbl brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F

make the muffins:
Sift together flour, both sugars, spices and salt in mixing bowl. Add applesauce, buttermilk and baking soda. Whisk or mix well. Add baking powder, vinegar, and vanilla. Mix well.

make the topping
Finely chop or pulse in food processor a few times. Add other ingredients and stir.

Fill greased or papered muffing wells almost to the top. Sprinkle topping over muffin batter. Let it sit on top, not sink in.

Bake 20 minutes or until inserted pick comes out clean.

Cool on wire rack.

Source: halved and adapted from Tasty Kitchen

Entering New Terriotry

2011-06-03T11:45:00.005-04:00

Sorry, no food post this week. I had doctor appointments everyday this week, so there was no time for me to do anything since I spent most of my time in the hospital waiting room.

Yesterday, I met with the famous GI doctor (the top in the US). He brought his entourage with him: a guy from England, who was a behavioral psychologist, a woman who specialized in something relating to the GI tract, another woman, I forget what she did, a medical student from UNC and my regular GI doctor. I sat in chair, surrounded by all these experts in their fields, while the famous GI doctor questioned me about my symptoms, medical history, etc. Every once in awhile one of the others would ask a question. Then they examined my stomach, explaining to the medical student each step. Then, they left me in the examination room to go have a mini conference (it was at least a good 30 minutes).

And the answer they come up with is more drugs. They couldn't tell me what had caused the pain, or how to eliminate it, just how to manage my pain while they continue testing me. I did not get the quick fix I had hoped for. They say it could take up to 2 years before they find the cause. But at least they haven't given up on me. I am so incredibly lucky I have a doctor who does not dismiss me but is committed to helping me.

Sorry about that rant. I do not want this blog to be about my problems/issues; i want it to be positive, not woe-is-me. That's why I focus on the food instead of my illness. But I know I can't be the only one out there like this. Others have to have the same symptoms, maybe they just haven't found the right doctor to properly diagnose them.

Wow, I really did digress from the purpose of this post. I'm extremely out of it, drugged up, trying to focus and sound coherent; I hope I succeed.

I have decided to (temporarily) enter the world of scrapbooking. I want to make a simple, elegant scrapbook of my wedding. Problem is I don't know the first thing about scrapbooking. I've bought the book, all kinds of different patterned and plain cardstock. Borders for pictures, rhinestones, etc. But I don't know where to start. Do I plan the thing page by page as I go along? Or do I plan the whole think out before I start? I like adding the ribbons, stickers, etc, but I don't want to add too much that it clutters the page.

So if you have any tips/websites, etc to help me get started, please let me know. I'm a novice, and a drugged up one at that. I need help and advice.

Hopefully, next week I'll be back to my usual optimistic self, with some tasty recipes.

Miracle in a Bottle

2011-05-26T14:08:00.012-04:00

Since I have no new recipe to post, I decided to share with you one of my all time favorite beauty products. Mr. Surly and I love REN skincare products, and this is by far our favorite one.

I used to get glycolic peels at the salon every other week, this was back before I was sick. Once I got sick and was unable to go regularly, I started a search for good glycolic peel that I could do at home. I went straight to my local Sephora for recommendations. I have sensitive skin, so I needed a sample size of the product to try before buying, and Sephora is generous with their samples. They recommended the REN glycolic mask. It was love after first application. I cannot describe what this does to my skin. It makes it as soft as a baby's bottom. Also, it helps reduce fine lines and wrinkles. And most importantly, it doesn't irritate my sensitive skin.

I loved this product so much, that I now have Mr. Surly using it once a week. I wonder if he cares that I shared that with you. I guess it doesn't matter, he doesn't read my blog anyway. So it can be our secret. We've been using this mask for about a year and a half.

After taking a hot shower (to open up my pores) I apply this to my face and neck and leave it on for 15 minutes (they recommend 10 min, but I'm a rebel). It tingles and sometimes burns a bit, but not that bad. Wash it off and don't worry about how red your face looks, it will fade fast. Just enjoy the wonderful, youthful, baby soft skin.

It's a little pricey--$55, but it lasts a long time. I think ours lasts about 4 months, and that's with 2 people using it regularly.

So, either run to your local Sephora store, or you can order it online from REN. You can thank me later.

Please feel free to share your favorite skincare products in the comments section.

___________________________________________________________________________________
Note: Not a paid advertisement. I buy and use this product and love it so much I had to share it with others

Oatmeal Date Bars

2011-05-18T13:10:00.006-04:00

I was excited when I saw these date bars while reading Corrine's blog, Indulge, awhile ago. It’s hard to find approved desserts on my restrictive, low oxalate diet, and I absolutely love dates. Browsing the ingredient list I deemed these to be low oxalate as long as I left out the lemon zest.

I did make a few tweaks. I added cinnamon, nutmeg, and ½ tsp vanilla to the date paste. I sprinkled a bit more cinnamon in the flour/oat combo. And I had to leave out the lemon zest. :(

These bars turned out to be really yummy, a bit on the sweet side. Next time, I will decrease the amount to sugar to ¾ c, decrease the flour to 1 c and up the oats to 2 c, because I love oats, but that’s just me. Also, I'd love to add some finely chopped walnuts or almonds to these. Once I'm off the low oxalate diet, I want to try the recipe with these tweaks and ,of course, add in the lemon zest.

I’m so glad I didn’t halve this recipe because these are not going to last long at all. These perfectly compliment my morning cappuccino. Thanks, Corrine, for sharing the recipe; I can't stop eating these!

Click here for the recipe on Indulge.

Mint Julep

2011-05-09T06:00:00.004-04:00

I admit, I enjoy watching the Kentucky Derby. I just hate the 2 hours of fluff pieces that leads up to it. Last year I attempted to make mint juleps. I don’t know which recipe I used, but it involved a simple syrup. It tasted horrible. I couldn’t even drink it. So this year I studied up. I’ve been to Churchill Downs and had one their delicious mint juleps. We went with a guy who owned a horse, so he was able to explain the “strategy” of betting to us. I followed his advice and won $8. I was pretty happy with that. Anyway, back to the juleps, I found three different recipes to try. I made and tried them all (not all at once) and I’m here to give my verdict.

First, let’s talk about bourbon. Since Churchill Downs is in Kentucky, a Derby mint julep obviously needs a Kentucky Bourbon. Mr. Surly brought home Knob Creek, before we discovered that Woodford Reserved is the type of bourbon used at Churchill Downs. Ooops. Regardless, I continued on with my experiment.

I didn’t know what a “julep” cup is, nor how many ounces are in it. First, I tried pint glasses, too big. Then, I moved down to 12 oz glasses, still too large. Finally I used my stemless wine glasses (not sure how many oz) but they worked out great.

version 1
1 tsp powdered sugar
2-3 mint leaves
crushed ice
2 oz bourbon, plus more for muddling

Add powdered sugar and mint leaves to cup, along with a splash of bourbon. Muddle with muddler, or spoon, til mint is crushed. (This step could also be done with a mortar and pestle). Fill cup ~2/3 full of crushed ice. Pour in 2 oz bourbon. Stir (by mixing up and down, not swirling). I don’t have a glass stirrer, so I used a chopstick. Serve garnished with mint, if desired.

I do not own a drink muddler nor a mortar and pestle. So I used the bottom of a wooden spoon to crush the mint.

When I go to add the bourbon I accidently added 3 oz instead of two. Big mistake, unless you like drinking bourbon straight up. So I made a second one, and it was pretty good. But I was still keeping my mind open; I had two more versions to try.

I decided I better buy either a mortar and pestle or a drink muddler, so I could “muddle” better. I went to my mecca, Target, to purchase one. Lucky for me the oxo drink muddler was on sale—score.

Now I was ready for version 2, which is almost identical to version 1, except it uses granulated sugar instead of powdered sugar. This one was just ok, the powdered sugar version was definitely better, even with the use of a real muddler.

Version 3 I saved for last because it involved a bit more work. But it was by far and away the clear winner. My mint julep was perfect, the sweet simple syrup perfectly complimented by the bourbon. I found my favorite julep. Mr. Surly agreed. Once he tasted the first one, he was eager for one of his own. So below is the winner, my go-to mint julep recipe. Just remember to plan in advance so the simple syrup can steep to absorb maximum mint flavor.

Mint Julep
Printer-friendly recipe
makes about 4 cocktails

½ c sugar
½ c water
6 sprigs of mint (stems and leaves)
bourbon

Add sugar and water to small sauce pan, don’t stir. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes, never stirring.

Put mint sprigs in glass or other type of heat safe bowl. After boiling 5 minutes pour syrup over the mint leaves. Using a muddle or back of a spoon, muddle til mint is well crushed. Cover and chill for 10-12 hours. (I poured mine into a 12 oz cup, so I didn’t have a big bowl in the fridge wasting space. The syrup is thick, so I used a rubber spatula to get it all out of the bowl. I actually let mine steep for closer to 24 hours, because I was really sick on Derby day and couldn’t get out of bed.)

Then strain out the mint leaves, and discard. This takes awhile because the syrup is so thick and viscous. I just flipped the cup upside down over a strainer into another cup and left it for a few hours, til all the syrup had strained through. At this point, your simple syrup will last, covered, in the fridge for a few weeks. (But I have a feeling it ours won’t last much longer than a week).

When you’re ready for a cocktail, add 2 Tbl of the syrup to a cup. (Let me tell you, 2 Tbl makes the drink really sweet, so if you aren’t into sweet drinks you may want to try 1 or 1 ½ Tbl of the simple syrup to start off with)

Stir in 3 oz of bourbon. Add crushed ice and stir again. Add a sprig of mint for garnish and enjoy a delightful mint julep. Derby hat optional.

If you have a favorite julep recipe, please leave it in the comments. I'm always open to new drink recipes ;)

Lemon Macadamia Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

2011-05-06T13:23:00.006-04:00

All right, I’ve finally put aside the post-wedding things, for the time being, and got back in the kitchen to make something. It has been really crazy taking care of all the paperwork, combining things, etc. I’m keeping my last name, so at least that gets me out of more forms.

These cupcakes are not low oxalate-friendly because they contain macadamia nuts. But I felt like cheating because the recipe sounded so delicious.

I never thought I would find a cupcake refreshing, but that’s exactly what I told (the now official) Mr. Surly as I tried my cupcake. Very lemony. And I love the chunks of crunch macadamia nuts to contrast with the soft texture of the cupcake.
I found the buttercream a bit too sweet, so I'm glad i didn't ice my cupcakes too thick.

My beloved loved them as well.

I left the zest out of both the cupcakes and icing, since on my low oxalate diet, lemon juice is allowed, but not lemon zest. But feel free to add ½ Tbl lemon zest to the cupcake batter and 1 tsp lemon zest to the frosting. I’m sure they would taste even better that way.

On a side note, I can’t believe tomorrow is the Kentucky Derby! I have a friend who lives in Louisville, so I have been to Churchill Downs and have had their authentic Mint Julep. I ended up winning $8 that day, so I was happy. So that is my mission before the derby tomorrow. To make the perfect Mint Julep. I have 3 versions, and I’ll share them with you next week.

Lemon Macadamia Cupcakes
Printer-friendly recipe
makes 6 cupcakes

2 Tbl+2 tsp oil (I used flaxseed oil)
6 Tbl sugar
2 Tbl plain yogurt
2 Tbl+2 tsp milk
2 Tbl+2 tsp lemon juice
½ tsp vanilla
½ c + 1 Tbl flour
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp (generous pinch) salt
1.5 oz (about a generous ¼ c) macadamia nuts, finely ground
1.5 oz (about a generous ¼ c) macadamia nuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F

Whisk together oil, sugar, yogurt, and milk in bowl. Add lemon juice and vanilla, stir to combine. Sift in the flour, baking powder and soda, and salt. Stir to incorporate. Add ground macadamia nuts, whisk well. Fold in chopped nuts. (This all could be done in a mixer, but it’s just as easy to whisk).

Fill 6 lined or greased muffin wells ¾ full. Bake until inserted pick comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

Cool completely on wire rack before frosting.

Lemon Buttercream
2 Tbl shortening
2 Tbl butter
1 c powdered sugar
~1 Tbl fresh lemon juice
½ tsp vanilla

Cream together shortening and butter. Add in a bit of powdered sugar followed by a tsp of lemon juice. Keep adding powdered sugar followed by lemon juice, in about 3 additions. Add vanilla, beat til smooth. If needed add more lemon juice. I ended up using 3 ½ tsp lemon juice. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to ice cupcakes.

Source: halved and slightly adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

M.I.A.

2011-05-01T10:11:00.005-04:00

Sorry about the lack of posts recently. I haven't had time to make anything, nor read any of my favorite blogs. Mr. Surly and I spontaneously got married on Good Friday, so things have been crazy busy here. We have forms to fill out, paperwork to file, combining our assets; lots of things we weren't prepared for yet. It's a lot to do, which is just made harder with my illness.

Hopefully, this week I can get back into my normal routine. I've got some lemon macadamia cupcakes I've been dying to make for months at the top of my list.

Tea Scented Glazed Sponge Cake

2011-04-16T13:48:00.011-04:00

While searching for low oxalate desserts I came across this Emeril recipe. Sponge cake is on either my good list or limit list; I can’t remember. I just know it’s low oxalate. As usual, I halved the recipe and made a few minor changes. I have never made a sponge cake before so I wasn’t sure how much it would rise while baking. Therefore, I poured it into two 4 ½“ springform pans. Turns out I probably could have gotten away with pouring it all it into one small pan; the cakes were pretty thin. But with two cakes, I decided to make two kinds of glazes. The honey cinnamon glaze was definitely our favorite. When Mr. Surly was eating it he said it “tasted like Christmas.” The other glaze I made was just a lemon, vanilla, milk and powdered sugar glaze. Not bad, but nothing to get excited about. I served it with powdered sugar and a dollop of homemade whipped cream. Yum. I can’t wait to make this again and experiment with different herbal teas.

Berries would be a great accompaniment to this. Unfortunately for me, berries are high oxalate, so I can't have them. But you should serve it with berries and think of me as you savor each berry, and I can eat vicariously through you.

Tea Scented Sponge Cake
Printer-friendly recipe

for the sponge cake:
2 tea bags; I used pomegranate white tea (I got it from TJs)
2 Tbl + 2 tsp boiling water
6 Tbl flour
2 eggs, separated
7 Tbl sugar, separated
½ tsp vanilla
pinch salt
2 Tbl melted butter

for the glaze
1/4 c water
~2 Tbl honey or agave
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 F

Grease and flour one or two 4 ½ “ spring form pans. (depends on how thick you want the sponge cake; 2 for thinner cake, 1 for a thick cake)

Put the tea bags in a small custard cup or ramekin, add the boiling water and allow to steep 20 minutes.

With mixer, whisk egg yolks and 6 Tbl of sugar until thick and pale. Add the vanilla and tea concentrate.

In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites to soft peaks. Add 1 Tbl sugar, mix. Fold about ½ of the egg whites into the egg yolks til combined. Then fold in 3 Tbl flour. Fold the rest of the egg whites into the yolks; combine well. Then fold in the rest of the flour. Finally, fold in the melted butter.

Pour into prepared pan. Bake ~30 minutes until inserted pick come out clean. Cool 10 minutes on wire rack. While waiting, microwave ¼ c water, about 2 Tbl honey or agave, and ½ tsp cinnamon in small ramekin for about 60 seconds. Run a sharp knife around the perimeter of the pan and remove the cake to cool the wire rack. While the cake is still warm, usuing a pastry brush, coat the cake with the honey glaze. Wait a bit for each layer to soak into the cake, you want to use up all the glaze.

Allow to cool. Serve with powdered sugar and whipped cream if desired.

Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Source: slightly adapted from Emeril Lagasse via Food Network

Curried Lentils

2011-04-08T09:20:00.006-04:00

I was so excited when I saw this recipe on Cooking.in.College. I love lentils and I love spices. And, lucky for me, lentils are low oxalate. I'm still strugglilng with finding appealing low oxalate recipes. This low oxalate diet is way more difficult than going gluten free. That's part of the reason my posting has slowed, I feel so uninspired in the kitchen. I'm not sure how much longer I need to follow this diet, hopefully not much longer. I went to the dr this week and discovered I've lost 5 lbs since going low oxalate. Neither my doctor, nor myself was pleased to discover this. I worked so hard to gain that weight over many months, and now I have to start again. I know people probably hate me for complaining about losing weight, but, trust me, a painful stomach disease is not an ideal way to lose weight.

Sorry about the digression, back to the lentils. I followed Meg's recipe, with a few changes. I omitted the carrots, (because they are high oxalate), and the mustard seeds (because I didn't have any). I used 7 cardamom pods, 5 whole cloves. Instead of oil, I sauted the onion in butter (because I'm trying to gain weight and I need the extra fat). I added more cumin and corriander. I also wrapped my whole spices up in cheesecloth, so they would be easily removed.

I used organic french lentils (which is what Mr.Surly brought home from the grocery store) which are smaller, darker, and take longer to cook than the green lentils I usually use. In addition to 4 c stock, I ended up using about 3-4 c water. Once they were finally soft (after about an hour) I used an immersion blender to blend it to the right consistency. I served it topped with greek yogurt.

Allow me, again, to get off topic to talk a bit about spices, which are incredibly overpriced. I have found that World Market is the best place to buy exotic spices. At my grocery store it is $6 for one whole vanilla bean. At World Market I can buy 2 whole vanilla beans for $1.99. They have a whole variety of spices, which is why they are my go-to destination for exotic, unusual spices. They also sell regular spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg.

Mr.Surly raved over how much flavor these lentils had. I agree; it was fantastic. As it was simmering, my kitchen smelled amazing. I had one small bowl of this and Mr.Surly polished off the rest; he like it that much.

If you love Indian food make this now. Head over to Cooking.In.College for the full recipe. You won't regret it.

Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken

2011-03-31T19:28:00.004-04:00

This week has gone by so fast for me! I'm finally getting around to editing photos and getting some posts up. I feel like I'm so far behind; I need an assistant. I have missed reading my favorite blogs, and I plan to catch up on that this weekend.

I've been going through a lot of my recipes to see if I can deem them low oxalate. I have made this chicken many times, we really like it. I’m not sure if this is an ideal dish for a low oxalate diet. The soy sauce is on my list of foods to avoid, but I figured using just low sodium would be fine.Besides, I dilute it with pineapple juice, which is on my “good” list. J

I've made this with fresh pineapple and canned. Canned is obviously less work and tastes just as good. I really love sweet and spicy combinations. Don’t substitute cooking sherry for the dry sherry, they are different and cooking sherry is loaded with sodium (which is bad for a low oxalate diet). I have grilled it, cooked it in a skillet, and one time I even just tossed everything in an 8x8" glass dish and baked it at 375F. Just depends on my mood, and how tired/lazy I'm feeling.

You can serve this with rice, couscous, millet, almost any grain. I chose orzo since it's a pasta, which is on my "good" oxalate list.

Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken
Printer-friendly recipe
serves 2

1/3 c dry sherry (NOT cooking sherry. I bought a cheap bottle of dry sherry at Trader Joe’s)
¼ c low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
~1 Tbl Hoisin sauce
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 20-ounce can pineapple chunks, reserve juice from the can
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon butter

Whisk sherry, soy sauce, brown sugar hoisin sauce, red pepper flakes and 1/3 cup pineapple juice in shallow dish or Ziploc quart sized bag. Add pineapple chicken and gently stir to coat. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. I mix this up in the morning, put it in a Ziploc bag and let it marinate until dinner, flipping occasionally.

Meanwhile, preheat grill or skillet to medium-high.

Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry; reserve the marinade. Oil the skillet or grill rack. Cook the chicken cooked through, ~8 minutes per side.

Pour the reserved pineapple chunks marinade in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally about 5 minutes or so (this will kill the bacteria from the raw chicken). Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Sometimes I like to add more pineapple juice. Add 1 tsp cold water to the cornstarch and stir, to make a slurry. Pour into marinade, stir, bring to a boil and stir until thickened. Stir in butter (this is optional. I need the fat so I add it).

Serve the chicken drizzled with pineapple sauce.

source: adapted from Cooking Light

Lemon Glazed Brown Sugar Shortbread

2011-03-23T15:14:00.007-04:00

I have to admit, this low oxalate diet is one of the hardest elimination diets I have ever done. Mostly because all my favorite foods are on the “foods to avoid” list. But, this forces me to become more creative in planning out my meals. I’m thinking of ingredient combinations I never would have considered otherwise. I wanted to tap into my creative side via this blog, and now I’m really being forced into it.

One thing I’m really struggling with is dessert. Ever since losing too much weight, my doctor keeps encouraging me to eat sugary, fatty desserts. And now I’ve developed a sweet tooth. I can’t help it; you try eating cakes and browines, cookies and ice cream everyday for a year, then all of a sudden being cut off. My biggest challenge right now is finding low oxalate desserts. Is there anything that tastes like chocolate, but isn’t chocolate nor cocoa, and would be low oxalate? If someone knows of something please let me know. It’s only been about a week and I’m craving and missing my good friend chocolate terribly.

Since I haven’t been feeling well lately, I wanted to make an easy dessert. I decided to make a simple shortbread and add a lemon glaze to sweeten it. I made a small batch because this was an experiment, and now I wish I had made more. I’ve already eaten almost half the batch I made. Luckily, these are so easy to make I can make a bigger batch tomorrow. The lemon glaze adds that perfect extra 'something'.

I’d like to experiment more with this by adding different spices and glazes. I’d like to try some kind of orange blossom water glaze. This is a great basic, recipe to play around with.

Lemon Glazed Brown Sugar Shortbread
Printer-friendly version
makes about 12-14 bite sized cookies

for the shortbread:
4 Tbl butter, softened
2 Tbl brown sugar
½ c flour

for the lemon glaze:
2 Tbl powdered sugar
1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ tsp vanilla

Make the shortbread:
Preheat oven to 300F

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Gradually add the flour, mixing well. On a lightly floured surface, knead and squeeze together the dough. Pat it into a rectangle, I think mine was about ½“ thick. Using a pizza cutter, or knife, cut into desired size pieces.

Place pieces on a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet and prick with a fork. Bake about 15 minutes, or til bottom and edges are browned. Place baking sheet on wire rack.

Make the glaze:
In small bowl (I used a ramekin) add glaze ingredients and whisk until smooth. Using a pastry brush, brush glaze on still warm shortbread (or you could drizzle the glaze over the shortbread).

Allow shortbread to cool completely before storing in airtight container.

Apple Mustard Chicken with Dates

2011-03-21T11:14:00.008-04:00

I haven’t been in the kitchen much recently. Instead, I’ve been studying up on low oxalate foods and trying to come up with ideas of low oxalate dishes to make. One night I decided to throw together some “good” oxalate foods I like for dinner. I just made it up as I went along. I can’t find dates on any "good", "bad" or "limit" list, so I figured they’d be fine. Golden raisins are on the good list, but regular dark raisins aren’t on any list, so I don’t know if it’s a safe oxalate substitution. Doesn’t matter for me, since I prefer golden raisins.

Also I didn’t salt and pepper my chicken since I’m not supposed to have salt nor black pepper. I used wild rice because that is a “good” food for me; brown rice is on my “limit” list.

I think sliced almonds would be a great addition to this dish at the end. Unfortunately for me I cannot have nuts. But if I could I totally would have garnish with some sliced, toasted almonds.

Apple Mustard Chicken with Dates
Printer-friendly recipe
serves 2

2 chicken breasts
1 shallot, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp grainy mustard
1 c apple juice
2 dates, chopped
1 Tbl golden raisins

Add about a Tbl or two of oil (I used grapeseed) to a medium skillet. Brown chicken on both sides. Add the shallot and garlic and sauté 2-3 minutes, til soft.

Combine mustards and spread evenly over each chicken breast. Pour apple juice in skillet and reduce by about half. Then cover and cook until chicken is cooked through.

Once chicken is cooked, uncover and allow liquid to reduce and thicken. Remove from heat and stir in dates and raisins. Serve with rice (I used wild), couscous, quinoa, etc.

Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

2011-03-17T14:35:00.007-04:00

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I meant to post these earlier, but have just been feeling really run down and lethargic lately. I have some pictures I need to edit and posts I need to write. I woke up this morning and didn’t realize until I went to the grocery store that it was St. Patrick’s Day. Ooops. So I hurried to get this recipe posted today.

I originally wanted to make chocolate stout cupcakes for St. Patrick’s Day, but I didn’t have all the ingredients. So, instead, I decided to make these mint cupcakes. I figured the green icing would be Irish enough.

I knew I would not be allowed to eat these, since chocolate is on my “foods to avoid” list. Let me tell you, it’s really hard to give up chocolate and cocoa. But, if it makes me feel better, it may be worth it. I’m still trying to figure out the whole low oxalate thing, so I decided to cheat and eat one of these cupcakes. I mean, how could I post a dessert I hadn’t even tried? Yum, it was delicious. I love the combination of chocolate and mint.

You must add the ganache to these cupcakes, trust me. Mr. Surly, being eager to eat this tasty treat, grabbed one of the iced cupcakes before I had added the ganache. He said it was just ok. Once I gave him the ganached topped cupcake to try, he declared them perfect; the ganache just tied all the flavors together. He really liked theses cupcakes a lot, he asked me if I had done anything different when making these. I told him I just followed the recipe. He just seemed to like these better than the previous cupcakes I’ve made. I think it’s just how all the flavors come together, complimenting each other.

Chocolate Mint Cupcakes
Printer-friendly recipe
makes 6 cupcakes

Cupcakes:
½ c milk
½ tsp apple cider vinegar
6 Tbl sugar
2 Tbl + 2 tsp canola oil
½ tsp vanilla
½ tsp mint extract
½ c flour
2 Tbl + 2 tsp cocoa
generous ¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
pinch salt

Mint Icing:
2 Tbl shortening
1 ½ c powdered sugar, sifted
2 Tbl + ½ Tbl milk or cream
¾ tsp mint extract
¼ vanilla
green food coloring

Ganache Topping:
1 ½ Tbl milk or cream
2 Tbl + 2 tsp semisweet chocolate chips

make the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 F

Grease or line muffin pan.

Whisk together milk and apple cider vinegar, set aside.

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, oil, and both extracts. Pour in the milk/vinegar, beat til foamy.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in 2 batches, beat til smooth and no lumps. Fill cupcake wells ¾ full. Bake about 18 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Remove to wire rack to cool completely.

make the icing:
Mash the shortening with a fork to soften. Add ¾ c of powdered sugar and a splash of milk. Mix. Keep adding sugar followed by milk until the icing is smooth and creamy. Stir in extracts. Add food coloring to achieve desired shade of green.

Frost completely cooled cupcakes with icing.

make the ganache:
Put milk in a small custard dish or ramekin. Microwave 20-30 sec until ready to simmer. Stir in chocolate chips til melted. Allow to cool about 10 minutes. Once cooled, to about room temp, use a Tbl to add a dollop of ganache on top of each cupcake. Add sprinkles, or any garnishment, if desired.

Source: halved and slightly adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

Chai Biscotti

2011-03-14T07:32:00.008-04:00

Well, my low oxalate diet has begun. It’s going to take some time to fully adjust to it, and I have to reference my "good", "bad", and "limit" lists. Black tea is on my “foods to avoid” list, so my daily cup of chai tea (made from black tea) is out. So I had to find a new way to get my chai fix. I’ve been thinking a lot about biscotti recently, I’m not sure why, so I decided to try to come up with some kind of chai flavor biscotti. I wanted to make them vegan, and that took some adjusting to make sure the texture came out right.

It took a few attempts to get the right flavor ratio and dry to liquid ratio. The almonds are on my list of “bad” foods, but I figured ¼ c of thin slices spread throughout the whole loaf wouldn’t be too harmful for my diet. And flax is on my “limit” list, and I figure 2 Tbl is limiting.

I made a small batch, because I wasn’t sure if Mr. Surly would be into eating them. It’s a nice treat, and for me, it was the right amount. But feel free to double the recipe if you’re really into biscotti.

Chai Biscotti
Printer-friendly recipe
makes ~8 pieces

2 Tbl ground flaxseed meal
6Tbl water
2 Tbl flaxseed oil (or canola oil)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c flour
¼ c sugar
½ tsp baking powder
pinch salt
½ tsp cardamom
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp freshly (or ground) nutmeg
pinch white pepper (opt)
¼ c sliced almonds, toasted

Preheat oven to 350 F

Add ground flaxseed and water to a mixing bowl, whisk to combine. Add oil and extract. Sift in the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices). Add almonds and stir to just combine.

Line a baking sheet with silicone liner or parchment paper. Shape the dough into a loose rectangular shape. Bake 25 min, flipping sheet halfway through baking time, until the loaf is firm and golden brown.

Remove loaf to cutting board. Reduce oven to 300 F.

Using a serrated slice loaf into biscotti sticks.

Place sticks, cut side up, on baking sheet and return to the oven for 15 minutes more.

Place on wire rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

*Note: you can replace the ground flaxseed and water with 2 eggs

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

2011-02-28T09:58:00.005-05:00

I’ve been craving peanut butter lately, and was really excited to make these cupcakes. I’m pleased to say they did not disappoint. They are peanut buttery and very light. Still, I felt they were missing something. Instead of drizzling chocolate on top, I would like to try adding chocolate and/or peanut butter chips to the cupcakes. Also, some chopped peanuts would be good to add a bit of crunch; I love crunchy foods. I might even consider adding a bit of cinnamon. And I think buttermilk could be used instead of the curdled milk and vinegar. I will definitely make these again trying out these various variations.

Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Printer-friendly recipe
makes about 6 cupcakes

3 oz (6 Tbl) milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
¼ c natural peanut butter (crunchy or creamy)
2 Tbl+2 tsp flaxseed oil (or canola oil)
1/3 c sugar
1 Tbl maple syrup
½ tsp vanilla
1 tsp ground flaxseed meal
½ c + 1 Tbl flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp (pinch) salt

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Grease muffin pan, or line with paper liners.

Add vinegar to milk, mix and set aside.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into small bowl, set aside.

Cream together peanut butter, oil, sugar, maple syrup, vanilla and ground flaxseed meal until well combined. Add milk and mix to combine.

Add the dry, sifted ingredients and stir into the wet ingredients; stir until just combined.

Fill cupcake wells 2/3 full, bake ~15 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. The cupcakes puff up nicely in the oven. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

If desired, melt ~2 Tbl chocolate chips (add an optional splash of heavy cream) in microwave and drizzle over cooled cupcakes.

Source: halved and slightly adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

7 More Facts

2011-02-24T12:07:00.014-05:00

I got tagged for a 7 facts award by Meg over at Cooking.In.College. I have previously shared 7 facts about myself so here are some more:

1) I used to be a fastpitch softball pitcher. I started working out with a pitching coach in 6th grade and pitched through high school. I turned down college scholarship offers because I injured my rotator cuff and had to quit throwing a softball all together.

2) My favorite, everyday dresses are by susana monaco. They are comfortable, cute, flattering dresses. I adore them, the fabric, the fit, the colors, the styles. I enjoy adding each spring to my growing collection.

3) I'm an obsessive list maker. I have lists of food I want to make, things I need to buy from the store, movies I want to watch, books I want to read, things I need to clean, errands I need to run, etc. I even have a packing list on my computer I print out for vacations. I love the sense of accomplishment I get each time I check an item off my list.

4) I heart Target; I go there every Tuesday whether I need anything or not (with a list, of course, of things I need or want to look for).

5) I'm jumpy and startle easily. Growing up my sister and brother took full advantage of this and were merciless in hiding and jumping out at me. Even Mr. Surly enjoys giving me a good rush of adrenaline from time to time.

6) One of the reasons I started this blog was to tap into my creative side. Being a science major in college sucked all the creativity out of me.

7) Some of the movies I watch over and over and never tire of are:
To Catch a Thief
Gone With the Wind
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
The Godfather and Godfather Part II (is there anyone who even likes part III?)
The Seven Year Itch
Dumb and Dumber
Scoop
The Usual Suspects

Here are the rules:
Link to the person who awarded you
-List 7 random facts about yourself
-Pass the award on to 7 other bloggers

Here are my choices:
Claire Cooks
Greens and Chocolate
Indulge
Sitting Pretty
The Girly Girly Cooks
The Scene From Me
Wanna Be a Country Cleaver

**Carmi, you better do this! No procrastinating.**

Espresso Crème Brûlée

2011-02-23T09:18:00.006-05:00

I love crème brûlée . My first attempt to make it last year was a disaster. The custard wasn't smooth and we couldn't get a nice, crusty topping. I was so happy when I saw a recipe for it in my Cook’s Illustrated cookbook. There instructions are clear and easy to follow. I made these for Valentine’s Day and they turned out absolutely perfect. The custard was so creamy and smooth, I was sad that I had only made two. Usually, I’m unable to finish desserts and Mr. Surly eats the last couple bites. But I had no problem polishing off this dessert.

I was going to use the other half of my vanilla bean to make vanilla sugar, but now I think I’ll just make two more of these.

If I left out the espresso powder, this dessert would be approved to eat on my low oxalate diet. But since I haven't started that yet, I left it in; gotta get in all the "bad" high oxalate foods before I have to go low oxalate.

Espresso Crème Brûlée
Printer-friendly recipe
serves 2

1 c heavy cream, chilled
3 Tbl granulated sugar
1 (~3 in) vanilla bean, (I cut a long vanilla bean in half and used one half)
pinch salt
3 large egg yolks, room temperature
½ heaping tsp instant espresso power
1 Tbl turbinado sugar

Preheat oven 300 F. Place a towel in the bottom of an 8x8’ metal baking pans. Set your two ramekins on the towels. Bring a kettle of water to boil, set aside.

Split vanilla bean in halve lengthwise, scrape out the seeds with a small paring knife, and add to ½ c in a small saucepan. Add sugar and pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat, cover, and allow to steep for 15 minutes.

After steeping, pour in the remaining ½ c cream and stir. Place the egg yolks in a mixing bowl and slowly whisk in about half the hot cream into the eggs, keep whisking to temper the eggs until smooth. Then whisk in the remaining cream until combined. Strain the custard through a fine mesh strainer into a 1 c glass liquid measuring cup. Pour into ramekins.

Pour enough water from the tea kettle to reach halfway up the ramekin sides. Bake until the custard centers are just barely set (still a bit jiggly), about 30 minutes.

Remove pan from oven and, using tongs, carefully remove the ramekins from the pan. Allow to cool to room temperature, about an hour.

Place a paper towel on top of each ramekin, then cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.

When ready to serve, remove ramekins. The paper towel should have caught any condensation, but if there are still beads of water on top of the custard, blot dry. Add ½ tsp turbinado sugar to each ramekin, then shake ramekin to spread the sugar in an even layer, tap out any excess sugar.

Now it’s time to torch and caramelize the top. (side note: I use this bernzOmatic micro torch,recommended by Cook’s Illustrated, I bought last year at Home Depot, for $20, maybe less). Ignite your torch, and sweep the flame from the perimeter of the custard to the center, keeping the flame about 2 inches above the ramekin, until sugar is bubbling and golden. I have to admit, that I never do this step of torching. I can’t be trusted with fire while heavily medicated, so this has always been Mr. Surly’s job. But the instructions above are from Cook’s Illustrated, and they usually know the best way.

Serve immediately, or return to fridge for up to 45 minutes to chill custard.

Source: America's Test Kitchen Cooking for Two 2010

Spring Fashion Favorites

2011-02-21T09:58:00.008-05:00

Sorry, no food post today. Due to all the medical tests and doctor visits I've had recently, I have had little to no time to cook. So instead of posting about food, I'd like to talk about a new designer I just discovered, Joie, specifically the soft collection.

For some reason, this spring, I decided I wanted some cruise, nautical-themed shirts. I need the horizontal stripes to help me not look so skinny. Awhile ago, I purchased a Groupon for my favorite local boutique. Have you ever used Groupon? I didn't think I would until I saw this coupon for 50% off at my favorite boutique, I just couldn't pass that up, so I signed up then and there.

Recently, I went in to use it. Joie is a new line they just starting carrying and I immediately fell in love with how soft the fabric was; I'm all about comfort. I ended up getting a couple shirts, this one:

and this one, but in black.

I cannot even describe how comfortable these shirts are. The fit is incredible, too. Even though they are loose, they don't look baggy. Since i'm still trying to gain weight, I figured I'd got with some shirts that will accommodate some weight gain.

I am so glad I discovered them. They had dresses, too, but for some reason they didn't fit me well.

I tried this one in navy, but even the XS looked shapeless. Even the sales associate agreed it wasn't very flattering.

I really fell in love with this shirt, but they didn't have my size, and the bigger size just didn't look right on me, not even with a wide belt.

While browsing the collection online I came across a few other pieces that I love. This romper is adorable, and I was never a fan of them. But I would actually rock this one:

And if anyone is feeling generous and would like to purchase this adorable top for me, I would be eternally grateful.

What are your favorites for spring?

___________________________________________________________________________________
Note: Not a paid advertisement for Joie. I bought and love their clothes

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles

2011-02-14T11:20:00.007-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I love chocolate and peanut butter, separately, together, it doesn’t really matter. So I was devastated this week when I found out that soon, probably this week, I would need to go on a low oxalate diet; chocolate and peanut butter are two of the foods not allowed.

This is the story of how it all went down. If you aren’t interested in my medical issues, just scroll on down to the delicious truffle recipe.

It all started this week when my nephrologist was analyzing a urine sample I had dropped off at his request that morning. Around noon he asks me to immediately come to the hospital to get a CT scan; my urine had tiny crystals of oxalate suggesting I had a kidney stone. Half an hour later, the doctor is giving me literature on kidney stones, a fun funnel to strain my urine, a prescription and a low oxalate diet guide. Then he sends me down to radiology for my scan and I’m sent home. A few hours later the doctor calls to tell me I definitely have a small kidney stone. He tells me there is some underlying GI issue/syndrome that has caused my kidney stone, and quite possibly my gall stones back in 2009. As to what this undiagnosed issue is, he is unsure, but he will be discussing it with my GI doctor. Also, this stone is not causing my daily chronic pain, but it probably accounts for the severe night pain attacks I suffer where my body temp drops, I break out into a cold sweat, and it feels like someone is squeezing all the air out of me. I admit I’m extremely nervous about passing this stone; I hear it can be quite painful. I’m drinking all kinds of fluids, juice, water, tea, Gatorade, even adding lemon to help breakup the stone and hurry along the process. I’ve got a bottle of painkillers within arm’s reach for when the pain starts. I just had the waiting and not knowing when it will be over.

Once I pass the stone, they will analyze it while I start on the low oxalate diet. Basically, all the foods I eat and love are going to be forbidden to me: green leafy veggies, sweet potatoes, whole wheat, berries, eggplant, chocolate, peanut butter, walnuts (any nuts), chai tea, etc. How could healthy eating cause a kidney stone? I don't understand. I have no idea what I’m going to eat. I’d just go back to being vegan, except soy and soy products are on the list of foods to avoid. But I’m used to rearranging my diet due to my GI issues, so I will just have to sit down and plan my meals more carefully. Until then I’m stuffing myself with all my food favorites, including these truffles.

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles
Printer-friendly version

8 oz unsweetened chocolate
8 oz semisweet chocolate
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk (I used fat free)
~3-4 Tbl peanut butter (I used natural)
1 Tbl bourbon vanilla

toppings, coatings:
Dark chocolate chips or wafers, for melting and dipping
Cocoa powder, for rolling
coarse sea salt
sprinkles
finely chopped nuts

In a 4 qt glass measuring cup, add semisweet and bittersweet chocolates along with the can of sweetened condensed milk. Microwave (on defrost setting) in 30 second intervals , stirring in between until melted. (Or melt over a double broiler).

Once chocolate is melted, stir in the peanut butter and vanilla. Since natural peanut butter is naturally kinda runny, it mixed in fine. (If using a brand like JIF or Skippy, I’d melt the peanut butter before stirring it in).

At this point you can put the mixture in the fridge for a couple hours. Roll into balls and dip in melted chocolate. Or roll into cocoa powder. Or both, whatever.

Since I wanted mine to be heart shaped, I buttered an 8x8 glass dish and pressed the mixture evenly into the bottom. After setting up in the fridge I used various sized heart shaped cookie cutters to cut out shapes. I gathered up the scraps and repressed them into the dish until I had used up all the chocolate. With the little bit left over that I couldn’t squish out I rolled into a few balls.

I rolled some of my truffles in cocoa powder, sprinkled some with sea salt, but mostly I just topped with some heart shaped sprinkles because that was easiest for me to do since I had other treats I needed to make.

Source: adapted from the Pioneer Woman

I Wanna Dip My (Cake) Balls In It!

2011-02-10T13:48:00.005-05:00

Unless you watched The State you probably don’t get the title of my post.

Does anyone else remember the sketch comedy show “The State” that was on Mtv in the early 90’s? I think it came on after 120minutes. OMG, my sister and I loved that show. Barry and Levon were probably our favorite characters. $240 worth of chocolate pudding, anyone? We waited and waited for years for it to be released on dvd. It finally was back in may/jun of 2009. My sister pre-ordered copies for each of us on amazon and sent me mine while I was in the hospital recovering from my cholecystectomy (gall bladder surgery).

Louie was a recurring character on The State who carried around ping pong balls exclaiming, “I wanna dip my balls in it!” to everything. If you want to check a sketch with Louie, and get a good laugh click here. Each time I dipped my cake balls, I kept chuckling to myself thinking of that skit.

Anyway, back to the cake balls. I went straight to the authority, Bakerella, for instructions. It didn't look too difficult, sounded like something I could handle.

It took me three days to make these, but not because they were difficult, but because I was sick. I baked the cake one day. Then the next day I broke it up. I started trying to crumble it with my fingers, but that wasn’t very effective. So I used my hand mixer--not such a good idea. I had pieces of cake flying out everywhere. Once I added the frosting that helped out a bit with flying cake crumbs.

When it came time to roll the balls, I used various sizes of heart shaped cookie cutters to make cute hearts. I also left some round balls as well for variety.

By the time I had all the balls rolled and the cleaned cake off the walls and floor of the kitchen I had no more energy to dip the balls. So I covered the cake balls with waxed paper and left them in the fridge overnight.

Finally, on the third day I was ready to dip and decorate. Having never made cake balls before, I tweeted out asking for any tips/tricks. Haley, from The Girly Girl Cooks advised me to put a bit of shortening in the chocolate to help thin it out. It worked great, thanks Haley, for the tip!

I used dark chocolate and red vanilla wafers to dip. Once the balls were dry I added detail. I put a couple Tbls of chocolate and vanilla chips in snack sized Ziploc bags, and cut of the tiniest portion of the corner to pipe on designs and words. I added a bit of red food coloring to the white chocolate chips to make some pink for piping.

Since it made so many I put some in the freezer so that I can pull more out as needed. I'm definitely hooked on the cake ball craze.

If anyone has any more tips/tricks/hints, please, leave them in the comments.

Homemade Granola Bars

2011-02-03T14:56:00.010-05:00

I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for awhile. I really like the idea of making my own granola bars. I’ve been on a muesli kick for awhile now, and decided it was time to make some granola. I usually keep granola bars in my purse when I have to go to the hospital for doctor appointments and tests, since I’m usually sitting around forever, waiting. I’m in love with the white chocolate macadamia Luna bars. These homemade bars are a much healthier option. I suppose I could have added some melted chocolate to these, but they are so good on their own. They remind me of the Two Moms in the Raw bars they sell at Starbucks and Nordstrom’s snack bar, I love the gojiberry one. Have you ever had one of these bars? They are delicious, and I'm so glad my granola bars taste very similar to them.

I'm glad to have another product that I can now make myself so I don't have to buy a prepacked version. Can you tell I'm obsessed about controlling what goes in my food? When you have abdominal issues, this becomes a must.

Another plus is how easy these are to make. I haven't had much energy the past couple weeks, but these came together rather quickly. These bars were plenty sweet for me, since I don't eat much sugar, but if you like things sweet I'd stir in more (up to 1/4 c brown sugar). I sprinkled brown sugar on top to give the tops of the bars a bit of a sweet, sugar crunch.

Granola Bars
Printer-friendly recipe
Yield: about 16 bars

2 c rolled oats
½ c chopped almonds
½ c chopped walnuts
½ c uncooked quinoa
½ c shredded coconut (I used ¼ c dried coconut)
2 Tbl ground flaxseed meal
2/3 cup honey, agave or combo of both
1 ½ tsp vanilla
2-3 Tbl flaxseed oil
pinch kosher salt
¼-½ tsp cinnamon
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1 ½ c chopped dried fruit, or a mix of your favorite dried fruit (I chopped up dried apricots, and tossed in dried cranberries and pomegranate seeds)
~2 Tbl brown sugar

Preheat your oven to 350F.

Toss the oatmeal, nuts, quinoa, coconut, and flaxseed meal together on a 9 x 13” baking sheet or dish (I used a 9 x 13”cake pan). Bake 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until toasted and lightly browned.

Reduce oven to 300F.

While oats are toasting, combine honey, vanilla, flaxseed oil, salt and spices in the bottom of a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Pour in toasted oats and stir with a spatula to moisten. Stir in dried fruit.

Line your baking sheet or dish with parchment paper or grease with nonstick spray (I used the same cake pan and lined it with parchment paper; one less dish to dirty).

Pour the oat and fruit mixture into prepared baking dish and press down firmly to pack down the mixture as much as possible. Sprinkle brown sugar over the top.

Bake at 300F ~30 minutes until mixture is golden brown. Allow to cool a few hours before cutting into bars or squares. Store in airtight container at room temperature. Or freeze. I wrapped mine in cling wrap, popped them in a freezer bag and froze the bars so we could grab them as needed, they don't take long to thaw.

Source: adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Hip Pressure Cooking

2011-01-28T09:48:00.005-05:00

I have been so ill this week I totally forgot I agreed to do a guest post for Laura of Hip Pressure Cooking. I love my pressure cooker and her site is filled with lots of recipes on all kinds of things to make in your pressure cooker; I get lost browsing through them. And her photographs, my goodness they're beautiful. I couldn't believe it when she told me she uses a point and shoot.

So, if you're interested in re-reading my homemade refried beans recipe, or you want to check out Laura's amazing pictures and recipes, head on over to Hip Pressure Cooking.

Baked Falafel

2011-01-26T15:52:00.006-05:00

This week is just dragging by for me. I think it’s because I’ve been pretty sick and lethargic this week. All I seem to want to do is sleep, and when I am awake, I struggle to keep my eyes open. Needless to say, I haven’t done much in the kitchen. I made these last week and just couldn’t muster up the energy to post about them. Today, I forced myself back in the kitchen and back to the computer.

These don’t look very pretty. They get their anemic, yellow hue from the turmeric, which isn’t necessary to the flavor, I just add it because it’s supposed to be a “healing” spice; a really good anti-inflammatory. I’ll try anything to help aide my GI issues so I usually toss this spice into a variety of foods. I don’t notice a difference in taste, just in color.

These could be fried or sauted in oil in a skillet, but since I try to minimize my stomach pain, I chose to bake them so they wouldn’t be greasy. I served mine with greek yogurt, and chipotle chile yogurt (I mixed a pureed chile and adobo sauce into plain, greek yogurt), but tzatziki would be amazing. I didn't serve them in pitas, we ate them with homemade sweet potato fries.

The hardest thing about making these is remembering to soak the chickpeas in advance, which for me, is difficult. After days of the leaving the recipe and chickpeas on the kitchen counter, I finally had to write a post-it note to myself. Guess subtlety doesn't work too well with me.

Baked Falafel
Printer-friendly recipe
serves about 4

1 c dried chickpeas
~2 Tbl fresh cut cilantro
¼ tsp cayenne
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp dried coriander
1 tsp turmeric
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp baking powder
~4 tbl flour
Olive oil, for baking

Day (or night) before:
Place the beans in a medium bowl and cover with a few inches of water. Allow to soak up to 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas, and transfer them to a food processor. Add cilantro, salt, garlic, spices, and lemon; pulse several times to form a thick paste. Transfer to a medium bowl, add the baking powder, and mix to combine. Add the flour, one Tbl at a time, until the mixture stays together when formed into a ball.

Form the mixture into balls then flatten into patties of desired size.

Place on baking sheet, spray with olive oil cooking spray (or brush with olive oil) bake about 15 minutes. Flip, spray again with olive oil and bake about 10-15 min more until golden brown.

Source: slightly adapted from Pink Parsley

Favorite Pizza Dough

2011-01-21T13:40:00.007-05:00

Thank goodness it's finally Friday. I have had a busy, stressful week and I'm so glad it's over. I'm exhausted; physically and mentally drained. On nights like this dinner must be easy. Usually on Friday nights we have homemade pizza. I'm not a big fan of pizza, it's always hurt my tummy, even before the GI issues began. But it's such an easy dinner option. Usually during the week I mix up this pizza dough and leave it in the fridge (it will keep up to 3 days) to make on a night when I need a quick, easy dinner. The recipe is a mixture of a bunch of recipes. I took a little from each, and after much tweaking, came up with a my preferred pizza dough.

I top our pizza with homemade pizza sauce, various roasted veggies, and fresh mozzarella cheese. So much better (and less greasy) than take out.

Pizza Dough
Printer-friendly recipe
Yield: 2 pizza crusts

1 1/2 c warm water
1 tsp yeast
1-2 tsp agave (or honey or sugar)
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbl ground flaxseed
~2 Tbl olive oil
~2 tsp Italian Seasonings (opt)
4 c flour

Add the water to a large mixing bowl, sprinkle yeast and agave. Gather the rest of the ingredients and add to bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon until dough clears the side of the bowl. Drizzle sides of bowl and top of dough with more olive oil. Flip the dough a few times to coat with oil.

If using same day, cover and allow to rise about an hour.

If not using immediately, cover with plastic wrap and put in fridge for up to 3 days. When ready to use let stand at room temperature 30-60 minutes, until dough is no longer chilled.

When ready to cook put a piece of parchment paper on baking rack or pizza stone. Separate dough into two balls and stretch to desired size/shape. If the dough is difficult to stretch, let it rest about 10 minutes and try again.

Add desired sauce and toppings.

I bake at 375F using the convection fan for 30 minutes. Until dough is cooked and cheese is melted and lightly browned.

White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies

2011-01-18T15:01:00.007-05:00

This week has been incredibly busy for me; full of errands and appointments. It’s been pretty stressful, therefore I decided I needed a special treat; I went with my favorite cookies.

A few years ago, I worked with a girl named Zara. She was from Sri Lanka and was (and is) the most genuinely nicest person I have ever met to date. I never saw her upset, nor even irritated. She would often bring some kind of baked treat to our meetings; cupcakes, cookies, etc. One day she brought these cookies. I think they were gone within 10 minutes. Everyone loved them and no one could stop eating them. I begged her for the recipe and, lucky for me, she gave me a copy. Thank you, Zara, for the best cookie I’ve ever eaten.

Be careful if you make these, you won’t be able to stop eating them.

Zara’s White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies
Printer-friendly recipe
Yeild: 3 dozen cookies

1 c flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ c (1 stick) butter, softened
½ c packed dark brown sugar
¼ c granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
¾ c chopped unsalted macadamia nuts (rinsed and dried if salted)
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped (or ~1 c chips)
6 oz white chocolate, chopped (or ~1 c chips)

Preheat oven to 375 F

Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda; set aside. In large bowl cream butter and both sugars. Add egg and vanilla, beat well. Slowly beat in flour mixture in 2 additions. Stir in nuts and chocolate with wooden spoon. Shape into balls on ungreased baking sheet 2 in apart. Bake 8-10 min, til edges are lightly browned. Cool 2 min on baking sheet, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Lemon-Garlic Chicken Noodle Soup

2011-01-14T17:51:00.005-05:00

I wasn’t even considering posting this soup because it’s not very visually appealing. I didn’t give it much thought, to me it was just soup. But Mr. Surly raved so much about it, I thought I’d better hurry and post it before I forgot what I did. I had to hurry and get a picture of it, so I apologize for the unappetizing photo.

I love the depth of flavor the roasted garlic adds, while the addition of lemon brightens the flavor. I’ve seen tri colored egg noodles, which would be pretty in this, but I didn’t have any. All I had were boring whole wheat noodles.

I add leeks and cabbage since they are natural diuretics, thereby decreasing any abdominal bloating. No matter what I eat or drink, my abdomen still swells up after just a couple bites or sips of food. It’s painful and frustrating, so I’m trying to consume natural diuretics to help reduce the bloat. If you don’t like cabbage, it’s not a necessary ingredient to the soup, though red cabbage would look nice in it. I try to use leeks instead of onion, because onions just add to my tummy distention. But if you want, onion could be used instead of leeks.

Lemon Garlic Chicken Noodle Soup
Printer-friendly recipe
serves ~6-8

1 head garlic
olive oil
2 chicken breasts
2 c chicken broth
4 c water
2-3 bay leaves
2 leeks
1 lemon, juiced and zested
1 (10 oz) bag shredded cabbage
~2 c egg noodles

First you need to roast the garlic.
Preheat oven to 400F.

Cut the top off a head of garlic to expose the cloves. Drizzle with about 1 Tbl olive oil, wrap in foil, and bake until brown and tender, about 30-45min. Allow to cool.

Meanwhile, add the chicken, leeks, and bay leaves to a large pot or dutch oven. Pour 4 c water and 2 c chicken broth. Simmer, covered until chicken is cooked through, ~45 minutes.

Remove chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces; return to pot. Add ~2 c egg noodles (more or less based on how many noodles you like in your soup. I didn’t measure out an exact amount, I just tossed in a couple handfuls).

Add the lemon juice and zest to small bowl. Squeeze the roasted garlic into the bowl and stir into the lemon juice. Then add it to the pot along with the cabbage. Cook until noodles are softened, about 10 minutes.

Source: adapted from Rachel Ray

Triple Layer Cheesecake

2011-01-11T13:44:00.013-05:00

I have wanted to make this cheesecake for a long time. I was just waiting until all the Christmas treats were gone. This recipe is courtesy of my grandma. Recently, I inherited all her recipes. After she passed away in 2007 they originally went to my aunt. A couple months ago I was craving my Grammy’s roast beef; it was her signature dish. Anytime I went to visit her (which was often) she would make it for me. I never thought to ask her for the recipe. Therefore, I emailed my aunt, asking if she knew how to make this delectable roast beef. Lucky for me she did. That email was all the incentive my aunt needed as an excuse to bring me over a box containing all Grammy’s recipes. My aunt was looking for someone to pass these recipes along to the “next generation” she said, and since I was the first to inquire about a recipe, and she lives near me, she gave me the whole stash; a whole treasure trove of recipes for me to sift through at my leisure.

Some of the recipes are typed, some handwritten, others were clipped from various newspapers ranging anywhere from 1941-2004. I came across this cheesecake and stopped. I don’t remember my grandmother ever making cheesecake. So this recipe intrigued me. I wondered where (or from whom) the recipe came and if Grammy had ever made it. It sounded rich and decadent, exactly the thing to curb my recent chocolate craving.

Since there are only two of us, I reduced the recipe by 1/3 to make one small, 4 ½ inch cheesecake. I’m so glad I didn’t make the full amount, this cheesecake is so rich that I could only eat a small sliver. Each of us had a piece and there is still ¾ of the cheesecake remaining, but we both agreed this was really, really good. If you want a full-sized, 9 inch cheesecake, ~~multiply the ingredients by three~~ scroll to the bottom of the post. I have a sneaking suspicion that this is not going to last much longer in our fridge.

Triple Layer Cheesecake
Printer-friendly Recipe
Yeild: one 4 ½ inch cheesecake

crust:
¾ c chocolate cookie crumbs (~6 oreo cookies)
1 Tbl butter, melted
dash cinnamon

filling:
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese
¼ c sugar
1 Tbl + 2 (generous) tsp yogurt
1 Tbl flour
¼ tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 oz (~1/3 c) peanut butter chips
2 oz (~1/3 c) dark chocolate chips
2 oz (~1/3 c) white chocolate chips

for the crust:
Preheat oven to 350 F.

Grease the bottom and sides of a 4 ½ inch springform pan. If desired, line the bottom with parchment paper and grease.

Combine ingredients, pat into prepared pan. I used the bottom of a glass to smash it down. Bake 7-1o minutes at 375F.

for the cheesecake:
Reduce oven to 300F

Beat cream cheese and sugar until creamy. Then mix in yogurt, flour, and vanilla. Beat in egg to combine.
Set aside.

Melt the peanut butter chips in a bowl, in 3o second intervals until melted, stirring in between. Set aside. Repeat for the dark chocolate and white chocolate, melting each kind in its own bowl.

Divide the cream cheese mixture evenly among all three bowls of melted chips.

Pour the peanut butter chip and cream cheese mixture into the crust. Using a rubber spatula, smooth out the layer, making it as even as possible. Top that layer with the dark chocolate mixture, the follow with the white chocolate, spreading and smoothing each layer.

Bake 35-45 minutes, until top is golden, edges are set and center moves slightly. Remove to wire rack to cool 10 minutes. Run a sharp knife around edge of pan, allow to set for 1 hour. Remove from springform pan to serving dish.

Add 2 Tbl of each chip into its own snack sized Ziploc bag. Seal the bags and microwave 20-30 sec, and massage bag to ensure all chips are melted. Once melted, snip a small hole in the corner of one bag and drizzle over cheesecake. Repeat for the remaining two bags of melted chips. Refrigerate til serving.

NOTE: due to popular demand, click here for the 9" cheesecake recipe

Genius

2011-01-07T10:26:00.005-05:00

I came across these guys when I was at Williams-Sonoma recently. I'm terrible at guessing the thickness when rolling out dough. I want to kiss the person who came up with these; what a great idea. Now, all I need to do is strap the correct band size on my rolling pin and viola! No more guesstimating dough thickness.

I haven't had a chance to use them myself, but my sister used them for her sugar cookies and said it worked pretty well. You just have to make sure the dough is between the two bands. Lucky for me I have a long rolling pin.

I guess I need to make a pie so I can test them out.

Chai Latte Cupcakes

2011-01-06T12:40:00.005-05:00

I am finally settling in back home into my usual routine. I got the Christmas decorations packed away until next year, went to the hospital for some tests, and ran some errands. Now I feel I can relax and resume my daily activities stress-free.

Lately I’ve been on a chai latte kick. It started over my Christmas vacation. I got used to having a cup of chai tea almost everyday. Since I've been home, I have missed that daily dose of chai. I noticed these cupcakes in a cupcake book my sister gave me. They turned out great, not too sweet, with a nice, warm flavor from the spices. I debated on whether I should make frosting for them but decided against it since we still have sugary Christmas treats to eat up. My chai craving has been satiated.

Chai Latte Cupcakes
Printer-friendly recipe
Yeild: 6 cupcakes

½ c milk
2 black tea bags
2 Tbl canola oil
¼ c yogurt
¼ c + 2 Tbl sugar
½ tsp vanilla
½ c + 2 Tbl + 2tsp flour
1/8 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cardamom
¼ tsp ginger
1/8 tsp cloves
pinch white pepper

topping:
~2 Tbl powdered sugar
1 Tbl cocoa powder
½ tsp cinnamon
pinch freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350F.

In glass measuring cup, microwave milk 90 seconds. Remove, add tea bags, cover and steep for 10 minutes. Dunk the tea bags a few times, then squeeze and discard. If needed, add more milk to bring liquid volume up to ½ cup.

In bowl, combine the tea, canola oil, yougurt, sugar, and vanilla. Mix until smooth (I used a whisk). Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices in small bowl; sift into wet ingredients. Stir to combine until any large lumps disappear. Add to greased muffin pan.

Bake ~15-20 minutes, until inserted pick comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack.

Before serving, sprinkle each muffin with powdered sugar. Combine cocoa and spices, then sift over muffins.

Source: halved and slightly adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

2010-12-27T06:00:00.003-05:00

I was excited to make these rolls. It's originally from Alton Brown and I like his simple, minimal-effort, yummy recipes. I have been planning on making them since November. I originally wanted to serve them for breakfast on Thanksgiving, but with all the other cooking I was doing, these got pushed aside. The recipe has been sitting on the kitchen counter ever since, just calling out to be made. Finally, Merry Monday’s gave me the excuse I needed to just make them already. All I have to say is wow. These are beyond incredible. So much better than Cinnabon, because they aren’t as sugary and they don’t give you an instant cavity.

It’s nice to be able to control the amount of sweetness. I added walnuts for additional fat, omega 3s, and slight crunch. Mr. Surly approved as well. He also liked that they weren’t too sugary-sweet and you could put as much (or as little) icing on as desired. I will definitely be making these again. It wasn’t a lot of work, just be sure to plan ahead to give the rolls time to rise overnight.

Don't forget to head over to Claire Cooks or Greens and Chocolate for more cinnamon delights.

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
Printer-friendly recipe
Yield: ~12 cinnamon rolls

for the dough:
4 large egg yolks, room temp
1 large whole egg, room temp
1/4 cup sugar
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup buttermilk, room temp
20 oz flour (~4 cups), plus additional for dusting
1 pkg (2¼ tsp) instant dry yeast
1 ¼ tsp kosher salt
Vegetable oil or cooking spray

for the filling:
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 1/4 Tbsp ground cinnamon
pinch salt
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
(generous) ¼ c finely chopped walnuts

for the icing*:
2-3 Tbsp milk
1 cup powdered sugar
~ ½ tsp lemon juice (opt)

make the dough:
In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, and buttermilk. Add ~2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt; whisk until moistened and combined. Add all but ¾ cup of the remaining flour and knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Check the consistency of the dough, add more flour if necessary; the dough should be soft and moist but not sticky. Knead/stir until the dough clears the side of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead by hand ~30 seconds. Lightly oil a large bowl with cooking spray. Transfer the dough to the bowl, lightly spray the top of the dough with olive oil cooking spray, cover and let double in volume, 2 to 2 ½ hours.

make the filling:
Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Mix until well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.

to assemble:
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape the dough into a rectangle with the long side nearest you. Roll into an 18x12 inch rectangle. Brush the dough with a bit of melted butter, leaving a ¾ inch border along the top edge. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the dough, leaving a ¾-inch border along the top edge; gently press the filling into the dough. Beginning with the long edge nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Firmly pinch the seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down. Very gently squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness. Using a serrated knife, slice the cylinder into 1 ½ -inch rolls. (I only sliced 6 rolls, and froze the rest of the dough). Arrange rolls cut side down in a buttered/greased baking dish; cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.

to bake:
Remove the rolls from the refrigerator and place in an oven that is turned off. Fill a shallow pan 2/3-full of boiling water and set on the rack below the rolls. Close the oven door, allow the rolls rise until they look slightly puffy; ~30 minutes. Remove the rolls and the shallow pan of water from the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Place the rolls on the middle rack and bake until golden brown (or til the internal temperature reaches 190F) ~25-30 minutes.

While the rolls are cooling slightly, make the icing* by whisking ingredients until smooth. Spread over the rolls and serve immediately.

*note: since I only baked about half the rolls, I just added ½ c powdered sugar with 3 ½ tsp milk and ½ tsp fresh lemon juice.

Source: slightly adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride, originally from Food Network

A Very Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T06:00:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone is having a nice, relaxing holiday with friends and family. I'm still up north, and will be for awhile longer, soaking in some much needed time with my family. I hope everyone else is having a wonderful Christmas, as well.

Because I'm so excited about it, I just have to share the amazing gift Mr.Surly got me this year.

Ever since I became serious about cooking a little over a year ago, I knew I eventually needed to upgrade my cookware. For months, I just wasn’t sure which line to go with. After researching my options I finally decided I wanted the All Clad d5 line, which is exclusive to Williams Sonoma. (FYI: After discussing the differences with a sales associate, she informed me that the Copper Core line and the d5 brushed stainless lines will lose their finish if washed in a dishwasher. She suggested the d5 stainless line if I plan on putting them in the dishwasher). I put together a wish list months ago and showed it to Mr. Surly. He suggested we get married already so we could get this stuff for free, as wedding gifts. But I don’t want to get married until I’m healthy again. I cannot deal with the stress of planning out a wedding when I’m barely able to function. So we’ve agreed to wait until I’m less medicated, basically back to (almost) normal to get married. My doctor doubts I will ever be totally free of stomach problems and his goal is to get me back to a functioning level. I’m still holding out hope that they will find the cause of this and I will one day get back to my normal, healthy physical state. Then I can deal with planning a wedding.

Ah, but I digress, back to the cookware.

We exchanged gifts before we flew up north so we wouldn't need to lug them on the plane to unwrap just to return with them a week later. I was surprised and thrilled when Mr. Surly presented me with three gorgeous items for Christmas. I think that he got them to motivate me back into the kitchen and make some food since I have been pretty lazy recently. I’ve been making meals that require little to no work, and I know he’s longing for a change in my measly, sparse menu. Well, he certainly has inspired me; I can’t wait to get back home and put these guys to use. But I still have a few more days to enjoy being sous chef. Looks like I better bask in the rest because once I arrive home I feel like I’ll be spending a lot of time getting to know my new cookware.

What was your favorite gift this year?

A Lovely Cookie

2010-12-22T00:05:00.005-05:00

My brother-in-law received these cookies as a Christmas gift this year. One of his friends invested in this cookie company a couple years ago, and I guess they are doing well. So my brother-in-law brought them to share. When I saw a bag full of chocolaty goodness, I admit I was pretty excited to dig in.

First, I had to weigh out all my options as there was a variety from which to choose. I apologive about the crappy photos, I didn’t bring my dSLR camera with me. No room for it with all my sweaters, thermals, and Christmas gifts.

I love chocolate and peanut butter, so I tried on of the peanut butter Lovely Oh’s.

It was basically an oreo with peanut butter filling (does Oreo/Nabisco even make that?), then dipped in dark chocolate. Now, I’m not a fan of oreos, never was. When I was little I liked to open them and maybe lick some crème, but I’d leave the cookies for someone else to eat. Therefore, these lovely oh’s weren’t my favorite.

Undeterred, I moved on to the Mint Lovely Oh’s.

Again, like a mint filled double stuff oreo dipped in dark chocolate. Better than the peanut butter, but still, to me, just ok.

By this point, I assumed the plain lovely oh’s were just like chocolate dipped oreos, so I skipped those and I moved on to the giant cookies.

First up, this dark chocolate fudge was calling out to me. It was baked and rolled in sugar and tasted marvelous.

I only ate half, since I had another flavor to try, the Triple Chocolate mint.

I wasn't really a fan of this mint cookie. Something tasted "off," like there was alcohol in the extract that overpowered the mint flavor. I couldn't even finish half of this cookie. Instead, I went back for more of the yummy chocolate fudge one.

Personally, it doesn't matter to me that they are vegan, gluten free, certified organic, yada yada. I just like that they aren’t too sugary sweet, nor overly processed tasting. And they are free of high fructose corn syrup, which is a huge plus.

I doubt I would order them online for myself; I’d rather try to find a local place that sells similar items, if I were going to buy them at all. I would rather just make cookies myself. But, they would make a nice gift for someone with a gluten-intolerance (or celiac disease), vegan, or someone else who is into this kind of baked good. They remind me of those cookies they send when you sign up for an annual VegNews subscription (and the kind they also sell at Nordstrom’s coffee bar); I can’t remember the name.

______________________________________________________________________________
Not a paid advertisement. Liz Lovely has no idea who I am nor that I wrote a post about her delicious products.

Macadamia Fudge

2010-12-20T06:00:00.004-05:00

I must admit when I saw fudge on the list for week 3 of Merry Mondays I was not inspired. I love chocolate but I’m not a big fan of fudge. I think it’s because I feel like eating fudge is a waste of calories; I’d rather just eat a square of dark chocolate.

I don’t have a go-to fudge recipe since I don’t eat it so I started looking around for recipes. I admit I was nervous, especially after all the trouble I had last week with the mint recipe. Most of the simple and easy recipes called for a jar of marshmallow fluff or mini marshmallows. I detest marshmallows and marshmallow fluff; way too sweet and sugary for my taste. I found it difficult to find an easy fudge recipe that did not include this stuff. I learned in my recipe research that fudge gets its smooth consistency from careful temperature monitoring. For people who don’t want to fiddle around with a candy thermometer to maintain the perfect fudge cooking temperature, marshmallow fluff is the secret to smoothness. So what about people, like me, who don’t want to deal with a candy thermometer nor add a jar of marshmallow fluff?

There had to be a recipe out there for me so I kept searching for a fudge that sounded appealing. I finally settled on this marshmallow fluff-free recipe. It turned out to be pretty good, a bit on the sweet side, but still good. Using evaporated milk instead of sweetened condensed milk might cut down on the sweetness factor. I ended up making a full batch and froze some. Though, at the rate that Mr. Surly is eating them up, the frozen ones might not last much longer.

Be sure to head over to Claire Cooks or Greens and Chocolate for more fudgy delights.

Tonight I head north to the city of Brotherly Love for the next week and a half to be with family for Christmas. I envision myself snuggled up on the couch, watching movies while being attended to by worried, loving family members. It will be wonderful to be coddled and made much of. Though I’m not looking forward to cold temps and snow.

Macadamia Fudge
Printer-friendly recipe
yield: ~2 lbs

18 oz semisweet chocolate (~3 c chocolate chips)
1 can (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
pinch salt
5 oz (~1 c) chopped macadamia nuts
1 ½ tsp vanilla
butter, for greasing the dish

Line an 8x8 inch square pan with foil. Grease the foil with butter, set aside.

Melt the chocolate, milk, and pinch salt, either on the stove over low heat, or in the microwave in 30 sec intervals. I combined them in a 4 qt glass measuring cup and melted in the microwave.

Once chocolate is melted, stir in the vanilla and nuts. Pour into prepared pan and chill until firm (~2 hrs).

Lift foil out of pan; peel away from fudge. Cut into bite-sized squares. Store in airtight container.

Source: Taste of Home’s Best Loved Cookies and Candies 2010

I'm Blushing

2010-12-16T16:48:00.003-05:00

Thanks to Claire of Claire Cooks for passing on this award to me. I'm deeply flattered. If you haven't made Claire's Lemon Cranberry Muffins, you must do so immediately. Her post haunted me for days until I finally had to make them; they are divine.

*To accept this award, there are 4 rules:*
1. Thank the person who gave you the award.
2. Share seven things about yourself
3. Pass the award on to bloggers you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic.
4. Contact the bloggers you picked and let them know about the award.

7 Things about me:
1) I am a germaphobe
2) I have always hated the smell, and taste, of bacon
3) I was an anatomy lab teaching assistant for two years during college
4) I cannot touch raw meat of any kind, nor can I eat meat off of a bone
5) I love to clean (see 1)
6) I am a perfectionist
7) I like to watch Jeopardy! and do the daily crossword puzzle

I'm passing this award on to Amy of Serve at Once and Meg of Cooking.In.College

Apple Cranberry Stuffing

2010-12-15T09:32:00.006-05:00

My favorite ingredients strike again; I just love the combination of apples and cranberries. And this fall I’m definitely satiating my craving for them. For Thanksgiving I like to make two different kinds of stuffing, regular (onions, celery, bread and spices) and this apple cranberry version. Last year, Mr. Surly was a bit skeptical of the apple version but this year he was all about it. I have made a couple batches since Thanksgiving of this deliciousness.

When I make stuffing I don’t follow a recipe. I just throw everything together in ratios I like and bake it. I love stuffing. I also love how easy it is to make. Below is the general recipe I use.

Apple Cranberry Stuffing
Printer-friendly recipe

4 Tbl butter, plus a bit more for greasing the dish
1-2 apples, diced
2 leeks, thinly sliced
~1 tsp each*:
*marjoram
*basil
*thyme
*sage
pinch of rosemary
~ ½ c cranberries, fresh or frozen (thaw if frozen)
~4 c bread cubes
1-2 c vegetable (or chicken, or turkey) broth
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 F.

If you want, grease your glass or ceramic dish with butter. Set aside.

Add the bread cubes and cranberries to a large bowl.

Melt the 4 Tbl butter in a skillet and add the leeks. Sauté 2-3 minutes, then add the apple and spices. Cook until leeks and apples are softened, a few minutes. Pour over the bread crumbs and gently stir to moisten all the bread. Dump into baking dish and spread evenly. Pour about 1 to 1½ c broth over the bread. Put in oven, bake 15-20 minutes, remove, stir gently, then pop back in the oven to bake longer. I do this cook and stir process about 3 times, until I feel the bread is cooked to my preferred consistency, adding more broth if it seems dry. I like to get all my bread cubes nice and toasty brown. Let cool about 10 minutes, then enjoy.

Peppermint (Penguin) Patties

2010-12-13T06:00:00.013-05:00

It’s the second week of Merry Mondays. This week’s ingredient was mint. I really struggled for some reason. I picked out a chocolate mint candy. But when I tried to make it, this is what I got:

Fail.

This was supposed to be mint candy squares. But it failed to set up for me, even after hours in the fridge. Obviously, I left out something vitally important, I'm just not sure what. Oh well. I still haven’t decided what to do with it, maybe try to salvage it into mint truffles.

My second attempt was a recipe for peppermint patties. Things went well until I decided to add food coloring to make the filling a festive green color. After rummaging around the kitchen, I finally found my food coloring. I proceed to combine the red and blue dyes to achieve a jolly green hue. Did you catch that? Red and blue. As I mixed the colors, I was confused because I was getting purple not green. I thought my mistake was that I had too much blue, I needed to add more red. Nope, still not green. I go to grab the back of the box to see what I was doing wrong. I felt like an idiot when I realized that red+blue=purple and I should have done blue+yellow. And the real kicker is that I had a bottle of green food coloring in the box; I didn’t even need to mix colors. Here I am, the daughter of an artist/art teacher mother, and I couldn’t even remember the basic color wheel. I practically grew up in my mom's art studio. How embarrassing.

I do have an excuse, though. My GI doctor enrolled me in a clinical trial and the new medication I’m on is really affecting my mind. I thought I was crazy before, that was nothing compared to this. It’s a struggle for me to focus my mind on things. Perhaps this is why my first attempt at a minty dessert was a total disaster. Luckily, I’m only on this drug for 8 weeks. Then I can return to my original, slightly confused, state.

Finally, I attempted my third try at a mint treat; a new peppermint patty recipe that was simple; just a few ingredients. Third time’s the charm, right? Not quite for me. I wouldn’t call it a complete success, but at least this time it was my results were a bit more visually appealing. I used mini cookie cutters to make bite-sized mints. I haven’t had a peppermint pattie in years and found these surprisingly refreshing. I just wish they looked better. Oh well, maybe I’ll have better luck next week's treat.

Be sure to head over to Claire and Taylor’s blogs for more tasty, minty treats.

Homemade Peppermint Patties
Printer-friendly recipe

1 c powdered sugar
1 tsp light corn syrup
1 tsp water
½ Tbl shortening, softened
pinch of salt

~5 oz chocolate, for coating (depends on how thick you make your outer coating)

Mix all ingredients (except chocolate) at medium speed until just combined. At this point the dough is really crumbly; pinch it together with your fingers.

Continue pinching together dough and kneading until smooth.

for cutting shapes:
Roll out between two sheets of parchment (or waxed) paper. Cut into shapes, place onto waxed paper lined baking sheet. Freeze til firm, ~15 minutes before dipping.

for patties:
Take ~Tbl chunks of dough. Roll into ball, then flatten with a measuring cup or glass into patties. Freeze ~15 minutes, til firm.

dipping:
I just microwaved ¼ c semi-sweet chocolate chips with a dab of shortening in 30 second intervals til melted. Then I dipped the shapes in the chocolate, pulled them out with a fork, and put them on a sheet of waxed paper. When I ran out of chocolate I microwaved another ¼ c chocolate chips with a dab of shortening.

Source: halved from epicurious

What's Wrong with This Picture?

2010-12-10T10:44:00.006-05:00

Since I don’t have a recipe ready to post today, let’s play a game. Yesterday, I did a load of laundry and, as I hung up the clean clothing in the closet, I noticed something disturbing. See if you can figure it out.

Here is a partial glimpse of our closet. Can you identify what’s wrong?

Look closely. Here’s a hint: this is the middle of our closet.

Do you see it?

Give up yet?

Let’s check out the clothes.

That's right, Mr. Surly has officially taken over more than half of our closet. I thought the female was automatically guaranteed to have all the closet space. When did his side invade, and overtake, part of mine? More importantly, how did I allow this to happen?

The only answer I have is that, since I’ve been sick, I don’t get out very much which means I rarely open the closet. I spend almost every day in comfy loungeware/pajamas. Yesterday was the first time I noticed that my side of the closet was diminishing. This is just the middle of our closet, each side extends out further, so you can imagine the vast amount of clothing Mr. Surly has acquired.

Is there any way I can reclaim my half, or is this space gone for good?

Homemade Muesli

2010-12-06T15:42:00.013-05:00

Anyone who knows me (or has been reading my blog) knows that, because of my GI issues, I'm obsessed about what ingredients go into my food. I tend to avoid processed and packaged foods because I must ensure nothing that will cause me abdominal pain/distress passes through my lips. I’m so glad I stumbled upon this museli in my recipe stash while looking for holiday cookie recipes. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of making my own cereal sooner. I adapted this recipe from a one a high school friend shared with me many years ago. Her mom made it and I always thought it was delicious.

I love it because, in addition to being delectable, it's easy to make and you get control the ratio of ingredients. Love walnuts? Add a cup instead of ¾ c. Not sold on raisins? Decrease the amount to 1/3 c . Add or change up the spices. Add coconut, mini chocolate chips, dried cranberries. I could go on and on. Think of this recipe as more like a guideline; it’s open to interpretation. The result will be a healthy, homemade cereal of all your favorite things.

I love almonds and walnuts; I tend to add a lot of them so I can get more of the healthy fat my body needs. I wanted to add coconut, but I didn’t this time because Mr. Surly doesn’t like coconut. But next time I’m going to make a batch with coconut. I haven’t decided whether I want to add it to the oats and toast it, or add it at the end with the dates and raisins.

This would be a fantastic, healthy addition to your holiday goodie boxes to balance out all the sugary treats. I promise the recipients will thank you and beg for the recipe.

Homemade Muesli
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6 c rolled oats (I always use Bob's Red Mill Extra Thick Rolled Oats, they are divine)
2 c quick oats (I use McCann's Irish Oatmeal, the quick cooking rolled oats)
¾ c sliced or chopped almonds
¾ c chopped walnuts
1 Tbl ground flaxseed meal
¼ c honey or agave (or combination of both)
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp cinnamon
pinch freshly ground nutmeg
¾ c raisins (I use golden)
¾ c chopped dates

Mix oats, almonds, walnuts and ground flaxseed in a bowl.

Whisk together honey, vanilla, and spices. Drizzle over oats and nuts and mix gently to combine. Spread on one (or more) baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Place in 250 F oven, and toast for 20 minutes, stirring every five minutes. Remove from oven, add dates and raisins.

Allow to cool completely before storing in an air tight container.

Enjoy by adding milk and eating it as cereal, sprinkle it on top of yogurt, or use it as a topping for a fruit crumble, whatever your tastebuds desire.

Cranberry Upside-Down Cake

2010-12-06T06:00:00.001-05:00

I was thrilled when Claire asked me to be a part of her and Taylor's Merry Mondays. I was very excited to see cranberries were the first featured ingredient. I love cranberries and have made lots of delicious dishes including them recently.

I have been trying to plan out my holiday treats, and the options are endless. She didn’t specify whether we were suppose to make sweets or savories with the week’s ingredient. I’m assuming a dessert/treat since it’s holiday baking time. I had half a bag of cranberries left over from Thanksgiving that I hadn’t decided what to do with. While flipping through this year’s Cook’s Illustrated holiday baking magazine I saw this recipe for cranberry upside down cake. I’ve never made, nor eaten an upside down cake. I’m not sure why, I guess they never appealed to me very much. I thought it would be fun to try something new. I didn’t want a big 9” cake, since I knew the two of us wouldn’t be able to eat it, so I halved the recipe.

I tried a piece as soon as it was slightly cooled, and it was okay. However, when I went to have a piece a day later, it was so much better. (I had it sitting, covered, at room temp). I also added a (generous) dollop of whipped cream. Yum, this was a tasty, different kind of dessert, more tart than sweet. Which is perfect for the holiday season when I'm usually overloaded on sweet treats. I wish I had thought to put a splash of bourbon in the cranberry topping, that would also have taken it up a notch. Why is it that bourbon makes everything taste better? Also, I split this up between two pans, and that made the cake a bit too thin in my opinion. So next time I’ll just keep in all in one 4½ inch pan.

Cranberry Upside Down Cake
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for the topping:
3 Tbl butter
6 oz (~1 ½ c) cranberries, fresh or frozen (thawed, if frozen)
¼ c + 2 Tbl sugar
1 Tbl seedless raspberry jam (I used apple plum)
¼ tsp vanilla
1 tsp bourbon (opt)

for the cake:
½ oz (~2 Tbl) slivered almonds
½ c flour
½ tsp baking powder
pinch salt
¼ c milk
¼ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp almond extract
¼ c + 2 Tbl sugar
2 large eggs, separated
whipped cream, opt, but really good

Line the bottom of one (or two) 4 ½ inch springform pan with parchment paper. Grease the paper and sides of the pan. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350.

make the topping:
In a microwave safe bowl combine all the topping ingredients except the vanilla extract. Microwave 3 minutes, covered with a paper plate. You want your cranberries to be softened. I needed to go an additional 45 seconds.

CI does this step on the stove, heating the cranberries for 4 minutes, straining them over a bowl, reserving the juice. Then reducing the juice until syrupy and 1 c of liquid. When I strained my microwaved berries, there was about 1/3 c juice, and it was already thick and syrupy so I didn’t need to reduce it. I just poured the berries and juice in the cake pan.

Refrigerate 30 minutes, while you make the cake.

make the cake:
Process almonds and 2 Tbl flour in food processor until finely ground, ~10 sec. Add the remaining ¼ c flour, baking powder, and salt, pulse to combine. Set aside.

Add milk, vanilla, and almond extract to a small bowl. Whisk to combine; set aside.

In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy, ~2 minutes. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating it with 2 additions of the milk mixture.

In a clean bowl, whisk egg whites to soft peaks. Whisk in 1/3 of whites into the batter, then fold in the remaining egg whites. Pour batter over cranberry topping.

Bake until golden and inserted pick comes out clean, ~25-30 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes on wire rack, then run a knife around sides of pan. Invert onto serving plate. Serve with whipped cream.

source: Cook's Illustrated Holiday Baking 2011