The highlight of the day was Nicki surprising me with these lovely flowers:
Who loves Tulips? I love Tulips. What a babe. I have the best friend ever. Seriously.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Valentine's Day Shout Out
I may or may not have worked ALL DAY LONG on Valentine's Day. And then stayed up all night (quite literally - I saw productive hours I hadn't seen since undergrad finals weeks) prepping to sub a pathology class the next day. All I can say is its a good thing I love what I do, or it would have been a sad day.
The highlight of the day was Nicki surprising me with these lovely flowers:
The highlight of the day was Nicki surprising me with these lovely flowers:
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Irrational Fear Conquered
I had a feeling that I was going to get tired of naming my posts "new recipe #___", I just didn't realize it would happen so soon...
I have never made popcorn on the stove before. Yes, never. And for good reason. I seem to have (had) a completely irrational fear of making popcorn on the stove. Now, I consider myself a fairly able cook (with the embarrassing exception of more grilled cheese burnings than I can count), and capable of most things I set my mind to, and also realize that popcorn shouldn't be a scary thing to make. Yet, there was something keeping me from attempting the stove-top variety for years. Yup, years. I'm not sure whether I was afraid of burning it, or afraid it just wouldn't work, or what exactly the source of the concern was, but it was there. And it was time to stop being ridiculous and get over the irrationality once and for all. So when it came time to decide what treat to bring to Anna's Mardi Gras Party, I knew it had to include popcorn popped on the stove.
Here's the recipe for some pretty tasty Cajun Popcorn:2.5 quarts popped popcorn
.25 cup butter, melted
1 tsp each: paprika, lemon pepper
.5 tsp each: onion powder, garlic powder
.25 tsp cayenne pepper
Pour butter over warm popcorn. Combine remaining seasonings and sprinkle over popcorn; toss to mix. Bake in 300° oven for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring once.
Success! Every last kernel popped in my first batch. Turns out stove-top popcorn is pretty simple. Irrational fear finally conquered.
Why yes I did craft those cute little paper cones to put the popcorn in. Thanks for noticing.
I have never made popcorn on the stove before. Yes, never. And for good reason. I seem to have (had) a completely irrational fear of making popcorn on the stove. Now, I consider myself a fairly able cook (with the embarrassing exception of more grilled cheese burnings than I can count), and capable of most things I set my mind to, and also realize that popcorn shouldn't be a scary thing to make. Yet, there was something keeping me from attempting the stove-top variety for years. Yup, years. I'm not sure whether I was afraid of burning it, or afraid it just wouldn't work, or what exactly the source of the concern was, but it was there. And it was time to stop being ridiculous and get over the irrationality once and for all. So when it came time to decide what treat to bring to Anna's Mardi Gras Party, I knew it had to include popcorn popped on the stove.
Here's the recipe for some pretty tasty Cajun Popcorn:2.5 quarts popped popcorn
.25 cup butter, melted
1 tsp each: paprika, lemon pepper
.5 tsp each: onion powder, garlic powder
.25 tsp cayenne pepper
Pour butter over warm popcorn. Combine remaining seasonings and sprinkle over popcorn; toss to mix. Bake in 300° oven for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring once.
Success! Every last kernel popped in my first batch. Turns out stove-top popcorn is pretty simple. Irrational fear finally conquered.
Why yes I did craft those cute little paper cones to put the popcorn in. Thanks for noticing.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
New Recipe #4: Baklava
I may have cheated a bit on this one, since it wasn't entirely a new recipe. My dear friend Anna spent some time in Turkey and Bulgaria awhile back and when she returned had a dinner party with traditional foods from those countries. I had dessert duty. I asked Anna for recommendations and she mentioned eating a chocolate pistachio baklava that was to die for. Now, I'm not a fan of baklava. At least I wasn't. Chocolate is my vice. And since any baklava I'd ever seen was sans chocolate, I figured, what's the point? Well, chocolate pistachio baklava may have made me a believer. It was delicious. I totally messed up the recipe and it was still delicious. (I accidentally omitted half the necessary phyllo dough...)
Enter Baklava Take Two:
In light of the recent happenings in Egypt, my friends Clay and Jessica orchestrated an evening of great company, delicious middle eastern food, and lively discussions of world-happenings. I was again assigned dessert duty - baklava specifically. The request this time was for a more traditional baklava, i.e. not chocolate. Okay fine. I suppose 'normal' baklava can be tasty as well. I added orange zest, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the mix, as well as vanilla to the syrup, and couldn't resist drizzling chocolate on half of them. And I learned from my mishap and used the proper proportion of phyllo dough this time.
The nice thing about baklava is that it has the appearance of being fancy, but in reality is really really ridiculously easy to make. So the next time you're feeling simplistically fancy, give it a go. You won't regret it.
In case you were worried, they were delicious. And the chocolate one's were the first to go.
Enter Baklava Take Two:
In light of the recent happenings in Egypt, my friends Clay and Jessica orchestrated an evening of great company, delicious middle eastern food, and lively discussions of world-happenings. I was again assigned dessert duty - baklava specifically. The request this time was for a more traditional baklava, i.e. not chocolate. Okay fine. I suppose 'normal' baklava can be tasty as well. I added orange zest, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the mix, as well as vanilla to the syrup, and couldn't resist drizzling chocolate on half of them. And I learned from my mishap and used the proper proportion of phyllo dough this time.
The nice thing about baklava is that it has the appearance of being fancy, but in reality is really really ridiculously easy to make. So the next time you're feeling simplistically fancy, give it a go. You won't regret it.
In case you were worried, they were delicious. And the chocolate one's were the first to go.
Confession...
I claim to be a really healthy eater.
But then I go and do things like eat In-N-Out burgers and Costco pizza two times each within a 7 day period.
Gross.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
New Recipe of the Week #3: Cinnamon Waffles and Caramelized Apples
The other night I was seriously craving some waffles. Cinnamon waffles. Like the one's at Bruge's Waffles and Frites in SLC. But it was 11pm - much too late to be making, let alone eating, delicious waffles. So I found this recipe, and determined to wake up early in the morning to make them before work.
The alarm went off at 6:30am. Not a normal hour for me, but I jumped out of bed excited for the much-anticipated waffles. The egg whites had been beaten to soft peaks (impressed?), the batter was mixed, the apples were caramelizing and I was ready to start the waffles. Except that the waffle maker was missing. I had lent it to a friend and forgotten that they had yet to return it. An early morning text failed to alleviate the problem and I proceeded to become ridiculously sad about not getting to eat those waffles for breakfast. I consigned myself to tea while reading some scriptures on the couch when Nicki came out of her room to leave for work and I told her the fateful tale of the missing waffle maker. She too was sad to not have delicious waffles for breakfast.
Jump an hour and a half later. I am ready for work and its 15 minutes before go time - still no waffle maker. I proceed to try to figure out what to have for breakfast: out of cereal, used the last of the eggs in the waffle batter, and oatmeal sounds entirely unappetizing... I'm seriously depressed about this missing waffle maker. But then it dawns on me. Waffles and pancakes are quite similar. Enter second best idea of the day: Make cinnamon pancakes with caramelized apples. Duh.
The alarm went off at 6:30am. Not a normal hour for me, but I jumped out of bed excited for the much-anticipated waffles. The egg whites had been beaten to soft peaks (impressed?), the batter was mixed, the apples were caramelizing and I was ready to start the waffles. Except that the waffle maker was missing. I had lent it to a friend and forgotten that they had yet to return it. An early morning text failed to alleviate the problem and I proceeded to become ridiculously sad about not getting to eat those waffles for breakfast. I consigned myself to tea while reading some scriptures on the couch when Nicki came out of her room to leave for work and I told her the fateful tale of the missing waffle maker. She too was sad to not have delicious waffles for breakfast.
Jump an hour and a half later. I am ready for work and its 15 minutes before go time - still no waffle maker. I proceed to try to figure out what to have for breakfast: out of cereal, used the last of the eggs in the waffle batter, and oatmeal sounds entirely unappetizing... I'm seriously depressed about this missing waffle maker. But then it dawns on me. Waffles and pancakes are quite similar. Enter second best idea of the day: Make cinnamon pancakes with caramelized apples. Duh.
And then as soon as I finished eating my pancakes and was running out the door to work, my phone rang and the waffle maker was promptly returned.
The End.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Tea anyone?
Earlier today I was thinking about what I might post from the week, and was coming up short on clever ideas. Don't you worry though, as fate would have it a sweet story presented itself no less than an hour ago. (Does that mean I subconsciously brought this on myself?) I swear the funniest things happen to me when I'm alone, which unfortunately means there is no one around to revel in the awesomeness. Thank you trusty new blogsite for remedying this problem:
So there I was. Sunday night. Winding down after an hour of telling random embarrassing/funny mishap stories with some friends at ward prayer. I make a huge steaming mug of peppermint tea, sit down on the couch, and place the mug on the armrest (where I always place my beverages, bytheway). I lean over to pick up the laptop off the ottoman, when next thing I know - without my even touching it - the full mug of tea mysteriously topples over and the entire boiling contents spill out all over the couch... and my left bum-cheek. For a second I sit there stunned at how this even happened, not realizing how hot the tea is. I get up to grab a towel to sop up the still steaming splotch, when the fire sets in. The tea had soaked into my jeans and become trapped. I unbuttoned my jeans and starting fanning to get some of the heat out, but it was no use. The damage had already been done. I consulted the mirror to confirm that I indeed have a 1st degree burn on my bum. Needless to say, I didn't have it in me to make a second mug.
I may or may not be sitting on a bag of frozen peas as I write this...
So there I was. Sunday night. Winding down after an hour of telling random embarrassing/funny mishap stories with some friends at ward prayer. I make a huge steaming mug of peppermint tea, sit down on the couch, and place the mug on the armrest (where I always place my beverages, bytheway). I lean over to pick up the laptop off the ottoman, when next thing I know - without my even touching it - the full mug of tea mysteriously topples over and the entire boiling contents spill out all over the couch... and my left bum-cheek. For a second I sit there stunned at how this even happened, not realizing how hot the tea is. I get up to grab a towel to sop up the still steaming splotch, when the fire sets in. The tea had soaked into my jeans and become trapped. I unbuttoned my jeans and starting fanning to get some of the heat out, but it was no use. The damage had already been done. I consulted the mirror to confirm that I indeed have a 1st degree burn on my bum. Needless to say, I didn't have it in me to make a second mug.
I may or may not be sitting on a bag of frozen peas as I write this...
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
New Recipe of the Week #2: Butternut Squash Lasagna
I lost a bet awhile back, and as payment I had to make a boy dinner last Sunday. (I should really stop making bets because I inevitably lose them). Enter recipe of the week #2. I decided I wanted to make butternut squash lasagna and so consulted the trusty google in hopes of finding a decent recipe.
I found this recipe from Giada de Laurentiis. My good friend Terri raved to me about how amazing she is a few months ago, so when I saw Giada's name I was confident the recipe would be worthwhile.
Sorry about the lack of real pictures. Only one day into blogging and already I have been reprimanded about the shamefulness of posting recipes without using my own photos. I will do better next time. In the meantime, drool over this:
Ingredients
Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the squash and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour the water into the skillet and then cover and simmer over medium heat until the squash is tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly and then transfer the squash to a food processor. Add the amaretti cookies and blend until smooth. Season the squash puree, to taste, with more salt and pepper.
(I roasted the squash in the oven before pureeing instead of cooking it on the stove and it worked great).
Melt the butter in a heavy medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the nutmeg. Cool slightly. Transfer half of the sauce to a blender*. Add the basil and blend until smooth. Return the basil sauce to the sauce in the pan and stir to blend. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste.
Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce over the prepared baking dish. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles on the bottom of the pan. Spread 1/3 of the squash puree over the noodles. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Drizzle 1/2 cup of sauce over the noodles. Repeat layering 3 more times.
Tightly cover the baking dish with foil and bake the lasagna for 40 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses over the lasagna. Continue baking uncovered until the sauce bubbles and the top is golden, 15 minutes longer. Let the lasagna stand for 15 minutes before serving.
(Take picture before inhaling...)
*When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.
I found this recipe from Giada de Laurentiis. My good friend Terri raved to me about how amazing she is a few months ago, so when I saw Giada's name I was confident the recipe would be worthwhile.
Sorry about the lack of real pictures. Only one day into blogging and already I have been reprimanded about the shamefulness of posting recipes without using my own photos. I will do better next time. In the meantime, drool over this:
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 (1 1/2 to 2-pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup water3 amaretti cookies, crumbled (I don't know what these are and therefore left them out)
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 1/2 cups whole milk
- Pinch nutmeg
- 3/4 cup (lightly packed) fresh basil leaves
- 12 no-boil lasagna noodles
- 2 1/2 cups shredded whole-milk mozzarella cheese
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the squash and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour the water into the skillet and then cover and simmer over medium heat until the squash is tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly and then transfer the squash to a food processor. Add the amaretti cookies and blend until smooth. Season the squash puree, to taste, with more salt and pepper.
(I roasted the squash in the oven before pureeing instead of cooking it on the stove and it worked great).
Melt the butter in a heavy medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the nutmeg. Cool slightly. Transfer half of the sauce to a blender*. Add the basil and blend until smooth. Return the basil sauce to the sauce in the pan and stir to blend. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste.
Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce over the prepared baking dish. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles on the bottom of the pan. Spread 1/3 of the squash puree over the noodles. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Drizzle 1/2 cup of sauce over the noodles. Repeat layering 3 more times.
Tightly cover the baking dish with foil and bake the lasagna for 40 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses over the lasagna. Continue baking uncovered until the sauce bubbles and the top is golden, 15 minutes longer. Let the lasagna stand for 15 minutes before serving.
(Take picture before inhaling...)
*When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.
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