Tagged and award

So this is long overdue awhile back April at Abby Sweets gave me an award! She has such great photos and recipes check her out!! You can see the awards here!

Also I was tagged!!!!

My blog friend Tracey (aka Chocoloate and Chipolte) tagged me with one of those lists of questions. So now it's my turn. Here it goes!

The rule is to answer the questions with the FIRST word or phrase that comes to mind.

1. Cell phone? annoying
2. Your significant other? Jelber (aint that a fun nickname haha)
3. Your hair? Growing back
4. Your mother? Awesome
6. Your favorite thing? snuggle
7. Your dream last night? slept so hard straight on through no dreams.. weird
8. Your favorite drink? Mai Tai or Diet Coke
9. Your dream/goal? be paid to chow/have fun
10. The room your in? work
11. Your hobby? cooking/baking/crochet/friends/sewing
12. Your fear? Not being able to help someone
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? happy
14. What you're not? lazy
15. Muffins? tasty
16. One of your wish list items? house
17. Where you grew up? south orange nj
18. The last thing you did? working on an annoying guidebook thingy
19. What are you wearing? work stuff... aka casual weekend clothing for most people
20. Favorite gadget? camera
21. Your pets? 0 but take care of 2 work cats and roomie has 2 cats
22. Your computer? mac-a-liscous
23. Your mood? busy busy
24. Missing someone? always
25. Your car? ice skate
26. Something you're not wearing? necklace... and i feel naked
27. Favorite store? no clue
28. Like someone? of course
29. Your favorite color? brown
30. When is the last time you laughed? today.. maniacally after dealing with the landlords... sooo happy we moved away from them!

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Vote for cupcakes and Walton pics

Hey guys! Sorry to leave you all hanging this weekend. I had a great trip to DC! First though it's time to vote for Iron Cupcake!!! You can go Here and in the right side column vote for me steph chows!!! thank you thank you for voting, only vote by noon tomorrow!

vote for me!

Ok now on to more important things... WALTON!!!!! My nephew rocks, he is such a good baby and wicked cute too! Check him out! These are all from my parents camera, my computer is still in pieces on my new bedroom floor, yeah crazy moving and trying to fly to DC... what a busy week last week was... :D



PS I got tagged and some blog awards AND my jam exchange mail came!! More on that plus more corn recipes coming this week!

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tomato and griled polenta stacks with basil sauce

Debbie and Yves made tomato and griled polenta stacks with basil sauce. Debbie made the polenta with fresh corn added, delicious!

*TOMATO AND GRILLED POLENTA STACKS WITH BASIL SAUCE*
*For stacks*
1 1/2 cups cold water
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal (preferably stone-ground)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 small (2 1/2-inch-wide) tomatoes
1 1/2 oz smoked mozzarella, coarsely grated (1/3 cup)

*For basil sauce*
1 cup fresh basil
2 tablespoons water
1 small garlic clove
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
Pinch of sugar

Special equipment: a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter
*Make polenta:* Whisk together water, cornmeal, and salt in a 1-quart heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, until very thick, 15 to 20 minutes.

Spread polenta into a 10- by 5-inch rectangle on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Chill, uncovered, until firm, about 1 hour.

Prepare grill for cooking.

*Drain tomatoes while polenta is chilling:* Cut 4 (1/4-inch-thick) crosswise slices from middle of each tomato. Sandwich slices between triple thicknesses of paper towel and press gently to absorb excess moisture.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

*Grill polenta: *Cut out 8 (2 1/2-inch) rounds from polenta with cookie cutter. When fire is medium-hot (you can hold your hand 5 inches above rack for 3 to 4 seconds), grill polenta rounds in a grill basket until crusty, about 5 minutes on each side. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet.

*Assemble and bake stacks:*Season tomato slices with salt and pepper and sprinkle with cheese. Assemble 4 stacks by placing a tomato slice on top of each of 4 polenta rounds (use a spatula to transfer tomato slices), then top each with another polenta round and tomato slice.

Bake in middle of oven until hot and cheese is melted, about 15 minutes.

*Make sauce while stacks bake:* Purée basil, water, garlic, lemon juice, oil, and sugar in a blender, scraping down sides frequently, until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve stacks with basil sauce.

Cooks' note:
• You can use a lightly oiled hot nonstick ridged grill pan to cook the polenta rounds. Grill time may be a little shorter.

Gourmet
June 2001
2001-05-15 16:50:32.0

I'm off to DC for a long weekend to meet little Walton!! See you guys back next week with more Grub Club corn recipes!!!

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Stuffed Corn Tortillas

Kim Paul and little NinaMaria made stuffed corn tortillas! These were totally addicting, you can't eat just one! Plus they are so easy to pick up and pop in your mouth you can't help yourself! I think Nina actually made these and Paul and Kim just said they did ;) oh and Nina was the HIT of the party, no one can seem to resist picking up a crawling along cute baby :) actually now that she's 1 is she still a baby? Or is she a toddler now? Meh either way she's wicked cute!

Stuffed Corn Tortillas (Recipe from: Amanda Lipko)

Mix:

8 oz cream cheese (softened)

1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar)

1 large egg

Stir in 1/2 cup corn kernels

Put mixture into Tostitos scoops

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Garnish with chopped chives, cilantro, or jalepenos if desired.

(Makes 20-30 scoops)

Come back tomorrow for some tomato and griled polenta stacks with basil sauce

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Cupcake Hero - mix it up!

So this month for cupcake hero we got to mix things up and pick 2 ingredients from the last year in one cupcake! It's funny I've actually used more than 1 featured ingredient in things before... but I wanted to try something new this round!! I decided on jalapeno and lime... sounded like a mixed drink to me :) and had good potential. And so I present to you...

Gunpowder lime cupcakes

First lets make the cake
Chipotle Flourless Chocolate Cake
adapted from Simple Recipes
Ingredients

• 5 oz. of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of chipotle chili powder
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• Pinch of salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
   
2. Melt the chocolate and butter together over a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring occasionally until smooth.
3. Whisk together the eggs and the sugar in a large bowl, and then slowly, a bit at a time, whisk in the melted chocolate. Add the salt and spices and taste, adjusting the spices if needed.
4. Pour into 8 cupcake liner filled cupcake sheets (I didn't use the silicon ones this time but the paper cups) and bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool completely on a wire rack.
   

Now for the key lime pie topping!

Skinny key lime pie
One 4-serving package (or half an 8-serving package) Jell-O Sugar Free Lime Gelatin
dessert mix
2 cups Cool Whip Free, thawed
1 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 no-calorie sweetener packet
8 low-fat honey graham crackers (2 sheets)

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup boiling water with gelatin mix and sweetener. Stir for at least 2 minutes (until completely dissolved). Then add 1 /2 cup cold water, the lemon juice, and the vanilla extract. Refrigerate for about 45 minutes, until slightly thickened but still mixable.

Next, stir in the Cool Whip. Mix until thoroughly blended (a wire whisk works best). Divide mixture among 5 dessert dishes. Refrigerate until firm (at least 3 hours).

Scoop key lime pie ontop of a cooled cupcake and serve immediately.

OK so I also want to submit the thing I made last month because I LOVED it THAT much. And I think it's better then the above recipe (which is good but this one is ... SO FREAKIN GOOD!!!!)

Flourless chocolate jalapeno cake with espresso cream... mmmmm

Recipe is here http://stephchows.blogspot.com/2008/08/cupcake-hero-jalapeno.html

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Sweet Corn Ice Cream

Michelle and Joe Charles made Sweet Corn Ice Cream!! And if you are ever interested in taking a belly dance class or strip aerobics (totally took it and it was fantastic... don't worry you keep your clothing on!) check out Goddess Hour where Michelle works!!! I know some were skeptical but it was really good! And a nice complement to Tod's corn cake yum! I wish I had gotten pictures of everyone so I could post a picture of everyone along with the dish they made... ok thought for next time!!

Sweet Corn Ice Cream

Ingredients:
1 ear corn (kernels reserved, cut into 1 inch slices)
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 egg yolks

Directions:
1. Simmer the corn cob in the heavy cream and milk for 10 minutes.
2. Remove the corn cob.
3. Add the corn kernels and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes.
4. Temper the egg yolks and add them along with the sugar and vanilla extract to the pan.
5. Cook at low heat until it thickens and can coat the back of a spoon.
6. Chill the mixture in the fridge.
7. Freeze according to the instructions for your ice cream machine.



Come back tomorrow for some corn nachos! these things were addictive!

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Fresh Corn Cake with Raspberries

I decided to start with dessert first! Tod Wheeler (pictured to the left with Paul and Kim's daughter Nina!!) made Fresh Corn Cake with Raspberries from cooking light magazine. He made one with raspberries and one with blueberries, both were DELICIOUS!! I will totally be making this myself (although I may delete some of the butter and replace it with more corn puree or a little apple sauce and use splenda blend, and of course whole wheat flour!). Very moist and decadent tasting. Here is the recipe!



Fresh Corn Cake with Raspberries
10 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)
Puréed fresh corn adds unique sweetness to this dessert. Tossing the raspberries with a small amount of flour prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the cake.
Yield

Ingredients
* Cooking spray
* 1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
* 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
* 1/3 cup water
* 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 large eggs
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 cups fresh raspberries
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon powdered sugar (optional)

Preparation
Preheat oven to 325°.

Coat a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray; line bottom of pan with wax paper. Coat wax paper with cooking spray.

Combine corn and next 5 ingredients (corn through eggs) in a blender or food processor; process until smooth.

Lightly spoon 2 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 2 cups flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Add corn mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until combined.

Toss raspberries with 2 tablespoons flour; fold into batter. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 325° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from pan and carefully peel off wax paper. Cool completely on wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.
Nutritional Information
Calories: 291 (26% from fat)
Fat: 8.3g (sat 4.7g,mono 2.5g,poly 0.6g)
Protein: 4.6g
Carbohydrate: 52.1g
Fiber: 2.8g
Cholesterol: 61mg
Iron: 1.7mg
Sodium: 481mg
Calcium: 67mg


Come back tomorrow for Sweet corn ice cream... mmmmmmm

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I'm an Aunt!

Seriously the cutest little baby ever!

Walton Snow Butler
Born Sept 21st
8 lbs 11 oz.

adorable!

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Grub Club Corn!

Grub Club Corn on Saturday was a success! Delicious!!! I'll be posting the recipes of what everyone made all week long...So here is a little teaser of all the yummy recipes to come over the next week...

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Crisp Rosemary Flatbread topped with salad

So I read about these flat breads over at Smitten Kitchen a little while back and made them one night LOVE THEM. Then on another night I decided to make them into cheese-less pizza's topped with salad... I know seems a bit odd... TOTALLY DELICIOUS!! I mean look at this!


YUM!!

Anyway, make the flatbreads as described below (so simple quick and easy it's awesome, no yeast, no kneeding, no waiting!). I added some onions and slices of big fat tomatoes, and baked them as directed in the flat bread recipe. Then top with your favorite salad toppings and dressing! I put the recipe I used for the salad and dressing below the flatbread recipe. YUM!!!

flat breads hot out of the oven

Crisp Rosemary Flatbread
Gourmet, July 2008

Nothing could be easier than making this cracker, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t tell people you slaved all day over it because they’re going to be impressed, really impressed, and I see no reason not to milk it.

I think you could easily swap the rosemary for other herbs, such as thyme or tarragon, or punch it up with black pepper or other spices, but personally, I like it just the way it is here.

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat)
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary plus 2 (6-inch) sprigs (I used thyme)
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup olive oil plus more for brushing
Flaky sea salt such as Maldon

Preheat oven to 450°F with a heavy baking sheet on rack in middle.

Stir together flour, chopped rosemary, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Make a well in center, then add water and oil and gradually stir into flour with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Knead dough gently on a work surface 4 or 5 times.

Divide dough into 3 pieces and roll out 1 piece (keep remaining pieces covered with plastic wrap) on a sheet of parchment paper into a 10-inch round (shape can be rustic; dough should be thin).

Lightly brush top with additional oil and scatter small clusters of rosemary leaves on top, pressing in slightly. Sprinkle with sea salt. Slide round (still on parchment) onto preheated baking sheet and bake until pale golden and browned in spots, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer flatbread (discard parchment) to a rack to cool, then make 2 more rounds (1 at a time) on fresh parchment (do not oil or salt until just before baking). Break into pieces.

Flatbread can be made 2 days ahead and cooled completely, then kept in an airtight container at room temperature.

Salad and Dressing
lettuce greens
roma tomatoes sliced in half
red onions sliced
kalamata olives (i can't stand these but others love this flavor combo)
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

Mix vinegar, oil, red pepper in a bowl, add lettuce and other salad ingredients you'd like to use and toss to coat. Pile onto of warm flatbreads and serve.

Chow!!

Super easy, quick, and looks like you spent all day on it! Change up the toppings to personalize it to each family member, or have them top it themselves :)

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Rock Climbing

So my friend Matt and I went rock climbing last night... did I mention I'm scared of heights?? Yeah I know, that's why I go though, get over that fear!! I did climbing and high ropes stuff in high school... so it's been awhile since I've done any climbing. I had a ton of fun though! Woohoo! Scramble up that wall!

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Iron Cupcake Basil

It's Iron cupcake time again! This month the theme ingredient is Basil! I actually planted a bunch of basil in John's backyard... yeah he didn't know about it until after it was done :D and as John likes to say when I do things I'm not supposed to "it's a good thing you're cute" hahaha

Anyway I went out to my mini herb garden and to my surprise a little candied basil plant had started growing!

Ok not really... but it's a fun little story :)

The sponsors for this month are: ETSY artist METAL SUGAR, her link is: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14597777 as well as to our corporate sponsors HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS http://www.fiestaproducts.com , HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com , JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com ; CUPCAKE COURIER http://www.cupcakecourier.com and TASTE OF HOME http://www.tasteofhome.com.

Voting begins Sunday Sept 28th - and ends Thursday Oct 1st at noon. So make sure to vote for me!! please and thank you :)


Basil Flourless Chocolate Cake
Ingredients

• 5 oz. of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons fresh chopped basil
  
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• Pinch of salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
   
2. Melt the chocolate and butter together over a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring occasionally until smooth.
3. Whisk together the eggs and the sugar in a large bowl, and then slowly, a bit at a time, whisk in the melted chocolate. Add the salt and spices and taste, adjusting the spices if needed.
4. Pour into 8 cupcake liner filled cupcake sheets and bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool completely on a wire rack.
   

Now for the chocolate topping and candied basil!

Chocolate Frosting
Mix equal parts melted semi sweet chocolate and fat free cool whip. Stir until blended and spoon onto cupcake tops

Candied Basil
Brush clean basil leaves lightly with water and place facedown into sugar. Dry on sheet pan, sugar-side-up, for 2 to 3 hours.

Decorate tops of cupcakes with leaves or pick a small flowering top of a basil plant and place into center of cupcake to make it look like a mini basil plant is growing.

Chow!

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Pink Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies

It's cookie carnival time again! Katie over at the Clean Plate Club hosts it! I missed last month... man where did August go anyway?? But I was able to tackle this months before the big move!! Yup I'm moving apartments, into a totally better place, much nicer, and not with crazy landlords who don't fix anything hooray! As per my usual I totally messed with the recipe to health it up :) Here is the original recipe if you want it.

When I first looked at the recipe I wasn't so sure about it... grapefruit in a cookie?? hmmm I donno... but I gave it a try and I'm so happy I did! These are so tasty and a nice cool summer treat.

I tried to trick John into trying one by not telling him there was grapefruit in it... yeah that plan didn't work...
john: *looking at cooling cookie sheet suspiciously* what are those?
me: I made cookies want to try one?
john: there's no chocolate... what are they
me: cookies for the cookie carnival blog thing I do, want one?
john: hmmm, why wont you tell me what's in them?
me: you'll like them want to try it? *notice I still wont tell him what they are*
john: nah!! *starts walking away, stops and turns with concerned look* wait does this mean you aren't making poose cookies???

hahaha and don't worry I made him poose cookies :)


Pink Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies

Ingredients for cookies

Makes 15 sandwich cookies.

* Grated zest of 1 Ruby Red grapefruit, plus 1/4 cup freshly squeezed juice

* 1/2 cup splenda for baking

* 2 cups whole wheat flour

* 1 teaspoon baking powder

* 1/4 teaspoon salt

* 4 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
* 1/2 cup apple sauce

* 2 large egg yolks

* Pink Grapefruit Cream Filling

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a small bowl, combine zest with 1 tablespoon sugar; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together both flours, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and remaining sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add apple sauce and egg yolks, and beat until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in reserved zest-sugar mixture. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the juice, and beat to combine.

3. Shape into 2 Tbs size balls and flatten on baking sheet. Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until edges are golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack to cool 5 minutes. Transfer parchment paper and cookies to rack to cool completely.

5. Using an offset spatula, spread 1 tablespoon filling onto flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, keeping flat sides down. Serve immediately or store in the freezer.

Ingredients for filling

* 1 cup fat free cool whip, thawed

* 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed Ruby Red grapefruit juice

Directions

1. In the bowl beat coolwhip and juice until light and fluffy, cover and place in freezer for 30 minutes or until set.

Chow!

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Good Luck - restaurant review

This past weekend I went on a nice girls night out to a new restaurant in town, Good Luck. Micheal the owner of Javas Coffee opened this place recently and I've heard a lot of good things about it. It's a tappa style restaurant (small plates of food to share). Micheal treated us to a bottle of wine which was fantastic thank you again Micheal!

The location is in the old fabrics and findings building and is filled with salvaged windows and doors that add a very distinctive intimate feel to the place. The bar is large and has a very interesting light fixture hanging above it. The kitchen is composed of what looks like white subway tiles and the entire place would fit perfectly in Manhattan, without the stuck up feel. Some restaurants in the area (2Vine) are a bit too stuffy and uninviting for my tastes. Good Luck it eclectic in both it's food and in the clientele, people are dresses up but not over the top or trying too hard. We arrived at 8:30 and when we left at 11 the dining room was still brimming full. The one complaint is the acoustics make everything very loud. I don't think there was any music on but we had a hard time hearing each other just from the shear noise of everyone dinning talking.


We order five different things to share and had a great time tasting and passing the dishes.

• buttermilk fried quail with an orange blossom honey rosemary and red chilies, this was so delicate and the flavor combination was amazing.
  
• roasted eggplant with house made ricotta and basil pesto, amazingly tender and the ricotta was perfectly done.
  
• we also had the french fries with 3 types of dipping sauces, good but nothing special here, I would order something different next time.
  
• trio of cristini, shrimp white bean and avacado tomato. The white bean was a bit bland but the shrimp was fantastic.
  
• house made black farfalle with sauteed calamari arugula. This was my favorite, the farfalle was delicious and the calamari done just right, I would order this as a main dish for myself along with something else as a side.
  

Once all the food was gone we decided on a dessert to share. We had the blueberry and beer beignet. Basically little donut holes with a wonderful blueberry/beer sauce.

All in all it was a very laid back and enjoyable evening. I must say I did go home and eat a bowl of cereal though since I was still a bit hungry... As with most tappas places I never seem to be close to full when I leave. Everything was delicious though and I would go back again and just make sure to order more. For those on a budget... I'd probably say to skip this place since things can add up fast, but as a special night out or for something fun and different, it's a must!

Chow!

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Beautiful Blog Award!

Susan from She's becoming domestic she's also the fabulous lady behind Operation Baking Gals gave me an award!! How exciting is that! And it's a Beautiful Blog Award!! I'm totally excited!!

Also as an update, packages have started arriving to Eric but I don't have any picture back from him yet! Also Susan says this last month around 30,000 cookies were shipped off to troops!!!! How insane is that!!! Good job everyone!! That's a LOT of cookies!!!

Now it's my turn to give the award and I'd like to give it to ... Molly from Batter Splattered She takes great pictures and I love the classy simplicity of her site! She is also one of the first food blogs I started to follow and inspired me to create my own. Molly great job!!

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Happy birthday!!

Today is a special day, not only is it my sister Jennifer's birthday, it's my friend Maria's birthday. Same day, same year, no joke! ANNND it's Paul's birthday (different year... not that I'm calling you old ;) )

So happy 30th to Jennifer and Maria!!! and happy 39th to Paul!!!! WOOHOOO!!!!

I need to bake something to celebrate... hmmm what to make...

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Cookies fix all

My good friend's dad isn't doing so well. As normal for me, if someone is sick or down, I bake. So first I asked if he was still able to eat, yes, good!! Then I asked my friend what his dad's favorite cookies are, sugar. YUM So the other night I made some ice box sugar cookies and hopefully the postman will be delivering them to him today! Not sure if any of you are spiritual / religious, or whatever, but if you could say a little something, do a little dance, whatever you like to do :) for my friends dad, I know the good vibes will be appreciated!

These cookies were super easy to make. I whipped them up, formed a log, stuck them in the freezer then went about my business for the night, a few hours later, I sliced them up and baked them to a nice crisp. There is only 4 Tbs of butter in these but they tasted crazy buttery and delicious, and made the whole house smell of baking butter... mmmm so much better then a scented candle!


Ice box sugar cookies
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons stick margarine, softened
1/3 cup splenda for baking or (2/3 cup sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg white
Cooking spray

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a bowl, and set aside. Beat margarine at medium speed of a mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Add vanilla and egg white, and beat well. Add flour mixture, and stir until well-blended. Turn dough out onto wax paper, and shape into a 6-inch log. Wrap log in wax paper, and freeze for 3 hours or until very firm.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Cut log into 24 (1/4-inch) slices, and place slices 1 inch apart on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool on wire racks.

Chow!

PS. the cookies are so dark because I used whole wheat flour, it added a nice flavor to the sugar cookies and also made them a bit dark. yum!

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Cape Cod

Cape Cod was so wonderful, beautiful weather, house 1/10th of a mile from the beach. Ahhh perfect. We went on tons of walks on the beach, visited little towns, and relaxed.

Food in tourist towns can be elusive... there are a TON of bar food places... which John isn't a fan of and I'm ok with but not all the time... we did manage to find some great chow though!

The Swan River Restaurant was fantastic! I ate lobster there twice while we were in town :) The other high point was a sesame crusted tuna that John had one night... simply superbe! Highly recommend it!

Another stop was to the Lighthouse Inn... the menu online had so many tasty things we figured we would all find something amazing to eat... or so we thought. We went on labor day... apparently on labor day they cut their meny down to 4 things.... yeahhhh the mom's and I ordered the scallop special, delicious... John order what sounded like a very tasty chicken with a salsa ontop, when it came out from the kitchen I looked over and all I could think was "WOW that is the most dead dry piece of chicken I've ever seen..." totally unaceptable it was disgusting looking, I would NOT go back to this place. Needless to say we sent the chicken back, had there been more than 4 items on the menu John would have ordered something else... but all the things he had wanted to order were no longer offered.... so he went for a walk on the beach while we had our dinner (poor john :( I cooked him a nice dinner once we got back to the house, he's a good sport)

We also went to a mexican pizzeria... I know weird... BUT SO GLAD WE WENT! BZ's was amazing! I don't have the image I still need to get it off Mom's camera but will post once I do... John and I shared a buffalo chicken pizza that was crisp and very delicious. Our mom's shared a napolian pizza mmmmm.

After dropping my mom off at the very tiny hyannis airport John had an idea to go on a tasting adventure. We were going to randomly stop and grab bagels, muffins, coffee, from all different little shops and just keep shop hopping until we were stuffed!

The first stop was at a little Bagel place where we shared a whole wheat bagel with an egg on it... it was so delicious we wish we had ordered two... but we were already on our way to our next stop...

The above muffin came from Picadelli Bakery... it cost $1.25 and was the best muffin ever, it was a low fat apple carmel muffin. I didn't get it because it was low fat... I got it because it was the best looking muffin there, I wish I had my camera... since the muffin didn't make it home :)

Our next stop was to Seven Bean Coffee. Such a CUTE place, if you are in Cape Cod you have to stop there! It's so comfy and cozy inside and they serve caribou coffee which smelled a bit weird but tasted amazing hehe. We also got a muffin at seven bean. It was a banana nut muffin, it tasted a bit like fake banana though which was a let down.. we should have gotten the sin-a-muffin... think cinnamon roll in muffin form... oh yeahhhhh YUM!

Oh and we can't forget about all the great ice cream places we visited! I had the best coffee heath bar ice cream (home made) from a little place at the edge of the main drag of stores in Chatham... I can't remember the name... man what was it... well anyway go find it! Cause it's so good!!

And don't forget the Candy Manor store where you can get salt water taffy! :)



Ok that's all from me.. here are some other random pictures from the trip...

random hike around a cute little lake

sand bird on the beach

My first job was being a lifeguard so I'm totally qualified to sit in this chair :)

john took this picture and i LOVE it! John's mom is the one in the white on the left and my mom is in the black on the right! we forgot to take a group shot before we all left :( boo

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Coffee coolata shake

You already know I'm a gym rat.. when you are a gym rat you learn about things like protein powder... I know what you are thinking.. yuck right? Nope! Especially if you sneak it into a yummy delicious ice cream shake! John and I made these the other day after a run as a snack. So tasty!! We served them up in wine glasses too for a laugh.

while taking a sip "Hmmm this was a good year"
while swirling and sniffing "yes a very nice bouquet with chocolaty undertones"

yes we are nuts... it's true :)

Coffee / chocolate protein shake
1 cup ice coffee (see recipe here)
1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
1/2 cup packed low fat coffee ice cream (i use low fat wegmans cappuccino chip mmmm)
1/2 cup skim milk

Toss in a blender and blend away...

The 100% whey chocolate protein powder has 120 calories in a scoop and 23g protein and it tastes like chocolate milk when you mix it up.. yum! I buy it at BJ's for cheep but here is a link

mmmmmmm

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sushi dance

John always teases me that food ranks higher on the love of my life scale then he does. I tell him he's wrong but he doesn't believe me... Last night I realized it is things like sushi dances that probably make him think these things. I went to a spinning class and as the class came to an end I thought about what there was at home to eat... hmm not much. Since I'm moving at the end of the month I've been trying to eat whatever I have on hand and not buy too much that would then have to be moved. I had mentioned to John earlier that we should go for sushi this weekend... silly me mentioning sushi, now it was all I could think about! What's a girl to do but call up California Rollin' ahh sushi love. I called in my order and realized as I drove to village gate to pick it up... i was literally dancing around in my car seat... yes it's true, it was a sushi happy dance, and it was full on!

Cali has the best deals, every day they have 3 rolls for $12 (they change up what they are daily). For those of you know don't eat sushi, that's a WICKED good price. Sunday's are even better, you get to pick which 3 rolls you want for $12!! So in reality you can order 3 $8 and only pay $12. Gotta love that.

Now there is something you need to know, cali is not for the faint of heart or for a sushi traditionalist. The chefs are covered in tattoos and piercings and the rolls are a bit on the wild side... here are some examples...

Mistletoe Roll - Fresh Salmon, avocado and honey topped with sesame seeds - just like getting an X-mas kiss.

Salmon Diablo - Freshly diced Salmon and minced scallions completed by a chili garlic sauce.

TNT Roll - Tuna, tomato and Green Tabasco blow your taste buds away!


Yesterday the 3 for 12 special was a california roll, rochester roll, and a dancing diablo roll.

California Roll - Crabstick, cucumber, Japanese mayo and avocado - taste the legend.

Rochester Roll - Tempura Whitefish, Japanese mayo and lemon.

Dancing Diablo Roll - Salmon Diablo tempura'd and covered in Dinosaur BBQ sauce - a spicy BBQ throw down!

yummm... and yes the sushi dances lasted the entire drive there, then home, and continued as I sat eating until it was all gone... ahhh sushi dances. yum!

chow!

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Cats and Coffee

So for those of you who don't know. I work in an office that is really a house, full kitchen, cats, it's like working from home... just not mine :) Anyway meet Diva and Vida, they are sisters and spend their days sleeping on my desk. You'll see I put a lid of a box on my desk to contain them... otherwise they would be all over me and I'd get no work done. They love snuggling, and this is pretty much status quo for the ladies.

You're probably wondering what this has to do with chowing... well seeing those cute kitties all curled up all day makes a lady pretty sleepy herself. A little coffee can do the trick but sometimes I'm more in the mood for some ice coffee instead of the hot variety... I had read on smitten kitchen the other day about making ice coffee. I love ice coffee and normally just brew some coffee then chuck it in the freezer, it's not the best but it works in a pinch... well not anymore!! Smitten kitchen gave me incite into making ice coffee so very easily at home, and it tastes so much better then cooling off hot coffee. It's amazing how much more intense the flavors are. AMAZING!!! All it takes is a little of planning before hand but it's totally worth it. Here is the recipe straight from her site...

mmmm coffeee can I have a sip??

Cold-Brewed Ice Coffee
New York Times 6/27/07

Yield: Two drinks

1/3 cup ground coffee (medium-coarse grind is best)
Milk (optional)

1. In a jar, stir together coffee and 1 1/2 cups water. Cover and let rest at room temperature overnight or 12 hours.

2. Strain twice through a coffee filter, a fine-mesh sieve or a sieve lined with cheesecloth. In a tall glass filled with ice, mix equal parts coffee concentrate and water, or to taste. If desired, add milk.

It really is just that easy! And you will be so surprised by the taste. Give it a try!

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Operation Baking gals! Thank you all

I just wanted to say thank you again to everyone who participated in round 2 of Operation Baking Gals! If you want to sign up for round 3 just head on over to the Operation Baking Gals site and email Susan! Eric has been told to take lots of pictures of all the packages he gets and all his buddies enjoying them! Once I have them I'll post them here! :)

Here is everyone who baked!!! And if they let me know... what they sent! (as for the order it's just the order that people signed up to bake with me :) )

Thank you again everyone!!

Clara of I heart food for thought sent thumb print cookies so cute!
http://iheartfood4thought.wordpress.com/2008/08/24/operation-baking-gals-raspberry-lemon-thumbprint-cookies/

April of Abby Sweets baked peanutbutter cookies http://abbysweets.blogspot.com/2008/08/peanut-butter-cookies.html

Fran Z from Apples Peaches Pumpkin Pie. made oatmeal scotchie bars, chocolate chip cookies, and peanutbutter chip cookies! http://applespeachespumpkinpie.blogspot.com/2008/08/cookies-for-uss-abraham-lincoln.html


Karin Joensen, Delaware (used to live in Rochester NY!) of Confetti Dreams (her blog isn't up and running yet) Sent chocolate chip peanut butter cookies, Jolly Rogers candy and Tootsie pops!

Jennifer Marie Monteux from Portland, Maine made whoopie pies! How totally appropriate to her blog name :)
http://marieinmaine.com/whoopiepiesandlobster/?p=316

Kassie Green, Davenport, ID sent "In honor of my stepson, an Army medic who came back from Iraq about 18 months ago, I baked his favorite cookie, peanut butter chip."

Melissa White from http://dirt2dish.blogspot.com made Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies.

Jennifer Moore made Chipperdoodles http://www.jamsquared.net/blog/Jennifer_blog.htm


Anna Scheminger of Maybe just a bite made Chocolate, White Chocolate Chippers with Walnuts

Michelle and Agnes of Vancouver, WA and My year to get skinny sent chocolate chip cookies and white chocolate macadamia nut cookies

Liz C, Bremerton WA, Just Me Eating (http://justmeeating.blogspot.com)

Tracey from http://chocolatechipotle.typepad.com/ baked kiss cookies and chocolate chip cookies... and then her dog ate the whole package!!! So she made some more :)

Joanna Furtado, Rockland, MA made 5-6 dozen chocolate chip cookies and 2 dozen chocolate heath bar cookies... WOW!!!

Dolores from http://culinarycuriosity.blogspot.com

Jillian baked chocolate chip cookies! http://www.butterandsugar.org/blog/?p=109

Teanna baked 5 dozen Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters (courtesy of TWD - Tuesdays with Dorie!) yum! http://sporkandfoon.typepad.com

Niki Landreville, Rochester NY sent chocolate chip zucchini bread! http://stephchows.blogspot.com/2008/08/operation-baking-gals-round-2.html

Paige Welch, Rock Hill, NY made her specialty choc chip, but with mini hershey kisses and LOTS of M&Ms! www.myspace.com/mpaigew

Erica DiRenzo, Rochester NY

Rachel Bond, Rochester, NY made snickerdoodles http://runinthesnow.blogspot.com/2008/08/mmm-mmm-yummy.html

Gretchen Roman, Rochester, NY made Moosewood Fudge Brownies from, you got it, the Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca!

Charna Scarpati, NY

And Angela a late entry I didn't know about... baked. "I sent off a batch of pastachio cookies made from the recipe in King Arthur's cookbook. I came on board late (contacted Susan 28 August) but was able to get the shipment mailed off on Labour Day. Close proximity to a 24 hour post office made this possible. " thanks Angela!



Thank you again everyone!!!
If I missed an email from you saying what you baked let me know so I can add it to the list!

You all rock!!

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Light Spicy Artichoke Dip

So I made some creamy artichoke dip for a party last week. I took the recipe right out of this months Cooking Light. I'm normally not a huge fan of artichoke dip and tend to avoid it since it's full of mayo and full fat cream cheese... John however loves the stuff, but wont eat it since it's such a train wreck of calories and fat. When I saw the recipe in this months issue I knew I had to make it for him. John loved it and totally wants me to make it again. I thought it was ok, but as I said I don't really like the normal full fat stuff so this was about the same in my book. I must say though the crushed red pepper was a nice addition to it :)

Unfortunately all the pictures came out pretty bad so.... you'll just have to believe me that it looks like normal artichoke dip. :) Enjoy!

Hot artichoke-Cheese Dip

Ingredients

2 garlic cloves
1 green onion, cut into pieces
1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
1/3 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
1/4 cup (2 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
12 ounces frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and drained
Cooking spray
24 (1/2-ounce) slices baguette, toasted

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Place garlic and onion in a food processor; process until finely chopped. Add 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano and next 4 ingredients (through pepper); process until almost smooth. Add artichoke hearts; pulse until artichoke hearts are coarsely chopped. Spoon mixture into a 3-cup gratin dish coated with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated and bubbly. Serve hot with baguette.

12 servings (serving size: 2 1/2 tablespoons dip and 2 baguette slices)

CALORIES 126(24% from fat); FAT 3.4g (sat 1.3g,mono 0.6g,poly 0.5g); IRON 1.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 7mg; CALCIUM 59mg; CARBOHYDRATE 20.8g; SODIUM 334mg; PROTEIN 5.1g; FIBER 2.3g

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omnivore 100

Here’s a chance for a little interactivity for all the bloggers out there. Below is a list of 100 things that I think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food - but a good omnivore should really try it all. Don’t worry if you haven’t, mind you; neither have I, though I’ll be sure to work on it. Don’t worry if you don’t recognise everything in the hundred, either; Wikipedia has the answers.

Here’s what I want you to do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating. ( I can't figure out how to cross out so I'm making them red

The Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras (totally cruel how they force feed to make it. eww)
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese (no thank you!)
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (i'm 100% ANTI smoking)
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (no thank you!)
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin (umm eating dirt.. no thanks!)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis(no thank you)
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill (are you kidding me???)
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare (not the cute bunny!!)
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse (oh hell no)
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

So I've had 52 of the 100 things... I better get chowing!

OK your turn :)

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Back in time... the 70's

So I wasn't alive to experience the 70's but man oh man do I love the styles that came out of it... hahahahahaha I had mentioned to John's mom the other day that I wanted to learn how to quilt... a few days later she gave me this book she was going to toss from the 70's that had a bunch of projects in it, quilting and others alike... ohh let the fun begin!!

First off who is this woman and where is she now??? I totally want to meet her :)


Now onto the best vest EVER... :) fantastic...

Now this is a food blog so obviously I have to talk about the apron pattern in the book... can you read what it says above the picture???

"An American beauty apron, this rose-adorned coverup is just right for parties or special entertaining."

I think I seriously need to make one for special entertaining situation... what do you think?? Would anyone like a scan of the instructions on how to make it? hahah

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Iron Cupcake go vote!

Hey guys it's time to vote for Iron cupcake!!! Voting started yesterday at noon... so you can go vote now!!! Click on this LINK or the picture of the iron cupcake badge above or the one in the sidebar and head over and vote for my Cupcakes! Yum!!!

Here is my entry. To see my recipe click HERE!

Chipotle Flourless Chocolate Cake

Thanks guys!!! I hope you enjoy the recipe totally give it a try!!

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