Pretty Motivation

My birthday is not for three more months but my mother-in-law said she saw these and thought they would be perfect for my blog. *gulp*

You mean that blog that I abandoned for 6 weeks? 

Yep - that's the one. 

She said she thought these would photograph nicely.

Should we take a sneak peek?

 Well... it's from one of my all-time favorite stores. 

It is wrapped up in a little paper cocoon. 

I love all the details: the letter pressed box, the personalized masking tape, the muslin bag for the gift receipt. Swoon...

And what do we have? 

The most beautiful measuring cups that anyone could ever own. 

It makes me want to start baking pretty things. Don't you just have the urge for pie? Or a a multi-tiered chantilly cake? 

I do. 

So I'm back. 

I have to put these pretty, little things to work. 

Major: Food

I've been working on a "focus" for my blog... and all it has gotten me is a realization that I have no focus. I took a webinar last week on Blogging 101... and it confirmed I needed to find a focus. Hmmm... but what to focus on?


Do I go with fashion and trends? Probably not... ever since I got married and bought a house I traded in my Vogue and W subscriptions for Martha Stewart Living and Sunset. 


Or there is kiddo stuff? Maybe... but he's pretty little still and we don't do anything all that interesting except defy gravity on a daily basis when diving off the couch face first onto the dog. 


I could be crafty! But I don't think I am really creative in my own right... I am a knock-off artist. I suppose I could stretch myself and see if I could come up with something fun to do... but it's much more fun for me to do stuff I found on another blog or on Pinterest. 


So.. that left me with food. 


I have a love-hate relationship with food. I love it... but it can make my jeans tight (tight jeans = hate). But I love to cook and bake and learn new things. So... I am pretty sure that is what I am going to use as my focus. 


For my oodles of readers, do not be sad... There will always be room for posts about my crazy son or my sporadic cleaning habits. But this is for the best. For the same reason they make you choose a major in college (umm.. is now a good time to mention that I pretty much was forced to pick a major because I had tried about 5 and was still a bit indecisive..?) I have decided to make my blog "major" food and all that it encompasses! With a minor in crazy toddler. 


I hope my new direction (cue husband laughing... ha ha new direction = nude erection.. very funny, I get it.. moving on!) proves to be a good choice. If not, we'll just switch it. See.. unlike a college major, I am not paying upwards of $25k a year to do this. (Which also means no student loans. Thank you, baby Jesus!)


As my beloved Poppa used to say, "Cheers to the cook!"

Waffles!

I've been seeing alot of waffles lately. And not just the kind you get on a Sunday morning covered in strawberries and whipped cream or dripping with sweet syrup. I am seeing more of the savory kind and seeing alot of them. Am I picking up on some sort of new food trend?

We live down the street from a walk-up food stand called Bruxie. They're slogan is "the bold fold" - they offer waffles in all formats. Sweet, savory, as a sandwich. The line is usually wrapped around the corner. We've managed to go there once and I had a prosciutto and Gruyere waffle; my husband had the Bruxie Burger. Both were delightful. I am understanding why people are standing in line for this.

And then, in my Bon Appetit magazine this month there is a short article about and recipe for Ham & Cheese Waffles. I think we held out about 3 days before we had to make them. We altered the recipe a bit (I simply could not put 2 sticks of butter in the waffle batter and face a mirror ever again) but tried to stay true and I have to admit - they were pretty darn good.

I am seeing recipes for these savory waffles everywhere - Pinterest is covered in them. Really, if you think about it what is not to love about a warm buttery, crispy waffle topped with.... anything? I am pretty sure that if you took cooked carrots (which I despise) and added a waffle with them... I'd eat them... and probably enjoy them. 

So, the lesson learned here is: Eat waffles with everything. Or maybe it's: Turn everything into a waffle. Either way, you won't be disappointed.

Pizza, Pizza!

I have a slight obsession with pizza. I love it, adore it and would happily eat it for every meal if I could. For me, there is no such thing as bad pizza... even bad pizza is good pizza. Yum. 

We like to make pizza for dinner, and we do almost every week. I was raised in a house where my mom made our pizza dough from scratch, and whereas that is very much my thing, I usually just buy ready-made dough. Either way, I thought I'd share with you about my pizza addiction and show you how we do it.

 

These are the usual suspects:

- Trader Joe's Garlic & Herb Pizza Dough

- Diced Tomatoes

- Turkey Pepperoni

- Black Olives

- Artichoke Hearts

- Mozarella Cheese

- Garlic Powder

- Dried Oregano

So I start by sprinkling my pizza stone with a bit of cornmeal so everything doesn't stick to the bottom. This also adds a nice crunch to the dough. 

Then it's all about stretching the dough. Normal people use a rolling pin and a bit of flour... I just stretch it out with my hands. I have tried the rolling pin method and it makes me crazy... so this method is just easier for me... but to each their own. 

Then I add my mountain of toppings. This picture does not do it justice but there is a ton of stuff on the top of that crust. I use the diced tomatoes in place of the sauce and then add the turkey pepperoni (and lots of it since it is much lower in fat than regular pepperoni!), then the olives, artichoke hearts, a sprinkling of the garlic & oregano and then top it off with the mozzarella.

And this is our end result - YUM!

And that's how we do it, kids. Easy, delicious and you can even say you ate vegetables (although, I'm fairly confident that 2/3rds of the "vegetables" on the pizza are really fruits.. oh well!)

We're also huge fans of BBQing pizza... but I'll save that for another time... closer to summer.

 

This is my husband... we just finished a 3 mile run and we were both very excited to eat our pizza. 

 This is our dog, Zoey.... she was hoping we would drop some of the pizza on the floor. Silly Zoey... I would never let pizza hit the floor.

 Yum... Pizza..

Chocolate Souffles

We had friends over for dinner on Friday & I have this horrible habit of trying to make something for the first time when we're feeding others. It is like the first chronic rule of entertaining - don't try new things unless you know you can do it... but I never listen. 

I am an avid reader of Bon Appetit magazine and so I searched for a good recipe and this is what they gave me (Note, this recipe is for 8 people and I only needed 4, so I halved it. Again - a very brave thing to try before serving to friends, but I live dangerously!):

MILK CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE

Ingredients

• 12 ounces high-quality milk chocolate (I used the Milk Chocolate bulk bar from Trader Joes - YUM!), chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 large egg yolks
• Pinch of salt
• 6 large egg whites, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Special Equipment

• 8 3/4-cup soufflé dishes

Preparation

• Butter eight 3/4-cup soufflé dishes; sprinkle with sugar, tilting cups to coat completely and tapping out any excess. Arrange prepared soufflé dishes on large baking sheet.
• Combine chocolate and cream in large metal bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water and stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove bowl from over water. Stir egg yolks and salt into chocolate mixture. Using electric mixer, beat egg whites in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add 2 tablespoons sugar, beating until semi-firm peaks form. Using rubber spatula, fold 1/4 of beaten egg whites into chocolate mixture to lighten. Fold remaining egg whites into chocolate mixture in 2 additions. Divide chocolate mixture among prepared soufflé dishes, filling dishes completely.  DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled.

Ta-da!!!

Baking away... Only about 1 minute left to go!

Right out of the oven - dollop of whipped cream on top

Crunchy top with soft and dreamy middle - deeeelightful!

 

These were AWESOME! Light, delicious, warm - just enough crust on the top but very smooth on the inside. I served them with home-made whipped cream (recipe also include a recipe for Honey Nougat Whipped Cream but I didn't have the time to prep all that so I just stuck to regular) and it was amah-zing. 

So - throw caution the wind every so often... you might get a delicious chocolate souffle out of it.

or... a big gloppy chocolate mess... but I bet it tastes good anyway!

Carnage

Drew tried a few strawberries the other day... he enjoyed them a bit too much I think and managed to get them everywhere. The poor strawberries never had a chance.

Sweet Potatoes

Drew just turned 6 months old on Wednesday & to celebrate we have added sweet potatoes into his food list. He was way into it. He also decided that I was not doing it fast enough & he wanted to take over. Not sure where he gets this stubbornness from... ?

Granola

Today I am making home-made Granola. It is a recipe my mom has been making for years - and still makes for my step-dad. After many weeks of craving Cinnamon Toast Crunch I've decided to try to eat a bit healthier & cheaper and just make my own cereal. Plus, this tends to stick with me better and longer than a silly bowl of CTC. It's so yummy -like a bowl of cookie!



So, in the spirit of giving and sharing, I will be so nice to share with you below the greatest granola recipe! Enjoy!

Granola

1 C Honey
1/2 C Vegetable Oil
Stir together in a saucepan until melted. Remove from heat.
Add:
1 Tbsp Vanilla extract
1/2 tsp Almond extract
Set aside

In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients:
9 C Oats
2 C Wheat or Oat Germ
2 C Sunflower seeds (shelled, obviously!)
1/2C Brown Sugar
7 oz Shredded Coconut (I prefer unsweetened, but to each their own)
2 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Tsp Nutmeg

Drizzle honey mix over dried ingredients & mix. Divide mix up onto 2 cookie sheets (sprayed with Pam or something similar) with 1-2" sides. Spread evenly & put in 350 degree oven for 8min. Rotate sheets top to bottom & back to front, bake another 8 minutes until edges are browning, like an oatmeal cookie. Remove from oven & stir while cooling. This is important - if you don't stir while cooling the oatmeal will form one big sheet and will be a mess! Once it is thoroughly cooled store in an air-tight container. Granola should be good for about 2 weeks in the container. You can always freeze it if you need to.

Yum!!!!!

Teenage Boy vs Preglet

Who knows what this is:

1 Cup of Nonfat Milk

1 Plain Bagel w/Light Cream Cheese

1 Bottle of Water

1 Fruit Smoothie (Berries, Pineapple, Banana, Orange Juice)

2 Hard Boiled Eggs

3 Graham Crackers

6 oz Vanilla Non Fat Yogurt

1 Peanut Butter & Honey Sandwich on Wheat Bread

10 Apple Slices

4 Marshmallow Bunnies

1 Bottle of Water

4 Slices of Cheddar Cheese

8 Saltine Crackers

1 Bottle of Water

1 Apple Sauce Pack

25 Peanut Butter Pretzels

1 Serving Orange Chicken

1 Serving Brown Rice

1 Cup Nonfat Milk

2 Joe Joe Cookies

To most people they would guess it is the food consumed by an entire family over the course of 1 day... but no, sadly that is what I am consuming on a daily basis. Variances occur... for instance yesterday I ate oatmeal instead of 2 hard boiled eggs but the pure mass quantity of food is comparable. Yes, it is true... I am pregnant with the worlds hungriest blueberry-sized fetus in the world. I have actually gotten to the point where eating is not fun anymore. You know the trick where if you make someone smoke 20 cigarettes in a row they won't ever want to touch them again because it makes them so sick? That is how I feel about many things. I am trying to push through because I know 2 things: 1) it is good for my little blueberry's development and 2) eating makes me feel better.

I am one of the lucky few that does not really have traditional morning sickness. I have not thrown up. But I do experience constant nausea unless I am eating. Thus, I eat constantly. I could put most teenage boys to shame! When your husband looks at you and says "an entire package of top ramen is not a snack" you've crossed over to the other side. You are at a whole new level. I am at that level.

Next post... why tights are no longer a part of my wardrobe.

It's the little things..

We had a productive day yesterday... A while ago we made a "master list" of all of the household things we needed to do - some small, some pretty decent projects. Yesterday we actually got to cross a few off the list!

First was our shower door - bye -bye! I don't know about you but we weren't fans of our glass shower doors. The seemed to be dirty all the time & noisy and just a pain. So, Mark ripped them off yesterday & replaced them with a nice white shower curtain. Already the bathroom feels bigger & is definitely much brighter!

Next he installed a door guard for our sliding glass door. Since the construction of some of the doors in this house leave us questioning their reliability we're doing what we can to make them a bit stronger. So, in comes the door guard. A simple metal bar that rests between the far side of the door and the back of the actual sliding door. Keeps unwanted people or big animals out!

And last but definitely not least, Mark ripped off the cabinet doors and moved them over so they actually shut now. Before you pretty much had to throw your entire body into the doors to get them to close & stay closed but now it is so simple. I love it.

So... now you're asking "what did YOU do?" It is true... Mark spearheaded all of the above improvements even though I was the one who navigated Home Depot to find silicone caulking and razor blades. But while he was being Handy Manny I was making Creme Brulee and Tomato Soup from scratch... so THERE! Both turned out amazing, by the way.

Another productive day at the Lepperchaun farm!

Eating Healthy

To keep in line with my new year's resolution of being healthy, I have started buying alot of organic, kosher, free-range, hormone & antibiotic free.. everything.

Last night Mark and I decided to make hamburgers for dinner with a nice side salad - using organic lettuce & tomatoes and hormone/antibiotic free, vegetarian fed, free range ground beef... thank you Trader Joes!

This is my burger. Simple with just a touch of mustard.

And this... is Mark's burger. Complete with 2x as much meat as mine... and don't forget the bbq sauce, sauteed onions & cheddar cheese to complete it.







I'm not sure we're on the same wave length!

Birthday Treats... the adventure story

I am a big fan of channels like the Food Network or Bravo, Travel Channel - anything that showcases food or cooking. Recently while watching an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives I learned about Bacon Donuts (you have to imagine the heavenly choir singing on your own when I say "Bacon Donuts"..). So, I shared this new-found-treasure with my bacon-adoring husband - immediately his eyes sort of went watery at the mere thought of bacon as a topping on a donut. It's like Homer Simpson's dream coming into reality.



**Side Note... I should have learned long ago to watch what I repeat to my husband. After watching an episode of Paula Deen where she described how she puts little pea-sized pieces of butter in with her hamburger meat to keep it "juicy" he has made this hamburger regiment number one. So much for paying extra for super lean meat! Continuing on...



So, today is my husband's birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!) and I asked him if he'd like to take a treat to work to share for his special day and he immediately answered "bacon donuts." I should have guessed. Onto the google-machine I went and spliced together my very own recipe for bacon donut holes. For those of you ready to jump on the exciting adventure... please continue reading.



Bacon Donuts, adapted

Ingredients:

2 tubes of Grands Biscuits

1 tbsp cinnamon

3-5 cups of vegetable oil



Cut each biscuit in quarters, sprinkle with cinnamon & roll into balls. Heat oil to 375 degrees ("deep frying" temp) - use candy thermometer for accuracy. If the oil gets too hot the holes burn.. we learned that first-hand. Drop 6-8 holes into the oil & let them cook for about 3 minute total. They will start to turn over by themselves but it's a good idea to make sure they're evenly fried on each side. Remove & place on paper towels to remove excess grease.



Glaze:

1 1/4 c Powdered Sugar

1/4 c Maple Syrup

1 tsp vanilla

Mix together - if it comes out too thick, add a bit more syrup or a bit of milk (tsp at a time) until it is a glaze consistency. Dip each donut hole into the glaze -we chose to only dip half but that is up to you. Set on a piece of parchment/wax paper (glaze-side up) and sprinkle with chopped bacon. We used almost an entire package of bacon for this batch but that is at your discretion.



Let the holes set for about 30 minutes or so & either enjoy right away or place in an air-tight container for sharing later with friends! Makes 64 donut holes (wow! that sounds like alot!)



Enjoy!!!

(ps: sorry for the lack of pictures... I couldn't get it out of my husbands cell phone!)

Getting Healthy

It occurs to me that the holidays are looming somewhere close and that always sends my metabolism into hiding for a few months. I always find it amazing that in two fell swoops (namely Thanksgiving & Christmas) that I can go from a fairly normal, healthy girl to Hilda the Bohemoth Woman who's jeans are way too tight and has the energy of a slug baby. NOT THIS YEAR!

As soon as the sun decided to get it's lazy butt out of bed an hour earlier... so did I... and I started running in the mornings again. I always feel so much better when I run in the mornings - I am ready for bed at 8:15pm, but definitely feel better. Plus, I love our neighborhood early in the morning - when people are just starting to get up and move about. Houses are quiet, streets are still, sprinklers are doing their thing - it's very peaceful. Well, until I come running through with a quasi-asthmatic wheeze desperately trying not to keel over while singing the lyrics to one or another Miley Cyrus song. But enough about that..

I am also very excited about the prospect of the new workout DVD that is to be finding its way to me sometime "after the 17th" - the Jillian Michaels 30-day Shred. Compliments of my bestie, Kaija, I am guaranteed results from this bad boy. My Question is, does she yell insults at you from the DVD? I secretly hope so!

And last but definitely not least - I am going back to Weight Watchers. I joined WW a bit over 2 1/2 years ago and was very successful at it... and then decided I didn't need it anymore and I figured that I could do everything on my own. It is humbling how wrong I was. So - I am back and with a vengeance!

Watch out holidays! I'm on to you and your wiley ways!

Misadventures in Eating... trying to be Half a Skinny Bitch

My husband and I are about to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary & like all couples we are starting to think towards the future & our potential family-to-be. So, in my greatest efforts to be a proactive future-mother I have started to read all about how to be healthy when trying to conceive, etc.

I started reading Skinny Bitch Bun in the Oven & I have to be honest that it is a bit intimidating. It takes the normal "don't drink caffeine, don't eat raw fish" dos & don'ts of pregnancy and straight kicks it in the soft stuff! I am only on chapter 6 but I am already asking myself, "How am I alive?! I've been eating dairy & meat and eating sugar substitutes for years! How do I not have 6 arms coming out of my forehead?!" The Skinny Bitches, if you will, fill their chapters with a barrage of information about not only certain health risks for many of the daily-consumed foods on my menu (and probably 90% of America!) but it also blows the whistle on the FDA & food industry giants for certain less-than-legit test results and statistics. It reminds me alot of the second part of Fast Food Nation - the part that goes in-depth on the meat industry. Eek!

With all of this newly discovered knowledge I have already decided to make a few changes with my eating habits. First and foremost (and probably hardest) was giving up soda & most sugar substitutes. SB goes into detail on some of our most favorite sugar substitutes - worst of all the faves being Aspartame. I think I've known for sometime that aspartame was bad but it wasn't until my dad told me that he had given it up & that action was helping with his arthritis that it really started to make me think that maybe this stuff really was poison! Then, when SB put up a big stink about it & elaborated on the questionable way that it was approved by the FDA I decided that I could probably live without it. So... Buh-Bye Soda.

Next was dairy. I won't go into detail because it is rather high on the "eeeww" factor, but I have decided to try something new on my granola during the morning commute. Today I tried Almond Milk.. and I have to say I was happily surprised. It just sort of tastes like a light-almond flavored liquid (umm.. yeah.. that's because that is what it is!). I enjoyed it very much. So, I'm 1 for 1. Feeling braver & braver, I decide to try Soy Yogurt with my lunch. I cannot say that it leaves me as happy as almond milk, but it is also not the worst thing I've eaten in recent history. It's a bit grainier than dairy yogurt and has sort of a heavier flavor, but all-in-all ok. It will probably not make a headlining appearance in my lunch, but is a good alternate option.

I have to admit that looking so closely at food & health has stressed me out a bit. I realize that so much of the food we consume on a day-to-day basis is just really not good for you. And I am a relatively healthy eater too - not alot of processed foods here. My wise friend, Tina (also a reader of the SB), advised me to find my groove with food. So, that is what I will do. Some of it is just about me asking the question: Why do I eat this? and some of it is making consciously better decisions about my health and my future child's health.

I know this is a completely new avenue for my posts - away from paint & baked goods. But I figured that lots of women go through this when they're trying to make good choices - so, I'm sharing my misadventures. Next... soy butter!