beautiful food from plain ingredients August 4, 2010

When I opened up the cabinets this morning to dig out what I would have for breakfast, I saw box mac n’ cheese, instant rice, and cereal.  I don’t know about eating all organic, but looking at my pantry made me think even if we just ate less boxed food maybe we’d be healthier and more energized.  So today, my goal was to make creative, beautiful meals from just a few regular ingredients that I already had. 

Task #1 Breakfast: coffee, orange juice, a poached egg over toast

I always have coffee in the morning, but this morning instead of drinking it out of my typical mug, I used a pretty blue tea cup.  Then I tackled the poached egg.  Maybe I was nervous about this because I recently watched Julie on Julie and Julia ruin many eggs trying to perfectly poach an egg according to Julia Child’s standards, but let me just say it is not as hard as it looks!  I only put one egg in the trash! 

a poached egg

Bring a small saucepan of water to almost a boil, you should see small bubbles rising on the sides of the pan.  Crack on egg into a glass making sure not to break the yolk and slide it gently in the water.  Do not be alarmed if you see what looks like egg white flesh flying around the egg!  You can use a spoon to drape the white around the yolk, but then leave it alone!  If you like really runny yolk cook it for 3 minutes or I cooked mine for 4 minutes and had a slightly firmer yolk.  Then dip it out carefully with a slotted spoon and admire!

 

 

There’s something about a poached egg that just feels regal!  Definitely more sophisticated than a scrambled egg.  Then lay it on top of your lightly buttered toast and suddenly instead of eating Kix out of a cereal bowl, I’m having a poached egg while checking my email this morning!

 

Mmmm…just look at that glossy yolk.

 

Moving along to lunch, I’m faced with the same dilemma. 

Task#2 Lunch: iced tea, salad with lemon vinaigrette and parmesan chips

I remember once watching the food network and Giada made these parmesan chips, but I could not find the recipe on the website, so here’s what I did to make them:

Parmesan Chips

Line a cookie sheet with a Silpat (you really have to use this, I’m not sure it would work with parchment paper) and pile about 1/3 cup of grated parmesan cheese into a little mound.  I baked them at 375 deg. for about 15 minutes, but if you turned up the heat, they’d probably go a bit quicker.  When they’re brown on the edges, bubbly, and flat they’re done!  You can mold these while they’re warm into cones or cups, but I just kept mine flat.

 

Lemon Vinaigrette

Squeeze some lemon juice into the bottom of a glass and add a bit of honey then emulsify with olive oil.  Add a pinch of salt and cracked pepper and drizzle over your favorite leafy greens!

The sweet lemon vinaigrette with the crispy, salty parmesan chips were perfect with my salad and my book!  To finish it all off I made Spiked Blueberry Crumb Bars, I don’t even have words to describe them.  Warm bursting blueberries and crumbly topping in your mouth is heavenly.

 

 So there is no reason to have boxed food today.  With just a few simple ingredients I created food artwork!  I think my taste buds enjoyed the beauty of my food today!

the blender’s gone bananas! June 4, 2010

Every time I’m ready to jump on the Metra, there is a line forming at Jamba Juice, and oooh their smoothies are perfection!  But let’s be honest, we can’t go every day, nor can the bod afford to have ice cream and sherbert every day! Now, I’m not a measurer in the smoothie department so bear with me here:

BANANA SMOOTHIE 1 serv.

1 individual container of vanilla yogurt (banana yogurt if you wanna go ape on me!)

1 1/2 frozen bananas, sliced (I found out from the guys that lived in the apartment next to mine in college that you can just freeze bananas in their peals – they make a nice treat as is!)

1 1/2 T. honey

2 shakes of nutmeg

1T. wheat germ (opt. if you’re feeling like you need a boost!)

splash of milk as needed until you’ve reached your desired consistency

Buzz all of this up in the blender and you have the perfect refreshing smoothie on a summer afternoon! 

 The great thing about a basic smoothie recipe is that you can easily adapt the recipe to make any kind of smoothie.  *Substitute strawberry yogurt and you’ve got a banana – strawberry smoothie.  *Add blueberries and you’ve got a banana – blueberry smoothie.  The options are endless!

According to a smoothie mustached 8 year old: this is one wicked banana smoothie!

Sweet tea from a yankee kitchen June 2, 2010

I’m not really sure why I am referred to as a yankee.  Even some of my own family members who grew up in the north and currently live in what I would call the deep south call me a yankee in their southern drawl!  I don’t know if the term is accurate or not, but I have also been referred to as a fast talker, northerner, yankee, city girl, city slicker, from town…the list goes on!  But regardless of what I am called, I have a fondness for the south, the kind people and the way the clock seems to tick slower.  One thing is for sure, they know how to make tea the right way, but I’ve modified it slightly for the yankee who can’t possibly choke down 2 cups of sugar in one gallon of iced tea!

SWEET TEA

1 gal. water

1/2 c. sugar

3 bags of family sized Luzianne tea

1 bag of green tea (cause we need to be more healthy right!) or any flavor of your choice

Fill a small saucepan with water and bring to a boil.  Steep the tea bags for 5 – 7 minutes in the hot water.  Pour a heaping 1/2 cup of sugar into the bottom of a gallon pitcher.  Remove tea bags from the hot water and add the tea to the pitcher.  Stir the hot tea and sugar together to form the syrup. Here’s where us in the north do it wrong, once the tea is cold you cannot add sugar – it just tastes grainy.  Then add cool water until the pitcher is full, stir and allow to chill.  If you’re from the south, you will probably start with a full glass of ice and then add your tea!  Enjoy, y’all!

What’s in my cookie jar: Chocolate Chip Toffee May 26, 2010

First of all will you look at this cookie jar; it’s a house!  So cute!

The best thing about making cookies is when you bring out a warm sheet from the oven and take them outside for the neighbor kids.  I just can’t get enough of their chocolately fingers and sweet smiles!  These Chocolate Chip Toffee cookies are crunchy and gooey at the same time! 

 

Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookies

2 1/4 c. flour

3/4t. baking soda

1c. unsalted butter, softened

1/2c. sugar

3/4c. brown sugar

1t. salt

1 1/2t. vanilla

2 eggs

2c. semisweet chocolate chips

1c. toffee bits

Cream the butter and sugars together until their nice and fluffy.  Then add one egg at a time and the vanilla.  Combine dry ingredients separately and add it to the wet ingredients in three batches.  Fold in the chocolate chips and toffee bits.  Use a rounded tablespoon of dough for each cookie on an ungreased baking sheet.  I used a SILPAT which gave my cookies a nice crisp but they did not stick at all!  Bake cookies in a 350 deg. oven for about 10 minutes.

what could be more perfect than a warm cookie, cool milk and a good book?

What’s in my cookie jar:Snickerdoodles May 22, 2010

There’s something about a warm cookie when it’s fresh out of the oven and still crumbling in your fingers that oozes goodness. Cookies have the ability to pacify a crying child, nourish the soul and nurture the man that’s forgotten his childhood qualities~don’t forget a tall glass of milk!   This is my version of a SNICKERDOODLE and they’re soft in the middle with a bit of crisp around the edges.  As long as you keep them away from the enemy – air – they’ll stay nice and gooey!  I packed up a dozen of my snickerdoodles to send through the post and I’m sure they will be the perfect antidote for the recipient’s ailments.   

the very last one in the jar!

 

 Snickerdoodles

2 & 3/4 c. sifted flour                 3t. baking powder                        1/2 t. salt                               1 c. soft unsalted butter     

1 & 1/2 c. sugar                            2 eggs                                                 4T. sugar                                4t. cinnamon     

…and the secret ingredient (drum roll please) 1t. cream of tartar *this gives the cookies a little bite, a little edge on the sugary factor     

Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and cream of tartar. Cream butter, add sugar gradually and cream until fluffy. Add beaten eggs and mix. Chill in refrigerator while the oven preheats to 400 deg. Mix 4T. of sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Using a heaping tablespoon of dough, form the dough into balls and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake cookies about 2″ apart on an ungreased baking sheet for about 10 minutes.