Tastyface

pastahotdogsandwich

2011-05-09T20:05:00.004-05:00

I just ate a sandwich made of microwaved pasta sauce and fried hot dog slices. I think this is a new low.

Pumpkin Fever

2010-10-28T08:12:00.004-05:00

So, I anticipated missing a lot of things about the states when I left for Edinburgh for the semester. I did not account, however, for how little they believe in the use of pumpkin during the fall here, though! Starbucks doesn't even have the Pumpkin Spice Latte here...(although there is a little cafe down the street that makes them apparently...I am totally planning on checking that out...).

This is all just some background on why I was so excited when I saw this walking home from campus yesterday:

Ya, that is right! Libby's! Mmmmm. I ran in the store, quickly checked the price (not sure what my limit would have been...if that is even possible):

And impulsively bought it.

Then I realized that I don't have a can opener. Or anything to store leftovers in (no way am I eating it all on one occasion, this stuff is gold). Or an oven....hmmm....

So, in honor of my silliness, and ongoing quest to figure this predicament out, and procrastination from work I should be doing, here are some pumpkin recipes I would be making if I had access to a legitimate kitchen:

1. Joy the Baker's Pumpkin Pie Poptarts with a Maple Glaze: http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2010/10/pumpkin-pie-pop-tarts-with-maple-glaze/

2. Culinary Concoctions by Peabody's White Chocolate-Pumpkin Topped Blondies: http://www.culinaryconcoctionsbypeabody.com/2010/09/22/its-the-great-pumpkin-hoarder-charlie-brown/

3. Coconut & Lime's Pumpkin Five Spice Sweet Rolls: http://coconutlime.blogspot.com/2009/10/pumpkin-five-spice-sweet-rolls.html

and

4. Peas and Thank You's (Vegan) Save some bucks pumpkin scones: http://peasandthankyou.com/2010/10/14/pumpkintervention/

nom nom! Enjoy, those who are able to bake! You very well may see these on tastyface come December....

Nom-ing in Scotland

2010-10-21T07:55:00.006-05:00

Hello! Again, this blog has been neglected, but I am here in an attempt to rescue it.

Unfortunately, I have not had access to a kitchen in Scotland (living in catered dining halls, but that is another story), so there is not a recipe involved in this post, but there is some excellent food that I had from a local business and some recipes that might make something similar!

Ok, so like I said, I got myself lunch out today...also dessert. My lunch was a DELICIOUS slice of broccoli, rocket (aka arugula) and tomato quiche. Picture:

It was very good! I have been skimping on getting lunch here to save some money, but at less than 1.50 quid, how can I say no? Plus, I LOVE broccoli. Like in a serious weirdo kind of way....

Here is a recipe for broccoli quiche, in case anyone is feeling inspired by my lunch choice.

For my mid-afternoon dessert, I treated myself to a much less reasonably priced....

Slice of Raspberry White Chocolate Cheesecake!!!

I will say, it was absolutely worth the price though. It came highly recommended by the guy working there (who I have chatted with a few times. He shares my enthusiasm for getting Pumpkin Ale in Scotland), and now it comes highly recommended by me!

Just a little gift to myself for making it to class after only 5 hours of sleep and encouragement for writing my TFA letter of intent.

Here is a recipe for White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake. I highly recommend it, but probably only if you have people to share with. Definitely not low calorie!

Alright, that is it for me now! Have a lovely day!

Cheers! (to be British for you!)

You too can make cupcakes

2010-08-26T21:27:00.003-05:00

"Its Friday...I guess those crazy cupcake hookers are on tv tonight"- @adancerdances

Ok. There is a serious cupcake craze. It is undeniable. It is a little much. I think there are at least 3 new cupcake shows that have aired in the last month.

This post is a reminder: You too can make cupcakes.

It is doable. Believe it or not. I know you may have forgotten.

Here is a pretty delicious red velvet (the mother of them all) cupcake via Joy the Baker. Check it out on her site and follow her because her recipes are to die for!

Chicken Pesto Pizza with Clamper Tomatoes

2010-08-26T00:35:00.005-05:00

This is me....

This is my sister...

...and in our hands you see the Clamper's tomatoes.

We have a small obsession with the Clamper's tomatoes. The Clamper is a guy that my dad works with who grows these sweet babies for us to eat. They are the best tomatoes and they are valued to the nth degree around here.

What did I use them for this evening? The answer to that is: The recreation of one of the best restaurant dishes I have had recently. CHICKEN PESTO PIZZA. But not just any Chicken Pesto Pizza...

This baby.

Beautiful.

Inspired by the delicious Summer Pesto Chicken Pizza from Third Street Ale Works in Santa Rosa, CA, this pizza is a serious winner. I mean corn. Corn on pizza. You got me good. It wasn't too big of a challenge to recreate, and this isn't the fanciest recipe you will ever see. But, make it. You will be happy :)

Chicken Pesto Pizza

1 Pizza Crust- use your favorite recipe. I used this one. It has been favorited 20,000 times for a reason, friends.

1/4 cup Pesto. Pre-made or your own--whatever suits you.

3-4 small chicken tenders

1 cup grated Mozzarella cheese

3 small or 1 large tomato(es)

1/2 green pepper

1/2 red pepper

1/4 cup corn

onion (I don't know how much because I don't eat it)

Directions:

1. Cook your chicken. Season with a little bit of salt, pepper and garlic salt.

2. Preheat the oven to 450F.

3. Make that dough! Slather it with some olive oil once it is all rolled out because that is what Grandma Cassanova did, apparently.

4. Spread pesto on the pizza. Be generous. There really is no such thing as too much pesto.

5. Sprinkle cheese over pizza evenly. Except for if your sister doesn't like it...then leave it off of her section.

6. Julienne some peppers, cut up some tomatoes and chop some onions (if you must).

7. Place all your veggies (peppers, tomatoes, corn, onions) on top of the pizza.

8. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the crust is a beautiful brown.

9. Admire and devour.

Hope you enjoy! Be back tomorrow with my first attempt at homemade red velvet cupcakes. :)

End of the semester clear out the kitchen cookie time.

2010-05-11T20:25:00.013-05:00

Hello everyone, I apologize for my long absence from tastyface. I just turned in my thesis this morning and I now have a life and can resume cooking, eating, blogging, etc.

Another reason I have not been posting here is because of my relatively unfortunate kitchen and my lack of cooking supplies...Here it is in all it's glory:

Luckily I will be home by the end of this week and will have a much lovlier cooking environment.

Anyways, these cookies are a celebration of the end of my crazy semester and a good excuse to use up some of my oatmeal supplies before I head back to California. Oh yeah, and they are my new favorite cookie. Sooooo good. Try them!

Double Chocolate Chip and Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
adapted from "Triple-Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies" in the December 2004 issue of Bon Appétit
(yields about 15 large cookies or 30 smallish ones)

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 sticks salted butter, (I used margarine, earthbalance would also be awesome) room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup (loosely packed) brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup slightly chopped dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon
In a separate bowl mix together softened butter and sugars *note: you may think this whole salted butter thing is crazy, but it makes a HUGE difference. Even if you only do the 1/4 of a cup with salted do it. You owe it to yourself. *

Once smooth beat in egg and vanilla

Add oats and flour mixture to the wet mixture.

Chop up some cranberries and toss them into the mix along with the chocolate chips.

Stir!!

Grease your baking sheet (or use parchment paper) and dollop some nice big scoops of batter on there.

Cook for 13-16 min, until the edges are golden brown.

Take 'em out. Let 'em cool. See if they last through the night!

Oh where the time has gone

2010-05-01T23:39:00.008-05:00

So it's safe to say that a ridiculous amount of time has passed since I've updated. However, I'm sure there's nothing much I've eaten lately that's worth mentioning. Dining halls are rather constricting. I do however have a veritable backlog of foods from winter break that I will some day get to.

So, to begin again,it's now May third, which means it is the third day of my month of veganism. So far so good, despite my entirely unrelated lack of sleep and long hours in school buildings. Now this means no more cheese, milk, eggs, etc. It will severely limit my dining hall choices, but I have faith that I will get by.

For one of my journalism classes, we have to meet for class in a Chicago neighborhood. While this involves waking up early and getting on the El, sometimes it has its perks, like riding on new trains. Another plus (beyond awesome stories and bizarre adventures) is that our class meets nearby this grocery store.

Twice now friends and I have stopped for a snack, which has ended up in eating mochi. It's comforting to have this grocery store to stop at, and reminds me quite a bit of home. There's an Asian market I frequent by bike and this, while much larger, still gives me the same feel, which late in Spring quarter can help a lot. And sitting on the El platform in the warm spring air, eating mochi with friends makes Mondays not so horrible.

Berry Peary Crumbly Tart

2010-04-30T22:28:00.005-05:00

My love Nathalie and I enjoyed dessert and each other this evening. We adapted a Martha Stewart recipe for a raspberry plum crumb tart. Instead of plums we added pears and blackberries, and instead of heavy cream we used almond milk (which worked dandily). The buttery hazelnut crust cheered my soul.

Favorite part of the recipe instructions?
Rub warm nuts in a clean kitchen towel to remove skins.

Filberts!

Rubbing the nuts.

Bennison's Carrot Cake

2010-04-26T23:19:00.002-05:00

Much love to Bennison's carrot cake and my roommate Amy Anderson.

Pumpkin Muffins with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-02-17T00:55:00.003-06:00

When my dad painted a picture of college apartment eating for me, he was woefully inaccurate. Suffice it to say his vision involved fried bologna mixed with ketchup and eggs.

But we eat like kings at our house.

This is evidenced by the fact that three girls who are never home go through dishes faster than my household of five people at home. No matter what day of the week, somebody is always baking, sautéing, roasting, you get the picture.

Anyway, these extensive culinary adventures may contribute to the fact that I never do my homework (what do you think I'm avoiding right now?), but I can't help it. When I get home from a long day, I just like to cook dinner. It soothes me, much like petting a hairless cat soothes Dr. Evil.

I've also been baking every week to raise money for Dance Marathon, so there's been plenty of opportunity for expanding horizons, including but not limited to: homemade truffles, lemon bread and scones made with only ice cream and flour (!).

But today, upon my roommate's information that the weird orange-filled tupperwares in our freezer were in fact pumpkin, it was time for pumpkin muffins.

Observe as I run out of frosting for the last muffin.

Adapted from smitten kitchen:

Pumpkin Muffins

made 24 mini muffins and 4 regular sized ones. So whatever that means to you.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin (from a 15 ounce can) You can also use pumpkin from a pumpkin, this is what I did.

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla*

1/2 tablespoon honey*

1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice

1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt*

(* = my additions or changes)

Put oven in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Put liners in muffin cups, or just butter them.

Whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, vanilla, honey, pumpkin pie spice, 1 1/4 cups sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until smooth, then whisk in flour mixture until just combined.

Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about three-fourths full). Bake until puffed and golden brown and wooden pick or skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes (15-20 for mini-muffins).

Cool in pan on a rack five minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.

Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

adapted from my brain.

1 tablespoon cream cheese

1/2 tablespoon honey

3/4 cup powdered sugar (approx.)

1 tablespoon milk.

Put cream cheese and honey into a bowl.

Add powdered sugar slowly and whisk together until mixture clumps. (I would guesstimate this occurs at about 1/2 a cup.)

Add milk and whisk until combined.

Add remaining (approx.) 1/4 cup powdered sugar and whisk until combined.

A Tastyface Affair

2010-01-23T18:30:00.004-06:00

Honeyed crostini with Gorgonzola and almonds

Solid (not potato) salad, 'cause you look pallid

Whiskey apple crêpes

And the sillies

Garlic Pepper Jack Cheese Sticks

2010-01-12T09:23:00.006-06:00

Delicious cheese abound!

Here, I'll detail more a haphazard experiment than a real recipe. I looked online for a few mozzarella stick recipes and piled a few together to make these delicious beauties.

-powdered garlic or garlic salt
-pepper
-pepper jack cheese in block form
-bread
-egg
-milk
-vegetable oil

To make the bread crumbs, I baked 6 pieces of bread at 225 for about 15 minutes until they were quite crispy. To crumble 'em up, use a knife to cut them into smaller pieces, then put a paper towel on them and pound them--with your fists or equally useful bludgeoning device. A blender would also work. I added powdered garlic, salt, and pepper.

Moving on, cut the pepper jack cheese into your preferred shape. I did little rectangular prisms, but it might be fun to do stars or dinosaurs.

Whisk the egg with milk, at a ratio of about 1/4 cup of milk per egg. 2 eggs and 1/2 cup of milk coated 12 cheese sticks.

Dip the cheese in the egg then roll it around in the bread crumbs. Do this twice for each cheese stick to get good coverage.

Pre-frozen goodie gumdrops.

Freeze those suckers for 2 hours, or 1.5 hours because you're really hankering to eat some cheese sticks.

Heat the vegetable oil on medium-high and fry the frozen cheese sticks for about 30 seconds each side. You might want to keep your oven on low and store them in there while you're frying the next few, since they get cold quickly.

I served them with some chilled Newman's sweet garlic and roasted pepper pasta sauce, but other ideas: plum sauce, raspberry sauce, or the standard barbeque/ranch.

I make cakes.

2009-12-08T16:50:00.005-06:00

Holy negligence Batman!

Tastyface was like the Noble Experiment of blogs. The founders were excited, the public was skeptical and then it was given up all together.

I loved Tastyface, and I knew it could be something greater than the sum of its parts. But summer ended and I guess our faces weren't so tasty anymore.

But still I cooked! And still I baked! And still I learned new recipes, and fed myself on viennoises in Paris and lamb stew in Dublin and döners in Berlin.

The meat! It's conical!

Really, you have no idea how much that delights me.

But I digress.

Anyway, I've been into experimental baking lately. There've been some interesting cinnamon cookies, among other things, but mostly variations on the cake recipe I shared in this post, so many months ago.

First there was a blackberry cake for my host parents' anniversary:

Then there was my magnum opus, a banana cake with Nutella swirls:

And today, I made a chocolate cake using Dannettes, which are a delicious French pudding cup type dealy.

So there you have it folks.

Is this post the death rattle of Tastyface?

Only time will tell.

Homemade Tortilla Chips!

2009-09-27T15:50:00.005-05:00

Hello to my co-collaborators and other sporadic readers of Tastyface!

So I am currently abroad in Paris until December. And while I realize that many of my culinary experiences thus far would likely have made fantastic blog posts, I have found that I frequently have no idea what I am eating. I just eat what is placed in front of me, especially at my homestay. And you know what? It's always delicious. However, saying "I had some sort of meat stew tonight with an orange soup that you should definitely eat if you get the chance" is probably not that enlightening.

My roommate Kathryn and I have discovered though, that one type of food really lacking in the French diet is that of the salty snack. We were really craving chips and guacamole, and while the guac was no trouble at all to find at our local Monoprix, we were hard pressed to find anything to dip in it. So we bought some tortillas and took it upon ourselves to fill the hole in our hearts with crunchy salty chips.

It's really simple: all you have to do is cut the tortillas into chip shapes, then paint each side with the oil of your choosing (you don't need a pastry brush or anything, we just dipped a napkin in the oil and wiped it on the tortillas) then add salt and pepper to taste.

We baked our chips, but you could fry them if you so desired. To bake, put them in the oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees Farenheit (or 205 degrees Celsius). After 5 minutes, turn them over. You'll also want to put them on a greased baking sheet, or you can use aluminum foil like we did.

Yum!

(Mostly) Vegan Dark Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread

2009-09-23T12:44:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone! Sorry about my looong absence from Tastyface! Over the last little while I have just been wrapping up my summer at home and getting re-settled in my East Coast college world.

Luckily, I have a kitchen in my dorm room this year (hallelujah!), so I have begun to phase out my eating out all the time while I am here, and phase in cooking myself delicious food so that I will be a good independent human being some day.

Yesterday afternoon I did my first baking in the room and decided to use some rapidly ripening bananas to make some banana bread WITH dark chocolate pieces!!! It is a pretty easy recipe that was pretty close to vegan to begin with...and I would have completed the vegan-ness had I purchased egg replacer but alas I had none. BUT you can make it vegan! Or just use a cage-free egg like I did to ease your conscience.

Mostly Vegan Dark Chocolate Banana Bread

Based off of Butter, Sugar, Flour's Banana Chocolate Bread

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1.25 teaspoons baking powder

pinch of salt

1 half bar of dark chocolate, broken apart into chunks

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg (or your favorite egg replacer equivalent)

2 ripe bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 390 degrees Fahrenheit (It was 200 degees Celsius, which works out kind of strangely in F--but this temperature actually ended up being perfect). Grease and line a loaf tin and set aside.
In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt.
In a larger bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and banana. Stir through the chocolate.
Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and a fork/toothpick/thin object inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool for a couple minutes and dig in. So delicious!

Thanks for the awesome recipe Butter, Sugar, Flour! :)

Crock Pot Magic!

2009-09-22T20:55:00.002-05:00

Everyone who knows me knows that I'm a terrible cook. I have no idea why I'm a contributor to a food blog, considering I didn't learn how to boil water till I was about 13, and my parents have to leave me detailed instructions on how to heat up turkey in the microwave when I'm in charge of dinner. I usually opt for pasta (which is not kind to my waist) or going out (which is kind to neither my waist nor wallet).

However, now that I'm in New York City interning at a fabulous magazine, I can no longer afford to go out every night. So I am determined to learn how to make something semi-nutritious besides salad for my dinners.

Mama Williams helped tremendously in this endeavor by purchasing me the most adorable little red crock pot you've ever seen. I've dubbed it Rudy. It's too cute to not have a name, and Rudy just fits perfectly. Plus, the feminist in me snickers at the idea of giving kitchen appliance a male name.

(Isn't he adorable??)

But back to the food! My first attempt at cooking with Rudy tonight was nerve-wracking. I've seen my mother cook beef stew for my seven-person family with her gigantic crock pot from the 1980s. However, I don't eat red meat, I only had to cook for one, and my crock pot is presumably from 2009. So I did a few Google searches for "easy mini crock pot recipes."

While I didn't actually find an appealing or easy crock pot recipe that way, I took a few of the tips and made my own concoction with chicken breasts, garlic, onions, and broccoli. Very basic, yes, but I was erring on the side of not blowing up half of 12th Street. I just tossed in:

1 chicken breast completely slathered in garlic and herb spice mix

about 1/4 of a large red onion (Onions are possibly one of my favorite foods, so I always put in way more than a normal person would probably want to eat. Adjust accordingly.)

2 big cloves of garlic

a few florets of broccoli

a couple drops of olive oil (in the bottom of the crock pot, just to make sure it didn't burn)

I was so terrified of killing myself and possibly my neighbor over in 4C that I neglected to take pictures of the preparation of this dish. All I did, though, was layer the onions on the bottom to form a base, put the chicken on top of the onions, tossed in the garlic cloves, and put the broccoli at the top. Watching the Food Network 24/7 (seriously. I'm watching it as I write this) has taught me that you always put onions in first because they take longest to cook and get that deliciously sweet flavor, plus they're way less likely to burn and taste icky like the broccoli would if you put it on the bottom. Rachael Ray, Alton Brown, the Neeleys, Paula Deen, Giada De Laurentiis, and the Iron Chefs all say so, so to me, that's basically gospel.

I put Rudy's lid on and let it cook for about an hour or so, checking in every now and then. And lo, my dinner actually came out really, really good. The chicken wasn't dry at all, the onions were sweet but not mushy or burnt-tasting, and the broccoli and garlic made it smell (and taste!) like a fantastic hybrid Italian/Thai dish. Forgive the terrible lighting in the picture...my camera is just a little point-and-shoot, my apartment is poorly lit, and I'm an even worse photographer than I am a cook.

(I was so into eating it that I forgot to take pictures before I dove in. Oops.)

Of course, I'd change a few things about this dish next time I try it. I'd probably slice the onions a little thicker, add a smidgen less oil, and put the broccoli in a little bit later so it got just steamed and not so cooked.

I think that Rudy and I are going to become very, very close these next few months. Thank goodness for a good man in the kitchen.

Neglect!

2009-09-10T16:28:00.004-05:00

This poor blog. No one loves it anymore. Well, I've been super busy and hectic lately, trying to finish up internship stuffs and pack up and head back to the north. But despite the horribly chaotic state of my room and my lack of time or energy to cook foods, I have been drinking good things! I tried Ooba for the first time last week and was very pleased! It's delightfully hisbiscusy and comes in some tasty flavors. So far I've tried lime, blackberry and vanilla. The vanilla tastes kind of like cream soda. It's apparently pretty good for you, and it's yummy too.

I don't know if this is the case everywhere, but when I buy it at my local health food store (which is expanding-- sweet!) there's a 50 cent off coupon attached to it.

woah!

2009-08-31T19:52:00.004-05:00

Goodness gracious I've disappeared. Crazy! I'm just lazy and tired and experiencing bouts of busy-ness during meal times. But here's something that's so quick and easy that I couldn't even think of an excuse not to make it. I found the recipe here. Hers were much prettier and more colorful, but I decided to stick to just two colors.

I used tofutti cream cheese with some agave nectar on top of mountain bread.

It's pretty darn simple. Just mix the lemon juice, cream cheese and sweetener. Then spread it on and layer your fruit on in a lovely decorative manner. Roll up and garnish with inevitable extra slices.

mmmm :)

Chunky Banana Bran Muffins

2009-08-28T11:13:00.013-05:00

Now that my computer is fixed, I can post again! Delightful! I saw Ina Garden make this recipe on Food Network (her show is Barefoot Contessa) yesterday and realized that we had some bananas in the kitchen that were ready to be baked! This is kind of a college-y version of her recipe.

Ingredients
1 cup All Bran Cereal
1 cup buttermilk (shaken)***
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
6 tablespoons unsulphured molasses
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup raisins - About 3 1-ounce boxes of raisins
1 cup large-diced bananas
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
***If you don't have buttermilk, you can have two subsitution options: use 1 cup of plain yogurt OR make your own buttermilk! Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to 1 cup of milk and let it sit for 5-10 minutes (this is what I did). Essentially, you are souring the milk. Gross, right?

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place paper liners into 1 (10 or 12-cup) muffin tin.

2. Combine the bran and buttermilk and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, 1 at a time. Scrape the bowl and then add the molasses and vanilla. Add the bran/buttermilk mixture and combine. At this point, the mixture might look a little funky/curdled. Don't worry! It's supposed to look that way :-)

3. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the batter just until combined. Don't overmix it! Fold in the raisins, bananas and walnuts with a rubber spatula.

4. With an ice cream scoop or large spoon, fill the muffin cups to the top and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Rules of the Packy Nacky

2009-08-20T01:47:00.000-05:00

Known to laymen as a picnic, the Packy Nacky is a ~~long~~ established tradition during which one must follow a certain protocol if one wishes to partake. For a Packy Nacky is not just a meal, it's a veritable cornucopia of vittles and conviviality. In order to be properly enjoyed, a Packy Nacky must be governed by the following rules:

1. Food must be prepared by the participants, to better facilitate bonding and friendship.

2. Participants must dress up real dapper.

3. Dapperness/the occasion must be commemorated with a picture (see below).

4. Chefs get to choose the cooking music.

5. Spoils of labor must be enjoyed out of doors (obviously).

My friends and I had a Packy Nacky today, and it was glorious in scope and epic in execution. Our day began early with a trip to the farmer's market for ingredients. Then we spent all afternoon in preparation of this feast:

Sammiches!

(Mine consists of chicken, avocado, green peppers, pesto and pepperjack cheese)

Blueberry Cake

Recipe from Everybody Likes Sandwiches

We added more vanilla than the recipe calls for, and sprinkled brown sugar on top instead of raw sugar. You could probably use just about any fruit in this cake, and it's easily modified to fit the perfect specifications for your cake happiness.

Salmon Macaroni Salad

Recipe from Simply Recipes

(basically raiding of my Google Reader starred items facilitated today's Packy Nacky)

This was definitely the pièce de résistance of today's meal, though we had to surmount many obstacles in order to make it successfully. First we forgot to get pasta, then there was an incident in which way too much dill infiltrated the salad, and I made a horrifying discovery:

Apparently, some canned salmon comes with bones and scales still in it.

You can't see it here, but there was an entire ribcage in this sucker. Luckily my friend Sarah volunteered to clean it out. I was ready to throw the entire can away and get new boneless cans, so deeply disturbed was I by this development. However, the salad turned out delicious, and ribcage free.

Sarah's mom also baked us these delicious fudgy cookies to go along with our feast.

And, lest you think we defiled the sacred rules of Packy Nacky:

Dapper, out of doors, and the slightest hint of a food baby.

We also made friends with this toad, but that's not required. Just a bonus.

StillTasty.com: When will my food be rancid?

2009-08-07T12:44:00.005-05:00

StillTasty is a super helpful website to demystify the "sell by" and "best by" dates on food. However, the nose triumphs in my book.

[via unpressable buttons, via LifeHacker, via etc.]

Cross Rhodes in Evanston: GYRO HEAVEN

2009-08-05T22:43:00.003-05:00

Holy crap these gyros are delicious. All the gyro meat you could ever dream of, plus more to take home with you and heat up for lunch the next day. If you can finish all this meat in one sitting, you have a stomach of steel and I envy you greatly.

This super-flaky, super-sweet, mile high baklava is to die for. Cross Rhodes is relatively cheap, especially for lunch. Check 'em out at Chicago & Main.

'B' stands for: Burgers on Buns with Beans and Brownies

2009-08-03T23:16:00.008-05:00

Because I have very little self control and have only given myself the title of "someone who tries to limit the amount of meat--especially red meat--they eat" instead of "vegetarian," I was coerced by www.epicurious.com (and allowed by my meat-loving significant other) to have burgers for dinner last night.

I allowed this to happen in large part because the aforementioned significant other makes delicious things...and I knew burgers would be no exception, he seasoned them with Cajun spices and cooked them in the broiler. They turned out very tasty (as expected) and we ate them up along with some grilled zucchini and baked beans.

After dinner we had some left-over room in our stomachs and some left-over peanut butter fudge from the Sonoma County Fair, so we decided to make some brownies for dessert.

Brownies with Peanut Butter Fudge Bites
(adapted from Bon Appétit recipe, Peanut Butter and Fudge Brownies with Salted Peanuts)

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
7 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup Peanut Butter Fudge--cubed.

Line a baking pan with foil, place a pat of butter in the pan and let melt while the oven preheats to 325 degrees F.

Melt butter in a saucepan over low-medium heat. Add both chocolates; stir over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk in sugar, vanilla, and salt. Crack the four eggs into a small bowl and whisk together. Take a few small spoonfuls of the chocolate mixture and mix into the eggs to keep them from cooking in the hot mixture. Fold in flour, then fudge (if you don't have fudge you can use peanuts or anything else that sounds appealing). Even out the distribution of butter in the pan, spread in the batter. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 30 minutes. Place pan on rack; cool.

These brownies are completely decadent and great for any occasion. Also, they are a killer cure for a chocolate craving. Eat and enjoy! Off to yoga!

Breakfast for Dinner

2009-08-03T10:36:00.008-05:00

Let's face it. Breakfast for dinner is probably one of the most delicious ideas anyone has ever come up with. Hats off to whoever that was. Instead of doing milk or orange juice for our breakfast for dinner, my friends and I decided to kick off the night with adult fruit smoothies. And one blender-full went a little something like this:

2 Bananas
1/2 or 3/4 lbs. of Strawberries
1 Nectarine
1 Cup Light Plain Yogurt
6 Shots of Raspberry Smirnoff Vodka
Ice

We blended all that delightful-ness together and poured them into glasses with Sno-cone straws. These have the little spoons at the end of them, so they worked well if there were fruit or ice chunks still in your drink!

All in all, our breakfast for dinner included the following foods: adult fruit smoothies, belgium waffles (made on a Winnie-the-Pooh waffle iron), turkey bacon, scrambled eggs with ham and cheese, Cinnabon toast, and hash browns. Om nom nom!

A potluck, or eat way too much food with friends

2009-08-01T07:15:00.004-05:00

Yes, we serve out of ziploc tupperware. It's classy.

So as I said, the second installation of our potluck took place last night. We had way too much food, but we basically devoured all of it. We had sauteed mixed veggies, Italian tempeh nuggets, hummus, macadamia mash (both with raw bell peppers), spicy carrot fries, guacamole, fruit salad and interesting raisiny bread. For desert there were date and coconut balls ("nammi nammi"), coconut chocolate scone-cookies and butternut squash that took 3 hours to cook. Somehow I forgot to take a picture of the desserts, but trust me they were glorious. I'm a firm believer that food always tastes better when you eat and prepare it with people you love.

Unfortunately I still can't wrestle the oatmeal bread out of Jared, but he did say he would send me a loaf when I'm at school.

And just 'cause, here's my cat. No, he's not food, but he's always whining for food.