365 Days, 365 Recipes: An Edible Odyssey

The Chef: One Year Later

2010-08-31T11:53:00.001-07:00

Name: Annie Capell
Age: 28
Weight: 127 (lost 5 pounds!)
Favorite Meal: Risotto
Favorite Dessert: Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Favorite Kitchen Tool: Heat Resistant Spatula
Least Favorite Kitchen Tool: Plastic Wrap
Least Favorite Foods: Bell Peppers, Pickles, Capers (I like mustard a little bit now…)
Favorite Foods: Avocados, Potatoes, Chicken, Strawberries
Favorite Thing to Make: Cheesecake
Least Favorite Thing to Make: Fried Shrimp
Favorite Kitchen Technique: Stirring
Least Favorite Kitchen Technique: Putting Pie Crust into the tins
Kind of Music During Cooking: Depends on the season and weather, but all kinds and a glass of wine or beer
Can People Taste While You Cook?: Yes, but just ask or give puppy eyes
Work Better Alone or With Others: Ive gotten better at working with others, more patient, but I like working alone, no one to blame but yourself
Favorite Restaurant: The Diner in Brooklyn NY, or Il Pastaio in Boulder, CO
Favorite Alcoholic Drink: Old Fashioned, Red Stripe, or Rose
Favorite Non Alcoholic Drink: Water or Root Beer, or dirty chai
Favorite Candy Bar: Reeses Peanut Butter Cups
Favorite Spice: Sage and cinnamon
Clean or Messy Kitchen: CLEAN! I Make mess per Stage, but Clean Before The Next One
Least Favorite Kitchen Appliance: Electric Stove, old sticky pots
Favorite Kitchen Appliance: Gas Stove/Honest Temperature Oven, perfectly greased cookie sheets
A Weird Kitchen Quark You Have: I like sliding with my socks from the oven to the refridge, and I like taking hot rolls out of the oven with my hands
Spicy, Salty, Sweet or Sour? Sweet, then spicy, salty, sour
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Rocky Road, Peanut Butter, Ben and Jerrys Vanilla with Peanut Butter cups/ pieces
Lease Favorite Thing about Cooking: Left overs I cant eat, not timing the food right so it comes out at different times, or knowing where I messed up but I cant fix it!
Favorite Thing About Cooking: Making people try weird things, and stirring, and being able to whip up something marvelous super fast. I like impressing people through food, including myself, and its also a nice way for me to clear my head
Words to Part With: Be Brave, Take Risks, Decorate to Hide Mistakes, Kill No One, and always have a Plan B. Also, smiling makes any messed up meal ok. Try weird things, WHY NOT?

Month 12

2010-08-31T11:32:00.001-07:00

Annie’s Current Weight: 127
Pleasures: The biggest pleasure I can muster is the fact that I did it. 12 months, cooking every single day for 365 days, I did it. Not ONCE did I skip a day. Even if it was the dumbest recipe in the world and I had to make an argument as to why it was a recipe, I did it. I succeeded. Another huge pleasure is the people in my life during this project. At my party I couldn’t have asked for better friends or support. These United States surprised me, my parents came, emails and letters from family and friends all over the world, people flew down or drove up, just for ME. Just so show ME that they supported me and were proud of me. I cant be more grateful. Also, im not going to lie, this month has some killer recipes. My ginger toffee, the chicken tetrazzini, it was a pretty grand month and a way to go out blazing. I also didn’t gain any weight!! AND my brother had a baby! Things just couldn’t be better this month and I couldn’t be more thankful and happy at the way things turned out.
Pains: You know, I got pretty sad this month thinking about the project ending. There is the whole, what next, question you need to ask yourself when you have been doing something every day for a month. Also this month I did seem to spend a lot of money on food trying to get the best ending to a project ever. Also, I am sad some people couldn’t be here for the finale who were really star people in my project, mainly my roomies alley and Christina who were both out of town…so sad they couldn’t chare in the glory. There is also the whole looking back thinking I should have worked harder sometimes, been less lazy, I could have cooked something better but I chose to take the easy route and that makes me feel sick. I did a great job I know, but, I also know my potential and that sometimes I just slacked. Even though this month the pleasures outweighed the pains, they were still there and I know better…
Promises: I promise to not only keep cooking crazy things, but to keep up this blog. I have found I am not a very good blogger. I like being outside too much to want to sit at a computer and type my life story away. I also have trouble knowing what to say…do I stick to the recipe? Do I say how im feeling that day? What do people want to know! So I mixed it up in my blog, but tried to keep it about the food. Whatever future projects I decide to do (and I have some in mind) I will try to give the people what they want, a little of both worlds. Learn a little skill, get a little gossip. I also promise to keep in mind consistency. I didn’t blog every day, and sometimes not every week, so who knew when a new post would come. Ill try better to be more on top of that, at least a monthly update on whats going on, or where I have been.
Ponders: you know, this project was so grand and so personal its hard to ponder it because I ask myself, where do I BEGIN pondering it. Do I look at the commitment part? Where I pushed myself so hard and committed myself more fully that I ever have? Do I look at the creative part? That I made amazing new recipes that people are now using and trying out of friends or giving as gifts? That I did something in the world creative that others LIKE? Do I look at the social side? In the fact that I made more friends through cooking for them than ever before? That I fattened people up, and made people smile with their whole heart? Do I look at the computer side? Where I learned to type with correct form and how to blog and upload pictures, create files and make something people reference and want to see? Do I ponder the experience of eating something new every day using what I had around me, and doing something physical and grounding every day through hardships and beauty. Through bailing on going out to cook, or cooking so fast so I wouldn’t miss the beginning of something? There are so many ways to look at this project, so many people to thank, so much love both to others, food, and to myself I don’t even know what to say. When I push myself hard like this and succeed, I think, how much farther can I go? Its like a drug, and I have merely begun my addiction. I am so happy, and so grateful and so full of joy and food, that all I want is more more more, so what do I ponder? The future…the future of myself and my relationship not only to the world but to food. What next? Stay tuned for the next chapter in the life of annie…its all uphill from here!

Day 365: Key Lime Cheesecake

2010-08-03T20:33:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 9 inch cheesecake
Time (Start to Finish): 3 hours

Ingredients:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2-3 Tbsp sugar
¾ stick butter, melted(may need more or less)

20 oz cream cheese
8 oz sour cream
½ cup fresh lime juice
½ cup lime juice (you CAN use fresh if you want to keep squeezing)
1-2 drops green food dye
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
4 Tbsp flour

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F and grease your pan, which should be placed on a cookie sheet that has sides
2. In a bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs and sugar and mix with butter adding ¼ of it at a time and mixing until it sticks together when you grip it in your hands like moist sand
3. Press into the bottom of the pan and bake for 2-3 min until you smell the graham crackers and take out, cool
4. Preheat the oven to 350F
5. In a mixer, combine the cream cheese and sour cream until smooth
6. Add the sugar and scrape the bowl
7. Add the lime juice, flour, and food dye
8. Scrape the bowl and add the eggs and mix until combined. Taste and if too tart add a drop of vanilla or a tad more sugar
9. Pour over the crust and bake in a water bath until it jiggles like jello not like water anymore, about an hour
10. Chill in the freezer or the fridge and serve cold. You can serve with whipped cream if you like

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: LAST RECIPE!!! I DID IT!!! WOOHOOO!!!! 365 RECIPES!! Last day, no more days, I did it I did it I did it!!!!! I also made peanut butter cheesecake (I used my white chocolate cheesecake recipe but added a cup of peanut butter instead in white chocolate) AND my white chocolate cheesecake, all for my big party tonight!! Out of the three, the key lime STOLE the show, thanks Alley for the idea! This is a great recipe, and it turned out light, marvelous and a huge hit. The party is going to be filled with snacks galore, but the cheesecake will be the highlight!! Stay tuned in my blog guys for the epilogue as well as STATS, top 10 lists, all sorts of things, but with all my heart, enjoy these recipes, and I did it!! No more days, today is the LAST day!! Wwhhhhaaat???

Day 364: Dark Chocolate Ginger Walnut Toffee

2010-08-03T20:15:00.001-07:00

Yield: 12-15 pieces
Time (Start to Finish): 30 min

Ingredients:
1 stick butter
¾ cup sugar
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp dark corn syrup (light is fine)
1 cup chopped walnuts
3 tsp ground ginger
small pinch salt
8-10 oz GOOD dark chocolate, chopped up

Directions:
1. Take a cookie sheet and spray it with cooking spray or grease it
2. Sprinkle the walnuts on top in a circle covering about half the cookie sheet, but right in the center (you are going to be pouring the caramel on top of it) make sure they are close together
3. Chop up the chocolate and sprinkle all over the top of the nuts
4. In a saucepot, melt the butter in med heat
5. Add the sugar, corn syrup and water and bring to a boil over med, stirring gently until the mixture turns a nice brown color. It should take about 15 min, and get it to the brown you would like, a nice toffee brown
6. Remove from the heat, stir in the ginger and the salt and immediately pour over the chocolate/nuts. Do not wait on this, it must be done right away
7. Let cool, or, like I did, stick in the freezer until the chocolate hardens
8. Break into pieces and serve

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: This came out of nowhere. I picked up my dear friend Lavinia from the airport and she had brought me a dark Brooklyn chocolate bar and hoped I would make something with it for my blog. I couldn’t think of what to make and while I was sleeping, I realized I had everything to make toffee in the kitchen. The ginger came out of my need to make it special and I saw the bottle. What a PERFECT choice!! It is such a great surprise when you bite in and all of a sudden taste the ginger after flavor!! Thanks Lavinia for this amazing inspiration!!! Get yourself some good chocolate for this, and no need to toast the nuts unless you want an extra touch of flavor…2 more days guys!!! Tomorrow is the end! Today is checked off the list and it is nothing but smooth sailing! How nervous am I!!!!!

Day 363: Rocky Road Rice Krispie Treats

2010-08-03T20:02:00.000-07:00

Yield: 1 9 inch rectangle pan
Time (Start to Finish): 25 min

Ingredients:
2 cups sliced toasted almonds
20 oz marshmallows, small or big
2 cups tiny marshmallows
3 Tbsp butter
6 cups cocoa krispies
1 bag chocolate chunks
2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
1. Grease your pan with cooking spray or butter
2. Toast the almonds and set aside
3. In a large pot put melt the butter on low heat
4. Add the 20 oz marshmallows and cinnamon and melt together until there are no more chunks and turn off the heat
5. Add the rice krispies and almonds and stir until almost combined
6. Add ¾ of the bag of chocolate chunks and stir just till combined, not oo much so they don’t melt a lot
7. Pour it into the pan and press down with your hand. If your hand sticks, wet it with water and press
8. Top with chocolate chunks and the small marshmallows and if you make sure they are touching the warm krispies, they will melt to the top
9. Let cool and cut and serve

Rating: 5 strawberries
Notes: Another 5!!!! Im going out with a bang!! This gets a five because of the reaction they got. Everyone LOVED them. I think I got proposed to like 4 times from people eating these. They are killer. The almonds taste great in this, and who doesn’t like extra marshmallows, and who would have thought, they are gluten free!! A must try for a twist on a classic, and for sure a winner…maybe for a bake sale??? 3 days to go!

I did it...

2010-07-31T14:20:00.000-07:00

Ill blog about it later, but just so you know, I TOTALLY did it...365 recipes in 365 days...check it off the list!! stay with me for the epilogue...

Day 362: Checkerboard Hummus Tea Sandwiches

2010-07-28T20:20:00.001-07:00

Yield: 4 sandwiches
Time (Start to Finish): 45 min

Ingredients:
2 slices white bread
2 slices dark wheat bread
butter

½ can garbanzo beans or chick peas
2 cloves garlic
¼ tsp onion powder
salt and pepper
1 lemon zested
½ lemon juiced
olive oil (about ½ cup, maybe more)

Directions:
1. To make the hummus, use a food processor
2. Add the chick peas, garlic, onion powder, salt and pepper, lemon juice and zest and turn on
3. Drizzle olive oil in until if becomes a paste. You will need to scrape it down half way through and taste to adjust seasoning. Add oil until it is spreadable like mayo
4. To make the checker sandwiches, take the 4 sliced of bread and stack them on top of each other
5. Put butter between each layer so they are stuck together and then cut the crusts off
6. Cut the bread stack into slices so there are layers of bread and butter
7. Take the slices and stack them using more butter. Look on the side and make sure that the white bread and the brown bread are alternating
8. You will slice these also so you will make a total of 8 slices, checkered together (sorry if this is confusing!!)
9. Spread hummus on the bread and put into 4 sandwiches and serve with tea!

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: These are just the cutest little sandwiches ever!! I am sorry if my explanation is a little confusing…I realized later that I should have taken photos of the process, but maybe I will for after my blog. The hummus is sooo good! My roomie alley just couldn’t stop eating it, and you can flavor it however you like…add some chipolte, or herbs and make it your own! These are great to serve at a tea or luncheon. 4 more days!!! AAAHHH!!

Day 361: Chicken Tetrazzini

2010-07-28T19:35:00.000-07:00

Yield: 3-4 servings
Time (Start to Finish): 1 hour

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked spaghetti noodles, salted water

2 cups sliced brown mushrooms
2 Tbsp butter
¼ cup white wine

1 garlic cloves, chopped
2 Tbsp butter
1 ½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup white wine
1/8 cup flour
¼ tsp nutmeg
salt and pepper
1 cup chicken broth
½ lemon, juiced

1 ½ cup roasted chicken chopped up

½ cup parmesan cheese
½ cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 Tbsp butter

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375F and get a square baking dish out and ready
2. Cook the pasta and set aside
3. In a skillet heat up the butter, mushrooms and wine and cool until the liquid is almost all gone and remove the mushrooms
4. Add the butter, chopped garlic to the pan
5. Add the flour and whisk together
6. Add the heavy cream, wine, and chicken broth and whisk until it becomes thick
7. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg and lemon juice and taste to adjust seasonings
8. Add the mushrooms and the chicken and the noodles and stir all together
9. Pour into the baking dish and flatten
10. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese on top, and the bread crumbs on top of it
11. Take the last Tbsp of butter and cut into pieces and sprinkle them on top
12. Bake until the sauce begins to bubble and the top browns

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: This is a dish I used to eat all the time as a kid, but the frozen kind. I have never made it from scratch before, and let me tell you, its not that bad. There are a lot of dishes to clean, but this tastes great hot out of the oven, and even better as leftovers for lunch. No one got to eat it but me, house to myself, but I did make the house smell amazing. 5 days left guys!!! Time to warm up the bellies!

Day 360: Chocolate Soufflé

2010-07-26T17:05:00.001-07:00

Yield: 5-6 soufflés
Time (Start to Finish): 1 hour

Ingredients:
¼ cup butter
1 cup chocolate chips
3 eggs, separated
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
pinch cream of tartar
½ tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp sugar

butter
sugar
left over bananas foster

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400F
2. Take the butter (not the ¼ cup) and spread it generously in the 6 ramekins
3. Coat the butter with sugar and set on a cookie sheet. Make sure they aren’t touching
4. Melt the chocolate with the butter and put in a bog bowl
5. In a mixer take the egg yolks and the sugar and mix on high until they are light and fluffy, about 5 min. this can be done while the chocolate is melting
6. Stir together the chocolate and egg mixture until combined in the big bowl
7. Add the vanilla and cinnamon and stir
8. In a clean dry mixing bowl add the egg whites and cream of tartar
9. Put on high and once they begin to turn white add the Tbsp of sugar
10. Mix until they become stiff peaks
11. Add 1/3 of the whites to the chocolate mixture and mix together
12. Add the rest and fold together until smooth
13. Spoon into ramekins ¾ of the way and put in the center of the oven
14. You will be serving there IMMEDIATELY, so if you are not ready, cover them with plastic and you can store in the fridge for a couple of hours
15. Bake in the center of the rack for 10 min or until they poof up and the edges begin to crisp. Try not to over bake
16. Serve with the bananas foster in the center or on the side

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: Ok, so I was going to make molten chocolate cake, but messed up by not halving the recipe like I meant to, so it turned into chocolate soufflés! They are SOOO good! Thanks for sharing with me Audrey! She came in the door at just the right time. The bananas foster in the center makes it PERFECT. There is nothing more perfect than fruit and chocolate. This is SUCH a great treat. You have to serve it right out of the oven or the soufflé will fall, so make sure to be on top of that, have the plates ready and everyone seated. They still taste killer if they fall, so don’t worry about it. 6 days left guys!! The magic continues!

Day 359: Bananas Foster

2010-07-26T16:44:00.001-07:00

Yield: 2 cups
Time (Start to Finish): 20 min

Ingredients:
¼ stick butter (2 Tbsp)
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
pinch salt
1 banana, sliced
¼ cup whiskey
½ cup pecan pieces, toasted

Directions:
1. In a sauce pan, combine the butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together and cook on med heat until the sugar melts
2. Add the sliced banana
3. Once the banana begins to soften and brown add the whiskey and cook until it becomes a smooth sauce, about 3 min
4. Add the pecans and pour over ice cream or pancakes!

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: Yummy!!! Nothing better than bananas and caramel! I am saving this for tomorrow’s recipe, but it is best over ice cream and served right away. It also makes the house smell unbelievable. The nuts should be toasted beforehand, and you can really add a number of fruits, apples, apricots, anything you like. It also doesn’t take much time at all. 7 more days guys, almost there…WOW!

Day 358: Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

2010-07-26T16:03:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 pie
Time (Start to Finish): 1 hour 30 min

Ingredients:
2 pie crusts (day 289 or store bought)
1 ½ cup sugar
1 16 oz bag frozen strawberries
5-8 fresh strawberries, sliced
3 cups fresh rhubarb, about 6 stalks
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 lemon, zested and juiced
5 Tbsp corn starch
pinch salt
1 egg
splash buttermilk
decorating sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Line the bottom of the pie pan with one of the crusts, and cut the other one to make a lattice design. Look at day 358 to help
3. In a sauce pot, put the frozen strawberries, rhubarb cut into ½ inch pieces, lemon zest, juice, nutmeg, cinnamon, corn starch, salt. Do NOT put the fresh berries in here
4. Mix together until the frozen berries are melted and pour the mixture into the pie dish. You want it to be warm but not boiling
5. Add the fresh sliced strawberries on top
6. Lattice the top crust onto the pie and pinch the edges
7. In a bowl combine the egg and the buttermilk
8. Brush it on top of the pie, sprinkle with sugar, place on a cookie sheet for drips and bake for about an hour or until the crust is brown and the insides are bubbling.
9. Let cool and serve

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: Happy Birthday to my good friend Josh! His actual birthday is the same day as Kaylas, but we are celebrating today with oysters, mussels, and of course, pie. This is his favorite, so I had no choice!! I made it, brought it to his house, and it was eaten faster than I could put it down! I hear they made fresh churros when I left and dipped it in the left over pie filling…yummy!! I didn’t make the crust from scratch, I didn’t have time, so the rating isn’t higher, but it is still a great pie. Also, I may even add a little more corn starch, it was a bit runnier than I would want it to be. Either way, make this pie, shove it in your face, and enjoy guys!! 8 days left!!

Day 357: Trifecta Cake

2010-07-26T15:34:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 9 inch rectangle cake pan
Time (Start to Finish): 3 hours

Ingredients:
1/3 recipe devils food cake
1/3 recipe angel food cake
1/3 recipe red velvet cake

Directions:
1. If anyone is interested in making this cake, please look up good fast recipes for each of these cakes. I suggest making to red velvet first as it is the messiest
2. Preheat oven to 350
3. Take all three batters, pour the angel food into a greased sheet, add the other two batters on top in lines
4. With a fork swirl all the batters together to make any design you like
5. Bake for about 30 min or until a knife comes out clean in the middle

Rating: 3.5 strawberries
Notes: Ok, let me explain this weird one…my roomie alley’s aunt is having a baby, and she asked me to make mini cupcakes for her baby shower, which I of course said yes to. I make devils food, angel food and red velvet and had left over batter. I wanted to see what a cake would look like with all three and this is it! It is actually pretty tasty, but I don’t think it is worth the effort to make it on its own. If you need to make a lot of cupcakes, save a little batter and try this out. The cupcakes came out great by the way!!! And congrats alley’s aunt!! Im an aunt too!!! Oh, and 9 days left!!!

Day 356: Kayla’s Eggplant Parmesan

2010-07-26T15:26:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1-2 servings
Time (Start to Finish): 30 min

Ingredients:
4 slices eggplant
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 egg
¼ cup buttermilk
1 cup marinara sauce
½ cup asiago cheese, shredded
½ cup parmesan cheese, shredded
olive oil
salt and pepper
2 string cheese sticks

Directions:
1. Preheat a skillet to med/led high
2. Put bread crumbs in a bowl with salt, pepper, asiago, half of the parm, and cayenne
3. In another bowl put the egg and buttermilk and whisk together with a fork
4. Put olive oil in the pan
5. Dip the eggplant in the egg mixture, then the bread crumb and then put on the skillet
6. Cook until it begins to brown, flip and cook the other side
7. On a plate, but the marinara sauce
8. Place the cooked eggplant on the plate and sprinkle the rest of the parm on top
9. Add slices of the string cheese and serve

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAYLA!!! I am an AUNT!! My brother had a baby girl today, perfect and beautiful, and to celebrate our new little eggplant, I cook up some eggplant. What I love about this recipe is that I got out of work at 730, biked home, cooked it and was sitting down eating it at 830. It is fast, super good, homey, warm, and just a perfect little dish. I know eggplant isn’t very nutritious, but it tastes good with sauce and cheese all over it. I cant believe I am an aunt today!!! This is a nice meal to serve up to a family also! Make it in no time and be sure to impress anyone. You can season the bread crumbs yourself if you like. I just got Italian seasoned. Oh, AND THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS!!! 10 days till my project is over!!!! WOOHOO!!!!

Day 355: Peanut Butter Apple Crisp

2010-07-26T15:14:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 4 inch pan
Time (Start to Finish): 1 hour

Ingredients:
2 green apples, peeled and cubed
¼ cup brown sugar
1 lemon, zested
¼ cup flour
¼ cup rolled oats
½ cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
pinch salt
1 egg white
1 Tbsp butter, melted
¼ cup peanut butter
½ cup sliced almonds

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. In a bowl mix the apples with brown sugar and lemon zest and pour into the pan
3. In a separate bowl combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt until smooth
4. Add the egg white, butter, and peanut butter and stir until combined. You can add more flour if it is too sticky
5. Spread over the top of the apple mixture and bake for about half an hour until the top is brown and the apples are cooked.

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: Sorry for the super bad photo! I thought it was better when I took it. This recipe gets a low rating because I didn’t have any ice cream with it! Peanut butter and apples is a snack I just LOVE to have. It fills me up and is pretty healthy. So why not find a way to make it into a dessert! This dish is just perfect. It is sweet, and has some nutrition with the peanut butter and almonds. You can make it with any fruit, or use almond butter if you prefer (I don’t really like the taste too much). I hope you guys like this dish, it is pretty awesomely perfect for a san fran summer.

Day 354: Brown Butter Orange Waffles

2010-07-26T15:06:00.001-07:00

Yield: 6 waffles
Time (Start to Finish): 45 min

Ingredients:
2 eggs
¾ cup butter
2 cups four
1 ¾ cup milk
1 Tbsp brown sugar
4 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
½ tsp vanilla
1 orange, zested
1 Tbsp orange juice

extra butter
orange juice and zest

Directions:
1. In a skillet, put the butter on med heat
2. Let the butter cook until it browns. It should take about 5 min, and stir it while it is cooking. The browning makes a nice nutty taste. You can brown it as dark as you like
3. Remove the butter from the heat and set aside
4. Heat up your waffle maker
5. In a bowl, combine the eggs and milk
6. Add the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt and stir until almost combined
7. Add the vanilla, orange zest and juice and the butter and stir until it is all together
8. Pour into waffle maker to make waffles
9. If you want, you can make extra brown butter, add orange juice and zest and use to pour on top

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: A nice home cooked breakfast for my house!! This is a super yummy recipe, but the waffles get soft if you let them sit out too long, so make them fresh as people come in! I also used left over orange cream as something to put on top as well as the orange butter I talked about. Brown butter adds just a hint of a different rustic taste which I love. Once you try it you will love it too. Thanks for enjoying this with me girls!! You CAN make this with other citrus, but orange is by far the best…you can even add a little whiskey to the butter, hehehe

Day 353: Almond Tuile Sandwich Cookies

2010-07-23T17:45:00.000-07:00

Yield: 16 cookies, 8 sandwiches
Time (Start to Finish): 1 hour

Ingredients:
¾ cup sugar
½ cup egg whites (about 3)
1 tsp vanilla
pinch salt
5 Tbsp flour
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1 cup lightly toasted sliced almonds
1 tsp orange juice
¼ tsp cinnamon
½ orange zested

orange amaretto cream from yesterday, Day 352

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400F
2. Whisk together the sugar, egg whites, vanilla, orange juice, and zest
3. Add the salt, flour, and cinnamon
4. Add the melted butter and make sure it is all whisked together
5. Fold in the almonds and put in the fridge or freezer for about 30 min until it is thick from the butter rehardening
6. Generously grease a cookie sheet and spoon teaspoon size amounts of batter VERY far apart…maybe like 4 cookies per cookie sheet and spread the almonds out in the batter
7. Bake for about 7 minutes or until they are brown. Try not to under bake them or they will be soft
8. Let them cool on the pan for a minute and then remove and put on a cooling rack
9. Take the orange amaretto cream and spread in between 2 of the cookies, however much you like and serve immediately. If traveling with these, spread the cream on when you get there

Rating: 5 strawberries
Notes: Another 5 strawberries!! These were better than I ever thought they could be! The cookie is light and crispy and the cream adds a ton of flavor. The almonds should be lightly toasted first, and im telling you they are great. They wont be even in size or perfectly round but once you take a bite you will be hooked. Also they are very attractive with their almond pieces. Thanks to the girls from Boston visiting who helped me eat these yummy treats, and today I ran my first 8 miles! Longest I ever have, so it was nice to reward myself with something sweet! Oh, and silly me made the cream yesterday and somehow brought it to work (cooking in the AM makes me loopy) and I left it in the fridge, so I had to make it all over again…thank goodness it is the best thing in the world. I am telling you, you must try these bad boys!

Day 352: Orange Amaretto Cream

2010-07-23T17:44:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 cup
Time (Start to Finish): 15 min

Ingredients:
1 small or ½ large orange zested
1-2 tsp amaretto (almond flavored liquor)
¼ cup cream cheese
1 box powdered sugar (you may not use whole box)

Directions:
1. In a bowl combine the cream cheese with the orange zest and amaretto. Taste and add more orange or liquor if you need to. If this is being served to kids, add almond extract instead
2. Add sifted powdered sugar in ½ cup portions until it becomes a frosting that is thick enough to hold shape but thin enough to spread. You want to be able to spread it on cookies!
3. Store in the fridge or counter overnight. If you store in the fridge, take out at least 2 hours before using so it comes to room temperature

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: This is a KILLER cream! You can double the recipe and use it as a frosting (just note that there will be pieces of zest in the recipe) It is sweet and FULL of flavor. One of the best creams I have made! I am going to use it tomorrow to spread on some killer cookies, but you can use it for a lot of different things. The cream cheese is what makes it, so try not to sub butter. Also, try to use philly’s cream cheese. I have played with store brand cream cheeses and they are watery and not worth it at all. If you are going to do something, do it the best you can, which means using quality ingredients. Yummy!!

Day 351: Rocky Road Ice Cream

2010-07-23T17:43:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 pint
Time (Start to Finish): 5 hours

Ingredients:
3 cups heavy whipping cream
chocolate sauce (to taste)
½ cup condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup mini marshmallows
½ cup toasted almonds
½ cup toasted pistachios
½ tsp cinnamon

Directions:
1. In a bowl combine the cream with the chocolate sauce, condensed milk, vanilla, cinnamon and taste to adjust flavors
2. Pour into your ice cream maker and according to directions make the ice cream
3. When it comes out smooth like soft serve, add the marshmallows, almonds and pistachios and put in the freezer until it is frozen and enjoy!

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: I just didn’t have time to make a deep rich chocolate ice cream base, so this is a nice quick fix. You can make a chocolate crème anglaise if you like, but if you don’t have time, like me, this is the way to go. You don’t NEED an ice cream maker, but I highly recommend it, they make it smooth. This ice cream is my favorite flavor. I LOVE rocky road, and have been eating so much of it lately, I know I needed to just make some. I added the pistachios because there was a rocky road in Colorado that used to do that and I loved it! You can add any chocolate sauce you like, I used Ghirardelli, which is awesome and by my work, but any sauce will do. Better sauce, better final product. I hope you try this out and love it.

Day 350: Avocado Mango Guacamole

2010-07-23T17:41:00.000-07:00

Yield: 1 bowl
Time (Start to Finish): 25 min

Ingredients:
1 avocado
1 mango
2 limes
salt and pepper
1 small yellow onion
1 tsp onion powder
1 garlic clove

Directions:
1. Chop up the onion and the garlic clove together very fine
2. Chop the mango into small pieces as well
3. Take the avocado and mash in a bowl
4. Add the lime juice, salt and pepper, and onion powder
5. Add the mango and garlic/onion, and mix together
6. Taste and adjust seasonings

Rating: 3.5 strawberries
Notes: It needs cilantro!!! That is why it is not better! Get some fresh cilantro and throw it in there! I tried to make an avocado soup, but I didn’t have any thinning agent, like cream or chicken stock, so I made this awesome guacamole. It is good and different, but for sure needs cilantro. Good with salty chips and watching any type of game, or just for dinner if you are me. I have made a lot of Guacamoles and this one is a nice twist. I hope you try it out. I bet you could even put in a little fresh basil. Enjoy!

Day 349: Protein Shake

2010-07-23T08:13:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 serving
Time (Start to Finish): 15 min

Ingredients:
1 Premier Nutrition Vanilla Shake
3 Strawberries
1 banana
1 Tbsp peanut butter
1 Tbsp flax powder
1 Tbsp honey

Directions:
1. In a blender, mix all ingredients until combined and enjoy in the early morning

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: Super fast and easy. Thank you Sarah Law for the shakes!! This is pretty tasty, and after I have gotten into running, this is the perfect thing to have before a jog. It is also just a nice full breakfast. You should try it. You can use a protein powder if you like with milk or yogurt, but this one brand really tastes awesome! Its like a jello pudding pop, and with the other fruits and peanut butter, it really is yummy. Its fast, which is what I like on a day like today, so try it out and get on with all you have to do!

Day 348: Grilled Honey Watermelon

2010-07-22T21:24:00.001-07:00

Yield: 4 slices
Time (Start to Finish): 25 min

Ingredients:
4 slices watermelon
¼ cup honey
½ lemon, juiced
sprinkle salt
pinch nutmeg

Directions:
1. Heat up your grill or grill pan
2. In a bowl combine the honey, lemon juice, salt and nutmeg. Leave a little honey aside or have extra for after
3. Brush both sides of the slices of water melon with the mixture
4. Place the watermelon on the grill and grill both sides until it begins to brown. You can brush with more mixture if you like if there is any left
5. Drizzle with a little honey when it is done and serve

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: Thanks for the idea Eric!! This is actually pretty tasty, but I gave it a lot rating because I love watermelon so much and I feel its one of those things you shouldn’t mess with. It is warm, sweet and salty which is a combo I love. It also has a very interesting smell!! You have to give it a try. This is again my aim at brightening up this summer cloudiness, and it did help perk me up. The honey seals the deal on this one. I hope you like it!

Day 347: Chicken Potato Salad

2010-07-22T21:07:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 cups
Time (Start to Finish): 45 min

Ingredients:
1 can chicken
mayonnaise
¼ cup chipped red onion
2 red potatoes, cooked lightly
fresh dill chopped up
1 tsp yellow mustard
salt and pepper
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp onion powder
½ lemon, juiced

Directions:
1. Take the chicken out of the can, drained and put in a bowl
2. Add the cooked potato pieces and the onion and set aside
3. In a bowl, combine the mustard, red wine vinegar, onion powder, dill, and mayo until of makes a sauce. Usually about ½ cup mayo
4. Toss the mixture into the chicken potato mix and taste. Adjust seasonings accordingly
5. Finish with the lemon juice!

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: I have made a lot of potato salads in my day, and in this blog, and I feel like they are a cake walk for me, so I think that is why I gave it a low rating. This is classic and good. A nice staple, and a really yummy treat. You can use roasted chicken or grilled chicken, but canned works really well here. You can even use tuna if you want, but I think it is a little heavy. It is getting colder here in San Fran, and I think this is me holding hope that this summer will be hot hot hot…come on sun! act like the food I serve! Be summer!!!

Day 346: Corn Onion Pizza

2010-07-22T20:59:00.001-07:00

Yield: 2 servings
Time (Start to Finish): 45 min

Ingredients:
1 cup corn flour
salt and pepper
warm water
½ tsp cayenne
pinch nutmeg

½ yellow onion
olive oil

¾ cup asiago cheese
¼ cup parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. On a med heat skillet, cook the chopped up onion in olive oil until it caramelizes, about 30 min and set aside
2. Take the corn meal in a bowl and mix with the salt, pepper, cayenne and nutmeg
3. Add warm water until the mixture turns into a ball of dough you can roll out
4. Take a rolling pin and roll it into a disk about ½ inch thick. You want it to fit in the bottom of the skillet
5. Take the round, put olive oil on the bottom of the pan and put it in the pan
6. Cook until the bottom browns and then flip it over (Good luck! This part is hard and fun! If it breaks, don’t worry one second! Mine broke!)
7. After you flip it, sprinkle the onion on top of the crust, and then sprinkle the cheese
8. Cover the pan and cook until the bottom cooks and the cheese melts. Enjoy!

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: I started this to make corn tortillas with some filling, but when I started making it, this just came out of nowhere and it was amazing! Not the best of things to eat right before you go visit your ex to exchange some stuff, but MAN is it good! I would maybe slice this up and serve it at a dinner party, or have a nice glass or wine and eat it with a movie. You can add lots of toppings which is cool, but I liked it simple and sweet. The caramelized onion really makes it…and the nutmeg brings out all the flavors. Try it out and see just how quick and easy it is!

Day 345: Gingerbread Cake

2010-07-22T20:50:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 12x8 casserole dish
Time (Start to Finish): 1 hour

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cloves
pinch nutmeg
1 ½ tsp ginger
½ cup butter
½ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup half and half
½ cup candied ginger, cut up

powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375F and grease a casserole dish
2. In a bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger
3. In another bowl cream the butter and the sugar
4. Add the eggs
5. Add the half and half alternating with the flour mixture until all is combined
6. Stir in the ginger pieces and pour into the pan
7. Bake for about 20 min until a knife comes out clean. It may take more. Try not to over bake
8. Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar right when you remove from the oven, and add more as you serve it.

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: Happy 180 South movie! The work folks are having a showing of this movie at work and I thought I would make a little treat! Someone asked me to make gingersnaps, but I thought this cake would be even better. The ginger pieces add a different texture which I like. You can add ice cream with it, which we had at work, or make a ginger flavored whipped cream, which is what I wanted to make but ran out of time. This is also a great layer cake, so try it out!

Day 344: Caramel Apple Muffins

2010-07-19T19:00:00.001-07:00

Yield: 4-5 muffins
Time (Start to Finish): 1 hour

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 cup brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp all spice
pinch salt
½ cup milk
1 egg
1/8 cup butter, melted
½ cup peeled and cubed green apple

5 store bought caramels

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F and line a muffin tin with papers or spray with non stick spray
2. Mix together the flour, baking soda, sugar, cinnamon, all spice and salt
3. Add the milk and egg
4. Add the melted butter
5. Fold into the batter the apple pieces
6. Pour the batter into each tin filling to half way
7. Take a caramel and push it into the center of each muffin, making sure the top is covered with batter, and that the batter doesn’t fill the tin over ¾ of the way
8. Bake for 20 min or until the muffin is cooked. A toothpick in the center wont help you, so put it in the side

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: This idea came from Lucy’s house! She told me about something like this she had made, and so I wanted to try it! They taste great, best right out of the oven because otherwise the caramel kind of rehardens and then it is not the same texture as the muffin. I love muffins, and the more I make them the more I see how easy they are! I think these can be made in a bran type muffin as well if you are looking for something a little more healthy. I hope you like them guys!

Day 343: Popcorn Butter

2010-07-19T17:48:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 cup
Time (Start to Finish): 20 min

Ingredients:
½ cup whipping cream
salt
1 Tbsp honey
1/8 cup popcorn, cooked and the brown skins removed
small pinch cayenne
small pinch nutmeg

Directions:
1. Take the cream and beat in a food processor until it turns into butter, about 5-7 min, and remove the liquid keeping the butter in the processor.
2. You CAN buy a stick of unsalted butter and soften it, but fresh is always better
3. Make sure all the popcorn pieces are without the brown skins and add to the food processor with the honey, salt, cayenne and nutmeg. Blend until combined
4. Take butter, taste, and adjust the seasonings, and press into a dish and chill
5. Serve with bread for dinner!

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: This is something to make for a dinner party for sure. Serve it with bread and it is so good! It tastes like popcorn. I saw a recipe for something similar in a magazine, and I had to try it with a little twist of course. It is so tasty, and if you blend it right it is smooth and delightful. People will be very impressed and intrigued by it. I hope you try this out, and I wont get mad if you go buy a stick of butter…I think I will next time.

Day 342: White Chocolate Popcorn

2010-07-19T17:36:00.001-07:00

Yield: 2 cups
Time (Start to Finish): 20 min

Ingredients:
2 cups popped popcorn
6-8 oz white chocolate chips (guittard)
salt
dash cinnamon

Directions:
1. Try to pop the corn in an air popper so it isn’t oily and place in a bowl large enough to toss
2. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave or in a double boiler until smooth
3. Add the salt and a touch of cinnamon to the chocolate
4. Drizzle over the popcorn and toss it. You may want to do this in 2 waves.
5. Let it cool and enjoy!

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: This is a good sweet salty treat, but im not normally a white chocolate person. I have a ton of popcorn in my house so I wanted to try something with it, and I also had white chocolate, so, here it is! It’s the kind of thing you can make fast and just leave in bowls around the house during a party, or make when having friends over to watch a movie…or like me and just eat it in your room alone…you know…up to you…

Day 341: Potato Leek Soup

2010-07-19T16:29:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 big pot, 4-5 servings
Time (Start to Finish): 1 hour

Ingredients:
4 yellow potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 beg leeks
1 Tbsp butter
olive oil
1 quart chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper
4 garlic cloves
2 sprigs rosemary
½ lemon
sharp white cheddar cheese (for grating on top)

fresh crusty bread

Directions:
1. Boil the potatoes in a pot of salted water with a splash of chicken stock
2. Strain the potatoes leaving just a little liquid and smash the potatoes in the pot
3. Add chicken stock and smash the potatoes more until it begins to become souplike
4. Add the heavy cream, salt and pepper to taste
5. On a skillet, melt the butter with a little olive oil and chop up the leeks and garlic separate
6. Cook the leeks in the oil until they are soft and just beginning to brown
7. Add the garlic and cook for just a min and turn off the heat
8. Add the leeks to the soup and add more chicken stock if you need to to smooth it out
9. Squeeze in the lemon at the end, and chop up the rosemary superfine and add to the pot
10. When serving, sprinkle on sharp white cheddar cheese and serve with a nice piece of bread

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: Once again, Lucys house for dinner. I thought up this meal while at work and it was a bit of a chilly day. I have been wanting to make a potato leek, and this one is nice and homey, and nothing is better than the cheese on top! We almost forgot to put it on but it really drive home the dish!! It is a quick soup to make, and while its cooking you can get other things together which is nice, and it lasts easily in the fridge. You can even leave the cream out and add it in as you serve it. Thanks again lucy for another lovely night!!

Day 340: Basil Rose

2010-07-19T16:03:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 glass
Time (Start to Finish): 5 min

Ingredients:
2-3 freshly picked basil leaves
1 glass very good Rose wine

Directions:
1. Take your glass of Rose and take a sip and make sure it is wonderful
2. Tear up the basil leaves into the wine and swizzle it
3. Enjoy the wine

Rating: 3.5 strawberries
Notes: A sad plane ride home, an active brain, what better than a cocktail before bed?? I love sweet savory as you know, and I have been thinking a lot of that in terms of drinks, and in all honesty, this one is INCREDIBLE! I will for sure make this again and again, and in fact, I crave it now! I gave it a lot rating only because of how easy it is to make, but don’t let that make you think it is not tasty. This drink is just the ticket, I am telling you! Try it out, people, and you will never go back!

Day 339: Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

2010-07-19T15:41:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 12x8 inch casserole
Time (Start to Finish): 2 hours

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 ¾ cup flour
¾ cup cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
pinch salt
2 eggs
1 cup half and half
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup boiling water
1 ½ cup walnuts

¼ cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 box powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a casserole dish with pan spray
2. In a bowl, combine the sugars, eggs, oil and vanilla and mix
3. In a separate bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon and add to the egg mixture
4. Add the half and half
5. Add the boiling water and the walnuts and stir until combined
6. Pour into the casserole dish and bake 30 min or until a toothpick comes out clean in the center
7. To make the frosting, put the peanut butter and vanilla in a bowl
8. Add sifted powdered sugar until it becomes spreadable but not runny. You can add more peanut butter if it is too thick, or more powdered sugar if it is too runny. You will most likely not use the whole box.
9. Spread over the cooled cake and serve

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: Happy no reason cake! The girls and I are chilling in san diego and after a few cocktails and waiting for the rain to pass to jump in the ocean, I decided to make a cake! It turned out to be just the ticket…and because it has nuts in it we decided it was healthy. A nice dinner outside by the fireplace, drinks and cake, nothing can be more perfect. This is a great cake, and can be made into a layer cake if you like, but a dish like this is easy and delightful. I hope you like it and try it, it will make any girl smile!

Day 338: Pesto Chicken Pizza

2010-07-19T15:26:00.001-07:00

Yield: 3-4 servings
Time (Start to Finish): 1 hour 30 min

Ingredients:
1 store bought pizza dough, uncooked
flour
8-12 oz parmesan cheese
1 tomato
4 slices chicken breast

1 handful basil
1 handful toasted walnuts
1 handful parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
1 garlic clove
olive oil drizzled in, about ½ cup

Directions:
1. Begin by making the pesto for this pizza by taking the basil, walnuts, parmesan cheese, garlic, salt and pepper and putting them in a food processor or blender. Turn on and drizzle in the olive oil until it becomes a thick paste that is spreadable but holds its form. Taste it and adjust salt and pepper. You can even add a little onion powder
2. Take the dough and cook according to the directions. Mine told me to preheat the oven to 400F, oil a cookie sheet, spread the dough out with flour and bake until it becomes not shiny, about 10 min
3. I removed the dough, covered the top with pesto, sprinkled on parmesan cheese, then chicken pieces and diced the tomato after taking out the seeds.
4. Brush the edges with olive oil and bake until the cheese melts and begins to brown and the edges brown as well

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: The only way to improve this would be to make my own crust. I am at Sarahs beautiful house and we wanted to chill, eat dinner and watch a movie, Happy 4th of july!!! I made this pizza from fresh ingredients in her backyard as well as freshly bought items, and it turned out wonderful! Served best with a variety of cocktails! Also this pizza is good cold the next day. You can add anything to the top you like, and fresh pesto is so simple. You can also use pine nuts, or macadamia nuts for different pizzas you may make. Thanks sarah!! A chill evening with the girls and a fresh homemade pizza..pure heaven

Day 337: Turkey Melt

2010-07-19T15:23:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 sammy
Time (Start to Finish): 30 min

Ingredients:
2 slices sourdough bread
4 slices jack cheese
salt and pepper
4 slices roast turkey
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp butter, softened

Directions:
1. Heat up a skillet to fry the sandwich on
2. Take the butter and 1 Tbsp of honey and mix together
3. Spread it on one side of each of the slices of bread
4. On the non buttered side, place the cheese and the turkey, salt and pepper
5. Drizzle the honey on the inside and sandwich the two together
6. Grill on the pan until brown on both sides and enjoy!

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: Honey glazed turkey is what I made!! It is really tasty. I gave it a lower rating because it stuck a little bit to the pan with the honey on the outside, but it also crystallized nicely, so it tasted great. You can put any cheese you like, and any meat really, and even adding some avocado might be delightful! I made this before I left for the airport to go visit Sarah and Lindsay! Can’t wait to see you ladies, and it’s the perfect holdover meal when flying a one or two hour flight.

Day 336: Fish Tacos

2010-07-18T09:16:00.001-07:00

Yield: 3-4 servings
Time (Start to Finish): 1 hour 30 min

Ingredients:
corn tortillas

1 avocado
1 mango
handful fresh cilantro
2 limes
1 ripe peach
salt and pepper

2 fillets cod
coconut oil
salt and pepper

macadamia nuts, crushed and toasted
coconut, toasted
extra limes for garnish

Directions:
1. Heat a skillet and take the cod and cook it in coconut oil on the pan. You can coat with bread crumbs if you like, or cook it on a grill
2. Take the avocado, mango and peach and cut them into equal sized pieces
3. Put in a bowl and squeeze limes over them and add salt and pepper to taste
4. Combine the coconut and the macadamia nuts and put to the side
5. To assemble, toast up a tortilla, place the fish on top, then the salsa, and sprinkle with coco/mac mixture.

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: This is so light and fresh!! I would make sure to get ripe fruit, my peach was a little firm, and I would cook the fish with a little more flavor, maybe even coating it in the coco/mac mixture when I pan cooked it. I may even add a jalapeño for a little kick, which I forgot to get at the store. I made a little too much, so thanks bobby and Jeanne for helping me eat it!! A summery meal for sure, but eaten inside on a chilly san fran kind of day. The crunch of the macadamia nuts is really what makes this dish something, and the coconut makes me think I am in a tropical island. Please make this! It is a killer recipe!

Day 335: Broccoli Cheddar Frittata

2010-07-18T09:06:00.001-07:00

Yield: 2 people
Time (Start to Finish): 1 hour

Ingredients:
1 cup cheddar/broccoli mixture from soup
½ cup diced yellow onion
1 tsp butter
3 eggs
salt and pepper
½ cup cheddar cheese
¼ cup parmesan cheese
milk
salt and pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions:
1. From my soup yesterday I had strained it and there was broccoli mixture left over which I saved for this. You can just chop up and blend some broccoli with salt and pepper if you want
2. Preheat oven to 400F
3. Take the onion and cook with a little butter in a skillet until it is brown
4. Take the eggs in a bowl and whisk them
5. Add the onion, cheese (both), salt and pepper, cayenne, and if you need to a splash of milk
6. Pour into a greased oven proof casserole dish, small, so it comes up at least half an inch. You can sprinkle with cheese if you want
7. Bake until the eggs are firm. You can bake in a water bath if you are motivated.

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: Nothing better than a classic frittata, which is basically a quiche without the crust. It was nice to find a use for my left over broccoli cheese mixture, and also made me feel like I was having a healthy breakfast! I don’t know why the picture is so shiny, maybe because it is the frittata flipped upside down. With all the running I have been getting myself into, eggs in the morning are just the way to start the day. This goes great with fresh fruit and some yummy toast. I hope you like it!

Month 11

2010-07-16T19:58:00.001-07:00

Annie’s Current Weight: 127
Pleasures: I lost a pound!!! WOOHOO!! And only ONE MORE MONTH!! Who would have thought!? This project went so fast! This month I won my first award, thanks Maggie! This month I jumped a lot of hurdles…many trips, a break up, and man did I pull through with some great stuff! I really felt the support of my friends this month with my cooking, so thanks guys. This month really had a lot of pleasures, and I think the next and final one will too. I also think the pleasure of being so close to the end has put a kick in my step, so that is great.
Pains: it is also a pain it is almost over! Only one more month! Even though I had a lot of support with friends, I have felt rushed this month doing recipes. I feel like this month I thought a lot about how great it will be to be over and not tied down, and so that demotivated me. I talked myself out of that, got back in the moment, and reminded myself each day is important, and each day I have to do this. I also know a few of this months recipes were dumb, like my Disneyland breaky, but I did it nonetheless, even though I had no kitchen and wanted to have fun.
Promises: This is the last month, so promise to make some great things for you guys. I still have a big list of recipes I want to try, and I know I find myself going with what I have in the house, but I promise to really make things I am proud of and know I will want to repeat. I also promise to be as happy as I can this month even though this big thing is coming to a close. It is so bittersweet!! How free I will be, but also, how detached will I be…I promise I will finish what I have started this month and cook every day for a full year.
Ponders: you know, this project really made me think about a year and how quick it can go by. I cant believe it is over in 31 days. This month FLEW by…what now? What will I do? I look back and I am just so proud I did this, and so grateful that through so many hardships and beauties I cooked everyday. Food is a comfort, both when you are happy or sad, and it is just so known to me now where my place is in the world when it comes to passion. I want people to be happy, and I do that not just through my food, but through my giving of food. This month taught me a lot about pushing myself, as has this whole project, and I wish there was some way to pat my own back. I also look at my friends and how there they have been for me to make sure I cook everyday and I am so thankful for them. This really was a nice eye opening month…I cant believe I will only be writing one more of these for my project. What will I do after? Where will this go? Who will I be a year ago from now? How I relish in the mystery…and how I look back on the past with such a smile it lights the room…keep with me guys…31 more days…breath….

Day 334: Cheddar Broccoli Soup

2010-07-16T19:44:00.000-07:00

Yield: 2-3 servings
Time (Start to Finish): 1 hour

Ingredients:
1.4 cup butter
½ yellow onion
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
salt and pepper
1 cup broccoli, frozen
4 cups chicken broth
4 oz cheddar cheese
whole milk

Directions:
1. Melt the butter in a sauce pot and cook the onion until it begins to caramelize
2. Add the broccoli, garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper and cook for a minute
3. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Boil for 15 min
4. Remove mixture and put in a blender, blend until smooth. Strain out some if you like
5. Put back in pot and add cheese. Stir and serve

Rating: 3.5 strawberries
Notes: The flavor of this dish is killer, but the cheese part was SO annoying!!! I suggest making a roux first, adding the cheese to make a cheese sauce and then adding it to the soup. Just adding cheese led to a sticky mess. It was also chunkier than I wanted, so straining it will help you out. I served it with yummy bread and more cheese on top. It is pretty incredible how easy this soup can be! Nothing better than summer in san fran and the urge to make hot soup to keep you toasty!

Day 333: Big Ol’ Pasta Salad

2010-07-12T13:20:00.001-07:00

Yield: 3-4 people
Time (Start to Finish): 45 min

Ingredients:
1 avocado
1 pint blueberries
6 strawberries
3 handfuls spinach
2 cups chicken, chopped
1 pint cherry tomatoes
salt and pepper
balsamic dressing
2 cups whole wheat pasta

Directions:
1. We used rotisserie chicken chopped up, but you can use any kind you like
2. Cook the pasta and run it until cold water to stop the cooking
3. Place in a bowl and dress with a little dressing, salt and pepper
4. Chop up the avocado, strawberries, spinach and add to the salad
5. Add all ingredients and taste to add more salt or pepper

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: Once again, hanging with Lucy proves fruitful…this salad was awesome!! So easy to make, and I think almost everything was bought at the farmers market, which makes it even better. I love summer and California! We watched Gray’s Anatomy and ate this salad and it was perfect! I love fruit in a savory type salad. You could sprinkle in parmesan cheese which would be great, and always serve yummy bread with it! I hope you like it!!

Day 332: White Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

2010-07-12T12:43:00.000-07:00

Yield: 12 pieces
Time (Start to Finish): 30 min

Ingredients:
2 cups white chocolate chips (16 oz)
1 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky)
1 cup toasted pecans
pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp cinnamon

Directions:
1. In a bowl put the white chocolate chips and melt in the microwave until smooth
2. Add the peanut butter, vanilla, salt, cayenne and cinnamon and stir
3. Add the pecans and pour into wax paper or a greased sheet
4. Cool in the fridge and serve!

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: So I made this for Tricia’s birthday, but ended up forgetting to bring it to her, so to work it went, and I never saw something go so fast. It is sweet, the nuts are perfect, and who doesn’t like peanut butter and chocolate! This would work fine with regular chocolate chips, but the white chocolate seals the deal. The cayenne adds just a touch of spice, and the cinnamon adds a lot of flavor. Happy birthday Tricia!

Day 331: Sweet Road Trail Mix

2010-07-12T12:15:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 bag
Time (Start to Finish): 15 min

Ingredients:
2 pieces chocolate nut toffee
sunflower seeds
beef jerky, shredded
skittles

Directions:
1. Break up the toffee into bite size pieces
2. Add the sunflower seeds, jerky and skittles and mix together
3. Bring on the road and keep cool

Rating: 3.5 strawberries
Notes: I am so tired!! Just dropped the girls off at the airport and heading to my brothers to spend the night, I hope I can stay up! I made this with left over things in the car, plus fresh toffee I bought in the candy shop, so so good! Sorry no skittles got in the pic, but they are there. A nice little sugar treat will help me stay awake for a little longer. Make this is you need a sugar rush. Enjoy!

Day 330: Hotel Room Breaky

2010-07-12T11:48:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 person
Time (Start to Finish): 10 min

Ingredients:
1 biscuit
cream cheese packet
syrup packet
1 slice bacon
1 sausage patty
1 egg scrambled

Directions:
1. Free Hot Breakfast! Go stock up on all of these things and bring them to your hotel room
2. Split the biscuit in half and spread cream cheese on one side and syrup on the other
3. Place the bacon, sausage and egg on it and serve hot!

Rating: 3 strawberries
Notes: I know, not the most creative, but it happens. I made something didn’t I? and it ruled. It is sporting a Disney t-shirt we bought for Sarah’s baby Drew. This is another heavy sitter which is perfect when running around Disneyland all day. It was quick to make, and full of flavor! Made it in your next hotel guys.

Day 329: On The Road Snack

2010-07-12T11:39:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 snack
Time (Start to Finish): 5 min

Ingredients:
1 Nutter Butter cookie
sunflower seeds
beef jerky

Directions:
1. Take the Nutter Butter and peel apart like you would an oreo
2. Sprinkle sunflower seeds on the peanut side so they stick and place beef jerky on top
3. Sandwich together and enjoy!

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: Disneyland here we come! Meghan and I are driving from Sacramento down to LA to go to Disneyland! Woohoo! This is something we made on the road, a protein booster. Super quick and stuff you can get at any gas station. I liked it way more than I thought I was going to, and actually made a bunch more! You have to try it on your next road trip. It doesn’t just have to be to Disneyland, but that did make it all the sweeter!

Day 328: Yogurt Rice

2010-07-12T11:23:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 serving
Time (Start to Finish): 1 hour

Ingredients:
1 cup vanilla yogurt
¼ cup rice
sugar
honey
coconut milk

Directions:
1. Take the yogurt and put it in cheesecloth in a strainer over a bowl. Let sit most of the day so the moisture comes out of it
2. Cook the rice with a little sugar in the water until done
3. Mix with the yogurt and add honey and coconut milk to flavor

Rating: 3 strawberries
Notes: The texture of this is not the best, but I like the idea of flavoring yogurt after straining out the juice. I have done a lot with rice, and I might leave it out in this dish. Don’t have much to say about it, maybe you can add shredded coconut too for some kick!

Day 327: Dessert Macaroni and Cheese

2010-07-06T15:32:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 8x11 pan
Time (Start to Finish): 1 hour

Ingredients:
3 cups macaroni noodles
12 oz cream cheese
½ cup sour cream
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup white chocolate
1 recipe streusel (Day 326)
½ cup sugar

Directions:
1. Cook the noodles in a pot of sugared water. Take water, bring to a boil with about 2 Tbsp sugar in it and cook the noodles, strain and cool
2. In a separate bowl combine the cream cheese, softened, sour cream, vanilla and 1/c cup sugar until smooth
3. Melt the white chocolate in microwave and whisk into the mixture.
4. If the mixture is too thick, add a little more sour cream or sugar to smooth it out. Taste and adjust seasonings, add more vanilla if needed or more melted chocolate
5. Add the noodles and mix until they are coated
6. Preheat the broiler
7. Pour into a pan and pat down
8. Sprinkle the streusel on top covering it
9. Bake in the broiler until the topping is just beginning to brown. Serve warm or cold

Rating: 5 strawberries
Notes: Happy Birthday Maggie!! I went to a macaroni and cheese birthday party where there is a big contest, and this was my entry. 2 prizes were given, one for best tasting and one for most creative, and I won most creative by a landslide!! How cool! This is my first culinary award!!! I was so happy I almost cried. I also had multiple people come up to me asking If I had tried the dessert mac and cheese and how good it was without them knowing I had made it, what a big compliment. This mac and cheese was so easy to make it almost scared me, and I thought it up while I was folding shirts at work, how silly! This is a must try if you are going to a pot luck. It will blow everyones minds. It is good in small portions, I couldn’t sit down and eat a big slab, but so so good!! I really don’t think it could have been any better. I hope you try this and thanks for the prize Maggie!! (She has been with me in this project since the beginning, you rock girl)

Day 326: Streusel Topping

2010-07-06T14:37:00.000-07:00

Yield: 1 8x10 dish
Time (Start to Finish): 25 min

Ingredients:
½ cup flour
4 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp butter, cold and cubed
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
pinch nutmeg
pinch salt
¼ cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:
1. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and nuts
2. Add the butter and crumble in with your hand so it looks like corn meal
3. Add the vanilla. You want it crumbly but not TOO dry
4. Sprinkle on top of pies, coffee cakes, or the dessert of your choice. Saves well in the fridge

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: I know, kind of a boring recipe, but just wait! I am making something KILLER tomorrow to put this on top of. Streusel is something that can easily be messed up, but once you get a good ratio, its perfect. You can add any nuts you like, or leave them out. You can also add coconut or bits of toffee if you like. I hope you enjoy this but just check out what I am going to put it on!

Day 325: Barley Thyme Risotto

2010-07-06T14:18:00.000-07:00

Yield: 2 servings
Time (Start to Finish): 1 hour

Ingredients:
½ yellow onion
2 garlic cloves
olive oil
salt and pepper
½ cup pearl barley
2-3 cups chicken stock
½ cup parmesan cheese
2 sprigs fresh thyme
½ lemon, juiced

Directions:
1. In a sauce pot on medium heat put the chopped onion, garlic cloves, olive oil, salt and pepper and stir until the onions become soft. You can put the garlic in later and caramelize the onion if you like.
2. Add the barley and stir for about 30 sec
3. In a separate pot, heat up the chicken stock
4. Add ½ cup chicken stock and stir until it becomes absorbed
5. Keep adding stock ½ cup at a time until the barley is soft and cooked through, but the mix is no longer soupy. You may need more chicken stock
6. When it is cooked through, add the parmesan cheese, fresh thyme and the lemon juice. Taste to adjust seasonings and serve

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: This just came to me while I was in the grocery store, and I know it has been done before, but I felt pretty smart to think it up. Barley is one of my favorite foods..beef barley soup I just can not top, and risotto is one of my favorite foods, so it was a perfect combo. This dish is really good, and go easy on the salt, the chicken stock and cheese are salty enough. This is also something you can easily save for later. I hope you guys like it! It is super hearty and a nice fireplace kind of meal.

Day 324: White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

2010-07-05T14:21:00.001-07:00

Yield: 2 dozen
Time (Start to Finish): 1 hour

Ingredients:
½ cup butter
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 ¼ cup flour
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp baking soda
pinch salt
½ cup chopped macadamia nuts
½ cup white chocolate chunks

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F
2. Cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy
3. Add the egg and vanilla and combine
4. Add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt
5. Fold in the chocolate and the nuts
6. Chill for about 30 min
7. Drop batter in 1 inch balls onto a greased cookie sheet. You can flatten a little with your hand
8. Bake for about 10-12 min or until they begin to brown

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: Yummy in the sun, and look at the picture! It’s the perfect round cookie! How rare that is at home! These were pretty amazing, and I once again need some sweetness, so white chocolate is ideal! These are pretty quick to make, a one bowl treat, and can be made in the morning, chilled all day, and baked at will. I must admit I didn’t share many of these and ate them with a big ol glass of milk! If you want a softer cookie, sub half of the butter for shortening.

Day 323: Chocolate Strawberry Muffins

2010-07-05T14:11:00.000-07:00

Yield: 6 muffins
Time (Start to Finish): 1 hour

Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup flour
6 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup butter
¾ cup chocolate chips
6 big fresh strawberries

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a muffin tin with papers
2. In a mixer mix the eggs and sugar until light
3. Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, alternating with the milk
4. Add the vanilla
5. Melt the butter and add it as well
6. With a spatula fold in the chocolate chips and pour into each muffin tin
7. Chop up the strawberries and put each one in the center of each muffin, making sure the tops are covered. You can sprinkle more chocolate chips on top
8. Bake for about 20 min until they are cooked through the center

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: I always have trouble with chocolate muffins because they are so dessertlike I just cant eat them for breakfast! Chocolate and strawberries are my FAVORITE combo, and this is just what I needed today. A bit of a hangover, just broke up with my boy, and about to go play slosh ball in the park with a group of college boys…a muffin made from my 2 favorite things is just the ticket. They are light and fluffy, and I even thought they would be good with peanut butter chips in them. This recipe was one of the hardest for me to make...i just did not want to bake today, but I am so close to the end I cant quit now! I hope you make them and love them guys, they sure as hell perked me up and put a fat ol smile on my face.

Day 322: Breaky-Schetta

2010-07-05T14:01:00.001-07:00

Yield: 2 servings
Time (Start to Finish): 45 min

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 tomatoes
basil
salt and pepper
olive oil
2 pieces baguette

Directions:
1. Brush the bread with olive oil and a little salt and either grill or put in the oven until toasty
2. In a bowl, combine the tomato, chopped up, basil, salt and pepper, and olive oil until combined. Taste to adjust seasonings
3. In a frying pan with a little oil, scramble the egg with salt and pepper
4. Take the bread out and put the egg on top
5. Add the tomato mixture on top of the egg and serve

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: This recipe is all to do with the ingredients…if they are fresh and good the meal will be. If they are old, it will not taste good at all. I made this before a long say of work hiring people, and it was a nice protein fresh boost. Nothing makes me more awake than fresh fruits and veggies. The bread was super yummy too, nice French baguette. Go ahead and give this breakfast a go!

Day 321: Left Over Thai Wrap

2010-07-05T12:54:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 wrap
Time (Start to Finish): 20 min

Ingredients:
1 spring roll wrap
1 carrot
1 cucumber
left over red curry, about ½ cup
handful fresh cilantro
1 green apple
water

Directions:
1. Take the carrot, cucumber and apple and cut into long think ¼ inch thick strips
2. Take the cilantro and cut up
3. In a bowl put the veggies and the cilantro and pour in a little of the red curry and mix up
4. Take the spring roll paper and dip it in water to soften
5. Fill with the veggie mixture and wrap up so all sides are closed
6. Heat up the rest of the red curry liquid and serve on the side as a dipping sauce.

Rating: 3 strawberries
Notes: What a weird invention. I mean, it was good tasting, but I don’t know when I would really serve this. The left over curry sauce was from my red curry with chicken last night and all that was left was the sauce and bell peppers, so I had to use the sauce for something and dump the peppers as fast as possible. My roomie left some spring roll wraps, and I had some veggies, and you know how I am with green apple, throwing it in everything, so I thought this was a fun little dish. I also liked how it was a hot sauce and a cold wrap, which is not normal. I would only really try this if you had the stuff, I wouldn’t seek it out, but I must say, it felt healthy and tasted yummy and was a great use of leftovers.

Day 320: Sticky Rice, Kind Of

2010-07-05T12:30:00.000-07:00

Yield: 1 cup rice
Time (Start to Finish): 45 min

Ingredients:
½ cup rice
½ cup water
1 cup coconut water
4 Tbsp honey
pinch salt
splash coconut milk

Directions:
1. In a pot, put the rice, water, coconut water and salt and cook. You want to cook until the rice is cooked through and not wet. Cook in a rice maker if you have it, we are just making classic rice here, but with mainly coconut water
2. When the rice is cooked, take out, splash a little coconut milk and add the honey. You can add more if it is not sticky enough, and enjoy alone or with fruit!

Rating: 3.5 strawberries
Notes: Tricked you didn’t I? sticky rice…haha, its sticky from the honey, not because I am competent enough to cook classic thai sticky rice..HAHA, I am so funny…but seriously, this is really tasty and a nice little snack. Honey makes anything better I am telling you, and coconut milk does also. This is just a nice dessert thing to kill a sweet tooth and fill you up. I made this and watched the bachlorette. Hahaha…I think the sugar rush put me in a silly mood. Try this guys!

Day 319: Cinnamon Refried Beans

2010-07-05T12:20:00.000-07:00

Yield: 2 cups beans
Time (Start to Finish): 15 min

Ingredients:
1 can refried beans
½ yellow onion
olive oil
salt and pepper
cinnamon to taste

Directions:
1. Cook the onion in olive oil on med until it is soft and cooked
2. Add the can of beans and stir to combine, heating through
3. Add a touch of salt and pepper and cinnamon until you can taste it, usually about 2 Tbsp. serve warm

Rating: 3.5 strawberries
Notes: I gave this a low rating because I didn’t do too much to it. I could have made the pinto beans from scratch, but really it is quite tasty. Where would you serve these? At a 4th of july party, any type of bbq. The cinnamon is a cool twist on classic pinto beans, so I really suggest trying it. It is much tastier than it may appear. I wouldn’t really use this if you were making burritos, but as a side it is perfect. They are quick when in a pinch, I am in a rush today, hah!

Day 318: Macaroni Potato Salad

2010-07-05T12:13:00.001-07:00

Yield: 4 servings
Time (Start to Finish): 1 hour

Ingredients:
1 cup macaroni noodles
6 red potatoes
¾ cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp mustard
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1 small green onion chopped
2 sprigs dill
salt and pepper
1 tsp onion powder

Directions:
1. Cook the macaroni noodles and the potatoes separately. Cook the noodles through and the potatoes, precut into cubes, so that they are a little uncooked. Let both cool
2. In a bowl, combine the mayo, mustard, vinegar, dill, onion powder, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings.
3. Chop up the onion and add to the mix
4. Add the potatoes and the macaroni and chill. Again, taste and adjust seasonings.

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: I was inspired by my brothers baby shower to make macaroni potato salad. This one is pretty simple, I made it while in a rush, but it would taste killer with some hard boiled eggs in it or a caramelized onion. You can make more of the dressing too, but I kept it light on this batch. You could also add shredded carrots or cabbage and make it more like a macaroni salad if you like. Check this out, its pretty awesome on a summer day.

Day 317: Oatmeal Health Freak Pancakes

2010-07-05T09:12:00.001-07:00

Yield: 10 pancakes
Time (Start to Finish): 40 min

Ingredients:
1 ½ cup rolled oats
2 cups whole milk
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp brown sugar
¼ cup flax powder
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
¼ cup melted butter
¾ cup pecans
1 tsp vanilla
more butter for cooking

Directions:
1. Warm the milk and in a bowl add the milk and the oats and let stand for 3-5 min
2. Add the flour, sugar, flax powder, baking powder, cinnamon and eggs and mix. You can add a touch more milk if they are super thick
3. Melt the butter in your skillet and then pour it into the batter with the pecans and vanilla and mix until just combined
4. On a well greased skillet pour ¼ cup batter per cake and cook on each side until it begins to brown. Repeat process until batter in gone.

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: Improvements include adding bananas and yogurt for some of the milk…other than that, MAN these are good! They are heavy, sit hard for the day, and really pack a killer punch in the morning. You can serve them with strawberries and cream, or just some syrup like Mac and I did. Perfect! I have been wanting to make a healthier pancake, and this one steals the show. They are also good cold with a little peanut butter. A great thing to bring on a trip as a snack. This is seriously a must try. If you are using steal cut oats, cook the oatmeal first and cut back on the milk.

Day 316: Lemon Honey Ice

2010-07-05T09:10:00.001-07:00

Yield: 2 cups
Time (Start to Finish): 20 min plus 6 hours

Ingredients:
1 cup lemon juice
½ cup honey
3 Tbsp sugar
½ cup water
1 mint leaf

Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients together and taste. Adjust according to the flavor, add more sweetening, or more lemon
2. Remove the mint leaf if it holds too much flavor and put liquid in a freezer able container.
3. Every 30 min, stir mixture with a fork
4. Ad it crystallizes, break them up so it becomes a soft ice
5. Serve in a bowl on a hot day

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: So this wasn’t the warmest of days, but this was a nice treat nonetheless. It is like frozen lemonade! I like adding the honey to mix up the sweetness from always just sugar. It does make it take longer to freeze then, but it is worth it! It I best to serve this the day you make it or a day after because otherwise the ice crystals become too big. I hope you like this little treat!!

Day 315: Spicy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2010-07-05T09:05:00.000-07:00

Yield: 2 dozen cookies
Time (Start to Finish): 1 hour

Ingredients:
¾ cup butter
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp cinnamon
pinch salt
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup raisins
3 tsp cayenne pepper
¼ cup chopped candied ginger

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Combine the sugars and butter and cream in a mixer until smooth and fluffy
3. Add the eggs and vanilla
4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, oats and cayenne pepper
5. Add the dry mixture to the wet and stir until combined
6. With a spatula add the ginger and raisins and mix until evenly distributed
7. Chill dough for about 20-30 min
8. Form into balls and flatten a little on the cookie sheet about 2 inches apart
9. Bake for 12-15 min until they begin to brown. Try not to overbake to get a softer cookie

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: ok, I MAY have added a little too much cayenne, but I think it is awesome. The ginger really seals the deal. I am not a raisin fan, but I though I might as well make some cookies at least a little like they are supposed to. These are pretty killer, and with the amount of cayenne I added they can easily be a prank to play on someone…the innocent cookie in reality is a deadly spice trap! Try them out on someone who likes oatmeal raisin. I know they will crave the classic, but they will for sure enjoy these too

Day 314: Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes

2010-07-05T09:02:00.001-07:00

Yield: 12 cupcakes
Time (Start to Finish): 45 min

Ingredients:
¼ cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
pinch salt
½ tsp baking powder
¼ cup milk

1 package chocolate chip cookie dough

1 package vanilla frosting

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F and line 12 cupcake tins with papers
2. In a mixer, cream the butter and the sugar until smooth
3. Add the eggs and vanilla and scrape the bowl
4. Combine the flour, salt and baking powder and alternate with the milk, adding half at a time
5. Take the batter and fill each cupcake tin about ½ filled or a little less
6. Take the cookie dough and make a ball about 1 inch across
7. Place it in the center of each cupcake
8. Bake for about 20 min until they are cooked though
9. When cooled, take the frosting and with a star tip pipe it onto the top of the cupcakes

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: ok, my cupcakes fell in the center, did yours? They still tasted awesome, but they didn’t have the best mouth feel, or look so good. I think something went wrong in my cupcake base…maybe try just granulated sugar next time, or if you are really nervous, use a box mix for this. I thought of this idea when I was asking people what I should make today and someone said cupcakes and someone else said cookies. Why not please two people at the same time!! The icing can be cream cheese if you like, but I though a classic simple box buttercream is where its at. I hope you like them and try them. They would also be good with oatmeal cookie dough I think..maybe next time.

Day 313: Lemon Thyme Risotto

2010-07-05T08:55:00.000-07:00

Yield: 2 servings
Time (Start to Finish): 45 min

Ingredients:
½ cup risotto rice
1-2 cups vegetable stock (you may need more)
2 lemons, zested and juiced
4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
1 clove garlic
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 tsp honey
¼ cup parm cheese

Directions:
1. Heat up the vegetable stock in a separate pot
2. In a sauce pot, add the olive oil, chopped garlic and stir until it begins to soften
3. Add the rice and cook for about 30 sec on med heat
4. Add ½ cup veggie stock and stir until it is dissolved
5. Keep adding veggie stock a half cup at a time and let it be combined before adding more and until the rice is soft
6. Add the lemon juice, zest and honey and stir
7. Add the parm cheese and combine until melted
8. Salt and pepper to taste, and add the thyme
9. Taste to adjust seasoning, and always you can add a dash of cayenne for a hint of spice

Rating: 3.5 strawberries
Notes: I have had lemon risotto once before, and it was yummy, but something I learned is you cant eat a whole bowl of it like you can other kinds of risotto. It is a very dessert like flavor, and just a little will do. I suggest serving this as an appetizer instead of a main course and serving less per person. The honey is there to add a little sweetness to it, and if it is not lemony enough, add more zest or even a drop of lemon flavor. The garlic can be left out, and you can add onion if you like. I like this dish, but really in just a couple bites, hehe.

Day 312: Cauliflower Soup

2010-07-01T21:32:00.001-07:00

Yield: 2 cups soup
Time (Start to Finish): 25 min

Ingredients:
1 cup cauliflower, cooked in salted water
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup vegetable stock
salt and pepper
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp butter
½ cup parmesan cheese
½ tsp onion powder
sprinkle of thyme

Directions:
1. Take a frying pan and heat up the butter on med
2. Add the chopped garlic and cook until softens and begins to brown
3. Take a blender, add the cooked cauliflower, garlic, and veggie stock and blend until smooth
4. Add to a sauce pot and add the cream, parm cheese, onion powder, thyme, salt and pepper and taste
5. Change seasoning according to taste

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: yummy!! I might add some green onion to this, but other than that I really think this soup is killer. Maybe even a sprinkle of cayenne! I had all that left over cauliflower and this is a perfect little treat. You can add broccoli to this for some color, or different cheese, and of course serve this with some yummy bread. Nothing tasted better than soup with good bread.

Day 311: Cauliflower Gratin

2010-06-28T17:40:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 med casserole dish
Time (Start to Finish): 1 hour

Ingredients:
½ head cauliflower, cut into pieces
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup cream, warmed
salt and pepper
nutmeg
cayenne
½ cup asiago cheese
¼ cup parmesan cheese, plus 2 Tbsp
½ cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. In boiling salted water, cook the cauliflower for about 3 min until it is still firm but just softening. Remove from hot water and plunge in ice water
3. Melt the butter in a pan and add the flour with a whisk and then add the cream. Whisk until it begins to thicken
4. Add the cheeses (minus the 2 Tbsp), salt, pepper, scrape of nutmeg and cayenne and stir until it until it melts
5. Add the cauliflower, stir, and pour into the saucepan
6. Combine the bread crumbs with the parm cheese and sprinkle on top of the casserole and bake for 25-30 min until the top begins to brown

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: I remember working in New York at a catering company in their food design department and we would be able to taste a lot of the food they cooked. They made a KILLER cauliflower gratin and it is all I think of when I think of cauliflower. This is cheesy, yummy, and a great sub if you don’t want to eat mac and cheese. You must try it. It is also a great spread on toasts or pita pieces. I hope you guys make this. You can even change the cheese around to cheddar or jack or all sorts of stuff!

Day 310: Potato Chips

2010-06-28T17:12:00.001-07:00

Yield: 2 chips
Time (Start to Finish): 45 min

Ingredients:
2 slices of russet potato, skinned
½ stick butter
salt
cayenne pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 475F
2. Take a cookie sheet and line with foil
3. Brush the sheet with butter
4. Take the potato slices and brush with butter, sprinkle a little salt and cayenne and put in the oven
5. Bake for 15-20 min or until they begin to brown
6. Remove and sprinkle with more salt and cayenne!

Rating: 3.5 strawberries
Notes: Ok, I have never made potato chips before, and in case you didn’t know, I get scared of cooking with oil, so I thought about baking them. I only cooked 2 slices because I was sure I was going to mess them up, but they turned out pretty good! I put on too much cayenne, and I folded one of the chips to see how it would cook, and it was fine! Use a slicer to slice them thin like I did, but you can cut them as thick as you like. Also make sure the slices are dry before you butter them. You can add any seasoning you like, and they are yummy! Also you may not use all the butter, but you can never have too much. Next time I will make more than 2!

Post Delay!

2010-06-23T07:46:00.001-07:00

Hi guys, sorry for the delay in getting posts out, but don't worry, through thick and thin i have been cooking and working hard! I am in disneyland until monday, and will then fill up this blog with about 15 posts...chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes, oatmeal pancakes, chocolate strawberry muffins, and the star, dessert macaroni and cheese! there will be much more amazing things in this home stretch, and sorry for the delay. I have been busy with life. I appreciate though that i haven't missed a day, even as much as i wanted to, and your patience with me melts me butter
Thanks guys, and keep coming back to me!

Day 309: Stuffed Banana Bread French Toast

2010-06-10T18:40:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 sandwich
Time (Start to Finish): 25 min

Ingredients:
2 slices banana bread
4 thin slices apple
peanut butter

1 egg
¼ cup milk
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp vanilla

butter (for pan)
syrup

Directions:
1. Heat a pan to med/med high and make sure it is buttered
2. In a bowl combine the egg, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla with a whisk
3. Take the 2 slices of banana bread and spread peanut butter on one side of each of them
4. Place the slices of apple on one of the slices, and make into a sandwich with the other slice
5. Dip the entire sandwich into the egg mixture, flip so all sides are covered, and put on the pan
6. Cook until each side is browned in the butter and serve with syrup

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: So this is left over mom’s banana bread that I thought I would put a twist on. This stuffed banana bread is awesome. I might even suggest using honey on top instead of syrup. It is dense, so one sammy was enough for me. The apple stayed a little cold too, so it was nice and crisp. I used granny smith and I kept the peel on. I hope you make this! Store bought banana bread is fine too!

Day 308: Protein Banana Pancakes

2010-06-10T17:40:00.001-07:00

Yield: 12 pancakes
Time (Start to Finish): 40 min

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
3 ½ tsp baking powder
½ cup vanilla protein powder
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 ½ cup milk
1 egg
3 Tbsp butter
2 bananas, chopped

butter (for cooking)
syrup (for topping)

Directions:
1. Preheat your skillet to med, and melt the 3 Tbsp of butter in the skillet
2. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, protein powder and sugar
3. Add the milk and the egg and stir until not totally combined
4. Add the butter, and stir until just combined. You want it thick, but a little runny, pourable, so you can add more milk if it is not. Add the bananas
5. On the buttered skillet, pour the batter about ¼ cup for each pancake
6. Flip when little bubbles appear on top, and cook till brown on both sides.
7. Butter the pan after each cooking

Rating: 3.5 strawberries
Notes: These pancakes are just the beginning…I know how to make these even better and more amazing, so expect and v.2 of these. I made these in the morning, and doubled the recipe because Mac wanted them as a snack later in the day. Nothing like cold banana pancakes with peanut butter and raisins. You gotta try these, but I must say, the fact that they have protein powder made me feel like it was ok to eat 5! They are fluffy, buttery, and just a great pancake recipe. Oh, and we cooked them on a grill pan which was kind of fun and left cool marks

Day 307: Zucchini Nut Bread

2010-06-10T16:23:00.000-07:00

Yield: 1 loaf
Time (Start to Finish): 1-2 hours

Ingredients:
1 ½ cup flour
pinch salt
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
2 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 ½ tsp vanilla
1 cup grated zucchini
½ cup chopped pecans

Directions:
1. I use a foil loaf pan so I can give it to people, but if you don’t have that, grease a regular loaf pan, and preheat the oven to 325F
2. Take the eggs, oil, vanilla and sugar and mix together
3. Add the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix very well
4. Add the zucchini and nuts and mix until combined
5. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan and bake for about 45 min or until a knife comes out clean

Rating: 3.5 strawberries
Notes: I love this bread!! It is simple, sweet, and quite wonderful. My mom gave me a loaf of banana bread today, and I suddenly remembered how quick and easy zucchini is, and I wanted some quickly. I almost ate this whole loaf in one day…sorry moms banana bread! Its nice to have a one bowl quick bread too. Make sure to mix WELL, and it tasted best toasted with a skim of butter on top!

Day 306: Strawberry Hummus

2010-06-10T15:57:00.000-07:00

Yield: 2-3 cups
Time (Start to Finish): 15 min

Ingredients:
1 can (16 oz) chickpeas or garbanzo beans, drained
¼ cup liquid from can of beans
2-3 lemons, juiced, about 4 Tbsp
2 Tbsp tahini
salt
4-5 strawberries
2 tbsp honey

toasts

Directions:
1. Take a food processor and put in all the ingredients.
2. Blend and adjust the flavoring, more lemon juice, another strawberry, salt or pepper
3. Serve with toasts for breakfast!

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: This is a simple hummus recipe and I changed it up so it was a little more sweet and breakfasty. The honey adds a lot of flavor and I just love strawberries. Also, the beans are a nice protein kick in the morning. A classic hummus has garlic and olive oil, so you can alter this one to make a savory one. You can even add basil or something to this one!

Day 305: Fruit Pizza

2010-06-07T21:41:00.000-07:00

Yield: 4-8 servings (is half a serving?)
Time (Start to Finish): 2 hours

Ingredients:
Biscuits:
1 cup flour
salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
½ cup powdered sugar
1/8 cup cold butter
½ cup half and half
1 tsp vanilla

cream cheese
powdered sugar, sifted
vanilla

milk
sugar

fresh fruit

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Combine the flour, powdered sugar, salt, baking powder in a bowl
3. Add the cold butter and mix with your hands to make little butter pieces
4. Add the half and half and vanilla and mix until combines
5. Pour dough onto a floured table and knead with flour for about 1 min
6. Pat to ½ inch thick and with a sharp cutter, cut circles
7. Place on a cookie sheet
8. Brush milk over the top and then sprinkle with sugar and bake until brown, about 15 min
9. Take the cream cheese, however much you want, and mix with vanilla and sifted powdered sugar until it becomes a frosting, smooth and spread able
10. Take the biscuit and cut in half. Spread cream cheese mix on one half
11. Take fresh fruit, I used kiwis and blueberries, and place on top.
12. Serve!

Rating: 3.5 strawberries
Notes: yummy! Fruit, cream cheese, biscuits, cant get better. This didn’t get a better rating because I wanted the biscuit to be thinner. You can use a sweetened pizza dough, or make cookies, but biscuits are good too. I made this one extra sweet. They are good. You can even melt some apricot jam with some water and spread it on top to make it shiny, but I didn’t have time. A nice dessert, or even a morning thing. And you can use any fruit looks good to you guys!

Month 10

2010-06-07T20:55:00.000-07:00

Annie’s Current Weight: 128
Pleasures: well guys, we have finally hit the double digits in the month count, and we are under 100 days, so you cant get much better than that! I know I gained a pound, but I think I am gaining muscle with all my bike riding and working out this month. I also made a lot of cheesy soul food which was great. I didn’t go on any major trips this month, so I got to focus and really cook some stuff, but it got hard once in awhile with life getting in the way. I got to cook a lot with travis and Maggie and see my girl Christina take off. I liked the challenges I was put in front of.
Pains: Weight gain always sucks, but its great to gain some strength. I am getting tired, and its hard to motivate myself. I am getting a lot of congratulations for finishing, but, I have to remember I still have 2 months left. That is still a LOT of time. I was suck a bunch of times looking at my filled shelf of food and not knowing what to make. Everything I thought of I had done, and I always had to force myself to go to the store to get something exciting and new. Im scared im going to repeat something.
Promises: I promise to rock your socks off these last 2 months!! I have some trips planned…Disneyland, san Diego, LA, but I will work HARD to make some easy blow you out of the water treats! I promise to focus these 60 days and really make this a priority.
Ponders: you know, here is what has happened. This project began and I didn’t want to spread the word about it because it was too new and fresh I didn’t think people would believe I would commit to a year. Then it was in the middle of the project, and people would be psyched for a bit, but saw there was still time left, so no big thing. And now, well, it has become such a part of me to cook everyday and to think about it everyday, I don’t even find it worth while to share with others because I just cook and then move on. This cooking has just become my life. I do it every single day. I think something up every day. People have asked, do I plan it ahead of time? Where do the ideas come from. Honestly, I do not plan ahead ever. The only times I have are when I have to catch an early flight, or know I need to do it in the morning, but normally I will be at work, just thinking about what I feel like eating, and something will come up. Like, my greatest comfort food is cream of chicken soup and the other day I was feeling lonely, and it was what I wanted. Or I will go to a grocery store, see limes are good and make lime bars. I talk things through with people…would this taste good with this? Or think about my friends, like, travis is from the south, maybe pecans and caramel. It comes fresh everyday. The recipes are thought of THAT day. I sometimes look up recipes to get a base idea, and then bounce off of it, add wine or spices, and make it my own. It is fun, and has for sure changed the way I look at food. I feel more brave, and much more open to try things and be ok with failing. Failures bring the greatest rewards. I know this from experience, and I know this project will NOT be one of those failures. I learn from all my mistakes, and i have learned from this project something I didn’t see coming, which is I can commit to something hard, something where the end isn’t even remotely close, and where at time I have to tell friends, no, I gotta go do this cooking thing. It makes me smile to myself, and sigh proudly…but I gotta remember…its not over yet…

Day 304: Chicken Parmesan

2010-06-07T20:18:00.001-07:00

Yield: 4 servings
Time (Start to Finish): 1.5 hours

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts, slightly flattened
1 egg
½ cup half and half
flour
¾ cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
olive oil
salt and pepper
cayenne powder
8 slices mozzarella
1 jar marinara sauce
½ cup white wine (chardonnay)
parmesan cheese
asiago cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat a skillet to med migh, and preheat the oven to 350F
2. Take 3 bowls. In 1 put the flour with salt, pepper, and cayenne. In the second, whisk the egg and milk. In the 3rd, put the seasoned bread crumbs
3. Put olive oil in the pan
4. Dip the chicken in the flour, then egg mixture, then breadcrumbs and place on the skillet
5. While its cooking, take a 9 inch square casserole dish and place some sauce on the bottom. Then sprinkle with some parm cheese and some asiago. Also pour in the white wine
6. Flip the chicken. You want it to brown on both sides. Once it is cooked, place them on the sauce in the pan
7. Pour the rest of the sauce on top of the chicken
8. Top each chicken breast with 2 slices of mozzarella and sprinkle with more parm and asiago
9. Bake for 25-30 min or until it bubbles and begins to brown and serve alone, on a French role as a sammy or on some spaghetti!

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: oh wow, this is such a good dish!!! You can use any kind of sauce you want, or make your own, but this is really a quick dish. It is so homey and perfect, I am telling you! You can mix up the cheeses, add spices to it, anything you like, which is what I like. You can make 10 different dishes in one meal. I made this to have extra and ended up eating 2 and sharing 2. I must make more next time! The wine is really what seals the deal. You can add red if you want. I threw in what was in the fridge. Eat this and relax!

Day 303: Popovers

2010-06-04T16:42:00.001-07:00

Yield: 6 popovers
Time (Start to Finish): 30 min

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup whole milk

2 Tbsp butter, melted

jam, salted butter, and marmalade

Directions:
1. Popovers are sensitive, but once you do them, you will see they are easy, so follow the instructions and all will be ok!
2. Preheat the oven to 450F and place the rack the second highest from the bottom
3. Take a popover pan or a 6 muffin tin and place it on a cookie sheet
4. Place it in the oven to get hot
5. In a bowl, place the flour and the salt
6. Warm the milk and vanilla in the microwave so it is a little warmer than room temp, and add the eggs to it. Mix to combine. You want this mixture room temp, and completely mixed.
7. Whisk it into the dry ingredients until it is barely combined. Tiny pieces of flour is ok, you don’t want to over mix
8. Take the pan out of the oven and brush with the melted butter. Brush the top of the pan too
9. Pour the batter into the pan (its nice to use something with a lip so its easy to pour) about half way full and put in the oven
10. DO NOT PEAK IN ON THEM!
11. Bake for 17 min at 450F and then lower the heat to 375F and bake for 10 min. check now and if they are golden brown, remove. Otherwise bake another 5 min
12. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: Popovers are one of those foods that blows my mind..why does it do that in the oven? It is so cool! They are so fun! They taste like a sweet roll, and they are best right out of the oven. They turn hard as a rock the next day. I ate these all morning. I dipped them in melted butter…I know..it was intense…I recommend it only for those crazy enough to try. A nice flavored butter would go great, and serving at dinner or breakfast is the perfect way! Enjoy this crazy rolls!

Day 302: Strawberry Shortcake

2010-06-04T14:55:00.001-07:00

Yield: 5 servings
Time (Start to Finish): 2 hours

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp butter, cold
pinch salt
¼ cup milk
2 tsp coconut milk
2 tsp cinnamon

2 baskets strawberries
1 pint vanilla ice cream

1 egg
splash milk
sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon
3. Take the flour and cut into cubes. Use your hands and rub the butter into the flour to make it grainy like corn meal. You don’t want the butter to get warm. This is the same as if you were making scones
4. Add the 2 milks and mix until it comes into a ball, and then knead it on a table for about 30 sec until it all comes together
5. Take a rolling pin and roll it so it is about ½ inch thick. Take a glass, biscuit cutter, or anything round and cut into rounds. I made them small.
6. Place them on a baking sheet
7. Whisk the milk and the egg and brush the top of each biscuit. Sprinkle with sugar and bake until they puff and brown, about 15 min
8. Open up the biscuits, 2 in a bowl, and fill with berries and a scoop of ice cream and serve on a warm day and to order.

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: YUMMY! One of the first real wonderfully warm days in the city, and I had to work, yuck! So how to make it better? Bringing strawberry shortcake for everyone! It is so so good, and I ate it in the backyard in the sunshine. It was marvelous! The biscuits are nice and the cinnamon adds a lot of flavor. I like the small ones so they are easier to eat and you can put a few in your bowl. I hope everyone at work liked this treat!

Day 301: Ravioli Cookies

2010-06-04T14:33:00.001-07:00

Yield: 3 dozen cookies
Time (Start to Finish): 3 hours

Ingredients:
¾ cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
vanilla
2 ½ cups flour (plus more for rolling)
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt

strawberry jam
chocolate chips

milk
sugar

Directions:
1. In a bowl, cream the butter and the sugar together.
2. Add the eggs, vanilla and scrape the bowl
3. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until combined. If the dough is really wet, you may need to add more flour, I did
4. Roll the dough into 2 or 4 balls (depending on if you want to make them all) and wrap with plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour.
5. Preheat oven to 375F
6. Roll out the dough and cut into squares, about 2 inches each side, and about a quarter inch thick
7. Place them on the cookie sheet, they will spread a tad, and place a dollop of jam in the center, and a couple chocolate chips
8. Take a little milk and rub it along the edges of each square. Place a second rolled out square on top and press with a fork around the edges so it seals and looks like a ravioli!
9. Brush the top of each cookie with milk and sprinkle with sugar. You can use larger grained sugar if you want to make it look even more pretty.
10. Bake for 15 min or until the edges begin to brown, and enjoy with a glass of milk!

Rating: 3.5 strawberries
Notes: I have been wanting to make these for a long time, and I wanted to fill them with a cream cheese or white chocolate, but it turned out to be chips and jam. The chops didn’t melt like I wanted, and they are better hot than cold, so I suggest if you make these, try a different filling. A date filling would make for a fig newton type cookie, or cheesecake filling. I like the way they look, and they are a person stopper. People always want to eat one to find out whats inside! I think you should give them a try. Oh, and the sugar cookie recipe is nice and simple. Feel free to add lime or lemon zest to give it a kick!

Day 300: Apple Cheddar Purses

2010-06-04T13:17:00.000-07:00

Yield: 2 servings
Time (Start to Finish): 45 min

Ingredients:
1 sheet pie crust
2 apples
4 oz cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
splash milk
large grained decorating sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F
2. In a bowl, chop the apples, peeled, to bite size chunks. Make them a little large, they will get a little smaller
3. Toss with the sugar and cinnamon
4. Take a cookie sheet, like with parchment, and spray with cooking spray
5. Take the dough and cut into 2 pieces. You can round them off if you want
6. Place the circles on the parchment.
7. In the center put the apple mixture, some cheddar cut into equal sized chunks.
8. Wrap the sides of the pastry around, twist a little on top to secure and put in the fridge to chill
9. Mix the egg and the milk and then brush over the top of the pastries
10. Sprinkle with the sugar and bake until they turn golden brown, about 20 min

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: Happy 300 days!!!! Only 65 to go!!! Not bad at all!!! Everyone always talks about putting a slice of cheddar on apple pie, and I have made things with apple and cheese, and I thought I would try it out! It turned out pretty good. WAY better hot than cold, so if you save them, you must reheat them before serving. Wow, 300 days!! So cool! What I like about this is you can add any filling and its like a pie on the go. I know, I should have made my own crust, but I didn’t have time this day. Try it with my crust from the cherry apricot pie I made if you want a good from scratch one. Yummy!

Day 299: Nachos!

2010-06-04T12:45:00.000-07:00

Yield: 15 chips
Time (Start to Finish): 25 min

Ingredients:
15 chips
cheddar cheese
asiago cheese
parm cheese
bacon, about 4 slices, cooked
½ avocado
salt and pepper
garlic powder
1 lime, juiced

Directions:
1. Preheat the broiler in your oven. Take a cookie sheet that fits under it, and line with foil. Also, move the rack so it is not directly on the heat (don’t want to burn the chips)
2. Take the chips and line them on the cookie sheet
3. Take the cheddar cheese and slice up onto each chip. You can shred them if you want to
4. Then sprinkle with asiago and parm cheese and broil until the cheese melts and just begins to bubble
5. Take the cooked bacon, cut up, and place on each chip
6. In a bowl, blend the avocado with salt and pepper, garlic powder and lime juice until it is the flavor you like
7. Spread on top of each chip and serve! An easy recipe to make way more than 15 of

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: What I like about this is how much cheese is on each chip! Normally nachos have some chips with a lot of cheese and others with none. This one has it on all chips! They are so yummy, and when broiled it crisps up the edges of the chips which I like! You can just bake them, or even microwave them, but I think broiling is the best. Also, STAY WITH IT. When you broil something it cooks fast! This recipe also has a sad part to it. It was Christina’s last recipe before the project is over! She is out of the country and has been one of my best taste testers/helpers. Thanks for all the help girl! Anyways, these are killer. Try them for sure.

Day 298: Twice Baked Potatoes

2010-06-04T12:15:00.001-07:00

Yield: 2 potatoes. 4 servings
Time (Start to Finish): 2 hours

Ingredients:
2 russet potatoes
1 cup agiago cheese
8 oz sour cream
3 Tbsp butter
¼ cup heavy cream
salt and pepper
4 garlic cloves
1/4 cup green onion
3-4 slices bacon, cooked
1/8 cup parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Bake the potatoes until they are cooked through. I put them in the microwave for about 10 min. poke a few holes in them with a fork. You can bake them in the oven at 350F for about an hour
2. Take them out and let them cool for about 7 min. cut them in half and with a spoon scrape out the filling into a bowl, keeping the shell of the skin intact. You can leave some potato there to hold its shape
3. Preheat oven to 400F
4. Take the butter and melt it on the stove with the garlic, chopped as fine as you can, and the onions, chopped up. Just cook until the butter melts. Add it to the potatoes with the cream and stir.
5. Add sour cream, as much as you like. I usually add about ¼ cup and stir
6. Add salt and pepper
7. Take the cooked bacon and chop it up. Add it as well
8. Add the parmesan cheese, and about ¾ cup of the asiago cheese
9. Taste and adjust the seasoning. You can add more cheese, more cream or butter. However you like
10. Take the potato skins and put them on a foil lined cookie sheet
11. Fill the potato skins with the filling, mounding it up
12. Sprinkle on top more asiago cheese and bake until the cheese melts and browns.

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: I remember a time in New York a man working in a restaurant asked me if I wanted a bag of potatoes. They were giving away tons of bags (I guess they had ordered too many. I never knew why) and I took one home and had a baked potato party. I made these. They are so homey and warm! It is a little rainy out and the perfect comfort food. You can change up the cheese, add anything you like, and that is why I like them. They are different every time depending on what I have in the fridge! Someone also told me I should try seasoning the skins, which I might try next time…maybe soak it in a broth? Spice rub?

Day 297: Cream of Chicken Soup

2010-05-25T14:31:00.001-07:00

Yield: 2-3 servings
Time (Start to Finish): 1-2 hours

Ingredients:
1 med sweet yellow onion
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
3 garlic cloves
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup chicken, cooked
salt and pepper
2 cups milk
¾ cup half and half
3 Tbsp flour
¼ tsp cayenne

baguette
asiago cheese

Directions:
1. In a skillet place 2 Tbsp of the olive oil, the butter, and the onion chopped up and cook on med until it caramelizes. This takes about 30 min. be patient and watch it. It is worth the wait.
2. Add the garlic, chopped, and cook just until it begins to brown and remove
3. Place the mixture in a food processor or a blender, add the chicken stock and blend until smooth.
4. In a saucepot, place the rest of the olive oil and the flour and whisk to make a roux, on med heat. Takes about 20 sec. add the chicken stock mixture slowly while whisking until it is combined. Add the milk and cream at this time
5. Whisk together, then add the chicken, and season with salt and pepper and the cayenne
6. The soup will thicken from the flour. If it is too thin, add a touch more. If it is too thick, add more milk or chicken stock
7. Take the baguette and slice up
8. Toast for a second, then sprinkle with cheese, then broil until it melts. Serve with the soup

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: Honestly, this soup tastes best with the cheesy bread! It add a touch of flavor. I might even add some cheese on top of the soup when serving. I love cream of chicken soup and have since I was a child, and have never ever made it. This is my first time, and I think it was a success! You can add celery or carrots to it if you like, and you can add any kind of seasoned chicken you like. I used left over from yesterdays dish. It is a rainy windy day and I just came in from climbing, so it was nice to have a bowl of soup. Comfort food for sure.

Day 296: Cheesy Chicken Artichoke Dip

2010-05-25T14:14:00.000-07:00

Yield: 1 9 inch craft
Time (Start to Finish): 45 min

Ingredients:
¾ cup parmesan cheese
1/3 cup half and half
2/3 cup mayo
2 tsp red pepper flakes
3 Tbsp green chilies
1 14 oz can marinated artichoke hearts
4 chicken strips
½ cup asiago cheese
salt and pepper

baguette
chips

Directions:
1. Cook chicken strips however you like, I boiled mine in chicken broth, and then cut it up into bite size pieces
2. Preheat oven to 350F
3. In a bowl, combine the parm cheese, mayo, half and half, red pepper and chilies
4. Cut up the artichokes to equal the size of the chicken, and add it all to the bowl
5. Stir to combine
6. Add about ¼ of the asiago and stir
7. You can add salt and pepper at this point if you like
8. Pour mixture into your container and cover the top with the rest of the cheese
9. Bake until the top browns
10. Make toasts, or just serve with chips!

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: SO GOOD! I made this while we watched the Lost finale, chopping things in front of the tv, and running into the kitchen during commercials. You can for sure add more cheese if you like, and spinach if you want. Most people taste it and it is a little different than they expect, and that is because it has no spinach. Why? I forgot to buy it and could not miss Lost. It is best hot, and you can mess with it easily. It got eaten up quick for sure. It is not the healthiest for you, so sorry about that, but sometimes bad is good! It is quick to make, and not much labor, so try it out! You can even make it, not cook it, take it to a party, and throw it in the oven.

Day 295: Orange Spread

2010-05-25T13:47:00.000-07:00

Yield: 2 cups
Time (Start to Finish): 2 hours

Ingredients:
½ cup orange juice
1 Tbsp orange zest
3-4 strawberries
1 package powdered fruit pectin
1 oz grand marnier (orange liquor)
2 ½ cups sugar

Directions:
1. In a sauce pan, combine the strawberries, orange juice and peel.
2. Add the pectin while stirring
3. Bring mixture to a boil over med high heat while stirring
4. Add the sugar and bring it back to a boil, still stirring, and boil for about a minute
5. Remove from the heat, add the grand marnier, skim off the foam on top
6. Put into a container or jar and let it come to room temp. cover it, let it sit for a few hour at room temp, and then store in fridge.

Rating: 3.5 strawberries
Notes: This is pretty good, and I had left over sourdough bread, so it was nice on that, but I don’t know if it was worth the trouble for me. You might like it though! You can leave out the grand marnier, but the flavor will be more of a strawberry mix. The berries add flavor and color. I love jellys and jams, and this is a nice one. You can even put it on a pb and j, so try this if you are interested in an experiment. It was fun, and nice, but I don’t think spreads like this are my thing! I know the taste is good though!

Day 294: Spicy Wine Cooler

2010-05-25T13:29:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 glass
Time (Start to Finish): 5 min

Ingredients:
1 glass rose wine (a pink white wine)
½ oz grand marnier (orange liquor)
¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Directions:
1. In a glass, combine the cayenne with the orange liquor. You want to try to dissolve it
2. Add the shot to chilled rose wine and serve

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: Ok, so Rose is slowly becoming my favorite wine, and after spending a day with tricia in wine country, tasting, and then spending all my money on wine, I thought, lets make a cocktail. Rose’s taste best with spicy food, something I learned, so thought, lets make it spicy on its own! I added the orange liquor for flavor, you can leave it out if you like, but this little drink is nice on a summer day on a porch I think. You should try it out. This might be a drink for the ladies. It is a little sweet!

Day 293: Cilantro Lime Bars

2010-05-25T13:12:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 9x13 inch pan
Time (Start to Finish): 1 hour

Ingredients:
Crust:
2 cups flour
½ cup powdered sugar
¾ cup fresh cilantro
pinch salt
1 cup butter, cold
Topping:
4 eggs
1 ½ cup sugar
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
2 lime, zested
1 drop food coloring, if needed

powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease the pan
2. In a bowl, combine the flour, powdered sugar and salt
3. Take the butter, cut into pieces, and mix with hands until the dough forms a ball
4. Chop up the cilantro and add in
5. Press the dough into the bottom of the pan and bake until it begins to JUST BARELY turn brown, about 15 min
6. In a mixer, beat the eggs until they begin to get pale
7. Slowly pour in the sugar, then the lime juice, zest, and food coloring if you want
8. Pour the mixture over the crust and bake about 20 min until it begins to brown
9. When you take it out, immediately sprinkle with powdered sugar, and let cool
10. Cut with a greased knife

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: Once again, I can’t taste the cilantro even though I added a ton. I think I hate that spice!!! You could taste it a touch at the end if you thought about it. These are nice because they aren’t too tart, and the crust is fabulous. I brought these to a friends house and we watched movies and ate pizza. They are light, sweet, and a nice change from lemon bars. I thought maybe a shot of tequila in the topping might be nice, make a drink kind of dessert? I hope you like these. I thought they were wonderful.

Day 292: Lime Cilantro Butter

2010-05-19T20:32:00.001-07:00

Yield: ½ cup
Time (Start to Finish): 15 min

Ingredients:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
¼ cup fresh cilantro
3 Tbsp lime zest (about 3 limes)
salt
small pinch cayenne

Directions:
1. In a food processor, take the cream and blend for 5-10 min until it separates. Strain the liquid away, blend again, and strain the liquid again. Place in a bowl
2. Take a paper towel and blot the butter to make sure it is dry, you have just made butter!
3. Take the cilantro, cayenne and lime and stir into the butter
4. Add salt and taste it. I like salty butter so I added more than average
5. Press into a container. Sometimes a little more liquid will surface, which you can blot with a towel
6. Place covered in the fridge and serve!

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: I think I LOVE making homemade butter! It is so easy and fun! And with fresh ingredients, it was so good! I actually put it on corn kernels which was a treat, but little toasts, fresh bread, anything you could serve butter with this is delightful. I had left over limes from the Oregon trail adventure, so I feel like more lime things will come up this week! Only 73 more days of my project, wow! Time is going fast! It is weird now thinking about what recipe I will make at the end when it was around this time I thought of this project and what my first recipe would be! I hope you like this butter!

Day 291: Cumin Tuna Salad

2010-05-19T20:18:00.000-07:00

Yield: 1 cup
Time (Start to Finish): 20 min

Ingredients:
1 can tuna with water, drained
2 Tbsp mayo
1/3 cup white onion
¼ cup celery
salt and pepper
2 tsp cumin powder
pinch red pepper flakes
2 tbsp shredded green apple

Directions:
1. In a bowl, place the tuna
2. Add all the other ingredients and mix. You can add more cumin if you want more flavor, or more mayo if you want it creamier.

Rating: 3.5 strawberries
Notes: Although the directions are easy, as you can see by the ingredient list, this is a complex dish. All of these flavors work great. The apple cuts the onion, the pepper flakes work with the cumin. It is just such a great little fresh look at tuna. It is great on a sandwich with avocado, toasted of course, and even with a slice of melted cheese. Another classic dish with a dash of new look. I hope you like it guys!

Day 290: Minted Whipped Cream

2010-05-19T20:09:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 cup cream
Time (Start to Finish): 5 min

Ingredients:
¾ cup heavy whipping cream
2-3 drops peppermint oil
2 Tbsp sifted powdered sugar

Directions:
1. In a mixer or with a whisk, beat the cream until it begins to get foamy
2. Add the powdered sugar and the mint oil and keep mixing until it reaches stiff peak
3. Serve with cherry apricot pie

Rating: 3.5 strawberries
Notes: This is a nice addition to any dessert. Mint tends to make desserts fresh and light, so serving it with a first of the season summer pie it ideal. You can also put it in hot cocoa in the winter. It is classic. You can try it without powdered sugar if you want something less sweet and more elegant, but I am a sugar fiend. I didn’t give it a high rating because it is so basic, but it really is important to enjoy classic simple treats now and again!

Day 289: Cherry Apricot Oregon Trail Pie

2010-05-19T19:56:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 9 inch pie
Time (Start to Finish): 2 hours

Ingredients:
Crust:
2 cups flour (plus some for rolling)
¾ cup shortening
4-6 Tbsp ICE cold water
2 Tbsp brown sugar

Filling:
4 cups fresh cherries, unpitted
2 cups fresh apricots
1 ½ cups sugar
3 ½ Tbsp corn starch
4 Tbsp fresh orange juice

Top of Pie:
1 egg
splash milk
brown sugar

Directions:
1. Begin with the pie crust!
2. In a bowl, combine the flour and the sugar
3. Take the shortening and flake it into the flour as you would making scones so that is resembles corn meal. You want little pieces of shortening and the mixture to not come together yet
4. Add about 4 Tbsp of the water and mix with hand just until it comes together. If it is too dry, add another Tbsp of water.
5. Divide dough into 2 balls, flatten them and wrap them in plastic. Place in the fridge for at least an hour
6. Take the cherries and pit them (this took me awhile but is so worth it) and measure out 4 cups. Also cut up the apricots to the same size pieces and place all in a pot
7. Add the sugar, orange juice and corn starch and cook on med until boiling
8. Let the mixture boil while stirring it until it thickens up. Should take about 15 min. turn off the heat and let cool so that it is warm
9. Preheat oven to 425F
10. Take the pie crust and roll out. Fill with the mixture, and make a lattice crust for the top. You can look up how to do this, but as you can see, mine isn’t perfect
11. Take the egg and mix it with a little milk and brush the lattice top
12. Sprinkle with sugar and place on a sheet pan (pies tend to leak)
13. Bake for about 20 min until the crust browns and the filling begins to bubble.

Rating: 5 strawberries
Notes: This is the first successful pie I have EVER made!! The crust was unbelievably flakey, the filling was fresh and thick, and everything I could ever want was perfect! Today was Bay to Breakers, which in case you didn’t know is a huge race/crazy party in San Francisco. I went as part of the Oregon Trail, and my role was the only positive part of the game, Finds Wild Fruit. I tapped fresh cherries, grapes, apricots, small bananas all over my body and carried a bag of fruit I passed out to people. It was awesome, but I had leftovers. What a better thing to do on the Oregon trail than make a pie!!! You really must try it, but only use fresh good fruit. You can sub any fruit you like really, as long as it totals 6 cups, and this recipe will work. If you have any crust questions, feel free to ask me, I am so excited about it!!

Day 288: Cream Cheese Mints

2010-05-19T18:13:00.000-07:00

Yield: a million mints! (about 3 cups)
Time (Start to Finish): 20 min, then overnight

Ingredients:
2 oz cream cheese
1 Tbsp butter
3 cups sifted powdered sugar
3 drops peppermint oil
food dye (yellow, green and red)
dash cayenne (not too much!)

Directions:
1. In a bowl, combine the cream cheese and the butter until smooth
2. Add the peppermint oil
3. Add the cayenne and powdered sugar one cup at a time, kneading it until it becomes a dough ball you can manipulate
4. Put dough into 4 balls
5. Color each ball with food dye and knead until they are evenly colored
6. Roll each ball into a long cord like a snake and cut with a knife into bite size pieces
7. Put them in parchment paper and let dry out. It may take overnight

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: These took longer to dry than I expected, but I love cream cheese mints! The colors are fun, they cayenne isn’t really there for taste, but to add a little kick at the end. You can just leave bowls of them around. They are great for parties, and a nice little thing to have after dinner. I can sadly just pop them in my mouth while watching tv..is that bad?? You can make any colors you like, and even make mint flavored ones, or just vanilla. I hope you enjoy them.

Day 287: White Chocolate Caramel Sauce

2010-05-19T17:46:00.001-07:00

Yield: 2 cups
Time (Start to Finish): 25 min

Ingredients:
10-15 caramels (brachs is the best)
1 cup white chocolate chips (guittard)
¾ cup evaporated milk
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
1. In a saucepan, melt the caramels with the evaporated milk until it is smooth and fully melted
2. Take off the heat and add the chocolate chips and the cinnamon and stir until the chocolate is melted

Rating: 3.5 strawberries
Notes: I know, I am on a sauce kick, but really what’s going on is I am on an ice cream kick. I don’t quite know why, but I figure you need to go with these cravings. This sauce is a little sweet, which is why I gave it a lower rating. I might just go ahead and use semi sweet chocolate instead. You could make caramel from scratch, and probably even use the sauce I made yesterday and add chocolate, but this is something quick and easy and that you can put over ice cream STAT! oh, and my pick is from the left over after it began to cool…I had to eat it right away…

Day 286: Bourbon Butterscotch Sauce

2010-05-19T17:12:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 cup sauce
Time (Start to Finish): 25 min

Ingredients:
½ stick butter (1/4 cup)
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup heavy cream
pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 oz good bourbon (maybe more!!)

I served this with toasted pecans and vanilla ice cream

Directions:
1. Follow these directions carefully. Do not throw everything into the pot right away. It will not work
2. In a saucepan, place the butter and melt over med heat
3. With a whisk add the sugar
4. When combined, add the cream and salt and whisk for about 5 min. it will become bubbly and begin to thicken and darken
5. When it is about 5 min, remove from the heat, add the vanilla and bourbon and whisk together. You can add more bourbon if you like, but don’t overdoit guys!

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: SO YUMMY!!! This is Maggie helping me pour the sauce on ice cream with toasted pecans. They had me over for dinner and I was in charge of dessert. Thanks guys! They are both from the south, and I thought to myself, how can I make them feel at home? Bourbon, pecans, and sundaes all came to mind, and let me tell you, it worked! I should have doubled the recipe. It saves well, and is good hot or cold. I messed it up the first time by throwing everything into the pot, so just do the recipe step by step. I hope you like it! Sharing is fun, thanks Travis and Maggie for sharing with me!

Day 285: Strawberry Soda Sauce

2010-05-19T16:56:00.001-07:00

Yield: 2 cups
Time (Start to Finish): 30 min

Ingredients:
1 cup strawberries, frozen or fresh
sugar to taste (if strawberries are too tart)
1 tsp vanilla
1 can club soda
1 lemon

Directions:
1. In a sauce pot, put the strawberries, sugar if the strawberries aren’t ripe enough, and lemon juice and cook on med until the strawberries become soft and it turns into a sauce
2. Remove from the heat and strain to get rid of the seeds
3. Add the vanilla and about a cup of the soda and serve. If you are traveling with this, do not add the soda until you are about to serve.

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: This tastes best over vanilla ice cream for SURE. That is what I put it over. Do not add the soda until you are about to serve it. You can just serve the strawberry sauce without the soda, but there is something about the fizz that changes everything. You can use different berries, or even use lime juice instead. I even considered making this with something like a pepsi, but I think in the end that would be too sweet. Try it out though!

Day 284: Lemon Ginger Cookies

2010-05-16T21:18:00.001-07:00

Yield: 2 dozen
Time (Start to Finish): 45 min

Ingredients:
½ cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 lemon, zested
1 ½ cup flour
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
pinch salt

¼ cup sugar
pinch ginger powder
pinch lemon zest

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Combine the shortening and brown sugar in a bowl until smooth
3. Add the egg and lemon zest
4. Add the flour, baking soda, ginger and pinch of salt and combine until it forms a ball
5. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, ginger pinch and lemon zest pinch
6. Take the dough and roll into 1 inch balls, roll in the sugar mixture and put on a cookie sheet, pressing down slightly on top to flatten them
7. Bake for 10 min until they crinkle on top and brown on the bottom. Enjoy with tea

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: These were much better than I expected!! They taste like you are drinking a delicious cup of tea! They go great with tea, or just on their own. They are soft, if you want something more crunchy, add butter instead of the shortening. They are so good! Right out of the oven, or the next day. I haven’t tried them with fresh ginger, but I bet you can add it, or little pieces of candied ginger for a bit of texture. I hope you enjoy these cookies! PLUS, they are one bowl, so they are an easy clean up!

Day 283: Lemon Cilantro Scones

2010-05-16T21:04:00.000-07:00

Yield: 4 scones
Time (Start to Finish): 45 min

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/8 cup sugar
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
pinch salt
¼ cup butter, cold
¼ cup milk
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

¼ cup powdered sugar
lemon juice

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Put the lemon juice in with the milk to make sour milk and let sit
3. Take the flour and combine with sugar, baking soda, baking powder salt and lemon zest and mix until combined
4. Take the butter, cold, and cut into cubes. Working fast and using your fingers, combine the butter into the flour by rubbing it in to make little balls of butter, so it resembles corn meal
5. Add the milk and combine
6. When it is almost together, add the cilantro and form into a flattened ball
7. Cut into 4 pieces and place on a cookie sheet
8. Bake for 15-20 min until they begin to brown and let cool
9. In a bowl, sift the powdered sugar
10. Add the lemon juice until it makes a thick frosting you can drizzle but wont pour down the sides. You can add more sugar if it is too thin or lemon juice if it is too thick
11. Serve!

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: ok, so these were absolutely wonderful! Except for one thing…I put in SO much cilantro, but you just cant taste it!! Why?? I wanted these to be with thyme, but they didn’t have it at the store, so cilantro was a nice subtle sub. The lemon scones are KILLER. They are light, fluffy, and really tasty, so you can even leave the cilantro out if you like. I never will! I made these for Mother’s Day Monday, and my mom loved them for sure! She was just going to have a bite and ended up eating a whole one! I ate the others for dinner…I know, but it was so worth it! Try these out. They generate smiles.

Day 282: Confetti Cake

2010-05-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

Yield: 1 bundt cake
Time (Start to Finish): 1 hour

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
¼ cup butter
¼ cup shortening
2 eggs
1 ¼ cup flour
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 ¾ baking powder
½ cup milk
1 tsp almond extract
1-2 bottles sprinkles, multi colored (round ones or the jimmies ones)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease a bundt pan
2. In a bowl, combine sugar, shortening and butter and cream together until smooth
3. Add the egg, almond extract and combine
4. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder together
5. Add alternating with the milk
6. When all is combined, stir with spatula the sprinkles until they are evenly spread
7. Pour batter into bundt and bake for 20-25 min until a knife comes out clean
8. Turn out and enjoy! I like this with no frosting, but you can make a cream cheese one if you like!

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: So, you can buy one of these in the store, but why?? You can make one so easily!!! You can use any color sprinkles, just be sure not to use the sugar, jimmies or the little balls only. I had mainly Christmas colored ones, so mine is in celebration of a holiday far away. This cake we kind of ate for breakfast, and I must admit, I was the main eater of this dessert. It was so good!!! Moist and delicious! The cocoa is just for come color and flavor, you can sub it with flour if you want a bright white cake, and the almond can be subbed with vanilla if you like.

Day 281: Corn Salsa

2010-05-10T17:59:00.000-07:00

Yield: 2 cups salsa
Time (Start to Finish): 20 min

Ingredients:
1 cup corn kernels
¼ cup chopped yellow onion
1/8 cup chopped bell pepper (GROSS)
1 handful chopped cilantro
2 limes, juiced and zested
salt and pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 jalapeño, chopped and seeded (leave seeds in for more spice)
1 small green apple, chopped up

Directions:
1. Mix the corn with the chopped onion, apple, bell pepper, and jalapeno until combined
2. Add the cilantro, lime, and cayenne
3. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with chips!

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: A no tomato salsa, what???! This is pretty tasty! You can leave out the lime juice if you have acid reflux, but otherwise it’s a tasty nice addition to any party. Everyone brings chips and salsa, this one is different. You are guaranteed to not bring a repeat item. I also really like it because I love corn. I cant wait for fresh corn to come it. It is even better when you use fresh corn. The apple also adds sweetness. You know it is my secret ingredient. I hope you guys like this little salsa.

Day 280: Nutella Apricot Oatmeal

2010-05-10T17:33:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 bowl
Time (Start to Finish): 20 min

Ingredients:
½ cup Irish oatmeal
touch salt
1 – 1 ½ cups water
touch heavy cream
2-4 Tbsp nutella
1 apricot

Directions:
1. In a pot on the stove, combine the oatmeal, salt and water and boil until it becomes thick. This should take about 15 min
2. Add the touch of cream at the end
3. Add the nutella and slices of apricot and eat it up

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: This was super tasty! The first apricot I have had this season, and with homemade nutella, this was really a treat. The chocolate apricot combo is something I love, plus the oatmeal with steel cut oats is just crazy delicious! It stays with you all day, and you know I am a sucker for sweets in the morning, so this is a good way to get a healthy start and that sweet kick.

Day 279: Homemade Nutella

2010-05-10T17:05:00.000-07:00

Yield: 2 cups
Time (Start to Finish): 45 min

Ingredients:
½ cup hazelnuts
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp butter

Directions:
1. Chop the hazelnuts and toast them until they smell like nuts
2. Put them in a blender or a food processor until they are a fine powder. Be careful not to over blend them. They will form a paste then.
3. Take the whipping cream and the butter and heat on the stove until almost boiling
4. Pour over the chocolate chips and stir so they melt
5. Add the vanilla and the hazelnuts and stir until smooth
6. Place in a container with a lid, and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the spread, put the lid on, and chill
7. It lasts about 4 days

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: I bought a jar of nutella to make the brownies awhile back, and then I have been having cravings for it lately, and I thought, why not try to make it! It’s a little grittier than regular nutella, but that’s ok, it tastes just great! You can buy different nut flours, maybe you can hazelnut? It is great of toast, in recipes, on ice cream, or just spoons of if like I like it. It doesn’t last as long as the store bought stuff either, so just make small batches, but I hope you like it. I ate almost the whole thing!

Day 278: Deviled Eggs

2010-05-10T16:52:00.001-07:00

Yield: 6 eggs
Time (Start to Finish): 1 hour

Ingredients:
3 eggs
Mayonnaise
Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper
Roasted garlic

Directions:
1. To make a perfect boiled egg, take the eggs, place them in cold salted water on the stove on high. When the water begins to boil, let it boil for 1 solid minute. Turn the stove off and cover the eggs and let sit until cool
2. Remove the eggs and peel them. Slice them in half and scoop out the yolk into a bowl
3. Smash the yolks and add a little over a Tbsp of mayo, a tsp of mustard, salt and pepper
4. Smash up the roasted garlic clove into a paste and add to the mixture
5. You can adjust the mayo or mustard to make it more creamy
6. Put into a piping bag with a star tip and pipe into each of the egg white shells
7. Serve cold

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: So I really dislike the taste of mustard, and I think I added too much for me to handle, but my roomies all loved them! They are creamy, delightful, and are easy to adjust. You can add a little shrimp on top, or chives, cayenne pepper or any of these things. I like them simple and perfect.

Day 277: Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes

2010-05-10T15:59:00.000-07:00

Yield: 12 cupcakes
Time (Start to Finish): 1 hour

Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup butter, softened
¾ cup chunky peanut butter
1 egg
¾ cup coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 ¼ cup flour
½ tsp baking soda
¼ baking powder
salt

4 oz cream cheese
¼ cup softened butter
1-2 cups powdered sugar (may need more)
1 tsp vanilla
2-4 Tbsp strawberry jam

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F and line 12 cupcake holders with papers
2. In a bowl, combine the peanut butter, sugar and butter until smooth
3. Add the egg and vanilla
4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt
5. Add alternating with the coconut milk and mix until combines
6. Put into cupcake holders filling about ¾ of the way full
7. Bake for about 15-20 min until they are cooked in the center but not over baked. Let cook completely
8. In a bowl, combine the butter, cream cheese, vanilla and jam until smooth
9. Add sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time until it is thick enough to spread and pipe
10. Put into a piping bag with a star tip and pipe frosting onto cupcakes, and enjoy!

Rating: 4.5 strawberries
Notes: I quote Mac what I say, ‘these taste just like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.’ They are incredible! They taste so yummy! The cake is kind of dense, and I recommend chunky so there are pieces of peanut in there, but you can add plain if you like. I have heard of people injecting jelly into the center of the cupcake, but I like keeping it on the frosting. The frosting is very sweet, so it is nice to have a not so sweet cake. You can use different flavored jam too, like blackberry. These are for sure a winner and make people happy when they think if the idea of a cupcake sandwich.

Day 276: Cheese Sauce

2010-05-10T15:27:00.001-07:00

Yield: 2 cups sauce
Time (Start to Finish): 15 min

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
salt and pepper
1 cup milk
1.2 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
¼ cup grated jack cheese
1 garlic clove

Directions:
1. Melt the butter in a pot with the garlic clove and cook just until the garlic begins to get soft
2. Remove from the heat and whisk in the flour to make a thick roux
3. Slowly add the milk while whisking and stir until it is combines
4. Put over low heat, staying with it and whisking for about 3-5 min until it gets thick
5. Add the cheese and stir until smooth, serve.

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: This is a great dipping sauce for nachos, veggies, all sorts of things! You can add it on a sandwich, you can put it over noodles. It is a very versatile sauce. You can add some white wine and use it as a fondue also! I love cheese so much, and this is nice and simple to make. It is one pot, so easy clean up, and people are either really impressed, or think it tastes so good you must have bought it at a store. You can add spice if you like, or even switch up the cheeses! Enjoy!

Day 275: Chive Mayo

2010-05-10T15:11:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 cup
Time (Start to Finish): 20 min

Ingredients:
3/4 cup mayo
2 chives
salt and pepper
lemon juice
1 clove garlic

Directions:
1. Chop up the chives and garlic
2. In a bowl, combine the mayo, chives, lemon, garlic, salt and pepper until smooth
3. Let sit overnight if possible to make the best flavor and enjoy on sandwiches or as a dip!

Rating: 3.5 strawberries
Notes: This is pretty yummy and simple. I should learn to make mayo from scratch, but best foods is just so good on its own. Why mess up a good thing? This is good as a dip for fried shrimp, on a sandwich, lots of different ways which is why I like it. You can sweat the garlic a little if you want it to be a sweeter flavor instead of the harsh garlic, so your choice, but this is a pretty basic recipe. That is why I didn’t give it a very high score, too simple…hope you like it!

Month 9

2010-05-05T20:51:00.001-07:00

Annie’s Current Weight: 127
Pleasures: What a month guys! Hawaii, cocktail week, boys birthdays, Los Angeles, all sorts of trips. This has been one of the busiest months I have had, and I feel like I did a good job. It was nice to have such different people support me. I also feel like this month had some cool twists on things I have done before, which I liked, and people seem to more and more ask me questions about my project, and to be down another month and under 100 days until the project is over?? How cool is that! Things are looking up here!
Pains: So, I didn’t lose another pound, which is ok. Maybe I gained muscles from all my Lost push ups and learning to surf. Also, doing lots of drinks and dressings is showing me I am spending more time doing other things. Just because I can see the end doesn’t mean the race is over. I shouldn’t give up yet, and I see myself getting lazy. Wake up annie! Get your mind in the right place. I know I can do better…why aren’t I? that is important to think about
Promises: After a lot of thought and trips, I think this month I need to be here and to focus. Having a boy in my life, having summer and good weather, music festivals and friends with time off, I find less and less time and motivation. I promise to get more motivated and do less chincy recipes. This does require the help of my friends, so those of you who read this, keep supporting me! Its only 3 months away, so be there for me guys! And I DO promise to lose a pound this month, crunches and push ups it is!
Ponders: Its fun going new places, finding local ingredients, and making recipes, and its fun cooking for my friends and family, but im ready to be home and focus here. All my stuff is here, I got some good eaters, and I want to do that now. With the summer comes some nice fresh ingredients, so im psyched for that. My notebook is almost out of pages, so its time for another one. That is exciting! It is crazy to be so many days down on this. I don’t really know what else to ponder about here…yet I feel I should say more. Maybe ill just say goodnight for now, I am happy to be home, and ready to cook some more in this wonderful month of may!

Day 274: Room Cleaner Cocktail

2010-05-05T20:31:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 drink
Time (Start to Finish): 5-10 min

Ingredients:
Pina colada mix
Mango juice
Coconut water
Pineapple juice
Pineapple rum
Splash sprite

Directions:
1. Take all ingredients and mix together
2. Chill on ice if you have it available

Rating: 3 strawberries
Notes: Much tastier than it sounds, but this is the room cleaner. Last day in the hotel, so I wanted to use everything we had. I had to pick an alcohol, so I picked rum, and added everything I had left. It was actually kind of tasty, these ingredients blend well. I might have left out the pina colada mix, it was weird in this, and maybe added a cherry or something. Try it or don’t, it was tropical for sure, and did the job of cheering me up on my last day in the islands.

Day 273: Vodka Soda

2010-05-05T19:55:00.001-07:00

Yield: 1 drink
Time (Start to Finish): 5 min

Ingredients:
1 shot vodka
coconut water
sprite zero
1 slice pineapple

Directions:
1. Mix altogether with just a splash of the sprite to add bubbly
2. Enjoy on a beach, somewhere hot, or after a run

Rating: 4 strawberries
Notes: So coconut water is one of the most hydrating things you can drink, so this is actually healthy…kind of! This is actually my favorite drink of the whole trip it is refreshing, light, and just really quenching. I am for sure going to make this one at home. We have one more day here, tonight is the night to go out, so ill see you guys tomorrow, enjoy this! It will wake you right up!