I’m kind of in a rut; I have no desire to cook or bake. Wait. I take that back. I have no desire to clean my kitchen. I DO want to work in the kitchen. I just want someone to always clean up after me. That would be the life. That’s how chefs live, right? Does that mean I need tattoos and clogs? I don’t know what I would want on my body for the rest of my life, ink-wise. I’m working my way out of cherry blossom phase so I’m soooooooo glad I didn’t get those… Also! Clogs. Totally comfy…still totally not sexy. I love sensible shoes but I want them to look less like clogs.
Let’s be real. I’m not a professional chef, but you already know this. I’m just a girl who loves to get my kitchen dirty and make things with my hands. I’m love pineapple and Greek yogurt and simple desserts that I can accomplish in no time, yet take a tremendous amount of credit for. Who doesn’t want that?
I made this quick little roasted pineapple yesterday because I had 30 minutes to kill. If I had people over for dinner, it would have been a fantastic ending to a meal of shrimp tacos. I would have gotten the “what’s your secret?” question with this dessert.
The secret is that I will be eating this for breakfast for the next few days and loving EVERY LAST BITE. And when I’m soo over eating it with yogurt & granola, I’m going to turn it into a smoothie. That’s a fact.
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I’m a huge snacker. My most favorite snacks are carb based. I’m sure you would have guessed as much. I simply cannot pass up a good cracker situation. It’s even better if there’s cheese up on those crackers. While I’m eating cheese & crackers I almost ALWAYS imagine there being a diet where all you eat is cheese & crackers. Can you imagine? I can. It would be fantastic.
But in real life…snacking can get you in trouble if you’re not careful. What you’re supposed to do is snack to tie you over until you have a legitimate meal. Stay on top of your hunger or else you find yourself like me…almost eating 2 dinners because you didn’t arm yourself at 3pm with something that contains protein & crunch. That’s where these Dry Roasted Edamame & Cranberries enter the picture. When it’s 3pm and you’re craving something salty & sweet, these will do the trick. The edamame are salty and crunchy and the tangy/ tart/sweet cranberries balance things out in a trailmix kinda way. Is it wrong to eat the whole batch? I dunno. I did it and I survived….until dinner.
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My Kitchen Aid Mixer is named Sir Charles Mixalot III. I just call him Sir Mixalot for short. We had a conversation the other day. It went something like this:
Sir Mixalot: Hey Trace! Would you please use me? I’m sick of collecting dust on your pantry shelf.
Tracy: Hey. You talk! Fiiiiine. I’ll use you. What should I make?
Sir Mixalot: I’m a little outta shape. Something easy. Baby steps. Take it easy on me.
Tracy: I totally get it Sir Mixalot, I haven’t worked out in awhile too. How about cornmeal cookie dough?
Sir Mixalot: I can totally handle that. You’re a dear. Many thanks. Don’t forget to clean my crevices afterward.
Tracy: Ummm. OK…
So I busted out Sir Mixalot and put him to work. The dough came together in a snap. We high-fived and I gave him a deep cleaning (head out of the gutter!). Then I got to work cutting, baking & glazing these cookies. The dough was the easiest part thanks to Sir Mixalot. The glazing part was a little tough and I only say that because I had a 3 year old running around the kitchen island begging me for some cookies and showing me a new toy every 5 seconds. Labor of love, my friends. LABOR OF LOVE.
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A long time ago I told my mom that I’d like to be a caterer and she immediately talked me out of it. I thought that my love for making food in assembly lines, piping things with pastry bags and my passion for all things filo dough & puff pastry would be enough. Then she reminded me of how I’d have to stand on my feet for 8+hours and then someone else told me how much packing up and moving was involved in the life of a caterer. Dang. Maybe I just want to be a catering company’s quality assurance tester? Yeah! I’d be really good at it.
This recipe has been on my radar forever. I had a Christmas party to attend and whipped up these beauties in absolutely NO time. They’re fun, colorful, bite sized and uber fancy. Don’t you just love the sight of little appetizers lined up on a tray? I sure do…
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PREP TIME: 15 min.
COOK TIME: 40-45 min.
What did I during the 40-45 minutes of cook time? A LOT.
After putting the custard pie into the oven and setting the timer, I cleaned up the kitchen, gathered laundry piles, sorted laundry piles and then put a load of laundry in the washer. I ran upstairs, checked my email, glanced at my phone, wrote 2 emails, read my horoscope, checked my online bank statement, sent a silly text message, checked my email again and ran downstairs. I proceeded to squeeze my cats, then I picked up a rogue sock off the floor, placed that sock in the hamper, grabbed a glass of water, glanced at the timer, checked out my eyebrows in the mirror, got the mail and then ran back into the kitchen. I laid a nice tea towel down in preparation for the pie, grabbed a few forks, and realized there was an entire surface of counter that I missed in my cleaning up process and then I waited.
The pie came out of the oven and I stared at it impatiently. I went into my kitchen cabinet and grabbed some confectioner’s sugar, brought it over to the sink to load up my little strainer and proceeded to spill some sugar all over myself and the counter (I always do this!). I dusted the top with confectioner’s sugar then I dove into the pie and totally messed up the first slice. Oh well. I stood on a chair to take a few shots then I almost fell but luckily I braced myself. I stepped down from the chair and quickly ate the messed up slice. Realizing that my husband would want some, I scooped out a slice and walked over to him happily sharing what I just made.
Not only was this pie a perfectly comforting treat on a chilly afternoon, it was so light and fluffy with just the right amount of sweetness. The pears were incredibly tender! I heard his fork hit the plate a few times and then I heard a slight thud of the plate on the table. I looked over to see that he had stopped. He looked at me apologetically because he didn’t want to finish. Then I remembered that he doesn’t like custard based desserts. Sad trombone. How could I possibly be mad when the prep time was so short? Look at all I accomplished during that cook time. I guess that means more for me, right? At least he ate two bites.
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I would like to introduce you to one of my favorite snacks.
Avocado + Charred Corn Tortilla, meet Shutterbean Readers.
Shutterbean Readers, meet Avocado + Charred Corn Tortilla.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about this favorite snack of mine. It’s really simple, absolutely tasty and worth it when you find an awesome avocado. I think I’ve only had two really good avocados this year. What gives? Sometimes I eat this tortilla & avocado number with an egg in the morning. Sometimes it’s a full blown lunch or maybe it plays the role of an afternoon snack. The protein of the avocado works wonders!
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For as long as I can remember I’ve always been into books. My childhood allowance usually went towards books from the Scholastic book sale at school or food (go figure!). One of the best purchases I made from one of those Scholastic catalogs was a simple cookbook for kids. It was the first cookbook that made me excited about cooking. I’d wake up on the weekend, turn on the toons and make a batch of french toast that my brothers would bribe me for. I worked my way through that little cookbook with recipes for eggs, pasta, and English muffin pizzas but the one thing that impressed me and my whole family most was the roasted chicken thighs.
Every time I roast chicken, I get a vivid flashback. I remember mixing chicken thighs with chopped onion in a metal brownie pan. I drizzled the thighs with olive oil, coated them with rosemary, thyme, salt & pepper and placed them into the oven to roast. What came out of the oven was more than decent; it was exceptional! The sheer alchemy of it all fascinated me and I felt a great sense of accomplishment making a grownup dish on my own. Fast forward twenty something years later and I’m still blown away at how spice coated chicken can be easily transformed by a little oven time. These wings & drumsticks were a hit in my household. Casey’s always begging me to make more meat and with the ease of this recipe there’s really no excuse not to!
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Let’s talk about kitchen staples for a sec. You should always have extra virgin olive oil on hand. Always always always. Onions are a must too. Make sure you get some every time you’re out grocery shopping. Balsamic vinegar, chicken stock, salt & brown sugar are necessities as well. Why? Because without these staples, you can’t just go into your kitchen one Sunday afternoon and make caramelized onion jam on a whim. And how sad is a refrigerator that doesn’t have a nice little jar of Caramelized Onion Jam in it? Very sad.
So, what does one do with Caramelized Onion Jam? Let’s brainstorm!
- put it on a pizza with Gorgonzola and pears
- add it to crostini with figs and goat cheese & prosciutto
- put it on a steak sandwich or burger with a grainy mustard
- add it to pasta with roasted tomatoes and peppers
- stir it into your mashed potatoes
- shove some in your grilled cheese
- put some on a hot dog
- make an arugula salad with it
- add it to a baked potato with sour cream
- add it to an omelet with mushrooms
- stand in front of your fridge and eat it directly from the jar
Caramelized onion jam is now a staple!
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Hey! Guess what? As of last week, I have a preschooler. That’s right! A PRESCHOOLER! Dang! Where does the time go? In preparation for this monumental event, I let Cooper pick out his very own lunchbox and backpack. He went with a nice robot theme and I’m glad for that because the construction themed set was not my favorite color. I know it’s not MY lunchbox, but I’m the one who has to keep tabs on it, clean it out & fill it up every other day. I’m also left with the task of having to figure out what to put in said lunchbox and I need to get him excited about lunch time at school! It’s a tall order.
At the beginning of the week, I made these Zucchini Banana Flaxseed Muffins with the idea of putting one in his lunch box as a treat for all three days of preschool. Little did I know they would disappear in less than two days. Cooper loved them so much that I actually caught him standing on a chair at the kitchen counter reaching into the container of muffins I put aside for the week! And just when I thought my new hiding place was legit, I walked downstairs to see him eating another muffin behind the couch. SNEAKY kid! If these muffins were loaded with sugar, butter or oil, I’d be upset. But the fact that there’s both zucchini and banana mixed in with a little flaxseed makes his sneaky behavior totally OK. I can’t really blame him; they taste great! They’re moist, tender, full of flavor and the flaxseed gives the muffins a nutty flavor without nuts. You would never really know that there’s no oil in this recipe. I have now welcomed these healthy muffins into his lunchbox rotation. Victory!
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When the weather reaches almost 100 degrees at my house, the last thing I want to do is turn on a HOT oven. During the summer months, I crave recipes that require very few ingredients and effort. Because when it’s hotter than heck, even putting an apron on can feel like too much work.
Raspberries+ Sugar+ Milk= Dessert Alchemy. This recipe requires such little effort for a really big payoff. Toss juicy red raspberries in sugar and let them sit. Slightly soak rounds of bread in milk. One berry layer, one milky bread layer, smoosh & repeat. A small stint in the fridge… Invert, add a dollop of whipped cream followed by berries on top and then what do you get? Cold juicy summer berry studded puddings that are light, decadent, dark red & delicious. If you need me, I’ll be huddled over my A/C vent eating one of these.
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