May 19, 2011

Beauty Time: Coconut Lemon Scrub!

I would never be a good hand model. I don’t wear gloves when I’m gardening or while I’m doing the dishes. It feels weird! I don’t remember to put lotion on my hands until they’re dry enough for me scratch a phone number on them with my nail. Cuticles? Don’t get me started on those. I have issues. But every now and then I exfoliate my hands… I learned this trick in college. Sugar scrub makes your hands so soft that they don’t feel like your own hands. Sounds weird, right? You’ll see what I mean. This yummy scented Coconut Lemon Scrub is the perfect concoction for those of you who aspire to be hand models. Soft hands are awesome. Just make sure you still have a firm handshake with your soft hands. No one likes a limp handshake. No one.
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recipes, Uncategorized

May 18, 2011

Potato Rosemary Pizza

Dear Low Carb/College Student Tracy,

I write this letter from the future! I am the Carb Loving Tracy of 2011! That’s right. You will not spend the REST OF YOUR LIFE being low carb. Does that upset you? I doubt it. By the time you’re this age, you won’t care. So… Tracy. You are in college AND you are low carb. How does that even work?? What do you do when your roommate orders pizza? I just can’t imagine how you manage! You should get an award for the those 4 years of being low carb. Sadly, you don’t. Life is rough. You will learn this.

When you’re 31, you’ll make a fantastic pizza from scratch. And get this….this pizza will have POTATO on it. That’s right. Hot Carb on Carb action! The crust is crispy & all profesh tasting and the potatoes are creamy & utterly delicious. Did I mention there’s rosemary involved? Oh there’s also some onion in there too! Booya! (a word of the future) They get nice and charred. It’s heaven!!!

I know what you’re thinking. How did you cave? What stopped you from being low carb? Well…hmmm…it’s simple. You will move into a teeny 1 bedroom apartment with Casey when you graduate from college. Your parents will freak out but it’s just because moving in with a boyfriend is a BIG deal. You’ll understand this a few years later. They weren’t stupid; they knew what they were talking about. You’ll spend your nights cooking for the two of you and he’ll convert you into a pasta loving addict. Don’t worry, you’ll weigh less in the future than you do now. See? Carbs aren’t so bad! However…Casey? He becomes your husband and he puts on a few pounds but it’s only because you feed him really well. He’s still a handsome guy, even with gray hair!

Tracy, please know this– Carbs are good. Just remember to eat more salads to balance it out. Now….could you please go and get yourself a sandwich on a fat sourdough roll? Stop torturing yourself.

Carbingly,

Tracy the Carb Lover
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recipes

May 17, 2011

Tomato & Basil Pizza

My name is Tracy, and I’ve wasted 31 years of my life being afraid to make my own pizza dough. I’ve used flatbread as a substitute for pizza and yeah, it’s a GREAT substitute…it’s just that I don’t always have the time to make my own dough…and why should I? It never turns out the way I want it to. Some parts are too thick and doughy & not completely cooked. Some sections have holes in them and the middle is always so soggy that the cheese slides right off. I’ve never been able to shape the dough into a perfect circle because I have some expectation that I can toss the dough into the air like a scene from Mystic Pizza. I really can’t do that and I’m not Julia Roberts.

Then I found this recipe…this fool-proof EASY pizza dough that abolished my pizza dough fears.

Mix dough together. Let it sit. Cut it in half. Let it sit. Pull it across a lubed baking sheet. Heat your oven like a mofo. Top the pizza, bake and BANG. You have a thin crust pizza that tastes it came from a pizza joint. The bottom is nice & crispy and slightly oily. The sauce is sweet & salty and the cheese is absolutely divine. It may not be round and it may not look perfect, but just one bite will make you forget about perfect triangular pizza slices. Those pizzas look silly anyways. This dough is a game changer and I’m a believer.

Other things to note:

This recipe makes two pizzas. You can freeze one round of dough or refrigerate it for a day if need be.
Don’t be worried if the dough springs back when you shape it. Let it rest for 5 minutes and try again. Gluten is funny. It’s not you.
Don’t be nervous if the dough doesn’t seem super wet and smooth after you initially mix the ingredients together. When you let the dough rise in the moist dish towel, all will be good. There’s no knead to worry. 😉
If you are making this on a weekend for lunch, start the dough at 9:30am & you should be eating pizza by lunch time.
I completed another item from my 31 comes before 32 list! #6. Make my own pizza (and not fail!) Wahoo!

Uncategorized

May 16, 2011

Where you can find me…

A quick THANK YOU to all of you that came to my class at Macy’s this weekend! I hope you enjoyed the food & the photography demo! I can’t wait to do more classes in the future. I’ll be posting the Strawberry Bruschetta this week and here are the links for the Artichoke Basil Bruschetta & the Tuna & White Bean Bruschetta we worked on together! Thanks again for the support! It was seriously FUN!

Here’s a little peak at us grilling the crostini…..

Here’s my station! You know what was awesome? Being able to pull items off the shelf at Macy’s for the demo! Need a grill pan? Just go find one on the floor! Want an awesome serving platter? Pick one from the dishware section! I also found a new love—Martha Stewart’s bar towels. They are AWESOME. I need to stock up on a bunch! They’re super absorbent and really really lovely, fluffy and soft.

Oh! A few more things!

My friend Danielle of Sometimes Sweet is working on a really cool series- 8 Weeks to a Better Me! I’m so honored that she wanted me to be apart of it! Yesterday I posted a few tips on Healthy Eating & 3 Essential Rules I follow to keep my weight/health in check. You should check it out! Thanks Danielle!

Speaking of health, I also posted a recipe for my yummy Fruit Dippers over at Modern Kiddo. My mom made this tasty lime yogurt dip when I was a kid and it’s become Cooper’s new favorite thing!

recipes, Uncategorized

May 15, 2011

Coconut Waffles with Maple Cream

Dear Joy,

I could send you a text but I’m much better at typing on a keyboard. You might already know this from my never-ending typos. I have big thumbs. We both have big hands. I’m telling the world this. It’s true. Anyways HELLO! I took your advice. I didn’t tell Casey that your Toasted Coconut Waffles were Gluten Free! He had no idea! He devoured one and then he proceeded to climb back into bed to sleep it off. You apparently invented amazing waffles that require slumber! Way to go! Honestly, I think he just wanted to dodge cleaning up my mess in the kitchen…and it worked. I’ll have to try that when he makes me something to eat…which will be never. Wait. He does make rice… in the rice maker. I’m gonna collapse on our bed like one of those fainting goats when he makes his next batch. Watch me.

Coconut flour. You’re right. It’s pretty awesome. I mean…I know how much we looooove our coconut oil, but FLOUR?!! I think I might have tried a few tablespoons of it on its own. It’s sweet, savory and not boring like regular flour. I’m thinking it could be a good substitute for the whole wheat flour in the Coconut Shrimp I made. Do you think that would work? Have you used it for that application yet? It was cool to see how it expanded in the batter. I was worried for 2.5 seconds and then BAM the batter was all pudding like. You know your stuff. I bet you have made many many MANY gluten-free people jump for JOY with this recipe. Do you get sick of that pun?

I was going to make my own apricot compote for the waffles, but I couldn’t find my dried apricots! I think I used them all up in that late night batch of Apricot Pistachio Granola last week. I stood in front of my pantry for 10 minutes willing a bag of apricots to appear. It didn’t work. Have you ever willed food to appear? Did it work? So I didn’t have any apricots BUT I did have a banana and some dark chocolate. I sprinkled those both on top. YIKES. It was like dessert for breakfast! It required a glass of water but that didn’t stop me from cleaning my plate.

Anyways, I like you & your taste buds. I also like that I can text you at 7:50am on a Sunday morning with a picture of my steaming waffle maker because I know you’re already awake. Thanks for being a person who doesn’t like to waste a Sunday morning.

Your bud,

Tracy

Photography, Uncategorized

May 14, 2011

365- Week 18

A food related photo everyday until 2012. Here’s week 18:

134/365 Parmesan Chicken Sandwich…and some dude smiling at a computer.

recipes, Uncategorized

May 13, 2011

Pimm’s Cup

Are you a fan of herbal cocktails? Then you must like Pimm’s No.1 liqueur. Haven’t tried it? You should! It’s a gin based liquor from England that’s infused with citrus, herbs & spices. It’s the latest addition to my libation rotation! Thanks for getting me into it, Michael!

I like that I don’t need a bunch of ingredients to get my buzz on.

Ginger ale? Check. Ice? Check. Lemon? Check. Pimm’s No.1? Check. Cucumber? Oh that’s right. I ate it.

I followed the recipe off the back of the bottle so here it is for you. You should put a cucumber slice in yours, make it fancy and legit. I’ve seen recipes that include mint, orange slices & strawberries. That’s extra fancy, but it just means fruit is gonna be banging you in the mouth. If you’re drunk enough that could be fun…
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