October 19, 2010

Spiced Lemon Cake

When you’ve tackled 5 loads of laundry, cleaned up Cheerios for the 1000th time after being on hold with the garbage company for 25 minutes, and you’re working from home battling Excel spreadsheets to the soundtrack of a little boy screaming “baseball and skateboards,” THIS is the cake that you must turn to to quiet the shit storm you’ve just encountered.

You are worthy. You are capable and you can handle anything now that you have a slice of this cake. Go ahead. You deserve it! The liberation derived from a slice can be compared to the feeling of removing your spanx, pantyhose AND clingy dress with too tight of a waistband and substituting them with a baggy sweatshirt and soft yoga pants. Finally, you can breathe again.

Spiced Lemon Cake. Spiced? Not really. The cardamon didn’t pack as much of a spice punch as I’d hoped. Is it still worthy of being one of the best/simplest lemon cakes? Yes. The glaze provides just enough tang to match the fluffy light lemony cake it rests upon. If you are looking to fulfill the spice aspect, perhaps a full teaspoon instead of 3/4 will do the trick.

Pair a slice with a cup of milky tea, and this cake is absolutely divine.

Crazy day? What crazy day? There’s cake!

recipes, Uncategorized

October 17, 2010

Green Lemonade

Ahhh yes! I’m back on juicing! Life kinda got in the way!

I found this *recipe* for Green Lemonade in the latest Whole Living Magazine. I had all the ingredients and gave it a try. Genius! The apples provide the sweetness you need in a lemonade. The head of romaine lettuce gives the green element & the extra juice you need to dilute the lemon & apple juice.
CONTINUE READING

recipes, Uncategorized

October 15, 2010

Quick Mexican Stir Fry!

A new post is up at Modern Kiddo!

This week I’m showing you my quickie Mexican Stir Fry- a dish I make (almost) weekly!

Take out the cheese on top and it’s Vegan! (I’ve had a few requests for vegan recipes, so here’s one for you!)

Please come check it out!!

recipes, Uncategorized

October 14, 2010

Salted Caramel Popcorn Pretzel Bars

So I went to the dentist last week after dodging a cleaning for 2 years (it could have been worse!) Coast is clear! No cavities! We are all good. To celebrate this accomplishment, I busted out a batch of these ooey gooey Salted Caramel Popcorn Pretzel Bars!! Because really…what dentist would approve such a treat?

I stood there in the kitchen, cutting up the bars and had to walk away for a minute to regroup. Why? Because I was eating too many of them! There were a few that didn’t have *perfect* edges and I HAD to take care of them. There was one with a pretzel sticking out and God forbid someone got poked with it! There was one that didn’t have enough caramel on top and one that did. I took care of those for you because I totally have your best interest in mind.

I really had no idea how good these bars were going to be! I probably ate a whole plate of them yesterday and have the scratched up gums to prove it. I think my dentist would probably say, “I told you so!”

Make these and share them. Like, put some on a plate and wrap them up and give them away BEFORE you take your first bite of one. They are utterly AHHH-DDICTIVE.

around the home, Uncategorized

October 10, 2010

Halloween Decor 2010

Our living room is decorated for Halloween!

I put some black glittered pumpkins up….

And decorated our mantle.

I got a cool black glittered skull from Target. Creepy!

Spiders littered everywhere.

A few snakes too…

I put cheesecloth over the mirror with my Halloween banner.

I like the effect!

And bits of orange make their way into other parts of the house….

Some spiders & white pumpkins.

And a new glittered skeleton for our front door!

This is what it looked like last year!!

And here’s our house two years ago!

recipes, Uncategorized

October 8, 2010

Apple Pear Phyllo Crisp

Phyllo dough. Love the stuff. Anytime I see anything phyllo dough related on a passed hors d’oeuvres tray, I grab as many as possible. It’s a good idea to make friends with the server carrying the tray because you’ll be guaranteed first dibs when a fresh batch comes out of the kitchen!

Tell them a dirty joke and they’ll bring you more than just hors d’oeuvres….Trust me.

This recipe was the first time I’ve actually USED phyllo dough. I’ve spent all of my adult life avoiding the stuff because I was always told that phyllo dough is ridiculously hard to work with (thanks, Mom!) Guess what?!! I am a phyllo dough survivor and it wasn’t so bad!! I just remembered to religiously cover the sheets after pulling a new one out. There was one moment where I ripped a sheet and then I said F-it. Like anyone is going to see a rip when they are having buttery flaky phyllo dough mouthgasm.

How would I describe this Apple Pear Phyllo Crisp?

Crispy, crunchy, flaky, nutty, fruity, buttery…. It’s like baklava with fruit on top!

I’m thinking it would be divine with a little ginger simple syrup mixed in the butter. Oh! What about some ginger spiked whipped cream? I’d love some with a hot toddy!

recipes, Uncategorized

October 7, 2010

Spaghetti Squash with Turkey Meatballs

I have a confession to make. The only reason I tried this recipe was because I was seduced by the magical powers of sprinkled Parmesan cheese on top of meatballs. The bright yellow spaghetti squash intrigued me and I knew the mushroom/spinach profile would be good, but MEAT & CHEESE sold me. I loooove meatballs. I’m 1/2 Italian. It’s in my genetic makeup. My grandma’s meatballs are what broke my 3 years of Vegetarianism. Seriously.

Is spaghetti squash like pasta? NO. There’s really no comparison BUT! spaghetti squash does taste fabulous in its own right. It’s soft & semi crunchy and a good vehicle for sauce—hence the pasta substitute. The strands aren’t soo long that you hafta twirl your fork over and over again. This means you can get it into your mouth faster. Win!

So how was this dish? Pretty good! I really liked the mushroom sauce and might add more mushrooms and spinach next time. If you are vegetarian, cut out the meatballs and you’ll still have a wonderful, hearty dish! People with children? You listening? I learned that you cannot trick a 2 year old boy into thinking that spaghetti squash is noodles. Cooper tossed them on the floor to show is disapproval. Someone is too smart for his own good….