May 8, 2010

Cucumber Watermelon Lime Juice

Refreshing!! The key to this juice is the lime you squeeze in at the end. Watermelon and cucumber produce the mellowest of juices so it’s essential to have something tart in the mix. It really helps bring out the sweetness of the watermelon and depth to the cucumber juice. It’s the rug that ties the room together!!

This juice doesn’t resemble the synthetic cucumber-watermelon flavor you might get from a frou-frou lotion or a piece of super sweet bubble gum. It’s the real deal. Light, pure, mellow and totally refreshing when you add a little bit of sparkly water. It’s something you might find in a ritzy spa. Imagine yourself wearing a cozy bathrobe while sipping on this. Got a mud mask? Put it on! My neighbor and I added a nice amount of rum in our juices last night! Went down like water!

This is going in the summer juicing rotation for sure!

Here is what’s in it!

recipes, Uncategorized

May 7, 2010

Easy Baked Potato Chips

It started with a mad craving for something crunchy and semi guilt free. I had a few sweet potatoes sitting around and thought I’d bust out a little recipe for baked sweet potato chips from one of those Martha Stewart Magazine cards I saved. Wait. Stop for a second. You don’t see sweet potatoes in this post do you? NOPE. That’s because I burned almost an entire batch of them on my first try. That’s what happens when you try to do too much and don’t pay attention to your kitchen timer. Story of my life. The select few that made it out of the fire were incredible. Sweet, crispy, crunchy with a little bit of tasty oil. I shared one with Cooper and he loved it. In hindsight it’s a good thing that I didn’t have two trays full of sweet potato chips. As you may know, I can’t be trusted.

I needed to rectify my kitchen disaster QUICKLY. Unfortunately there were no sweet potatoes left in my pantry to try the recipe again but I did have 2 russet potatoes! I soaked them in a bowl of water for 10 minutes and patted them dry. Then I resumed the same recipe fore the sweet potatoes. I’ve seen this water/potato technique a few times on TV. It helps the potatoes get crispy because it washes some of the starch off. It totally worked. And I still ate more of these potato chips than I should have.

Fab. Easy. Salty. Crispy. Light. Sinful. Delicious.

You should make them! They are great on their own but of course the experimenter in me wants to tinker with the recipe. Next time I am going to make a rosemary salt to sprinkle on top. Maybe I’ll serve them with a tasty chive dip? Or perhaps sprinkle some Parmesan on top? I wonder if I could make some vinegar chips? What do you think?
CONTINUE READING

around the home, Uncategorized

May 6, 2010

Dahlia corsage from notmartha!

The internet is so very kind. I’ve made soo many good friends over the past few years and every now and then I get a little treat in the mail from somebody special. Today I found this waiting for me.

My very own dahlia corsage from Megan of notmartha!!!!!!

How did she know I WANTED ONE SOOO BADLY???!!!!!

I pinned it on IMMEDIATELY. It matches the navy blue striped tee I have on today.

Thank you Megan! I am absolutely stunned at how beautiful it is! What a nice little surprise in my mailbox this morning!

Any mother would be utterly delighted to receive one for Mother’s day. I know I am!! XOXOXOXOX

Check out her tutorial and her notes! It’s soo detailed & amazing.

recipes, Uncategorized

May 5, 2010

Juicing 101

I started 2010 with a resolution to juice more and have been pretty good at keeping my resolution thus far! I finally got my act together and compiled a little juicing tutorial for you. You asked for it and here it is!

This is my juicer. It’s an Omega 1000 Centrifugal Force Juice Extractor

Which means it’s extra tough at getting fruits and vegetables to surrender every last bit of juice they have left in them. It is said to extract 20-30% more juice than most juice extractors. I totally believe it. It’s a totally solid machine. It’s beyond legit.

It’s got a few parts. Here they all are! They easily fit together. It’s no big deal.

recipes, Uncategorized

May 2, 2010

Raspberry Almond Bars

Today I needed to make a sweet treat in a super short period of time because I had an impromptu date with my neighbors outside in the sun and didn’t want to show up empty handed. They supply the drinks, I supply the treats! It’s a pretty good deal, huh? I found this recipe in an Everday Food Magazine (which is my go-to publication when I need something speedy) and was super stoked that I had all of the ingredients in my kitchen. Serendipity!

They were SCRUMPTIOUS and they didn’t last long! The crust is so simple and buttery. It’s crispy on the bottom and the top is nice and crumbly. The raspberry jam provides the perfect amount of tart to balance out the sweetness in the crust. There’s something about the butter/flour/almond combo that reminds me of baklava. It’s utterly amazing. Go ahead and make them. You deserve them. And maybe your neighbors do too? Maybe you could trade a batch of these for that ladder they keep forgetting to give back to you?
CONTINUE READING

recipes, Uncategorized

May 1, 2010

Shrimp Tacos with Cabbage & Lime

Hi there! We had this for dinner last night and it totally knocked my socks off! Wait no! I was wearing sandals cuz it was warm outside so it knocked my sandals off! You get the point. It’s a really good recipe for the warm weather coming up! I made it indoors but it would be even better made outside with a bunch of friends and a crap load of beers & booze. Let’s do that next time, OK? I smell a Glee night coming up with my girls!

The lime in the sour cream topping is AH-MAZING. It’s really the star of the show. It’s bright and fresh and has the same zingy effect you get when you put a lime in a beer. That may not make sense now but you will get what I mean when you take your first bite. The textures are all so perfect! The crispy cabbage and crunchy corn tortilla mixes perfectly with creamy avocado & sour cream! I LOVE the grilled shrimp with the red onions. Yum! Skip cilantro if you are a hater! I used to be a cilantro hater but somehow I got over it! There might be hope 😉
CONTINUE READING

recipes, Uncategorized

April 30, 2010

Beet Carrot Apple Juice

This one’s pretty simple and I think I’ve made it before, but today I added a Granny Smith apple to the mix and it perked it up quite a bit! The combo of beet and carrot juice is shockingly sweet; so the addition of a tart green apple mellowed it out a bit. I drank some while doing some gardening in the backyard today. I added a handful of ice cubes and my thirst was instantly quenched. You should see how bright red my tongue is right now. Fun fun!

Here’s all the ingredients! Everything is so crispy and crunchy!