July 25, 2011

Blueberry Zucchini Bread

During the car ride home from my parent’s house yesterday, I listed all the recipes I need to post on this here website to Casey and he had no recollection of me making Blueberry Zucchini Bread! When I described it as “that tasty/moist/lemony bread studded with juicy blueberries…you know the one you ate a LOT of?” the memory of eating the bread finally came back. Apparently he was just thrown off by the word zucchini because he had no idea there was zucchini in that bread! Cooper had no clue too. I’m guilty of vegetable hiding.

Blueberries & Zucchini! They’re both in season right now, so why not combine the two and make a scrumptious bread? This recipe makes TWO loaves. If you’re scared that you’ll eat BOTH loaves (which is easy to do and I don’t blame you), wrap one up and give it to your neighbor/friend/coworker and earn brownie points. If you’re feeling greedy, wrap up the second loaf and stash it in your freezer. Blueberry zucchini bread will be a great start to your week, next week!
CONTINUE READING

recipes, Uncategorized

July 23, 2011

Homemade Soft Pretzels

If you decide to make these AH-mazing homemade soft pretzels, make sure someone else is home to help you eat them. I had to wait FIVE excruciating hours for Casey to get home and I SWEAR I almost locked myself out of the house TWICE so I wouldn’t eat more. When Casey finally arrived, I had a pretzel filled dinner waiting for him. For an appetizer, he started off with a plain pretzel dipped in hot mustard. His entree was a cheesy jalapeno pretzel with a few dashes of Tapatio. For dessert, he devoured a crispy cinnamon sugar pretzel. That’s right. Three courses of doughy goodness for my husband. That’s how we roll.

You should make these pretzels this weekend if you can! The active time is a snap and the inactive/proofing time can be spent cleaning up your kitchen or doing crunches while watching trashy TV. The bottom line: these pretzels are LEGIT and people will be impressed! I kinda feel like opening up my own soft pretzel stand outside our house featuring Honey Rosemary Lemonade. Wouldn’t that be awesome? I’m totally dreaming.

p.s.- Cross off another item from my 31 comes before 32 list. #15. Make my own soft pretzels!
CONTINUE READING

Photography, Uncategorized

July 23, 2011

365- Week 28

A food related photo everyday until 2012. Here’s Week 28:

202/365 The bottom of a Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel (recipe soon!)

recipes, Uncategorized

July 22, 2011

Pineapple Grapefruit Juice

Say HELLO to one of my latest/greatest juices! Super sweet pineapple juice gets cut with tangy/bitter grapefruit! You’ll take a sip and think “WHOA that’s sweet!” and then suddenly the grapefruit juice shows its face and saves the day! It’s a match made in juice heaven! It’s also GREAT with vodka…just saying….
CONTINUE READING

around the home, Uncategorized

July 22, 2011

Episode #10 is Live!!

Friends! This week on the Joy the Baker Podcast over at Homefries, we’re at it again!

This week we are talking about:

dieting and not dieting
tankini (it’s a bad word)
eating lighter…because it’s hot out
food sweats
what to buy a bro-in-law

You won’t want to miss it! Come check it out!

If you want to ask us a question, email us!

Homefries has its own Facebook page! You’ll totally LIKE it.

recipes, Uncategorized

July 20, 2011

Giardiniera

What the heck is Giardiniera? It’s a spicy Italian pickled vegetable mixture that’s mostly eaten as an antipasto. Sometimes it’s included in salads and it’s occasionally shoved into a delicious Italian sub. In my case, it’s a healthy snack eaten directly out of the jar!

Ever since I had this simple salad at one of our favorite pizza places, I’ve been somewhat addicted to the taste of crunchy pickled carrots, tangy bites of cauliflower, and red peppers with spicy slices of jalapeno peppers. It’s definitely a party in your mouth! When I wasn’t able to find a reasonably priced jar of Giardiniera in my local grocery store, I figured I’d make my own. Turns out it’s a cinch to make and the second you open the lid, one whiff will you transport you to that kitschy Italian restaurant from your childhood. Pickling your own vegetables is super fun! I highly recommend it.
CONTINUE READING

recipes, Uncategorized

July 18, 2011

Creamed Summer Corn

Just when I thought fresh summer corn on the cob couldn’t get any better, I made this Creamed Summer Corn! It’s light, buttery, creamy and has something so absolutely wonderful in it– LIME. Casey swore there had to be some magical spice in the creamed corn. He sat at the dinner table devouring bite after bite, trying to figure it out. There’s a bit of cayenne in the mix, but that’s it! The lime is really what turns this creamed corn into something absolutely unreal. You’ll see.

I made this recipe with 9 ears of corn for the 6 of us, and paired it with a few slabs of ribs while we were on vacation in Tahoe. Guess what? There was no creamed corn left. Good sign? Most def!
CONTINUE READING