A food related photo every day until 2012. Here’s Week 11:
76/365 Kale Bean Soup, Manchego, fruit & toasty bread at Market Bar in San Francisco.
365- Week 11
Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes
Remember that post I did on some of my recipe fails?? When I started making my own jam for the filling of these mini cheesecakes, I was super close to adding another entry to that list! Everything was going swimmingly until…..I decided to add more cornstarch! My jam wasn’t thickening fast enough and I was in a hurry because I had to bring these babies to my sister-in-law’s house. With just the slightest shake from the box, an avalanche of cornstarch clumps dumped into the hot strawberry slurry. I was left absolutely stunned. Crap crap CRAAAP!! I tried to push the jam through a fine mesh sieve to save it, but no dice. I learned a good lesson: Always measure/sift your cornstarch in advance. Have a little on the side or maybe even mix it with water so you have your thickening agent ready to go just in case you need it! I mean… I already knew that but…I get a little impatient in the kitchen sometimes.
What does one do in a such a desperate situation? QUICK! Time is limited and your strawberry supply has dwindled! Buy a dessert from the store? HELL to the NO! Run to the fridge and pull out some strawberry jam?! YES!! It will totally save your ass. It saved mine.
As I took my first bite to test my improv, I closed my eyes and was instantly beamed onto the steps of my back porch. If I remember correctly, I was wearing a cute sundress from anthropologie paired with flip flops and freshly pedicured toes. I was dipping a buttery graham cracker into a creamy sweet strawberry milkshake and it was hot outside. Yes…these little cheesecakes brought that summery feeling I’ve been so desperate for. I’m sooo over thick winters sweaters and boots right now. Aren’t you? If you wanna go ahead and make your own jam for this recipe, DO IT. You’ll totally get extra credit points…but then I might call you teacher’s pet. BTW! There’s something brown on your nose!
#19. Cook something with my husband
We can cross something off my 31 comes before 32 list!
#19. Cook something with my husband.
You might remember that Casey gifted me a “couples” cooking class this Valentine’s Day. On Friday we went to the Date Night: Parisian Bistro class at our local Sur La Table. It was great!!! Casey learned a few major cooking basics and I got to learn how to make awesome french fries and perfect profiteroles (BTW those two items are on my 31 comes before 32 list). Watch out– I hope to bust those out soon!
The Parisian Bistro Menu Included:
- Mussels Meuniere
- Seared Hanger Steak with Red Wine Reduction and Watercress
- Frites (from scratch!!)
- Profiteroles Vanilla Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce
New Favorite Snack ALERT!
Apple Slices + Peanut Butter + Raisins + Granola = YUM
That is all. Carry on.
365- Week 10
A food related photo every day til 2012. Here’s week 10:
69/365 I earned a CAKE POP today. It was my first.
Fully Loaded Granola Bars
SNACKS! It’s about the only thing I have time for this week. My schedule has been SUPER hectic and I’ve been running around like a CRAZY woman! With all this chaos, I can still hear my kitchen screaming, “STOP NEGLECTING ME, TRACY! Get in here and make something! You’ll feel better!” You know what? My kitchen is right. I don’t have lots of time, but I need to make something that will take my mind off my TO-DO lists. Armed with a cup of coffee, I whipped up these FULLY LOADED granola bars this morning while Cooper ate his breakfast. I’d have to say that it was time well spent because they are AWESOME. I love the crunch of the oats & almonds and am digging the tang of the dried apricots! A few of them got a little crumbly, but I don’t mind. They’ll be making their way into a bowl of yogurt for my afternoon snack today.
If you don’t have a lot of time and you want to get your butt in the kitchen, make these! You’ll have 12 little bars to snack on throughout the week –or day if you’re a pig like me! A runny nose will be wiped, a granola bar will be eaten, an email will be sent, and another load of laundry will be going into the washer the second I finish this paragraph. But it’s all good because I have a nice big plate of chewy/crunchy granola bars to fuel me today.
Casey’s Birthday Dinner at Flea St. Cafe
A friend asked me what I made for Casey’s birthday on Sunday and besides fulfilling his breakfast request of bacon, eggs & toast, I made dinner plans! After having Cooper, we don’t have the luxury of going out to fancy dinners like we used to, so I jump at any excuse to make a dinner reservation! Parents of littles, you know what I’m talkin’ about!
We went to a cozy little restaurant called Flea St. Cafe in Menlo Park. We had such a wonderful time on our first visit last summer that I couldn’t wait to see what they would come up with on their Early Spring menu. The restaurant serves nothing but local, flavorful and sustainable foods and the ambiance is charming & quaint! It’s almost as if you’ve been invited to a friend’s home for dinner- I love that. On a rainy Sunday evening, it was the perfect place to celebrate another year for Casey.
Here’s what we had!
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