Summah Time

My apologies for not writing a new blog for a while. Went on a mini-road trip and all I made was scrambled eggs and English muffins, go figure.

So, today, I grilled T-bone steak and make a corn and zucchini salad for dinner. Currently, raspberry scones are in the oven making my house smell delicious. After I made the German chocolate cupcakes, one of my coworkers requested I make a healthy scone. I borrowed this recipe and will include it later on in the blog.

My barbecuer is still functioning...barely. I got a lecture from the roommate's mom about throwing matches at my propane using BBQer, and I deserved it. I'm not exactly fond of turning up the gas to high, lighting one of my POS matches I got at the gas station, and chucking it in the vicinity of the grill and running the other way shielding my face. It's probably one of the most amusing things to watch, as some of my friends can attest to. But, I missed the sale at Target for a new stand-up grill. Whatever, not a big deal. My little Jack Daniels grill can make one mean medium rare steak.

Like I have said in past blogs, in my personal opinion, letting cuts of beef soak in Worcestershire sauce, cooking it, and lightly salting and peppering it is the best way to eat it. So, nothing new there besides the fact that it was my first time grilling a T-bone steak. I saw on a Man v. Food episode (I think) that when you cook meat with the bone, it'll give it more flavor. I completely support that theory, as the steak I had tonight was delicious. Flavorful, tender, and juicy. Mmmm.

Again, I apologize for the crappy picture quality, as my Blackberry will only take a good picture outside from far away.

This salad is delicious, and a great way to get in some good vitamins. Plus, I HATE squash, and it's the only way I'll eat it. I also got to pick some of the cilantro I'm growing in the garden and use that. Such a satisfying feeling. :)

You'll need:
--Olive oil
--Salt and pepper
--Cilantro
--Yellow squash
--Zucchini
--Half an onion

1. Add olive oil to a pan, and turn heat on medium-high.
2. Once the oil has warmed up enough to slide easily over the entire surface of the pan,
3. add half of a diced onion. **Make sure to be careful, and don't burn yourself. Adding the onions to the hot oil will cause it to splatter up, making it likely that you could get oil on your arms, face, skin, blablabla. Just be careful!
4. Stir constantly.
5. Once the onion has become transparent, salt.
6. Stir in diced zucchini and yellow squash.
7. Stir constantly for about two minutes.
8. MAKE SURE YOU DON'T COOK THE SQUASH LONG ENOUGH FOR IT TO BECOME SQUISHY. The texture will be weird and slimy if you do. If you taste test, it should be warm all the way through, but still slightly crunchy.
9. Take off the heat.
10. Salt and pepper.
11. Add cilantro.
12. Cut a lime in half, and squeeze juice over the mix.
13. Enjoyyy!

Looks like a lot of directions, but I also write them out the way directions should be done. I cannot tell you how many recipes I've screwed up because I don't have the attention span to read through a paragraph of BS.


SCONESSS.

For some reason, American companies have decided to add masses amount of sugar to scones. Yes, I can see that people would want them to be super sweet because it is the U.S., that's what we do. However, it's not the way scones were initially intended. Slightly sweetened, savory, etc. This scone recipe is a healthy, slightly sweetened one.

Recipe borrowed from the recipe book, "Hungry Girl" by Lisa Lillien.

1 1/3 c. oats, not instant
2/3 c. Bisquick Heart Smart
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
4 tsp. softened, light butter (I used my soy butter)
2/3 c. light vanilla soymilk (I used almond milk with a splash of vanilla and pinch of sugar)
1 1/2 c. raspberries (The recipe calls for blueberries, but I hate blueberries)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix oats, Bisquick, brown sugar, baking powder and butter until combined.
3. Stir in milk.
4. Fold raspberries (Folding is lifting batter from corners to center. Don't stir the berries, because this causes the berries to smash).
5. Cover a cookie sheet with waxed paper, put 4-6 mounds on sheet. **These scones expand DRAMATICALLY.
6. Bake for 10 minutes.

I lovee the dough. Can't lie, I make these quite a bit to just eat the dough. If it's your first time making these, bake a couple to try out to see if you think they're sweet enough. If not, chocolate chips are a good add, although defeat the purpose of healthy.

Ideas? Questions? Comments? Let me know. :)

Don't Mix Up Our Corn, Wife

To randomly start of this blog, these are a few of my favorite things:
-Cilantro
-Garlic Salt
-Garlic
-Salt (Yes, I'm going to be that old woman who gets told by her doctor to quit eating salt. I'll probably tell him/her off, too. I love salt).
-Taco Seasoning

You'll notice or probably already have noticed how much I use these items.


I'm going to completely embarrass my roommate, but it's no big deal. Her coworkers call me her wife because I bring her dinner when she's at work. So, we've acquired it and joke about it now.

The other day, I made steak, barbecued corn, and salad. My original plan was to grill the petit sirloin, approximately the size of a credit card per person, (the serving size of steak that one should have, rather than an entire cow). I believe that all a steak needs is Worcestershire Sauce, salt, and pepper. My favorite way to cook a steak is medium rare. Brown, with a warm center. Juicy steak is the greatest. I HATE when a steak is overcooked. I believe that it loses a lot of flavor and juiciness.

My pops told me that when you add salt to meat before you cook it, it makes it tough. No one wants to gnaw on tough meat. When I cook steak, I prefer to:
*Dump Worcestershire Sauce on it and let it marinade.
*Pepper it.
*Grill it on the barbecue.
*Salt it afterwards.

Now that I know how to cook steak, I don't have to go to TGI Friday's to get one! It's an amazing concept. When I made this dinner, I cooked the corn first so it could cool when the steak quickly grilled. But, by the time the corn was finished, I ran out of propane. My steak was thawed, so I had to cook it. I grilled it over the stove; didn't taste as good, of course. (I also believe that EVERYTHING tastes better over the barbecue, now that I know how to do it).

The corn even got the, "Mmmmm," from the wife. Which is a good thing.

I believe that I mentioned in the blog before this one that I am lactose intolerant. I have substituted a soy butter for regular butter in my diet. I love it.

When I was preparing the corn, I got told, "Don't mix up our corn, wife!" Mine was made with this butter, her's was made with her butter. I loved mine, she loved hers.

For one ear of corn,
1. Melt 2 tbsp. of butter in a bowl, dash of cayenne pepper, dash of dried oregano, garlic salt, pepper, and garlic powder in the microwave until completely melted.
2. Take a piece of aluminum foil large enough to cover ear of corn and put the shucked ear on foil.
3. Spread butter mixture over ear, making sure to rub spices and butter over corn.
4. Wrap foil like a burrito.
5. Put on medium-high heat over a barbecue for 20 minutes, making sure to turn every five minutes.
6. Unwrap and enjoy!

Hopefully you all will be seeing more barbecuing recipes!

Anything you want to see or want changed? Let me know! :)

Not Your Boxed Cake

Decided I wanted tacos for dinner. Went home during my lunch break, threw a package of chicken in the crockpot with a pureed tomato, taco seasoning, salt, and half of a chopped onion. Set it on low and let it cook while I was at work. (I googled it, and you can put raw chicken in a crockpot and have it cook. No, I didn't know that. Don't make fun of me). Came home, shredded the chicken with two forks, and put it back in the crockpot to soak up the taco seasoning mixture.

This would be a taco I made. It has shredded chicken, feta cheese, and homemade pico de gallo. Sound weird? Well, it's not. It's delicious. My pops works with native Mexicans in the summertime. A few summers ago, they bonded enough to introduce my pops to their families. They showed him how to make tacos the right way. This didn't include the "Taco Bell-ernized" version of a taco, but the way that native people eat them. My dad came home, showed me how to make homemade corn tortillas, the shredded chicken, and pico de gallo. It's so good! You wouldn't think the feta would taste good on tacos, but it's an amazing compliment. Like Mexican fireworks in your mouth.

Pico de Gallo

Dice two large tomatoes, half an onion, and cilantro.
Combine with salt, squeeze a fresh lime over combination.
Enjoy.

Prettttty easy. My dad would make so like a gallon of pico at one time, and it'd be gone in days. It's delicious.

With a good meal, you gotta have a good dessert. And it comes at a good time.

One of my roommate's coworkers is going through a bad break-up and I told her that whatever she needed, I'd be there for her. She said, "chocolate cake." So, what'd I do? I made German Chocolate Cupcakes. A coworker/friend of mine called them anti-depression cupcakes because for every sad person who ate them, that person had perma-grin.

This crappy picture was taken with my Blackberry. My apologies. But, this frosting? I'm pretty sure I could just make that and eat it all with a giant spoon. And probably die. (I'm lactose intolerant, and technically am not suppose to have milk, but I do at certain times).

Martha Stewart's Coconut-Pecan Frosting

Ingredients:
6 egg yolks (I save the egg whites for breakfast)
2-12 oz. cans of evaporated milk (I use one low-fat can of evaporated milk to cut SOME calories).
2 1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 1/2 c. of butter
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
14 oz. flaked coconut (This is one package)
12 oz. pecans (This is one package)

1. Get a large saucepan.
2. Heat egg yolks, evaporated milk, brown sugar, and butter over medium heat.
3. Stir CONSTANTLY until it's the consistency of sour cream.
4. Strain mixture into a bowl.
5. Stir in vanilla, salt, coconut, and pecans.
6. Let frosting cool before you spread onto cake.


This frosting is delicious. I could take a spoon and eat it all. But, that's not a very smart idea. The cake recipe that is below? Not fantastic. I think it could be more spongey. So I'll keep working on that. But, here's the recipe.

Martha Stewart's German Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

Ingredients
3/4 c. butter
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/3 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. buttermilk
2/3 c. semisweet chocolate chips

1. Take a pot and fill with water.
2. Put smaller pot in water-filled pot.
3. Heat over medium heat with chocolate chips in smaller bowl.

4. Let cool.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake tin with cupcake liners.
6. Cream butter and sugar.
7. Add eggs one at a time until incorporated.
8. Beat vanilla.
9. Reduce speed to low.
This part screwed me up, so pay attention.
10. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in separate bowl.
11. Mentally split flour mixture into three batches.
12. Add in one batch of flour mixture.
13. Mix.
14. Add 1/2 c. buttermilk.
15. Mix.
16. Add in one batch of flour mixture.
17. Mix.
18. Add 1/2 c. buttermilk.
19. Mix.
20. Add in last batch of flour mixture.
(Yes, that ridiculousness actually matters).
21. Fill cupcake liners with batter 3/4 full.
22. Cook for 20 minutes until you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.
23. Let cool.
24. Peel liners off, and cut in half horizontally.
25. Spread frosting in-between the cake, and on top.
26. Enjoy!


:)

Turkey vs. Cow

I understand when people say, "I won't eat ground turkey...it's weird." Growing up in the sticks, we ate a lot of wild game. It's taken me until this year to be really comfortable with it. I use ground turkey in everything. Meatballs, tacos, whatever else I need ground beef in... However, I have come across one item that when subbing ground turkey for ground beef, does not work at all.

This item?...

Meatloaf.

You got it. That one dish of easy to make comfort food. I picked out a recipe, got the stuff, and make the meatloaf. It was a meatloaf that had a glaze to it that was put in the place of the typical ketchup topping that I've come to know and love. In theory, it was good. The pictures look good, the concept is great. It just tasted weird.

I've determined that it was the finely chopped carrots and turkey meat which made it confuse my mouth. Doesn't help that I compare it to my mom's meatloaf. But I do not like finely diced carrots added to meat. I'm glad that I now know this about myself.

In order to make the meatloaf, the recipe called for garlic flavored croutons. Because I never use croutons, I decided to make them.


Garlic Croutons

Take 2 slices of bread.
Tear into pieces.
Spread over a waxed paper lined cookie sheet.
Lightly spray with olive oil pam.
Sprinkle with garlic salt.
Put in 400 degree oven until hard in texture. (They will also become more firm at room temperature after removing them from the oven).
Eat.


Pretty simple.

I feel bad that I don't have an extraordinary recipe to post, but, I am not a professional. I didn't go to cooking school, I don't take cooking lessons, and a lot of the time, I don't know what I'm doing. So, take that as entertainment, I suppose. I mess up, too!

Last notes:
-- I apologize for not having precise measurements on the recipes that I come up with. That's how my pops cooks, and I definitely have taken that from him as I get older. If it tastes good, that's awesome! If it doesn't, change it.
-- I need an apron. Not one I use for work. A real one. A cute one.
-- Expect a cupcake recipe tomorrow! People of C.E.'s city? You might be surprised with something delicious!
-- Have a great night. :)

A Dying Art

I like outlines. You're gonna get one. In this blog, I'm gonna talk about:

1. People's stupid excuses for not making food.
2. A new recipe
3. Cooking with fresh food

I go to the grocery store and buy masses of random foods. This includes things like ginger, heads of garlic, lots of flour, bla bla bla. I always get random looks by the checkers. Being the friendly person I am, I tend to explain why I'm buying this stuff. It's usually something like, "oh, I'm making taco soup," or, "I'm baking cookies," or, "I'm cooking a turkey."

If the checker is paying attention, they'll usually respond with something with the likes of:

"You don't normally see people cooking anymore, especially your age."

That makes me sad. People are too busy to cook, don't know how, don't have the energy, etc. I call BS. If you don't know how, go learn. Don't have the energy? You'd probably have some energy if you ate good, whole-based foods compared to that crap you can get to-go through that drive-thru. Take a day and make masses amount of something, then tupperware it. It's called a microwave. Put that business in the microwave. When I was younger, my mom would make plates upon plates of ready to eat, homemade meals for my great-grandparents. She had three kids and a job. She did it. You can, too.

Everybody can cook.

So, here, is possibly the easiest thing in the world to make.

Taco Soup

There are three components to this soup. The base, the meat, and vegetables.

1. Cook a pound of ground turkey (or beef) over medium heat. Once browned, add taco seasoning. (I love taco seasoning. I'm pretty sure I will put that on anything. That and cilantro. I'll get to that later).

2. To make the base, puree two large tomatoes, a jalepeno, a head of garlic, and a packet of Hidden Valley's ranch dressing mix. (The reason I don't use tomato paste is because it freaks me out. It's like a tomato version of peanut butter. And that's not natural.)

3. Dice two large tomatoes, an onion, and a green pepper. Put half the diced veggies, meat, two cans of rinsed kidney beans, and tomato puree in a crock pot over low heat.

4. Let contents sit for hours. After everything has seeped in the flavor, (and you'll be serving shortly thereafter), add the other half of diced veggies.

5. Take 2-3 ears of corn, and cut corn off.

6. Let the fresher veggies soften but not become consistency of the first added veggies. This will add texture to the soup, giving it a chili-like quality. Add corn 5 minutes before serve-time.

7. Taste test to judge if needs more taco seasoning, salt, pepper, etc.

8. Serve with crushed tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream, cilantro, lime juice, and/or sliced avocado.

This makes a massive amount of soup. Like 8-10 people's worth. And it's delicious.


When it comes to making and eating food, being able to use fresh products is the best. For example, you can make the soup above with canned products, but it will not taste near as delicious or fresh. Farmer's markets, gardens, grocery stores, little markets, even neighbors can supply this.

I was referred to a tiny market by a coworker. This place is tiny, and looks like it's not even open from the outside. But, the produce is the most fresh in the city, and it's the cheapest. How does that work? But anyways, whole foods are the best. Use those. I will probably write a blog about picking produce, later on.

Canned tomato sauce < Sauce made from fresh tomatoes
Bagged hashbrowns < Freshly grated potatoes
Canned corn < Corn on the cob

Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Leave 'em here.

Thanks for visiting. :)

Family Recipes

At places all over, cookies are sold. Chocolate chip, peanut butter, molasses, sugar. Whatever. People love these things. I just can't understand. Have you ever had a homemade one? Believe me. If I had the choice to have a store-bought cookie over not eating at all, I wouldn't eat. That's diet control in itself.

Homemade food > Store-bought food

As evidenced by simply having this blog, I love cooking. For my 21st birthday, my mom gave me a recipe book that has a lot of the family recipes. But, no gingersnap recipe. So yesterday, I call my moms and ask her for the gingersnap recipe. Yada yada, she'd get it to me.

A few hours later, I get the recipe via e-mail with this in the title, "Top Secret." I respond with: "Meaning, I can't post it on my blog." Her reply? "I might have to hurt ya..." So readers, I apologize. If you REALLY want the recipe, go bother my moms. If she likes you, she might give it to you. (** Side note, I don't have two moms, I for some reason started calling my mother, moms, and my father, pops. Don't ask why, because I don't even know).

But! The foundation of gingersnaps for those of you who don't know, are molasses, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Google it. You roll the dough into balls and roll them in sugar. The dough and sugar are delicious compliments.

I've been making cookies since I was a kid. I have acquired some of my tips. These are:

• Use waxed paper on a cookie sheet to extend the life of it. This goes for anything made on a cookie sheet.
• I like large cookies. Cookies the size of your face. Just kidding. But really, I'd rather have one fatty cookie then a dozen bite sized ones. Think about it. Plus, chewy cookies are better (no really moms, they are better!!)
• If you leave the cookies on the sheet after they've been in the oven, they will continue cooking. Meaning, if they're perfect when you take them out of the oven and decide to leave them on the sheet, they won't be when the sheet cools.

Some last additions before I take off:

• In my last blog, I posted a recipe for barbecued pizza. The only way to have good leftovers with this pizza is to make sure that crust is almost crunchy when you put the toppings on it. If not, the sauce will absorb into the soft crust and it will become soggy. No one likes anything soggy.
• I accidentally bought allspice. I don't even know what to use this with. Any ideas? Hit me up with some advice.
• I won't be posting everyday. I don't have time to cook amazing food everyday. No one wants to hear about the massive amount of scrambled eggs I eat for breakfast over the course of a month. So, I'll filter the relevant.
• You saw something you want me to try? Post that and I'll try and get to it. :)

The Best Pizza You'll Ever Taste

RANDOM NOTES to start off the blog:

1. A clove of garlic is not the entire thing. It is one of the small pieces inside the garlic. I have made this mistake. No bueno.
2. Be careful when dealing with fire. Nobody likes burning their eyebrows off.
3. This pizza is delicious. The elements are so simple, yet it comes together from the smokiness in the tomatoes and crust, to the richness that the olive oil, red pepper flakes, and garlic adds to the sauce. It's just ridiculously good pizza.

I've never thought about barbecuing pizza. Didn't even think you could. But, lets step back. When I moved, my dad gave me a barbecuer because I've never done it, and I love trying new things. So, I'm obsessed with the barbecuer right now. Being able to put pizza on it? Phenomenal.

I was watching The Food Network (which is one of three channels I actually watch) and Alton Brown became an instant intrigue. Don't know him? He's the dude who hosts Iron Chef America. Balding, glasses...you know who I'm talking about. This man was actually barbecuing pizza. My response: "Wait, you can actually do that?" And yes, yes you can. And damn, it's delicious.

I've had some good pizza in my time, but good lord. This pizza has simple elements, but so much flavor. I've officially screwed myself over. I will no longer be able to order pizza without sighing and saying, "I could make a much better pizza." I guess I'll live.

So this recipe comes from Alton Brown from his show, "Good Eats" on the Food Network.

**Side Note: Sometimes I'll eyeball something or taste test it and decide it needs more of x, y, or z. So, just like my pops, my measurements aren't exact, but this is the best I can give ya.

INGREDIENTS

ingredients for dough

3 cups of flour

2 1/4 tsp. (or one packet) rapid rise yeast

1 tbsp. salt

10 oz. warm water

2 tbsp. olive oil

3/4 tbsp. molasses

ingredients for sauce

4 large, ripe tomatoes

1/2 c. olive oil

1 head of garlic, chopped (8 cloves)

1 1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

ingredients for toppings

Mozzarella - I bought mozzarella that was in it's very fresh phase; packaged in water, shaped in balls. If you use this, slice the mozzarella into slices and press between two heavy plates, paper towels lining them to soak up the excess water. If you don't do this, your pizza will be waterlogged.

Grated parmesan cheese - The legit stuff is better.

12-18 basil leaves, ripped into smaller pieces

Directions:

Dough:

Combine the 3 c. flour and 2 1/4 tsp. yeast in a bowl of a stand mixer with a hook attachment. Add the 1 tbsp. salt, 10 oz. warm water, 2 tbsp. olive oil, and 3/4 tbsp. molasses. Start the mixer on low for about 1.5 minutes, a.k.a., just enough time for dough to come together. SCRAPE SIDES. Increase speed to medium for 15 minutes

IF the dough looks like liquid, add more flour until it reaches ball form. Take a small piece of dough and test. It should be somewhat sticky, but not adhered to your fingers.

Cover bowl with towel for approximately an hour. (At this point, I like to mix the garlic, olive oil, salt, and red pepper flakes together. SCROLL DOWN to see).

When time is up, split into three balls. Cover with towel for 45 minutes.

Making the pizza!

Power the grill! For me, this means trying not to light myself on fire. I have a method and it's worked so far. Make sure the grates are clean, or else your pizza will taste like the barbecue you had a month ago.

Put your tomatoes on the grill and let them heat up.

Add 4 tbsp. of olive oil, 1 head of chopped garlic, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, 3/4 tsp. red pepper flakes in a bowl.

Turn tomatoes. Make sure they've heated all the way through. Once this has happened, mix together with your olive oil mixture and mash with a fork. (If you don't like chunks of tomatoes, pulsate in a blender).

Flour counter and flatten one of the dough balls. Rotate and stretch. I sprayed them with olive oil Pam so I didn't increase the risk of lighting myself on fire. Put the flattened dough on the BBQ. Wait a few minutes. Once it has browned, flip. Take a spoonful of your tomato sauce, and spread. Put cover on. Once the bottom is light brown, add your cheeses, basil, and toppings. Once the bottom has reached a darker brown, take off the barbecuer. Wait for it to cool.

Repeat for other two dough balls.

ENJOY this amazing deliciousness.

I shared this experiment with some of my coworkers and my roommate.

Post comments for questions, comments, or how your experiment with barbecued pizza went!

First Post

I've been wanting to start a blog for a while, and it hit me today. Food. I love food. Ever since I was a kid, I've loved cooking everything from main courses to desserts. Trying new recipes is something I love to do. I'm a firm believer that everything can be made better with food.

Now, I'm not saying this in a "typical fatty American" point of view. I mean finding something to make and perfecting it to the point where your mouth is just so overpowered with flavor, you won't be able to eat anything that would match it. The instant I see someone's face when they eat my food...the close of the eyes, the inhale of the smells, and the instant that flavor hits your mouth. Ah. I absolutely love that moment.

Growing up as the oldest, I watched my mom and dad cook and learned their methods. When I was in elementary school, I participated in cooking 4-H and was so bummed when our group leader closed the group. Being a curious kid, I acquired my parents cooking skills and learned how to cook for all five of us. Including my teenage brothers eating for the equivalent of three people. So, I am incapable of cooking for just myself and my roommate. Oftentimes, I will surprise people with my food. I guess you could say I'm addicted to the sensorial rush of good food.

If you are one of these people, I will experiment. Guess what? You'll try it all. At the current moment, I'm trying to perfect my coffee cake. I know it's not as good as it could be, but it will reach that point!

Writing as a "poor college student" won't limit me. I don't understand people who don't set aside money for food. Uhhh...that would be how you survive, so why not simply ENJOY it? There are no excuses for subpar tasting food.

I'll post recipes, stories, experimentations, things I've learned, and observations.

Follow if you dare. :)