I'll Bake Your Birthday Cake and Eat It Too!

Lemon-Thyme Zucchini Bundt Cake with edible flowers.
I developed this recipe for the shop I used to work at.
Yum.

Birthdays are fun. I mean, yeah, it is fun have a birthday, but I like it when people around me have birthdays. I make it a challenge for myself to make a delicious birthday cake especially for that person. Last summer I made my mom a lemon cake (the lemon buttercream was nice and tart!) and I made my dad a peach cake with a basil buttercream (local peaches and basil from my garden). My brother's birthday cake from September is still on my to-do-list...I have it all planned out though! Kind of...It will be an ice cream cake of some sort...so not really planned out at all...

Peach-Basil Birthday Cake!

My birthday cake challenge started the first year Kyle and I were dating. I wanted to make him a cake but didn't have an arsenal of cake recipes, so I went to experimenting and found a recipe for a chocolate mousse cake that was out-of-this-world rich and creamy (my roommate at the time was my taste-tester for the two practice cakes I made much to the enjoyment of her never-ending sweet tooth). I served it with fresh raspberries and whipped cream and it rocked. That meant the next year, I had to step it up...no pressure, right?!...I did my detective work and found out his favorite cake is German Chocolate. This guy likes rich and decadent. I spent an entire day making the different components, baking, mixing, decorating, and out came perfection. I made David Leibowiz's German Chocolate Cake and let me tell you it was worth every bit of work. I had never eaten GCC before, and this one set the standard really high.

THE German Chocolate Cake

Kyle still talks about those cakes...So this year, again, NO PRESSURE...

Feeling much more confident and having a lot more experience in the cake realm, I was excited for this years cake. I searched my favorite food blogs, cookbooks, random sites, when I magically came upon the recipe for Tiramisu Cake. Tiramisu is Kyle's favorite desert, so making it into a birthday cake?! Perfect. I found it on one of my all-time favorite food blogs, smittenkitchen.com, so I knew it was a winner. I read the comments, followed readers suggestions for doubling the soaking syrup, and went to baking on a Friday night after work.

Tiramisu Cake

barely adapted from Smitten Kitchen, who got it from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Note: The amounts listed for the espresso syrup and extract are doubled from the original recipe, which I am glad I did!

For the cake

2c (255g) Cake Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

1/8 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Salt

1 1/4 sticks (10 TB or 140g) Unsalted Butter, room temperature

1c (200g) Sugar

3 Large Eggs

1 Egg Yolk

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

3/4c (175ml) Buttermilk

For the espresso extract

1/4c Instant Espresso Powder

1/4c Boiling Water

For the espresso syrup

1c Water

2/3c Sugar

2TB Amaretto, Kahlua, or Brandy (I used brandy)

2TB Espresso Extract

For the filling and frosting

8oz Mascarpone

1/2c Confectioners Sugar, sifted

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

1TB Amaretto, Kahlua, or Brandy (I used brandy)

1c Heavy Cream, cold

2 1/2 oz Bittersweet Chocolate, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350〫F with the rack in the center of the oven. Butter two 9x2 round cake pans. Dust with flour, tap out the excess, and line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper.  

For the Cake: Sift together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the sugar and beat for another 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then the yolk, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, adding the dry ingredients in 3 additions and the buttermilk in 2 (starting and ending with the dry ingredients). Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed and mix only until a batter forms. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 28-30 minutes, rotating the pans after 15 minutes. Cakes will be golden and springy to the touch and thin knife will come out clean when inserted into the center. Transfer the pans to a rack and cool for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edges of the pans, unmold the cakes, and peel off the parchment. Cool on the rack right-side up.

For the Extract: Stir the espresso powder and boiling water together in a small cup until blended. Set aside.

For the Syrup: Stir the water and sugar together in a small saucepan and bring just to a boil. Pour the syrup into a small heatproof bowl and stir in the 2TB of the espresso extract and the brandy (or other liqueur). Set aside.

For the Filling and Frosting: Put the mascarpone, sugar, vanilla, and liqueur in a large bowl and whisk until blended and smooth. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream until it holds firm peaks. Stir about 1/4 of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture. Fold in the rest of the whipped cream with a very light touch. Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface and chill until ready to use.

Assembly: If the tops of the cakes have crowned or domed, trim with a serrated knife to create a flat surface. Place one layer right-side up on a cardboard round or cake plate protected with strips of parchment paper. Soak the cake with about 1/3 of the espresso syrup distributed evenly over the cake. Smooth a heaping cup of the mascarpone cream over the soaked layer and gently press the chopped chocolate into the filling. Put the second layer on the counter and soak the top of it with half of the remaining espresso syrup, then place the layer, soaked side down, over the filling. Soak the top of the cake with the remaining syrup. (Annie Note: I used a fork to poke holes in the cakes before I soaked them to help with absorption and to minimize dribbles).

Chopped chocolate in the center of the cake!

For the Frosting: whisk 1 TB of the remaining espresso extract into the remaining mascarpone cream filling. Taste as you go and add more if you wish. With an icing spatula, smooth the frosting around the sides and top of the cake.  Decorate with chocolate-covered espresso beans, cocoa powder, or more chopped chocolate (I melted chocolate and drizzled it on parchment paper then cooled it and broke the drizzles into pieces for decoration.).

Refrigerate the cake for at least 3 hours and up to 1 day before serving - the elements need time to meld (totally worth the wait if you ask me or the birthday boy!)

I. Love. This. Cake. And it got the eye-roll-of-absolute-enjoyment from the Tiramisu-loving Birthday boy. Winner!

I should probably start looking now for next year's cake...It is going to take a lot to make this next one as memorable as this one!

We Are "Those" Neighbors

Kyle and I like to cook. We have fun planning meals, creating new ideas, trying new things, presenting them, and of course eating them. One thing that we are really good at is making our apartment smell really good. On any given weeknight when other people are throwing together Hamburger Helper, we are putting together Spanakopita, broiled fish with a cranberry-wine sauce, the ever-easy and quick (but deeelish) corn and bean tacos with homemade tortillas, or not-from-a-can soup and homemade bread.

Aside from the split pea soup that is on the stove right now, this was the latest soup I made;
Curried Butternut Soup with Red Peppers and Rice. Coconut milk made it awesome...

We don't always make a big deal of breakfast, but some weekend mornings may smell like bacon, apple pancakes, muffins, scones, or french toast, and always coffee. I'd be lying if I said that we had never opened our door to waft the smells into the hallway...*guilty*

This morning was an oatmeal kind of morning. I wanted something different though, so I made a baked oatmeal. It has a consistency similar to bread pudding, making it sliceable and delectable. Its a powerhouse breakfast that is filling, full of the good stuff, and tasty :) The flavors are totally flexible too, so instead of the dates and cranberries, throw in 1c of fresh apples instead! Or what about fresh blueberries?! Or 1/2c chocolate chips and 1c of raspberries/strawberries? Yes, please. Banana Nut baked oatmeal? Add another banana! Don't want the banana in there? Foggettaboutit. This is a new standard recipe in this household. The neighbors will know it by smell.

Lighting in my kitchen is far less than ideal, in case you couldn't tell.
It is less flattering than bad lights on a runway.
I hope you get the gist of it though...Tasty as heck!!

Baked Oatmeal

2c Rolled Oats

1/8c-1/3c Brown Sugar (big range, I know, but base it on your taste. 1/3c was really sweet)

1tsp Baking Powder

1tsp Cinnamon

1/2tsp All-Spice

1tsp Dried Grated Orange Peel

1/2tsp Salt

1/4c Almonds (up to 1c of nuts if you want, or omit. This was all I had left in the cupboard)

1/3c Chopped Dried Dates

1/3c Chopped Dried Cranberries

2c Milk (I used almond milk, but any type would work well)

1 Egg

1tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Ripe Banana, mashed

Preheat oven to 375〫F. Grease 9"x9" baking dish (I used my trusty oval Le Creuset) and set aside. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients, including fruit and nuts.

 In a medium bowl, whisk together mashed banana, milk, egg, and vanilla.  Pour over dry ingredients and stir to combine. Pour into prepared baking dish and bake for 35-40min, or until lightly golden and the center is set.

On its way into the oven!

Slice and Enjoy!

This keeps really well, so make it in the evening and have breakfast for the week! Just slice and heat it up if you like (it is good cold, too). I think this would make a really good alternative to the Easter Egg Bake that everyone makes. Or at least it makes a good sweet counterpart to the brunch buffet. 

I hope everyone has a splendid Easter weekend! I will be celebrating on Saturday by running my first 10k (the first spring thunderstorm is possible, or at least one forecast told me so). Rain or shine, I am excited to challenge myself and my speed. Sunday I will be at my parents' house baking dinner rolls and orange cookies to accompany dinner and playing lots of cribbage. It will be a wonderful smelling house. Now if only the neighbors could smell it...

So...I'm Not A Touch Irish...

'Tis the season (or day) to celebrate being Irish (or in the case of most people, celebrate the idea of being a drunken Irishman...). I did not celebrate with a green beer (the thought repulses me), nor did I intentionally wear green today (the zip-up I wore during my run just happened to be green). I celebrated last night by having a beer with old friends, going to a comedy show and laughing my rear-end off, and closed the night drinking a beer with Kyle when he got home from work. I saw lots of people celebrating a little too aggressively though (maybe to compensate for my lack of intoxication). One woman could only (and even then, barely) mutter the word "dog" as Jesse and I were out for a walk. Her friend then proceeded to vomit into the white leather-interior SUV from the outside...Good luck explaining the smell to your kids when you have to take them to school on Monday...

We kept on walking, quite happy with our sobriety.

I did however celebrate the Irish in my own way. Bon Appetit had a menu of Irish eats and drinks on their website and one thing caught my eye; Orange-Chocolate Soda Bread. As much as I would have loved the homemade corned beef and all of its sides, this was the one thing that I was going to make this "holiday" season. There were a few adjustments made from the original recipe based on what I had on hand and my personal preferences for whole wheat in my soda breads, and they were delicious. The original recipe calls for candied orange peel but I only had homemade dried orange peel (see directions below for the best smelling thing and most enjoyable thing to add to anything ever...). Either way, this bread is a winner.

Orange Chocolate Soda Bread (adapted from Bon Appetit)

2c Unbleached Flour

1c Whole Wheat Flour

1/2c + 2TB Sugar

2tsp Salt

2tsp Baking Powder

1/2tsp Baking Soda

6TB Unsalted Butter, chilled and cut into 1/2" pieces

6oz Chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used milk chocolate chips because that is what I had, but a nice bittersweet chocolate would be amazing as well)

1TB + 1tsp Dried Orange Peel, finely ground

1 1/4c Buttermilk

1 Large Egg

Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350〫F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and lightly butter the parchment. Whisk the flours, sugar, salt, baking powder and soda and orange peel in a large bowl. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles a coarse corn meal. Stir in chocolate and make a well in the center of the bowl. 

Whisk buttermilk and egg in a small bowl or 2c measuring cup. Pour into the well and stir just until incorporated.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured counter and knead gently just until the dough comes together (about 5 turns). Form dough into a 6 1/2" diameter round, about 2 1/2" tall. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and slash the top with an "X" or star shaped pattern, slashes being about 1" deep and 3" long.

Bake until well-browned and firm when pressed. Toothpick inserted into the middle should come out clean. Total baking time should be about 45-50 minutes (the BA recipe said an hour and ten minutes, but that was too long for my loaf). Rotate the pan half-way through baking time to ensure even cooking and browning. Let cool. Enjoy.

This bread is similar to a scone, but the dough is much wetter than a scone dough. Snacking on a piece right now...Yum!

Soda bread originally used potash as a leavening agent (wood ash has a natural leavening agent, apparently). It was also a way to use of the lower quality soft-wheat, which is also why wheat soda breads tended to be sweetened (to help elevate the taste and to keep the wheat from going to waste). Cool stuff.

And now for the dried orange peel how-to. 

Eat an orange, reserving the peel (be sure to wash and scrub the orange before you peel it!). Let the peel sit on a plate for a couple of days to dry (it should be brittle with no moisture left in the peel). Pop it in your coffee/herb grinder or food processor and grind it until you have a fine powder. Be sure you smell it, as it smells PHENOMENAL. Put it in an air-tight jar until you are ready to use it! Put a teaspoon or two in a vanilla cake to give it an orange scent, or put some in homemade hot fudge to pour over ice cream, put in breads or scones or pancakes or muffins...the natural orange flavoring it gives foods is incredible and the possibilities are endless!!

I hope you all have a fantastic evening and Monday morning. Sometimes all you need is a little bit of encouragement to get you through it, and that is what I am here for.

Celebrate safely (next year, if I am too late in my warning) and eat well. 

If you have any leftover corned beef or beef stew, feel free to bring it on over to share!!

Cheers!

Did Someone Say Breakfast?

I love pancakes. I guess to be more correct, I love breakfast food. I love oatmeal with fruit, yogurt with granola, toast with a fried egg, herbs and cheese, bacon, omelets, any and all breakfast food.

I love having weekend mornings with Kyle because while he sleeps in (he gets home late from work), I get to play in the kitchen! It works out pretty darn well for everyone, I'd say. I made two batches of scones yesterday in the search for the perfect texture (I think I got it!) and I made pancakes this morning. I have cupboards full of different flours that I got for different recipes in the past, so I decided I would make Grainy Pancakes to help use some of it up. Before I get into this post, I have to let you know that I don't have any pictures of my pancakes. In all honesty, I didn't think they would turn out as well as it did. I love wheaty and grainy breads, but they tend to get heavy, dense, and almost bitter with tons of wheat. These surpassed my expectations and were a delicious start to my day.

One of the flours that I have fallen in love with is a 7-grain blend in the bulk section in the Food Co-op. It is a blend of wheat, barley, buckwheat, oat, rye, and 2 more that I can't remember right now...It has an awesome texture with some larger milled grains speckled through, great flavor (the blend makes it sweeter without being really wheaty tasting) and has worked really well in everything I have tried it in.

Grainy Pancakes

Don't let the name discourage you from trying them! Try your own flour mixes too! Use what you have!

1c 7-Grain Flour

1/4c Oat Flour

1/4c Barley Flour

3/4c All-Purpose Flour

1/4c Brown Sugar

1 3/4 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

1 1/2c Milk

2 TB Butter, melted, plus more for cooking

2 Eggs

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, butter, eggs, and vanilla. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour wet ingredients into well. Stir until just combined. Heat a skillet with a small pad of butter on medium heat. Pour a scant 1/2c batter onto pan and cook until brown, about 1-1 1/2 min each side.

I topped my pancakes two ways. One with a tart apple butter that I made in the fall (there is apple cider vinegar in it so it is nice and tart and far from overly sweet; awesome on pancakes) and the other with maple syrup (naturally). Great additions to the batter would be berries, bananas, chocolate chips, sauteed apples with cinnamon and ginger, or granola. Served with crispy bacon and a cup of coffee, this is a comfort breakfast to the max. 

Enjoy your Sunday and remember to eat your breakfast. Or just pass it to me and I will eat it for you.

Cheers!

Another Reason I Love Breakfast.

So I have been on a yogurt kick. I guess it is nothing new because I have always enjoyed yogurt, but more recently it has become a staple in my fridge. If someone is running to the store, yogurt status is always checked before we leave.

I used to hate plain yogurt. I loved raspberry, vanilla, lemon, blueberry...anything but plain. I remember the first time I ever ate it. I was probably six or seven and my sister, our cousin Sara and I were in the living room watching a movie (probably drinking sugar water because that was our sneaky way of getting jacked up as children) and I decided I wanted a snack. The kitchen only had the over-the-sink light on, so it was dimly lit. I grabbed the carton of yogurt from the fridge, scooped myself a seemingly enjoyable bowl, and took one bite. One. No more, maybe less. It wasn't sweet (but coming down from sugar water, nothing is), it tasted almost sour, and it wasn't the sweet vanilla I had my heart set on. I probably even just left it on the counter without a second thought (sorry about that, mom). Years later, plain yogurt is my choice. Mmm. 

I eat it for breakfast with raw oats, dried fruit, nuts, and chia seeds (with a drizzle of honey if I am needing a little more sweet in my life), I eat it with my lunch (throw some frozen berries in it when I am packing my lunch in the morning and by lunchtime, they are thawed and delicious), I bake with it (I have found a yogurt banana bread recipe that I really like and am working on). I just gol' durn like it.

And I love my granola.  

It is fun to make! I first made it at the coffee shop where I baked for years, and through that I learned just how flexible it is! Have a flavor dream? You can turn it into granola somehow. I have a recipe that is my standard go-to with flax, honey, nuts, vanilla, fresh or candied ginger and dried fruit, but I was craving something else when I pulled by antique Ball jar filled with oats out of the cupboard. I love brown sugar and maple on my oatmeal as a sweet treat, so I decided to make it into granola. This way I can have my granola AND yogurt. One happy lady, right here.

Maple Brown Sugar Granola

3c Rolled Oats

3/4c Raw Slivered Almonds (or raw chopped)

3/4c Raw Walnuts, chopped

3TB Sesame Seeds

3TB Flax Seeds

1/4c Dark Brown Sugar

3/8c Pure Maple Syrup

1/4c Canola, Sunflower, or other neutral flavored oil

3/4tsp Salt

1tsp Vanilla (paste or extract will work)

1/2c Dried Cranberries, chopped

1/2c Dried Apricots, chopped

Preheat oven to 250〫F. In a large bowl, combine oats, seeds, and nuts.  In another bowl, combine oil, brown sugar, maple syrup, salt, and vanilla until combined. Pour over dry ingredients and toss until evenly coated. Spread out evenly on 2 sheet pans. Bake for an hour and fifteen minutes, stirring and rotating pans every 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and combine in a large bowl. Allow to cool slightly before adding the cranberries and apricots. Toss until cool. Store in an airtight container or zipper baggie. 

I have been spoiled with maple syrup in my life. I know that a lot of people grow up with the plastic jug of maple-flavored syrup (most of it doesn't even contain a drop of real maple...only corn syrup), but in my family, we grew up on Hakes Brudders Syrup. My grandpa and his brothers live in the most idyllic small-town Minnesota there is, and they tap trees every spring. They camp out in the "sugar shack" drinking coffee (and probably a few brew-skis), chatting and boiling down the sap to make syrup. They don't sell it, only give it to family for their yearly ration (and believe me, we treat it that way!) It is so unbelievably delicious that I can't dream of having a maple-syrup-wanna-be touch my pancakes (I have been known to go with fruit compotes or preserves on my pancakes if I don't have H.B. syrup on hand.)

That could be why I am so fond of maple. It reminds me of the days where I hoped spring break would fall on "syruping weekend" and going Up North meant the replenishment of the family fridge's supply. Over the years I have learned where my Grandpa stores the waiting jugs in the basement (in the back corner, kind of like an aging bottle of wine that you bring out on special occasions).

Here is to the coming spring and the (hopefully) coming jugs of maple syrup for more granola, pancakes, and yogurt.

Cheers!

Homemade Pizza: Showing The Love

Traditions are fun, aren't they? There is something special about doing things just because that is how they have always been done. People have traditions for everything, ranging from family reunions (Hakes Olympics; the best and most hilarious game and food-filled family get-together on the lake), to Christmas and 4th of July traditions. There are so many things that we look forward to in an event simply because it is our moment; something we find comfort and identity in. 

Valentine's Day has its own tradition in our household. It started when Kyle and I lived an hour apart and were doing that "long-distance" thing. Because there was driving involved to get to Kyle, he and I decided that making dinner ourselves and having an evening in would be much more fun than spending more time in the car. He and I like to cook together too, so having a cooking-date for our first Valentine's Day together sounded like fun without the stress of going out on the one night most couples go out for dinner. Neither of us remember how or why we decided on making homemade pizza, but I brought my pizza crust recipe with me and we ended up making a Thai Chili Chicken Pizza with peanut sauce, shredded carrots, chicken, peppers, green onion, cilantro...That pizza is a keeper...The next year, we did homemade pizza again. And this year, we decided that we had to do pizza again, for tradition's sake.

Bread Basics: flour, salt, yeast.

I have done many pizza crust recipes in my kitchen time. My sourdough crust was my favorite. Bubbly, chewy, awesome flavor...But I decided to try a new one. There was a recipe from Bon Appetit that I had been wanting to try, and after making it, we have decided that it is a must-keep-and-repeat recipe. Bubbly, chewy, light, and cooks fast to give a crisp outside and creamy inside. And leftovers the next day were just as good (having a crust that holds up in the fridge for cold pizza is key for me). 

Pizza toppings are fun to brainstorm and put together. So many flavor combinations are possible! Whenever we make pizza, Kyle tops one and I top one. They always turn out so differently and it never gets boring! I got my topping idea from one of David Leibowitz's blog posts and topped my pizza with garlic olive oil for a base, roasted red potatoes, caramelized onions with thyme, local blue cheese, and a little local mozzarella to help it all stick. Mmm. Kyle did a delicious German-inspired pizza that had sausage, apples, shallot, sauerkraut, red jalapeno, fresh mozzarella on a spicy herbed red sauce that he threw together. 

We had a delicious salad with strawberries, warm bread cheese, walnuts, and a sweet balsamic dressing, sipped on one of my favorite wines and had a movie night. 

Onions with Thyme

Roasted Taters

Local Cheeses

Kyle's Kraut with Apple, Shallot, Bay

Mmm...Red Sauce

Bubbly Pizza Crust (adapted from Bon Appetit)

450g Organic All-Purpose Flour

50g Organic Whole Wheat Flour

2tsp Kosher Salt

1/4tsp Dry Active Yeast

Whisk flour, salt, and yeast in a large bowl. While Stirring, gradually add 1 1/2 c room-temperature water. Mix gently with hands until dough comes together and forms a ball. Place in a clean bowl, cover, and allow to rise for about 18 hours at room temperature, until it has more than doubled in size and has small bubbles covering the surface. NOTE: Time will vary depending on room temperature, water temperature, etc.

I love my Swedish Dough hook.

Dump the dough out onto a floured surface. Flatten into a rectangle and divide into 2 equal portions. With each piece of dough, flatten into a rectangle and fold all four corners into the center. Turn over so it is seam-side-down and form into a ball. Set aside and allow to rest covered for about an hour. Half-an-hour in to the rest period, preheat oven and baking stone to 500-550〫F (hottest setting).

Shaping and Baking: Dust dough and pizza peel generously with flour. Gently stretch dough balls to 12-14" rounds. Top with whatever delicious toppings you want and slide into the oven. Once the pizza is in the oven, turn oven to broil. Bake until cheese is melted and golden brown, about 5-7 minutes. Turn oven back to the highest setting and allow the oven to re-heat before the next pizza is put in. NOTE: if you are using meat, be sure it is pre-cooked as the bake time is fairly short.

Mmm. I only wish my oven got a little
hotter so I would have gotten darker
bubble spots on my crust. 

Airy crust is made from a wet dough and minimal handling.

Aside from being delicious, this crust was simple to put together. Perfect for a pizza party! Make the dough ahead of time (recipe easily doubles), portion the dough out for individual pizzas, wrap the dough in plastic and pop in the fridge (allow to sit at room temp for 2-3 hours before shaping).  Have an assortment of pizza toppings and sauces, and let the creations begin! People will be impressed with your "better than the Italian pizzaria" crust and they will love topping their own pizza they way they want it!

I have a problem with NOT making my own pizza crust. It really is simple, and much cheaper than buying pre-made crusts or the pre-packaged dough mixes with all of the mono-whatnots to help preserve them. All it takes is a little forethought and a few minutes spent a day or two before your pizza night. Totally worth it.

Here is to another year of traditions, making new traditions, and trying new things.

Remember to show and spread the love, be it through a piece of pizza, chocolate, or a smile.

Cheers!

Goals Are Organic Carrots

What a cold snap we had last week! Here in St. Peter schools had FOUR two-hour late starts in one week. I have heard from school district veterans that this was the first time that has ever happened (in their memory at least). Makes me love being a Minnesotan, and I don't even live in Northern Minnesota! Even so, not many people can say that they have lived in -40F (even if only for a few days). I am glad it is a bit warmer though. I am missing running outside! Even since it has warmed up, the ice is unpredictable and I don't want to almost slip in front of more cars and have them laugh at me as they drive away (it happened...) nor do I want to have nightly walks with the dog be exercises in dog sledding. I don't have proper harnesses for that.

Speaking of running, I have decided that I need to make it official. Telling the world via the interweb makes a declaration officially official, doesn't it? Well, I'll say it is. Here goes. Begin declaration:

I am training to participate in a 10k at the end of March, a triathlon in June, and a half-marathon in October.

Bah! I have been working from a training schedule for a few weeks, and I have realized that my body has missed being consistently active. I have learned that I truly enjoy running for the release it brings and the focus it draws. Having these goals is good for my mental structuring, keeping me moving and driving forward in a direction purely for me and my satisfaction. I don't think that I will do spectacularly in any of the races, but I want to do it; to finish it and know that I have gotten my body to that point of ability. Check those things off of my bucket list! Only I can get myself there, and if I don't make it, only I have held myself back. Here I go.

Anywho, about the food. I have been working on a Southwest Quinoa Salad for a while. I have had mushy batches, not seasoned enough batches, and most recently (with the alteration of how I cook the quinoa) not one, but TWO perfect batches. The quinoa stays fluffy NOT mushy, the flavors meld together to give spicy, sweet, tangy, and all the yummy in the world. It is quick and makes great leftovers! Here is to warming up those cold snaps with a little glimpse of what is to come in the summer. 

Southwest Quinoa Salad

3TB Lime Juice

1TB Olive Oil

3 Garlic Cloves, pressed

1/4tsp Ancho (Chipotle) Powder

Salt, Pepper, and Cayenne to taste

1c Quinoa, rinsed well

2c Cooked Black Beans (can use canned, I prefer cooking my own-they are less mushy)

1c Cherry Tomatoes, halved

3/4c Corn Kernels, fresh or frozen

1/4c Chopped Cilantro

Whisk together lime juice, olive oil, garlic, ancho powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Set aside.  Cook quinoa in a pot of salted boiling water (as you would pasta) uncovered until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Drain in a wire sieve, then set the sieve over the pot with about an inch of water in the bottom of the pan (water should not touch the bottom of the sieve). Cover quinoa with a kitchen towel and cover with lid (it is okay if the cover does not fit tightly). Steam over medium heat until tender, about 10 minutes more. Remove from heat, remove lid, and let stand covered with the towel for another 5 minutes. Add quinoa to the dressing, tossing to evenly coat. Toss in corn, beans, tomatoes, and cilantro. Salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste.

I used red quinoa because that is what I had in my pantry, but white would work just fine.

When I saw this method of cooking quinoa on Epicurious, I was a little concerned. I thought it sounded like a lot of work to make quinoa that will probably still get mushy once you combine it warm with the dressing, but it doesn't! It was easy, and the quality and consistency of what I have been getting is worth it hands down. Even Kyle noticed a difference and he didn't know what quinoa was until I made it for him when we started dating.

I can't wait until summer when I can use cilantro from my garden, tomatoes and corn from the farmer's market, and throw in some fresh chives or scallions. Eat this over a green salad on the porch with a cold beverage of choice, and I am set. With quinoa and beans being packed with protein, this will have to be a main-stay in my grain salad repertoire not only for its health factor, but for its downright flipping edible deliciousness on a spoonness. 

Eat well and challenge yourself! What is your goal for the year? Forget resolutions; they tend to fade. Goals are that delicious organic carrot dangling in front of you that only YOU can get. I love carrots, so I am going for it this year.

Cheers!

UPDATE!! I made Avocado Pasta again this week, but I made it sans bacon, and with lots of veggies! Sauteed mushrooms, onions, orange bell pepper, and steamed broccoli...oooh...I know you wish you had some...Just saying. I would say  BOTH ways are worth a try on your part :) You just might become an avo-advocate too!