Teach Them While They Are Young.

It's important that families pull together to ensure the youngest members learn the important life lessons that will carry with them through life.  It starts with the right outfit really. Yes, I am 100% responsible for this one.

Then you make sure that Peanut watches the game...I'm proud to say that she sat her two year old bottom there for awhile and watched the Broncos kick some Raider butt.  There were some tense times during her infancy there when my brother used to say "You know, I really think she does like football...her eyes are always glued to the TV when the Packers are playing."  Luckily, these things can change.  It's all about teaching them right from wrong when they are little.

Someone once asked if I actually really do take hundrends of pictures each time I see her.  The answer is yes, because the majority of them look a lot like this one...

Or this one...

Or even this one.  At least she has personality.

It's only sometimes, when you snap that photo really quickly and she's not looking, that you get that real and perfectly delightful little Peanut smile.

Daring Bakers September, Lavash

The sleep state and what happens during dreaming is fascinating to me. I sometimes feel like I resolve more issues during sleep than I do awake. I very often wake up with some new idea or a solution to a work issue I'm having. It kind of stinks that I work in my sleep.

I've spent the past two weeks thinking that I needed to schedule my Daring Bakers September before I left for my business trip to Bozeman. That's coming up during this next week. So my I've been walking around convinced that this post was due next Saturday. And then, somewhere in my dream state last night I reconciled the posting date specified with the current date and woke up thinking I almost missed the post date. Yikes.

But in the end--I didn't...woohoo. Because this month's was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S. Our hosts Shel of Musings From The Fishbowl (recipe) and Natalie of Gluten A Go Go went outside the box with a vegan, and optional gluten free, savory Lavash challenge. I'm so glad they did because I loooooove flatbread and had no idea it was so incredibly easy.

The most difficult piece of this recipe was rolling out the dough thin and even enough. Looks thin enough, oui? Mais non. Some portions were thin and crispy and fabulous. The other portions were a little more pita like, but still fabulous.

We also were given full freedom to choose our dip, as long as it was vegan. I was a bit nervous because I kept hearing about so many things that negated the "veganness" of a food. I would never have thought of the how bees would make honey non-vegan. In the end I went for one of my favorites, green olive tapenade. Simple and I think it's vegan with only kalamata olives, olive oil, garlic, pepper and fresh lemon juice. I even left out the parmesan and truthfully, didn't miss it.



I will definitely make this again and often. Fabuwonderifical challenge!

Cherry Blossom Fondant Cupcakes

I volunteered to make some cupcakes for an event...a decision that I always retreat after opening my mouth.  It's not that I don't enjoy baking, it's just that I never want to do it on a predetermined schedule.   While I considered making the SpongeBob cupcakes again as those were the catalyst for the ask, you have to be this cute in order to get me to make those again. Those were painful.

But in full SpongeBob spirit, I made more marshmallow fondant to attempt a bit of a copycat effort on cupcakes I'd seen at the bakery.  Soooooo much easier than the yellow sponge guy.

I really dig this marshmallow fondant stuff.  It's edible if one desires, can be popped in the microwave if it gets too stiff to roll out, and can be kneaded 100% of the way in the mixer.  As we know, I am all about that.

These cupcakes was just taking your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe and baking 24 cupcakes.  Then (here's the best part), you add the chocolate ganache.

Chocolate Ganache

1 cup heavy cream

1 heaping cup quality chocolate, chopped

 Melt in the microwave for 90 seconds and then whisk to combine.  Poke holes in the cupcakes and pour the ganache all over.  This looks a bit watery at first, but once the ganache hardens, you get a creamy ganache surprise in each bite.  It also makes the cupcake super duper moist.

Lightly frost cupcakes with a thin layer of cream cheese frosting so that the fondant has something to adhere to, grab one batch each of white and pink marshmallow fondant (recipe here) and start rolling.

Using a cookie cutter the same size as the cupcakes, I cut out white circles to cover the cupcakes....

Use a teeny-tiny-itsy-bitsy flower cookie cutter to cut out exactly eleventy hundred small flowers. Dab the smallest amount of water onto the back of each flower and place three on each cupcake.  One chopstick, a poking action in the middle to press the flower into the cupcake and simultaneously create a center and you are good to go.  A bit of melted chocolate piped in the shape of branches, and voila, cherry blossoms.  Or flowers with brown stems and no leaves, as my coworker kindly pointed out.  Close enough.

They make me giggle.  Really.  And I'm not really a giggler.

Harvesting the Zucchini

I've never met a piece a produce I didn't like, besides perhaps a brussel sprout, so when my coworker asked if I wanted a zucchini from her garden, I had my hands out before she even finished the sentence.

Imagine my surprise when she lifted an enormous tote bag and extracted the king of zucchini. Huge. More produce than a single girl could eat in a week, but I wasn't saying no to that challenge.

I photographed with teacup for a bit of size reference.

A zucchini of that girth made me think of one of my all time favorite cool weather foods....

While it's just the nights that are cool at this point, that was enough excuse to whip up a batch of eggplant parm, oh, with a bit of a twist. It was more like zucchini parm with a bit of eggplant. And of course, I chose to bake instead of fry....if you can't tell the difference....

Step one is slicing up the veggies and sprinkling with salt. Let rest for 20 minutes to extract extra water and bitter flavors and then rinse in cool water.

Crack 2 eggs and scramble in one dish. Pour 2 cups bread crumbs in another and season with 2 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp salt, cracked black pepper and 2 tsp dried parsley. Dip eggplant and zucchini in egg mixture and then into breadcrumbs. Lay on baking sheet and then bake for 20mins at 400 degrees.

Layer bottom of casserole dish with 1/2 cup pasta sauce, add one layer of zucchini and cover with 1/2 cup shredded mozarella and 1/4 cup grated parmesan. Add 1/2 to 1 cup of pasta sauce depending on your sauce preference, and then cover with a layer of the baked eggplant. Repeat cheese and sauce layer and then add one additional layer of zucchini. Cover with sauce...and a layer of fresh basil. I know most like to chop the basil, but I love the flavor and it's so much more concentrated in it's full leaf form.

Top with a bit more cheese and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

I am a big fan of homemade pasta sauce...anything to avoid processed food if it's easy enough. I don't know when I started adding balsamic vinegar to my sauce, but if you add it balsamic early, the vinegar cooks off and you just have a hint of that complex sweet balsamic flavor.

Tomato Sauce

3 15 oz cans of crushed tomatoes

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 medium onion, diced

1 carrot finely diced.

1/4 cup chopped basil

1 tsp brown sugar

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup red wine

splash of olive oil

1. Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium low heat.

2. Add onions and carrots and sautee until tender.

3. Add garlic and sautee for 2 minutes

4. Pour in the tomatoes and remaing ingredients and allow to simmer for 30 mins.

5. Puree using a blender. I just pop a stick blender right into the pan and get most of the big chucks, leaving some smaller chunks.

Cookbook #56, Giada's Kitchen

I caved. This cookbook called out to me, and while I tried to resist, I ended up picking it up and then giving in to its seductive call. Why wouldn't I need a new cookbook? I brought it home with me.

I have pretty mixed feelings on Giada. Sometimes I am just really want to turn the channel and yet, I can't seem to stop watching because her food is that enticing. First I'll admit to the ultimate shallowness of all: I judge a book by its cover. The Tiffany blue binding and lettering is the entire reason I couldn't resist picking this book up at the store to browse through. But really, aren't cookbooks sometimes just about the cover and the photos? I probably own just as many cookbooks for the food photography as I do for the recipes themselves. This cookbook fills both requirements.

It's beautiful. You open up the cover and the inside is the same beautiful Tiffany blue. Then you start flipping through the pages and there are photographs of vividly bright heirloom tomatoes and chocolate panna cotta with fresh whipping cream. Of course the recipes, with their unique flavor pairings, deserve acknowledgement of their own...crispy phyllo wrapped smoked mozzarella, panini with chocolate and brie and butternut squash and vanilla risotto.

For this post, I have not one, but two of her recipes here: Orzo Stuffed Peppers and Canteloupe, Red Onion and Walnut Salad.

The Orzo Stuffed Peppers were a twist on the traditional stuffed peppers--meatless and with orzo instead of rice. I'm not going to lie to you here. While this was quite tasty, I'm 50% asian, and 0% Italian. Rice is my carb of choice--I like rice stuffed peppers better. But for the pasta fans out there, Giada's recipe is worth a try and can be found here.

What was especially splendid about this recipe though, was the abundance of produce. Not only is there the fabulousness of tomatoes (Giada called for a can of stewed tomatoes, I had fresh. I cut up two tomatoes and cooked for a couple of minutes with two cloves of garlic)....

but there's also fresh grated zucchini. And for good measure, I threw in some sauteed spinach even though the recipe didn't call for it, because I somehow find myself putting spinach in everything.

A bit of cheese inside and on top and it was definitely yum--I'd recommend it for any pasta fan. I did however, forget to take the after photo, when it came from the oven oozing cheese. That alone would make it worth a try.

Recipe number two was one of my favorite eats of the week: Canteloupe, Red Onion and Walnut Salad. Phenomenal. I love fruit in my salad, and the pairing of the sweet canteloupe with the tangy, sweet/salty dressing and sharp onion flavor was culinary perfection. This was one of the recipes I've probably adapted the least...except of course for a substitution of spinach for arugula. The whole spinach obession is kind of circular...I buy so much spinach because I love it, I put it in everything because I buy so much.

Canteloupe, Red Onion and Walnut Salad

from Giada's Kitchen

ORANGE VINAIGRETTE:
¼cup orange juice
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 ½ tablespoons raspberry vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

SALAD:
1 cantaloupe (about 3 lbs.), cut into 1-inch cubes
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 cups arugula
1 cup chopped walnuts
Directions

To make the vinaigrette: Combine fruit juices and vinegar in a small bowl. Slowly add olive oil, whisking until the mixture is smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To make the salad: Combine cantaloupe, onion, arugula and ½ cup of walnuts in large salad bowl. Pour dressing over salad and toss well. Garnish with remaining walnuts.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Game Day Guacamole

When you grow up in Denver, you either love the Broncos or you hate them, but you're rarely indifferent. When the weather starts to cool and the leaves begin thinking about changing colors, the Denver fan, heck any football fan, knows a special time is drawing near...football season.

Football season will forever hold a special place in my heart. It was time spent with my family growing up. It was high school football games where you screamed until you were hoarse. It was homecoming where you got to ride in in floats to buildup the big homecoming game. It was college days where campus energy rose right before the Iowa-Iowa State game, and frat houses were the place to be after Iowa kicked some Cyclone butt, which they did again yesterday. Just in case you hadn't heard.

And with football season, comes football food. Of course, one must start by putting on a handy, dandy team apron. It makes the food taste that much better. For today's season opener get together, I made guacamole, because really, guac is like little bites of heaven on a tortilla chip.

The thing about guac though is that while it's well loved and very popular, it's hard to get people to agree to the perfect version...everyone has an opinion. Should it be smooth or have chunks? Tomatoes or no tomatoes? Cilantro? Lots of garlic or just a little? Spicy or mild? The variations are endless really.

Unfortunately, it's hard to share a recipe since it's really by taste each time. In a nutshell, I started with 3 avocados, split and diced in the skins and then scooped into a bowl.

Add one small tomato, finely diced, one tbsp minced red onion and one half finely diced jalapeno. Throw in two crushed garlic cloves, the juice of one lime, a handful of finely chopped up cilantro, a bit of salt and some pepper. Stir and mash with a fork so that it's creamy, but still retains smaller chunks of avocado.

The most important part of game day guacamole is using that one, completely impractical serving dish---the one that takes up half the kitchen and only comes out a few times a year....on occasions such as opening day.

But in the end, it's worth the space it takes up. Eating guac out of a plain dish might imply that a girl doesn't bleed orange and blue. That'd be a shame.

That Time Again

I only see Peanut every so often, so when I do, I take advantage of it. This time, it was to the tune of 500+ photos in one afternoon. I wish I was lying, but I do walk around with the camera glued to my eye. My family mocks me, but then is the first to point out if I've missed a great photo op. And yes, many of these are the same ones that are on facebook, because deep down, I'm just too lazy to go through all 500 pics.

When you are the gardener's only grandbaby, apparently you can pick any flowers in the garden without the same chastisement you would receive if you were say, just the firstborn child of the gardener.

He loves me, he loves not...

Memories of Bozeman...

With my project wrapping up, I don't anticipate any more trips to Bozeman. While I have no sadness over not having to make the trip anymore, it was really a lovely and peaceful little town. Actually, it looks a lot like Colorado when you get into the mountains.

I really, really wanted to pet this guy. Horns aside, doesn't he looks so soft and snuggly? This species is known as creaturous horniferous. If someone leaves a comment and tells me this is a cow or some other common animal, I will of course be mortified. How does one learn what animals are? My puzzles in childhood had "pig," "cows," and "cats."

Right outside Bozeman in a little town called Belgrade, I found this beautiful old Victorian home...full of fabric. The only thing that could top that in my book would be an old Victorian full of yarn. Or All Clad and other kitchen goodies. Oooh, what about an entire house full of cookbooks?!

Each and every room on every floor was filled with fabulous, beautiful fabric....

A claw foot tub is only more spectacular when used to store fabric.