A Craving For Perfection

I Love New Gadgets!

2011-06-07T13:04:00.000-07:00

Hello again!

My sister in-law got us this amazing Le Creuset Dutch Oven for our wedding, and I was so, so excited to use it, I just didn't know what for. I spent quite some time looking online for recipes specifically for my new gadget, but alas, I couldn't find anything that sounded tasty.

Then I started thinking about food we like to eat out, and stuff we haven't had in a while. A bell went off. Indian food!! There's a great place in Ft. Lauderdale called Royal India that we just love, but hate how far away it is. My wonderful husband loves their tandoori chicken and rice, while I am in love with their lamb curry and naan bread. On several occasions, I have literally licked the bowl of lamb curry clean with pieces of naan bread. It's that good.

My mouth is watering just thinking about it now.

While I know I'll never cook as well as the folks at Royal India do, I was craving their food nonetheless. I peeked into my cupboards and in my fridge, and then just started whipping things together. I'm actually kind of proud of the end result, and look forward to tweaking this recip in the future so that it's more authentic. Possibly incorporate different meats and add-ons.

Mehgan's Curried Chicken with Carrots and Potatoes -

Ingredients:

-2tsbp olive oil
-1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
-2 to 4 potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
-1 small white onion, diced

-1/2 bag of baby carrots, cut into thirds

-1 can of chicken broth

-1 bay leaf

-3 to 4 cloves of garlic

-1/2 cup plain yogurt

-1tbsp tomato paste

-1tbsp curry powder

-1tsp chili powder

-1tsp ground cumin

-1tsp garam masala

-1tsp salt

-1/2tsp cinnamon

-1/4 tsp nutmeg

Instructions: In a blender, place the 1/2 can of the chicken broth (reserve the rest for later), bay leaf, garlic, yogurt, tomato paste, curry powder, chili powder, cumin, garam masala, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pulse until blended well, then set aside. Warm a large skillet or dutch oven over low to medium heat, adding the olive oil, potatoes, onion, carrots and the other 1/2 can of chicken broth. Cook with the lid on until the potatoes and carrots begin to get soft. Once they're nearly fork-tender, add the chicken and blended curry sauce. Replace the lid, reduce heat to low and continue to cook for about a half hour. If it looks a little too watery, let cook down with the lid off for an additional twenty minutes or so. Serve over jasmine or basmati rice, with naan bread as an added bonus.

My thoughts: I was fresh out of jasmine rice, so I decided to make my curry with couscous. My husband calls it "ghetto rice" haha, but he still likes it, and probably prefers it over rice anyway. I love the different spices in this dish, and everything combines really well. I think next time, I'll add some peas, just to get in more veggies, and possibly double the recipe since the leftovers didn't last very long in our house!

~Mehgan

Not For The Lactose Intolerant!

2011-06-06T13:41:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my 100th blog post! Wow, I can't believe it's been that many. When I started this sad little blog four years ago (almost exactly!) I had no idea the ups and downs I would go through. But, through it all, I've remained an avid fan of cooking and baking. It's still as therapeutic for me now as it was the day I decided to sign up for Blogger. I considered starting a new one after my divorce, but no...I'm too stubborn, and I didn't want to lose all those beautiful recipes. Maybe one day I'll get around to making a new one, but I like this little blog of mine. It somehow seems like home to me.

Now enough of all that sentimental crap! Let's get on to the recipe, shall we?

This recipe is something I just threw together one night I knew what ingredients I had, I just hoped they'd taste well together lol. Being that I'm lactose intolerant, I can't have many dairy things, but when I went to make this, I basically just said "F--- it, I'm hungry, and I want some cheese". It's not entirely from scratch, but that's ok. When you've had a long day, this recipe will be there for you.

Mehgan's Cheesy Mexican Casserole -

Ingredients:
-1box of Zatarain's Black Beans & Rice mix (you'll need 2 3/4 cups water & 2tbsp butter or margarine for this)
-1lb boneless skinless chicken breast
-4oz. Velveeta
-1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles
-1/4 cup sour cream
-1tbsp lime juice
-1tbsp chili powder
-1tsp cumin
-1tsp paprika
-1tsp cayenne powder
-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions: In a 2-quart saucepan, cook rice as directed on the box. While that's cooking, preheat oven to 350F. Cut chicken breasts into bite sized pieces, then cube the Velveeta. Place in bowl, along with the tomatoes, sour cream, lime juice and spices. Once the rice mix is done, mix into the chicken mixture and combine well. Place contents of bowl into baking dish (I used the lovely Le Creuset baking dish that my sister in-law got us for our wedding), top with the cheddar cheese, and then bake for 15-20 minutes. I like to broil mine the last couple minutes of cooking, so that the cheese gets all browned and bubbly, but be careful doing this - it burns fast. Let cool 5 minutes before serving. Top with cilantro if you want to be all fancy-like. :)

My thoughts: Another hit! And it's so, so easy. The ingredients are stuff that I almost always have on-hand that go great in other dishes as well, but just so happen to work amazingly in this meal. I'm sure it's not the healthiest thing on the planet, but it could be worse. Just make sure to take your Lactaid if you're lactose intolerant like me!

~Mehgan

I can't believe this is good for me...

2011-02-22T05:51:00.001-08:00

Hello ladies and gentlemen! My apologies for the long delay in posting; I just have not had the motivation to try anything new. However, I did try a new recipe recently that I absolutely fell in love with. Not only because it's super-duper easy, but also because it's delicious.

A friend of mine recommended this Chicken Pot Pie recipe from Weight Watchers, and I have to admit, I was skeptical at first. "Diet food" just never sounds very appealing to me. I was at the grocery store, and decided on a whim to pick up the ingredients to make this, and I am so, so glad I did.

Weight Watchers Chicken Pot Pie -

Ingredients:

-2 servings butter-flavor spray

-1 tsp butter

-1 small onion, chopped

-2 cups mushrooms, sliced (optional)

-1/4 tsp paprika

-1/4 tsp dried thyme, crushed

-1/2 tsp table salt, or more to taste

-1/4 tsp black pepper

-2 cups frozen mixed vegetables

-1 cup canned chicken broth

-3 cups roasted chicken breast, chopped

-2 tbsp all-purpose flour

-1/2 cup fat-free evaporated milk, divided

-4 rolls reduced-fat crescent roll dough, unrolled

Instructions: Preheat oven to 375F. Coat a 10-inch round (I used square since that's what I have at home haha) shallow baking dish with cooking spray. Coat large pot with cooking spray. Add butter and melt over medium heat. Add onion and mushroom and cook until tender, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Stir in paprika, thyme, sald and pepper. Add frozen vegetables, broth and chicken. Cover and simmer 15 minutes.

In a small cup, combine flour and 1/4 cup of evaporated milk, stir into chicken mixture. Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/4 cup of evaporated milk and cook until mixture is slightly thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes more.

Spoon chicken mixture into prepared dish. Unroll crescent rolls and arrange dough around inside edge of baking dish to form a border (there will be a hole in the middle). Bake until rolls are golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 15 minutes. Cut into 6 pieces and serve.

My thoughts: YUM! I rarely eat second helpings of anything, but this I couldn't resist. The only thing I might change if I make this again is I think I'll add more herbs (parsley, rosemary, bay leaves and possibly Herbs de Provence). And it would be so easy to double this recipe into a 13 x 9 inch pan if you need to make more than 6 servings. Two thumbs up!

~Mehgan

My Southern Food Journey - Part 2

2010-06-15T04:22:00.000-07:00

Welcome back friends!

It looks like my boredom is turning into a pretty productive food journey, haha!

Today we journey to Alabama & Georgia for Fried Green Tomatoes. I literally made these fried green tomatoes, while watching the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes". Don't judge me.

I've heard people talk about fried green tomatoes before, but I've only ever had them once. It was about 7 years ago, when I was first starting to really branch out and try cooking new things. I didn't know a whole lot about how to make them, so I decided to wing it. Yeah, big mistake. First of all, my tomatoes weren't green enough, so when they hit the oil in the pan, they nearly disintegrated. Secondly, I didn't use corn meal, I just made a batter like my mom used to make for fried chicken. Needless to say, they were NOT good.

I found some green heirloom tomatoes at my local fresh market, and got really excited to try making these again. Since it had been so long since my first failed attempt, I was willing to give it another try, because I've come a looooooong way since then. And I figured that with my man being deployed, if they didn't turn out, then there would be no proof seeing as how I'd be the only one who would know (muahahahahaha!).

Mehgan's Fried Green Tomatoes

Ingredients:

-2 large green tomatoes, sliced about 1/4" thick

-2 eggs, beaten
-1/4 cup buttermilk
-1 cup of corn meal
-1/2 tsp garlic salt
-1/4 tsp pepper
-4 tbsp butter
-1/4 cup sour cream
-1 tbsp Frank's Red Hot sauce

Directions: Heat a medium frying pan over low-medium heat. In a bowl, combine the eggs & buttermilk. In a separate bowl, sift together the corn meal, garlic salt and pepper. Melt the butter in the pan, then dredge the tomatoes first in the egg/buttermilk mixture, then coat evenly with the corn meal mixture. Place in the frying pan. Cook until golden brown on both sides. While the tomatoes are cooking, mix the sour cream and Frank's Red Hot sauce in a prep bowl. Serve the tomatoes hot with the sour cream mixture to dip them in.

My thoughts: Scrumptious! I know they're terrible for you, but I just couldn't resist. And I had contemplated cooking them in vegetable or olive oil, but thought the butter would give them a nice flavor. The crunch from the corn meal really complimented the sweet tanginess of the tomatoes so well, that I could imagine myself consuming my own body weight in these and still want more. I'd be in pain, sure, but I'd also be completely satisfied.

What's really cool about this recipe is that it's not only simple, but it's also very versatile. You could change the spices in the corn meal mixture, to kick it up a notch. You can use these instead of lunch meat or hamburger patties on sandwiches.

I told my dear fiance that I'm so making these for him when he gets home. He's going to love them!

~Mehgan

My Southern Food Journey - Part 1

2010-06-14T07:40:00.000-07:00

Hello ladies and gentlemen! I know it's been a while, but it's just been too stinkin' hot outside lately to be stuck in a stuffy kitchen, stirring pots and pans of steaming food. I did have a cooking kick last night, though, so back to the kitchen it was for me.

Living in South Florida, I've got TONS of options for new foods to try out. I've been trying to steer clear of comfort food since I'm still in the throes of wedding planning and live in fear of not being able to fit into my wedding dress in October.

After a particularly sweltering weekend (it got up to about 99F with a heat index of 104F - bleh), all I wanted was some good, southern, home cooking. I had some frozen crawfish tails that I picked up at the market hanging out in my freezer, just waiting to be used. Having never cooked with crawfish, I was stumped. So, off to Google I went.

While searching online for a killer crawfish recipe, I brewed a big pot of sweet tea, which is one of my weaknesses. I foolishly drank two large glasses of it with dinner, and sat up half the night like a hoot owl, but that's not the point.

I will admit, I love the luxury of having this crawfish tail meat already prepared for me. When my fiance and I went out to dinner at Joe's Crab Shack, he got the New Orleans steam pot that included crawfish, and let me tell you...that was a struggle! I actually remember him saying to me "These sure are a lot of work for little to no meat!". I felt bad for the poor guy, so I handed him one of my crab legs for his efforts.

Before I go on, let's take a little trip down memory lane with Mehgan, shall we?

Imagine me, about four years old, bright blonde hair and blue eyes, living in Sumas, WA with my dad. My dad is a self-proclaimed red-neck who loved farming and living in the sticks and saying stuff like, "Hoo boy! Didja see that? That was a good-un'". So, one day, my dad decides to take me fishing in the creek behind his mother's house. (And when I say "creek", it doesn't rhyme with "peek", it rhymes with "nick". Just so you know.) I'm standing on the bank of the creek with my little Barbie fishing pole, hoping for a bite from a trout or whatever kind of fish we had in there. My dad, up to his thighs in the freezing cold water (he was wearing waders) is slowing moving his arms back and forth in the water. I specifically remember thinking that it was the same way he used to look for his glasses in the morning. Anyway, he shoots up like a jack-in-the-box, hooting and hollering "It pinched me! Yeeoowww!" and flailing his arms about (this was quite hilarious, since he's a 6'4" tall redneck in overalls and waders). Dangling from his right pinky was, what looked to me like a giant insect, but was in fact a crawfish (or crawdad or crayfish or mud bug, whatever you prefer).

This continued for another or hour or so, me trying to stifle my laughter while still patiently waiting for a bite that would never come. My grandmother did manage to cut a steak into the shape of a fish, so that I could say that I had fish for dinner that night.

Now, on to the incredible way my dad ate these crawfish: once they were boiled up, he would bite their little heads, sucking out all the juices, and then pinch the tails so that he could get all the meat out. I'm a girl. I don't do these things. I sat in wonder as my did finished off a good 20-30 crawfish in one sitting. Ahhh...my father....gotta love him.

Fast-forward about 20 or so years, and you have me thanking the Lord almighty for not having to endure the process of getting together 3/4 of a pound of crawfish meat in order to make my crawfish etouffee for dinner!

Mehgan's Crawfish Etouffee

Ingredients:

-1 to 2 tbsp olive oil

-3/4 to 1 lb crawfish meat

-3 cloves of garlic, minced (I like mine on the garlicky side)
-2 to 3 stalks of celery, chopped
-1 bell pepper, chopped
-1 large onion, chopped
-2 bunches of green onion, chopped
-1/2 to 1 cup chicken stock
-2 tbsp canned tomato sauce or tomato paste
-1 to 2 tbsp Cajun seasoning
-1/2 tsp corn starch
-2 cups cooked white rice

Directions: In a large skillet over medium heat, combine the olive oil, onion, garlic, bell pepper, celery and green onion until the onion becomes transparent. Add the chicken stock, tomato paste/sauce, crawfish meat and Cajun seasoning, stirring until the meat is thoroughly cooked (about 10 minutes. Add the corn starch, a little at a time, to thicken it. Side note: I know most people make their own roux with butter and flour, but seeing as how I had neither the time (I was hungry) or patience (side effect of being hungry) I opted for corn starch. Once it's good and thick, serve over the whtie rice. Enjoy!

My thoughts: DELICIOUS! I'm sorry I wasn't able to get a good photo before I mixed it all together, but in my rush to feed my face, I didn't even think to take one. As I was bringing the spoon to my mouth, I was like "Crap! I need to take pics!" Haha! But yeah, it was amazing, and really hit the spot. I ate a heaping helping of this while watching "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" and drinking a big ol' glass of sweet tea.

Since my wonderful fiance is currently deployed, I have a ton of leftovers, but that's ok, because I'm in love with this dish. Just look at that delicious broth!! I could drink that by itself!...but I won't.

~Mehgan

Something I've Been Wanting To Try

2010-04-14T08:28:00.000-07:00

Allow me to give you a little bit of backstory here, otherwise you won't fully understand where I'm coming from when I say that sometimes, I love "poor food".

See, I grew up in a mixed family with three older half-siblings and one younger brother from my mom's second marriage. We struggled financially for a long time, with both of my parents working two jobs a lot of the time. The thing is, I didn't think we were "poor" till about the time I got to high school and realized that a lot of my favorite foods were nothing like the foods my friends were used to. Kraft mac n' cheese mixed with tuna and canned peas? NOM!! But, to my friends, it was repulsive to even imagine eating that, but I noshed on this at least once a week. I actually remember times that my mom would cut in powdered milk mixture with our regular gallon of milk when it got too low, so that we'd have milk to last until payday.

One of my all-time favorite, stick-to-your-ribs meals was my mom's shephard's pie. It was a simple recipe of mashed potatoes and canned green beans layered with a ground beef & cream of mushroom soup mixture that she probably came up with one night when she was looking in our pantry, thinking to herself, "Dear God, how am I going to feed five kids with this?"

Fast forward about 15 or 20 years and you have me performing the same act in front of our barren pantry, two days away from payday. It was one of those blustery days, raining cats and dogs outside with a strong wind where I just wanted to curl up on the couch and watch Food Network all evening. My fiance looks at me with puppy-dog eyes that only said one thing, "Feed me." The light bulb went on, and instinctively I started peeling potatoes and chopping garlic to make my mom's shephard's pie.

Ingredients:

-2 tbsp olive oil

-1lb lean ground turkey or beef

-1 medium onion, chopped

-4 to 6 russet potatoes, peeled and diced

-2 cloves of garlic, minced

-1/4 cup milk

-4 tbsp butter

-1 can of green beans,drained

-1 packet instant brown gravy

-Salt and pepper

Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. add the onion and cook until the onion turns transparent, then add the ground turkey/beef. While that's cooking, place the potatoes in a medium-sized saucepan and pour in enough water to just cover the potatoes. Cook the potatoes on high heat until fork-tender, drain. By now, the meat should be cooked thoroughy; drain any extra liquid and set aside. To the potatoes, add the garlic, butter, milk and salt & pepper, then whip until you achieve your desired consistency (some people prefer their mashed potatoes to be lumpier than others. Me? I like 'em smooth, baby).

In a deep dish round pie pan or 9"x9" square pan, put in the green beans, then layer on the meat mixture and top with the mashed potatoes. Bake for approximately 20-30 minutes. While that's cooking, cook the brown gravy as instructed on the back of the packet. Once you plate the shepherd's pie, pour a generous amount of the brown gravy on top.

My thoughts: This recipe is slightly different than my mom's because I don't like mushrooms one bit (taste or consistency), so I decided to remove that element from the meat mixture and instead use a brown gravy on top. But, if you want to try it her way, by all means, give it a shot. :)

Future-husband LOVED it, he had two helpings, plus more for lunch the next day!

I know it's not the traditional pub version of shephard's pie, but in a pinch, it does the trick just fine and dandy. It may not photograph well, but what it lacks in beauty, it more than makes up for in taste. Plus, the fact that it's quick and easy makes it that much more enjoyable.

~Mehgan

P.S. I'm still getting used to photographing for my blog now that I'm here in South Florida, so please bear with me! Thanks!

The Prodigal Poster...

2010-03-02T08:27:00.000-08:00

Hi, remember me? Your host here at A Craving for Perfection? Well, if not, I understand, I've been absent for about six months now. BUT, I have a reason! Actually, many reasons, in fact.

First, I have left the Last Frontier state of Alaska and moved on to sunny Miami, Florida. Yes, that's right, people, I moved from one extreme corner of the United States to the other, and I couldn't be happier. This was a much-needed change, and while there are a few things I will miss about Kodiak, they were not enough to keep me there. I got the opportunity to move out here in October 2009 and it has taken me this long to finally get settled and get my butt back in the kitchen. :)

Second, I have started taking this course titled Healthy Eating Every Day (HEED) through my work, and have learned a lot about making healthy eating choices and cooking healthy meals. It has really helped to reshape the way I go about feeding this body of mine.

Third, and this is a big one: I will be getting married in the Fall! I know, in blog-world it seems pretty soon after my divorce last year, but I met a wonderful man who makes me feel such joy and treats me like a lady should be treated, and I wasn't going to let this gem of a man slip through my fingers. He's honorable and genuine, and I adore him. So, when he proposed, there was no doubt in my mind, no hesitation. I immediately said YES! And we have enjoyed cooking together immensely, which something new and foreign to the both of us (we're used to being the only one cooking in the house, so we battle for use of the stove from time to time LOL).

That being said, you'll have to forgive me if I post randomly about wedding stuff from time to time, I am just so excited to start this new journey with the man that I love.

I have quite a few meals planned, some simple, some more complex. I can't wait to get back into the swing of things. I have missed being in the world of cooking and baking so much, you have no idea!

And now, a quick photo of me and my new guinea pig.....I mean, erm....my fiance, LOL.

All together now, "Awwwww!".

Thanks for stopping by!
~Mehgan~

Sometimes a girl needs steak...

2009-08-24T20:59:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone!

So, I've been a major lazybones in the kitchen lately. Like, terribly-ashamed-eating-top-ramen-in-my-kitchen kind of lazybones. Part of it is that I'm trying really hard to save money because I have a major move coming up (going to Miami, baby, yeah!) and also because my man isn't here, so I'm having a hard time just cooking for one. I don't think I've ever had to do that, LOL. I'm one of those lame people who can't go to the store and buy just one steak. For some reason, if I don't buy two, I feel like everyone just knows I'm a single girl living alone. If you think about it, it's kind of smart. That way, crazy-stalker-rapists know not to follow me home because I've got someone there who likes to eat thick cuts of rare meat and can tear them to shreds in 2.5 seconds flat. It's self-preservation, really.

Recently, I've been trying to step it up lately, because I'm getting sick of food that I used to eat when I was in high school. I'm a grown-up, dammit, I should eat like one (even if I am on a budget). This post was supposed to happen about two weeks ago when I first got a hankering for a good steak, but that didn't pan out. My steak came out of the oven rubbery and unappealing and my veggies were limp. It was a sad day. So, I ended up freezing my other steak (now don't go crucifying me for doing so, I looked up the best way to freeze my meet without ruining it, and am glad to say it worked). Over this past weekend, I watched an episode of "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" and the segment with chef Cat Cora devouring that delicious steak had me drooling. It was all I could think about all day at work today (well, that, and missing my man-friend, naturally). I rushed home to pull my steak out of the freezer and defrost it in some water in time to marinade it for dinner.

Now, I didn't let it marinade the optimum time, but I figured an hour was better than nothing. I threw about 2 teaspoons of vinegar, a teaspoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of steak rub in a ziplock bag with my steak. I threw a russet potato in some tin foil and chucked it in the oven at 375F. While my potato baked and my steak marinated, I rushed to Blockbuster to get a good movie to watch tonight. By the time I came back, it was go-time. I threw a pad of butter in a skillet over medium heat and in went my steak. Sizzzzzzle.... oh it smelled so good. A good five to seven minutes on each side seemed about right. Now, I know most chefs put their skillet in the oven to finish cooking their steak through, but mine have rubber handles (and they're KitchenAid) so I didn't want to melt them. I opted to lower the heat on the stove and cover it for a few minutes.

Ahhh nice and rare....

This steak rocked my world. It was crispy on the outside, juicy and yummy on the inside. The perfect amount of pink (for me). I didn't even use A-1. Believe it. I had this with my loaded baked potato and some green beans sauteed in butter with garlic and pieces of bacon. My mom taught me how to make 'em that way, and they always remind me of her when I have them.

Oh mama....

So, ladies, next time you have a craving for some really good steak, don't pussyfoot around it and be like "It has to be baked, I don't wanna get fat......." suck it up and make it this way. You'll thank me. It's delicious. I'm not saying eat steak this way all the time, but come on, it's too good to pass up. Just do it the way the chefs do and quit kidding yourself. And guys, well you probably already know how to make a good steak, but if you wanna put something tasty in your mouth (and who doesn't) make it this way. You'll thank me.

Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

Hello, Stranger...

2009-08-05T13:19:00.000-07:00

Hello! Wow, looks like I took me a hefty little break there, huh? Lots and lots o' changes in the world of Mehgan. I won't get into all the details (I don't want to jinx anything!) but let me just say that I'm very, very happy and there are yet even more changes on the horizon for me.

A little while back, my good friend from work invited me to a barbeque at her house. So, when I asked what I should bring, naturally, they asked me to bring cupcakes. I already knew that I was planning on making Rachel's Cuba Libre cupcakes from her blog Coconut & Lime for an coworker's upcoming birthday, so I decided to go with Magnolia Bakery's vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

I've loved these cupcakes since the first time I made them. I like to refer to them as "tough cupcakes" because they can take a beating in transfer yet still retain their shape. They're just slightly more delicate than a muffin, if I were to make a comparison.

For my own personal challenge, I decided to try my hand at swirling to frosting colors together, and to my own delight, it worked!! I no longer fear the unkown, people. I can do it! *rolls up sleeve like Rosie the Riveter*

And I also have another personal challenge coming up: I'm making my own birthday cake (I think I'll go to Nigella Lawson's cookbook How To Be A Domestic Goddess for inspiration), and another personal challenge that I'll keep secret, save for the fact that recips is going to be entirely my own. I haven't done that in a while. Wish me luck!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Mehgan~

Spring Has Sprung In Kodiak

2009-04-27T20:52:00.000-07:00

It's been a very good past month for me (obviously, since I haven't been posting, LOL). I've been pretty busy with work. Our transfer season officially kicks off in April, so when you have about 2,500 Coasties all wanting to leave the island at the same time (and just as many incoming to replace them), it can make you feel a little nutso. But, I've managed to make time to meet some new friends, attend a bachelorette party and even had a dance recital in there somewhere. It was such a blur that I barely remember it all! But, it's been a lot of fun, and I'm VERY thankful for that.

I'm also very thankful for the gorgeous weather we've been having here in Kodiak lately. I actually fell asleep laying in the sunshine on my living room floor this afternoon after I got home from work. Like a cat. It was divine.

I don't know what it is, but I've been making a lot of Mexican-inspired dishes lately (well, nothing else has been that noteworthy, at least. I don't count PB&J as a subject worth posting unless I tweak it in some inventive way, LOL). I just love the flavors of Mexican food: the spicy, earthiness just gets me every time.

Anyway, so I was wanting something Mexican tasting, but was burnt out on tacos, and wanted something on the lighter side. I remembered when I was on the USCGC Polar Sea back in 2004, our cooks used to make this awesome spicy chicken & bean soup that I would eat cup after cup of until I felt like puking (but, in a good way). I don't have their recipe, but this is as close as I came to it.

Mehgan's Spicy Chicken & Bean Soup:

Ingredients-

-1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast

-2 cans chicken stock

-1 tbsp olive oil

-2 cloves of garlic, minced

-1 medium white onion, chopped

-1 can of Mexican stewed tomatoes

-1 can of tomato sauce

-1 can of diced green chiles

-1 can of kidney beans

-1 can of black beans

-1 1/2 tbsp chili powder

-2 tsp cumin

-1 tsp cayenne pepper

-salt & pepper to taste

-shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream to top it off

Instructions: In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil, then add the garlic and onion. Once the onion starts to turn transparent, add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Then add the chicken breasts. Cook through, until the chicken breasts are white and there are no pink juices when you cut it. Using the two-fork method, shred the chicken, then return it to the pot. Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and allow to cook for about another hour or so. You want the flavors to really combine. When you go to serve it, throw some sour cream and shredded cheese on top, and you're good to go, partner!

My thoughts: pretty darn close to what I had on the ship, but not quite spicy enough, and I would have liked more tomatoes. I think I should have taste-tested it before hurriedly dished it up and subsequently devoured the whole bowl, haha. It was still pretty darn good though. I had mine with a simple chicken quesadilla (made with some leftover Taco Bell hot sauce packets, LOL) to dip in it. And the leftovers the next day were even better, because the flavors got to really mesh well together overnight. I actually have some of this in my freezer for when I get another craving for a hot, steaming bowl of spicy yumminess.
Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

P.S. Don't you just love my turquoise colander? I paid an outrageous amount for it a store in town, but it matched my apartment so well and it was the last one in that color, I couldn't say no. I love it almost as much as I love peanut butter. Almost. :)

Master Shredder

2009-03-10T21:48:00.000-07:00

I live in one of the most beautiful places on this planet. I truly do. I took the above photo a few weeks ago, and am just now getting around to posting it. Just look at that view from one of the windows in my apartment! In the very center, just below the highest mountain peak, you can see the silhouette of an eagle flying. Actually, there were about 20 of them just soaring about, enjoying the ocean breezes. It was incredible. A very good afternoon, indeed. And the sunset only got more and more spectacular after that, but I was too busy making dinner to get a good photo of it.

Seeing as how it had been a couple weeks since I made my pulled pork tacos, yesterday I started to get another hankering for those babies. But, my only problem was I didn't have any pork on-hand, nor did I have the time to make them. So, I went for the next best thing and threw some chicken breasts into a stock pot with a couple cans of Mexican diced tomatoes with green chiles, and let that bad-boy simmer away for about an hour and a half while I ran some errands around town.

It was chilly and rainy yesterday afternoon, and I was very glad for the spicy-hotness in this meal. These actually came out a bit spicier than my pulled pork tacos did, I think it's because I used a different kind of diced tomatoes or something, but they were still really good.

Spicy Shredded Chicken Tacos-

Ingredients:
-1 tbsp olive oil
-2 cloves of garlic
-2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
-2 cans of Mexican diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
-1/2 cup medium salsa
-1 tsp ground cumin
-1 tsp chili powder
-1 tbsp olive oil
-1 medium onion, thinly sliced into strips
-1 red or green bell pepper, sliced into strips
-6 corn tortillas
-assorted toppings (shredded cheese, sour cream, guacamole, cilantro, etc)

Instructions: In a medium saucepan or stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, chicken, cans of diced tomatoes and the salsa. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat and simmer on low for 1 hour. Remove the chicken breasts from the tomato mixture, and using the two-fork method, shred the chicken into small pieces, then return to tomato mixture. Then, in a medium skillet, heat the other tbsp of olive oil over medium, and saute' the bell peppers and onions until the onions are transparent and the peppers are tender. To serve, place filling into warm corn or flour tortillas and load on the toppings!!

My thoughts: DELICIOUS! And this makes plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day. I wasn't too big on the sauteed onions and bell peppers, they sort of threw off the texture, but the flavor they added was really good, so I didn't mind them so much. I had my tacos with a nice big bowl of warm refried beans with plenty of shredded cheese on top. I could actually eat the filling mixed with refried beans sans the tortillas. It's just that good. Or as a topping for a salad. The possibilities are endless!

Cheers!

~Mehgan~

Yep, It's Still Winter...

2009-03-01T17:24:00.001-08:00

I realize that I live in Alaska, and I've come to terms with the fact that winter here lasts much, MUCH longer than it does in other regions of the US, which is why I get so giddy whenever it's sunny here. And it has been quite sunny recently, I won't lie, and I have been enjoying that. However, the sunshine also means that the daylight sun melts the snow, which turns to ice over night. Anyone who has met me can tell you that 1. I am extremely clumsy and accident prone, and 2. Me walking on ice looks like Bambi just after he was born. It's frightening. A disaster waiting to happen.

Needless to say, though, I am enjoying this winter. I have found my own ways of coping with the never-ending cold. I have great friends, my apartment is within walking distance of wherever I usually want to go, and I have a fabulous view of Kodiak harbor from my window. I recently gave my old Canon Rebel 35mm to my mom and had some film leftover on the roll inside the camera, so I decided to take a few quick shots before I popped the camera in the mail. Unfortunately, it wasn't sunny that day, but it was still pretty beautiful. There was a heavy mist settling in, and since it was the weekend I didn't have to work, which was even nicer.

I truly live in one of the most beautiful places on this planet. Even when the weather is dark and gloomy, I'm still thrilled by it. My eyes are really sensitive to sunlight, so whenever there's a cloud cover that just means I don't have to worry about toting my sunglasses with me everywhere.

It got especially chilly and windy here yesterday, so I decided to make some spicy chili to warm me up. I was craving something hearty and delicious, and this hit the spot. Here's my recipe for Chilly Turkey Chili:

Ingredients:

-1 lb ground turkey breast

-1 medium onion

-1 medium green bell pepper

-1 tbsp chopped garlic

-2 tsp chili powder

-1 tsp cumin

-1 tsp oregano

-1 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp pepper

-1 can kidney beans, drained

-1 can pinto beans, drained

-1 can diced green chiles

-1 can diced tomatoes

-1 small can of corn, drained

-2 or 3 shakes of Tabasco sauce

Instructions: In a large pot or slow cooker, brown the turkey on medium, then add the onions and garlic. Once the onion starts to turn translucent, add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 1 to 2 hours. Serve hot with your choice of toppings.

My thoughts: This chili came out fantastic. I was so full after eating a huge bowl of it, yet I still wanted more! I served it with sour cream, shredded cheddar and monteray jack cheese, and some cornbread slathered with butter and lots of honey (I like the juxtaposition of the sweet cornbread and spicy chili, delish!). This chili really hits the spot when you're 4 months into a cold winter and Spring is still weeks (or even months, in my case) away. I used turkey in my chili, since I don't eat beef, but you can use ground beef or deer even, as I've heard some of the locals do. You can vary the ingredients a lot, depending on how spicy you want your chili, for instance, you could add a diced jalapeno or habanero pepper. I added a few spoonfuls of hot salsa, just for added flavor and kick. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm about to go heat up another bowl of this delectable chili, as I have TONS leftover!

Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

I'm Back, Baby!!

2009-02-24T19:47:00.000-08:00

Well, hello there! Did you miss me? I've got big changes going on in my life right now: some good, some bad, and some very, very ugly. However, I am the eternal optimist, so let's focus on the positive. First of all, I got some pretty sweet new glasses. See, I had PRK laser eye surgery way back in 2006, but for some reason my eyes decided to progressively get worse even after the surgery. I finally admitted I couldn't see while driving and paid a visit to my eye doctor. While my vision isn't nearly as horrible as it was pre-laser eye surgery, I still have to wear glasses for long distance seeing and such. And, due to the laser eye surgery, my eyeballs are too flat to wear contacts which bummed me out hardcore. I wanted to get topaz colored contacts like the gorgeous vampires in the Twilight films, but alas, I'm not a candidate for contacts anymore. So, I decided to get glasses with topaz colored rhinestones on the sides. Close enough for me.

Secondly, I have a new, badass camera, courtesy an excellent recommendation from the one and only Bakerella. It's a Canon Digital Rebel XTI 10.1 megapixel. Or whatever the hell that means. It takes bitchin' photos, and I'm super stoked to use it. It is my new best friend. I love it like no other camera I've ever owned before. Never in a million years would I have imagined that I could have something so incredible to take photos with. I've been playing around with it for a few days now, and I'm still getting the hang of it. Today I decided to experiment with food photography, and am more than impressed with the results.

The first recipe I decided to try was pork tacos, aka carnitas. See, I am a realist who knows that Cinco de Mayo is coming up soon. I haven't really had any Mexican friends in the past to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with, so I didn't really celebrate it. Well, that's all changed, my friend. I have a friend at work who I plan on celebrating Cinco de Mayo with, and I really want to impress them with a stellar dinner. What better day than Fat Tuesday to practice? I literally ate four GIANT servings of these babies, one right after the other (in between swigs of margaritas, naturally). Here's my recipe for Pulled Pork Tacos (aka Carnitas):

Ingredients:

-2 lbs pork shoulder roast
-1/4 cup white vinegar
-1/4 cup vegetable oil
-1 tbsp chopped garlic
-1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp black pepper
-1 can of chicken stock
-1 can of diced tomatoes (I used the garlic kind)
-1 can of chopped green chiles
-1 16oz jar of medium salsa

Instructions: The night before you want to have tacos, combine the vinegar, oil, garlic, chili powder, salt and pepper in a bowl. Put the pork into a ziplock bag, then pour the mixture over it (I had to squish it around a little in order to coat all the sides of the meat with the mixture). Refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight. The next day, place pork in your crock pot with the can of chicken stock. Cook on high for about an hour, then reduce the heat to medium/low and allow roast to cook for an additional 4-6 hours. After that time, remove pork from crock pot, let it stand for about a half hour, then shred the pork using the two fork method (or if it's not too hot, you can use your fingers, but be careful). Place shredded pork into a heavy-bottomed skillet with the diced tomatoes, green chiles, salsa, and any remaining juices from the crock pot (you may want to add a bit more chicken stock to get it real juicy and tender). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to cook for about an hour. Once the juices absorb into the meat, it's ready to eat!! Serve on corn tortillas with salsa, guacamole, sour cream, cilantro and lime.

My thoughts: these were absolutely delicious!! And I couldn't ask for a better subject to photograph, I mean, hello! My mouth is watering just looking at them, and I'm not even hungry! Man, it feels so good to be back in the saddle again. I was having cooking withdrawals! I have a couple more recipes on deck that I can't wait to get started on. See you back here real soon!

Cheers!

~Mehgan~

Long Overdue

2009-01-12T13:00:00.000-08:00

Hello again, it's me, Mehgan, that girl whose blog you used to read but you've stopped visiting since she hasn't posted anything new in AGES. Anyway, I'm writing to let you all know that I won't be posting for a while...well, anything food-related at least. See, the husband and I have decided to separate and are now going through a rough divorce, which makes cooking/baking and posting the results here all the more difficult. Especially since I have moved out of our house and am now living in a studio apartment.

I realize this is just a transitory time for me, and I'll get back in the swing of things in no time. Cooking and baking seems to be my therapy, so for me to not be able to conquer the recipes I've been holding onto forever and ever really sucks, but I will get to them eventually. But, for now, I'm having to cook for one, which is interesting in and of itself.

So, I'll be posting infrequently for a while here, but have some faith in me, I shall return. In the meantime, check out my fellow Daring Bakers blogs located in the Foodie Blogroll in the sidebar. Holy Moses, we have grown!! And don't miss the monthly Royal Foodie Joust hosted by Jen the Leftover Queen, each Joust is getting more and more competitive!!

Your Fellow Foodie,
~Mehgan~

And Where Have YOU been?

2008-12-11T11:24:00.000-08:00

I know, that's the question all of you have had for me for the past, oh, six weeks or so, right? Well, I've been crazy-busy both at home and work. I know, it sounds like a MAJOR cop-out, but truly, I've been pulled in so many directions lately that I'm starting to look like a Stretch Armstrong doll. I not only missed a Daring Bakers Challenge in November, but didn't even make one post in the entire month of November. I've been blogging for a year and a half now and that has NEVER happened. I feel like such a slack-ass blogger!! *hangs head in shame*

In my defense, I do have a number of reasons I've been so negligent to my blog:

1) My mom got engaged in September and she and her now-husband got married the first weekend in December and had chosen yours truly as her Maid of Honor, so a lot of the last-minute wedding planning details fell on my shoulders. Not to mention the fact that we had to fly out to Seattle the weekend before the wedding to tie up loose ends and prepare for the big day. (I did manage to squeeze in some much-needed retail therapy/Christmas shopping while we were there. Seattle-ites, when did the Southcenter Mall get so awesome?!?!?!?! Sure, you wait til I move 2,500 miles away before you get the mall I so desired for the four years I lived there!! Grrrr!).

2) I am now an official member of my husband's darts team, thankyouverymuch! And I'm actually quite decent! I can hold my own on darts night, even against the big boys. I surprise even myself! Unfortunately, this means missing America's Next Top Model, Top Chef and Project Runway on Wednesday nights, but oh well. I can DVR them.

3) I've been taking dance classes at a local studio on Monday nights, and it's working wonders for my confidence, flexibility, and posture (I'm a habitual sloucher). I missed our Winter Showcase due to mom's wedding, but will most definitely be performing in the Spring recital.

4) A lot of the stuff I've been cooking and baking I've already posted here on my blog. For instance, last night, I made the salmon chowder I posted a while back. It's delicious, and I've got it down to a science, baby! I like being able to tweak it to suit how spicy or savory I want it. I do have a couple new recipes I want to try out this weekend, though, so fingers-crossed, you'll be seeing actual recipes here again, dear readers! (Or reader, as I fear I've only got the one).

5) I'm a pretty adept multi-tasker. I can listen to my iPod, chew gum, read a book and stir a pot of spaghetti sauce all at the same time. That being said, here's what I've been juggling while I'm cooking in my new kitchen:

I can listen to this album on repeat all day long. I have fallen in love with every song on there. And in my dreams, I wish my singing voice sounded like hers.

I am a complete friggin' Wall-E fanatic. I love everything about him. He's just so darn cute, how can you not love him? I love his cute lil voice and his curiosity for things and his undying love for Eve. *sigh* I could watch Wall-E all day long. We got a Blu-Ray player recently and I've been watching Wall-E on blu-ray ever since. A lot, actually. It even came with a digital copy of it so I could upload it to my iPod and watch it, well, whenever I damn well please. :)

Of course, it wouldn't be the holidays without Christmas movie marathons at my house. My favorites are:

So, in order for me to make up for the neglect I've given towards my blog and reader(s), I invite you all over to my house for a Christmas movie marathon!!! However, I feel I should warn you: I live in Kodiak, AK where it's colder than a witch's titty right now, and we have two large dogs who like to greet our guests with lots and lots of slobbery kisses!!

So, hope all is well in your corner of the world, folks! I hope to see you again real soon!

Much Love,

~Mehgan~

Daring Bakers Go Italian!!

2008-10-29T12:01:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Alaska, fellow foodies!! Welcome to another round of Daring Bakers yummy-goodness. Let me just say, I was SOOOO excited to do this month's challenge. The hubby and I are BIG-time pizza fans, and so when Rosa of Rosa's Yummy-Yums (link in the blogroll on the sidebar) announced this month's challenge just in time for the NFL season to kick-off, well, the only thing I had to decide was to make it on Sunday or Monday nights!

This month's Daring Bakers Challenge is dedicated to Sherry, of the blog What Did You Eat?, and her memory. Sherry was supposed to host this month's Daring Bakers Challenge along with Glenna from A Fridge Full of Food, however, life's tragic events prevented both from hosting this month. Sherry was an avid blogger, and I used to visit her blog all the time. After her death not too long ago, it was a shock heard round the food-blogger world. She had touched so many lives, and we will forever miss her.

I'm not going to post the recipe here, because it's quite lengthy and you can make it either regular or gluten free. Either way is posted on Rosa's blog and you can find it there.

I made three versions (so far): pepperoni & olive for the hubby, vegetarian for me, and a peanut butter & banana one for dessert. This pizza dough recipe blows my old one out of the water! The crust is tender and chewy and provides the perfect backdrop for a whole host of ingredients. Throw whatever you want at it, this dough can take it.

I did take pictures of me tossing the dough, however I'm having problems uploading them to blogger, but will post them later for sure.

Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

Quiche Kick

2008-10-23T19:45:00.001-07:00

You know those weeks when it seems like if you didn't have bad luck, you wouldn't have any luck at all? That's exactly the kind of week I've been having. Drama-rama to the max, not only at work, but with my family, too. And then, once the big things start to turn bad, you start to notice all those little things you'd normally let go. Half way to work, you realize you left your cell phone at home on your nightstand. Or you get to the gym, and there are no treadmills left for you to run on. All these little things add up, and towards the end of the week, you just want to shout, "I give up!!!". Yep, I totally had that week. And to top it all off, it snowed last night. Yep, that's Alaska for you, baby.

I was also getting really frustrated, because I had attempted two other recipes for this month's Royal Foodie Joust ingredients (acorn squash, sage and oranges) and had come up with some of the most off-tasting dinners, it was insane. I tried making a cajun rice stuffed acorn squash dinner, but my husband was like, "Why is this dessert salty?". So that didn't work. Then I tried making an acorn squash scone that came out the consistency and taste of a softball. I was not pleased. I had given up.

So, by the time Wednesday rolled around, I was so ready for some comfort food. Something fairly easy, but still feels like a hug. I was just cruising around the internet, looking at different cuisines, and noticed that quiche is a German food (well, in a sense), so considering the fact that my hubby's German just sealed the deal for me. I adapted a couple of recipes to get to this one, so I'll just list how I made mine.

Super-Tasty Quiche-

Ingredients:

For pie crust:

-1 1/2 cups AP flour

-1/2 tsp salt

-3 to 4 tbsp ice cold water

-1/3 cup shortening (like Crisco)

For filling:

-6 large eggs

-1 cup of heavy cream

-1/2 lb sausage

-1 tomato, chopped

-1/2 white onion, chopped

-1/2 cup spinach, chopped (I used fresh baby spinach, you can use frozen spinach, but make sure you drain it really well before you add it to the quiche)

-2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced

-1 cup shredded cheese (your choice, I used 1/4 cup mozzarella, and 3/4 cup cheddar)

-salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions: In a food processor, combine all the pie crust ingredients and pulse until it binds together well (looks kind of like scrambled eggs). Gather all the dough into a ball, and roll out on a lightly floured surface. Carefully line the a pie tin with the pie dough and pop in the fridge for about an hour. This allows the fats in the crust to rest so that your crust doesn't melt into a puddle in the oven.

Preheat oven to 425F. In a small skillet, cook the sausage. Drain and let cool. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and cream. Stir in the vegetables, salt and pepper. Pull the pie crust out of the fridge and sprinkle it with 1/3 of the cheese and all of the sausage. Carefully pour the filling into the pie shell (don't fill it too full, or it'll spill over as it bakes), then sprinkled the rest of the cheese on top. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 300F for 30 more minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let sit for ten minutes (this is an important step, you don't want runny quiche).

My thoughts: I love quiche, but haven't always been so fond of it. When I was a kid, I hated it. Egg pie? Yeah, no thanks. But, since being married I've given it another chance, because it seems like every family holiday I'm at, I get asked to make it for breakfast, so I grew to like it again. I like mine loaded up with good stuff, almost to the point where there's more "stuff" than there is eggs. I like how it's so versatile, you can put anything in it.

Which is why I tried to give this month's Royal Foodie Joust ingredients one more try with some of the extra quiche ingredients I had leftover...

...and made these cute little mini quiches!! Aren't they just adorable? I only made the two, because I didn't have much of the original ingredients leftover. The filling for these is about 3 tbsp cooked acorn squash, 1 tsp dried sage, and just a sprinkling of orange zest on top with the cheese.

It was an interesting combination, that surprisingly worked really well together. The sage and acorn squash brought a nice earthiness to the quiche, while the orange zest gave it that wow factor, a refreshing punch on the roof of your mouth.

Sorry I'm not posting any "carnage" photos of these (you know, like with a bite out of them or cut in half) because they were bite-sized and I just popped 'em in my mouth. Which probably wasn't the best idea when they were piping hot from the oven, but oh well. They were worth the scalded tongue.

What would you add this month's Royal Foodie Joust ingredients to?

~Mehgan~

My Favorite Combination

2008-10-13T17:36:00.000-07:00

If you were to ask anyone in my family what my favorite flavor combination is, they'd tell you (without blinking or hesitation): peanut butter and banana. I think it all started when I had an amazing peanut butter and banana smoothie from World Wrapps in Bellevue, WA (what made it even better, is it was free!). I used to live about 45 minutes from Bellevue, so getting my smoothie fix from World Wrapps was a rare occasion, since I never really went there.

So, I went on a search for a yummy replica. Jamba Juice has something similar called Peanut Butter Moo'd, which is pretty tasty, but not the same. Same thing goes for Inta Juice. They had one that was close, but they added chocolate to it. I didn't mind the chocolate, but it seemed to overpower the banana flavor. I even went so far as to try making it at home, but it still wasn't the same. And now that we've moved to Alaska, I have a feeling I won't get to have my beloved peanut butter and banana smoothie for a long, long time.

Out of pure boredom (and desperation, I'll admit), I hopped on over to www.allrecipes.com and plugged "peanut butter" and "banana" into their search engine, and I was bombarded by many recipes that incorporated my favorite flavors. I see I'm not the only one with this fixation!!

Since it was really cold today, freezing in fact it snowed (!), I decided to go with something warmer than a smoothie. I settled on peanut butter and banana muffins, and boy am I glad I did! I always have such a hard time justifying making muffins, because I know they're just a glorified, naked cupcake with little to no nutritional value. Well, these bad boys are actually not that bad for you. They have little sugar, and they also include rolled oats, which are yummy in a muffin for breakfast. Although there is 3/4 cup of peanut butter, it's evenly distributed over 18 muffins, so they can't be that bad, right?

Peanut Butter & Banana Muffins-

Ingredients:

-1 cup all-purpose flour

-3/4 cup quick cooking oats

-1 tbsp baking powder

-1 cup milk

-3/4 cup peanut butter (I'm a JIF fan, there is no other brand of PB for me)

-3/4 cup mashed bananas

-1 egg, beaten

-2 tbsp vegetable oil

-1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the topping:

-1/4 cup all-purpose flour

-2 tbsp butter, melted

-2 tbsp packed brown sugar

Instructions: Preheat oven to 375F. Grease or line your muffin tin. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. In small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients, then slowly add them to the dry ingredients, mixing until just moistened. Fill prepared muffin cups 3/4 full. In a small bowl, stir together the topping ingredients. Sprikle topping evenly over poured muffins. Bake for 18 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

These muffins came out SOOOO delicious!! The batter was excellent, and after they were baked, they were divine. I'm guilty of slathering a wee bit of butter in the middle of my warm muffins, for some added indulgence. My mouth is watering just thinking about them as I type this.

Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

A Collection

2008-10-07T12:06:00.000-07:00

You've seen them everywhere on everyone's blogs. The lists. You know what I'm talking about. The Omnivore's Hundred. And multiple other ones. Everytime I saw one, I'd think to myself, I should do this and post it on my blog! But, after seeing various incarnations of them, it seemed like I'd be posting a new one every other day. So, I started collecting the lists, and had them saved up till I could post them all together. So, what you're getting is a few of the ones I've gotten so far and managed to find the time to change the answers to my own. I'll give a brief explanation of each as I post them.

The ones in Bold I've done, the ones in red I'd never do, and the ones in green italics I want to do.

1. Touched an iceberg
2. Slept under the stars
3. Been a part of a hockey fight
4. Changed a baby’s diaper
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Swam with wild dolphins
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a tarantula
10. Said “I love you” and meant it
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris – would LOVE to go there
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game – Go Seahawks!
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty – can you even do this anymore? I thought they closed the top of it off after 9-11.
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Bet on a winning horse
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Taken an ice cold bath
28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Ridden a roller coaster
31. Hit a home run
32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
33. Adopted an accent for fun – It helped me win #62.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment
36. Loved your job 90% of the time
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Watched wild whales
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach
41. Gone sky diving – also on my list of things I want to do in my lifetime
42. Visited Ireland – I have been to Scotland, but not Ireland (yet).
43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited India
45. Bench-pressed your own weight – yeah, right!
46. Milked a cow
47. Alphabetized your personal files
48. Ever worn a superhero costume
49. Sung karaoke
50. Lounged around in bed all day
51. Gone scuba diving – one of my biggest fears, no thank you!
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Done something you should regret, but don’t
56. Visited the Great Wall of China – also on my list of things I want to do.
57. Started a business – another of my personal goals
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Been in a movie
60. Gone without food for 3 days – I was VERY ill last March.
61. Made cookies from scratch- um, hello, look who you’re talking to!
62. Won first prize in a costume contest- Yes, I was dressed as an elf from the Lord of the Rings along with my best friend when we were 17. It was awesome.
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Been in a combat zone
65. Spoken more than one language fluently
66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone- I’m counting verbal arguments.
67. Bounced a check- I was young and still getting used to managing my own finances.
68. Read - and understood - your credit report
69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
71. Called or written your Congress person
72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over- Just this past summer!
73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
74. Helped an animal give birth
75. Been fired or laid off from a job
76. Won money
77. Broken a bone
78. Ridden a motorcycle
79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
83. Eaten sushi- I LOVE sushi.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read The Bible cover to cover
86. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
87. Gotten someone fired for their actions
88. Gone back to school
89. Changed your name
90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands
91. Eaten fried green tomatoes- I made these myself, as well as used store-bought. I love them.
92. Read The Iliad- Not the whole thing, but excerpts. I still count them, though.
93. Taught yourself an art from scratch
94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
97. Been elected to public office
98. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
101. Had a booth at a street fair- my family had a booth at a farmer’s market, does that count?
102. Dyed your hair- I’ve been dying my hair since I was 13.
103. Been a DJ
104. Rocked a baby to sleep- I love doing this.
105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all fours
106. Raked your carpet
107. Brought out the best in people
108. Brought out the worst in people
109. Worn a mood ring
110. Ridden a horse
111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap
112. Prepared a dish where four people asked for the recipe
113. Buried a child
114. Gone to a Broadway play
115. Been inside the pyramids
116. Shot a basketball into a basket
117. Danced at a disco
118. Played in a band
119. Shot a bird
120. Gone to an arboretum
121. Tutored someone
122. Ridden a train- It really is underappreciated. I love riding the train.
123. Brought an old fad back into style- I’m constantly looking for vintage fashion.
124. Eaten caviar
125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need- Hello, timeshare! But, in retrospect, I do think it was a good purchase, we love vacationing.
126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant
127. Published a book
128. Pieced a quilt- I’m working on this one.
129. Lived in an historic place
130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage
131. Asked for a raise
132. Made a hole-in-one- It was a fluke.
133. Gone deep sea fishing
134. Gone roller skating
135. Run a marathon
136. Learned to surf
137. Invented something
138. Flown first class- So much better than coach, but I rarely get to do it.
139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite
140. Flown in a helicopter
141. Visited Africa- really want to go.
142. Sang a solo
143. Gone spelunking- helped me get over my claustrophobia.
144. Learned how to take a compliment- my mom taught me to just say, “Thank you very much”. (Not, “I know”. That’s just rude).
145. Written a love-story
146. Seen Michelangelo’s David
147. Had your portrait painted-I’ve been sketched, but not painted.
148. Written a fan letter- I was a crazy tween.
149. Spent the night in something haunted
150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane- Cody thinks he’s a Great Dane.
151. Ran away
152. Learned to juggle
153. Been a boss- I’ve been a mentor/supervisor, but not a boss (yet).
154. Sat on a jury
155. Lied about your weight
156. Gone on a diet
157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget
158. Written a poem
159. Carried your lunch in a lunchbox
160. Gotten food poisoning
161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission
162. Hiked the Grand Canyon
163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks
164. Gone to the opera
165. Gotten a letter from someone famous- I’m counting an e-mail I received from Johnny Whitworth (he was in Empire Records).
166. Worn knickers
167. Ridden in a limousine
168. Attended the Olympics
169. Can hula or waltz and polka.- I can belly dance, though.
170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books
171. Been stuck in an elevator
172. Had a revelatory dream
173. Thought you might crash in an airplane
174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert
175. Saved someone’s life- I helped someone after a car accident, but I don’t think it was life or death.
176. Eaten raw whale
177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint
178. Laughed till your side hurt
179. Straddled the equator
180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing
181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival- I’m counting the Renaissance Fair.
182. Sent a message in a bottle
183. Spent the night in a hostel- this will most likely change once we travel more.
184. Been a cashier
185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
186. Joined a union
187. Donated blood or plasma
188. Built a campfire
189. Kept a blog
190. Had hives
191. Worn custom made shoes or boots
192. Made a PowerPoint presentation
193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course
194. Served at a soup kitchen
195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube
196. Know CPR
197. Ridden in or owned a convertible
198. Found a long lost friend
199. Helped solve a crime
200. Responded to a NJP newsletter

This next one is very similar to the last one. Everything I've eaten are in Bold, the things I've eaten and love are in Bold Green, things I would never eat are in red, and things I'd like to try are in green italics.

1. New York pizza
2. Hoppin' John
3. New Mexico green chile
4. Homemade buttermilk biscuits
5. Tasso
6. Whole Maine lobster
7. Calabash-style shrimp and hushpuppies
8. Kansas City barbecue ribs
9. Hot glazed Krispy Kreme - I don't eat these very often, though, I restrain myself because I know they are satan donuts, but still, they're very tasty.
10. San Diego fish tacos
11. Cheese curds
12. Key lime pie
13. Philly cheese steak
14. Memphis pork barbecue sandwich
15. Lowcountry boil
16. Huckleberry pie
17. New England clam chowder
18. Boiled peanuts
19. Buffalo burger
20. Eggs Benedict
21. Pastrami on rye
22. Corned beef and cabbage
23. Pancakes with maple syrup
24. Everything bagel with cream cheese and tomato
25. Thin Mints
26. Frito pie
27. Potato knish with mustard
28. Silver Queen corn on the cob
29. Soft pretzel from a street cart
30. Fresh-picked blueberries
31. Sourwood honey
32. State fair funnel cake
33. Chesapeake crab cakes
34. Candied yams
35. Oyster dressing
36. Snow cone or snowball
37. Wild Alaskan salmon
38. Sautéed morels - I hate mushrooms.
39. Persimmon pudding
40. General Tso's Chicken
41. Frozen custard
42. Italian sausage with peppers and onions on a hoagie bun
43. Chili dog
44. Buffalo wings with blue cheese
45. Spam musubi
46. Saltwater taffy
47. Fluffernutter sandwich on Wonder Bread
48. Black and white cookie
49. Frybread
50. BLT with thick-cut applewood bacon
51. Baked beans
52. Pumpkin pie
53. Collards with vinegar and Tabasco
54. Tex-Mex fajitas with skirt steak and sautéed peppers
55. Fried green tomatoes
56. Succotash (I hate lima beans)
57. Shrimp and grits
58. Hot water cornbread
59. Barbecue chicken pizza with red onions – I love Pyramid Alehouse’s in Seattle.
60. Chicken fried steak
61. Carnitas burrito
62. Apple butter
63. Geoduck
64. Soft-serve ice cream cone dipped in chocolate shell
65. Pecan pie
66. Catfish supper at a church or fire station
67. Oysters Rockefeller
68. Homemade cranberry sauce
69. Pimiento cheese
70. MoonPie washed down with R.C. Cola (well, without the RC Cola)
71. Pickled watermelon rind
72. Cracker Jacks at the ball game
73. Smithfield ham
74. Meatloaf and mashed potato blue plate special at diner
75. Chicken and waffles
76. Po'Boy
77. Green bean casserole with French's fried onions
78. Stuffed sopaipillas
79. Turducken
80. Shad roe on toast
81. Sweet potato casserole with or without marshmallows
82. Cioppino
83. New York cheesecake
84. Pan-fried river trout
85. Jambalaya
86. North Carolina pig pickin'
87. California rolls
88. Burgoo
89. Penuche fudge
90. Fried peanut butter and banana sandwich (the Elvis)
91. Scrapple or livermush (I have had haggis, though)
92. Elk medallions in red wine reduction
93. Muscadine grapes
94. Cheeseburger at backyard barbecue
95. Open-face turkey sandwich
96. Chicago deep dish pizza
97. Cobb salad
98. Peach pie a la mode
99. Macaroni and cheese with Tillamook sharp cheddar
100. Root beer float

The next one is very similar, so I'm including it:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile (I have had ‘gator, though)
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle (my dad bought me some for my 20th birthday)
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras (I refuse to EVER eat this)
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper mama didn't raise no fool!
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/€80/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

This next list is much the same as the others, but about books.

1) Bold those you have read.
2) Put an asterisk next to those you started but didn't finish.
3) Italicize those you intend to read (or have started and intend to finish).
4) Red the books you LOVE
5) Reprint this list in your own blog.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky *
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen*
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (I put this one in red because it was my favorite of the Chronicles of Narnia collection, but as a whole, Chronicles of Narnia wasn't my favorite)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

(Boy, was that a pain in the butt to put together, no wonder I waited so long!!)

Well, there you go folks! Four VERY long and complicated lists of things I've done, eaten and read, a few that I'd be willing to try. As you can see, I'm very open-minded to new adventures, whether they be tasks, dishes or books, I'm up for pretty much anything! Hope you liked it!

~Mehgan~

I Love Pancakes!

2008-10-06T18:00:00.001-07:00

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am a serious breakfast lover. I wasn't always like that, in fact, a few years ago, the closest thing to breakfast I ate on a normal basis was a venti caramel macchiatto from Starbucks. That is sad. Especially since my mom was always harping on the fact that "breakfast is the most important meal of the day". Goodness, I can hear her in my head!

I typically eat a small breakfast during the work-week, but go hog wild on weekends. That's when I can really flex my cooking muscles and branch outside the usual english-muffin-with-cream-cheese-and-fruit rut and try new things. Not crazy, insane, huge breakfasts, but you know, the good stuff.

I had some extra cooked pumpkin hanging around my fridge from the Pumpkin Spice Muffins last week, and really wanted some pumpkin pancakes. I've been seeing these bad boys everywhere. Except one thing: I was cooking for one. I didn't need a huge stack of pancakes (though, that would have been gluttonously satisfying), so I tried to cut the recipe down a bit. Probably not a good idea. There's no easy way to half an egg (which I ended up omitting, which is most likely the root of my problems). But, the end result wasn't repulsive, just a more dense/heavy pancake, which was fine by me.

I adapted this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Pancakes/Detail.aspx , but I added a dash of cardamom for a little something extra. It was delicious. I had my pancakes with a healthy slathering of maple syrup, a side of vanilla yogurt and sliced strawberries and a nice big glass of OJ.

Oh, breakfast, how I love thee.

Cheers!

~Mehgan~

An Autumn Expirement...

2008-09-29T00:01:00.000-07:00

Greetings! Recently, I decided to treat myself to some beauty essentials from Sephora.com, and one of my favorite product lines (Philosophy) has released their Fall products, and I just knew I had to get me some Pumpkin Spice Muffins body wash. See, it's a shampoo, shower gel and bubble bath all in one. I don't use it for the shampoo, though, but I do use it for shower gel/bubble bath fun. I've used their products for years, especially their food flavored stuff (cinnamon buns, strawberry milkshake, and the gingerbread man body scrub are also my favorites).

My husband has been on a real pumpkin spice kick lately, we've got scented candles everywhere and even some plug-ins that are pumpkin spice scented. I think it's because we're getting our Fall season much earlier here than the rest of the country. It's been chilly since the end of August, and when we woke up this morning to go jogging, there was frost on the ground. After our run, I took a shower, and used the Pumpkin Spice Muffin body wash, and as it filled my shower with its lovely aroma, I decided I just had to make some muffins to go with this bright and shiny Fall day. Lo and behold, Philosophy has so generously provided a recipe right there on the bottle!! I love them.

I couldn't believe how much these muffins smell exactly like the body wash, it's insane. And not only do they smell like it, but they taste like it too! They're not too sweet like the muffins you'd get from Costco or Starbucks, they're more of a hearty breakfast muffin with some yummy spice to them. Here's the recipe:

Philosophy's Pumpkin Spice Muffins-

Ingredients:
-2 cups of flour
-2/3 cups brown sugar
-1/3 cup sugar
-1 tbsp baking powder
-1 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/4 tsp nutmeg
-1/4 tsp ground ginger
-1/2 cup melted butter
-1/2 cup cooked pumpkin (I used the kind from a can and they turned out fine)
-1/3 cup buttermilk
-2 eggs, slightly beaten

Instructions: Heat oven to 400F. Stir together all ingredients except butter, pumpkin, buttermilk and eggs in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, stir together the remaining ingredients. Stir contents of medium bowl into flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into greased muffin pan (or muffin cups). Bake for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan.

Three words: delicious, delicious, DELICIOUS!!! My goodness, I love these muffins. I think I found a new trusty muffin recipe. They're so moist and yummy, slightly dense with a real spice to them. This recipe made 18 muffins almost exactly, and I have a feeling they'll go fast. I should have doubled the recipe, darn it! Oh, well, I'll just have to make them again and fill my house with the super mouth-watering pumpkin spice muffin smell again!

Note: the two photos above are my "moody-muffin" shots, so I'm including this one below for a clearer shot of the muffins with their namesake product.

Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

And I'm Late!

2008-09-28T15:32:00.000-07:00

It totally figures that the one Daring Bakers Challenge that I actually completed at the beginning of the month, I end up posting a day late!! I don't know why I thought our post day was Sunday instead of Saturday, I must have been completely frazzled when I read about this month's challenge. Which is sad, because we're making Daring Bakers history here, people!

This month's challenge, brought to you by Shellyfish of the blog Musings From the Fish Bowl and Natalie from the blog Gluten A Go Go, is a savory one. And there's a catch, it had to be vegan and/or gluten-free. I was a little scared at first, because I really wanted to make a cream cheese and chive dip to go with the Lavash crackers, but I found a way to make a divine vegan hummus. For the recipe, venture on over to the Daring Bakers blogroll to their blogs and you'll find everything you need, even a recipe for a really yummy Honeydew Peach Salsa.

(My apologies for the crappy photos, once again, I was without a digital camera and had to use my cell phone, but rest assured, I've got the digital camera back from my husband, so no more lackluster photos!! Yay!)

I went with a vegan hummus which I just came up with myself while I was waiting for the crackers to cool. I threw a can of garbanzo beans (drained with about 1/2 cup of the juices reserved, just in case) three cloves of garlic, the juice of one lemon, 3 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper into my food processor and let 'er rip! It was sooooo good and so simple tasting. I loved it with some chopped up roma tomatoes, red onion and cucumber (which isn't pictured above because I remembered it only after I took the photo). These crackers have a lovely snap to them, and are really hearty tasting. I made one salty batch, and the second batch I sprinkled with a mixture of sugar, cinnamon and cardamom and it's really good dipped in some blueberry jam!

See you next month!

~Mehgan~

My favorite time of year...

2008-09-22T17:36:00.000-07:00

Ahhhhhh, Autumn. How I love thee. Today marks the official first day of Fall, folks, and seeing as how I love it so much, I just had to make a divine soup to commemorate it. I didn't want just any old chicken noodle soup, I wanted something new and slightly exotic, while still comforting and hearty. I was given a recipe for Thai-Spiced Salmon Chowder by a co-worker, but I didn't have some of the neccessary ingredients on hand, so I tweaked it a bit to suit what I had in my kitchen already. The results were fabulous. I can't stop eating this soup!! I made a loaf of homemade bread to go with it, and the combination is pure ecstasy. I don't know if that's because I was STARVING or it truly is that good, but I ended up eating three helpings of this bad boy, and would gladly have licked the pot clean, but I felt guilty, so I reserved some for lunch tomorrow. Here's the recipe:

Mehgan's Salmon Chowder-

Ingredients:

-2 to 3 tbsp olive oil

-1 medium onion, chopped

-3 to 4 cloves of garlic, chopped

-2 cans chicken stock

-4 red potatoes, cut into cubes

-1 small bag of baby carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces

-1 or 2 filets of salmon

-3/4 cup heavy cream

-1/2 tsp curry powder

-pinch of salt and pepper, to taste

-a few sprigs of parsley

Instructions: In a medium pot, over low-medium heat, combine the olive oil, onion and garlic until the onion starts to become slightly clear. Add the chicken stock, potatoes, and carrots. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the veggies become tender. In the meantime, heat your oven to 350F. On a lightly oiled cookie sheet (I line mine with aluminum foil as well) place the salmon skin-down and season how you like it. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until the salmon is fully cooked through (will flake with a fork). Once the salmon is ready, let it set a couple minutes while you add the heavy cream and curry powder to the soup. Bring back to a boil, then add the salmon. Allow to simmer a few minutes to get the flavors to really combine. Serve garnished with the parsley.

I could eat this soup all week, and probably will, too! It's just so yummy! And the curry powder, while not overwhelming, adds that certain "something" to it, without it being overly present. Variations I've seen incorporate coconut milk in place of the heavy cream, and Thai spices in place of the curry, which I imagine is just as tasty. I'll definitely have to try that next. But, for the time being, I'm enjoying my yummy-nummy soup!!

Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

In a Jam...

2008-09-12T19:16:00.000-07:00

... or jelly. Since my loving husband has robbed me of the digital camera, here's a recipe for some

really delicious salmonberry (or, any berry, for that matter) jelly that not only tastes good, but is really easy to make as well.

My birthday this year went really, extremely well. My husband had to fly out the night of my birthday, so he treated me to a nice day while he was here, and I had to take him to the airport that evening after dinner. It was barely even 6:30pm, so I called a new friend of mine to see if she'd like to make some salmonberry jelly with me. She had just won the blue ribbon at the Fair the previous weekend, so she was more than willing to show me the ropes.

I was amazed at how simple it was to make jelly. The hardest part for me was getting enough juice out of my salmonberries that I had collected this summer. See, I froze mine (it makes the skins more willing to break and release those yummy juices) but they weren't quite thawed out by the time I got to her house. I took some elbow grease on my part to get those bad boys beat into submission, but I managed!!

My first attempt came out a little on the sweet side, but I have such a major sweet tooth that I was like, "Bring it on!". Amazingly enough, I ended up giving away 5 of my 7 jars of salmonberry jelly I made to my dear friends and family, so it's a good thing I picked lots more berries this week so I can make another batch!! I've already gotten requests from all over for jars of my jams and jellies I'll be making. I don't want to get too ahead of myself, I just started doing this!

Anyway, if you've been fearing jarring/canning, trust me, if I can do it, you can do it. Just take it step by step (like a Daring Bakers challenge!!) and make sure you have adequate time and equipment and you'll do fine. Here's the recipe:

Berry Jelly-

Ingredients:

-4 cups of your favorite berries (I used salmonberries, but blackberries/raspberries/etc will do just fine), if you prefer seeds in your jam, don't strain, but if you're making jelly, then you'll need to strain the juice out of your berries and discard the pulp and seeds

-4 to 5 cups of sugar

-1 box of pectin

-mason jars (you can pick the size- mini, regular, jumbo)

-lots of water

Instructions: In a large pot, heat enough water to cover your jars. Place your jars face down, and make sure you put your lids and rings in the water too. Once it boils, allow to boil for 10 minutes (10 minutes seems to be the rule of thumb for canning). Carefully remove the lids and jars from the water and allow to rest on your counter while you make your jam/jelly. In a medium/large saucepan over medium heat, combine the juice, pectin and sugar. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil. Once the mixture bubbles, continue to stir for about a minute. Remove from heat and ladle into your jars (my friend used a really cool funnel for this, but you don't have to if you're careful). Fill to the lower ring (about 1/4" inch from the tippy-top) and screw on the lids and rings hand-tight, but not super duper tight. Place in the boiling water for 10 more minutes. Remove from the water and allow to cool on the counter. You'll hear the lids pop, that's a good thing, that means they're sealed. Allow to cool overnight prior to re-tightening their rings.

This was so much fun! A very girly thing to do on my birthday. I decorated mine with some flannel and ribbon. Word to the wise: when decorating jam jars, don't use slippery ribbon. You're better off using twine or something that's grippier than ribbon. You would not believe the sheer amount of expletives I uttered when trying to tie those damn flannel squares on the lids. But, in retrospect, they sure do look purdy.

I'm looking forward to this weekend where I'll get to do some more canning, and then send them out to spread joy over the Earth! Have a good weekend!

Cheers!

~Mehgan~

From The Archives

2008-09-12T19:05:00.000-07:00

Well, I know I had promised that since September is my month that I'd be posting a lot more, which is why it hurts to say that I am without a camera for much of this month. See, my husband had to go out of town on business and won't be returning for three weeks, and managed to make off to Yorktown, VA with our digital camera!! Luckily, though, I managed to find some old recipes that I had saved to my compter before our move to Alaska, so I'm able to at the very least, post those.

When we lived in the Seattle area, we had a Trader Joe's (my FAVORITE store, I could spend hours in there, which is pretty amazing because it was on the small side as far as grocery stores go) within walking distance of our house, and I became really used to having such luxury at my fingertips. One of my favorite meals was a variety of the basic Indian dishes they sold there. Our favorite by far is their Punjab Choley: garbanzo beans in a spicy tomato-y sauce. I'd serve it with some curried chicken, jasmine rice and a piece of Trader Joe's naan bread (we LOVE naan, and I can make it on my own using my George Forman grill -haha, I'm crafty!- but if I was in a hurry I'd pick up a bag of naan for like $2.50).

So, if you're in a pinch and you're fortunate enough to have a Trader Joe's nearby, I highly suggest picking up one of their Indian Fare side dishes. You won't be disappointed. They cook up really fast (we're talking 2 minutes in some boiling water and there's your side dish) and are a nice complement to curry dishes.

Mehgan's Chicken Curry:

Ingredients:

-1 can of coconut milk (if you want to cut down on calories, you can use 1/2 can coconut milk and 1/2 can 1% or fat free milk)
-1 to 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, thawed if frozen
-1 packet of curry seasoning (believe it or not, I find my curry packets by the Mexican seasonings at the grocery store)
-pinch of salt and pepper

Instructions: Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and allow to marinade covered in the fridge for about an hour. In a medium sauce pan, over low-medium heat, cook the chicken until the chicken is done. Don't worry about the sauce getting thick, because you can use it on your rice, but do make sure that the sauce is bubbling so you know it's hot enough. Serve over jasmine rice, with naan and your choice of sides.

I love this dish, it's just so easy, but it tastes like it took forever in the kitchen. Judging from the photos, you can probably tell that I made this either when I first started food blogging, or during the winter months. Anyway, I hope you try incorporating more ethnic dishes into your meal routine, you'll love it!!

Enjoy!

~Mehgan

Another Year

2008-09-06T12:46:00.000-07:00

Hello people! Well, it's my birthday again, and I can't believe it's been a year already. It seems like just yesterday I was baking up a batch of Cuba Libre cupcakes and toting them to work with me. This year is turning out to be much the same, except now I'm in Kodiak instead of Seattle, and in place of Cubra Libre cupcakes I made red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Red velvet is bar far my favorite cake, and cream cheese frosting just sets it off perfectly. They go together like peanut butter & bananas, Bert & Ernie, or peas & carrots.

My boss let me off a few hours early, so I ran home to bake up a batch of these bad boys, which in my world is perfect Friday afternoon. The sun was shining, and my house smelled like baked goodies. YUM! I got the recipe from one of my favorite cupcake bloggers (which, unfortunately, she's no longer posting new recipes, but has kept her site up) Chocylit from Cupcake Bakeshop.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting-makes 36 cupcakes

-3-3/4 cups cake flour

-1/4 cups cocoa

-1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

-1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder or 1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter

-3/8 teaspoon salt

-1-1/2 cups buttermilk

-3 teaspoons vinegar

-1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

-1/2 ounce red food coloring paste

-2-1/4 cups sugar

-3/4 cups butter

-3 eggs

Instructions: preheat oven to 350°F. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder (or cream of tarter), and salt into medium bowl. Whisk buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla, and food coloring in small bowl to blend. Beat sugar and butter in large bowl until well fluffy, 3 minutes
add eggs 1 at a time, beating until well blended. After each addition, about 30 seconds
beat in dry ingredients in 4 additions alternately with buttermilk mixture in 3 additions. Scoop into cupcake tins and bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting-

Ingredients:

-12 ounces or 1-1/2 packages of Philly cream cheese

-1/2 stick butter

-4-5 cups sifted powdered

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:
Bring cheese and butter to room temperature by letting it sit out for 1 or 2 hours. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl or onto parchment. Beat butter and cheese at medium speed until creamy. Add 4 cups of the sugar and beat until combined. Add vanilla (I used clear vanilla, I didn't want a brown tinge to my frosting) and beat until combined. Add more sugar until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like, then fill frosting bag and pipe onto cupcakes.

I love, love, LOVE these cupcakes, however I forgot to halve the recipe and ended up with WAY too many cupcakes than I need (like that's ever a problem) so now my fridge is full of these pretty babies. And it never fails that whenever I go to make cupcakes, I NEVER have enough powdered sugar, so I end up with runny frosting/glaze. But, that's ok, because I tend to prefer my cream cheese frosting more on the cheesy side than the sugary side anyway.

I encourage everyone to make cupcakes for themselves on their birthday. That way, you get what YOU want and won't feel guilty about it (well, not much at least). Ok, so I'm not going to stay long, because I really must go devour one of these NOW!!

Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

Scampi anyone?

2008-09-05T19:42:00.000-07:00

Well, hello there! It's been a while since I've made a dish using shrimp (with the exception of the paella a while back) because I cooked so much shrimp in the summer of 2007, my husband got totally sick of it and asked that I not make anything with shrimp for a while. I obliged, but since it's been a while, I figured I'd start sneaking it back into our kitchen here and there.

I don't know about you, but I much prefer my shrimp un-breaded and not deep fried. That's unlike most people, who the only way they'll eat shrimp (or any kind of seafood for that matter) is if it's piping hot from Long John Silver's fryer and into their dinner baskets. No, thank you!

I've been craving shrimp scampi for about a week now (those darn Red Lobster commercials! we don't even have a Red Lobster here!), and seeing as how it's Friday night (and the night before my birthday) I'd give it a go. But, I didn't want your traditional scampi, laden with butter and no veggies in sight. So, I threw in a few of my favorites that I love and know would freshen up the dish. The results were delicious, and I think it has everything to do with the fact that I made sure I used a splash of the wine I just bought for the sauce.

Mehgan's Shrimp Scampi-

Ingredients:

-1 lb fresh or frozen, uncooked and deveined shrimp (if frozen, make sure you thaw them out first).

-3 to 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

-1/2 white onion, chopped

-3 or 4 cloves of garlic, minced
-1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

-1/4 cup dry white wine

-a pinch of salt and pepper

-two roma tomatoes, cut into 1/4" pieces

-a few sprigs of parsley or cilantro (depending on what you like, I happen to be a big cilantro fan)

-grated parmesan cheese

-2 servings cooked pasta (angel hair pasta is popular, but I used some stuff I got as a gift that was made from dried mushrooms)

Instructions: Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat, then add the onion, garlic and bell pepper. Once the onion starts to get transparent, slowly add the wine. Let that cook down for about five minutes, then add the shrimp and seasonings. As soon as the shrimp start to get a bit pink, turn off the burner and cover (the shrimp will continue to cook even though the burner is off. This keeps them from getting rubbery). Pour the sampi over the pasta and garnish with tomatoes, parmesan cheese and parsley/cilantro.

I've seen folks cook their tomatoes for this dish, but I don't like to. I like the fresh pop of flavor they add. I served this with a simple green salad with feta cheese and homemade Italian dressing. It was fabulous! And not to mention super easy, too. Yummy! See you all next time.

Cheers!

~Mehgan~

My Salsa...

2008-09-02T20:28:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Day 2 of My September, everyone! I can't guarantee there'll be a new post every day this month, but I'm sure going to try to post a lot more often than I have been, that's for sure.

Today, while surfing around the internet, I got to thinking about a birthday gift I just received from my lovely husband: a KitchenAid 12-Cup Food Processor (in pink, of course, to match my stand mixer). What should I make with my pretty new toy, hmmmmm? I bajillion thoughts ran through my mind, but I kept coming back to salsa. I wanted FRESH salsa, nothing pre-packaged, I wanted everything to be as fresh-tasting as possible.

I couldn't settle on just one recipe, so I decided to just wing it and threw a bunch of stuff into my food processor, and voila! Salsa! (It made me want to dance around like Eminem at the end of the "My Band" music video, but I restrained myself. If you know what I'm talking about, you're probably laughing to yourself at the thought of me dancing around my kitchen like that, going "My salsa!").

Anyway, back to the story: I couldn't just make salsa. I had to make dinner, duh! So, I decided on something easy-peasy, that my husband could totally make even if I weren't here. Also, my dear friend Angee is getting ready to prepare a dinner-date at her house for her new man-friend, and requested a guy approved recipe from me. And, since my husband gave me the two thumbs up on this one, this is the recipe I recommended to her.

Black Bean & Corn Quesadillas with Homemade Salsa and Guacamole (A Mehgan Original):

Ingredients:

For the salsa:
-1 white onion
-1 jalapeno pepper, minus the stem & seeds
-3 to 4 Roma tomatoes, juices squeezed out
-juice of 1/2 a lime
-5 to 10 sprigs of cilantro (depending on how you like it)
-1/4 tsp cumin
-1/2 tsp garlic salt
-pinch of pepper

For the guacamole:
-2 ripe avocados
-2 to 3 scoops of the salsa above

For the quesadillas:
-4 taco sized flour tortillas
-1 1/2 cups monteray jack cheese
-1/2 can of corn, drained
-1/2 can of black beans, drained
-1 small can of sliced olives, drained
-cumin, garlic salt and pepper for sprinkling
-a few dollops of sour cream
-softened butter or margarine

Instructions: If you have a food processor, combine all the salsa ingredients and pulse until you achieve the consistency you want (some people like it chunkier than others). If you don't have a food processor, don't worry, you'll just have to do all that chopping by hand. You can make it as chunky or as runny as you like. To make the guacamole, slice the avocados in half the long way and pull the halves apart. To get the pit out, place your avocado face up on the cutting board and swiftly hit the pit with the blade of your knife and then twist the pit out. Scoop the avocado into a bowl and mash it with a few spoonfuls of your salsa.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Spread a thin layer of butter onto one side of a tortilla. Place the tortilla butter-side down, then layer on the cheese, seasonings, corn, black beans, olives, a few leaves of the cilantro, then more cheese. Butter another side of a tortilla, and place it butter-side up on top of the rest of the quesadilla. Carefully flip it over and brown on both sides of the quesadilla till they're golden brown. Cut into fourths (I like to use a pizza cutter, it's faster and cleaner than a knife), and then garnish with the guacamole, salsa, dollops of sour cream and sprigs of cilantro.

I really hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did. I made mine a bit spicier than the recipe calls for (I made mine with two jalapeno peppers, instead of just one), which my husband loved since he loves all things spicy. This recipe gives you a lot of creative freedom: if you want more onions, go ahead, throw in some more. It's all up to you and your tastes. Lemme know how yours turns out if you do try it!!

Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

Welcome To September

2008-09-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

Hello there, everyone! I'm very happy to welcome you to MY month, yes that's right, September is my month! My birthday is this month, and I am a true September baby to the bone. As well, I did some modeling in the past and got chosen to be Miss September for our promotional calendar, so right now our calendar in the kitchen is showing my bright shiny face. And one last thing, I also got married in September, so this month holds a special place in my heart. So, in order to ring in the new month in a big way, I decided to make a dish that I've never tried before (never cooked it, let alone eaten it anywhere), yet I've been wanting to make for a long time.

I've been eyeing different variations of tagines since I saw an episode of "Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern" back in June when he made a trip to Morocco. I had a tough decision to make: should I make it vegetarian (which is how I've been eating lately) or should I make it the traditional way with lamb? I decided to make it the traditional way, even though it almost made me pass out when I had to slice the meat off the lamb shanks last night!! It was worth the effort, though, because the result came out delicious! The lamb was tender and flavorful, thanks to marinading it in the olive oil and spices overnight, and the rest of the dish just came together so beautifully. Besides ommitting the meat, there's not a thing I would change about this recipe.

I found the recipe on Allrecipes.com (one of my favorite places I turn to for new recipes) and only had to tweak a few things here and there due to availability to products here in Kodiak. So, without further ado, here we go!

Lamb Tagine (adapted from Allrecipes.com):

Ingredients:
-3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
-2 pounds lamb meat, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
-2 teaspoons paprika
-1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
-1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
-1 teaspoon kosher salt
-1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
-1 pinch saffron
-3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
-3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
-2 medium onions, cut into 1-inch cubes
-1 package baby carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces
-3 cloves garlic, minced (I used some already minced garlic from a jar)
-1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (I ommitted this)
-1 lemon, zested
-1 (14.5 ounce) can homemade chicken broth or low-sodium canned broth
-1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato paste (I instead used a small can of tomato sauce, to create a more saucier dish)
-1 tablespoon honey
-1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)
-1 tablespoon water (optional)

Instructions:
Place diced lamb in a bowl, toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and set aside. In a large resealable bag, toss together the paprika, turmeric, cumin, cayenne, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, salt, ginger, saffron, garlic powder, and coriander; mix well. Add the lamb to the bag, and toss around to coat well. Refrigerate at least 8 hours, preferably overnight. This is VERY important so that the lamb becomes nice and tender and infused with the spices.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 of the lamb, and brown well. Remove to a plate, and repeat with remaining lamb. Add onions and carrots to the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and ginger; continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes. Return the lamb to the pot and stir in the lemon zest, chicken broth, tomato paste/sauce, and honey. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender.
If the consistency of the tagine is too thin, you may thicken it with a mixture of cornstarch and water during the last 5 minutes. (I didn't need this last step, it thickened up just fine on its own).

I served this with some herbed pine nut couscous, and it was dangerously delicious!! My husband and I actually ended up arguing over who got to bring the leftovers to work tomorrow for lunch! (He ended up winning, for the record).

It is my pleasure to welcome you to My Month-September, and hope you enjoy your stay with me this month, because there is plenty more to come, my friends!!

Cheers!

~Mehgan~

Daring Bakers Go French!

2008-08-31T00:01:00.000-07:00

Hello again, folks! It's time for another Daring Bakers Challenge! And this month, we go to Meeta (from the blog What's For Lunch Honey?) and her "Sugar Daddy" Pierre Herme and his chocolate eclairs.

I admit, when it comes to Daring Bakers Challenges, I always have a mini-panic attack when the recipes are announced at the beginning of the month. I mean, you just know the recipe is going to be about 4-5 pages long (sometimes longer), but still, I always have my super-wince ready.

This month's challenge was special to me, because I got to make my eclairs in my new kitchen!! I was so stoked when I saw that my new kitchen is about twice the size of my old one, with a gas range and stellar lighting (for taking those glamour shots of my food, of course).

I shouldn't have been afraid of this recipe at all, it was super easy. I took the advise of my fellow DBers and took the steps one at a time. I made the choux pastry dough the night before I assembled the eclairs, and they baked up like a dream. I warn you, if you do freeze your dough beforehand, allow them to bake about twice as long as the recipe calls for. If you want the recipe, go on down to Meeta's blog, I have it on my personal blogroll, as well as the Daring Bakers Blogroll.

Here's a nice shot of these babies just before they came out of the oven.
And after glazing, my little eclair sitting pretty, just waiting to be eaten up with a nice cup of tea.
I also made cream puffs. Those little devils! I can't stop eating them!! I like how in this pic, you can see the delish vanilla beans in the pastry cream. While we're on the topic of pastry cream, I pretty much wore about half the pastry cream when I was piping it into my eclairs. The darn tip on my frosting bag was so narrow, that instead of the pastry cream wanting to pipe into the eclairs, it decided to squirt itself back out the other side and onto my arm. Several times. I'm lucky I had enough leftover to finish the challenge!

If you haven't yet, you really should try this recipe out. You will NOT be disappointed! I'll be taking these darlings to work with me, because as my husband puts it, "Those are dangerous!" I am not to leave any in the house, they must all come with me to work, haha. Anyway, enjoy!

Cheers!
~Mehgan~

Pass the Paella!

2008-08-24T19:38:00.000-07:00

Hello, my friends! At last, we have moved into our new house in Kodiak, AK, and my new kitchen is divine!! Thank goodness our new house came with a gas stove, I cook so much better using a gas range than an electric one. It's taking us a while to unpack all of our stuff, but I made sure to unpack the kitchen first!

I remember, on one of our hotel stops on the way from Haines, AK to Homer, AK, I was staying up late one night and caught an episode of "Throwdown With Bobby Flay" on the Food Network, and his challenge was paella. I didn't stay awake long enough to see how Mr. Flay did with his, but I did end up dreaming about blissful platefuls of warm, spicy paella. And I've never had any until I made some tonight!!!

I know for certain, I will be making this again. I know there's some speculation going around the 'net about whether or not you need a paella pan to make a good paella. Well, I don't have one, I made mine in the largest skillet I had on hand, and it turned out just fine. I even had that yummy scorched bottom that everyone raves about.

I got the recipe from trusty ol' Allrecipes.com, I just searched for "paella" and about 1,000 recipes came up! I searched around for the one that best suited the ingredients I already have on hand (like we all do, lol), but I still had to go and get more seafood. I love that with this sort of recipe, you can tweak it a little here and there to suit your needs. My needs being that I had to include a whole grain (I used Trader Joe's Brown Rice Medley with barley and radish seeds, too), ginger (I added about 1/2 tsp of ground ginger) and citrus (the lemon slices, which when cooked are super easy to squeeze all the yummy juices out of) for this month's Royal Foodie Joust. I haven't been able to participate in Jenn the Leftover Queen's Royal Foodie Joust in months, simply because this move really threw me for a loop cooking-wise.

I'm very happy with how this turned out, and like I said, I will definitely be making this again!! Here's the recipe (with my little tweaks added in):

Seafood Paella (adapted from Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
-4 tablespoons olive oil
-1 onion, chopped
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1 red bell pepper, chopped
-2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
-1 (5 oz) package uncooked Mahatma saffron rice

-7 oz Trader Joe's Brown Rice Medley
-5 cups chicken broth
-1/2 cup white wine
-1 pinch saffron
-salt to taste
-ground black pepper to taste
-1/2 bag of frozen baby octupus, thawed and cut into 1 inch pieces
-2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
-1/2 cup frozen green peas
-15-20 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
-1 lemon, sliced

Instructions:
Heat olive oil in paella pan over medium heat. Add in onion, garlic and bell pepper; cook and stir for a few minutes. Add diced chicken and rice; cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in 3 1/2 cups stock, wine, and saffron. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, and simmer for 15 minutes; stir occasionally.
Taste the rice, and check to see if it is cooked. If the rice is uncooked, stir in 1/2 cup more stock. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally. Stir in additional stock if necessary, up to 2 cups additional stock, 5 cups total. Cook until rice is done.
Stir in octopus, tomatoes, and peas. Cook for 2 minutes. Arrange shrimp and lemons on top. Cover with foil, and leave for 3 to 5 minutes. Once the lemons become slightly tender and the shrimp are nice and pink, it's ready to serve!

Next time, I'll definitely add chorizo sausage, some mussels and perhaps a little bit of cilantro. I think I'll also substitute regular brown rice for the Trader Joe's Medley, it seemed a bit off in texture due to the radish seeds. Otherwise, it was a pretty wonderful meal!! I can't wait to have some more with some homemade sangria!

Cheers!

~Mehgan~

Still In Transit

2008-07-30T17:46:00.000-07:00

Greetings everyone! Just popping in to let you know that no, I haven't fallen off the face of the planet, the husband and I are still in the process of moving into our new place in Kodiak, AK. Our new house won't be ready for the next few weeks, so we're staying in a hotel till then, which means (sadly) no cooking for me. And I'll tell ya, I'm so sick of eating out!!

I will give you some recommendations for yummy places to eat in Alaska, if you're interested:

1. Crabbie's in Homer: Fantastic smoked salmon chowder. Their Crow's Nest chicken is super yummy, it comes with garlic mashed potatoes on top of their gorgeous sea glass plates. Their halibut & chips is to-die-for. They also have a great dish where they batter some crab and lobster pieces and fry them up. Very yummy.

2. The Sourdough Express in Homer: FABULOUS breakfast! Tons of organic choices. Their business started a couple decades ago when they rolled into town in a Sourdough delivery van with $48 in their pocket and a dream in their hearts. And here we are in 2008, and their Plain Jane breakfast had me wanting more and more. I also ordered a side of their French Toast, which was divine. If you go there, definitely have some of their jam on your sourdough toast, you'll thank me. Oh, and don't forget to grab a piece of their carrot cake on your way out!

I'll have more recommendations once we eat out a bit more at places I like (there have definitely been some lackluster dining-out experiences on this trip, I'll tell you what!!). Thanks for being so patient everybody. Oh, and I'm sorry I missed this month's Daring Bakers Challenge, but, fingers-crossed, we'll be moved into our new house in time for me to complete August's Challenge.

Cheers!
~Mehgan~

I'll Have The Haggis!

2008-07-06T09:55:00.000-07:00

Greetings, ladies and gents! My husband and I just recently returned from a week-long holiday in Scotland, and I have to say, I completely fell in love with every bit of it. From the city to the country, it didn't matter, I loved the whole thing!

Before we left, everyone we know asked us if we were going to eat some haggis while we were there. I always replied with, "Of course!" How can you go to Scotland and NOT eat it? That's like going to Mexico and not eating a burrito, come on people!

The first place we ate haggis at was The Royal McGregor on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. We saw a sign out front that claimed that it was "The best haggis on the Royal Mile", so naturally, we had to try it.

We were not disappointed. I loved all the different elements, the neeps (turnips), tatties (potatoes) and haggis combined so well together, and while the haggis itself was pretty spicy, it wasn't anything we couldn't handle. We found ourselves wrestling for the last bite.

A few days later, we had another opportunity to try some more haggis. This time it was at a lovely place in St Andrews (can't recall the name, I should have written it down), so if anyone from Scotland recognizes the plating of this dish and knows where we got it, feel free to let me know. It was in the hotel bar/restaurant across the street from Drouthy Neebers.

Again, we were not disappointed. I don't see why so many people shy away from haggis, it's really delicious! I'll admit that I was a bit nervous at first, but once I had it, I knew that I was nuts for having been so apprehensive. I've heard of people eating haggis for breakfast, too, and can totally imagine doing that myself, with some toast, eggs and coffee. Oh yeah, that sounds yummy.

So, take it from me, if you've ever wanted to try haggis, but have been turned off by all the rumours, have no fear. Just go for it! You'll thank me later.

Cheers!

~Mehgan~

Daring Bakers Go Danish!

2008-06-29T01:00:00.000-07:00

Well hello, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to another Daring Bakers challenge! I was actually frightened when Kelly from the blog Sass & Veracity announced this month's challenge: Danish Braid. See, I joined the Daring Bakers after they did the croissant challenge, and I was actually glad, because I fear the flaky, crusty pastries. I don't know why, but they just make me really nervous. You know how some people feel really freaked out about using recipes with yeast, well I get scared with recipes that have anything to do with flaky layers. I don't know why, but maybe it's an internal fear of failing and having my dough come out flat or unflaky.

As you can see, mine came out just fine. More than fine, actually, it turned out FABULOUS! I was so proud of it, a little solitary tear came out of my eye. I just couldn't believe I did it! I thought that I would screw it up for sure, but it came out of the oven perfect. I was shocked!

You can find the recipe on Kelly's blog either in the Daring Bakers blogroll or in my own personal blogroll to the side. I suggest that if you do decide to make this Danish Braid, that you read the recipe thoroughly before starting out, set aside a day/day and a half for it, and follow the recipe exactly. The results are well worth the effort.

I made two different kinds: the standard apple, and then what I like to call a Red, White & Blue Braid (Raspberry, Cream Cheese and Blueberry). I made the apple one for my sister's birthday party, which was a murder mystery dinner called Murder at the Deadwood Saloon (SOOOO much fun!). I saved the other one for us to eat for breakfast as a little treat over the weekend.

We're right in the middle of our move up to Kodiak, Alaska, so if it seems like I'm scarce this next month or so, that's why. I'm really going to strive to not miss next month's Daring Bakers challenge, but forgive me if I do!! As of June 16th, all of our stuff is en route to Alaska, including our kitchen stuff. I might just have to commandeer my sister's kitchen for a weekend in order to complete July's challenge, so here's hoping!

Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

Hello Cupcake!

2008-06-08T15:01:00.001-07:00

I am so excited to tell you all (those of you that do read this blog, I have no idea how many/few of you do) that I have finally made it down to Hello Cupcake in Tacoma, WA. This being our last few weeks in the continental US, I figured I had better get my rear in gear and finally experience all those things as a foodie I've been meaning to.
Hello Cupcake is one of those quaint little cupcakeries that you can smell its deliciousness from down the road. I had my window down in my car on the way there, and as I was parking on the street out front (I was so lucky to have found a spot so close!) and the vanilla-cakey-smell wafted into my car like a tantalizing-treat-wave. I had been hiding where we were going from my mom, niece and nephew, but there was no hiding it from them by the time we parked.
The inside of the shop is so welcoming, like your favorite cafe that you can bring a book to and just curl up with a latte and a cupcake and enjoy your afternoon. From their adorable cupcake mosaic tiled entryway, to their pastel colored plates, they are everything you would expect from your favorite cupcake shop.

I got a dozen cupcakes, so I could experience some variety. I got six red velvet (my fave), one vanilla & vanilla, one double chocolate, one vanilla on chocolate, one chocolate on vanilla, one coconut, and one carrot cake. The coconut was yummy, I liked the frosting better than the cake itself though. The carrot cake wasn't spicey enough for me or my family, but the cream cheese frosting was yummy. I really liked the vanilla on vanilla one, the cake was nice and soft and the buttercream was super delicious. But, like I said, the red velvet was my personal fave.

I even managed to snag one on my way out the door from my sister's house this morning, and it got to ride in its own personal cupcake holder (I have changed the cupholder in my Audi to a cupcake holder now, lol). It looked so cute riding there, I was half-tempted to just leave it, but I knew it would go bad and I would be sad about that.

If you're in the Seattle area, I highly suggest stopping by Hello Cupcake, even if it's just to smell the cupcake aroma outside the cafe. Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

Congrats To A Favorite!!

2008-06-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

I have admired Rachel's blog, Coconut & Lime, ever since I can remember. And, her Four-Year blogiversary is coming up. In honor of that, she's hosting a Blogiversary Contest! (details: http://coconutlime.blogspot.com/2008/05/blogiversary-contest.html) Of course, as an admirer, I couldn't NOT participate, she has come up with 700 original recipes!

I thought long and hard about this one. What makes me think of Rachel's blog. Well, the first thing I made from her list of recipes were her Rum & Coke cupcakes. I've actually made them several times, so I thought I might make cupcakes. But, I'm pretty much known to bake cupcakes quite frequently, and lately I've been in sort of a cookie rut. My last few batches of cookies have been botched so horribly, I couldn't believe they came out of my kitchen.

Well, these babies pulled me out of my rut! Just in time for our bake sale at work, too! So, here's my recipe for my Welcome To Paradise Cookies:

Ingredients:

-6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp

-1/3 cup shortening

-1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

-1/3 cup granulated sugar

-1 egg

-1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

-1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

-1/2 tsp baking soda

-1/2 tsp salt

-1/2 cup shredded coconut

-juice of one lime

-1 1/3 cups (8 oz pkg) Mauna Loa Macadamia Nuts & Premier White Chips (new from Hershey's)

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350F. Beat butter and shortening in a large bowl until well blended. Add the sugars; beat thoroughly. Add egg and vanilla; beating until well blended. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and salt; then gradually beat into butter mixture. Stir in the coconut, lime juice and baking pieces. Using a small ice cream scoop, drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Cool slightly, then remove from cookie sheet onto a wire cooling rack. This makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

These cookies went over really well at my work bake sale, especially with my co-workers whose favorite cookies are white choc & macadamia nut. The coconut & lime were a wonderful addition. I feel like I should add them to everything now!

~Mehgan~

And I'm Late Again!

2008-06-01T20:30:00.000-07:00

Well, folks, due to techinical difficulties over the weekend, I was unable to post one of my most-looked-forward-to posts all month! My wireless router was being difficult (read: acting like a petulant little child) so when I went to post, my internet went caput.

That being said, I am SO HAPPY that I'm able to post about this, because this was sort of my idea (with the help of a few other newbie Daring Bakers). See, I suggested on the Daring Bakers forum that we start way back at the beginning of Daring Bakers and do what we affectionately call Double Daring Bakers, or DDB for short.

See, in the beginning, there existed our dear Daring Bakers co-founders Lis of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice, and they decided to make the same recipe at/around the same time, and then post their results on their respective blogs on the same day. And the rest, as they say, is history. Ever since I became a Daring Baker, I've wanted to try my hand at previous challenges, so what better place to start than at the very beginning with the First Daring Bakers Pretzels?

Here's the recipe:

Hot Buttered Pretzels
Adapted from The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion.

For the dough:
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 package (2-1/4 tsp.) instant yeast
1 cup warm water (you may need a little more)
For the pretzel topping:
1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp. sugar
kosher salt
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Instructions: Combine all the dough ingredients in a large bowl with your hands. Work the ingredients together until you can form a ball. If the dough is very dry, add a bit more warm water until it comes together. The dough will look messy, but don’t worry about it.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and begin kneading by pushing the dough away with the heel of your hand, and then folding it back in onto itself. Push the dough away again and then fold back in. Continue this motion, working the dough until it’s smooth. This should take anywhere from 8 to 10 minutes. (Alternatively, you can knead the dough in a mixer with your dough hook for 5 to 6 minutes).
Once the dough is done, sprinkle some flour on the dough and put it in a large, oiled bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 30 minutes to an hour. It will rise considerably.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Dissolve the sugar in the warm water and set aside.
Divide your dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece out into a long rope that’s roughly 24 inches in length. (Don’t make it too long or your pretzels will be too thin.)
Taking hold of the ends of the rope, cross the rope over itself to form a circle with about 4 to 5 inches on each end that are sticking out. Twist the ends over themselves and secure each end on either side of the pretzel.
Carefully dip the pretzel in the water and then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the other pieces of dough.
Sprinkle the pretzels with the kosher salt and let them rest for about 15 minutes.
Put the pretzels in the oven for 6 minutes, then rotate the trays and bake for an additional 6 minutes. Keep an eye on the pretzels so that they don’t burn.
Remove the pretzels from the oven and immediately brush them with the butter. Keep brushing them with butter until you’ve used it all.
Serve the pretzels warm with plenty of mustard or another condiment of your choice.

I went a little wild and made cinnamon & sugar, cheddar & parmesan, garlic salt, and regular kosher salt pretzels. I'm thinking I should have double the recipe, because these did not last long in my house! I even took some of the dough and rolled it into long breadsticks for dipping in our soup, and they were delicious. I love how simple these are to make, you pretty much just throw everything in a bowl, let it rise and bingo, bango, bongo, you've got pretzels!

They're almost simple enough to make you want to make them on a weeknight for a little midweek pick-me-up. I also love that they can be sweet or savory, and you can forgo the butter step if you're trying to stay a bit on the healthier side. Very versatile, and VERY tasty!

Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

Daring Bakers Go To The Opera!

2008-05-28T16:48:00.000-07:00

It is a fresh start to the Daring Bakers this month, as we've gotten our own website! If you go www.thedaringbakers.com, you'll find our new forum, where non-Daring Bakers and Daring Bakers alike can discuss their favorite topic: food. However, to view the Daring Bakers forum for the challenge of the month, you must first become a Daring Baker, and the details are explained on the website. So, if you've been lurking and want to join, then hop to it my friend!

This month's challenge had me quite intimidated. First of all, our lovely co-founders of the Daring Bakers, Ivonne of the blog Cream Puffs in Venice, and Lis of the blog La Mia Cucina, were hosting this month's challenge, so I knew it was going to be a doozy. Second, when they announced the challenge and that it would be a French pastry, I got really nervous, because I know how painstakingly intricate French pastry making is. And thirdly, the recipe itself blew me away: FIVE pages of recipe, and that's at 10 pt font, too. I knew I had my work cut out for me, indeed.

I won't post the recipe here, as it is quite long and I don't want your eyes to turn square just reading it here! If you hop on over to either Ivonne or Lis's blogs (in the blogroll) you'll be able to find it there.

The only trouble I had with this recipe was that I burnt one of my cakes. Lucky for me, I was able to improvise by halving the rest of the recipe, since I made the cakes first. I just made a mini-Opera cake instead!

I feared that the cake would turn out tasting like cardboard or too sweet or not have enough flavor, but it was none of those things. I chose to make my syrup with Grand Marnier liquer, and added some lemon and lime juice to my buttercream in order to give it some punch and pizzazz. I'd have to say that my favorite part, though, was the white chocolate glaze, it was so yummy. I'm a big fan of white chocolate, and for some reason, it always reminds me of Easter, since my mom used to always get me white chocolate Easter bunnies every year. I took this lovely cake to dinner with my mother in-law and some of her friends and extended family, and it went over really well. And it never fails that when I serve a Daring Bakers challenge to my family, they always end up asking for the recipe, and this was no exception!

The recipe is a wee bit time consuming, so it's probably easier to take it easy and go one step at a time, but it's really worth it for the oohs and aahs you'll get. Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

Now THAT Is Breakfast!!

2008-05-25T15:41:00.000-07:00

I love when my mother in-law comes into town! Not only is she amazing, and sweet, but she always introduces me to new things. I figured that this time around, I'd introduce her into something new as well. See, in our family, I'm pretty well known for my desserts, I can always be counted on to bring a scrumptious after-dinner treat, so I've really been trying to buff up on my breakfast skills, too.

I saw this recipe on allrecipes.com during Mother's Day weekend, but I was out of town on Mother's Day (don't worry, I was with my mom, we were just staying at a hotel on the other side of the state) and have kept the recipe printoff floating around in my purse since then. I looked forward to making this for my mother in-law all week.

Creme Brulee French Toast (adapted from allrecipes.com)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup (I used maple syrup instead)
6 (1 inch thick) slices French bread
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon brandy-based orange liqueur (Grand Marnier®)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions:
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Mix in brown sugar and corn syrup, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Pour into a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Remove crusts from bread (I left mine on, and they added a nice chewiness to the french toast), and arrange in the baking dish in a single layer. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, half and half, vanilla extract, orange brandy, and salt. Pour over the bread. Cover, and chill at least 8 hours, or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Remove the dish from the refrigerator, and bring to room temperature. (I carefully flipped the toast at this point, so that it was evenly coated on both sides).
Bake uncovered 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until puffed and lightly browned. (You might want to set the oven to broil for the last 10 minutes or so, until the tops are lightly browned and crisp).

My thoughts: Super duper yummy, soft yet crispy and chewy. To the pre-baked mixture, I added a pinch each of cinnamon and cardamom, which made this taste so breakfasty and nice. As you can see, I added some sliced strawberries and bananas, so we weren't haivng just bread for breakfast. This dish creates its own syrup, and I actually added a bit more Grand Marnier to the mixture, because I really wanted to have that flavor come out. Be warned, though, this will make your baking dish terribly sticky, so you might want to line it with some tin foil. And if you choose to broil it at the end of baking, do NOT bake this in a Pyrex dish, because broiling will cause it to shatter. This would make a really great breakfast for a special occasion, or for whenever you want something other than pancakes or bacon & eggs or regular French toast.

Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

Let's Have Soup

2008-05-19T18:39:00.001-07:00

Do you ever have those days when you look in your kitchen and are completely dumbfounded as to what to make for dinner? I had a day like that today. I was just so sick of making the same old stuff over and over (can you say "rut"?).

I had been searching forever for a copycat recipe of Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana, but nothing I found seemed to sound like it would turn out like theirs. I wanted something hearty, slightly creamy, kind of spicy, and totally yummy. So, I decided to adapt two or three recipes I found online, so I could make my own with what I had in my kitchen.

Mehgan's Zuppa Toscana:

Ingredients:
-1 lb spicy ground sausage (I like to use the SPICY kind)
-6 red potatoes, thinly sliced (you can peel them if you want, but I left the peel on)
-1 medium onion, diced
-3 or 4 cloves of garlic, minced
-1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
-3 cans of chicken broth
-1 cup heavy cream
-2 bunches of kale

Instructions: In a stock pot, over medium heat, brown the sausage with the red pepper flakes, onion and garlic. Add the chicken broth, bring to a simmer. Add half the potatoes and return to a simmer. Reduce heat slightly and cover. Once the potatoes become soft, add the other half (the first half of potatoes will help to thicken the soup). Once the second half of potatoes is fork-tender, add the heavy cream. Let simmer 5-10 minutes. Add the kale just prior to serving.

My thoughts: This was probably the most amazing last-minute meal I've made in a LONG time. I must thank my big sister for helping me with this recipe, because that girl sure does know her potatoes! She was right there the whole time, helping me chop and dice and stir. And even though it was still pretty warm in our house (the temperature was pushing 80F when I got home from work), it was still nice to have a meal that wasn't super heavy and didn't leave me feeling weighed down (not to say that this was the most diet-friendly meal on God's green Earth, but you know what I mean). Anyway, this soup only takes about an hour and half to make from start to finish, which isn't too bad, since you don't have to babysit it the whole time. Plus, it tastes so close to the "real thing" that you'll really like the fact that you didn't have to pay $6 a bowl for it. Enjoy!

~Mehgan~

It's That Time Again!

2008-05-15T20:08:00.000-07:00

Time for another Royal Foodie Joust! As I've said in the past, Jenn the Leftover Queen (who has recently become a Mrs!! Congrats!) hosts the monthly Royal Foodie Joust over at the Leftover Queen Forum. Last month's winner, Elle, chose Raspberries, Lime and Almonds for us to play around with for this month's challenge. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to make, and since one of my favorite co-workers is leaving soon (his going-away party was today) I figured I'd make him something yummy for work tomorrow.

I decided on Raspberry and Lime Muffins with Almond & Cardamom Streusel, and boy, am I glad I did! These muffins made my house smell divine, I'm tellin' ya. Here's the recipe:

For the Muffins:

-2 cups all-purpose flour

-1 cup sugar

-1 tbsp baking powder

-1/2 tsp salt

-2 eggs

-1 cup of milk

-1/2 cup vegetable oil (I actually used olive oil, since we were out of veggie oil, and there's hardly a noticeable difference in taste)

-1 tsp lemon extract

-Juice of 1 lime

-1 cup fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries

For the Streusel:

-2 tbsp flour

-5 tbsp sugar

-1/2 tsp cardamom

-2 tbsp softened butter

-1/4 cup sliced almonds

Directions: Preheat oven to 400F. Line or grease muffin cups. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients, with the exception of the raspberries. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just moistened. Gently fold in the rasperries. In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the streusel. Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full with the muffin batter, then spoon modest amounts of the streusel mixture on top. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack, serve warm.

I sampled these babies, and boy, are they good! The streusel adds a nice crunch to the top layer, and the muffins are tender with a nice crumb. I like that they're not overly sweet, since the streusel does contain quite a bit of sweetness already. And the cardamom adds an interestin depth that isn't overpowering, but is still present. All in all, a pretty delicious muffin that's good... well, anytime!

~Mehgan~

That's Like Summer In A Bowl!

2008-05-02T17:21:00.000-07:00

I love that quote from "Friends!" Interesting fact about me: I love "Friends"! If I had my way, I'd have one of those multi-DVD player things that hold 5 or 6 discs, I could put an entire season of Friends in there and let it play all day long. But, alas, my hubby thinks I'm weird and therefore, I don't do that (except on days that I have off and he has to work, tee hee!)

My dear friend's birthday was coming up, and I had absolutely NO time to prepare dessert for his birthday BBQ. It was finally sunny outside, which put me in a stellar mood, so I hopped on over to the grocery store for inspiration. Immediately upon entering the produce section, the sweet smells of berries started to crash over me like waves of deliciousness. I grabbed a bunch of different berries, some kiwis, a package of cream cheese, plus some other miscellaneous items, and rushed home to make this beautiful tart for my friend on his special day.

I found the recipe on FoodNetwork.com a while ago, and always fall back on it, depending on what's in season, whenever I need a quick & easy recipe that will impress whoever I'm cooking for. I actually featured a picture of it in my very first blog posting almost a year ago! Here's the link to Paula Deen's Fresh Fruit Tart http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_32767,00.html

And the recipe:

Crust:
-1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
-1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
-1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened and sliced

Filling:
-1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
-1/2 cup granulated sugar
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
Fresh strawberries, kiwi slices, blueberries, raspberries

Glaze:
-1 (6-ounce) can frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
-1 tablespoon cornstarch
-1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
-1/4 cup granulated sugar
Whipped cream, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
For the crust: In a food processor, combine the confectioners' sugar, flour, and butter, and process until the mixture forms a ball. With your fingers, press the dough into a 12-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, taking care to push the crust into the indentations in the sides. Pat until the crust is even. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until very lightly browned. Set aside to cool.

For the filling and topping: Beat the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla together until smooth. Spread over the cooled crust. Cut the strawberries into 1/4-inch slices and arrange around the edge of the crust. For the next circle, use kiwi slices. Add another circle of strawberries, filling in any spaces with blueberries. Cluster the raspberries in the center of the tart.

For the glaze: Combine the limeade, cornstarch, lime juice, and sugar in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until clear and thick, about 2 minutes. Let cool. With a pastry brush, glaze the entire tart. You will not use all of the glaze.
Keep the tart in the refrigerator. Remove about 15 minutes before serving. Slice into 8 wedges and serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

My thoughts: the crust is so delicious, I could eat it alone with a glass of milk. And the filling is just so yummy, especially if you're a cream cheese lover, like me. And you can't go wrong with fresh berries! I was half-tempted to melt down some milk chocolate to spread over the crust prior to filling, but thought that would be a bit much, especially since I was making this for a guy's birthday party. But, maybe for my next girl friend's birthday I'll make one with chocolate inside!
~Mehgan~

Daring Bakers Get A Little Cheesy!

2008-04-27T20:56:00.001-07:00

Greetings! It's time for yet another Daring Bakers Challenge! This month we've got the yummy and super-delicious Cheesecake Pops!! Deb from Taste and Tell and Elle from Feeding My Enthusiasms were the lovely hostesses for this month, and God bless them, they picked such a mouth-watering choice, perfect for my mom & sister's Breast Cancer 3-Day bake sale.

These turned out so well, I loved how much freedom we were given as far as decorating and stuff goes. So much fun!! Here's the recipe:

Cheesecake Pops
Makes 30 – 40 Pops
-5 8-oz. packages cream cheese at room temperature
-2 cups sugar
-¼ cup all-purpose flour
-¼ teaspoon salt
-5 large eggs
-2 egg yolks
-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
-¼ cup heavy cream
-Boiling water as needed
-Thirty to forty 8-inch lollipop sticks
-1 pound chocolate, finely chopped – you can use all one kind or half and half of dark, milk, or white (Alternately, you can use 1 pound of flavored coatings, also known as summer coating, confectionary coating or wafer chocolate – candy supply stores carry colors, as well as the three kinds of chocolate.)
-2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
(Note: White chocolate is harder to use this way, but not impossible)
Assorted decorations such as chopped nuts, colored jimmies, crushed peppermints, mini chocolate chips, sanding sugars, dragees) - Optional
Instructions: Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Set some water to boil In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. If using a mixer, mix on low speed. Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well (but still at low speed) after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and cream. Grease a 10-inch cake pan (not a springform pan), and pour the batter into the cake pan. Place the pan in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes. Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight. When the cheesecake is cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the cheesecake pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 – 2 hours. When the cheesecake pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the chocolate. In the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, heat half the chocolate and half the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Do not heat the chocolate too much or your chocolate will lose it’s shine after it has dried. Save the rest of the chocolate and shortening for later dipping, or use another type of chocolate for variety. Alternately, you can microwave the same amount of chocolate coating pieces on high at 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth. Quickly dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. If you like, you can now roll the pops quickly in optional decorations. You can also drizzle them with a contrasting color of melted chocolate (dark chocolate drizzled over milk chocolate or white chocolate over dark chocolate, etc.) Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set. Repeat with remaining pops, melting more chocolate and shortening (or confectionary chocolate pieces) as needed. Refrigerate the pops for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.

My thoughts: The cheesecake recipe is AMAZING! So smooth and delicious, I fully plan on using it in the future for whenever I need to make a cheesecake (I'll probably halve the recipe, as this makes a lot of batter). However, I doubt I'll make the pops themselves again, because it's just too much of a pain the ass to roll them and dip them. I had to freeze the cheesecake, then roll the balls, after that I had to re-freeze the balls in order to get them hard enough to dip. I also went through 2 packages of white chocolate, and three packages of semi-sweet chocolate in order to coat all 46 of the pops that I had. Maybe if I had chosen to use the wafer chocolate or something, I don't know, maybe it would have streched a bit further. Oh well, they still turned out really well, very nice presentation and they sold really well at the bake sale. This recipe didn't take me nearly as long as I had expected (this IS a Daring Bakers Challenge, of course), but they certainly tasted like they took a long time!

~Mehgan~

An Awesome Long Weekend!

2008-04-22T17:10:00.000-07:00

So, the hubby and I decided to take a four-day weekend to visit his family before we move to Alaska, and it was so much fun!! I knew we'd be eating and eating and eating tons of good food while we were gone, so in preparation, I decided to make a healthier dinner of baked salmon with sauteed asparagus, zucchini & squash, with some quinoa. Super-easy, and super-yummy.
Now, my husband's best friend from high school is living with the sous chef and the head pastry chef from one of the nicest restaurants in Walla Walla, Whitehouse Crawford. I actually got to go bowling with the head pastry chef, can you believe that?! It was like a foodie celebrity sighting, lol!

On Friday night, we popped by the restaurant for dessert, and he recommended the creme brulee for me. It was DIVINE!! The sugar crust cracked puuuuuuuuurfectly when I got it, it made me giggle! I scarfed this badboy down in a most unladylike manner, but I didn't care, I was in creme brulee heaven!!

He recommended the puff pastry atop lemon meringue drizzled with blackberry sauce for my husband, and boy, it was impressive!! So many different flavors to taste. We shared with each other, of course!

So, if you're ever in the area of Walla Walla, definitely make a trip to the Whitehouse Crawford, even if it's just for drinks and dessert. They serve tons of local wines (there are over 100 wineries in Walla Walla) and they staff there is really friendly. Two thumbs WAY up!

~Mehgan~

It's Royal Foodie Joust Time!

2008-04-14T19:16:00.000-07:00

Hello, once again! Here we are, ready and rarin' for another Royal Foodie Jous!! Last month Michelle of USVFood won, and she was ingenius in picking mango, cardamom and brown sugar as her three ingredients for this Joust.

Naturally, about 84,000 recipes went flying through my mind!! Should I go sweet or savory? (I almost did both!!). I decided to go sweet this time. Here's my entry!

Mango, Cardamom & Brown Sugar Mascarpone Phyllo Tarts:

Ingredients:
- 3 to 5 sheets of phyllo pastry
- 1, 6 oz raspberry yogurt
- Two mangoes, peeled and sliced into bite-size pieces
- 4 to 6 oz mascarpone cheese (depending on how thick you want the consistency)
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1/2 tsp brown sugar
- chocolate shavings for the top

Instructions: Heat oven to 350F. Cut the phyllo sheets into circles about 4 inches in diameter. Lightly grease a muffin tin, then place each phyllo pastry round into the muffin cups, to form the tart cups. Bake for about 8-10 minutes until light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. In a bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients, with the exception of the chocolate, until well combined. Spoon mixture into the cooled tart cups carefully, then shave some of the chocolate on top (I used some of the yummy Vosges chocolate I got in my Blogging By Mail package!!). Serve immediately, otherwise they'll get soggy. Adapted from this recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_34630,00.html

I've been making this recipe for about a year now, and I love it because it's fairly inexpensive, I can make it in a snap, and it always goes over really well. I only wish they had photographed better, because they looked so amazing! My friend Terry ate six in a row, one right after the other! I guess they really were that good!

~Mehgan~

I Am So Going To Miss This...

2008-04-05T22:22:00.001-07:00

I may or may not have mentioned this before, but the husband and I will be moving to Kodiak, AK this summer (in three months, give or take), and I am gradually getting used to the idea of us living there. We already have a house lined up, and I have been in contact with my future co-workers, so that when we move I'll just slide right in to my new position.

However, I have a lot of trepidation about how restricted we'll be, in so many aspects. For me, being a foodie, I'll only have Safeway, Wal-Mart and the on-base Commissary to shop at for groceries. This concerns me. But, there isn't much I can do about it.

In the mean time, I have decided to take as much advantage of my favorite places to shop while I still can (dead woman walking, people!). Today, we took my brother in-law and his girlfriend to do some sightseeing in Seattle (Experience Music Project & the Science Fiction Museum) and on the way out of town, we realized we had some time to kill. And lo and behold, at that moment, we were driving right through Chinatown!

I've been to Uwajimaya a handful of times, but mainly I was there on a mission, picking up some catered food for events and whatnot. I didn't get to actually do any shopping for myself all the time I've been there in the past. Today was much different!

We must have spend about 2 hours in Uwajimaya, oohing and ahhing over, well, everything!! We only intended to pick up a few snacks to munch on at home, but ended up needing two of those hand baskets that quickly filled up! We were amazed at the selection, and had I had more moolah, I would have stocked up on fish as well, but alas, we were trying to keep it under $50 (which we did... just barely).

The sake/beer aisle was incredible. I didn't know where to start. I'm kind of a dummy when it comes to recognizing quality sake, but my brother in-law's girlfriend was such a sweetheart and helped me choose which one I would most enjoy. (I'm sipping on some plum sake as I type this, and it's very good, much better than the white wine I usually swig during blog posts).

My husband and I loved the drink aisle, it was so huge, and again, the selection was vast. I got a Hello Kitty lychee juice that I'll be drinking tomorrow with lunch.

Once we got home, I dumped all our bags on the kitchen table for a quick shot before we dug in. The sweet stuff is mainly for me, as the husband doesn't have a big sweet tooth (yeah, just wait till he tries this stuff! He said that last night before he had a cupcake, and quickly changed his tune). There's some Asahi beer (very good, I had a sip) and another kind of beer that my brother in-law's gf likes, some assorted hot & spicy rice snacks (some w/seafood, some made from shrimp, etc), some matcha chocolates, chocolate covered mushroom bisquits, a sparkling dessert sake and plum sake, strawberry filled koala bear cookies, chili rice crackers and my Hello Kitty lychee juice.

I really am going to miss living in Seattle, with access to just about anything within minutes of my house (ok, so Uwajimaya is more like 30 minutes from my house, but it's within walking distance of where I work). I suppose I'm just going to have to splurge big time whenever I come home to visit!!

~Mehgan~

A Very Matcha Birthday

2008-04-04T23:10:00.000-07:00

My brother in-law's birthday is in a few days, and I really wanted to make something really tasty for him this weekend while he and his girlfriend are visiting with us. See, my brother in-law is one of those freakishly smart people: he spent the last eight years teaching himself Japanese, and has gotten to the point where he could test out of his first three years of college. Yeah, you could say I'm a wee bit intimidated by his giant brain.

I really like his new girlfriend, she is such a sweetheart, and she makes him so happy. So, I decided to ask her to help me in making his birthday cupcakes. I wanted to make something Asian-inspired, and I had been eyeing these delicious-looking Matcha Green Tea Cupcakes on Chockylit's blog, Cupcake Bakeshop (http://cupcakeblog.com/index.php/2007/01/green-tea-bubble-cream-filled-cupcakes-with-green-tea-cream-cheese-frosting/), for the last year. I had the recipe printed off and lurking in my cupboard for far too long, it was time to put these bad boys to the test.

And OH. MY. GOODNESS. These were by far my best cupcakes to date. The cake is soft and pillowy, and the matcha cream cheese frosting is totally irresistable, I wanted to squeeze the frosting bag directly into my mouth, like a Whip-It. I remained ladylike, and chose to squeeze the frosting onto my finger "by accident", then devoured it like a beast.

My frosting turned out paler green than on Chockylit's webpage, but that may be because my matcha powder was from a pre-made drink packet, not a large tin or anything. And I had to keep adding powdered sugar in order to get the frosting to stiffen enough to pipe. Here's the recipe:

Cupcakes~28 regular cupcakes / 350 degree oven
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1. Beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds. 2. Add sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. 3. Add eggs one at a time, beat for 30 seconds between each. 4. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add to mixer bowl. Add the milk and vanilla. Mix to combine. 5. Scoop into cupcake papers about half to two-thirds full (depending on whether you want flat or domed cupcakes). 6. Bake for 22-25 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.

Green Tea Cream Cheese Frosting
12 ounces or 1-1/2 packages of Philly cream cheese
1/2 stick butter
4 cups sifted powdered sugar (I actually used about 5 cups in total)
1 tablespoon matcha green tea powder (I used two tbsps)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1. Bring cheese and butter to room temperature by letting it sit out for 1 or 2 hours 2. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl or onto parchment 3. Beat butter and cheese at medium speed until creamy. 4. Add half of the sugar, the green tea powder, and the vanilla. Beat until combined. 5. Gradually add remaining sugar (more if you have to) until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like.

Frost and decorate as desired.

I topped the birthday boy's cupcake with a senbei cookie (little tiny fortune cookie with a ginger sugar coating). He LOVED them. These went over way better than I was expecting. It would be in my best interest to commit this recipe to memory, because I have a feeling I will definitely be using it again.

~Mehgan~

On, No! I'm Late!

2008-04-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

Whoa! I totally forgot to do my Daring Bakers post this month!! I've been so crazy-insane-busy this week, that it totally slipped my mind. Which is nuts, because I so enjoyed this challenge, as it was Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake, and it definitely turned out to be so!

I decided to make this cake with the help of my mother and sister for an Easter Egg Hunt we were to attend on Easter Sunday. I had no idea how many people were going to be there, but I should have known by the sheer amount of how many eggs were involved (a whopping 12,000! Plastic, of course, not the real thing, that would be pure madness!). I should have made 2 or 3 cakes, instead of just the one, because this baby went over so well!

Here's the recipe:

For the Cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)

4 large egg whites

1 ½ cups sugar

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream (this is the BEST buttercream I've ever had!)

1 cup sugar

4 large egg whites

3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)-I used Meyer lemons

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing

2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable

About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready

Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make the Cake

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl. Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.

Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean

Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

To Make the Buttercream

Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream.Remove the bowl from the heat. Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes. During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again. On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla. You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

To Assemble the Cake

Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half. Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. Spread it with one third of the preserves. Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream. Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover). Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top. Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

Serving

The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but I think it’s best to let it sit and set for a couple of hours in a cool room – not the refrigerator. Whether you wait or slice and enjoy it immediately, the cake should be served at room temperature; it loses all its subtlety when it’s cold. Depending on your audience you can serve the cake with just about anything from milk to sweet or bubbly wine.

Storing

The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to two days. Bring it to room temperature before serving. If you want to freeze the cake, slide it into the freezer to set, then wrap it really well – it will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer; defrost it, still wrapped overnight in the refrigerator.

I wasn't able to make as many layers as I wanted to, because my cakes didn't rise as much as they should have (I didn't get the memo to use 2 1/4 cups flour, vice 2 1/2 cups flour, until after I had made my cake. However, instead of the raspberry filling, I mixed some pineapple with some whipped cream for nice tropical kick to add to the coconut. I just loved how springy (both physically and metaphorically with the season) and light the cake was, and the buttercream was to-die-for. Seriously, you must make this cake NOW, for whatever excuse you can come up with. Nah, scratch that, you never need an excuse for cake!!

I so enjoyed this challenge, and am eagerly looking forward to April's challenge, it's going to be so fabulous, you have no idea!! Mmmm.... I want more cake now!!

~Mehgan~

Royal Foodie Joust: You Put the Lime in the Coconut...

2008-03-15T19:35:00.000-07:00

Wow, I haven't participated in a Royal Foodie Joust in a looooooooong time! Jenn, the Leftover Queen, hosts the Royal Foodie Joust every month over at the Leftover Queen Forum, and I have just not had the time or inspiration to participate these last few months. However, seeing as how Valli won last month's Joust (congrats!) and chose lime, coconut and "something from the sea" for this month's Joust ingredients, I figured I just had to participate. Those are, like, my three favorite ingredients!! I was so excited upon reading his choices!

I tossed around a few ideas and came to the conclusion that I'd do something traditional, yet put a non-traditional "Mehgan" spin on it. So, here's my entry:

Coconut & Lime Crusted Tilapia with a Lime Tartar Mustard Sauce-

Ingredients:

-3/4 cup vegetable oil (more or less, depending on the size of your pan)
-2 tilapia fillets
-1/4 cup shredded coconut
-1/2 cup flour
-1/4 cup coconut milk
-1 large egg
-juice of one lime
-1 tsp Herbs de Provence (I got this in my BBM package!!)
-1/2 tsp garlic salt
-1/2 tsp cracked pepper
-1/4 cup tartar sauce
-2 tsp dijon mustard
-spritz of lime

Instructions: Place oil in a small pan over low heat. On a plate (I just use a regular dinner plate), use a fork to mix together the coconut, flour, and spices. In a small bowl, stir the coconut milk, egg and juice of one lime together. Carefully dip the tilapia fillets in the egg mixture, being sure to coat all sides evenly. Then, coat the fillets with the coconut & flour mixture, and place the fillets in the heated oil. Cook over low heat until both sides of the tilapia fillets are golden brown. While those are cooking, mix together the tartar sauce, mustard and a bit more lime juice. Once the fillets are done, plate them and put a small portion of the sauce on top. Garnish with a slice of lime.

I was so not prepared for how good this turned out. The whole recipe was in my head, so it's amazing to me that this meal actually came to fruition, and in such a successful way! I served it with some sauteed zucchini and squash (used a little lime juice in there, as well), and some Trader Joe's Harvest Blend quinoa, sunflower seeds and rice. My husband LOVED it! We both cleaned out plates, it was so good. The coconut flavor was present, but not overpowering, and the sauce just added to the flavor without masking every other flavor. I am so glad that I picked up a couple extra tilapia fillets at the store today when I was grocery shopping, because I am having so much fun experimenting!!

Good luck to everyone participating in the Joust this month! This was a fun one!

~Mehgan~

White Girl Teriyaki

2008-03-13T19:58:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's what I'm calling it. The hard thing about being a "mix breed" or "Heinz 57" is that you don't really have a culture. All the food that you learn how to cook growing up is from another culture (well, for the most part). Spaghetti. Tacos. Lasagna. Nothing really felt like it was passed down from generations long ago. I never got to say, "Oh, this is my great, great grandmother's recipe from France." Everything I learned how to cook was either adapted from a cookbook, or made up by combining Top Ramen and a can of chili (yes, that means that we were on Welfare....).

Anyway, since living in Seattle, I've been surrounded by Asian culture. The city I live in, Federal Way, has a very high Asian population. I have within walking distance: four different Chinese retaurants, two Vietnamese Pho restaurants, three Thai restaurants, a Japanese $1.50 store and an Asian supermarket. So, I've been really trying to learn how to incorporate these recipes into my mealtime regimen, but they always come out tasting... like a white girl made it. Not that it doesn't taste good, it's not like I sabotage my meals, they just don't taste as authentic as they could be.

I blame the fact that I don't have access to the freshest veggies. And I'm stickin' to it (well, for now at least... till the farmer's market starts running next month... then I'll have no excuse!!). I do have quite a few Asian friends who have been trying to help me out, so at least I've got them!!

I went to Trader Joe's recently (LOVE Trader Joe's) and picked up some of their $2.99 stir-fry veggies, and thought I'd give them a try. They looked quick and simple, so I figured "what the hell?" And am SO glad I did!

I made up some chicken teriyaki, that I think turned out pretty good! I'll post the recipe, but you might want to change it up a bit to suit your personal tastes.

Mehgan's White Girl Teriyaki

Ingredients:
-1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized chunks
-1 package of Trader Joe's stir-fry vegetables
-1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
-3 tbsp soy sauce
-1 tbsp Aloha Shoyu sauce
-1/2 tsp ginger
-2 cloves minced garlic

Instructions: Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking dish with aluminum foil (this will help with an easy cleanup later!). Combine chicken, sauces, ginger and garlic in a small bowl, then pour that into the baking dish. Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes. While that is baking, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a saucepan, then pour the stir-fry vegetables into the saucepan. Cook over low heat, covered for 6-10 minutes. Layer the veggies and the chicken over a bed of Jasmine rice, and enjoy! (I should probably mention that I added extra edamame to my veggies for this, since I had some extra lurking in my freezer).

I know it's cheating, but it was soooo good. Especially when followed up by these lovely little ginger snap-like cookies I bought at Daiso the other day.

The gal working there highly recommended them, and I'm glad that I was feeling so open to new foods that day, because these are truly yummy. They're so good that I was half-tempted to dump 'em in a bowl, pour milk over them and dig in! But... I didn't. I'm trying to savor them. I am definitely going to have to stock up on these babies before we move to Alaska in July!!

Don't they look so cute? I got the little strawberry dish from my brother in-law's Japanese girlfriend for Christmas last year, and finally found a good use for them (my blog!).

And this yummy meal was wonderful for my lunch today! I hadn't used my bento box in a while (I've been utterly addicted to PB&J sandwiches for some reason). Yesterday I went to Daiso and picked up these cute little sauce bottles that fit perfectly in my bento box. I also picked up a star onigiri maker, so I could shape my rice into a star. I was definitely the envy of the office today!

I just love that I have more excuses to pack my lunches in my bento box, because it's such a fun and girly way to eat your meals. And I can't believe how cheap the stuff at Daiso is, only $1.50!! I got the most adorable stationary to write to my sister with, OMG, it's so cute.

Stay tuned, folks, I'm on a roll!

~Mehgan~

Randomness and a Contest

2008-03-11T11:59:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I just felt compelled to blog today, even though I don't really have much to say that's food-related besides the fact that I have a strong urge to bake tonight. Possibly cookies. My co-workers will love that.

Ok, so I know that being a foodie blogger, you don't really get to know me personally, other than "that crazy girl who cooks and procrastinates on her Daring Bakers challenges." LOL, anyway, I will tell you that I am a total geek. I may not look it, but I am certifiably the geekiest person in my circle. Don't believe me? Want me to prove it? Ok, here's one: I have a Lord of the Rings tattoo on my left foot. Not only because I couldn't live without LOTR, but because it's the same tattoo that the cast got while filming the trilogy. Yeah, I got a double whammy on that one. I can recite the LOTR movies verbatim... which is why no one will watch them with me anymore, because I can't help myself from reciting the script while it's playing onscreen.

Which brings me to my next point: I have just discovered Wil Wheaton's blog (http://www.wilwheaton.typepad.com/). When I was 4 years old, I declared to my whole family that I would marry him. I watched "Stand By Me" non-stop for about a year of my life. Gordy was my favorite character, probably because he was so relatable, so "real" to me. When I got a bit older, I read Stephen King's novella "The Body" and all I could do was imagine Wil playing Gordy in my mind. I know he's all grown up now and so am I, but every time I see his face, I rewind back to 1986-88 to when I thought I was the girl for him. Is that weird?

And, last but not least, feelow blogger marye over at Baking Delights is holding a contest to win a cookbook by Dorie Greenspan and a $10 Amazon.com gift card! I figured, hey, why not give it a shot? All I she's asking for is a tagline for her blog, since she desires something punch and pizzazz. So, I'm hoping she likes what I came up with, which is:

"Baking Delights: Good enough to take a bite!!"

I was thinking of maybe saying "byte" instead of bite, so it's a play on words, since her blog is online and stuff, but I didn't want it to sound too... dorky. Anyway, keep your fingers crossed!! And marye, I hope you get just what you're looking for from this contest. Gotta suuport my fellow DBers!!

~Mehgan~

Blogging By Mail: Makes Me the Happiest, Little Sick Girl In The World!

2008-03-04T12:01:00.000-08:00

Greetings! I've been so utterly sick lately, that I haven't had a chance to do anything but sleep and cough the last three days. My couch is my new best friend. Which is why I felt such joy when I received a package in the mail, that I was so not expecting!! I hadn't forgotten that I signed up to participate in Stephanie from Dispensing Happiness' Blogging By Mail event, I just wasn't expecting my package so soon! Here's what I found waiting on my doorstep when I woke up from a Nyquil-induced slumber yesterday afternoon (edited the personal info, I didn't know if it would be cool for me to post addresses):

And inside, were two yummy-nummy recipes (her personal favorites that I can't wait to try out once I'm feeling better) and a lovely colorful letter from Tina at Sweet Designs!!

And here's the loot!! She got me two tins of the Republic of Tea in Spiced Gingered Peach and Blackberry Sage (I'm getting ready to boil some water for some tea right now, my throat hurts so bad), a jar of her favorite Her De Providence (oooohhh, can't wait!), a can of cake mist (in my favorite, pink!!), a beautiful jar of Tahitian vanilla beans in sugar that comes with a wonderful story that I feel so blessed to have received, coffee accents that I will most definitely keep at work to sprinkle on... well, everything!, two mini tart tins (so cute!), two frosting tips (score!), the cutest little jar of Stonewall Kitchen Jam in Wild Maine Blueberry that I could literally drink straight from the jar, a beautiful green spatula (how did you know I needed one?), two adorable kitchen towels, and last, but definitely not least, a bar of Vosges Haute Chocolat that I have been dying to try for the last three years since I saw it on a Food Network special on chocolate.

I just can not believe how spoiled I am!! Even though I can't express how happy I am because I am thisclose to losing my voice, I just want to say a big Thank You to Tina at Sweet Designs and Stephanie at the Dispensing Happiness for hosting this wonderful event. And have no fear, I am putting the finishing touches on my package and it will be on its way very soon!

~Mehgan~

Mom's Birthday Cake-That's a Wrap!

2008-03-01T08:54:00.000-08:00

Well, people, I've kept you in suspense for a whole week, haven't I? I knew this post would contain a lot of progress photos, and I wanted to get them just right, plus, have a quiet sit-down where I could write this all out and not be distracted. Well, the time has come. The hubby is asleep. The dog is outside in the morning sun. And I am here, quietly pounding on the keyboard (and hungry, might I add, since I haven't had breakfast yet).

So, without further adieu, here are the step-by-step photos from my mama's birthday cake. After the whole doubling-the-recipe-which-was-already-doubled fiasco, I got my kitchen under control enough to cut my cakes into semi-stackable slabs, chop up the chocolate for my ganache, throw some boiling hot heavy cream onto the chocolate to melt it, then put the first layer of ganache on the bottom cake layer. I carefully put the top layer on and snapped this photo:

Let me pause here to say that my husband and I were watching "Saw IV" while I was assembling these. Not a very positive cake-making atmosphere, but I was running out of time as my mother's birthday party was in less than 20 hours.

After making sure the top layer had adhered nicely, and doing a bit of damage control with toothpicks, I poured some more ganache on top of the entire cake. Initially, I was going to try and keep the ganache from touching the cake circle, but that was impossible, so I went with a more drippy look. It turned out nicely, sort of following the scalloped edges of the cake circle, which I found to be kind of ironic.

Here is one of the cakes ready to go in its very own cake box. I came prepared!! There were two cakes total, but I figured I'd just photograph one so you could get as much detail as possible. I love how shiny the ganache looked, and it didn't lose any of its lustre prior to the party, so it was equally impressive coming out of the box as going in. I used real flowers, rather than artificial or pastillage flowers, which I think gave them more of a Spring-like feeling. I sent my sister a sneak peak via camera phone, and she replied with "Very pretty!". When I showed them to my brother, he said they looked pro! I was very flattered, to say the least.

At the party, everyone was so looking forward to digging into the cakes. I probably should have warned them that they would need a glass of milk, since the birthday girl wanted a chocolate-chocolate-chocolate cake for her birthday. While some complained of it being "too chocolatey", it still went over well, and my mom informed me that people at her work were still raving about it during this last week.

And here's my slice of the cake. Nice and soft, with a rich ganache filling. It was the perfect ending to the wonderful meal I had at the Black Forest Steakhouse in Everson, WA. While spendy, the food is worth every last penny. So delicious. I had to keep myself from gobbling down my meal, so I'd have room for dessert! The food there is very top-notch, I highly recommend it if you're in the area.

And, my mom was not the only birthday girl we celebrated on Saturday! My niece was also having her 3rd birthday earlier in the day.

We went to Jungle Playland in Mt. Vernon, and the kids had a blast. Here she is, ready to blow out her big-girl candles. She's growing up so fast! (And no, I did not make that cake! LOL!)

Well, folks, you came, you saw, you got hungry with me. It's a new weekend, with new adventures. Only three weeks till Spring! Let's go have some fun!

~Mehgan~

No Bread Here!

2008-02-29T09:24:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, I was unable to participate in this month's Daring Bakers challenge. I was SO looking forward to really sinking my teeth into Julia Child's recipe for French bread, however, my weekends this month were solely devoted to remodeling our house (to get it ready to rent in July) and making my mom's birthday cake for her 50th birthday. I was so disappointed, but check out the other Daring Bakers' results (in the blogroll), a lot of them are quite beautiful.

And welcome to all the new members to the Daring Bakers! We're growing SO FAST!!

~Mehgan~

P.S. I promise to post mom's cake this weekend. I was having uploading issues this week, that's why you haven't seen them yet.

Mom's Birthday Cake- Take #2

2008-02-22T08:36:00.000-08:00

Hello, ladies and gents! So, I've decided to go with Jenn's recipe from ...and the eggs, it just looks so yummy and irresistable! (recipe: http://www.andtheeggs.net/2008/01/old-fashioned-chocolate-layer-cake.html) I was in a bit of a rush yesterday when I started pulling out the ingredients for this, and didn't realize that the recipe makes two cakes (my intentions were to make two cakes anyway), so I doubled the recipe. That was insane! TONS of batter! But, now that I have four cakes to work with, I'll be able to make two layer cakes that have room to trim if I need to.

Instead of a standard chocolate frosting, my mom special requested a chocolate ganache with edible flowers as decoration (yeah, going to find those today after work). I have naked cakes sitting at home, just waiting to be frosted! I stopped by Michael's yesterday after work and picked up some cake circles and cake boxes to transport them in. Mom's birthday party is going to be held at the Black Forest Steakhouse in Everson, WA, which is just about 2 hours from my house. I'm praying that the interior of my car doesn't get too hot from the sun, because I have a my niece's birthday party earlier that day in Mount Vernon (just over an hour from my house). Craziness! Will post update/progress photos tonight.

How exciting!!
~Mehgan~

Update: It's just after 10pm, and I'm too tired to edit and upload pics right now, sorry! I will tell you that the cakes turned out gorgeous, I even sent my sister a sneak peak via camera phone, and she says they look fab. I used real flowers to decorate, and I think that really made the cakes look finished. And it was such a good idea to get boxes for them, they fit perfectly. After Mom's party tomorrow night, I'll have LOADS of fun pics to show off my "first cake order". Boo yah!

Mom's Birthday Cake- Take #1

2008-02-11T14:40:00.000-08:00

Hello people!

My dear Mom's 50th birthday is coming up on the 26th, and I have been put in charge of the cake. We're having a nice intimate dinner with friends and family at this lovely German place called the Black Forest Cafe, which I am so looking forward to. There's stuff on the menu I've never heard of, which I'm always game for!

But, here's the thing: I am panicking. I've never decorated a cake, besides cupcakes that I've just slathered a bit of icing on and called it good. I've only used an icing bag a half dozen times, and I know that with practice I'll be ok.

I'm just worried that I'll work super hard on this cake, only to have people think it looks less fabulous than it looks to me. I'm planning on practicing tons between now and then, so I'm pretty sure I'll be alright in the decorating department.

She says she wants chocolate everything: cake, filling and frosting. Here's where you come in, fellow foodies. I need the yummiest, tastiest, most decadent chocolate cake recipe you can find. This is your challenge.

I will be popping by between now and then to fill in you in on the progress of the birthday cake and to post the final results. I'm so nervous, but really excited!! Thanks everyone!!

Daring Bakers Get Fresh!

2008-01-29T16:23:00.000-08:00

Woops, sorry I'm late! My internet was down yesterday, of all days! I was so frustrated! But, it's ok, because now it's back up and working again and you can see how my trials went.

I was actually quite excited when I found out that we'd be making a Lemon Meringue Pie this month. I'm not a huge fan of pie, I think it's more hassle than it's worth, but I was also ready to be proven wrong. And I was!

I've been just dying to use Meyer Lemons, but can't seem to find them anywhere around here. I found some at Top Foods for an amount I won't disclose right now (outrageous is a fitting word), but picked some up anyway, knowing just the thing to use them for. That was justification enough for me.

For the recipe, visit Jen at the Canadian Baker here (http://canadianbaker.blogspot.com/2005/10/lemon-meringue-pie.html).

I was really worried about the lemon curd not setting up, because I'd read horror stories about it, but mine set up just fine. I accidentally left my trusty camera at our friend's house so I wasn't able to take photos until the day after I made it (d'oh!), so the meringue sort of separated and the curd got a little liquidy around the edges of the pie. Other than that, it was perfect. Nice and light and not too sweet. Even the crust stayed crispy, believe it or not. My friend Terry wolfed down a nice slice of it in about .45 seconds flat. I really had to improvise this time around, since I didn't have a lemon juicer, so I just pressed the lemon halves through a strainer, so I guess it's a good thing I chose Meyer Lemons, since they're a bit more tender and forgiving. I also didn't have pie weights or dried beans, so my crust shrank a bit (still tasty though) and I don't have a food processor, so I just used my fingers, which was... odd...

And thank goodness the sun came out to play the weekend I made this, so I could take halfway decent photos this time around. See, folks, there's light at the end of the tunnel! Head over to the Daring Bakers Blogroll to check out the (MANY) other Daring Bakers' LMPs. You won't be disappointed!

Welcome new DBers, and see you at next month's challenge!

~Mehgan~

Cooking For Friends

2008-01-21T17:16:00.000-08:00

One of the biggest compliments about being an avid cook/baker is when a friend of yours comes to you asking you to make dessert for 10+ people. This happened to me last weekend, in fact. My friend Diana called me to let me know that we were invited to a potluck at her house on Friday night, and specifically asked that I make dessert. I was at work until 3pm and the party was at 6pm, so I had no idea what to make. I headed to the grocery store on the way home having nothing in particular in mind. All I knew was that these hungry people would need dessert (Yep, I'm in there, too):

As soon as I saw these perfectly ripe mangoes, I knew exactly what to make. Since most of the attendees are Italian, I wanted to incorporate wine into the dessert. So, here's my recipe for Grown-Up Mango Parfait:

Ingredients:

-2 ripe mangoes

-1/4 cup white wine (I actually used Riesling, since it's a dessert wine)

-1 tsp vanilla

-1 pint heavy whipping cream

-1/8 cup finely ground sugar

-10 small decorative cookies

Instructions: Peel and slice mangoes (carefully, they'll be really slippery) into bite-sized pieces. Place in saucepan with wine, cook over low-medium heat for about 45 minutes to an hour. Let cool. Whip the heavy cream with the sugar until it thickens. In a glass (I used martini and margarita glasses) place about two large spoonfuls of the mango mixture, then add a large dollup of the whipped cream. Top it with the decorative cookie (I used heart-shaped butter cookies with milk chocolate on one side and white chocolate drizzled on the other).

These parfaits were so lovely, and a nice accompaniment to the dinner. I didn't want to make something heavy that would take a lot of babysitting, since I knew I would be consuming adult beverages and didn't want to worry about burning it. They went over well, I even caught a few people licking the inside of their glasses.

~Mehgan~

Sincerest Apologies!

2008-01-17T10:34:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been FOREVER since I posted here! So sorry, guys, I've just been so busy lately. Mostly doing this:

Yep, that's yours truly, snowboarding up at 49 Degrees North (near Spokane, WA). It was definitely a good day. We've gone to quite a few different places lately (Mt. Hood, Snoqualmie, Mt. Rainier, etc) and progress have definitely been made. I know this is only my second season, but it's fun to look back at how frustrating my first season was and to see how far I've come.

I figured I'd pop by and say hello and reassure that no, I have not fallen off the planet... yet. We're starting to get into our busy season at work, but I'll do my best to keep on postin'. Oh, and before I forget, we got orders to get reassigned to Kodiak, AK this summer, which is really exciting. I'm not looking forward to paying out the ass for stuff for my baking/cooking, but it'll be alright. Since the hubby talked me into staying in the Coast Guard, I went and traded in my car (2000 Honda Civic LX) for a 2004 Audi A4.

Isn't she a beauty?! We've dubbed her "Innie the Audi", lol. Gotta love it. So, that's pretty much all the news for now, folks. And, like I said, I'll be back in no time with more food fun!

~Mehgan~

I Think I'm Ready For Christmas...

2007-12-24T20:14:00.001-08:00

As I mentioned before, my mom as well as my mother in-law both asked me to bake some sweeties for each of our Christmas parties, and bake I did!! I decided to go with a few old favorites, as well as some new recipes I've been dying to try out. I was extremely flattered that they turned to me for dessert, and was quite excited to start baking. So excited that I started baking earlier this week, making each type of sweets per night.

Pictured above you'll see (starting at the top): two different kinds of fudge (milk chocolate and peppermint), pink buttery spritz cookies (from the Betty Crocker cookbook I got as a wedding gift) that I decorated with melted Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses, pumpkin molasses cookies (from Cara's Cravings' blog in the Foodie Blogroll to the left), and lemon crinkle cookies (as per my brother's special request). I've also made two pumpkin pies, and an apple pie with authentic lattice-work that I did myself (so proud!). So, that being said, I think I am officially ready for Christmas to be here. Bring it on! I'll feed ya!!

And, just for fun, and because I so dearly love them, my nephew and niece's Christmas gift:

A five month-old boxer puppy named Merlyn!! Isn't he just absolutely the cutest ever? He looks so much like our dog Cody that when they play together, it's hard to tell when one ends and the other begins! They're instant friends, they love to play and chew on each other's legs. It's almost exhausting watching them play, actually. But, during this busy time of year, whenever I get to feeling a little blue, I just think of puppies and how cute they are, with their wet noses and big paws. And now we have a brand new puppy right here in my family!

My, Yule Look Nice!

2007-12-22T09:44:00.000-08:00

NOT! Ok, I know I'm no newbie to cooking, I've been doing since I was practically a fetus, but this Daring Bakers challenge (tradition holiday Yule Log) got me feeling extremely inadequate. And it all comes down to one element: buttercream. I now loathe buttercream, and rue the day I ever have to bake with it again.

The lovely hosts for this month's challenge are also the founders of the Daring Bakers (http://daringbakersblogroll.blogspot.com/) Ivonne (http://creampuffsinvenice.ca/) and Lis (http://llcskitchen.blogspot.com/). The day I found out about this challenge, I was a bit apprehensive, but confident nonetheless. My husband told me that his mom used to make one every year, so if I felt I needed a bit of assistance, I could call her. Which I did, and it still didn't help.

Everything started out in typical Daring Baker fashion (tons of eggs and butter) and since I had set the entire Saturday aside devoted just to my yule log, I figured I could just take my time and go with the flow. Here's the recipe, in case you would like to try your baking chops at this month's challenge:

Plain Genoise:

-3 large eggs

-3 large egg yolks

-pinch of salt

-¾ cup of sugar

-½ cup cake flour - spoon flour into dry-measure cup and level off (also known as cake & pastry flour)

-¼ cup cornstarch

-one 10 x 15 inch jelly-roll pan that has been buttered and lined with parchment paper and then buttered again

Instructions: 1. Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. 2. Half-fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat so the water is simmering. 3. Whisk the eggs, egg yolks, salt and sugar together in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Place over the pan of simmering water and whisk gently until the mixture is just lukewarm, about 100 degrees if you have a thermometer (or test with your finger - it should be warm to the touch). 4. Attach the bowl to the mixer and, with the whisk attachment, whip on medium-high speed until the egg mixture is cooled (touch the outside of the bowl to tell) and tripled in volume. The egg foam will be thick and will form a slowly dissolving ribbon falling back onto the bowl of whipped eggs when the whisk is lifted.

5. While the eggs are whipping, stir together the flour and cornstarch. 6. Sift one-third of the flour mixture over the beaten eggs. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour mixture, making sure to scrape all the way to the bottom of the bowl on every pass through the batter to prevent the flour mixture from accumulating there and making lumps. Repeat with another third of the flour mixture and finally with the remainder. 7. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. 8. Bake the genoise for about 10 to 12 minutes. Make sure the cake doesn’t overbake and become too dry or it will not roll properly (Note: This step made my entire house smell like a quiche. No joke, it was all eggy smelling). 9. While the cake is baking, begin making the buttercream. 10. Once the cake is done (a tester will come out clean and if you press the cake lightly it will spring back), remove it from the oven and let it cool on a rack.

(My genoise has tumors!!)

Coffee Buttercream:

-4 large egg whites

-1 cup sugar

-24 tablespoons (3 sticks or 1-1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened

-2 tablespoons instant espresso powder

-2 tablespoons rum or brandy

Instructions: 1. Whisk the egg whites and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Set the bowl over simmering water and whisk gently until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are hot. 2. Attach the bowl to the mixer and whip with the whisk on medium speed until cooled. Switch to the paddle and beat in the softened butter and continue beating until the buttercream is smooth. Dissolve the instant coffee in the liquor and beat into the buttercream.
My buttercream looked narsty, after three attempts, it kept turning out like this. All separated and curdled-looking. I said screw-it, and decorated my yule log with it anyway.

Filling and frosting the log: 1. Run a sharp knife around the edges of the genoise to loosen it from the pan. 2. Turn the genoise layer over (unmolding it from the sheet pan onto a flat surface) and peel away the paper. 3. Carefully invert your genoise onto a fresh piece of parchment paper. 4. Spread with half the coffee buttercream (or whatever filling you’re using). 5. Use the parchment paper to help you roll the cake into a tight cylinder. 6. Transfer back to the baking sheet and refrigerate for several hours. 7. Unwrap the cake. Trim the ends on the diagonal, starting the cuts about 2 inches away from each end. 8. Position the larger cut piece on each log about 2/3 across the top. 9. Cover the log with the reserved buttercream, making sure to curve around the protruding stump. 10. Streak the buttercream with a fork or decorating comb to resemble bark. 11. Transfer the log to a platter and decorate with your mushrooms and whatever other decorations you’ve chosen.

Meringue Mushrooms:

-3 large egg whites, at room temperature

-¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

-½ cup (3-1/2 ounces/105 g.) granulated sugar

-1/3 cup (1-1/3 ounces/40 g.) icing sugar

-Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

Instructions: 1. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Have ready a pastry bag fitted with a small (no. 6) plain tip. In a bowl, using a mixer on medium-low speed, beat together the egg whites and cream of tartar until very foamy. Slowly add the granulated sugar while beating. Increase the speed to high and beat until soft peaks form when the beaters are lifted. Continue until the whites hold stiff, shiny peaks.

(My meringue peaks are so pretty!)

Sift the icing sugar over the whites and, using a rubber spatula, fold in until well blended. 2.Scoop the mixture into the bag. On one baking sheet, pipe 48 stems, each ½ inch (12 mm.) wide at the base and tapering off to a point at the top, ¾ inch (2 cm.) tall, and spaced about ½ inch (12 mm.) apart. On the other sheet, pipe 48 mounds for the tops, each about 1-1/4 inches (3 cm.) wide and ¾ inch (2 cm.) high, also spaced ½ inch (12 mm.) apart. With a damp fingertip, gently smooth any pointy tips. (This part was fun!) Dust with cocoa. Reserve the remaining meringue. 3. Bake until dry and firm enough to lift off the paper, 50-55 minutes. Set the pans on the counter and turn the mounds flat side up. With the tip of a knife, carefully make a small hole in the flat side of each mound. Pipe small dabs of the remaining meringue into the holes and insert the stems tip first. Return to the oven until completely dry, about 15 minutes longer. Let cool completely on the sheets. 4. Garnish your Yule Log with the mushrooms.

The final product:

So, I know it's not the prettiest yule log out there, but hey, at least I tried!! It's a very rich dessert, and I'm not a big fan of heavy, rich desserts, so I wasn't a big fan of my yule log. Which looked diseased or something. However, I think this may have been a combination of user error and the recipe, because I know my mother in-law's recipe is quite different. I'm just glad I did it and got it over with, instead of chickening out. I'm just looking forward to next month's challenge.

Merry Christmas, Blogosphere!

~Mehgan~

Time For Something New

2007-12-20T20:00:00.000-08:00

Do you ever find yourself in a dinner rut? Taco night, spaghetti night, stir fry night, etc etc. Lately, I've been feeling like that. I think it's because of the lack of really yummy fresh produce, since it's no longer summer. I actually cooked one of those Chicken Helper Dinners (gasp!) last week, just for something new. (Note: I regretted it. It was just far too salty and artificial tasting).

It's times like these where I turn to my cookbook shelf. I literally did it Russian Roulette style: I closed my eyes and pointed to a cookbook (my Betty Crocker Newlyweds Cookbook I got as a wedding present). Then, cracked it open and closed my eyes once again and pointed to something near the middle. Thank goodness I didn't end up picking something like bread pudding! Though... bread pudding would have been good too, however, inappropriate for dinner.

Anyways, the lucky dish turned out to be Chicken Cacciatore. Now, I am not Italian, but I figured it would be pretty simple since I had all the neccessary ingredients lurking in my kitchen anyway. So, here's Betty Crocker's Chicken Cacciatore-Mehgan Style:

Ingredients:
-1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
-1/2 cup AP flour
-1/4 cup vegetable oil (I actually used olive oil)
-1 medium bell pepper
-1 medium onion
-1 can (14 1/2 oz)diced or stewed tomatoes, undrained
-1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
-1 cup sliced mushrooms (I nixed these, for I loathe mushrooms)
-1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh or 1/2 tsp dried oregano
-1 tsp chopped fresh or 1/4 tsp dried basil leaves
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
-mozarella cheese

Directions: Coat chicken with flour. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken in oil 15-20 minutes or until brown on all sides. Drain excess oil. Cute bell pepper and onions crosswise in half, cut each half into fourths. Stir bell pepper, onions and remianing ingredients (except cheese) into chicken in skillet. Heat to boiling, reduce heat. Cover and simmer 30 to 40 minutes or until juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut. Serve with cheese on top.

Now, I served mine on top of a bed of rice, because I've seen this done before, however, the recipe doesn't call for that. I supposed you could serve it with noodles instead of rice, but whatever you like, it'll still taste yummy. I loved all the fresh flavors in this, and it's definitely a new recipe for me. I love how simple it is, too. It kind of reminds me of chicken parmesan, but stovetop. The hubby liked it as well, he licked his plate clean. :-)

I know the picture doesn't really do it justice, but it was really tasty. And I love those little Santa's in the background. They just look so happy!

~Mehgan~

It Just Wouldn't Be Christmas...

2007-12-19T14:43:00.000-08:00

...Without some sweet treats from Mehgan!! You see, my reputation precedes me: both Christmas parties we'll be attending this year have requested that I make and bring along some sweets for desserts. So, I thought for a while about what kinds of stuff I want to make, and have come down to a nice collection of classics. I'll be posting them as I make them, so be ready!!

First up, I've been dying to play around with chocolate, so I decided to make some brownies. Now, in my experience, there are two kinds of brownies in this world: the doughy, cakey kind and the chewy, flaky kind. It was a hard decision, but I went with the doughy, cakey kind and used Nigella Lawson's brownie recipe from How To Be A Domestic Goddess (aka Old Reliable).

Let me take a second to pause here, and give you a little insight into myself a bit. I am a peppermint freak. So, this time of year, I go insane with it (because any other time of year and it would just be...weird). I buy peppermint lotion, body spray, candy canes, peppermint tea, etc etc. My sister even nicknamed me Peppermint Patty (and my niece we've nicknamed Junior Mint). When I saw that Hershey's has a new Candy Cane Kiss, I knew I had to buy a bag... or two... or three.

I love them. They have little bits of crushed up candy canes in them, and they're delicious white chocolate. So delicious. They quickly became an inspiration for the brownies I made last night as a little "warm-up" to my cookie-making extravaganza. Here's my recipe for White Chocolate and Candy Cane Brownies:

Ingredients:

-1 2/3 cups soft unsalted butter
-13 oz bittersweet chocolate
-6 large eggs
-1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
-1/2 tbsp peppermint extract

-1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
-1 tsp salt

-20 to 25 Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses (without wrappers)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. Line or grease 13" x 9" x 2 1/2" pan (sides also). Melt butter and chocolate together (I used the bowl over a boiling pot of water method) until smooth and creamy. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the vanilla, peppermint extract and sugar. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt. Once the chocolate has cooled a bit, beat it into the eggs until smooth, then stir in the flour mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. In a microwavable bowl, melt the Kisses (I heated them in the microwave for 30 seconds, then stirred them, and heated them for another 30 seconds). Drizzle the melted Kisses on top of the brownie batter in lines. Take a toothpick and carefully drag it up and down the lines to create a cool web effect. Place the brownies on the center rack of the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

These brownies went over really well at work, everybody (including the cleaning guy) absolutely loved them. At first, when people bit into them, they didn't know what that new flavor was, but when I told them it was peppermint, they were able to nail down what it was they were eating. I'm so glad they liked them, and they were so much fun to make. I had forgotten how much I love working with chocolate. It's just such a wonderful substance, and makes my house smell divine.

And while I'm getting exceedingly sick of taking pictures without any sunlight, it is fun taking pictures in front of our Christmas tree! Merry Christmas, everyone!

~Mehgan~

Perfect for a Cold Fall Day

2007-12-05T10:55:00.000-08:00

You know those really rainy and cold days in Seattle that just make you want to stay at home and have some soup by the fire? Well, recently, my husband and I had one of those days. It was cold. It was gloomy. And it was raining. To top it all off, we had to haul two truckloads of firewood that we had just purchased. Now, I don't normally participate in such... "manly" endeavors, but alas, there was no one else to help the dear hubby in this one. So, in between loads of firewood, I threw this together in the crock pot so we'd have something tasty for dinner when we finished up.

Beef Stew (or, Soup, if you prefer):

Ingredients:
-1 lb stew beef, cut into bite sized portions
-3 to 4 medium white or red potatoes, chopped
-1 whole onion, chopped
-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
-3 to 4 stalks of celery, chopped
-3 handfuls of baby carrots (you can chop them if you like, but they're good whole, too)
-3 cans of beef broth
-salt and pepper

Instructions: Place the potatoes, onion, garlic, celery and baby carrots in the crock pot along with the broth. (I turned my crock pot to cook at the 4-hour rate). Let these stew for about an hour. While those are going, salt and pepper the stew beef (you can pan-sear these in a little butter to lock in the flavor). After the veggies have cooked for about an hour and the broth is nice and hot, add the stew beef. Cover and let stew for another 3 1/2 to 4 hours, being careful not to mess with it too much, or you'll extend the cooking time. When the potatoes are tender, it should be done. If the broth isn't thick enough for your liking, you can add a spoonful or two of flour and that should thicken it up a bit.

I love this recipe, because 1) It's so simple, and 2) There's always tons of leftovers to take for lunch the next few days. It's hearty, it's hot, and so tasty. I love to make a nice loaf of homemade bread to go with it, too. If you asked my husband, he'd probably tell you I make this too much (almost twice a month), but I love it, so he's just going to have to deal with it. :-)

This was actually one of the first recipes I tried when we first got married and received the crock pot as one of our wedding gifts. I was trying to replicate my mom's beef stew (that'll never happen), but I think I got pretty close. There's a lot of room for variation, I've heard people like to add stewed tomatoes, or capers, or even leeks and mushrooms (gag, I hate mushrooms). So, the next chance you get, play around with the recipe and let me know what you come up with. I'm always interested in new stuff.

~Mehgan~

Bad Daring Baker!

2007-11-26T09:29:00.000-08:00

It's only my third challenge since becoming a Daring Baker, and I already had to bow out! I feel so ashamed! This month completely flew by, with Thanksgiving and my husband's birthday all rolled into one, I just got so caught up. I know I cooked this month, obviously, since I'm not starving to death over here, but seriously...where has the time gone?! I only posted once this month, that's insane! I promise, I'll try a lot harder in December. If you want to check out what the other faithful Daring Bakers were up to this November, head on over to the Daring Bakers blogroll (yes, there are A LOT of us now!) and see how well their tender potato bread turned out. Here's the link: http://daringbakersblogroll.blogspot.com/

~Mehgan~

Baking Buddies

2007-11-12T18:14:00.000-08:00

For the past five years, my sister and her family have lived in Texas (which is about 2,000 miles from us and everyone else in our family) due to her husband being in the Air Force. Every year or so, my brother in-law would get sent overseas (Iraq, mostly), and rather than waiting around in Texas for him, especially during the holidays, we'd have my sister and the kids come stay with us in our spare room. We love having them stay with us, and it's so awesome watching them grow up. My husband and I got really close with her kids, and it almost feels like they're our kids every now and then.

Well, in October, my brother in-law got transfered to a base about 45 minutes from our house. We were so stoked to have them living nearby, that we immediately volunteered to babysit as much as possible (we understand how important it is to remain close in a marriage, so we try to give them as many opportunities as they can to go out on a date). Recently, while we were babysitting, I was preparing some goodies for a bake auction we had at work to raise money for our annual Holiday party in December, so I decided to enlist the aid of my two little helpers in this mission. They absolutely loved getting to help me in the kitchen (which is the one room in the house I can most often be found), and they especially loved the end result (getting to eat them). I decided to make Iced Pumpkin Cookies, because I knew that with it being November, these would sell like hotcakes (and they did!!).

I have never made these before, but will definitely be making them again and again this holiday season. They're small, so you don't feel terribly guilty for eating one (or two... or three...) and they are packed with pumpkin-spicey goodness. Here's the recipe:

Iced Pumpkin Cookies (courtesy Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.
To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners' sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency.

I'll be sure to post lots more photos of treats the kiddos help me with in the future. I have a feeling there will be a lot of them!

~Mehgan~

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T13:49:00.000-07:00

I love Halloween, it's probably my most favorite holiday all year (yes, even better than Christmas and my birthday). I think the main reason I love it so much is that I don't have to worry about getting anyone the "perfect gift" and I rarely have to deal with family like I do during the major holidays. It's usually just me and my husband, sitting at home, watching scary movies, carving pumpkins and handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters. And I love it.

My husband and I have this tradition that during the entire month of October, we watch nothing but scary movies. That includes renting as well as buying or watching on television. I have no idea how we came about doing it, we've been married four years, so it's a little blurry. Every year, it gets bigger and bigger, we actually went to three Halloween parties last Saturday night alone! So, needless to say, Halloween is big for us.

My favorite Halloween candy used to be those bite-size Snickers bars. Those were the major candy to get when I was a kid. Every year, on Halloween, after we got home from trick-or-treating, my brothers and I would play "Store". We'd put all of the candies in their respective piles (Snickers, Milky Way, etc in the Chocolate area, Blow Pops and Tootsie Pops in the lollipop area, then Smarties and Sweet Tarts in the Other Candy area) on top of our pillow cases, which were our shops. We'd trade, say, two Tootsie Pops for a Snickers, that sort of thing. So, Snickers had a lot of sway when it came to bartering against my brothers.

Ever since getting my braces on in March, however, I haven't been able to have one Snickers or Milky Way, since nougat is an orthodontic no-no. How depressing. I've now become a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup devotee. They fit perfectly upside down in my mouth, resting against the roof and melting away until there's nothing left. I can make a Reese's peanut butter cup (the wee little ones, not the monster ones) last about 10 minutes if I'm careful. And don't even get me started on Starburst! I know I'm not supposed to have those, but as an experiment one time at the movies, I made a single cherry Starburst last 35 minutes. My tongue was so raw after that!

Anyways, here's to the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Hated by most Australians, and loved by many an American consumer. I tip my hat to you, and reach into my desk drawer for yet another foil wrapped slice of heaven.

Daring Bakers Get Bostini!

2007-10-28T20:10:00.001-07:00

Hello ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to another installment of the Daring Bakers Challenge! This month, Mary at Alpineberry chose a Bostini Cream Pie for us to make, and I couldn't wait to make it. But, with a week-long vacation in the middle of the month, combined with my brother moving out, I simply had no time to make it! I did, however, print the recipe and bring it with me everywhere, reading it and re-reading it to make sure I'd have enough ingredients in my house for when I decided to eventually make it.

As it turns out, I waited till the very last possible day to get crackin'! I was in a panic when I woke up on the morning of the 28th and realized I had T-minus 16 hours to bake, stir, whisk, mix, photograph, serve and post this bad boy. I got busy as soon as I rolled outta bed! And let me just add that there are a TON of eggs in this recipe. I bought two of those 18-count cartons, and had just enough (after accidentally breaking a few yolks while I was trying to separate them from the whites). I also had to make a last-minute run to Albertson's to grab some OJ, because my husband and brother in-law drank the stuff I had set aside for this recipe (darn them!). Seriously, they downed a half gallon of OJ in less than two days. I have no idea why, they must have just been really thirsty!

It was worth the troubles, though, and the results came out amazing and delicious. Here's the recipe:

Bostini Cream Pie
(from Donna Scala & Kurtis Baguley of Bistro Don Giovanni and Scala's Bistro)
Makes 8 generous servings
INGREDIENTS:
Custard
3/4 cup whole milk
2 3/4 tablespoons cornstarch
1 whole egg, beaten 9 egg yolks, beaten
3 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 vanilla bean (or vanilla extract, if that's easier for you to find)
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar

Chiffon Cake
1 1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup superfine sugar
1 1/3 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup beaten egg yolks (3 to 4 yolks)
3/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup egg whites (about 8 large)
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Chocolate Glaze
8 ounces semi or bittersweet chocolate
8 ounces unsalted butter

INSTRUCTIONS
To prepare the custard: Combine the milk and cornstarch in a bowl; blend until smooth. Whisk in the whole egg and yolks, beating until smooth. Combine the cream, vanilla bean and sugar in a saucepan and carefully bring to a boil. When the mixture just boils, whisk a ladleful into the egg mixture to temper it, then whisk this back into the cream mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Strain the custard and pour into 8 large custard cups. Refrigerate to chill.
To prepare the chiffon cakes: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray 8 molds with nonstick cooking spray. You may use 7-ounce custard cups, ovenproof wide mugs or even large foil cups. Whatever you use should be the same size as the custard cups. Sift the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Add the oil, egg yolks, orange juice, zest and vanilla. Stir until smooth, but do not overbeat. Beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gently fold the beaten whites into the orange batter. Fill the sprayed molds nearly to the top with the batter. Bake approximately 25 minutes, until the cakes bounce back when lightly pressed with your fingertip. Do not overbake. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. When completely cool, remove the cakes from the molds. Cover the cakes to keep them moist.
To prepare the glaze: Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Place the butter in a saucepan and heat until it is just about to bubble. Remove from the heat; add the chocolate and stir to melt. Pour through a strainer and keep warm. To assemble: Cut a thin slice from the top of each cake to create a flat surface. Place a cake flat-side down on top of each custard. Cover the tops with warm chocolate glaze. Serve immediately.

I had a few variations to the recipe, because after waiting so long, I had realized that all the other Daring Bakers had already made theirs the way I was planning on making mine (grrr!). So, I decided to bake my chiffon cake on a baking sheet and then cut out fun shapes with cookie cutters. I used pumpkin and stars, as you can see in the photo below.

I thought they were so stinkin' cute! I plan on taking one with me in my lunch tomorrow, seeing as how the chiffon cake was my favorite part.

And here are a few photos of the finished product.

I served them in little scotch glasses that my husband had, and decorated the pumpkin one with festive lines, and just doused the star one with loads of chocolate. My husband's favorite part was the custard, though, he practically licked it out of the glass!

And here's a festive photo with one of our plug-in pumpkins (safer than jack-o-lanterns, so we can have it indoors).

Hope you enjoyed it as much as I do! Check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll to right to see how the other guys and dolls of the Daring Bakers did with this month's Challenge. I gotta tell you, they're pretty amazing!

~Mehgan~

It's Time For Another Royal Foodie Joust!

2007-10-23T19:40:00.001-07:00

The lovely Jenn over at the Leftover Queen Forum is the lovely host of a little monthly competition we like to call the Royal Foodie Joust. Brittany The Pie Lady won last month's Joust with her very first entry (congrats!), so she was able to pick this month's ingredients. Up this month, we've got any kind of mushrooms, herbs and cheese. I chose Portobello Mushrooms, Oregano and Sage, and Asiago cheese (one of my very favorites):
For my entry, I had no idea what I wanted to make. For one, I loathe mushrooms. I hate their texture (they feel like slimy little slugs). Two, I'm not big on their flavor. And three, the thought of eating a fungus really does not appeal to me. But, in Royal Foodie manner, I manned up and picked up my first set of mushrooms in God knows how long. I even picked up a jar of mushroom spaghetti sauce. I chose to make ravioli, and just did not feel like making the sauce myself. So, without further delay, here's my entry for Mushroom and Asiago Cheese Stuffed Ravioli.

Ingredients:
-1 portobello mushroom
-1/2 bell pepper
-3 cloves of garlic
-1/4 onion
-1/4 cup Asiago cheese
-1/5 cup olive oil
-1 or 2 sprigs of fresh oregano
-1 or 2 sprigs of fresh sage
-salt and pepper
-1 package of wonton/ravioli wrappers
-1 egg white
-1 jar spaghetti sauce (I use Classico)
-1 can of stewed tomatoes

Instructions: Chop up the mushroom, bell pepper, garlic, onion, oregano and sage into 1/8" bits and combine them in a bowl. Chop the herbs and add those to the other ingredients. Add the olive oil and spices and stir well to combine. Mixture should look like this:

Heat in a pan over low heat until the onions turn transparent and the mushrooms turn slightly brown. Heat a stock pot of water to a boil (you may want to add some olive oil to prevent the ravioli from sticking to each other). In another pot, heat the spaghetti sauce and stewed tomatoes over medium heat and season to taste. Sprinkle a couple baking trays with some corn meal to prevent the ravioli from sticking. Brush the edges of the ravioli wrappers with the egg white, then add a small amount (about the size of a large marble) of the ravioli mixture to the wrapper. Take another wrapper and brush the edges with the egg white, and place over the top of the bottom ravioli. Press the edges to create a nice seal and put on the tray. Repeat until you're out of filling (this should make about 10-12 ravioli). Place the ravioli in the boiling water and allow to soak until the ravioli become slightly transparent (I wish I had taken a picture of this step, because the ravioli somewhat resembled brains!). Once they're done, use a slotted spoon to carefully lift the ravioli out of the water and place on your plate. Pour the spaghetti sauce mixture over the top.
These were pretty good for someone who doesn't like mushrooms. You're looking at my husband's dinner, and he had me heat the leftover mushrooms in some olive oil so he'd have "something meaty" to eat with his ravioli. I felt like there should have been more cheese, or a different cheese, like ricotta, to bind all the ingredients inside the ravioli. Once they were cut open, the ingredients sort of just fell out all over the plate. But they sure were tasty, very flavorful because of the fresh herbs and you could really taste the mushroom. It was a nice combination of flavors, but the texture was just a little bit off. I'd give it a 7 out 10 points.

But, don't fret, for I came up with a tasty dessert to make up for my lackluster dinner!! We had quite a few leftover wonton wrappers, and I was craving chocolate. The only chocolate left in the house was a jar of Nutella, so I stuffed a wonton wrapper with about a half teaspoon of it, folded the wrapper in half and sealed it with some water. Plopped that bad boy in some heated oil for a few seconds (about 30, 15 per side) and tossed it in some powdered sugar when it was done. Heaven. My 2 1/2 year old neice looked at it and asked, "What is it." I said, "It's a Chocolate Dumpling" and she said "Ohhhh" and took a bite. Big grins all around! Success!

Now I'm off to come up with more exciting recipes that involve wonton/ravioli wrappers. That was just too much fun and way too tasty to never do again.

~Mehgan~

P.S. Let me just say how frustrating it is that the sun sets so early now that we're approaching Winter. By the time I get dinner done, there's not enough light left to photograph my little dishes and make them look good. My kitchen flourescents and camera flash will have to do until Spring. How sad!

Save the Ta-Ta's!

2007-10-13T13:13:00.000-07:00

Hello, everyone! This post is mostly geared towards the ladies, so gentlemen, cover your eyes or proceed with caution.

I am a big Breast Cancer Research supporter, and was so glad to see that Minko at Couture Cupcakes (like to the left, in the blogroll) is hosting a Pinktober event in support of Breast Cancer Research in which she donates $1 towards Breast Cancer Research for every pink-inspired recipe that gets submitted to her by October 15th (yes, I'm cutting it close here).

While no one in my family has gone through such a trying ordeal as breast cancer (knock on wood) there have been a few scares in my family, and I know a couple of people from work who have gone through it. I do this for them.

Pink being my all-time favorite color, it was only natural that I should participate. I was so excited, I didn't know what I wanted to make that was pink, but also oh-so-girly as well. The pinup girls from Northwest Pinups For Troops had scheduled a group photo shoot at my house with a sleepover theme, so I figured what better chance to bake a girly cupcake than for a girly photo shoot, huh? On top of all that, my pinup character's forte is baking, so I would get featured in a solo shot posing with my beautiful pink cupcakes. What more can a girl ask for? I fired up the Pink Terror (my KitchenAid) and got to work!

So, here's my recipe for Vanilla Cupcakes with a Pink Lemonade Icing:

Vanilla Swirl Cupcake Ingredients (adapted recipe from Martha Stewart):
-1½ cups all-purpose flour
-1 teaspoon baking powder
-½ teaspoon salt
-8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
-1 cup sugar
-3 large eggs
-1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
-¾ cup milk
-red food coloring

Instructions: Preheat the oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time; scrape down bowl, and beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture and milk alternatively, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Divide batter evenly between two bowls. In one bowl, add 4-6 drops of red food coloring and mix well. Pour batter into cupcake liners, alternating between the pink and white batter mixture until each cupcake liner is about three-quarters full. (The way I filled mine ended up looking like boobies, I kid you not!) Bake until golden and tops spring back to touch, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer pans to wire rack; cool completely (about 1 1/2 hrs). Makes 12.

Frosting Ingredients:
-1 cup powdered sugar
-2 tbsp warm water
-1 tbsp lemon extract
-red food coloring
-pink sugar sprinkles

In a small bowl, whisk together first three ingredients (add more powdered sugar if it's too runny for your taste). Add two drops of red food coloring and mix well. Frost cupcakes, then decorate with the pink sugar sprinkles. Gorgeous!

These cupcakes went over really well with the pinups, they received rave reviews from everyone who had one. They loved how the two flavors don't overpower each other, they actually are a really nice compliment to each other. They also loved the swirled cake, they thought it was a nice touch. I loved that they came out so beautiful, enough to get photographed with us in our photo shoot! Gotta love those retro tin cupcake papers!

I'll be sure to post some of the finished shots of us with the cupcakes so you can see how photogenic they are. Until then, you'll just have to enjoy the ones I took in my kitchen!

Aren't they lovely? I think so! Hop on over to Couture Cupcakes and check out the other entries and Save The Ta-Ta's!!!

~Mehgan~

I Miss The Fair Already

2007-10-09T20:21:00.000-07:00

I am one of those folks that is lucky enough to live within just a few minutes of the Puyallup Fair when it's in town during the month of September. I am a self-proclaimed Fair-Freak, I love the Fair, I could spend all day there, and still want to come back tomorrow. I love the food, the rides, the exhibits, everything about it.

My good friend Diana introduced me to the Fisher Fair Scones this year (I'm not a big fan of biscuit-y things, but she talked me into it) and I haven't been the same since. I've even gone so far as to try to replicate the recipe on my own, only to end up with dry, brittle little scone-wannabes. Not cool.

So, while perusing the local Safeway today in search for some ingredients for this month's Daring Bakers challenge (which will be fabulous, by the way!) I happend to see this lovely little red and white box perched atop the highest shelf in the baking aisle. I would have been able to spot that plaid label a mile away. Amen, hellelujah! I didn't have to order it online! Yay!

I knew immediately that I wanted to make some plain old-fashioned ones, and some cranberry orange ones (seeing as how it's officially Fall and everything). I couldn't wait to finish cooking dinner in order whip out the Pink Terror (aka my KitchenAid) and get to work on these bad boys. I divided the dough into three sections as directed by the instructions on the box, and made two thirds of them orange & cranberry, and only one third of them plain. The recipe is on the back of the box, and all you need is 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp of water, and presto! You've got yourself some world-famous scones, baby!!

The finished product: delightfully indulgent. A very light crispy outside with a warm, pillowy inside. To make them even better, I whipped some butter with some honey, and used my favorite Knott's Berry Farm Boysenberry jam. So good that I contemplated making these for my birthday, and that's 11 months away!

Istn' she lovely? Oh, how I love them. I bought two boxes, and fully plan on buying more while I still can, so keep your eye out for some Puyallup Fair Scone-redux style postings.

~Mehgan~

Time To vote: Royal Foodie Joust

2007-10-02T07:16:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! It's once again time to vote in the Royal Foodie Joust at the Leftover Queen Forum: http://www.leftoverqueen.com/forum/index.php?topic=168.0

Lots of delicious entries this month, it's so hard to choose just one!!

Daring Bakers Go All Cinnamon-y!

2007-09-30T03:15:00.000-07:00

Yay, my first Daring Bakers Challenge is done, and a wild success! I was so pleased to be accepted into the elite Daring Bakers (Blogroll to the left), and would like to take this time to welcome all of our October newbies, we have quite a few.

September's Challenge was Cinnamon and/or Sticky Buns, and I was oh-so-excited to be able to participate. I've always tried making them on my own, but they always came out either tough and chewy, or lacking flavor. This recipe helped fix BOTH problems, yay!!

First of all, the dough is a dream to work with. Soft and pillowy. I did have some problems getting it to rise, because we keep our house at a relatively low temperature during the day. So, if your house tends to be a little cool like mine, I suggest keeping your oven on a low heat and letting your dough proof near the warmth of the oven.

The Wonderful Dough

Proofing the buns.

Secondly, I didn't make the sticky buns portion of the recipe, but fully intend to during the coming months. The icing for the cinnamon buns has a slightly lemony taste that was good, but I would have much preferred cream cheese icing or just a plain royal icing. Marce, the host for this month, gave us a lot of creative freedom with this recipe in regards to different toppings for the sticky buns, and different seasons for the filling of the buns.

The buns fresh out of the oven.

Here's the recipe (it seems long and complicated, but that's because Peter explains everything in detail):

Cinnamon buns and sticky buns (from Peter Reinhart´s The Bread Baker´s Apprentice)
DAYS TO MAKE: 1
15 minutes mixing; 3 1/2 hours fermentation, shaping and proofing; 20 to 40 minutes baking.
Yield: Makes 8 to 12 large or 12 to 16 smaller cinnamon or sticky buns
Ingredients:
6 1/2 tablespoons (3.25 ounces) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
5 1/2 tablespoons (2.75 ounces) shortening or unsalted butter or margarine
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon lemon extract OR 1 teaspoon grated zest of 1 lemon
3 1/2 cups (16 ounces) unbleached bread or all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast*
1 1/8 to 1 1/4 cups whole milk or buttermilk, at room temperature OR 3 tablespoons powdered milk (DMS) and 1 cup water
1/2 cup cinnamon sugar (6 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar plus 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, or any other spices you want to use, cardamom, ginger, allspice, etc.)
White fondant glaze for cinnamon buns or caramel glaze for sticky buns (at the end of the recipe.)
Walnuts, pecans, or other nuts (for sticky buns.)
Raisins or other dried fruit, such as dried cranberries or dried cherries (for sticky buns, optional.)
*Instant yeast contains about 25% more living cells per spoonful than active dry yeast, regardless of the brand. Instant yeast is also called rapid-rise or fast-rising.
1. Cream together the sugar, salt, and shortening or butter on medium-high speed in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a large metal spoon and mixing bowl and do it by hand); if you are using powdered milk, cream the milk with the sugar, and add the water with the flour and yeast. Whip in the egg and lemon extract/zest until smooth. Then add the flour, yeast, and milk. Mix on low speed (or stir by hand) until the dough forms a ball. Switch to the dough hook and increase the speed to medium, mixing for approximately 10 minutes (or knead by hand for 12 to 15 minutes), or until the dough is silky and supple, tacky but not sticky. You may have to add a little flour or water while mixing to achieve this texture. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
2. Ferment at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.
3. Mist the counter with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin, lightly dusting the top with flour to keep it from sticking to the pin. Roll it into a rectangle about 2/3 inch thick and 14 inches wide by 12 inches long for larger buns, or 18 inches wide by 9 inches long for smaller buns. Don´t roll out the dough too thin, or the finished buns will be tough and chewy rather than soft and plump. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the surface of the dough and roll the dough up into a cigar-shaped log, creating a cinnamon-sugar spiral as you roll. With the seam side down, cut the dough into 8 to 12 pieces each about 1 3/4 inches thick for larger buns, or 12 to 16 pieces each 1 1/4 inch thick for smaller buns.
4. For cinnamon buns, line 1 or more sheet pans with baking parchment. Place the buns approximately 1/2 inch apart so that they aren´t touching but are close to one another.
For sticky buns, coat the bottom of 1 or more baking dishes or baking pans with sides at least 1 1/2 inches high with a 1/4 inch layer of the caramel glaze. Sprinkle on the nuts and raisins (if you are using raisins or dried fruit.) You do not need a lot of nuts and raisins, only a sprinkling. Lay the pieces of dough on top of the caramel glaze, spacing them about 1/2 inch apart. Mist the dough with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap or a food-grade plastic bag.
5. Proof at room temperature for 75 to 90 minutes, or until the pieces have grown into one another and have nearly doubled in size. You may also retard the shaped buns in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, pulling the pans out of the refrigerator 3 to 4 hours before baking to allow the dough to proof.
6. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with the oven rack in the middle shelf for cinnamon buns but on the lowest shelf for sticky buns.
7. Bake the cinnamon buns for 20 to 30 minutes or the sticky buns 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown. If you are baking sticky buns, remember that they are really upside down (regular cinnamon buns are baked right side up), so the heat has to penetrate through the pan and into the glaze to caramelize it. The tops will become the bottoms, so they may appear dark and done, but the real key is whether the underside is fully baked. It takes practice to know just when to pull the buns out of the oven.
8. For cinnamon buns, cool the buns in the pan for about 10 minutes and then streak white fondant glaze across the tops, while the buns are warm but not too hot. Remove the buns from the pans and place them on a cooling rack. Wait for at least 20 minutes before serving. For the sticky buns, cool the buns in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes and then remove them by flipping them over into another pan. Carefully scoop any run-off glaze back over the buns with a spatula. Wait at least 20 minutes before serving.
White fondant glaze for cinnamon buns
Cinnamon buns are usually topped with a thick white glaze called fondant. There are many ways to make fondant glaze, but here is a delicious and simple version, enlivened by the addition of citrus flavor, either lemon or orange. You can also substitute vanilla extract or rum extract, or simply make the glaze without any flavorings.
Sift 4 cups of powdered sugar into a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of lemon or orange extract and 6 tablespoons to 1/2 cup of warm milk, briskly whisking until all the sugar is dissolved. Add the milk slowly and only as much as is needed to make a thick, smooth paste.
When the buns have cooled but are still warm, streak the glaze over them by dipping the tines of a fork or a whisk into the glaze and waving the fork or whisk over the tops. Or, form the streaks by dipping your fingers in the glaze and letting it drip off as you wave them over the tops of the buns. (Remember to wear latex gloves.)
Caramel glaze for sticky buns
Caramel glaze is essentially some combination of sugar and fat, cooked until it caramelizes. The trick is catching it just when the sugar melts and lightly caramelizes to a golden amber. Then it will cool to a soft, creamy caramel. If you wait too long and the glaze turns dark brown, it will cool to a hard, crack-your-teeth consistency. Most sticky bun glazes contain other ingredients to influence flavor and texture, such as corn syrup to keep the sugar from crystallizing and flavor extracts or oils, such as vanilla or lemon. This version makes the best sticky bun glaze of any I´ve tried. It was developed by my wife, Susan, for Brother Juniper´s Cafe in Forestville, California.NOTE: you can substitute the corn syrup for any neutral flavor syrup, like cane syrup or gold syrup.
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature.
2. Cream together for 2 minutes on high speed with the paddle attachment. Add 1/2 cup corn syrup and 1 teaspoon lemon, orange or vanilla extract. Continue to cream for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
3. Use as much of this as you need to cover the bottom of the pan with a 1/4-inch layer. Refrigerate and save any excess for future use; it will keep for months in a sealed container.

I packed up my finished buns for a bake sale I had this month for a group of pinup models that I joined in June of this year. We're called Northwest Pinups 4 Troops (we're on myspace) and we raise money to put together care packages (calendars, letters, goodies, etc) to send overseas to our troops who can't be home at this time. Our goal is to remind our boys that there's still something worth fighting for. Here are a few shots of us at the bake sale (my buns were one of the first things we sold completely out of!)

That's me, Rosie Baker, sitting all prim and proper!

The lovely Miss Sara Beth.

I had so much fun with this challenge, I can't believe how wonderful they turned out, and it only took one try!! My fear of baking with yeast is slowly starting to fade with time and experience (thank goodness!). Thank you, Marce, for a wonderful challenge.

~Mehgan~

It's Royal Foodie Joust Time!

2007-09-22T21:01:00.001-07:00

Once again, I am participating in the Royal Foodie Joust at the Leftover Queen Forum! I won last month, so that means I got to choose this month's ingredients: white chocolate, lavendar and pears. Here's what I came up with:

Caramelized Pears with a White Chocolate and Lavender Filling:

Ingredients:
-3 or 4 pears, halved and cored
-1/4 to 1/2 cup white sugar
-4 oz (1/2 package) cream cheese
-3 or 4 oz white chocolate
-1/8 to 1/4 tsp crushed lavender

Instructions: In a medium saucepan, bring about a 2 cups of water to a simmer. In a glass or metal bowl over the simmering water, melt the white chocolate. Be sure to stir it constantly so as to not burn it. It's also a good idea to wear an oven mitt while holding the bowl so you don't burn your hand. Add the cream cheese and lavendar and mix well. Put the sugar on a plate and then press the inside half of each pear in the sugar, then place the pears face down on a pan over low heat. Pour whatever sugar you have left around the pears. Keep and eye on them and the sugar, because they can burn rather quickly. Once the pears are a light golden brown, transfer them to place and scoop the white chocolate filling onto the pears. Whatever caramel is left in the pan can be used to drizzle the pears with.

I made this for my husband, brother, brother in-law and his girlfriend tonight, and they loved it. They loved how simple the flavors were, and were surprised at how much they liked the flavor of the lavender. I liked that it was so different from the usual cake or ice cream desserts we tend to have when family is over. As my brother in-law said after his first bite, "Mmmm, this is pro." Gotta love those kinds of compliments.

Head on over the Leftover Queen Forum (link to the left, in the Foodie Blogroll) to check out the other fabulous entries from my fellow Foodie Blogrollers.

~Mehgan~

The Rise of the Pink KitchenAid...

2007-09-19T20:41:00.001-07:00

Greetings, my friends!! No, I haven't forgotten about you! September tends to be such a busy month for me. As you can see, there has been a gorgeous new addition to my kitchen: my new pink KitchenAid!! It is wonderful and lovely and so girly, I love it!! My hubby and brother got it for my birthday. Now, all I need is to come up with a name for her!!

As you can see, I am drawn to her beauty:

I just can't resist, you see!!

Anyways, enough of the KitchenAid porn, alright?

So, it's been pretty chilly-willy here in Seattle as of late, so I decided to make some warm, hearty chicken noodle soup for dinner tonight. I'm trying to stave off any potential cold/flu, since pretty much everyone I know is suffering from some form or another of the Creeping Crud. Here's my recipe for Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup:

Ingredients:

-1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

-1 medium onion, chopped

-3 to 4 stalks of celery, chopped

-1/3 lb baby carrots, chopped

-3 to 4 cloves of garlic, chopped

-2 cans of chicken broth

-1/2 bag of egg noodles

-water

-salt and pepper

Instructions: In a crock pot, place all ingredients, plus one can of water (or more if you want a lot of broth). Allow to heat for 1 hour, or until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken and using the two-fork method, separate the chicken breast into thin slices and replace into crock pot. Allow to cook for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 more hours, or until the veggies are tender. Add the noodles and cook for 30 minutes more. Serve with your favorite bread (the recipe for my favorite bread is listed below).

Soooo yummy, just look at those colors! That says Autumn to me right there! And you can see a tasty slice of my favorite bread is nestled with there next to the bowl. Here's the recipe for Amish White Bread (I got it from AllRecipes.com and halved it to make just one loaf, but you can use the full recipe to make two):

Ingredients:

-2 cups warm water (approx 110F)

-2/3 cup white sugar

-1 1/2 tbsp active dry yeast

-1 1/2 tsp salt

-1/4 cup vegetable oil

-6 cups of bread flour

Instructions: In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar into the warm water. Add the yeast and allow to proof until it gets creamy and frothy. Mix in the salt and oil, then add the flour one cup at a time (I used my handy-dandy KitchenAid to do the mixing for me!). Once well combined, knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl and turn it to coat. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise until doubled in size, about an hour. Punch dough down then knead for a few minutes. Divide the dough in half and shape into loaves. Place the dough into a well oiled loaf pan and allow to rise for 30 more minutes or until the dough has risen 1 inch above the pan's sides. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until the top turns a light golden brown.

I love love love this bread, it's so simple! I make it pretty much every time I make something in my crock pot, because it goes so well with everything: roast beef, beef stew, chicken noodle soup, etc. My husband and brother love it, as well, they say that it tastes like the bread they ate in the Renaissance, haha! And I like that there's always plenty leftover, too. When I make the full recipe, I usually make the second loaf into cinnamon bread for breakfast. I once even went so far as to use the cinnamon bread to make French toast one morning!

Thanks for bearing with me this crazy-insane month of September! I have a bake sale coming up on the 23rd, so be sure to stop by to see more KitchenAid fun!!

~Mehgan~