Sometimes a girl needs steak...

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...

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

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

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...

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!!

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

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?

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!!

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

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

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

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!

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...

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!

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...

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...

... 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~