Bloggin' Holiday
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Taste of the World
This is a picture taken in May at my parents' house in Charleston. This is the French String Beans recipe from the Barefoot Contessa's Barefoot in Paris cookbook. I love this cookbook! We only had a yellow pepper on hand, so I just used one whole yellow pepper instead of 1/2 a red pepper. I've made it with the red bell pepper and either way, it's still a great, light dish perfect for a summer dinner after a day on the beach!
Before mixing the ingredients to make the dough |
Letting them dry under the fan |
I also made a Mexican Chocolate Snack Cake for a little party for Chris and his twin, Brad. We decided on a Mexican Fiesta theme, so for dinner Chris' sister-in-law made tacos and we all sipped on margaritas and Victoria beer. By the way, if you have not tried Victoria, it is my new favorite. Definitely worth checking out. This cake is rich, decadent, and spicy. I didn't have Mexican chocolate, so I added an extra 2 oz of baking chocolate and wound up doubling the cayenne pepper (1/2 tsp. instead of 1/4). I also melted a stick of SmartBalance 50/50 Buttery Spread and used this instead of vegetable oil. I like my cake to have a nice buttery flavor! Since one of Chris' brothers doesn't like nuts, only sprinkled them on top of half of the cake, then mixed up the rest of the ingredients for the streusel and poured them on top to bake.
This past Saturday morning I woke up and decided to make some banana muffins since I had a bunch of bananas that were about to go bad and wanted to enjoy them! Banana Nut Bread has always been a favorite of mine, so this was something I made and tasted along the way. I also added 1/2 cup of walnuts in mine and some extra spices. These are only 4 Weight Watchers PointsPlus a piece, and they are a great start to the day!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Snack Time!
I've decided to add a food segment to my blog, even though it seems every blog has them and there are countless websites to share recipes. Not to mention I've started a few myself and then always wind up deleting them. So since I am already talking about things I love on this blog, it only makes sense to me to add one more. Especially since I enjoy cooking and trying new types of food, and love talking about it too! Also I read a friend from high school's cooking blog recently and it inspired me to get back in the kitchen a little more.
So here's my first food post, today it's about a supermarket discovery I made. I love EarthFare, when I can afford it! Tuesday I was there at lunch time indulging in their goodies - smoked Gouda pasta and herbed pork! Came across their veggie hummus and thought it would make a great pre-workout snack. This hummus is not only a great bean dip, but it is also full of carrots, squash, and broccoli. I've been eating it with RW Garcia Classics Mixt Bag Blue & Yellow Tortillas. They are crunchy, delicious, and a Non-GMO Product (Genetically Modified Organism)! They are also Gluten Free for anyone out there watching that. I personally don't but still take note of it because so many people talk about it these days.
Also found recipes for smoked Gouda pasta and herbed pork. Definitely see more of that in my future, it was amazingly good... together or separate!
Mad Men's Revamped Credits
Truth be told, I kind of love this. It sounds like background music at a posh 1960's apartment party in New York (yes I'm thinking of a certain scene in "Breakfast at Tiffany's"). True, the images are obviously computer-generated, but whatever. I will, however, seriously miss the current theme music. It's pretty fabulous.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Banana Republic's Mad Men Collection
LOVE this collection! Love the show too for that matter. The necklines, the tailored looked, the simple sophistication. The silhouettes are fantastic and work well on any figure type. There is also a men's collection and it's pretty fabulous too.