PinTest # 30: Zucchini Pizza Boats

I have committed to eating as little carbs, dairy and sugar as possible. It's a challenge, I don't especially like it but it's good for me and I'm going with it. This means a pretty much wholesale change in eating habits, even though I eat a lot of healthy foods already. But saying goodbye to bread, crackers and sweets is a toughy for me. So I'm collecting recipes and looking for new meal ideas. That brings me to Pin Test #30: Zucchini Pizza Boats.

via delish.com

I have been thinking about trying these for a while because I am a pizza fan and the crust is the killer. I realize I mentioned earlier that I'm limiting dairy and these obviously have cheese on them. I'm allowing a little dairy here and there and if a little cheese is going to help make saying goodbye to carbs and sugar less miserable I'm okay with that.

Now I'm not one of those people who says modified recipes taste just like the real thing. I've never said tofu tastes just like chicken, I don't like rice milk or almond milk and no they don't taste just like or better than dairy. So swapping out zucchini for delicious crusty bread dough is a bit of a stretch for me.

I followed this recipe from Delish.com and then made the following additions. In with the sauteing zucchini bits, I added a 1/2 teaspoon of minced fresh garlic, 1/8 tsp. of New Mexico green chili from a jar, 1/4 cup minced onion, a very small dash of red pepper flakes and a few shakes of Italian Seasoning. This really punched up the sauce I think and even gave it a tiny kick.

Oh! Forgot one thing. I didn't have any pepperoni in the house so I used finely diced cooked bacon and some left over  seasoned ground beef I had used for tacos earlier in the week. I definitely think pepperoni would be tasty on these and give it a lot of flavor -- but the bacon and seasoned ground beef worked great too. Mushrooms and green peppers would be a great addition too. One other note, I initially wished I had cut my zucchini up a little smaller but it cooks down very softly anyway. But if you're trying to hide it from your family, cutting it up in finely diced pieces would work. It will be hard to find when you get down below the cheese.

After we had everything assembled I added some fresh sliced garlic, freshly ground black pepper and another quick shake of Italian Seasoning on top. Then there's one other thing I did differently, I baked these at 350 for 15 minutes and they were cooked but we like our pizza a little crusty on top so I bumped up the temp to 400 for a few minutes and got the cheese a little browned and the tops a little bit crusty. A family preference thing.

To go along with these I cooked up some Trader Joe's breaded chicken breasts, which are super easy to heat in a pan with a little olive oil - and they take about the same time as it took to cook the boats so you can throw them in a pan after you put the boats in the oven. I didn't realize it at the time but together they make a Chicken Parmesan style dinner - and they taste great together. Now I bet you're wondering if this pizza replacement is going to get a thumbs up or a thumbs down from me and the family.

I am even a little bit surprised to say this, but I give Zucchini Pizza Boats a big thumbs up. I loved it. Kiddo gave it an 8 out of 10. Then man gave it a 7.5. I thought it was delicious and ate it for dinner last night was already looking forward to having it for lunch today. The one thing about these is that they are better when first cooked. Putting it in the fridge over night made the zucchini a little soggy. It was more crisp and fresh tasting last night. Today it was much softer. But still delicious and today I didn't add anything to it, just heated it up and it was as delicious.

So  big thumbs up for Zucchini Pizza Boats. Will be making these again. It may turn out that I'll still make homemade pizza for the family and make the boats for me but we'll see how it goes. I think an occasional boat dinner will work for the family too.

*A good friend recommended this Thyme-infused chickpea, vegan, gluten-free pizza crust option. I can't wait to try it out but wanted to share it with you now. h

Pin Test #29: Beefy Tomato Soup

Welcome to Pin Test #29: Beefy Tomato Soup. This was a fun and easy soup recipe by Mantitlement. and I made quite a few small alterations that I don't think changed the content/context of the recipe very much but just added a little of my own cooking ideas to it.

via Mantitlement

I made the recipe as listed except for a few things. Here's what I did differently and why.

1) I used sour cream instead of cream cheese because I had sour cream I needed to finish off and didn't have cream cheese. Another tester at Pinterest said she just used whatever cheese she had in her fridge. I don't think the cheese matters much, other than to give it a bit creamier texture. A half cup of any kind of cheese isn't going to alter a large pot of soup all that much one way or another.

2) I added extra liquids along the way. Since testers said the pasta will soak up the liquid mostly and turn this more into a goulash if you're eating leftovers, I added a little extra chicken stock and water.

3) I tossed in a can of kidney beans. Needed to use them up, they seemed ideal for a hearty soup like this. I also included all the liquid in the can.

4) I added a can of Italian herbed diced tomatoes. More liquid.

5) Added a few extra spices along the way since I was adding so much extra liquid. Extra basil and oregano and a little thyme, I also added about a 1/4 teaspoon of Garlic Pepper Seasoning. This is a seasoning mix I made a few weeks ago with the recipe at the link.

6) I used rigatoni, again because I had it on hand and needed to use it up. I added at least two cups because it seemed like I could with all the extra liquid I added, but in the end after it had cooled off it did look more like golash than soup but tasty all the same. You can rehydrate it with a little stock, tomato juice or even a touch of water when you eat the leftovers - or just eat it as more of a pasta dish than soup.

Next time I am going to add a cut up carrot and probably a zucchini if I have one on hand. With all my alterations it's becoming more of a Minestrone but simple or with additions it's tasty just the same.

This soup turned out exactly as I expected it would and was quite tasty. I made it on Saturday April 29th and the family ate it right up and it went well with the hot homemade rolls while we watched it snow outside and joked about singing some Christmas carols and what a fine December we were having. Would gladly recommend this recipe! Let me know if you try it.

Pin Test #28: Yummy Healthy Easy's 30 Minute Homemade Dinner Rolls

This Pin Test is one of the comedy of errors versions of Pin Tests. I tested Yummy Healthy Easy's 30 Minute Homemade Dinner Rolls. I had a few mishaps along the way. But in the end, hot homemade rolls are hot homemade rolls, right? I tried this recipe along with a nice Beefy Tomato Soup (Pin Test #29) that I will share with you soon. It was the perfect meal for a cold, snowy, late April Saturday.

I tried my best. I'll do better next time.

I think I've mentioned a few times that my breadmaking life has been tarnished by reports when I was growing up about how hard it is to work with yeast. I don't really even know where I was hearing this but it wasn't from my own family, I know that. For some reason I've just had a complex about baking with yeast.

I shouldn't have listened because it's really not that hard. But because of all the negative comments I have been avoiding using yeast pretty much my entire life. Which is a little crazy considering my mother is an avid homemade bread maker. This all started after I'd left home mostly, so I really missed out on the tutoring I could've gotten from her had I still been living at home.

But it's never to late to start baking with yeast and I've done it a few times over the past couple of months and things have gone well. I think my bigger challenges come in shaping and managing the dough once it's all mixed together. (see appearance of my rolls above)

Saturday when I made these rolls, it was a cold rainy/snowy day and it was chilly in the house so I felt like I needed a decent amount of additional warmth for raising the dough. I kept it on the stovetop near my pot of soup, thinking it might get a little warmth from there - it wasn't much but it helped.

My first misstep was that while the yeast was dissolving with the warm water and sugar I accidentally banged the bowl and sent it sliding across the counter a bit. I think that broke up my yeast a bit because it lost that smooth, expanding texture it gets when it's left alone. I let it sit for a while longer and finally just decided to go forward with the dough. It did rise a bit more but never looked as big, round and fluffy as it has usually.

Once I got the dough combined - and I used the dough hook on my KitchenAid mixer for the first time - it didn't really get the consistency I hoped for. Maybe I should have kneaded it more but I was afraid to damage the yeast anymore at this point.

Then I neglected to follow the recipe. It says to immediately divide the dough into rolls, put them in the pan and let them rise again for 15-20 minutes. But I missed that and left it in the bowl with a warm towel on top just hoping it would rise. It did, but still didn't look all that great. Realizing now that I had not divided the dough immediately as I should have, I did that and put the rolls in the greased  pan and let them rise for another 20 minutes. There was life to the dough, so even though they didn't look as good at I had hoped I could tell at this point that they would cook up pretty well. Might not be light and flaky but would definitely be edible for dinner.

I need to work on my roll forming skills. The sizes weren't uniform and I struggled to get a pretty texture across the top. I have watched my mom, aunts and other relatives work simple looking magic to make beautiful rolls. Clearly I need more practice. I should also ask my mom for her roll recipe some time.

So I baked them for about 18 minutes until they were golden brown on top. Then I brushed them with butter while they were still hot. We served them warm and enjoyed them with butter, jams and honey at the table. I take it totally as my own responsibility as to how they turned out texture-wise. They were a little heavy in texture a little bit biscuit-like, but flaky and tasty anyway. They could have been lighter and prettier but we ate them all the same and quite enjoyed them. Next time I'll do things a little better but this was a great first try and a very quick and easy recipe.

Banana Bread Baking Success

The Man loves a good slice of banana bread. The Man also buys a lot of bananas and invariably there are one or two that get too brown before they get eaten. We finally got smart about peeling them and throwing them in a bag in the freezer. So now we always have a pretty good stash of very ripe bananas to use to make banana bread.

The Man likes his banana bread with banana flavored frosting which I find somewhat reprehensible, lol. But I oblige any time we can keep banana flavoring in the house. Banana flavoring grosses me out because it's artificial and it's just gross. Ha. It can be a little hard to find....darn - not darn. I don't frost the loaf, I just make a little container and he can frost by the slice.

So I thought I would share our Go To recipe for Flour's Famous Banana Bread. Since it's not a recipe I created I don't want to reprint it here but I'm linking you above to the original post on the Food Network website. As you can see when you go over to the recipe it had a good strong 5-star rating from a few hundred people. I definitely give it a thumbs up.

Here are a few of things that I think have helped me make this our favorite recipe.

1) Per the recipe, cutting parchment paper to line the bottom of the bread pan is a life changer. It makes it so easy to get out of the pan. This is a very moist loaf so getting it out of the pan without it coming apart is a challenge without the parchment paper. Once I let it cool for a while, I just slide a knife around the edges of the loaf and then turn it upside down to remove the loaf. This keeps the loaf looking so beautiful and if you want to give a loaf away, a pretty loaf is a must for one's self esteem, right? This seriously makes a difference and makes washing up the pans afterwards a breeze.

2) Historically, in my experience, Banana Bread gets dark brown on top quickly but the center takes forever to cook through so there is always a battle between the top being too brown (or burned) and the inside still being runny. So the past couple of times I've made this recipe I've put a piece of tin foil over the tops of the loaves for the last 15 minutes or so of baking. I just cut it to size and lightly bend it so it covers the top. I don't really even press it down over the pan, just lay it on top and curve the sides down a little bit to fit the curve of the loaf top. This has been a game changer too. Perfectly baked loaves with solid centers and the tops are perfectly browned without any edges getting too crispy, dark or shriveled from overcooking. Loved figuring out this simple trick.

3) I usually double this recipe and end up with three loaves. I make it in my KitchenAid Professional mixer and the bowl is as full as you'd want it to get once I get all the ingredients in there. Hopefully that gives you some idea about how much this recipe makes and how to handle making more loaves at one time. The bread freezes well in an airtight freezer bag...but I have to say we don't ever had it last more than two weeks or so. So it's not like I ever have loaves in the freezer for any extended amount of time. If The Man knows there's Banana Bread in the house, he pretty much can't ignore that fact until it's gone.

4) Oh, one last thing. I don't use oil. I just melt a stick of butter in the microwave for this recipe. I don't use vegetable oil much anymore. I just use butter in all my baking. Long story short.

If you try out this recipe I'd love to hear how it goes. Do you have any hot tips on Banana Bread baking you want to share? I'd love to hear how you like your Banana Bread!

Pin Test #27: Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Sheet Cake

Well this is almost a silly Pin Test because when, ever, has The Pioneer Woman shared a recipe that people didn't love. How can you go wrong with a chocolate sheet cake, especially when she calls it "Best Ever". Let's just say I made it and it got devoured.

The one thing that is a little nuts about this recipe, har-har, is that there are 3 3/4 cubes of butter between the cake recipe and the frosting, so it's definitely not fat-free. Ha. Zoinks! I think if you make this cake you want to have a crowd on hand because it's a big cake to have sitting in your kitchen calling you to have one more little sliver of a slice....all...day...long.

The recipe was easy to follow and you can whip up the frosting while the cake bakes. Because it's a sheet cake it bakes up in less than 20 minutes. It is moist and delicious and stays moist even after a day or two on the kitchen counter. The frosting is easy to make and you just pour it over the top and maybe guide it a little bit with a spatula to get the entire cake covered. But if you pour it around the top of the cake it will flow across the top of the warm cake and spread pretty well on it's own.

Once the cake was done and we'd tasted it a few hours later, I immediately put together a plate to take to the neighbors because it was just too dangerous to have that entire cake sitting in our house. I will say this is a good cake if you want to have something on hand for desserts for a few days. As I mentioned it stays moist. You probably want to only lightly cover it with some foil because otherwise the frosting will get stuck to whatever you cover it with. I wouldn't use plastic wrap. But a piece of foil big enough to wrap over the edges of the pan while leaving some space between it and the top of the cake worked well for us.

This cake reminded me of a sheet cake recipe my mom has that incorporates marshmallows across the top of the cake before you pour the warm, cooked frosting on. I asked her for her recipe not long after I made this cake so we could do a taste comparison.

I will definitely make this recipe again and I think it would be perfect for a dinner party or potluck. It will serve a lot of people. A scoop of ice cream is a great addition too, either while the cake is still warm...or any time...it's going to be delicious. The Pioneer Woman's Best Ever Chocolate Sheet Cake Recipe is a winner for sure. Here's the link to this "Thumbs Up" recipe.

*A quick update to this recipe. The first time I made it I baked it for 18 minutes because our oven seems to bake a little hot. The cake turned out super moist almost to the point that I thought it may have been a tad undercooked. Now having made it again I think 18 minutes was the right way to go and it did make for a delicious, moist cake. It was perfect I just didn't know it.

I made this recipe again last weekend and baked it for 20 minutes. It did not turn out as well as it did the first time. I recognize now that when I cooked it longer it was drier, the texture was not as smooth, and the cake slices stuck to the pan and seemed to split in half horizontally. It didn't taste as good either. I don't think I did anything else to make the cake differently, so I think I would definitely only cook it for the 18 minutes in my oven in the future. You may want to experiment and see what works best for you but from experience now I would say that overbaking even by a couple of little minutes is not a good way to go.

Here are a some other Pin Test recipes you might like. Have a great day!
Olive Garden Style Minestrone
Rosemary Lemon Crockpot Chicken
No-bake Peanut Butter Bars

The Bug's Patio Birthday Party

Yesterday was The Bug's birthday and the weather was so nice that in the late afternoon I decided to have part of our family celebrations outside and invite our dear neighbors over for presents, cake and ice cream. Children's birthdays always feel a little bit overwhelming as parents, covering all the necessary details even if it's just a family party. There are the gifts, a meal, decorations, cards, wrapping presents, and so many little details that start to feel a little overwhelming. It's amazing how exhausted you can feel at the end of a child's birthday. I almost feel like a big birthday last year was about the same amount of work as a family party...maybe less since we ordered pizza in for 15 girls!

Around four o'clock, as I was coming home from grabbing a few last minute groceries and a beautiful cake, I thought it would be more fun if we invited the neighbors, so I sent kiddo over to invite them. Then I started thinking about how nice it would be if we did all that outside. So I started zipping around the house looking for furniture we could take outside to use on the front patio.

I was rummaging around the house and then headed out to the garage where I found a nice fold-up rectangle table I forgot we had. Grabbed that, a bunch of chairs from the dining room table since we were using our more formal dining table seating area for dinner. Then I found a pretty tablecloth that I actually bought for a different purpose all together and threw that over the table. Started grabbing candles, flowers, cake candles, matches and took that and all the presents outside. I found a few little flower garlands to hang out there in my stash from last year's party.

This also gave me a chance to use one of my purchases from last summer, a covered tray to protect food outside. I gathered all the plates, cups, napkins, cutlery, ice cream scoop, cake knife and server there and took that all out to our table and we were ready for a starlight birthday celebration.

Then it was back inside to make dinner. The Bug requested steak, so we did steaks with marinated mushrooms and grilled onions. Earlier in the day I threw some baking potatoes into the slow cooker and I was so glad that got done early, took absolutely no time and didn't require turning on the oven for over an hour. Then I made Crack Broccoli which we are still eating almost weekly. We're on a big push for more leafy greens and so this is a great addition to our regular menu of kale/spinach smoothies and spinach salad.

Dinner was relaxing and delicious and by the time we got done eating we had about 15 minutes before our neighbors would arrive. We gathered the cake and ice cream, went out and turned on the lights and lit candles. It was fully dark by 7:45 when we saw our friends coming through the trees from their yard across the driveway with a flashlight. So fun. Our neighbor Cathy said the patio looked so romantic, which her husband thought sounded odd, but I know just what she meant and was so glad to know that we'd achieved "magical" and "inviting" with the scene.

We opened presents first. Our neighbors were so sweet to bring her a little ornament from their travels. A woodcut with a bear and fish. Her dad and I gave her some piano books, a book on drawing animals - which is a great talent of hers - and then she opened a few bike accessories which was the beginning of a little trick we played on her.

We told her that since she'd been enjoying riding her bike a lot the past few weeks that we thought she would enjoy a few bike accessories. That included a water bottle & cage for it, bike headlight, taillight and lights for spokes, etc. When she had opened them all, her dad said he thought he might have forgotten one of the accessories and he disappeared to go get it. She was fully engrossed in looking at her new books and was not paying attention to where her dad went or what he was doing.

When he walked up next to her chair with a shiny new bike, she still wasn't looking up. As her dad was walking up to her the neighbors were "Oooh"-ing and she looked up and her jaw dropped. She was speechless. She jumped up and threw her arms around her dad and kept saying thank you. She said thank you didn't seem like enough to really say what she felt. It was a little too dark for an initial ride and we need to adjust the handlebars and seat for her but she walked it around, inspected it, threw her leg over and and got a feel for it for a few minutes.

Her old bike was a little too small for her and we've known for a while that she needed a new bike. She was also very tired of pink bikes, three in a row and had made it very clear that she wanted a
mountain bike that didn't have girl colors. So she got the very boyish Gauntlet bike in camo and orange - and loved it. No more girly bikes with tassles around here!

We capped the night off with a beautiful cake from Whole Foods. I was going to make a cake and was looking forward to trying out the "make a box cake taste like homemade" and "make a box cake taste like a bakery cake" tips from Pinterest, but when The Man suggested I just go to Whole Foods and get a cake I thought that sounded pretty good. Once I got there though it was hard to choose. I love their Chantilly Cake and it is a perfect spring/summer cake with white cake and berries inside and out. But that  is my favorite cake and so associated with my birthday now that I thought I wanted to do something else for The Bug.

Chocolate cakes sounded so heavy, carrot cake sounded wintery. So I settled on a cake we hadn't tried before Strawberry Boston Cream Pie Cake. I knew it was flavors that everyone in our family would enjoy and it felt spring-like and not too rich, dense or heavy. When I told everyone at the table what kind of cake it was everyone reacted with oohs and ahhs so I was glad it seemed like the right choice for all five of us. It was delicious and light and creamy, just as I hoped and it paired so well with french vanilla ice cream too. Even after it was served and eaten The Man had another piece and then cut off another small corner and Kiddo was picking at it. We'll definitely enjoy the rest over the next couple of days.

I am so glad we took a few minutes to throw together something a little extra special to enjoy our front patio, which we've never done, and party under the dark, beautiful, star-filled New Mexico skies. It turned out to be a delightful evening and a good reminder that spur of the moment ideas when implemented can make a night one to remember.

Climate, Altitude And Baking

Moving from humid sea level to the desert at 6,200+ in elevation is a pretty big change for the the body. Your hair, skin, lung capacity and pretty much every other function are affected by it. It's a serious change in how you bathe, wash your hair, treat your skin...your entire appearance. It also seems to have an effect on baking recipes. Every time I have made cookies since we moved the dough is always too dry. So I'm having to do some investigation to figure out how to solve that.

Other challenges include learning the best way to use our stoves. We have a double wall oven and I'll tell ya, it was a delight to be able to crank them both up, put in four pans of cookies and be done baking within 20 minutes rather than putting in pan after pan to bake. I don't know what is more energy wasteful/efficient, to turn them both on for a few minutes or have one on for twice as long. Something to ask some energy efficiency specialist about...or google it. Ha.

I don't like the idea of adding more fats or eggs to the recipes to combat this dryness issue. It makes sense that the flour and all the other ingredients are not going to have as much moisture in them when things are SO dry here. Adding an egg is a challenge, because you probably don't need an entire whole egg and you can't put in half an egg really. Adding more butter doesn't excite me either because it seems like the cookies will just end up flatter and more greasy looking. I guess I could go with applesauce or something along those lines. Maybe what I need to do is just add less flour. Anyone have any suggestions or ideas?

I realized yesterday that for some reason, on some stressful or busy days I just have to bake for a little while. I don't know why and I haven't noticed it when living in other homes. But here, I somehow get stress relief/zen calming from pulling out the KitchenAid mixer and throwing ingredients together and into the oven.

Yesterday I was busy and getting a lot done but had a lot more I needed to get done and in the middle of the afternoon I just stopped everything and whipped up some Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies. I didn't even feel like eating one. A little weird. Happily it all came together pretty fast with the help of the mixer, four cookie sheets and the double ovens. I better not tell my family how this works or they'll be causing me stress just to get me to make more treats. Haha.

I've been making a lot of traction with home organization and some business projects the past couple of weekends and I feel like the progress is energizing me towards more progress. With the long move, my broken foot and The Man's health challenges it feels like we have fallen so far behind in getting settled again. It's been two years since I first left L.A. and it still doesn't feel like our home is settled here.

Our life outside of the house is quite settled but not inside the house. I should take some comfort that so many friends say they have boxes they haven't unpacked since they moved several years ago or that they have moved and still have rooms that aren't set up and ready to do. I had a roommate who was literally set up the day after she moved in to an apartment we shared, even with art all over her walls and everything in its place and I am still shocked and in awe about that. Obviously this house isn't a dorm room with one wall and a twin bed or a small apartment to decorate but still, she amazed me and I wonder how fast she can pull a house together?!

While it snowed on Sunday, although it didn't stick to the ground, I am happy to report we've been wind free for the most part the past two days. It was windy for a while in the middle of the night, the house was rocking and there was a lot of noise for a while but it didn't last and today is calm. That is a happy thing! I was talking to a doctor on Friday and she was saying how much she hates the wind too and that it's even worse when you get out into the smaller towns and open roads from here in the big city. I don't even want to think about that. I'm grateful the winds have been pretty calm this week. (Falling on my knees with my hands in the position of thankful praising).

I'm hoping to make more progress on my office organization this week around the edges of all the other work and responsibilities. I've made huge strides and I need to pull it all together the rest of the way so it can be highly productive work space. Yesterday while I was working at my desk the dog and Kiddo were in here. I turned around to see she was in the process of emptying out an entire cupboard shelf so that she could hide inside it. She was playing hide and seek with the dog. No messing with my office organization please.

The areas I already organized seem to be functioning well and staying tidy which makes me ever so happy. There is little that makes me happier than tidy storage spaces that stay tidy! (Twirling around in a circle like a glee-filled six year old.)

One of my biggest challenges is papers that need to be filed. I still haven't quite figured out the best way for us to keep track of that stuff in this house. Should we have one giant filing cabinet in The Man's office? Should I have a mini-file in my office? Should I fit it in a drawer or just buy a rollable 2-drawer system. Can't figure out what's going to make me happy on that note. Maybe because it just feels impossible for paper filing and the word happy to ever peacefully co-exist?! The thing we seem to have the most of right now are insurance paperwork and bills. So much fun to deal with in every way. Diving into paperwork organization is definitely a big part of this week.

My next endeavor for the office is figuring out how to make it feels like my space. I have a few pretty things on the window ledges but I basically only have the far wall that could support any art or decor. Every other wall is covered with a washer, dryer, second fridge/freezer and a lot of oak cabinetry. Thankfully I have two beautiful windows overlooking the yard. But so far I'm just not seeing how this space is going to get pretty and excite and inspire me.

Even if I painted the cabinetry (ugh) and got new countertops in here I'm not really sure that it would do much good. I really need to get inspired about this space clearly! The spacing is odd, the room is small and when I'm sitting at my desk everything is behind me so the only spaces that are really visible are the windows which I would like to keep as clear as possible. Time to do some more brainstorming. I think this might be one of those situation where I have to bring in a friend for some advice. A fresh set of eyes might be just the thing. It's sad that you can get so sort of jaded in your own house that you cease to be able to have the vision you might have for other spaces.

I find that looking at design books and magazines often gives me ideas that I could implement in our home. I should go back and look at all the design books I got for Christmas. I am sure things there would inspire me. I have quite a few other design books that it might be time to go look at again for a fresh perspective on what often feels a like a stale environment because I am here every day. Fresh inspiration, come to Mama!

The Windy Season & Baking Cupcakes

Last week the first blossoms of Spring appeared in our front yard, a small Forsythia bush suddenly had flowers on it. Our bush in the backyard is still totally twiggy which is a strange comparison. I know for sure Spring has arrived in New Mexico when the wind starts to blow. It doesn't just blow, it's more like a howl and it will blow for weeks and weeks. Last year the spring winds were still blowing strong well into June if I remember right.

We have a lot of trees around our property and that factor just ups the wind noise and sense of disorder and unrest it brings as you watch the trees rock and roll and rock and roll out the windows. Every room in our house is at least 2 walls of windows so there's no getting away from the visuals of the wind either. This wind business is very high on my very short list of things I don't like about living on a wide open plain.

Not only does the wind blow but it also brings with it a lot of dust and even worse pollen. Yesterday I jumped out of my chair when I saw what I thought was smoke billowing across the backside of our house. When I called out to The Man, while at the same time noticing that the cloud was dissipating, he said it was probably pollen. Both our cars were covered in it this morning. Had to wash down my windshield before I could leave the house today. My nose had been running all day which means it's time to start thinking about daily allergy medicine for the next few months. I never needed allergy meds in California, so to have to start taking it again here bugs me.

The wind blows all day and it blows all night. Nights are tough because you're trying to sleep and the house is rocking and the trees are flailing and the noise is loud. I've mentioned that our master is a lot of glass walls which is usually a wonderful, wooded scene to look out on, but with the wind, it feels a little scary, wild and unruly...not the best environment for falling asleep peacefully or staying asleep.

I'm not sure I know anyone who likes wind. I have a few family members who really dislike the disruptive feeling of constant wind. There is something about it that is very disturbing to the soul, both the sound and the feeling of it. I can feel it seeping in one of the windows into my office right now. I don't like how it feels cutting through my clothes either. Today is it a very cold wind with full sun, but it just feels cold.

It's a little depressing to think that we're in day two of the windy season it seems and it could go for several more months. It won't be every day but it will be a lot of days and nights. There will be a lot of wind warnings and checking weather apps to see how many miles per hour the current winds are blowing. I'm just now starting to try to wrap my head around that. I feel like this usually doesn't start happening until a little later in the year. Not sure how I feel about the early start and wondering how long it will last. Thankfully I think we have a couple of trips out of state coming in the next few weeks. We're going to need it.

It's time to figure out what I can do to get through this season. One thing will definitely be to make the most of the days and evenings when the wind isn't blowing. I am loving that the sun is going down later and later each week. Another thought is that I should plan out some activities I can do indoors, like bake cupcakes. I went to a class by a wonderful young woman I know here on cupcake decorating a few weeks ago. Now that I've have learned a few new techniques, I am interested in making better cupcakes and learning to make better frosting. One of the most eye-opening things she taught us was to use half shortening and half butter for butter cream frosting. It doesn't affect the taste but the frosting holds up a lot better and doesn't wilt or melt as easily.

I made cupcakes last night but just used a boxed cake mix and then I made the frosting and ended up not liking that recipe very much. With wimpy cupcakes and frosting I didn't like the taste of, I turned these all over to my family who like things a lot more chocolate-y than I do. If I made this frosting again I'd want to cut back by a quarter of a cup of cocoa at least. But it was fun to play around for a bit trying new options. I want to get more serious about the quality and density of the cupcakes. I need to start researching recipes.

I really appreciate about everything I've learned about cooking and baking the past two or three years because I can better analyze and sometimes alter recipes. Just typing that got me wondering how nad why I have learned so much quite recently in the cooking realm. I think it may just be a whole lot of experience and more courage to experiment. I feel much more comfortable with seasonings and spices and ingredient amounts than I ever did before. That's a nice feeling when you can personalize your recipe. So I guess I'm personalizing both my efforts to survive the windy season and my food creating right now in my life. Ha.

Next week a friend is hosting another cupcake class, so I am excited to go with all my questions ready to be asked and to take in a lot more information this time around. Should be fun and I think that I'll be able to jump in and have some fun new options in the cupcake department soon. Now would be a good time to pick up some of those beautiful cupcake papers I always see at Home Goods!

I hope you are managing well your way through the windy seasons that are happening in your life right now. I know we all have them of one kind of another. Spring flowers are also coming so there is always something to look forward to no matter which directions and at what velocity the winds come. I'm going to focus on some inside projects: baking, finishing up some creative projects and getting our home ready for summer. Sending you warmest wishes!

Revisit & Update: Bri's Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

This is an update to a recipe I've been using for years that I got from friends. We eat this Bri's Chicken Noodle Soup on a pretty regular basis through the fall, winter and spring. The Friday before the Super Bowl, I had to make a Crockpot size serving to take to the Kiddo's "Soup-er Bowl" party in her school class.

I wasn't sure exactly how much I needed to make but I overshot it and made enough to fill a Crockpot and then some. Needless to say this was one of 12 soups at the class, so there was lots to bring home. Then I still had about half a big pot of it at home as well. So we've had three or four meals of soup since last week and there is a big container in the freezer for sometime down the road.

I'll share a couple of quick additions I've made to the recipe since we moved to New Mexico. I add a heaping teaspoon of minced garlic (from a jar) and a half-teaspoon of New Mexico green chile (are you shocked?! ha.) in with the vegetables when I am sauteeing them in the first step of the recipe. I like getting the healthy benefits of garlic and chile and it adds a little depth of flavor too.

I often use canned white meat chicken in a pinch since it saves me half an hour prepping chicken breasts. I just break it up a little big with a fork in the can before I toss it in. I like Costco's Kirtland canned white meat chicken or I often use Swanson White Premium Chunk Chicken Breast in the 12.5 oz can. I usually use two cans for a full batch of soup, one can if I half the recipe. I do often half this recipe because we often can't eat all the leftovers in time. Just a cost-saving hint on buying Swanson chicken. It runs about $4.75/can in most grocery stores but at WalMart it's only $2.75 a can. Huge savings, so I stock up when I'm get to a WalMart store every couple of months.

 I also play around a bit with the amount of chicken stock/broth I use because my family likes a lot of liquid in their soup. With a salad, grilled cheese, hot bread or cheese and crackers, this soup really hits the spot every time.

Get the recipe here: Bri's Chicken Noodle Soup. Hope you try it and enjoy it!

Fill Your Hamburgers With Flavor

 I have been experimenting with making hamburgers a lot since we moved to New Mexico. With a very unique flavor palate all it's own, New Mexico is an inspiring place to really jump into trying new spices and punching up the flavor of your meals.

We've been eating a lot of homemade hamburgers lately and I find they are the perfect companion to a big plate of sliced fresh fruits and vegetables...and we often add some chips and salsa or good old Lay's Potato Chips along as well. With all the add ins, you might think my burgers are hot spicy but they aren't. They just taste like regular old juicy hamburger. But the added spices give is a richer, more delicious flavor. Here's a printable recipe version.

To make 4 big hamburgers I usually start with about two-and-a-half pounds of ground beef. I use 80/20 lean ground beef. Then I start adding things. Here's my list.

KK's Tasty Burgers

2.5 lbs ground beef
1/2 minced fresh medium size onion
1 heaping teaspoon minced garlic or 4 cloves minced
(I use the minced garlic I buy in a jar at the grocery store).
1 tsp. New Mexico green chile (roasted, from a jar)
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Large pinch of red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
 Optional: A few shakes of Lowry's Seasoning Salt and/or garlic salt

I mix this all together, then form my patties and layer them between freezer paper or parchment paper until I am ready to serve them. I make them really big (6" diameter) and they tend to shrink down quite a bit and fit a bun perfectly by the time they are cooked. I fry them in a pan with the lid partially covered so they stay moist but get nicely browned at a higher heat.

To top them off once they are cooked, we toast the buns on a stovetop griddle quickly and then here's what we add:

1 slice Provolone cheese
1 slice Monterey Jack cheese or Cheddar
*add cheeses the last couple of minutes of cook time for a perfect melt
1 slice onion
Tomato slices
Crisped butter lettuce
Generously salt and pepper to taste (sometimes we use garlic salt which is delicious!)

For our fruit plate here's what I usually throw on the sweet little rectangle tray I regularly use:

Sliced Honeycrisp apple (get an apple slicer that does it for you. Makes my life so much easier!)
Sliced pears (usually Bosc and Barlett)
Red grapes
Sliced oranges
Sliced European cucumber (sometimes I put these on my burger like pickles)
Carrot sticks
Celery sticks

It makes for a nice mix of nutrients and colors, crisp and sweet to go along with the burgers. I find it's a good way to sneak in fresh foods along with the burgers. We are trying to eat the rainbow every day and I like to count and see how many fruits and vegetables I can get in their mouths each day without having to beg. Pairing them with burgers and hot sandwiches has been very successful!

So that's the scoop on our the big, tasty burgers we're enjoying at our house frequently.

image: kalanicut

Pin Test #25: Mongolian Beef Ramen

It's way past time for another Pin Test. This is where I choose a pin from Pinterest,and try it out and share my experience. Sometimes I give it a straight thumbs up and sometimes it doesn't go so well. But most of the time Pin Tests are successful. This one was a bit of a challenge because I think it's a fantastic recipe but I ran into challenges with a family who doesn't like sweet sauces on meat. It was a risk and I knew it from the outset.

Original Pin: Mongolian Beef Barbecue by Jo Cooks.

I liked this recipe a lot. But I think there were a couple of things I did that didn't make is as good as it could have been. Rookie mistakes, totally my fault.

First challenge I had was that my grocery store was out of flank steak. So I asked what might also work and they suggested skirt steak. My family is very picky about meat, they have filet mignon tastes -- so skirt steak was toooo chewy for them, even after I tenderized it. That immediately put them on the defensive about this dish. Next time, if I make this again, I'm just going to get some really good steak and use that. I also needed to slice the meat much thinner. Lessons learned.

Second, I used brown rice and millet ramen noodles. This type of noodle seems quite a bit softer than wheat noodles, as you would expect. So they got a little soggier in the sauce than would've been ideal. But we bought this big bag of noodles at Costco, so I need to use them up. I think I overcooked these and the next thing I will mention will probably help make them better for the future.

Third, I think I didn't let the sauce thicken up enough or else I should've drained some off. It was a little too soupy/saucy/soggy for my family. But again they don't really like sweet sauces on meat dishes, and I knew that in advance. So I'm not sure I'll ever know if it was too much sauce or they just don't like sweet sauce on stuff.

I will say that I liked this dish quite a bit more than my family did, notwithstanding some of the improvements I would make doing this a second time. I think the recipe is good, just that my execution was inexperienced and my family was a little picky about it. Probably won't make it again just because it's not a flavor set that my family likes. But I would wholeheartedly recommend it to others. If you like Mongolian Beef Ramen I think you will really like this dish.

My Recipe & Tips For Killer Good Pancakes

We have become real connoisseurs of well-made pancakes at our house over the years. Sadly my husband hates going out to breakfast anymore because he only like the pancakes we have at our house, along with the real butter and maple syrup. Sadly you don't get real butter or syrup at a lot of places. Over the years I've learned some interesting things about making the best pancakes and I thought I would share them today.

When we lived in California we used to have friends over for pancakes frequently and it became our go-to meal for having friends over on weekends for dinner, brunch or breakfast. So I got a lot of practice making pancakes and we came up with some systems to make big batches with multiple griddles, etc.

Quick Tips

• I mix all my wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately first. Then I incorporate the dry ingredients into the eggs, milk and melted butter.

• Rather than use half a carton of milk making pancakes I add 1/2 c. water and decrease milk by half a cup. It saves a little and doesn't change the recipe at all.

• I use melted butter instead of oil.

• I let my griddle heat up on low for a few minutes before I start cooking. Then I turn it up slightly. But haven't a good hot griddle pan gives you good pancakes right from the start.

• Here's my biggest tip: Make your batter the night before. Most of us wake up Saturday or Sunday morning and whip up a batch of pancakes and then cook them up and devour them. Instead make your batter the night before and store it in an air tight container. I like to keep mine in mason jars. You might need two jars to store the amount this recipe makes.
• This gives all the ingredients a chance to blend together really well. Then you don't taste the baking powder as much and the pancakes come out so much prettier, are more tender and fluffy and the flavor is so much better.
• Making it ahead also saves you cooking time. When I'm making our usual, favorite breakfast it often includes breakfast potatoes, eggs, bacon and pancakes. So if the pancakes are ready to pour, I only have three things to take care of.

• Butter the pancakes while they cooking on the second side. The Man really likes this.

• Heat up the syrup for 20-30 seconds in the microwave. Cold syrup is tragic. We pour ours into a tiny glass pitcher then head it up about a 1/2-1 cup at a time depending on how much we need.

• Try a variety of topping options. Instead of maple syrup we're also big fans of slice strawberries and whipped cream. Another option is lemon juice and powdered sugar. Yummy. My dad always loves peanut butter and chocolate chips with syrup. Gross. To each his own!

I originally wrote this recipe down for The Man because he really wanted to recipe and wanted all the instructions - he says he's going to make these one day. So envision this recipe is written for him and then all the additional instructions will make a little more sense. I thought it would be fun to keep them in there because they help explain my mindset when creating the recipe and trying to explain why I do things the way that I do in the recipe. Here's my recipe and along with a PRINTABLE RECIPE version.

Kalani’s Pancake Recipe

Start with two mixing bowls. You will mix dry ingredients in one, wet ingredients in the other and then combine them in the wet ingredients bowl. So you may want to put the wet ingredients in a slightly larger bowl. This is a double batch recipe and makes about 16 pancakes.

Dry Ingredients 
2 cups flour
1 ¾ tablespoon baking powder (same as 5 teaspoons)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Sift or whisk together lightly

Wet Ingredients
2 eggs 
beat until fluffy first before adding remaining ingredients

4 tablespoons melted butter
I microwave at 30% capacity for 2 minutes to melt it and still keep it relatively cool so it doesn’t cook the eggs when mixed together

1 ½ cups milk + ½ cup water
I just add water in with the milk so that I don’t use so much milk. Works fine.

Mix the wet ingredients together until smooth and then with a large wire whisk, stir the wet ingredients while slowly adding in the dry ingredients. Mix until smooth. You may need to add more water if the batter is too thick to easily pour.

Cook pancakes on a hot griddle. I like to warm up the griddle for a few minutes at a low temperature then turn it up just a bit.

Put any leftover batter into the fridge in an airtight container. I like to use a 1-quart canning jar.

If you try this recipe I'd love to hear how it goes!

Pin Test #24: Crack Broccoli

It's time for more Pin Tests! I take a pin from Pinterest and try it out and give my thumbs up, thumbs down or even thumbs sideways with some additional explanation about what I've tried differently that originally suggested. This week's Pin Test (I won't keep you in suspense!) is a total thumbs up. It's deliciously perfect for the cold days of winter and full of "good for you" things like garlic, lemon and healthy dark, leafy greens! Meet "Crack Broccoli" from the blog A Beautiful Plate.

image via A Beautiful Plate

I have been making this about once a week since around Thanksgiving time and it's a hit and every bit of it gets gobbled up. It seriously takes Broccoli to a whole new level. It is so tasty. Can I first sell you something amazing about Broccoli. The big thick stems are not to be cut up and thrown out! Peel the thick hide off them and the insides are amazing, delicious and tender. No matter how I'm fixing broccoli I cook the stems and love them! In this recipe I would just cut off the bottom half inch or less of the stalks and then you don't need to peel them, just slice them up. 

Quick explanation, you slice the heads of Broccoli up like steaks from top to bottom. You can see that in the photo. Then you mix Olive Oil, Pepper Flakes, Garlic and Salt together in a bowl then toss in all the broccoli until it's well covered. (Please note that in this recipe, the salt is listed in the ingredients list but not mentioned in the process of mixing the ingredients. I either add it in with the oil mixture or just sprinkle Kosher Salt on the Broccoli once it's on the pan. I think either works.)

Then you lay it all out on the pan, roast it for 10-12 minutes, then flip all the stakes over and add your Almonds and roast for another 8-10 minutes. Then sprinkle with cheese and a bit of lemon juice.

A few alterations I've made:

1) 475 degrees is a little too hot with our oven and I was continually burning the broccoli. So I am using 470 now and it seems to be working well. No more burning. This is something to gauge with your own oven as they all work a little differently.

2) I use whatever cheese I have on hand and it all tastes good. My favorite is Parmesan, but I've used Cheddar, Monterrey, Monterrey Jack, Mozzarella...whatever I have available. If you want the cheese a little toasty you can add it the last couple of minutes of your roasting time on the second side.

3) The amount of Lemon Juice in the recipe was a little too lemony for my family. I sometimes just skip it or I just add a few drops here and there. Less is more if it gets too intense.

As I said, we are gobbling up this recipe like crazy. I even included it in our Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve dinners. We usually depend on a lot of salads to get our greens but now that it is colder it's nice to have something warm and crunchy to help us get all our veggies in our diet every day. If you try it, let me know how it goes.

Thanksgiving Is Here

It's hard to believe the holiday season is already here. This year has truly flown by. It has definitely been a busy one filled with a few unexpected surprises and some wonderful blessings, both easily recognizable and some in disguise.

We  are just the three of us this year for Thanksgiving. My family is getting together at my sister's house a couple of states away. We did our big Thanksgiving shopping trip last night and got a cart full of food. Boy was I glad we had two fridges to put food in when we got home. As we were shopping it was quite hilarious to see men with one or two items in their carts or looking for odd items they'd been asked to bring to the meal. Some were buying drinks, others rolls. Then there were the women, who seemed to all be carrying long shopping lists and filling carts to overflowing with turkeys, vegetables, butter, whipped cream, spices and pies.

After trying to get out the door to get to the store for a couple of hours, The Man and I arrived in the grocery store parking lot and I realized I had forgotten my list. Yikes. I didn't say a word but just went to each department and tried to remember everything I needed.

We did pretty well getting everything on our list except for one item I forgot and one that was completely sold out. I wanted to try a tortellini soup recipe this week and realized I got home without buying the tortellini. Oops. And I wanted water chestnuts for the stuffing and had to get down on my hands and knees to reach the right shelf in the store and check to find out that there was not one can on the shelves.

So I made a quick stop at another store today on my way home from the gym. I have been trying to get kiddo cooking more and taking on more duties around the house. The tortellini soup recipe only takes 15 minutes an so I thought it would be great for her to make that for dinner tonight. Sounds so good with some salad and bread.

When I arrived home from the gym today our next door neighbor invited us over for Thanksgiving. So kind of her. Since we're already in process making dinner over here, we decided we'd try to catch up for dessert tomorrow or for leftovers on Friday. We have the best neighbors.

Even though there are only three of us who will sit down for dinner tomorrow we have four pies. Holy smokes. I think we'll be freezing some leftover pie and maybe having some friends over on Saturday.

I am looking forward to starting to decorate on Friday. I've been sitting on my hands all week to keep myself from getting in the attic and pulling Christmas decorations down. The Man is a purist, no Christmas before Thanksgiving. I've said it before but the best Christmas season I've ever had was the year I decorated the Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week. It was fantastic to have it done and just be able to relax all weekend and going into December.

Hoping to make some pinecone garlands this weekend too. Just need to get to the hardware store and buy some eye screws to attach to the base of the pine cones so I can attach them to a string. I'm planning on glittering some and may dipping some in paint. I've been trying to get there all week and it hasn't happened yet. Today, today. I think there will be a Star Wars marathon this weekend, knowing The Man.

We are thankful and happy for a chance to slow down and consider our many blessings this year. I've definitely been thinking more of those blessings the past few days. Sending you the very best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who will be celebrating this week.

*The image above is from our dining table looking out to west across our backyard and as far as you can see to the horizon. Our little Japanese Maple was so beautiful all week then Monday night a wicked storm blew threw and ripped most of the leaves off the tree. I was so glad I captured the photos I did before that.

Apple Picking Time

When we first bought our home there was a lone fruit tree in the backyard, an apple tree and near it the stump of a dead fruit tree of some sort. We closed in the fall and on the tree were maybe five pitiful, tiny apples. We weren't sure if it was just a bad apple tree or if the tree suffered from a lack of water since the house had been unoccupied for a long time.

So our expectations weren't too high for future of the tree but we were curious to see what it would produce this year. I still don't think it got the consistent water it needed to really produce and that leads me to wonder if the apples would be significantly larger if it was heavily and consistently watered. Can't say. But we did get a pretty good little harvest of apples this year even though we lost quite a few to the critters and our dog who enjoys picking the low hanging fruit, playing with it and eating it we still harvested three or four grocery bags of apples on the small tree over a couple weeks time.

Based on the taste and shape I have figured out that these are cooking apples, but haven't figured out the variety. Again it would be easier if the fruit was a little larger and more distinct looking. So far I've made pie filling twice, enough for two pies and I think that's what I'll do with these apples. Maybe I'll just freeze the pie filling and save it for Thanksgiving. That sounds good to me right now. We'll give thanks for our own apples and own beautiful, home baked apple pie.

Earlier this week we cleared the tree of all the remaining apples and threw any that had worms or bites taken out of them from critters over the wall (about 10 feet away) to the deer path where the deer come down the mountain each night about sundown foraging for food. We were happy to share with them. We also have a family of about 10 quail who live under the trees right there and we often see them out eating in the mornings and afternoons. At one point there were about 15 baby quail in the group. Now there is a pack of full-grown birds.

Our neighbors have told us all year that the apple tree is dangerous because it will attract bears. It seemed too sad to cut it down just in case a bear came around but I can tell you that I've been watching closely for any sign of bears and carrying a metal pole and very high powered flashlight outside with me when I have to go out after dark. (Humor me and pretend that is going to protect me, I know it's a stretch. The flashlight is probably a better weapon than the pole since it's completely blinding.)

Part of the tree hangs over the wall of our landscaped backyard, so I have remained surprised all fall that there did not seem to be any apples picked or nibbled on from that side of the tree. This would be the prime access point for bears and deer who could easily reach these branches. All the nibbling has been taking place near the trunk in the walled yard. Still not sure what's been eating those apples but it definitely looks more like bites than bird pecks. We don't have a lot of squirrels here, but have tons of bunnies, who I can't imagine climbing trees through I could be wrong. Maybe it's bobcats? Who knows.

I took the photo above in our kitchen sink. When I walked in after Kiddo had washed and cleaned all the apples I found them in my favorite colander sitting in the stainless steel sink and the lighting was just amazing and the water droplets made it even more beautiful. I'm always surprised at those moments when it takes absolutely no effort to grab an amazing photo. The ceramic colander, by the way, I bought at the riverside flea market in Portland, in 2000 I think it was. It was fun to go back there last summer and I'm itching to go again. Would love to take the family. I keep thinking I need to sneak in a surprise trip there this fall since we have airline vouchers we need to use.

I am watching the weather a little more carefully than normal since I have a potted tomato plant outside. If I play my cards right I think I can get it inside near one of our many windows and maybe even keep it producing over the winter. We'll see. But I know it's going to be a goner if it catches the first winter frost, which could be coming any day. One thing I have greatly enjoyed is NOT battles all the little California coastal gnats and white flies this summer. In fact I did not have to do any pesticide control at all on my herbs and tomatoes. Such a delight! It was a constant and nasty battle in Los Angeles and one that I don't miss.

Have you been gardening? Dealing with critters or enjoying a lovely harvest this fall? Do you still have cutting flowers? I didn't plant any of those this year but would definitely like to next year. Sending you best and warmest wishes. Thanks for coming by!

Here's a link to my favorite apple pie filling recipe. It's easy and delicious which is the best combination of all, right? Betty Crocker's Scrumptious Apple Pie.

Favorite New Kitchen Tools: Rubber Scraper or Spatula

There comes a time in every kitchen where certain tools just need to be thrown out and you need to start fresh. That was the case with many of my rubber scrapers aka spatulas. Which do you call them, by the way? Do you say spatula or rubber scraper? Something else?

I found one of these beauties at Target a few weeks ago and on my next trip I bought four or five more. These are one of those kitchen items you just can't have enough of and I love always knowing there will be a couple of clean ones in the drawer. I really like the color, shape and the handle feels good in the hand. So I am in the process of slowing throwing out the ones I've been using for a few years that need to be replaced.

I wrote another post before about some other kitchen tools I like to have in multiples. Do you have tools you must have more than one of for convenience when cooking or baking? What are they?

Danish Christmas Inspiration

I got myself  deep into some crazy Scandinavia holiday dreaminess today when I started looking for Danish Christmas inspiration on Pinterest. Oh, it made me "homesick" for that place. Denmark does Christmas in the most heavenly, beautiful ways. The traditional Danish foods are so delicious. The holiday traditions and Danish crafts and decorations are a delight.

image via Flikr by Coleville-Anderson

Today I pulled out the Christmas decorations. I have found that it's most ideal if I decorate the week leading into Thanksgiving. I haven't done anything decorating-wise for fall, Halloween or Thanksgiving this year because it has been so blasted hot until just a week or so ago that it just seemed like it was completely still July.

Image via Style Scrapbook

Finally, finally, finally we have had a few days that actually feel like fall in Southern California and I could not be happier. My feet are actually cold right this minute, as in I need to put socks on in the house now. That didn't happen all last winter I don't think.

image via Tumblr from Tiny White Daisies

Sweaters are now needed in the mornings and at night. This is generally a year-round thing when you live here, but we have been without sweaters mostly for the better part of a year now at least. Highly unusual.

The down comforter is back on the bed which makes me happy except for the fact that we desperately need new bedding, including comforter cover. It is getting faded and shabby. I keep waiting for us to move and get that king size bed and it's just not happening yet. Sigh. (I've said this a few hundred times by now haven't I??)

image via Vi Skal Spise

So today I took a little detour while doing a quick morning Pinterest update to do a search for Denmark and Danish Christmas. Oh did I slip into a world of beautiful deliciousness. Beautiful decorations, delicious foods, snowy photos of people cycling in Copenhagen. Heavenly. And it got me all revved up to get back there again. I have gone back twice since living there in during college years but it's been a long time now, too long. So I'm itching for a return.

image via denmark-pictures.com

I can't decide which would be better, a few weeks there in the summer (which is never guaranteed to actually be warm) or to go in the deep of winter and take in all the holiday gorgeousness. Tough decision! Best option in B-O-T-H right?!

image via Jurianne Matter Blogs

Today I thought I would just share a few images of the holidays Danish style. Makes my heart sing. Hope you enjoy. Here is a link to an entire Pinterest search of Danish Christmas inspiration.

Easy Chocolate Fudge Crackle Ice Cream Topping

This post could also be titled Great Things To Do With Trader Joes Coconut Oil and Chocolate Chips. I didn't invent this, I am just passing it along from the geniuses at Trader Joes. If you need a little midweek pick-me-up this might be just the treat to do it!

There's nothing better while shopping at Trader Joes (besides the amazing prices!) than getting a tasty treat at the sample counter. On a Saturday night recently after a movie we popped in to pick up a few things. At the tasting table there was ice cream with chocolate crackle topping. It was SO good. So we inquired further and got the very complicated (not) recipe firsthand and immediately bought a bag of Trader Joes semi-sweet chocolate chips.

By the way the woman at the food bar said she believes these are the best chocolate chips available and that she uses them exclusively. That is a pretty good recommendation. I did like the flavor and I generally don't like semi-sweet chocolate. I'm a milk chocolate girl all the way.

My favorite chocolate chips are Guittard milk chocolate which I have sworn by for years. Unfortunately TJs doesn't sell milk chocolate chips as least that's what I heard at the store we were at. So I won't be able totally switching over.

After making this recipe at home I am sure I would like it much more if it were milk chocolate, but that's just me. Most people like a little bit darker chocolate than I do. I have just never liked semi-sweet or dark chocolate.

Here's the easy recipe. Melt chocolate and mix with coconut oil until you get a fudge sauce consistency. When the sauce hits the ice cream it solidifies to a yummy crackly topping. So good.

More details. I usually melt my chocolate in the microwave. For a cup of chocolate chips or candy chocolate I use about one minute on high in the microwave. I usually use my two-cup glass liquid measuring cup to do this because it has a handy handle to hold onto while I stir the chocolate a time or two during the process.

Once your chocolate is melted you can start adding the coconut oil little by little. I keep my coconut oil in the fridge to hopefully keep it fresher. This keeps it a cold solid so it takes a little more work to get it melted. I just scooped it out with a spoon and added it to the chocolate and stirred it in. It melted down just fine from the heat of the chocolate. You can always pop the bowl back in the microwave for a few seconds if you a more heat to melt down the coconut oil.

Two Sundays ago I whipped up a pan of my favorite simple brownies, and a quick batch of homemade vanilla ice cream (super easy with this), and with some serious plans for this new chocolate crackle topping. Let me just say no one in the house was opposed to my idea and it was greatly enjoyed!

This would be a great idea for a dinner party dessert too. You can make the brownies the day before, of course you can just buy ice cream instead of make it, and the topping you can whip up while chatting with guests in just a couple of minutes. It's fast and easy to plate up too.

You can make it super glam if you decorate the plate a bit with some strawberry, caramel or vanilla topping in a squeeze tube before you put plate the actual dessert. Here are some great ideas for plate decorating with sauces.

If you try it, let me know how it goes!

image by kalanicut

Nutritious Dinners: Main Course Salads

With all the heat we've been experiencing we've been craving fewer large meals and we've been doing a lot more foraging small snacks throughout the day. I have been avoiding turning on the oven at all costs because we just don't need more heat. So dinners have been a little interesting the past couple of weeks.

I have been wanting to help my family become salad lovers. They eat lots of salad but the idea of salad being the main course on the table just hasn't sat well with them so I haven't done it. After reading a healthy living magazine at the gym while I was cycling as fast as I could and climbing pretend mountains on a treadmill I got really inspired that last night was the night to make it happen. We had a very nice little grocery shop on Saturday night so the fridge is full of yummy stuff that would make a fantastic salad. I schemed it all out on my way home.

When I got home and was immediately asked what was for dinner, I didn't get much enthusiasm when I said Spinach Salad with Chicken. But I tried to up the excitement with the idea of homemade Ranch Dressing, garlic toast and watermelon on the side. Plus, I said we have berries and angel food cake for dessert! Still I kept getting requests from the little one "can we change the menu?" Oh, the adversity.

But I pressed forward anyway. I made a big beautiful salad with spinach, carrots, tomatoes, homegrown green pepper, onion, cranberries and mandarin oranges. I would've loved to have some jicama to add with it. It was a bold array of colors and by the time I put the chicken on top I couldn't wait to dive into it.

By now I had also gotten two thumbs up on the Ranch Dressing even though I wasn't loving it. Too much dill, too much olive oil. But I hoped if I let the flavors meld for a while in the fridge that maybe it would be okay. I'm using Greek yogurt for all my dressings by the way.

While I was making dinner, The Man was on the other side of the kitchen making his super power smoothie. When I say other side of the kitchen, imagine him about six inches away. It's a small galley kitchen. His smoothies are insanely healthy, they now have at least 10 ingredients and they taste good. It's like eating a days worth of vegetables in one 12 ounce glass. Good stuff. I want to start doing one of these for meals, breakfast or lunch. Just waiting in the fridge it makes the whole "what am I going to have for breakfast (or lunch)" much easier.

Once we sat down together at the table, it was covered with delicious, healthy food that was so beautiful, colorful and fresh looking. At this point all commentary on salad for dinner stopped and everyone was just excited to fill their plates with food. We piled salad high, passed around hot garlic bread and watermelon and found the new dressing to taste pretty good on the many kinds of vegetables. Soon everyone was devouring the delicious, flavorful meal. Dinner was amazing because we took hold of nature's bounty and it fed us well.

I think we've crossed over into Saladville and I'm looking forward to a summer full of great fresh fruits and vegetables. I think the family, especially the little one, now realizes that they can trust that I am going to put a delicious meal on the table that they will like. Just because I switch up the menu it is not cause for concern or need to campaign to go back to regular favorites. I am glad I was not swayed by the initial lack of excitement. Now my next job is to come up with a bunch of fun, different salads. I'm excited to take our healthy eating to a new level with a few less carbs and more protein and a lot more vegetables and fruit.

So my question for you is, what fun things do you put on green salads? I need more ideas.

image via MCA

LIfe Changing Idea: Serve Dinner On A Platter

image via kpbs.org

Many of you are probably familiar with Chef Lucinda Scala Quinn. She's part of the Martha Stewart Omnimedia clan, TV host, etc. I love to cook but I've never been into "the food world" much and so while I know the names of many of today's celebrity chefs I rarely turn my head when I see mention of them on TV or in a magazine. So it was unusual that yesterday I decided to read an article, while at the doctor's office, in the May 2012 issue of Martha Stewart Living about a day in the life of Lucinda Scala Quinn.

But how glad I am that I did because in one short sentence she said something that rocked my world and changed how I will do dinner from now on for probably the rest of my life. She said she serves all the food for dinner to the table on one large platter. Why have I never thought of that? Why have I been plating things up so often or putting everything on serving plates and in bowls when it totally wasn't necessary?

Now of course this is totally situational. You wouldn't dump soup and rolls on a platter together and splash them all over the table. You wouldn't put foods that need to be chilled onto a platter with hot foods. But if you're serving meat, potatoes and a vegetable it makes total sense to put it together nicely on a platter which is easy to cover and keep warm until everyone is seated. It also is much easier to put in the middle of the table so everyone can reach. No passing dishes around. Dinner is available in front of everyone at the same time.

Last Friday I served green beans with our steak, potatoes and breaded mushrooms. They got set aside and at the end of the meal I realized we hadn't eaten them. This would not be a problem if the steaks, potatoes, mushrooms and green beans had been beautifully arranged on one large tray.

I own a lot of beautiful platters that just sit in a drawer unless I am entertaining. Well I'm now entertaining the idea they they need to be out and used often. Imagine one trip to the table instead of multiple trips with a variety of dishes. Less dishes to wash too. I just love this idea. It is so simple but feels so life changing.

The vision of food beautifully arranged on a tray excited me too. It sounds so pretty and visually appealing to the family to see it all lovingly presented together. It kind of makes every day feel like Thanksgiving. Even if you buy a roasted chicken and just quickly whip up some side dishes think how gorgeous it would all look on a pretty platter.

I'm pulling my platters out people! It's time to start using them and using fewer dishes and making my life simpler. This is one reason I love to read. You never know what little tidbit you might find on the pages of a magazine that will change the way you live your life. Thanks Lucinda Scala Quinn!

P.S. That's Lucinda there on the left along with Martha and the Everyday Food TV team. Notice she's posing with meals presented on platters.