In the kitchen: m-i-c-k-e-y

I think I just found how to turn any day into a great day--Mickey Mouse Pancakes. I mean, how can you not be in a good mood when you're a.) eating pancakes b.) thinking of Mickey and c.) thinking of warm and sunny Disney World. It's pretty much prozac. My High School friend and tennis teammate Julie, who now lives in Ohio and still loves all things Disney, took this picture with her phone. I just love it!

In the kitchen: Caprese skewers

These delicious-looking plum tomatoes are from our backyard garden. Our two little plants produce at least four or five newly ripe ones every day. So, that leaves me with a lot of tomatoes and only so many salads a girl can make. I found this picture and thought that these skewers are not only be great for party hors d'oeuvres, but a bag lunch. I found out this week that cut tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella slices do not make a pretty pair when piled into a tupperware container. So the skewers would keep the tomatoes and mozzarella separate, just put them into a ziploc bag and carry.

Olive Oil Dish soap dispenser

Two bridal showers down! The theme for my shower yesterday was "Doing the Dishes". So, I got a lot of cute tea towels, pretty dish soaps, and money for a new GE Cafe Dishwasher! One of the most creative things I got was this olive oil dispenser to be used for dish soap!! I love great ideas like that!

*Thanks Jane and Tamarah :)

In the kitchen: 5 Lemonade recipes

via apartmenttherapy.com
I had a serious craving for lemonade today and made a detour to the grocery store. I bought some frozen Lemonade concentrate for a quick fix, but I need some REAL lemonade. Next time I get a lemonade craving, I'm going to make one of these!

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ginger-tea lemonade
2 cups water
3 black tea bags, preferably English breakfast tea
1 1/3 cups Ginger Simple Syrup, recipe follows
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice, from about 3 lemons
1 cup sparkling water or club soda, chilled
2 cups ice
Lemon slices, for garnish, optional
Directions
In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil over high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and add the tea bags. Stir and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes. Remove the tea bags and discard. Add the Ginger Simple Syrup, lemon juice, and sparkling water.

Put the ice in a large pitcher. Pour the lemonade mixture over the ice. Garnish with lemon slices and serve.

Ginger Simple Syrup:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
In a small saucepan, over medium heat, combine the sugar, water and ginger. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool, about 20 minutes. Strain before using.

Yield: 1 1/3cups
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lynchburg lemonade
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice
2 cups Jack Daniel's (16 ounces)
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
Ice
2 lemons, cut into thick slices for garnish
DIRECTIONS
In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar and water and boil over moderately high heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Let the syrup cool completely.
In a very large jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the syrup with the lemon juice, Jack Daniels and pineapple and orange juices. Shake vigorously. Add ice and shake again.
Fill tall glasses with ice. Strain the lemonade into the glasses, garnish with the lemon slices and serve.
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blood orange lemonade
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Ice
1 cup fresh blood orange juice, 4 to 6 oranges
1 cup fresh lemon juice, 6 to 8 lemons
3 cups club soda or water
1 lemon
1 blood orange
Fresh mint sprigs, for garnish
Directions
In a medium saucepan heat sugar and water for about 5 minutes until all the sugar is dissolved and it becomes a syrup consistency. Set aside to cool slightly.

Fill a pitcher with ice and pour in the juices, simple syrup and club soda. Slice the lemon and blood orange into rounds and place them in the pitcher. Stir and pour into glass with ice. Garnish with mint.
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minted lemonade
2 cups sugar
6 cups water
2 cups fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup mint leaves
Directions
To make simple syrup: Place 2 cups sugar and 2 cups water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved and let cool. Place lemon juice in a large pitcher, add remaining 4 cups water and 1 cup of the simple syrup or more to taste. Stir in mint leaves and refrigerate for 1 hour. Serve over ice.
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pink lemonade
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (5 to 6 lemons)
1/2 to 3/4 cup superfine sugar, to taste
1 cup crushed ice
4 cups water
2 teaspoons grenadine
6 maraschino cherries
Directions
Place the lemon juice, sugar, ice, water, and grenadine in a blender and process until completely smooth. Place a cherry in the bottom of 6 glasses and pour the lemon juice mixture in the glass.
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Cheap Thrills: IKEA Tekla towels

Photo: IKEA, Apartment Therapy, Metaphore

On my last IKEA trip, I picked up a short stack of these Tekla kitchen towels because they were only $0.49 each and I needed some better looking towels. Since I've had them, I use them for a million more uses than I had thought. I fold or roll them into napkins, fold them and line bread baskets, lay them on the coffee table for a placemat, use them to cushion vegetables in the fridge. They aren't real thick, but they are absorbent and do get the job done as far as drying dishes or cleaning up spills. And for $0.49, I'll just use two if I need to. They're already on my list for the next IKEA trip.

In the Kitchen: Butternut and Leek Soup

Last night I made this Butternut and Leek Soup from a recipe I found in Food and Wine Magazine. Sometimes squash soups come out real watery or bland but this one was very good. And plenty left over for lunch this week.
Here's the RECIPE

I'm usually on the go and have found that soups are the easiest way for me to pack in nutrient rich foods into my diet. Here's the nutritional data for Butternut Squash. I also toast up a batch of walnuts for the week and I've been putting them on top of this soup...mmmm.

Picture above is from a very similar RECIPE from Real Simple magazine.

Holiday Cooking: bring an appetizer

We have a lot of holiday parties to go to this year AND we'll be hosting the family Christmas this year. I have started the menu planning process which means going through my shelves of cookbooks and my bookmarked cooking websites looking for recipes and some cooking inspiration. So, as we countdown until Christmas, I will be posting those selected recipes in hopes that A.) you may get some ideas B.) my friends/family will get a sneak peek at the goods.



Gougeres: French cheese puff pastries


I found the recipe and picture on David Lebovitz's website. He's my "go-to" for french desserts and his Paris Chocolate & Gastronomy Tour is on my bucket list. I just have to say, there is some pretty stellar food photography on this website, so don't look at it if you're hungry. David uses this camera. Jealous.



Spiced Southern Pecans


This recipe comes from "The Gift of Southern Cooking" by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock. Edna Lewis is the matron of true southern cooking. We're talking about the real stuff here, like chowchow, tomato gravy, and chicken hash, along with all of the more well-known southern recipes (ie cornbread, etc). These pecans are like the candied nuts you get at the Brewer's games or the County Fairs only with a fuller spiced flavor, not heat.

Recipe:
Boil 1 lb. pecan halves for 2 min. then drain in colander. Toss pecans in bowl of: 4 C sugar, 2 1/2 tsp. Ceylon cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, 1/2 tsp. salt. Fry in 340 degree oil for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. To get an extra thick coating of goodness, lift pecans out of oil and drain well, then coat them in the sugar/spice bowl again and fry again.



Traditional Italian Anise Biscotti


I like shopping at Groppi's Food Market because I can discover a lot more flavors and inspiration there versus a supermarket. Anise one of those flavors like fennel that is strongly reminiscent of licorice. Small and extremely easy to make things like biscotti are my answer for what to bring to a party; what to give as gifts/stocking stuffers; or what to freeze and have on hand just in case we run out of real food at Christmas.
The recipes that I liked the most were the traditional ones from: Emeril Lagasse at FoodNetwork and Williams-Sonoma (pictured above).

In the Kitchen: Lemon Pepper Chicken Skewers

Today, I.....
A) needed a quick lunch
B) wanted to bring a small plate of food to a house I was going to visit
C) needed to use the lemon in my fridge
.....and the result was a batch of these:


Recipe:
Mix juice of 1 lemon and 1 tsp of ground black pepper ( used Tellicherry black pepper from the The Spice House). Cut up the chicken breasts into 1 inch or 1 1/2 inch cubes. Let the chicken sit in the lemon pepper mixture for about 5 minutes. Put 3-4 on small kabob skewers (I cut my large skewers in half). Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Can't wait for next summer when I'll grill again.

In the kitchen: Homemade Granola Bars

I realize that my usual Starbucks double Latte or nothing at all in the A.M. is not a very healthy breakfast. I want to eat better than my usual "running out the door/eating at my desk" meal so that my belly doesn't steer my car into the Wendy's drive through line at 4 PM. And, I have a wedding coming up in July. So lately, I've been thinking of food choices in terms with the GLYCEMIC INDEX and how I could fit it into my meal planning (you know, the one that also includes all of Matt's favorite foods like pizza and mac 'n cheese). So here's my first attempt with a whole grain breakfast: Granola bars with Flax seed, walnuts, coconut, dates, honey and goji berries. If you have any ideas what to name this, let me know with a comment below.




INGREDIENTS:
1 cup toasted flax seeds
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
1/4 cup toasted coconut
5 chopped dates
3T dried goji berries
4T raw honey

DIRECTIONS:
Mix everything together well
Scoop into small plastic bags or plastic wrap
Roll into desired granola bar shape
Store in fridge overnight until firm

(Makes 5)

My friend Bridget from Healing Illuminations has a lot of great recipes for balanced carbohydrate, antioxidant-rich, and raw food on her website. She's been helping me with a lot of my nutrition based questions.