Girls Night In! - Pear Salad

Last night, I hosted a "Girls Only" Night In. We had SO much fun. My living room was packed!!! At first I was bummed about all the last minute cancellations, but then I started getting some last minute RSVPs, so it ended up working out after all. Although all the girls that originally wanted to have this party are the ones that bailed - so I guess we will have to do it again another time!

I made all kinds of food for this party. I went with a semi-Italian theme, so I served lots of wine, and Rossinis - pureed strawberries and champagne. It sounds excellent, but it didn't seem to go over very well. But, oh well. I will stick with my mimosas from now on!

I made three different salads: The first one was the most popular, and I found it on my local news website! It said it "has something for everyone" so I figured I couldn't go wrong. It was delicious!

Fresh Pear Salad

ngredients: (Serves 6 to 8)

Dressing:
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 teaspoons seedless raspberry preserves
1 tbsp honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard or spicy brown mustard
1/3 cup olive oil
Kosher Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Salad:
1 1/2 bags mixed baby greens or spinach
2 medium Bosc pears, cored and thinly sliced lengthwise
1/2 small red onion* thinly sliced
3 ounces gorgonzola or feta cheese, crumbled (I used feta)
1/4 cup roasted walnut halves
1/4 cup dried cranberries or golden raisins (I used golden raisins)

Directions:

Dressing:
In small bowl, whisk together vinegar, raspberry preserves and mustard. Slowly add oil, whisking until thickened. You could also do this with an immersion blender to emulsify quicker. Season with salt and pepper.

Divide greens among 6 to 8 salad plates. Top each with sliced pears, sliced red onion, crumbled cheese, walnuts and cranberries. Drizzle each with dressing or serve with dressing on the side.

Food Tips:

* To take some of the bite out of the red onion, soak the slices in a bowl of salted iced lemon water. Add1 tsp salt and juice from 1/2 of a lemon stir to dissolve salt before adding ice cubes (the ice will keep the onions crisp). Let the onion slices soak for 10 minutes then drain and pat dry before placing on salad.
(I didn't bother with this.)

Girls' Night In! - Tiramisu Cupcakes!

Naturally, for dessert, I made cupcakes! Since I was going with an Italian theme, I chose tiramisu (and it might have a little something to do with the fact that it is my FAVORITE dessert!!!) I found a few recipes online, and then asked my good friend CB if she knew of any good recipes, and what do you know...the ones she showed me are the ones I had been eyeing!

The two recipes in question are:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12266682@N00/370089996/
http://beantownbaker.blogspot.com/2008/09/tiramisu-cupcakes-cupcake-hero.html

I decided to go with the first one (which I actually found on a different website, but the recipe and photo were identical!) because it sounded a bit more like real tiramisu.

Tiramisu Cupcakes

Ingredients:
6 eggs, separated (separate when cold; allow to come to room temp)
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup sugar, divided
3 tablespoon water, room temp
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup sifted, all-purpose flour (measure after sifted)

In large mixing bowl at high speed, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Add half of the sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are glossy and stand in soft peaks. Rub just a bit of meringue between thumb and forefinger to feel if sugar has dissolved.
In small mixing bowl at high speed, beat egg yolks until thick and lemon-colored, about 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually beat in remaining sugar, water, vanilla and salt (if desired) until blended.
With a sifter or sprinkle flour with a sieve over whites. Add beaten yolk mixture. Gently, but thoroughly, fold yolk mixture and flour into whites.
Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 min or until done.

****Okay, so GET THIS. I had baked something just a few minutes earlier at the same temperature, so I figured I was all set to start baking cupcakes, right? Well, 10 minutes goes by. The cupcakes are definitely warm, but didn't seem to be setting. So, I put them in for 5 more minutes. Still nothing. I got this sinking feeling and it dawned on me....I just might have turned off the oven after baking earlier! Sure enough...I did. The cupcakes barely got a dose of warmth, and then just sat there for 15 minutes! I turned on the oven again and left them in there and set the timer for 10 minutes. I think maybe I should have baked them for a bit less, since they DID get all that extra time in the warm oven - but since they were drenched in the espresso syrup, I got lucky with these! Anyway, I had to share...I cannot believe I did that!!!****

Espresso Syrup

½ cup confectioner’s sugar
2/3 cup water
5 teaspoons espresso powder (I have an espresso maker, so I just made 1/3 cup of espresso and mixed it with 1/3 cup of brandy instead of using water and espresso powder)

In a small, heavy saucepan over high heat, combine the water, the remaining 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar and the espresso or coffee powder. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool. (I just boiled my espresso/brandy combo with the sugar)

Use a fork to poke a few holes into cupcakes so that they will absorb liquid. Pour approximately ½-1 teaspoon of syrup onto each cupcake.

Frosting

3 c mascarpone
1 c confectioner’s sugar
¼ c marsala wine (I didn't have marsala wine, but I learned that you can mix 1/4 c of dry white wine with 1 tsp brandy, and it essentially tastes the same.)
¾ c heavy cream, chilled

In a medium bowl using an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat together the mascarpone cheese, confectioner’s sugar and marsala until well blended. Add the cream and beat until fluffy, about 1 minute. Frost cupcakes with mascarpone/whipped cream mixture. Dust tops with cocoa powder (I used unsweetened) and then sprinkle with dark chocolate shavings.

This recipe was adapted from the recipes “Classic Sponge Cake” and “Espresso Tiramisu”, both found on www.baking911.com.

Missing the hubs.

So, Mike is away for the weekend, home to see his family. It's not all that long, just a few days. But I already miss him! It's silly, even if he were home, I wouldn't see him all day, or even talk to him on a busy day, but I'm already missing him SO much. Just knowing that he won't be there when I get home tonight...that I'll have to sleep alone (though I do have my kitties!)...that he won't be around tomorrow, or the next day. It makes me a little sad. I'm sure it will go fast - I am having a girl's night tomorrow night, and I have SO many things to do to prepare for it, and then things to do on Sunday, that I will probably be fine. It's just night time that's rough for me. We aren't apart much, so it always seems so weird! For those of you who are apart from your husbands for long periods of time quite regularly, how do you deal with it?

Life sure can be hard sometimes.

Do you ever have those weeks where nothing seems to go right? I mean, nothing is majorly WRONG, but nothing is RIGHT either, and you just feel plain terrible? My last almost two weeks now have been like that, ugh. I got scolded at work last week, and that just seemed to set everything off. I feel like I'm on eggshells at work...I'm so paranoid I'm going to get in trouble and lose  my chance at ever getting a raise, and then never being able to afford to buy a home without a roommate, so we can never have a baby. Ugh. Such a chain of "what ifs." I feel like I work so hard and make so little money that I'm never going to get anywhere. What if it never pays off? What if all the extra hours I put in, and time I don't get to spend with my husband because I'm working never get me anywhere? Will I always be the lowest paid employee at my company? Will I ever make anything of myself in life?

On top of that, I've started working out a lot, which I love. I have realized that I am DEFINITELY a group exercise person. I've been going to my gym for close to a year now, and never got myself to actually try a class. I decided that this was going to be the year I saw my abs again, so I decided to try the Energizer Core class. O.M.G. It hurt SO bad. But in a good way. I quickly became obsessed. If you think about it, the first time I ever got in shape was in boot camp. That's pretty much the hardest core workout you can ever get. My whole Marine Corps career, I was in good shape because I had someone showing me what to do, and the group atmosphere really helped me get motivated. So, yeah. Classes are what I needed.

Anyway, my point is that my body has been S O R E. And tired. And exhausted. And I've been trying to eat less calories and eat healthier, so my body is kind of pissed at me. Add that to being stressed out from work, and having a visit from Aunt Flo, and having your husband be irritated at you for not being in the mood, and yeah. Life has SUCKED these past couple weeks.

Seriously, how do you get through this? Do you just grin and bear it and wait till it passes and life is just peachy again? I am so tired of feeling like I want to cry every day because I just can't deal, or I'm going to pass out. Ugh. Hopefully things will pick up a bit next week!

Cupcakes AND Orchids!!!

I know....you are all in shock - Alanna is actually blogging - and WITH PICTURES, too!!! What may you ask brought this about?

Superbowl! I love football, and I love baking cupcakes, so naturally, I had to back cupcakes for the Superbowl! I decided to cheer on the Cardinals, since the Steelers are the ones to knock my Chargers out of the playoffs, and seriously....I didn't think they really NEEDED another win. I'm all for the underdogs! Anyway, while my cupcakes may not have brought that extra bit of luck that the Cards needed, I sure had fun making these little birdies!

I decided to make Coconut Cupcakes (courtesy of Made by Melissa!). I think I have oven temperature issues, so I set the temperature a bit higher than called for. They were a WEE bit dry for my taste, but still DELICIOUS. And, I frosted them with my most favoritest Vanilla Bean Icing! I added a bit of almond extract to enhance the coconut cupcakes. Mmmmm....

I gave my first attempt at using fondant, and loved it! I just used the store-bought stuff, and it was pretty easy. I printed out the Cardinals logo and separated it into colors, then cut out a stencil with my exacto knife. I used the exacto to cut out the fondant as well. I drew in the black details with a little tube of black gel. Easy peasy!

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On another note, my mystery orchid, one of the ones that Mike rescued from the garbage, is about to bloom! Here it is in bud. I am guessing it will be purple, but I don't know anything other than that. I am excited! The other 4 plants are in various stages of growth, but no blooms yet!

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Anyway, that's all for now. I'm having a bunch of girls over on Saturday, so I'll be doing a lot of cooking for that. Till then....

Still alive!

Hello, friends! I am SOOOO sorry it has been such an eternity since I've blogged. I am still doing well, still cooking, still growing orchids, but very busy. Work is keeping me busy, which is a good thing. We are also house hunting! I am SO excited. It is a LONG process though, and can be very frustrating. I am really anxious for the day when we finally get a place that is our own! I will try to do better this year in keeping up with my blog, I promise! :)

2008 in Review

I have seen this done on so many of my dear friends' blogs, and since I think it is an excellent idea, who cares if I'm a bit late? I could use a reminder myself of all the fun things that I did over this past year!

January: We spent our first night in our new rental house in Del Mar, CA on New Year's Eve. Mike and I, and our new roommate, Troy, were so worn out from moving that we spent the evening with a bottle of rum, a coconut, and the latest Pirates of the Caribbean. Sadly, none of us even stayed awake until midnight! I did a lot of blogging this month, since I was working at my temp job as a receptionist with nothing to do most of the day. I did a lot of cooking. I sampled my first cupcakes from Mr. Cuppycakes. Little did I know, this was going to be the beginning of a big cupcake obsession. I got pretty new dishes for my kitchen, and saw my Chargers in the Playoffs! They didn't make it to the Superbowl, but they sure put forth one hell of an effort. I went to my friend Marilea's wedding.

February: Mike took me to see Cirque du Soleil's "Corteo" at the Del Mar Fairgrounds for Valentine's Day. It was so awesome! I wasn't sure how it would be seeing a Cirque show in a circus tent vs. a Vegas venue. It was totally awesome, I must say! Afterwards, we went to dinner at one of our favorite local places, Paradise Grille. I entered my first Cupcake Hero contest, and entered my now legendary Vanilla Nut Martini Cupcakes. I didn't win the Cupcake Hero award, but I sure won with all my friends - I still get requests for those cupcakes! I continued to do a lot of  blogging and cooking, and made Superbowl cupcakes. My husband and roommate started really getting a kick out of my blog photography. I began my love affair with Vanilla Beans after discovering they could be acquired on ebay for a very good price.

March: I got a new job!!!! This was DEFINITELY the highlight of my year so far. I had to finish most of the month at my crappy temp job, but I was SO excited to finally have a new job lined up. I started at my design job as Girl Friday at the end of the month. I gave my blog a makeover. I made some fierce cupcakes. I won my first blog award - "You Make My Day". Mike and Troy went on a trip to Hawaii for 10 days. This was the longest we've ever been apart. It was nice to have some time to myself for the first couple days, but it got ROUGH after a while. I got so lonely. Thankfully I had my cats and my wonderful friends who took me to baseball games, breakfast, and so on. I had a girls' brunch one weekend morning.

April: I visited Chicago with a group of 16 wonderful girls from around the country that I met while planning my wedding. We had SO much fun! Definitely one of the highlights of my year!!! I WAY started slacking on my blog, since I was so busy at my new job. No complaints though - it's better to be working!!! The boys and I started our garden. I went to my friend Molly's wedding, and I went to see KT Tunstall with Amanda.

May: I found out that my sister was pregnant with her third baby, due in December. I tried my hand at homemade pasta, and it was delicious. I saw the Police in concert. It was good, but not mind-blowing, like I had hoped.

June: I went to the Independence Jam and saw a new band called The Silent Comedy. Flogging Molly was DEFINITELY the highlight of that concert. I got to spend time with my friends Melissa & Jason, who are living in Trinidad. (Melissa was home on break from school.) I saw Ingrid Michaelson with my friend Jamie, and I just LOVED her. I didn't think I really liked her, but since that show, I just can't get enough of her music. My garden continued to grow, and the homegrown veggies were excellent. I posted my recipe for White Sangria that Amanda won an award for. I hosted an Asian-themed dinner party with my friends Jamie and Keziah. We traded in my car and Mike's truck and bought a Honda Element. We visited the Del Mar Fair several times. Roommate Troy's surf film premiered. I bought my first Phalaenopsis orchid and watched it bloom.

July: Mike and I went to Ohio for the 4th of July, and our trip happened to cover our 1st wedding anniversary. We took a road trip up to Canada, and spent the weekend at Niagara Falls. We went on Maid of the Mist, and several other attractions. It was an AWESOME trip. Mike and I took a motorcycle safety course and got our motorcycle licenses. We bought a Vespa for our local commute. The Del Mar Races started, and since we live so close, we went many times. We saw Heart and Journey. AMAZING. We saw Wolfmother and Stone Temple Pilots - AMAZING. I made cupcakes for the Obama bake sale.

August: I hosted book club at my house. Football preseason started!!! We went to the Seahawks vs. Chargers game. We got a trackside table at the Del Mar Races. We went camping up in the Idyllwild mountains. Mike and I created a tasty new summer drink we called "Peters Punch." I got my new Blackberry Pearl!!!

September: We had a Labor Day beach party at our house. I invented Cherry Vanilla Coffee Cupcakes. Not my fave, but they were wildly popular. We went to the Panthers vs. Chargers game. We saw Nick Cave. What a cool show! We went on a weekend trip down to a condo in Mexico for Mike's 30th birthday, and I made Roasted Pineapple/Jalapeno Margaritas. We went to the Jets vs. Chargers game and WON!!! I acquired several new orchids (bringing my total up to 5) and started my obsession with my 'chids. I love them! I joined my first Fantasy Football leagues.

October: The Chargers beat the Patriots. Ah, that was sweet. I started Christmas shopping online. The Chargers played the Saints in London! We saw Neil Young. Another awesome show. Mike and I started house-hunting, and started discussing the idea that we might want to have kids in the not-so-distant future. Mike and I dressed as Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett for Halloween.

November: BIG election - Obama won!!! Joyful tears all around - what a wonderful night! My cousin Philip and his wife had their first baby (premie - but she is healthy and doing well! I turned 30 and went wine-tasting in Temecula with several of my friends. I continued to do Christmas shopping. Mike had his first gig with his new band. We went on a road trip to Colorado for Thanksgiving. We had a great time! We stayed at a couple of B&B's, spent time with my little nephews, and went to a hockey game with my brothers. We also went to the Broncos vs. Raiders game and then went to ESPN Zone to watch the Chargers play. We spent a lot of time with my BFF Stesha. We spent some time in Vegas on the way to and from Colorado, and got stuck in hellacious traffic on the way home. I changed the name of my blog to it's current name, combining my two blogs into one. I started getting stressed that I wouldn't finish my knitting projects.

December: My friend KT had her baby, Bailey. We put up our Christmas decorations. All the holiday parties began! My work party was awesome. I got my first Christmas bonus ever!!! I finished my Christmas shopping, and had a hard time waiting until Christmas! We had a nice Christmas at home, and had Christmas dinner with my aunt, uncle, and cousins here in San Diego. I made a HUGE Christmas dinner the day after Christmas, and we had a house full of people to help eat the food. My third nephew, Elijah, was born two days after Christmas. We went to the Chargers vs. Broncos game, and watched the Broncos get destroyed. Chargers are in the PLAYOFFS!!! We had a New Year's party with our neighbors.

Which brings us to 2009! We are still house-hunting, and are very much looking forward to big things happening in 2009. I will do my best to keep my blog updated occasionally, at least with anything big that happens! :) I hope that you will all have a wonderful year!!!

Feeling stressed!

I'm feeling like I have too many hobbies, and I don't know how I'm going to get everything done. I hate having so many unfinished projects, but it always seems like something else more important comes up. Now that it's almost Christmas, I'm practically hyperventilating because I don't know if I'll get to everything in time, not to mention my fun, personal hobbies. :P Does anyone else ever feel this way? How do you handle it?!?!?!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Last night I had the BEST chicken tortilla soup I have ever had. Seriously. It was just a simple recipe in my crock pot cooking book, called "Fix It and Forget It", but BOY was it good!!!! I didn't get any pictures, but I wanted to share. It's super easy, and super yummy!

2 chicken breasts
1 can black beans, undrained
1 can Mexican stewed tomatoes or RoTel
1 can diced green chiles (I used the fire-roasted kind)
1 C salsa (hot, medium, mild - your choice!)
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 t cumin
tortilla chips or tortillas
1/2 C shredded Mexican cheese

Put all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low for about 8 hours. Before serving, take out chicken breasts and dice into bite size pieces. Return to crockpot. Serve with crushed tortilla chips (I used torn pieces of flour tortilla) and cheese.

This could be easily customizable...serve with avocado, sour cream, cilantro, etc.

Mike and I both thought it was amazing last night, and I am still raving over it after eating leftovers for lunch!

New Blog Name!

As you may have noticed, I have renamed my blog! I figured that since I don't update all that often, it really made no sense to keep TWO blogs. From now on, I will be combining my fun random posts with my cooking posts all here on the same blog.

Why the vanilla bean? I LOVE vanilla. I have never been much of one for chocolate...I have always preferred vanilla. And once I discovered that fresh vanilla beans are affordable on ebay, I was hooked! Now for the clincher - my favorite flower is an orchid. I discovered that vanilla beans are produced by orchid plants, and the vanilla orchid is the only orchid that produces a fruit. I figured that this is just way too much of a coincidence, and orchids/vanilla are definitely meant to be my thing!

Please point your browsers from now on to http://alannasvanillabean.blogspot.com.

Stay tuned for more! :)

Chile Pineapple Margaritas

AKA "Mike's Dirty Thirty Margaritas"

For Mike's 30th birthday, we went down to Mexico for the weekend. I decided it would be the perfect time to try making a margarita I had seen on a menu at a local restaurant. I had no idea what the proportions were, but I had a general idea of the contents. I like to think I have quite mastered the margarita, so I gave it a shot! Here is my recipe:

jalapeno
roasted pineapple
tequila
pineapple juice
triple second
lime juice
sugar

First I sliced and seeded the jalapeno and pineapple and put them in tequila. (I didn't have the resources to roast the pineapple first, and it was still great. You will need 3 parts tequila, so make sure you infuse enough of it.) Then I let it sit for several hours.

To make the margarita:
1. In a shaker, add 1 part lime juice and 1 part pineapple juice.
2. Add 2 parts triple sec.
3. Add 3 parts of the infused tequila. (Be sure to strain out any seeds or fruit pieces.)
4. Shake-a shake-a shake!
Enjoy!

Beware, these are potent margaritas, and the chiles have a bite! But the flavor is SOO good! Everyone at Mike's birthday loved them!!!
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I'm addicted...

I just bought another one. Isn't it cool though?!??! :)

Orchid Update!

Some of you may remember my post back in June about my new orchid. I have loved orchids for years, and growing them is slowly becoming an obsession of mine. They are almost like children - I LOVE these things! Here is a photo of my first orchid -

The blooms lasted for a LONG time, but finally they all dropped. I cut the spike, and it has been continuing to grow new roots.

Here it is now. I had some problems with scale insects (gasp!) but hopefully I got rid of them before they could spread. It's still doing quite well...I'm just trying to be patient as I wait for a new spike to start so I can get some new blossoms!

A few weeks ago, my wonderful husband brought me this new challenge. He found this orchid outside of his office, abandoned and sad. :( I brought it inside, trimmed it's dried up spike, and repotted it. I was a little worried about it, but just yesterday I noticed that a new leaf is starting to grow!!! I can't wait to see what color blooms this plant will produce! It is looking so much happier and healthier!

And so the obsession grows. I was at Henry's Market on Saturday and noticed these BEAUTIFUL orchids. They were huge...most of them about 3 feet tall, and gorgeous. They had white ones similar to my little orchid at home, and purple ones. I definitely have a thing for the big white phalaenopsis orchids with the yellow centers, and I just couldn't stop looking at them. I was still thinking about them when I got home from grocery shopping, and decided to go for it - they were only $20...how can you pass that up!?!??!!? So, yesterday I went back to the store and selected my very own plant. I also bought a stand for it so that it would have it's own spot in my house. It is SO beautiful - I love that it has multiple branches! I can't wait for all the buds to start blooming. :) See how pretty it is? :)

Cherry Vanilla Coffee Cupcakes

The other day I had a moment of pure flavor delight. I had just finished drinking my fresh cup of Kona coffee, and began to eat my breakfast of granola and cherry vanilla yogurt. I was suddenly overcome with awe at the mingling of flavors in my mouth. I couldn't let it slip away, so I decided to try to capture it in cupcake form. I browsed several recipes and came up with my own crazy concoction incorporating all of the ingredients I listed above.

I apologize for the crappy picture...I did a poor job of decorating, so I didn't bother taking any cupcake glamor shots.

I started with a simple recipe for coffee cupcakes, adapted from several different Kahlua cupcake and coffee cupcake recipes. I specifically wanted to include yogurt in my cupcake recipe. Once baked, I started the cherry vanilla filling. The filling didn't thicken enough, so I had to add more cornstarch and cook it again. It sure tasted good though! I filled the cupcakes using the cone method, which was a first for me. The cupcakes were hideous...they looked like surgery had been performed on them. Yikes! But, that's what frosting is for! I used my own personal recipe for vanilla bean icing. Unfortunately I didn't have enough icing to cover all the cuppys, but the ones that got frosted looked much better. :)

Overall, they were really good! I served them at my Labor Day party, and they were eaten up in a mad grab. I usually am NOT a fan of fruit-filled things, but these worked well. It was an interesting flavor combo. Not quite what I remembered from my moment of epiphany, but good just the same! I even heard a couple people say that these were my best cupcakes yet! I tell you, that vanilla icing will melt anyone's heart! :)

Cherry Vanilla Coffee Cupcakes
Cupcake Batter: (serves 12 to 15)

2 cups flour (448 grams)
2 cups sugar (448 grams)
¼ teaspoon salt (1 gram)
1 tablespoon dark roast coffee grounds
¼ cup water (120 ml)
¼ cup coffee or coffee liqueur (120 ml)
½ cup butter (112 grams)
1 cup Greek yogurt, at room temperature (240 ml)
1 teaspoon vanilla (5 ml)
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda (6 grams)
2 beaten eggs

Grease or line two cupcake pans. Preheat oven to 350° F. In mixer, combine flour, sugar and salt.
Mix butter, coffee and grounds, and water. Add to flour mixture and mix lightly. Add yogurt, vanilla, baking soda and eggs and mix well for 2 minutes.
Pour batter into pans. Bake until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool on rack 10 minutes and unmold cakes to cake rack to cool completely before frosting.

Cherry Filling

2 cups cherries, pitted, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch

1. Add cherries, water, and vanilla to a pot. Cook for 10 minutes over medium-high heat.
2. Stir together sugar and cornstarch then stir into the cherries.
3. Cook until thick, about 20 minutes. (I had to add more cornstarch and cook it again, so I would recommend adding the cornstarch before you take it off the heat and letting it cook for a while longer so it can thicken a bit while cooking.)

Assemble
1. Fill each cupcake with filling. I used the “cone method”, but many methods will do.
2. Frost filled cupcakes with Vanilla Bean icing:
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine
5 T whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
vanilla bean

Beat powdered sugar and butter in a small mixing bowl. Scrape out vanilla beans and stir in into sugar mixture until they're evenly distributed. Add whipping cream and vanilla, beat until smooth. Add remaining cream if needed to reach spreading consistency. Spread over cooled cupcakes.

How well do you know your spouse?

This little survey has been floating around, so I figure after 1 year
of marriage and 7 years together, I'd give it a try! :)

1. They are watching TV….. What are they watching?
Dirty Jobs, NFL, CNN

2. You're out to eat.what kind of dressing do they get on their salad?
Balsamic Vinaigrette

3.What's one food this person doesn't like?
red peppers

4. You go out for a drink. He/she orders…
Alcoholic: Stone or other dark microbrew...if we are at a GOOD Mexican
restaurant, then a top shelf margarita, Non: Iced Tea

5 Where did he/she go to high school?
Marion Steele

6.What size shoe do they wear?
9.5

7. If this person were to collect anything, it would be?
Gremlin memorabilia

8.What is their favorite type of car?
Gremlin (or pretty much anything AMC - but not a Pacer!)

9. This person could eat __________ everyday?
mangoes

12.Favorite sports team?
San Diego Chargers!
(Cleveland Browns come 2nd)

10.Favorite cereal?
granola

11. This person wouldn't be caught dead wearing…
Tight Jeans

13.Who will he/she vote for?
Obama!

14.What is their sign?
Virgo

15.What is something you do that he wishes you didn't do?
Play with my Crackberry (I don't even mess with it that often,
seriously.)

16.How many states has this person lived in?
Ohio and California (plus a couple long stays at several military
bases/schools for training)

20. This person could spend hours….
surfing, working on the Gremlin

17.What is his heritage?
Irish, German

18. You bake them a cake for their birthday….What kind do they want?
Depends on his mood...no regular requests.

19.Did he/she play sports in high school?
Football for a while

Now… how well do you know your spouse? (JKnotties, this means you!)

Blackberry vs. iPhone

My cell phone is on it's way out. I just ordered a new battery so I can make sure that isn't the issue. If that fixes it, great, but if not, I will be in the market for a new phone. The two I am looking at are the Blackberry and the iPhone. I know several of you that have one or the other, so I'm looking for some input on pros and cons of the two. Which phone do you have, and what do you like/dislike about it?

Thanks! :)

Peters' Punch

As I hinted at yesterday, we have a tasty new summer cocktail at our house. The hubs created it one day. (He has gotten SO good at mixing drinks...he is my own personal bartender! The man can grill AND mix me up a good one - boy am I lucky!) I'm not exactly sure what his proportions are...but here is how I made it:

2 oz. rum (preferably white rum, but the brown rum works as well)
3/4 oz. sugar syrup or agave nectar
1 oz. lime juice (we like Nellie & Joe's Key Lime Juice)
1 oz. pineapple juice
2 oz. orange juice

Shake with ice and pour!

We have also added coconut cream and/or mango juice along with chunks of fresh mango to this beverage for an extra tasty treat!

For Natalie (Book Club Recipes!)

Last night I hosted our girls' monthly book club at my house, and naturally I used it as an excuse to try out some of the tasty-looking recipes I have been collecting off of various blogs! My friend Natalie asked for the recipes, so here they are! This first one is a recipe I got from my coworker. It is SOOOOO good. The recipe makes a lot, and is great for a party! It's the perfect summer salad - it tastes just like a California Roll!

Sushi "California Roll" Salad

1 1/2 cups long-grain rice
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons rice vinegar* (not seasoned)
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sesame seeds (preferably unhulled*)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped pickled ginger*
4 scallions, cut lengthwise into thin 1-inch strips (about 3/4 cup)
1/2 cup finely shredded carrot
1 large seedless cucumber (about 1 pound), quartered lengthwise,
cored, and chopped
2 sheets nori (paper-thin sheets of dried seaweed)*
1 avocado (preferably California)
1/4 pound surimi (mock crab legs) if desired, sliced thin

For dressing
2 teaspoons wasabi (Japanese green horseradish) powder*
1 tablespoon hot water
2 tablespoons cold water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons ginger juice (squeezed from freshly grated gingerroot)

*available at Asian markets, natural foods stores, and some supermarkets

Into a large saucepan of salted boiling water stir rice and boil
10 minutes. Drain rice in a colander and rinse. Set colander over a kettle of boiling water (rice should not touch water) and steam rice, covered with a kitchen towel and lid, until fluffy and dry, 10 to
15 minutes (check water level in kettle occasionally, adding water if necessary).

While rice is steaming, in a small saucepan bring 1/4 cup vinegar to a boil with sugar and salt, stirring until sugar is dissolved, and remove from heat. In a dry small skillet toast sesame seeds over moderate heat, stirring, until golden and fragrant and transfer to a small bowl.

Transfer rice to a large bowl and stir in vinegar mixture. Cool rice and stir in sesame seeds, remaining 3 tablespoons vinegar, oil, ginger, scallions, carrot, and cucumber. Salad may be prepared up to this point 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring salad to room temperature before proceeding.

Dry-roast nori, 1 sheet at a time, directly above moderate heat (gas or electric burner), holding it at opposite corners and moving it back and forth, until it turns bright green, 30 seconds to 1 minute. With scissors cut nori into thin 2-inch-long strips.

Peel and pit avocado. Quarter avoado and cut crosswise into thin slices. Add avocado to salad with surmimi if using and two thirds of nori strips and toss well.

Make dressing:
In a small bowl stir wasabi powder into hot water and stir in cold water, soy sauce, and ginger juice.

Serve salad sprinkled with remaining nori strips and drizzled with dressing.

Gourmet
July 1994

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This next recipe I got from Picky Palate. These little Turkey Club Sandwiches were delicious! I ended up bringing all the leftovers to work today and gobbled them right up! The brie cheese, arugula, and fig preserves really added a unique touch to an otherwise ordinary sandwich.


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I found this recipe for Mediterranean Bruschetta on my friend Kat's blog. They looked so yummy and original, I had to try them! They were quite a hit, though I still have plenty to nibble on when I get home! :)



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This Squash and Zucchini Tart looked delicious over at Cooking and Booking. Turns out it is a version of Ratatouille. I DO like tomatoes, so I made one tart with them and one without. I thought it was good, though I think I like the veggies better on their own than with a crust. I have a bunch of leftover squash slices, so I think I'll fry them up with a light flour coating, salt, pepper, and some olive oil. Mmm...


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Anyhow, thanks for coming last night, girls! I had a great time! :)

Need your input

Okay, friends. You may (or may not) have noticed that I haven't blogged much lately. Here's the deal. I have been extremely busy this summer, and just haven't had the time to photograph my cooking. On top of that, I refuse to bake during the summer because it is so freaking hot, and anyway, baked goods will make my already squishy belly even less bikini worthy. So, that's that on the baking. But as far as cooking goes, I do cook nearly every night. I LOVE summer food...it's so light and refreshing.

So now, here is my question to you. Do you prefer a blog with pictures? Or would you still be interested in hearing what I make for dinner, even without pictures? I just feel like so much of what I make is off of other blogs, there's really no point in reposting. What are your thoughts? Should I post it anyway? Would anyone read it?

I could always share some drink recipes, I suppose. M came up with a KILLER summer cocktail. Interested?

Garden update

I am SO behind on my garden updates. These photos were all taken about a month ago. I'll try to fill you in on new developments as I go!

Here we have our leek plant. That bulb in the middle continued to grow until it was probably close to 3 feet tall, and it blossomed into a huge flower. We have since cut the flower off (it made a great kitty fishing pole) and have yet to eat any leek.

Here we have our strawberry plant. Only one berry actually survived. The rest mysteriously disappeared in the night. Now the plant has stopped producing fruit, but is sending out ridiculous numbers of baby shoots. Soon the far half of our garden will be covered with strawberries.

Here is the first bunch of lettuce that survived the snail attack. Doesn't it look pretty?
These little guys are in the higher tier of the garden, and they are all just as big as the individual lettuce plant now. I have no idea how we are going to eat this much salad!!!

The tomato plants are getting massive, and going crazy with tomatoes!
These guys have since turned red and been eaten. No worries though...there are dozens more turning red and being eaten! They are so good...they can actually just be eaten plain. Good stuff!

The jalapenos are right next to the tomatoes. This little guy was really growing great!
Check out that plump, spicy pepper. I later came back to find a gargantuan tomato worm hanging off of it. He had eaten the entire side of two jalapenos. YUCK!!!!

We later found several of his brothers and sisters hanging out on our plants. Troy discovered that they splatter green EVERYWHERE if you throw them at the fence.


The oregano is growing like crazy now. It doesn't get taller...just wider. It's probably twice this in diameter now.


Our edamame is starting to produce pods.


So far they are still not plump enough to harvest, but there are definitely enough there for a good night of Asian food. I can't wait! It shouldn't be long now....


The sweet peas have had a hard life. They look beautiful here, and have produced a handful of pods. They just aren't very hardy, and we have lost most of the plants. Only two of the pods have matured enough to pop the peas out. They were definitely the tastiest peas I have ever eaten though. I ate them raw, straight out of the garden! The rest of the baby pods have made their way into salads.

This house plant was doing really poorly, so we put it outside in the garden. All the green is new growth, and it has totally exploded in the past few days. There is a TON more growth. Hopefully it all turns red like the old leaves!

Troy's little pineapple never did get much bigger, and started turning yellow. We think it was a mini-pineapple. See below for the fun you can have with a little pineapple.

Matt looks quite classy with a pineapple hat.

There's Norm the Gnome back in the shade, looking after the garden. I swear he is alive. Every time I go out to the garden, he is in a new spot!

Obama Bake Sale

Last month, MoveOn members across the country organized over 3,000 bake sales to raise money for the Obama campain. See here for photos. http://www.flickr.com/photos/44124466908@N01/2605539884/

I wanted to help out, so naturally, I baked my Vanilla Nut cupcakes that everyone seems to think are to die for! I figured I would deck them out in a political theme, and took them up to the bake sale at the Cardiff Seaside Market.Don't they look patriotic? :)

I need your help!

Okay, friends. I need some advice. I really would like to buy a new Chargers shirt for the upcoming football season, and I really cannot decide which one to buy! The t-shirt looks SO comfortable and casual and cute, and would work, but I do already have a jersey, which is kind of like a t-shirt. However, the tank top is super cute, and I could really use something sleeveless for the games early in the season.

What do you think?

Check out our new ride!

We have a new addition! Last night Mike and I bought a Vespa. We will be back to having two vehicles now...hooray! We still have to take care of the registration and licensing, but within a couple of weeks, we will both be good to ride it. I am guessing Mike will ride it more at first until I get used to it, and I'll drive the Element, but after time, I will probably ride the Vespa more. Hooray, we are so excited! It only takes about $6.50 to fill the tank, and we shouldn't have to fill up more than once every couple of weeks. I can hardly wait to start driving it! :)

Awesome Night!

So, this is not food related, but I felt like I needed to blog about my wonderful night last night. As an anniversary gift, I bought M tickets to see Heart and Journey. The show was last night. WOW. Was it amazing!!!

Heart totally rocked.

Ann Wilson can SING. That woman has got a set of pipes on her. Whoa. I just can't believe how much power is in her voice. I was blown away, seriously. When her sister Nancy took the mic and sang "These Dreams" I was seriously brought to tears, it was so beautiful.

They did a rendition of The Who's "Love, Rain O'er Me" and I was speechless. So much power and emotion. "Barracuda" was a huge hit, and we snuck out to beat the bathroom lines, just as they started to sing "Crazy On You." LOVE that song. I was thrilled when M bought me a Heart tank top that says "Crazy on You" - while they were performing that very song! Wheee!!!

Then, Journey took the stage. They started rocking right away. Then, the new singer came running out. So crazy. The new singer is seriously like the Asian version of Steve Perry. I couldn't believe that voice came from that little guy! Check out the picture of Steve Perry,

and the picture of Arnel.

Similar, no? Especially from a distance. He was wearing tight yellow pants and a black vest, and he was running and jumping all over the stage. He was absolutely incredible. The entire show was SO good.

We saw Journey last year with a temporary singer, and we thought it was a great show. Well, it totally paled in comparison to last night's show! This was definitely a concert that I will remember for years to come!!! It is up there on my list of great shows, for sure!!!!!


Stay tuned for more...today I am going to Opening Day at the Del Mar races - I bought a big hat to wear. How fun! We are going to buy a Vespa today, and in a couple of weeks, I'll have a report on the Wolfmother & Stone Temple Pilots concert. And, eventually I will get my garden pictures and pictures of my anniversary trip to Niagara Falls online! What a great month this is! :)

And...I'm off!

Dear Readers....all two of you....

I just wanted to wish you all a wonderful 4th of July holiday! I will be in beautiful Ohio (hee hee) for the next week, visiting the in-laws. M and I are driving up to Niagara Falls for a couple of days though to celebrate our 1st anniversary. I can't wait!

Stay tuned for updates! :)

Alanna