Category Archives: Cooking

Lavender Mint Lemon Bars

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Lemon bars are by far my favorite dessert ever. My mom received this recipe from her grandmother, Ri, who was an excellent cook. The interesting part about these is that because you use 4 eggs in the lemon part, they develop a custard like crust that has this amazing flaky texture to it. Although this recipe needs no adaptations I decided to incorporate the lavender that is blooming like crazy in my yard right now and because when I passed the lavender, I saw the mint, I added that in too.

Lavender Mint Lemon Bars

Mix 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup confectioners sugar together and cut in 1 cup butter. Press into 9×13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. I usually do about 17.

While that is baking:

In a food processor or blender – 2 cups granulated sugar, 3-4 teaspoons lavender buds, and 5-6 sprigs of mint. Let ‘er rip until the lavender buds have broken apart. It will smell glorious.

Mix 4 beaten eggs, the sugar you just processed, 1/3 cup lemon juice, 1/4 cup flour and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder using an electric mixer.

Pour this over the baked crust and cook for an additional 25 minutes at 350. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving if you like. I usually find that unnecessary though.

Enjoy!

xx

-h

Pretzel Pups

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Sometimes you have to use a little incentive to get things done. In this case, it was a nostalgic favorite for R, the pretzel dog. I used Joy the Baker’s Mini Pretzel Dog Recipe, and they came out amazing. Not quite as picture perfect as Joy’s but the flavor was great and the recipe was very easy to follow. Dip ’em in ketchup, mustard, a little srirancha (sriracha/ranch), or whatever you desire.

I would recommend this recipe a million times over – well I’d recommend any of Joy’s recipes really.

Enjoy.

-h

Simple palmier

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Sometimes you just want something sweet but don’t want to bust out the mixer. That is where the palmier cookie comes in to play. Palmiers bring back memories of eating at Spruce at the Waldorf Astoria Park City for me because that is the first time I had heard of this type of cookie. Buttery, flaky, sugary, delicious, perfect.

To make:
-Defrost one sheet of puff pastry and roll out, the thinner the more puff you will get.
-Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
-Starting at one end of the puff pastry roll tightly into the center, then roll from the other side, creating a heart shape.
-Cut about 3/4 inch slices.
-Put on parchment lined cookie sheets leaving plenty of room for puffing.
-Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.

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Enjoy!

-h

Super Bowl CrockPot Meatballs Day

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Super Bowl Sunday is one of my favorite days.  Not because I love watching overpaid athletes ruin their bodies but because I love the commercials, beer and most importantly: the food.  This year, I opted out of my usual CrockPot pulled pork, and chose to make some homemade BBQ meatballs!  As usual, I was missing an ingredient here and there from the recipe, and measuring really isn’t my thing, so below is a rough guesstimate of what went in…

Meatballs

  • 2 pounds ground turkey
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1/2 cups ketchup
  • 4 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
  • 1 clove minced garlic

Everything for meatballs combined!

Mix ingredients together well.  Create about 1 inch meatballs and bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes.

Meatballs in the oven!

BBQ Sauce

  • 1 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 can (small) tomato paste
  • A little more than 1/4 cup soy sauce (I used reduced-sodium)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon hot pepper sauce (I used Frank’s)

Mix the sauce ingredients together and combine with cooked meatballs in CrockPot.  Cook on low for about 4 hours.

Enjoy! Good thing I captured this picture before they were all gone!

xoxo

-s

Perspective

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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what makes positive and negative thoughts become reality. I have grown a lot in 2011, but can see that in 2012 there are changes that I would like to make. I think that everyone goes through phases in their life where they feel like things need to be truly re-evaluated. I’ve never done resolutions, but I’m into goals, so here is what I have planned for 2012.

1. Exercise with conviction. We all have days where we get to the gym and half ass our way through 20 minutes of cardio, while it may be better then doing nothing, it certainly isn’t making the same mental impact as putting your nose to the grind, and pumping out that 20 minutes as a high heart rate. My tool: the New Balance HRT Fit Monitor – it counts calories, your bpm without a dorky chest strap, and supports breast cancer if you get the Komen version.

photo: NewBalance.com

2. Accept where you are and be proud of what you are doing. My former job was fun, lots of hard work, and glamorous at times. I haven’t stopped looking for a new job, however, it is important for me to realize how much of a learning experience my current position can be, and how I can take steps to conjure more responsibility. My tool: local networking events to meet new people in order to feed potential business.

3. Save more, spend less. Easier said then done. I love shopping, eating out, fine wines, and I have an affinity for shoes. R and I have decided to spend some time this year looking at houses to buy which necessitates money saved for not only a mortgage, insurance, utilities and other things, but also furniture. I’ve never owned any piece of furniture larger then our bed so once we make a move, I guess we’ll have to buy a chair or something. My tool: inspiration.

photo: Sarah Richards Design

4. Bake, but with less butter. I love butter, it makes anything taste good. And that is what makes baking with it so easy. For Christmas I received a KitchenAid mixer and by golly I am going to put it to good use, however, I’m going to do so while learning about baking and cooking with less fat, recipes to come.

photo: bloomingdales.com

5. Take social chances. Meet up with old friends, say yes when I don’t feel like it, and have a friendly face. I haven’t lived in this area in 5 plus years, I miss my friends from Utah, but it’s time to step out of the ol’ comfort zone. My tool: the trusty iphone, no excuse to not find someone on Facebook, connect on Twitter, or just make a phone call.

photo: Apple.com

Lets do this 2012 and lets do it big. I’m ready for what you have in store for me.

What are your goals for 2012?

-h

Slow Cookin’ is the Good-Oh Cookin’

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I love cooking, so when my sister bought me my first Crock-Pot last year for my birthday, I was ecstatic.  However, being a slow cooker newbie, I found myself constantly making pulled pork or sweet and sour meatballs.  These classics are of course delicious snacks that everybody loves but I knew there was more possibilities out there.  This year I was gifted a Crock-Pot recipe book that has more than 500 recipes in it!  I went Crock-Pot Crazy.  Lemon and herb chicken, warm Moroccan-style bean dip,  Italian-style pot roast, tarragon carrots in white wine, apple and granola breakfast cobbler and wake-up potato and sausage breakfast casserole, just to name a few.  I don’t usually consider myself a stew person, but some of these recipes look too good to over look, such as the chipotle chicken stew.  Did you know that you can even make cereal snack mix or bread in a Crock-Pot?  Well you can!  Pictures to come, I will keep you updated on the feats and failures of the slow cooker!

 

-s

Local food, local heart, local health…

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We can’t turn a corner these days without hearing about a restaurant that is going local. This is not a new concept, our grandparents were the actual founding fathers of this concept. The hard part is, what does buying local actually mean? For me, it is an obsession with finding new ingredients at the farmer’s market and learning about what they can be used for. It is about planting a very small planter box with some basic easy grow veggies. It is about harvesting every single tomato possible that is ripening on my parent’s bushes and learning what to do with the squash that was supposed to acorn squash and is so obviously not. Last weekend R and I had the privilege of visiting S and hitting up the Bellingham Farmer’s Market.  A market that should not and cannot be reckoned with, the amount of local produce represented is truly amazing. We didn’t buy much, as I had enough local 7.1% alcohol content Chuckanut Brewery Vienna Lager pulsing through my veins, that I also was a force to be reckoned with. But I did snap this pic of mushrooms that emulates the Bellingham market.

photo: hh

Much to my surprise when I got home last night, my dad had a supply of morel mushrooms that his friend gathered nearby.  We crafted the mushrooms into a red sauce that was delicious and good for you.

There is no time like the present to take the opportunity to invest in your local farmers. Whether it is picking produce grown in the US while you’re at the super market or hitting up your nearest farmer’s market, co-op, or fruit stand – commit to learning where and how the things that you are putting in your body are grown.

So I challenge you – buy something adventurous that you have never cooked this week and use it. Have you ever sauteed beets? Put wild mushrooms on your pizza? Added goat cheese to your salad? These are ingredients that I know you can utilize.

Be well.

-h

Oh wonderful Caprese Salad….

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If there is anything I am more obsessed with right now then stripes (I’ve been trying to tone it down, but ever since I was introduced to Pinterest, I had to make a whole stripes board) it is the caprese salad!  The caprese is the perfect summer snack or meal.

So let’s talk… tomato, we’re at the tail end of regular tomato season here in Utah.  It is short lived in these parts, first they come from the southern part of the state, and then from the northern part, and then they are done.  That is…until it’s heirloom tomato time!!! So, for your caprese, take your thick tomato slice, OR if you want to do a cute app, your plump little cherry tomato.

So you have your tomato, and then you take some mozzerella… big thick slices OR your ball of cheese.

Then you take your basil, mmm basil, and top it on your big think slices OR skewer it with your cherry tomato and ball of cheese.

Drizzle with a little olive oil, a little balsamic, a little salt and pepper…as S would say “muy deliciouso!”

Via Pinterest - http://terristable.blogspot.com/

Via Pinterest - http://terristable.blogspot.com/

But don’t stop at eating this for just an appetizer, I like to pair it with an over-medium egg for breakfast. (Is there anything better then an ooey-gooey egg yolk?)

photo: hh

Or for lunch or dinner, throw it onto some Italian bread and make it a sandwich or panini!  Anyway, hit up your local farmer’s market, grab some tomatoes and basil and if they have it mozzerella, and commit to a wonderfully delicious, fresh, and local appetizer or meal on these hot August days.

-h

Love, Love, Love…Yourself!

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Welcome to full-on summer time.  About this time of year is when I start to remember that I was going to do that “bikini bootcamp” starting in March, not starting 5 days ago.  What’s that? I was on a road trip and ate everything in sight plus enough cocktails to make the kids who lived in my college dorm blush.  Okay, so the whole “bikini bootcamp” thing didn’t work out.  It’s time to re-evaluate.  So here my friends, are my tips to feeling good even when it’s really, really, ridiculously hard.

1.  Drink water. Hmm, all of a sudden it’s 3pm and all you’ve had to drink is your morning coffee? Get on it, slurp down 8, 12, or even 16 ounces of cool, refreshing h20.  Awww, feel your cells appreciate.

photo: Newspick

2.  Get outside. It’s summer, I get it, you’ve been trying to soak up as much sun as possible. But I mean, really get your body moving while soaking up some of that Vitamin D.  Even if it’s only for 5 mins, it will feel good to walk to wherever you need to go instead of pumping that air conditioner from your car into your pores.  Trust me, sweating isn’t so bad if you’re prepared for it. P.S. swimming counts (do some laps, you can do one more, okay one more, okay one more….you get the point, yes I’m talking to you, the one doggie paddling, I’m right there with you on that one), even if it’s in a normal pool, not this gorgeous one at the Santorini Grace Hotel.  If you do get the chance to go there, OMG. I am JEALOUS!

3.  Circuit/Interval work-outs. Sweat, lift, cardio, repeat, QUICKLY.  I’m talking curls with jump lunges, shoulder press on a bosu, lunge kicks, chest presses with a band, all strength training circuits that  can be easily found on Women’s Health’s Burt-Fat Fast workouts. I’m telling you, they work-really, really, well.  Add in some interval cardio: Also from Women’s Health – my favorite so far (like I said, I’m only 5 days in, is the Calorie Crusher) and I’m telling you.  You’ll be feeling more fit in just a couple of days. And if you aren’t, then you’re not pushing it hard enough on those intervals. (It’s all for love, I promise, and I promise, I need the push just as much as you do.)

4.  Summer means fresh fruit and veggies. YAY!  My favorites from the farmers’ market right now? Uber, duber fresh tomatoes, paired with grilled chicken, cous cous, cucumber, olives and feta. Drizzle it with a bit of balsamic and olive oil and you’ve got a wonderfully delicious and healthy meal.

At any rate, do what makes you feel wonderful, happy, and confident.   And just remember, everyone has their doubts, it’s the people who can rise above those to let their confidence shine that will feel, act, and treat other the most wonderfully!

xx

-h

P.S. I’ll be the one with the purple face at the gym.

Birthdays and Buttercream Frosting-yum, yum, yum, yum!

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I can never understand why people don’t love birthdays.  They mean presents, sweets, and excuses to party.

Last night I baked cupcakes for my hubby’s birthday (even though he dislikes sweets) and mixed up some homemade buttercream frosting, and then I had a sufficient sugarbuzz for the rest of the night.

Easy buttercream:

Ingredients:
– Powdered sugar
– Butter
– Vanilla
– Heavy whipping cream

Mix 3 cups powder sugar with 1 cup softened butter using an electric mixer on low for 1 minute then on medium for 2 minutes.
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1-2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream, mix on medium until sufficient texture for spreading.
Add more cream if needed for spreadabililty.

YUM YUM WONDERFUL!

-h