Roasted Veggies: Leeks, Brussel Sprouts, Delicata Squash

It's Wednesday again, and that means girly dinner!
I really enjoy these evenings that Pat is in class.
When he's home, I feel more pressure to make a well rounded meat and potato focused dinner.
He's come a long way since we've been together.
He's learned to tolerate my "side dish" (meaning vegetarian) dinners.
Despite this, I enjoy trying new things the first few times for just me.
Roasted veggies happen to be my most favorite food ever.
They're candy good!

Today at Wegmans, I spotted Delicata squash.

I'd never had it before, but it was described as being rich and nutty, similar to butternut.
Butternut has always been my favorite squash, so I was definitely willing to try this.
It's a much smaller squash which is also a good thing since it's always just me eating the squash.
Pat just hasn't come around to squash.
Delicata is also a squash that you don't have to peel.
The rind is edible!!!
That is one of the most annoying parts of other squash!

I also decided to make leeks since I've eaten them many times, but never actually made them myself.
I will tell you right now.
Degritting them is a pain in the ass.
How does that much sand and dirt manage to get between ever layer?
EVERY LAYER!
I soaked them, I washed them, I scrubbed them.
I was wet and irritated by the time they went on the baking sheet with the squash.
Wet and irritated....like a cat! Don't make a cat wet, and then irritate it. Bad things happen!

Everything turned out well.
The leaks were delicious, but still a total pain.
Use a serrated knife, my steak knife was just not cutting it (Hah! Get it?? Cutting it!).

The squash was actually pretty amazing.
It reminded me of a sweet potato.
I ate them like fries, even dipping a few in ketchup!
This will be something I make again.
Pat may be able to eat these since ketchup could be involved...


Roasted Veggies:

Preheat oven to 420ish, 400 is probably fine, so is 425. This is where my finger stopped pushing the up arrow on the heat button for the oven.

Rinse the Brussel sprouts.
Cut in half. Toss in a roasting pan with a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Boom. That part is done.

Cut the rooty part, and dark green leaves of the leeks off.
Remove the dirt and sand. Maybe you have some better way of doing it than I.
If not, prepare yourself to soak, rinse and scrub for several minutes.
Place on an edged baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.

Scrub the squash.
Cut it in half by length and scoop out the seeds.
Discard, or clean and roast these too!
I threw them out.
I was too wet and irritated like a cat to rinse any slime off of seeds.
Cut into one inch sections. They should resemble frowns, or smiles if you aren't wet and irritated yet.
Place on an edged baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. (about a tablespoon. they can get soggy if you use too much)

Place everything in the oven, and roast for about 35 minutes.
Flip the squash periodically to ensure even browning.

Mustard Vinaigrette

1 Tbs Olive Oil
1.5 tsp vinegar
1 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp herb blend (I used Penzeys Parisien Bonnes Herbes)
Whisk together everything in a small bowl.
Drizzle over the leaks and enjoy!

Devil's Food Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream!

We live across the street from a elementary/middle school.
Today was the first day of classes, and it was a flurry of activity for a few hours this morning.
I would have had a difficult time getting out of the driveway, so I decided to stay in and bake cupcakes!

Devil's Food Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream!

I had been thinking about chocolate and caramel cupcakes for a few weeks, but the temperature refused to go below 80 for any length of time. Not optimal baking weather.

This morning it was a crisp 55 degrees and I decided to go for it.

I used a basic Devil's food cake recipe from my Better Homes and Garden Cookbook.
This is it here.

 I filled the cupcake liners half full, and then added a caramel to the center.
They sink a little on their own, don't push them down, or you'll end up with caramel stuck to the bottom of your cupcake liner.

Once they were done and cool, I frosted them with a fluffy buttercream with caramel flavor.

I wish I had some chocolate sprinkles to top them with, but white sprinkles and sugar crystals look pretty too.

Fluffy Caramel Buttercream Frosting

1/2 Cup butter at room temperature (2 sticks)
4.5 Cups of confectioners sugar
5 Tbs milk
2 tsp caramel extract.

Beat butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Do this for about 5 minutes!
Don't cheat! Let the air get in there or it won't be fluffy.

Add sugar about a cup at a time.
You can also add the caramel extract and milk at this stage.
I added it as needed with the sugar so it didn't get too hard to mix.
You can alter the amount of milk to get the consistency you want.

Add frosting to a piping bag with your choice of tip.
I used a 2D for this look.

Pipe it on once the cupcakes are totally cool.
Sprinkle with fun things!
Let cupcakes sit, or chill briefly to set the icing

I found the caramel center to be a bit too chewy to go with the cake, so I may change things up next time.
It was a delicious combination of flavors, and the frosting was exactly what I wanted!

Well, It's September....where did summer go?

Brief recap of the past few months.
We finally closed on our house, and moved out of the apartment.
While I enjoyed the apartment, and our landlords were pretty cool, it's even better having our own place.

It's a cute little house, on a quiet street, and it's in really good shape.
There will still be plenty of projects to keep me busy. More on that later.

First and foremost I want to get back in the habit of writing and taking pictures.
I suppose technically this is a public blog, but I'm pretty sure it's just me reading these diary like entries, and that's how they'll stay.

I had a terrible day at work, and couldn't wait to get home to my liquor cabinet.
Choices choices.....
I ended up with the Buffalo Trace White Dog Mash #1.

It's got a major bite to it, which I like, and tastes of creamed corn.
I like it straight, with maybe a few drops of water, or an ice cube if I plan on drinking it quickly.
Tonight it's straight, and I finished the bottle.
I am so hardcore.

September is apparently Bourbon Heritage Month, so I may have to take advantage of that and have a few extra cool night drinks this month.


Patrick has grad-class tonight (he had the summer off) so it's my girly night of whatever I want for dinner.
I'm doing roasted Brussels sprouts (favorite food ever!) and a stuffed Portobella mushroom. I'm also making an ear of corn though that may end up being breakfast instead...

I'm trying the mushroom two ways since it's something I'd like to make for Pat, but I'm not sure which way he'd like best.
My two-for mushroom features ricotta cheese, and one side topped with spinach and tomatoes, the other side with tomatoes and pepperoni. I'm attempting a pizza like mushroom, and a lasagna type mushroom.
I used ricotta on both because it's delicious. I also only wanted to open one type of cheese tonight.

Oven Picture!

Behold its messy glory!

I made a sriracha-mayo dipping sauce for the Brussels sprouts, which turned out well.
I've made chipotle mayo before, and while I liked the chipotle more, I always have sriracha on hand, so it's more convenient!

Every part of the mushroom was delicious! My favorite was the side with the spinach and tomato, but I'm sure Patrick will enjoy the pepperoni option. They crisped up nicely.

I could probably use sauce, but we had this bowl full of heirloom cherry tomatoes from my Mom's garden. Who could resist an amazing explosive little warm tomato? Not me!

I ended up needing something a bit more drinkable to go with dinner, so I had a bottle of Southern Tier Brewing Company's Harvest Ale. It's that time of year that all these harvest or Octoberfest beers come out. I enjoy them the entire time they're available!

Now it's time for a little couch time. I've got big plans of curling up with Half Life 2, and possibly a book if I get tired of shooting things!

Cheers!

Stuffed Portobella Mushroom for One
Ingredients:
-One large Portobella mushroom cap
-1/4 Cup ricotta cheese (with seasonings mixed in if you like. I added a little salt, pepper, basil and crushed red pepper flakes)
-Tomatoes or tomato sauce
-Fresh spinach leaves
-Pepperoni (optional...ok, most everything in this list is optional! Put whatever you want on it!)

Preheat oven to 425. Set mushroom cap gill side down in a small baking dish. Add about a tablespoon of water to help it juice up. Cook for 5 minutes, and then flip it gill side up. Cook another 5 minutes.
*Some recipes call to remove the gills and entire stem. I didn't bother. The stem was small, and I hate giving up any of that delicious mushroom.
Remove the oven and dish from the oven.
Top the mushroom with ricotta cheese. Smush the tomatoes into the cheese. (If using sauce, you may want this layer directly on the mushroom to allow the cheese to hold it together). Top with spinach and pepperoni.
Bake for 10 - 15 minutes until tomatoes are hot, and cheese is set.

Healthy Everything Muffins

June has been rainy and cool so far.

Honestly I haven't minded. I could never be one of those people to complain about rain.
It's just wet. It's been cool enough to help out at my Mom's house in her garden.
This will be the last summer she has me since next summer I'll have my own garden to work on!
She's keeping me very busy at her house, but I enjoy it.

I dug out along her neighbors fence and put in a bed for vegetables.
She bought some heirloom tomatoes, and I can't wait to taste them!

Then I dug out along her other neighbor's fence and replaced the root filled soil with fresh soil and some hosta.
It's looking pretty nice.

Finally I dug out three giant bushes along the back fence.
Eventually we'll put in a Japanese Maple.

I love to be busy, and I'm really trying to stay active since living with Pat, I've put on some love weight.
When I lived on my own, I cooked like it was just me.
Now, I cook for a man and eat like one too.
Ugh.

So! I made some healthy everything muffins.
Remember how we'll be moving soon?
Well, I went through the cupboard and freezer and dug out some odds and ends and made muffins!
Also, there is no added sugar or oil, so they're actually pretty healthy.
They make a great breakfast or late day snack.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Keep in mind these are anything muffins, so you can add what you want, but use the same basic ratio.
In a bowl combine about 3 cups of wet things and 2 cups of dry!

What I did:
(Wet)
2 Cups Pumpkin Puree
2 Medium Overripe bananas
2 eggs, beaten

(Dry)
2 cups flour (or almond meal leftover from almond milk!)
1 tsp salt
1.5 tsp baking soda

Mix all of this up, and then add your whathaveyous.

I added:
2 cups frozen blueberries
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup coconut 

Mix up and spoon into greased (or paper-lined) muffin tins or mini loaf pans. (I used both!)
Makes about 18 muffins.

Strawberry Cream Bars

This is a fast dessert for a hot day.
I made this because it was HOT, HUMID, and I did NOT want to bake!

I've been focusing on using things up around the apartment since we...
BOUGHT A HOUSE!

I know! We just got married, and now...a house?
Yep, It's happening that fast.

I had a tub of low fat cool whip in the freezer, and some frozen strawberries.
I also had one pack of graham crackers leftover from last summer s'mores.

I put the frozen strawberries in a blender, and pureed them.
Then I mixed in the whipped topping.
Plop some on graham crackers, and top with another.
FREEZE!

That's it!

They keep for about two weeks, but wrap them in wax paper or foil after the initial freezing.

Almond milk!

Things have been a whirlwind. Fancy and I got married, so I guess I can't call him Fancy anymore! It was a lot of fun. Pizza, mini-golf and family.

We got married on April fool's day, so we had some tricks in store. Fake cake, squirting bouquet, shock pen...

It was a lot of fun, and exactly the kind of day we wanted.

Shortly after that, Pat won tickets to see Iggy Pop and the Stooges in NYC.
We drove the 7 hours, crashed overnight in Jersey city and took the train in the next morning.

We got to see the Freedom Tower just days before it's completion.

The concert was amazing, and Pat even went on stage with Iggy!

We left the next morning and drove back.
So I wasn't feeling too ambitious on my next day off.

I decided to try something I'd been meaning to do.
DIY Almond milk! I really enjoy drinking it, but it's pretty expensive.
Doing it myself was cheaper, though not super cheap.
I bought almonds (and cashews) in bulk at my local grocery store and spent about $7 on the two bags.

The nuts need to be raw, not toasted or honey coated etc.

Soak 1 cup of raw nuts (almonds in this case) in two cups of water.
Let them set overnight, or at least 8 hours. I gave mine more like 12 hours.

Drain the water, and rinse them.
Put the soaked almonds in a blender, or vitamix or processor. Whatever you have that will chop these babies up into teeny bits!
Add two cups of water and any flavorings you'd like.
I added a pinch of cinnamon and cardamom.
Blend, blend, blend.

Use cheese cloth in a bowl and pour everything in.
Pull up the cheese cloth and squeeze gently to get the "milk" out, but keep the nuts in.

You can sprinkle the left over almond pulp into muffins, oatmeal, or on salad.

Celebrate with a gin and tonic!

Fun with chipotle

 It's been awhile since I've written, but I was a bit busy doing things like GETTING MARRIED.
It was simple and sweet and a perfect day for us. Pictures at some point once we have some.

Yesterday was my day off, and I made a few recipe from the new cookbook I got.

Vegan planet came recommended from a friend of mine, and while I'm not vegan, I love the creative way they work with veggies. I didn't take any pictures because it was a rainy gray day, and my camera is not great. I made stuffed zucchini, and it was the best way I've ever had it. No carbs, and super tasty! The other recipe I made was chipotle mashed potatoes. Which was basically mashed potatoes with pureed chipoltes added. Superb. However, it left me with a lot of pureed chipotle. I needed to use that up tonight, so I found this recipe, and embellished on it. I also roasted some brussel sprouts and made a chipotle "aioli". It's not technically an aioli since I used mayo, but it sounds so much better as aioli and not chipotle mayo, right?

I got a package in the mail today from an uncovet.com, it was the bracelet I ordered. I got a bit distracted by this and dinner took a little longer than usual. I l♥ve it! It came all wrapped in cute paper and a tiny bag with a button from Make Pie Not War.

Husband came home early and scared me to no end, so I'll wrap this up with pictures and the recipes. Enjoy!

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Chipotle Aioli

1 lb brussel sprouts
1 Tbs Olive Oil
2 Tbs Mayo
1 Tsp pureed chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (canned available at most grocery stores)

Cut the ends off of the brussel sprouts and toss with olive oil.
Put in a baking dish (I used a pie plate, but any oven proof dish will work)
Season with salt and pepper.
Roast at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool slightly.

In a bowl, combine mayo and chipotle puree.
Yup, that's it. Easy!

Dip brussel sprouts in aioli and devour unceremoniously.

Chipotle Black Bean Soup with Avocado Cream

Avocado Cream

Chipotle Black Bean Soup with Avocado Cream

2 Tbs Olive Oil
2 Onions
Half a bag of baby carrots
1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce pureed
4 cups broth (I used organic vegetable broth, but anything could work)
3 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 diced Roma tomato
1 small ripe avocado, pitted, peeled
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Juice from half a lemon

In a large sauce pan, sautee onion and carrots until tender. About 5 minutes.
Add chipotle puree and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes.

While the broth is simmering, mash avocado in a bowl and add lemon juice, sour cream and cilantro.
Puree in a blender or chopper (I used my Ninja to whip it into a nice smooth consistency)
Set aside in the refrigerator.

When onions and carrots are soft and completely cooked, remove the broth from heat and using an immersion blender, blend until smooth.
Add one can of drained and rinsed black beans. Blend again with the immersion blender.
Add remaining two cans of beans and diced tomato and stir to combine.
Bring to a low boil, and remove from heat.

Ladle into bowls and top with chilled avocado cream.
Serve immediately.

Devour!

Kiwi Ice Cream

Tuesday was a pretty laid back day. There are things I should have done, but I didn't feel much pressure to do them. I have the best boyfriend/fiance (getting married in less than 2 weeks!) who actually encourages me to sleep in a be lazy. What a guy.

This is what spring looks like.

Fancy wanted ribs for dinner, and since we had a bottle of barbeque sauce (where did that come from?) hanging around, I decided to toss them in the crock pot. I sliced an onion and layered it at the bottom and set the ribs on that. Covered them in the barbeque sauce, and set it to low. It's been about 4 hours, and they already smell great.

I wanted to do a couple of veggie sides to go with it. Our local grocery store had asparagus on sale, so that's one of them. I'm also thinking spinach for the bitter taste to balance out the sweet sauce on the ribs. I picked up an Italian bread while I was out as well. Dinner is done? Well, that was easy.

Since I had some extra time I decided to make something out of kiwi since it's Fancy's favorite fruit. I toyed with the idea of a kiwi gelatin, but in the end went with a kiwi ice cream. I cooked down four peeled kiwi fruits and mashed them into a puree. I added about a tablespoon of St. Germain liqueur. It's a liqueur made from elderflowers. It's floral and lovely and just right.

After adding the kiwi puree to the sweet cream base of the ice cream, I decided it wasn't "kiwi" enough. So i mashed up two more kiwi (total of 6 now) and added them to the mix.

While doing this, I sipped on a beer. I've loved everything I've had from Founders, but this one is probably my favorite right now.

It's a very well balanced beer. I love hoppy beers, but they're my favorite when they're balanced with some malt. This was a winner.

The ice cream turned out really well. Even after being in the freezer for a day it didn't really get super hard. It eats more like a soft serve. This could be due to the uncooked Kiwi, or the alcohol. I'm not sure which. In the summer, maybe I'll try it again.

It's officially spring, but you'd never know it here in WNY. How about some snow and ice cream pictures?

Kiwi Ice Cream

6 Kiwi fruit
1 Tbs St Germain Liqueur (optional, but oh so good!)
2 Eggs
1 Cup of Sugar
2 Cups of Heavy Cream

Peel and slice kiwi and put in a medium sauce pan with a lid.*
Add a little water (2 Tbs or so) and cook them until they are soft.
Mash or blend and allow to cool completely.
Add the St Germain Liqueur and stir to blend.

*Remember, I only cooked 4 of them. Play around to get the flavor and texture you want.

Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Whisk in the sugar until completely blended, about 2 minutes more.
Add the cream and whisk until blended and sugar is dissolved, about 4 minutes
Stir in the kiwi puree.

Add this to your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions.

Makes about 1 quart.