Monthly Archives: February 2014

Cookbook Cook Through – Week 6

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Just finished the second recipe from this week’s cookbook cook through challenge of Everyday Paleo and Oh. EM. GEE!

This week, I made Apple Shallot Pork Chops and Breakfast Paleo Pizza.

PA

 The pork chops were good. There’s something about pork and apples, right?

 I will admit I’m not a big fan of cinnamon and meat. But I did follow the recipe instructions on this one mostly because of the apples. It was good but not sure I’d make it again with the cinnamon.

The Paleo Breakfast Pizza was to die for! OMG! So good.

pizza

David helped me make this one. It would have taken a lot longer if he hadn’t. Doing the prep chopping took the most time. If I had to make it alone, I’d have all that done ahead of time. But it was fun to cook with him.

As he started putting the sausage on the eggs, it seemed like a lot. I looked at the other ingredients and told him I think we need cheese.

Okay, cheese is a gray area in the paleo world but we like it. We don’t eat it often and when we do, we enjoy every single bite. This recipe wouldn’t have been as good without it, in my opinion. Did I mention it was DE-LISH? Yum! We’ll definitely have this one again.

For next week, we’re going to try Rockin’ Moraccan Chicken and Sausage Stuffed Dates. 🙂

 

 

Book Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

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The Statistical Probability of Love at First SightThe Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I chomped this one down like a good cookie. Yum. So cute!

The story of a girl who meets a boy at the airport after missing her flight to her dad’s wedding in London. They have an instant connection and the story, which takes place over the course of just one day, is about that.

Also, Hadley comes to terms with her dad’s new relationship and resolves the ill feelings she had about it after seeing Oliver so upset at his dad’s funeral.

A really cute read. 🙂

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Book Review: The Undiscovered Goddess

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The Undiscovered GoddessThe Undiscovered Goddess by Michelle Colston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

OMG how I loved this book! I had read the blurb and it sounded funny and like something I would like to read. A short way into the book, it looked like a self help book and I thought, “Oh no! This isn’t what I wanted to read”. But then I realized it was a story of Holly going through the self help book.

It is HILARIOUS! I was laughing out loud all the way through it. I know my husband thought I was nuts sitting here laughing so hard tears were rolling down my cheeks so I had to read him portions. I guess I thought it would help him to understand that I’m not the only one out there like that. LOL!

I totally identified with Holly. As the Libran, middle sister, I found many other similarities and I just loved watching her discover her inner goddess.

I can’t recommend this book highly enough. So much fun! 🙂

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Tag! I’m GLAMMIE

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Back in October I decided I’d get myself a personalized tag for the Big Black Invisible Jeep. It would be my birthday present to myself.

And a cheap one at that.

I’ve been getting personalized plates since my first one in 1994 that I got in Chicago:

LUSTY L

I did that one on a dare and I think it cost me around $130. 20 years ago!

This one would only cost $30. But they said I had to wait for 2-4 months to receive it.

The funny thing is, when you first apply for it, you have to give them six choices. So after waiting all that time, it’s still a big surprise when you open the envelope.

My envelope arrived today! Well, not really today. Yesterday. But since the mailbox is exceedingly far away from the front door, we usually pick up the mail the day after it’s delivered on our way past the box on our walk. 😉

And, I got my first choice!

glammie

I’m trying to remember my other choices. Three of them were SPARKLE, HAPPY, and GLITTER. You know, things that typify who I am. 😉  But I can’t remember the other two it’s been so long.

Other personalized plates I’ve had are

NOMERCY (loved that one)

and

TALKUL1 (tall cool one, which I always had to explain)

I’m so  HAPPY I got my first choice. Have you had a personalized plate on your car? What is/was it?

Review: Ti Amo Ristorante

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My bestie was coming to town for business and we planned to have dinner on Wednesday. I know she loves Tex-Mex but I’m not a super big fan. I asked her about Italian. She said she loved it so I made reservations at Ti Amo’s South which is right around the corner from our house.

besties

After we were settled in a comfy booth, our server came to take our drink order and brought us the most amazing bruchetta. I didn’t get a photo of it but it was delish!

I decided on a glass of Chianti. I’d been talking about Chianti with a twitter friend recently and telling her that I’d never had it. I loved it! It tasted a lot like the Malbec we’d been drinking before we left the house. For some reason I was afraid it would be too sweet, but it was nice.

chianti

Then came the lobster bisque. I could have eaten this for my main course. It was wonderful. Spicy and warm. It was a good choice.

My dinner was fettucine alfredo with chicken. I rarely indulge in pasta and the creamy pasta and juicy chicken really hit the spot.

fettuccine alfredo

I had followed Ti Amo’s on twitter and got to choose a free dessert.

We chose the Lemon Berry Marscapone Cake to split since we were mostly FULL!lemon berry marscapone cake. Yum! It was light and sweet, the perfect way to end our meal.

While we were waiting to get our bill, the owner came by our table. He asked if we liked Limoncello. Denise and I said, yes we did. He told us he makes his own Limoncello and brought us each a shot on the house. It was awesome!

Limoncello

We had a really nice visit with Denise and a lovely dinner at Ti Amo’s. I’m sure we’ll visit again!

 

 

Book Review: Bread and Butter

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Bread and ButterBread and Butter by Michelle Wildgen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Having taken my first job in a restaurant when I was 14, I loved this book as much as I loved the restaurant business.

I loved reading about the food that was being prepared at the two recipes and it made me hungry.

The story of the three brothers is a good one. I grew up with sisters so I never really thought how brothers would act with each other. The two older brothers, close in age, never really gave much consideration to the younger brother, Harry.

When Harry moves back to town to open up his own restaurant, Leo, the oldest brother doesn’t buy in but Britt, the middle brother does.

In the end, both restaurants are super successful and the brothers are happy. It was a great book that I read straight through. 🙂

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Rolled Fondant Cake

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Yesterday was the Glambaby’s birthday and today is Boo Boo the Wonderdog’s birthday. I decided I was going to try my hand at rolled fondant frosting. It’s #60 on my goals list and I’ve always wanted to try it.

candles

I’m left handed and it’s really hard for me to decorate with buttercream because all of the tools, tips, etc. are made for right handed people and it just doesn’t work. But fondant always seemed like roll and place and I figured it would be easier to do.

I used the Marshmallow Fondant recipe at All Recipes to make my own fondant. I don’t konw what your fondant eating experience has been but mine has been Blech! Nasty. The reviews for this recipe were good for taste and ease. They were also very enlightening. I read through them all so I would have the best chance of success. There’s also a video to watch to gain more courage.

I knew I could do it, I was ready!

I chose this cake for inspiration.

I made two layers of brownie in five inch pans so it’s a pretty tiny cake but it’s all we need. I put peanut butter cups into the brownie before I baked it. For filling, I melted chocolate chips.

cake1

Then I rolled out the fondant. It was easy! I used cornstarch to keep it from sticking.

rolled

I then place it over the cake.

I took a small amount of the fondant and worked some red food color paste into it. The palms of my hands are still red. 🙂

hand

I then cut out the little hearts, painted their backs with water and stuck them to the cake.

cake

I know there are fondant cake making secrets I must still learn. How to keep my hands from being dyed when coloring the fondant, how to make it smooth.

But for the most part, I’m pretty darned excited with my first effort at rolled fondant. Doing what I did seemed pretty easy and I would definitely try it again. 🙂

Banana Bacon Cookies

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When we returned home from Florida, this was waiting for us:

dead_bananas

Dead bananas.

I thought about making banana bread but put it off. Monday night, during #foodiechats, someone started talking about bacon. I wondered what my grandma’s banana cookie recipe would taste like if I put bacon in the mix.

This morning, I dug out the well loved, well used recipe of my grandma’s.

recipe

I cooked up about 6 pieces of chopped bacon.

And baked. They look like they normally do.

cookies

Except these.

rounds

When I went to get the third pan, I found this pan I’d never used and the cookies came out in cute little rounds instead of spreading on the flat cookie sheet.

Do they taste good? Yes! These are good cookies any way you make them. With the bacon, unless you get a bite of bacon, you don’t taste it. The banana taste is predominant. But when you get a piece of bacon, yum! Delish! 🙂

Book Review: The Tyrant’s Daughter

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The Tyrant's DaughterThe Tyrant’s Daughter by J.C. Carleson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a terrific book that I read straight through. I was interested in the subject to begin with but the book was easy to read and the story hooked me right away.

Laila is a teenager from the Middle East who is hastily taken to America when her father, whom she always thought of as a king, was killed. As she begins to start a new life, her friends at school refer to her father as a dictator. This causes her to go to the library and google what happened in her country. She learns that her father, whom was just her dad who sang, read and played with her, was considered to be a tyrant and terrible things happened in their country.

She is caught between the knowledge she has and her mother’s desire to return them to their country.

This is a fictional story based upon true events. It’s interesting insight into what could have happened during the Arab Spring. Excellent book!

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Cookbook Cook Through – Week 5

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After taking a week off for vacation, we came back home and I decided to make Speedy Spicy Stuffed Peppers and Curried Veggie Hash from the Everyday Paleo cookbook.

speedy_spicy_stuffed_pepper

I lost my food processor in between moves but am happy to say that I’ve found it again and I love it. It makes recipes like these super easy.

Both recipes were amazing and we will for sure eat them again. The best thing is they were tasty but the second best thing is that David ate three things he tells me he hates. Now, I’m really into honestly and transparency but I also know that basing your adult taste buds on foods you tasted as a kid can let you out of a WHOLE bunch of good food.

curried_veggie_hash

My mom used to always cook spinach, from a can, in the iron skillet some way. Gah. I didn’t like it. It was slimy and disgusting. But fresh spinach as an adult? I eat it out of the bag like candy.

Anyway…

The first recipe for stuffed peppers, contains yellow squash and the hash recipe contains sweet potato and zucchini.

Four thumbs up on these two recipes. We’ll be eating them again! 🙂

Next week we’re going to try Apple Shallot Pork Chops and Breakfast Paleo Pizza.