Quickie

i just made the most rachael ray meal that actually isn’t one yet: steak fajita pasta. 

1. place on water to boil.

2. chop onions and peppers.  pour pasta into pot.

3. saute veggies in a seperate pan.  in the last few minutes add pre cooked (leftover) steak and fajita seasoning (from a packet…cause it’s easy) and toss to combine.

4. drain pasta and toss in pan with veggies.

5. eat and enjoy.

ready for consumption in 15 minutes…i can’t wait 30 minutes to eat.  when i get hungry, i get hungry.

Interview Me! Interview Me!

i once said that line over and over again in hopes of getting on tv while at patriots training camp, but it didn’t work.  instead i embarrassed my cousin and she told me hush.  well my dream has finally come true.  lemmonex sent me five questions, here is her initial post.

1. What do you miss most about RI?
i miss the mall, federal hill, and thayer street. the mall has nordstroms and even better, nordstrom cafe. if you haven’t eaten there, eat there…you’ll thank me.  federal hill has the best italian food and it makes me feel like the mob still exists. there’s something about that mystery that pulls me in. thayer street carries so many memories. the most embarrassing being the time me and mia madison went to starbucks because we heard our professor went there. hey he was cute, but there was always something not quite right with him.

2. What is your favorite candy?
gummies hands down. swedish fish, sour patch kids, gummy worms/bears, jelly beans, etc.

3. What do you get out of blogging?
i started blogging a year and a half ago. i had to do it for a class, but once it was over i realized how much i liked it and started that’s my prerogative.  i convinced my brother aka dc hero to start one, who had been talking over and over about if it was too much of a loser thing to do with jack the blogging bartender.  i think we’ve all gone in separate directions.  for me, mine is like an open diary: some personal thoughts, moments, and memories.  i would love to be the real life version of carrie bradshaw, and just put all my feeling out there for everyone to read.

4. Name an article of clothing that makes you feel sexy.
i could state the obvious high heels or jeans, but for me it’s all about the hair.  my hair is naturally curly, but it’s rare to actually see it like that. i have the best flat iron known to man. lots of my friends are convinced it should be illegal because it gets to temperatures that aren’t necessarily safe. but in the right hands, it works like magic. if you have a bad hair day, you might as well stay home.  but if it’s good, it’s great.

5. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
seems like an addiction to me…he’s going to chuck as long as there’s wood to chuck or he gets into dr drew’s rehab.
 

If you’d like to play along, just follow these instructions:
1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions. Be sure you link back to the original post.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

No Substitutions

if you’re going to cook there’s two ways to do it. wing it and taste as you go or use a recipe (but we all know using a recipe every time you cook isn’t real cooking). it’s ok to use a recipe as a reference to see how to use an ingredient you are not familiar with. that makes sense. but does it ever make sense to pull out a recipe and make something different?

i mean you are consciously trying to make the food like the recipe, but decide on your own what you should add and what you shouldn’t? that’s like substituting vinegar for oil!

if you are trying to make a salad dressing that requires vinegar, mustard, honey, pomegranate juice, and molasses and leave out two ingredients. it’s not the same thing! stop telling yourself it is!

Mmmm Mmmm Good

so what am i making for christmas eve?  i guess i can tell you all now.

lettuce wraps with chicken, cabbage, carrots, and peppers in a spicy mandarin orange sauce

butternut squash and apple soup

a spinach salad with assorted apples, toasted walnuts, and gorgonzola tossed with a pomegranate vinaigrette

horseradish encrusted beef tenderloin

wild rice with cranberries and pecans

carrots glazed in a brown sugar syrup

and for dessert….

chocolate truffles

coconut cupcakes

gingerbread trifle with a lemon curd whipped cream and blackberry sauce

mmmm…i’m eating this as we speak

The Real 411

you might not know much about me so i’d thought i would answer a few random questions:

what’s your favorite lunch meat?
roast beef, or as i like to call it roast beast

do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
nope…i tie them once and hopefully never again

last thing you ate?
general tso’s chicken with peppers and onions over brown rice

if you were a crayon what color would you be?
probably violet, but i would want to say i’m macaroni and cheese (blue box…i’d be the cheesiest)

hugs or kisses?
definitely kisses…i’m not the hugging type

what did you watch on tv last night?
jon and kate plus eight

have you met any celebrities?
peter gammons, frankie j, and chris berman

out of the fifty states, how many have you been to?
37

the last song you downloaded?
“here” by rascal flatts

any more questions? just submit them under the comment section

This Makes My Mouth Water

i stopped using capitals because the shift key on my computer gets stuck when i try to use it

ever since that conversation i had a few days ago, i began compiling dishes that i loved from eating out.  i knew i wanted to write my own recipes that were inspired from those dishes, but were not the exact recipes.  so to help myself i’ve used menu descriptions, thanks to the internet, other food blogs and websites, and my mental memory of each experience.  i have to say, i’m pretty impressed with myself so far:

entrees
fennel pollen encrusted salmon
pork shoulder
olive oil poached salmon
rosemary skewered scallops
mustard crusted chicken
coffee crusted steak

sides
risotto
israeli couscous with pancetta, corn, and tomatoes in a cream sauce
creamed spinach
asparagus with hollandaise
ginger rice
saffron rice with currants

apps
warm spinach salad
cheesy focaccia
cheese and olive oil dip

desserts
carrot pineapple upside down cake

but doesn’t everything look good on paper?

But Mom…

 

All women become like their mothers.  That is their tragedy.  No man does.  That’s his.  ~Oscar Wilde

You know how parents say the tables will turn and someday you will take care of them…I never thought it would happen this early.  I felt like such a mom this past weekend.  I was cooking dinner, doing laundry, running errands, and picking up after my “child.”  While I was doing all of this I had to listen to my ”child” whine about how bored he was and that he wanted chocolate chip cookies.  Like most moms, I said he had plenty of snacks, and the last thing he needed was a sugar high (must be a mom-reflex).  And despite all my effort, it went without a single thank you.  I think I’m finally starting to understand what my mom’s job is like.  And I must admit it’s very taxing and doesn’t pay nearly enough. 

This is why having kids of my own freaks me out.  I love to babysit, you can have fun with the kids, but you get to leave whenever the parents get home.  I would also love to be an aunt or a godparent, they offer the same advantages.  But being a mom is a big commitment, that you can’t go back on.  So many girls have it in them to be a mom, and I think I have it too, but after this weekend I’d rather wait close to ten years before testing that theory.

Oh and did I mention the meal was delicious and nutritious…what mom wouldn’t love that?  Baked Spicy Macaroni with a side salad.

Food Cravings

 

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted about food.  (So for all you new readers, I love to cook.)  What’s strange about food is you can have a full fridge and pantry and still be unsatisfied.  Just yesterday my mom had made a big pot of soup, which I normally love but instead I wanted peas and rice (a Lebanese dish…see recipe page for cooking instructions).

It’s weird how food cravings just hit you, and suddenly you can’t think of or want anything else.  It’s almost like a crush.  You think about how it makes you feel warm and tingly on the inside, and how a full plate still isn’t enough; you’ll always want more.  The food is so comforting and warms you right up.  And for me it even makes me smile just to think of it…. strange I know.  But think about it: Let’s say it’s last Sunday, you’re watching the big game, would you be satisfied with a salad?  No, you want the football craving foods: nachos, pizza, wings, beer, etc.  And even though you should stop eating, you don’t.  You keep eating until you feel sick because you can’t get enough of it.  In the end, you’re smiling and so happy.  And now thanks to writing this post I’m craving a snack, it never ends.