Jalapeno & Mango Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and cheese reminds me of two times in my life. 1) Being a little kid and 2) being a drunk college freshman at 3 AM. Not that those two things are really all that different: poorly thought out decisions and sloppy eating at their finest.


Regardless, I'm sure we can all agree that mac and cheese is an amazing food. Some might call it a super food. Not to be confused with superfoods. (Add ketchup. Enjoy!)

Just add mango

But now I've graduated. My tastes are more refined. Sophistication has won the day. No more boxed mac for me. It's actually really crazy how easy homemade mac n cheese can be to make once you get it out of your head that it's hard. No need for Easy Mac. Seriously, there is NO NEED for Easy Mac (I'm talking the just add water stuff here, not the boxed stuff in general. I love boxed mac and cheese.) Because it's NOT really that much easier to just add water to dehydrated cheese than it is to add milk and butter. Unless of course you don't have a refrigerator and your only means of cooking is in the microwave, then sure, get your Easy Mac on (HELLLOOO college memories...).


AND, I hope you aren't totally repulsed by the idea of cheddar cheese and mangoes. I know, it's weird. But if you are skeptical (as SOME people that I live with were...), you are dead wrong. The sharpness of the cheese. The sweetness of the mangoes. Match made in heaven. Those are not complete sentences. All balanced out perfectly by the hint of spiciness from chipotle and jalapenos. Baking the dish is key to fusing all these flavors together.


The responsible, healthy eater that I am, I went ahead and served this mac and cheese with a nice healthy salad. It was full of carrots, bell peppers, yellow (!) cherry tomatoes, and green beans. The more colors the better! And I slept better at night, know that I got my veggies in for the day.


Soundtrack: ALO

Jalapeno & Mango Macaroni and Cheese
(Serves 4 as a main course)


3 tbsp butter
4 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 c 2% milk
1 tsp chipotle seasoning
1/2 tsp paprika
2 c sharp cheddar cheese (white)
About 1/2 box of elbow macaroni, cooked al dente
1 small jalapeno, chopped very finely
1 medium mango, chopped
1/2 c. panko bread crumbs
salt & pepper


Preheat oven to 350.


Create a roux by melting the butter in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the flour, stirring until completely combined. Remove from heat.


Begin to whisk in the milk, adding a little at a time and whisking quickly to avoid lumps. Turn the heat back on to medium. Heat, stirring constantly and making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan until it begins to boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the mixture thickens (about 3-5 minutes). Season with salt, pepper, chipotle, and paprika and simmer on low for another 10 minutes, continuing to stir often.


Remove from heat and stir in cheddar cheese until melted. Add macaroni noodles, mango and jalapeno. Transfer mixture to a grease baking dish and top with bread crumbs. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbling and bread crumbs are toasted.

Thickened white sauce.. hmmm

Little mango flowers!

Skillzz

Look! It's the leaning tower of Cheese-a!

Delicious...

Baked Cheese. Yum.
What else can you really say?

Ginger Peach Oatmeal

There are two reasons you are probably about to think I am crazy. And the fact that I just told you that is not one of them.


1) I am giving you an oatmeal recipe in August. Rational: I have AC. Peaches are really good right now. Peaches are really good in oatmeal. (PS who remembers this video from 112. It makes me feel embarrassed just to watch it. Mostly because those are CANNED PEACHES. You can't even spring for fresh peaches? IT'S A MUSIC VIDEO! Never mind all the half naked women making eyes at us and the flashing bad boys sign.)


2) I just spent 20 minutes making oatmeal. Rational: I had to get it perfect! And yea, this oatmeal is a little more effort that you're going to want to put forth on a weekday, but if you've got the time, you should really try it. It probably takes 10 minutes. With clean up. If you hustle. Make it for 2 or 3 or 4. Then it's worth it.

Oatmeal & Hot Coffee. This is how I celebrate August.
Bah Humbug.

I just bought a mortar and pestle. I wasn't sure at first which piece was which. Yea it seems obvious, until you try to convince yourself that a mortar is a bowl. Then you start to think, the mortar could TOTALLY be the stick. Pestal is sorta like pedestal, so don't you rest your herbs and spices ON it?  Quick google search and I learned all about the word's Latin roots. The mortar IS the bowl.


Anyway, I was dying to try it out. I had some ginger and some brown sugar and some delicious peaches and so I whipped up (very slowly) this oatmeal.


There's not a LOT of sugar in my oatmeal recipe. The peaches will add a decent amount of sweetness, but can add more depending on how sweet you'd like it.


And!! AND!! Look what I learned!! Here's your soundtrack. Right on the page. How easy is that? I found this mix here, at The Dance Party Chronicles. If you like dance parties check it out. If you don't, well, I'm sorry.


Soundtrack:

TRAVELS by Tensnake by Oki-Ni on Mixcloud

Ginger Peach Oatmeal

(serves 1, but can be easily multiplied)

1/2 c quick oats
3/4 c water
1 small peach, peeled and diced
3/4 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
dash of salt
splash of milk


In a tea kettle, heat water over high heat to bring to a boil (You will want to boil more than 3/4 c to allow for some steam).


Meanwhile, place the ginger and brown sugar in a MORTAR. Grind with a PESTLE until the ginger releases its juices and you have a brown sugar-ginger paste.


In a small bowl, place oats. Add the brown sugar- ginger mixture. Pour 3/4 c boiling water over the oats and stir until water has been absorbed into the oats and they begin to soften. Allow oatmeal to sit for 1-2 minutes. Stir in vanilla, a dash of salt and a splash of milk.


Enjoy! 

Tools.

Little pieces of summer

Grind the ginger into the brown sugar.
Interesting sentence if you are fluent in slang.

Action shot!

Other Great Bites

Guys, I have a confession. I've been cooking/baking behind all of your backs. Not a single post all week. I know. Weak.


I'm reading the Hunger Games. Actually, I read book 1 last week and now I'm reading the 2nd. I can't do anything else. I barely have time to shower and feed myself, let alone to come up with witty things to say to you. I also made two interesting yet delicious dishes that I want to tweak before I share them.


So I thought that maybe I would share some delicious things that other people were doing, while I was so busy slacking!


Fluffernutter Bread by Becca Thomas

Look at this adorable little package!!

 I received this one in the mail this week. Oh. My. God. 

LOOK AT THAT GOOP IN THE MIDDLE! That's peanut butter and marshmallow FLUFF. Baked into a banana bread. I'm sure I don't have to go much farther with this to convince you how good this was. I also have to admit, I had the misfortune (or fortune, depends how you are looking at it) of opening this when I got home from the gym (starving!). And then ate half the loaf. Standing at the table. With the packaging still all over the place. Oops. Self control, where were you on that one!?


I really hope that we will get the recipe soon :) PS Thanks again, Becca!


Blackberry Jam by My Mommy!

My mom lives on a lot of land. You could almost call it a farm (IF SHE WOULD JUST BUY A GOAT LIKE SHE PROMISED!!!). She has blackberries, and raspberries, blueberries and cherries, and lots of berries of I've never even heard of and can't remember. She's got a fantastic grape arbor that is loaded with concord grapes. She is really great at making jam. (She also makes delicious pickles, but I totally missed out on those this year. Sad.) I did score a large jar of this blackberry jam last weekend though, and just pried it open this morning.

Look at those berries!
And peep those scrambled eggs with garden fresh tomatoes!

Sea of berry jam!

Phallic Tomatoes by Jeremy's Garden

Nature at it's finest..

So, I apologize for the lack of recipe, but something to drool over anyway! Have a great weekend everyone! :)

Roasted Vegetables with Appenzeller, Arugula & Pesto Baguettes

If this were a friends episode it would be called "The One Where Adam and Meghan go on a Picnic." 

Pic-a-nic Basket!

If this were a friends episode, we would get to the park and Adam would get stung by a bee (again!). And then he would be allergic. But not the deathly kind of allergic, the kind where you just get really swollen. But we would be really far into the woods, so by the time we got to the car his face would be giant and purple. He would encounter some people who would make some funny comments about his face and then we would have to bring Jagger to the hospital with us. And Jagger would get into something while we were there. Maybe while we were in seeing the doctor, he would walk to the other side of the curtain and eat all the food from the lunch bag of the man sleeping on the other side. He is in the hospital because he just got giant a mole removed and is under anesthesia. It turns out that he is our neighbor who hates Jagger already, because he barks at his cat. We would make an effort to leave quickly before our sleeping neighbor awakes. The episode would end with Adam and Meghan, many hours later, having a candlelit picnic in their living room later that night. Their neighbor would stop by and recount to them how his lunch had disappeared and Adam would keep scratching while he was there and it would make the neighbor suspicious. Then he would leave and in true sitcom form, it would be romantic and there would be wine.


But that's not really what happened (mostly because in real life Jagger can't be in hospitals). In real life, we had a pleasant morning with delicious food and great company. And Jagger enjoyed himself too. It was all very sickening and adorable. AND I LOVE PICNICS!


In addition to the items listen above, I also brought along some of these scones since I wanted a brunch-type vibe. I also threw in a container of assorted olives and peppadews. I like to eat lots of different things .

Peek-neek stuff and sunflowers :)

These appetizers/small bites are fantastic to bring on a picnic. Many different components served separately that are meant to be assembled. They compliment and balance each other well, but each is also great on it own. It's a really easy spread (SO EASY) and you can either build small sandwiches or just have a smattering of different things (I love that word). Or both! Appenzeller is a really great and flavorful cheese that pairs really well with arugula. Pesto adds a nice touch.


Soundtrack: Cage the Elephant - Self-titled


Roasted Vegetables with Appenzeller, Arugula & Pesto Baguettes 
(Serves 2 or 3 as a meal or 5 as an appetizer)


For this spread you will need:


1 block of Appenzeller Cheese, cut into slices
2-3 handfuls Arugula
1/4 c. Pesto
1 baguette, sliced on the diagonal
Roasted Veggies (See below)

Arrange everything separately. Encourage mixing and matching to create different sandwich combinations! Yum!


Roasted Vegetables




1 medium zuchinni, sliced on a diagonal
1 small red onion, cut into wedges
1-8 oz package of baby carrots or carrot sticks
1 tbsp EVOO
1 tsp fresh rosemary
1 tsp fresh oregano
1 tbsp fresh thyme
salt & pepper
cooking spray


Preheat oven to 350. Toss vegetables in oil, rosemary, oregano, & thyme. Season with salt & pepper to taste (just a sprinkling of each).


Spray a 9x11 baking dish with cooking spray. Spread vegetables evenly in dish and bake for 45 minutes, or until vegetables are completely softened, stirring every 10-15 minutes. 


Allow to cool & serve cold.

Fraiche Vegetables

Add some flavor...

Bam! Delicious!

Gorgeous day in b-e-a-utiful Fairmount Park!

"Nor doth this wood lack worlds of company,
For you in my respect are all the world:
Then how can it be said I am alone,
When all the world is here to look on me?"

Portable food.. sigh

Uh, what?

Blueberry-Lemon Scones with Lavender Honey

On a scale from 1-cool, how cool is it if I stay in on a Friday night to bake scones? I mean, if nothing else I should at least get points for baking something so classy as a scone. And for putting zest in them. And lavender honey! Right on guys, I think it's pretty cool. 

Blueberry Blood

I should also mention that all the while I was baking these scones, my poor roommate was scrubbing the inside of our refrigerator, trying to erase the smell of rotting something-or-other that had been festering all week. It had actually moved to the freezer by this point and just was not backing down. Headfirst into rancid yuckiness all night long. On this scale from 1-cool though, he's beating me. Because I sure as shit didn't want to deal with it. Helllloooo ladies, this one is single and ready to mingle. And IT CLEANS! He's a keeper for sure. (Someone please take him off my hands!... juuuust kidding.)

Not a bad site, huh ladies?

Anyway, Adam and I have been together.. hmm..  I guess you could say a few years now. We aren't really sure exactly how long. We've known each other for 6 at least. And I've been trying to convince him to go on a picnic with me ever since. He finally agreed and OMG I AM SO EXCITED!  Picnics rule. I think it means finals week has officially burnt out his brain, but it's working to my advantage so it's all good. I hope I don't sound too much like Barefoot Contessa with this scenario, because I'm really not much a fan of all of the hokey stories on that cooking show. In fact the name Jeffrey makes me shudder. I'm just foreshadowing and it's totally going to work in your favor! Menu to drool over coming soon to a computer near you.

I figured scones would be a fun thing to bring along. I've also been dreaming about using the lavender honey that I made a couple weeks ago. So again, win-win. 

One of my favorite things about having a food processor is the ease at which I can make pastries. The thing cuts butter into flour like, well, butter.  If you don't have one, obviously you could make this the old fashioned way with a pastry cutter or two knives, but I really recommend investing in a food processor. Plus, you can make hummus and Pesto and all sorts of other delicious things. (I can make great product pitches if anyone wants to sponsor me... just sayin'.)

These scones have a great texture. Scones are baked from dough and more like a sweet biscuit than a muffin. These are pretty light and moist. The blueberry flavor is the most prominent, with a hint of lemon and then lavender on the end. Perfect for brunch or 12 AM on Friday night. Just be careful if you eat them warm, that night time snack lead to a blueberry massacre all. over. my. fingers. In a good way.

Soundtrack: Disco Deviance

Blueberry-Lemon Scones with Lavender Honey

Makes 8 (small) scones

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled
2 tbsp lavender honey (you can buy it or it can be made from simmering honey with lavender flowers for 30 minutes)
1/2 c. plain greek yogurt

1 tbsp lemon zest

1/4 c. fresh blueberries, frozen

Preheat the oven to 425 (That's right, 425).

Put the flour, baking powder, and salt into a food processor. Cut the butter into tablespoon sized pieces and add to the processor. Pulse (about 10 times at 30 seconds each) until butter is cut into the flour. The mixture will resemble course cornmeal when it is ready. (This can also be done by hand!)

Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and add the honey, yogurt, and zest. Cream with a fork until a moist dough is formed, then mix in the blueberries in as few strokes as possible. (Working the dough too much can result in a dense pastry.)

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a circle, about 8' in diameter. Cut the  dough (pizza-style!) into eighths. Place the triangles on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 13-15 mins, until golden brown.

Sweet measuring cups, man

Pads of butter.. Pats of butter?

Is it flour and butter? Or cornmeal? Who knows!

Yellow anyone?

D'oh!

A pizza scone

Delicious blueberry, everywhere!

Tomato-Gouda Shrimp over Polenta

Ok guys, after that last one let's do something a little lighter, shall we? Because I'm still living in a world where THIS CAKE is in my fridge and I'm slowly chipping away at it. With some help of course, but it's still not getting any better for my thighs. ...SO WORTH IT.

And just like that I'm talking about avocado frosting again. Oops.

OMG, POLENTA!

Yesterday I went to the dentist. "Why do I care?" you ask. Well you probably don't. But this is my blog and if I want to tell you, you've got to read! Actually you don't. You could just skip ahead to the recipe. Or close this window entirely. But I digress! So yesterday I went to the dentist (no cavities!!) and of course I couldn't let that go by without a small homage to my boy David.


Unfortunately, I didn't have nearly that much fun on my trip to the dentist. Although, when I had my wisdom teeth taken out I had that much fun. I stole a magazine from the waiting room and giggled about it the whole way home. True story. Ran through the parking lot with it and everything. My poor mother. How. Embarrassing.


Anyway, I consider going to the dentist to be an accomplishment, because it sucks. I could also consider my first experience cooking with polenta an accomplishment. (Add another one to the list! Who's keeping track again?) Ok, confession: I bought a pre-made variety that came in a tube. It was bouncy and very interesting indeed. I added some water and made a "mush". Think grits. (I LOVE GRITS!) It was alright. Then I looked up some recipes for the stuff. Looks so easy! Who knew? Next time I'll just make my own.


But I wanted to share the rest of the recipe, because it was so easy and quick and it really hit the spot! A little spicy and a little sweet. It pairs really well with the polenta-mush. Is there a technical term for that?


Soundtrack: Isolee - We Are Monster


Tomato-Gouda Shrimp over Polenta
(serves 3-4)


1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 clove garlic
14 oz can diced tomatoes
1/4 c. chicken stock
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
5- 1 in cubes of gouda cheese (sorry, that's my measurement.. 5 cubic inches of gouda)
6-7 leaves of fresh basil
EVOO
Salt & Pepper
1 lb polenta, prepared and mashed into a "mush" (add some water)


In a saute pan, heat a drizzle of EVOO over medium heat. Salt & pepper the shrimp and add to the oil. Saute, stirring every so often, until fully cooked. Remove to a bowl and set aside.


Add a bit more EVOO to the pan. Add garlic and toast, stirring fairly consistently, just until it begins to brown to open the flavor. Add tomatoes (with liquid), stock, red pepper flakes and oregano. Season with salt & pepper. Bring sauce to a boil and simmer until reduced, about 7-10 minutes.


Once sauce is reduced and while the heat is still on, stir in gouda cheese. Break up the cheese with a spatula until melted into the sauce.


Remove from heat and stir in the shrimp. Serve over polenta and garnish with a few leaves of fresh basil.

We only had whole tomatoes,
Cue Jeremy, dicer extraordinaire!

Got his dice on!

Skrrriiiimp!

Let there be sauce!

Looks like butter, but it's just pieces of the moon

Ready to go...

I love fresh basil!

Would you like some?

Slime Time Cake (Dark Chocolate Cake with Avocado "Buttercream")

This is true: I have been dreaming about making this cake since a trip to Capogiro 5 days ago brought the combination of avocado and dark chocolate gelato flavors into my life. I actually woke up this morning and starting making it instead of breakfast. I just frosted the cake about 15 minutes ago. Everyone in my apartment has already eaten a piece. We are all now obsessed with avocado frosting. Adam just saw the bowl from the frosting in the sink and yelled at me for not letting him lick it, oops. Then I ran immediately to my computer so I could share this with everyone (I get really excited about cake... well, food in general). This is a lie: I definitely couldn't eat another piece.

Ooo... Goo!

Remember slime? Ya know, that green goop that was dumped on contestants of every old-school Nickelodeon game show ever?  It probably saw it's height of popularity with the game show Slime Time Live, but it was definitely a long running gag that was synonymous with the TV channel for most of my childhood. I'm sure I'm not alone in that I always wanted to be "slimed" watching this as a kid. I've still never actually met anyone who was slimed on Nickelodeon, which I think it weird considering how long this whole thing went on for. Seriously, if you've ever been slimed on Nick, hit me up. Let's be friends. I need to check that off my bucket list.


In any event, this frosting reminds me of slime. And I like it.


Avocado frosting? I know, it sounds weird. But here's the thing. It totally makes sense! Hear me out. Avocado has a very high fat content, but it's healthy (monounsaturated, but don't ask me what that means) fat that is good for your heart. Most frosting is made by combining a solid fat and powdered sugar. See? See? And you better believe this will be the healthiest frosting you have ever eaten! Relax, I'm not suggesting that this frosting is GOOD for you. Just pointing out that if you're gonna stuff yourself full of fatty, sugary goodness, it might as well be something other than Crisco.


I promise it doesn't taste like a guacamole covered chocolate cake. AT ALL. Not even a little bit. It tastes sweet and vanilla-like, with just enough of a hint of avocado taste to balance the chocolate cake fantastically!


Soundtrack: Primus (Prep for the Tower Theatre show.. in October)


Dark Chocolate Cake with Avocado "Buttercream"


Dark Chocolate Cake (Recipe from AllRecipes.Com)


2 c. boiling water

• 1 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c. butter, softened
• 2 1/4 c. sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 350 and grease 3-9' cake pans.
• 
  
• In a medium bowl, pour boiling water over the cocoa power and whisk together until dissolved. Set aside; this will need to cool completely before use (I let it cool a little, then stuck it in the fridge).
• 
  
• Sift the flour into another medium bowl, then whisk in baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set this aside.
• 
  
• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs. Beat in the vanilla.
• 
  

Using a spoon, stir in 1/3 of the flour mixture. Then, 1/3 of the cocoa (completely cooled). Scrape down the sides and continue in this pattern until the cake batter is thoroughly combined. Pour the batter evenly into the three pans and bake for 25-30 minutes.


Allow to cool completely before frosting!


Avocado Buttercream (From Alton Brown, made with 1 small tweak)
Makes 2 c. (You might want to double this or make 1 1/2 batches. I did wish for more!)


2 med avocados
2 tsp lemon juice
1 lb powdered sugar, may use more depending on consistency
1 tsp vanilla extract


Peel and pit the avocados. Place the meat of the avocado in a large bowl. Try to avoid the brown bits because the color will be important. Add lemon juice and beat with a mixer until the avocado lightens in color, about 2-3 minutes.


Begin to add the powdered sugar, a little at a time. Beat until each addition of sugar is combined. Based on the consistency and your tastes, you may need more (I needed a bite more). Once the sugar is blended, beat in the vanilla.


This frosting needs to be kept in the refrigerator, but thanks to the lemon, it will not turn brown!

3 bowls! 1 cake!

I like how I can see myself sifting!

Filling up those bowls...

Batter up!

Flesh!!!!

Juicy..

Cue the slime horn...