girl meets bowl

This girl is on fiyaah!

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 09:47:00 -0400

So, yeah.

If you can’t tell, that’s my blurry shadow on the ladder, staring shamelessly at a shirtless Liam.

Sorry, I know this is completely unrelated to food.

Full trailer:

I’m not dead! I promise. School has just been crazy. I will update…soon…ish.

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 18:04:40 -0400

I’m not dead! I promise. School has just been crazy. I will update…soon…ish.

Merry Happy Xmas to those who celebrate! And Happy Holidays to all!

Tue, 25 Dec 2012 12:20:16 -0500

~~Merry~~ Happy Xmas to those who celebrate! And Happy Holidays to all!

Vegetarian Gyro

Sat, 22 Dec 2012 19:01:17 -0500

Boyfriend says you can’t make a gyro without the meat. Challenge accepted…

…and completed. With a bite in his mouth, he’s like “alright, maybe it’s good.”
That’s some high praise right there.

Made with seasoned and grilled shitake mushrooms and tempeh. MmmmMmmmm.

I Got Feet!!!!

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 19:12:00 -0500

A billion egg whites later…

Horrible little deformed feet, but feet! I was kind of giving up hope that it was possible to make ~~ugly~~ macarons with stevia.

I’ve still got a long way to go, but at least I know I’m on the right track. Will post once I’ve got something that doesn’t require a bag over its head first.

On macaron batch 4. Still no feet, but the texture is getting there. Maybe I should have tried...

Sun, 16 Dec 2012 00:09:22 -0500

On macaron batch 4. Still no feet, but the texture is getting there. Maybe I should have tried mastering a regular macaron before attempting sugar-free? Nah.

NEVER SURRENDER!!!!

When shitty things happen during finals week, and you can’t distract yourself from thinking...

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 07:37:54 -0500

When shitty things happen during finals week, and you can’t distract yourself from thinking about them (with fun things like teh internets and friends) because you have to study instead

Fuck you, Organic Chemistry. Fuck. You.

Macarons,

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 15:41:00 -0500

you will not defeat me. Bring it on.

Just don’t lord it over me when you do win and I’m left crying in a corner over 17 failed batches, hysterically shoving cracked and ugly macaron shells into my face.

Hey do you think you could post cute desserts for christmas?

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 15:15:00 -0500

A request? Rock on! I will do my best! Anything in particular you’re looking for?

is there any alternatives for mason jars that are much cheaper? I would really want to try your DIY chalkboard drink tags :)

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 17:22:00 -0500

Woah, just saw this! Hobby Lobby sells ball jars for $1.79 each, which I guess would add up fast. Fortunately, all their glassware happened to be like 70% off last time I went by there so I snagged a bunch of them. I’ve also found them pretty cheap from thrift stores. So other than hoping for a sale or scoping out your local thrift shops, you could really use any old jar that’s about the right size to drink out of (the mix and match of shapes/sizes could be cite). Confession: I actually buy a certain brand of honey and pasta sauce mainly because they come in cool-looking mason jars. I’m stockpiling for the jarpocolypse. Lemme know if you think of/find something else!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 17:28:00 -0500

Thanksgiving

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 11:26:27 -0500

My next 3 classes need to recognize that Thanksgiving is too close to continue with lecture. Organic chemistry vs. kitchen chemistry? Yeah, that’s a tough one.

ALL THE FOODS!!!

DIY Chalkboard Drink Tags and a JungleFrog Challenge

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 19:01:00 -0500

Sorry for the hiatus, I’ve been ~~lazy~~ busy.

So, a couple times a year, we throw a big get-together (Halloween, someone’s birthday, end of summer, ~~really any excuse to cook a ton and put up pretty lights~~). For drinks, I ditch the Solo cup and opt for its classy, eco-friendly, and pinterest-ey cousin, the Mason Jar.

Yeah, drinking out of jars is cool now, doesn’t that rock?

Before realizing what a total waste of time it was, I used to make new drink labels for each party:

Labeling drinks ensures that a) people don’t mix up their drinks and b) at the end of the night, you know that it was Matt who left his drink in your mailbox (wtf, Matt?)

To save on time and paper, I decided to make reusable chalkboard labels, using:

Mini clothespins* — $1.99 for 25
Chalkstock — $1.99 for 10 sheets, which makes 20 labels
Some twine (okay fine, it’s hemp leftover from my hippie stage, but it works the same!) cut into about 16” lengths. Measure around the rim and give a little extra.
Scissors
Mason Jars
Chalk

Cut chalkstock in half. Snip corner into cute tag shape, or some other design if you’re more skilled than me (not a high bar).
Tie twine around lip of jar and using pin, attach label.
Have guests chalk their names/initials.

*Mini clothespins? How frackin’ cute are those?

And on to the other purpose of this post. Simone over at JungleFrog Cooking is running another photography challenge: drinks or food in a glass. This drink is just a bit of hibiscus tea, made primarily because of its gorgeous color.

I did exactly what Simone said not to do. She highly recommended shooting backlit to better illuminate the liquid. But when your only light source is a window and your “studio” is a table in a tiny, tiny kitchen, you kind of have to take whatever light you can get.

This contest runs through November if you’re thinking about entering. Plus, she’s always got something neat brewing over there.

Who’s HP, you ask? I think you know. He comes to all my parties. It’s ballin’

Wow, I’m sad…

WAHO All-Star Special

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 11:27:00 -0400

“I want you smothered, want you covered, like my Waffle House hash browns.”

The Waffle House All-Star is a beautiful, 3-billion-calorie breakfast composed of the classic Waho waffle, hashbrowns or grits, buttered toast, eggs your way, and bacon or sausage (omitted here because…ew meat). I present my modified version:

Copy-Cat Waffles (served with real maple syrup and real butter)
Hashbrowns
Cheese Grits
Eggs, sunny-side up
Fresh-squeezed OJ
Coffee

Waffle House sets a pretty high waffle bar, and while these waffles don’t quite clear it, they’re the closest I’ve tasted.

Waffle House Waffle—adapted from food.com

1 1/2 cups flour (I use KA Gluten-Free)
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
2 tsp stevia
2-3 tbs malt
4 tbs butter (try making your own)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup butter milk (try making your own)

Mix dry ingredients.
Cream butter with stevia and malt powde. Add egg. Add rest of dairy. Combine with dry mix.
Waffle iron it up.
Serve with copious amount of butter and syrup*

Grits

2 cups water
1/2 cup grits
Generous handful of cheese (cheddar works well, but almost any soft cheese you have on hand besides something funky like bleu, brie should be good), chopped/shredded
salt and pepper to taste

Boil water with a pinch of salt. Stir in grits. Continue to simmer for about 15 minutes or until grits are desired texture. Add more water if need be.
Turn off heat and add in cheese, stirring to melt. Season to taste. Eat.

*and with Hash Browns, Eggs with TONS of pepper, Fresh OJ, Coffee and a Juke Box that is 30% waffle house original singles, 50% Rihanna, and 20% ~~bad~~ amazing 90s hits.

Glllaaahh

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 18:16:00 -0400

The government is developing a new biological weapon in my gym shoes.

Pretty sure it’s the next Resident Evil monster breeding in those sweaty folds.

Dear *Vegetarians, Stop being pushy and condescending to meat eaters. It puts people off and makes...

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 12:55:00 -0400

Dear *Vegetarians,

Stop being pushy and condescending to meat eaters. It puts people off and makes us all look like assholes.

I’m looking at you too, Atheists.

*(certain, not all)

Mini Turtle Cheesecakes

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 12:59:00 -0400

I swear I don’t consume as much sugar as this blog seems to indicate. It just happens to be that when I do, it turns into a post….or diabetes.

Salted caramel cheesecake with a chocolate praline crust and topped with MOAR CARAMEL!

Had to throw in my pretty, thrift-store silver spoons.

MOAR SUGAR!!! Diet starts…tomorrow. Cheesecake today.

Mini Turtle Cheesecakes:
Makes roughly 1 dozen

Caramel
(You’ll have some left over in case you want to pour on top of cheesecakes, or you know, eat from a spoon)

2 cups Sugar (just don’t look while you pour it and it won’t seem so bad)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/4 cups butter
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt or to taste

In a small saucepan, heat water and sugar over medium-low heat. Swirl (not stir!) the mixture every now and then. It’ll become a clear liquid once the sugar all dissolves/melts and then slowly, very slowly, it’ll get some color and bubble up. Keep swirling.
Once it’s a nice amber, turn the heat to low and add the butter in increments, swirling the pan to melt after each addition.
Add the cream and swirl (you can stir some now) until it’s a homogeneous mixture. (If the sugar is sort of hardening and not incorporating the butter and cream, turn the heat back up to medium until it does.)
Salt to taste. Remove from heat and transfer to a glass jar and let cool at least to room temp (preferably chilled in the fridge).

Candied Pecans

1 1/2 Cups Pecans
2 tbs Butter, melted
1 tsp Stevia
1 tsp Salt

Combined last 3 ingredients and then pour over pecans, mixing and coating well. Bake in a single layer in a 350 degree oven (or toaster oven) for 8 minutes or until they start to smell roasted. Be careful not to burn them. Let cool.

Base

34 graham crackers (1 sleeve or about 2 1/2 cups ground)
3/4 cup butter, melted
Candied Pecans from above
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
Caramel (I don’t remember how much, maybe a cup?)

Grind the graham crackers to crumbs (I use my blender and just pulse in batches) and mix with the butter. Press crumb mixture into muffin tins or ramekins (or these wicked awesome silicone baking cups that I loooove), pushing crumb mix up the sides.
Mix together candied pecans, chocolate chips, and enough caramel to lightly coat everything. Evenly spread this mix among the bottoms of the prepared crusts, set aside.

Cheesecake

2 8 oz packages of cream cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup caramel

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and then add the eggs, beating until sort of fluffy. Fold in the sour cream and caramel. Pour into prepared crusts. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until done.
Top with additional caramel and pecans. EAT!!!

Purple Sauerkraut!

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 12:55:00 -0400

It’ll taste better than it looks…

I’ve recently become addicted to the stuff, so figured it was time to get over my fear of fermenting (you know, that weirdo hippie thing?) and brew my own. It’s got a few more days to go.

Have leftover wonton wrappers and craving something sweet. Chocolate or apple filling?

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 15:31:38 -0400

Have leftover wonton wrappers and craving something sweet. Chocolate or apple filling?

Bristol Stopover

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 11:53:00 -0400

was ah-frickin’-mazing.

Photo from Show Me Your Heart.

I’ll never forget:

Seeing Marcus come on stage to perform with Dawes. I’m not proud of the hysterical fangirl squeel/scream I made when he first appeared. I didn’t know I could make that sound. I was mentally prepared to see them when they were officially announced, but was caught off guard by seeing him early with Dawes.
Being such a sobbing, cathartic mess after half the songs that I couldn’t even clap or cheer.
How much our campsite ROCKED. We lucked out, big time.
The physical exhaustion, hunger, and sunburn that was all worth it.
Timshel. No one thought they’d play it. I just about died when they did.

Quick recap:

To the girl on extasy whose flailing arms continuously blocked my mumfview and who mistakenly thought “Timshel” was good rave music, fuck you.
To the 4 tallest people at the concert who squeezed in front of us right when M&S took the stage, fuck you.
To the sun that refused to set, fuck you.

To Ben Lovett, for DJing “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” theme song at the after party, less than 10 feet from me, rock on.
To the woman who I’m 99% sure was Lovett’s girlfriend, whom I happened to be standing behind: When you walked off, he kept looking over to see if you were back yet and would meet my awkward fangirl gaze instead, so thanks for enabling a stalk WIN.
To my boyfriend who said we should switch phones so I’d have a smartphone with which to take pics at the concert or afterparty, you were right. Bummer I didn’t listen.
To the taco vendor lady who let me buy plain tomatoes from her under the table, thanks, you rock.
To the vendor(s) who let me steal meltey ice water from the tubs to refill my bottle, thanks.
To the meltey ice water germs, thanks for being cool and not killing me.
To all the people who lent sunscreen, thanks.
To the shuttle bus driver that drove us all the way back to our campsite when we forgot our after-party passes, you rock.
To the solar system, for providing a meteor shower Saturday night—as if it could get any more epic, thanks.
And finally, to plaid, for being the official sponsor of the Gentlemen of the Road Tour, thanks. Without your support, 60% of the audience and performers might actually have to wear solids.