Avocado, Asparagus and Tomato Salad

For some odd reason, I have been craving avocado like woah. So I made a salad with some. This was delicious and just the thing on a hot day. Not too heavy and very different texturally.

Avocado, Asparagus and Tomato Salad

1 Avocado, sliced
1 large tomato, chopped into large pieces
large bunch of asparagus, blanched and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
Balsamic vinegar to taste
Juice and zest from 1 lemon

Combine everything in a bowl, toss and enjoy!

Shortest post ever.

Chocolate Chip Cookies and a Test

A friend I work with asked me the other day what the difference was between using kosher salt, sea salt and table salt. Being the seasoned expert I am at baking....I had NO idea! So it was time for a little science experiment, with cookies!

I started by making some slightly healthier chocolate chip cookies from 101 Cookbooks. These cookies were tasty. Very moist and chewy. Definitely not my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe, but they do the trick for a slightly healthier dose of sugar! In half the dough I used sea salt and the other half I used kosher. Was there a difference?

NO! I really could not tell the difference between the two cookies. That being said, there may have been one my taste buds were not able to pick out. But I sure couldn't tell the difference! Case in point, use whatever salt you want! I think I'll still use kosher as my go-to salt, but its nice to know I have options!

Chocolate Chip Cookies
101 Cookbooks

5 ounces good-quality semi-sweet chocolate bar (I used mini chocolate chips)
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
scant 1 cup natural cane sugar (or brown sugar)
scant 1 tablespoon organic unsulphured molasses (blackstrap)
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup large-grain sugar (for ex: turbinado)

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper.

Finely chop the chocolate bar into 1/8-inch pieces. Try to avoid big lumps and chunks, which make flattening out the cookie dough later more difficult.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, oats, walnuts, and shaved chocolate. Set aside.

Beat the butter until fluffy. Beat in the sugar and mix until it is also light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Beat in the molasses, then the egg, mixing until both are well incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mix and stir by hand until the ingredients barely come together into a uniform dough.

I made these a bit bigger than they are on the website, but choose your poison. Gently flatten each dough ball into a thin, round patty with two fingers and then sprinkle the top of each cookie with a pinch of large-grain sugar. Bake for about 10 minutes (for larger cookies) or until cookies are golden and fragrant. Remove from oven, and cool on a wire rack.

Rosemary Cayenne Popcorn

Spice and I are going to turn into giant popcorn kernels. I swear.

We had a marathon of the second season of Tru Blood this weekend. I think we popped almost an entire bag full of kernels to partake of with our sexy vampire watching. PS: True Blood is an amazing show. I HIGHLY recommend you watch it. Now. After you watch it, tell me which vampire you love. Spice is in love with Eric while I am a true Bill devotee. Yes, these are vampires. Yes, they are Hot. With a capital H.

Back to the popcorn. Before we just started making vats of plain popcorn, I made some Rosemary Cayenne Popcorn. Delish. It had a very good balance between salty and sweet. Although, by the end of the weekend, I just started putting some sugar and salt on my popcorn and it did the trick for the lazy in me!

Rosemary Cayenne Popcorn
Montcarte

3 tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup popcorn kernels
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
2 tablespoons minced rosemary
2 tablespoons grated parmesan
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 cups popped popcorn

Heat the oil in a 3-quart saucepan on medium high heat.

Put 1 or 2 popcorn kernels into the oil and cover the pan.

When the kernels pop, add the rest of the 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels in an even layer. Cover, remove from heat and count 30 seconds. This method first heats the oil to the right temperature, then waiting 30 seconds brings all of the other kernels to a near-popping temperature so that when they are put back on the heat, they all pop at about the same time.

Return the pan to the heat. The popcorn should begin popping soon, and all at once. Once the popping starts in earnest, gently shake the pan by moving it back and forth over the burner. Try to keep the lid slightly ajar to let the steam from the popcorn release (the popcorn will be drier and crisper). Once the popping slows to several seconds between pops, remove the pan from the heat, remove the lid, and dump the popcorn immediately into a wide bowl.

In the bottom of a large bowl, mix the butter, rosemary, parmesan, brown sugar, cayenne and salt. Pour the popcorn into the large bowl. Stir the popcorn to evenly coat the kernels with the seasoning.

Vegetable Frittata

My Dad makes the BEST frittata. He makes it every Easter. I always kind of took it for granted how good his frittata really was. Then one year, I just couldn't eat enough of it and begged my Dad to make another one. I'm not sure if he did, but from then on, I have made sure that he makes at least two entire casserole dishes full of frittata. Then one year when I was in college I came home and made him make one and we froze it and I brought it on the plane with me back to school! Haha. Good times.

Now I'm a grownup (well, kind of) and I can make my own frittata. Of course, it will never be as good as my Dad's, but at least I have something to aim for!

This one turned out REALLY well! I make frittata different from the rest of the world, I think, thanks to my Dad. I dont cook the egg mixture on the stove but put it in the oven for longer. I LOVED all the different vegetables that I was able to put in! Of course, it was WAY better the second day after all the juices could sneak in. Gotsta love the juice sneakage!

Vegetable Frittata
Adapted from eCurry

Asparagus spears, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup spinach, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic
Green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
Shiitake mushrooms
8 eggs
few tablespoons milk
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Blanch the asparagus by putting them in boiling water for a few minutes, then picking them up and placing in a cold ice bath.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Saute the onions and garlic until onions are translucent. Add the bell peppers and spinach. Saute for a few minutes, before adding the asparagus and green onions. Place cooked vegetables in a large casserole dish.

Whisk the eggs and milk together, then pour over the vegetables. Place in oven for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until eggs are set.

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

Have I mentioned its hot here?

Oh yeah. That's all I've been talking about. Oops.

More ice cream to battle the mugginess. This one turned out well. Super creamy and delicious. The ultimate hot day quencher! Spice and I have enjoyed this while sweating like crazy on our couches, just watching tv, with approximately 10 (ok 2) fans blowing in our faces. What a life!

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream
Ben and Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream and Dessert Book

2 cups heavy or whipping cream
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup half and half
1 cup coarsely chopped Oreo's
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the cookies in a bowl, cover and refrigerate.

Pour the cream into a mixing bowl. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour int he half and half then the vanilla and whisk to blend.

Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. About 10 minutes before ice cream is finished, add in the crushed Oreos.

Shiitake Mushroom Pizza

New York is in a heat wave. I kind of want to crawl into an air conditioner and hibernate until winter. Every time I walk outside I am graced with a wall of HOT air full force in my face. Not cool (literally and figuratively).

Speaking of which...I cannot WAIT for Christmas/Wintertime this year. My friend Lisa and I are pretty much the epitome of elves. Do I even need to mention my most favorite movie of all time is Elf? I watch it year round and know all the words. Don't judge. Mostly, I am excited for sweatpants. I love it when it is cold outside and you can come home and curl up in a pair of sweats. How awesome is that?! It is always better with a fire and some coffee or hot chocolate, but lets not get too picky here!

Back to food. I watched Martha Stewart and Jennifer Garner make a Shiitake Mushroom Pizza on The Martha Stewart Show last week. I was inspired. This was definitely the best pizza I have made to date. Especially the dough. It was just how I like it: thin and crunchy! Perfection! I was also smart and made it ahead like you are supposed to. Sometimes its so darn difficult to plan ahead!

Watch Jen and Martha here. It's pretty awesome!

Pizza Dough
Martha Stewart

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (one 1/4-ounce envelope)
2 cups warm water (105 degrees to 115 degrees)
5 to 5 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting, preferably organic
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
Extra-virgin olive oil, for bowl

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in 3 cups flour and the salt, stirring until smooth. Stir in an additional 2 cups flour; continue adding flour (up to 1/2 cup), 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring until dough comes away from bowl but is still sticky.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead with lightly floured hands. Start by slapping the dough onto the counter, pulling it toward you with one hand and pushing it away from you with the other. Fold the dough back over itself (use a bench scraper or a wide knife to help scrape dough from surface). Repeat until it's easier to handle, about 10 times. Finish kneading normally until dough is smooth, elastic, and soft, but a little tacky, about 10 minutes.

Shape dough into a ball and transfer to a lightly oiled bowl; turn to coat. Cover with plastic, and let rise in a warm place until it doubles in volume, 2 hours. Press it with your finger to see if it's done; an indent should remain.

Scrape dough out of the bowl onto floured surface, and cut it into 4 pieces. Shape into balls. Dust with flour, and cover with plastic. Transfer to refrigerator, let rise overnight.

Shiitake Mushroom Pizza
Martha Stewart

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 1/2 cups shiitake mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1/4 recipe Pizza Dough
Semolina flour, for dusting
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
1/4 cup fresh ricotta cheese
3 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
2 teaspoons chopped thyme leaves
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat grapeseed oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Place a pizza stone (available at most kitchen-supply stores) on floor of a gas oven (remove racks) or bottom rack of electric oven. Preheat oven to at least 500 degrees for 1 hour.

Shape dough into a round. Holding top edge of dough round in both hands, let bottom edge touch work surface. Carefully move hands around edge to form a circle, as if turning a wheel. Hold dough on back of your hand, letting its weight stretch it into a 12-inch round. Transfer dough to a pizza peel (or an inverted baking sheet) lightly dusted with semolina flour. Press out edges using your fingers. Jerk peel; if dough sticks, lift, and dust more flour underneath.

Drizzle olive oil over dough, leaving a 1-inch border. Arrange cheeses evenly over olive oil. Top with cooked mushrooms and thyme leaves; season with salt and pepper.

Heat oven to broil. Align edge of peel with edge of stone. Tilt peel, jerking it gently to move pizza. When edge of pizza touches stone, quickly pull back peel to transfer pizza to stone. (Do not move pizza). Broil until crust begins to bubble, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce temperature to 500 degrees, and bake until crust is crisp and golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes more. (If not using broiler, bake pizza for 10 to 15 minutes total.) Remove pizza from oven using peel; drizzle with additional olive oil, if desired. Slice and serve.

Peach Picco de Gallo

"If I were a rich man, yada deeba deeba dooba didle deeba didle do! All day long I'd deedle deedle doe, If I were a wealthy man, yah!"

Feel ashamed if you don't know what that's from. I have a point. I promise.

It's from Fiddler on the Roof. I've been getting frustrated lately because for some reason, I've decided to pick hobbies that seem to cost about a million dollars. I am starting to get sick of spending obscene amount of money on baking supplies (mostly sugar and butter!). Don't worry, I would never give it up! I'm just saying it frustrates me. Grr. Not to mention that my other hobby is scrapbooking (yes, sometimes I AM a middle aged woman), which gets expensive as well.

Doesn't a nice cold margarita sound good to take the edge off? With chips and salsa? Well, I've got the salsa part!

Peach Picco De Gallo
Adapted from The Eating Club

2 peaches, diced
1 tomato, diced
1 can diced jalapenos
5-6 strands green onions, diced
juice from 1 lemon
salt and pepper
Handful of cilantro

Mix everything together in a large bowl, add as many or as few jalapenos as you would like along with the juice. Joyfully eat with tortilla chips and hopefully an ice cold margarita!

Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies

I had such a great, relaxing weekend. Our apartment was super quiet all weekend, and I used that time to clean with gusto, bake up a storm and enjoy some much needed quiet time! As much as I LOVE getting drinks or dinner or hanging out with friends in the park, I am one of those people that really likes to come home to some quiet alone time (the only child bell is ringing).

I found out late last week that I am finally getting paid to dance with a REALLY small ballet company in Queens. Even though I am only getting paid a pitiful amount per performance, I can officially say I am a professional dancer now =)

Spice and I also saw "Julie and Julia" this weekend. It was so cute and if you are into the food blogging scene, you definitely should see it. Of course, Spice and I got there right when the previews were ending and therefore sat in the front row with our necks craning upwards the entire time. I hate it when that happens! We got to talking afterwards about how fascinating Maryl Streep is. How the HECK does she LITERALLY become a completely different person??!! At one point, she leaned back onto a couch and I instantly had a flashback to Miranda Priestly in "The Devil Wears Prada". She does another bang up job with this movie. I am enthusiastically impressed.

On Friday, I played round (what round am I on again? 3? 4?) of Butthead's wedding party treats. The culprit: Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies. The consensus: Delicious, but a little cakey for my tastes.

I spoke to Butthead about these (who just adopted a grey german shepard puppy named Eleanor, who is so cute I want to kidnap her! Pic below.) and we discussed that we both enjoy fudgey (is that even a word?) brownies best. I may use a fudgey brownie base I have used before and then just add the raspberry cream cheese topping to it. Anyways, I can't say that I hate these, because there are only about half left and I am the only one who has been eating them (gulp!) but if you prefer fudgey brownies, this may not be the recipe for you!


Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies
Ray Romano on Good Housekeeping

Brownie Batter:
1 cup butter
1 cup cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
1 10-oz jar seedless, all fruit preserves
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Swirl Topping:
1 8-oz package cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup raspberries

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 9 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Whisk in cocoa and cook until mixture bubbles. Remove from heat and whisk in the sugar and preserves. Whisk in eggs and vanilla until well blended.

In a small bowl, stir flour and baking soda. Add to chocolate mixture, stirring until just blended. Pour batter into baking dish a smooth top.

In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla until blended. Fold in raspberries. Spoon large dollops of swirl over the brownie batter and swirl into batter with a knife. Bake 30 to 35 minutes.

Molasses Cookies

Have you ever had those ginormous molasses cookies from Starbucks? The ones that are all chewy and spicy and amazing?

When I stumbled upon someone's copy cat recipe, I bookmarked it, knowing making these was in the stars very soon. They didn't disappoint, although I don't think they are EXACTLY like the Starbucks ones. They needed more molasses, or spices...or something.

Molasses Cookies
Cooking During Stolen Moments Blog

3/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 cup white sugar to roll dough

Cream butter and brown sugar together. Add the egg and molasses and mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and ginger. Mix well before adding to the sugar mixture.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Scoop dough by heaping tablespoon, roll into a ball and roll in sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake for about 12 minutes.

Edamame Vegetable Pasta

As you can tell, I don't branch out much. Here is another pasta dish I made to bring for lunches the rest of this week. It turned out well last night and was really good as lunch today, too! Next time I may add more lemon juice, but other than that, delish!

I couldn't find ricotta salata, so I just used feta. How can you go wrong with feta? Duh. You can't!

Edamame Vegetable Pasta
Martha Stewart

1 cup frozen, shelled edamame
10 ounces asparagus, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 lb. whole wheat pasta
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1/3 cup dry white wine
Finely grated zest of lemon, plus 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 teaspoons course salt
2 cups baby arugula
6 oz. grape tomatoes
Feta cheese
2 tablespoons chopped chives

Cook edamame and asparagus in boiling water until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain, and set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta; cook until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid; set aside.

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallot; cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add wine; bring mixture to a boil. Cook until liquid is reduced by half. Add lemon juice, edamame, asparagus, pasta, and 1 cup reserved liquid; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Toss well. Add arugula and tomatoes; toss. Top with ricotta salata and chives. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil; sprinkle with lemon zest and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and season with pepper.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Have I mentioned how obsessed I am with mint chocolate chip ice cream? It's true. Blame Lady Jay Pee. She makes the bestest mint chocolate chip ice cream because it's also her favorite. So, I made her recipe for deliciousness.

I think I am going to round up every recipe for mint chocolate chip ice cream and make each one (not at the same time, obviously). Anyways, this one was delicious, as I knew it would be. Don't be a hater like Spice (she doesn't like anything mint, although that means more for me!), and make this!

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Eating, Etc.

4 cups half and half
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons peppermint extract (I like it extra pepperminty!)
3 drops green food coloring
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix together the half and half, sugar, salt, extracts and food coloring. Pour mixture into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. About 5 minutes before it is done, add the chocolate chips.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

I was first introduced to these cookies by a friend a little over two years ago. They are his favorite cookie and he would make a bunch and keep them in the freezer, then take one out and microwave it when he wanted one. It was a good thing they weren't just sitting on the counter because I would have gobbled them all up, no doubt!

I found this recipe on AllRecipes and although it wasn't the same as the first one I had, the basic chocolate and powdered sugar extravaganza was still in effect.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
AllRecipes

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

In a medium bowl, mix together cocoa, white sugar, and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the cocoa mixture. Cover dough, and chill for at least 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into one inch balls. Coat each ball in confectioners' sugar before placing onto prepared cookie sheets.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Let stand on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to wire racks to cool.

Mini Chocolate Cheesecakes

Butthead's wedding party...take 3!

MINI CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKES! WHA!!!!

Out of everything I have ever made, these may be the ones I am most proud of. Not because they were hard to make (they were actually really easy), but they are just so cute! I just want to pinch those wittle guys' cheeksie weeksies! Wow. I'm cool.

I have a special baking pan for these little cheesecakes and although it cost me a good $20, it was so completely worth it! I will definitely be bringing it to the wedding with me (don't judge) for Butthead's party. Hopefully she will like these!

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake (mini style)
The Martha Stewart

1/2 of a 9 oz. package of chocolate wafer cookies
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 8-oz bars cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
4 ounces semi sweet chocolate, melted
Chocolate ganache (recipe to follow)
Mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Assemble a mini cheesecake pan and grease well.

In a food processor, pulse cookies until finely ground. Add butter, and pulse to moisten. Press crumbs firmly and evenly into the bottom of each hole. Place pan on a rimmed baking sheet; bake 10 minutes, and set aside.

Wipe out bowl and blade of food processor. Add cream cheese, sugar, and salt; blend until smooth. With motor running, add eggs, then sour cream, and finally chocolate; blend filling until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

Pour filling onto each crust, and bake just until set, about 30 minutes. Turn oven off, and let cheesecake sit 1/2 hour in oven, without opening (this helps prevent cracking).

Leave in pan, and cool completely on wire rack. Cover loosely and refrigerate, at least 6 hours or up to overnight.

Prepare chocolate ganache (to follow). Unmold cheesecakes. Spread ganache in center of each cheesecake along with some mini chocolate chips; let set before serving.


Chocolate Ganache
The Martha Stewart

4 ounces semi sweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup heavy cream

In a small saucepan, bring cream to a boil. Remove from heat, and add chocolate. Stir until melted, then set aside until thickened, 2 to 5 minutes.

Peach Cake

My awesome friends and I made our own Iron Chef last night. The winner? Frankie with his mango shrimp on a bed of zuccini coleslaw! I wasn't competing last night, but in pure Sugar fashion, I made a cake! A peach cake to be exact!

I got this recipe from Lady Jay Pee at Eating, etc, who got it from a neighbor. Genius neighbor! This cake was so fantastic, I can't even tell you (except I just did)! Lady Jay Pee used rhubarb in her cake, and apparently the original called for apple, so I suppose you could use whatever fruit struck you! The cake was a big hit. We ate it, in pure NY style, with a scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt.

Peach Cake

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 peaches, sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 inch round spring form pan.

Cream together butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla.

Mix in dry ingredients. Add the rhubarb and mix well. Transfer batter to prepared baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes. Just before serving, drizzle with butter sauce (below).

Butter Sauce

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

In small saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in sugar and evaporated milk. Bring to a boil for one minute, watching carefully. Remove from heat and add vanilla extract.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Made some more pizza. It was delish. Per usual.

I tried a new pizza dough recipe I found on Friday Delights Blog. The thing that attracted me to it was that it took no resting time, had no yeast and was whole wheat. I added a little wheat bran to the dough just for some more nutritional value. I liked that this dough stayed pretty thin, and got somewhat crunchy, but it wasn't my favorite. I wonder if I made it wrong, too, because my dough didn't look like the one of Friday Delights. Boo hickey.

I still had a good time eating it because I topped it with copious amounts of cheese, onion, mushrooms and bbq sauce! Sounds like a weird combo, but it was yummy! Don't knock it till you've tried it!


Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 cup wheat bran

1 egg, lightly beaten

2/3 cup soy milk

Pizza Stone/Pizza Pan

Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease the pizza stone or pizza pan with olive oil. In a large bowl, stiff the flour, salt, and oregano. Mix in the egg and milk; stir well. Transfer to lightly floured surface. Knead dough until smooth, adding more flour if dough is very sticky. Roll out dough onto the pizza stone or pizza pan and baked in preheated over for 20 minutes, until crust is set. Add toppings of your choice and baked until cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.

Lightened Rice Pudding

I have a healthy (or not so healthy) obsession with Indian Food. When Spice and I get too lazy to cook, we frequently order from a nearby Indian food restaurant. They have a cheap delivery special where you get an appetizer, entree and dessert. Holy guacamole! Or Holy tikki masala (because that's what I usually order)! I also usually get the rice pudding for dessert, which they call kheer. Don't ask why, but I got a craving for just the rice pudding the other day. So I made some. Good story.

This is a recipe from Martha. Genius. It turned out SO good! I have never made pudding, let alone rice pudding before but this was easy and turned out super delicious! I used brown rice instead of white and used some 2% milk because I had it in the fridge.

Rice Pudding
Martha Stewart

1 cup brown rice
3 cups skim milk
3 cups 2% milk
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

Combine rice and 5 cups milk in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer, stirring occasionally until rice is tender, 30-40 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla, spices and remaining cup milk. Slowly pout egg mixture into rice mixture and cook over medium-low, stirring constantly, until pudding coats the back of the spoon, 15-20 minutes.

Remove from heat. Pour pudding into a 6-quart casserole dish or large bowl. Let cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Cookie Dough Truffles

Round 2 for Butthead's wedding party is cookie dough truffles. Butthead knew she wanted chocolate truffles of some kind. I started off trying caramel truffles, which was an epic failure. So I quickly snubbed that idea! Then we started debating whether we would prefer the chocolate truffles I had already made or cookie dough truffles.

This recipe is from Paula Deen....and really, who doesn't love Paula Deen and the unbelievably crazy-good stuff she makes?! These turned out delicious. Hats off to Paula, yet again. Thanks for making me fatter. Seriously.

In comparison, these little guys are definitely less rich than the chocolate truffles I made before, and therefore can be eaten several at a time. The other ones were definitely too rich for that. So, Butthead, I leave it to you!

Cookie Dough Truffles
Paula Deen

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
1 1/2 pounds chocolate bark candy coating (I used Ghirardelli baking chocolate)

In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until creamy. Add vanilla. Gradually beat in flour and add milk. Add chocolate chips and mix well. Refrigerate until firm enough to shape.

Shape into 1-inch balls, place on wax paper and refrigerate again about 2 hours.

Melt chocolate bark candy in a double broiler. Dip cookie balls into candy coating to cover. Place on waxed paper and chill to set. Chill in refrigerator for at least an hour (I keep them in the freezer).

Chocolate Peppermint Ice Cream

I made some more ice cream to help beat the heat (it has been unbelieveably muggy here...yuck!). Since all the mint oreo ice cream was gone in a jiffy, and my mint craving had yet to be cured, I chose some chocolate pepperminty goodness. Wise choice, I must say. Again, this recipe was from Ben and Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream and Dessert Book.

I tried adding some peppermint candy, but I didn't like how it turned out. I think the ice cream is best just by itself. Of course, when I eat it, I do put some chocolate chips on it =)

Light Chocolate Peppermint Ice Cream

Ben and Jerry's

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups milk (I used 2%)

2 large eggs

3/4 cups sugar

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract

Melt the unsweetened chocolate in the top of a double broiler over hot, not boiling, water. Whisk in the cooat and heat, stirring contstantly. Whisk in the milk, gradually, and hat until completely blended. Remove from heat and let cool.

Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour in cream, vanilla and peppermint and whisk to blend.

Pour the chocolate mixture into the cream mixture and blend. Cover and refrigerate until cold, anywhere from 1 to 3 hours.

Transfer to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer's instructions.