Roasted Okra

So, since I grew up (and lived the majority of my life) in Colorado, I never really had a chance to eat Okra.  Truth be told, I think the only place you could even get it (in my hometown at least) was at the Bar-b-que Restaurant I happened to work at in high school. I wasn't too keen oin the idea of fried okra though...so I never tried it.  Plus most of the time it was on the buffet line and--let's face it--things are really never at their full potential in those lines.

Then, we moved to the south, and all that changed.  Okra was everywhere, from the grocery stores to farmers markets to just about every stinkin' restaurant.  So, I gave in and tried some once.  Then had to try it again, and just to be sure I gave it fair trial I had it a third, and forth, and...well....you get it.  I love fried okra!  Crazy huh?  Funny, thing is...I thought I just liked it because it was fried.  I was wrong!  I guess I like the taste of okra itself because when I bought some at the farmers market last weekend and roasted it...it was like a little bit of heaven in my mouth AND tasted almost the same as the fried kind.  Not slimy, not squishy...just perfect okra-ness! Yum!  I can't wait to get more this weekend in fact! :)

Super simple too....
Okra, green or purple
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Coarse Pepper


Slice up okra into 3/8-1/2 inch pieces.  Toss with Olive Oil, Sea Salt and Coarse Pepper.  Roast (bake) in 425 degree oven for ~8 minutes turning halfway through.  Serve hot, but be careful because they are hot!  And yummy.  :)

Chocolate Swirled Zucchini Bread

I love quick breads, but I bet you already knew that.  They are just what they say they are; quick!  You whip them up in a couple minutes, bake them for a bit and voila in an hour you have a marvelous, delicious and sometimes decadent cakish bread!  :)  Yum.

So, when one of my co-workers had her last day of work yesterday, I wanted to make something for her going away "party" of sorts.  So I thought of swirling some chocolate into my zucchini bread, and boy am I happy I did!  It takes the yum factor up a lot!  I'd experimented with chocolate chip quick breads before but not the swirl.  The swirl not only adds a "wow" factor but also melds together the flavors of the bread and chocolate better than just adding some chips in... or at least in my opinion it does! :)  See for yourself...

 Chocolate Swirled Zucchini Bread: (My zucchini bread with a twist)
1 generous cup of shredded zucchini
2 eggs
1/3 c. shortening
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/3 c. sugar
2 c. flour
2 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate (Any will do, but if you wouldn't eat it outside of the bread don't use it...could also use unsweetened or milk chocolate if you prefer!:)
optional: 1/4 t. each Cinnamon, Cloves, Allspice 

1.  Mix together shredded zucchini, eggs, shortening, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar until well combined.  Then stir in flour 1/2 c. at a time until combined.  
2.  Slowly melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 15 sec. increments--stirring in-between--until smooth and melted.
3.  Pour about half of the zucchini bread batter into a lightly greased 1 lb. loaf pan.  Then spoon the chocolate across the batter.  Gently spoon the rest of the batter over the chocolate layer as pictured below.  Then using a knife or an offset spatula carefully swirl the chocolate around.  Only swirl 3 times or so, unless you want chocolate zucchini bread without a swirl.

 4.  Place in preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
5.  While you can feel free to eat it hot (careful!) or warm, I recommend letting it cool down at room temp, wrapping it up overnight and eating it the next day.

 Ready to slice!

Ready to eat!  Went over very well with my co-workers too!  :)

Nectarine Plum Hand Pies

 What better way to eat pie in the summer than just in the palm of your hand?  These combine the tart and sweet elements of these fruits with sugar and a touch of vanilla wrapped in pie crust to create a masterpiece in your mouth.

What you'll need:
1 Large Plum, diced up (pit free)
1 Large Nectarine, diced (pit free)
2 T. Sugar
1/4 t.  Vanilla
1 Pie crust (homemade, store bought, whatever floats your boat)
1 T. Butter, melted
1 T. Sugar

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl mix together the pieces of plum, nectarine, sugar and vanilla until coated.

2.  Roll out the pie crust into a circle.  Cut the crust pizza style into 8 pieces.  (like slices of pizza or pie)

 3.  Evenly distribute the fruit mixture onto the triangular pieces of pie crust dough.  (~1/8c each) Then gently roll up the hand pies, so they look like the above picture.
4.  Bake on a greased cookie sheet for 8 minutes.  Then take out of the oven and brush the tops with melted butter.  Sprinkle the tops with remaining sugar and bake for about 6-8 more minutes or until golden brown.

5.  Enjoy! Serve them warm or room temperature.  Try with ice cream or on a picnic!  :)

Tomatillo Salsa inspired by Moe's Southwest Grill

Have you ever eaten at Moe's before? They aren't everywhere, but there are a lot in Kentucky and NC at least.  It's similar to Qdoba and Chipotle but different.  Since it's a Southwest Grill the rice is a little spiced, and they have just tons of fresh ingredients that you can add to your entree (quesadilla, burrito, bowl, salad, etc...) free!  Anyway, they also give you free chips with every entree and the best part about that is their salsa bar!  They usually have 5 or so varieties to choose from and my fave is their tomatillo.  I'd never really even heard much about, or let alone consumed, tomatilloes before we moved to NC and stumbled across Moe's.  Boy am I glad we did.  They are delicious, especially in salsa!  So here's my take on Tomatilla Salsa!:) 

What you'll need:

3 Medium Tomatillos

1 Small Sweet Pepper (preferably yellow to blend in)

Juice from 1 Small Lemon (or about 2 T.)

1 Jalapeno

2 Cloved Garlic, minced

1/2c-3/4c Cilantro

 Grab your ingredients.  For some reason my garlic, onions and jalapeno didn't make it into this photo...

 Aren't tomatillos just cool too?  I can't get over the whole husk thing, and the whole deliciousity thing.  They are cute too, right?

 Here's our first jalapeno from our garden.  Stubby but quite spicy!  Yum!

 The inside of a tomatillo.  Interesting huh?  Nothing like a tomato, really, at, all.  Yet SO yummy in salsa!  Sorry for a bit of jumping around in my post...apparently that's how I roll...some...times... :)

 Roughly chop everything up and throw it in the blender or food processor.  Pulse until combined!

 Mhmmm, delicious, fresh, tomatillo salsa!

It's just SO fresh and perfect for summer.  And perfect for every other season too.  But it's really perfect on these freakishly hot days.  :)  Enjoy.  I know I just did!  It's great on homemade burrito bowls too.  Just put some on the bowls I made tonight.

Mini Caprese Salad

So I had wanted to make a regular version of Caprese salad but the cat (or possibly some other animal) in our neighbor ate our first ripe heirloom tomato....so bring on the plethora of cherry tomatoes from our garden and you have Mini Caprese!  :)

All you need is some cherry tomatoes, fresh basil and fresh mozzarella.  You can also add EVOO, and some dry herbs or a dash of Italian dressing.  I just went without those this time.  With the fresh tomatoes and basil from my garden they perfectly flavored the mozz to make it a refreshing summer salad!

Zucchini Bread

Zucchini Bread Quick Bread

My generous cup of shredded zuke. 

1 generous cup of shredded zucchini
2 eggs
1/3 c. shortening
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/3 c. sugar
2 c. flour
optional: 1/4 t. each Cinnamon, Cloves, Allspice 

Mix together shredded zucchini, eggs, shortening, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar until well combined.  Then stir in flour 1/2 c. at a time until combined.  Pour into a lightly greased 1 lb. loaf pan and bake in preheated 350degree oven for 40-45 minutes.

Enjoy!

Microwave Honey Caramels (Sea Salt Chocolate Caramels and Turtles too!)

 So, I've seen plenty of recipes around the internet about microwave caramels.  I was always very skeptical to whether they would turn out, be easy to make or even taste good.  But this week, I decided to try some and boy was I pleasantly surprised!  :)  I liked them so much I immediately gifted some to our Music Director at our Church and his wife, who is also the accompanist.  I gifted them to be nice, but also to ensure that I would not be the sole eater of these..yummy...but likely caloric...goodies. :)

Microwave Honey Caramels:
originally found on  food.com, and this is my tweaked version. :)

1/4 cup butter, salted (or add 1/4 t. salt to the mixture)

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

1.  In a large microwave safe bowl place all of the ingredients.  (no need to melt butter beforehand btw)

2.  Place in microwave on high for about 2 minutes.  Then carefully take out and stir.

3.  Microwave again on high for 2 minutes.  Carefully take out and stir well.

4.  Repeat step 3.  Then pour into a greased 7x11, 8x8 or 9x9 pan.  (or other size depending if you'd like them thicker or thinner.)

 Just poured.  Very reflective apparently... ;)  Now let it cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

 5.  Cut the caramel into pieces and wrap in waxed paper....  (you can also sprinkle the caramels with sea salt at this point = lovely treat!) .....

 ....or you can plop them by the spoonful onto waxed paper, and then dip in melted chocolate and then top with sea salt for a real gourmet treat!  :)

 ...or you can plop the caramel, then pile on some pecan pieces and then smother in chocolate for homemade turtles!  Divine!!!

Althoguh, I think these were the biggest hit in my mouth, I mean house! :)  Sea Salt Chocolate Caramels.  Yum.

Enjoy! :)  Hope you are all having a great May!  Can't believe it's more than half over!!

My Little Garden: Peas!

Just wanted to give you a little update on our garden!  The lettuce is still yielding yummy salads and the newest addition to our dinner plates is now:  peas!!  Cool huh?  I'm pretty excited about these!  Can't wait for tomatoes and more in the coming months! :)

Chocolate Cupcakes with Lavender Infused Buttercream

 So I've had this idea for a while now, and finally got motivation to put it into action today when I baked some treats for a staff meeting.  :)  And it turned out really well, so I am SUPER excited to share this with you!  I still used my favorite cupcake recipe which you can find here. (Best Loved Chocolate Cake by BHG)  Then I made this amazingly addictive, delicate lavender infused buttercream.  It's seriously good.  And I don't even like lavendar typically.  I don't even like floral anything typically.  (Perfumes, soaps, teas, etc..)  But this is good.  No, it's not good, it's great!  :)

 I picked up a couple of new jumbo tips for cake decorating and while I was at the store I saw these...and had to get them.  Aren't they so sophisticated and cute?!?    Ok, now I will really get on to the recipe....

This will frost about 18 cupcakes, so double if you need more.
Lavender Infused Buttercream:
1/2 c. Shortening*
1/4 c. Lavender Infused Water, strained**
1/2 c. Granulated Sugar
4-5 c. Powdered  Sugar (Depending on your climate AND desired consistency.)

* I suppose you could use butter, but I like the pure white the shortening gives it...
** Two prep methods for lavender infusion.  Hot and Cold.  Hot method: pour 1/4 boiling water over 1 T. lavender and steep for 15 minutes.  Cold method: Soak 1 T. lavender in 1/4 c. room temperature water for 3-4 hours.  (Food grade or tea grade lavender)

1.  Whip up shortening on high until fluffy.
2.  Add in strained lavender infused water and beat until fluffy.
3.  Mix in granulated sugar.
4.  Slowly add powdered sugar in by the 1/2 cup until it is to your desired consistency.  (I prefer mine on the stiffer side when I am going to pipe on frosting, and a little less stiff when I am spreading it.)
5.  Add in coloring if you'd like.  Since it's lavender flavored I thought I'd add a touch of purple to make it lavender, lavender frosting. :)
6.  Chill for at least 10 minutes or so before frosting your cake/cupcakes.

I'm still perfecting my technique (obviously) but this link that I saw on pinterest is super helpful.  It tells about a few basic frosting techniques and tips.  So I thought I'd pass it along!  And be sure to enjoy these yummy cupcakes.  I know I will...  :)

Our Easter Dinner 2012

Happy Easter!  Hope you all are getting to enjoy Resurrection Sunday with your family and/or friends!  Since we couldn't spend our with family, we had a couple of friends over for an Easter Dinner after Church.  We ate  food, talked and also played some Pictionary Man, so it was a great time had by all.  Here's what I served...

 You also get a glimpse into my (rather cluttered but it works) kitchen and, for today, buffet line.

 Roasted veggies.  (Summer squash, Zucchini, Onions, Carrots and Garlic with a ~ 1t. EVOO drizzled over then and sprinkled with touch of 21 Seasoning Salute from Trader Joes.  Roasted for ~1 hour at 375 degrees.)

 Hasselback Potatoes (although I baked these for 1 hr. at 375 today instead of microwaving them like my recipe), and Baked Chicken breasts with 21 Seasoning Salute.

 7 Layer Salad.  (Secret family recipe.  Soooo good.  I can hardly ever get enough!  In fact, I'm gonna go have some more...)

 Fresh Squeezed Lemonade in my new Mason Jar Style Drink Dispenser from World Market.  (You can see it here.)  I'm a little nervous abotu the spout because it's just plastic, but hopefully it will be fine.  Love the look, love the glass, loved the price and had been eyeing them elsewhere in the past...

I also served Hot Cross Buns (what Easter Dinner is complete without them?) and a Trifle of layered homemade chocolate cake, strawberries and cool whip (forgot to get a pic of it though.)  Oh and I made a sugar egg this year, as pictured above, a couple weeks ago.  I realized it wasn't nearly as fun to make them without my Mom though. :(

We had a great morning at Church celebrating the fact that He is risen and a good lunch with friends.  Hope you all are having a happy Easter too!  :)

Easter Craft, Poem and Song

Since Easter is only a few days away, I thought I'd share an activity and song I came up with for my preschool choir that I lead at Church.  This poem is one you can find many versions of online.  It's usually called something like "jelly bean poem" or "jelly bean prayer".  Here instead of jelly beans I used music notes, since it's for my little choir.  And I made up a coloring sheet/craft to go with it.  You can get the plain one below, this is just an example of what some of my kids did with it tonight.  (Although, theirs were colored with crayons not the computer...you get the idea though!:)

I like the poem so much that I wanted to set it to some music, and I figured out that it goes really well with "Doe a Deer" from Sound of Music.  (That I conveniently had just taught my choir last week!)  So they caught on to this really fast tonight!  I'll write it out below, so you get a better idea of how it goes.  :)  If you have any questions let me know!

Red is for the blood He gave.

(Do a deer a female deer.)

Green is for the grass made.

(Re a drop of golden sun.)

Yellow is for the sun so bright.

(Mi a name I call myself.)

Orange is for the edge of night.

(Fa a long, long way to run.)

Black is for the sins we made.

(So a needle pulling thread.)

White is for the grace He gave.

(La a note to follow so.)

Purple for His hour of sorrow.

(Ti a drink with jam and bread.)

Pink is for a new tomorrow. (to-mo-ro-o-ow)

(That will bring us back to do-oh-oh-oh)

Pretty catchy huh?  I really like it, and it went over really well with my 4-6 year olds.  So I hope you and yours enjoy it too.  Here's the printable coloring sheet/craft:

Another example of one:

Enjoy!  And Happy Easter!  :)

My little garden

Well it's sure been a mild winter, and now spring here in NC.  Which makes me a little concerned about what this summer may bring (in terms of heat).  But it makes me excited because we've been able to eat fruits of our labor in a our little garden already! :)  Here are some pics of our growing little place...

 The whole "container garden" as of now.  We still have a couple of plants (well seedlings) in a our little greenhouse inside waiting to get bigger before being planted outside.

 Our green beans are making their way up the stakes.  So cool huh?  It amuses me...although sometimes they get confused and get wrapped around the little fencing we have...then I have to gently unwind and place them on the stakes.

 Here you can see our mint plant on the left, peas in the back, part of the pot of the tomato on the right and the green beans in the front center.

 This year we decided to get a strawberry plant, and instead of getting a little one, we kind of splurged and got this big one that was already in a  hanging basket.  And as you can see it's already bearing some fruit!  Yummy!  :)

The layout again with some labels.  Our lettuce has really taken off and we've gotten several dinner salads out of it so far.  Hope it continues for a while...

Well, just thought I'd give you an update on the progess of our garden (or more like gardneing attempts.)  Hope you have a great week!  Our thoughts and prayers go out to those in the Dallas area after all that destruction.

Cinnamon Apple Orange Dessert Pizza

May sound like a random combo, but it's one of my very favorite ones.  This is pretty simple and super delicious for a dessert!  :)

Pizza Dough (homemade or store-bought)

Apples (finely diced, 1 apple for small pizza, 2 for medium, 3 for large)

Sugar (2 T for every apple used)

Cinnamon (1/2 t for every apple, high quality is best, I used Vietnamese Saigon from Savory Spice Shop)

Orange Zest (as much as you'd like, or about zest from 1 orange for every 2 apples used)

1.  Spread out pizza dough on pan or cast iron skillet. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.  Cook diced apples in a a microwave safe container with 2 T of water per apple until tender.  Or about 2 minutes per apple.  Drain water.

3.  Spread cooked apples over pizza dough.  Sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon and orange zest. (like below)

4.  Bake in 400 degree oven for about 7-10 minutes or until the crust is done.

Serve warm and enjoy!*

Optional to drizzle simple icing over slices before serving.

Great Northern Bean Soup

1 lb Great Northern Beans, dry *
8c. Water
2 Chicken (or Veg) Bouillon Cubes
2 Onions, finely diced
1 t. Garlic Powder
1 Bay Leaf
Crispy Bacon as garnish, if desired (Turkey bacon works really well, I just fooled my hubby with it!:)

*Either soak beans overnight or bring them to a boil in 8 c. of water and then take off the heat and let soak for 1 hour.

1.  Combine 8 c. water, soaked beans, bouillon, onions, garlic powder and bay leaf in large pot.  Bring to boil, then let simmer for 1 hour covered and 30 minutes uncovered.
2. Serve hot, with bacon if desired.