Perfect Baked Potato

I live in Idaho now, so it is only fair I share my favorite recipe for baked potatoes.  They sure are a cheap way to get some nourishment - $1.29 for a five pound bag. I got my baked potato recipe from Jacques Pepin and Julia Child.  Here is how they, and I, recommend cooking baked potatoes...quite possibly one of the easiest things to make. Sometimes if I don't have a lunch ready for work, I pop the potatoes in when I wake up in the morning, and they are ready to grab and go when I head to work.

1) Preheat oven to 425* and set the rack in the bottom third of the oven.

2) Scrub your potatoes under cold running water and cut off any parts that look sketchy.

3) Place the potato directly on the rack (no dishes!).  Bake for 45 minutes - pierce with a knife to ensure they are done.

4) When the potatoes are done, remove them and cut a 2 inch slash lengthwise.  Press the two ends toward each other to make room for salt and pepper and your choice of toppings.  Here is where Julia and I diverge - I understand what she is getting at and can visualize cutting a 2 inch slash and pushing the ends together.  However, it never seems to work for me.  What I do now is cut the potato in half and separate the two halves.  Then I cut a bunch of slashes widthwise and a bunch lengthwise so my entire potato looks like a crisscross.  Then I mash in my toppings.

My favorite potato is lots of pepper, sea salt, a bit of olive oil, chives, parsley, a shake or two of grated parmesan cheese and a big huge side of ketchup.  Absolutely delicious and without all the butter/sour cream, bacon etc. it really makes for a healthy dinner.  Try to add as many herbs/vegetables as you can for an even healthier meal.

Mindless Eating

In honor of Thanksgiving, I wanted to post a few really interesting excerpts from one of my favorite nonfiction books, Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink.  The book is meant to be a lifestyle book - it explains all sorts of influences that affect how much we eat, how much we enjoy what we eat, and more.  It also works as a diet book, because the premise is if you can make little changes that result in eating less without even noticing, then you can lose weight without noticing.  They call this the "mindfulness gap." Essentially, eating 100-200 calories less per day can add up to losing 10 pounds in a year. Also, that means eating 100-200 calories extra per day can add up to gaining 10 pounds in a year - yikes.

I love food, I love books and I love research related to food, so this is one of my favorite books.  I reread it all the time.  Here are some of my favorite research anecdotes from the book, and ways you could consider applying it to your Thanksgiving meal (let's be honest - would you really notice eating 20% less on Thanksgiving??).

1) Popcorn Study - Eat your food on smaller plates or use only one plate at a time.

The experiment: Researchers gave movie-goers free popcorn - half were given a medium popcorn and half were given a large.  The catch?  The popcorn was five days stale. Both popcorn sizes were designed to be large enough that neither group was able to finish all of their popcorn.  Then, when the movie ended, researches weighed how much popcorn was left.  Interestingly, upon exit of the movie, the people with the large popcorns were certain that the size of the container had no effect on them.

The results: The big popcorn group at 173 calories more popcorn - an average of 53% more than people with the medium bucket.  Keep in mind this had nothing to do with the popcorn being delicious - it was STALE.  But, the size of the bucket influnced the eating behavior.

2) North Dakota Wine - Environment sets expectations, so set your environment.

The experiment: Half of a controlled restaurant was given wine from "North Dakota" and half was given wine from "California."  It was actually the same wine - Two Buck Chuck/Charles Shaw.

The results: Both groups drank the same amount of wine, which was not surprising because they were only given one glass.  However, those with the California wine ate 11% more of their food and stayed 10 minutes longer at the table.

The findings showed that those receiving the California wine told themselves something along the lines of  "Oh, this meal is going to be good," while the North Dakota drinkers convinced themselves the meal was going to be a disappointment.  The takeaway?  People are making subconscious decisions about the meal based on their first impressions.  Make your surroundings beautiful and consider your display.  It will affect how people enjoy the food.

3) Chicken Wing Experiment- Leave yourself visual clues of how much you have eaten

The experiment: 53 MBA students were invited to a Super Bowl party.  They were allowed to take all the wings they wanted.  The waitresses were in on the experiment, and only cleared off half of the tables.  That means piles of bones were growing on some tables, while others were sparkling clean.

The results: Those with their tables constantly being bussed ate an average of 7 wings.  Those with the reminders of bones on their table ate an average of 5 wings (28% less!).  Therefore, whenever possible, leave yourself reminders of how much you have eaten.  If you go back for seconds and use another plate, leave the old plate on the table.

4) Happy Thanksgiving!

Ornament Magnets

I went to the Dollar Tree today and OMG I am not buying anything without checking there first!  I didn't find everything I was looking for, but  I found tons of things I would have bought at the normal store, for a higher price, without even thinking twice.  Things like holly berries, glass jars of all shapes and sizes, flameless candles, cleaning supplies, baking supplies, ornaments, and even food items (canned/bottled only) like vinegar, soups, broths, etc.  I am definitely planning on being more strategic with my future purchases and keeping the Dollar Tree in my thoughts.  However, they sadly did not have white pillar candles for me to buy and glitter stripe.

Even after all that, all I ended up actually buying was a tube of seven ornaments and 4 rolls of toilet paper (a quarter per roll!!!).  The ornaments are silver and gold - I went to the University of Idaho, where our school colors are silver and gold.  They were totally perfect and I have basically nothing Vandal colored (besides my gold pumpkin) so I was excited to get something Christmasy but also school-spirited.

Then I went to Fred Meyer and bought 10 little round magnets for $1.99.  These were in the crafting section - the area with stickers, pins, wooden letters, etc. near the glue/tape/office supplies.

All you have to do is use a hot glue gun to glue the magnets onto the back of the ornaments.  Stick them on your fridge and voila! Cute Christmas decor that is cheap ($3) and easy (3 minutes).  I like the way the round ones look, but I think it would look even cuter with other Christmas ornaments, like angels or trees or whatever Christmas ornaments look like...if you have a bunch of random ones, you could spray paint them first so they are uniform in color.

Even better, the silver matches my kitchen color!

My Name is Memory

This is my new favorite book, written by Ann Brashares, the author of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.  My weekend was basically spent reading this book :)

The main point of the book is everyone is reincarnated throughout their lives, but only a few very select people are able to remember each of their lives, and the main character, Daniel, is able to do this.  Souls tend to be reborn around each other, so the same people keep running into each other (a husband may be reborn as a brother or a sister may be reborn as a wife, etc).   However, the girl Daniel is in love with, Sophia, does not remember each of her lives. So, Daniel spends most of his lives looking for Sophia and trying to get her to remember him.

The book is really cool because it switches back and forth between past lives and current lives, so you get a chance to hear about other adventures as well.

As a caveat, I haven't gotten to the end yet, and a lot of reviews say the end is not satisfying and is basically a cliff hanger providing for a sequel.  There seems to be rumors that a sequel is possible, but one is not created yet.  So, we will see how disapointed I am when the book comes to an end.

I think I am so drawn to this book because I have always been really fascinated by reincarnation.  I would love to try past life regression, and one of the characters actually does this, which made me really excited.  I think reincarnation would explain SO much.  Maybe the concept is actually too simple.  It would explain fears, passions, talents, relationships...all wrapped up in a neat little bow.  Oh, you are afraid of water?  Well of course, you drowned in a past life!  Oh you have a love of planes?  Well of course, you used to be a pilot!

Mom- I think that needs to go on our to-do list.  Past life regression!

And now I am off to finish up this book in the bathtub - reading, candles, and peppermint/raspberry spiked hot cocoa.  Wonderful!

Mediterranean Chicken

My mom gave me this recipe for Mediterranean Chicken, and it comes from allrecipes.com

It is really delicious, healthy and low calorie.

Ingredients (supposed to serve 6 mine would probably serve 3-4 as I used less chicken)

• 2 teapsoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white wine + 1/2 cup white wine (I used Tisdale Pinot Grigio)
• 6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves - I used 8 tenderloins
• 3 cloves garlic, minced - I used 3 teaspoons minced (roughly double)
• 1/2 cup diced onion - just used 1 small onion, didn't measure
• 3 cups tomatoes, chopped - Like a dumbass, I bought sixteen Roma tomatoes.  For the record, 6 is plenty :)
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme - I used 8 sprigs
• 1 tablespoon chopped basil (I used three big leaves) - you could use more here and it would only improve the flavor
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives - I omitted these completely.  I hate kalamata olives, but the comments on the recipe say this makes the dish, so decide for yourself.
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley

Directions:

1) Heat the olive oil and 2 tablespoons white wine over medium heat.  Add chicken and sautee on each side about 4-6 minutes each.  I ended up deciding to cut my chicken into bite size pieces, which would be best if you were using this over paste or rice.  If you have chicken breasts, it would be good to leave them whole and use as an entree by itself.  Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.

2) Leaving drippings in pan, add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Then, add onion and saute 3 minutes.  Add tomatoes and bring to a boil (which is hard to see because there is not much liquid - look if the bits of liquid seem to be bubbling).  Lower heat, add 1/2 cup white wine, and simmer 10 minutes.  I like to simmer on a fairly high heat (like medium low not low) when cooking with wine so it thickens up better.  Add thyme and basil, and simmer 5 more minutes.

3) Return chicken to skillet and cover.  Cook over medium-low until chicken is no longer pink (using tenderloins, mine were already fully cooked from the first step). Add olives and parsley and cook for one minute.

This would be really great over spaghetti, with or without the chicken.  You are essentially making a delicous tomato sauce.  Also, grated parmesan cheese makes this even tastier.

Christmas Pointsetta and Vases

I decided to try and make those yarn wrapped wreaths that have been all over pinterest lately, but put a Christmas spin on them so I could have some more cute Christmas decor.

My original inspiration:

I got lucky and asked my friends, who are great at recycling, if they had any glass beer bottles.  They had 12 and I took 6 with the promise I may return for more.  I used all the same kind of bottle (Pyramid beer) but you could also use different sizes and get a different kind of look.

Supplies for the vases:
Yarn
Glass Bottles
Hot glue gun
Dish soap
Spray adhesive (optional)

Supplies for the flowers:
Fake flowers (or real) - I got a white poinsetta bunch
Fake filler (or real) - I used holly

Instructions for the vases:

I used red and green to make these Christmas colors, but you could do any combination you want.  After making them, I think multicolored yarn would also make a cool look.  The darker the color, the more visible the glue, so keep that in mind.  My pastel green vases have less visible marks than the red.  If you are a perfectionist and the glue marks would bug you, your best bet would be to use white.

The colors I picked were Tea Leaf green and Cherry Red.

1) Fill your sink basin with warm soapy water and let the bottles sit for 10 minutes or so.  The labels will peel right off.  Don't worry about the sticky stuff left behind - you won't be able to see it behind the yarn.

2) Start from the bottom of the bottle, where the is a slightly rounded edge.  Put a line of hot glue about 2 inches long along the bottom, and place the end of the yarn in the glue.  Continue as you move around the bottom of the bottle.  I suggest a 2 inch line because if you do too much, the glue will lose it's stickiness by the time you get the yarn to it.  I used hot glue on the first two rows.

3) Continue winding your yarn around the bottle.  I found it worked well and was much faster to haphazardly wind the yarn around the bottle five or six times, and then push the rows down.  This works until you get closer to the top.

3) The biggest pain in the ass is when the bottle starts to change shape about two thirds of the way up.  You will find the yarn keeps slipping up and is almost impossible to keep in place.  I found two different ways to deal with this, and if anyone else has any other ideas, I would love to know.
             First way: Dot hot glue every two inches or so and stick the yarn in it as you go.  I used scissors to push the yarn into place if it wasn't cooperating. Do this all the way up until you reach the neck of the bottle and the yarn stops wiggling out of place.
            Second way: Still dot hot glue for the first few rows when the bottle changes shape, but then spray the lower part of the bottle neck with adhesive spray glue.  Wait at least 30 seconds until this glue gets tacky, and then start winding the yarn around the bottle. Again, I used scissors to push the yarn into place.

The first way is much more time consuming, but the second way leaves more glue marks, so you will have to pick which you care more about - saving a bit of time or looking a bit cleaner.

Also note that I did not find a way to make the bottle neck as tightly wound as the rest of the bottle.  Even with these techniques, it still look a bit looser, but I think it looks fine.  Plus, your flowers will probably cover most of it up.

4) When you reach the very top of the bottle and everything is covered, it is easiest to put a dot of hot glue, lay the yarn in it, and then cut the yarn.

Follow these steps for as many vases/colors as you want.  I did two red and three green.

Instructions for the flowers:
I bought my flowers at Walmart.  It was $3 for the poinsetta bunch which had 5 flowers, and $3 for the holly bunch.  I would recommend getting large flowers, because the flowers cover up any imperfections from gluing the bottle neck. Make sure you pick flowers that look nice and do not have crushed leaves.

You will also need wire cutters - I got these in the hardware section of Walmart.

Then, use the wire cutters to cut the individual stems that have the flowers on them.  You can adjust the length of the stem for what looks best in the bottle.  Do the same to cut individual rows of holly or whatever you chose as filler.

For display, I chose to do a V-shape pattern, alternating green and red vases.  I put three poinsettas in the middle bases, and holly on the two end vases.

I also thought about hot gluing the vases together in a particular shape, but I wanted to be able to move them around as I please.  However, if you have a particular shape you love, I think it would work well to hot glue the vases together in that pattern.

Wreaths

I am loving wreaths and every time I look at my door, I think how much cuter it would look with a wreath.  They seem fairly easy to make and are so festive! I also love how you can dress them up for just about every season and holiday.

Here are some of my favorites.

Christmas Limes, Apples and Candles

I have never been much of a decorator, but now that I have my own apartment, I enjoy doing little things to decorate for the seasons.  I would love to do even more, but I am taking baby steps.

With Christmas getting a bit closer, I decided to do a cute take on the traditional red and green.  I wanted to use real fruit, but I decided that would be expensive and would eventually go bad.  Instead, I ended up buying plastic miniature limes and red apples.  Each container was $6 (from Fred Meyer) but I got more than enough and they will last forever.  I filled up my hurricane jar with them, and it looks adorable.  Great for winter, but isn't in-your-face Christmas-y.

My hurricane jar also has a candle holder on the top, so I decided to jazz up a plain candle.  To do so, I bought a white pillar candle ($5.50), permanent double stick tape, and gold glitter.  Whilst DIY-ing, I was also watching GLEE and drinking white wine/cranberry juice, so it is safe to say it was a great night.

I added the double stick tape to the candle in stripes.  If you are a perfectionist, it would be better to measure out the spacing of your stripes, but I just freestyled it.  Different sizes would also look great and would help disguise any mistakes because the spacing would be less noticeable.

From there, I held the candle over a large bowl and poured the glitter over it, turning the candle as I did so.  I manually added glitter to spots that looked a little sparse.  It would probably be easier to put some paper in your bowl, so you can fold the paper and pour the leftover glitter somewhere.  I lost a lot transferring from bowl to container.  After that, I set the candle on the counter and used my finger to wipe away any glitter that had remained not stuck to the tape - this part was surprisingly easy.

Now I have my candle displayed on top of my hurriance jar and I think it looks really festive and store-bought.  You can barely tell I made it.  The really cool thing this is you can continue to customize your candle to match different holidays/seasons by using different color glitter and/or different colored candles.  The tape comes off just fine.

I also think this would be really cute if you used a hot glue gun to draw designs and stick glitter into the glue (like stars).  You wouldn't be able to change the design, but I think you could make some really awesome stuff.

Asparagus Guacamole

Do yourself a favor and make asparagus guacamole.  It is made almost entirely of unprocessed food (besides 2 tablespoons of mayo) and tastes delicious.  Try to be open minded - don't expect it to taste exactly like guacamole.  However, it does taste similar, and looks just like it, except a bit thinner.  I ate mine with naan and baby carrots, but it would be great with tortilla chips, pita bread, other veggies, etc.  This version is really low calorie for "guacamole" too.

Ingredients:
1 lb fresh asparagus, cooked
1 small chopped onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic (divided)
1 can diced tomatoes
2 tbl mayonnaise
Juice from 2 lemons
One bunch minced cilantro
1/2 tsp chili powder
Salt and Hot Sauce, to taste

Directions:
1) Cook asparagus.  I boiled mine in a big pan of water for about 10 minutes.  You want them really soft because you are going to be blending them.

2) Dice up one small onion.  Blend the onion, asparagus, and 1 teaspoon garlic until smooth.  Pour into a bowl.

3) To the asparagus mixture, add mayo, lemon juice, cilantro, chili powder, tomatoes, hot sauce, salt, and another teaspoon minced garlic.  I love cilantro so I may have used a lot - you can adjust accordingly.  Stir to mix.

There you have it - very easy, very delicious, and very healthy "guacamole" to eat guilt-free!

Topshop Blazer

I love this blazer...trying to decide if I should buy it.  Has anyone else boughten something from Topshop?  I have heard great reviews, but I still hate deciding sizes via online shopping!

It looks like a great fitting jacket.  I imagine putting it over some cute dresses or casual shirts and wearing with jeans... going to have to ponder if it is worth a purchase.

Also, I think this shirt has a lot of potential.  I might be crazy because it doesn't look that great on the model...but I just love red. Seems like the hem might fit oddly though.

Red denim? Yes please.

They look like the perfect fall pants.  All the reviews say they fit great, but I am a little concerned they might fit too tight.  I haven't jumped on the leggings bandwagon yet, but these ones sure are convincing.

Also love this purse - but so expensive for a lil' guy!

So there you have it - after a red top, red pants or red purse?  Now is the season to hook yourself up. Which one (if any??) would you pick?

Peanut Butter and Jelly Tiramisu

Peanut Butter and Jelly Tiramisu - kind of mind blowing.  It literally just tastes like one of the fanciest, most decadent peanut butter and jelly sandwiches you have ever eaten.

This recipe comes from the Food Network. My friend had cut it out and put it into her recipe book.  Here is how we made it.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
8 ounces room temperature cream cheese
1 and 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
1/3 cup framboise (raspberry liquer) or raspberry juice.  We used Torino's Raspberry Syrup (like what goes into coffee drinks)
*14 ladyfingers (took my friend awhile to find them - look in the bakery section)
4 cups raspberries (we got one of the big clamshells)
9x5 loaf pan (looks like a loaf of bread)


*A note on the lady fingers - you can typically find lady fingers in the bakery section of your grocery store, near where they sell bread, angel food cake, pound cake etc.  I haven't been able to find them at my local Albertsons but do find them at Fred Meyers.  The second time I used this recipe, I replace the lady fingers with torn up angel food cake.  Not only did it provide a bit more substance, it tasted even better! It worked just like the lady fingers but there was more of it plus it was overall much cheaper.
Directions:
1) Beat the peanut butter, cream cheese, confectioners sugar, vanilla extract, and cream in a large bowl with mixer on medium until smooth and fluffy. 

2) In a separate bowl, whisk raspberry jam, raspberry syrup, and 1/3 cup water in a bowl until smooth

3) Spread about 3 tablespoons of the jam mixture on the bottom of the pan - enough to cover the bottom.

4) Cover with half of the lady fingers, arranging them lengthwise.  Cover with half of the remaining jam mixture.

5) Spoon half of the peanut butter over the lady fingers.  I thought that there was a bit too much peanut butter, so don't feel bad if you don't end up using it all.  Use the spoon to spread it around so it covers the whole loaf pan.

6) Top with half of the raspberries. 

7) Adding the rest of the jam mixture, then spoon on the rest of the peanut butter mixture. 

8) Here, the instructions say cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 8 hours, then top with the additional raspberries. We wanted to eat it immediately, and that was really no problem.  However, if you let it sit for 8 hours, the ladyfingers soak up the raspberry liquid, and it tastes even better.

Here is a picture from the Food Network - I forgot to take one.  We aren't professionals, but ours looked pretty similar! We didn't bother with the additional garnishes of shaved chocolate and powdered sugar though.

Eggplant Ricotta Bites

Last night I went to my friend's house, where we made a feast and watched movies. 

Here was our menu:

1. Eggplant Ricotta Bites
2. Chicken Chili Stew
3. Cornbread
4. Peanut Butter and Jelly Tiramisu
5. Sparkling Red Wine

It was awesome! We also watched Bad Teacher and the Twilight movies (but I feel asleep right when Twilight started).

The recipe for the Eggplant Ricotta Bites came from the Food Network.  Here is how we made it.

Ingredients:
1 medium eggplant
Salt
All purpose flour
3 large eggs
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Olive oil
3 plum tomatoes, diced
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar - I think it would be better with balsamic
1 cup ricotta
Shredded fresh basil, for topping

1) THINLY slice the eggplant into rounds and season with salt.  You can use a heavy hand with the salt.

2) Set out three bowls.  Fill one with flour, one with the beaten eggs, and one with breadcrumbs mixed with parmesan.

3) Dredge the eggplant in the flour first, eggs second, and breadcrumb mixture third.

4) Heat up a tablespoon or so of olive oil over medium heat.  Wait a few minutes to make sure it is really heated up, which will improve your first batch. Working in batches, cook the eggplant until golden on each side - this took me about a minute per side.  Add olive oil between each batch. Drain eggplants on paper towels and season again with salt.

5) Finely dice the tomatoes and toss with two teaspoons of olive oil and two teaspoons of red wine vinegar.  If I were making this again, I would do 3 teaspoons of each, and try it with balsalmic instead of red wine.  I individually added more vinegar to each of my bites as I ate them.

6) Spoon some ricotta onto each eggplant slice and spread out with the spoon.  Top with tomatoes and shredded basil.

Note - these are NOT good left over, so only make as much as you plan to it, and don't expect delicious leftovers the next day.  The eggplant got a lot more eggplant-y overnight, and was harder to bite into.  It just got soggy overall.

Curried Pea Soup with Sun Dried Tomatoes

Here is all I had to buy at the store to make pea soup - peas, an onion, and a few carrots.  I think pea soup is one of the simplest and tastiest soups out there, and it doesn't hurt that it is really inexpensive to make.  Below is my favorite way to make pea soup. 


Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 large onion,  diced
2 medium carrots, sliced in rounds
16 oz (or 2 and 1/4 cups) dried split peas
9 cups water, plus more as needed
apple cider vinegar, to taste
Tablespoon minced garic
3 teaspoons curry powder
3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes

1) Warm two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot.

2) Add garlic, carrots and onion to olive oil, and cook for 10 minutes.  Stir occasionally.

3) Add split peas, sun-dried tomatoes, curry powder, and water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.  Leave pot uncovered and let cook for 90 minutes.  Stir occasionally.

There you have it - curried pea soup with sun dried tomatoes.  The cooking time takes awhile, but it is not a very needy recipe.  It basically cooks itself and is a great way to get your daily required vegetables.

Peas never look the prettiest, so don't judge a book by it's cover :)

Vegetable Beef

Well I have been quite the negligent blogger - long nights at work, tons of good TV, time well spent with the boyfriend...all great excuses, trust me.  But now it is time to get down to business and I declare the first week of November, Soup Week.

Start with this one.  It's easy - so easy, I am not even going to include pictures.  Tomorrow, we can tackle a soup a teeny bit harder but only harder because it involves more than one step (Pea Soup).

Tonight, just throw this stuff in the crockpot and get excited you can eat delicious vegetable beef soup while cuddling up at watching Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice tomorrow.  Or your show of choice.

Vegetable Beef Soup
In a crockpot, combine the following:

28oz can crushed tomatoes
Beef stew meat (I got the prepackaged kind, not even sure how much it weighed)
1 or 2 potatoes, cut up into chunks
16oz frozen mixed vegetables
5 or 6 beef boullion cubes
pepper
dried basil - approximately 1 tablespoon, but can adjust to your liking
2 cups water - more or less depending on how thick you like it.  This is a good medium amount

If you are feeling extra crazy, this is delicious with a few carrots chopped up, the addition of a chopped onion, and a big juicy roll on the side.

Let your soup cook in the crockpot on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4 hours.

ENJOY and be thankful for the delicious foods of Fall.