I have an analog soul, still shooting with a film camera.
I like to read real life paper books.
I write letters with pen and paper.
I like to listen to the scratchy sound of Robert Plants voice spun out of a vinyl record.
I guess I was born too late to enjoy all the good stuff. And little by little my antiquated habits are being digitized. I own a DSLR, an iPod, an iPhone and of course, a MacBook. But I will always shoot with my medium format Yashica, and I will hold out strong with my paper words inside real life pages, and I will always say Thank You with ink and a stamp.
It’s probably my primitive spirit that draws me to beers that have been around a while, staying true to what they have always been. Full Sail Amber Ale has been a pioneer in the Craft Beer world since the 1980’s, earning the distinction of the first craft beer bottled in Oregon. And just as you should all have a fierce respect for film cameras, vinyl records and paper books, you should also put Craft Beer Pioneers among those ranks.
In a sauce pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the jalapenos and Serrano, cook until soften, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, add the beer and then the remaining ingredients. Allow to simmer for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Add the blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Store in an air tight container in the fridge.
Of course I’ve been warned about the Terrible Two’s and the nightmare that I am now a party to.
And no offense to those who have gone before me, but I rather enjoy this age. Every age, every situation and every person is not without drawbacks. There is no such thing as a perfect situation. Quality of life is built on figuring out what is great about the situation that you are in and enjoying the crap out of it.
So, what is great about 2 year old?
You get to have all the answers. You are able to solve all of their problems. These tiny little humans see you, their moms, as the Fair Princess Goddess of The Universe. You have control over everywhere they go and who they play with. And all of that will end way too soon. As much as I long to have more freedom and independence, sleep past 6:30am, set my schedule on a whim, travel to exotic places and be able to pee in private again, I know without a single tiny doubt that I will miss the hell out of my 2 year old once she is all grown up.
For Tater’s second birthday, my little tomboy wanted to run around the back yard and play with balls, her favorite thing in the entire world. So that’s what we did.
I made Yarn Ball Party Favors, You can see the DIY here:
Dozens of red and white beach balls covering the lawn, that I bought from Oriental Trading
Tater was in love with this.
I filled a red baby pool up with a bag of ball pit balls.
And as I shared with you a few weeks ago, I’m tring to rid my life of food dye. Quite a challenge for someone who is used to spending hours concocting the perfect frosting color for cakes. I let go and accepted the fact that the frosting I made with beet powder was just going to be purple and that was OK. More on that in a later post.
A least I was able to sneak some antioxidants and vegetables into her cupcakes, at fine compromise in my opinion.
And the food went largely unphotographed. A pretty shocking thing in my world, given the frequency with which I snap food pictures.
We did, however, reserect the Tater Tot Bar from last year.
I used white cone cups and made the cone holder out of a cardboard box and wrapping paper.
I did get a few shots of my Apple Balls, cored and sliced apples held together with rubber band and bakers twine. I replaced the core with string cheese. This will keep them fresh, un-browned and party ready for hours.
First, core and slice the apples using an apple slicer.
Remove the core and replace it with string cheese. Reassemble the apple and secure with a rubber band, then tie a ribbon or bakers twine around the rubberband. This will help your apple slices to stay fresh longer, without turning brown.
If you can, try to find string cheese that is the same size, or just a bit larger than your apple corer.
It’s hard to be a home cook. Blindly navigating a world that seems to come so effortlessly to others. Comparing our kitchen failures with the extravagant successes we see other producing. Left to wonder why we can’t make a perfect soufflé even when we follow the directions with surgical exactness.
And those of us who reached adulthood with little more skill than it takes to boil water are thrown into the same world with those girls who learned how to make perfect ears of orecchiette pasta by the twirl of their Italian Grandmothers thumbs. Those of us whose childhood culinary training didn’t extend much past reheating and defrosting.
So when you sit there, tears in your eyes as your hard work has turned to a delated over-salted mess, I want you to remember a few things:
1. No one will post their failures on their blogs. Or post pictures of them on their Facebook page. When you compare your failures with everyones success, its not fair to you.
2. Everyone fails. Ask anyone who has ever cooked and they will tell you culinary tails of epic failures. Horrible, inedible food that we will never speak of in the light of day. Sometimes we figure out why we created such a disaster, sometimes it remains a mystery.
3. Great cooks don’t give up. Sure, they fail. A lot. But they don’t give up. Focus more on your success than your failures and just keep going.
4. Make a list of the recipes that you want to tackle. Make it as huge and as grandiose as you want, you have your entire life to master them. No matter how often you make them, and what the end result is, vow to learn something from each batch.
5. Remove emotion. In order to figure out how it is that you have ended up with such a kitchen failure on your hands, you have to be able to look at it objectivly. It is hard not get emotional when you feel like you failed, but that isn’t going to teach you anything. Did you really follow the steps exactly, or are you just saying that to make yourself feel better? Did you use the ingredients that were listed or did you use a substitute thinking it would be ok? If you can use each recipe as a learning tool, it wasn’t a waste. Sometimes it’s the recipes fault, sometimes it’s the ingredients fault, and yes, sometimes it is your fault. But it’s all part of the learning process. We have all tried to change a recipe thinking it would be fine, and sometimes it isn’t. Now you know.
The first recipe on my list of recipes to master was Creme Brulee. It sounded so fancy and grown up, I wanted to learn to make something that was elegant and French and I was shocked at how easy it was. You do need a few kitchen tools, but the recipe and the steps are simple. And the result is incredible. For this recipe, I added a chocolate tart crust and a cocoa powder laced brulee topping.
And a kitchen tip from one of my kitchen failures: Don’t touch the melted sugar before it’s cooled, it will give you the worst mother Eff-ing burn of your life.
Dark Chocolate Crème Brulee Tart
Tart Crust:
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
10 tbs of unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
3-5 tbs ice cold water
Custard:
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup of sugar
1 3/4 cup of heavy cream
1 3oz bar of 70% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate, broken into small pieces
1 tsp espresso powder
1/2 tsp salt
Brulee Sugar Topping:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
In a food processor, combine the 1/2 cup flour, sugars, cocoa powder and salt. Pulse to combine. Add the cubes of butter and process until combined, about 1-2 minutes. Add the remaining flour and process again. Your dough should resemble course meal. Move to a large bowl and add 3 tbs of the water, knead to combine (if you add the water to the dough with the food processor, your crust will turn into a cracker). Add the additional water if your dough is too dry.
Form into a disk, wrap completely with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour (you can also make the crust a day ahead and allow to chill overnight).
Heat your oven to 375.
Once your tart is all chilled, remove from the fridge and roll out to an even thickness, making sure your dough is just large enough to completely cover the interior surface of the tart pan.
Add to a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom (that has been sprayed with butter flavored cooking spray), pressing into shape and removing any excess dough. If the dough is too fragile to transfer in one sheet, it is ok to press it into shape in pieces in the pan. Prick the bottom of the tart with a fork several times.
Place a sheet of parchment paper inside your tart and fill with pie weights. If you don’t have pie weights, you can use dried beans.
Bake for 20 minutes, reduce the oven temp to 300.
In a bowl, combine the yolks and 1/2 cup of sugar and whisk until light and frothy. In a pot over medium heat, combine the cream, salt, espresso powder and chocolate, stir continuously until chocolate has melted, reducing heat to avoid boiling if necessary. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperate for about 15 minutes (if you add the cream/chocolate mixture to your egg mixture when it is hot, you will end up with scrambled eggs. Allow to cool to avoid that).
While whisking the egg mixture, slowly add the cream until completely combined. Strain with a fine mesh strainer.
Place tart pan on a baking sheet and set in the oven, then add the custard to tart shell. Bake at 300 degrees until the edges are set and the middle is still wobbly (it will continue to set as it cools) about 35-40 minutes. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and keep cold until ready to serve.
In a small bowl, add ¼ cup of sugar and 1 tsp cocoa powder, stir to combine. Add to the top of the tart in an even layer. Run a culinary torch over the top of the sugar, slowly and evenly, until it has all melted and is mostly dark. Due to the addition of the cocoa powder, this brulee topping is more likely to catch fire. Make sure to extinguish any fires instantly. You can also brulee with plain granulated sugar, leaving out the cocoa powder, if it makes you nervous! Serve immediately. Once the sugar has been bruleed, it will start to liquify after about an hour.
I like to play with my food. For some reason, it makes me less hungry.
When I got these little suckers from a vendor at work, I had no interest in eating them. But I did want to play with them. Maybe it’s a commentary on how much food we waste in America, or maybe it’s just because candy is pretty, Food Crafts are huge source of entertainment in my world. Although there are many cupcake toppers featured on websites across the land, I’m not a fan of inedible garnishes. Even if I don’t plan to eat it, it seems like you just didn’t try hard enough.
Sure you can print out a pretty flower decal from your home computer, or make a rose out of paper, or a fancy embelishment with ribbons and buttons, but if you can’t eat it what the heck is it doing on my plate?
No one glues plastic googly eyes to a pot roast. Or puts a wizzard hat on a chicken sandwich. Why are completely random acts of craftiness allowed on baked goods?
And paper flag banners on a cake? weird. Why not put a pile of mail on there, or decorative globe? What’s next, filling my plate with bedazzled paper mache vegetables?
Here is my entry for completely edible cupcake garnish, other than the stick, of course.
1/2 cup chocolate graham crackers (or chocolate Teddy Grahams)
Cut the marshmallows into four to five slices. There are going to be a few that just don’t look right, so cut more than you need. They will curl up a bit, but just push them flat.
There will most likely be one end that is a bit more rounded and one that is a bit pointier.
Cut off a very small amount of the pointed end, about 1/8 of an inch.
Place the white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in the microwave on high for 20 seconds, stir and repeat until melted. Don’t over heat or it will seize. Using a butter knife or a spoon, smear a small on the marshmallow petal where you just made the cut.
Press the chocolate side against the sucker, at the base, nearest the stick.
Repeat for all pedals. You’ll want to put about 5 petals on each flower which will require a bit of overlapping of the pedals.
Lay flat until the chocolate glue dries.
Put the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and heat on high for 30 seconds, stir and repeat until melted.
In a food processor, process the graham crackers until nothing is left but crumbs. Transfer crumbs to a bowl.
One at a time, take the mini muffin and submerge the top in the melted chocolate until completely coated.
Before the chocolate cools and dries, roll the melted chocolate muffin top around in the graham cracker crumbs.
Once all the chocolate has dried, plant your candy marshmallow flower in your little mini muffin pot.
I’m not going to sit here and pretend that these are as good as the real thing. Those potato skins loaded up with bacon, sour cream and cheese that are somewhere around 62 calories per bite. But these make a great lunch durring my "I am GOING to lose those final 3 pounds" week. And they reheat really well, so you can make a batch on Sunday, and reheat them through out the week for lunch. With a side of this salad.
I’ve run the numbers and have come up with 62 calories each potato half, but that completely depends on the size of your potato and the amount of flesh you scoop out of it.
My Husband added fat free sour cream and shredded cheese. If you add a tbs of fat free sour cream and a tsp of shredded part skim mozzarella cheese, it will about double the calories in the potato. But, if you like it more and that will make you eat less, it may be worth it.
Also, this dish is:
Gluten Free
Vegan
Kosher for Passover
Skinny jeans friendly
Skinny Potato Skins
4 large red potatoes
1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced, stem removed
1 large yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced, stem removed
Pierce the potatoes a few times with a fork and microwave on high for 5-7 minutes or until cooked through. Remove and allow to cool until enough to handle. Cut in half and scoop out most of the insides, leaving about 1/4 inch of the walls in tact. You can save the potato middles for mashed potatoes or potato cakes.
Place thinly sliced bell peppers, mushrooms, and garlic on a baking sheet. Spray lightly with olive oil cooking spray and sprinkle with fajita seasoning (or the homemade blend) and toss to coat.
Roast the vegetables in the oven for 15 minutes or until soft and the mushrooms have browned, tossing every 5-8 minutes with a heat safe spatula.
Place the skins on a baking sheet and brush the insides with melted smart balance light, sprinkle with salt. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, allow to cool slightly.
Fill each potato skin with fajita veggies and top with Pico De Gallo.
Beer people are so often missunderstood and stereotyped.
Don’t mistake our inherent low maintenance for a lack of opinion. Don’t think that our love of indulgence translates to a lack of self-control. Just because we have a adoration for a high calorie beverage, doesn’t mean that we aren’t concerned with healthy living. And our love for a good ole fashion dive bar doesn’t tarnish out Mensa standings.
And as much as we would love for you to understand exactly why we drive 20 minutes out of our way on Friday afternoon to make sure that we have an exciting stash of Craft Beer for the weekend, we also want you to drink what you want. If you love wine, or whiskey, or even a famous Macro brew, that’s ok. More of the good stuff for us.
And if everyone else in the world stopped drinking Lost Abbey Carnevale Ale, or if it became so fervently distributed to every home in America that it was dubbed the new King of Beers and the Beer Snobs decided it was no longer desirable, it wouldn’t matter one bit. I would still drive to Northridge on Fridays to make sure I could find a bottle or two for the weekend, if need be.
I’m pretty sure that it was just a coincidence that the first time I was able to get my hands on this Special Release from Lost Abbey, was also the same day that I saw fresh pineapple at my local market for the first time this year, but it could also be fate. The flavors mixed so beautifully that I’ll have a hard time ever baking with pineapple again and not having the urge to reaching for this beer.
Saison Caramelized Pineapple Beer Shortcakes
For the Beer Shortcakes:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup Saison Beer(Los Abbey Carnevale recommended)
For the Saison Caramelized Pineapples:
4 cups fresh pineapple, chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 stick butter
1 cup Saison beer (Los Abbey Carnevale recommended)
For the Ale Chantilly Cream:
1 1/3 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 tbs Saison Beer (Los Abbey Carnevale recommended)
(6-8 servings)
Preheat oven to 425
In a food processor, add the flour, baking powder, salt and 1/2 cup sugar, pulse to combine. Add the butter and process until it resembles coarse meal. Add the beaten egg and the beer and process until just barely combined, abut 30 seconds. Don’t over process or your shortcakes will be tough.
The shortcakes will be very moist, and have more of a "drop biscuit" style than those that you roll out.
Place a sheet of parchment paper over a baking sheet. Using your hands, or two spoons, place about 1/4 cup of the dough onto the parchment paper and form into a loose ball. Dough should make between 6 and 8 shortcakes, depending on the size you want.
Bake for 12-15 minutes of until the shortcakes have turned a light golden brown and a tooth pick in the center comes out clean. Slide the parchment paper off the baking sheet and onto a flat surface and allow to cool.
Add all of the Caramelized Pineapple ingredients to a pan over high heat. Stir frequently (or continuously) until the liquid has reduced so much that the pan seems to only contain pineapples and frothy bubbles, about 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Just prior to serving, make the whiped cream.
Add all of the ingredients to a stand mixer and beat on high until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes.
To assemble, just split the shortcakes in half down the center, add the whipped cream, then the pineapples. Serve with a cold glass of Lost Abbey Carnevale.
I’m over at a Passover Potluck today with Tori at The Shiksa In the Kitchen! Check it out, if you are Jewish or a Shiksa (non-jewish girl) I think you are gonna love it. Tori and I have acctualy known each other since the 4th grade and reconnect as adults through blogging.
She is one of the most genuine people I have ever known, sweet, smart and generous with her talents and knowledge.
Tori recently interviewed a man I know, Michael, who is an 81 year old Holocaust survivor who was sent to Auschwitz concentration camp when he was 13. His story is incredible and Tori even got is World Famous Tiramisu recipe! The interview is inspiring, you should read it (Click here).
The recipe I created today for the Potluck is one of my favorite dishes, risotto, that I have re-made using the rules of Kosher cooking, which Tori was sweet enough to walk me through! I love Risotto, which is traditionally made with rice, but during passover, it isn’t considered Kosher. You all know my love for quinoa, so this was a fabulous stand in when rice is not an option! Roasting the mushrooms was so quick, and developed a rich flavor quickly.
The creaminess of chocolate pairs so well with a well crafted porter. For this tart I used Firestone Walker Reserve Porter, it has the perfect balance of flavors for this recipe with notes of chocolate, coffee, caramel and a touch of a citrus taste. You also want to use a really well made chocolate, because, like beer, craft chocolate has well developed flavors that can’t be matched by the "Macro" chocolatiers. I used Sharffen Berger 62% Semi Sweet chocolate for the perfect balance of richness and sweetness.
I’m a sucker for a well made dark beer, and this recipe pairs well with the cold bottle of Porter.
I also made a porter whipped cream, with a rich smooth sweetness and notes of dark beer, you’ll want to eat this right out of the mixing bowl.
Chocolate Porter Beer Tart
For the crust:
1 cup crushed chocolate wafer cookies or chocolate graham crackers (NOT chocolate covered)
In a food processor, add the chocolate wafer cookies and brown sugar. Pulse until nothing remains but fine crumbs. While the food processor is still running, remove the spout stopper and slowly add the melted butter. Process until it resembles wet sand.
Press very firmly into the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan (or tart pan with removable bottom) that has been sprayed with butter flavored cooking spray.
Bake at 350 for 12 minutes or until tart crust starts to look dry and you can smell it cooking. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
In a double boiler add the chocolate and the butter, stir over medium-high heat until chocolate has melted. If you don’t have a double boiler, you can place a metal bowl over a pot that has a few inches of water at the bottom. Make sure that the bottom of the metal bowl does not touch the water in the pot.
Add the beer and stir until combined. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Add the cream and stir to combine. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of powdered sugar over the chocolate and whisk until combined. I like my desserts on the bitter side, as I suspect a lot of you beer lovers do as well. The sweetness level of this dessert will depend on the type of beer you use as well as the level of sweetness you enjoy. Taste the chocolate and decide weather or not you want it sweeter and add additional sugar accordingly.
Pour chocolate in the spring form pan over the curst. Chill until set, about 4 hours.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the cream, 2/3 cup powdered sugar and 2 tbs of porter. Whip on high until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes.
Once the tart has set, remove the sides of the spring for pan (or tart pan) and serve topped with whipped cream.
Whoever wrote that probably wouldn’t have wanted you to mix it with butter and sugar, but regardless of the increased amount of calories and fat, you can still feel good about giving yourself a healthy dose of antioxidants. And eating a Super Food that has protein and fiber, lowers cholesterol and your risk of heat disease.
Because, like I told you at the beginning of the year, I’m trying to seek a balance in my life. If I am going to have a fabulously delicious dessert, I also want it to have some good stuff in it too.
I have also decided to cut food dyes out of my diet all together by the end of the year. Because, unlike peanut butter, they have zero benefits, lots of risks and are known carcinogens. I’ll write more about that later once I’ve figured out how to conconct an all natural red food dye.
I don’t want to be perfect, I just want to find a balance in my life. Peanut butter caramel bars are a great balance, giving you a dose of healthy goodness with an incredible dessert. But don’t misunderstand me, this is in no way a diet food. They are high in calories and a treat that you should enjoy every once in a while, but at least you have the peace of mind that there are also health benefits.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Shortbread:
For the shortbread crust:
¾ cup Brown Sugar
1 sticks of Butter
½ cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp Salt
2 cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 ½ cups Dark Chocolate Chips
Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce:
1/2 cup heavy cream
¼ cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1 stick of butter
½ tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp course sea salt
Line the bottom of an 11 x 7 inch baking dish with parchment paper, allowing the paper to go up and over the edges of the pan.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add the peanut butter and vanilla and beat on high until well combined. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt, and baking powder, stir to combine. Add the flour mixture to the stand mixer and beat on medium speed until mixed well with the butter mixture, scraping the bottom of the bowl occasionally. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
Press the shortbread into the bottom of the baking dish in one even layer. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350. Bake for 25 minutes or until the edges have turned a golden brown and have started to look dry. Allow to chill in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.
In a pot over medium high heat, add the peanut butter and the cream. Stir continuously until the peanut butter has melted and is well combined with the cream. Remove from heat, add the vanilla and set aside.
In a separate pot over medium high heat, combine the sugar, & corn syrup. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Allow to boil, without stirring, until the mixture reaches 230 degrees, about 5 minutes. While the caramel is cooking, do not stir, but swirl the pan every 30 seconds to redistribute the caramel sauce evenly. Once 230 degrees is reached, add the butter, stirring to allow it to distribute and melt, then remove from heat. Stir in the peanut butter cream, adding slowly as it will bubble up furiously.
Pour the caramel over the shortbread and refrigerate for 4 hours, or until set. Sprinkle the top with the sea salt. Remove from pan using the parchment paper and cut into squares.
The night after I joined the Bone Marrow Donor registry I had a dream that I was a Bone Marrow match for a little boy who was dying of Leukemia. But in my dream, I had joined the registry one month after he died of the disease. I had the lifesaving cure just walking around in my body and I had no idea until it was too late.
Horrible, I know. But It happens, I’m sure. This morning, when I woke up, I got an email for the registry, and whenever that happens I have a flicker of hope that I am one of those people who has the opportunity to donate. I want to. I want to use the marrow I grow so easily in my bones to save the life of someones else’s Tater, because I would want you to do that for me, if she is ever in need. Of course, if I ever am a match, I’m sure the news won’t come via email so as you have probably suspected the email was just an update about the progress being made by the Be The Match foundation.
Now that I have this platform, I want to use it to reach out. To help save the life of someones baby. What if it is you. What if you are the one who holds the key to a cure inside your bones.
Here was how simple it was for me to get on the list:
Go to a donation center, give blood, sign a form.
It can be even easier for you. You can click here, fill out a form online and order your cheek swap kit through the mail. It’s so easy.
It took about twenty minutes. Although it did cost me about $50 at the time, I can now put my mind at ease that I am doing what I can. $50 is a lot, more to some people than to others, but it was worth it for me know that I wasn’t the reason that someone was dying. That I wasn’t caring the lifesaving cure inside of me while someone was dying, over a mater of $50.
Click here to find out how you can get on the list of Bone Marrow Donors.
Here are some simple facts about Bone Marrow Donation and how and why to get on the list:
Q: If I join the Be The Match Registry, how likely is it that I will donate to someone? A: On average, one in every 540 members of Be The Match Registry in the United States will go on to donate bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells to a patient. We cannot predict the likelihood that an individual member will donate because there is so much diversity in the population. However, if you are between the ages of 18 and 44, you are 10 times more likely to be called as a marrow donor than other members of the Be The Match Registry. That’s because research shows cells from younger donors lead to more successful transplants.
Every person who joins the registry gives patients hope, and new patient searches begin every day. You may never be identified as a match for someone, or you might be one of a number of potential matches. But you may also be the only one on the registry who can save a particular patient’s life.
Q: How do I become a bone marrow donor? A: The first step to become a bone marrow donor is to join the Be The Match Registry. Doctors around the world search our registry to find a match for their patients. If a doctor selects you as a match for a patient, you may be asked to donate bone marrow or cells from circulating blood (called PBSC donation).
Q. Does bone marrow donations involve surgery?
A: The majority of donations do not involve surgery. Today, the patient’s doctor most often requests a peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donation, which is non-surgical.
Q. Is Donating painful or involve a long recovery?
A: There can be uncomfortable but short-lived side effects of donating PBSC. Due to taking a drug called filgrastim for five days leading up to donation, PBSC donors may have headaches, joint or muscle aches, or fatigue. PBSC donors are typically back to their normal routine in one to two days.
Q. Is donating dangerous or weaken the donor?
A: There are rarely any long-term side effects. Be The Match® carefully prescreens all donors to ensure they are healthy and the procedure is safe for them. We also provide support and information every step of the way.
Q. Once you have been chosen as a match do donors have to pay to donate?
A: Donors never pay to donate. We reimburse travel costs and may reimburse other costs on a case-by-case basis.
Q: Does race or ethnicity affect matching? A: Racial and ethnic heritage are very important factors. Patients are most likely to match someone of their own race or ethnicity. Today, there simply aren’t enough registry members of diverse racial and ethnic heritage. Adding more diverse members increases the likelihood that all patients will find a life-saving match.
Members of these backgrounds are especially needed:
Black or African American
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian, including South Asian
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
Hispanic or Latino
Multiple race
This in no way relates to Chipotle Hummus. Except that maybe those lazy summer days, hanging out with friends, enjoying a spicy dip, are gifts that you maybe able to give another person, if you are a match. And if you get on the registry, and get to donate marrow and save someones life: I will be really jealous.
Chipotle Hummus
15 ounces garbanzo beans
1/4 cup tahini
3 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
2 tbs olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1-3 tbs water
salt and pepper to taste
Crudites for serving
In a food processor, add the garbonzo beans, tahini, chilies, garlic, cumin, olive oil, lemon juice and process until smooth. Add the water until you reach the consistency that you prefer, more water will equal a creamier hummus. Salt and pepper to taste.
I find that this dip tastes best with the cool crunch of fresh vegetables such as cucumber slices, sliced peppers and carrot sticks.
I’m officially on Pinterest. It’s such a brilliant and simple idea. A big digital pin board that you can share with friends.
If you aren’t a blogger, you probably have no idea how many arguments and debates go on in blog land about this social networking site. The petitions, the disagreements, the loathing. If you are a non-blogger, you are probably a bit confused. What could anyone possibly have against pinterest?! It really comes down to respecting the originator of the idea you pin as well as the sanity of your pin followers. Here is a little list so that we can all pin in peace and harmony.
1. Pin to the original post. This is the biggest irritation of pin followers. You see a pin and think, "I LOVE those shoes. I will buy them right now." you click and then pin goes to the google homepage or someones email account or even the pinterst homepage. You’re a disappointed buyer and the seller of those shoes just lost a sale to a Ghost Pin. Check the URL of re-pins so that you don’t perpetuate this. I’ve had my own photos lead to everything from the Foodgawker homepage to the Facebook homepage to, for some inexplicable reason: Target.com. Even if you found the recipe on Foodgawker, or you found those shoes on a fashion tumblr, click through to the original website or blog and pin directly to that, for the sake of your pin followers.
2. Don’t cut and paste the recipe into the pin description. It doesn’t bother me so much, but it is the biggest frustration and the source of most animosity between pinterest and bloggers. Bloggers feel like they will lose traffic if people can get the recipe from pinterest, and traffic is all we have people! It validates what we do. It comes down to respecting the content of the person who has created it.
3. Follow your favorite bloggers. Pinterest generates an amazing amount of traffic for us and we are SO thrilled with that. If you have a favorite blogger, follow them on pinterst and re-pin their posts. It’s the easiest way to know that you are pinning or re-pinning correctly. If you have any questions, just ask.
4.Bloggers need to relax a bit. If pinners break these rules, it isn’t out of malice. People either didn’t realize their mistake or are just trying to make things easy for their friends. Just sigh and let it go, there is no need to get upset about possibly loosing a little traffic when most people will probably click through to your recipe (or seek it out) if they want to make it. My general philosophy is that it is better to lose traffic than lose readers.
5. Pin comments. We have covered that fact that bloggers don’t so much like it when they see their entire recipes posted in pin comments, which has been largely eliminated due to the enforcement of a character limit. And most pinners don’t like the long comments because it ruins the aesthetic of the overall board. But I personally love to see a quick review of the recipe written in the pin. For instance: "Made this for Thanksgiving! Loved it!" or "I didn’t make the frosting but the cake was great all on it’s own!" or even constructive comments: "I liked this but it needed more salt. I also added parmesan and it was a hit!" But don’t bash us. There is a pretty good possibility that we will see it and it hurts our feelings. We are real life humans with hearts and brains and feelings. Be nice, or at least helpful and tactful.
And please, if you have more to add to this conversation, do so in the comments section! And please, pin away!
Here is my pinterest, a little bare at the moment but I’m working on it!
Olive and Goat Cheese Tartlets
Ingredients:
1 sheet puff pastry
1 6 oz can of Large Black Olives
4 oz goat cheese
8 oz cream cheese, softened
½ cup chopped tomato
1 tbs chopped fresh tarragon or basil
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry with the rolling pin three to four times in each direction, making the pastry thinner, longer and wider. Using a 3.5 inch biscuit cutter cut out 12-16 circles.
Place the pastry circles on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
In a food processer, add the olives, goat cheese and cream cheese. Pulse until well combined.
Top the pastry rounds with 1-2 tbs of the olive mixture.
Bake until the edges of the puff pastry turn a light golden brown, about 15-18 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish and top with tomato and fresh herb.
This week will be full of recipes for Guinness. Although I will always favor local craft beer, I do harbor a soft spot for Ireland and their World Famous Brewery. Just out of college I scraped together enough money to put myself on a flight from LAX to Dublin. I landed in Ireland on a drizzly morning, jet lagged and confused. I had no idea where to go, or how to get there. Before I really knew what was happening, I was being dragged though the streets of Dublin by a charming Irishman, clad in a newsboy cap and green wool sweater. Through his thick accent I was able to discern that he was taking me to a youth hostel at the foot of the Guinness brewery. Once we arrived at our destination, he said goodbye with a smile and a cheerful wave and he was on his way, leaving me to realized that this kind stranger had walked at least a mile in the wrong direction just to make sure I found a bed for the evening.
Although most of you will be breaking out the famous Irish Stout this weekend, I will be sticking with beer brewed a little closer to home. Rogue Brewery makes several beers that would be perfect for this recipe, including the Chocolate Stout, the Double Chocolate Stout, or even the Hazelnut Brown Nectar, I choose to go with the Mocha Porter although the idea of the Irish Lager almost drew me in.
Whatever you decide to consume on St. Patrick’s day, just remember:
Good beer does not need green food dye.
Drink well.
Irish Beer Brownies With Mint Sour Cream Frosting
For the brownies:
12 ounces dark beer, such as Rouge Mocha Porter
1 stick unsalted butter
10 ounces dark chocolate
3 whole eggs plus 2 additional egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
For the Mint Sour Cream Frosting:
2 sticks of butter, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp mint extract
In a sauce pan over medium high heat, cook the beer until reduced to about 3/4 of a cup, about 10 minutes.
Add the butter, stir until melted. Remove from heat and add the chocolate, stirring until melted, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the eggs, additional whites and sugar. Beat on high until very light and frothy, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix until combined. While the mixer is still on high, slowly add the chocolate mixture in a slow stream. Once about half the chocolate mixture has been added to the egg mixture, dump the remaining chocolate into the stand mixer allowing to mix until combined. Add the flour mixture and stir on low until just combined, don’t over mix once the flour has been added or your brownies will be tough.
Generously spray a 9×12 inch glass baking dish with butter flavored cooking spray. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes or until the surface of the brownies begin to look dry and cracked and a tester inserted into center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.
Make the frosting:
Softened butter is important to this process. If you use cold butter your frosting will have the consistency of ground beef, but melted butter will give you frosting that is too soft.
Add the softened butter and the sour cream to a stand mixer and beat until well combined. Add the sugar and beat on low until the sugar is mostly mixed in. Add the mint and beat on high until frosting is light and fluff.
Food is one of the greatest choices we have as members of the 1st world. For the most part, we get to choose what we put in our bodies, and how much.
The path people take to the way they eat as adults is a direct result of the experiences they have as children. Although I am no longer a practicing vegetarian (as evidenced by the extensive number of bacon related posts on my blog) I did spend about 4 years in my early 20’s with a very meatless existence. That choice was a direct result of the farm style living of my youth.
Just before I started Junior High, my parents moved me from the Central Coast of California to a small farm in Eastern Washington state. It sounded like such a romantic and adventurous journey, my love of animals having the full indulgence it had always wanted.
I was a 4-H kid, and the idea of acres and acres of animals was like a dream and within hours of a pig pen fully inhabited by squealing little pink and brown creatures I was in love. I named my favorite guy Garfunkel, as an nod to my love of 70’s music. I spent the summer feeding, walking, and training my new pet. In my head was the knowledge of the inevitable fate of this little guy, but some how it didn’t reach my heart.
Then, towards the end of summer, came an old Chevy pickup truck. White and faded with wooden boards rising up above the sides of the truck bed. I watched from the window as the town butcher consulted with my step father, compared guns, pointed at the pigs, and unceremoniously shoots Garfunkel in the head.
He struggles to get up. Another shot. He moves again. Another shot.
Three days later, I stared at the pork chops on my dinner plate, unable to get the image of his last moments out of my head. Unnerved by the feeling of knowing the first name of my dinner.
Although this is a brutal reality for the meat eating world, and one that we should come to terms with if we choose to eat meat, I am not advocating for everyone to go vegan. I know that the pigs my family raised had great lives. They were loved, cared about, and fed well. If it wasn’t for the dinner they became, they wouldn’t have existed in the first place.
Choice. Choosing to spend more for free range. Choosing to support local growers. Seeking out raw milk and cheese from reliable farms.
Because if the story of Garfunkel is horrifying to you, it is Disneyland compared to way some commercial farms are like.
Just some food for though.
Let me know what you think. If you disagree, agree, or even if you don’t care.
In the interim, here is a meatless breakfast that will give you a break from meat, if that is what you are looking for.
Portobello Mushroom Benedict with Sriracha Hollandaise
4 Portobello mushrooms
1/4 cup olive oil
pinch of salt
4 cups fresh spinach, chopped
1/4 cup chopped onions
3 cloves of garlic minced
4 eggs
1 large tomato, cut into slices
For the Hollandaise:
4 tbs melted butter
4 egg yolks
1 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs room temp water
1 tsp sriracha sauce
salt and pepper
In a pan over medium high heat, add the oil and allow it to get hot but not smoking. Place the mushrooms in the pan. If the pan is two small for all of the mushrooms to fit, cook in two batches. Turn the mushrooms once the bottom has turned dark and has softened, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and allow to cook on the other side until the entire mushroom is dark, soft and cook all the way through. Remove cooked mushrooms from pan and add the spinach, onions and garlic, cook until soft.
Poach the eggs in lightly salted simmering water. (Tutorial)
Melt the butter in the microwave. In a good quality sauce pan, add the yolks, lemon juice and water and whisk quickly and continually over low heat until it’s frothy and doubled in size (this is an arm work out, be prepared). You don’t want too much heat or you’ll have scrambled eggs. If you need to step away for even a second, or if it’s getting to hot, remove from the heat. While continuing to whisk, slowly add the butter in a steady stream. Continue to whisk until thickened, and almost doubled. If your sauce gets too dry and thick, you can add a few tbs of water. Add the sriracha, and salt and pepper to taste.
Place the mushroom on a plate, top with spinach, then tomato slice, then poached egg and drizzle with hollandaise.
Or maybe just for those of us that want to experience everything.
I don’t want to have to decide between a pull pork sandwich, bree grilled cheese and a burger. I want them all. Which is why I will always owe a debt of gratitude to Spain and the brilliance of Tapas.
Some people want to hunker down with a bowl of their favorite food and call it a day. I fancy myself more of a food gypsy. I want a bite of everything. I’m the girl at the Thanksgiving dessert table that takes a sliver of each piece of pie, brownie, and cake onto one plate because the idea of not knowing what each type of pie, plus the cherry brownie, plum tart and the pumpkin turtle cheesecake all taste like is unthinkable. While other people can just take a slice of apple pie and watch the game. Lucky bastards.
BLT Caprese Sliders With Puff Pastry Buns
2 sheets Puff Pastry
3 tbs butter, melted
1/2 tsp course Kosher salt
5-6 Roma Tomatoes
2 tbs Pesto Sauce
20 spinach leaves
4 balls Fresh Mozzarella, Bocconcini size
10 slices of bacon, cooked and cut in half
Preheat oven to 350.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out one sheet of puff pastry to approximately 14.5 inches by 16.5 inches. Using a 3 inch biscuit cutter, cut out 20 circles. Repeat for the second puff pastry sheet.
Brush each puff pastry round with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with salt. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and transfer the circles to the baking sheet(s), butter side up.
Bake for 16-19 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
While those are baking, prepare your ingredients.
Cut each Mozzarella ball into 5 slices, set side.
Cut the off the stem end of the tomato, as well as the opposite, pointed end of the tomato. Cut the remaining tomato into ¼ inch slices. You will need 20 slices.
Once the puff pastry has cooled, assemble to sliders:
Take one puff pastry round, spread with about ¼ tsp of pesto sauce. Top with a tomato slice, then a spinach leave, then mozzarella slice, then slice of bacon and top the entire thing with another puff pastry round. Secure with a 3.5 inch skewer, if desired.
If you have ever had the opportunity to talk to a brewmaster, you have seen it. You’ve seen that look that lets you know that there is an art and a respect for what they do that goes far past what most Americans experience at their day jobs. The look that tells you that the paycheck isn’t the reason he does the job. The flavors, the journey, the solving of the problems that yield to an end result of a drinkable, shareable masterpiece. You’ve seen that look.
It’s because of that look that I try to create recipes that respect the years of love and hard work that go into the process of making Craft Beer. I had the idea of making a lemon cake with pilsner, but the issue is always the hops. Hops are a hard ingredient to cook and bake with, given that they often reduce to a very bitter product. Scrimshaw Pilsner, while still a pilsner, has a low, and well balanced hop taste. It is also from one of my favorite breweries, North Coast, that produces an incredible variety of craft beer. And you can bet that if you are ever lucky enough to take a tour of the brewery, you will see that look I’m talking about, all over the place.
Lemon Pilsner Cake
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 tsp salt
2 tbs lemon zest
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup Pilsner
Icing:
4 oz cream cheese, softened (cold cream cheese will result in lumpy icing)
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup Pilsner
1/2 tsp vanilla
Direction:
Preheat oven to 350.
Spray a large loaf pan with butter flavored cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest until well mixed.
In the bowl of stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until well combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping the bowl between additions. Add the lemon juice and mix until well combined. Turn the mixer on low and add the flour a bit at a time until just barely combined, do not over mix.
Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and add the pilsner, stirring with a wooden spoon until just combined. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes or until the top turns a light golden brown and a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before serving.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the cream cheese and the powdered sugar, beating until well combined. Add the remaining ingredients and whip until smooth.
Top the cake with the icing, chill prior to serving.
As a kid there were a few phrases that take an ordinary day and give it a bit of a sparkle. Like hearing the name of YOUR school being read over the radio as a closure for a Snow Day. Or hearing: "Let’s go get ice cream!" or, one of my favorites: "Breakfast For Dinner!!"
And now that I am a mom, I want to have breakfast for dinner too. It’s fun. But then I have the responsibility of an entire humans future health on my hands. That’s a lot of pressure. The way I reconcile these two things is by taking an ordinary pancake and filling it with a slice of fruit. Breakfast for dinner and a serving of wholesome fruit.
These babies only have 60 calories each. And you don’t even need massive amounts of syrup, the apple in the middle has the flavor and moisture to compensate.
Apple Ring Pancakes
2 large apples (I used Fuji Apples)
1 cup of flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup reduced fat (or fat free) sour cream
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup sparklink water or club soda
(yields about 20 apple ring pancakes)
Preheat a griddle to 375, or use a large skillet. Coat with butter flavored cooking spray prior to cooking pancakes.
Peel and core the apples (I use this apple corer all the time). Cut the apples into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices. Thicker slices will give you a crispier apple once cooked and a thinner slice will give you a softer apple once cooked.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt until well mixed. In a separate bowl, add the sour cream, egg and vanilla, mix until well combined. Make a well in the dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients and stir until just barely combined. Add the sparkling water and stir. One at a time, dip the apple slices into the batter and place on the hot griddle. Allow the pancakes to cook until the edges start to look dry and then flip over, cooking on the other side until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Repeat for all apple slices.
You don’t need syrup for these little guys but I couldn’t resist using the last of that Coconut Caramel Sauce that I made the other day. So good.
Last week, I mentioned how bloggers rarely make the same recipe more than once. We are in constant pursuit of the Next Big Thing. That exciting recipe that will be pinned, and shared and trafficked like crazy. Our poor spouses wondering why we rarely make their favorites anymore.
Over the weekend I had some readers ask me which recipes I DO make all the time, so here is a list for you.
Ten recipes I make on a regular basis:
1. I made these breakfast muffins last night, as a quick on-the-go breakfast for this week. Less than 200 calories and keep me full until lunch.
2. In one form or another, I make this salad several times a week. It’s my go-to lunch.
4. I always make this vegetable gratin for holidays, it was one of my first posts so forgive the photos.
5. When I make layer cakes, this vanilla pastry cream is what I usually use as a filling.
6. This Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake is an easy dessert that I tend to make again and again. And once you make the whipped cream from scratch, you’ll never buy store bought again.
7. I roast a chicken at least once a month. You should too. It is cheap (about $5 and feeds 4), easy and you can make delicious broth from the scraps.
9. I’ve also started to make my own tortillas. Not just because they are so much better, but they are also a way to use up that bacon fat I store in the fridge and they only cost a couple of cents to make yourself.
10. And for number ten, I’m including this recipe below. It was so easy, quick and with only 3 ingredients I can’t imagine never making it again. Oh, and super addictive if you love goat cheese and prosciutto as much as I do.
Prosciutto Wrapped Olives Stuffed with Goat Cheese
Ingredients:
24 large (or colossal) Black Olives
6 thin slices of prosciutto
2 oz goat cheese
Directions:
Cut each slice of prosciutto in half, length wise, and then again width wise forming a “T” cut. This will leave 4 sections of prosciutto, about 4 inches by 1 inch for each slice of prosciutto.
Stuff all of the olives with goat cheese.
Wrap each olive with a small slice of prosciutto and secure with a toothpick.
One big food blogger secret is that we rarely make recipes more than once. It’s true. And sad. It’s this constant race to provide new, fun, exciting, creative content for you that leaves us little time to revisit those recipes that we love. Of course, there are always those few recipes that we will make all the time, for the rest of our lives even if it means missing an opportunity to create a new post. This is one of those recipes for me. All I want to do now is make it all over again and add bacon and parmesean cheese.
So addictive, creamy and delicious.
It’s a simple recipe with only a few ingredients. It isn’t hard to make but it does take time to develop the flavors, time that is well worth it. I’m moving myself and my family away from process’s foods as much as I can, a little at a time and this is my way of having that onion dip that everyone’s mom used to make with the instant soup mix packet, but with loads more flavor and no mysterious chemicals.
Also, I’m going to show you the right way to cut an onion.
And how to roast garlic.
Two skills that I hope stick with you for the rest of your life. My kitchen would be a much different place without onions and roasted garlic.
Roasted Garlic and Caramelized Onion Dip
1 whole white onion (I used a Walla Walla Sweet onion)
1/4 cup olive oil, plus 1 tbs, divided
1 large head of garlic
8 oz cream cheese (softened)
1/4 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
How to cut an onion:
Cut the onion in quarters.
With the tip of the knife close to the center, make vertical cuts all the across the onion, about 1/4 inch apart.
Then cut the onion in the other direction, cutting across the cuts you just made.
In a large pot or dutch oven, heat 1/4 cup olive oil. The key to caramelizing onions, and not BROWNING them, is: low and slow. Heat the olive oil over medium heat until shimmery, then reduce the heat to low and add the onions and a pinch of salt. Stir occasionally until the onions are soft and have turned an amber color. You want them to have that amber color or the sugars in the onion haven’t been caramelized yet and the flavors are not developed. This will take between 30 and 40 minutes, but you only have to stir occasionally so it isn’t a lot of work.
How to roast garlic:
This is very easy and gives you the most incredible tasting stuff. If you haven’t roasted a head of garlic yet, you should.
Preheat the oven to 400.
Cut the top off of the head of garlic.
Place on a sheet of aluminum foil and drizzle with 1 tbs olive oil.
Fold the foil up over the garlic into a tight packet. Place in a baking dish (I use a muffin tin) and place in the oven.
Bake at 400 for 30 minutes, or until garlic is soft and starting to turn an amber color.
Once you have brought out those incredible flavors in your garlic and your onions, break out the food processor.
Add the softened cream cheese, sour cream, onions and squeeze the garlic head until the soft cloves pop out and add them to the food processor as well.
Process until smooth and creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste.
So simple, so good.
Next time, I’m gonna try it with bacon and Parmesan cheese. I’ll let you know how it goes.
