Stuttgart or Bust!!

As I write this I am shoveling in a plate of spaghetti with peas and a side of broiled onions. In an attempt to clean out the pantry as today was supposed to be moving day. But of course since the Army is involved it has been postponed till monday. All I can say is aaaaahhhhhhh! This has been the most stressful couple of weeks imaginable, and filled with, I hate to admit with nasty fast food. Every morning before the fella and I venture off to the post to chase people down for signatures or amendments to documents, we enjoy an unnecessarily large bowl of Cocoa Puffs. (What am I thinking) You know its important to have a nourishing breakfast before a hectic, busy day! Ha! Yea right my body hates me right now. I am also ashamed to admit between meetings and appointments, we ate at Popeyes for lunch every day last week. The first time I was excited to try something new, tasty red beans and rice. The second time, still pretty good. Everyday following my body made sure that I felt like crap. To make it utterly clear I was feeding it total garbage and in return make me feel like John Goodman at a buffet at Sunday brunch. I am on a steady diet of over processed sugar and tortured chicken!  And apparently highly influenced by the fellas need for kid like cereals. Thighs be damned. I still have yet to receive my passport which means I might not fly over to Germany with the fella. I would have to go later by myself with both dogs, which would really suck. Its always more fun to fly with a buddy, especially when I have the dogs to worry about. I sobbed my eyes out at the vet the other day, when these two beautiful animals were tortured with the needle that administers the microchip.

I think I stumbled out of the vet office a bit more traumatized than the dogs. Despite the fellas attempt at humor to stop the tears and anxiety. This has Been one Incredible roller coster. We are headed home early next week to see the family and make sure we can get those last tastes of our favorite foods. I am very excited about posting about my favorite burrito place in Boston, stayed tuned for that gem. Hopefully soon we will be settled in Stuttgart. I have been working on learning German I hope I can come home after these 3 years fluent in German and Italian. We ran into a Major at the company the other day who is also going to Stuttgart. He said we can live right in the middle of downtown! So I can take a walk with the dogs to the outdoor market pick up some sausages than meet the Fella for a pint after work I can't wait! It will be my European NYC. I am so excited to start this new adventure with my favorite fella and the 2 pups that make us a family. Stuttgart or bust baby! Auf Wiedersehen!

Moving to Germany, Under the Army's Heavy Thumb!

I just wanted to drop a quick note to those few wonderful readers that I have. It has been somewhat hectic around here. We are moving to Germany! May 10th. But in the meantime I am struggling with the ridiculousness of moving with the army. I am praying my "special" passport comes by May 6th so I can actually fly with the fella to Deutschland. In the mean time we are suppose to be out of our house by this friday the 15th and not one box is packed not one picture unhooked from the wall. We of course can't call the movers until the fella gets his orders, which hopefully come in on the 13th. UGH! And somewhere in between there, the dogs are to be microchipped which I feel so strongly against. Visit his family in Massachusetts and fly to Florida to see mine help plan my best friends wedding as I am her Maid of Honor, quite a crappy one at that for the time being. And squeeze in seeing those friends that mean so much to me. I am so excited that we have the chance to live in Europe. But,.... traveling that treacherous road, riddled with totally unnecessary obstacles the Army loves to stick if front of you, as it seems, just to make your life a living hell, and test your will to see if you have the guts and mental restraint to make it to the other wonderful European side! Please excuse my run on sentence and breathless rant. Never fear I am still cooking when I can. Though we have been eating nasty, piggish food lately and that will likely continue for the next month or two bouncing from hotels and houses and being without my wonderful cookware for an unknown length of time once arriving in Germany. I'm photographing everything (even the crappy tacos I scarfed down from the corner shop) so when I have a minute when I don't feel I might jump out of my skin, or kick the receptionist in the DEERs office out of her chair. I will get back to writing regularly. And I must announce that any day now my hero ( call me lame if you will) Gwyneth Paltrow's cookbook is hitting the bookstore shelves!!!!! I feel like George Costanza my worlds are colliding, but in this case its a good thing! I can't wait to pick it up and I think you all should to. In case you are interested its called My Father's Daughter Delicious and Easy Recipes Celebrating Family and Togetherness. I will be reading it from cover to cover under the sheets of the local Best Western, that is if our little family can get on the same page as the United States Army and get us out of this house. I'll be in touch, and of course I'll be eating see you on the flip side, fingers crossed!

I Love Food

One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well."
- Virginia Woolf

Strawberry Jelly

 This recipe is easy, and how great would it be to have jelly in the fridge that you made instead of some jar filled with high fructose corn syrup ( don't get me started on those ridiculous hfcs commercials that the government is funding) among the other crappy ingredients they shove in there, with fruit being one of the last ingredients. Sorry was I ranting? Lets get back to the jelly. The hardest part of this recipe is chopping up your chosen fruit (strawberry is the fellas favorite), throw it in a pot with sugar and water enjoy the latest episode of the Jersey Shore or any other guilty pleasure you chose to immerse yourself in for 45 minutes to an hour. Lets keep in mind here that I am not canning. This jelly is meant to be used up right away.

Happy St. Patty's Day

I'm only into St. Patricks Day for the food. The only time I went out to celebrate was with one of my wonderful friends, as I call her Jonnah Millah. We went bar hopping through Boston and got caught in the midst of a fight in a a bar the size of a shoe box. I will no longer celebrate this day, other than eating the traditional fare. Being tossed amongst over-weight drunken fellas is not my idea of a good time.

Homemade Ricotta Cheese......Finally

Sorry for the delay in delivering the word about the ricotta cheese.I'm sure you all were waiting on the edge of your seats. Unfortunately, I tend to procrastinate sometimes its a horrible quality that I would love to shake. Anyway, the cheese was awesome, so fresh creamy and delicious. I slathered my first taste on a crusty piece of bread and then I used the rest of it added with parsley to my lasagna. This is so easy. Totally simple, there is no reason not to try this! Unless, of course you don't really care for ricotta cheese, in which case you should try it anyway. Because, it is so much better than anything you buy out of a tub from your local grocer.

This is all you need to make your own cheese.  11/2 cups of milk and 1/2 a cup of heavy cream.  The juice of 2 lemons and the zest also if you would like. I left it out this go round. 1/4 tsp salt and sugar. 

While you bring the milk up to just a simmer juice and zest your lemons.  I don't have photos of the milk simmering cause the stove shots always seem to be awful so we'll skip that shot.  

Line a strainer with cheese cloth and put it in a bowl. 

When your milk and cream are just beginning to simmer, not boil! add your lemon juice , salt, and sugar. and give a  stir then pour into the cheese cloth lined strainer. 

Let is sit for at least 2 hours if you make a bigger batch I would let it sit over night. Otherwise I think about 2 hours does the trick. 

All the moisture will sink into the bowl and leave you with this!  

Its so beautiful!  Peel it away from the cheese cloth and revel in the magic you have just created. I think its best to enjoy it in its simplest form. Spread it on some bread or stir it into some hot pasta with a splash of pasta water.  The lemons give the cheese a hint of lemony tartness and makes it taste so fresh. You could also use white wine vinegar and get the same results I would use about 3 tablespoons if you go the vinegar route. You have got to try this!

I Love Food

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating." 
-Luciano Pavarotti

Incredible Fast Food

This place is a revolution in fast food. Delicious, healthful, fresh food- fast! Steve Ells, the guy who started this chain of awesome, deliciousness runs his restaurants based on the philosophy, Food With Integrity. I will quote his actual statement which is printed on every menu. Its just too important not to read. "Chipotle is a pioneer in changing the way people think about and eat fast food. Armed with our philosophy of Food With Integrity, we take pride in sourcing as many of our high quality ingredients as we can from local and family farmers who are committed to sustainably raising antibiotic and hormone-free meats and organic vegetables. Food With Integrity is not merely a marketing slogan or a philosophy. It is an active process of working back along the food chain. It is a deeper level of thinking, consideration, and comprehension than just the word"fresh." It means going beyond distributors to discover how our vegetables are grown, and being cognizant of how our pigs, cows, and chickens are raised. It is a philosophy solidly based on a foundation of not exploiting animals, the environment, or people."  How simple and wonderful. This is something we all should be doing! Someone please tell me why McDonald's can't live by this philosophy??? I think greed is the answer. People always say that eating organically is too expensive. Well, the most expensive thing on the Chipotle menu is $6.50. Which is about the same price of any large value meal on McDonald's menu. We had to drive 70 miles to eat here, but if you happen to  live near a Chipotle give it a try you will not be disappointed. 

Look! They are actually making food!

Here is my food, I ordered the tacos and they actually make them when you order them. 

The finished product, that was quickly devoured. Two tacos with black beans and carnitas the naturally raised pork. One taco with pinto beans and barbacoa, naturally raised beef braised then shredded mmmmmm. 

Our order of chips and guacamole so good! Your chips come in a bag but the fella made a nice presentation of our order. 

Heaven wrapped in a flour tortilla! 

All the menus are printed on recycled paper. This guy walks the walk.  Changing the world one taco at a time!

The fella ordered a burrito with the barbacoa ( shredded braised beef) without beans. I don't know why he doesn't like them, but I'm not complaining. He ate a burrito and guacamole!

Cheese Please

Hey guys, I am currently working on making some home made ricotta cheese. Apparently it is quite easy to make, it just needs about a day to sit. So, as soon as I have my final product, I will post it as fast as my not- so- little fingers can type. Lets cross our fingers it comes out at least as tasty as a watery tub of Polly-O.  Wish me luck!

A Quick Lunch....Or Dinner

Just a few ingredients keep you and your stomach away from a tasty and healthy meal. This little number only takes about a minute longer than the time it takes your pasta to cook. When the fella is eating his favorite eggs and hash on a saturday afternoon, this is what I make. He won't eat it (so more for me) and I don't feel bad for eating 3 bowls of it. This is a recipe based on what you have on hand, but has two basic principles use some kind of vegetable and whole wheat pasta. Today I have arugula and rotini and used half a box of each of these. No good can come of it when I make a whole box of pasta. Ok, lets get this party started shall we? 

Here we have the stars of the luncheon show, arugula and pasta.  When your pasta is finished cooking let it sit in the colander for a minute while you add the arugula to the hot pot with some oil salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (if you can take the heat.) Let it wilt down just a bit. Throw your cooked pasta on top of the arugula and add just a bit more oil and give it a stir.  To beef up on the veggie count I added half a bag of steamed peas in with the arugula. 

TA DAAA! 10 minutes later you have something really good to eat, with little to no effort. Top off your bowl of goodness with some good parmesan cheese and start shoveling or politely savoring every bite. 

Milk, of the Nutty Variety

This stuff is delicious. I stumbled upon this tasty treat during a stroll through Target. I've seen the commercials and have even tried the original Silk Almond Milk, but this stuff....wow.  It is so thick, rich, chocolaty, and simply delightful. It has a hint of almond flavor, far less distinct than the non-choclate version. I am not a fan of milk, at all but this is absolutely wonderful. This tasty bev offers way more calcium than regular milk, which I am trying to consume more of these days. I know these freaky, new fangled food items might seem weird but this is soooo good. Try it and let me know what you think. It goes without saying that I am definitely not being paid to comment about Silk's Almond Milk, I wish! 

Mmmmm going, going....

GONE!

Caesar Dressing (A Healthy Version)

My best friend Sarah and I love Jamie Oliver. I remember lying on her bedroom floor in high school while we proclaimed how cute his accent was and how good his food looked, as he drove around on his little vespa from place to place making his recipes. I still love him today, especially this food revolution he is on. I totally support his crusade to teach Americans about good food, where this food comes from, and healthy, easy, delicious recipes. Americans eat horribly, we could use the simple wisdom this wonderful Brit has to offer.  I know the world is busy, but I think its time we take a cue from the Europeans and put down all of the gadgets we find so necessary to possess, sit down and enjoy a meal. Preferably with some people you love, and preferably at least once a day.  We can all start with a tasty and healthier version of the classic caesar salad. It takes about 15 minutes and makes enough to nicely coat 2 heads of romaine. Though the recipe calls for just one large head.
1/3 cup low-fat or nonfat Greek-style yogurt
2 anchovy fillets mashed
1 garlic clove mashed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large head of romaine lettuce torn into bite sized pieces

Here are your ingredients. Unfortunately I live in the middle of nowhere, and this is the best parmesan cheese I can get my hands on. Oh how I long to live near a Whole Foods again. But, it did the trick.

Lemon juice, garlic, and anchovies. 

In a small bowl whisk the yogurt with the anchovies, garlic, lemon juice and worcestershire sauce. 

Whisk in the oil

And the parmesan cheese

Season with salt and pepper

In a large bowl, toss the romaine with half the dressing and the remaining cheese. Serve, passing the remaining dressing at the table.

Joy! In a Styrofoam box

Few things are more joyous to receive via the U.S. postal service than this glorious Styrofoam box I came across today, filled with boxes upon boxes of pure deliciousness. Ladies and gentleman we have Omaha Steaks! Thank God for grandmothers who love their grandsons. This special delivery came today as an early birthday present for the fella. It may as well have been my birthday, I'm thrilled. We are now the proud, soon to be consumers of filet mignon, bacon wrapped filets, hot dogs, burgers, pork chops, pot roast, steak tips, au gratin potatoes, and even apple tartlets. 

Tonight I made some steak tips and caesar salad with homemade dressing, the recipe coming from the wonderful Jamie Oliver, I'll be sharing that go round with you all tomorrow. I'm not a huge fan of steak tips and would never order them at a restaurant, where more often than not you are presented with a pile of cow chopped in to bits, resembling and tasting like tire tread. No thank you. But, the Omaha steak tips are unbelievably tender and tasty. A tip, if you will, of beef heaven. All I can say is, thank you grammy!

Even Bo was excited about the delivery. Thats about as close as he is gonna get to tasting any of it! 

Valentine Brownies

Is it just me, or does martha stewart have a way of making you feel bad about yourself? She has these fabulous recipes, and fabulous photos of these recipes (and hundreds of millions of dollars, but thats beside the point) and mine never seem to measure up. This seems a bitter way to start a post about valentines day but, ugh does she get to me! I used her brownie recipe from the Baking Handbook and they came out fine. I will admit I am a much better cook than I am a baker but, I still love to do it. My finished product just never looks like hers. I digress.... these brownies are very tasty and came out looking pretty good. With a little help from a heart shaped cookie cutter, they will be a lovely sweet treat for your valentine. Hopefully you have more than one or you'll end up eating the whole batch like me!  And Here we have Martha Stewart's Fudgy Chocolate Brownies. Valentine style.
You need:

1 stick unsalted butter, plus more for pan

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
11/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Your Ingredients.

Melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl over simmering water. 

Prepare your pan with butter and flour.

After the chocolate, butter mixture cools (about 10-15 mins) add the sugar.

Stir it. 

Add eggs mixing well after each addition. 

Add the vanilla.

Fold in the flour and salt. Careful not to over mix.

Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared pan. 

Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes. Until a toothpick comes out just about clean. Don't over bake it will continue to cook for a bit out of the oven.  

Grab you heart shaped cookie/brownie cutter and start making some magic!

Voila! Heart shaped brownies for your valentine. 

Awesome Chocolate Chip Cookies

It has taken me a long time to perfect my chocolate chip cookie, or to my standards perfect. By this I mean crisp on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside. When I make cookies I tend to eat quite a lot of them so, for awhile I made them with Splenda to lower the calorie count and up my consumption. Awful! Splenda does something to the cookie that makes them somewhat cake like yuck, not what I am going for. I have used recipes from countless cookbooks including The Joy of Cooking, which produced a good cookie but offered up a small batch. After much failure I have found my perfection on the back of Toll House bag of semi-sweet morsels as I'm sure you all have discovered. I use this recipe but with a few changes and techniques. Instead of the two sticks of butter I use 1cup of canola oil or, 1/2 cup canola oil and 1/2 a stick of butter. If I am trying to be extra healthy or less remorseful for eating a dozen cookies I exchange all purpose flour for whole wheat flour. Its much better for you and tastes relatively the same except for and added nuttiness and more wholesome taste, for the lack of a better word. I also found adding about 1/4 cup of golden flax seed sprinkles with the flour is absolutely delightful! You won't notice much difference in the taste of the cookie but it does wonders for the texture that I'm going for, and of course its incredibly healthful offering its omega 3 goodness. Also, especially when using the canola oil be sure to refrigerate your cookie dough in a covered bowl for at least 30 minutes. Chilled dough is a must for a good cookie.

This 1 inch scoop is great for making uniform sized cookies, which also helps them cook evenly. 

Scoop em, and drop em. 

A Silpat is a silicone mat that lies inside your sheet pan. It helps crisp the cookie, I love it. They are a bit expensive, but worth every penny.

Mmmmmmm.

Time for a taste test. If your betting I ate more than one, you are correct! Try 12, I would like to say that I'm ashamed but they are soooo good. And hey, it was wheat flour and flax......right?