Coffee Shop Drinks at Home

If you're anything like me, you love coffee shops and all they have to offer.  But let's face it, we don't always have the time (or the money) to go that often.  I've never invested in fancy coffee makers (aside form my espresso pot) or those hand-held frothers so I couldn't believe how awesome this latte turned out today. 

TO MAKE:

1. Make espresso on stovetop (or brew strong coffee in a coffee pot)

2. Heat 8 ounces of evaporated milk (I used 2%) in the microwave for 2 minutes

3. Pour heated milk into blender & mix on high for 1 minute (letting steam out the top as it froths)

4. Combine the espresso & milk, spooning foam on top

That's it!!! You can add caramel or chocolate sauce to the evaporated milk before microwaving for added flavor.  I prefer my coffee less sweet so I just added a little sugar to the blender mixture.  You could also add any flavor coffee syrups to this drink as well as sprinkling/drizzling anything in your pantry to the froth if you are feeling creative.  This tastes amazing iced, as well!! Enjoy.

Simple, Four Ingredient, Buttercup Squash Soup Recipe

Finally the days are cooling off and sweaters, boots and winter gear are slowly finding their way out of storage and onto us.  Chilly nights call for warm, hearty soups and fresh baked bread.  You will not believe how easy and fast this delicious squash soup is to make.  Using 4 simple ingredients and then pureeing the mixture in the blender results in the most rich, velvety, tasty soup.  

Simply halve a buttercup squash (not to be confused with a butternut squash, although that would certainly work, too) and roast face-down in a 350 degree oven for about an hour or until very soft.  At the same time, roast a pan of orange, red and yellow peppers for about an hour or until slightly charred.  When peppers are done, throw them into a paper bag, close bag and let sit for at least 10 minutes.  This will make removing the skin very easy.  After removing the skin and seeds/innards, throw the squash and peppers into a blender and add 4 tablespoons of butter.  Stir butter until it melts.  Lastly, add 2 cups of milk or cream and puree until you reach a soup consistency.  Add more liquid as needed.  Soup is now ready to eat.  If the soup has cooled too much from the cool milk, warm soup on the stove.  You could also make this soup vegan by omitting the butter and adding vegetable stock instead of milk/cream.  Add croutons, chopped nuts, seeds or Crème fraîche to soup. Enjoy!

Super Easy Apple Bread

Hello, world.  Did you go to the apple orchard yet this season?  Are you having a hard time coming up with yet another apple recipe?  Are you sick of apple crisp? I did, I was and I am.  So, I made some apple bread that is so easy a kid could do it.  And then I let my almost two year old practically do all of the work.  He had blast.  I even had a mini bread pan (shown in pic) so Eugene could have his own loaf.  This is one of those awesome dump all the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, add the apples and almonds, stir and bake kind of recipes adapted from here.  In this recipe, I used all white flour, used applesauce instead of apple butter and used brown sugar-glazed almonds.  It is so soft and so, so good!  Enjoy!

The Ultimate 10 Minute Hummus

I know what you are thinking. You have made homemade hummus before and it always turns out grainy. Or hummus tastes better store bought. Nonsense!! Not only is this recipe super easy and fast (10 minutes, tops) it turns out rich and velvety. How, you ask? The microwave! Nuking the undrained chickpeas with their skins on and with the garlic cloves makes for an amazing hummus. You will want this in your party repertoire to impress all your people! I am not kidding. Enjoy!

***If you have extra time and want to bring this hummus up to an eleven, take a square of aluminum foil, throw some olive oil and 4 cloves of garlic inside it, fold it into a ball and proceed to roast in the oven for 45 minutes on 375. Add this roasted garlic to the hummus instead. Or you could add roasted red peppers, Greek olives, cilantro or roasted jalapenos to the hummus.

Father's Day Caramel Pecan French Toast

Father's Day is this Sunday! Do you need an easy, delicious brunch idea for dad?  This french toast is awesome and will be sure to wow your dad/husband/anyone.  Both my dad and my husband love sweets and this recipe gets nothing but praise from them.  It is basically your regular old french toast with some pecans, powdered sugar and warm caramel sauce thrown on top. You can also butter the toast if you dare!  For the caramel sauce I just use the microwaveable Breyer's caramel sauce that is intended for ice cream. Super easy and so yummy. Of course if you are feeling super ambitious feel free to make some caramel sauce from le scratch. That is not happening over here. My no fail secret for the best french toast is to use good bread.  Do not go with that cheap white bread nonsense. Instead, go to a bakery or the bakery section of your grocer and buy the crusty, fresh, expensive (not really, it is like $3.75) bread. Get a nice sized loaf and if you ever find a pecan loaf buy that. You can thank me later. Happy Father's Day to all you awesome dad dudes out there. You all rock!!

Food | Blueberry Coconut Energy Balls

Do you ever experience the afternoon slumps?  Is it just me because I have two kids, one who I am nursing still?  Well, these easy-to-make balls will help you get out of any energy crisis.  My husband went to seminary in Vancouver, B.C. and he refers to these as "Vancouver Balls," insisting they taste just like Vancouver.  That is a compliment, right?  So, the husband claims to like them, Eugene (our son) loves them and I need them. 

To make: Throw a large handful of each of the dry ingredients plus 2 tablespoons of honey into your food processor.  Pulse the mixture until a clumpy mass forms.  Roll the mass into bite-sized balls.  Brush each ball with honey and roll them in sweetened or unsweetened coconut (the honey helps the coconut to stick).  These will keep in Tupperware in your fridge/freezer for a good while and are awesome to have on hand for after a workout, to put in the diaper bag or to snack on whenever.  Enjoy!

You can make these with any dried fruit or nuts that you have on hand- I even use raisins to add some fiber to the diet.  You can also add your preferred nut butter to them or add flax/crispy cereal/anything else in your cupboard you want to get rid of to the recipe!!  Just be sure to add more honey if the mixture will not form into a clump.  I would love to hear your ideas on what to add into the recipe.  

Salad | Strawberry + Spinach

Spring is here and that means the farmer's markets are just about in full swing!  Here is a tasty salad to make with some fresh farmer's market finds.  Pick up your favorite Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing (or make your own/use any vinaigrette dressing) and toss it with the following ingredients: 

To make candied walnuts (or pecans) melt 1 Tablespoon of butter in a frying pan and add 2 tablespoons brown sugar to pan.  Add walnuts after the sugar is dissolved and fry for a few minutes, careful not to burn the sugar.  Cool on wax paper until set.  Toss in sugar to coat.  Let harden for at least ten minutes/try not to eat them all.  Enjoy and happy hunting!

Fruity Italian Cream Sodas

I was in the mood for something exotic (ha, ha) and fruity.  This Italian cream soda made with a fresh mixed fruit syrup was just the ticket! It is so easy to make.  I suggest making these for a party and wowing your guests. You could make the syrup days ahead of time, just be sure to pop it in your fridge.  If you have a wedding coming up, this would be a fantastic mocktaill.  Or add booze and sip on the ultimate wedding cocktail that is gorgeous and fresh!  

Recipe: Restaurant Soup In Your Home

 

I highly recommend dropping everything to make this rich, velvety soup.  It is very simple to make, but I guarantee the taste of it will blow you away!  I used vegetables I had in my fridge/from my garden, but feel free to change up the recipe to whatever vegetables you have on hand.  Now go, get cooking! You have friends who need impressing!

 

 RECIPE:

 

Garlic Infused Olive Oil

3 Small Tomatoes

5 Carrots

1 Small Green Pepper

1 Sweet Vidalia Onion

Herbs

Seasonings

Butter (optional)

Cream (optional)

Freshly Grated Parmesan (optional) 

Water

 

1. Heat a generous amount of garlic infused oil on medium heat in a Le Creuset pot or a sturdy kettle. Basically, you want enough oil to cover the entire surface of your pot. If you don't have garlic oil on hand you can add some chopped garlic to the oil, just make sure it doesn't get very brown or it will turn bitter. Add some fresh or dried herbs to the oil until aromatic.

2. While the oil is heating dice all your vegetables.

3. Add the onion/pepper/carrot mixture.  Add salt/pepper/seasonings of your choice. Sauté until onions are translucent + brown. Add a dab of butter to mixture. Add tomatoes. Sauté all ingredients for a good 5 minutes. 

4. Add enough water to cover all the vegetables + let simmer until all vegetables are soft.  Approximately 15 minutes. Then remove from heat + let cool a bit.

5. Add soup mixture to a blender. CAUTION, mixture is still hot so don't cover the blender completely.  Either use towel to cover the blender or just set the top loosely over blender so you don't get sprayed.  Puree until well blended. Add a bit of water as needed to get a runny applesauce consistency. Also, add more seasoning if needed.

6. Strain soup through a cheesecloth.  This is what makes it SO velvety. YUM.

7. At this point I added some freshly grated Parmesan cheese + a bit of cream. I think this makes it go all the way up to an eleven.  I am not kidding this soup is fantastic.

8. Enjoy.

 

***NOTE: This recipe only makes 1 larger bowl of soup.  If you are making this for a bunch of people, I recommend using 5 large, ripe tomatoes, 1 pound of carrots, 2 large peppers of any color (mixed colors), 1 large sweet Vidalia onion & more of everything else, as needed. 

 

Recipe: Simple Quiche

 

I made this simple Quiche for my husband & I today.  It was quite quick & so delicious. 

 

Ingredients:

 

6 Eggs

1/4 Cup Cream

1/4 Cup Milk

1/4 Cup Flour

1 Tsp. Salt

1 Tsp. Baking Powder

8 Oz. Sharp White Cheddar

Vegetables

Herbs

Salt & Pepper

Jiffy Pie Crust





Start by making the pie crust.  I used a box of the Jiffy brand pie crust- SO easy.  All you do is add cold water to the mix, stir, roll dough & place in your pie pan.  Next, in a bowl whisk the 6 eggs.  Add the cream & milk to your eggs.  In a separate bowl combine flour, salt & baking powder; stir.  Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture & whisk until all the lumps are gone.  Now comes the fun part.  Add an assortment of vegetables, cheeses, herbs & seasonings to the egg/flour mixture & combine well.  I used fresh basil from our garden, red pepper, onion, cheddar & Parmesan cheese.  I also added some fresh garlic, salt, pepper, dried parsley, red pepper flakes & dried Italian seasoning.  Once all the ingredients are incorporated, pour the mixture into your prepared pie crust.  I sprinkled the top of the mixture with some cheese & dried herbs.  



 

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.  Then reduce your oven temperature to 350 degrees & bake for another 35-40 minutes until the crust is brown & the Quiche is set (doesn't jiggle).  Let cool for 10 minutes, if you can wait. Enjoy!

 

An Artistic sort of week

My husband has been away (boo!) for work all week in rural western Kansas.  We're new here in town so I don't have many friends, but I did have a lot of free time to create & also to cook for one, me.  Today, I was inspired to make a collage, something I have been doing in my art studio lately.  What fun!  I had gone antiquing last week in Topeka at this fun shop: http://www.brickhouseantiqueshop.com/  & picked up some old postcards (from 1908!!!) & buttons along the way that I hoped to use in my work.  I love to explore thrift stores, flea markets & rummage sales with my art-making in mind.  I intentionally keep an eye out for random items I might be able to use. . .eventually!  I like to carry a bag of art/sewing supplies with me where ever I go so that I can work in random places when I have free time.  You never know where or when inspiration might strike. Here is my artistic process of my vintage finds implimented into a collage.  Enjoy!

First, I gathered some paper I enjoy & a flower I drew a long time ago with a watercolor scrap as the center.  Notice the picture postcard in the background- it is from the antique store.  If you look closely you can see the hand-written date; May 14, '08  & yes, that's 1908.  This is the collage in it's bare form.

Over the collage, quite accidentally, I laid this mesh fabric with the sewn antique buttons on it that make for some cute little tree flowers.  I found a mat I had laying around and cropped the image to my liking. 

It really turned out well & is a new favorite of mine.  I must go post this gem to my etsy site. xo

Here the framed finished product in my art studio!!  YAY!

SQUASH & SWEET POTATO SOUP

This was SO easy to make I wanted to share (and dogs love it, too!).  The soup literally took less than 10 minutes, no joke! 

Ingredients:

Sweet potato

Squash

Butter

Cream

Milk

S & P

Microwave a large sweet potato (after poking it with a fork to prevent exploding) for about 5 minutes or until soft.  Use leftover squash if you have it in your fridge (or cook one if you feel ambitious).  Scoop the sweet potato directly into a blender.  Add butter, cream & milk (or vegetable stock for a healthy version, if you prefer or are vegan).  Puree until smooth (adding more milk & cream if needed).  Warm on stove if need be & salt/pepper to taste.  I also added a smidge of fresh organic honey.  YUM!