For the Turkey Feast

In my adult life I have cooked two full-on Thanksgiving Turkey dinners. One when I was 20, and one last year.

I can't really remember anything interesting about dinner when I was 20. I remember a lot of left over meat.

Last year I remember. I thought it turned out fairly well and pretty delicious. Except the turkey was still somewhat frozen. Even though I followed the instructions to defrost by Thanksgiving. When the turkey is still a little frozen, it makes preparation a bit harder. It takes a lot more muscle to pry things apart and dig things out. Not much fun. And, who knows how long it takes to cook a frozen turkey. I think it took 2 or 3 hours longer than I thought it was going to. But, aside from that, I thought the food tasted fine.

So this year, the decision was made to get a turkey breast only. Not as much waste, and a lot easier. Except for purchasing it. You see, I went to purchase one that is supposed to be so easy and so delicious, except I wandered the store for hours (okay, really just minutes but it felt like forever) in search of said turkey breast.  I became frustrated and gave up.

Fast forward; shopping at a different grocery store. No turkey breast. After loading up my other Thanksgiving feast delights (you know the normal, potatoes, asparagus, stuffing, etc.), I decided to give in and buy a whole turkey (at least they were on sale).

Fast forward again; not everyone is on board with a stinky, frozen, giant turkey.

So, this morning I will be headed to the food bank to drop off said stinky, frozen, giant turkey (which technically needs to start defrosting today for someone to enjoy on Thanksgiving).

And, something I tried hard to avoid, I will be headed back out tomorrow. Not for the mysterious, elusive turkey breast. We're going in a different direction. I will be getting some sliced turkey breast and cheeses from the deli, and some delicious buttery croissants from the bakery. You know what? While it might not be traditional or festive, I think it will still be delicious. (And less prep and clean up-- who doesn't love that?)

Santa in November

Santa Clause came to the mall last week. And he's here to stay-- at least until Christmas.

Why oh why does it seem earlier and earlier each year?

Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas, the season, and all of the fun things that go along with it. I just don't like getting burned out before Christmas gets here.

That being said, I did decide to "start" Christmas. If you didn't know this about me, I am addicted to lists. I will make lists of anything and everything. But, before list time, in my opinion, comes budget time. The thing is, if I don't come up with a budget and divvy it out nicely among all the people I would love to buy gifts for, I end up spending way too much-- like living on ramen and mac n cheese for the next two months too much. So, did the budget. Made the first list. And, what else to do this week but starting buying, right?
While I don't want to be involved in Christmas so early, I also don't want to be fighting the traffic and the crowds a month from now. So I decided it's worth it. Plus, it gives me time to remember things that maybe didn't make it on the list.

I think this week I got all the shopping done for the little kiddies (friends, nieces, nephews, etc). I think that's the most fun part anyway. And the easiest. Most kids like toys. Can't go too wrong there. Also, Target and Toys R Us were nice enough to throw out some pre-Black Friday deals, and I don't mind participating in those.

I also got my new Matthew Mead Holiday magazine this week. It's the most beautiful magazine I've seen. A little ambitious for me, but I can still enjoy looking at it. I refuse to start any kind of decorating though until AFTER Thanksgiving. I've got to have some boundaries (aside from the giant glass bowl on my table filled with cinnamon-scented pine cones and red wicker balls-- but that could technically be out any time of the year).

Pumpkin Cake Pops

Are you ready for this? Remember my first attempt with the basic cake balls?

Well here's the next step, turning those into pops.

I decided to start with the pumpkin ones because they appeared to be the easiest. And, if you've seen the recipe then you've seen them with jack o lantern faces. I decided to forgo the faces. Maybe I'll do faces next year. That might be fun (but I'll have to learn how to make these a little smoother).

I'll just admit that while I like how the pops turned out, my pictures aren't the best. I got so wrapped up in my project that I kept forgetting to take pictures. I wrapped them up individually and started using cute ribbon to tie the bags, but that ran out after about 8 pops so I switched to black gift ribbon, which still looked better than I thought it would.

And, I thought they tasted pretty good. Really rich, but what else would you expect from candy coated cake?

I think that finishes up my October/Halloween baking.

I was planning on turkey pops next month, but I looked at the recipe while I was doing the pumpkin pops, and I just don't know if that's going to happen. "Gluing" the feathers on just sounds like it might be too much.

Return to Sugar

I am hoping that after exactly six months off of cakes, candies, and cookies my sugar addiction has been weakened. Because I am back on.

Last year I did six months off sweets, followed by six months on, and I just ended another six months off. Can I pretend that cuts my diabetes risk by 50%?

Actually, I am not planning to keep this going in six month increments. Last year when I got back on sweets it was like a major explosion. I had no plan. By the end of the first week I was back in full frenzy addiction mode. I am going to try to not let that happen this time.

Yesterday I decided to try a pumpkin cake pop (more on that later), and I did pop a couple balls that hadn't been candy coated yet. Then, I decided to try some pretzel m&ms. Those have been calling my name for months and we had some in a candy dish. I ate about three. Not worth it. The chocolate to pretzel ratio was disappointing to me. Old me might have eaten them anyway, but like I said, my sugar addiction is slightly curbed right now. I did have a handful of chocolate covered almonds and I ended my day with a couple of candy corns. All in all, not too crazy for a sugar addict. (okay okay, it would have been a lot worse except I had exact plans for those pumpkin pops so I really couldn't binge on them or I wouldn't have had enough for all the people I had planned them for).

Now, to keep myself from that dark place, my plan is not to indulge every day, but to indulge on special occasions. Like Halloween. I am hoping to score a couple of fun size candy bars. And after that there aren't really any special occasions until Thanksgiving. Maybe then I can have a piece of pie. See? It all sounds very doable. And if not, well, the minute I turn back into a sugar-crazed fiend, I'm going to have to ban them again. I'm hoping that doesn't happen.

Pumpkin Baking

I am a big fan of using pumpkin for my baking. I wait for this all year long.

First, if you haven't tried the Pumpkin Smash smoothie from Jamba Juice, go try that right now! It's delicious. I have been getting my weekly fix and I hope they keep it around at least until Thanksgiving, which will give me the chance to suck down four or five more.

And now, pumpkin baking. With my current avoidance of most things sweet, this year hasn't been too eventful.

First, I tried a new recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread, from Betty Crocker's fall baking magazine. I have a million pumpkin recipes but I always like to try different variations.

If you are looking for something not too sweet, this is a good one. Even though it has mini chocolate chips, it's very bland (someone said he thought it was bitter, but it's someone who doesn't like pumpkin, so hard to judge).

The recipe is:

1/2 cup softened butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup pumpkin

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (and if you need this, please ask me, I bought a new one just to make this bread not realizing I still had a container from last year, and I'll never use it all before it expires)

1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup chopped walnuts (I omitted these)

After you bake this for 65 minutes it calls for a glaze. I only glazed half. Use a 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 2-3 teaspoons of milk. The gaze really sweetens it up, since you're just covering it in more sugar. So I would try it first and unless it's too bitter, save yourself some sugar and skip the glaze.

Overall, this recipe is okay. It's not to die for. I liked trying it once and I could see making it once a year. It just makes one loaf of bread, so if you don't like it you haven't wasted too much.

The only other thing I have made this season is Pumpkin Bars. I don't know where this recipe originally came from, but my dad made these once when I was a teenager and I copied down the recipe because I loved them. I didn't love the raisins and nuts, so when I make these every year I leave them out. I love these pumpkin bars and I think you should give them a shot if you're looking to try yet another of the million pumpkin recipes.

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cloves

1 cup oil

4 eggs

1 15oz can (2 cups) pumpkin

1/2 cup chopped nuts

1/2 cup raisins

Beat at low speed until moistened, then beat at medium speed for two minutes. Stir in nuts and raisins. Pour into greased 15x10x1" pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Cool completely, 40-50 minutes.

Combine until smooth:

1/3 cup softened margarine

3 oz softened cream cheese

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tbsn milk

1 tsp vanilla

Ice cooled bars.

I made these bars just three days ago for a Halloween party (no pictures). I had to have something to make them for so I wasn't tempted to eat the whole pan (because I am sure I could). I wanted to try the pumpkin whoopie pies from bakeat350 for the party, but I didn't have enough time. Maybe next year.

Currently I have a cake cooling. I am hoping to find time this afternoon to turn it into Pumpkin Cake Pops. I'll keep you posted.

Fall???

I would just like to tell you that I saw the forecast for today, and it says 104. Is that possible? Two days until October, and already a week into fall and we get this? It really kills my fall time buzz.

For the last two weeks I have been planning out some fall time baking. You know, pumpkin bread, pumpkin sandwich cookies, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cake pops. You get the idea. I have been trying to wait until the first of October. And, I couldn't wait at Jamba Juice any more. On Saturday I had a pumpkin smoothie. I thought it was delicious. It tasted creamy, sweet, and delicious. Like a pumpkin pie milkshake. If you go for that kind of thing I definitely recommend it.

Also, I have a beautiful new fall dish (maybe you'll get to see a picture another time) that I am loving. I brought it out last Friday. I was planning on filling it with candy corns and pumpkins this week. But now, it seems a little out of place as the air conditioner is working full time and the sun is blazing. (And I'd rather not mention that I went fall shopping about two weeks ago to get a certain someone ready for cooler weather. All those clothes are still sitting in the bags with the tags on).

You know what I did today? I busted out the zucchinis. Welcome back summer. I made some chocolate chip zucchini bread (recipe can be found by clicking on Kathi's blog). It feels a little summerish and a little fallish, and hopefully when I drop it off tonight people will feel like eating it if they haven't sweated to death first.

I was planning on getting out the fall/Halloween items in two days. That doesn't sound right at all. Maybe by then it will have cooled off 20 degrees.

I don't mean to complain. I enjoyed swimming yesterday and if the heat overtakes me this afternoon I might just end up at the pool again. It's just that my body and mind feel confused. They were excited for fall.

Basic Cake Balls

I did make the cake balls on Wednesday. I have just been lazy about posting it (I was also lazy in my picture taking, but I did get the final product).

I think it went pretty well for my first time (aside from the fact that my little helper managed to pop four of them down before they were covered in chocolate). I kept wondering if I was doing it wrong but I think they turned out well. I didn't actually eat any. They smelled so wonderful that I think my mouth watered non-stop for at least an hour. We had company that evening and I served them and everyone said they enjoyed them (maybe they were just being nice, but then they probably would have stopped at one, no?).

My biggest problem was actually that we just had way too many left over. Yesterday I ended up trashing three plates of them (about 18) because they had just been sitting in my fridge for three days. So next time I will just have to commit myself to getting rid of them in a less wasteful way than dumping them in the trash. And yes, there will be a next time. Betty Crocker cake mixes (my favorite brand for cake mix) were on sale when I went to the store on Friday so I picked up a couple more boxes. I might do apples this month or just wait until next month and do some Halloween cake pops. I guess it will just depend on how much time I have, how interested in baking I am feeling, and whether or not I have anyone I can give them to. I am nervous to try the cake pops, but I actually think it will be easier to dip them than it was to dip the balls.

Cake Pops is here

So I got my cake pops recipe book yesterday. I am very excited! It's kind of hard to get started since I know I won't be eating any and I will have to find people to pawn them off on. I think that I am going to start with the basics first and just do some chocolate cake balls with chocolate coating. Then next month (yea October!) I'll try and step it up with the "pops" idea. The book has pumpkins, witches, monsters, ghosts, mummies, and black cats. I'm very excited. I was planning on starting with pumpkins, but I saw today that they are on the front of the newest Betty Crocker Halloween treats mini recipe book (like the kinds you see in line at the grocery store). So, maybe there will be a lot of pumpkin cake pops floating around this season and I need to try one of the harder ones.

Since I still haven't taken the time to try and load an image on here, I will continue to be lazy and tell you to click on the bakerella link to the side there. She has put up pictures of the cake pops (including the pumpkin ones) if you want to see what I am talking about.

Maybe today I will get around to the chocolate balls. It sounds like a nice Wednesday project. Actually, it's a bit stormy out and we had a few rain sprinkles so it does seem like a baking day, even if it feels like I should be making pumpkin bread instead of chocolate cake.

Jellies and Nectarines

I finally tried making some jelly. I made plum jelly. I had never had plum jelly before and didn't think it would be too delicious, but I got some great plums at the Farmer's Market and then the grocery store had them on a great sale so I went for it. I can't tell how it turned out. It looks nice. It tastes sweet. The problem is I have never had plum jelly before so I don't have anything to compare it too. Like I said, it tastes sweet but that's about it. It doesn't really have a distinct flavor like all the jam has had. I can't tell if that's because I made it wrong or if that's just plum jelly for you. The only thing I can come up with is that maybe I boiled the fruit a few minutes too long before I set it up for the juice draining bit. The reason I care so much is apple jelly. Next month is apple picking month and I will definitely be making some apple jelly. And I want it to be perfect and delicious like I remember it. I even went ahead and dropped $4 for a box of pectin. That's right. $4. I had been to about 5 stores looking for it and it was out of stock everywhere. Maybe now that berry season is over or summer is almost over or who knows why, but I don't think stores will be restocking. And, I could easily end up back at the store paying another $4. It depends on how many apples I end up with. (And, if you are shopping around and find some regular-priced pectin please let me know).

Aside from the jelly I also decided to can some nectarines. I had bought a bunch of cheap nectarines and they were just sitting in the fridge so I decided to do something about it. It didn't go very well, and I haven't even tasted them so I don't how awful they might be. The recipe said to half them and fill the jars cavity side down. There were two options, pack them raw or pack them hot. I chose to pack them raw. I had quite the time getting them in the jars. I didn't have wide mouth jars. Also, they were raw and you know how firm nectarines tend to be. I wanted to just slice them up but I was paranoid that multiple recipes I read were so specific about halving them and placing them cavity side down. I thought, is there a reason for that? I better follow my recipes. It was difficult.

And then one of my jars broke while it was in the pot. It smelled really good which makes me hopeful that the fruit in the other jars will taste good. But I don't know why it broke.

The whole experience makes me feel like sticking to jams and jellies.

3 Months and Counting

Remember when I decided to cut out cakes, candies, and cookies again? Well, it has officially been three months. Last year I went six months and I liked that it was a nice even half of the year. That felt like a good compromise.

Not sure if I'll make it six months this time. On the one hand, it should be simple, I did it last year and I still get half of the year, including the major candy holiday. On the other hand, I had some moments this month where I wanted to stop and felt like I really needed some chocolate (hello to you emotional eating).

And then there's the part of me that is like, "six months, are you kidding me? You should be off this stuff forever." To refresh your memory, in case you have forgotten, I am a sugar addict. The more I eat the more I want and I eventually spiral out of control eating sweets for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, only throwing in some real food when I feel like I am on the verge of death. So that is why other people's advice and "plans" for me, like eating dessert only once a week just don't work. Once I get a taste, it's all downhill. I am still trying to accept a reality where I would not eat cakes, candies, or cookies ever. Maybe I can just say I'll wait until I'm 90 and by then I am sure I'll have so many issues going on that I won't care about more wrinkles and fat and diabetes.

I do know that I definitely will not be eating any cakes, candies, or cookies tonight but I don't know when I will give in again.

Pops

If you look over to the right you will see a link to bakerella. I just clicked on it and read all about the little pops. I want to make that recipe with those tiny little pops. After those smoothie yogurt pops I made a couple of weeks ago I haven't tried anything else. I did buy a box of popsicles last week. Breyers Pure Fruit Berry Swirls. They were (are) delicious, but I have got to stop with the buying of these foods that I can just make myself.

And one more thing from bakerella. I can't wait until that cake pops recipe book comes out. I have never actually made any of my own cake pops but I still want the recipe book and I think one day (even if I never eat sweets again) I would really like to try making them.

5 A Day

Does anyone out there actually hit their daily produce number? The thing is, I know fruits and vegetables are good for me, I believe all the hype about the amazing things they do for my body. On top of that, I really enjoy most fruits and vegetables. And I still have a hard time getting them in. I feel like all it takes is missing them with one meal and bam, you've missed your numbers.

Last week was an especially bad week for me. I started my week with cherries, plums, peaches, and blueberries from the farmer's market. I added carrots and broccoli from the grocery store. I even went straight to the source and picked berries at a farm. And I managed to eat practically none of it. I would like to say I just wasn't in the mood. But I don't think you can take a week off of eating your fruits and veggies and say that.

I will admit some weeks are better. But to hit my numbers I usually have to be making an effort. Planning my meals and snacks or at least keeping track of them. I believe that 5 is my minimum. You know that would ideally be at least three servings of vegetables and two servings of fruit a day. That sounds so simple and yet like I said, if I am not focusing on it I usually fall short. Again, I like fruit and I like vegetables. Some days I am sure I eat past my daily serving amounts. I am just saying that it can be hard. For example, eat only a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch and now you are behind and have to play catch-up at dinner.

All that aside, do you realize how much money it costs? I know it's still cheaper than eating out but when you are talking about each person in my family trying to hit their numbers, that's a lot of produce. And forget trying to keep it fresh. There's no way I could go shopping and get that much produce to last a week. I know that's not technically true because I could buy frozen or canned food, but gross. Why do that in the middle of summer when so much is fresh and in season.

I am going to start my day by sifting through my fridge to see if any of last weeks produce is still edible. If it is, it'll be time to get started on today's 5.

...Cooking Recap

I don't know what my deal is. Is it the heat? Is it the business of summer? Who's to say but I can't seem to motivate myself for much cooking these days.

I made it to a farm this past week for some cheap berries and I was able to do some strawberry jam (which turned out soooo foamy) and some triple berry jam, which included strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries, but didn't taste as delicious as it smelled.

I think I am done with canning until September when I go apple picking. Then I will attempt at least one batch of apple jelly. I am excited for that. I currently have 1o jars of jam (without adding the apple jelly) to eat through in the next year, so we'll see how that goes. I might have to declare a jam week once a month to get through it all: jam for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Over-production aside, I have really enjoyed making so much jam.

If anyone wants to try that granola bar recipe I thought that I would let you know that I reduced the brown sugar to half a cup when I made some more this week. I'll be honest, not as delicious after having the super sweet round first. Still very edible and I probably should keep it there because we could all use less sugar in our lives.

Also, the yogurt smoothie pops were pretty good. It just feels good making more of my own food from basic ingredients rather than buying so much processed junk.

But, not everything can be so easy. I tried baking angel food cake for the first time this week. Let me be clear here, NOT FROM SCRATCH. Way too ambitious while I'm off sweets. I used a Betty Crocker box mix. I heard it was delicious. It looked and smelled beautiful. I also think it would be a great thing to add to food storage because all it requires is water.

And that's all I have. I have no recipes set aside and am not planning anything new so this may be it on cooking for a while. Or, I could randomly bust out some new stuff tomorrow. It's always hard to say when the motivations and urges will strike. Now that I have jam out of my system maybe I'll have more cooking energy for something else.

Friday Cooking Recap

I tried a few new and easy things this week.

#1

The new McCormick Recipe Inspirations. Have you seen these in the grocery store? I finally decided to try one not just to try a new taste but also because I am so sick of having a cupboard full of herbs and spices that I use for one or two recipes and then eventually have to toss out. This little doo-dad comes with multiple pre-measured spices to get you through one meal. This week I used the Rosemary Roasted Chicken with Potatoes pack. It came with paprika, garlic rosemary, and black pepper. It was pretty simple. Dump them all in a bowl with some oil and salt and then toss in your chicken and potatoes to coat. Roast. Enjoy.

My potatoes were not close to done after the recommended thirty minutes so I had to almost double that.

I was skeptical of the paprika and rosemary combo. But, we really liked it. It's definitely going to appear on the dinner table again. I don't know about any of the other packs, but I would recommend this one. I paid $1.50 for the pack (for one dinner) so if I end up making it once or twice a month for a while it might be alright to just invest in full bottles of the ingredients. But, I liked the option to try it once and then invest in extra spices and herbs after I know if I like it.

#2

Granola Bars. I know, I just made granola last week and it's not even almost gone, but I was curious. I will start by saying if you have in your mind the store-bought deliciousness, pass on this. But what did you expect? Have you read those ingredient labels? Making them my self I was able to avoid a lot of those things I didn't want to eat. I have no picture, but here's the recipe:

2 cups oats

1 cup brown sugar (too much, I'll have it next time)

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup honey

Any dried fruit, nuts, seeds, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, etc.

Mix all ingredients and press into greased pan, 11x13. Dough will be very dry and crumbly, but press until dough forms with pan. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes or until edges are browned. Take out and let cool entirely. Cut into strips and store in snack size bags.

My advice-- when it says it will be dry and crumbly, it really means dry and crumbly. I thought surely I got a bad recipe with some ingredient omitted. And after baking it, I still thought that. But, I followed the recipe and did let it cool completely and when I cut them into strips it worked.

Also, I divided mine into three sections so I could make three flavors, peanut butter, butterscotch chips, and dried fruit, but I put them all side by side in the baking dish. Next time (and they were good enough that there will be a next time) I will stick to keeping the batch together and just using one "flavor." I think they would have turned out more consistent.

#3

Yogurt Smoothie Pops. This year I feel like everywhere I go I am seeing those popsicle molds and makers and today when I was walking through my local Target I picked up a four pack popsicle mold. I had a recipe to follow but it turned out I was missing some ingredients so I made up my own (how hard can it be, right?). I used one banana, a small handful of frozen blueberries, a handful of fresh blueberries, about 8 strawberries, a small pour of pomegranate juice, and a small pour of milk. I haven't actually had one yet because they are still freezing, but I tried the leftover yogurt smoothie and it was good so I am optimistic.

Until next week.

Friday Cooking Recap. . . On Saturday

I made some granola this week. I didn't think it was going to happen because my oven was pretty gassy for the first part of the week. I turned it on and decided I'd wait ten minutes before even getting out the ingredients. Ten minutes later, no gas.

If you click on the link to Kathi's blog you can find the granola recipe. And, she included a nice picture.

It was really easy to make (and easy to let a little helper help). I will warn you, if you want to try it, it is NOT sweet. At least not by today's standards. I did put in 3/4 cups of honey. The recipe said to mix in dried fruit after it was completely cool, but I don't usually have dried fruit so I didn't. I did buy some later to try and sweeten it up but I haven't tried any yet. The other day when I ate some of the granola I mixed in a tablespoon or two of peanut butter and I liked it. If I make it again I think I will add peanut butter to the whole batch before I bake it. Now I need to go pick up some yogurt so I'll have something to eat it with. Or maybe this will be the week that I finally try to make my own.

I also attempted more jam this week (with my sister-in-law's help of course). Organic raspberries were the cheapest of the season yesterday so I picked some up and we made raspberry jam. I tried a little this morning and it was delicious. Kind of like eating candy. Which is what you would expect when you add 7 cups of sugar right? I am now searching for the perfect homemade bread recipe (white and wheat) and dreaming of the bread and jam to come.

Last week I got a recipe for granola bars. I would like to try them but I can't tell if I want to wait until the granola is gone. I haven't even started thinking about my dinner menus for next week, so who knows if I'll try anything new.

Blackberry Jam

Okay so I missed my Friday Cooking Recap but technically I didn't try cooking anything new this week.

However, my sister-in-law entered the world of home canning and I was lucky enough to tag along with her.

This here is product #1. Blackberry Jam

I didn't really do anything except watch and learn how to make and can jam (oh, and take my own jar home to eat later). I haven't tried any yet but I heard it's pretty delicious. We do have plans to do a lot more canning. The one thing I definitely want to try is apple jelly. For the past 5 years I was buying apple jelly for our family and about four years ago the store stopped carrying it and we miss it. We'll see how the homemade version turns out. The jellies sound a bit more complicated than the jams.

Berry season is almost over so I've got to get out there and get the last of the berries when they are on sale and can them all up. I'll keep you updated on how it all turns out.

Friday Cooking Recap

This week I only had one planned recipe to try. Lemon Blueberry Muffins, from Deceptively Delicious.

I would like to say that they were my least favorite of all the muffins we've tried from that cookbook. But, I can't even give them that much credit. I thought they were pretty gross. I only ate one before I froze them, so I will try at least one more before I toss them out and see if I like it any better.

The recipe called for squash. Maybe that was it. I have never liked squash, but supposedly you aren't supposed to able to taste it anyway. The recipe also called for grated lemon peel, but I also hate that so I just omitted it. I felt there would be enough lemon flavor with the cup of lemon yogurt and the 2 tsp of lemon extract. Maybe it wasn't the squash that made them disgusting, maybe it was the over-lemony taste. I like lemon to a point. I like lemon pudding and yogurt and lemon meringue pie. I always eat lemon candy last, but I'll still eat it. I think 2 teaspoons of lemon extract was just too much. If I even attempt them again I am cutting that in half. Either way, I wouldn't recommend these.

On to next week. I am planning on Baked Egg Puffs. They sound similar to those Egg White Bites, but they have more ingredients and won't be as healthy. This week we picked up a bread knife to match our steak knives, and when I was at the store I grabbed some ramekins to bake the egg puffs in. We'll see how they go. They can't be worse than the muffins.

I also want to make strawberry jam, granola, and yogurt. Those all require ingredients I don't currently have so I might not get to them for a while. I really want to go berry picking this month and if we make it out I'll have to come up with some berry recipes to try.

I miss baking sweets. In the last 5 or 6 weeks (however long I've been on the sweets ban) I have come across 7 recipes that I want to try. And that doesn't include any of the cupcake ones I want to try from all of the cupcake decorating books that are out right now. That would be too much temptation though. Maybe in a different life.

Friday Cooking Recap

Finally, the peanut butter and jelly muffins were made this week. As you can see, mine don't look very nice or professional. They all sunk where the jam was put on, and on most the jam didn't end up in the center by the time I pulled them out of the oven. These are from the Deceptively Delicious cookbook and if I am remembering correctly, I used carrot puree in them.

If you don't care too much about looks, or should I say, looks aside, they were delicious. I am sure a better cook than I could get them to look nicer- you should see the picture in the book, zero sinkage. I was skeptical of these but so far they are my favorite of the new muffins we have tried. I would have rather used blueberry preserves for the top, but all I could find were strawberry. The cookbook suggests strawberry, blueberry, or grape, but I think next time I will try whatever I want (and can find), like raspberry or apricot.

The only other issue I had with these was storage. Normally I wrap them up individually and toss half or more into the freezer, but with the sticky tops I didn't try. I guess I could have at least tried, but I thought they'd be pulled apart later when unwrapped. We ate them all anyway. We just had to eat a whole dozen in three days instead of eating them over the course of a week.

The other new recipe we tried this week (it's from BL) was this one.

Egg White Bites.

It normally makes a dozen but we halved it because there was no way I was going to freeze these to eat later. Again, mine don't look nearly as nice as the picture. You layer a cup of chopped vegetables under 9 egg whites (how wasteful to trash 9 yolks!) and some seasoning and cheese. In the picture they had obviously used things like red pepper and zucchini which made for a much more colorful picture. I only had a half each of yellow bell pepper and orange bell pepper. Also, while the recipe calls for any type of shredded cheese really, in the picture they had obviously used cheddar. Much more colorful than the mozzarella that I had on hand.

They were good and healthy and we got a nice vegetable serving in before lunch. I didn't add nearly the seasoning the recipe called for. Next time I'll add more because they were a bit bland. I also think cheddar instead of mozzarella will give them more flavor. And, with only 40 calories each, I don't feel nearly as guilty tossing down three or four like I would with the pb&j muffins.

So, it was a good week with the new recipes. I will make them both again.

As far as next week goes, again I am planning on no new meals. I was able to pick up that chicken cookbook I mentioned last week but it's one of those where most of the recipes I want to try have one or more ingredients that I don't normally stock or cook with and that I don't want to go buy just to use a teaspoon or so, especially if the meal turns out gross and I can't find anything else to use that ingredient for and it goes to the garbage.

I will however be trying another deceptively delicious muffin, it's a lemon blueberry variety. Speaking of buying random ingredients I need to pick up a couple of teaspoons of lemon extract. Based on our muffin experimenting though, I do think we'll enjoy these enough to make them again so I am fine with that. Though they do sound a bit lemony. I'll let you know how they turn out next week.

New Knives

These are our new Shun (rhymes with "moon") steak knives. Nothing says "I love you" like some new knives right? We have been married for so long that a lot of our things have needed replacing and a couple of years ago we decided anniversaries would be a good time to do that. The old Chef Mate knives have been losing their bolts in the dishwasher and it seems like they were getting a little dangerous to use. (Even though I am still using them and no stitches yet).

We looked around and decided we didn't want to buy a set, we wanted to build our own set. I will admit that with my previous knife set I use the steak knives for everything. That's right everything. Cutting meat, chopping fruits and vegetables, cheese, you name it. I did (do) use the bread knife for bread and the chef's knife for things like melon and pineapple (because my steak knives were just too small for those bigger jobs). So, I thought, let's start with the steak knives. Two weeks later they are still unwashed and still in the box. These are to be hand-washed only, and I just haven't gotten around to washing, especially since they are just sitting around in the box. Also, I got some negative reactions when I mentioned I was going to use these to cut anything and everything. A certain someone thinks that's not a good idea. But, until we add to the set and I get my 6" ultimate utility knife and my nakiri, what am I to use? I also need to get a block because like I said, in the box, I am just never going to get them out.

So, I can't tell you yet if these knives are any good. I assume they are or I wouldn't have purchased them, but they have yet to be tested. With all the cooking and the extra produce we've been eating, I do hope they are good.

Friday Cooking Recap

I almost didn't make it since Friday is almost over and I didn't cook anything too exciting this week, but here it goes. I only tried one new recipe and made one slight modification to a different one.

A couple of weeks ago I made Vegetarian Chili, which was really more like a bland vegetable soup (Tomatoes, tomato sauce, zucchini, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, potatoes, onion, yellow bell pepper, and some seasonings). This week I made it again but instead of adding two potatoes I only put in one and added a cup of pasta. It was good. I don't know if it was better, but more people ate it this time and I assume it's because of the pasta. I think it's not going to make a come back for another 6 months. As healthy as it is, it's just not that great and I can't see making it more than 2 or 3 times a year.

I only tried one new recipe this week. It feels weird calling it a recipe because it only had a few ingredients. I stir fried some chicken, then added lemon juice and teriyaki sauce. Then I was supposed to add a 16 oz bag of broccoli, water chestnuts, and carrots, but I didn't have that so instead I added a bag that had broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. The recipe said to serve it over couscous but I didn't have that either so I paired it with white rice. It was okay. Very easy to make and quick, just nothing special. I definitely needed the water chestnuts I think. Next time (if there is a next time) I think I will add cornstarch to make an actual sauce. It had potential and there is room for improvement.

I already did my weekly menu and shopping and I am not planning on any new dinner recipes for this week. I felt like I didn't have the energy. I did find a cookbook at Williams-Sonoma that I want to purchase called Chicken for Dinner (it also has some turkey and duck recipes). The dish on the cover looks especially delicious. I am hoping to get that book in the near future and get some chicken dinner ideas.

Also if you remember last week I said I was going to try some peanut butter and jelly muffins this week. I had all the ingredients but never any room. The first part of the week was spent eating the Applesauce Muffins from last week and the rest of the week there was zucchini bread for breakfast. So if I am not a lazy bum next week then I will have one new recipe to mention.

Until next Friday...

Facial Virgin

If you didn't know this, I am in my late twenties and up until today I have never had a facial. To some people this may be quite shocking and amazing, and I am sure some people twice or thrice my age have still never had a facial.

One of my fantastic mother's day gifts this year was a mini-spa day which included a pedicure and a facial. I was very excited.

The pedicure was fine and regular. If I don't bring my own nail polish I always panic and have no idea what shade to pick. I was back and forth between a summery pink and a summery yellow with a tinge of green. I finally chose yellow which made a certain someone happy because it's the Fiona color from OPI's Shrek line. I like it but it might be a bit young for me, and it doesn't match any footwear I'll be wearing. Like I said. I panic.

Now, the facial. Remember, this was my first time and I wasn't even thinking about what to expect aside from getting fancy creams and lotions rubbed onto my face. I was a bit shocked when I was led to my room and asked to take off my shirt and shoes. WHAT? Turns out for a facial I was to get under a blanket (massage style) and leave my shoulders exposed for a shoulder and neck massage. Which I actually enjoyed quite a bit. I still have never had a pro massage.

I will admit that I had a few mini panic attacks. First, I am addicted to the gift of sight. Now keeping my eyes closed for an hour while some stranger rubs who knows what on my face was a bit scary. Yeah I opened my eyes here and there, but mostly closed and that's a good thing so nothing gets splashed in them. So there were a couple of times in the beginning when I freaked out and just wanted to open my eyes and see what was being done to me.

Second mini panic attack: multiple times I was scared that serious long term damage was to be done. For example, multiple things burned or tingled and I thought, what if this burns my skin and I am scarred for the rest of my life? I know, crazy, but those thoughts were still running through my head (don't even get me started on what goes on at the dentist-- I think it shows my great self-control that I have never run out of that place).

I got over my mini panic attacks and finished my facial. I had heard some stories about how hideous I would look for the rest of the day so I was prepared with my glasses and hat and thoughts to spend the rest of my day in.

I gotta tell you though, aside from a bit of redness on my chin and nose, that just looked like I got too much sun today, I think I was fine. I don't mean this in a vain way, but my skin did in fact look absolutely radiant (and still does). If I had a bunch of extra cash and time sitting around, I would probably turn into a facial junky and hit the spa every six weeks.

And there you have the highlights of my first facial.