November 21, 2010

A Fave Food Memory: Pasta Making

Thank you to everyone who posted one of their favorite food memories so far for my FIRST GIVEAWAY!!

It ends tomorrow, so you still have a chance to enter!

I thought I’d share one of my many favorite food memories with you while we are on the subject! Over a month ago, I was in my grandmother’s kitchen learning how to make pasta from scratch. She was moving back to New York, so I had to quickly make plans to see her before she left. I had such a wonderful time and learned A LOT in the process. If I hadn’t come up with my 31 comes before 32 list, it might not have happened. So, hooray for motivating lists!

When I walked into my grandmother’s kitchen, she had everything set up for us to make pasta! I could tell that she was a bit stressed by the move, but our time together was a welcome relief for her. In the back of my mind, I knew it could be the last time we cooked together (at least for awhile) so I soaked it all in and appreciated every second of the experience. I also snapped as many pictures as I could! She went to use her hand mixer, and I pushed it aside and told her that I wanted to use my own hands. I wanted to feel the dough and see what it took to make it. She looked up at me proudly and patted me on the back. That was my favorite moment.

I left her house with two trays full of big fat scrumptious cheese raviolis, a few stories of her younger days, as well as THEE pasta/polenta board her father made her over 30 years ago. I am truly blessed. It’s a big deal that I have it now.

What I have taken away from the experience is that putting in the effort to make things from scratch REALLY makes a difference. When you make something by hand– with love, it shows. My grandmother has always inspired me to grow my arsenal of cooking techniques. She taught me to pay attention to what I eat and figure out what’s in it and how I can replicate it at home. She has always made things from scratch, even when her hands began to fail her and for that I am thankful.

When I talk to my dad about his favorite food memories, he beams. He always goes back to the time when my grandma made a ridiculously HUGE batch of potato gnocchi. There were soo many of them that she had to use every available surface in the house to set them. Their beds were covered! I love that story just as much as I love seeing his face when he tells it.

Food memories are sacred; especially when they reference the love that someone put forth to create them. So if you keep that in mind when you are cooking for others, I’m pretty sure it will help your cooking! You are not just making food, you are making a memory. Even if you burn the chicken, it’s a memory!!

I’ll post our “pasta recipe” soon! I just need to figure out what my handwriting says!

Oh and btw, we can cross these two things off the list now!

26. Learn a recipe from my grandma.

27. Make pasta from scratch. (maybe with my grandma?)

recipes, Uncategorized

November 20, 2010

Nut-Stuffed Delicata Squash

It smelled like Thanksgiving in my house this afternoon, thanks to this dish. Now I REALLY can’t wait to dive into my Thanksgiving plate in a few days! If you are looking for something to serve at a Meatless Thanksgiving, look no further. I found you an incredible recipe! You couldn’t possibly miss meat when you take a bite of this dish because the texture of the nuts combined with the sage & Parmesan almost replicates real sausage. So incredibly hearty…all nestled in a big sweet roasted Delicata Squash. Uh huh.

Now that I’ve tried this recipe, I can’t wait to do some improv! I served mine with a drizzle of olive oil & fresh grated Parmesan but now I’m thinking of —a creamy dose of Alfredo sauce on top! Would be totally decadent… but hey it’s the holidays! Fantasizing about a few drizzles of aged balsamic glistening on the plate makes me salivate. How about a few fried sage leaves for garnish? I’m soo doing that next time WITH the balsamic. YES. Oh wait! White Truffle OIL! Omg. Noted.

around the home, Uncategorized

November 18, 2010

Thanksgiving Decor 2010

I was getting my house tidy last week for a certain house guest, and got motivated to take down my Halloween decorations. I normally keep them up until after Thanksgiving, but I kind of missed the clock that rests in the center of the mantle. I never realized how much I look at the clock until I took it away. I’d catch myself looking at the glittered black skull in the center of the mantle for the time! DOH!

I wondered if I should really decorate for Thanksgiving? Christmas is just around the corner…do I need to put that much effort in? YES and NO!

So I simply took away the spiders, web & snakes.

My silver birds made another appearance! I left up my white pumpkins too.

And framed a THANK YOU note, to keep in the spirit of Thanksgiving.

It will do! I’m excited for Christmas coming up! EEEEK!

But for now I have a nice little reminder to be thankful for all the good things I have in my life.

Thank you!

recipes, Uncategorized

November 16, 2010

Addictive Brussels Sprouts Salad

The second I laid eyes on this salad, Brussels sprouts jumped to the top of my grocery list. I had to have it. I’m not sure I’ve ever been this motivated to make a salad before! Toasted walnuts, crunchy brussels sprouts smothered with finely grated Parmesan cheese and lightly coated in a mustard dressing! HECK YES.

Apparently the recipe serves 8. In actuality, the whole bowl served ME. Like– almost in one sitting. I’m getting the feeling that I’ll be binging on this salad for the next few months. You’ll see what I mean when you find yourself dipping your fork directly into the bowl of leftovers in the fridge. You can’t say I didn’t warn you!
CONTINUE READING

favorites, Uncategorized

November 15, 2010

My Current 3 Fave Things! Giveaway!

Here are the current three things that have CHANGED MY LIFE.

1. Coconut Oil. I LOOOOOVE this stuff!! My dear friend introduced me to this stuff and now I’m totally hooked. If you’ve hung out with me recently, I’m pretty sure you’ve heard me rave about the stuff. It’s like butter meets-coconut- meets olive oil. The coconut doesn’t smack you in the face; it gently mingles with your taste buds, leaving you with a subtle coconut vibe. I’ve seriously had it on toast every morning for the past 3 months!! It’s fantastic on waffles. Glorious on pancakes. Amazing on hot popcorn with salt & sugar on top. Fun in your oatmeal! It’s a good fat. Soo much better for you than butter! I can’t tell you how often I spend my entire commute to work thinking about it….If you ever find yourself in a store craving some, make sure you by the extra virgin stuff! The refined version doesn’t taste like much.

2. J.R. Watkins Lemon Lotion. Let me start off by saying that I HATE LOTION. I can’t be bothered to add another step to my getting ready routine. It never dawns on me to put lotion on. BUT! I started putting this lotion on my hands every night before bed and I lay there huffing my fingers. Imagine smearing yourself with the scent of lemon cake with sugary creamy frosting. It’s ridiculously good and I think it’s the reason why I have sweet dreams. This stuff has converted me into a hand cream lotion wearer! It’s not only good on the skin, but it’s a total attitude adjustment. I immediately feel better after its scent intoxicates me. Sometimes I put some on at work when I’m feeling especially stressed. Totally does the trick.

3. A To-Go Tumbler! (BPA Free) I can’t tell you how many times have I’ve put- DRINK MORE WATER on my New Year’s resolution list! This sucker helps me get my 64oz. on the daily. It’s insulated so it keeps my water cold and never sweats when I’ve filled it up with ice cubes. It’s portable and totally fits in my car’s cup holder! Whenever it’s running low on liquid, I immediately fill it up. Big points for a nice thick straw & a see-thru container. The best part is that there’s a ridge on the bottom of the straw that prevents it from coming out all the way. Kid proofing! I own two of them so there’s no excuse to not always have one with me.

Guess what?!! I have all three of these items packed up for a lucky reader! It’s my first giveaway and I’m totally excited!

All you have to do is leave a comment telling me:

One of your favorite food memories!

A winner will be picked at random a week from today!!

Good luck!

recipes, Uncategorized

November 13, 2010

Kale Apple Ginger Juice

KALE! I want to eat it, roast it, saute it, shove it into my mouth any which way, and now I want to drink it. Ever since Halloween, I’ve been eating too many sweets—though my recent posts could have told you that. So yesterday I needed GREEN JUICE to balance out my insane sweet tooth. Here’s what I made!

I added an apple to the kale to sweeten it up and threw a knob of ginger in there cuz I wanted it spicy. Result? FAB. I always feel like I could move boulders when I drink kale. It’s an instant boost.

recipes, Uncategorized

November 12, 2010

Carrot Ginger Cake with Brown Butter Icing

Welcome to another edition of “Tracy uses her cellphone for a blog post!”

Mission: Make a tasty cake for girl’s night in an hour or less.

Picture this. I spent the day waiting for Casey’s work to let him know if he had to fly out for work that night (which meant I would miss Glee with the girls) or the next morning (I could go to Glee with the girls!). If I could go, I’d have to bring dessert for the 5 of us. If not, then I’d sit at home watching it by my lonesome. This waffling back and forth happened ALL. DAY. LONG. And finally, at 5pm (1 1/2 hours before I was supposed to be at my friend’s house) I got the green light that I COULD GO! Flight was booked for the next morning! Awesome.

So with an hour to whip something up, I enlisted the help of Cooper to make this little cake. I pulled a box of Trader Joe’s Deep Dark Gingerbread Cake Mix from the pantry and added a few ingredients and tada! We have a Carrot Gingerbread Cake. The cake was moist & spicy and the Brown Butter Icing was STELLAR. The girls loved it, just as much as Glee! You might need to think of Coach Beast to help you cool off from eating a slice….but a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream just might do the trick! 😉
CONTINUE READING