Hello people.... wisdom teeth out tomorrow--- it's making me extremely nervous. and annoyed. we have an Italian club dinner only two days after (I fear that this whole wisdom teeth issue might/ will definitely create problems with that. So, I'm taking Monday off because if I can't eat, I'm definitely not going to cook. Sorry. Just the way it is. (I'm not a masochist) But (as you can see), I tried to do a little extra so that that would be less of a problem.So I have made cinnamon muffins, lemon tea cookies, English muffin pizza, and the bread for my mother's bruschetta (which had more to it than I thought it would).

The muffins were wonderful except that they never seem to last in this house. They always seem to be gone by the next day (I would make more but I am now almost out of sugar, confectioner's sugar, milk and eggs.The lemon tea cookies were okay, but I was definitely more of a fan of the lemon filling than I was of the cookie. I'm glad the filling was good though because I spent 25 MINUTES stirring it.
The English muffin pizza was also good. I did two recipes: pepperoni, and bacon and green pepper. I did not use any sauce, but layered the pepperoni/ bacon-green pepper mixture on the muffin, then layered a tomato slice and then mozzarella cheese. I put the oven on 375 and waited until the cheese melted. They were really good.
The bread for my mom's bruschetta was also pretty good. Olive oil, kosher salt, and Parmesan cheese all went on it and then the bread went into the oven for 15 minutes.
My brother and sister almost prefer eating just those to eating them with tomato and mozzarella!!


Anyway.... I'm really nervous--wish me luck!!!

FRUIT

Okay... so today I made Dutch Babies (A German Pancake thingy...) and Fruit Salad. I also finished up a tart-ish thing made from puff pastry and berries.

The fruit salad was especially nice because it was an easy way to use up fruit that we wouldn't use otherwise. We had enough berries in our house that we would normally never consume them before they go bad. When my family has fruit salad with dinner, it is always very popular and much more fruit ends up being eaten (which is good because it would be a shame to waste it).The pancake thing was good too. The pancake is cooked in the oven and the middle ends up flattening while the sides stay high. This creates a little bowl type thing where I put some of the fruit from my fruit salad. Because it's me, I also put a few (or maybe more than a few) shakes of powdered sugar on top.
The tart was fun because my recipe had all these little fun tricks to help with presentation. For example, the recipe told me to heat up some jam until it is liquid-y and brush it on top of the cooked berries in the tart (it gives the berries a very attractive shine).
I'm not sure about the fruit salad, but both the pancake and the tart are now gone.

I'm not sure about the tart, but I would definitely make the pancakes again (the fruit salad is not really included in this assessment because we make that often). Although I did think the tart was good, I liked how I could add the berries to the pancake as I went because I found that the bottom of the tart got a little mushy when the berries were cooked in (and I don't think I'm that big a fan of mush).

Anyway, childhood game night is tomorrow again. I feel like its interesting that my friends have decided to reconnect with their inner child right before we go to college.

By the way, I just wanted to let you all know that I'm really excited. One of my facebook friends who will also be going to NOTRE DAME has already gotten her dining card (aka--- she's legit). This is exciting because I should be getting mine soon (theoretically) When I get mine I will probably have to post it up here--- just warning you.

Also, I got a new soap... meaning I officially know what apricots smell like now. But, I not sure that I have tasted an apricot before.... THEREFORE someone who has tasted one (I don't care if you liked it or If you hated it -- Pistachio) must comment and let me know what they taste like (no the comments 'it tastes like fruit' and 'it tastes like an apricot' are NOT acceptable.
Thank you very Very VERY much (in advance)

Yay for Panna Cotta!!

By the way... yesterday's question? ALL OF THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had all of those fruits incorporated into my diet in some way today (isn't that just so awesome of me??? kidding. kind of. not really.)
Okay... So today I went with my mom to this event (I'm not sure what else to call it) where someone who handles my parents' investments hosted. He gave a speech about his opinion on how the Greece government bonds situation and the Euro would affect the way he plans to invest money (or something along those lines). Then we watched a chef from Viking cook things and feed us! We got the recipes for everything he made: Bruschetta with Marinated Fresh Mozzarella, Angel Hair Pasta with Pesto, Grilled Seafood Skewers, Asparagus with Prosciutto, and Panna Cotta. We also got a 'bonus' recipe of Frozen Bellinis--- but I obviously can't use that one for a while... We also got tips/ little tricks to all of the recipes that he made in front of us. It was fancy. I liked it very much.
Anyway, it was delicious.

Today I made this 'Iced Tea with a Twist." It had tea, yes, but it also had orange juice and grapefruit juice. I thought it might taste disgusting, but why not give it a chance?? Anyway, it wasn't bad. Although, upon reflection, I think that I like plain iced tea more.

I also made Banana Oatmeal Muffins with chocolate chips in them. Apparently, they were a hit because, when mom and I got home, there were only 2 left. By the time I get up tomorrow they will all be gone.
That makes me a little sad-- but at least it wasn't so terrible that no one wants to go near them, right??

Anyway... Good Night---- I'm tired. If you haven't noticed, my procrastination skills are kicking back in (its been getting later and later each time I try to post). How am I going to survive college with this kind of work ethic???

Rain

I went out to lunch today, and we got into a conversation with our waitress. We talked about the rain. We talked about how waking up to the sound of rain pitter-pattering on the roof made you want to just snuggle back under the covers. I love the rain, but I have to admit I was not thrilled with how cold it was.Since it was pouring, mom and I agreed that grilling would not be a good idea. It was funny that we were both thinking Italian for dinner (of course with my mom it was spaghetti and with me stuffed shells). I found a stuffed shell recipe on Recipezaar.com. I officially love recipezaar.com because it has this thing (for when you become a member) where you can select a recipe and add it to your shopping list. Then, when you go to your shopping list (with recipes A,B,C,D, and E) the list will tell you which ingredients pertain to which recipes and listing the recipes at the top of the page. If you already have some ingredients, no problem! It lets you remove the ingredients that you already have (you can print the recipe out, send it to you cell phone...).
Anyway we had stuffed shells for dinner (and even though my sister said she wasn't a fan, she still ate them! I call that success!!!). The one down side??There were a lot of leftovers and there wasn't a lot of fridge space. It all worked out fine though. Now I have half frozen for a later date and half sitting in the fridge (ready to be warmed up and devoured --- I LOVE that word. D-E-V-O-U-R-E-D. It just makes your mouth happy saying it, right??).

Also, I saw a puff pastry package sitting in my freezer and decided to do something with it.
I made the recipe on the box. Strawberry Napoleons.
They tasted decent, but I liked my made (almost-completely --- I didn't construct the pasta, just cooked it) from scratch stuffed shells a lot better. Which is part of the reason why I am doing this, right??

Anyway, I have to get up early tomorrow :(, so I am leaving you with this to think about...

Which is better: Strawberries, Raspberries, Bananas, Blackberries, Blueberries, Grapefruit, or Orange????

Mexican Mondays

I have been getting recipe requests (especially for the shrimp stir fry), so I decided that I would post one.

This recipe was originally for chicken stir-fry, but I just substituted shrimp. It was adapted from page 131 of The Frog Commissary Cookbook.
Basic Oriental Stir-Fry With Chicken
Sauce (we normally double it)

1 1/2 tsp. sesame oil1/2 tsp. minced ginger
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp. soy sauce1 tbsp. brown sugar
1/8 tsp. Tabasco1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 tsp. lemon or lime juice (we use lemon)
1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. rice wine or dry sherry (we use rice wine)
Heat the sesame oil in a small saucepan. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry about 15-30 seconds. over medium heat. Add chicken stock, soy sauce, brown sugar, Tabasco, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Stir. Dissolve cornstarch in rice wine and whisk into sauce. Heat until sauce thickens and reaches a full boil. Simmer for 30 seconds, then remove from heat and set aside.

Stir Fry

2 tbsp. corn oil
6 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 2" x 1/2" strips (or use shrimp!)
1/2 cup julienned red or green pepper
20 snow peas, stemmed (about 2 1/4 ounces)

We also add broccoli (2 heads is definitely enough)

Cooked Brown Rice

Have all ingredients ready. Heat corn oil in a large skillet over high heat until very hot. Add chicken and stir fry 1-2 minutes. Add the vegetables and sauté until crisp-tender (about 1-2 minutes). Add the sauce. Heat through briefly and serve at once over brown rice.


If you decide to try it, let me know how it goes! I'll be interested to see if you guys think it is as good as we do!


Moving on, today I yet again worked on mastering my slightly pathetic grilling skills. We did chicken, which turned out fine after I made my mom come outside in the rain at least twice to check if it was done yet.
We also grilled peppers. They could have used a little more time on the grill, but they still tasted fine-- so I'm happy.I have to admit though I actually started to pity the peppers when I set them on the grill today. When I saw the charred outside of the peppers, I really could sympathize.
You see, I spent 5 hours outside in the sun on Saturday for Pistachio's Birthday Picnic. Unfortunately, my legs were so burned that it is still painful for me to bend and straighten my knees (YES, feel free to pity me. Although, you probably can't pity me more than I am currently pitying myself.). So maybe it was a subconscious thing (my new-found level of understanding with the peppers sitting on the grill possibly making me want to take them off a few minutes earlier than I should have??).
Anyway. We used the peppers and the chicken in combination with blueberries and cheese (and salsa in some cases) to make FAJITAS!!!!!!!!!
They were absolutely delicious! It made me extremely happy.
I also realized that this is the second Monday in a row that I have had/ made Mexican food for dinner. HENCE (yes I say hence!) the title of this post, Mexican Mondays. Do you like the two Ms?? I like them. I Always Appreciate Alliteration.
Anyway. I also attempted to make popovers (I've never really had them before, so I have no idea if what I made is what they are supposed to taste like. If that is what it is supposed to taste like, I'm not sure if I like them.
I did like them more when I put either butter or strawberry jam on them. But of course, I like almost anything more when I put butter or strawberry jam on it. I used Williams- Sonoma's recipe for Perfect Popovers, but I didn't have a popover tin, so I just used half of a 12-cup muffin tin. I have absolutely no idea if that made a difference, but I didn't get food poisoning. Naturally, that has been and will continue to be the goal in this expedition.

All right readers!! (haha I did it again!!) I will see you tomorrow for Day 2 Week 2 of Katy's Cooking Project.

riybtdah #2

I feel as if I am giving you a little taste of the newspaper today.
Are you any good at the word jumble? Yes? Good. Take a close look at the first part of the title and make a guess on what you think it is.

Today I made an awesome birthday cake. It was yellow cake with chocolate icing (all made from scratch). And YES I did add sprinkles... in my opinion sprinkles are one of the best things on earth. Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm kind of sad that I didn't think of adding them to the dirt cake. Anyway, it was J.J's second cake because this time we were celebrating with the extended family! I wasn't there because I was reconnecting with my inner child by playing Baby-in-the-Air and swim fishy swim and Red Rover...
But, I came home after and was shocked to discover that my mom had bought a store cake for J.J. just in case mine didn't work out. I was very offended and hurt by her lack of faith in me, but after some thought, I realized that I shouldn't be surprised. I mean, if I can't passably make an omelet and toast on my own, how can my mother be expected to believe that I can be trusted when it comes to making a cake?
So readers, you will be glad to hear that I have forgiven her for her lack of faith in the cake's edible-ness. Especially because she told me that there was a consensus that my cake was much better than the store-bought one.


I also was instructed in the mysterious ways of the grill today. I grilled Portobello mushrooms today. It was very exciting, except for the part where some of the mushrooms started getting a little stubborn. Apparently, they were enjoying their time with the grill and did not want to be parted from it. But, eventually they accepted that it was time for the grill and the mushroom to go their separate ways.Their love was doomed from the very beginning.

So tomorrow, my dear reader(s)-- I'm not sure how many of you there are because only three of you are followers!!, I will be going to a picnic for Pistachio's birthday party. What is it about May? Does anyone know?? Because I know so many people who have May birthdays.

Shout-out to May: Florence Nightingale, J.J., Pistachio, Pistachio's wonderful mother (did I remember correctly? is it MJoy??), Remy, All the people who popped up on my facebook events list, Dolley Madison, Art Fleming (this is for you Signore Russo), Steve Yzerman and Frank J. Selke (for you Christie/ Pistachio), Mark Zuckerburg (for you Patchup Kacket), Bertrand Russel (for you Mrs. Mull)...

and just one more question (is it predestined that May will bring you power??)
just look at the birthdays of: Josip Broz Tito, Meles Zenawi, Franjo Tudjman, Gustav Stresemann, Abdoulaye Wade, Goh Chok Tong, Sergey Stanishev, Bernhard von Bulow, Yang Shangkun, Harry S. Truman, and John Kennedy.

just giving you a little something to think about (and to all you May-born people... September is way Way WAY better)...


by the way, did you think I forgot?? I didn't. the answer to your word jumble of a title is, of course, BIRTHDAY!!!

Pink and Purple and Yellow and Red and Green and Beige and Brown and Black and Blue and Orange and White

Smoothie: Red Strawberries, Red Raspberries, Orange Orange Juice, White Yogurt, Brown Fudgesicle, and Yellow Bananna, Blue Blueberries (combine blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries and get purple!)
Shrimp Stir Fry: Pink Shrimp, Red Peppers, Green Snow Peas, Green Broccoli, Beige Rice, Brown Stir Fry Sauce, Black Pepper

Yes! I have eaten all of the colors featured here.

and Yes I have eaten them all today.

After talking about smoothies yesterday, I woke up today and had an irresistible craving. The sun was out, it was actually getting warm again... it was definitely time for a breakfast smoothie (at about 11 AM) on our patio.

I have always had a belief that chocolate almost always makes everything better, so I added a one of the Skinny Cow Mini Fudge Pops into my smoothie to supply me with a little more frozen/ coldness to my breakfast and to add chocolate.
For dinner, while we were running around picking up ingredients for J.J.'s birthday cake for his extended family, mom and I stopped and got some shrimp so that we could make shrimp stir fry.
First we got the rice cooking, and then my mom instructed me on the making of the sauce. It was ridiculously complicated for something that ended up taking up less than 3/4 of our smallest pot. But, in the end, it tasted really good, so I eventually forgave the sauce for giving me so much trouble (it can't help its complicated-ness, right?).
Tomorrow plan on seeing a homemade cake with homemade icing (unless something goes terribly wrong, of course). Wish me luck!

The Squishiest Cake--- Ever

If you were looking at the title of this post, let me inform you that squishiest is a word according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary. (Doesn't that just make your day? It made mine)

So remember how I promised you more about the cake? No? look down. keep looking. see it? good.Okay so now that I have jogged your memory, I can fulfill my promise. The cake is a dirt cake. It uses both vanilla and chocolate pudding, an obscene amount of cool whip, and a butter/vanilla/cream cheese/ powdered sugar mixture, Oreos, and gummy worms. Unfortunately we did not have an unused pot, so we used a bowl. Why? Because, surprisingly or maybe not so surprisingly, dirt is not actually one of the commonly agreed upon ingredients. Remember people, this is a Dirt Cake not a Mud Pie.
This is one of the few cakes (possibly the only cake) where the words "Eeeww Gross!" are a compliment you can take pride in.I am supremely excited for this portion of J.J.'s birthday because it involves an insane amount of sugar and unhealthy things. My stomach is the QUEEN of sugar and unhealthy things. My brain tries to argue, but it loses much more often than it should.

I have decided that dirt cake is the cake for someone who wants to combine all the best things in the world. Think about it. It has chocolate AND vanilla.It has dry AND moist. Finally it has crunchy and gooey and (for a bonus) gummy (yay gummy worms!).
See?

Yay Florence Nightingale!

For all of you who did not know, I had to do a report on someone who made an impact in the world. This report was a fourth grade project, and I chose Florence Nightingale. The only fact that I took away from that project is one I still remember.
Florence Nightingale was born on May 12th, 1820.
Why would I choose to remember this? Simple. My brother was born May 12th, 1993.
So, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to J.J. and Florence!... Happy Birthday to you.

In honor of J.J.'s birthday I made a special cake (more on that later), but I also made what he requested for dinner. J.J. asked for gnocchi for dinner. While there were definitely some frustrating moments, the gnocchi dish eventually made it to the table and wasn't have bad (if I do say so myself).
But the big success of the night was when my mother taught me how to make her balsamic vinaigrette. It was delicious. I was very proud of myself. My mother was grateful nothing broke or caught fire during this episode .The only downside was that the birthday boy still hasn't managed to show up! The gnocchi are getting cold, and I'm getting impatient for cake, so we definitely have a problem.

Actually, we have two problems. My mother and I went to a consultation with my oral surgeon today. (I drove there and it was stressful for both of us.) I'm getting my wisdom teeth pulled. Why is this my problem, you're asking? This is your problem because for the entire day of May 24th I will most likely not post at all (that's the wisdom teeth day). For the week after, all you will see is different colored liquids, because the only recipes I will be making are smoothies and milkshakes.

If anyone has any recipe recommendations please comment! (If you are commenting on the benefits of pineapple, my oral surgeon says that the steroids in my IV will do just as well.)
While I'm on the subject of the IV, my doctor says that video cameras are not allowed in the recovery room, and my mother will keep me away from J.J. Therefore, it will be pointless for you to look for an embarrassing YouTube video of my juiced-up state.

Anyway I'll be back soon! Just as soon as I can take a picture of the cake (I can't do it now because I will eat it if I look at it again).

3/4 for Day 2

My first attempt of the day (yet again) managed to die on it's voyage across the stove. Maybe it was the oil. Or maybe it was how high I turned the heat up on the stove?? Well, it seems I still have not learned my lesson when it comes to parental supervision. My non-supervised attempts have all left me hungry.

For lunch I decided that dumplings would be a good idea. I was going to cook the dumplings and put a nice chocolate/ cheese mixture on them (don't cringe- the sauce is actually delicious-- and its not my recipe, so someone else thinks so too). Well for some reason, after I took the dumplings off the stove and tried one as a test, the dumplings ended up really hard and crunchy on one end (even though I stirred) and normal on the other end. It was a little sad for me. I would have tried again, but we were officially out of dumplings (and I'm not sure how to make them--- project for later??). So instead, I decided that I would make French Toast.
Uh-oh! Sorry Katy, you used up all the eggs yesterday in the omelet fiasco.

So today I learned that not much can be done without eggs, brown sugar, English muffins, and lemon extract.

Its okay though. Dinner went better. My mom instructed me on the art of making Turkey Cutlets in a Lemon Sauce (it was wonderfully delicious). You have to love mothers and their amazing skills. Especially since Mother's Day was only two (why is 2 spelled with 3 letters? In fact the only letter I can think of that makes sense right now is four- see 4 letters!) days ago.So I also made rice and steamed broccoli with fresh lemon on it to go along with the turkey. I love seeing this picture because I feel like someone competent when I see all of these dishes cooking on the stove at once.
It tasted wonderful and it was fun because I got to flatten the cutlets with a mallet before I sprinkled them with salt and pepper. The mallet-thingy has to be one of the most fun kitchen utensils out there, I mean, I get so much satisfaction from taking the days frustration out on a piece of turkey.

Anyway, the meal was delicious and my mouth is still smiling from the experience. Yay!!!
Okay, time to do the dishes!

piSTAChiO

did you notice?

Found in the capitalized letters of pistachio (who just happens to be the nickname of a friend of mine) is TACOS.

I ate a taco for dinner tonight. It was fantastic (partly because I made it).
I took a partially defrosted block of ground turkey, cooked it (because most people I know prefer their ground turkey cooked), and then added seasoning and water. It was delicious and moderately nutritious (it probably would've helped if I had used a wheat tortilla shell instead of a white one). I also cut the lettuce and set the cheese out in a bowl. Its time to celebrate people! No one (including me) has gotten food poisoning yet! I call that a successful Day 1.

On Your Mark, Get Set...Hmm

For my first dish I decided to try and make an omelet. I put in thyme, basil, and parsley and was planning to put cream cheese in the middle. Unfortunately, what seemed like a relatively simple plan did not turn out as expected. When I put the omelet on the dish, I discovered that I had over-cooked the eggs just a tad. So, of course, I had to try it just to see how badly I screwed up.
IT WAS BAD.The omelet was completely inedible. So, since I was hungry and had to eat something, I backtracked down the egg-complicatedness scale. I ended up making scrambled eggs (no cheese).Then I tried to make toast. I mean its TOAST. Impossible to screw up, right? WRONG. wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, WRONG.
The toast also was inedible.
I think this project is starting to depress me and I'm only on the first day!
I'm thinking next time I try the omelet route it would be better to get parental supervision because I obviously cannot handle it on my own.
Oh well. Hopefully dinner will be more successful because the whole family has to eat that one!

So here's the goal

Goal: From Monday until June 4th (and possibly later, but more sporadically) the goal is to cook 2 recipes a week-day and blog about them (If you were expecting funny, I'm sorry in advance.). If a recipe turns out particularly well I may consider posting the recipe, but I'm not sure yet so you will have to sit tight and wait for me to decide.

Some of these recipes (like KATY PANCAKES!!!!!) may involve using mixes... but for KATY PANCAKES!!!!! the Aunt Jemima pancake mix is a part of the experience, so it would be hard to cut that out.

All desserts (unless its something involving Jello) will not have mixes, because they taste better without them.

Final Rule: Under certain circumstnaces, Katy retains the right to break any and all of these rules (but at least you know that I will admit to it if I do!).

Okay so... wish me luck because there's no turning back now!