Naturally-Dyed Easter Eggs

I really enjoyed dyeing Easter eggs when I was younger. I was always getting creative with stripes and layering different colors and drawing on the eggs with beeswax, in the Russian style my family used to decorate eggs (although ours looked nothing like that!). After H and I got married, dyeing eggs sort of fell by the wayside, as Easter isn't a huge holiday for us.

However, when I saw this blog entry from Two Men and a Little Farm (brought to my attention via Pinterest!), I knew we would be dyeing eggs again this year. The gorgeous, oh-so-different-than-the-PAAS-kit colors and all-natural dyes are totally up my alley and I was excited to try it out!

We only did 12 eggs/6 colors and I am really pleased with the way they turned out! It was so cool to see how each item colored the egg. Many of them ended up with a marbled effect, which I was totally digging. In case the picture is too small to see, the spinach and dill made a brown-ish/green, the beets a pink, the red wine a lavender purple, the carrots and turmeric a bright yellow, the coffee an earthy brown, and the purple grape juice a light blue.

And bonus- they are totally easy! Any of the items that aren't liquid to begin with need to be simmered in water for 30-60 minutes (and then strained of the sediment) to allow the color to come out. Then you'll need to add about 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar to every cup of liquid to help the color bond to the egg shell. They need to sit in the liquid for much longer than the fizzy tablet dyes, so I just left them sitting in the color in the refrigerator over night. Taking them out of the dyes was a wonderful Easter surprise!

Soft Sugar Cookies with Frosting

I'll admit it. I'm a total sucker for those grocery store sugar cookies in the plastic container with different colored frosting for every imaginable holiday. Orange and black for Halloween? Yum. Red, white, and blue for Fourth of July? Don't mind if I do. Pink, white, and red for Valentine's Day? Do you even have to ask? Loaded with preservatives and artificial ingredients though, I'm sure they're not the greatest food in the world health-wise. And while I'm sure the home-made version isn't toooo much better for you, at least they are slightly more natural? Maybe? At least that's what I'm telling myself.

These cookies totally live up to their name is softness. They have a rich buttery taste, and are completely satisfying. And with the endless combinations of frosting and sprinkle colors, they can truly work for any holiday!

Soft Sugar Cookies with Frosting
Makes 24 cookies

For the cookies:
4 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
4 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
3/4 teaspoons of salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) of butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups of sugar
3 large eggs
5 teaspoons of vanilla extract

For the frosting:
4 cups of powdered sugar
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract
5 Tablespoons of milk (and more, if needed)

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat together on medium-high speed until soft and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. Turn the mixer to low, and add the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Place dough in non-metal bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for one hour. (I had some straggler dry ingredients at the bowl when I was done, if you do- don't mix them in with the dough.)

After the dough has chilled, scoop a heaping Tablespoon of dough into your hands and roll it into a ball. Place on the parchment-lined baking sheet, and flatten the ball slightly with the bottom of a glass.  Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the cookies 2-3 inches apart. Bake for about 10-12 minutes. You don't want to even let them get to a golden brown- and if so, just slightly. Let cool on the baking sheet for several minutes, and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, place the confectioners sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the melted butter, vanilla, and milk to the bowl and beat until smooth. Whisk in additional milk if icing is too thick, one teaspoon at a time, until you reach your desired consistency. Color frosting with gel food coloring, and frost cookies. Top with sprinkles, and store in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Adapted from Annie's Eats, original recipe here.

Herb and Mustard Encrusted Rack of Lamb

Happy belated Valentines' Day! I hope you all had a wonderful day and were able to spend some quality time with those you love. While some may see the holiday as cliché and over-commercialized, I stand by the belief that it's still a wonderful opportunity to show those around us how much we care.

H and I were lucky enough to have a two-part celebration. I planned the first half, which was a quiet dinner at home on Saturday night. I love a chance to cook something a bit fancier than I would normally, and searched long and hard for something that H was sure to enjoy. I finally decided on Herb and Mustard Encrusted Rack of Lamb and Wild Mushroom and Potato Gratin. They looked fancy, but not difficult, it was definitely out of the ordinary for us, and the recipes had very high ratings. Seem like winners to me!

And boy, this turned out beyond my wildest expectations, I was totally impressed. It was really easy, still special, and soooo delicious! And most importantly, H LOVED it! I am so glad I found this recipe!

Herb and Mustard Encrusted Rack of Lamb
Serves 2

1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs
1 Tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley
1/2 Tablespoon of chopped fresh mint
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash of black pepper
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1 rack of lamb (8 ribs per rack), trimmed of all but a thin layer of fat, at room temperature
2 Tablespoons of Dijon mustard
 

Directions: Preheat oven to 400. Mix bread crumbs, parsley, mint, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, then drizzle with one Tablespoon of olive oil and stir until well combined.

Season lamb with salt and pepper. Heat other Tablespoon of oil in a large heavy skillet over moderately high heat, then brown lamb, turning once, about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer to a roasting rack, fatty side up. 

Spread fatty side with Dijon mustard. Pat bread crumb mixture over lamb, pressing slightly so it sticks well. 

Roast lamb for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until thermometer inserted diagonally 2 (without touching bone) registers 130 (for medium-rare). Transfer to a cutting board, let stand 10 minutes, then cut into chops. Enjoy!

Adapted from epicurious.com, original recipe here.

Happy New Year! (and Chocolate Raspberry-Filled Cupcakes)

Happy new year, everyone! I hope you all had an enjoyable New Years Eve, and that your 2011 is full of health, wealth, and happiness.

For New Years Eve, H and I, and two of our friends, had dinner at the Smith in NYC, which I would definitely recommend if you're ever in the area! Our friend chose the spot mainly because it wasn't crazy expensive, included a three-course meal, and a table that was ours for the night (funny how things have changed since the days when an open-bar and great DJ so we could dance the night away were top priorities). We were expecting the food to be decent, but it totally blew our expectations out of the water! The food was really, really, good. It was traditional American with a slight modern spin. We were very impressed! And the champagne sangria was delicious :)

The only downfall of the night was that there was no official countdown and the big ball wasn't on a TV there. This led to about 10 different drunken, randomly started countdowns between 11:58 and 12:02. Oh well! But on to the new year...

I'm not too big on resolutions, since I can never keep them, yet I still try. My goal for this year is for healthy eating and exercising to be more of a lifestyle for me, and less of a quick fix. I need to learn some darn moderation! I have the will-power to to diet and lose weight when I force myself to, but I'm too strict with myself, which causes me to burn out. And then I stop exercising completely and don't watch what I eat at all. And that bingeing is exactly what's happened in the past couple months. It's really not pretty when your loose, flowy tops are starting to become too snug. Yikes!

So I'm going to try to steer towards a bit more healthier recipes in the coming months- I'm excited to eat a bit cleaner, greener, and healthier. But I just have to sneak this cupcake recipe in first! It is the last of the recipes I made for the soup kitchen dinner last month, so it doesn't count, right??

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream


for the cupcakes:

9 Tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/4 teaspoon of baking powder

8 Tablespoons of unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup strong coffee (or water)

1/2 cup of low-fat milk

for the filling:

1 cup of seedless raspberry jam

for the frosting:
16 Tablespoons of unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 cups of powdered sugar

1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam

Pink icing color

Directions: 
Preheat the oven to 350 and line two cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a small bowl whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time.

In a measuring cup, combine the coffee and milk. Add half of the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl and mix on low speed until just combine. Stir in the coffee-milk mixture. Add in the remaining dry ingredients, again mixing until just combined. 

Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners, filling the cups about 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, use a small spoon or knife in the top of the cupcake to create a small hole in the center for the filling. Spoon in about 2 teaspoons of raspberry jam in each cupcake. (It may help to heat it up a very tiny bit to make it easier to work with. Be careful not to heat it to the point of being liquid, as it will just absorb into the cupcake.)

Finally, for the frosting, place the butter and jam in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream on medium-high speed until well combined, for about 2 minutes. Sift in the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Tint with the pink icing color as desired. Ice cupcakes, top with chocolate jimmies, and enjoy!

Adapted from Annie's Eats, original recipe here.

Linguine with Red Clam Sauce

Happy holidays! I hope you all had a peaceful holiday, and got to spend some quality time with family. H and I definitely had a wonderful few days off, and were lucky enough to be able to visit with both of our families, as well as enjoy some quiet time to ourselves.

Santa was extremely kind to me as well! I got a number of kitchen toys- an immersion blender, a couple mini crock-pots, another set of Pyrex containers (you can never have enough of those babies), and a mini egg pan with egg flippers from joie. I am so excited to try them all out!

I also continued the tradition ( can I call it that yet?) of our seafood dinner on Christmas Eve. I used a couple recipes from last year, and changed another up. Here is one that is oh-so-easy, and absolutely delicious! I have to admit, I am torn between keeping it a Christmas tradition, and making it way more often. As usual, I apologize for the none-too-appetizing photo, but I promise it tastes a whole lot better than this picture looks!

Linguine with Red Clam Sauce
Serves 6

2 (14.5 oz.) cans of diced tomatoes, with juice
1/4 cup of tomato paste
2-3 Tablespoons of capers

6-8 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons of white sugar
2 teaspoons of dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of dried basil
1 pinch of ground black pepper
1 pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

2 (6 oz.) cans of minced clams
1 (12 oz.) can of whole baby clams

12 oz. of linguine pasta (3/4 of a box)

Directions: Combine all ingredients, up until the clams, in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat and allow to simmer for about 45-60 minutes. Add the clams, and some of the juice (I use about half) and allow to simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve over linguine. Enjoy!

Adapted from allrecipes.com, original recipe here.

Caramelized Pear Spice Cake

Hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving! We had a wonderful three (yes, you read that right- three) Thanksgiving dinners this weekend. We had one with my extended family Thursday, one with my grandparents Friday, and one with H's family Sunday. I'm excited to be moving on to the Christmas holiday now, as I have to admit, I'm beginning to feel a bit turkey-ed out!

For the main event, which was hosted by my mom on Thanksgiving Day for 25 people, she asked me to bring a dessert. The pumpkin and apple pies, however, were already taken care of. Ooh, perfect- a challenge! I wanted to keep it fall-y, and kind of wanted to stay away from pumpkin and apple all together. I decided I'd love to do something with pears, and turned to my trusted companion Google to find the perfect recipe. I found this one for a caramelized pear upside-down-cake, which sounded easy, and I loved that it could be served at room temperature. I decided to turn up the spice a bit, as I loved the idea of a spiced pear cake, and here is what I came up with.

The topping is absolutely delicious, but I was actually a bit disappointed with the cake part. It tasted kind of dry to me, so when I make this again (which I definitely will), I am going to look for a different spice cake recipe to use instead of this one. It was still a hit though!

Caramelized Pear Spice Cake
Serves 8-10

For the topping:
3 medium Bartlett pears
4 Tablespoons of unsalted butter
1 cup of brown sugar

For the cake:
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of ground ginger
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of whole milk
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
1 cup of packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit a 9" round pan, grease it with a bit of butter, and place in the bottom of pan. Peel, core, and slice pears into about 1/4" thick slices. Arrange in the bottom of the pan in a circular pattern, slightly overlapping each other.

Melt butter over medium heat in saucepan. Stir in brown sugar, and continue to gently stir until smooth and combined. Pour caramel mixture over the pears in the pan, and give the pan a little spin to even it all out.

Mix the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in a small bowl. In another bowl, mix milk and vanilla extract. In a mixing bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter with medium speed until light and fluffy. Slowly add brown sugar, continuing to beat. Turn speed to low, and add in eggs, mixing until combined. Slowly add the flour and milk mixtures, alternating in 5 stages, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined.

Bake for about 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, and then flip cake onto a plate to allow to cool completely, peeling off parchment paper if necessary. Enjoy!

Adapted from Fine Cooking, original recipe here.

New England Clambake- Right at Home

Happy Fourth of July (weekend)! Hope everyone is having a safe and enjoyable weekend :) So far, we've had time with friends, both of our families, multiple barbecues, and the beach! And so, we're taking it a bit easy today. How was your weekend? Any celebrations?

 (source)

H and I started the weekend off with a bang and had a couple friends coming over for a barbeque Friday. I was dying to try something different; I didn't want to do the usual hamburgers/hot dogs/chicken, and the last time they came over we had seared ahi tuna steaks on the grill (yum), so I didn't want to do that again either. So after a bit of searching, I found a recipe for a backyard clambake from Rachael Ray. Hm, now we're talking!

Her recipes tend to be pretty hit or miss with me, but I was hoping this one would work out! It looked surprisingly easy, and I figured it would taste great on our charcoal grill. I didn't make many changes- except that I used all the same type of clams (just littleneck instead of littleneck and steamers), dried thyme instead of fresh, and well, didn't really measure too much. I just used what we had/seasoned to what looked good. It turned out really well! Everyone was satisfied, and it really tasted great on the grill.

I was also inspired by another Rachael Ray recipe, Blackberry Ginger Sour Highballs, for our drinks. I didn't make this exact one, because, well, it sounded too difficult. That and I was nervous the blackberry syrup at the bottom being too, ah... chunky. Nothing ruins a good drink for me faster than pulp or seeds. Strawberry smoothies? Gross. Pulpy orange juice? Gag me with a spoon. Anyway... I decided to make a mix of three quarters lemonade and one quarter club soda, and then mix that with the gin. I froze black berries to use as ice cubes, so it was kind of a blackberry gin lemonade.

Throw in a salad, and some deliciously, perfectly sweet summer watermelon and you have yourself a summer feast!

New Recipe Review- Ham with Garlic and Rosemary

Every spring, our grocery store has a promotion- spend a certain amount of money in a couple months, and you receive a free ham (or small turkey, or frozen lasagna, but we chose the ham). Anyway, we finally got our ham, and it's not exactly small! I had to find a recipe to use on this giant - to us! - 8.5lb ham.

So, for my new recipe last week, I chose Ham with Garlic and Rosemary, from epicurious.com. This recipe intrigued me because I have never heard of seasoning a ham with garlic and rosemary before. The brown sugar and mustard, of course- they're ham staples, but garlic and rosemary? Hm... I have to try it!

I have to say I'm glad I did, the ham had a great and unique flavor. I did make a few changes- the cook time seemed a little low (I guess since it was for a cooked ham), so I ended up using the time on the ham package, which I suppose is the best bet- 20 minutes per pound at 325. I also kept it covered for the majority of the cook time and added the mustard/brown sugar mixture as a glaze in the last 30 minutes, and left it uncovered after that. I served it with homemade macaroni and cheese and a garden salad. It was really, really, good and I'm definitely glad I tried this one!


And the menu for this week now includes 101 ways to use leftover ham- ham/potato casserole, chicken cordon bleu, ham/pineapple pizza... what else can I think of??

Earth Day Challenge Results

I am a terrible blogger! I said I would update on the results of my personal Earth Day challenge on Friday, but I never did. And it's now Monday- yikes! But here we go...

Did I succeed? Ahh, well ... not exactly.

But while I wasn't completely successful in not throwing anything out (one of the things I forgot to plan for was the paper towels in the restroom at work), I do feel like the project made me a lot more aware of the waste I create. During more than one task throughout the day, I stopped to think about how I could do things differently to create the least amount of, or no trash at all, as possible. That was never really my main concern before, I was focused on "fast" and "easy" and did things more by habit. And while I had tried to avoid extraneous waste in the past, I didn't bother to stop and think about how I could adjust the way I did things to use even less.

This is definitely something that I am going to make an effort to continue.

PS- I am also completely embarrassed that my Earth Day post showed up dated April 20th! I thought of the idea a couple days earlier, and jotted it down in a draft. I wrote the real post on the 22nd, but I had no idea it would keep the 20th as the actual day. Oops!

Happy Earth Day!

In honor of Earth Day, my goal is to not put a single thing in the garbage can today- in other words, not use anything that creates waste. No packaging, no cleaning products, no disposable containers, nothing. Recycling is perfectly OK, but no garbage! (And no, that doesn't mean that I'm going to let any trash sit out on the kitchen counter until tomorrow :P) I'll check back tonight or tomorrow morning to let you know how it all went!

I am also going to take a bit of time to share some of the progress we have made in our goal of transitioning to greener cleaning products and household items. So far we have:

- Switched from chemical cleaners and Clorox wipes to Nature's Source 99% natural Windex and Seventh Generation All-Natural Wipes (both purchased at the grocery store). When our supply of those runs out, I will begin to make my own cleaners from water, vinegar, lemon juice, and baking soda to use with organic cotton washcloths that can be washed and reused.

(images -clockwise from top- from samsclub.com, greenlightoffice.com, acmemarkets.com, walgreens.com, samsclub.com)

- Switched from standard laundry detergent to Ecos 100% All Natural Laundry Detergent (purchased at Sam's Club). When our supply of dryer sheets runs out, I will also purchase these wool dryer balls from seller farmfreshfiber on etsy to use instead.

(images -clockwise from top- from samsclub.com, samsclub.com, farmfreshfiber on etsy.com, samsclub.com)

- After our Swiffer (which I used with the wet pads) snapped in half, I purchased a steam mop that cleans with nothing but water. I still have the sweeper end of the Swiffer and may buy a cover for it -such as one of these- to help with the dusting.

- Stopped using plastic bags at the grocery store and started using large canvas bags for groceries, and reusable mesh bags for produce.

That's all for today! I'm looking forward to my little experiment, and will let you know how it went tomorrow!

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes- Part 2

Remember these?

I certainly do. That's because I may or may not have been drooling over them and dreaming about them since I originally found the recipe.

And although I wanted to make them sooner, I needed the perfect occasion. And by "the perfect occasion," I mean an occasion that involves being able to share them. Otherwise, H and I would eat all 24 within a few days and that is definitely not what our waistlines need.
So when we planned a pub crawl with some friends from college that involved hanging out at their apartment with snacks and board games afterward, I knew what I would be bringing.

Recipe here.

It's looking like a good night already, eh?

Creamy chocolate batter

Fresh out of the oven- a little sunken in. Good thing I'm cutting out the middles and filling them with ganache.

Butter and whisky waiting it's turn.

Simmering cream and chocolate pieces.

One creamy chocolate-y filling.

The filled cupcakes.

The final product.

Yum.

The Not so Busy Weekend

Well, this weekend was supposed to be our busiest of the holiday season so far. I had my office Christmas party Friday afternoon, then we decided to go up to NYC on Friday, right after the party. We'd stay until mid-afternoon the next day, getting home just in time to clean up and whip up some apps for our friend's holiday party in Philly that night. We'd get home late Saturday night, sleep in, and get a little bit done around the house before heading to my parents' house for Sunday dinner/my mom's birthday.

None of that happened though (well except for my office party, that I made)... here is what did happen :

(8:30 AM Saturday)


(around noon, Saturday)

(I have such a wonderful husband!! This is the first round of shoveling.)



(around 4:30 PM Saturday, it's like he never shoveled!)




(around 8 PM Saturday, after the second round of shoveling. Our Christmas lights look so nice in the snow! It was about 18" at this point.)

Christmas Traditions

It's that time of year...

I have been thinking a lot lately about Christmas traditions and how I long to start some with H as our own family. We have spent 4 Christmases together as a couple, but have very few constants that remain from year to year.

The only one we have so far is going up to NYC to enjoy the city decked out in it's Christmas best and to take in the hustle and bustle holiday atmosphere. Actually, I am afraid that that one won't even happen this year- between getting our tree last weekend (what an adventure); H's office Christmas party and my girls' night out with friends planned for this weekend; and then my mom's birthday, my office party, and our friend's holiday soirée next weekend, I'm not sure when we'd be able to fit it in. And the weekend after that is Christmas! When did that happen?

Anyway... we are planning on spending Christmas Day with our families- my parents, brother, and sister for brunch and most of the afternoon and then H's parents, his brother, and girlfriend for dinner and the rest of the evening. I can say that we are truly blessed that our families live less than a 5 minute's drive apart from each other and we're able to do that. Therefore, we are spending Christmas Eve together as newlyweds to do a nice dinner and exchange gifts. I'm really looking forward to it!

Our families have their own traditions that we love being a part of, but Christmas Eve is where I would truly like to develop our own. H wants us to go to Mass since he loves the music and the Christmas Eve service. One that I would really like to try is the Italian tradition of the Feast of the Seven Fishes. I can't decide if it's a silly idea though, since it's a Catholic tradition celebrating the seven Sacraments- I'm not Catholic and my non-belief in all of the Sacraments is part of the reason why. Oh well, maybe traditions aren't something you can plan out like that...

But here is my hypothetical menu:

• Tomato fish stew with tilapia and cod: this is one of the recipes in our regular rotation, so that would be easy. It also can be made ahead and kept warm.

• Fried calimari: I've never made this, but would love to try it.

• Shrimp scampi: I've made this many times in the past- easy, delicious, can't be made in advance, but not too hard to keep warm either.

• Linguine with white clam sauce: I really don't want to use the clam sauce from a can, but then again I'm no Martha Stewart...

• Seared jumbo scallops with spinach and garlic: easy enough

I just need one more fish, I'll have to keep thinking... or maybe I could just do the six fishes, that may make more sense to me anyway!

My DIY Christmas Project

I braved the crowds on Black Friday to pick up some Christmas decor deals a Michael's, and I finally put together the piece I had in mind. It was less than $20 for everything!

the whole thing

closeup of the "snow-covered" branches

and a closeup of inside the vase. It's the cinnamon-scented pinecones, a box of red berries and mini pinecones- some glitter and some not, and a sprinkling of faux snow.

Happy (Belated!) Halloween

Happy Halloween! Our decorations looked pretty cute, if I don't say so myself...


My Jack Skellington pumpkin:




And H's pumpkin:


I'm always sad to throw them out though... something about things with a face :(