Holiday Baking

I just finished my holiday baking tonight. On this years list was: chocolate dipped shortbread, lemon cheesecake bars, persimmon bread and pillow cookies. I really love these shortbread cookies, I think I'll be making these every Christmas Eve. Wishing you and your families a blessed merry Christmas! God bless.

Found a vegetable stand!

We just discovered a little organic fruit/vegetable stand down the street. This makes me so happy since I've been meaning to frequent farmer markets for a while, but life always seems to get in the way. And many are not open year round so this find seems even greater! Or maybe I'm just a nerd to be so excited over finding this. Anyways, yesterday we stopped by said stand and bought some bok choy, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, daikon radish, and beets.

First item up is the butternut squash. Now what to make with it is a different story. I have no clue. I know soup is out of the running, since I've attempted that before and was not a fan. I'm thinking I will either make a risotto or attempt to make fries out of it. I'll let you know how it goes soon.

Banh mi sandwiches

A while back we got addicted to The Great Food Truck Race on Food Network We were rooting for Team Nom Nom, they sold banh mi sandwiches and tacos. Everytime we saw this show we wanted banh mi, so we decided to try to make them at home. And it was a success, thanks for the inspiration Nom Nom Truck!

You will need:

• crusty baguette(s)
• mayonnaise mixed with some sriracha (optional)
• sliced cucumber
• sliced jalapeno or serrano pepper
• Vietnamese-style pork
• pickled daikon radish and carrots/do chua (Recipe below)
• chopped cilantro

1. Hollow the bread and slather with mayo mixture.
2. Layer on cucumber slices, peppers, pork, do chua, and cilantro.
3. Enjoy =D

Making the do chua is super easy, but you could probably also buy it from a local Vietnamese restaurant or store.

A local bakery sells banh mi and they add pate to it, had I know I probably would have asked for my sandwich without it even thought it adds a great flavor. So if you are up for it add some pate too.

Do chua ingredients:

• half Daikon Radish
• 2 small carrots or 1 large
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup sugar

1. Julienne the vegetables (should look like big matchsticks)
2. Place in a colander and sprinkle with salt and s 2 tsp sugar. Massage vegetables until you can bend the radish without it breaking, about 4 minutes.
3. Rinse the vegetables with cold water and place in a mason jar. (We used a sterilized jelly jar)
4. Mix the vinegar, water and 1/2 cup sugar until the sugar is dissolved, and pour over the vegetables.
5. pickle for at least one hour before eating.

Vietnamese-style pork

Vietnamese-style pork

• About 1.5 Lbs. Pork, sliced about 1/2" thick
• 2 Tbs brown sugar
• 1 Tbs chopped garlic
• 1 thick slice of onion, chopped
• 2 Tbs chopped lemongrass*
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 1/2 Tbs fish sauce**
• 1 Tbs oil
• 1 thinly sliced jalapeno (optional)

Mix all of the ingredients then add the sliced pork. Let marinade for up to 24 hours.

Grill for about 7 minutes, turning often.

*I didn't have any good lemongrass so I used some lime zest and chopped cilantro.

** I used prepared fish sauce since that it what we had, it's what you use for spring rolls.

This is great in sandwiches, "recipe" coming soon. *****update****Actually just click here for my banh mi sandwich post

Recipe inspiration from:http://une-deuxsenses.blogspot.com/2009/02/grilled-pork-with-vermicelli-noodles.html

Happy Easter!

I know I haven't been blogging much, life has been really crazy these past few months. But I am hoping to be around more and also on updating my 101 list since I have been able to accomplish a few them. I hope you guys all had a lovely Easter!

Lemon Meringue Tea Cakes

So I saw these gems, while I was watching Semi-homemade with Sandra Lee. Although I am not a fan of lemon desserts I knew my mom would love these. So I made these and the chocolate lava cupcakes for her birthday party on Friday and they were both huge hits. I even had one of my uncles request these for his birthday. So here they are.

Ingredients

one box of lemon cake mix

eight ounces of whipped topping

1 egg white plus one cup of egg whites

two cups milk

2 small packages of instant lemon pudding

1/4 cup of sugar

1/2 tsp of cream of tartar

zest of one lemon

Step one: Preheat the oven to 350 degree and spray two muffin tins with nonstick spray. In a medium bowl mix one egg white, whipped topping and cake mix. Place one tablespoon of mixture into each muffin cup. Flatten the mixture with a floured spoon or with the bottom of a glass if you have one that fits into the muffin cup. Bake for 9 minutes. Once cakes are removed from oven, raise the temperature to 425 degrees.

Step two: In a medium bowl mix 2 pudding envelopes with one cup of milk. Spoon mixture onto each cake.*

Step three: Beat the cup of egg whites until soft peaks form, then add sugar and cream of tartar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Fold in lemon zest and pipe the meringue onto the pudding mixture and bake until the tops begin to brown, about 3-5 minutes.

* I found it easiest to place the cooled cakes on a baking sheet, then assemble them with the pudding and meringue.

On a side note, I am not able to add more than one picture to my posts, so as soon I figure that out I will add more pictures to the recipes.

Chocolate lava cupcakes

My mom has a sweet tooth and everyone that knows her, knows that she loves chocolate. So sure enough, while I was at her house she asked me to make her something sweet. She then brought me the cake mixes and frostings she had in the pantry for me, hmmm I don't buy that. Anyways, I gave these a try and she loved them. So much so that she asked me to make them for her birthday instead of buying her a chocolate cake (with chocolate frosting of course). So here they are adapted from Betty Crocker.

Ingredients

1/2 cup whipped topping

1 cup chocolate chips

1 box of devil's food cake mix (or chocolate)

1 cup water

one 4 oz applesauce container (I used the cinnamon one since that's what I had on hand, or you could use 1/3 cup of vegetable oil)

3 eggs

Chocolate frosting (I used vanilla since that's what I had)

Step one: Place chocolate chips in saucepan over medium heat. Add in the cool whip and stir often until chocolate chips are thoroughly melted.* Refrigerate for an hour for best results. **

Step two: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour (or use cocoa powder instead of flour) 2 muffin pans. In a large bowl mix: cake mix, water, eggs and applesauce for about 2 minutes. Spoon batter into each muffin cup, filling 3/4 of the way. Place one tablespoon of chocolate mixture on the center of each muffin cup.

Step three: Bake for 17-19 minutes. Carefully remove cupcakes from pan and frost while still warm. Serve warm and garnish with powdered sugar for a pretty presentation.

** I made this on two separate occasions. The first time I made these I did not refrigerate the chocolate and it came out great but the center was thicker and not as lava-y. The second time I made these I refrigerated the mixture for about 2 hours and they had a true lava center.

*If you'd rather melt the chocolate in the microwave add the chocolate chips to a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds on 60% heat. Stir in 1/2 cup of whipped topping and Microwave for another 15 seconds on 50% heat. Chocolate should look smooth, if it is not, microwave in 15 second intervals until smooth. Refrigerate until thick, for about an hour for best results.

Getting Healthy

Alright, so a large portion of my 101 in 1001 is devoted to getting healthier. And there's no better time than the present! Okay, actually at work we just started our second Biggest Loser challenge, and OMG was I shocked at my weight. I can hardly believe I've gained 12 pounds since the wedding. This is the most I've ever weighed. Ever! So I am getting serious about getting healthier and I'm starting at number 58 of my 101 in 1001, no fast food for two months, today. Wish me luck, I know I will need it.

LOL

For Christmas my mom gave me and Jr tickets to go see Comedian Gabriel Iglesias. This couldn't have been a more perfect gift, especially for Jr. He's been wanting to see Gabriel Iglesias for years, but he's always sold out by the time we realize he's in the area. The show was this past Friday and it was hilarious! You can check out some videos and his tour dates here. Oh and I get to cross off number 10 on 101 in 1001 list. I will be blogging more, I am just working on getting my home computer up and running.