(Cake) Cutting Corners

As I've already mentioned, I often find myself cutting corners in the kitchen...and not always in a good way.  A dear friend has two children with birthdays about two weeks apart and since we've seen them so much this winter (mostly in the snow or on walks with the rambunctious puppy), I figured I would swing down to their house with a Birthday treat.  And also being that I'm a bit, shall we say, "baked out" these days, I wasn't really thrilled to turn on my Kitchen Aid (mixer, that is).  So, I cheated a bit. 

I used a box cake mix to whip up their birthday cupcakes and went the extra mile and made frosting from scratch.  I really don't like the store-bought canned frosting...not to mention that stuff is loaded with sketchy ingredients that might make your heart stop on the spot!  I've never really balked at the way cake mix tastes or is prepared...it's easy and it usually tastes good.  Not to mention that having a cake mix on hand has helped me out of a bind many times when I was headed to a party or work function where a dessert or app was required.  Hello, loaf cake.  Hello, cupcakes.  Simple - easy - done in a flash.  Not to mention that you can usually pick up a cake mix for about $1 or so at the grocery store.  Can't go wrong with a simple chocolate or white cake mix in the pantry.

The final product: mini cupcakes made from chocolate cake mix and a basic, homemade butter cream icing.  I'm no expert cake decorator, but I'm making small improvements here and there.

*Photo courtesy of Betty Crocker.
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Real uses for heels

Like anyone, I've found myself frequently throwing out the heels of a loaf of bread, because they weren't ideal sandwich making material.  Well, not anymore - here I'm sharing 5 ways to use the heels of a loaf of bread.

1. Bread crumbs. A must for making chicken parmesan, meatloaf or meatballs.  The bread heels are perfect for making bread crumbs - throw them in your food processor and voila, homemade bread crumbs.

2. French Toast.  Dip your bread in a mixture of egg, milk, cinnamon and nutmeg and top with maple syrup and you'll never know it was once the cast-off in the loaf!

3. Clean it up.  A slice of bread is perfect for cleaning up any wayward shards of shattered glass (preferably white bread since it tends to be a bit softer) and also your coffee grinder.  It helps grab any lasting particles of coffee, grains or herbs and also helps mop up the oily residue left by the ground substance.

4. Eggs-celent brunch.  I love eggs and any sort of egg dish.  A strata or egg casserole typically calls for some torn up bread to soak up any liquid as the dish bakes.  Use your heels for these recipes - you won't be able to taste the difference once it's baked.

5. Feed the ducks.  As a child, one of my favorite activities when I visited my grandparents was feeding the ducks at their local pond.  Lucky for them, ducks don't discriminate against heels versus the interior slices of bread; they're just pleased to have a tasty snack.

Photo courtesy of Tasty Planner.
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Bustin' out

 Any gal with a little something up top has battled any sort of button down top whether it's a blouse, traditional button down or a cardigan sweater.  For years, I've found myself tugging and adjusting, constantly self-conscious of "busting out" of my top.  Not anymore...ever since I discovered the wonders of fashion tape, I've been singing its praises. 

A small strip can help keep a button down shirt discretely closed, hem pants in a pinch and help keep a down to there dress in check.  I keep a roll in my dresser at all times.  And best of all, it's quite inexpensive (less than $10) and readily available at stores like Target, Victoria's Secret and TJ Maxx.  You might as well buy three rolls...one for at home, one for in your desk and one for a purse!  This would be perfect in a bride's emergency kit too.  Unfortunately, I know this first hand, as we went through about a roll of this stuff trying to remedy some wardrobe malfunctions at a dear friend's wedding!
Just be sure to peel off the tape before you wash your clothing, otherwise, you could find yourself with a sticky situation on your hands!

And now I find myself curious of fashion emergencies you may have solved with this wonder tape...do tell!!

Photo credits: JCrew slim stretch shirt and Fashion tape from Amazon.
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Wayward Salmon Burger

Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day and much warmer than I expected.  I've been wanting to do salmon burgers for a while but have been waiting for the winter weather to break, and luckily it did.  We received the Build a Better Burger book as a wedding gift (clearly one of the few things for my groom), and I found an enticing recipe for which I already had most of the ingredients at home.  A few lessons that I learned:

1. Substitutions work.  Like green onions for shallots, adding an egg to a dry, loose salmon mixture and low-fat mayo for regular mayo.

2. Canned salmon is not like canned tuna.  I purchased wild-caught, organic, Alaskan pink salmon.  Apparently I didn't read the fine print...it had skin and full spinal cords in it...pretty gross!  I don't know about you, but I wasn't really interested in dissecting my food before I ate it!  I seriously considered throwing it out, but decided to bite the bullet and pretend I'm a real "butcher."  Once I got used to it, I was able to pull out the bones, weird parts and skin and flake the regular meat for the burgers.

Salmon Burgers with Lemon Cilantro Mayo

• 2 7.5 oz pink salmon (suggest about
• 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
• 1/3 C bread crumbs
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 2 green onions, finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper (or to taste)
• 1/3 C low fat mayo
• 1/2 C cilantro, coarsely chopped
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced

1. Combine salmon through pepper in bowl.  Form into 4 patties and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, make the lemon cilantro mayo by combining the mayo, cilantro, lemon juice and garlic.  Whisk together well.
3. Heat grill to medium-high heat.  Cook burgers about 2 minutes on each side.  For last minute, lightly toast buns, face down.
4. Place burger on bun, spread mayo on one side of bun and top with spinach. 

This recipe was really good with the exception of our so-so salmon - a flaked salmon filet definitely would have been a significant improvement over our slightly-fishy canned salmon that required major surgery.

*Photo courtesy of Vitacost.

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Let's start a revolution

I watched Jamie Oliver's interview on CNN last week and loved hearing his thoughts on improving school lunches to promote better eating for America's kids.  I remember options in our school lunch room including some form of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn and green beans...not exactly very nutritious or diverse!  I would love to see kids with better, healthier options, augmented with treats every now and then.  Sign Jamie's petition here to show your support for a food revolution in schools.
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Singing with the birds

I am definitely not a night owl and more of a morning person, but I frequently find myself scrambling to get out the door on time for work to avoid the inevitable traffic jams that plague our area after a certain hour in the morning.  I've finally forced myself into a few habits that have led to a much happier morning.

1. Just brew it.  I realize that not everyone brews their own coffee, but in an effort to avoid ever growing credit card bill (and waistline!), I usually avoid the coffee house in favor of a mug from home.  I also like to have a little caffeine in my blood before I hit the doors of my office.  I grind any beans and prep the coffee pot the night before so that it's pre-programmed or only needs a quick switch on.

2. Dress it up.  Being that I wear suits to work, I am a big spender at the dry cleaners...and for me, that means that I try to avoid unnecessary trips so I often take only the bottoms since they seem to need a cleaning more frequently than my jackets.  And I often find myself missing all the bottoms to my suits and frantically try to find a work dress or skirt to pair with a lonesome jacket.  This rambling thought leads me to my next habit...check the closet the night before to have a few outfits waiting in the wings.  I don't leave my outfit hanging on the back of my closet, but knowing what's available has saved me multiple outfit changes in the morning or desperately searching for my favorite skirt.

3. Snack attack. I plan out lunch and snacks the night before.  This helps avoid the painful moment when I realize that the only options for lunch are celery or a string cheese.  Definitely not enough sustenance to get me through the day!  Sometimes I'll grab a lunch portion of leftovers from the freezer the night before and put it in the fridge to start defrosting, prepare a salad or chop fruit for breakfast.  Nonetheless, it saves me at least 5 minutes in the morning.

4. Be sweet.  I do my best to give my pets and hubs some attention in the morning before we all go our separate ways for the work day (ok, the dog and bunny don't go anywhere, but we do).  There is nothing worse than running off to work after being grumpy with your spouse.  A quick smooch, a smile, and "have a good day" go a long way.
These leave me feeling like I can happily sing with the birds every morning instead of running out the door frazzled and hair brained!

*Photos courtesy of Mr. Coffee, Salad a day,
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Who Knew: Paint Colors

Via facebook, a friend requested info on selecting complimentary paint colors.  In the method of full disclosure, I'm certainly no interior decorator, but I have done my fair share of painting a home.  There are a few different factors when selecting paint colors, for one room, for adjacent rooms or for a whole house.  Many of the home decor magazines are talking about using a similar color palate for an entire home...blues accented with yellow and brown, for example.  When selecting paint for a kitchen, you'll want to consider the color of your cabinets and appliances, unless you plan to redesign your entire space based on your selection of bright teal paint for the walls.  In an open space, monochromatic colors tend to work best; if your rooms are more enclosed, brighter colors can work very well. 

I find a quick look at the color wheel pretty helpful when thinking about what looks good together.  Using complimentary colors, which are those that are on opposite sides of the color wheel (like yellow and violet) is the most bold approach for selecting colors.  Pairing colors next to each other on the color wheel is known as selecting analogous colors...manageable and perfect for an amateur decorator, like me!  And monochromatic paint schemes are usually easy to pull off because they utilize similar colors, with varying tints and textures throughout multiple rooms or spaces.  I tend to be a bit conservative when picking paint...even if you go with a muted tone for your living room, you can always add bright accessories to add some pop to the room without committing to bright orange walls, or something similar. 

One neat tool I found while working on this post is Sherwin Williams's Discover Color tool, which allows you to pick a room and a layout and select a paint color to get a visual of the outcome.  It also shows you complimentary paint colors and allows you to lighten, darken, brighten or increase/decrease the amount of color in the paint (for example, increase/decrease violet in a pink/red paint). 

Related Post: Paint Perfection.

*Photo courtesy of Whittier International Art Program.

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Tech support?

So I just realized that I lost all my comments on my older posts recently...anyone else had something similar happen?  I just switched to Blogger in draft as my editor...help help!  I really hope I didn't lose all the wonderful insight from my fab readers!

Update: Just found this is a known issue for blogs that have recently migrated from a blogspot.com domain to a custom domain.  More info here: http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/blogger/thread?tid=3c8fc566625014e6&hl=en.
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Shower power

It's that time of year!  No, not tax season (although the IRS deadline is looming), it's bridal shower season!  With summer and fall weddings in vogue these days, many bridal showers happen in the spring.  And there is something quite special about spending time with a glowing bride!  I'm a huge fan of selecting items off a couple's registry for wedding and shower gifts but I also love to add a personal touch.  So if you're struggling for ideas for a friend, co-worker or family member, see below for some of my favorites - some, fun and personal, and some, likely on a registry somewhere.

Clockwise from bottom left: Apron from Boojiboo on etsy, Emma pitcher from Pottery Barn at $35, Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast - Weeknight cookbook at $18, Microplane Paddle Grater from Williams-Sonoma at $17, Lenox Ice Bucket from Macys at $54, Bride and Groom Cookbook from Amazon at $23, Personalized Recipe Cards from LittleBeaneBoutique on etsy at $12, Kitchenaid 4-piece utensil set from Target at $24.49, Kitchen Hand Soap from Bath and Body Works at $4.50, Cupcake Winery Cabernet Sauvignon at about $12, Monogrammable pillow from Pottery Barn at $19, "I do" frame from Pottery Barn at $20.

I love the idea of a subtly themed gift or gifts that coordinate.  Recipe cards or an apron pair lovely with kitchen gadgets or accessories.  A cookbook is perfect for a friend learning to cook or who already loves to cook.  A bottle of wine or pretty wine stopper is perfect with a set of wine glasses.  Sprinkles or a cupcake cookbook are wonderful for a gal with a penchant for sweets or baking.

How do you add some pizazz or flair to bridal shower gifts?
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Index Card Organization - Food and Wine

In my stack of index cards, I include one on food - a grocery list of sorts.  I keep a running list of items we need or those on which we're running low.  It may be milk or sugar or eggs or chicken breast in the freezer.  It definitely helps when I'm running around the store after work...and my brain is a bit mushy.  Nothing groundbreaking here, but when the card is with everything else, it seems to get lost a little less - imagine that! :)

I am the worst about remembering what specific types of wine I like and/or want to try.  I love wine (duh!) and reading wine reviews, but I find myself aimlessly looking at shelves and shelves of wine bottles at the store trying to remember the $16 bottle of chardonnay that Food and Wine said was divine.  So now, every time I find a bottle that we love or one I'm dying to try, I write it on the card.  Once I buy the bottle, I also include the store(s) where I can buy it in the future, whether it's Trader Joe's or Kroger or Total Wine.  This little trick keeps us happy and our nerves loose when we've had a long day at the office!

*Photo courtesy of Americas Cabin and Food and Wine.
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Wishing you luck today!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day, dear friends!

May you have a joyful, happy day, filled with lots of luck (and green beer)!  I'm looking forward to celebrating my fervent Irish heritage today with some corned beef, carrots and potatoes for dinner and a Guinness.

*Photo courtesy of art.com.
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Index Card Organization - To Do List

The main item in my bundle of index cards is my to do list - and I keep two types of to do lists.  One that is for the current week (short term things) and one that is for future, long term projects and tasks (like fixing the light in our attic that is broken).  My weekly items include errands like dry cleaners, bank and grocery store and other household tasks like mailing back our Netflix movie, hanging new pictures in our living room, etc.  By keeping long and short term tasks on separate cards, I can quickly assess what's on the agenda for the week and figure out if I can accommodate any of the bigger projects this week.  Simple - easy - requires little memory!  Next up - Food and Wine organization using my index card method.
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Home Safety PSA

I'm reminded every time I change the 8 gazillion clocks in our home that it's also time to change the batteries in the smoke detector as well.  It's a simple task that could end up saving us if we ever had a fire.  I also change the batteries in our carbon monoxide detector as well.  If you can't motivate yourself, check out these facts:

• The death rate is 45% lower when one working smoke detector is present in a home; it's twice as high in homes without smoke alarms as those with working smoke alarms
• In the US, a civilian dies from a fire every 156 minutes.
• An estimated 900 lives could be saved if all homes had working smoke alarms.
• Two-thirds of the smoke alarms in homes are battery-operated.
• Approximately one in every five smoke alarm failures was due to dead batteries.

*Photo courtesy of Amazon.
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Pup on the trail

If you plan on taking your pup out for a hike or longer than normal walk, make sure you're prepared.  Your pup (and perhaps you too!) may need some sustenance along your journey.  I usually bring a small back pack filled with the following essentials:

• Water bottles
• Small, light-weight plastic dish for water
• Dog treats - for encouraging good behaviour or for a snack
• Plastic bags...essentials for cleaning up after your pup!

Happy trail blazing!
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Suppertime rules

We have very few "rules" around our house, but one that has worked like magic is our suppertime rule.  He who cooks the dinner, relaxes after dinner.  He who doesn't cook dinner, does the dishes.  It works like a charm.  More often than not, I am the one cooking dinner while my hubs does a little work or relaxes a bit.  And after dinner, I happily relax while the hubs clears the table, washes dishes and tidies up the kitchen.  It's a beautiful system and I challenge you to try it yourself.  And if you have children, capable of doing the clean up, by all means solicit their help as well!

*Photo courtesy of Pottery Barn.
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Index Card Organization

I'm definitely the list maker type.  I make lists for groceries, chores, bills to pay, errands to run, etc.  I often find myself scribbling down some things to remember or do on a little scrap of paper.  And being that I often am switching purses and using my work back for after work errands, I could never keep up with the scrap of paper with that day's items on it.  Often, I mistook an old receipt as trash which had my grocery list on it.  Not exactly the picture of pristine organization.  So I finally took some action to rid myself of my poor organizational tactics for list making.

One of the things that sparked my renewed sense of organization in the way of my lists was hearing an interview on NPR with the author of The Checklist Manifesto, Atul Gawande.  I also received an email that circulated my office with a book review, so I've been hit from all angles...an accident, I think not!  The book focuses on implementation of checklists improving operating room effectiveness in hospitals, and then extrapolates the concepts further into other aspects in life.

Back to my new list organization...it's all about index cards, baby.  I have a small stack of index cards, hole-punched in the corner, tied with a ribbon, that travel with my wallet, cell phone and keys from purse-to-working bag/purse.  It's become an awesome way to keep track of all my to-do's and random things in my life.  I'll share the various cards in some upcoming posts.  Get ready...I'm pretty proud of myself for thinking of some of these!

*Photo courtesy of Office Max.
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Sustainable Living - a little education

I attended my area's very first Sustainable Living Fair a few weeks back.  I was pretty excited to get my hippy on with a friend and check out the booths, demonstrations and short movies on various aspects of sustainable living.  I found out about the event accidentally when I was researching some social events for networking and stumbled upon the schedule for this event online. 

I can't say that I was surprised by the relatively slow turnout.  As a bit of a nerd about this sort of thing, I didn't know about it until the last minute and didn't hear a lick of advertising for the event.  However, we got some cool information on organic dog food (even delivered to your home - pretty snazzy!), safe seafood, CSAs, organic honey, green jobs and attended a lecture on square foot gardening. 

Unfortunately, our region has been very slow to adopt the ever-growing CSA trend.  For those that are out of the loop like our area, a CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.  This nifty concept allows farmers to receive funding for their crops early in the year to support growth and provide yield to the supporters.  For example, one of the CSA's at the fair required payment by March 1st for produce from April through October; each customer receives a bag of yield on a weekly basis and there were two possible sizes to order.  It's a great way to support your local farmers and get some great local produce (sometimes organic).  For more info, check out this site which lists some CSAs in your area.

As for the gardening lecture, most of the information was old news for my friend and I.  I've had a garden for about 3 years now and have gone through the experimentation and painful lessons.  One of the big emphasis points was staking any vegetables that require height, like tomatoes or cucumbers.  If you leave them on the ground, they'll happily take over your garden.

As with any fair, there were a fair few booths selling products - organic mattresses and linens, solar panels, energy star appliances, etc.  We skipped most of those booths in favor of some of the more "interesting" booths....at least those that were more appealing to us.  But all in all, it was a pretty cool event and I'm looking forward to more of these types in the future...hopefully with better publicity and better attendance from our community!
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Italian Feast

I've been craving Italian food a lot lately; must have something to do with our winter that seems to never end.  There is just something so satisfying with warm pasta, crisp herby tomato sauce and gooey cheese.  I found a recipe for eggplant and spinach lasagne rolls that was to die for delicious and thought I would share it with you!  Perfect with a green salad, toasted bread and a glass to Chianti.

Eggplant and Spinach Lasagna Rolls
adapted from Epicurious

• 2 lbs eggplant, halved crosswise, then cut lengthwise into slices slightly less than 1/4 inch thick
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1 1/4 tsp salt (don't use kosher - it will clump on the eggplant)
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 10 oz baby spinach
• 15 oz ricotta (I used part skim)
• 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
• 1/2 C finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 8 dried lasagne noodles (not no-boil; 8 oz)
• 1 jar tomato and basil pasta sauce

1. 
   
   Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. 
   
   Toss eggplant slices with oil, garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper and arrange in 1 layer on 2 oiled baking sheets. Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking and turning slices over once, until tender, 12 to 14 minutes.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
4. While eggplant is roasting, cook spinach in a 3- to 4-quart pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, 1 minute, then drain in a colander. When cool enough to handle, squeeze any excess water from spinach. Stir together ricotta, yolk, spinach, parmesan, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until combined well.
5. Cook lasagne noodles in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until tender. Drain noodles in a colander and rinse under cold running water.
6. Spoon 2 cups tomato sauce into a 13- by 9-inch glass baking dish (or other 3-quart shallow baking dish). Lay out 4 lasagne noodles on a work surface, then spread 1/3 cup filling evenly over each noodle and cover with eggplant slices in 1 layer. Roll up each and arrange spirals, seam sides down and without touching, over sauce in dish, then make 4 more rolls and arrange in dish. Brush noodles with water, then spoon some sauce down middle of rolls.
7. Bake in middle of oven, about 10-15 minutes. Cover with foil and cook about 10-15 minutes longer or until heated through.  Heat remaining tomato sauce and serve on the side.

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The Graduate

She made it!!

Luckily the pup didn't flunk beginner training so she's on to bigger and brighter training in the future.  And, we even have visual proof that she can sit and stay.  How's that for a well-trained pup?

 

Well, she's not Air Bud yet, but she's mastered sit, stay, down, come, drop it, leave it, take it, rollover and paw.  We're working on heel and place.  (She hasn't exactly mastered potty training as you can see from the photo, but with our new fence, we're seeing vast improvements)  So far, so good.  I was so pleased with our Petsmart training - awesome, friendly instructor and we met another instructor tonight who seemed fabulous.  Would definitely recommend it to any new dog owners.
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Ski Chalet Sustenance

I've been skiing since I was a wee little girl and there are certain things that are engrained in my head as requirements for skiing.  These extend beyond the obvious ski jacket, pants, boots, skis, poles type things.  Folks, we're talking about the overall experience of your ski trip.  I'm a firm believer that you must stay in a condo or suite of some sort while skiing.  I love being able to cook breakfast in the morning, enjoy an afternoon snack or cook a low key dinner if you legs ache from 8 hours of skiing.  With a properly-stocked condo, your visit can be mere perfection, provided the powder is waist high and you can avoid those pesky lift lines!  Below, I'm sharing some of my favorites, which are not only delicious but travel well if you're in the car, and in some cases, on a plane.

Featured above:
1. Bisquik Shake and Pour, at about $4 - breakfast of champions!
2. Chocolate Chip Cookies - homemade cookies are a prerequisite for a ski trip with my family
3. Vitamin Water, at about $1 per bottle - a tasty way to stay hydrated while you're at a higher altitude, tearing up the slopes
4. Sam Adams Noble Pils, at about $9 for 6 - perfect apres-ski beverage
5. Luna Bars, at about $1 each - perfect for mountain-side munching...and they won't crumble in your ski jacket
6. Eggbeaters at about $3 - No cracked eggs in your cooler in your car!
7. Tostitos Multigrain Chips at about $4
8. Bananas - a hearty fruit to start a long day on the slopes
9. Trail Mix, at about $6-8 per bag - small ziploc bags of this stuff stash in your ski jacket easily and is good for munching on the lift or slopeside
10. Swiss Miss Cocoa, at about $3 per box - what ski trip is complete without hot cocoa with marshmallows?!

P.S. I'm taking hubs skiing for the very first time later this week!  Pray for an injury-free trip! :)
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Classic Supper

As an adult, I've often shied away from casseroles because we ate so many when I was growing up.  And not to say that some of them weren't delicious, but I think most young women find themselves trying their best to avoid doing things like their mother.  Well folks, I finally succumbed...at least in the kitchen.  This weekend, it was, yet again, quite chilly in Southern VA, so I opted for a hearty dinner on Saturday night.  And alas, I prepared one of the casseroles that I adored as a child - Chicken Divan.  This time, I combined a few recipes, tried to make it as healthy as possible and fixed a side of brown rice cooked in chicken broth to accompany our feast.

Chicken Divan

• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced
• 2 10 oz packages frozen broccoli florets
• 2 10.5 oz cans low (reduced) fat cream or chicken soup (or mushroom if you like fungi)
• 1/2 C breadcrumbs
• 1/2 C cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Combine chicken, broccoli and soup in large bowl.  Mix together well.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
2. Pour into 9x9 casserole dish.  Top with cheese and breadcrumbs.
3. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until heated through.  If cheese begins to brown, tent with foil.

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