015: i'm baaack! the tale of my summer

hello there! well, i'm finally back on campus, in my apartment, and BACK TO MY KITCHEN! goodness how i missed it. see, i was living and working all summer at a hotel in florida, and needless to say, i had an excellent time. however, given that it was a hotel, i did not ever have access to making my own food :( and i haven't exactly been back in mine yet this year--only got back to campus a few days ago and have been training for and/or working one of my 3 jobs since i got back. BUT. the good news is that i have a few pictures of projects that i undertook this summer. nothing original. nothing fancy. but just a little fun and creativity en la cocina.

this was way back in may before i left, and if you're not aware of it already, i am a HUGE minnesota twins fan! however, one of my friends is a huge milwaukee brewers fan. now this is not normally an issue between us, given that the two teams are in different leagues, but they play each other for two series a year, and the border battle gets quite intense. so, just because it was his birthday, i had some fun making some baseball themed cookies.



these are the ones i made for mr. brewers fan.



and these are the ones i made for the twins :o)

it was fun. it was fast. and it brought joy to everyone that went to the game. for the record, the twins ended up SWEEPING the brew crew, and then won 2/3 in milwaukee later in the summer. what up TWINS!!! (also, i am going to the last ever game in the metrodome in october, and i absolutely cannot wait!).

anyway, i promise i will get back to cooking soon. this was just a litte something to whet the appetite, because as i always say: life is uncertain, eat dessert first :o)
-kl

014: cinnamon apple streusel muffins

well, this is my last post for a while, given that i am moving to florida for the summer and will be without a kitchen. so i am leaving you with a delectable muffin recipe. yum! prep time is about 20 minutes, and bake time is about 25 mins. happy summer, everyone :o)




equipment:
2 mixing bowls
measuring cups and spoons
muffin tin


ingredients:
2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
2 t. cinnamon
2 eggs
1 c. sour cream
1/4 c. melted butter
1 and 1/2 c. applesauce (i used chunky applesauce with cinnamon)

streusel topping:
1/4 c. sugar
1 t. cinnamon
2 T. margerine


steps:
1.) preheat oven to 375 degrees. combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.

2.) combine all wet ingredients in 2nd mixing bowl.

3.) add dry mix to wet mix bit by bit and mix thoroughly. pour batter into greased muffin tins.

4.) make streusel topping by creaming ingredients together, and sprinkle over top of muffins in tin.

5.) bake at 375 for 20-25 mins, or until toothpick comes out clean.


time: prep time = 20 mins, bake time = 20-25 mins
difficulty: 2 (1 being easiest, 5 being hardest)
rating: 4.5 stars out of 5


enjoy!
-kl

013: dijon tarragon chicken

probably one of the fastest and easiest standby meals that i make. as always, this recipe is per chicken breast, given that i typically cook for one. the recipe can be expanded indefinitely to compensate for however many you are cooking for. cook time is about 15 minutes.





equipment:
frying pan
sauce pot (optional)
bowl
spoon
spatula


ingredients:
olive oil
1 [boneless, skinless] chicken breast, cut into strips
1/4 c. dijon mustard
1/4 c. mayonnaise
1 T. tarragon
couscous (optional)


steps:
1.) heat olive oil in frying pan. cut chicken breast into strips for more even cooking, and cook thoroughly.

2.) meanwhile, mix mustard, mayonnaise, and tarragon in a separate bowl. i like to serve this dish over couscous, so if you want, prepare couscous according to directions. otherwise i'm sure rice or pasta would be good as well, or even plain.

3.) when chicken is cooked, pour dijon mixture over it and only keep it on the burner until sauce is thoroughly heated.

4.) serve (as i said, i do it over couscous, and that is how it is pictured).


time: 15 minutes
difficulty: 1 (1 being easiest, 5 being hardest)
rating: ♦♦♦♦◊ (4 stars out of 5)
suggestions for variation: perhaps experiment with serving it over different things--couscous, pasta, rice, etc.


enjoy!
-kl

012: blueberry lemon bread with glaze

here's another bread recipe that was just a fun mix of flavors. yum! prep time was about half an hour and bake time is an hour.




equipment:
medium and large mixing bowl
standing mixer (though you can probably use a hand mixer or do it by hand)
measuring cups and spoons
cheese grater


ingredients:
3/4 c. softened butter (or margarine)
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c. lemon juice (i found that it is better to actually squeeze the lemon for at least half of the juice rather than something like realemon for the whole thing. i don't know why this makes a difference, but for some reason it seemed to...)
1/2 c. sour cream
1 T. lemon zest
1 t. vanilla
2 c. flour
1/2 T. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 and 1/2 c. dried blueberries (you can probably use frozen as well, but be sure that they are frozen when you fold them into the dough--don't let them thaw!)


steps:
1.) preheat the oven to 350 degrees. in a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with a standing mixer until it is fluffy.

2.) add eggs one at a time, mixing well between each one.

3.) add lemon juice, sour cream, zest, and vanilla until blended.

4.) in a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. add this to the wet ingredients a bit at a time until just mixed. fold in blueberries.

5.) put in greased loaf pan(s) and bake for 60 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.


glaze:
1 c. powdered sugar
1-2 T. lemon juice


mix together these two until it has the consistency of melted wax. poke holes in the top of the bread, and when loaf(ves) is/are cool, spoon the glaze over the top.


time: 30 mins prep time, 60 mins bake time
difficulty: 2 (1 being easiest, 5 being hardest)
rating: ♦♦♦♦1/2◊ (4.5 stars out of 5)


enjoy!
-kl

011: pineapple salsa

here is another salsa recipe for you, just in time for... i dunno what. spring parties, easter gatherings, baseball season openers, or just yummy eating. a sweeter version than your typical spicy salsa, this recipe is fantastic as a dip or filling. prep time was about 30 minutes, and sit time is at least 2 hours.




equipment:
cutting board
knife
gloves
medium bowl
measuring cups and spoons


ingredients:
1 and 1/2 c. cubed pineapple
1 jalapeño, seeded and cubed
1/2 c. red pepper, cubed
1/2 c. red onion, cubed
2-3 t. cilantro
2 t. lemon juice


steps:
1.) cube pineapple, jalapeño, pepper, and onion. if you've never cut a pineapple before, here are my suggestions for doing so. if you've never worked with jalapeños before, i have some tips for that, as well.

2.) combine all ingredients into a medium bowl and mix together.

3.) for best results, let it sit for at least 2 hours. serve.


time: 30 min prep time, 2 hour sit time
difficulty: 2 (1 being easiest, 5 being hardest)
rating: ♦♦♦1/2◊◊ (3.5 stars out of 5)
suggestions for serving: mess around with your pepper choices for different flavors.


enjoy!
-kl

010: swirly cake

so today is my roommate's birthday (happy birthday, rachel!!), and of course i had to make her some cake, and an awesome cake at that. so then i remembered that her sister-in-law made this crazy wicked cake that she was mooning over, and i decided to give it a try. so here it is. we like to call it rachel and the amazing technicolor clown cake. have fun!




equipment:
1 mixing bowl
twice as many bowls as colors of food coloring that you have
twice as many spoons as colors of food coloring that you have


ingredients:
white cake recipe (i used a boxed cake recipe for a 9x13" pan *NOTE: for better colors in your dye, use the egg white recipe instead of the whole egg recipe, as it eliminates the yellow from the yolk that might mess up your dye colors*)
white frosting recipe (i used a pre-made store-bought white frosting)
food coloring


steps:
1.) mix cake batter according to recipe. separate equal amounts into as many bowls as food coloring colors that you have (i had 4 colors, thus i quartered the batter into 4 bowls).

2.) mix different color into each bowl.

3.) spoon batters into cake pan. i know this sounds weird, but i promise that it will stay put and you won't have colors running into each other to make a non-chocolate brown cake (unless you mix them together yourself). be sure that the batters cover the surface of the cake pan at an even level. if not, add a color (either the same or different, which creates an awesome layering effect) over the top of the bottom layer. be sure to use all of the batter.

4.) bake according to recipe instructions. LET COOL COMPLETELY (this is important).

5.) if you're so inclined, do the same thing with your frosting as you did with your cake batter. i put the same color frosting as was the color of batter underneath just by mixing the frosting together with the food coloring and basically frosting by numbers using the colored cake surface as my guide. the colors thus went all the way through the slices.




time: according to recipe
difficulty: 1 (1 being easiest, 5 being hardest). not hard at all, just a touch tedious.
rating: fun!! (no star scale this week, as the recipe belongs to a major cake/baked goods manufacturer and came out of a box)
suggestions for variation: try writing something in the batter, or making other sweet designs and shapes rather than just random swirlings.


enjoy!
-kl

009: cranberry apple oatmeal cookies

how about something sweet? mmm cookies!! and all things considered, they are not terrible for you. prep time is about half an hour, and bake time is 10-12 minutes each sheet. yield is 30-36 cookies.




equipment:
medium and large mixing bowls
measuring cups and spoons
cookie sheets


ingredients:
1 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
3/4 t. cinnamon
1/4 c. applesauce (i used chunky applesauce with cinnamon in it)
2 T. canola oil
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1 and 1/3 c. dried oats (dry oatmeal)
3/4 c. dried cranberries (craisins)


steps:
1.) heat oven to 350 degrees. in medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

2.) in large bowl, mix applesauce, oil, brown sugar, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. add flour mixture to this and mix well.

3.) fold in oats and craisins until well blended.

4.) drop dough onto greased cookie sheets in teaspoon sized quantities. place them 2 inches apart on the sheet. bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees.

5.) let cool on sheet 2 minutes, then loosen and transfer to rack.


time: 30 minutes prep time, 10-12 minutes bake time
difficulty: 2 (1 being easiest, 5 being hardest)
rating: ♦♦♦♦◊ (4 stars out of 5)


enjoy!
-kl