Peach Mint Breakfast Shake

Yes, this shake is in a coffee mug thing because I have yet to buy real glasses. However, despite the fact that I don't have real glasses, I do have white and red and champagne glasses, in addition to 3 nalgene water bottles.

I went to the farmers' market after the early church service this morning and was inspired by all of the peaches and the overabundance of mint in my herb garden, so I made this for my roomie and me when I got home. I also picked up some organic, locally grown chicken thighs that she and I will find something to do with, even with our partially-destroyed kitchen (leaking pipes have rotted the wall where the stove and oven are hooked up).

Peach Mint Breakfast Shake

Serves 2 (not terribly hungry) people

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt

1/2 cup milk

2 peaches, pitted and sliced/chopped

2 sprigs of fresh spearmint leaves, chopped

Mix all ingredients together in a blender, enjoy!

Hint: I think a little bit of lime juice and maybe some ginger and/or coconut would be delicious in this. Or, instead of vanilla yogurt, substitute chocolate chip mint ice cream!

Chicken Enchilada Bake

Chicken Enchilada Bake

Serves 4-6 Hands-On Time: 15m Total Time: 45m

1 10 oz can green or red enchilada sauce

¼ cup heavy cream

4 8-inch flour tortillas

2 cups (8 ounces) grated Monterey Jack, plus ¼ cup for the top

1 3 ½- to 4-pound rotisserie chicken, shredded

½ small red onion, finely chopped

1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced*

1 cup salsa as a condiment

1 avocado, diced as a condiment

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves as a condiment

*Add corn, green and red peppers and/or leave out zucchini if desired.

Heat oven to 400° F.

In a small bowl, combine the enchilada sauce and cream. Spoon ¼ cup of the sauce mixture into the bottom of a shallow 2-quart casserole or 9-inch springform pan. Top with 1 tortilla and a third each of the cheese, chicken, onion, and zucchini. Repeat twice to form a total of 3 layers. Top with the remaining tortilla, sauce mixture, and cheese.

Cover loosely with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes more. Slice into wedges and serve with the salsa, avocado, and cilantro.

Favorite chocolate chip cookies

How did I neglect to post this fantastic recipe before now?

I was in search of something to ship to my new beau (he lives in different state) and thought of these cookies. They made it to him in sad shape, but he said they still tasted great -they are homemade chocolate chip cookies, after all.

These are a chewy, soft cookie, but they are sturdy enough to not fall apart upon first bite. Making each cookie with 3 tablespoons of dough can result in baking in shifts, but they are so good as a jumbo cookie that I cannot put the recipe up in any other way. If you insist on a smaller cookie, 2 tablespoons is as small as you should go.

And yes, they have more coconut than flour, but most people don't even notice the coconut.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2-½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2-⅔ cups flaked coconut

1 ½ cup (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips

5 ounces white candy coating, coarsely chopped, optional

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in the coconut and chips.

Shape 3 tablespoonfuls of dough into a ball; repeat with remaining dough.

Place balls 3 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 12-18 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

If you choose to use candy coating:

In a microwave, melt candy coating if desired; stir until smooth. Dip one end of cooled cookies in candy coating so that half of cookie is coated. Allow excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper; let stand until set.

Cottage Herb Bread

Getting up at 5am to be at work by 6 or 6:30am can be a pain, but knowing that I have planned a yummy breakfast definitely makes it easier. When smeared with locally produced goat cheese (generously shared with me by my roomie), this bread is definitely a motivator for getting up. I am a morning person though, so I cannot make any promises to those of you night owls (::cough:: my roommate who has to wake up to a blood-curdling scream as an alarm clock ::cough::).

Anyway, work is going well (the best fast food restaurant ever, Chick Fil A, though I think I am supposed to refer to it as "quick serve" and not "fast food.") I love the people I work with, they make the atmosphere and work ethic fantastic. I've never worked somewhere that people act exactly the same when the boss isn't around as when he is.

However nice CFA is, I am definitely looking forward to going to graduate school in August and buying the iPad2 that is pretty much required for the program (the school gives us a grant with which we can purchase the iPad.) I'll let you know how I like reading books and magazines and newspapers on it when I get it, since that will most likely be its primary function in my life. Wow, I am going to have an iPod, iPhone, Macbook Pro, and an iPod. Can I get any more Apple products in my life?

Cottage Herb Bread
By Martha Rose Shulman of NYTimes

2 teaspoons active dry yeast
¼ cup lukewarm water
½ teaspoon sugar
1 ½ cups low-fat or nonfat cottage cheese at room temperature, pressed through a sieve or pureed in a food processor or blender fitted with the steel blade until smooth
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon grated onion2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil¼ teaspoon baking soda¼ cup finely chopped dill
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
About 1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional for kneading

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in a large bowl and stir in the sugar. Let stand for five to ten minutes until creamy. Add the cottage cheese, egg, grated onion, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the baking soda and dill. Beat together well.

2. Add a cup of the whole wheat flour and the salt, and fold in. Add the remaining whole wheat flour, and fold in. Add enough of the all-purpose flour to make a dough that you can scrape onto a floured work surface. It will help to use a dough scraper, as the dough is sticky. Knead for 10 minutes, adding unbleached flour as necessary. The dough should be elastic and spring back when you press gently with a finger.

3. Oil a loaf pan with some of the remaining olive oil. Shape the dough into a loaf, and place in the pan with the seam side facing upward. Lightly brush the top with oil, then turn the loaf so that the seam side is down. Brush lightly again with olive oil. Spray or brush a piece of plastic wrap with oil, and place it, oiled side down, lightly over the pan. Cover with a damp kitchen towel, and place in a warm spot to rise until the dough reaches the edges of the pan, about one hour and 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees with a rack positioned in the middle.

4. Place the dough in the oven, and bake 45 minutes until it responds to tapping with a hollow sound. Remove from the pan, and cool on a rack.

Yield: One loaf, about 15 slices.

Advance preparation: Once cooled, wrap the bread well. It will keep for a few days and freezes well. But refrigerate the loaf after two days so it won't spoil.

Sunday Pork Roast

If you are at a loss when it comes to finding cook books that have recipes for real people who eat real food, I highly recommend looking into the Gooseberry Patch collection. Their cookbooks always have practical dishes that include recognizable ingredients and are fairly simple to put together. I honestly could see myself making almost every one of their recipes in my Family Dinners Gooseberry Patch cook book. (Hint: great gift for newlyweds with little experience in the kitchen).

My mom bought me a pork roast when she was up in Kentucky for my graduation and I have recently been trying to explore the world of wine, so a pork roast with white wine seemed like a great choice. I love my gas stove and oven and the kitchen is really beginning to come together. My roommate and I went out and bought an old baker's cabinet from 1950. It's in really good condition, is sturdy, and is light weight. Who knew that "sturdy" and "light weight" could coexist?

I have inherited my late grandparents' beautiful Ethan Allen dining room table.

Isn't the wood beautiful in this picture?

Sunday Pork Roast

From Gooseberry Patch

Serves 6-8

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 T dried rosemary

Salt and pepper to taste

2-lb boneless pork loin roast

2 T olive oil

1/2 large onion

½ cup white wine or chicken broth

Suggestion: Serve with mashed potatoes and roasted carrots, yum.

Crush garlic with rosemary, salt and pepper. Pierce pork with a sharp knife tip in several places and press half the garlic mixture into openings. Rub pork with remaining garlic mixture and olive oil. Place pork in a lightly greased 13x9 pan and place slices of onion around the roast.

Bake, uncovered, at 350F for one hour and 15 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 155F. Let stand, covered, 10 minutes or until thermometer registers 160F. Remove to a serving platter; slice and keep warm. Add wine or broth to pan, stirring to loosen browned bits. Serve pan drippings over pork.

First Real Meal in the new place

The past weekend was spent in a rush of family arriving, further unpacking of the house, graduation stuff, and yummy food (including a bit of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail). It was good to see my family and get my house organized, though it was a bit stressful to have people over, unpack, try to do normal household chores, and go to graduation events. Ah well, it was awesome and I can't complain one bit due to the graduation present I received from my parents: a new mac book pro! My old computer could not even support Skype, but this new one is crazy! It's so fast and sleek. Not really sure how to use it yet though.

Before my family left Kentucky, I made them my take on Giada's Chicken Carbonara. It went over very well. We were all tired from doing a bit of the Bourbon Trail and visiting some vineyards, but this meal came together easily and fairly quickly.

Chicken Carbonara

Adapted from Giada
5 servings

2 teaspoons olive oil3 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 cup freshly grated parmesan
6 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon dried basil
Salt
2/3 pound spaghetti
3 cups coarsely shredded chicken (from 1 roasted chicken)
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
2 teaspoons lemon zest

Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium heat. Add the pancetta and garlic and saute until it is brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Cool slightly.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cream, cheese, yolks, and basil.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the spaghetti and cook until it is just tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Drain.

Add the chicken to the pan with the pancetta and stir to combine. Next, add the spaghetti and the cream mixture and toss over medium-low heat until the chicken is heated through and the sauce coats the spaghetti thickly, about 4 minutes (do not boil or you might end up scrambling the eggs). Season the pasta, to taste, with pepper and salt if needed (the pancetta will likely add all the salt you need). Transfer the pasta to a large wide serving bowl. Sprinkle the walnuts and lemon zest over, and serve.

Rum Cupcakes!

Is there any better way to christen my first home and kitchen than by baking rum cupcakes?

I am sorry to have been gone for so long, but it's hard to cook when I don't have my own kitchen. I made some pretty dang good scrambled eggs, but nothing spectacular. Now that I am in my own place for the first time, I am ready to cook and bake with new-found enthusiasm!

Don't get me wrong, I love living on peanut butter smeared Oreos just as much as any other God-fearing American, but I am very excited to have a beautiful gas range and oven, as well as my own fridge and pantry and knives and *ta da!* a stand mixer! I finally bought a stand mixer this past weekend so that I could give my new kitchen a real welcome.

Back to the cupcakes: This recipes comes from a friend I knew in high school. They are absolutely fantastic. I love their dense but oh-so soft texture. The flavors of the rum and lime are such that you might not recognize them if you weren't told what they were, but once you know, they are definitely there (in a delicious way, of course!).

Personally, I like my cupcakes plain, no frosting, but for you frosting lovers, I am recommending either a simple vanilla or a coconut frosting. I went with vanilla today.

Rum Cupcakes

1/2 lb butter (2 sticks)

1/2 lb sugar

1/2 lb flour

5 eggs

1/3 cup of milk

1/2 tspn salt

3 tbsp lime juice

1 1/2 tspn of baking powder

1/2 tspn nutmeg (or more to taste)

1 tbsp of rum

1/2 tsp vanilla

Pre-heat oven to 325 and line desired size muffin tin with paper liners.

Melt the butter, then stir in the salt. stir in the sugar slowly, making sure it's getting mixed in well. Fold in the flour, alternating with the milk. Add the baking powder nutmeg, lime juice, rum, and vanilla, mix well to make sure it's not bumpy.

For mini cupcakes, bake 12-15 minutes. For cupcakes, approximately 25 minutes.

For a 9x13, double the batter and bake for 40-45 mins at 325 or until you stick a knife in the middle and it comes out. clean.

Vanilla Frosting
1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup shortening

2 teaspoons vanilla

4 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons milk

Cream butter and shortening and vanilla

Mix in powdered sugar a cup at a time

Mix in milk

Beat until light fluffy (it might take a good 3 or 4 minutes)

Witness the glory of my oven AND cupcakes, together!