Eh, What's Up Doc?

Hello Sweets,

You've made it to the middle of the week :) and now I'm sure most of you are counting down the days until the weekend right?  I'm honestly excited for tomorrow, and I am sure you are thinking to yourself what's so special about Thursday?  Well firstly it's the night a new episode of The Big Bang Theory is shown, secondly when I'm in Texas on a Thursday it's steak night (YUM!!) and when it's Nathan behind the grill it's guaranteed deliciousness, and thirdly I'm getting a hair cut!!  I know normally a hair cut is nothing big, but it's been well over a year since I've had a haircut and I am so over due that I am trusting the good reviewers on Yelp to help me find a fantastic salon here in Texas, and most girls will tell you trying a hairdresser you know nothing about can be kind of scary, so send positive vibes for me tomorrow :)

Any who, you guys don't come here for tales of new hair adventures, but you do come for good eats and that is exactly what I have for you today, I'm actually spoiling you with two recipes instead of just one (I love you guys that much!).  I'm not sure if you remember but a few weeks ago I was talking about doing some posts about revamped food from our childhood, only problem was I never got around to it :(   But today I am bringing you a recipe that I used to have all the time as a child, but with a sweet little twist to it.  I even brought it to a luncheon I had that same week and needless to say there wasn't anything to bring home, but the best part was no one could put their finger on what the mystery ingredient and when I told them they were pleasantly surprised.  Now enough talk, lets get you in the kitchen and creating with another great recipe inspired by the wonderful app AllRecipes (seriously if you haven't gotten it yet you really should).

Carrot Pineapple Cake

Ingredients

 2C all-purpose flour

2Tsp baking soda

1 Tsp baking powder

1 Tsp salt

2Tsp cinnamon

1 3/4C sugar

1C extra virgin olive oil

3 eggs

1 Tsp vanilla extract

2C carrots, shredded

1C coconut, shredded

1C pecans, chopped

1C pineapple, crushed and drained

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to  350F.  Grease a 9"x13" baking pan and set aside.  Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

 2)  Make a well in the center and add sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla.  Mix with wooden spoon until smooth.

the well was over"whelmed" lol

3)  Stir in carrots, coconut, pecans, and pineapple.

4)   Pour into baking pan and bake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Don't panic as the center will sink slightly.  Allow to cool before icing.

Cinnamon Coconut Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients

8oz cream cheese

1/4C butter, softened

2C powdered sugar

1 Tsp cinnamon

dash of allspice

1/2C pecans, chopped

cinnamon and allspice not pictured :/

Directions:

1)  Cream the butter and cream cheese together until smooth.  Add the spices and icing sugar and beat until creamy.

2)  Ice the cake and top with the chopped pecans.

Forgot to take a pic and only this tiny piece remained

This is very moist and has a wonderful sweetness that is created by the pineapple.  I like carrot cake, but I don't think regular carrot cake will cut it anymore, lol.  This is definitely a keeper and will be made again.  If you decided to make it you can change (or even omit) the nuts, and play with the spices a little I didn't follow the measurements to a t, but that is just how I bake :)

So there you have it, the final recipe that was waiting to be published, and it's good timing too, because when I'm here in Texas I do nothing but spoil my sweetheart with sweet and delectable treats ;)  Tomorrow I think I will blog about our dinner, he is making the steak and I am in charge of the veggies so it is a joint meal, and maybe I can even get him to write a little about his marinating techniques if we're lucky!  And be on the lookout for a delicious chocolate peanut butter duet that is sure to be a hit, I say that because as soon as I saw the idea I had to make it a reality.  Until next time............

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

Coo Coo for Coconut!

Hello Sweets!

I hope everyone got through their manic Monday without a scrape :)  I got some wonderful news today, my grandfather who is from Malta (small country off the coast of Sicily, off the coast of Italy), told me that my grandmother has requested that he makes some of his famous pastizzis.  For those you who aren't aware of what they are, they are a savory appetizer type pastry filled with either ricotta cheese or meat with peas, and I LOVE them!!!  Now not only is he going to make them from scratch (dough included), but he is going to teach me how to also :D EEEKKK, which also means my grandfather is going to make his blog debut (he won't know what that is which makes it even cuter).

So as I told you all yesterday I had this fresh coconut and didn't know what to do with it, but alas my lovely roomie Tereza suggested that I make some yummy macaroons :)  This was my first attempt at them and I can confidently say that it was yet another success, I wasn't all to worried about them but with every new recipe you try there is that little voice that tells you to watch them diligently just in case, and this was no different.  Now let me tell you one thing about my crazy little coconut, shaving the meat off is no easy task, it probably took me about an hour and a half, but as we enjoy our little tastes of heaven macaroons it was well worth the effort.  Now lets get to the yummy recipe why don't we :)

Fresh Coconut Macaroons (via All Recipe)

Ingredients

1 1/2C fresh coconut

1/3C soft brown sugar

2Tbs whole wheat flour

1 pinch salt

2 egg whites

1/2Tsp vanilla

Directions:

1)  Mix the freshly grated coconut, sugar, flour, and salt.

2)  Mix the egg whites with the vanilla (no need to beat), then add to mix.

3)  Drop heaped teaspoons of the mix onto a non stick pan.  Bake at 325F for 22-24 minutes or until lightly browned.

Makes 9-12 macaroons, and don't forget to enjoy these yummy delights :)

Now for those of you who don't know how I got into the blogging world, it was the lovely Miss Sarah over at My (mostly) Healthy Life.  She blogs about fitness, health, paleo food, and fashion among other things.  She does these fun giveaways for different things, I won some yummy allergen free mixes recently from her and the lovies at Allergic Solutions, and now she has partnered up with Push Pump Progress to do a Frosty Fitness Challenge.  For the next five weeks there will be a different goal each week, with fabulous prizes for the winners and some other achievement acknowledgements.  This weeks goal is to run (or walk in my case) as close to 20kms as possible, now the important thing is to have proof pictures so they can see your progress and I am going to share my progress with all of you.  Now I have to listen to my body, which is why there are three pictures of distances, but none the less I am going to give it a try :)

I'm proud of my 2.63 miles

I encourage all of you to join in on the challenge, it's always easier to do a challenge with friends :)  Until next time.........

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxoxo

A meal to cure my home sickness :)

Hello Sweets,

Well sadly it is Sunday night, and that means the weekend is over :(  Last night I went to see the movie "Flight" with Denzel Washington by myself, and I must say the movie was fantastic, and seeing the movie by myself was quite empowering.  I never thought I would be comfortable seeing a movie by myself, but Nathan encouraged me to give it a shot, and I'm glad I did (he is usually right lol).

In yesterdays post, I talked about how I was thinking of maybe doing a biscuit recipe, and then after I posted it, my roomie Tereza told me she had bought some steaks for me to cook for her son and I (she prefers chicken over red meat).  So I decided to include the steak in my biscuit post, and it sort of worked out for the best, because as I am sitting here typing, I'm in my Texas Longhorn sweatshirt and slippers being homesick, and yes I think of Texas as my real home, because that is where I am most comfortable.  So for dinner tonight I baked some fresh southern inspired biscuits to go with my yummy steak and baked potato.  I was more excited than normal to make steak for John (Tereza's son), because this time he was willing to try it with a little pink in the middle (normally had to be thoroughly cooked).  I am very proud to announce that not only did he like the "medium" cooked meat, but I didn't scrape off the seasoning, and I didn't hear a peep out of him, other then to say he liked it and thank you.  Nothing gives me more pride then when a child likes what I make, they are some of the hardest taste buds to please :)  Now on to my southern meal that helped with my homesickness.

Southern Biscuits(courtesy of my Aunt Jan)

Ingredients

2 1/4C All-purpose flour

3/4Tsp Salt

1Tsp Sugar

4Tsp Baking powder

1/3C Butter, very cold

1C Milk, very cold

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 450F.  Place flour, salt, and baking powder into a mixing bowl and combine.

2)  Cut butter into small pieces (pea size), add to mixture and blend with a fork, pushing into the butter pieces.

3)  Add the cold milk, toss together gently until it is barely mixed.

see the butter chunks

4)  As soon as the dough starts to hold together, place it onto a lightly floured counter.  Gently "knead" the dough a few time until it is a cohesive ball.

pre-kneading

5)  Roll the dough into a rectangle 1/2-3/4" thick, all depends on how tall you like your biscuits.  Cut into 2" circles, I used a drinking glass and twist when applying pressure to severe from the dough.  Place on a greased cookie sheet.

the kneading breaks the butter down to even smaller pieces

6)  Bake for 8-10 minutes.  Butter and eat while warm, and enjoy!

a house that smells like fresh biscuits, so good

Canuckette's Steak Marinade

Ingredients

1 can of Cola

Salt

Pepper

Garlic powder (use fresh if you have it)

Red Chili flakes

Your favorite cut of steak

Directions:

1)  Pierce the meat with a fork to allow the marinade to really soak into the meat.  Add the cola first as to not wash the spices off, then add your seasonings to your pallets preference.  Do this on both sides, then top up the cola so the meat is almost completely immersed in liquid.

2)  Place in the fridge overnight to get a really juicy piece of meat, or very least a couple of hours.

3)  Preheat your oven to 350F on broil, place the excess liquid in the bottom half of the broiler pan along with some water.  Place in the oven for about 15 minutes (depending on your cut/cooking preference).  

4)  Remove and serve with your favorite side dish, and most importantly enjoy!

So yummy with my fresh baked biscuit

So my roomie brought me home a fresh coconut today from the grocery store, and I am not sure what I want to make with the meat but I did enjoy a small glass of coconut water, mmmm!  

haven't had a fresh coconut in a while

So while I take tonight to research a new yummy recipe I decided to do the hard work of getting the meat out of the hard shell, and found an amazing and super easy way to get it out :D  First I hammered a nail into the "finger" grooves to remove the juice.  This is the softest part of the coconut so if you want the juice, this is the place to go.  Then I wrapped the coconut in a kitchen towel and took a hammer to it out back to break it open, I then placed it into a pot and boiled it for 5-10 minutes.

my coconut bath

This allowed the husk to slowly start to pull away, then you soak it in cold water for about 5-10 minutes.  Then all you need to do is pry the meat off by wedging a butter knife between the shell and the meat, and tada!! it just pops off super easy :)

So proud of myself

Now all that's left to do is figure out what to do with it, and I'm not going to lie, I am very excited to do something new and out of my comfort zone.  Until next time.........

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

This pirate isn't gettin' scurvy!! ARRRGH :p

Hello Sweets,

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend, and for all my adult readers, I hope you all had some Halloween fun out!  Did you do anything fun for Halloween?  What did you choose to go out as?  I would love to hear all about your fun Halloween adventures as it is one of my favorite time of the year :)

Nathan and his friend Dave took me out to a sports bar named Sneaky Pete's, for a couple of hours to have a fun night of Halloween debauchery.  Now this place was perfect for me, because my health is so unpredictable I require an environment that is not too loud, or crowded, and definitely smoke free, which this place met all of those.  Now I have never, and I mean never, been part of a couple that has matching costumes, but I've always wanted to.  Since I have the most amazing boyfriend, he said that he would be on board!  Needless to say, I was super excited, and immediately started thinking of what we could be.  In a close second was being ghost busters, but as you can tell by the post title, we settled on pirates!  The next crucial step was finding the perfect costumes.  Now Nathan and his family LOVE the Pirates of the Caribbean movie series, so he settled on "Black Beard", except instead of a beard he had scruff, and I think he looked great!  Then for me, we located a cute little female pirate costume with a bustier that had boning in it (something I've always wanted to wear), and even a cute little pirate hat!  So we got all dressed up; the pirate couple, and Nathan's friend Dave, dressed as Fred Flintstone (he made it himself, and looked amazing!), and headed out for a nice evening of friends, laughter, and maybe even a little singing :p

Sorry for the self photo, but I just love my tiny pirate hat and giant eyelashes

Dave aka Fred Flintstone 

Awe aren't we cute :)

All in all it was a great night, even health wise (talk about good luck).  Dave and I even had the honor of being guest singers for the band!  Even if Dave got "Whiskey mic" lol, as he put it (greatest line of the night), when he forgot the lyrics to 'Ice Ice Baby'! 

We had a blast

Since we had a great night, I decided today I would try making Nathans absolute favorite dessert, Coconut Meringue pie (via www.southernplate.com).  Now for those of you who do bake, we all know meringue is one of the most difficult types of pie, as the meringue is very fickle.  Needless to say I put a lot of pressure on myself, and I am sure it had a lot to do with the fact that both Nathan's mother, and grandmother had tried but not been successful .  Ekkk no pressure right?!? Lol well I dove in head first, like every baking excursion, and went in with the feeling that it would turn out fantastically.  Well I am happy to announce, dadaduh, that it was a success :)  Now I will share this delicious recipe so you can try it too!

Old Fashion Coconut Meringue Pie (via southernplate.com)

Ingredients for coconut filling

1/2C white sugar

1/3C flour

1?2C milk

1/2C butter, melted

1/2Tsp salt

1/2Tsp vanilla

3 eggs, separated (yolks for this half)

1C sweetened coconut flakes, heaping

9" pie shell, baked (I opted to use a pre-made graham crust)

Ingredients for meringue

3 egg whites

1/4C white sugar

Directions:

Pie filling

1)  Mix flour, sugar, salt, butter, milk, and egg yolks in a large sauce pan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wire whisk until thick, then remove from heat.

before and after 

2)  Stir in vanilla and coconut.  Pour into pie shell, top with meringue.

smells delicious

Directions:

For the meringue

1)  Whip egg whites until foamy, then add the sugar.  Continue beating on high speed until soft peaks form.

foamy egg whites 

now add the sugar 

soft peaks :)

2)  Pour on top of the pie and spread to edges to seal, sprinkle additional coconut on top.

3)  Bake at 350F for 10 minutes, or until top is golden.  Refrigerate until completely cold before serving, if not it will be runny.

Mmmmm

Now since I was a pirate last night, in a funny link to my blog I decided to make a "Passion fruit sweet tea", as to not get scurvy lol!

Passion Fruit Sweet Tea

Ingredients

1/2C sugar

2Tbs honey

1 bag of Tazo Passion fruit Iced Tea

1 lemon, sliced

Directions:

1)  Bring 1Qrt of water to boil with the tea bag in the entire time.

Color releases instantly :)

2)  While the tea is boiling add the sugar and honey to an empty pitcher.

3)  Add the tea and stir to dissolve all the sugar and honey.  Then add the ice, allow to fully melt, then top with lemon slices and refrigerate for at least an hour.

so pretty and fragrant

Serve the sweet tea in a mason jar mug with a slice of the coconut meringue and send your taste buds to flavor heaven.  

Looks delicious doesn't it?

Have you tried to make something you weren't sure if it would turn out like it should?  Was it a hit or a miss?  Do you like baking someone's favorite dishes, or maybe something just for you?  I would love to hear from you, whether it's fun Halloween tricks or treats, or the recipe you're the most proud of accomplishing :)  Until next time.....

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo