June 2011

How I Come Up With This Stuff.

June 30, 2011 · 65 comments

This is easily the second most asked question I receive: how do you come up with this stuff?

 

Well… it’s not like it’s a big secret.

1. I don’t really think about anything other than food. Except for shoes. And what I will have for dessert tonight. Wait. Is dessert food?

2. I have no life.

 

Okay really… here is an example of how I came up with the watermelon mint soda floats posted today. This is nearly verbatim from my head.

 

The place: my mind.

The time: some point last week.

 

I totally forgot about those nectarine mint milkshakes I made a few months ago. That was so good. I have to make another this weekend.

Wait… but maybe I’ll use watermelon because then I can post it on the blog.

Yessss… watermelon and mint. Watermelon mint milkshakes!

Ugh. Do I really have to wait until this weekend? I want one now.

But Jess… you just ate one of those Magnum ice cream bars that your cousin has been telling you about. Milkshake can wait. Go eat a salad.

Oh and let’s be real… you’ve eaten TWO of those Magnum ice cream bars. Wait until the weekend.

 

…days pass…

 

You know, watermelon mint milkshakes sound kind of boring. They sound really good, but you already did nectarine mint milkshakes. It’s too similar. You don’t like to do similar recipes like that.

Crap. Now how am I going to make a drink with watermelon and mint? No mojitos, everyone is doing those.

But I’d really like to drink a mojito. And I really want to find some of that coconut La Croix that we had at the beach even though I tend to despise carbonated beverages.

Wait… La Croix! Maybe I can blend the watermelon and mint with La Croix… and add ice cream?!? Smoothie??

I should probably do unflavored bubbly water first though… try the flavored later, give the readers the option.

Yes. Floats. I like floats. Hellllo… Hot fudge root beer floats anyone? Man I hope this works.

Uh oh… but blending the water will make it lose some carbonation. I learned that when I made the beer marshmallows.

Oh well. Try it anyway. See what happens.

And I should probably strain the watermelon stuff. Don’t want to suck seeds through the straw.

Sweet. Do I really still have to wait until the weekend?

No. Now you have to wait until NEXT week because you just ate the third and final Magnum bar. Go do some sprints.

And that my friends… is how I come up with recipes. 98% of the time that is how it happens. Nothin’ special. If it is inspired by/adapted from/stolen, I tell you in my posts. So if you don’t see that note, assume I’ve been talking to myself like a crazy person for the last 8 days.

 

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Fresh Mint and Watermelon Soda Floats.

June 30, 2011 · 146 comments

I’ve been playing single lady since Sunday.

Really… I find this quite lovely.

 

It means I blast the Jersey Boys soundtrack and watch 6 episodes of Felicity in a row. It means I survive on things for dinner that don’t contain giant slabs of meat. Most importantly, it means that I get the entire bed to myself which makes me consider spending the rest of my life as a spinster with 1000 thread count sheets. Ah… comfy.

It also means I drink things like this that look fancy but aren’t really fancy at all for lunch.

In case you were wondering, lunch is my new favorite meal.

Wowza. It should be yours too.

 

I know. I KNOW. It probably appears that I’ve lost my marbles. Mint + watermelon + bubbles + ice cream? It just works I tell you. And mint is like… technically a vegetable right?! I mean, what else would it be? So this is really a fruit and veggie milkshake.

I love when life makes sense.

Coming home to this on a hot day… it can’t be beat. You should feed it to your friends after a sweaty day on the beach. Who cares if they aren’t hungry. More importantly… what does it feel like to not be hungry? Your family too, after a sweaty day on the playground. Maybe they’ll even cook for you. Or do chores or something? If you can’t find anything for them to do send them my way. Cleaning gives me the heebie jeebies and this place could use some mopping.

Holy refreshing Batman. Give it a [literal] whirl and you’ll be cooler than the other side of the pillow.

Fresh Mint and Watermelon Soda Floats

serves 2

2 1/2 cups fresh watermelon chunks (large seeds removed, the small white ones are fine)

12-15 fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped

12 ounces club soda or carbonated water of choice

vanilla ice cream

In a blender, combine the watermelon, mint and water. Blend and pulse quickly, just until watermelon has broken down – this should only take about 30-60 seconds or so. The blending will “de-carbonate” the water a bit, but it should still have some fizz. Pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl, glass or measuring cup in order to remove the seeds. Fill two glasses with vanilla ice cream and pour watermelon soda over top. Garnish with additional fresh mint.

Note: Haven’t tried it yet, but I think that this would also be great with some flavored carbonated waters, such as lime or coconut La Croix. 

Slurp.

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I-Like-Cupcakes Circuit

June 29, 2011 · 120 comments

See this cupcake?

You’re gonna want one. Or seven.

This is what I did on Monday. Then I promptly went home and coughed up a lung.

 

to warm up: 10 minutes of cardio

 

15 pushups

20 alternating lunges (no added weight)

15 squats with an overhead dumbbell press

10 squat jumps (no weight)

10 pushups

5 intense minutes on the elliptical

10 pushups

20 alternating side lunges with weight

10 burpees

10 step ups with weight (5 each leg)

15 triceps dips

5 minutes of 30-second treadmill intervals

20 walking lunges with weight

10 pushups

60 second plank

30 crunches

30 second plank

30 reverse crunches

60 second plank

5 minutes of 30-second treadmill intervals

REPEAT 2 MORE TIMES

LAY DOWN AND CRY

 

 

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Greek Grilled Chicken Salad.

Greek Grilled Chicken Salad serves 2-4 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 3/4 cup chopped tomato 1/3 cup chopped red onion 3/4 cup chopped cucumber 1/4 cup feta (I used crazy feta, you can use crumbled) for chicken marinade: 1/4 cup olive oil 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon lemon zest 2 garlic cloves, minced salt & pepper for quick tzatziki 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt 1 teaspoon olive oil 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice 1 garlic clove, minced 2 tablespoons chopped cucumber 1 teaspoon fresh dill salt and pepper, if desired 30 minutes to 2 hours before servings, season chicken with salt and pepper. Place in a ziplock bag or baking dish and cover with the marinade ingredients (oil, lemon, zest, garlic) and marinate. While chicken is marinating, combine the tzatziki ingredients (yogurt, oil, lemon, cucumber, garlic and dill) in a bowl and mix. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside or back in the fridge until ready to use. Once chicken is ready to cook, heat the grill (or a grill pan) to medium-high heat and grill chicken about 5-6 minutes per side. Set aside and let cool, then cut into chunks. In a large bowl, combine cucumber, tomato, onion and [...]

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Tuesday Things.

1. I dropped a full container of fresh mozzarella pearls on the kitchen floor today, not once, but twice. Don’t worry. I still ate them. 2. Mr. How Sweet made some pancakes on Sunday morning, which happened to be one of the first times my appetite returned. Whole wheat pancakes with dark chocolate chips and bursting blueberries. Tasty. Oh. And he COOKED THEM IN BACON GREASE. Without any ideas from me.   3. Sinus Infection 2011 has now turned into Hacking Cough 2011 that keeps me up all night. I am so grateful for E! and their replays of Sex and the City from 2-4AM. Because I really need to watch it for the billionth time, especially with everything bleeped out.   4. I went to the gym at a really weird time yesterday and it just so happened that no one was there. Good thing too, with all the hacking and nose blowing and attractive things that I always love about sick people in the gym. I made up a new circuit on impulse that I might share tomorrow. Then I came home and cried. And coughed for 38 straight minutes.   5. I made these oatmeal cookies on [...]

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Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting.

Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes makes 12 cupcakes 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup butter 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups flour 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup chopped strawberries 1-2 tablespoons milk, if needed (I did not need/use this) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat butter and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Add flour, baking powder and salt with the mixer on low speed, then gradually increase speed. Add in chopped strawberries and beat on medium speed until the strawberries break down – about 1-2 minutes. At this point, the strawberries most likely have enough liquid that you don’t need to add any milk to the batter. If you batter seems dry and is not like typical cake batter (see 1st picture above), then add milk 1-2 tablespoons at a time, beating until incorporated. Pour into cupcake liners, filling 2/3 of the way full, and bake for 20-25 minutes or until cake is set. Let cool, then frost. Note: I would not suggest using frozen strawberries because of the high water content. If you must, make sure they [...]

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Clams Casino Pizza.

Clams Casino Pizza makes 1 pizza dough: 1 cup whole wheat flour (I used whole wheat pastry) 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 packet of active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons) 1 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup warm water In a large bowl, add warm water, yeast, honey and olive oil. Stir and let sit until yeast gets foamy, about 15 minutes or so. Once yeast is foamy, add 1 cup all-purpose and 1 cup wheat flour and salt to the bowl. Mix well until a ball forms, then continue to mix with your hands until a ball forms. If dough is too sticky, add remaining flour. If too dry, add water 1 teaspoon at a time. Flour your counter and knead dough 20-30 times with your hands. (I also have used an electric mixer to make this dough.) Lightly oil the same bowl, add the dough back in, cover with a towel and set in a warm place to rise for 1 1/2-2 hours. Once dough is ready, flour your counter again and use a rolling pin (or a bottle of wine!) to roll dough in to a circle, or shape of your [...]

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Since It’s Sunday.

You should have cake for breakfast. Oh, and a side of this wouldn’t hurt either. Happy Sunday!

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Breakfast.

While at the beach, I think the majority of my family became obsessed with breakfast sandwiches. On top of our daily ice cream cone after a big bike ride, many ended up getting the most amazing breakfast sandwiches from a little spot on the boardwalk. They were the best thing ever. I seriouslycouldn’twait to come home and make fun breakfast sandwiches. One of the favorite combos was eggs grilled with peppers and spinach, topped with cheese and paired with sausage or bacon on an everything bagel. I looooove everything bagels. I want to marry them. Since I’m still battling Sinus Infection 2011 that has stripped me of 3 of the 5 senses, I made this kinda-boring-but-still-delicious breakfast sandwich for my husband this morning. I can’t wait until I can taste things again and make my ideal breakfast sandwich: grilled eggs with caramelized onions and mushrooms, maybe even some spinach, and gouda or gruyere on an everything bagel. WANT. What’s your ideal breakfast sandwich?

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A Current Obsession.

I love these. These little mochi ice cream bites are the best thing ever. I’m pretty sure you can find them in most grocery stores. And each flavor is 100 calories or less! Perfect for a sweet snack or dessert. I’m in lust.

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