Healthy Dinner in a Flash!

Today was a great day! I had my kiddos watch Jamie Oliver’s new show on ABC called Food Revolution. They all seemed really interested and intrigued by the material especially since most of them eat lunches that are provided by the school everyday. My other class is working on an international foods project that I cannot wait to see!

After work with my prepared shopping list that I made the night before for the whole week (I know! Planning ahead who would of thought?). On the menu for the week: vegetarian tacos, pork chops with homemade applesauce and shrimp and mango kabobs. Once I finally got home my roommate Sara Jane and I walked 2 of the dogs since it was so nice outside. After getting back from our brisk walk I started to prepare dinner. The recipe to start off the week with was from my new Real Simple magazine (which I wait for patiently every month). I decided to make vegetarian tacos first. The recipe uses tofu, which is used in place of meat and still contains high amounts of protein. This recipe was so fast and easy and required only 1 skillet (which I love since that requires less work on my end). Since I prepared this so fast I only remembered to take a couple photos while I was cooking.

Vegetarian Tacos

Recipe adapted from Real Simple

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 14-ounce package extra-firm tofu—drained, patted dry, and crumbled
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 10-ounce package frozen corn (2 cups), thawed
• 1 5-ounce package baby spinach (about 6 loosely packed cups)
• 8 small flour tortillas, warmed
• 3/4 cup crumbled fresh goat cheese (3 ounces)
• 3/4 cup store-bought refrigerated salsa (I am in looooove with a mango salsa in the produce isle at my grocery store)
  

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tofu, chili powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes.
2. Add the corn and cook, tossing, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Add the spinach and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper and toss until wilted.
3. Fill the tortillas with the tofu mixture, cheese, and salsa.

*I used feta cheese in place of goat cheese. Diced peppers and black beans would also be a great addition to the recipe.

I promise that there will be pictures of my next meal! This might be kind of bad but sometimes I pick out recipes on how they look in a picture. I guess I just like visuals sometimes.

Talk to you soon!

Brunch Makes Everything Better

For the weekend Graham and I drove to St. Louis. It just so happened to be one of the nicest weekends we have had in a very long time. We started the weekend off by taking the touristy trip to the St. Louis Arch. First off we sat on the steps overlooking the Missouri river, since it was such a beautiful day out and watched all of the horse drawn carriages. Although we did not take the tour up into the arch we did walk around the great historical museum there and I bought some pecan infused maple syrup. I have been waiting for the perfect chance to make some whole-wheat pancakes to top off with my new maple syrup, but that is for another time and another blog entry…

Well any way’s after soaking up the sun for a couple hours under the arch we decided to walk around Laclede’s Landing and grab a burger, was not to impressed with the burger but was with the great architecture. We ended up grabbing a pizza later that night in the Delmar Loop at Pi Pizzeria (which I am obsessed with and think about frequently) and listening to a great New Orleans style band at the Grahamophone.

To end a great weekend off we rode Graham’s motorcycle over to the original Sashia’s Wine Bar in Clayton for brunch where Graham’s friend D.J works. Sashia’s is an extremely cute little restaurant and wine bar with great outdoor seating with flowers on each table. The ceiling is made from wine boxes and one of the doors is covered completely in corks which is a little quirky but i love it. It sits across from the Concordia Seminary which is extremely beautiful anytime of the year, even if there were no leaves on the trees…This was my second time to Sashia’s and I had to get the same thing as I had before, a savory green apple and Brie crepe that just melts in your mouth. The tanginess from the apples and the creaminess from the Brie is a great combination. I have started an obsession with crepes and this is at the top of my list! To top my meal off I had a mini can of Sophia Blanc de Blanc which is a sparkling wine that you can either pour into a glass or use the expandable straw that came with it, which I choose to do. Graham chose a delicious eggs St. Louis Benedict that came with grapes, oranges, and bacon. I am glad that he is able to eat a lot most of the time, so I can steal a bite. Overall it was a great morning/afternoon that started to get me excited for spring! The picture on the bottom is from the lawn of the seminary of springs first blooms that are still covered with falls leaves.

I will have to say that anytime I go to brunch that it always seems to make my day better!

Pretzel Bites - Gluttony Through Frugality

I love a good bargain. I first started cutting coupons because I was cheap and convinced I could buy $100 worth of groceries for $20. Plus it was soothing drinking coffee with the Sunday paper, littering my couch with clippings. While I am still cheap, I am not diligent enough to keep up with all of the ad matching, extra newspaper buying, and holding up the line arguing with the cashiers.

So when I was strolling through Target, and they had spiral cut hams on sale for under a dollar a pound, and I just happened to have a corresponding coupon, I jumped. I finally had my chance for extreme frugality, a sale and a coupon. I bought ten pounds of ham, albeit dirt cheap, for just two people to eat. That's stupid ridiculous. We had ham plain, ham arancini, and these amazing pretzel bites stuffed with ham and cheddar. I searched for recipes including ham and stumbled across these at Ezra Pound Cake. What really sold me was the fact that she said they freeze well and I LOVE FREEZING THINGS!

Freezing aside, these are delicious! They were a great recipe for me to have Austin involved! We had a mini assembly line, because there are a lot of steps involved. They were worth it because 1.) they were delicious, buttery, and stuffed with ham, 2.) they make a ton (making it worth all your time), and 3.) more exposure working with yeast, which only I may need.

Make these, freeze them, and enjoy!

(found through Ezra Pound Cake which was originally found at Gourmet)

Ham and Cheddar Pretzel Bites with Jalapeno Mustard

Makes 4 dozen

I found these delightful on their own and didn't bother with the jalapeno mustard sauce. I just used what I had on hand. Eventually I may expand on trying different stuffings, any ideas?

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon packed light brown sugar, divided

1/4 cup warm water (110–115ºF)

1 cup warm milk (110–115ºF)

2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup finely chopped ham, divided

1/3 cup finely chopped sharp Cheddar, divided

6 cups water

4 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 cup Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons finely chopped seeded fresh jalapeños

1 tablespoon mild honey

1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

1 to 2 tablespoons pretzel salt or coarse salt

Stir together yeast, 1 tsp brown sugar, and warm water in a large bowl and let stand until foamy, 5 to 8 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.) In a separate bowl, stir remaining 2 Tbsp brown sugar into warm milk until dissolved.

Add 2 1/2 cups flour and milk mixture to yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until a soft dough forms, adding up to 1/2 cup additional flour, a little at a time, if necessary. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead a few times to form a smooth ball. Transfer to a clean bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled and bubbles appear on surface, about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 400ºF with rack in upper and lower thirds. Line two 4-sided sheet pans with parchment paper.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut into 4 equal pieces. Lightly dust your hands with flour, then gently roll and stretch 1 piece of dough to form a 12-inch-long rope.

Flatten dough and arrange so a long side is nearest you, then roll out to a roughly 12- by 4-inch rectangle with a lightly floured rolling pin. Gently press one fourth of ham and cheese into lower third of rectangle, leaving a 1/2-inch border along bottom edge. Stretch bottom edge of dough up over filling and press tightly to seal, then roll up as tightly as possible to form a rope.

Cut rope into 12 pieces and transfer to a sheet pan. Make 3 more ropes with remaining dough, ham, and cheese and cut into pieces, transferring to sheet pans. Let rest at room temperature, uncovered, 30 minutes (dough will rise slightly).

Bring water (6 cups) to a boil in a 4- to 5-qt saucepan. Reduce heat and stir in baking soda. Cook pretzel bites in batches in gently simmering water, turning once, until slightly puffed, about 20 seconds. Transfer with a slotted spoon to sheet pans.

Bake until puffed and golden-brown, about 15 minutes (cheese may ooze slightly).

Meanwhile, stir together mustard, jalapeños, and honey.

Brush warm pretzel bites with butter and sprinkle with pretzel salt. Serve warm or at room temperature with jalapeño mustard for dipping.

Notes:

Jalapeño mustard can be made 1 day ahead and chilled.

Pretzels can be made 2 weeks ahead and frozen (once cooled). Thaw 30 minutes, then reheat in a 400°F oven about 10 minutes.

Firecracker Shrimp and Kung Pao Chicken

(Firecracker Shrimp with Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce)

Moving over 700 miles away from my hometown has made me keen on becoming a good host. This is arrogant in assuming that all my friends and family will want to visit. But after moving in October 2009, my mom has been down over Christmas, Stephanie and Graham just came over Valentine's day, and I'm expecting Austin's family, my sister, and a few others in March. All in all, I am expecting to become quite proficient in cleaning in a hurry and cooking meals for a small crowd.

(All prepped and ready to go)

The last special occasion meal I made was with Stephanie for the Chinese New Year. We eventually decided to make two recipes: Firecracker Shrimp from Steamy Kitchen and Kung Pao Chicken from Rasa Malaysia. There were a few tweaks made to fit what I had available: red wine vinegar instead of black, eliminated the Shaoxing wine, using ambiguous dried red chiles, eggroll wrappers instead of spring roll wrappers, and I added a little Garlic-Chili Sriacha to the sweet chile sauce for a little extra kick. The only noticeable ingredient I would change in the future is using spring roll wrappers. The eggroll wrappers didn't have the delectable crispy crunch that a freshly fried spring roll has.

(Kung Pao Chicken)

To add to your next Chinese New Year's ambiance, sit on the floor! My coffee table was a smidge too tall to sit comfortably cross-legged on a pillow, which resulted in an uncomfortable struggle to stay up on our knees.

(My coffee table after Firecracker Shrimp appetizers)

The recipes for Firecracker Shrimp can be found here and Kung Pao Chicken here.

bloom ahoy!

Hello out there!

In Bloom is the blog of two friends that love food, reckless thrifting, and trying to sew. While this blog is intended to be primarily food based, neither want to be restricted on content. Topics such as amazing deals, recent craft successes (and failures), and pets will inevitably pop up. In the future expect to see an exorbitant amount of butter, chocolate, and dirty dishes.

Let's get a little more personal!

(L. Maggie, R. Stephanie)

Maggie has a penchant for smashed faced animals, clearance sales, and fatty recipes. Her favorite flower is the Chrysanthemum and favorite food to make is a vamped up chicken piccata. She keeps flat leaf parsley and basil in her garden and intends on expanding into tomatoes and vibrant flowers. She has amassed a collection of patterns (unsewn) and shoes (unworn). Her idol is Ina Garten and she strives to conquer the art of barbecue and yeast!

Stephanie loves bunnies, vintage clothing, and her Schwinn bicycle. Her favorite flower is the daffodil. She likes making chic crafts, wearing scarves in her hair, and high waisted skirts. She enjoys drinking wine in the evening and having honey in her breakfast. She prefers warm weather and likes going barefoot in grass.