as i have mentioned before, i looooove experimenting in the kitchen. while i am typically re-vamping boring recipes or magically turning seemingly un-healthy ones into super-whole food recipes, or quite possibly making something up entirely, i thoroughly enjoy following every recipe in bon appétit precisely down to the smallest ingredient. [unless, of course, i don't have said ingredient. or i forget to grab it at the store. and in those cases, we improvise.]
never mind that L exists solely exists on peanut butter & co. peanut butter with honey, greek yogurt (with honey), veggie nuggets, chocolate milk, hummus, sweet potato fries, and granola bars. oh yeah, and oatmeal and sometimes cheese. and fruit.
okay, so his eating habits are really good. he will grow into the rest. (=
but never mind that my husband, who while he completely sees the beauty of what is produced, doesn't necessarily always share the thrill of the taste as much as i do. but he loves that i love it, and revels in my excitement and consumes and enjoys everything i cook. though truly he would prefer meatloaf and lasagna. and for that, i love him all the more.
and never mind that me, A, and more occasionally now 'B, are the only ones who fully appreciate the flavor of these wonderful dishes.
never mind all of these things, because the eating of them is not what is working for me here. don't get me wrong, i do eat what is made. we all do. and we love it. but the joy is in creating the dish. this is what works. and it works even better if i have little (or not so little) helpers to cook with! (=
so, here are a few of the recipes i have produced out of bon appétit:
cioppino-style roasted crab (the first time i have ever tried crab legs, A-mazing. my favorite bon appétit choice yet--and so pretty!)
linguine with bay scallops, fennel, and tomatoes (forgot to buy fennel and it was still really good. a little less basil would suffice)
easy chicken masala (amazing. and i think i used the crock-pot on this one too. and chicken breasts also. yummy!)
indian chicken wrap with cucumber raita (i actually ate a similar cucumber dish when i lived in india for a few months. it included red onions so i threw them in. i was short on yogurt and so instead of making the raita in a large batch i just cooked the ingredients with my rice and topped w/what yogurt i had after while it was warm. the taste was not lost using this method)
british flapjacks--wow. amazing. [i didn't find the 'golden syrup' and i used pure maple instead. it was really good, i got comments from our neighbors that they could smell the syrup! i have found other recipes that call for corn syrup instead of golden syrup. also, they will be soft when you take them out of the oven so don't keep baking them until you think they are 'done'. they will be crispy if you do that! but still delightful.]
(=
april's issue has been the best that i have received as of yet--
this week so far i have tackled the delicious chipotle roast chicken tacos with the poblano, potato, and corn gratin. this gratin was unbelievable. really.
no salt. no butter (only a small amount of olive oil to line the dish). nothing but peppers, potatoes, corn, and mozzarella. it was so good. and really very pretty to prepare.
later this week we are using the 'left-over' recipe for chipotle chicken tostadas. yum! (=
tomorrow for dinner we are having the korean rice bowl with steak, asparagus, and fried eggs. i am excited about that. i am also, for breakfast in the a.m., finally baking something i have been looking forward to baking since i got the incredibly packed april issue in the mail a few weeks ago--HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY POP-TARTS!!!!!!! can i tell you how thrilled this makes me???
A2 always has a box of kellogg's pop-tarts in the pantry (hidden b/c we don't use a lot of processed foods for the kiddos--or ourselves, sans his pop-tart stash) and when anyone happens to catch sight of it, they decidedly want one too. i usually say convert attention to the always loved oatmeal, A2 usually caves. [it never fails that on the saturdays i need to sleep in, i wake up to pop-tart breakfasted children. but happy children, right?] (= organic versions are sooo expensive! so as long as these are as scrumptious as they look, my 3 lovelies will now have their own pop-tart stash in the freezer! made by me. (=
are you hungry?
beyond creating and/or re-creating whole and fresh meals for this lovely family of five, my absolute FAVORITE is making cakes and cupcakes. especially cupcakes. there is just something so simple and satisfying in icing a perfect little piece of homemade, pure-ingredient cake with an undeniably mouth-watering spoonful of homemade, thick yet fluffy, vanilla-buttercream icing, or in this case, chocolate!
it makes my heart happy.
so do waffle iron waffles. (=
i added links to all of these yummy treats and dinners just in case you wanted in on the details. but here too is the all-time, no-fail ONLY vanilla-buttercream icing recipe that i use. ever.
ingredients:
1cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) at room temperature
2T pure vanilla
1/2cup whole milk
32oz. confectioner's sugar
directions:
Beat butter until fluffy. Add vanilla and milk and beat while GRADUALLY adding sugar.
Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Bring to room temp. before icing.
(this makes a HUGE batch, but it is INCREDIBLE!!!)
okay, now i can't get food out of my head. i am totally going to have to share my favorite thai recipe too! but not today.
enjoy! (=
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