My spell check just gave me a little reality check with my post name...New Revelation. As many of you know, I can't spell and heavily rely on spell check (have you received an email or text from me..ever?)Spell check asked me...did you mean Reevaluation - Revelation - Revaluation? As I sat and thought about what these three words have in common besides letters, I was struck with the fact that maybe these three words my spell checker has asked me about have been the chain of events leading to my new revelation. I'm talking about my life. My time. My body. Me. Reevaluating...my actions. What I eat. If I exercise. Who I spend time with.Revelation...most times my actions do not line up with what I want in my life. What I feel I'm called to, in honoring myself & God. Revaluation...valuing my words, decisions & deeds more. A revaluation is typically an increase in value...not a decrease. Wow, all that from spell check. Anyways..so the last few months I have been processing these three things...and came to a decision that I value myself more. I want to value myself more. In this new season of life we're in...I value the time with my husband more. Therefore, I'm careful about our schedule during the week so we get to spend time together on our evenings off. In this new season of life we're in...I am evaluating how I process stress and its relation to food. In this new season of life we're in...I want to treat my body with care. It's the only body I get. After some mindless blogsurfing one day I stumbled upon the Whole30 plan.
I'm pretty sure one of the ways the Lord is showing me that our move to New England was the right one...is that it's pretty much been in the 40-50's all "winter". :)
Spring Grapefruit & Apple Salad with White Wine Vinegarette
When I make a salad, I like the ingredients to be all different textures and varying sizes (within reason...I still want to be able to create "the perfect bite"). I also want it to be pretty too, who doesn't? This salad fits the bill...juicy pink grapefruit pieces, tart, crisp green apple slices, toasted sliced almonds, dark curly kale & tender spinach have all the makes to be in the running for "the perfect bite".
Salad
1 Pink Grapefruit, sliced with membraines removed
1 Small Green Apple, sliced thinly
1/2 cup kale, cut in a rough chop/chiffonade
1 1/2 cups baby spinach
1 1/2 tbsp toasted & sliced almonds
Dressing
1 tsp flaxseed oil (olive will do)
1/2 tbs white wine vinegar
1/2 tbs apple cidar vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
1. Place spinach in your bowl of choice. Add kale (sliced like this - but in a bigger chop).
2. Trim rind off grapefruit & slice into pieces discarding the membraine (like below). Add to salad. Whatever you don't use, put away remaining amounts in fridge for a snack for later.
3. Slice apple thinly. Add to salad; and again, put whatever you don't use in the fridge but squeeze a little lemon on top first to prevent browning.
4. Combine all ingredients for dressing. Whisk until emulsified.
5. Dress salad & top with almonds.
About a month ago I was skyping with my lovely Chicago sista's, Mabrie & Rachael. Right before we hung up, we were talking about if we could do anything, what would we do? None of us really answered, as babies started crying, husbands got home from work, and we all decided we needed to hang up. Ever since then, this question has remained in my head...and I have been dreaming about what could be next in my life.Not that what is going on in my life isn't awesome right now, but I could see some big things on the horizon if I kept toying with the idea.Also, not that I have time to ponder these things right now, as we just moved into our new place on Saturday, I am in the middle of a few projects at work, and I am of course, have been busying myself with projects I don't have time for.
I get in these moods sometimes when things feel uncertain or changing. Example: the last two times I thought about going to grad school were 1)before I graduated undergrad, and 2)as we were leaving seminary a few months ago.I honestly would love to...keep doing what I'm doing AND:keep designing and expand my business.maybe even start a creative design group with my friend Erikka.go to seminary or grad school (for what...I don't know)go to cooking school.open a bakery. (um, I have already found the perfect building in Middletown for a bakery or storefront/office)For the mean time, I need to concentrate on today...or this week. (aka settling our house!).Here is one of my favorite summer recipes for you to enjoy the last month of summer. I love it because it is so fancy tasting, and a very quick dinner. You just have to have everything ready (this is key!)Still unsure? Do you like pizza from those Neapolitan places where the crust is cooked in a wood-burning oven? Then you'll love this, I guarantee it. Bon Apetit.
Grilled Pizza
Weight Watchers Points+ 8 servings: 9 points depending on toppings+crust Serves 8 (1 mini pizza each)
Pizza Dough (Store bought or see my recipe below)Toppings of your liking: see below the recipe for ideas.Oil (any of these: canola/veg/olive) & pastry brush
1. Fire up the grill to medium high heat (if using charcoal, make sure your hotspot is off to the side and not right in the middle)2. Prep your toppings and roll out your dough. If using the recipe below, this makes 2 pizza's or 8 mini pizza's. Do not roll it out TOO thing or it will do one or both of these things: a. rip in half as you are putting it out on the grill or b. crisp up and you will have too crackery of a crust.3. Once grill is nice and hot, bring your dough out to the grill on a cookie sheet. Brush the top side of your dough with oil.5. Take pizza and put it on the grill OILED SIDE DOWN. The oil is so it will not stick to the rack.6. Cover and wait 90 seconds to 2 mins. Check underside of the crust. Cook until light golden brown.7. Oil top (raw) side of dough while bottom is cooking.8. When ready, flip the pizza so the raw side will cook.9. IMMEDIATELY get your sauce, cheese and toppings on the pizza. CLOSE grill to trap heat inside and melt your cheese.10. Cook until cheese is melted. Keep checking the underside of your crust to make sure it doesn't burn.Suggestions for toppingsAlicia's FavoriteMozzarella Cheese, Shredded or in my case: Rice Mozzarella Cheese (I can't remember the brand I like, but there are two at Whole Foods that are shredded and I do NOT like Daiya)Canned Pizza Sauce (if you want to drop some $, go with San Marzano pizza sauce, if you're looking for cheap and delicious, RAGU!)To be completely honest, I would do half just plain cheese and half with meat+mushrooms for Andrew.BBQ ChickenYour favorite BBQ sauce (any will work)1/2 red onion slices (I prefer slices to diced because diced almost "sneak attack" you when you bite in)Rotisserie Chicken (I just buy one, and shred the breasts and save the rest for Andrew's lunch the next day)Mozzarella Cheese (or Rice cheese if you're me)Chicken PestoRotisserie Chicken, shredded off the bone.Pesto SauceMozzarella CheeseTomatoes (choose sundried or sliced fresh)And last but not least; how about a little meat? This is the pizza that my dad makes me get him when we order takeout.
Yooper Special (call your cardiologist tomorrow) :)Pizza SauceMozarella CheesePepperoni (I like to get fresh sliced from the deli because they are a lot bigger and you can use less...plus they are fresh and not all dried out)Crumbled Sausage, cooked on the stove first (remove the casing or buy it without)Crumbled Bacon (you can cook your own before or use the microwave kind)Mushrooms (saute them first on the stove so they brown)*What is a Yooper?
Alicia's Favorite Pizza Dough Recipe
Weight Watchers Points+ 8 servings-1 mini pizza each: 5 points for just the crustMakes 2 pizza's or 8 mini pizza's
I have used this recipe for years. While I have tried others, this one works every time. If you can, use my favorite flour: King Arthur Bread Flour. It gives the best rise & makes the best crust!
well.
we left chicago at an okay time, no traffic, but hot. we took pictures as we left the city and blared our favorite chicago music as we drove down 90/94.
Then we hit Ohio.
Our AC stopped working, our left tire blew out, we sat on the side of I-80 for an hour in 100 degree heat still with no AC or breeze.
Yucky!
The day end fine: we are snoozing in lovely Youngstown, Ohio for the evening...more updates from the road later!
I know my statement is broad, but it's true.
Artists are not good bakers. I, having a BA in Art, accept this fact freely and gladly.
I do not read instructions, I do not take time to measure out proportions, and I like to put a "little of this" and a "little of that" to taste just right. This doesn't work with baking, and that's why I'm not good at it.
Sure, I can whip up brownies from a box but up until recently, I could NOT master chocolate chip cookies. Let me start from the beginning.
Why am I even baking, and if you've noticed I've updated what I'm currently reading, it's allergy-free. My lil friend Erikka has a gluten intolerance. She just discovered this fact last year, and it has changed her life! This is the girl I used to go through boxes of brownie mix and kraft mac & cheese with in college, and you are telling me she can't eat gluten!? When we were out at their house this fall, I got a little glimpse into her gluten-free world. It seemed yummy enough, but alas, not for me.
Then my friends Rachael & Steve started to look into the world of allergy-free baking & cooking for their kids, and started to tell me about the effects of preservatives, dyes, gluten, dairy, you name it!
I started to wonder why I eat that stuff so carelessly - until I went to the doctor this month. I have been having some stomach stuff for the past 6+ months now. And the long and short of it is - I have a dairy intolerance. Wahhhhh my bottom lip is starting to quiver.
No more ice cream?
No more milk?
No more butter?
No more glorious cheese board?!
No more BREYERS ROCKY ROAD?! I worked at an ice cream shop for 5 years...and you're telling me I can't touch that stuff without a stomach ache and then some in the horizon?
Ok: as I was leaving the doctor’s office I kept thinking maybe this doc is just trying to get me to go dairy-free because "I should...everyone should". I immediately pick up Andrew and drive to my favorite gelato joint. I am not going down without a fight. I eat gelato...3 different flavors. Then another great idea- let's get pizza. Cheese pizza. And give me a big old brownie while you're at it.
Fast forward two days later- I. Am. Miserable.
Okay...I get it, and I'm done. I stop eating dairy and it's like boom...I can sit throughout dinner without doubling over in pain from the party going on in my intestine. So that's how I found my way to this recipe-it's more something I feel like I want to make for others since there are a bunch of ingredients...but if you want to invest $30 in the basics that you don't have in your kitchen..it'll be worth it.
I'm in a pinch to get this recipe out to you all, so this post is as fast as the time you need in the grocery store to buy all the ingredients! If you in a pinch to bring a quick dessert to a graduation party, memorial day celebration, or picnic this weekend like I was a few weeks ago, then this tasty summer treat is for you. I remembered I had promised to bring a dessert to a women's meeting I was attending so I started flipping through the pages of my new Cooking Light I had just gotten and voila! This colorful pie caught my eye. By the time you're done reading this post, you can hop in the car, head to the store and whip this easy pie up in a flash. Hurry!
Summer Raspberry Sorbet Chocolate Pie from May Cooking Light Magazine
Ingredients
1 chocolate cookie pie crust, ready made1 pint of raspberry sorbet1 small carton of raspberries1 container of coolwhip
Instructions
Let the pint of sorbet sit out until soften (mine was out for 30 minutes and was ready)Pour sorbet into pie crust and freeze 60-90 minutes until firmTop sorbet with container of coolwhip and top with RaspberriesFreeze 1-2 more hours (or until you have to go!) and you're done!Once my pie arrived at the meeting, we stuck it in the freezer for another 45 minutes. The last few pieces served fell apart, but noone minded because this tasty little treat is SO good whether it's in pie form or not!You can also try lemon sorbet with a gingerbread crust as well for a refreshing alternative!
Welcome to your new home!!
I have a new fruit obsession: peaches! I use to despise them: my sister was always eating them growing up. The dripping, the stickiness, the smell, the weird fuzz on the outside. Why would I want that when I could have a fruit I already knew was delicious and safe? And less drippy.Last week I was at my new favorite market, City Fresh. The first thing that caught my eye was the mound of beautiful, plump, peaches. I had to try a few. I bought 2 thinking I could pawn them off at work if I didn't like them. Then it happened, I bit into the crispy, not so juicy and fuzzy fruit I always hated.I was hooked.This past Sunday as I did my shopping, I bought 3# at 49c. It was too good to be true for my new addiction! As I was reading through Bon Appetit this week, I realized the wonderful new cooking opportunities this opened! Fortunately, the August issue has a whole section of peach recipes, and one that caught my eye: Roasted Peaches with Amaretti Crumble. My husband is allergic to coconut, so macaroons are out. I tweaked it to be an almond crumble, and it was a hit with my neighbors who came over for dessert!.
Well, here's to my first posting! Bon Appetit!
Roasted Peaches with Almond Crumble
Recipe by Cindy MushetTaken from Bon Appetit magazine, August 2009
Ingredients
- 5 amaretti cookies (Italian macaroons; about 3/4 ounce total) (I used double the almonds)
- 3 tablespoons whole natural almonds
- 2 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 3 firm but ripe large peaches, rinsed, wiped clean of fuzz, halved, pitted
- Vanilla ice cream
Preparation
-
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish. Combine cookies, almonds, flour, and sugar in processor. Using on/off turns, process until cookies and almonds are coarsely chopped. Add 3 tablespoons chilled butter to processor. Using on/off turns, process topping mixture until moist clumps form.
-
Place peach halves, cut side up, in prepared dish. Spread topping over surface of each peach half (about 1 generous tablespoon for each), pressing lightly to adhere and leaving 1/4-inch plain border.
-
Bake peaches until tender when pierced with knife and topping is golden brown, about 35 minutes. Cool slightly. Transfer 1 warm roasted peach half to each of 6 plates. Serve with scoop of vanilla ice cream alongside.
Well, hello. Let me introduce myself. My name is Alicia, and I'm addicted to cooking. I live in Chicago with my husband in our small one bedroom apartment near North Park University where my husband is studying for his Masters in Christian Formation.Like all good Seminary wives, I work full time to support my husbands grad school stint and come home and perform wife-ly duties for the remaining 4 hours of the day post work+commuting. The wifely duties: not as bad as they may seem. They may include cleaning, doing wash, making the bed, reorganizing our small library of books that live under our coffee table, and so on. But the one duty I love the most: the grocery store. I am one of the few people that can say I enjoy grocery shopping, and have on occasion; happily offered to grocery shop for my friends, family and coworkers.They think I'm nuts.The grocery store on any given night could mean many things to the average shopper: long lines, bad produce, overpriced items, packed parking lots, etc. But not to me. The grocery store, to me, is therapy. Don't ask me why. I could go to the grocery store every night if I could.This leads to the cooking aspect. Ever since I started cooking for myself in college, I'm an addict. I love to look at a recipe, head to the store (obviously) and pick up the goods. This is where my blog comes in. With all this experimenting and tasting, why not document it? Hopefully you enjoy my recipes, my bravery to try things, and join me on the journey!