Dude. DUDE. This is so true.
At least, that was the first thought to pop into my head once I had completed my fit of hysterical laughter.
I could totally see Ursala saying this.
Simple, to the point, and honest. That’s my girl! :)
(source: Cheezeburger)
Sandwich crusts, pizza crusts, crusty pieces of unidentifiable charcoal-y chunks of something that fell off the food that was grilled… this is the fate of moms.
Not a particularly terrible fate, however, if you’re a carb lover like me. (And a fan of burnt chicken skin, but, really, that’s another story.)
Either way, I find many a crust entering my life nowadays. :)
Happy Halloween!
Mwabwahahahahaha… [insert creepy voice here]
But no holiday (or any hour of any ordinary day either) would be complete without coffee.
So, for this holiday, I’m sharing with you some thematically appropriate awesomeness via Etsy. ‘Cause I just think Etsy rocks.
These were just too cute – I couldn’t help sharing!
And I don’t normally say that about salt and pepper shakers. In fact, I have a very volatile relationship with them. I have yet to find a set I like.
These, however, I find tempting.
So sleek (I’ve been on a monochromatic kick lately) and yet so playful.
I could welcome a bit of Wonderland to my table in the form of these porcelain utensils.
Check them out at DIGS.
Another experiment with textures, Winter Wood is a collection of warmth.
And an owl. Of course :)
This polyvore creation indulged my darker side. My Gothic tendencies. My love of all things Poe.
There are a few tongue-in-cheek references to Mr. Poe, obviously, but it was largely an experiment with textures and patterns.
Looking at this, however, is dangerous. It makes me want to run out and adopt a black cat. And name her Cattarina.
Sigh… I miss having a feline sidekick in my life.
I called this one “natural.”
Partially for the color choice and partially for the flowing softness that all of the elements presented.
I had a lot of fun finding and mixing these images. The colors and textures soothe me. I like how the lacy dress is really more of a background element, but how everything matches its understated elegance.
I’ve always loved cheese on my popcorn. And I love garlic.
So, one day, I’m browsing recipes and I start looking over ways to infuse olive oil. Then I thought – hey, I use olive oil to cook my popcorn… I wonder what it would taste like if I used an infused oil instead?
I was not disappointed.
What I love about this recipe is the subtle but certainly noticeable garlic flavor, and, since I’m also a big fan of garlic flavor in my pizzas, I was delighted with the garlic and cheese combination.
I think Parmesan is a perfect match for popcorn. But, you’ll notice I also added pepper to mine. That’s because it balances out the saltiness of the cheese while complementing the spice of the garlic.
Overall, I’ve found the final result to be quite enjoyable. And addictive.
Seriously, I’ve eaten a whole batch of this stuff myself.
Anyway, first things first: infusing the olive oil.
You’ll peel and smash the garlic and bring it to a gentle simmer in the olive oil over medium heat, then turn it to low heat.
You need to be careful here – burnt garlic has an awful and bitter flavor, so you’ll want to keep an eye on it. It should only bubble a little while it cooks.
Since it simmers for 10 minutes but then has to steep for an hour, I will usually stick this pot on the stove while cooking dinner, and let it sit while we eat dinner and clean up. Then later, when I’m ready to make the popcorn, the oil is ready, too.
You could always make a larger batch of the olive oil, I suppose, but I’ve always done it this way.
Here is the garlic steeping. You can see that it is a little browned, but not too much.
I usually turn the cloves only once while they’re cooking, and swirl the pot just a couple times.
I’ve thought about keeping the boiled garlic and using it for something else, but I haven’t found anything to suit that purpose yet. I’m open to ideas, but mostly, it seems best fit for compost after this. The flavor has really left the cloves at this point.
And here is the popcorn, freshly popped. It’s important to note that, while I infused the olive oil in a small saucepan, I popped the popcorn in a much larger skillet.
Most people use a deep pot for this purpose, but, luckily, I’ve got a large, high-sided skillet that’s perfect for this amount of popcorn. And easy to clean.
And the finished product. Mmmmmmmm… every time I look at this photo I get hungry!
On to the details:
Garlic-Infused Parmesan Popcorn Recipe
Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1/3 cup popcorn kernels
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. pepper
Peel the garlic cloves and gently smash them to release their flavors while still holding their shape.
Place the olive oil and garlic cloves in a small saucepan and warm over medium heat until the oil begins to bubble around the garlic. Turn the heat to low and continue to very gently simmer the garlic for 10 minutes. The garlic should be only slightly browned. Do not let it burn!
Take the pan off the heat and let it sit and steep for one hour.
Discard the used garlic.
In a large saucepan or pot, add the flavored olive oil and 2 or 3 kernels. Warm over medium heat until the kernels pop, then add in the rest of the popcorn. Cover.
Leave over medium heat until the popping stops, gently shaking the pan now and then. This should take only a couple of minutes.
Once the popcorn is done, transfer it to a large bowl. Drizzle the melted butter over the popcorn and mix well to coat all the pieces.
Mix the parmesan and pepper in a small dish, then sprinkle over the popcorn. Mix well. Store loosely covered.
*****
To PRINT the PDF copy of the recipe, click here:
Garlic Infused Parmesan Popcorn Recipe
Enjoy! :)
After carving up my pie pumpkin for the pumpkin seeds, I baked it, covered in foil, at 350 degrees F for an hour. Then I scraped out the roasted pulp.
But what do I make with my fresh pumpkin?
French toast, of course!
I found a few nice recipes online, including this recipe from Cooking Classy. But, in the end, I changed around a few things, so I’ve posted my own printable PDF for the recipe I used (below).
It was a big hit. The mild pumpkin flavor paired well with the maple syrup. The interior was soft and moist, but with a crunchy, sugary streusel highlighting every bite.
I usually make my French toast with slices of bread on a griddle, but I needed something easy for guests, so something that could be made ahead was a huge plus.
I made both the french toast and the streusel topping the night before, storing them separately in the refrigerator until the next morning.
The pumpkin puree, eggs, and milk were whisked together with the sugar and spices.
I made my casserole with Challah bread. It’s an egg bread, but you could use any bread you wanted, really. I often make french toast from wheat bread or homemade bread. You could even try cinnamon raisin bread.
Cut the bread into one-inch chunks.
Layer half the bread in a greased pan. Slowly spoon or ladle the milk mixture over the bread, covering every piece. Add the rest of the bread, and the rest of the milk mixture.
Then, refrigerate it for 2 hours or overnight.
I couldn’t find my pastry cutter, so I used two knives to make the streusel topping. That was also stored – separately – in the refrigerator until the next day.
Before baking, it sat out for a half hour, to bring it to room temperature. You know it’s done when it’s bubbling around the edges and the topping looks deliciously crunchy.
Doesn’t that look amazing?? Tell me that doesn’t look mouth-watering … I dare you!
Seriously, though. You should check out the photo with the maple syrup again. Yum.
Whipped cream is another great option, but I forgot to buy heavy cream, so I couldn’t make it. Didn’t miss it, though. You could eat this without any toppings and still love it.
Anyway, here is the printable PDF recipe:
Pumpkin and Streusel French Toast Recipe
Enjoy! :)
For Grandpa’s birthday, the girls and I wanted to make him something special. He loves pretzels, so my first thought was fancy, chocolate-dipped pretzels.
Then, I came across Utz’s football shaped pretzels.
Ooohhh … birthday WIN!
So, I grabbed a bag of the pretzels, some Wilton chocolate melts in brown (like actual footballs) and blue (just for fun), plus some mini M&Ms and some fun sprinkles.
After melting the candy in the microwave according to the package directions (always at 50% power!), I dipped the pretzels into the chocolate with a fork, tapped the fork on the side of the bowl to shake off the excess chocolate, and placed them on a sheet of parchment paper I’d laid across the counter.
My girls then scattered M&Ms and sprinkles over the pretzels before the chocolate set.
The 19-month-old made sure there was plenty of candy on the pretzels. :)
We let the pretzels cool and set completely on the counter for a couple hours, then sealed them inside an airtight container.
You could use some type of fancy treat bag, but Grandpa was just as happy with a Tupperware wrapped in tissue paper. :)
Roaming Rosie 