Monday, June 22, 2015

Zucchini Bread, anyone?



So I was just in the middle of getting our house ready for moving and I had the very logical thought, "I should post a recipe on the blog".

So for all of you who are lucky enough to garden, and have spare zucchini around, this is absolutely the recipe you want to use for them!! This is the best Zucchini bread recipe ever. From Cooks Illustrated:

ZUCCHINI BREAD

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds zucchini, shredded
1 1/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) packed brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (2 3/4 ounces) whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped (optional)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Instructions:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaf pan.
2. Place zucchini in center of dish towel. Gather ends together and twist tightly to drain as much liquid as possible, discarding liquid (you should have 1/2 to 2/3 cup liquid). Whisk brown sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla together in medium bowl. Fold in zucchini.
3. Whisk all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and nutmeg together in large bowl. Fold in zucchini mixture until just incorporated. Fold in walnuts, if using. Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
4. Bake until top bounces back when gently pressed and toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 65 to 75 minutes. Let bread cool in pan on wire rack for 30 minutes. Remove bread from pan and let cool completely or wire rack. Serve.

You can add all sorts of things to this bread!  Chocolate chips, pistachios, orange zest, dried fruit, etc. Go make it!


Monday, June 8, 2015

PIZZA AND STUF


HEYYY

So I’m not going to blab on in this post, cuz my brain is fried from doing stuff like
GETTING A HOUSE!

Mostly. And also finishing residency and stuff. And promoting the dress I designed! Click HERE to buy it!

STUFF!

Anyways our house is in Provo so if you’re out there you’ll let us know, right? We move on June 28th.

I have a bunch of recipes I need to share, but the latest one in our rotation is an overnight pizza dough recipe that makes the very best pizza we’ve ever made at home. Click HERE for the link to the recipe.


Don't worry! I will blog again....

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Winner Winner chicken dinner!!

EVERYONE!

So after a very dramatic past few days, I came to find out this morning that I had won the Shabby Apple design contest! And by dramatic, I mean that I have been sick, plus there was major confusion about the votes through Instagram. (Didn't I mention before that it should not have been determined by a popular vote?) Turns out people can buy (yes, BUY) "likes" on Instagram and Shabby Apple had to figure out which likes were legitimate. They used a third party auditing group. Still, what a mess! I was feeling pretty good on Saturday night when the voting was closed and I had the most votes, but I still wasn't sure what the final tally would be. So I spent Sunday and Monday completely ill at ease. Then I woke up this morning to Micah calling me, telling me to check my instagram.

The winnings of this contest are having my design produced and sold on Shabby Apples' Summer 2015 line, naming the dress, and earning 1% of the royalties.

So what I have for you in thanks for your support is a recipe! Micah made this for dinner on Sunday and it was just what my tensed up soul needed! What is it? It's America's Test Kitchens

CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA!!





America's Test Kitchen - season 8, episode 20, Indian Favorites, Simplified

serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

Chicken

1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 tsp)
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt [you can use low-fat if you don’t have whole]
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat

Masala Sauce

3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 medium onion, diced fine (about 1 1/4 cups)
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 tsp)
1 fresh serrano chile, ribs and seeds removed, flesh minced [you can keep the seeds for added heat which is what I did or use a jalapeno if you don't have a serrano chile]
1 (28-oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp table salt
2 tsp sugar
2/3 cup heavy cream [We used a combination of cream and yogurt]
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions

1. FOR THE CHICKEN: Combine salt, cayenne, coriander, cumin and in small bowl. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with spice mixture, pressing gently so mixture adheres. Place chicken on plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes. In large bowl, whisk together ginger, garlic, oil, and yogurt; set aside.

2. FOR THE MASALA SAUCE: Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until light golden, 8 to 10 mins. Add ginger, garlic, tomato paste, chile, and garam masala; cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 mins. Add salt, sugar, and crushed tomatoes; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 mins, stirring occasionally. Stir in cream and return to simmer. Remove pan from heat and cover to keep warm.

3. While sauce simmers, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position (about 6 inches from heating element) and heat broiler. Using tongs, dip chicken into yogurt mixture (chicken should be coated with thick layer of yogurt) and arrange on wire rack set in foil-lined rimmed baking sheet or broiler pan. Discard excess yogurt mixture. Broil chicken until thickest parts register 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer and exterior is lightly charred in spots, 10 to 18 mins, flipping chicken halfway through cooking.

4. Let chicken rest 5 mins, then cut into 1-inch chunks and stir into warm sauce (do not simmer chicken in sauce). Stir in cilantro, adjust seasoning with salt, and serve.

NOTE!

I believe Micah used an immersion blender for the sauce to make it extra smooth. I highly suggest doing this, if you have one.

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Dress designer!



Hello, everybody within the sound of my blog!

Yesterday was pretty exciting for me. My dress design was chosen as a finalist for Shabby Apple's #daretodesign dress design contest!

If it were up to me, the final winner would be chosen by a real, professional dress maker, who knows about design and how fabric drapes and what fabric to choose etc. But, as it turns out, the winner is whoever

GETS THE MOST LIKES ON INSTAGRAM.

I like Instagram, mostly. I didn't have a lot invested in it but now, all of a sudden, I do. And I have to ask everybody I know to either use their current Instagram account to vote, or create an account to like from this link:

http://instagram.com/p/y-lvuiCf1a/?modal=true

So my fate is in the public's hands. I know what a politician feels like now. I also know that I do not want to be a politician.

Please, if we be but friends, share this with anybody who has an Instagram, or who likes Shabby Apple, or who might like to wear this dress. If I win, it will be created and sold on Shabby Apple, and I will receive 1% of royalties. The contest ends Saturday (Valentines Day).

In the end, I am glad I gave this a shot. Who knows if I have a future in dress making. I know I enjoy the designing part.

Thanks for your support. See you in 2016. Yes we can. Bla bla bla.