I'm Not Ghetto Anymore

VeSo remember when I shared way back in January that we hit a coyote on our drive home from the midwest over Christmas? Well, when we hit him, he dented the hood of our car and broke the grill. Consequently, the large VW had just been 'dislocated'... and all was fine an dandy til about 4 weeks ago, when I noticed that it had fallen out or been stolen (?) out. So, Jarod thought it looked pretty ridiculous and ebayed a new grill & VW symbol. Well, it finally came (all the way from Greece!) and Jarod installed it in the Bank of America parking lot! Now it doesn't look like the front tooth of my car is missing!

To my Mom

Happy Mother's Day, Mom. How I wish I was home to celebrate this day with you! I am sure you know that as much as I am enjoying this new 'California Adventure' chapter in my life, I miss being close to home, to you. I bet you can tell how much I miss you by all the frequent phone calls! I think you're really wonderful, Mom and I am so thankful for all that you've taught me. I don't think I tell you often enough how special and dear you are. I wouldn't be the same, had I not experienced your faithfulness, your loyalty, your consistency, your great ideas, your time, and all your love. I miss you! Can't wait to see you just 2 1/2 weeks! Get ready for coffee by the pool in the mornings!!

Apple Strudel Muffins

I baked Apple Strudel Muffins this morning. They turned out SO yummy, that I had to share them. They're pretty quick, especially if you have the butter set out ahead of time, so it's soft. I added more cinnamon than recommended. I also cooked them about 5 min longer because I used a large muffin pan. Jarod and I had these with a cup of vanilla nut coffee this morning by the pool. So fun :)

Ingredients:

• 2 cps flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cp butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cps chopped apples
• 1 tbs cinnamon
• 1/3 cp packed brown sugar
• 1 tbs all-purpose flour
• 1 tbs ground cinnamon
• 1 tbs butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 12 cup muffin pan.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
3. In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar and eggs until smooth. Mix in vanilla. Stir in apples, and gradually blend in the flour mixture. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pan.
4. In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture is like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over tops of mixture in muffin pan.
5. Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to sit 5 minutes before removing muffins from pan. Cool on a wire rack.

Mid-May Menu

I dont know what it is, but I am becoming a sucker for new recipes to test in my kitchen. Cooking and baking is a growing interest of mine, and now I am totally on the prowl for healthy (by this, I clarify to mean raw, natural, whole food, etc.) recipes. So here is my menu for the upcoming week:

Saturday, May 8th - Apple Strudel Muffins [love baking on Saturday mornings!]

Polenta Lasanga

Sunday, May 9th - Cilantro Soba Noodle Bowl

Monday, May 10th - 44 Clove Garlic Soup

Tuesday, May 11th - Romaine Pesto & Egg Stuffed Tomatoes

Wednesday, May 12th - left overs! [I work Wed nites and J has a class - it's pointless to cook]

Thursday, May 13th - Broccoli Pesto & Fusilli Pasta

Friday, May 15th - Tobasco & Asparagus Quinoa

Farmer's Market

Tonight we took a spontaneous trip to the Fullerton Farmer's Market with our friends, the Rosa's. So fun! Sampled some of the BEST fresh fruit, ever! I had ginger ice cream for dinner. Yum. I also had some amazingly good hummus (avocado & cilantro).. Jarod makes a really good homemade hummus already, so now he has some inspiration for spicing up his traditional recipe. The Market was totally enjoyable; fun music, delicious food and close friends. Little Nan is almost 3 months old! And she is awesome, totally chillin' with Mama, never made a peep. :)

My Stick Family

Lemony Blueberry Muffins

These were a fun little treat to bake early on a Sunday morning :) Jarod likes them because they are quite tart and not too sweet. And, anything that comes with a lemony sauce is always fun too. Also, for the Lemon Sauce, I added a lot more lemon juice; probably around 3/4 cup total. I like lemon!

Lemony Blueberry Muffins

{If you like lemon meringue pie and blueberry muffins, you'll be a fan of these!}

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tbls baking soda
1 tsp baking power
1/4 tsp salt
zest of 2 med lemons
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup lemon juice (approximately two lemons)
2 cups individually frozen blueberries

Directions

Prepare large muffin tins by greasing well and flouring the bottoms. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

1. Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and zest together.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until the mixture is fluffy and lemon-colored. Add buttermilk and lemon juice, stirring well.
3. Add wet ingredients into dry. Briefly mixing.
4. Fold in the berries.
5. Spoon the batter in the prepared cups.
6. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes depending on the size of the baking cups. The cakes should be golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes should come out clean when done. Cool on wire racks.

Serve with Lemon Sauce. *See below

Lemon Sauce

1/3 cup lemon juice
2/3 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbls cornstarch
zest of 2 lemons
4 tbls butter

Directions

Mix all the ingredients except the butter in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture boils. Gently boil for a few minutes or until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Cool until the sauce thickens to serving consistency.