There are two words that I cannot spell, no matter how hard I try: vinaigrette and balsamic. I spell them like this:
vinagerette
balsalmic
I think it’s because I’m from the south. Down here, we say vin-a-ger-ette and bal-sal-mic. Makes sense. The English language is exhausting.
So today in honor of those words, I want to share my favorite vinaigrette recipe that does not include balsamic.
This recipe makes enough for one salad, so double it up if you are making rabbit food for a friend.
The Best Vinegar-ette of All Time Vinaigrette
2-3 T white wine vinegar
1 t Dijon mustard
1 t olive oil
A little salt and pepper
A little oregano
*add a pinch of sugar if it’s too tangy for you
Mix it up, shake it up, eat it up.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Secret's in the Sauce
I've been making homemade pizza for a long time. When I started, it was a sad kitchen experience consisting of Boboli crusts, Ragu sauce, bag cheese and pepperoni. I've evolved though...thank goodness.
Last year, I figured out how to make dough, which puts a Boboli to shame. Here's a link to the recipe I use. Scroll down and look where it says Pizza!
This year, I learned to make my own sauce. I went through a phase where I was convinced that Trader Joe's had the best pizza sauce, and they probably do if you have to stick with jar sauce. If you aren't committed to the jar, try this:
Pizza Sauce
1 large can whole roma tomatoes (I get whichever brand has an Italian-sounding name.)
1/4 of a white onion, chopped
1 T minced garlic (This came out of a jar, but if you like to mince your own, go for it. Maybe I'll get there one day.)
1 T oregano
salt & pepper to taste
1 t red pepper flakes
1 t olive oil
Heat olive oil in a pot, add onions, garlic, oregano, salt/pep, and pepper flakes. After 2-3 minutes, drain the tomatoes, and then throw them in the pot. With a knife, chop the tomatoes up as they cook. You could probably chop them before you put them in, but I just chop them up once they are in the pot. Keep the heat high and let it all come to a boil. Stir and mash around the tomatoes every so often until the liquid has cooked out and you have a chunky "sauce" to spread around on your pizza.
*You could probably use a can of diced tomatoes, but I like the whole ones best.
To make a margherita pizza, spread this sauce on your dough, top with pieces of fresh mozz. Bake at 500 for 10-12 minutes. After you take it out of the oven, top with fresh basil leaves until they wilt. Slice it up. Done and done.
Last year, I figured out how to make dough, which puts a Boboli to shame. Here's a link to the recipe I use. Scroll down and look where it says Pizza!
This year, I learned to make my own sauce. I went through a phase where I was convinced that Trader Joe's had the best pizza sauce, and they probably do if you have to stick with jar sauce. If you aren't committed to the jar, try this:
Pizza Sauce
1 large can whole roma tomatoes (I get whichever brand has an Italian-sounding name.)
1/4 of a white onion, chopped
1 T minced garlic (This came out of a jar, but if you like to mince your own, go for it. Maybe I'll get there one day.)
1 T oregano
salt & pepper to taste
1 t red pepper flakes
1 t olive oil
Heat olive oil in a pot, add onions, garlic, oregano, salt/pep, and pepper flakes. After 2-3 minutes, drain the tomatoes, and then throw them in the pot. With a knife, chop the tomatoes up as they cook. You could probably chop them before you put them in, but I just chop them up once they are in the pot. Keep the heat high and let it all come to a boil. Stir and mash around the tomatoes every so often until the liquid has cooked out and you have a chunky "sauce" to spread around on your pizza.
*You could probably use a can of diced tomatoes, but I like the whole ones best.
To make a margherita pizza, spread this sauce on your dough, top with pieces of fresh mozz. Bake at 500 for 10-12 minutes. After you take it out of the oven, top with fresh basil leaves until they wilt. Slice it up. Done and done.
Cupcake Biz
Things have been rocking in terms of cupcake baking. In the last month, I've had several customers...the kind who pay me! I decided yesterday, though, that I should do a little more research on ingredients and the money I'm spending to see if I can actually turn a profit. I'm still working on that. My life revolves around words/letters, not numbers, so these types of real-world math problems take me days to solve. Not necessarily because I can't figure it out but because it brings back bad middle-school-math memories, and I feel like I'm getting a case of the hives.
I looked into a couple of other cupcake places, and it seems that $30/dozen is a trend. That seems high to me, but maybe that's just because I would never pay that much for cupcakes. I carried on about this yesterday, and Will reminded me that it's because I actually know how to/enjoy making cupcakes. If I didn't, I might drop $30/dozen. Hmmm. What do you think?
Here are a couple of the latest cakes:
Banana Split Cupcakes using this recipe.
Here's a rainbow cake.
These have been all over the blogosphere lately it seems. All you do is divide up some light-colored batter into separate bowls and add food coloring. Then, layer the colors in each cupcake cup. On the interweb, the colors look perfectly layered. I used a gel color rather than liquid. This could be why mine did not turn out in the layered fashion but instead with more of a tie-dyed effect. My colors were pink, yellow, green, blue, and purple. That's all I had and as close to ROYGBIV as I gould get. I used the same banana cupcake recipe from above, minus the fillings. They tasted great, and if you are around the age of six, you'd probably be impressed.
I looked into a couple of other cupcake places, and it seems that $30/dozen is a trend. That seems high to me, but maybe that's just because I would never pay that much for cupcakes. I carried on about this yesterday, and Will reminded me that it's because I actually know how to/enjoy making cupcakes. If I didn't, I might drop $30/dozen. Hmmm. What do you think?
Here are a couple of the latest cakes:
Banana Split Cupcakes using this recipe.
Here's a rainbow cake.
These have been all over the blogosphere lately it seems. All you do is divide up some light-colored batter into separate bowls and add food coloring. Then, layer the colors in each cupcake cup. On the interweb, the colors look perfectly layered. I used a gel color rather than liquid. This could be why mine did not turn out in the layered fashion but instead with more of a tie-dyed effect. My colors were pink, yellow, green, blue, and purple. That's all I had and as close to ROYGBIV as I gould get. I used the same banana cupcake recipe from above, minus the fillings. They tasted great, and if you are around the age of six, you'd probably be impressed.
This Weekend Was For
SO much fun stuff just for ME!
1. A visit to the farmer's market, which is a real upgrade considering that last summer I was shopping at the local flea market for produce because it was so cheap. The flea market is an experience. It's best to get in and get out, know which vendor has the best of everything you like, make a mad dash for their stand, throw your cash at them, and run. The farmer's market is new and clean. There are two significant problems with the farmer's market though: they don't seem to have 1. cilantro or 2. avocados. Don't they know that these two items are how I deal with summer?
Summer solution: G-U-A-C-A-M-O-L-E! Duh.
2. A visit to the local strawberry patch. Well, not really. I just went here and bought strawberries from the local place. It's cheating. I also cheated on my all-time favorite strawberry farm, Molly's Farm. They are still the best, but I was trying to not spend $40 in gas this weekend.
3. A hair cut! Enough said.
4. A visit with my cutie little niece, Riley.
Yes, I took this picture, and I'm not ashamed. She's so cute, and I need footage of her with me so I look cuter too.
5. A visit to the nail place to use this amazing polish I treated myself to this week.
My nails look icky in this pic. Thankfully my favorite nail tech fixed me up!
I got it all because it's called Master Plan, and I'm working on having one of those.
Yes, that's my trusty 5-star notebook in the background. It's where I keep notes about my Master Plan.
6. And to top it all off, I made muffins using this recipe and fresh blueberries from Will's garden. I also added in fresh strawberries, which weren't in the recipe. I recommend it. Tasty!
1. A visit to the farmer's market, which is a real upgrade considering that last summer I was shopping at the local flea market for produce because it was so cheap. The flea market is an experience. It's best to get in and get out, know which vendor has the best of everything you like, make a mad dash for their stand, throw your cash at them, and run. The farmer's market is new and clean. There are two significant problems with the farmer's market though: they don't seem to have 1. cilantro or 2. avocados. Don't they know that these two items are how I deal with summer?
Summer solution: G-U-A-C-A-M-O-L-E! Duh.
2. A visit to the local strawberry patch. Well, not really. I just went here and bought strawberries from the local place. It's cheating. I also cheated on my all-time favorite strawberry farm, Molly's Farm. They are still the best, but I was trying to not spend $40 in gas this weekend.
3. A hair cut! Enough said.
4. A visit with my cutie little niece, Riley.
Yes, I took this picture, and I'm not ashamed. She's so cute, and I need footage of her with me so I look cuter too.
5. A visit to the nail place to use this amazing polish I treated myself to this week.
My nails look icky in this pic. Thankfully my favorite nail tech fixed me up!
I got it all because it's called Master Plan, and I'm working on having one of those.
Yes, that's my trusty 5-star notebook in the background. It's where I keep notes about my Master Plan.
6. And to top it all off, I made muffins using this recipe and fresh blueberries from Will's garden. I also added in fresh strawberries, which weren't in the recipe. I recommend it. Tasty!
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