Tilapia: I Cooked the most Yummy Breaded Fish and Homemade Tarter Sauce

Determined to cook something other than chicken with creamy pasta (of which I'm a pro), I'm attempting to cook dinner for my husband. A feat that does not usually happen in our early married life. I usually work until he comes home, at which point, he looks at the empty, scentless kitchen and reaches for the canister of delivery menus. It's really gotten bad. And I'm so over that delivery food because I think it made me put on 10lbs. So here goes.

But wait you say - this is a fatty meal. Breaded and fried in oil? No, I tell you. Here is what it is made with:

• saffron oil (as opposed to soybean oil)
• fresh breadcrumbs from the Silver Spoon Bakery
• organic eggs and flour for dipping the fillet of tilapia into

And the tarter sauce? Harmless Helmans regular mayonnaise with minced:
(1 tablespoon each)

• red onion
• dill pickle
• capers
• fresh parsley

Delish I tell you. And David gave it a thumbs up! I must say, I was also totally inspired by Julie and Julia, in that, she cooks for someone.

The Gazpacho Shake Recipe

The Gazpacho Shake Recipe, originally uploaded by KT Flicker.

I think every summer I pull out the gazpacho fixings, but really, it's
for any time. Here is a great, mini-version of the gazpacho that is
great brain food at any time of the day - breakfast, lunch, fresh
snack...

Use the Rocket Blender. We got it for our wedding. AmAzing.

Slice half a carrot. Put it in the blender cup.
Slice a quarter green pepper. Put it in the blender cup.
Slice a quarter cucumber. Put it... Right.
Slice half or quarter tomatto. Put it in the blender cup.
Opptional: put some fresh spinach in there for extra brain power for
women.
Cut a lemon in half and squeeze it into the cup. If you have one of
those lemon or orange squeezers, use that. Lemons are also good for
your skin and ph balance if you've had too much coffee.
Dash some salt on the top.
Pour about a teaspoon of olive oil. Good for your shiny hair.
Drizzle a bit of white wine vinigar or white wine vinigar in top. If
you like it really tart, than use more. I just use a little to accent
the flavor (too much of it makes me flushed in the face).
Screw the top on of your Rocket Blender.
Blend that sucker. Shake it up and down a few times to help the
carrots get blended.
Let it blend for about 2 minutes.
Put it into a pretty juice glass, and you've got a gazpacho shake that
you can drink!

Hybrid Banana Chocolate Chip Cookie Popper Recipe

Since my random foray into cookie making this afternoon prompted such a delicious response on Facebook, with requests for the recipe, I will deliver.

First of all, there is an emotion to this baking. Kind of like in Like Water for Chocolate. I don't know what prompted me to make these cookies in the middle of a busy work day, but I did. And sometimes that motivation makes a difference. Favorite parts about making cookies:

1. I get to mix them in our new ice blue wedding KitchenAid. I like adding ingredients. I don't measure anything, but do follow a recipe. So be careful.
2. I like the batter. I get a hankering for batter, and make the chocolate chip cookies. Sometimes an entire day can go by without me tasting the finished product.

But you really want the recipe for the hybrid banana chocolate chip cookie poppers. Here it is. In my language:

INGREDIENTS
2 sticks of butter (1 cup) - room temperature (Yes, do this 2-3 hrs before. Do not microwave it.)
2 eggs
1 overripe banana (brown on all sides, almost ready for trash)
3/4 cups white granulated sugar
3/4 cups brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla (a generous tsp)
2ish cups flour
1 tsp dashes of baking soda
several dashes of salt
1/2 or 3/4 bag of 11.5oz chocolate chips
muffin tin

DIRECTIONS
Several hours before you are ready to mix the ingredients, take the butter out of the fridge and let it get to room temperature. It is advised to do this with the eggs as well, but if you have a tendency to forget to make this recipe in time, then leave the eggs in the fridge. The banana should be already overripe ie several days old.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree F.

In a bowl of appropriate size, combine the flower, baking soda and salt.

In a mixing bowl, mix the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time. Add the banana. If you're not already beating on slow, turn your beater or mixer onto a slower speed. Not the slowest, but slower. Gradually pour in the flour mixture. Make sure all of the batter gets mixed and is not stuck inside the whisks. Use a rubber spatula to gingerly push the batter down the sides of the bowl, if it has been pushed up. Beat for about 1.5 minutes. Do not over-beat (it might encourage the cookies to be flat).
HINT: If the batter has gathered in the center of the spinning whisks, lift the whisks out of the batter (but not out of the bowl) and the batter will spin off, back into the bowl.

Let sit for 2 minutes. Do the dishes in the meantime. Or lightly grease the muffin tin with butter. You'll need to grease the muffin tins even if they are teflon.

Take your rubber spatula and/or a spoon and drop dollops of batter into each muffin tin. Fill a little less than 75%.

Cook for 10 minutes or until just after you smell the best smell of chocolate chip banana bread coming out of the oven. Not right as the good smell happens, but right after.

Please let us know how they turned out! And if you have your own twist to the recipe, please share.

Make your own Reeses Cup, with a Spoon

Make your own Reeses Cup, with a Spoon, originally uploaded by KT Flicker.

So yummy, and so easy. And so right there in your cupboard so that you don't have to spend a dime extra to get your quick afternoon snackity fix.

Just have Nutulla chocolate, the Bees Knees peanut butter, and a spoon. Scoop one edge of the spoon in the Nutella, and the other edge of the spoon in the peanut butter.

Yummidy.

Home Office Lunch Recipe: Chopped Salad w/ Croissant and Swiss

David and I went on a little lunch date to some fun french restaurant on Friday, and ordered soup, and split a cobb salad. This cobb salad was $14, so it's a good thing we split it. But, it put me over the edge to finally make my own salads! As easy as salads are, I never do them because of the time involved in prepping everything - chopping, wiping, eating. However, this cobb salad had everything nicely chopped and served in little sections on the plate. I figured I could chop some vegetables and put them in some Tupperware the night before. So here's a delish lunch recipe:

1 red pepper
1 red tomato
1 avacado
1 croissant
two slices swiss
sprinkle of pine nuts
sprinkle of blue cheese
dash of salt
1 package mixed green (I used Dole brand)
dressing: optional. I just squeeze a lemon onto the whole thing.

Time to make: 5 minutes
Time to prep: depends on your ingredients and how you grocery shop. I live above a grocery store, and order things online for delivery through Fresh Direct. ;) Actual cutting time of the vegis could be 20 min, which includes cleaning time.
Servings: 3 salads

PREPARING THE INGREDIENTS THE NIGHT BEFORE:
Chop the red pepper, tomato and avocado into little squares. Put them into a Tupperware container, or Glad square thing, but keep them in their own little groups. Have a package of pine nuts in your cupboard, and a hunk of blue cheese in your fridge, for continued re-use.

ON THE DAY OF YOUR LUNCH:
Slice the croissant in half. Place the swiss cheese on each half (if you are hungry, otherwise, eat one half). Place in the toaster or oven on low heat. You can easily over-toast the croissant.

Meanwhile, on a plate, take a fist-full of mixed greens. This container of mixed greens should last you for 3 salads. On top of that, sprinkle from your chopped vegetables. Don't use all of the vegetables. You will use these over 3 salads. Sprinkle on some blue cheese and pine nuts. Add a dash of salt. Dressing is up to you.

Take your croissant out of the oven and place it on your plate. Tell yourself you are out for a swanky lunch at Fast in French in Charleston, SC, and enjoy!

Recipe for Gazpacho Soup :: Chunky Style

Back when I lived in Charleston, SC and worked at Fast and French (aka The Pig and The Chicken, G&M), we made gazpacho soup every day. I started as the dish washer and made my way up to server who had to put time in prepping for soups and such, and my favorite soup to prep was gazpacho. Why? Because there was so much methodical chopping and you could do it so quickly! And the tomatoes were just fun to just squish.

The thing about this soup was that it was kind of magical. After lunch, I would eat a very large piece of carrot cake, and as you know, carrot cake is deadly, especially if it has thick cream cheesy frosting like this one did. So, normally, my brain would be flat on the floor in a sugar induced coma, but a bowl of vegetables in the form of gazpacho soup would bring me back every time.

So, here is a good recipe that is close to that of Fast and French. I started with this link for authentic gazpacho soup Spain style, and changed it a bit. That recipe, and others, are calling for bread. I don't know what to do with the bread except dip it. You could, I suppose, put it into the mixture when you blend to soak up some of the juices, but I don't see a point to that.

Ingredients for Gazpacho Soup
serves for 2-4 or for your lunches

• 1 large tomato
• 1 large red pepper
• 1 large green pepper
• 1/2 of a large red onion
• 1 carrot
• 1 bunch of clilantro
• 4 basil leaves
• several dashes of Cumin
• as much salt as you like
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white whine vinegar
  
• 1 tablespoon water
  
• 1 blender
  

On a chopping board, cut the vegetables and dump into the blender in this order: peppers, onion, carrot, tomato, cilantro, basil, cumin, and salt. Spoon the olive oil over the top, letting it spread the seasonings and cilantro and basil. Spoon the vinegar, then the water. Sprinkle the Cumin and salt again. Blend on the Chop setting, if you have it. You want this to be a little chunky, so don't liquefy. Blend until the mixture turns red and soupy. Pour into a large bowl and let sit at room temperature for an hour to let the freshly cut vegetables mingle, then chill, then eat. You are done!

Note: Don't put the onions in first. If you blend, and the mixture doesn't start to blend very nicely, meaning you have to stir it, then chances are you will over blend the onion, and the onion will get too watery. Your soup could actually be not as red, and more white or gray. Weird, I know.

Breakfast for Girly Champions :: Croissant Scrambled Egg Sandwich

Back when I worked in an office that was next to Pax Wholesome Foods, I would order a yummy scrambled egg sandwich on a croissant for a late breakfast. So to continue that luxury, here is the recipe for making this breakfast at home:








Ingredients for scrambled eggs on a croissant:
1 croissant (I get mine from Silver Moon Bakery)
2 eggs, preferably organic
a bunch of spinach on the stem
cheddar cheese
salt
1 slice butter
1 rubber spatula

Cut the croissant in half, so that you have a top and a bottom. Scramble your eggs in a bowl by mixing them very quickly with a fork, sprinkling salt to taste into the egg mixture. A few dashes. Maybe 5 (I have normal blood pressure). If you have a gas stove, turn onto low heat (if electric, turn on as the first thing you do). Cut a thin slice of butter and spread on the warm/hot pan. Should not bubble or turn brown, but should spread. If turns brown, your pan is too hot. Shave the cheddar into the egg mixture to taste. Pour the egg mixture into the pan, turning the heat up just a bit.

Stir, or scramble, the eggs with the rubber spatula, making sure to clear all sides from the top and bottom of the pan. Repeat this motion until done. You want to scramble the egg mixture gradually so that the cheese has time to melt. Place the bunch of spinach into the pan, and continue stirring, or scrambling. Continue scrambling (and remember, this is not a frantic motion - it's a nice turning of the mixture in the pan - be nice to the eggs) until the eggs are to your satisfaction. The sooner you remove them from the heat, the runnier they will be. Leave then in the pan long, and you will have dryer eggs.

Gingerly scoop the eggs onto the awaiting croissant bottom, and cover with its top. Put on a plate, grab a glass of milk, and voila!

Chocolate Fondue for the Soul

When you've had a long day, or a long number of days in a row with a quick Saturday and Sunday in between which most of the time consists of putting away miles of piles of clothes and hitting the pet store before it closes, you just need to make yourself some chocolate fondue.

It's surprisingly easy. I just did it while washing the dishes. And I'm eating it while I compose this. All without an official chocolate fondue pot. And if you wait to do it when you have friends over, then you might as well never do it, because we all know that plans change and someone forgets to get the main ingredient - heavy cream.

How To Make Chocolate Fondue - Mista Style
Ingredients (for 1 person)
2 wrapped blocks of unsweetened chocolate (it's really 4 if you break them apart...Baker's is a good brand)
1 mound of white, granulated sugar
1 pint heavy cream
5-7 dashes salt
1 little sliver of butter (not margarine, it will interfere with the melting of the chocloate)
strawberries, banana, fruit of your choice
loaf of Angel Food cake
1 regular old cooking pot
1 wooden spoon
1 fondue fork (optional and recommended to get that fondue feeling)
note: after researching the differences between types of sugar (granulated, raw, brown), I have determined that all sugar is bad. So, for this recipe, it is not recommended to use honey to replace the sugar, or to replace the sugar at all. It is this cook's feeling that the chocolate concoction stirs best with the granulated sugar.

Over very low heat (gas is best) ie low flame, spread the butter on the bottom of the pot. Unwrap the chocolate and place in pan. Swirl around to get it going and to coat the bottom of the pot with chocolate. Cover with lid, but allow room for air to get in. Do dishes or some other activity close by so that you can stir the chocolate as it melts with a wooden spoon until creamy.

When chocolate has melted, pour in half a mound of sugar - just enough to sweeten the unsweetened chocolate. On top of the sugar, sprinkle in 4 dashes of salt. Stir. The mixture may lose its creamy consistency and get gloppy. I think that's the sugar caramelizing. Next, pour in the heavy cream, a little at a time, until creamy again. You will add more cream than you think. Taste. Pour in a little more sugar in, plus two more dashes of salt. Stir.

You should be done. With your fondue fork (or regular fork), dip in a sliced piece of strawberry or banana, and say goodbye to daily thoughts. There is only time now for chocolate.

If you drop a piece into the pot, you must kiss the person on your left. If that person is not on your left but in bed because you are making this at midnight, then go find them and treat them to a kiss of warm chocolate.

If you really want an official recipie, I grabbed the ingredients for chocolate fondue here. But there are lots more through Google. Or try this search if you spell recipe without the ie at the end. Oh gosh. Which is right.

Working Girl Salad Recipe w Tuna

Pretty much, a typical lunch for me, even when I worked in an office, is a tuna melt with cheddar cheese that I wolf down and then feel protein-ed after. But I need to broaden my range. I can't keep eating these thoughtless tuna melts, or my brain might just turn into mayonnaise, tuna and cheddar.

So I've started a pursuit of a few good salads to make at home. I started by going to a cafe down the street, spent $7.95 for a little salad inspiration, and here's what I've got:

The Working Girl Salad Recipe with Tuna

Note: helpful to fix salad while listening to The Little Willies.
This salad will be mainly fresh tasting vegetables and a scoop and a half of tuna salad.

Prep time: 7 minutes (if you've prepared the tuna salad already)

1 cucumber
1 small squash
1 small root of ginger
1 New Jersey vine tomato
1 avocado
1 lemon
1 bunch of cilantro
generous amount of Kraft parmesan
2 cans Bumblebee Tuna (or if you do organic or brand of choice)
1/2 tablespoon butter
2 spoonfuls mayonnaise
lettuce that is purple on top
lettuce that is very green and leafy
15 spinach leaves (for folic acid)
Balentino sea salt (don't fear the salt)
Ziploc bags


Prepare the tuna salad in advance (see tuna salad recipe below). You can keep scooping from it.

In a small pan on medium heat (high heat if you have an electric stove), spread melted butter over the surface. Slice about 9 slices of the squash, and spread evenly in the pan. While it is cooking, put the amount of lettuce onto your plate that you want, and rip into bite-sized pieces. Slice about 5 thin slices of cucumber and put onto the salad. Cut the tomato in half and put one half in a Ziploc bag. Slice the other half into thin slices and place next to pile of cucumbers. Halve the avocado by cutting into it lengthwise and cutting around the pit. Twist the avocado apart and put the half that has the pit in it into a ziploc bag and into the fridge. Salt the other half of the avocado and lightly cut into 8ths. Run the knife under the avocado (but above the skin) close to the skin to scoop out the slices you just created, and lightly squeeze them onto the lettuce.

Oops, don't forget about those squashes. Turn the squashes with a fork and knife, and let the other side absorb the butter. Let sit for about 2 minutes, and then sprinkle with Kraft parmesan to taste. The parmesan should absorb the butter and start to look golden. That is when you know they are done.

Scoop the tuna salad into the center of the lettuce. Scoop the amount of tuna salad that you feel like eating. The squash should be done, so turn off the stove, take the pan and spread the parmasan squash over the salad. This puts the salad over the top!

You need dressing. Squeeze a thick slice of lemon over the entire salad. Voila! Make sure to get a bite of tuna with every bite!

Tuna Salad Recipe with Ginger

Makes about 3 meals with a lettuce salad.

Dump the two cans of tuna into a bowel, and quickly chop with a fork to make it into little pieces. Scoop two spoonfuls of mayo into the bowel. Take the ginger root and with a sharp knife (be careful!) lightly peel the outside part off of the piece of ginger you wish to use. Also with the knife, shred small pieces of ginger into the bowel of tuna. Do this to taste, or use about 15-20 little shreds. Rip a small handful of cilantro from the bunch and chop. Pour it into the bowel of tuna. Sprinkle salt to taste. Mix the contents, and store under cling wrap in the fridge.

I'm not going to lie. My love handles are thanking me! Even when I finish the yumminess of the parmesan cooked squash, my love handles are still giddy! You could even make this the night before and bring to your office.

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