Homemade Alfredo

Well I'm about to leave for Korea and I realized I had a few files of photos from blogs I forgot to write. This recipe is not my own but the girls, and she got it from her mother. We tried it the exact way we were told (although I yern to tweak things) it was delicious. 

Chop ALL the green onions (by all I mean 1-2)

These are a favorite of mine and pair well with Alfredo. Try stepping out of your comfort zone and look for alternative noodles. (like spinach, black pepper or tomato garlic, my fave from the farmers market.)

We are going to say this is a quarter of a cup.

The smell of these sautéing in a little bit of olive oil is wonderful,

You want them done just before they start caramelizing. (add salt and pepper)

Heavy cream! Beware of expiration dates and be creeped out by the fact ultra pasteurized cream lasts for more than a month!

The girl and I are al-dente people. 

Add the cream slowly and allow to simmer after you give it a mix. 

You want that frothiness because you are trying to cook down the cream a bit so it's thicker. 

Now I love cheese, and Parmesan is just at the top of my list.

I wanted to get a picture of the block before I cut off a chunk for myself. 

Grate your cheese! I like LOTS of cheese.

Add cracked pepper and salt to taste and let the mixture cook down a bit more until nice and thick. 

I tossed the ardent pasta right into the skillet after we turned off the heat.

Give a quick mix and added some more pepper and cheese. 

You want the Alfredo thick and not watery. If it is too watery you didn't cook it long enough. 

Top with some thick slivers of cheese and some fresh cracked pepper (I like pepper) and enjoy!

This was really simple and I enjoyed it. Next time I believe I will add some garlic to the green onion for a bit of a twang. I don't want it to caramelize though because I want that fresh garlic taste. I'm open for suggestions though. 

Kudos entirely to the girl! 

4 Days till Korea!

Eat watermelon, sneak that midnight snack and remember to drink lots of water!

Fancy Pumpkin Doughnuts

Well this recipe was a bit of a mash up, I have too many cans of organic pumpkin and WAY too much creativity for my own good. It's simple, delicious and flexible. Now I say flexible because you can add walnuts or dried fruit to the batter and change the topping. (There are way too many good things that go with pumpkin). 

I made these for a costume party that I went to and they were a huge hit!

 Ok so you SHOULD have doughnut pans but these are FANCY doughnuts, so we are using mini bunt pans.

 Y ou don't need organic pumpkin, it was weirdly cheaper though at the store so I stocked up. You'll need nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon. 

  Combine all your dry ingredients! Flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt. 

 It should look like the color of whole grain flour when it's done.

 In another bowl combine half a stick of butter and half a cup of brown sugar. (MMMM brown sugar)

 How many people does it take to open a can with the most archaic can opener known to man (Next to pulling out my pocket knife)

 Took 3 of us and 15 minutes

 Add only a cup of pumpkin, so you should have a bunch left over. 

 Two farm fresh eggs to the mix! and Two tablespoons of milk.

 Mix! Mixing bowls are for rich people.

 Combine with the dry ingredients 

 Yet again, mixers are for rich people. Your hands work the best I find. (Thats my nice cast)

 Scrape all of the batter out into a ziplock bag.

 It's a little messy but it works. 

 Cut the tip off of the bag, i suggest about half an inch so you have maximum control. 

 I pipped two rings around, which fills the pans up about halfway.

 Make sure that they are even! You don't want them to bake unevenly.

 Super cool close up! Bake for about 15 min on 350 but keep a watch on them!

 See how they rise? This is the size you want! And it doesn't matter if they crack a bit thats the bottom anyway. 

 I wish you could smell these through your computer!

 Wait until they are fully cool so they pop easily out of the bunt pans.

 I got six out of this batch but we were cutting them in half for people to eat.

 Ok now here is where it gets tricky, melt some chocolate.... and drizzle it over! Then generously dust with powered sugar.

Yum! 

You can do a couple different toppings on these, I'm experimenting with a maple syrup glaze.

Happy Baking! 

And Have a Happy Halloween!

Music of the meal: 

The Band Perry

Thats my awesome steampunk costume. That corset was killer, and I decided to strap a scope to my cast with a belt to make it cool looking. I'll explain that whole cast thing next post xD And oddly enough the angel is my it's complicated part of life. 

It took me forever to type this with a broken wrist. 

Farmers Market FUN!

So there is a nice sized farmers market that sets up a few blocks from my University that sells everything from vegetables to gluten free baked goods. Needless to say I was very excited and my friend and I took a trip there after catching some sushi at a local favorite of ours. I HAULED. Yes I'm going to say it. I HAULED at a farmers market! It was wonderful, I had lets say about 15$ in cash in my pocket. I walked away with two dollars left and THIS:

Two basil plants, 1 full sized yellow watermelon, a whole cauliflower, 1lb of garlic, two florets of broccoli and two oversized sweet potatoes!

 Those sweet potatoes are HUGE

My dorm apartment now smells like basil and its just heavenly!

Garlic is wonderful

Doesn't Cauliflower look like BRAAAAIIINS?

Just had to show you how big it was. That's one of those long tissue boxes for reference. Did i mention that watermelon cost me 2$?

I also seen to have neglected to say that everything was organic. :)

I think that this was a wonderful haul for a farmers market, I only wish I had more money on me to buy some of the organic angus beef that they were selling.


Music for the mood:
Mr. Blue Sky, By: The Electric Light Orchestra

Something Fishy

When I got back this past weekend from my cousins wedding I was greeted with a wonderful text message. "Guess what I got us!!" and curiously I wondered and guessed. (all wrong) until finally my tormented gave up. "I got us salmon!" and instantly I remembered why I love her so much.

So thus dinner was a few days ago but I was very busy writing a paper as well had a little accident where I pulled a muscle in my back/neck picking up some heavy boxes at work. Health services was FUN. (NOT) So this post is a bit late, sorry!

This is my friends FAVORITE rice, she makes it all the time and it's wonderful!

Read the directions! Cup and a fourth of water.

                  Add the packet of the rice into the water and turn it up to high. 

 Add the seasoning packet to the water as well and give it a good stir. The secret to good rice is actually doing nothing at all. Just leave it and turn the heat down until the water sinks below the rice and then give it a bit of a stir. 

 It smelled heavenly!

 This is a salmon steak for one or two, my friend and I split it. Add salt, pepper, a dash of soy sauce and a little brown sugar. (Lemon doesn't hurt at all either.)

Bake for about 10 minutes in the over on about 350

 Ok, I admit it, I love broccoli! Even if its frozen :P

 Add water and toss it in the microwave.

 When it's half done just add a little bit of butter and put it back in the microwave. When it's done drain the water and excess melted butter and add some salt and pepper.

Arrange it all nice and pretty on the plate. My friend and I split the salmon, which was more than enough for the both of us since it was so thick. 

I really loved this, it was healthy, delicious, and devoured. 

What I would do different:

Um, not much. 

Fresh broccoli would have been nice. 

Band of the meal:

Maroon 5

Enjoy!