Category Archives: food

recipes, food, photos

Saffron Lemonade

lemonade3I watch the Cooking Channel while running on the treadmill at the gym. I should be embarrassed, but I’m not. No shame in my game.

The other night My Grandmother’s Ravioli was on and Mo Rocca was cooking with two adorable, little Indian women. I absolutely love the flavors of Indian cooking, so I was enthralled. Before the ladies began cooking, they served Mo saffron lemonade. My head almost exploded. I quickly typed it onto the notes on my phone and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.

lemonade2

I googled their recipe, but I modified it a bit. I try to watch my sugar intake.

Saffron Lemonade: Makes 16 oz.
5-6 lemons
1/4 cup of sugar
2 pinches of saffron
1 cup of cold water
A handful of ice

Squeeze the lemons, add the sugar, water and saffron, then add a handful of ice and shake. The longer you let the saffron steep in the lemonade, the stronger the flavor will be. I let mine steep about an hour and it turned a gorgeous orange color.

lemonade

The flavor kind of reminded me of kombucha, but less tart. Saffron lemonade is the perfect spring drink!

love,
melanie

 

Breakfast Pizza

Pizza with an egg on top!
Pizza with an egg on top!

It’s no surprise that breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. My first date with George was actually to iHop. On the weekdays, we usually don’t have enough time to make an elaborate breakfast, but on the weekends, we go all out. This weekend we wanted to try something different.

We are also obsessed with pizza. (Who isn’t?!) George and I would eat pizza every night of the week if we could. So we decided to combine two of out favorite things: pizza and breakfast!

We made this breakfast pizza from a store-bought, gluten-free crust. We topped it with pizza sauce, cheese, pre-cooked sausage and uncooked eggs, then baked according to the directions written on the crust. It tasted amazing! And as George and I like to say, “Put it on the menu!”

How have you reinvented your standard meals? Let me know in the comments!

love,
melanie

Gluten-free, Puffy, Berry Pancake

pancake

After discovering my gluten-intolerance, I haven’t really missed bread, pasta or traditional desserts very much. The one thing I did miss was pancakes. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day– and it’s the most important, right? And nothing, I mean nothing, gets me out of bed faster than a piping hot cup of coffee and a giant pancake.

Gluten-free, Puffy Berry Pancakes (adapted from Primal Blueprint Quick and Easy Meals)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of butter
1 cup of fresh or frozen berries (I used frozen raspberries and strawberries)
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat butter and berries in a 10-inch oven-proof skillet over medium heat.

As berries heat, separate eggs into two bowls, one for egg whites and one for yolks. Beat the egg whites until peaks form. Then, add the vanilla and cinnamon to the egg yolks and whisk by hand. Fold the egg yolks into the egg whites.

Pour the egg mixture on top of the fruit in the skillet and spread it out evenly. Cook on the stove for 2 minutes on medium heat. Move the pan to the oven and cook for 12 minutes or until the pancake is puffy and brown on the edges.

Remove from the oven and top with butter and powdered sugar or a drizzle maple syrup!

What is your favorite meal of the day?
love,
melanie

Infused Strawberry Vodka Lemonade

infused strawberry vodka lemonadeInfused vodka is one of those things that seems really difficult and maybe a little snobby, but it’s actually stupid-easy. Making grilled cheese is harder than making infused vodka, I swear. For this recipe, the hardest part is waiting a week for the fruit to mingle with the vodka.

Infused Vodka Ingredients

  • Enough fruit of your choice to loosely fill a mason jar (approximately 2 cups)
  • Approximately 12 oz. of vodka (I recommend at least triple-distilled)
  • A cool, dark place and patience

To make infused vodka all you have to do is wash and cut your favorite fruit, put it in a mason jar, and then fill the jar with vodka. Screw the top on the jar and leave in a cool, dark place for a week. Shake everyday, if possible. One week later, drain out the fruit and voila, you’ve got infused vodka!

I tried several different fruit-infusions: blueberry, lemon and strawberry. By far, the strawberry was the best. Below is the recipe I made with the infused strawberry vodka. I actually don’t usually enjoy vodka, one too many bad college nights, but this recipe made me a believer in the magic of the clear spirit.

Infused Strawberry Vodka Lemonade

  • Two shots of infused strawberry vodka (recipe above)
  • 6 lemons
  • A handful of ice
  • 2 tablespoons of sugar

Squeeze the juice from six lemons. Add the sugar and vodka to the lemon juice. Pour or shake over ice.

strawberry lemonade detail

Tip: I like to put my drinks in mason jars with lids, so I can easily shake the drink. James Bond style.

This recipe will make 2 small-ish drinks or one large-ish.  😉

Did you have any special spirits over the holiday weekend?

love,
melanie

How to Make Rice Pudding with Leftover Rice

Rice pudding in a jar. Text overlay reads: how to make rice pudding with leftover rice.

One of my favorite ways to use up leftover rice is by making rice pudding.  My mom used to make this for us when we were kids and it always reminds me of home. What’s nice about rice pudding is you can eat it hot or cold and it’s a super budget-friendly recipe.

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Peach Mint Juleps for the Kentucky Derby

Peach Mint JulepThe Kentucky Derby is pretty big deal in my family. In fact, my mom used to serve juleps at the derby! Most of my extended family still lives in Louisville, so horse racing is right up there with basketball on the important sports scale. There isn’t really an important sports scale, I was just being facetious.

Peach Mint Julep Close-upAnyway, the derby is a great excuse to bring out your inner Gatsby– wear a large hat, make bets, and drink the classic derby drink, a mint julep.

But I have to tell ya’ll a secret. I am a proper southern lady, but I’m not the biggest mint julep fan. The drink always seems too sweet or too boozy. So, I put a little spin on the classic with the addition of peaches. I adapted the recipe from the following two recipes: Stonefruit and Mint Julep and Frozen Mint Julep.

This recipe will make four small drinks or two large drinks. I don’t judge.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of water
1 cup of sugar
2 cups of mint leaves
1 cup of Kentucky Bourbon
2 cups of frozen peaches
1 handful of ice

Step 1: Make a mint-flavored simple syrup by boiling the sugar, water and torn mint leaves together. Use a whisk to help the sugar dissolve in the water.

Step 2: After sugar has dissolved, take the syrup off the heat and let it cool. As the syrup is cooling, blend the whiskey, peaches and ice in a blender until it is the consistency of a smoothie.

Step 3: Once syrup has cooled to the touch, strain the mint out of syrup.

Step 3: Add the syrup to the blender and give it one last whir to ensure the mixture is completely blended.

Step 4: Wet the rim of your glass with water or fruit and dip the glass rim in sugar. Pour in your drink and garnish with a sprig of mint.

Step 5: Bet on the prettiest horse (which is usually my strategy) and enjoy your julep!

Note: Traditionally a mint julep is served in a silver goblet! Crazy, huh? Since I didn’t have any silver goblets lying around, I served the drinks in plain ‘ol chilled mason jars.

love,
melanie

Gluten-free, No Bake, Chocolate Cake Bites

cake bite

My oven has been broken for over a month. I live in a gorgeous building, but when something breaks, there is no hurry to fix it.

Which means my cake cravings are out of control. You know what I mean. You always want something more when it is practically impossible to acquire. So, I searched around the Internet, did what a good librarian does, and found THE BEST, gluten-free, no bake chocolate cake. EVER. I mean it.

You can find the original recipe at 101 Cookbooks. I’ve adapted it just a tad to make cake bites since the cake is so rich.

Supplies

  • cupcake pan
  • cupcake liners
  • plastic wrap
  • whisk
  • double boiler or the bowl- over-pan method described below
  • medium pan

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces of 70% dark chocolate, well chopped
  • 8 ounces of heavy cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice
  • 2 teaspoons finely ground espresso
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine grain salt
  • cinnamon, to serve
  • whipped creme, to serve

Step 1. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners. You may want to try spraying the liners with a little nonstick spray. I didn’t try it, but I wish I did since the bites were a bit ugly.

 

improvised double boiler

improvised double boiler

Step 2: Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over gentle heat. If you don’t have double boiler, don’t worry. I don’t have one either. Just put a larger bowl on top of a smaller saucepan and fill with about an inch of water and heat the water to simmering.

Step 3: As the chocolate is melting, in a separate pan, heat the cream over gentle heat. Stir in the allspice and the espresso.

Step 4: When the cream is hot to the touch, remove from heat and stir in the salt.

Step 5: After the chocolate has melted, pour it into the cream slowly and whisk slowly. At this point, you are probably going to think, this isn’t working! But I promise, if you are patient and keep whisking, it will come together.

Step 6: Pour mixture into the cupcake pan.

Step 7:  Cover with plastic wrap.

Step 8: Refrigerate until solid. I let mine refrigerate overnight.

Step 9:  Let the cake bites come up to room temperature.

cake bites

Step 10: Peel off the wrapper and finish them off with a little whipped creme and a dusting of cinnamon.

Hope your day is scrumptious!

love,
melanie

Strawberry Grapefruit Mimosas

Strawberry Grapefruit Mimosas

I love a classic mimosa, but for brunch on Sunday I wanted to try something a bit different. So, somehow I got the zany idea to substitute grapefruit juice for orange juice. Here’s what you’ll need to recreate this bright, delicious drink.

strawberry grapefruit mimosas

Ingredients:

  • 1 bottle of (cheap) champagne
  • 1 bottle of grapefruit juice
  • 1/2 cup of sugar (You could use less sugar if you like a tart drink)
  • approximately 1 dozen strawberries
  1. Cut up the strawberries.
  2. Add the sugar to the strawberries and mix.
  3. Transfer strawberries to a pitcher or a glass and meddle with a spoon.
  4. Fill the pitcher 1/2 way full of grapefruit juice.
  5. Top the pitcher off with champagne. Stir. Enjoy. It’s too easy!

Mondays call for a cocktail, don’t you agree?
love,
melanie