Bawlmerese for Enjoy Your Meal
Superfast, that’s what Cooking Light called this dish. When I think of superfast, what comes to mind is the Concorde flying from New York to London in a little over three hours, or test planes going so fast that they cause a sonic boom. Continue reading “Superfast”
Happy Anniversary to The Mistah!
This post originally appeared on Exit 51 and incorrectly listed 4 egg yolks instead of whites. What the heck was I thinking?
Fool me once…shame on you. Fool me twice…won’t get fooled again. Or some such nonsense.
But being fooled isn’t always the same as being foolish. Case in point, pancakes. I’ve never been a big pancake fan, unless they were being cooked up by my grandmother, but sometimes I just get a taste for them. Here on the South Beach side of the street, pancakes aren’t something you are going to be eating. Unless, those pancakes aren’t really pancakes at all. Don’t believe me? 
It’s surprising how easy it is to fool yourself into thinking you’re eating one thing when really, what’s on your plate has no resemblance to what you tell yourself it is. Like those faux mashed potatoes that we love so much at our house. Cauliflower has nothing remotely in common with potatoes. But given the right presentation, it is possible to tell yourself that they are the same. So you’re being fooled, but you’re certainly not being foolish. How else do you explain the fact that oats, cottage cheese, and egg whites could be mistaken for a pancake? Because I didn’t believe it either…at first.
And then I made them. And I believed. And what’s more, I think these were easier to make. With typical pancakes, I could never figure out when to flip them and would always seem to end up with either gummy, undercooked flapjacks or dry, scorched ones. But these Oatmeal Pancakes, thanks to the egg whites, are pretty fool proof. I even avoided the dreaded ‘first pancake’ syndrome. I can never do that with Bisquick. Never. So now I’m wondering whether this batter can be transformed into waffles? Or perhaps made a little thinner.
Give it a try and you’ll see what I mean that being fooled isn’t always a bad thing.
Oatmeal Pancakes
From The South Beach Diet
Makes approximately 3 large or 6 small pancakes
Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth.
Coat a nonstick frying pan with spray or lightly oil and heat over medium flame. Pour batter into pan. Turn the pancakes once the first side is nicely browned. Cook until the second side is fully browned. Serve immediately.
My latest DIY project was inspired by this post on Shutterboo. I took one look at her homemade lightbox and knew I had to have one. Sure, I could go online and spend upwards of a hundred bucks or so to have an “real” lightbox but thank you recession, our disposable income is no longer quite so disposable. A cardboard box and tissue paper I already had. Goodbye counter top glare in my food photos, hello macros.
In case you now have lightbox envy, Shutterboo’s post is a perfect guide. All you need is 30 minutes (or less), a box, utility knife, ruler, tissue paper, poster board, and tape. For real. Oh, and some lights. I didn’t have any small lights that I could “borrow” from other rooms. So I spent $12 on two small, adjustable lamps at Target.
I like the results. But I may need to get a third lamp that I can shine down into the top of my rig. Or maybe I just need to try stronger bulbs to keep from getting dark shadows towards the front of the box.
For other examples of homemade lightboxes, Google “light box photography”.
I’m a big believer that when the Universe wants you to do something, it lets you know. How else can I explain that in a period of only a week, my browser landed on multiple Busy Day Cake recipes? Remember one premise of The Celestine Prophecy – everything happens for a reason and therefore, there are no accidents or coincidences. Not to get all New Age or anything, but I think that if the Universe wants me to bake a Busy Day Cake, then who am I to argue? Especially when I discover that I already have all the ingredients. My mission could not have been any clearer if the Universe itself had sent me a text message. Continue reading “Busy Day”
Would it surprise you to know that I test holiday recipes as early as October? Trick-or-Treaters have yet to even put on their costumes and the BAH kitchen is already churning out possible holiday treats. We take our holiday treats seriously. One year we made marshmallows. Another year was macaroons and jam thumbprints. The chocolate covered pretzels I tried last year were a complete flop. Which only meant that since I couldn’t properly temper the chocolate, they lived in my refrigerator until The Mistah and I finished them off. They just were not destined to be part of our out of town packages…sorry y’all down in Florida. Continue reading “Casting Call”
This is another one of those Cooking Light recipes that’s been hanging around for years waiting for its moment in the spotlight. Now that it has made its debut, the reviews are in.
“Strong performance in the role of quick weeknight dish” says Wendi. In the time it took to boil water and cook the pasta, the sauce was done. We did go off script and use jarred roasted red peppers instead of roasting peppers in the The Mistah says, “Effective use of the supporting cast.” This is almost a one pot recipe. Most of the action takes place in the blender making for easy clean up.
I see lots of potential in this dish and think it is destined to return for future appearances.
Roasted Pepper and Goat Cheese Pasta
Preheat broiler.
Cut bell peppers in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place pepper halves, skin side up, on a foil lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Broil 8 minutes or until blackened. Place peppers in a zip top plastic bag and seal. Let stand 20 minutes. Peel and place peppers in a blender.
Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes. Add garlic mixture, remaining 1 tablespoon oil, broth, and next five ingredients (through red pepper flakes) to blender with peppers; process until smooth. Combine bell pepper mixture and basil with pasta. Sprinkle with cheese.
I’m not a big fan of lots of leftovers. It gets tiring to eat the same thing day after day. This was a huge issue when I was single and cooking for one, but I still come up against it from time to time. Even if I scale a recipe down, sometimes there’s just too much of it. After I’ve eaten a dish for lunch or dinner a couple of time in a week, I just don’t want to make it again anytime soon. But is it the same if you scale a recipe up just to have leftovers to freeze? I think not. And Honey Mustard Chicken Breast is why. Continue reading “Leftovers”
Sometimes I miss the forest for the trees. Like when I could have posted all of my 2009 Maryland State Fair entries, but instead only linked to a couple of them. Many thanks to TKW (The Kitchen Witch) for her suggestion to give all the images their Honorable Mention. So without further ado, I give you my 2009 MSF portfolio:
That last picture, the very blue landscape, that got the official MSF Honorable Mention. But really, how could the judges NOT love the picture of the carnival rides at night? Or the blushing tulip? Don’t tell the other pictures, but those two were my favorites this year.
Bon Appetit Hon by Wendi Mosteiko is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Bon Appetit Hon 