Something exciting, well, to me it is!

So, for the past 6 months I have not had wireless. For some reason my computer just wouldn't do it and it was just so frustrating. I finally got it fixed this week and I am just as happy as an ant at a picnic. I'd forgotten how much fun it is to be any where and be on the Internet. Like right now I'm in bed wearing my penguin pajamas writing this. Heehee Haha Hoho! Just thought I'd let you know!

How to make: Cuban Bread

Tracy and I decided we would get a little creative and do a cooking video. Heehee! Now, this is serious. As if I'm ever serious! It's an actual how-to video, with minimal bits of Chip and Dale, for those who actually want to make this bread. You all should. It is easy, fun, and very rewarding, oh, and I forgot to mention delicious!

Cuban Bread

3 1/2 cups of white flour

1 1/3 cups of whole wheat flour

1 tbsp of sugar

1 tsp of salt

1 tbsp + 1/2 tsp dry active yeast

just under 2 cups of warm water

Soften the yeast in the warm water. Swish it around to break up any lumps. Let sit until you start to see a few bubbles.
Add the flour, sugar and salt. Mix well until water is absorbed. Turn out on to a lightly floured surface. Gently knead the dough until it forms a soft smooth uniform dough; about 8-10 minutes.
Place the dough in a greased bowl covered with saran wrap until it is doubled in size.
Roll out onto a lightly floured surface and flatten all the bubbles out. Divide your dough in to sections and knead. Round into balls and let rest for about 10 minutes. Knead the balls again and form into shapes. We did round loaves but you could do any shape you want.
Place the loaves on a baking sheet, flour the tops and lightly score. Place in a warm area to proof until double in size.
Bake for roughly 20-25 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

Trust me you can't go wrong with this bread! Give it a shot!

Happy Mardi Madness...

Hello everyone! Hopefully you all knew it was mardi gras today and did something fun and outrageous. I can remember having some pretty awesome food fights when I was growing up! On this Mardi Gras I ate french toast for supper. But not just any french toast, you didn't really think it was, did you? No, this was french toast stuffed with NUTELLA and BANANA, dipped in CHOCOLATE MILK, fried in BUTTER, and dusted with SUGAR and PECANS. Orgasmic. And then I ate it with my fingers. It is so obvious to me now why it is so hard to get kids to eat with utensils...food just tastes better when you use your fingers. There must be some science behind it...I'll google it and let you know. It was positively delicious and decedant! I hope you all did something a little edgy today....and don't worry it's not too late you still have to 12:00 am to dance down the street...with no clothes on. Heehee! Happy Mardi Gras

My Favorite Part of the Day

Growing up (and even now) my Mom would ask me what favorite part of the day was, or what I learned, or what made me smile, etc. Anyway, today I would like to show you what made me almost pee my pants....here it goes. Okay, so I was coming up the stairs after doing laundry and I heard this banging coming from Tracy's room. She was locked in. Like locked in, locked in. I tried jiggling the door knob... it didn't work and I tried the key...it didn't work. Thankful Tracy is a handy woman and I slid her some knives under the door and she took the whole knob off. We were laughing...and then I snapped this picture...heehee..

I hope you all enjoyed your day and had some funny moments. Hey, why don't you tell me about them?

My New Room

For those of you who don't know...I moved! It happened a couple of weeks ago and now I live 10 minutes from where I used to live. I moved in with my friend Tracy to cut costs and get ready for going to Italy and just because two is better than one. Anyway, some people have been wanting to see my new room, ahemISABELLEahem, so here is a quick little video.

For your viewing pleasure...

NOTE: This video is about 5 minutes long. If you find it as funny as I did it will go by fast.

Enjoy!

Awww...cute! (And totally random!)

Look at this tangerine. It's mini. Those of you who know me know I LOVE anything mini. Baby vegetables, mini pies, tiny cakes....babies. They just make me smile. Tracy picked up these mini tangerines at superstore the other day and we couldn't resist doing a little tangerine photo shoot. We've been doing a lot of photo shoots these days....basically anything we make gets a photo shoot...oatmeal, thyme, pasta, tea...it's become an obsession. But at least I have lots of pictures to post! Anyway, back to the tangerines. They are so small that you can pop the whole thing in your mouth at once and it's the size of one normal orange, they are delicious. I would recommend seeking out these cuties....they are little balls of sunshine that definitely perk your day up!
Stay posted for more 'photo shoots'!

Happy Valentines!

Yes, I do realize I am a day late but didn't want to post anything about Valentines before I had actual Valentines pictures!

First off, I hope everyone had a fabulous Valentines...and I hope you all wore something red or pink. I have specific valentines shirts, yes that's right, not one but TWO! My advice for all you non-Valentines shirt owners is to head over to Old Navy about a 3 days before Valentines...all their Valentines shirts will be on sale for half off.

Now, on to the food....

We had a huge plate of mussels to start:

Now, you can't really see the enormity of the platter in this picture but I just had to include the Valentines flowers in the frame.

We ate them all.

Then came the salmon. Black and Blue Salmon (Cajun spice and blueberry barbecue sauce), white truffle mashed purple potatoes, and a mixed vegetable julienne. It was to die for.

And then there was dessert...which of course was heart shaped. A chocolate raspberry cake with ganache...that was ridiculously decorated by yours truly:

It was a fine meal.

Next year I hope that you will all be wearing valentines shirts and maybe even drinking through a valentines straw...

I LOVE SUNDAYS!!

This weekend is an extra special weekend...it's the 3-day kind a.k.a. the best kind. My friend Brett came over for a sleep over last night and we cooked a man's meal. Now you may think that sounds stereotypical and maybe it is but what about a pot roast isn't manly? It's that whole meat and potatoes thing and I totally dig it. Don't get me wrong I love my vegetables (many of you have heard my brussels sprout rant) but some days I just crave that big chunk of meat. Last night was one of those nights. We cooked up a pot roast out of the cutest little piece of pork, the most delicious potatoes, and some spaghetti squash. It hit the spot. Check it out:

What about that doesn't look appealing...I mean check out that pat of butter on the squash. Let's just say it was unbelievably good. And we topped that off with flapper pie...Brett made it and it was delicious...so delicious that in 24 hours we at the whole thing...between the two of us...yeah, it was good.

With such wonderful eats on Saturday you know Sunday was only going to bring even better ones...

What's this you ask? Well, only the best smoked salmon on HOMEMADE bagels. It was so good that I couldn't wait to take a picture before devouring half of it...and yes my mouth was full of smoked salmon-ey goodness while snapping the picture. Brett and I tackled bagels this morning and it was awesome...I recommend it to anyone. Here's a clip of the boiling step:

We were pretty happy with the outcome, by the end we had baked their 'nastiness' out, but there were still some things that need tweaking. I'm thinking I'll tackle another batch tomorrow.

That's what I've been up to for the last day or so...cooking and eating...did you expect anything different?

Oh, one last thing, this next picture is for my mom

"Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without words, and never stops at all."

- Emily Dickinson