Ravioli

On my list of New Year's resolutions, time management will be one of them. I feel like I have been so busy, I haven't had time to post any updates. I did also hurt my hand so it's taking me a bit longer to get my daily tasks done. In this post I will be showcasing a yummy dish that one of my good friends prepared. Randi has been one of my best friends since the sixth grade. She's been up in San Francisco at the Art Institute studying in their culinary program. We haven't seen each other in a whole year so we were thrilled to get together while she was visiting for Christmas. After a little trip to Trader Joe's and the farmers market we had what needed to make lunch. We got store bought ravioli but the star of the meal was the infused olive oil she created as the pasta sauce. It was so easy to make. Just sauté onion and garlic in olive oil and keep on a low heat for about 10 minutes. Right before serving she mixed in fresh tomato and arugula and sprinkled on some parmesan cheese. I usually only eat brown rice pasta but this was so delicious. I'm going to try and make my own variation very soon.

Check out Randi's video debut for the Art Institutes pastry tutorial. 

I love her and miss her already.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYkjlI0bvjk

Spinach Feta Pizza

As I said before, Udi's makes the best gluten free bread and pizza crust. Here is a Mediterranean inspired pizza I made tonight using Udi's pizza crust. I used hummus for the sauce and topped it with a little bit of shredded jack cheese, chopped spinach, cherry tomatoes, yellow onion, artichoke hearts, pine nuts and feta cheese.

Flatbread Sandwich

 

Udi's makes the best gluten free bread. They also make awesome pizza crust which is what I used for my sandwich this afternoon. I toasted one-half of a Udi's prepared pizza crust in the oven until crisp. I cut that it in half and spread hummus on each side. I added some feta cheese, chicken, red onion, and sliced granny smith apple. It was simple yet really delicious.

Carrot Cupcakes

  

In keeping with the cupcakes theme, I decided to make a batch yesterday. My boss is out of town this week so the shop is closed and I have these next four days off. I guess I just can't stay away. After reading through some baking cookbooks I came across a carrot cupcake recipe. Carrot cake is one my favorites so I thought it would be fun to make a batch. I did change the recipe a bit. Instead of all-purpose flour I used a gluten free blend of sorghum, tapioca, and rice flour. Raw sugar was used in place of white sugar. I filled each cupcake with a pumpkin pastry cream and topped them with a cream cheese frosting and a large piece candied ginger. Don't they look yummy?

Holiday Cupcakes

These may not be the healthiest sweets, but anything in moderation is okay in my opinion. Last week the Valley News featured an article on Enjoy Cupcakes and their holiday creations.  It was fun having a photographer come into the kitchen and document what we do. She mostly took photos of just the yummy cupcakes, so I was excited to see the picture they chose. I don't think anyone was as excited as my mom. Here is a link to view the entire article http://www.syvnews.com/articles/2010/12/07/news/news02.txt ...Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays : )

Breakfast Sweet Potatoes

Instead of the standard russet potatoes for breakfast why not try sweet potatoes instead? They are a good source of Vitamin A and C as well as B6, potassium, and fiber. After my boss, Amber, was talking about breakfast potatoes at work, I was craving them when I got home. I cut half of a sweet potato into chunks and steamed them for a few minutes until semi-tender. In a pan I heated grapeseed oil and sauteed some chopped onions. I added the sweet potatoes and after about five minutes of cooking, I added green bell pepper and fresh cayenne peppers. I've never seen the fresh peppers before so I was so excited to find them at the farmers market. I use dried cayenne powder regularly in soups, stir ftys, and in tea as a warming tonic.  To go along with my breakfast potatoes I steamed kale and topped it with a poached egg.