3/6/14 3/6/14

Blood Orange Mimosa

Last week I told you about buying some blood oranges from the market. They were amazing! Over the the weekend I was slicing some up for my son when I got to thinking that a blood orange mimosa would be perfect for an Easter brunch or when ever really. So I made myself one…But these oranges were so pretty, I couldn't stop photographing the fruit. Gosh, I'm so weird.To prepare a blood orange mimosa you'll need

Prosecco or other sparkling white wine (or champagne) well chilled.Juice from fresh blood oranges. I like mine with the pulp but if you don't then use a strainer.Sugar. If your oranges are on the tart side mix in a bit of sugar to taste. (optional)Orange liquer (optional)

Combine fresh blood orange juice with sugar and orange liqueur if you're using these ingredients. in a large measuring cup and stir to combine. To serve, pour the blood orange juice into the bottom of Champagne glasses until about half full, top off with Prosecco.

Enjoy!

11/3/13 11/3/13

NaNoWriMo, An "Illuminata" Prayer & Earl Grey "London Fog Latte" Recipe

Whew! The last two weeks of October feel like a daze! My husband was tasked for a surprise deployment and so he's off doing Air Force things and I was swamped with volunteer obligations, and making my boys Halloween costumes. I also had to help my younger son transform a cardboard box into a Police Car for his Kindergarten's Transportation parade that conveniently took place on Halloween. Last night my boys actually got to celebrate Halloween and show off their Minecraft costumes. They had a great time and their costumes garnered a lot of attention from kids and grownups a like so I was happy they were happy.I can not believe we're already three days into November and I've not written a single word for NaNoWriMo! My friend Michelle challenged me to write the 50,000 word goal in five days, yes it's absolutely insane but apparently there are a lot of us who are keen for the challenge, all you need do is Google, Five Day Novel (#50K5DAYS). I'm going to start that on Tuesday or Wednesday, but today I will be jumping into NaNoWriMo today! Yay!I cleared off my desk of all the crafting stuff that had accumulated and tidied up my office and I'm ready to go! I made myself a homemade London Fog Latte ( at Starbucks ask for the London Fog Latte, if you get a blank stare from your barista, simply ask for an Earl Grey Latte with a shot of vanilla syrup.) I've got my playlist cued and just recited this prayer I love by Marianne Williamson who in my opinion is a profound writer of prayers, via her book Illuminata: A Return to Prayer. This prayer speaks to me and I like to recite it before I begin writing as I've found it helps me relax and clear my mind of all the clutter. I thought I'd share it with you just in case you were feeling stressed out over the 50K word count goal!This prayer is listed as a "deliverance" prayer in Illuminata if you've got a copy and want to look it up for yourself.It reads:

Dear God,

Deliver me to my passion.Deliver me to my brilliance. Deliver me to my intelligence. Deliver me to my depth. Deliver me to my nobility. Deliver me to my beauty. Deliver me to my power to heal.Deliver me to You. Amen.

~Marriane Williamson

Happy Writing!

11/3/13 11/3/13

NaNoWriMo, An "Illuminata" Prayer & Earl Grey "London Fog Latte" Recipe

Dear God,

~Marriane Williamson

Happy Writing!

10/20/13 10/20/13

Cuban Flan Recipe [one]

There are a few ways I've made flan. My sister in law first taught me to make flan the way her mother taught her and since then I've asked other more experienced flan makers for their own recipes and what I've discovered is that there is more than one way to make a "traditional" Cuban flan.In getting ready for Noche Buena in the coming weeks I'll be sharing these flan recipes. I'll leave it to you to decide which you prefer.Ingredients: ½ cup sugar1/4 teaspoon lemon juice (fresh is best)1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk14 oz. of water (use the can from the sweetened condensed milk)1 Tbsp. Vanilla extract1 whole egg, beaten4 egg yolks, beatenGround Cinnamon (for sprinkling)Tools needed: Sauce panMold or dish for flanSifterLarge pan to create a baño-maria (bain-marie)Aluminum foilElectric hand or stand mixer (makes things easier but not an absolute)Step 1. Make the caramel coating.Heat the sugar in small saucepan with the lemon juice squeeze of lemon juice. Gently roll the pan to mix the melting sugar. When the sugar mixture turns a golden brown remove from heat and pour the caramelized sugar into your flan mold (or molds if using ones for a single serving ) rolling the caramel up and around the sides of your mold. Set aside and let cool until it hardens and turns smooth.Step 2. Prepare the flan.In a large bowl add the sweetened condensed milk and water blend until smooth. To do so you can use an electric mixer, a stand mixer if you have one or go "old school" and use your muscles.Next add the eggs and the vanilla and mix together until well blended.Pour the egg mixture into your mold use a sifter to catch any bits of egg that didn't blend. If you skip this step your flan will have cooked bits of egg that will mess with the flan's texture. (Trust me.)Sprinkle with cinnamon.Next cover your "mold-dish" with aluminum foil. Make the foil as tight and secure as you possibly can get it.Place your flan in an ovenproof dish or baking pan and fill with hot water to about half-way up the sides.Step 3. BakeBake for 45 minutes, at 350 degrees or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. While your flan bakes watch the water level as it can evaporate. If this occurs simply add more hot water.Step 4. Chilltime!Once fully baked remove the flan from your oven and let it cool at room temperature, then refrigerate it until it's cold. You can leave this overnight or until you're ready to serve.When ready to serve run a knife around the edges of the flan and invert it onto a platter or if you used small molds onto a small dish (just make sure it's got plenty of room for the caramel.Enjoy!

6/11/13 6/11/13

Sparkling Summer Daiquiri - A most refreshing cocktail

With Summer just about to get into full swing, I thought I'd share a great summer cocktail I came up with when I had some left over strawberry "Ice-ee" I'd made for my kids.Ingredients:

8 - 12 oz Frozen (or fresh) strawberries [or more to taste]
1 cup ice cold water
1/4 cup sugar (to taste).
1/4 cup Limoncello
1/3 cup Prosecco or other similar sparkling wine
8-12 ice cubes

To prepare:In a blender combine the strawberries and water and sugar until well blended. Add in 1/2 of the ice cubes and blend until smooth. Add in the Limoncello, if the mixture gets too watery add in more ice if you prefer a thicker daiquri and blend. When you're happy with the consistency of your daiquiri add in the Prosecco and blend for an additional 10-30 seconds. The mixture will bubble and you want to keep that fizz so don't blend for too long.When I made this I used about 1/3 cup each of the Limoncello and Prosecco and was plenty happy with the results. You can make this as strong or as "weak" as you like. If you prefer a virgin version simply substitute the water and Limoncello for lemonade or just the the limoncello for fresh squeezed lemon juice, and the wine for lemon-lime soda. You can also add more ice to make a granita.Pour into your glass and garnish with fresh lemon or strawberries. Cheers!nicole

12/9/12 12/9/12

Wintry Green Salad Recipe

I love salads. L.O.V.E. salads. I eat one (sometimes more) every day.One of my favorites lately is this little salad I prepared when I felt like having some grilled chicken on a bed of greens of course.I prepared this salad with a bag of Fresh Express Veggie Lovers I had on hand, but it would also do great using spinach, romaine etc. One could even use actual winter greens I suppose if you blanched them first.Ingredients:

Fresh Express Veggie Lovers bagged salad (or whatever greens you prefer)
Grilled Chicken (I used Tyson Frozen Grilled Chicken Strips)
Tomatoes (I used the Grape variety)
Dried Cherries
Dried Cranberries
Crushed Walnuts
Cheddar Cheese (I used a sort that had cranberries in it)
Apple Cider Vinegar
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Crazy Janes Mixed Up Salt (salt & pepper can be subbed)
Garlic Salt (if using frozen Chicken Strips)

To prepare:Grilled Chicken if using the frozen sort I did: Take out the amount of chicken you wish to use and place in a frying pan, do not defrost. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the chicken and saute, before the chicken completely warms sprinkle with garlic salt. Set aside.Salad:Mix greens, cherries, cranberries and tomatoes. Top with the grilled chicken and crushed walnuts.At this point you can drizzle the salad with olive oil and the apple cider vinegar and salt to taste or whip up a quick vinaigrette for later using the Olive Oil, vinegar, and crazy salt.

10/15/11 10/15/11

Homemade Laundry Soap DIY

I was tinkering around on Pinterest the other day when I came across a link to make your own laundry detergent. My curiosity piqued, I checked out the post and a few others, then I Googled and found this recipe was quite common, with a few variations, some that add in Oxy-Clean for instance. I also found recipes for a liquid version which required boiling water and other things that sounded like cooking. I wasn't particularly in the mood to cook soap, so I opted for this version which did not require the use of an oven. You can check out my "home-made" board on Pinterest for other versions of this recipe or just conduct your own web investigation.

Needless to say I was intrigued by the notion of making my own laundry detergent especially since the cost was a lot less than the laundry detergent I buy.

After dropping my son Michael off at school one morning last week I dashed on over to Wal-Mart with my iPad cued into this post on DIY Suds for guidance. It actually took me longer to search for glue-sticks (which they did not have!) than it did to find the ingredients for this recipe. I whipped up this batch in my Mother-in-law's kitchen that morning in under 10 minutes.

With my fresh batch of homemade laundry soap in hand I put it to use and found that it worked great! This soap doesn't get all "sudsy" like one would expect from your usual laundry soap, but the amount of suds in the water doesn't relate to how well your clothes are being cleaned and I could see no notable difference in the cleanliness of my clothes using this soap when compared to the store bought soap I usually use. I've since used it a few other times and will continue to do so. This detergent doesn't imbue any scent to your clothes, but I do use a fabric softener which does. Keep that in mind if you like your laundry to be scented.

To make your own laundry soap here is what you'll need:

Homemade DIY Laundry Soap Ingredients:

Fels-Naptha Laundry Bar Soap (1 bar)
Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (1 cup)
Borax (1 cup)
Cheese grater or similar to "shred" the bar of soap
Canister or something to store your detergent in.

To Make Your Own Homemade Laundry Detergent:

Gather your Fels-Naptha soap and cheese shredder thing. Shred the bar of soap-I read that any soap would do such as Ivory but this is what I used. The scent of this soap reminds of me of Pine-sol. However when the clothes are in the wash it smells very lemony and not at all like your toilet bowl.

Shred the entire bar. I varied between really fine shreds and thicker pieces because I thought it looked pretty.Once your done mix one cup each of the Washing

Soda and the Borax. I used a "really" big container I found at Wal-Mart. You could easily fit this into a smaller container or jar.

Use one to two tablespoons of the mixture per load of laundry. (I use two).

I think I'm going to give some of this stuff away as gifts.

I've got plenty of Borax and Washing Soda left over!

Love & making things yourself,

nicóle