Yum. Yum. Darling.

We had a couple friends over for brunch today and I made these cute little muffins. I found the recipe in a gorgeous cookbook by Rose Elliot called Veggie Chic. They're mini feta and sundried tomato muffins, and they were the perfect little compliment to the spinach frittata and fruit salad that we made!

2 T olive oil
1 egg
2 T sundried tomato pesto
2 T water
1 cup all purpose flour
2 t baking powder
8 oz. feta cheese, tiny diced
8 sundried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and finely chopped
4 T chopped fresh basil

Preheat the oven to 375. Spray a mini muffin pan with nonstick spray and set aside. Whisk together the olive oil, egg, tomato pesto and water. Sift the flour and baking powder into a separate bowl and mix in the feta, sundried tomatoes, basil, and some salt and pepper. Make a well in the center of that and tip the egg/oil mixture into it. Stir this until it is just combined--don't over mix it. Spoon into the muffin tins and fill them well. I seemed to have extra batter and ended up baking 18 muffins. The recipe said to bake them for 10 minutes, but I ended up baking them for more like 20 minutes. They smell incredible when they're baking! Great little nibbles to serve with your brekkie or to take to a party!

Pasta a la Carbonara

Pasta a la carbonara is a sumptuous, sinful dish, and it is pretty easy to make. You can knock it together in 15 or 20 minutes, it will impress your friends and probably will fill their arteries with gunk! And oddly, they will love you for it. I recommend not skimping on the ingredients. Cheap parmesan and less-than-heavy cream and Fakin' Bacon do not cut it in this dish! Use really good quality parmesan that's fresh, and grate it yourself. The same goes for the pork--a nice quality pancetta or good center cut bacon.

Man, I sound like such a Bossy-Boots!



This dish is especially quick and yummy with fresh pasta, but dried pasta works very nicely too. Here are the ingredients for enough to serve 4 people:

16 ounces of fettucini or linguini
8 slices of bacon or pancetta
1 cup of heavy cream
6 ounces of very finely shredded parmesan
2 egg yolks
fresh ground pepper
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup of peas (optional)

First, get the pasta water boiling. Then, in a big frying pan with tallish sides, cut up the slices of pork into about 1/2" squares and toss them in the pan to cook. I used a center cut bacon last time and it rendered a surprisingly low amount of fat. But fear not, there will be no shortage of fat in the dish! Once the pork has gotten well cooked (but not dry and crumbly!) remove all but about a tablespoon of the rendered fat. Turn the heat off--the pan is still going to remain pretty hot. Stir in about a cup of heavy cream, then the shredded parmesan and keep this mixture warm, but not sizzling hot.

Time to put the pasta in to cook. If it's fresh it won't take more than a couple of minutes. If you are adding peas, toss those in with the pasta to blanch. I don't think this dish has peas traditionally, but if you live with Andy Cleveland you put peas in just about everything.

When your pasta is practically done, whisk 2 egg yolks into the bacon-cream-parm mixture. Make sure it's warm, not boiling hot, and keep it moving so the egg yolks get incorporated. Drain and toss the hot pasta into the sauce, tossing to thoroughly coat it. The hot pasta also finishes cooking the egg yolk. What you end up with is a fairly thick sauce that really sticks to the noodles.

Transfer the pasta onto plates and garnish generously with fresh cracked pepper and chopped fresh parsley. Stop and notice how pretty it looks.



Your guests will get really quiet when they take the first bite. Then you will see eyes rolling back into sockets and you will hear groaning. Lots of groaning. Don't worry! This is all good. It just means the carbonara tastes so divine that there are no words.

If you decide to round out the meal with a salad, keep it really simple and light. Same goes for dessert--something light and fruity. Otherwise you'll have to remove your dinner guests with a crane.

Now That's More Like It!

I have tried to embrace the green drink. Try as I have, I can't quite like it. The best I have been able to make it is "almost palatable." So let me share another green drink with you that is sure to make you smile. Sure to make you sit on the floor if you drink it too fast!

Janine's Frozen Margarita

Ingredient list:
1 can limeade concentrate
Tequila
Triple Sec or Cointreau

In a blender, dump the whole cylinder of frozen limeade concentrate
Fill the empty limeade container with tequila and dump it in.
Fill it again halfway with triple sec or cointreau. Dump it in.
Optional-dump in a half-cylinder of any special flavoring, such as strawberries or peaches. Otherwise skip this bit.
Now blend this mixture until it is sssmooooove.

This is your Master Mix. Pour it in a pitcher and set aside.

Now, fill your blender with ice. Pour enough master mix over the ice to cover it. Blend the living daylights out of this mixture until it is a smooth velvety boozy pitcher of perfection. Feed to those you love and prepare to have overnight guests.

Kitty in the Bag

I'm learning how to post video. Let's see if this works.

Detoxing a la Dr. Oz

I feel the need for a cleansing and refreshing smoothie-type addition to my regime.
Wait...Does over-consumption of bad carbs and cheese and butter and cream and wine constitute a regime?

I really want to up, up, up the amount of raw food in my diet.



I'm going to begin and end each day by drinking a great big glass of Dr. Oz's Green Drink. It's a totally vegan raw, very pulpy juice made of:

handful of parsley
2 handfuls of spinach
stick of celery
2 apples
juice of a lemon
1/2" piece of peeled ginger root
1 cucumber
spring water to help liquefy

I don't have a juicer, so I use the blender. It makes a very pulpy drink (yes, I know I said "pulpy" twice. That's just how pulpy it is) with a taste that I hope will become acquired soon. It's teeming with vitamins and fiber-chocked goodness. You're allowed to switch up the ingredients a little to suit your taste. When I make tomorrow's batch I'm going to substitute one of the apples for a nice ripe peach to add a little more sweetness.

I will resist the temptation to add champagne to it. Well, maybe just on Sundays...

There's Something About Boys Called Jack

This is Jack. He's seven, and he has been at Stage Explorers Camp for the last 2 weeks. Just look at that little face.

Jack and I have become thick as thieves. We sit and talk at length about survival in the wild. At Jack's insistence, every day we are different animals. Today we were gorillas. Yesterday we were penguins. Tuesday it was hawks. We talk about what we'll eat, how we'll find our food, and how we will protect ourselves from predators.

Jack's probably not who you'd peg as the teacher's pet, but for some reason he has stolen my heart. As imperfect as he is, he is absolutely perfect. I think Jack will have some significant challenges as he grows up, especially in school. If you happen to meet him, give him a chance to be your friend. You won't be sorry!

Stage Explorers 2009!

I'm in my fourth of six weeks of Stage Explorers Summer Camp at work. I am so partial to this particular group of kids! They are so focused and attentive and sweet. I officially love them. We did "Head Shots" this week. Some turned out better than others. Here are some really great ones.