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i know i still owe real posts but i had to stop by to advertise for a new etsy page started by my bff's mom: http://www.sallysunshine.etsy.com/. she does hand made glass jewelry. check it out!

i apologize that it has been so long since my last blog. i have been taking pictures of new recipes i've tried and will upload them with comments forthwith (this word makes me smile). i'm also planning on making red velvet cupcakes and rice krispy treats for the office christmas party next week. if i can find a star shaped cookie cutter, i might make them rice krispies ala angela from the show the office which means put on a skewer with a ribbon tied on it so they look like fairy wands. i real post is coming soon.

This post is made possible mainly in part to Meg, a friend and fellow blogger who is a fan of Heidi's cooking blog.
I have long admired the recipe for pea dumplings and finally got around to make them today and they were absolutely delicious! I think they are one of the best things I've ever eaten. I did mine differently than the directions because I didn't have a blender or food processor. So, I actually used a hand mixer and a potato smasher which seemed to work fine.

ingredients list:
2 cups (about 10 ounces) cups peas (freshly shelled or frozen)
2/3 cup ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil
scant 1/2 tea spoon fine grain sea salt
1 small shallot, minced
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
zest of one large lemon
and a package of wonton or round wrappers

one person note to this: the wonton wrappers may actually be in the vegetable section right next to the alphalpha sprouts as they are made by the same copy. at least this is how they were in publix.

I chose to fry them instead of steam them. I apologize for the slight fuziness in the images. My camera lens is a bit dirty.

the full recipe is available on her website.

here are some pictures of my process and how the final result came out:


the peas, ricotta, and olive oil pre mix



post mix and plus parmesan, shallots and lemon zest



filling the wonton wrappers with the pea dumpling mix



some of the wontons in their prepared shape. my package of wonton wrappers didn't include folding instructions, however I found a number of helpful videos on youtube, in particular this one. You'll need to skip forward to about a minute and 55 seconds into the video as he shows a recipe in the beginning for filling for dumplings.



dumplings in the frying pan



the finished product with a little of the filling for garnish in the center.

It was a tiring but fun process and I definitely feel very accomplished after making something like this.

More later

I apologize for being so long between posts. I've had computer issues of late that the fabulous Apple Store in Orlando has kindly fixed/have also moved home from school for the summer.

I have recently decided to become a pescatarian which is basically a vegetarian who also eats seafood. I just like shrimp too much to give it up (though I do plan to cheat and very occasionally eat chicken). So, i will be going through a journey of finding new recipes that are more vegetable based. One of the man reasons I wanted to do the pescatarian thing is because I wanted to force myself to eat more fruits and vegetables. I'm not saying that as a vegetarian that is all you eat, but that I'm trying to make that my focus. So, I will be sharing the recipes that I've found and tried. I also welcome any suggested recipes.

Thanks!

Tea Party

Two week ago on the 7th of May, I had a tea party in my university apartment for the other art history grad students as well as some of my neighbors. It was pretty successful and people were definitely surprised by the food. They said they were just expecting a few store bought cookies. It was more baking than I was used to doing in such a short time as I ended up doing everything that morning as I had just turned in my last final the day before and was pretty tired. Anyway, one of my bosses loaned me her french press to use as a strainer/tea pot which was really great as I'd never used loose leaf tea before and she also gave me this great loose leaf fruit tea that had a really nice woodsy flavor to it.


image courtesy of target.com

So, I thought it would be nice to post some of the recipes here as they were more or less simple to make, don't require speciality cookware (apart from an electric mixer)and make a good presentation.

Here's the menu:

1. flourless chocolate cupcakes.

2. victoria sandwiches.

3. Marinated shrimp with smoked gouda and proscuitto.
4. chocolate mousse filled chocolate dessert cups.
5. crostini bread with herb goat cheese.


1. Flourless chocolate cupcakes with chocolate ganache topping

I found the recipe for this cake just searching the internet several months ago and have used it 4 or 5 times since then. It takes delicious but doesn't take a lot of work.




4 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease an 8 inch round cake pan, and dust with cocoa powder.
In the top of a double boiler over lightly simmering water, melt chocolate and butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, cocoa powder, eggs, and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Slices can also be reheated for 20 to 30 seconds in the microwave before serving.


http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Flourless-Chocolate-Cake-II/Detail.aspx


+I personally don't use a double boiler for this recipe as melting the chocolate in the bowl in the microwave means less time/dishware as I can just use that same bowl to mix the rest of the ingredients in.



+This is great served with vanilla icecream or with raspberry sauce in addition to or instead of the icecream. The raspberry sauce makes a great ice cream topping.


Raspberry sauce:
2 pints raspberry
1/4 sugar
(optional) 1 tsp. lemon juice


-Allow the raspberries and sugar to boil in a small sauce pan on the stove until the raspberries have broken down (10-15 minutes).


-Strain the sauce into a bowl or other container to remove the seeds (use may use a sifter for this as well but the seeds will most likely get stuff to the sifter and you may just ahve to use it only for your fruit saucues, buying a second one for flour,etc.)


And that's it! It's super simple yet super good.


+I tend to leave off the lemon juice in this recipe which is why I marked it optional. The raspberry sauce is tart enough without it and seems to maintain its color well.


This cake will have an inclination to stick to the bottom of the pan so dusting the bottom with cocoa and spraying not stick spray is very important. The liners for the cupcakes make this easier. For the topping

Chocolate ganache:
8 oz. semi sweet chocolate, roughly chopped
1 cup heavy cream

melt chocolate into the heavy whipping cream in a small sauce pan on a low-medium heat.


If you want it to set, it will take around 2 or so hours. Refrigeration will cause it to lose its shine so make close to time of use so that refrigeration is not necessary. For the cake form, it is not really necessary to allow it to set as it can be poured out onto the cake. However, it is necessary for the cupcakes.


The image is a photo from someone else, but if I did actually take a photo of my cupcakes/when I have a personal computer, I will post mine.

+(optional) top cupcakes with edible flours. If you live in the midwest, you can find these at a Martin's Supermarket. I have also seen them as Whole Foods. They had a very nice touch.

I'll add the rest of the recipes later. hope you enjoy this one!

Based on the inspiration of other friends starting newer/more interesting blogs, I decided to give a new one a try a well. Unlike the previous livejournal, I would like this one to focus on certain interests of mine. Mainly, it will focus on cooking/baking as well as hopefully some discussion of my museum internship this summer. In addition to this, I am wildly in love with movies. So, hopefully that will play a part as well. It might be a little light on the pictures at the beginning because my peronal labtop is currently broken. So, until then it will be picture limited/stock photos from the internet. I hope both you and I enjoy it!