The Smarty-Pants Picnic

Last month I whipped together another Festive Food Friday for our office's forced-socialization requirements. Luckily I've been able to raise the bar a little closer to the borderline of "actual fun" which I consider a huge triumph.

Smarty-Pants Picnic was a hybrid of summer fun & academia in honor of a co-worker's doctorate. Books & gingham abounded. Picnic favorite dishes with a side of trivia. And let's be honest... it was mostly an excuse for mustaches and monocles.

Please feel free to use any of my ideas for a party of your own.

A Sweet Gift for YOU!

Like any good friend, I didn't return home empty handed from my little trip to Hershey. I brought home a souvenir for my friends! And what kind of souvenir would would come from Hershey, aka The Sweetest Place on Earth? CHOCOLATE, OF COURSE!

That, my friends, is a chocolate bar that I made just for you. There's this place called Chocolate World right next the park that, when I was growing up, only had an Epcot-esque educational ride about how chocolate was made. And even when that's all there was, I LOVED IT. Now you can see a 3D movie, go to chocolate tastings, buy all kinds of Hershey's specialty items....

And...

Build you own chocolate bar.

Here's your chocolate connoisseurs reporting for duty:

And there it's dropping raspberry into your chocolate bar...

The final product & my gift to one winner is a bar designed by yours truly with milk chocolate, almonds, raspberry, and sprinkles on top. And all you have to do to win it is leave me a comment answering this question:

If you could design a chocolate bar using any ingredient, what would you use?

The winner will be drawn at random Wednesday afternoon.
Think sweet thoughts, I can't wait to read your creations!

Our work here is done.

Summer Drinks

It's no secret that I'm convinced the best people in the world live in Pittsburgh and are all my friends. It may seem unlikely to you, but I'm fairly certain of the validity of this theory. And while many of my peers would spend a Friday night at a pretentious club or trying to get laid, I spent mine drinking from mason jars & screaming about social justice in Israel. (haha what? It's ok, we can always hug it out after yelling about ridiculous things) But in one way we don't differ is that just like any other 27 year old we all probably have a drink in hand while whatever Friday night activities we're engaged in. (gasp! a good Christian girl like you? ...uh, yeah. I'm a Christian, not Amish.)

My current favorite summer drinks...

To Make -

Step 1) Crush fresh basil & put in a strainer. As much as you want, fill 'er up!

Step 2) Add 2 parts gin, 1 part lime juice, & 1 part simple syrup

 Step 3) Pour over ice, enjoy with friends, & talk politics

To make -

...hell if I know...

Bloody Marys are a bit tougher, I recommend just going out.

Strangely the last step is the same... enjoy with friends.

So what summer drinks are you loving? I always love finding new ones to try!

Un parti français? Oui, s'il vous plaît.

"I swear if she makes me wear a beret, I'm leaving" ~Lee

"Um, I don't really think I need to share a candle-lit dinner with my coworkers" ~Jill

These were the murmurings that could be heard around my office on Friday as I completely took over our monthly "Festive Food Friday". And they were shortly followed by phrases more along the lines of "Wow, you should do this for a living." and "Do you plan weddings?"

It's a classic pattern...

1. Lauren sees something neglected that could be done better
2. She takes total control
3. She goes way overboard to the point of people thinking she's ridiculous
4. Everyone has a lovely time.

And that's exactly what happened as we were transported to a quaint little bistro in France, if only for the afternoon.

And if you ever feel like having your own Festive (French) Food Friday, here's a little playlist I made to set the mood. Seriously feel free to steal any of my ideas & bon appetit!

Suprise Luncheon

Today, just about a minute before I grabbed my purse to head out to lunch, I got a phone call asking me to report to Pupil Services. Ugh, couldn't this wait til I got back? Apparently not...

It was my surprise farewell luncheon. :) And these folks know how to do it RIGHT. 5 crockpots, a veggie pizza, cake pops, more cake + ice cream, & my ultimate guilty pleasure... Mt. Dew. Now excuse me while I take a sugar-coma under my desk.

Fastnachts Day

Happy Carnival, Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Fasching, Fat Tuesday, or whatever you call it where you're from! Where I come from, it's Fastnachts Day.

Growing up in Eastern PA I took a lot of Pennsylvania Dutch traditions for granted. I've never had to make fastnachts or a shoo fly pie because they're sold everywhere, even in the grocery store. But without even crossing a state border it's a different world in Pittsburgh. Every year I pout about not having fastnachts available & usually eat a normal doughnut out of bitterness.

Well not this year. For my 5th Fat Tuesday in the Burgh it's time to take matters into my own hand, strap on an apron, & fry some ridiculously fatty balls of delish.

I went with Fleegal's family recipe which is your typical flour, sugar, eggs, milk, etc with some cinnamon & cloves. There's another variation I'd like to try next year made from potatoes where you have to wait for the yeast to rise & can control the shape... but this was easier & a good introduction into frying. I've never fried anything in my life, but fire hazards be damned I gave it a try.

 

I learned a few things on my first fastnact adventure....

• A little heat goes a long way. When your tub of crisco says "medium heat" they really mean LOW. Otherwise your apartment will fill with smoke & your first batch will immediately brown while the center is still batter. .....or so I'd imagine *ahem*

• Let the dough sit a little while. This might have something to do with the baking powder? But after about 10 minutes I noticed the dough was much more solid. So I let my 2nd batch sit a while & they ended up much less crustacean shaped than those in the pictures.

• Fastnacts are not compatible with my lifestyle. It's really impractical & slightly ironic to BUY fat for a day where tradition tells you to use up the old fat in order to get rid of it for lent. Also I didn't own any metal scoops & plastic melts so I ended up scooping them with my cheese grater, as you can see above. And I had to buy paper towels specifically to dry them, normally I use real towels to clean. But I imagine it's a good thing to be ill-prepared for deep frying in your day-to-day life.

So enjoy your one annual day of church-sanctioned reckless abandon. Tomorrow starts Lent & I've got some hefty plans for myself. But not today. Today I eat fastnachts.

PreGame Burritos

Things that have been keeping Lauren super busy: Part 2

I'm still studying my 99 Luftballons so hopefully this doesn't come out in German. haha Forgive me if it does. Anyway, similarly to my last post I spent another day feeding lots & lots of people on Sunday. About 70 to be exact. It's our church's tradition to have PreGame Burritos for a Super Bowl party to fundraise for our trip to Mexico. It's kind of "my thing" but I had lots of help pulling it off, & we made a few Bejamins in the process. Plus they were super tasty, even if the ending to the evening left something to be desired. (like a 7th ring... I'm over it, the Shiva really helped) So within 1 week I did the cooking equivalent of 6 months for myself. I have no shame that for an upcoming dinner I only volunteered rolls. This girl's enjoying a break from the kitchen!

 

Whoopie Pies

This past weekend, Mark & I spent some time in the kitchen whipping up a treat for the football party. Mark always likes to try new challenges, & I love anything that reminds me of PA Dutch traditions, so whoopie pies seemed like the perfect project.

The only real road block we ran into was the decision on which recipe to use. It's the classic cook vs. baker debate... I need to follow recipes exactly because I think that baking is a magic spell that you need to do just right. Mark likes to freestyle & switch ingredients. Also simple vs. healthy... sure butter & sugar can make frosting, but do I really want to be a diabetic?

Anyway, we ended up making weight watchers cakes, & the least weight watcher friendly cream possible. It's like ordering a bacon cheese burger & expecting your diet coke to balance it. Whatever. They tasted amazing. And in the end it was a good balance with the sugary icing & not-so-sweet cakes.

Taken from: Nosh With Me

• 1 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.

With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the sugar, shortening and egg white in a medium bowl until fluffy and well blended (about 2 minutes).

Stir in the flour mixture, then add the milk until just blended.

Drop the dough (it will be a cross between cake batter and cookie dough in consistency) by spoonfuls onto large, ungreased baking sheets (I used Silpats), making 36 cookies.

Bake until top springs back when lightly touched (5-7 minutes).

Cool completely on the sheets on a rack.

 

Shame on me, I didn't save the site I stole this from.

This part is magical. You swear it's never going to work for a solid 2 minutes & then suddenly *poof* it's a creamy frosting!

• 1 cup solid vegetable shortening*
• 1 1/2 cups powdered (confectioner's) sugar
• 2 cups Marshmallow Fluff**
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

* Butter may be substituted for all or part of the vegetable shortening, although traditional Whoopie Pies are made with vegetable shortening only

** Marshmallow Creme may be substituted.

 

In a medium bow, beat together shortening, sugar, and Marshmallow fluff; stir in vanilla extract until well blended.

Gingerbread Inspiration

I'm sure in another day or two many of you will be in family-fun full throttle... roasting chestnuts, decorating gingerbread houses, singing around the piano. Tradition is wonderful. But consider this to be the voice of inspiration here to tell you "Tradition doesn't mean a carbon copy every year. Get creative!"

When we went ice skating downtown the other day, there was an awesome gingerbread house display created by students all over the city. It was amazing! Sure there were a lot of beautifully decorated houses, but some of these kids really took it up a notch. It got my wheels of my little mind turning, maybe they'll do the same for you...

The Running of the Bulls

Football Stadium

My Future House (see here for the background story)

The Eiffel Tower

Go get creative! And make sure to show me what you come up with, you wonderful people you.

Real Food

I'm 3 days into a week long food challenge... only eat real food, unprocessed with nothing unnatural added. It was Mark's idea but we had very different motivations to challenge ourselves. His mostly revolved around wanting to cook big meals with friends from scratch. Mine more revolved around being healthy. I hate to cook & I'm lazy. But I'm hoping that a week long struggle to force myself into planning & cooking fresh things might shift my habits a little. So a visit to the farmer's market was definitely in order.

Doesn't that all look delish?

Last night I made portabellas stuffed with quinoa, broccoli, zucchini, & pepper. I should have taken pictures but I was so proud of myself I just ate it right up! I'm not a great cook... that's quite an understatement... so I'm particularly proud of myself right now.

Yes that is bread you see above, but we're counting anything that has all natural ingredients... things our great-grandparents would recognize as food. So I had a loooong talk with the guy at the market (much to his chagrin, I'm sure) who promised me the flour was unbleached & met all the rest of my standards too. Thank goodness because I don't do well without carbs. Or coffee. Carbs & coffee, mmm.... (Lauren, focus!)

This challenge is coming at the perfect time for me. I'm feeling a little emotional about food. Do you guys ever get like that? I think my friend Emma pointed it out to me how food struggles are harder than most because it's not like you can avoid eating the same way you can avoid bars if you struggle with drinking. You have to eat, but eating right takes so much planning & effort & time in the kitchen. Then again if I devote that much time I start to go a little crazy & over analyze everything & feel guilty about any screw ups, which is also no good & unhealthy. It's a balance.

I guess this is all coming to a head because my Dad is having heart trouble. He'll be just fine, don't worry folks, now that we know what's going on it's all under control. And as it turns out it's more electrical than health related, but for a few days I was SURE this was because he doesn't eat healthy. Beyond doesn't eat healthy, he actually criticizes me when I do eat healthy. Teases me about being on a diet, which I don't consider eating right a new diet... it's just eating. And then a few days later will criticize my weight. What the heck... do you want me to loose weight or eat Chinese Buffet with you because really I can't do both. And at the same time he's diabetic & has had 2 strokes which makes me pretty certain he's going to kill himself with food. So when this new heart thing showed up I was SURE this is the beginning of his downward spiral. Turns out it's not, but it still shook up a lot of emotion. (I'm not even sure I should be sharing all this, but it's how I'm feeling & I'll try to trust you guys with that.)

So it's good timing that for at least this week I have a plan. It'll help me avoid all kinds of emotional eating (overeating, undereating, comfort foods, no calorie/no nutrition foods, the whole spectrum... unlike TV not everyone dives into a tub of Ben & Jerry's when they're emotional.) And like I said at the beginning, I'm hoping to instill some new habits that will last beyond this week. I'm feeling really good about this week-long plan. Day 3 out of 7... check!