by JP Esq | Oct 16, 2010 | Uncategorized
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| (C) 2010 – BSM Blog – Bear Lake – Rocky Mountain National Park – Colorado |
I was here. Rocky Mountain “wilderness”. I needed a time-out. I needed life to pause. I needed to meet God again. I needed peace. I needed quiet. I needed to breathe.
And I sat.
And I didn’t move.
And I did breathe.
More updates & pics to come.
by JP Esq | Oct 4, 2010 | Uncategorized
Well, since my last post I:
(1) Had a birthday. Happy 29th. I chose to celebrate the occasion by ignoring it. All of a sudden I realize that I’m in my late 20s. And that, my friends, freaks me out more than turning 30. Not having anymore 20s to experience. I don’t feel 29. Because at 29 I figure I’d be….well…grown up. Some people consider me more grown up than I consider myself. I own businesses. I rent. I don’t have a car payment. I still feel like a kid.
(2) Gained 3 lbs and lost 7 lbs in as many days. I have no idea what the heck that’s about. But I am happy to report that I am now a happy 6 lbs from my initial goal of losing 50 lbs. Did I mention that my reward for 50 lbs will be a new pair of Louboutin’s? Um, yes. I’m going to attribute the 3 lbs I gained to update #3:
(3) Baked a heck of a lot of cupcakes and other sugar-filled treats. And…I ate buttercream for dinner at least 3 times. The little guys you are viewing? Vanilla Bean Cupcakes w/ Dulce de Leche Buttercream. I want you to understand that I cried when I tasted that buttercream. I did. I was attending another football viewing shindig, so I made these puppies to take. Topped a few of them with toffee bits and there you go. Happiness in a paper cup.(4) Had a minor major meltdown anxiety attack. Yeah, your girl had to take a mental health day from work because people are nuts and I needed a minute to be with my thoughts. This is new for me. Most of my friends will tell you I don’t generally externally reveal any internal stress. For the past few months, however, this has not been the case. I’ve got some time off coming soon and heading on a little trip. Haven’t decided yet on Colorado or Kenya. I plan to leave in 6 days. I am definitely not above booking a flight to Kenya on Thursday and leaving on Friday. Stay tuned. {And pray}.
Kristin, I’d love to send you some of these…but I don’t think I can get them on that darn cruise ship. In Greece. Jealous!
by JP Esq | Sep 8, 2010 | Uncategorized
And I’m not talking about the kind you scan pictures with. Once upon a time I told you I have a “scanner” personality. Remember? I’ve learned to embrace it thanks to Barbara Sher and the other part of my personality that doesn’t give two hoots about other people’s opinions of me. In full celebration of this, I have discovered a new interest {likely obsession}: flea markets.
This arises out of boredom and my third personality trait that thinks I can teach myself to do anything extraordinarily well. {This also once led me to believe I could be on the US Open Tennis tour in 6 months flat because my in-brain backhand is killer}. Anyhoo – I’ve been in the process of redecorating my apartment after living there for 5 years. My style: modern traditional. What does that mean? It means I like things light & clean, but homey and comfortable. It means that if it doesn’t match I don’t want it. If there’s one {of whatever} on this side of the couch there must also be one {of whatever} on the other side of the couch. I crave balance & symmetry. I have an obnoxiously accurate eye when it comes to centering things and I get this gut wrenching pain in the pit of my soul when things are off balance. Kudos to my parents for raising such an odd character.
I’ve decided to step outside of myself and try to re-purpose some old nightstands. That brings me to my new obsession with flea markets. In the spirit of vulnerable honestly allow me to admit I’ve never been to one nor have I had the desire to prior to right now. I’m not generally the type that can see the “potential” in a cracked up piece of furniture. Ingredients & food? Yes. Other stuff. Not so much.
So, I’ve been poking around at flea markets, garage sales, estate sales, Goodwill stores, etc in my area. {Um, hello?!? Did you know flea markets have websites? Get outta here…}. I’m hoping to find some hidden treasure and shake up my oh so balanced life a little.
I might even use two different nightstands in my bedroom. This, my friends, is an intriguing thought.
{Yeah, probably not – the thought of it nearly made me hyperventilate…}
Here’s to treasure hunting and a new hobby…for now.
by JP Esq | Aug 31, 2010 | Uncategorized
[Before I begin, can I just say how completely surprised I was to see my Three Cheese Mac ‘N Cheese in the Foodbuzz Top 9 today?!?! I never thought I’d see anything of mine in that group. I definitely do not feel worthy, but am super excited to have the honor and join the ranks for the awesome foodies & photographers with a Top 9 appearance.]
Now, about those peaches.
When I got home yesterday I wanted dessert. If you follow me on Twitter you probably saw my tweet about peaches that needed a purpose. Well my one lone peach that made the journey to work with me did not get eaten with that fabulous cottage cheese. Instead, it found another yummy place in a skillet then shortly after my tummy. I had no idea what I was doing, but with a bottle of Dark Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar staring me in the face and some left over heavy whipping cream from that mac ‘n cheese adventure, I decided to go for a simple & sweet snack. Here goes nothing:
The Ingredients
1 peach
1 1/2 tbsp butter
1 tsp dark chocolate balsamic vinegar
3(+) tsp light agave nectar
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste
1/4 tsp nutmeg
The Process
Slice your peaches however you want. You have to eat them, after all.
Melt the butter in a skillet. Add 1 tsp of the light agave nectar and 1 tsp of dark chocolate balsamic vinegar.
Add the peach slices to the skillet & cook them in the pan to your desired “doneness”. {If I’m eating hot fruit, I don’t want it to be the same consistency as cold fruit. So I tend to let mine get a little soft. You do whatever you want.}
For the whipped cream I used my handy-dandy Magic Bullet {darn if that thing isn’t coming in handy}. Whip together the 2/3 cup of heavy whipping cream, 1 tsp vanilla bean paste, 1/4 tsp of nutmeg and 2 tsp {or more} of light agave nectar {depending on how sweet you want your whipped cream}. I tend to go for a slightly sweet, not overpowering whipped cream – I wanted to relish in the glory of the the sweetness of the peaches. {In that lovely Magic Bullet this took like 11 seconds}.
Plate it. Drizzle a little extra dark chocolate balsamic vinegar on it. Eat it. Love it.
Then make dinner and eat that next. Because you are grown and your mother isn’t here to tell you that eating dessert first is probably inappropriate.
by JP Esq | Aug 29, 2010 | Uncategorized
No woman in my family {or man for that matter} makes macaroni and cheese with a recipe. The only thing from the box are the elbows, because no one in their right mind would attempt to make elbow pasta from scratch. That’s stupid. I learned how to make mac ‘n cheese from watching, tasting, and dumping stuff into a bowl. My mother, grandmothers, aunts – they all do the same thing.
This batch was no different. Someone graciously volunteered me to make mac ‘n cheese {and spaghetti} for a fundraising fish fry. I, of course, never turn down the opportunity to cook for 100+ people. Why? Because my ingredients hoarding is at an all-time high and even though I live a Life of One, I always end up making enough food to feed a small country anyway.
Kids, there is no recipe. I’ll recount what I used and what I did, but you need to spread your wings and give comfort food sans rigid step-by-step guide a try. Your stomach will love you. your thighs will hate you. And all those people you feed will be in sweet creamy mac ‘n cheese heaven. Read on for the inspiration…
The Ingredients
What You Need {How Much I Used} – scale it to your own needs
Elbow Macaroni {3 lbs}
Butter {5 tbsp}
Flour {4 tbsp}
Heavy Whipping Cream {1 pint}
Evaporated Milk {2 cans}
Egg {One}
Extra Sharp Cheddar {3 – 8oz blocks}
Vermont Extra Sharp White Cheddar {8 oz block}
Pepperjack Cheese {8 oz block}
Ground Mustard {about 2 tsp}
Lawry’s Seasoned Salt {about 2 tsp}
Ground Black Pepper {enough}
Paprika {enough}
Boil your macaroni as normal until it’s just tender enough to pierce with a fork. Don’t over boil. Don’t let it sit in the water after you’ve cooked it. Otherwise, you’ll end up with macaroni bits & cheese because it will fall apart. Once it is cooked, rinse it, drain most of the water {reserve a little so it doesn’t dry out or stick together}.
In a bowl, grate 1 block of the extra sharp cheddar, the Vermont extra sharp white cheddar, and the pepperjack cheese.
Make a roux. {By the way, if you’ve never made a roux your life is incomplete}. Melt the butter in a saucepan, gradually add the flour stirring constantly.
To the roux, slowly add the heavy cream and evaporated milk {1 can}, whisking to incorporate.
In a bowl, remove some of the white sauce and add it to the egg. Mix it up. Then dump the egg mixture back into the larger pot of white sauce. This should prevent scrambled eggs ‘n cheese.
To the white sauce add the ground mustard, seasoned salt, and pepper. Add in grated cheeses slowly, mixing to incorporate and melt the cheeses in.
Stick your finger in it.
If the sauce is too thick, add that other can {slowly} of evaporated milk until it is the desired consistency. {This cheese sauce will thicken up as it bakes. Therefore, in order to keep a creamy texture, I am generous with the fatty liquids otherwise known as heavy cream & evaporated milk}.
Put the macaroni in a baking dish. Pour on the cheese sauce. Mix it up. Add more salt, pepper or whatever to taste. Sprinkle in some paprika.
Stick your finger it in again.
Grate the other pound of extra sharp cheddar. Mix half of it into the macaroni. Put the other half on top.
Bake at 350 until the top cheese is melted and yummy looking.
Now, stick a spoon it in. A big, giant spoon.
*This is the general, for-starters, basic mac ‘n cheese recipe I generally use. Then, you add stuff like bread crumbs, pepperoni, bacon, etc and it becomes that much more amazing. I’m sure those variations will end up on this blog at some point.
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