UK Edition: In the Kitchen Again!

I wrote this post before leaving England and didn't get a chance to post it. Its still interesting to me so you bet I'm sharing it with you too.

You guessed it, another batch of cookies! After my brownies and one batch of cookies I thought I might try a second. This time I made No Bake Cookies because, well, they are no bake! Tasty and easy, that's my cup of tea. Or I guess not really because my cup of tea is my cup of tea, literally. But you know what I mean.

If you have never heard of or made No Bake Cookies I suggest its high time you check out the recipe. You can't go wrong with these babies! Delectable in most every way. :)

You know a sweet treat is going to be worth it when you use chocolate by Cadbury. I sooo wanted to bring this back in my luggage with me but alas, I had no room!

Now we are cooking! The sound of boiling sugar and chocolate and the smell of their melding together is dreamy. Or at least it was for me.

Remember, I'm an imperial girl working in a metric kitchen. I was not sure how this would turn out but it couldn't be too bad considering the simplicity of the ingredients. Things were looking good.

Who said using a small juice glass wouldn't work as a 1 cup measuring cup?! Worked like a charm, though its all relative anyway so maybe it wasn't that difficult in the first place. As much as I wanted to bring these with in my luggage too, I hoped my coworkers in Harrogate would have eated all of them first. I'm glad I made them while I was there and had the craving because they probably wouldn't set up as well in the hot, humid weather of Wisconsin this summer. 

A little chocolate can warm the heart and the warmth is even more welcome when the weather isn't scorching hot.

Dessert is one of my favorite things to eat. Have you noticed? :)

UK Edition: Chocolate Chip Cookies

I couldn't resist. I had to make chocolate chip cookies. Partly for myself, partly to share with coworkers, specifically one who cannot eat nuts (because I wanted to make another type of cookie with peanut butter but didn't want anyone to feel left out - more on this soon).

Have I told you about cooking and baking in a metric-system-filled kitchen?! I had so many computer windows open converting g to ml, kg to c and so many more. Nearly every conversion needed to make chocolate chip cookies!

I bought most of the ingredients myself but borrowed flour and vanilla from a friend because I knew I wouldn't use all of it before leaving. I thought this way it would be a fair trade since said friend would (hopefully) be eating most of the cookies. Sounds great, right? Wrong.

I completely forgot baking soda is used in cookies! Ahhh! What do I do now?! I quickly emailed two friends who were soon to be arriving at our apartment to see if they could bring baking soda with them. Fail. No such luck. I pondered knocking on a neighbors door but chickened out. I thought it would be such a story to share, telling people I borrowed baking ingredients from my neighbor in England! Oh well, the story about not doing it is fun to hear too, right?

Ta da! The cookies turned out just fine without baking soda. I googled like crazy to try and find an alternative to baking soda but was left empty handed. The flavor was still delicious (uh, yeah, because baking soda doesn't really affect the flavor, hello Rachel!) and the texture didn't seem any different than other chocolate chip cookies.

Wait, they were chocolate chocolate chip cookies. Double chocolate! Wahoo! Technically chocolate chocolate, white chocolate chip coconut cookies. But they're still chocolate chip cookies to me. They may look a little different but they were tasty as ever! My coworkers thought so too. Or at least they were polite and ate them without complaints!

UK Edition: Curry

Oh, how I love a good curry. It was my new found love before coming to England and now it has grown into an all out, well, I don't know, but I love it even more. If only restaurants in the US had as many curry dishes as they do in the UK. Most every restaurant or pub here has a curry dish of some sort and boy oh boy, they are scrumptious.

Bengal Spice in Harrogate was the first curry dish we had during our stay. In fact, it was on Day 2, not that I was counting or anything.

I have told some people about my new love but to the others - look forward to many more curry dishes to be prepared in our homes. :)

Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is!

UK Edition: Baking with Foreign Appliances

I made brownies! While living in the UK! How many people can say that?! Ok, besides citizens of the United Kingdom. Seriously, I think its incredible.

It took me a few weeks to work up the courage to bake something (other than warm up curry in the microwave) but I finally did it. The temptation to make brownies came after the best dessert (and one of the best meals when you factor in location and conversation) I've ever had - a warm, freshly baked brownie with ice cream from All Bar One in Leeds, England.

My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Sorry, I'll stop now.

Back to my baking experience. I bought this box of Cadbury brand brownie mix partly because Cadbury chocolate is delicious on its own but mostly because the box came with its own baking tray. Hooray! I didn't have to figure out what size pan to use, which turned out to be awesome because I didn't have any pan close to the size it came with.

The recipe was simple. Combine the brownie mix, add water and one egg. Mix well. Prepare the baking tray by folding the corners and inserting the tabs through the slot, ensuring the tabs are on the outside and the shiny side of the cardboard tray is on the inside. Easy enough, right? Yep, no problems there. Honestly, you thought I would mess this up? Guess again. Its fool proof. I make myself out to be a horrible chef but that is definitely not the case. Though this might be debatable after nearly two months out of a "normal" kitchen.

Eighteen minutes later, for a soft, chewy brownie...

...and beep, beep, beep! The timer went off and they were done!

Delicious brownies. Not quite as good as my inspiration brownie but definitely not bad considering they were made of powder, water and an egg. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) no pictures were taken of anyone devouring these. Probably a good thing.

I'm going to attempt to make no bake chocolate drop cookies and chocolate chip coconut cookies in the next couple days. Wish me luck!

UK Edition: Edinburgh and Zizzi Ristarante

Our journey in Edinburgh, Scotland (I've shared bits and pieces of our trip - a bit of the countryside, the castle and a view of the sea - but need to share more!) included a delicious lunch at Zizzi Ristarante. It is a stylish restaurant serving delicious Italian delicacies. I photographed our meal (ok, just my meal) because I'm weird like that and food is delicious, so why not capture the moment.

The napkins were a paper-ish material, but they were so thick! I loved that they had a quote written on the bottom. I was "this" close to saving mine (unused, mind you) and taking it home with me but decided I would probably have enough trouble fitting everything in my luggage that I decided to forgo that decision.

Nothing like an ice cold Coke in a chilled glass with lemon.

I dislike green olives but these, my friends, were incredibly scrumptious. I'm now in love with them and can't wait to find my favorite selection back home.

Italian pizza. You haven't had real pizza until you have had it the Italian way. Thin, crispy crust, olive oil, fresh, delicious toppings. Oh my heavens I want some right now (good thing we are going to Casa Romana in Harrogate tonight for tasty pizza!!).

Not the world's greatest picture of the three of us (maybe because I cut out over half of one of us) but I think it does a pretty good job of capturing the moment. Nothing is ever perfect anyway.

Can we please get a Zizzis in the US?? Soon?

UK Edition: All Bar One

Last night some coworkers and I took the train to Leeds for a night that turned into a slow, relaxing meal with dessert and wine. It was quite wonderful actually. We ate dinner at a restaurant called All Bar One. The food was delicious, the service was spot on and the prices were a little steeper than we would have liked but obviously (or apparently) that didn't stop us.

Planted centerpiece. Pint of Coke. Dinnerware brought to our table on a platter, so carefully placed on the napkin by our server. Red pepper hummus and pitas. Fish and chips. Chocolate brownie and ice cream.

Simply delicious.

Tikka Masala

Drum roll please... 

Chicken tikka masala!

I have a new found love for Indian food! It basically started when my aunts were in town and we had dinner together at a small Indian restaurant called Maharaja. If you've never been there and live near Madison you should definetly check them out. I HIGHLY recommend them. The food is delicious and the service is superb. If anything, go just for the service. They're wonderful. This was my second time eating there and for some reason I enjoyed the food much more than the first time. A few weeks later Sandeep, a friend from work, had a few of us over for an Indian night. He prepared a meal for us and we watched an Indian movie. The next week we ate at Maharaja again and now I think I'm hooked for life!

I've been trying to make an Indian dish myself for a few weeks now. Good news! I found this Tikka Masala sauce the other day while at a grocery store I don't normally shop at when in search for a special ingredient for a new recipe (which I hope to make tonight and share on here - so excited!!). I made chicken tikka masala last night for supper and it was spectacular. As though I made it from a mixture of individual spices. Ok, not quite that good.

I cooked up a chicken breast, added the sauce, covered and simmered from 10 minutes. Just like the directions say. :) Meanwhile, I cooked my basmati rice (given to me by my Indian friend, Sandeep) to perfection. Basmati rice must be easy to cook because any other time I cook rice, heck even Minute rice, it turns mushy and gross. Maybe basmati is just the right type of grain where it doesn't get mushy when cooked... Anyway, back to my supper. I took the cover off the tikka masala sauce and it stunk like Italian food. Yuck. Don't get me wrong, I love Italian. LOVE it! Just not when I'm trying to make Indian. The smell was kind of appalling actually. So I added a bunch of curry powder and some paprika. Walla! Chicken tikka masala! The curry powder was the perfect addition to mask some of the sweetness and smell of the tomatoes in the sauce.

As much fun as it would be to sit back, relax and order this at a restaurant, it was much fun experimenting with the spices and making it at home. Especially on the cheap. :)

Have you made any tasty new concoctions lately? Or maybe not so tasty?

Girl Scout Cookies

Yesterday I found an unopened sleeve of Thin Mints Girl Scout cookies in my freezer...from last year I think. Ahh the deliciousness that comes in a green box! Of course I opened them and have eaten half the pack already (ok, between yesterday and today, so not that bad). I have a HUGE craving for the Caramel Delights (de-Lights?) from the purple box and have had this craving for a really long time! Who doesn't love Caramel de-Lights (also known as Samoas)?! They are so ooey gooey delicious and chocolately and coconut with a little crunch. Yum. I know no Girl Scouts and I don't have any spare sleeves of caramel delights in my freezer...

Alas, I found a solution to my problem! I will make some!

Source

A simple search and I found many recipes online. Easy peasy. Now, when to make them. I'll get to that soon enough (I hope). They take a lot of time and I don't have a rolling pin, nor the desire to slave away in the kitchen all day today. Just not today my friends, not today. It will be alright. I'll give an update when I do make them. Maybe I can enlist the help of my mom. :) Until then, I'll just drool over the above picture and stick with my thin mints.

[An hour of time passes]: I can make any cookie I want to! Thin Mints and Peanut Butter Patties! Caramel de-Lights, Peanut Butter Patties and Thin Mints are my favorites, in that order. Yum oh yum, oh my what will I do without them? I need to go to the grocery store and get these things started ASAP.

Come on now, drool with me: 
 

Source

 Source

I Believe in a Thing Called Love and Project Complete - Numero Uno

Meal #2 of Valentine's Day weekend was prepared tonight. Shrimp and Chicken Jambalaya. Nearly as tasty as I hoped it would be. Mr. Luke even liked it. He's not a picky eater but is sometimes hesitant when it comes to trying new, home-cooked meals.

The peppers and onions smelled wonderful!

The recipe (from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything) didn't include chicken but Luke wanted to have more meat than just shrimp so we some.

The finished product. It looked better in person and definitely tasted better!

Caboose has been having a great Valentine's weekend, including trying to drink out of the water faucet. It didn't work out so well in the end so he gave up and just laid low.

Luke and I made cards for each other...but we didn't exchange yet. That's for the actual day, you silly. We (and by we I think I pretty much mean I because Luke probably doesn't care much either way) like to make cards for each other instead of buying them because it shows a little more love and effort when into picking it out/getting ready for whatever you are going to celebrate. And its cute to see what someone comes up with (except that my cards are not cute - they look like they were made by a 2nd grader).

My parents, Luke and I put together a little box of goodies for my sisters for the big day. Pictures, a semi-homemade picture frame, chocolate, candy hearts, nail polish and homemade cards made two girls pretty happy (so I heard). It was a lot of fun to put it together in hopes they would feel special. Something nice goes a long way. Just remember that. (I just might consider those semi-homemade picture frames for my one masterpiece this month thing...how is that cheating? Its not. Exactly.)

Valentine's day doesn't have to be mushy lovey dovey. It can simply be a day you let those you love and care about know you love and care about them. Remember? A little something nice goes a long way.

Hope you enjoyed the weekend. And the Grammys!

Love is in the Air

Luke and I are celebrating Valentine's Day with some delicious home cooked meals and quality time together through the weekend. We think cooking tasty meals at home is sometimes (usually) more enjoyable than going out to eat, for many reasons. We can plan the meal, make exactly what we want, grocery shop together, spend time together in the kitchen, bicker ever so little about whether the mushrooms and onions are done, be in the comforts of home, and do the dishes together. What could be more fun?! Since we mostly see each other on the weekends we think its fun to spend time making meals. At the same time, who doesn't enjoy a nice meal out?

We took pictures of our creations! Sort of. The beginnings of it at least. Taking pictures of something "in process" can be kind of difficult. Wait, stop, let me take a picture of that. Hey, take a picture of this. Its just not natural. But we did it!

The menu tonight: Delicious brussel sprouts! Don't knock 'em 'til you try 'em. A little water in a covered pan, salt, maybe a little butter when they are almost done cooking and presto, a tasty treat. The bright green color adds a little punch to your plate too.

Garlic mashed potatoes. Original, we know.

Mushrooms and onions for our STEAK!

Handy chef-in-the-kitchen-Mr. Luke nearly chopped off his finger cutting the onion. No worries, he's a tough guy. Really he was just trying to fillet his own skin, which he pretty much accomplished by only digging into the first layer. Jeeesh.

Making use of all four burners. Look at us, Mom! You would think it was Thanksgiving.

A delicious wine to celebrate the weekend (thanks Mom!!!). Its called Lawrence Elk and is made in South Dakota. Its a black currant wine and is to die for. So delicious we almost had a case shipped to us (and by us I mean my family and extended family) but were lucky enough to have someone bring some to us on their way back to Wisconsin. If you're ever in the South Dakota area I would definitely recommend it.

The chefs behind the meal. Caboose was here too but didn't want to be in a pic. Its a Saturday...we weren't trying to impress anyone with our style so you might have to forgive how beautifule we look.

We can't wait for tomorrow's meal! Or at least I'm extra excited about it. Tonight we're watching Salt with Angelina Jolie. Hope its good!

Happy weekend to you!

Psst...Probably one of my all time favorite things to do with Luke is to go grocery shopping together. The first time we did is when I think I realized I could really love this guy. For real. Its rewarding when you can appreciate spending time with someone doing things that aren't glamorous. Try it. :)