Recipe: Chocolate Chip Strawberry Cupcakes with Fresh Whipped Cream

So I've been trying to get around to baking for weeks now but something always seems to get in the way. Either work, or outings, or karaoke, or exhaustion...
I told myself I was going to bake on Sunday no matter what, and then Sunday got here, and well... I almost didn't bake!  I went to the Brooklyn Botanical gardens to see the Cherry Blossom Festival and by the time I got home it was after 6pm...
I lazed on the couch reading and texting with a friend... I kept saying I was going to bake, but I wasn't feeling particularly motivated.
However, I have promised a lot of cupcakes over the last few weeks, sooo at around 8pm I searched for a new and fun recipe to use. I found Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Meringue Frosting. It looks like a good recipe adapted from something in a Martha Stewart Cookbook. I then had to further adapt it because I was missing a couple of ingredients and the stores were already closed when I noticed.
I got around to putting the mix together around 1 and then baked Monday morning.
There is no explanation for my laziness but I just could not pull myself together to finish baking Sunday night. Luckily I woke up and finished everything Monday morning!

These can be served with or without a frosting because they are super flavorful.

Chocolate Chip Strawberry Cupcakes
3 cups flour
1 tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 egg white
1 cup almond milk
2 cups finely chopped fresh strawberries
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350° and line your cupcake tins.  The recipe should make 34 cupcakes.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt, and then put to the side.

In another bowl with an electric blender, cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla extract. Blend for about 3 minutes or until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Then add the eggs and egg white, one at a time, beating until each one is fully incorporated. Add the flour in two batches, alternating with the almond milk. (I actually wasn't paying attention and added all of the milk before the flour... I think it does change the consistency, as does the almond milk I used).
At this point, use a spatula to fold in the chocolate chips and strawberries. I waited till the next morning to chop the strawberries and add them into the batter because it had gotten too late. I was able to fill 34 liners.
Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes and voilaaaa.
                                        YUMMY CUPCAKES

Fresh out of the oven!

I chose to make a simple whipped cream. Just 2 cups of heavy whipping cream, 2 tbs brown sugar.  I made sure the cream was very cold andd so was the container that I whipped it in.

I served half with whipped cream and half without, and they were delicious both ways!

Restaurant Review: Zinburger

I've heard mixed reviews about the Zinburger in Garden State Plaza Mall. It opened its doors a few months ago and I've been wanting to try it. From what my friends had told me the service wasn't fantastic, some of the fries were soggy and not served in a timely manner  but they said the burgers were AMAZING.
Even with the mixed reviews, I wanted to go and lucky for me this past weekend I finally got an opportunity to eat there with one of my best friends Andrea (who had actually given me one of the mixed reviews).
We went on Saturday night around 6 o'clock. We decided that it would be best to avoid the dinner rush and since I was starving after only having a yogurt all day it was perfect timing.  We got seated right away by a friendly hostess and then our waitress checked up on us promptly and then periodically thereafter to tell us the food and drink specials and to take our drink orders.
After lots of indecision (honestly, everything on the menu sounded fantastic) I decided to get the Ringer, a burger with Nueske's Applewood Smoked Bacon, Frank's Hot Onion Rings, pepper-jack Cheese and Mayo. And at the waitress' suggestion I paired it with a really good Zinfandel (that was one of the nights' specials). Andrea decided to get the El Diablo, a burger with fire roasted jalapenos, pepper-jack cheese, caramelized onion and chipotle mayo, except she decided to hold the onions. And she got a glass of white wine to go with it. Then we decided that it was absolutely essential to share the sweet potato fries and the double truffle fries.
While we waited I got to really enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and casual decor. The restaurant has a lot of wonderful open space with lots of wooden paneling and rich colors. The noise level inside the restaurant wasn't bad at all considering how crowded it was (the high ceilings were a great choice by the architects for the space). I think my favorite thing was the chalk board wall decorated with all of the monthly specialties. It really was quite charming and it really made me want to order the Rocky Road Milk Shake: chocolate ice cream, chocolate chips, milk, marcona almonds, mini marshmallows, garnished with whipped cream, extra chocolate chips, mini marshmallows and crushed almonds. Seriously, it looked delicious and was super tempting. But I knew that I really wanted to be able to savor my burger.  Priorities after all.
We didn't have to wait super long for our burgers which was really nice (I assume if you sit down to eat during peak hours you'll have to wait longer). The burgers and fries came out almost simultaneously and we played a little juggling act to make everything fit on the table.
The burgers were HUGE!! The fries looked crisp and crunchy. So of course I took a picture.

The sweet potatoes were great with just the right amount of salt and I was absolutely in love with the yogurt sauce. It was very reminiscent of a tzatziki sauce with a little zing.  And oh my goodness, the Double Truffle fries were DELICIOUS! Served with truffle aioli and truffle oil. I'm in love. Not soggy, not too crunchy, but fresh and just right.  I could have eaten just those and been perfectly content with my life... well, my dinner anyway.
The burger was medium rare like I'd ordered, maybe even a little under (which is how I like it fortunately). It was beautifully seasoned and just spicy enough with the frank's hot onion rings and pepper jack.  I was seriously in heaven.

Andrea liked her burger too but she wasn't thrilled with the jalapenos since they weren't fresh. They were the ones stored in oil and were cold against the hot burger, so I think next time she'll go for a different spicy burger instead.
I'm really glad I didn't get the shake this time (although they did look delicious). I wouldn't have been able to finish both and I was really in a burger kind of mood.
Since we were so full we decided to walk around the mall and then come back for dessert afterwards but we got tired and decided to call it a night and have some cupcakes at home instead.
I'm definitely looking forward to going to Zinburger again and trying some other burgers and definitely a shake as well!.  I'll have to be really hungry!

Things to Eat While Training...

Alright, I'm writing this as a pep talk to myself... Not because I'm even remotely close to being an expert on the subject.
Yesterday I skipped breakfast. For lunch I had half a yogurt with granola, lemon cookies and a cadbury egg.  For dinner I had a monster burger (from vinburger) and truffle fries and sweet potato fries. Then a few hours later I had a gigantic crumbs cookie dough cupcake with a tall glass of milk.
This is NOT workout food.
I'm trying to get in shape. I want to run a 5k for starters and then work my way up to a 10k and then a half marathon and eventually a marathon. I figure with training and eating right, given my capabilities (walk/run a mile in 13 minutes and then collapse on the couch wheezing for 10 minutes) that it will probably take at least 2 years to be marathon ready. Quite possibly longer since I don't love running.
I love cooking and eating. Now those are great stress relievers.
But running, it's a close third and certainly healthier than stress eating. Stress cooking is tranquil, it's cool logic and reason. It breeds patience.
Running is different. It helps get rid of the aggression, whatever anger I've been holding on to. Running is one foot in front of the other, watching the pavement disappear as you move forward, leaving everything else behind. As the air swirls around me, it feels like nothing can touch me. Nothing can catch me. As my legs pump and muscles work, burning, it's really like I can do anything.
When I don't feel like I can go anymore, the music pulls me forward.  Just a little bit more. Just another few steps, to the next stop sign. And I go. I push. And the more I go, the more nothing else matters.

Now, the problem with this is that I put all of this effort into running and training and then I eat horribly. Which in the end makes training a lot harder.  Like it or not, what you put into your body really does affect how you go through your day.
For instance... I had cookies for breakfast. NOT a good way to start. But lunch was better I had chicken on white bread with avocado, mayo and a coconut mango sauce.... It could have been healthier if I had cut the mayo out entirely and if I'd used wheat bread.  But that's okay. At least it was mostly healthy with protein and good fat from the avocado.

Ok, so what should I be eating while I train?  I'm sure we've all heard it before, but I'm going to write it down anyway.

• whole grains (great for long term stores of energy)
• lean protein (turkey, chicken, fish) (protein is very filling)
• calcium (greek yogurt, 2% milk, soy or almond milk)
• vegetables (think colorful)
• fruits (very colorful)

Honestly, I do really love all of these foods. I'm just really bad at forcing myself to eat right when I'm supposed to. There are so many other temptations, that aren't remotely healthy. Although I am really good at convincing myself that there are certain bad foods that are actually good for me. Except not really. Not if you eat them in mass quantities. Not if you eat them constantly. For example:

• Chocolate: I love dark chocolate.  And it's actually good for you... in small doses. It's scientifically proven to be good for you... Unless you eat it all the time or excessively.  Then it's not so good for you... 
• Ice Cream: I am a FIEND for ice cream.  Rich, Creamy, full of calcium!  Except it's more full of bad fats and empty calories and doesn't have as much calcium as a glass of milk (almond or regular).  I put strawberries on it, that makes it healthy right? yeahhh I'm thinking not so much... 
• Sugar: O sugar. I love sugar. Cookies, cakes... 'nuff said. Temporary energy, I don't know if it serves any other purpose health-wise but it sweetens my life (cheesy... yet true).  
• Coffee: On it's own, coffee probably isn't all that bad for you. Caffeine gives you energy, right? But drinking it with 3 packets of sugar and cream to the brim, probably not the healthiest thing to drink. That's of course how I take my coffee.  I'm not a fan of bitter black. 
• Wine: A glass of red wine a day is good for your heart... somthing about the tannins...  However, in excess, lots and lots of empty calories...

Why does food that's bad for you taste so good?
I don't think the bad foods, the ones I know a lot of us love so much, actually need to be cut from our diets. They just need to be moderated. For example, I probably shouldn't have had 2 cookies for breakfast.
I should probably eat yogurt for breakfast with some granola for energy or eggs with canadian bacon and wheat toast. Lunch could be a sandwich on 7 grain (hold the mayo) and/or a salad with avocado, cranberries, pears and arugula. Dinner, lots of veggies with chicken breast or turkey or even a lean cut of pork.

And as a reminder to myself since I am such a horrible snacker.

I WILL NOT EAT CRAP... 

At least not a lot of it...

So onwards and avanti! In a little while I'm going to go for a bike ride and a run.  Then HEALTHY DINNER! 

Kitchen memories

I hold the knife wrong. I always do. My grip is probably a little too tight, my index finger steady on the thick part of the blade. I grew up in the kitchen watching my grandmother cut like this. I didn't know it then, but she had arthritis in her fingers. They locked uncomfortably around the knife but it never slowed her hand. She would dice and slice quickly, never slowing between vegetables.
She never held her knife correctly. Often rather than slicing on a board, she'd cut mid air directly over the bowl. She would cut towards her body but she never cut herself. Her movements were steady, rythmic. She'd cut to the beat of Neapolitan songs playing in the background. She'd sing along loudly, croon really, to her favorite parts.
I never thought we were alike.
But now in the kitchen I realize we are. I hold the knife like her. I sing to whatever music I'm listening too.
She instilled in me a love of cooking and food. She never taught me how to cook. We tried that, but it never worked. Grams was not a teacher. She could not sit there and explain what she did, not in the kitchen or anywhere else.  She could not give me specific measurments or quantities. She could not tell me how to do things. She could tell me I was wrong and she used this skill liberally.
What my grandmother was great at though, was doing. She was a wonderful cook. She had the patience to chop and mix and simmer for hours. She would sing and talk the whole time. And I would watch. I would take it all in and observe... And I would occasionally butt in and try to get her to teach me.  "Show me how". It would inevitably lead to a shouting match between the two of us but every now and then I could glean information.
Watching and listening I learned about her and I learned about cooking. I learned about Italy and the style of cuisine. I developed a sense of wonder for the culture, especially the food culture. Everything Grams did in the kitchen took time, took patience. There was no fast food, no instant gratification. And I was okay with that. The tastes were richer, the flavors deeper than anything we got from fast food. Don't get me wrong; Paul and I loved our Burger King, our McDonald's but it wasn't the same as what came out of our kitchen.
It's still the same today even though Grams is no longer here.
What comes out of our kitchen, my kitchen takes time and patience. It's not 5 minute food but it's worth it. I don't mind taking the time and effort. It's rich and enticing and fun. It's fun to play with my memories. Since Grams wouldn't write down her recipes or tell me even, I rely on memory. I rely on taste and my sense of flavor. I rely on creativity and make her dishes my own. I take in what I remember from then and what I see all around me, on tv, in Italy, in Jersey, in NYC and I come up with new things.
I play and I remember.
I hold my knife wrong but slice my vegetables correctly on a wooden board. I sing along to music but I write down my recipes as I go. I am a combination of new and old and every time I go into the kitchen I see images of Grams and her cooking. I smell onions sweating and hear the oil sizzling hotly.
And then I start my own creations, my own concoctions.

The Art of Easter Eggs Part II

I talked about making Easter Eggs a couple of days ago in my post The Art of Easter Eggs.  The last couple of years I haven't been able to decorate eggs because I've been out of the country. I've had some good Easter dinners but sadly, no egg painting.
So this year I decided to decorate twice. First I made crackled deviled eggs. They are the definition of non permanence but they were a delicious edition to Easter. Although I will say, a couple of my friends were scared of the bright blue colors. They were far less intimidated by the pink eggs. I ate most of the blue ones
and can honestly say they didn't taste any different and they were scrumptious.
Then as soon as we ate our deviled eggs and other appetizers, we moved back to the kitchen and started decorating the eggs that I'd hollowed out.  Each of us walked away with 3 beautiful little keepsakes.

To cut down costs, rather than buying Egg decorating boxes I decided to use supplies I already had in the house. I used food coloring, water and vinegar for 2 blues, pink, and green and then I tried using kool-aid for yellow and red. The kool-aid colors worked just as well as the food dye and they smelled delicious. I wish I hadn't added the vinegar to brighten the colors because then we could have had some drinks afterwards!

For patterns and designs we decided to use crayons.  It worked like a charm.  If you draw on your eggs, the crayon designs stay on even after dipped in colors. We each drew whatever came to mind.
I drew an abstract pattern, flowers and even Nemo!!!

It was seriously amusing and kept us entertained and occupied for about an hour or so; proving that we're just a bunch of little kids at heart. Mind you, the youngest person at the table was 24, so little kids we are not.  I'll definitely by trying more kool-aid colors next year and will most certainly keep up this new tradition.

A convenient way to dry your eggs is to place them into the original egg cartons.

Recipe: Crackled Deviled eggs

Pinterest is full of great ideas. I orginally found a picture of painted deviled eggs and then I came across a picture of crackled eggs and I decided to combine the two for a beautiful and fun to make appetizer. To make the process easier I'm splitting the recipe into 2 parts. The hard boiling and crackling section and then the coloring and deviling section.  It's pretty simple.

Beautiful Crackled Deviled Eggs

Crackled Eggs
12 eggs
food coloring
apple cider vinegar (any clear vinegar will do)
4 sealable plastic baggies

Fill up a large saucepan half way with water and gently add the eggs. Make sure the eggs are covered by at least an inch of water. If you want, you can add a teaspoon of vinegar to the water (I didn't do it but it should help contain egg whites from leaking out if any of the shells crack while cooking). Add a pinch of salt to the water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cook for about 10 minutes for the perfect hard boil. Drain hot water from the pan and run cold water over the eggs. (If you crack the eggs while their cooling, it will make it easier to peel later on). Let sit in the cool water for a few minutes.
Crack your eggs without peeling them. Put three eggs in each plastic bag and squirt a couple drops of food coloring in as well. Since I was making deviled eggs I didn't use the yellow food coloring. I tried to make purple but failed rather miserably. I think I need to practice my color mixing skills.
Once the eggs and dye are in place, add a few drops of apple cider vinegar to help set the color. Fill each bag with water. Leave the eggs in the bags for about a half an hour.
Drain the bags. I poured the color into red solo cups to dye eggs later on.
Peel the eggs carefully and you have some beautiful crackled eggs that you can either serve as is or as deviled eggs.  Some of my eggs didn't crackle as well as others, so next time I think I'll make sure they're evenly cracked all around.

I also kept the shells because they look beautiful when they dry. I used them to make a center piece as suggested by Kim on Mommysavers. It looked really awesome.

The crackled egg shells fresh out of the dye

My Easter Center Piece using plastic eggs and egg shells

Colored Deviled Eggs
12 hard boiled eggs (in this case, crackled eggs)
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1/3 cup light mayo
1 tbsp finely grated onion
cayenne pepper to taste
Salt and pepper
Paprika

Using a sharp knife, slice each egg in half lengthwise. Gently remove the yolk halves and place in a small bowl. If you like the final result of your crackle, you can place the whites onto a serving platter at this point.

I, however, decided to be more complicated. I dipped the eggs back into the food coloring. The crackle gets emphasized with further dye and the whites lose all the white color so the yellow yolks will pop beautifully. It also screamed Easter to me.

With a fork mash the yolks, mayo, mustard, onion, and cayenne. You can add a little more mayo if your mixture is looking a little dry. Add a dash of salt and pepper.
At this point you can either simply spoon the yolk mixture into egg white halves or you can put the mixture into a plastic baggie. Cut one corner of the bag and use like a pastry bag to beautifully fill the egg whites.
Sprinkle with paprika and serve.

Recipe: Asparagus and Canadian Bacon Quiche

Asparagus and Canadian Bacon Quiche and Spinach Pie

1 premade frozen pie crust
20 stalks of asparagus cleaned and cut into thirds
3 eggs
1/4 cup ricotta
6 slices candian bacon diced
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp olive oil

Preheat your oven to 350°F.
In a bowl, mix your ricotta, eggs, salt and pepper.
Boil a pot of water. Cook asparagus for 3 minutes (just until bright green), drain and toss into cold water.  Put to the side.
Sautee bacon in a tsp of olive oil. When it just turns crispy remove from heat and toss in the asparagus. Begin to layer into the pie crust.

Pour your egg mixture on top.  Make sure you shake your crust and tap it onto the table to ensure that the egg mixture settles all the way to the bottom.
Bake for between 45 minutes to an hour.