Many appologies... more recipes to come!

Hello all! I hope this Saturday morning finds you well and good. My sincere apologies for the lack of recipes posted this month. May means many busy nights as a teacher and I have not had the time or energy to do anything extra.

But alas, the final day of school has passed and it seems like my life is mine again! We are getting ready to head for the lake for some much needed sun and fun! The following is a glorious concoction that will ensure a marvelous time.

Mama's Summertime Lemonade
(AKA Hard Lemonade)

1 oz tito's vodka - made right here in Austin!
1 tbsp turbinado or white sugar
2-3 lemons, juiced
1/2 c water
1/2 c ice
2-3 fresh mint leaves, pinched to release flavor

Dissolve sugar in lemon juices. Add other ingredients and sip luxuriously near a body of water.

Some darn good chicken!

Seth was delighted to come home from work yesterday and find out that we were having his favorite dinner. Little did he know, it was actually a cooking lesson! While I love to cook, there are times that I would like to share the joy. Seth's always said he would like to help make dinners... whether he was telling the truth or not... his time had come! This recipe was given to me by Mela Star and is adapted from one from the Fat Flush diet. For those of you who were wondering, Seth did a great job and may be responsible for this dinner from now on!

Pecan Crusted Chicken

1 lb chicken, tenders or breasts
1 slice of bread
1 cup pecans or walnuts
1 tsp salt and pepper
1 tsp oregano and cumin
1/2 tsp coriander

Blend bread, nuts and spices in a food processor until grainy. Dredge chicken in nut mixture. Place in a warm non-stick pan. Cook about 5 minutes on each side, heat set to medium-low.

Team Jacob!

It was movie night at Mela's (watching New Moon and drooling over the cute little boys!) and I decided to make the garbanzo salad I posted the other night. Now, those of you that know me, know that I really stink at following directions. So it goes without saying that I wavered from the original recipe. What I came up with was pretty darn good, though! Here is my recipe...

New and Improved Garbanzo Salad

3 cups garbanzo beans (cooked)
1 large leek, thinly sliced
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
3-4 chard leaves, sliced into ribbons
2 semi-hard avocados, diced
juice of one orange and two lemons
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp rice vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all of the ingredients together. Chill and enjoy!

Because there is nothing like a good chocolate cake!

If any of you have an affinity towards chocolate, this recipe will knock your socks off! I really dislike baking, and generally only use a mix. But this recipe is easy peasy and certifiably delicious! (Adapted from allrecipes.com)


Mini Chocolate Torte

Ingredients
1/2 cup water or coffee for a richer taste
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup white sugar
18 (1 ounce) squares dark chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter
6 eggs
4-6 oz. additional chocolate

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
Line approximately 60 mini-cupcake holders with paper.
In a small saucepan over medium heat combine the water, salt and sugar. Stir until completely dissolved and set aside.
Either in the top half of a double boiler or in a microwave oven melt the bittersweet chocolate. Pour the chocolate into the bowl of an electric mixer.
Cut the butter into pieces and beat the butter into the chocolate, 1 piece at a time. Beat in the hot sugar-water. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake cake in the water bath at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 20 minutes. The center will still look wet. Chill cake overnight to set. Melt remaining chocolate and drizzle over cupcakes. Let chocolate set in refrigerator for about an hour.

Petting a pig and finding new recipes!

Layla and I had a blast visiting with friends in San Antonio this weekend! We even had some gluten free pizza at Fralo's outside the city. Yum!!
We stopped by the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch on the way home and Layla fell in love with a pig she named Wilbur. Even though Wilbur was quite catatonic, Layla took it upon herself to bring him treats of hay and rocks. Wilbur even got a good thirty minutes of grooming during his hibernation. While hanging out in the shade of the petting barn, I was thinking about summertime salads. Weird, I know... but I was hungry and couldn't look at Wilbur and contemplate eating a meat-based dinner. So while searching online, I came across this one on the Poor Girl Eats Well blog and can't wait to make it!

Garbanzo and Avocado Salad

1 can garbanzo beans, drained
1 small Roma tomato, diced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
1 large avocado, chopped
2 scallions, chopped
Small handful of cilantro, finely chopped

Dressing:
Juice of 2 medium oranges
1 T rice vinegar
1 t olive oil
1 T honey
1/8 t salt
Couple pinches of cayenne pepper
A very generous amount of ground black pepper

Prepare the dressing by whisking all dressing ingredients together until completely combined. Combine the beans and all the veggies in a medium bowl and toss together with the dressing. Garnish with extra black pepper if you like, serve over plenty of fresh greens or by itself, and enjoy!

* I plan to throw in some thinly sliced leeks we got from the farmer's market last week. Hel-lo bad breath!