Apple Caramel Cookies

Today I decided to make some Apple Caramel Cookies by Foodess.

I made some apple crisp last night and was totally bummed! The recipe was from How to Cook Like a Top Chef from Bravo and the topping totally sucked. I think more flour was needed and the oats needed to be baked longer...I don't know where it got messed up but either way I was very disappointed with the results. Wayne still ate it though. lols.

So, anyways, it's a brand new day and I'm going to make cookies instead!

 
 Ta-da! Finished cookies! They taste like Fall. Apples, sweetness and caramel. Yum!

Let's get started!

First, I preheated the oven and lined baking sheets with parchment paper. I'm really not digging my gas stove. I know gas heat is easier to control than electric ovens and professional chef's prefer them. But I don't like how hot the oven gets when you're baking and how messy the stove top can get.  

I forgot to melt the butter first, so I guided the butter out of my mixing bowl and put it in the microwave for a while. Then I mixed the butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla together.

Next,I added the flour, baking soda and salt.

I chopped up the apples.

Then I cut the soft caramel chews into thirds. Make sure you have a sharp knife or even sharp scissors may work. This took a while! After those were done, I mixed them into the batter.

Then I dolloped them onto the baking sheets. Next time, I would instead just mix in the apple chunks first. Dollop. Then add the caramels in the cookies. That way the caramel won't run off and spread on the cookie sheet! Anyways, I baked them for 8 minutes, moving the pan after every 4 minutes. I let them cool for a bit, and then enjoyed! They're very yummy! :) Wayne couldn't get enough of them!

Apple Caramel Cookies found here

Emma

Apple Picking

Today we went apple picking at Kuiper's Family Farm in Maple Grove, IL.
We had a fun time, except I think I'm biased. It wasn't like apple picking in Michigan. It had a very commercialized feel to the farm. They kind of shuffled you through the orchard like cattle. Plus the apple trees were tiny so there weren't a ton of apples. Most of the Jonathan's were all gone in the trees and the honey crisp apples also gone. There was only a few honey crisp apples in a box leftover. But there were a lot of Mcintosh apples available. So, we grabbed some of the Jonathan's and Mcintosh. Some for eating and some for baking.

We matched :)

Hayride wasn't that great. The apple trees were so small and the distance to the trees we could pick was short. We could have easily walked out but they didn't allow it. You had to do the hayride for the "experience."

Hooray! Wayne's first time apple picking!

 After grabbing some donuts (also not as good as Michigan ones in my opinion) we went over to Tom and Eddie's for lunch. Oh man, those were awesome burgers! We got the Ampersand and the Blue Chip with milkshakes. The Amersand had Applewood smoke bacon, smoked Gouda cheese, BBQ sauce, onions and a sunny-side up egg. While the Blue Chip had an avocado, garlic aioli, tomato, potato chips and blue cheese. I don't know how many calories we ate but man was it worth it.

Emma

Paleo Moo Shoo Cabbage Cups

Tonight I made Paleo Moo Shoo Cabbage Cups from Primal Cravings for dinner. They were actually really good! Pretty juicy and messy to eat though. But it looks like this might be put on my list of go-to recipes.

Ta-da! :) Little boats of meat and mushrooms!

Primal Cravings is probably my favorite Paleo cook book. Maybe I am biased because it was the first cook book I bought for myself. Brandon & Megan Keatley have some great recipes in their cook book. I love how simple and tasty their recipes are. They have like non-dairy yogurt cups, maple pecan squares and other comfort foods. I like that they don't complicate the ingredients. Sometimes what deters me from doing a paleo recipe is how many ingredients I need. Since I'm not strict paleo, I would rather go in my pantry or fridge and improvise than have to go out and buy the ingredients like coconut flour, almond flour, ghee and a bunch of other recipes. I buy vegan cane sugar and use almond flour but then I also use butter. Can't go wrong with butter! (Used sparingly of course. I'm not Paula Deen.)

Anyways, let's get to it!
(I'm only going to provide some photos in respect to their cook book.)

We used ground bison meat. Yumm!

Napa Cabbage was the base for the cups and stir fry. The one we got was GIGANTIC. I washed them really well then soaked them in a saline bath. This helps remove a lot of the pesticides from the leaves. But some of our leaves were beaten up pretty badly.

I chopped up some Napa Cabbage leaves to add to the stir fry.

Then I chopped up some onions to add. 

The finished product! I added green onions on top of the cabbage cups!

I recommend you to check out Primal Cravings cook book. It's got a ton of FANTASTIC paleo recipes that aren't too complex. Plus they're really tasty too. The link is from Amazon.

Emma

Beet Ravioli with Goat Cheese, Ricotta and Mint

Today I made Beet Ravioli with Goat Cheese, Ricotta and Mint filling. Well, technically it took a majority of yesterday night to prep.

Ta-da! :) Pretty little red raviolis!

I've been on a beet kick lately. They sell these pre-marinated beets in little plastic boxes at Whole Foods. Those are absolutely delicious with your lunch. Plus I love the color of beets. The crimson burgundy color is so pretty.

I've been feeling much better. Still congested and tired but a whole lot better than I was on Monday. It was nice because Wayne helped me make these. When I got started, I quickly realized how time consuming making pasta can be. But then again, it was well worth the time because we both had a lot of fun making it. We even got in a flour fight :)

I always feel calm and in the moment when I cook or bake. Two of the questions I get a lot are, "Why don't you go to cooking school? or, "Why don't you become a chef?"

I don't want to make cooking/baking into a career because it would be ruined. Right now, this is my me time where I am utterly relaxed and in the moment. No worry, no stress, nothing. Cooking is something I can control and enjoy without interruption. I can be creative and learn new things. Or try out interesting recipes that sound exotic or unique. Cooking is something I can control and enjoy with out interruption. I can control what recipes I want to try out, what techniques I want to learn and whom I want to share it with. Cooking is a part of me. When I share it, a piece of my pride and soul comes out of it and you know what, sometimes I don't want to share it with people who will critique or waste it. And I think that's okay. Right now, I'm okay doing what I'm doing which is sharing photos, writing blog posts (when I can), enjoying good food and taking pride in the awesome meals I create.

Okay, enough of my rant.
Let's get to it.

First, I roasted the beets in the oven for an hour and removed the skins when they cooled down. Then I pulsed the beets till they were a smooth mixture. Then added the flour, salt, and eggs to make it into a dough. Then we placed the dough in the fridge to set.

Then I mixed the filling ingredients all together! The ricotta, the goat cheese, mint, parsley, salt and pepper!

The directions said to let it sit for 2 hours. We rolled out the dough after an hour and 1/2. It was getting pretty late and we wanted these done! Wayne helped out with the rolling!

Then I cut out shapes, dolloped the filling and added an egg wash to seal the ravioli. I think my favorite part was making the fork indentations. It's quite fun actually. 

Don't they look like little itty bitty savory pies? lol

Then you want to boil them until they float to the top like a buoy. 

We also cooked up a NY Strip Steak and mushrooms.

Tada! Finished product and a delicious meal. The dough was a little doughy but the filling inside the ravioli was absolutely divine!  

Beet Ravioli & Goat Cheese, Ricotta and Mint Filling Recipe here.

Emma

Pea, Lettuce and Fennel Soup

It's been a while because I was ill for a couple of days. I had a fever, chills and sore throat. I took the day off on Monday and literally just slept the whole day. Like from 6:30am until 11:00am, then 12:00pm-4:00pm. I think something is going around. People are out sick in the office and people on the train keep hacking and coughing. Ugh.

 Tada! Finished soup! I was surprised it actually tasted really good.
Let's get to it.

First, I melted 3 Tablespoons of unsalted butter in a pan and let it melt. 

Next, I chopped up the shallots. I also added a bit of celery into the mix.

Then chopped up the fennel bulb. You can smell the anise from it. It's very fragrant. 

Take out the core.

Then I threw the shallots, celery and onion in the warm pan, and cooked until tender. I also added some salt and pepper to the mix.

Next, I chopped up lettuce into strips and put it in the pan until it is wilted down.

Then I added the frozen peas, broth and then let cook for bit. (I didn't use the fennel seeds but kept the fennel fronds for the topping.) Then I blended it in my Ninja till it became a soupy texture. 

Fennel, Lettuce and Pea Soup Recipe here.

Giada De Laurentiis is an Italian queen. If you don't know her then I am surprised. She's on Food Network shows, has her own cooking show, cookbooks and etc. I've watched her a couple of times on TV. I like how laid back she is on the camera but has that inviting and warm personality that draws you in to listen. Of course, many of her recipes are Italian inspired. But I was happy to have stumbled across this one. It sounded awesome and was delicious! 

Coconut Corn Soup & Vegan Chocolate Shakes

Last night I made a Coconut Corn Soup and Vegan Chocolate Shakes.
I felt like it would be good to say au revoir to summer with a nice dish. Although, the first day of fall is September 23rd, it feels like summer is over. Sure, we had a few days where it’s nice, warm and sunny. But I have a feeling chilly weather will sneak up very quickly and then winter will come and beat the crap out of us again.

 Tada! Finished product topped with the jalapeno salsa and the chocolate shake.

Last winter was way too cold! Once it drops down to -40 degrees with a windchill I want out. If this is a continuum in Chicago, I may have to look at investing and going to a beach in the winter time. Truthfully, I would love (as it's one of my goals) to go to a tropical place for Christmas. Maybe Bora Bora or the Bahamas? I like the thought of spending one Christmas in a bikini. Then again, Seattle is supposed to have milder winters. Either way I am not looking forward to winter. So, I am going to enjoy Autumn as much as I can!

I digress...originally, I wanted to get fresh ears of corn and grill them for that smoky flavor but sadly we don’t have a grill. I’d love to have a grill. Chicago has restrictions about grilling which sucks. But then again I get it because you are cramped together on a street.  Part of me can’t wait till we move out to Seattle (fingers crossed for 2016) then hopefully we can get a grill.

For this I chose frozen corn because I wanted something quicker. I also was a bit hesitant to use fresh corn because I couldn't get out to a Farmer’s Market. But the last time I got corn was from Trader Joe’s and it had a chunk that was rotten. It really sucked. I like Trader Joe’s but I prefer more of their frozen or bagged items. But Trader Joe’s is way better than Mariano’s. To be honest, I don't like Mariano’s. Maybe I just went into a bad store...but the last time I went in there, the produce was utter crap. The mangoes were bruised, apples beat up, and vegetables were wilted! Blah. I guess I am finicky with fresh produce. Wayne wants to try Peapod, but I don’t think I’d feel comfortable getting my fresh produce from a truck. Maybe it’s the inner chef inside telling me, “YOU MUST PICK YOUR OWN VEGGIES!” Or it could be years of socialization of watching my mom cook. Who knows really....but I like to pick the vegetables/fruits out myself.
Pretty much my list of place to shop is:
1. Farmers Market
2. Whole Foods
3. Trader Joe's
4. Mariano's

Anyway, let's get to it!
First, Wayne helped me by making the Vegan Chocolate Shakes.

Used some Almond Milk with protein.

Chocolate Coconut milk ice-cream. Yum!

Zest of 1 orange.

Then Earl Grey tea!

Wayne had to put the milk in a pan and heat it up. Then add the Earl Grey tea bags, and orange zest. We were a little skeptical about if the earl grey tea would be too strong. We added the Chocolate Coconut ice cream, a bit of maple syrup and 1 tsp. of vanilla extract. Then blended it.  By golly! Was this amazing. You could taste each individual flavor. Yet each of them were in harmony. I really loved the orange zest because there was a small hint of it but it complimented the chocolaty flavor!  

For the ZOUP!

First, I took the corn kernels then covered them with cold water and salt. Then I boiled it for 3 minutes and drained.

Next, I chopped up the onion and added coconut oil to the pot. The recipe calls for olive oil, I felt like if I was going to use coconut might as well have coconut oil!

Then I chopped up the celery. The recipe calls for one medium celery but I figured might as well add two of 'em. Then I threw it in the pot and let it cook down for a couple of minutes. 

While all of that is going on in the pot, I moved onto the salsa. I chopped up the avocado and put it aside. Then I chopped up the red onion, added corn, lime juice and cilantro. Wayne then chopped up the jalapeno pepper. I have very sensitive skin and sometimes the spicy juice irritates my skin.

Isn't it pretty? I still need to throw in the avocado...

After they were cooked down a bit, I added the celery and onion mixture to my Ninja blender. Then added 2 cups of Organic Chicken Broth and 1 cup of water. 

It's beginning to look like soup!

 The recipe called for 1 1/2 cups of shredded coconut, but I felt like it was a bit too much. I threw in 1 cup.

Then you add 4 cups of corn. Don't make a mess like I did though! The bag exploded on me while trying to open it!

Blend baby, blend!

 Kind of looks like baby meal at first...but the results were delicious!

BONUS!

We had a leftover (and very ripe) avocado. So I decided to make them into Dark Chocolate Truffles. All I did was mash up the avocado, heat up the chocolate in a separate bowl. Merge the two and mix. Then put in the freezer for 20-30 minutes. After it cools down, we made them into balls and rolled them in crushed almonds! The result was delicious! They're super easy and tasty too! This could get deadly as there's only 3 ingredients. lols!

Coconut Corn Soup Recipe here.
I found Jennifer Pallian's blog on a random search for top food blogs in 2013 but never really gave her blog a second look. But in the Bonapetit September magazine, I stumbled across her advertised soup recipe.
Vegan Chocolate Shake Recipe here.
I can't quite remember how I found her blog, but Laura has a lot of great vegan recipes. Plus this shake is fantastic.
Dark Chocolate Avocado Truffle Recipe here.

Here's some other recipes I peeked at that look really good!
Butternut squash and mascarpone ravioli with hazelnut brown butter
Roasted Squash Lasagna
Ginger Rhubarb Crisp
Dark Chocolate and Fig Cinnamon Rolls
Vegan Cauliflower & Roasted Garbanzo Rice and Peas
The Green Drink

Emma