Spaghetti Squash Carbonara & Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day! Yesterday was a pretty low key day for us.
We didn't want to do anything fancy and just wanted to relax. So, we went out and got some brunch at Serious Biscuit. The biscuits were actually pretty good. After brunch, we decided to walk to Pike Place Market. Probably the worst idea ever. There were a ton of people walking around getting flowers/chocolate. So Wayne quickly bought me some pretty tulips and we headed back home. I like getting flowers but I'm kind of picky about which ones. I don't like getting a bouquet of red roses. But I like white roses, one single red rose or bright flowers like tulips. To be honest, I think a bouquet of red roses is really cliche on Valentine's Day. I loved the tulip bouquet I got from Wayne though. It was really pretty and brightened up our bathroom. 

After coming back home, we both worked out, relaxed and then made dinner together. I have to say that I'm not into the whole balloons, teddy bears, or fancy dinners for Valentine's Day. All I really need is good food and good company (which I already have.) So, we made Zen Belly's Spaghetti Squash Carbonara and Not Without Salt's Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies.I didn't really plan on making the cookies on Valentine's Day, but the cookie mix arrived before and I figured why not make something with chocolate in it. Ashley Rodriguez, is a food blogger from Washington. I saw some other bloggers raving about her chocolate chip cookies. I decided to pay tribute to a Washingtonian and buy the mix to see what the hype was about. Oh man. These were sooooo effing good and worth the price for shipping. Woo wee these were pricey cookies. When I bought the mix, I was skeptical. It was a good chunk of money and I mean it is REALLY hard to make a really good chocolate chip cookie. Sometimes they are too dry, too chewy, to soft or not enough chocolate in them. BUT these fit the bill. I'm tempted to buy the mix again because they are THAT effing good.

I also bought her new cookbook, Date Night In. In the cookbook, she talks about how her and her husband are busy with life and their family. They lost touch for a while, and brought it back by rekindling their relationship in creating a drink and date night meal together. I love that. I think that often, most couples get into the routine of doing the same thing every day. They eventually lose touch with how they fell in love and those emotions. One of the things I love about my relationship with Wayne, is that we both see food as an adventure. It's a new experience and a way to create memories together. When I cook, every meal is a new experience not only for our taste buds but also our relationship. When we travel, we always go to a Farmers Market to explore the produce in the area. We also scope out awesome restaurants to try out too. Then at home, I try new recipes and we enjoy it together. It's fun and food has always been a part of our relationship. We're always trying new things and enjoy being around each other. :) I love you Wayne.

Anyways, let's get started!

 

First, we baked some spaghetti squash in the oven. For some reason, I only could find small spaghetti squashes. I guess they are slowly going out of season? 

Wayne helped by cooking up some bacon. Yum bacon.

 

We also mixed up some egg whites and Parmesan cheese. 

We also saved the egg yolks to put on top.

Then we mixed up the bacon, bacon grease, parm cheese egg mixture and cooked spaghetti squash together.

While Wayne was helping out with dinner, I got started on the cookies. I put some softened butter in the bowl. Paula Deen that sh*t!

Added an egg to the the appropriate packages in the cookie mix. 

Then added the huge chocolate chunks from the cookie mix.

Rolled them into ball and sprinkled the salt that came in a package.

Ta-da! Oh man, these were glorious. The sea salt on top gave it a slight salty touch, while the cookies were a little crunchy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside. Plus every bite had chocolate in it. That's what you call a damn good chocolate chip cookie. I already ate like seven fresh out of the oven. 

The finished product with a glass of wine of course. I topped it with some fresh cilantro. The spaghetti squash carbonara was delicious. The cheese, egg and bacon grease went together perfectly. It was a romantic and simple evening. I wouldn't have it any other way. <3

Zenbelly's Cookbook here & Not Without Salt's Cookie mix here. I'm not asked to endorse them, I just really like their recipes and am sharing where you can get their books/cookie mixes.

Emma 

Brown Butter Ginger Cookies

Today, I made Not Without Salt's Brown Butter Ginger cookies. I was craving something a little sweet and wanted to do something a bit more creative. OMG, these were really *effing good. It smelled like gingerbread in my apartment. 

To be honest, I was kind of in a rush to make these. I got off work and then got going on making these before heading out of the house. I had to double check twice to make sure I turned off the oven! That's how rushed I was!

But it was good. I got to meet up with a friend I haven't seen in a long time. It was good catching up with her and talking to her reminded me of the Midwest a bit. I think a part of me is a little worried I won't make friends out here in the PNW. I guess a part of me really misses my friends back home and I truly cherish those friendships. I'm worried the increased distance will make it harder for me to stay in touch with them. But I'm going to still try and make an effort to stay connected. 

I guess, I just need to stay positive (which can be hard since I am pretty pessimistic sometimes.) I know I'm doing some stuff and not just sitting on my butt all day. I'm working out regularly and am meeting some people in the apartment complex. I also signed up for a charity gala event in late February. Wayne and I will get to dress up and go support a charity. 

I'm hoping I'll be able to meet some more people and at least get some people to hang out with occasionally... I also just signed up to get notifications to get on a soccer team. I'm not sure how it'll work out but hopefully I'll hear back and be able to play in the spring.

Anyways, enough of my moping. I know I'll be fine. I think it just will take a while longer than it did when I was in Chicago. Let's get started!

I boiled some butter. Paula Deen would be proud...

Again, I was a little rushed, so I think I boiled the butter a bit longer than needed. But it was a nice nutty dark brown. Still smelled really good.

Then I added the sugar with the browned butter mixture. Let me just say, these stainless steel mixing bowls I got are AMAZING. They are the perfect weight and are easy to clean up. I think once you go stainless you can't go back! I do not miss my plastic mixing bowls at all!

Then added some other ingredients and flour and rolled them into balls. They see me rollin...they hatin...patrolling they tryin to catch me ridin dirtyyyyy. Okay, okay...no more rap lyrics.

I got a brand new cookie pan! I swear, it was hard making a decision after getting a gift cards from Sur La Table or Williams-Sonoma for the holidays. I practically want all the kitchen gadgets! 

While they were baking, I made some of the Honey Marscapone Cream to go with these. 

Why hello Mr. Honey Bear! I mixed the cream, honey and a vanilla bean together. Oh so heavenly. 

Fresh out of the oven!  I nearly burned my mouth but these puppies were worth it! 

I dolloped some marscapone cream on one of them. Yummy!

Seriously though, these were really really good. I was afraid I would eat them all so I gave them to a few people! I love gingerbread/gingery cookies. I remember my Grandpa would like eating gingersnaps and my mom would make gingerbread boys for Xmas. I think the flavor brings back a lot of fond memories. 

Not Without Salt's Brown Butter Ginger Cookie recipe found here.

Please check out Ashley Rodriguez's website if you ever get a chance. I adore looking at her recipes. I've got a few tucked away in my recipe binder to someday try out. Also, her new cookbook, Date Night In, is on my list of cook books to buy. But currently, a new dining room table, bike helmet, bike lock, work printer and work shredder take precedence over my love of cookbooks :( I'll some day complete my dream cookbook collection with some of my favorite bloggers/Instagram folks. 

Emma 

Tomato Pumpkin Soup

Today, Wayne and I decided to stay in for Halloween. I still feel sick and I don't feel up for dressing up and going out to a bar. I had fun in college going to Halloween parties and such, but now the glamour of getting drunk and wearing a costume doesn't seem so fun. I am instead going to stay inside, wear my pajamas and watch scary movies with Wayne. I chose Sleepy Hallow (with Johnny Depp) for my movie. I forget what movie Wayne chose. But I think I'm looking forward to just relaxing and not doing anything for a night. Tonight I made a Paleo Tomato Pumpkin Soup and also leftover Sticky Chocolate Cups (seriously surprised we didn't devour them all.) 

Flash back...Awwww wasn't I adorable? Yeah, I know. My face has NOT changed at all...FYI - I'm deathly allergic to bees. Like if I get stung, my throat will close up and I'll die. I found out I was allergic when I was in preschool and my mom thought it would be hilarious to dress me up as a bumble bee for Halloween. Gotta give my mom major props though! She sewed the entire costume herself! Not pictured, my big ass stinger. Not joking, this thing was huge. I had fun annoying my older brother with it. :)

Speaking of sweet...These are effing amazing. I'm seriously addicted to these. Okay, okay not a serious addiction but for my go to Halloween candy these are it. There's only three ingredients in them and they taste like a honey peppermint york patty. Plus who doesn't love dark chocolate? 

Let's get started!

First, I heated up some coconut oil in a skillet pan. 

Then I added a chopped up medium yellow onion to the pan.

Then, I added a can of Organic Pumpkin Puree. 

I also added a can of Organic Diced tomatoes. 

It is turning into a wonderful and colorful mess.

Then I added 2 cups of Organic Chicken Stock Broth. 

Some honey...and spices

I ate a Sticky Chocolate Cup... :) Hey, it's Halloween! I am entitled to eat some semi-healthy (Okay not really) treats!

Then I let it simmer for like 20 minutes or so.

After it cooked down, I added some Organic Coconut Milk to the mix.

Ta-da! Finished Product. I topped the soup with some pumpkin seeds and then 

The Paleo Kitchen: Finding Primal Joy in Modern Cooking found here.

Juli (from Paleomg) and George made a great cookbook. Their paleo recipes look delicious and I can't wait until I try out more recipes. 

Emma

Cooking Class - Macarons

This morning I took a Macaron Workshop class at Chicago's The Chopping Block. I've never made Macarons before. I've always had a fascination with them. They're petite meringue-based confection often with a ganache in between. Earlier, French macarons were just made out of almond flour, sugar and egg whites. It was until the early 20th century did they get sandwiched together. Now they come in tons of different flavors, colors and fillings! This was not easy peasy. There were a lot of things you need to remember and I could see this taking a while to make. I wouldn't mind trying them again when I have more time on my hands. I would like a nice KitchenAid mixer and a fine flour mesh sifter...

For class we made Lemon Macarons with White Chocolate Lemon Ganache, Toasted Coconut Crunch Macarons with Salted Caramel Filling, & Chocolate Macarons with Raspberry Jam and Coffee Butter-cream.

I think making the lemon macarons was the easiest. The chocolate ones were my favorite. Most of the class favored the coconut maracrons because of the salted caramel. How do you say caramel? Do you say it like "car-ml" or "carra-mel"? I remember taking a NY Times quiz least year over linguistics in the United States. I found it on the archives and re-took it. I got the same results. My accent is from Grand Rapids, Detroit and Toledo. But I know the Illinois way of saying aunt has rubbed off on me to a certain degree. Growing up, I'd say aunt as in "ant". While Wayne says aunt as in "Ahh-nt." Of course I call a carbonated beverage "pop" as most Michigander's do. 

One of the questions was about "Devils Night" or as some call it Mischief Night. In Detroit, the day before Halloween is called Devil's Night because there was a serious vandalism and arson problem in the 1970's and 1990's. I remember when my older brother was in Boy Scouts, they would go to the elementary school to guard it from vandals.

Anyway, here are some tips/tricks I learned:

• Macarons are delicate and you don't want the cookie portion to have any cracks in it and the shell to be crisp. Yet you want the inside to be chewy. The major ingredients for the cookies are: almond flour, powdered sugar, egg whites, granulated sugar and flavoring.
• How you combine the ingredients is important. Keep almond meal in the freezer. There are a lot of fatty healthy oils in almond meal. Freezing the almond meal bag helps preserve those oils.
• You want to put the egg mixture on top of the flour mixture rather than the opposite. When you mix, you want to make a capital J shape while turning the bowl around. The batter should be smooth and shiny and when you lift up your spatula it should fall off like a ribbon, and not clumps. 
• For piping out the batter, you want to shove the plastic bag into the tip, this way the batter won't drip everywhere. 
• You need to let the macarons dry before putting them into the oven. They should have a plastic feeling to them once they are dry.
• Egg whites need to be perfectly clear of yolks and be at room temperature. They whip up better at the temperature. If you have any fat from the egg yolk in your batter it'll ruin it.
• In France, they leave the egg whites out all the time in the open. That's because their health laws are different over there. 
• Double pan the macarons before you put them in the oven that way it doesn't burn the bottom of the cookies. Put at 400 degrees in the middle of the oven and rotate the pan. 
• When making caramel, you DO NOT want to stir the sugar. Sugar is granulated and will try to keep it's crystallized form. You want to let it darken up in the water until it turns a dark brown around the sides. You should be able to smell the caramel. Then when you add the butter and heavy cream, it'll bubble up and thicken on it's own. 

Macarons!

Another table piping out their macarons.

Piping out our chocolate macarons.

Macarons coming out of the oven.

I was taking care of the white chocolate lemon ganache for our lemon macarons.

Another group doing their salted caramel filling.

Making the Coffee Butter cream filing... yum 

Putting the macarons together! Lightly twist them onto each other. :)

Successful macaron and a selfie! ;) I think I may need to offically try making these on my own when we move out to Seattle so I can explore more macaron pairings!

Here are some cool macaron recipes I found that I wouldn't mind trying:
Black Sesame Macarons with Cherry Chocolate Ganache
Blood Orange Macarons with Blood Orange Buttercream Filling
Cayenne Pepper Macarons
Matcha Macarons with Preserved Brandied Cherries & Mascarpone
Salt and Pepper Macarons
Smoked Paprika Macarons with Dark Chocolate Ganache Filling

Au revoir for now! Stay tuned for more posts!
Emma

Baked Cranberry-Chipotle BBQ Ribs

Today I made a Paleo Cranberry-Chipotle Barbecue Ribs with Butter and Dill Carrots for dinner. Oh man, was this delicious!

I think I'm going to miss the food scene of Chicago. It is nice knowing you can go a few blocks and get a variety of food options. Like tacos, sushi, pasta, pizza etc. within a quick walk. I've heard that Portland has a decent foodie scene out west (besides California.) But I'm sure we'll find a few new joints to go eat at. Plus we'll be getting fresher produce. I mean they get fish is right out of the ocean and when we went to the Fremont Farmer's market last September, there were a lot of local farmers.

Let's get started!

First, I took 2 racks of ribs and covered them with water in a pot. I let the water boil then simmered them for 1 1/2 hours. Once that was done, I drained it and put them on baking sheets with foil.

Then I chopped up onions and put them in a skillet with olive oil. 

Then I added some garlic and ginger. This is my go to for ginger. Whenever I get a root of fresh ginger, I only use a little of it and then it goes bad. When I found this puppy, I just put it in the fridge and use it when I need ginger. Obviously it's not as potent as the fresh ginger, but it does the trick and is convenient!

Yum, frozen cranberries.

The spices.

Blurry picture, but I pretty much added the cranberries, organic ketchup, coconut amino's, brown sugar, ½ cup of water and spices.

Bubble bubble, toil and trouble....

Next, after the cranberries popped and condensed down, I blended it in my trusty Ninja.

I wish I could inject the smell into my blog because this smelled heavenly. 

Then, I put the sauce on the ribs and baked them for 45 minutes. 

Ta-da! The finished product with butter and dill roasted carrots. Wow. The ribs were SUPER good. The BBQ sauce was what really made it. It was tangy but with a touch of sweetness. It totally complimented the pork! I wonder if  next time I could smoke the ribs first to get a smoky flavor in there..then add the sauce…I might have to experiment!

Baked Cranberry-Chipotle Barbecue Ribs Recipe here. 

Another awesome recipe from Foodess. Jennifer Pallian has some unique and fun recipes on her site. It takes some adjusting to make it paleo friendly but I like how she plays with flavors and combinations while still maintaining the comfort food style.

Emma