IMac Contest Winners!

Thank you to everyone who entered the name my IMac contest. The winners are ... 

 Michael, with the name ICook and George with the name Maxie! Thank you and your cookies will be ready soon.  Thanks, Kate

Thank You

Thank you all for your entries. The IMac contest has ended.  The winner (s) will be announced on May 30Th.  Thanks you !

Memorial Day BBQ

Memorial Day Barbecue!  We had a great meal and lots of fun!  My parents had about 15 friends over and my brother, Josh, and his dog Fenway!

Corn salad is always a crowd pleaser. The avocado takes it from delicious to sublime, the seasonings can be adjusted to the crowd's  preference. We like it packed  with punch, so we go heavy on the spices. Note: We hate to  give this dish up when the corn season ends, so we prepare it with 4 cans of drained shoepeg corn, a worthy substitute.






The Ultimate Corn Salad

serves 10 

12 ears fresh corn off the cob

2 cans black beans , drained and rinsed

1 red onion, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 jalapeno, chopped

1 ripe tomato, seeded and chopped

2 avocados, chopped

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

Chop pieces for a salsa like presentation. Cut large pieces for a composed salad.

Dressing:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon ground cumin + add extra

1 tablespoon chili powder + add extra

salt and pepper

Combine the first nine ingredients, and stir to distribute. Pour dressing over the salad and season to taste: it you prefer it hotter, add more jalapeno or spiced red pepper flakes: if you like it tarter, add more lime juice. The cumin and chili powder can be added to suit your palate.

Cupcake of the Year with Billy's Vanilla Buttercream Icing

1 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup sugar, 1 added 2 additional tablespoons

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup special dark cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350˚ degrees. Line 2 muffin pans with paper liners, about 12. Whisk together coconut milk, sugar, oil and vanilla extract and beat until foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Add to wet ingredients and beat until no lumps remain. Pour into cupcake lines, about 1/4 cup of batter. Bale  18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

1 cup butter at room temperature

6-8 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup milk

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. With mixer on low speed, add 6 cups sugar, 1/2 cup milk, and vanilla ( I like 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla) mix until light and fluffy. If necessary, gradually add remaining 2 cups sugar.

1 Week Left to Enter!

1 Week Left to Enter!!!

My new IMac has arrived and have been busy playing with all the new features and all of the cool things that come with having an updated computer.

I recently killed my old Mac book in the last 2 months or so, by cracking it's shell. Ink or whatever (LCD?) is in there is now leaking out between the screen and the case. My Mac now looks like it was shot in the upper mid-left corner. Bleeding ink started in a nice light purple color and has continued to build on itself in a royal blue and now black. This has made blogging and just about everything else I do on the computer even more frustrating and more complex.I have bought my new blogging buddy, my birthday IMac!

As it is my own tradition to name almost everything I own, ie: my car is Louie Blue-y and my La-Z-boy recliner is called Gibbs.

I thought a contest will be fun and help welcome in the new IMac. The winner will receive a batch of homemade cookies, of their choice. I will offer up a few suggestions :) !

Rules:

• The computer's name can not have anything to do with my name
  
• It can not be something rude
  
• The winner will be named and chosen by me. The deadline for this will be May 28th and the winner will be announced on May 30th. Homemade cookies will be deliver if you are local or mailed to you.
• Your IMac name and the winner's first name will appear on the blog

Please send me your name, phone number, and address with your IMac name to notjustvanilla.kate@gmail.com or katiedid512@gmail.com

Please leave just your computer name idea on comments too please. Good luck and may the best name(er) get the cookies!

IMac Names So Far:

ICook- like Iphone

I love 2 cook

Mac the cook- like Mack the Knife from the play

Mackintosh- like the apple

The white night- because I blog late at night

Iggy

Mackie
Mac-aroni and Key's
Maxie
Lady Apple

I love the names so far. thanks guy, continue sending them in, the contest has been extended until May 28th! Please help name my I Mac!

The Pink Lady!

It started out almost 5 years ago. I have always loved watermelon and I have always wanted to make something very special out of it.  For years and years I have always "hacked" into a watermelon and gobbled up as much as I could eat, plus a few more bites. I can easily take down a whole watermelon. But that was it, nothing more, a messy treat and nothing more.

But, about 5 years ago when I was living in Indianapolis, I had a juicer. It made some very good juice, apple and carrot juice and lemon and orange and lime juice, anything you could imagine.  So the idea of watermelon juice came to me one day as I sat down to eat watermelon. The first few attempts were good, not great. But with the addition of some mint and lemon, I had a great juice. 

Jump ahead to present day, well... yesterday.  Dinner at mom and dad's house and I needed a great healthy dessert.  The pink lady.   These recipes I will give you can be used as you wish, but I will warn you, if you make this, you will be hooked!  

The Pink Lady

1 medium round watermelon, chunked

1 large handful of fresh mint leaves, about 1 cup

extra mint for garnish

1 lemon, juiced and zested

1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

Options: 

vodka

In a food processor add together mint leaves, watermelon and 2 tablespoons sugar. Process the watermelon until it is the consistency of watery applesauce.  You will have do this is batches so don't overload the food processor. 

Pour the mixture into a colander over a large soup pot.  Save the juice and toss out what is left in the colander.  Add the lemon juice and lemon zest into the watermelon juice. If the watermelon is very sweet do not add any more sugar, but if your watermelon needs a little more flavor add the 1/3 cup sugar or splenda.

Add medium-high heat, heat the watermelon juice for about 15 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  Cool in the refrigerator.

This is were you have the option to make just juice or a cocktail or you could make popsicles or just a fruity icy desert.

For the juice:  Just refrigerate and serve with a sprig of mint and a slice of lemon.

For the popsicles: Pour the cooled juice into popsicle molds and freeze for 24 hours.

For the cocktail: Sugar the rim of each glass. Pour in 1/3 to 1/2 cup of chilled vodka with each glass of watermelon juice and top with a small slice of lemon and mint.

For the fruity ice dessert: Pour the watermelon juice into a 9 x 13 casserole dish and put it in the freezer for 2 to 3 hours. Every 30 minutes, scrape the ice that forms with a fork for a soft, icy mixture.  Cover with plastic wrap. This can be made 1 day ahead.  Serve in a parfait glass with mint.  Yum!

 

 

The Cupcake of the Year!

My friend Shannon's Birthday was on Sunday. She loves chocolate and coffee and last year I made her a cake with just those items. It was a beautiful chocolate, espresso cake ! Yum, but this year I wanted to change it up a bit. My instructions were chocolate, dark chocolate and milk chocolate.  My inspiration was a beautiful black and gold cupcakes made by  Love and Olive Oil.  These are vegan cupcakes with the exception that I used 2 Tablespoons milk. However I used organic milk so it almost counts as all vegan.  Not really, but they were too delicious for me to worry or not if these cupcakes were healthy.  
The oil and coconut milk reacted in to some crazy patterns.
Foamy!
The yin and yang of coco powder and flour.  

I added a 1/4 of a cup of melted carmel to the batter for a kick of flavor, you could taste it in the batter, but not after it was baked.



The smell that filled my apartment (a few minutes before the cupcakes were done) was a rich, sweet, bakery-ish, died and gone to heaven chocolate smell. Warm and rich! Shiny cupcake goodness.

The true difference between these cupcakes and other chocolate cupcakes I have had or made is... they aren't super sweet.  The chocolate is so dark and rich, so chocolaty that you could fall into the dark beauty of these cupcakes. Like all beautiful things, these treats will sooth your soul and comfort your heart, it might normally be asking too much of a chocolate cupcake, but if any cupcake can do it, it is this chocolate cupcake that can. It is chocolate after all, miraculous chocolate!

Stephanie is trying to eat as I keep shoving the camera into her cupcake!

Cupcakes:

1 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup sugar, I added 2 additional tablespoons

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup special dark cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Frosting:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature

1/3 cup special dark cocoa powder

2 cups confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons milk or soy milk

2 tablespoons carmel topping

Preheat the oven to 350˚ degrees. Line 2 muffin pans with paper liners, about 12. 

Whisk together the coconut milk, sugar, oil and vanilla extract and beat until foamy.  In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add to wet ingredients and beat until no lumps remain.

Pour into liners, about 1/4 cup of batter. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

For frosting, cream butter until smooth and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add cocoa powder and beat until Incorporated. Add 1 tablespoon milk and mix. Add confectioners' sugar 1/2 cup at a time and mix until light and fluffy 3 to 5 minutes total. Add carmel topping and mix well. If frosting is too thick add more milk and beat until fluffy, if it is too thick, add more sugar and beat until fluffy.  You want the frosting to keep it's shape when piped on to the cake. I  topped the cupcake with a milk chocolate covered coffee bean from Starbucks.

Doctoring the Basics

Making due with what you have... it sounds depressing and sounds boring. But, with people losing jobs, pay cuts, job cuts, etc. This "depression" we are currently living in, food, good food is not the most important thing on your budget. My friend Phil and I made dinner together on Sunday, a budget friendly dinner. Now most of the time neither Phil or myself eats out or prepares expensive dinners, of course once in a while everyone needs to splurge, but can taste, be a splurge? I am going to continue thinking up budget dinners where the only splurge is flavor, satisfaction for your taste buds. Thinking back to a dinner, or any meal where you came away not only full, but you come away content. Its not just the food, but the way food feels in your mouth. Fatty-er foods fill your mouth with not only flavor, but the richness and the satisfaction is what makes us crave these foods.

When I was younger, we used to have to eat the Snackwell cookies and mostly diet and no-fat foods. These cookies, any flavor and type never gave you the feeling you wanted when you eat real cookies with butter and sugar. You could, and we did, eat a whole box of Snackwell cookies without feeling satisfied like you would with 2 regular cookies like Oreos.  I know that one of the reasons budget cuts on your pantry make you crave more richness and fulfillment in your meals. None of these new budget meals will make you crave anything but seconds, and that, of course, it what counts!

Phil's Grilled Cheese

Pantry items

6 slices of bread, what ever you already have on hand

Butter or margarine

6 slices of cheese, we used Kraft Singles

Grocery items

4 slices of bacon , $2.79 for a full packet of bacon

1 can of soup, I like Amy's $2.99 or Pacific $3.99 that we got at Target

This whole meal cost less than $6.50 and would feed a family of 4, but Phil and I can have leftover soup for another meal.

To make the grilled cheese, butter 1 side of each bread slice and place butter side down on a hot griddle or pan. After just a minute or so, check the bread. It should be golden brown, toasty. Flip the bread over and place 1 slice of cheese on each slice of bread. If you like bacon, take 2 slices of cooked bacon and cut each slice into 2 pieces. Put the 1/2 slice of bacon on each slice of cheese. If you have tomato or lettuce or any spices you want to add to the sandwich, add it when the cheese starts to melt. Then flip one piece of grilled cheese onto the other slice, cheese side to cheese side. Slice and enjoy. 

Heat the soup in a pot on medium-high, salt or pepper as needed. If you have corn soup and you want to stretch it you can add 1 can sweet corn or creamed corn. Also try adding leftover mixed vegetables from the night before. I like to add a little paprika for flavor and color. 

Enjoy your fulfilling budget, kid friendly meal!

Happy Mothers Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! All moms are great, but there is no one like my mom. If anyone needs an example of a incredible mother, they only need to look at you. Mom, For your sure and steady love that has never failed to steady me, the quiet patience and optimism that have never failed to inspire me, you inspire me everyday.Thank you from my heart. Happy Mother's Day I Love you!

1 Week Left to Enter!!!

My new IMac has arrived and have been busy playing with all the new features and all of the cool things that come with having an updated computer.

I recently killed my old Mac book in the last 2 months or so, by cracking it's shell. Ink or whatever (LCD?) is in there is now leaking out between the screen and the case. My Mac now looks like it was shot in the upper mid-left corner. Bleeding ink started in a nice light purple color and has continued to build on itself in a royal blue and now black. This has made blogging and just about everything else I do on the computer even more frustrating and more complex.I have bought my new blogging buddy, my birthday IMac!

As it is my own tradition to name almost everything I own, ie: my car is Louie Blue-y and my La-Z-boy recliner is called Gibbs.

I thought a contest will be fun and help welcome in the new IMac. The winner will receive a batch of homemade cookies, of their choice. I will offer up a few suggestions :) !

Rules:

• The computer's name can not have anything to do with my name
  
• It can not be something rude
  
• The winner will be named and chosen by me. The deadline for this will be May 28th and the winner will be announced on May 30th. Homemade cookies will be deliver if you are local or mailed to you.
• Your IMac name and the winner's first name will appear on the blog

Please send me your name, phone number, and address with your IMac name to notjustvanilla.kate@gmail.com or katiedid512@gmail.com

Please leave just your computer name idea on comments too please. Good luck and may the best name(er) get the cookies!

IMac Names So Far:

ICook- like Iphone

I love 2 cook

Mac the cook- like Mack the Knife from the play

Mackintosh- like the apple

The white night- because I blog late at night

Iggy- from me

Mackie

I love the names so far. thanks guy, continue sending them in, the contest has been extended until May 28th! Please help name my I Mac!

Mother's Day Shortcake- Twisted!

I love strawberries! It is one of my true fruit loves along with watermelon.  I have been working on this recipe for over a year, each time trying to perfect it. Guess what, perfection achieved! I have a "twisted" Strawberry Shortcake for mother's day!  I really think you will enjoy it. 

2 lb strawberries

2-3 tablespoons sugar

1 lemon, zested and juiced

1 orange, zested and juiced

1 lime, zested and juiced

about 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1 large handful of fresh mint, chopped with some on the stem for decoration

1 vanilla bean pound cake, or angel food cake

Add the zest and fruit juice to a large bowl.  Wash and slice the strawberries into 3-5 slices. If you have really great, sweet strawberries only add 1 tablespoon of sugar, if the strawberries are not so sweet, add all of the sugar.  Stir together lightly the fruit juice, zest, and sugar. Cover and set aside for about 1/2 to 1 hour.  The strawberries and all the fruit has such a bright, fresh, spicy, sweet smell. I have to keep myself away from the bowl, all I want to do is just stick my head into the bowl and take a whiff. Wow!

After the strawberries have had time to let the flavors meld, add about 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar, enough not to cover the strawberries and yet, enough to have a pool, a puddle of balsamic and fruit juice on the strawberries. Toss and set aside.  Slice the pound cake into 1 inch slices and place into a small dessert dish. Add the about 3/4 of the chopped mint to the strawberries and stir. Spoon the strawberries over the pound cake with some of the juice. Top the dish off with ice cream and then more strawberries. Sprinkle with some mint and enjoy!  Happy Mother's Day!