happy valentine's day!

love, laurie
xoxo

fun links {valentine's day edition}

d.i.y. valentine banner

it has been awhile since i have done a fun links post.  so, since valentine's day is tomorrow, here are a few fun valentine's day themed links that i found around the internet recently:

turn leftover birthday candles into a valentine's day card.

heart sun catchers made from crayons and waxed paper.

heart cut out gift wrap.

d.i.y. love potion valentines.

bacon hearts.

chocolate heart sandwich cookies.

how to bake a heart into your cupcakes.

heart nail art.

heart bokeh.

give someone a valentine's day heart attack.

love, laurie

baked mocha cake doughnuts with coffee cream cheese glaze

happy mardi gras/fat tuesday/fausnaught day!  whatever you call it, i won't argue with a day that is basically an excuse to eat a doughnut.

that husband of mine is rather fond of doughnuts.  so, you can imagine how excited he was when i told him that i found a new doughnut recipe that i wanted to try.  

believe it or not, i'm not a huge doughnut lover.  don't get me wrong, i do enjoy an occasional doughnut, but they usually are not my go-to dessert indulgence of choice.  however, homemade doughnuts are a completely different story.  a completely different story.

no doubt, coffee and doughnuts are a match made in heaven.  so why not combine the two?

thus, i present to you (on this fausnaught day) mocha doughnuts with coffee cream cheese glaze.  really, how can you go wrong with this combination?

let me tell you a few things about these doughnuts . . .

first, these doughnuts are baked, not fried.  so, i guess you can feel a little bit better about them since they did not take a swim in an oil bath.

second, these doughnuts are cake doughnuts, not yeast doughnuts.  that's not to say that they are dense like the cake doughnuts that you might find in your local doughnut shoppe.  oh no, they are ethereally light and fluffy.

third, they are topped off with chocolate sprinkles.  fact: sprinkles make everything cuter.

perfection!

now . . . yeast doughnuts are easy to make with just a set of biscuit cutters.  since they have yeast in them, they hold up well and don't loose their shape.  cake doughnuts are another story.  they need a little help from a doughnut pan in order to keep their shape.  go ahead, buy yourself a doughnut pan.  your life (and your waist line) will never be the same once you do.

baked mocha cake doughnuts with coffee cream cheese glaze
prep time: 5-10 minutes
baking time: 10 minutes
yields: 6 doughnuts
adapted from shutterbean

doughnut ingredients:
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon decaffeinated instant coffee

glaze ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon decaffeinated instant coffee
1 1/2 teaspoons hot water
3 tablespoons cream cheese
1 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

directions:
to make the doughnuts: preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. in a large bowl, beat together the buttermilk, oil, vanilla, egg, and brown sugar with an electric hand mixer.  sift the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, and instant coffee into the batter.  beat well, until combined.  pour the batter into a resealable sandwich baggie.  use scissors to cut one of the bottom corners off the baggie, and squeeze the batter into a well-greased doughnut pan.  bake for 10 minutes, or until the doughnuts spring back when pressed lightly.  once baked, allow the doughnuts to cool in the pan for 2 minutes, then carefully remove them from the pan and allow them to cool completely on a wire cooling rack.

to make the glaze: in a small bowl, stir the instant coffee into the hot water until dissolved.  melt the cream cheese in the microwave, and beat the melted cream cheese into the coffee with an electric hand mixer.  add the milk, powdered sugar, and vanilla.  beat well, until combined.  dip the cooled doughnuts into the glaze.  place the doughnuts on a wire rack with either aluminum foil or waxed paper under the rack in order to catch the dripping glaze.  decorate with chocolate sprinkles.

enjoy!

love, laurie

happy monday!

hope your weekend was a happy one!  we didn't take many pictures this weekend.  however, our weekend was filled with . . . tons of good food, time spent with my dad, scrabble, mountains of laundry, errands, a long walk around the hardware store (one of ryan's favorite activities), recipe testing, the sunday matinee performance of a local play, meeting up with a family friend for dinner, the grammy awards, and (of course) lots of time spent cuddling with kitten!

weekends are like refresh buttons.  sometimes it's nice to just be able to unplug for a little bit over the weekend.  after a crazy week you can rejuvenate yourself for the upcoming week . . . and that's exactly what we did this weekend.

love, laurie

snapshots of life lately, according to my iphone pictures

{iphone pictures via the instagram app}

orzo salad with kale, chickpeas, red onion, and feta cheese

we have been absolutely loving lunch salads lately.  often we will make an extra large salad on sundays and then portion the salad out into small containers to take to work for our lunches during the week.  it's a great way to have a homemade meal for lunch at work, while still keeping your diet in check.

this salad is chock full of orzo and chickpeas.  fresh kale plays the role of a leafy green, and the whole thing is topped off with red onion and feta cheese.  the lemon dressing gives it just the right amount of zing too.  this is a delicious salad that is healthy and will make you feel better about the slice of pie that you just ate the night before for dessert!

orzo salad with kale, chickpeas, red onion, and feta cheese
prep time: 5-10 minutes
cooking time: 10-15 minutes
yields: 10 servings
adapted from kalyn's kitchen

salad ingredients:
1 1/3 cups dry orzo
4-5 cups fresh kale
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

dressing ingredients:
1 large lemon
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

directions:
to make the salad: cook the orzo according to the package directions, drain, and set aside to cool.  meanwhile, cut the kale leaves away from the stalks and coarsely chop the leaves.  in a large frying pay, over medium heat, heat the olive oil.  add the kale, and cook until the kale begins to wilt slightly (about 1-2 minutes).  place the kale into a large bowl.  add the chickpeas, onion, feta, and orzo.

to make the dressing: zest and juice the lemon.  whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, vinegar, and olive oil.  season with salt and pepper to taste.  add the dressing to the salad and toss well to combine.

enjoy!

love, laurie

hey dad, where's the tuna?

we often use reusable grocery bags when we go shopping.  they are "green" but they are also easy to carry and really sturdy too.  the other day we were unloading groceries in our kitchen, and when we turned around, we found leko hiding in one of the grocery bags.  i bet he was checking the bag to see if we brought any tuna home from the grocery store . . .

after a while, ryan moved leko (and the bag) down to the floor so that he wouldn't wiggle himself off the chair.  he sure had a blast playing in that grocery bag for a while.  silly kitten!

ps: don't worry, we are responsible pet parents and we only let leko play in bags with handles when he is supervised.

love, laurie

banoffee pie (banana toffee pie)

over the weekend, my grandfather came to visit.  my grandfather lives in arizona, so we rarely see him.  recently, he has been visiting many of his relatives on the east coast, and on saturday he came up to our house for dinner.  when i found out that he was coming, i started thinking about what i should make for dessert.  here's a breakdown of how the thought process went in my head . . . grandpa >> british accent >> england >> love actually movie >> keira knightley >> banoffee pie.

if you followed that without getting confused, high five!  if your lost, here is my explanation . . . my grandfather has a british accent.  every time i hear him talk, i think of england.  whenever i think of england, i think of one of my all-time favorite movies love actually.  keira knightley was in love actually, and there is a scene in love actually where keira knightley mentions banoffee pie.  logical, right?

moving on . . . so, i decided to tackle banoffee pie for dessert this weekend.  i had never had banoffee pie before, but it has always been on my list of things to order if i ever found myself sitting in a quaint little london cafe.  since i don't plan on traveling to london any time soon, and since i was already going to have a man with a british accent in my dining room, i decided to bring london to me.  as it turns out, banoffee pie is incredibly easy to make.  it is simple, it is sweet, and it makes you dream of london.  it sure is messy and sticky, but it is oh so good.  if you like bananas and toffee, this is the pie for you!

banoffee pie
prep time: 10-15 minutes
cooking time: 10 minutes
yields: one 9-inch round pie
adapted from sprinkle bakes

crust ingredients:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup chocolate sprinkles
4 tablespoons salted butter, melted and cooled

filling ingredients:
2 large bananas
1 tablespoon lemon juice (divided)
8 tablespoons butter
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup light brown sugar
4 tablespoons corn syrup

topping ingredients:
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

directions:
to make the crust: in a large bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and the sprinkles.  pour the melted butter evenly over the crumbs.  mix together, making sure that all of the crumbs are evenly coated.  pour the crumbs into a 9-inch tart pan or pie pan, and press the crumbs firmly against the bottom of the pan and up the sides of the pan, making sure that the crumbs form an even crust.  chill the crust in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.

for the filling: slice one of the bananas and place it in a small bowl.  toss the banana slices with half of the lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown.  arrange the banana slices in the bottom of the crust, then return the crust to the refrigerator.  in a saucepan, over medium heat, combine the butter, condensed milk, brown sugar, and corn syrup.  stir until the butter has melted, then raise the heat to medium-high.  bring the mixture to a gentle bubble, and allow it to bubble for about 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly.  remove the mixture from the heat and allow it to cool slightly.  stir well, then pour the mixture over the sliced bananas.  chill for several hours or overnight.

for the topping: slice the second banana and place it in a large bowl.  toss the banana slices with the remaining lemon juice.  arrange half of the banana slices on the top of the pie.  using an electric hand mixer, whip the heaving whipping cream in a large bowl until thickened and stiff peaks form.  cover the top center of the pie with the whipped cream, and place the remaining banana slices on top of the whipped cream.  decorate with chocolate curls, chocolate shavings, and/or chocolate sprinkles.  keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

enjoy!

love, laurie

our little super bowl party

i've mentioned before that we are really not into sports.  however, we do like sitting down each year to watch the super bowl . . . mainly for the half-time show and the commercials.  (my two favorite commercials were budweiser's clydesdale commercial and tide's miracle stain commercial.)

in the past we have gone to super bowl parties at friends' houses, but we much prefer staying home and cuddling up on our own couch.  so, we stayed home on sunday night to watch the super bowl, and we had a little super bowl party just for the two three of us . . . turns out kitten loved joining us on the couch to watch the super bowl too!

love, laurie  

sun dried tomato pesto with toasted almonds and italian parsley

when i think of pesto, the first thing that comes to mind is traditional basil pesto.  my mom makes amazing pesto with fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, and parmesan cheese.  it's so good, and i could spread it on just about anything.  basil pesto is a classic and i absolutely love it.  however, from time to time, i like to change things up a bit and put a new twist on some of my favorite classic recipes.

this week we made a different type of pesto.  it still had garlic and olive oil in it, but we replaced the basil, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese with sun dried tomatoes, toasted almonds, and italian parsley.

the sun dried tomatoes were a great base for this pesto.  the toasted almonds gave the pesto a deep rich flavor that perfectly complimented the bright flavor of the italian parsley.  we decided to put our pesto on veggie pasta and grilled chicken.  it was super yummy, and it was a nice change from traditional marinara sauce.  you could spread this pesto on just about anything.  (i bet it would be great on a piece of toasted italian bread too!)

sun dried tomato pesto with toasted almonds and italian parsley
prep time: 5-10 minutes
yields: approximately 2 cups of pesto
adapted from the daily muse

ingredients:
7 oz. sun dried tomato halves
1/2 cup sliced almonds
2 large handfuls of fresh italian parsley
4 garlic cloves
5-6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

directions:
in a small pan, over medium heat, toast the almonds until they become fragrant and brown (about 5 minutes).  remove the parsley leaves from the stems, and roughly chop the parsley leaves.  in a food processor, mix the tomatoes, almonds, parsley, garlic, and olive oil until smooth.  add more olive oil as needed to reach desired consistency.  season with salt and pepper to taste.

enjoy!

love, laurie