The Magical Fruit

Happy Halloween, you guys!

I am pretty unhappy about this whole "Halloween being on a Monday" thing.  Seriously limits my Halloween options.  I'm still not sure what we're doing tonight, but it better rhyme with wearing my SWEET homemade Chell costume in a public setting.

Anyway. Let's talk about food!

I've been on a serious lentil binge lately, much to the chagrin of people who have to spend a lot of time sitting next to me.  My stomach is very susceptible to vaporous expulsions if introduced to a member of the legume family (they make me fart. A lot). Sorry Raed. Let's consider this payback for the rest of the year.

Oh, but they're tasty.  You can do about 3 million things with them, too. They're also full of fiber and other healthy yum yums to make your tummy happy and regular. Yeah, I said yum yums. I'm sticking by that.

I make some crazy things with lentils, especially when I'm too poor to afford things that aren't currently in my kitchen.  I made some ridiculously awesome lentil enchiladas once.  So crazy good.


This recipe is one of my favorite go-to lentil dishes, probably because it contains my two all-time favorite ingredients: kale and sausage.  This recipe technically feeds 2 very hungry people, but you could easily make it larger by increasing the lentil-to-sausage ratio.

One Pot Lentil and Kale Stew

2 uncooked sausage links (preferably pork...I use Italian, but get what makes you happy)
1 cup of uncooked lentils (I used de puy, or "French Green," but get what makes you happy)
1 bunch kale, cleaned with stems removed and cut into manageable pieces.
2 cups water (or broth)
1/2 cup red wine
Olive Oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 small chopped onion
1 tsp Thyme
1 pinch red pepper flakes
Salt and Pepper

Put a dutch oven on medium high heat.  Add about a tablespoon of oil. Cut your sausage links in half.  Brown the sausage on all sides until you've achieved a nice brown color on all sides.  Add the garlic and onion and saute until translucent.  Add the red pepper flakes. Add the wine and deglaze the pan by scrapping up any bits that may have stuck to the bottom.  Add the water, lentils and thyme. Bring the mixture to a boil, then drop the heat down to a simmer and cook for about 25 minutes, stirring quite frequently.  Taste for seasoning, add salt and pepper as desired.

When the lentils are tender, add the kale, and cover for 3 minutes to allow the kale to wilt.  Stir and taste for seasoning.

Serve in big ol' bowls with a drizzle of olive oil.

MY EYES!

During fall every year, I always think to myself, "Why don't I make French Onion Soup more often? It is delicious and inexpensive."  5 minutes into the recipe and I remember why I don't make it all the time: the pain. The horrible, horrible pain.  How do television chefs chop onions on live TV? I could never do it.  It would end up a hurricane and of mascara and phlegm.

You need a gigantic mountain of chopped onions to make this soup... and even the food processor sends enough fumes into the room to make my eyes water for the next day or so.

So why do I bother?

Around the time I pull the steamy hot bowls out from under the broiler covered in melted cheese, I remember why I own special bowls for just for this eye-scorching soup. Garlicky bread and melty cheese on top of a deeply flavored broth. I mean, come on. You can't simultaneously be human and not dig that.

This is one of those recipes that people are a bit afraid of making at home.  You really shouldn't be.  As long as you have some oven safe bowls to finish the recipe, it's really very easy.  It just takes quite awhile so you better start now.  No pain, no gain. And remember, the ends justify the means [Insert your favorite sports metaphor here].

French Onion Soup

Makes about 6 servings, depending on the size of your bowls (I know, real scientific)

4 (about 5 onions) pounds yellow onions

8 cups beef stock

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

3 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon sugar or honey

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup white wine

Crusty bread, toasted hard

2 cloves garlic

2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese

Salt & Pepper

1. The first part of this recipe is the hardest.  Slice your onions very thin. If you have a food processor with a slicing plate, use that.  Otherwise, power through it. You can do it, champ.

2. In a large soup pot, melt your butter and olive oil at medium heat.  Add the sliced onions, cover, and leave alone for 10 minutes.  

3. After the onions have steeped for 10 minutes, remove the lid, add about a teaspoon of salt and the sugar or honey, and cook the onions for about an hour, stirring very frequently, until the onions are a deep golden brown.  It's very important that you let the onions caramelize, no matter how long it takes - that is where most of the flavor of the soup comes from.

4. After the onions are done, sprinkle with flour and stir, cooking the flour for a few minutes and coating the onions.  Add the wine and stir.

5. Add the beef stock slowly, stirring between additions to avoid lumps of flour.  Add the thyme. 

6. Bring the soup up to a simmer, and simmer for another 30 minutes. Taste the soup half way through for seasoning, and adjust salt and pepper.  Remember that the cheese has some salt, so don't be too liberal.

7.  Turn your oven's broiler on. Add the soup to oven-proof bowls. Rub the toast liberally with the garlic cloves. Add the toasted bread to the top of the soup and cover each bowl in grated cheese.

8. Place the bowls on a cookie sheet beneath the broiler and leave until the cheese is melted and begins to brown.

9. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving. 

New Pots, Anthony Bourdain, and why I occasionally miss the Midwest

Well, that birthday was unexpectedly culinary.

SNAPS

My parents, who are both crazy and understanding of my vision of exuberant aesthetics (that's what I'm calling it.  Sounds better than, "Likes loud colors and running around in circles!"), sent me a brand spanking new set of cooking pans. Orange cooking pans. 

Be still my October-baby heart.

Not to be outdone, THE best boyfriend on the planet bought me a very expensive ticket to see Anthony Bourdain speak in Oakland.  Super awesome.  Hilarious. Would have probably been a little bit better if the dumbest vegetarian on the planet wasn't sitting next to me.  Before you bite my head off, I have no problems with vegetarians, as long as they aren't telling me that I should be one.

This particular vegetarian was sitting in the expensive seats at an Anthony Bourdain event. Complaining. Loudly.  

OMG, OMG, OMG

...It's Anthony Bourdain.  He's written several books. Chapters on the wonders of pork fat.  A whole introduction in one book about how fantastic it was to eat a small endangered (illegal) French song bird. What on earth were you thinking, vegetarian girl? I doubt very much you know who this man is. I'm sorry for any confusion, but could you shut it while the man talks so that those of us who desire to put bacon in our faces can enjoy the thought of a home roasted pig from far away lands?

Somebody finally leaned over and asked her to be quiet.  She left. In a huff. What she was doing there, I will never know... but I almost wish she would have made it to the question and answer session.

As for the people that did make it to the question and answer session... It was really amazing how well Bourdain dealt with them.  It's a bit sad that I actually have to say things like this about an evening with a celebrity chef.  Why was this a war zone?  Because PETA is trying to outlaw Foie Gras, that's why.  And let me tell you something... those birds are treated alarmingly better than most (if not all) other livestock.  Knowing where your animal products come from is the key. But I digress.  

We were in Oakland, just North of San Francisco, so you can bet my seat neighbor wasn't the only pissed-off vegetarian in the audience.  Another well represented group in the audience were the people with the insane ideas about nutrition.  Crazy pants "I'd rather eat chemicals than calories!" people. Bourdain was able to calm these people down so easily... I wish I could take lessons from him in just that skill.  

Audience member: "Americans are fat. The problem is butter! They should stop eating butter!"
Bourdain: "Well, here's a list of reasons that fat is relative, no one should tell their children they should be a certain size. However, if your neighbor calls for help, you shouldn't be so fat that you can't get to them in a reasonable time. So, if you can't climb a flight of stairs, you've got a problem. Also, you should eat butter. Just don't deep fry it and use it for show."
Audience member: "Yes, Sir! You're so right! Thank you!"

Amazing. And humble. And I want his job, oh my god how I want it.

PS: The most amazing thing Anthony Bourdain said was something I've thought several times (and who doesn't love it when their heroes agree with them?).  Why do chain restaurants work so hard to make simple delicious recipes bad for you?  Cause, it takes work to do that.  It also takes work for you to insert something like canned soup into a perfect, simple recipe.  Why do people do this?  Somebody needs to bring back Home Economics for all students, or we're going to end up with more crazy like this: http://www.ragu.com/index.php/recipesearch?recipeid=12337

Chopped: Young and Poor Edition

www.foodnetwork.com

Yeah, it will never, ever happen.

Let me tell you why: because we are MASTERS of the mystery basket.  Your paycheck is late, or you just paid the rent, or you're a college student, and all you've got in the fridge is... THE MYSTERY BASKET.

More than once in recent history, I've opened the fridge and Mr. Ted Allen's voice has chimed in my head, "Contestants! The contents of your mystery baskets ARE: EGGS. MILK. A BAG OF POTATO CHIPS. MARSHMALLOWS. AND... BREAD."

Did anyone just think Bread Pudding? Yeah. See how good we are at this?  In theory, this could also be an omelette, or if you're feeling frisky, some sort of salty/sweet eggy in a basket.  Heck, garnish with the marshmallows. Know what? That's not even a challenge.

"Contestants! The contents of your mystery baskets ARE: SALSA. TORTELLINI. PICKLES. AND... FROZEN CORN."

I've seen this happen (Yes, Maggie. Of course I'm talking about you).  She lived to tell about it.  Furthermore, she reportedly liked it.  Frankly, it's less disgusting than some of the things I've seen happen on Chopped.

Food Network, I suggest you look into this.  Furthermore, I suggest you put us right next to actual chefs.  I would watch that show.

I'm not 30, I'm 29.9 repeating

It's my 30th birthday tomorrow.

I'm not pleased with this.  I think it's partially because I'm in the middle of a seemingly never-ending stint of unemployment (like so many of my friends in the marketing field).  Plus, I've never even thought past my 30's... because, that's what was coming, right? And now what's coming is my 40's. Shudder.

This is the first year that I haven't run around obnoxiously reminding people that its my birthday on the 20th.  If it wasn't for Facebook (ZUCKERBUUUURG! *shakes fist*), I would just kind of hope people forgot.  I really don't want the 30th birthday comments.  You know... "Now you're a REAL adult!" or "Uh oh, party's over..."

Ugh. Please, my family and friends... don't do it.  I pay REAL bills, I've been a REAL adult this whole time.

So. My birthday.  A day where I go out, eat every pumpkin flavored anything I can find and shove in my face for 8 hours, and then celebrate with my insanely amazing boyfriend, and try not to think about how during the next 15 years or so, my boobs will no doubt drop to my feet.

At least I've got the fortitude left to make this for lunch:

And this is an artichoke heart hazelnut omelette with brie.  <3

Stuffed Mini Pumpkins: the cutest thing you can put in your mouth without being creepy

SQUEEEE... NOM

A few years ago, my good friend Laurel (seen here buttering corn) informed me that those tiny pumpkins found on every reception desk in the country during the fall are actually edible.  I'm not sure how I missed this, considering my ferocious appetite for everything pumpkin.  Now every year when I pick up my carving pumpkins, I pick up a load of these little guys... saving them from a life of cubicle mediocrity as a paperweight, but dooming them to my belly.

I've put a few stuffings in these pumpkins... but I think I really nailed it this year. Rice, ground turkey, hazelnuts and raisins.  Perfect.  It's a very well rounded flavor. Please excuse me while I puff up my chest and walk through the halls of food perfection.


Stuffed Mini Pumpkins


6 small mini pumpkins or 4 large mini pumpkins (Not Jack B Little. Those will be too bitter.  You're looking for the ones next to the gourds.  Yup. Edible. Who knew?)
1 pound ground turkey
1/4 cup raisins
1 cup hazelnuts
1 cup uncooked rice or grain of your choice. I used long grain white because I had it haging around. This would be lovely with wild rice, for example.
1 tablespoon dried Thyme
2 cloves minced garlic
1 medium chopped onion
1 teaspoon honey
1 cup chicken stock
1 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon butter
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Cut the tops off of your mini pumpkins and take all the pumpkin goop out with a spoon, making sure to scrape the sides of the pumpkin well.  Set your pumpkins and lids (stems down) in a baking dish and set aside.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Saute the onion and garlic in about a tablespoon of olive oil on medium high heat until the onion is tender, about 6 minutes. Add the ground turkey and brown.

Add the raisins, hazelnuts, thyme, honey, tomato paste, pepper flakes and chicken broth.  Simmer on medium heat until the sauce reduces by half, then add the butter.  Check for seasoning at this point.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer for 5 more minutes.

Drizzle the mini pumpkins and lids with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Stuff each pumpkin with the mixture.  If your stuffing is dry, add about a tablespoon of water to each one so that the flesh of the pumpkin will bake.

Place your stuffed pumpkins in a preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until the stuffing is golden brown and the pumpkin flesh is tender

Brunch of the Gods

I'm a pumpkin patch snob. I can't just go to one of those lame pumpkin stands on the side of the in town.    The idea of just picking up a pumpkin at the grocery store is sacrilege. I feel the same way about those pumpkins outside of Safeway in the giant cardboard boxes as I do about grocery store sneakers. They're just not right.

So, today was pumpkin day, the day every year where I drag some unwitting soul to the pumpkin patch, where they're forced to follow me around with a wagon for 4 hours until I find the perfect pumpkin. Being a snob, despite the fact that I've moved away from Santa Cruz, I still needed to go to my favorite Ocean-side patch.  Rodoni Farms has a HUGE pumpkin patch on the side of Highway 1 just north of Santa Cruz, CA.  Gorgeous. Pumpkins with an ocean view. So, off to Santa Cruz we went.

Mike's Mess @ Zachary's Santa Cruz

Luckily, Raed and I were awake before 9 AM. So, before we hit up the pumpkins we had time to hit one of the best brunch joints I've ever been to in my life, Zachary's.  When I lived in Santa Cruz, I used to go there every weekend... sometimes twice.  Amazing breakfasts. Insane lunches.  The best burger you've ever had. Great coffee. A different homemade salsa/coffee cake/fruit pancake/chili special every day. Line of people outside that barely lets up before they close at 2:30 PM. This place is beyond memorable.  Even the oatmeal is an experience.

Tuna Melt of the Gods.

Having not been to Zachary's in some time, after having been in a hot war over the Foursquare mayorship, I had to order the signature dish of the place: Mike's Mess.  It's basically a frittata on steroids.  Eggs, their AMAZING home fries, bacon, onion, mushrooms, topped with shredded cheese, sour cream, green onions and tomatoes.  I always order the fresh salsa of the day on the side and always with their oat bread.  It really is an amazing dish.  I don't know how they do it... but it doesn't matter if tomatoes are in season or not... they will have the reddest, most perfect tomatoes of all time on top of this thing.  I consider this proof that they are using powerful magics.

Raed had their tuna melt.  He loves tuna sandwiches, and I've had the tuna melt at Zachary's plenty of times. Crazy good. Why? It's just a tuna melt! But it's so good.  Made on their dark oat bread with melted swiss and very thinly sliced red onions. The tuna salad itself it just a trip.  Huge chunks of tuna. It's almost smokey in flavor.  Outlandishly amazing.

...I honestly cry for lack of this place every weekend.

Kousa Mahshi: Stuff it

Humans love to stuff things with meat.  Is it hollow on the inside? FILL IT WITH MEAT!  Can it be made hallow on the inside? MEAT IT! What should I do with this chicken, duck and turkey that I have? STUFF THEM INSIDE EACH OTHER!

Thus, every culture has a signature stuffed meat dish.

Kousa Mahshi in Arabic, Stuffed Squash in English, was suggested for dinner one night by my doe-eyed boyfriend when I asked him what food he missed from Jordan.  His family recipes are in Arabic, and Arabic recipes translate to pretty much gibberish in English if they're translated by someone who doesn't know the ins and outs of a kitchen.  Since cooking is not one of Raed's many skills (except in almost burning his apartment down trying to make french fries), he can't help with the translations beyond a literal compost of words and metric measurements.  So, the below recipe, eaten and approved by a real-live Arab, was portioned together from a "translated" recipe, the internet, a little bit of good old fashioned know-how and some luck. It might sound complicated, but it's actually one of my favorite go-to recipes.

Kousa Mahshi

1 1/2 cups water
2/3 cup UNCOOKED long grain rice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 large can good quality crushed tomatoes
1 medium chopped onion
5 to 6 medium zucchini
1 pound ground lamb*
1/2 bunch chopped fresh mint
Salt & Pepper

1. In a large dutch oven, saute the onions in a tablespoon of olive oil on medium high heat until tender, about 6 minutes. Add about a teaspoon of salt and pepper to taste.

2. Add the tomatoes and water. Bring to a boil then back down to a simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, wash the zucchini and remove the stem end.  Carefully tunnel out the center of each zucchini with an apple corer.  You may have more luck if you cut each zucchini in half... that's what I do. There should be a bout a centimeter of vegetable left around the outside. (An apple corer will make your life much easier, but in my pre-corer life i used a vegetable peeler with a lot of success)

4. As you finish coring, place the zucchini in a large bowl of saltwater and the chopped fresh mint.  Let them sit in this water bath for 10 minutes before stuffing.

5. Combine the lamb, rice, 1 teaspoon salt, nutmeg, allspice and pepper to taste in a large bowl.  Knead the ingredients together with your hands until all ingredients are equally distributed.

6. Stuff the zucchini with the lamb mixture.

7. Place the zucchini into the tomato sauce in two layers.  Make sure there is enough sauce to cover everything. If there isn't, add water.

8. Bring the mixture up to a boil, then back down to a simmer.  Simmer on medium-low for 45 minutes to an  hour.

*I like to buy 1 1/4 pound of lamb so that I have a little stuffing left over to make 2 meatballs.  It's very hard to tell if the rice is done in the center of the kousa.  If you've made the meatballs, you can cut them open to check instead of cutting open several squash wondering what's going on in there.

Las Vegas Vol. 2: The Cosmopolitan makes Italian food that is pretty underground, you've probably never heard of it

The most unfortunate thing about Las Vegas is that it doesn't really seem to have a regional food culture.  It's not close enough to the "real" Southwest for everything to be slathered in green chili.  It's not close enough to California to have it's fresh ingredient obsession.  It's close enough to a theme park to have heinously overpriced chain food everywhere.  It's very easy to get confused.
Our hotel, The Cosmopolitan, is relatively new to the strip. If there were a pair of horn-rimmed glasses big enough, it would wear them with pride while it told the Bellagio about how it liked fountains before they were cool.
Fortunately, it had a number of insanely good restaurants in-house.  Some of them were a little over-the-top hipster.  Chinese/Mexican fusion? I think I'll pass, thanks.  Our last night at the hotel, we decided to try a little wine bar/Italian Bistro called DOCG.

In a bind?  Stuff it with sausage and deep fry it.

After Raed and I didn't order wine, I thought for sure the waiter had lost all hope.  He seemed pretty sad the rest of the meal.  I felt sort of bad for him... but the appetizer helped heal my pain.
While browsing the appetizer menu, I saw olives two ways: warmed with herbs, or stuffed with Italian sausage, lightly breaded and deep friend.  Um, YES. I felt a little bad about ordering it because Raed famously does not like olives.  This works out perfectly for me because we eat a lot of Middle Eastern food that is constantly adorned with olives, and I get to pick them all out for myself guilt-free.  These olives however... well, what's not to like?  They were surprisingly mild for a green olive, primarily because they were just that fresh.  The sausage was light, the breading perfect... just a bit salty. Dangerous, dangerous little balls of joy.

Quack.

For my main course I had pici (a thick spaghetti) in a duck ragu with black truffles.  It was thick and rich and woodsy.  A lot like a dish my mom used to make when I was a kid.  She called it Gristle and Bones according to family tradition, but as I understand it, it's proper name is Sunday Gravy.  Instead of the spare ribs, beef and pork, however, this sauce was full of chunks of duck meat.  Very good. Honestly, a bit too salty. Also a bit too rich for me to properly pick out the flavor of the truffle, which is still a food I want to put in my mouth with great abandon.  I need a slice of truffle.  I must know exactly what that thing tastes like alone in order to appreciate it.

Food Coma = Cell phone picture

For desert, Raed was too full to pick up his camera.  We did have a tiramisu parfait, which is up there with the best tiramisu I've ever had.  The best, if your interested, is a a quirky little Italian place on the harbor in Kenosha, WI called Stella's Casa Capri, which basically hands you a bowl full of custard which you then consume in whole, and then feel bad for 40 days afterward.  DOCG's version was lighter, only slightly alcoholic, not too sweet, perfect down to the tiny coffee balls that garnished it.
Las Vegas is an overwhelming destination.  4 days of almost constant noise and flashing lights had left me feeling pretty hung-over, even though I didn't end up having a drop to drink. Seriously, there needed to be rest time after this trip. Although, to be fair... some of that rest was due to the awesome spill I took into the black jack pit at Circus Circus (completely sober, FTW), twisting my ankle and doing something pretty painful to the top of my foot. Just call me crash.

Las Vegas Vol. 1: The Eiffel Tower Restaurant @ Paris

Turns out, Las Vegas is expensive. The first full day I was there I spent a good hour and a half looking for something, ANYTHING, to put in my face that was under 20 bucks.  I finally found a $14.00 food court burger.  It wasn't even an amazing food court burger. Le sigh.

The day we arrived, Raed suggested that we try the Eiffel Tower Restaurant at the Paris Hotel.  We took the roped off elevator up to the restaurant from the casino, and was greeted by a man in a tuxedo who's only job was to present you to the hostess.  This, when you're a foodie, is a good sign.  This, when you're on a budget, is a very bad sign.  Nothing on the menu was under $40.00.  Except the appetizers.  They were around $20.00.

It had been awhile since I had been to a traditional French restaurant.  Actually, I hadn't been to a traditional French restaurant since I was in France, with my high school french club, something like 15 years ago. So, I decided if I was going to do this... I was going to DO THIS.

Sorry about the picture.  I got a little excited.

Let me have a little conversation with you about Foie Gras.  Have you ever eaten the stuff? Do you know what it is? Better if you don't know what it is.  Put it in your mouth.  I KNOW! IT'S THE BEST DUCK LIVER YOU'VE EVER PUT IN YOUR MOUTH!

Seriously, though.  When I was a kid, I referred to liver as "dirty meat."  Which I guess is technically true of liver.  It filters blood.  Ew. What's up with that?  Duck liver, however... oh duck liver. You are so magical.  If you ever get the chance to try it, do.  Don't fear it. I prefer it cold in a pate, but this restaurant served it warm and whole, with sauteed pears. I was very happy.

Having eaten a liver for starters, I ate veal for my main course.  I'm not generally a veal eater... it freaks me out to think about the little cow. But I was in an expensive restaurant and I was channeling Anthony Bourdain. I was gonna eat that tiny cow!  And I did.

moo.

It was good... but now that I've actually had veal, I can have an opinion about it, and I prefer full grown cow.  Tender? Sure... but so is a filet, and I don't have to feel like I stripped this animal's ability to chew cud for the next 5 or so years.  It came with chanterelle mushrooms (at least 80% of the reason I ordered the dish), green beans, fava beans and tiny little potato balls in a light mustard sauce.

Raed got the chicken.  Lovely. In some sort of cream sauce with tiny, tiny baby onions made of complete joy. And baby greens. Tiny, little baby greens.  So good.

Our waiter, who insofar as I'm concerned would have been just as good at selling cars as he was at being a waiter, brought us the desert menu before we had even ordered the first course.  He did this because if we ordered one of the souffles (of which there were 8 varieties), there was a 40 minute wait.  I had never had a souffle before...even having been to France.  There was a brief puppy-dog eye session with Raed before we went for the classic chocolate.  Highlight of the meal? Um, yeah.  It came to us warm, with a very thin crust layer on top.  The waiter put a hole in the top with a spoon and poured chocolate sauce in the middle.  The resulting desert was fluffy and slightly pudding-like.  It was like a cake +8 warm and gooey. I would eat one of these every day if they weren't damn near impossible to make in my apartment complex what with the neighbors fighting all day long. Also, if you've been paying any attention, the chance of me being able to successfully bake a souffle is somewhere up there with scientists finding a live unicorn in the Amazon. It's probably better that way.

This is bat country.

What happens in Vegas is probably going on this blog.

It seems that I'll be headed to Las Vegas tomorrow, accompanied by the Nut to my ella, Raed.  As with most places, I'm essentially going for the food.  I also heard this rumor about a bar made of ice.  My childhood in Green Bay, Wisconsin makes it hard for me to believe that anyone would want to go to such a place voluntarily, but I hear it's The Thing.

The last time I was in Las Vegas I think I was 3.  We went to visit my grandparents, who had a winter home there. I remember a flash of a sign with a cowboy on it... and then nothing.  So, friends... I need your food suggestions.  What have you eaten in Vegas?  Help me out, and there will surely be goodies in it for you.

Cheap Thrills

I used to have a $50 a week coffee habit.  I had no idea.

picture via Adventures in Midwestern Living.

I had some fraud occur on my bank account a few years back, and in order to clear the whole mess up I needed to stop in the bank and go over my account with them.  The entire transaction history aside from a few stops at ATM machines (and the fraud), were from coffee shops.  All the way down. And I'm not lying to you to make some humorous point about how much I love coffee.  That's the mother loving truth.

Coffee is expensive.  Annoyingly expensive, even though I generally consider myself a plain coffee/unsweetened latte kind of girl. I'm also not willing to go without it... which I don't feel is a sign I'm addicted, but a testament to my human right to have as many cups of coffee every day as I please (they tried to make me go to rehab, I said "no, no, no").  And during the fall, there is nothing more satisfying than a pumpkin spiced anything... caffeine +5 awesomeness.

I recently stumbled across this recipe for homemade pumpkin spice coffee syrup.  I keep it in a jar, pour it on everything, by Christmas I should be a full fledged diabetic. In all seriousness, it will tick you off how cheap and easy this stuff is to make. Really, all coffee syrup is is sugar and water and flavor.  Imagine the possibilities!  You'll never have to pay 80 cents a shot for this stuff again.  Make your favorite flavor, carry it around in your purse, single-handedly destroy Starbucks.

...no, but seriously. I really dislike Starbucks. It's like the McDonald's of coffee.

Here's a list of suggestions for your favorite syrups.  The pumpkin spice recipe I lifted from a lovely little blog called Miss Make.  Please give her all the credit.  The rest are just adapted simple syrups.  Use your imagination, though.  If you want your coffee to taste like grass and Play-Doh... I'm sure dropping a bit into a simple syrup would be the way to go.

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Syrup (from Miss Make, www.missmake.com)

Ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
(optional) 1/4 c bourbon
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp vanilla (or, a good vanilla bean)

Mix all ingredients in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil. Make sure all the sugar is dissolved before you leave this alone.  Reduce mixture to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

Strain through a fine mesh sieve.  Cool, store in a glass jar or bottle in the refrigerator.

Vanilla Syrup

Ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
(for french vanilla, use 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon hazelnut flavor.  Yes, that's all French vanilla is.)


Mix all ingredients in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil. Make sure all the sugar is dissolved before you leave this alone.  Reduce mixture to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Cool, store in a glass jar or bottle in the refrigerator.

Any type of Fruit Syrup (Apple, Cherry, Lycee, raspberry, etc... IMAGINATION.)

Ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup puree of fruit of choice (stick it in the blender with some water)

Mix all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to boil. Make sure all the sugar is dissolved before you leave this alone. Reduce mixture to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Strain through a mesh sieve, cool, and store in a jar in the fridge.



...see where I'm going with this?