Category Archives: Snacks

Popcorn Balls

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Holy cow! Has is seriously already been almost a month since my last post? I have to admit – I knew that my new jobs would take up a lot of time. But I had no idea that it would take up ALL of my free time! With that said, I apologize for the complete lack of new entries in quite some time. Even though I would all day, every day, I really was hoping to get you at least one or two new posts each day. Perhaps this post will be the start of a much better record.

Popcorn

This recipe is something that my grandma used to make all the time. At Halloween, she would throw in some orange food coloring to make the popcorn balls look like pumpkins.

Popcorn Balls

Yes, this too is a short post. For that I apologize. I am just getting back home from a week-long business trip in Orlando. Needless to say, I am exhausted and have tons of things to do before going to work at Shakou tonight! Don’t worry though, I am working on some recipes tomorrow, my only free day in a while!

Until next time…happy eating!

Popcorn Balls
Makes about 2 dozen.

15 cups popped corn
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup light karo syrup
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter

  1. Cook all ingredients over stovetop to 230° F.
  2. Add food coloring, if desired.
  3. Immediately pour over 15 cups popped corn which has been put into a large metal container. (I did not have this, so I used a large plastic mixing bowl.)
  4. Stir until all kernels are covered.
  5. Rub butter on hands and form into balls.
  6. Wrap in saran wrap.

Sweet + Salty Snack Mix

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SUPER BOWL SUNDAY!

Caramel CornSo let’s be honest, I couldn’t have cared less about either of the teams playing in this past weekend’s Super Bowl. The Ravens? The 49ers? Eh. So what this year’s Super Bowl really boiled down to, for me at least, was three things:

  1. The Food
  2. The Commercials
  3. The Half-time Show

Let’s start with the half-time show. In recent years, *cough* since the Janet Jackson debacle *cough*, I have been incredibly disappointed with the half-time shows. In fact, most of them I have thought were quite awful and found myself only half paying attention. I am assuming this is because they have brought in legends who are now way past their prime and can no longer put on a show like they used to. Don’t get me wrong, I respect them for what they did, but they shouldn’t be performing anymore.

Beyoncé however? Yes, I will take a Beyoncé half-time show.
She can sing. She can dance. And she’s hella fine!

Add a Destiny’s Child reunion and you’ve got yourself a winner!

Double Boiler

When it came to the commercials this year, I was disappointed. To be honest, the only one that I can remember is the Budweiser Clydesdale commercial. Overall, I expect a lot more from companies who are spending upwards of $4 million for a spot! Come on corporate America – you can do better!

Potato Chips

And finally, on to the food! I love Super Bowl. Yes, 99.99% of it is absolutely terrible for you. And the thought of even attempting to create a “healthier option” seems like sacrilege. Super Bowl food is meant to be terrible for you. So suck it up.

I spent Super Bowl Sunday friends, one of which sent me a little Facebook message the night before saying,

“I know its late, but if you wanted to make this for tomorrow i wouldn’t hate it.”

She included a link to the IMPROVkitchen, which had this recipe for a Sweet + Salty Snack Mix. Potato Chips dipped in chocolate seems rather weird, but I made it anyways. It was delicious!

Moral of the story is this: you can dip just about any salty food into chocolate and it WILL end up being a good idea!

Sweet + Salty Snack Mix

Until next time…happy eating!

Sweet + Salty Snack Mix

2 cups chocolate chips
2 cups pretzels (sticks, rods, braids, twists, classic – whatever you feel like)
4 cups ridged potato chips
6 cups caramel corn
  1. In a double boiler, place your chocolate chips and stir until it’s almost all the way melted. Take off the heat and continue stirring until the lumps are fully melted.
  2. Line a few baking sheets with wax or parchment paper.
  3. Dip your chips half way into the chocolate and give them a good shimmy to drip off any excess chocolate. You want a thin coating. Continue until all of your chips are dipped.
  4. Continue with your pretzels.
  5. Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to fully set the chocolate.
  6. In a large bowl, gently combine the pretzels, chips and caramel corn.

Savory Pumpkin Spread

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So now that Thanksgiving is done, I don’t have much of an excuse for the lack of recent posts. So, I won’t even attempt making up one.

Now officially starts my favorite time of the year…beginning with Thanksgiving. I love spending time with loved ones and having quality time with each other. On top of that, there is nothing better than amazing Thanksgiving dinner! Food, food and more food! I’ve recently noticed that I can no longer eat endless amounts of food. Is it that I am working out more often? Am I getting older? Whatever it may be, I was pitifully only able to eat one heaping plate of food with tiny seconds of sweet potatoes and stuffing.

During the past few days at Starbucks, many customers have come into the store asking how our holiday weekend was and how much food we ate. But every customer that really knows me asked one question: “What did you make?”

I did not make any extravagant dish, only a simple appetizer, courtesy of Williams-Sonoma. So without further adieu…

Savory Pumpkin Spread

8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
1/2 jar Williams-Sonoma Pumpkin Butter (or any other brand)
1 cup chopped pecans
3 strips bacon (cooked and crumbled)
green onions (chopped to taste)

Mix all ingredients together and serve with crackers.

Roasted Pecan Pumpkin Butter

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Thank you Jessica at How Sweet It Is…first of all your photography is amazing. Secondly, you continue to provide me with recipes to drool endlessly over, and ones that I want to make over and over again. The only downfall? l began realizing how much I need to start running! I have been lacking in the motivation department since my marathon…however, I will be running the Turkey Trot Half-Marathon on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Perhaps it’d be a good idea to start training again…perhaps.

As we inch towards the end of the year the temperature has been dropping, the leaves falling, and the clocks falling back. Yes, that is right, Daylight Savings has happened! (It’s so much better than spring Daylight Savings!) Hopefully you were already aware of this fact, otherwise the past few days must have been pretty messed up for you!

I have to say, waking up Sunday morning and realizing that it was an hour earlier that I thought was the greatest feeling in the world. While I didn’t allow myself that extra hour to sleep (I sucked it up and got out of bed), it was nice to have a little extra time to get things accomplished. Praying for a fresh start this fall!

Along with these many joys comes the unbearable urge to eat more and more! I think my body is subconsciously telling itself that we need to stretch out my stomach in preparation for Thanksgiving. It IS only 15 days away, after all!

Pecans + pumpkin + maple syrup = mouth-watering deliciousness!

This little nugget of joy was so delicious, that its presence has been requested at our family Thanksgiving gathering! My only complaint, which unfortunately can’t really be dealt with, is the price of nuts. 1 pound of pecans tends of be rather expensive… Price complaints aside, this was delicious! I found the pecan flavor to be a little overbearing so I played around with the ingredients…added a little more maple syrup, a touch more pumpkin spice. Don’t be afraid to make this your own!

Until next time…happy eating!

Roasted Pecan Pumpkin Butter

1 pound (16 ounces) unsalted pecans
3 tablespoons pumpkin puree (or you can try pumpkin butter!)
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
1-2 teaspoons flavorless oil (like grapeseed/canola), if needed

  1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
  2. Spread the pecans out on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, flipping every 5 minutes. Once roasted, add pecans to a food processor and blend and pulse, scraping down the sides of the processor until the butter comes together – about 5-6 minutes. Add in pumpkin, spices, syrup and salt, pureeing and blending more until your desired consistency is reached. If needed, stream in oil 1 teaspoon at a time to bring the butter together and smooth it out a bit.
  3. Taste and season more if needed (this will depend on your pecans, your syrup, etc), then place in a seal-tight container or jar to serve. Store in the fridge if this butter will not be consumed within 1-2 weeks.

Spicy Smoky Kale Chips

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I have been hearing all about kale chips for quite some time now… I felt like I was on crazy pills or something! HOW in the world could baked rabbit food taste good? I have been hesitant about trying them, until now! I stumbled upon this recipe while feeding my never-ending obsession with food blogs…thank you White on RIce Couple…you are only enabling me!

Here’s the real shocker of this entire thing…my father liked them! Like I have said time and time again, he tends to be a little wary of any vegetarian options. He will try them, but that is not to say he will have them again. These guys? Yea, my dad is obsessed. He just asked me when I am going to make them again.

I increased the amount of red pepper flakes I put in the recipe. I like hot spicy things.
The hotter, the better.

So while kale chips will never truly replace potato chips – they are very different – they are an amazing snack option. I would hands down pull out a bag of kale chips and snack on them while reading, writing, enjoying the company of family and friends.

Give them a try. They are worth it.

Until next time…happy eating!

Spicy Smoky Kale Chips

one bunch of kale, rinsed and dried
olive oil
salt, to taste
1 tablespoon of chili flakes (or to taste…in my case, it was the “to taste” option)
sprinkling of paprika or cayenne pepper powder

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Remove the tough stems from the kale leaves. Cut or tear large leaves into bite size pieces
  3. Place kale pieces in large bowl. Lightly coat the kale by tossing it with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Only use 1 tablespoon of olive oil at a time., add more if needed. Sprinkle in sea salt and chili flakes.
  4. Put the kale pieces on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  5. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until crisp. To encourage even baking, you can turn the leaves about half way through. Make sure to keep an eye on the kale, as it will burn if left in the oven too long.
  6. Lightly sprinkle the kale chips with paprika or cayenne pepper powder.

Fried Green Tomatoes

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green eggs and ham, said sam i am!

but fried green tomatoes? questioned sam i am.

dr. seuss should have taught me more, for fried green tomatoes i know not!

Seriously, are green tomatoes a part of common knowledge?
Because if they are, I have been out of the loop for the past 25 years!
My theory: Dr. Seuss decided to play a joke on the world and make them up.

I thought that green tomatoes were a specific species of tomatoes…you have roma tomatoes, plum tomatoes, and green tomatoes…right? Wrong.

I was prepping the ingredients and my mother told me to run out in our garden and pick a few more green tomatoes. I looked at her as if she were out of her mind. We didn’t have green tomatoes! Au contraire, mon ami. A green tomato is just a tomato that hasn’t fully ripened into its red color. Who’da thunk?

Prior to July 6, 2012, I had never deep-fried food. La Noche de España and it’s croquetas was my first time venturing into the at-home-deep-frying world. I am typically adventurous – I always want to try new things, broaden my horizons, expand my skills set. This was no different. Except for one small thing…

“No, really! I know someone whose house burned down because they were frying food! The oil is too hot, turn it down! Wait, wait, be careful!”

My mother stood over my shoulder freaking out, certain that we would have a grease fire in the kitchen. Carla, I love you, but things worked out just fine. The whole process really turned out being rather painless. We used a Dutch oven on the stove so we would have a deeper working space. Best of all, no splatter burns!

So here’s the thing…typically you will use green tomatoes for fried GREEN tomatoes (duh!). However, that isn’t to say you can’t use red tomatoes. In fact, if you look at the photography below, you will see a little red peeking out from the layer of fried breading. It’s doable. Here’s the only real difference: green tomatoes are not as juicy so they will stay more firm throughout the frying process. Red tomatoes are riper, so they end up having more juices.

Red tomatoes will do, but green is better.

Until next time…happy eating!

Fried Green Tomatoes

4 large green tomatoes
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 quart vegetable oil for frying

  1. Slice tomatoes 1/2 inch thick. Discard the ends.
  2. Whisk eggs and milk together in a medium-size bowl. Scoop flour onto a plate. Mix cornmeal, panko bread crumbs and salt and pepper on another plate. Dip tomatoes into flour to coat. Then dip the tomatoes into milk and egg mixture. Dredge in bread crumbs to completely coat.
  3. In a large skillet, pour vegetable oil (enough so that there is 1/2 inch of oil in the pan) and heat over a medium heat. Place tomatoes into the frying pan in batches of 2 or 3, depending on the size of your skillet. Do not crowd the tomatoes, they should not touch each other. When the tomatoes are browned, flip and fry them on the other side. Drain them on paper towels.

Guinness Bread

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I feel like I have been having déjá vu a lot lately… First with La Noche de España and again just this past Thursday. The past two days it has been cooler and rainy. I am not complaining at all! It has definitely been a good change of pace from the crazy heat that we had earlier in the summer. As I was working at Starbucks on Wednesday, I looked out the windows and was immediately transported back to Dublin, Ireland. The weather was exactly the same that I had while I was visiting Dublin in December of 2008. The temperature, the cloudy skies, the light rain slapping gently against the pavement. Can we say, “hello nostalgia”? Why is it that every time I think of something that I have done, it makes me miss it that much more – living in Granada, Spain, living in New York City, college…

It wasn’t until my visit to Ireland that I began truly loving beer. And to this day, my favorite beer is still the one that I first tried in Dublin…

Guinness.

Maybe it is because I was in the birthplace of Guinness, but I immediately became smitten with this beer. It was all that I wanted. And to this day, I will take a pint of Guinness over any other beer.

While in Dublin, my friends and I went to the Guinness Distillery
and learned how to pour the “perfect pint.”

Most nights we would go to local pubs, listen to Irish music, mingle with the natives, and enjoy pints of this pure black gold. I can honestly say that Guinness tastes different in Dublin. Not that it is bad here in the United States, but once you’ve had true Irish Guinness, your appreciation and loyalty to it will be forever long.

So there I was on Wednesday, longing to be back in Dublin. Longing for that true Irish Guinness. However, we all know that I don’t have the money to pick up and fly to Ireland on a whim, especially on a Starbucks salary. So what was I to do?

Guinness…I could just get a pack and drink it. That may have satiated my craving, but I wanted more. How else could I get my fix?

Beer bread! My cousin introduced me to this simple recipe last Thanksgiving while we were visiting family in Connecticut. Typically it is made with cheaper beer – Bud Light, Miller Lite. Being the Guinness enthusiast that I am, I am not a huge fan of domestic beer. It has its time and place (cough-college-cough), but no thank you. Why couldn’t I make beer bread using Guinness?

Off to the internet I went in search of the perfect recipe. I feel across one from Hank Shaw of Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook. It was essentially the same recipe except it replaced bad beer with good beer and honey with molasses. YES!

I woke up this morning feeling a little inappropriate that I would be cracking open a Guinness before 9:00am. It isn’t St. Patrick’s day…am I even allowed to do this? I mean, let’s be honest here, there was no way that I was going to bake using my favorite beer and not allow myself a swig or two…or three… After coming to the conclusion that such allowances were for the sake of the art, I quickly dispelled any and all hesitations from my mind.

I brought my Macbook Pro into the kitchen, turned on Mumford & Sons latest single, I Will Wait (if you have not yet heard it, I beg you, click the link! In fact, do it right now, open the link in a new tab or window and listen to it while you read the rest of this post! It is that amazing.), made myself a latte, and began making Guinness Bread from scratch. Any ideas that you may have of bread-making being difficult, forget it! This recipe is not hard. There are five ingredients. Mix them. Stick it in the oven. Seriously, it is that easy!

Even though I am not in Ireland right now, and even though the weather here in Libertyville is no longer rainy, this bread seemed to help alleviate my growing nostalgia. Yes, I would give anything to be back in Dublin, but for now, a little Guinness Bread and some picture-viewing sessions will have to make do.

Guinness Bread

3 cups self-rising flour*
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup molasses
a pinch of salt (roughly 1/8 teaspoon)
12 ounces of Guinness beer
Butter for greasing the pan and painting the top, about 3 tablespoons

*If you don’t have self-rising flour, you can substitute using a ratio of 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, plus 1/8 teaspoon salt, for every cup of self-rising flour. This option will do, but best results are seen with self-rising flour.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×5-inch lof pan well with butter.

Pour the flour, salt and sugar into a large bowl and whisk to combine.

Slowly pour the Guinness into the mixture. Start stirring the beer into the dry ingredients, and when you are about halfway done, add the molasses. Mix well, just to combine.  Don’t overwork the batter – that’s what it will look like, but you don’t want lumps either.

Pour into the loaf pan to no more than 2/3 full. Put into the oven immediately and bake for 50 minutes. Since ovens can vary, check the bread after 40 minutes and see if a toothpick inserted into the deepest part of the loaf comes out clean. If it does, you’re done.

Let the loaf cool a bit, maybe 5 minutes, and then turn it out onto a rack. Paint it with lots of soft butter, which will melt as you go.

Enjoy!

Juices

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As you probably already know, I absolutely love juices. I am not talking orange juice, apple juice, etc (even though I do love those as well). I am talking about freshly juiced vegetables and fruits. Nothing but pure fruit and vegetable juice straight from the source.

I first got into this craze when I moved to New York City. While working at YARD,  I ordered lunch for the office on a regular basis. Our favorite was an organic vegetarian restaurant called Terri NYC. The first few times, I branched out and tried different things…hummus avocado wrap, meatball sub, Thai chicken wrap…but my staple sandwich quickly became their buffalo chicken sandwich which was delicious. The more I ate Terri’s, the more I realized that there was really only one things that I had to have – their JUICES!

This was my first real introduction to juices. I had them before, but never like this. Never so fresh. Never so delicious.

When I moved back home in December of 2011, I was not only leaving New York City behind, but I was also leaving my juice addiction. I thought I would never again enjoy the deliciousness that was the ABC Juice, Live Long and Green, or the Lady in Red. However, I only had to endure this horrid deprivation for a short while. Some family friends were at an estate sale and came across a juicer for $5.00. They knew that I had been looking for one, so they bought it for me. I later found out that this $5.00 juicer had a retail value of $300! CHA-CHING!

Not only is this an easy way to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables that you consume, but these juices taste amazing! In general, I think it is much easier for people to handle the idea of red juices. When you get to orange or green juices…I start losing them. I have always been a huge fan of green juices, so I have no understanding of how people could think they are gross. But the combinations are surprising and great. Just give it a try!

Depending on the size and power behind your juicer, it may help to chop up the vegetables into more manageable pieces.

The best part about juices – they are completely customizable! For example – the Live Long and Green juice combines cucumber, spinach, apple, lemon and ginger. If there is any flavor that seems too over powering, lessen the amount the next time you make it or even add other ingredients to balance it out. Try making combinations of your own!

Something to keep in mind…these juices are FRESH! That means that there are no preservatives to keep them lasting longer. Make sure you drink it within a few days of making it.

Again, just remember that the recipes below are just templates for your own juices! Feel free to use the recipes and amounts that I did, but don’t be afraid to branch off on your own and make your juices fit your own personal tastes!

Enjoy!

ABC Juice

3 apples
4 large carrots
2 cups sliced beets (from a jar, but feel free to use fresh ones)

Live Long and Green

1 cucumber
1 lemon
2 apples
1/4 cup ginger
1 bunch spinach

Swedish Almond Cake

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We were lucky enough to snag a great guest photographer for today’s post – Britta Marie.  It was so fun to have her in the kitchen taking pictures!  Be sure to check out her website – she does amazing work!

When I first decided on the name for my blog, I knew immediately that I wanted to make Swedish Almond Cake at some point.  My mom and grandmas have been making this recipe for as long as I can remember, so it was without a doubt going to make it on the blog.

           

The recipe is really quite simple – nothing out of the ordinary or exotic in this one.  The one downfall, Swedish Almond Cake is made with a particular pan (as seen in the second image below).  If you don’t already have one, you can find them at most Scandinavian shops, or even easier, online!

Looking back on when I’ve eaten this, I realized that I have had it at breakfast with a cup of coffee, for dessert after dinner, or even for an afternoon snack!  I think that is what is so great about it – you can serve it just about anytime!

My niece came over to our house after I had finished baking this and she devoured about two or three slices of it!  However, she quickly lost interest and wanted to watch Barney on Uncle Tommy’s computer.

Swedish Almond Cake

1 1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2/3 cup milk
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick melted margarine

Blend the first sugar, egg, almond extract, and milk together well before adding the flour, baking powder, and margarine.  Spray the pan with Pam or cooking oil.  Bake at 350° F for 45-60 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Njut!

Sriracha Hummus

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Sriracha…this thing has quickly become my favorite condiment.  I put it on just about everything – pizza, omelets, soup, tacos…  If there isn’t a bottle of this red stuff in my fridge at any given time, we can just about assume that the 2012 apocalypse has begun.

I went to do today’s blog post thinking that I wanted to do something Swedish.  I made it, there are pictures, and we are all GO on that post…but I decided to hold off on sharing it a day or two longer…I have to find some way to keep you on your toes!

Two of my favorite things right now are 1. Sriracha and 2. Hummus.  That Middle Eastern goodness is addicting.  I can seriously eat it by the spoonfuls – forget the vegetables, forget the pita bread, I am pulling out the spoon!

This recipe is crazy simple, so don’t worry – you can do it!  It is great to make for a party or to put on a wrap to bring to work for lunch.

Be careful…just because this stuff looks like mashed sweet potatoes doesn’t mean that it’s missing the kick!

Sriracha Hummus

1 can garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)
1 tablespoon Sriracha
1 tablespoon cumin
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

Add garbanzo beans, Sriracha, and cumin to a food processor.  Blend together and then slowly stream in the olive oil.  If the consistency doesn’t seem right, a little too chunky, feel free to add some more olive oil.  Add in salt and pepper to taste, blend once more.