November 4, 2008

November 4, 2008. After a long, grueling presidential race, this historic election day is finally here! I'm sure it's going to be an intense couple of days while we wait to hear who will be our next President of the United States of America.

BigSis and I have agreed that we won't be discussing our political views on this blog.  There are plenty of other sites where you can discuss and/or debate those issues.  We've just decided that we don't want to do it here.

Instead, let's talk about food!  While we are sitting around glued to CNN watching the results come in, I thought it might be fun to lighten the mood a little and try some new burger recipes. I have to admit that I haven't yet had time to make these burgers, but I know that they'll be great since they're exclusive online recipes from Food Network Magazine.

In one corner, we have the John McCain Chicken Queso Burger.

John McCain Chicken Queso Burger

This John McCain Chicken Queso Burger is right up my alley!  It's got a little chili pepper, olive oil and the zest and juice of a lemon, lime and an orange in the marinade for the chicken.  You top the chicken breast with salsa and a slice of pepper jack cheese, and add a few slices of avocado. Yummy!

In the other corner, we have the Barack Obama Pizza Burger.

Barack Obama Pizza Burger

The Barack Obama Pizza Burger is also made with some of my favorite ingredients.  The angus beef burgers are grilled, then topped with some marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, and chopped basil. The garlic butter, made from an entire head of roasted garlic, butter, parsley, and vinegar is spread on the rolls and toasted on the grill.

Both of these sound fantastic!!  Unfortunately, we can't say that about both of our candidates.  (Oops, that's probably more than I should have said.)

We all know that the voting taking place today is very serious, but we can still try to have a little fun!  If you happen to try either of these recipes, leave me a comment and let me know how you liked it!

~LilSis

November 2, 2008

Last weekend, as I was just trying to get back to exercising, I caught a cold.  I haven't had a cold in AGES, so I'm sure it was because my resistance is low, but I was determined it wouldn't drag me down.  I made a beeline for Central Market and got the ingredients to whip up a batch of what I call Immune-Boosting Soup.  I didn't have a recipe because you can really throw in anything you want.  The key is to use shiitake mushrooms and lots of garlic.  Do you know about the benefits of shiitakes?  Studies have shown them to be incredibly immune-boosting and anti-viral.  They're one of the amazing super foods that do so many wonderful things for our bodies.   And garlic is known to be antibiotic, anti-viral and anti-fungal.  Sorry there's no photo, but this soup in NOT very pretty or very photogenic.  Let's just say it's brownish.  But this is not a beauty contest recipe, it's a healing recipe!  Here is what I used for my soup:

5 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
8 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/3 large red onion, chopped
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp Penzeys Vegetable Soup Base
Few dashes Penzeys Mural of Flavor (salt-free)
Dash cayenne pepper
Shallot pepper and garlic pepper to taste
Salt to taste (be careful since the soup base has salt and you're going to be reducing the liquid a little)

Saute the onion, garlic and ginger together until soft, and then add the sliced mushrooms and continue to saute until they are browned and tender.  Add about 6 cups of water and the seasonings and simmer for an hour.  Add more water if you like, and adjust the seasonings as needed.  Makes about 3 servings.

I had this soup for dinner three times last week, plus I immediately started taking a supplement called Super Lysine which has really helped me squelch bugs in the past.  Besides l-lysine, it has vitamin C, echinacea, goldenseal, licorice, garlic, and propolis.  Within a day, I literally felt better!  The cold started over the weekend, and on Monday I was sneezing and blowing my nose like a mad woman, but by Tuesday it was better!  Usually a cold can drag on for days and days, so I'm happy that this little combo of soup and Super Lysine did the trick for me.  I'm not a doctor so I can't tell you what will work for you, but if I can get some relief naturally without having to resort to a medicine, I'm happy!

~BigSis

October 30, 2008

Okay, maybe I did get a little obsessed when I found out that it was National Candy Corn Day!

I was so happy when I got home from the store this evening.  I had just purchased my first bag of candy corn this Halloween season.

Then, HayHay walks in and proceeds to tell me that he doesn't know why, but he doesn't like candy corn. He goes on and on about how gross it is; this coming from a 15 year old that will eat almost anything. I just calmly looked at him and said “Don't hate on candy corn on National Candy Corn Day” .  He just looked at me and I could tell he was thinking “Are you kidding me?”

Pretty little morsel!

Oh well, I'm not going to let him rain on my parade. One final thought while it's still National Candy Corn Day…Can you eat just one?

~LilSis

October 30, 2008

I had no idea that there was a National Candy Corn Day until BigSis sent me a link about another candy corn inspired idea.  Who knew?

I never eat sweets and I really don't eat any sugar.  I don't crave anything sweet at all.  BUT, I LOVE CANDY CORN. Nothing but sugar, honey, and corn syrup!  It must be something from my childhood.

It's almost too cute to eat!

Tomorrow is Halloween and I haven't even bought my first bag of candy corn yet.  I resisted when at the store last week. I knew if I bought it too early, there wouldn't be any left for Halloween.  Today, I'm heading out to buy a few bags; one to eat and one to make this candle display I talked about earlier this week.

My very favorite type of candy corn is the Brachs Autumn Mix that has the regular candy corn, Indian corn (with the chocolate bottom), and the little pumpkins all mixed together in one bag.  I love the post on Candy Blog about this yummy candy! Apparently, this is hard to find this year. I'm on a mission to find me a bag!

I'm going to have to add this Candy Corn Bark from The Recipe Girl to my list of things to make for my “get together” tomorrow night.  It looks like something the kids would enjoy!

YUMMY!

Candy Corn and Oreos! I'll be binging off the walls if I eat it, but it just might be worth it! Thanks to Baking Bites for sharing the link to this recipe.

These cute little candy corn sugar cookies from Cookie Madness look really good, too!

Lovely Bite Size Little Cookies!

For more fun facts about candy corn, check out this Sweet Candy Corn blog. It may be the only known “all candy corn blog” out there.

~LilSis

October 28, 2008

So, I'm on this bland diet for a while longer and I'm existing on apple sauce, baby bow ties, mild veggies, fruit smoothies, toast, cereal, and too many bananas to count.  But this boring diet won't last forever, and when I get completely back to normal, look out!  I'm making a beeline for my favorite guilty pleasure snack … Cheddar Jalapeno Cheetos!

I've never been a fan of the Flamin' Hot Cheetos because they just seem hot without any flavor, but these are a whole different story.  They're cheesy, they're spicy, they're salty, they're crunchy, they're so yummy.  I have to stop thinking about them now.  But soon, my little Cheeto, you will be mine!

~BigSis

October 19, 2008

I'm so excited every time I open my mailbox to find my new issue of  whole living body+soul, I'm always pleasantly surprised to find so many articles that actually interest me. I am never disappointed! This Martha Stewart Publication is my favorite magazine right now.

I found this recipe for Shiitake Fried Rice in the October, 2008 issue of whole living body+soul and I knew right away that I wanted to try it.  This is also a vegetarian dish so I know that BigSis will enjoy it. I've always loved shiitakes, but never knew of their amazing health benefits. I never knew that they were packed full of antioxidants, potassium, zinc, and lentinan, that stimulates the immune system.  An excellent addition to your meal if you're starting to feel run down or trying to stave off a cold.

So, here we go with the recipe. I have to admit that I made this recipe while my family was lurking over me so I did not get as many photos as I would have liked.  HayHay was more interested in getting the rice in his belly than in watching me take photographs. To start with, here are the ingredients.

Pretty basic ingredients

I cooked the rice first, sliced the mushrooms, and cooked the edamame. I started with the edamame in the pods just because I think they turn out better if you cook them in the pods and then shell them. The bag of edamame in pods makes exactly one cup of shelled edamame!

Perfectly cooked brown rice.

Cleaned and sliced shitakes.

Cooked and shelled edamame

It was so easy from this stage.  I missed getting a photo of the shiitakes sauteing in the oil, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes.  I never measure exactly; (which is why I can't bake) so I ended up adding two teaspoons of butter to the mushrooms because they seemed a little dry. I probably did not start with enough oil when starting out with the garlic and ginger. Oh, and I used olive oil instead of vegetable oil.

From this point, I added the rice, the edamame, the cooked and sliced egg, the lime juice and soy sauce.  I did leave out the scallions, (because I don't like them and I'm the cook); and I was going to use chives, but I forgot to go cut some from my herb pot. I just tossed everything gently and it was done!

Finished Shitake Fried Rice

I don't cook with a lot of ginger, but the combination of ginger, garlic, lime, and red pepper flakes in this rice turned out just amazing!

Now, for myself or for BigSis, this would be a complete meal. But, no! Not for the meat-eating men that live in our house!  Since I learned that a long time ago, I had already planned to make pork tenderloin to go along with the Shiitake Fried Rice.  They went really  well together!  All I do with my pork tenderloin is cover it in a paste of olive oil, garlic, and a lot of fresh ground pepper. I grill on high for five minutes on each side, then turn to medium and another five minutes on each side. Cover and let rest. Turns out perfect every time!

Grilled pork tenderloin

Here's the final plate, missing the side salad and some fresh Kalamata Olive Bread from Trader Joe's. Did you think we could have a meal without bread? Silly!

Shitake Fried Rice and Grilled Pork Tenderloin

I was really happy with the way this Sunday Supper turned out.  I hope you give it a try!

~LilSis

October 14, 2008

Welcome back to civilization, BigSis! I know last week was really rough on you!  Even though you are supposed to take it easy for a couple of weeks, I am glad to have you back posting on the blog! Your Sunday Supper looked yummy! HA! Sorry, I know that bland diet is going to get old. Especially since you can't use any of your spices!

You are just full of trivia! I didn't know that about Christopher Columbus! I guess I wasn't paying attention in class that day. You always were a better student!

I can honestly tell a difference in the Penzey spices.  I made a big pot of chili last Halloween and used the Chili Con Carne spice for the first time. I invited a bunch of neighbors over (since I CANNOT make a small pot of anything) and I received so many compliments from everyone.  The Chili Con Carne spice contains all these ingredients: ancho chili pepper, tomato powder, ground cumin, Mexican oregano, garlic, coriander, onions, red and green bell peppers, Tellicherry black pepper, allspice, cilantro, and cloves. It is so far on the top of my list. You really don't need to add much of anything else to your chili other than this one spice. I do add just a little Cayenne pepper, but that's it.

Here's a list of my other favorites:

• Original Taco Seasoning

• Southwest Seasoning

• Lemon Pepper

• Shallot Pepper

• 4S

• BBQ3000

• Sandwich Sprinkle

Next time that I'm in town visiting, we'll have to go to Penzeys! Since we usually only have one night before I go to SisMama's house, we may have to forego a trip to the MAC counter and visit Penzeys instead. On second thought?

~LilSis

October 13, 2008

Although October 12th is the “real” date that Christopher Columbus is credited with discovering America, we're celebrating it today and we have more than the obvious reason to celebrate it. Did you know the whole mission of the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria was to try to find a shorter route to the spices and silks in the Orient? True, Columbus and his crew stumbled upon a spot in the Bahamas and claimed it for Spain, but just as exciting (arguably) is that Columbus introduced the capsicum to Europe and that's spelled “pepper” to you and me.

What would cooking be like without peppers? Without spices? I say it would be boring. Since my favorite cuisines are Mexican and Italian, I can't imagine a New World without spice. And I can't imagine a spicy world without Penzeys.

I talked about my love for Penzeys a little bit last week in my Sunday Supper post.  Oh how I love me some Penzeys!  Even when I'm on a bland diet and can't be a very spicy girl, I just like to think about Penzeys and imagine the reunion we'll have soon.  They have a retail store here in Dallas where you can wander around and smell every item they carry.  If you aren't close to one of their stores around the country, don't despair!  You can order online or download a catalog if you prefer to browse their products offline.  My experience is that the Penzeys products are all fresh, all high quality, and all powerful so you need to use less of them. I love that you can buy the cute little baby jars of items that you never use up, so you aren't invested in a ginormous bottle of cloves or allspice that will get old before you need it all.

Plus, they have a huge assortment of proprietary spice blends that you can't find anywhere else.  And they do really cute gift boxes.  What's not to love about this spice haven!  Oh, and as a bonus they have great recipes on their web site.  I'm eying this one for Banana Bread.  It has buttermilk instead of higher-fat sour cream, plus it uses their Baking Spice which I've almost picked up a couple of times.  It's one of their special blends with cinnamon, mace, anise and cardamom.  Sounds like a great fall addition to my spice cabinet.

What are my favorites?  Let me see if I can whittle the list down a little bit.

• Mexican Vanilla

• Cinnamon

• Southwest Seasoning

• Lemon Pepper

• Shallot Pepper

• Freeze Dried Shallots

• Ground Chipotle

• Toasted Granulated Onion

• Salt-Free Mural of Flavor

• Sandwich Sprinkle

That's my Spice Hall of Fame for today, but tomorrow it may change. Hey LilSis, I know you have a different list of Penzeys loves since I turned you on to them.  What are your favorites?

~BigSis

October 11, 2008

I am happy to say that we earned almost $400.00 today from our Rummage Sale/Bake Sale to benefit Komen San Diego Race for the Cure. My team members showed up with an amazing assortment of baked goods and loads and loads of items for the rummage sale.  I had tremendous help! Most of the team members arrived at the “crack of dawn” to help me set up and stayed for the duration all the way to the point of loading up what was left to haul off to their charity of choice.

My rice krispie treats turned out fine, even though at one point, I was unsure about how the German Chocolate Treats were going to turn out. They looked like a bit of a mess when I was trying to mix.

Sticky Mess!

I made three different kinds, the rice krispie recipe with mini chocolate chips on top, plain rice krispie treats with pink sprinkles on top, and the German Chocolate treats made with the Cocoa Pebbles, coconut, and pecan. Here's what they looked like before cut up.

Three batches before cut up.

Here they are wrapped and ready to go!

We had such a great assortment of goodies.  We had marvelous homemade carmel apples, really nicely decorated pretzel rods, lovely brownies, donuts, cookies, and more.

Beautifully Wrapped Carmel Apples

Krispie Treats & Pink Ribbon Cookies

I loved the Pretzel Rods made by J.

Starbucks donated a large container of coffee, cups and stirrers.

Coffee Table

We're excited about our upcoming Race on November 2, 2008.  If you are interested in participating in a Race for the Cure in your area, it's not too late. Just visit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure website to find the location and date in your area.

~LilSis

October 9, 2008

Since I'm Captain of our team for the Komen San Diego Race for the Cure, I've volunteered to have a Rummage Sale/Bake Sale at my house on Saturday morning.  Garage Sales, I can do.  But Bake Sales?  I'm out of my league!! This is just another time when I wish I lived closer to SisMama and BigSis!

Last year, BigSis held a Bake Sale at her office to benefit Share our Strength, an organization working to end childhood hunger all over the country. The Great American Bake Sale was also supported by Food Network. BigSis raised approximately $1200 with the baked goods made by her, SisMama, and her co-worker, K. I know BigSis and SisMama worked for weeks baking and freezing goodies to prepare for their sale. It was a huge success!!

I sure could use their help now.  I'm not a baker and everyone knows that I'm not a baker, so I'll probably end up making rice krispie treats!  Luckily, I have alot of team members contributing baked goods for the Sale.  All proceeds will go to our team goal for the Komen San Diego Race for the Cure.

~LilSis