Hiya!
It’s been awhile eh?
Yes it has. Please excuse
me; I have been in a bit of a funk.
Not like a crazy, depressed, hand-to-forehead “oh I can’t go on, woe is
me” kind of funk, but a lazy, lethargic, disinterested kind of funk. Queue funk music and childish foot stomping. That kind of funk.
All I seem to want to do is lie around and read The Hunger
Games Trilogy, catch up on Mad Men, take excessively long naps, make friendship bracelets or spend hours
on
Pinterest and/or amazon.com.
UGH is the only word that suffices for that type of mood.
*CONFESSION:
Since beginning this post a few days ago, I have discovered that I
accidentally bought decaf coffee and have been drinking it every morning for
the past 5 days. Total blonde
moment? Yes- I’m not proud. Explanation for the tiredness and
napping? 100% YES!
Don’t worry though, that’s all in the past. I have totally kicked myself back into
gear. I am caffeinated, showered,
hopped up on leftover Easter treats, and ready to go. To make up for the dry spell, I’m going to go ahead and do
something new and crazy.
Power Post.
Basically, I’m going to pack about a million (or 5)
different posts into one.
Holla! Think of it as one
of those crazy smoothies with all kinds of weird (and usually green)
ingredients that don’t seem like they should ever be mixed together except in a
salad, but somehow end up being sort of tasty and really healthy as a drink.
Grab a power gel and strap on your water belt, this is going
to be a marathon post.
Okay, here we go:
DIY WRAPPING PAPER
I have a closet full of Christmas wrapping paper and a
drawer full of birthday wrapping paper scraps. I am bad at buying non-holiday paper. I think it’s because I usually feel
guilty after having bought so much at Christmas. Overboard is a slight understatement.
This week I needed to wrap a friend’s birthday gift, and
decided that instead of buying a whole new roll of paper, I would just use what
I had in my desk.
It was so simple, and surprisingly, not that bad. I cannot believe I haven’t done this
before.
I was inspired by a gift that my friend, Emilie gave to me
that was cleverly wrapped in post-it notes. Scholastic procrastination at it’s best.
So for this gift, I literally just took blank sheets of
white paper and a handful of Sharpies, and set to work.
You could totally do this with brown paper, paint, stamps,
stickers, recycled newspaper, etc.
Anything goes, really! I
think I will try to do this more often.
It’s a great way to personalize the gift and to save money on different
types of wrapping paper for various occasions.
What do you think?
Do you use unconventional wrapping strategies? What are your tricks?
BAKED LEMON RISOTTO AND GINGER CILANTRO TILAPIA
You may already know this (because I say it all the time),
but I love
Joy the Baker and I also love the
Kitchn. They are like my baby blankets when it comes to finding
recipes. Comfort zones, if you
will. I always know that I will
find something fairly simple and really delicious. This was a random unplanned meal that just happened to come
together and work really well together.
Risotto is kind of intimidating, don’t you think? I’d ever
made it before, and for some reason, what I associate with risotto is Gordon
Ramsey swearing at people for overcooking it on his show. Eeek. Don’t swear at me, please.
Tilapia on the other hand, is pretty much a staple in our
kitchen. I would say that we eat
it at least once a week, so finding a creative and easy new way of serving it
was a great surprise.
Baked Lemon Risotto
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons fresh chopped thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 cups Arborio rice
32 ounces low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt to taste
butter for coating the dish
more cheese, lemon zest and thyme leaves for topping
Preheat oven to 350
degrees F. Butter a 9×13-inch baking pan and set aside.
In a medium skillet, heat
oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 5
minutes. As the onions are done cooking, add lemon zest, thyme leaves,
chili flakes, and black pepper. Toss to heat through and set aside.
In a medium bowl, toss
together uncooked rice, cheese, and the onion mixture. Place in the
prepared baking pan. Pour chicken stock and water over the rice mixture.
Stir gently to ensure even cooking.
Place in the oven and allow
to cook, uncovered, for 37-40 minutes, stirring after 20 minutes. Rice is
done when liquid is absorbed and mixture is cooked through and creamy. If
rice mixture is still crunchy, add more hot water or hot chicken stock about
1/3 cup at a time.
When cooked, remove from the
oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before tasting. Add salt to taste.
Serve topped with lemon zest, fresh thyme, black pepper, and more cheese.
Rice will last, in an airtight container in the fridge, for up to 5 days.
Ginger Cilantro Baked Tilapia
2
large tilapia fillets (or similar thin white fish) - about 3/4 pound
1 jalapeno pepper (optional)
3 garlic cloves
1 inch grated ginger (1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup white wine
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
Scallions, chopped for garnish
Extra cilantro, to garnish
Heat
the oven to 475ºF. Pat the fish dry and season lightly with salt and pepper.
Place in a glass baking dish.
Chop
the pepper and garlic, and grate the ginger. Put in a small food processor with
the soy sauce, white wine, sesame oil, and cilantro (*I used a Magic Bullet
single shot, and it worked perfectly). Whir until blended. Pour the sauce over
the fish, rubbing it in a little. Bake for about 8 minutes, or until the fish
flakes easily and is cooked through. It will be very moist and gelatinous,
still.
Surprisingly, both recipes were easy and really tasty. The risotto was hearty and comforting,
and the tilapia was really flavorful.
I added some sautéed veggies because my mama taught me right, and I feel
totally guilty if I don’t have green things on my plate each night.
I wholly recommend both recipes, and not necessarily
together. The risotto would be
great with a sausage or chicken dish and the tilapia would be really nice with
a big fresh salad.
Definitely making both again. Soonish.
EASTER FUN
Happy belated Easter.
Did the Easter Bunny find you all?
I sure hope so.
I woke up to some nice surprises and was happy to find that
Easter magic does live on into your mid-twenties.
Needless to say, I only ate chocolate and candy until brunch
at 11. It was not a good
scene. Food coma ensued.
Brunch was amazing.
We all sat outside in the sunshine and shared some delicious
dishes. Pancakes, French toast,
bacon, muffins, brownies, cinnamon buns, quiche, frittata, fruit, bread,
cheese, orange juice, and chocolate macaroons! Mmmm.
I made:
That’s right, TOFU!
They’re practically a health food. Let's make it official: They are a health food.
My mom had these at a get-together and got her friend to
send along the recipe, which she then sent to me. Here is my slightly adapted version:
1/3 cup flour
2/3 cup water
1 package of soft silken tofu
1 cup of semi sweet chocolate
chips
1 1/2 cups of sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup oil
2 tbsp honey
3/4 cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups of flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
8 Cadbury Crème Eggs
Preheat oven to 350 and grease a
9x13 pan.
In a food processor, blend 1/3
cup flour, water, and tofu until smooth.
In a small saucepan, melt
chocolate chips, sugar, vanilla, oil, and honey. Combine with other wet ingredients.
In a separate bowl, combine
cocoa, remaining flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to wet ingredients and mix until fully combined.
Bake for 30 mins or until
cooked through. With 5-7 minutes
left, place halved Cadbury Crème Eggs on top of brownie mixture.
These would be great for any
occasion. They were delicious and
the tofu gave the brownies a rich taste and texture. Feel free to leave them plain, or to top with melted
chocolate or icing.
And because you can’t only eat brownies at a brunch (ugh), I
made mini frittatas as well.
They’re the prefect size to take to a potluck. No cutting required, and everyone can have a little taste
without being overwhelmed.
Mini Zucchini and Spinach Frittatas
12 eggs
Roughly ¼ cup milk (Honestly, I just pour. Use your best judgment. You’ll know what to do)
1 zucchini, grated
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped thyme leaves
salt and pepper
1 cup grated cheese (choose your favorite kind – they’re all
good if you ask me)
Preheat oven to 425 and grease a muffin tin.
In a large bowl, whisk eggs together. Add milk and stir
until combined. Add remaining
ingredients except cheese and stir until combined.
Fill muffin tin 2/3 – half full and bake until cooked
through. 30-35 minutes (ish). With 7 minutes left, sprinkle cheese on top of each frittata. Makes two batches of 12 mini frittatas.
Wildflower and Glitter Eggs
There’s really nothing like a Saturday night in which two
adult women sit down to do children’s crafts with a large bowl of caramel corn,
white wine, and leftovers.
It happened.
Inspired by
this post, my friend Genny and I decided to try
it with a regular ol’ Wal-Mart glitter dye kit. Let’s be serious here.
Nothing ever turns out as pretty as Martha’s, so let’s not judge one
another. What can I say? Bright colours, sparkly glitter, pretty
wildflowers … I’m going to call this one a success.
Wrapping paper Nests
Remember when I mentioned my drawer of wrapping paper
scraps? It no longer exists. I found a great use for all of those
pieces that come from wrapping awkward shapes.
Looks like the Easter Bunny found my roomies after all.
You could totally use it for any kind of centerpiece. Definitely a good way to repurpose old
paper scraps.
Phew. Okay, I
think that about does it for our first power post. I’ll try not to let it happen again any time soon.
Happy Weekend Y’All!
PS - Don't forget to follow the blog on twitter @Red_paperclip
