Monthly Archives: June 2012

Mango Wine Coolers

Hoo-boy, we just had ourselves a real scorcher of a day, didn’t we? Weather.com tells me we reached a high of 102 degrees today. 102 and sunny. Bright, merciless, blazing sunshine…everywhere. Thank god I didn’t have to go outside today. Frankly, sitting at home furiously handwriting a million essays for my simulated bar exam was way preferable to braving the heat. Hand cramps and bar exam-induced depression in an air conditioned condo >> heat stroke on the Metro. If you know me, you’ll know that when it gets this hot out, the only action my kitchen sees is from my blender. So naturally, today’s dinner consisted of some grapes, garlic bread, cheese, and many many ice cold Mango Wine Coolers. It. Was. Amazing. Probably the best dinner I’ve put...

We bought the strangest bunch of bananas last week. They were green when we got them, which is fine, but what’s unusual is that they stayed green. We kept waiting for them to ripen and turn yellow so we could eat them, but…they just kept on being green until suddenly there were 7 very brown and very mushy bananas hanging out on top of the fridge. Ugh. I hate eating mushy bananas, but I refuse to let this tricky bunch go to waste. Lucky for me, overripe bananas are delicious when mixed into batters and cooked. The riper the better, actually, because it’s the really mushy ones that impart the strongest banana flavor. Mmm mmm mmm. My friend Karen was visiting from California this weekend,...

I don’t know how hot it is where you guys are, but it was 100 frickin’ degrees today here in Northern Virginia. 100, sunny, and muggy. It was so bad that for once I welcomed the subzero air blasting inside my office — I was cold, but at least with my limbs frozen I could actually withstand the heat once I stepped back outside. I know all my whining about the heat is super lame and incredibly #firstworldproblems-esque, but guys…I was not built to withstand heat. By the time I dragged my sweaty, sticky ass home after work, I was in no mood to do anything but stand over the AC for the next 8 hours or so. I definitely wasn’t going to even...

With the weather finally reaching summer-like temperatures this week (94 and counting!), cool and refreshing fruit beverages are on my mind again. Usually that means margaritas, daiquiris, and mojitos start featuring heavily in my blog posts, but I don’t want you guys to think I’m a complete lush. I do drink non-alcoholic beverages, you know. The first time I had a mango lassi was in Texas, when my mom’s co-worker from India invited us to her apartment for dinner. I don’t remember what we ate that night, but I do know there were lassis served with the meal, and some kind of sweetened mango-puree over ice cream for dessert. It was the first time I had ever tasted a mango, and I was hooked immediately!...

Have you ever noticed how much harder it is to shop for dads than it is to shop for moms? They just don’t want anything! I mean, my mom and I have the same taste in a lot of things, so it’s easy to find her just the right purse for Christmas or pick out the perfect flower arrangement to send her for Mother’s Day. But my Dad? He doesn’t like flowers, and the only wallet he uses is the one I bought him 10 years ago. He likes to fish, he plays ping pong, and he gardens, but he’s already bought himself everything he wants in those arenas. Plus, his tool room downstairs is already full to bursting, and I’m pretty sure my mom is...

Chocolate Beer Batter Cupcakes with Maple Bacon Frosting

OK, stay with me on this one, guys. Chocolate beer batter cupcakes. Maple bacon cream cheese frosting. Crunchy maple-glazed bacon bits. I know it all sounds strange (and a little wrong) on paper, but if you can wrap your mind around all the components and work up the nerve to take the first bite…these cupcakes are the bomb. Srsly, they will literally blow your mind. If you’re a fan of “2 Broke Girls”, you probably recognize these cupcakes from the episode where Max and Caroline go on Spring Break. While house sitting for some clients, the girls make friends with a beer brewer and bacon maker; shenanigans ensue, and Max’s Beer Batter Maple Bacon Spring Bacon Cupcakes are born. Spoiler alert — they’re so good even...

Guys, I just discovered that my Cuisinart bread maker has a “dough” mode. A dough mode! An entire mode dedicated solely to mixing ingredients and kneading it into a perfectly smooth, elastic round of dough! Do you know how exciting this is??? This is going to absolutely revolutionize my bread making. Putting aside the fact that this is my first time successfully making hamburger buns, these are some of the best buns I’ve ever tasted. Firm and smooth on the outside, fluffy and moist on the inside, just the right amount of chew, and sturdy enough to handle the huge patties, bacon, and grated cheese we piled on top. The cheese in the dough disappeared into the baked bread, but there was a hint...

This post is inspired by our balcony garden, which is flourishing in the summer heat. Especially the apple mint. That sucker is spreading out and overrunning everything! It reminds me of a hydra — every time I snip off a sprig or two for cocktails, 10 more spring up. It’s starting to get out of hand. Anyone want to take some fresh mint off our hands? (I’m looking at you, Brad and Amy…) Because I am spectacularly un-creative, the only thing that comes to mind when I see mint is a mojito. I guess you could say I’m always looking for an excuse to drink cocktails, but…I also figured the easiest and fastest way to use up a whole bunch of mint would be...

So, you may have noticed that I’ve been M.I.A. from this blog lately. Sorry about that! Things have been kind of hectic around here, and between all the traveling we’ve been doing, my bar exam review classes, and work, I just haven’t had the time or energy to cook and blog. It doesn’t help that I’ve sort of lost my cooking/photography mojo recently. This week alone, I overcooked a big pot of BBQ chicken one day, under-cooked a pizza the next, and mixed up a batch of blueberry lemonade that tasted great but looked exactly like dirty dishwater. I don’t even want to talk about what those pictures looked like. Ugh. In order to regain my mojo, I decided to go back to basics...

Monthly Archives: June 2012

Mango Wine Coolers

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Watermelon-Mint Lemonade

Mango Lassi

Rosemary Lemon Roast Chicken…and a Father’s Day Giveaway!

Chocolate Beer Batter Cupcakes with Maple Bacon Frosting

Jalapeno Cheddar Hamburger Buns

Triple Berry Frozen Mojitos

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bites

Blogs I Love

Cool Sites