Sugar is love

At last! This was my fifth batch, third successful and edible. After almost coming to blows with an oven that wouldn't get hot enough, I churned these out on Monday and assembled them last night with help from Major. 

Alas, my swiss buttercream is not as smooth as I would have liked, but it's a start. These are my Champagne Cocktail Macarons - champagne shells with raspberry cream.

More tonight. Still waiting for my UPS delivery of larger sheet pans, scale and food coloring. Somehow the box ended up in Harlingen, which is hours away. Tonight! Yay!

Meals #4 - 6

Bowtie Pasta with Feta Cheese & Lemon Pepper Chicken

Makes About 8 Servings from Meal Makeover Moms.

• 3 to 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• Lemon pepper seasoning
• One, 16-ounce box dried bowtie pasta
• 1 small bunch broccoli, chopped
• 1/2 head cauliflower, chopped
• 2 to 3 carrots, chopped or ½ bag baby carrots
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 6 to 8 ounces crumbled feta cheese
• 1 ½ cups half & half, warmed

1. Season the chicken on both sides with lemon pepper seasoning.  Grill until cooked through.

2. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling water according to the package directions.  If you have a pot that’s big enough, you can add the veggies to the pasta during the last 5 minutes of cooking time.  If not, steam the veggies in a small amount of water in another pot.

3. Drain the pasta and veggies.  Stir in the butter, feta cheese and half & half.  Slice the grilled chicken into thin strips and serve along with the pasta.  Serve the lemon pepper seasoning at the table for those who want more on their pasta.

**On the list of meals to make. Not sure if The Boy will like the pepper or the feta. (sigh)

Rachel Ray's Shrimp Fried Rice

• 2 cups long-grain rice, rinsed
• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• One 8-ounce bag sugar snap peas, trimmed
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 bunch scallions (3 to 4), green and white portions thinly sliced separately
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• One 10-ounce bag frozen peas and carrots, thawed

Defrost frozen shrimp by sealing them in a resealable plastic bag and submerging in water for 20 minutes.
Chop the green and white portions of the scallion bunch separately and use half tonight. Wrap the remaining scallions in damp paper towels, then in plastic wrap; save for a few days.
Save 20 minutes! Use about 5 cups cooked leftover rice and skip Step 1. Just add the rice in Step 3 along with 1/4 cup water.

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the rice and 2 cups water to a boil; lower the heat, cover and simmer until the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the sugar snap peas, season with salt and pepper and cook until the shrimp is opaque, about 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl.
3. Place the skillet over medium-high heat and add the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, the scallion whites and garlic. Cook, stirring, until the garlic sizzles, about 30 seconds. Stir in the rice, season with salt and pepper and spread into an even layer. Cook until slightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir and cook for 3 minutes more. Push the rice to one side of the pan; add the eggs, season with salt and cook, scrambling, until set, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir the eggs into the rice, then add the shrimp mixture, peas and carrots and scallion greens and cook, stirring, until heated through.

 **For The Boy, we used chicken. He picked out some things here and there, but was a success overall.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

All mine

• 8 corn tortillas
• 2 cups of tomatillo sauce (pureed with garlic, simmer for 5 minutes)
• 2 shredded chicken breasts
• 1 cup shredded white cheese (low fat-Monterrey jack)
• 1 can yellow corn, drained
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• casserole dish (I use my Pampered Chef Baker)

Assemble by layering two tortillas side by side, chicken, corn, beans, sauce, cheese.

Bake at 350 for 30-minutes - enough to complete one household chore - and enjoy. If you have it, top with cilantro.
**I'd add chopped onions but they'd get picked out. I need to remember to add to the tomatillos! 

Note: Haven't been feeling 100% so even I've resorted to eating Annie's Mac & Cheese. May have a frittata for dinner. Will post recipe if successful.

Silpat Fail

Here I thought using Silpats would be awesome. Giant fail:

At first, I thought it was that I over stirred the macronage. While that may have been a bit of the problem, it was truly that I needed to use parchment paper...and a scale... *sigh* Oh, and the humidity - it seems like it's been raining non stop for two months. Why, fates, why!

First version two months ago.

I will say, meringue is pure happiness. I could eat vats of it every day. As I licked the bowl and ate my flat almond discs, I emailed Joe Pastry for some Silpat help:

My guess is that the silpat is serving as an insulator, causing the macarons to heat more slowly. Trying increasing your heat by 25 degrees or so and see what happens. 

But if it's any comfort, I feel your pain. My last batch of macarons was a flop. I got too darn cocky and blew it. That'll learn me!

Soldier on, baker!

So, while the tres leches cake sets in the fridge instead, I will plan to bake this weekend as I will not be running thanks to my internal issues. 

parchment. check!

almonds. check!

sanity. bah!

Meal # 3

Turkeyball Subs
*Adapted from Makeover Moms

Ingredients

·        2 lbs, ground turkey

·        ½ cup cooked black lentils

·        ¾ cup bread crumbs

·        1 egg

·        1 1/2 cups pasta sauce

·        3 tbls olive oil

·        1 medium carrot, peeled and shredded, (about 3/4 cup)

·        ¼ cup diced onion

·        2 garlic cloves, minced

·        1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, optional

·        4 sub rolls

Directions

1.        Combine ground turkey, lentils, onion, carrot and garlic in large bowl until completely mixed.

2.        Add breadcrumbs and egg, mixing in.

3.        Form 1 ½ - 2 inch balls.

4.        Heat pan with olive oil. Cook thoroughly.

5.        Combine the meatballs, pasta sauce, and carrot in a medium saucepan.

6.        Place over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat and continue to simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until the meatballs are heated through, 20 to 25 minutes.

7.        Divide evenly among the rolls, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese as desired, and serve.

Meal #2

I modified this for Major and Boy by adding the chicken to corn tortillas with black beans, avocado, and fresh mango salsa. Steamed veggies added to Boy’s plate as he picks and chooses through the taco to find what he’s in the mood for.

Grilled Cilantro- Lime Chicken

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 10 mins

Serves: 4

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 bone-in chicken breast halves (8 ounces each), skinned

salt

ground black pepper

lime wedges, for serving

1. In a shallow baking dish, mix the lime juice, cilantro, and oil. Season the chicken to taste with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the lime mixture and turn to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator, turning once or twice, for about 4 hours.

2. Heat a barbecue grill to medium-hot, or preheat the broiler and coat a broiler-pan rack with cooking spray. Grill or broil the chicken, turning once, 10 to 12 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 170 F and the juices run clear. Serve with the lime wedges.

Print From Rodale 7/22/2010

I love you, man!

I had another moment of clarity while I was a work, staring at my cubicle walls. In trying to asses and create development plans for each member of my team, the usually sleeping voice in my head shouted "THEY WON'T CARE AND YOU ARE STRESSING OVER THIS FOR NOTHING!" OK, so that's way over dramatic, but you get the point. I minimized all my windows and realized that I was spending too much time seeing the trees and not the forest. I'm in a great place now to spend more time and heart on my love of pastries.

This is my desktop wallpaper:

While I love all things pastry, and dream of having a bakery, I find myself getting in my own way. I make excuses to *not* bake. Ah, fear. So now I've challenged myself to learn and create addicts of my treas, starting with the French Macaron:




This was my first attempt. They were delicious and odd shaped, but the aesthetics will improve with time. I also made some green tea with black sesame, but I didn't like the color.

I will reign supreme in this kitchen and will work on a new treat twice a month until the wedding in November, then it's on like Donkey Kong.

Gonna Fly Now

Today's daily "Kick in the butt" from Runnersworld.com was this:

Part of the challenge of the marathon is pushing past what you think is physically possible. You can do more than you think you can.

This week ends Week 8 of my marathon training. After Saturday's 12-mile run, I will have logged 20 miles this week. TWENTY! The closest week to this so far was last October at 16 miles. My long run that week was a training run to-and-from Eisenhauer Park, and I averaged 12m/mi. Which is what I'm at now. SO… when do I begin pushing for a better time?

Goal #1: Make the most of the next 6-week's speed and tempo workouts. This may mean sticking to the treadmill for those days, and trying to meet the SA Fit group on Tuesdays for speedwork training. End Date: 09/04/10

Food wise, something weird is happeneing in my brain. Either I'm burned out on meat or my brain is protesting time spent in the kitchen cooking. I'm finding my self eating smaller portions over all and shying away from animals. Monday: cous cous. Tuesday: Black bean tacos. Wednesday: Pasta with shrimp. Thursday: Watermelon salad*. We're going out to have Indian tonight, and I'm torn between Paneer Masala and Lamb Vindaloo. I may have to forgo the lamb as I feel it may cause a ruckus overnight and make for an interesting 4am wakeup. *sigh*

(*The recipe is on Runnersworld.com. I posted a picture on Facebook. It was REALLY really good.)

I've tried mapping out meal plans, but it's made complicated by having to feed The Boy and Major. Making 3 meals a night does not sound fun, and adding chicken or sausage to what I make and then feed it to Major seems like a cop out (only to me). Why are there no "family training meal plans" for those of us who have to fuel ourselves and feed others?

Goal #2: Identify 6 family friendly training meals to place in rotation. End date 07/31/10

 

Meal #1 – Pantry Couscous and Chicken

· A box of Near East plain couscous, cook as instructed · 4 green onions or chives, chopped or 1/4 c fresh parsley · ¼ c cooked lentils · ¼ c cheese of choice (goat, feta) that crumbles · ¼ c dried fruit of choice (fig, apricot, pomegranate, gold raisins) · 2 sliced, grilled chicken breasts · Single-serving of Green Giant frozen veggies

1. Mix cooked couscous and lentils. Serve ½ c. with chicken to picky child with a side of single-serve Green Giant frozen veggies. 2. Mix remaining ingredients and serve. **I passed on the chicken, which left enough for a lunch portion for the next day.

Time to start the mental preparation for tomorrow's 12-mile run. Is that Bill Conti's "Gonna Fly Now" that I hear in my head? Sure is.