I'll sleep when I'm dead; or, Easy Bean Salad

Does this feel like the longest week ever, in the history of mankind, or is it just me?

Yeah. It's all me. Figured.

Last night, our DetermiNation team hosted a comedy night at Goonie's Comedy Club-- it went over amazingly well, thanks to our incredible team of volunteers!!! We raised over $1,000-- go team Med City! (Pictures coming soon!) Thank you so much!

I'm one of those people who gets so nervous that they can't eat or drink. I nibbled a bit, and drank some water later on throughout the night (one of the bartenders suggested throwing some vodka in the water to calm me down-- ha!)

 So, at two in the morning, I finally had dinner. Simple, easy, fast, wholesome... and followed by a few peanut butter cookies from the freezer. Win!

Easy Bean Salad

Inspired by Super Natural Every Day

1 can red kidney beans or black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup slivered almonds
Salt
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Olive Oil
Crumbled feta cheese
1 avocado, diced

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Chill, and serve cold over a bed of spinach or your favorite greens. Ta dah!

I'm an independent lady; or, Broccoli and Tomato Gribiche

I love being single and living alone (okay, with a dog). Nothing beats being able to sleep anywhere you want, watching whatever television shows you please (reruns of Grey's? Sign me up!), spontaneously going out on a Thursday night with the girls, and packing the fridge with single lady food, like the ingredients above.

I am an independent lady. I listen to strong, independent lady music (thank you, Kelly Clarkson!), I eat right (mostly), I run (too much), I get work done, I volunteer, and I'll eat an entire jar of Nutella with a spoon for dinner if I feel like it. Don't judge.

But there are times when I am reminded of how nice it would be to share these things with someone. This recipe was so good and homey and comforting that I wanted to have a nice glass of wine at the table with it and good conversation. Instead, I ate two servings and had two glasses of wine. It was like dinner for two... for one.

So now I'm sharing this with you. At the risk of sounding completely bonkers, I'll just admit that I found this more comforting than any soup, pasta, or cup of tea I have ever had. The lovely thing about this is that it uses veggies that are starting to crop up at the farmer's market. Think of it as spring comfort food.

Broccoli and Tomato Gribiche

Adapted from Super Natural Every Day

1 lb cleaned, unpeeled fingerling potatoes
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 lb broccoli florets
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 shallots, diced
4 eggs, hard boiled
2 tbsp basil, chiffonaded

Preheat oven to 400F. Slice potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Toss with tomatoes, broccoli, and shallots in 1 tbsp olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread on baking sheet, and roast for about 30 minutes, until broccoli starts to brown and potatoes are tender.

Dice the hard-boiled eggs. Toss with the roasted veggies in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and more salt and pepper (to taste); add dressing to salad and mix until just combined. Serve hot.

And now, back to our program; or, The Ultimate Turtle Cupcakes

While I was AWOC (absent without computer), I made you cupcakes. But I couldn't get in touch with you, so I fed them to my friends and labmates instead.

These treats couldn't be simpler. Start with a nice, deep, dark chocolate cupcake, like these.

Cut out the center of the cake and fill with a super-simple, decadent turtle filling.

How simple? Just buy a jar of caramel ice cream topping and stir in lightly roasted, salted pecans.

 

About half of that bowl of filling ended up in my stomach. True story.

Top with a dark chocolate frosting-- I used this recipe, which is my go-to -- and drizzle more caramel and sprinkle pecans on top.

Oooh, man.

And it just keeps getting better...

Note that as soon as you make these, you MUST get them out of your house. I almost called them "The Ultimate Crack Cupcakes," but figured that that would not be politically correct.

Get on it!

AWOL; or, Friday I'm In Love

So no personal laptop = no photo editing software = no posts this week. HOWEVER, next week will be better, I promise!

Since today is Friday...

I'm in love: with mint chocolate chip cake. How stinkin' cute and easy is that decoration on top, too?!

I'm in love with: quotes like these that keep me going (one month to half marathon!)

                                

I'm in love with: this quick, cute craft project-- wine charms!

I'm in love with: the idea of going on a date at one of the few remaining drive-in theaters in Minnesota.

I'm in love with: seeing this movie when it comes out in a week!

There's nothing in this world that can't be solved with food; or, Double Chocolate Mini Muffins

All of those exciting plans I shared with you on Friday made for quite the weekend.

First, the DetermiNation team and I served dinner at Hope Lodge (buttermilk biscuits, baked ziti, steamed veggies, and brownies). It was a success!

Well, except for the fact that someone didn't follow directions and made one giant ziti (heretoforth known as "the Beast") instead of the three smaller trays suggested. It was a workout getting it to and from the kitchen!

The next morning was Relay for Life kickoff! It was incredible to be able to speak about the American Cancer Society's dedication to funding research at the event. I had pictures, but my camera was stolen (hang on, we're getting to that part of the story).

Then, after an afternoon in the cities with my good friend Deborah (the one who makes the crazy amazing charoset), I met up with someone for dinner at the Lowry, only to leave the restaurant and find my car had been broken in to and my camera (and computer and... and.. and...) were all gone.

What's a girl to do when she's down one camera, a laptop, and one makeup bag?

Go home, file a police report, freak out, bake muffins, eat said muffins, and enter a strange state of calm due to food coma induced by said muffins.

These muffins are all kinds of amazing-- they have healing powers that you probably didn't know muffins could have.

(Cue muffin joke)

Dense, super-chocolatey (I used a double-dutch dark cocoa powder and really good mini chocolate chips), with just enough oats to make it *feel* healthy.

Even Roo wanted in on the action... clearly, that's a sign that you need to make and consume these babies pronto, even if you aren't in a pickle.

P.S. Good golly, my feet look strange. The point of the above picture is Roo... don't look at my gross runner's feet!


Double Chocolate Mini Muffins


Adapted from Small Batch Baking for Chocolate Lovers


1/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
3 tbsp almond milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp beaten egg
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
Pinch salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325F. Line mini muffin tin with pretty liners and set aside,

Combine the sugar, butter, milk, vanilla, and egg with a whisk. Sift together the dry ingredients in another bowl, and slowly add to wet mix. Stir to combine; then fold in oats and chocolate chips.

Fill baking cups 3/4 of the way. Bake until toothpick comes out clean (about 20 minutes). Allow to cool, then serve with a tall iced mocha.

Friday I'm In Love!

This week has felt as though it's gone at a crawl, with all the exciting things I have lined up for the weekend, including a ten mile run, a trip to the Twin Cities, serving dinner at Hope Lodge-- oh, and the end of Passover!

In love with: Nutella Scones! (The first thing I'm going to make after Passover passes over).

In love with: the prospect of checking out this restaurant!

In love with: the idea of this sandwich post-run on Sunday (minus the bacon!)

In love with: this quick and dirty weekend craft!

In love with: this wedding gift idea.

Happy Friday, all!

Wait, how many more days of matzah?; or, Double Chocolate Mocha Cupcakes

I made you some mocha cupcakes, with the help of Joy the Baker's enJOY program.

I made them for you, photographed them... then forgot about them. Until Passover began, of course, and I *happened* to upload these pictures onto my computer.

Let me tell you, looking at these and remembering how gosh dang good they were was torture.

So now, I'm passing them along to you.

I added chocolate chips to Joy's recipe. Because I could.

This recipe makes the deepest, darkest, chocolate-y-est cake I have EVER had in my life. And I've eaten a LOT of chocolate cake in my short twenty-something life.

Oooh, only two more days until I can make and consume these! Challenge accepted!

Double Chocolate Mocha Cupcakes


Adapted from ENJOY! From Joy the Baker


For the cupcakes:
1 cup plus 2 tbsp flour
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup double dark dutch cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp instant espresso
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup almondmilk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven through 325F. Line a muffin tin with liners and set aside.

Sift dry ingredients together and set aside. Combine wet ingredients in another bowl, and slowly mix in to dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill each muffin cup 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 25 minutes; remove and allow to cool completely.

Once cooled, frost with chocolate buttercream and top with chocolate sprinkles. Eat with friends.