Pomegranate

I've always heard how amazing pomegranate is for you, and I've seen it as a smoothie flavor and in different juices, but I've never actually bought a pomegranate and opened one to see what the fruit looked like.  Over Thanksgiving break, Dad had picked up a few from the grocery store for us to enjoy together!  They even came with a brochure on how to cut out the fruit.  I was kind of surprised to see what was inside, even though I've seen pictures, it just never occurred to me how small the edible pieces, or arils, would be since the pomegranate itself is rather large!  Dad and I had a blast sharing our first pomegranate, which is such a great fruit for the holidays with its sweet flavor and vibrant red color!

So here's how to buy & open a pomegranate for the best results!  

-Choose a pomegranate based on weight not color, the heavier the fruit the more juicy the arils will be.

-Serving options include salads, yogurt, oatmeal or just simply by the handful!

-Store in the fridge for up to 10 days of delicious fruit!

Step 1: Cut 1 inch off the top and the bottom.

Step 2:  Score the skin at each section.

Step 3: Separate the sections underwater.

Step 4: Loosen the arils in the water.

Step 5:  Scoop out the floating membrane.

Step 6:  Strain & Enjoy!

Cranberries and Turkey

I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving filled with family, fun, and a bit of relaxation!  In the spirit of the festivities, here's a bit of my Thanksgiving celebrations!  There's only three of us, so we enjoy spending the weekend together, watching movies, telling stories and playing with our animals.  My Dad's favorite part of the feast is always the cranberry sauce, and with the holiday season just beginning here's a recipe to share, from my family to all of yours!

Mom's Cranberry Sauce

1 cup Apple Juice

1 1/2 cups Sugar

1 package (12oz) Frozen Cranberries

2 Granny Smith Apples (cored and coarsely chopped)

1/2 cup Golden Raisins

2 tbs. Crystallized Ginger, chopped

1/2 tsp. Allspice

In saucepan over medium-high heat, bring apple juice and sugar to a boil.  Add cranberries; reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until berries pop.  Stir in remaining ingredients; cook 5 minutes or until apples are tender.  Chill and Enjoy!

Date Night … Double Style

         Since our family dinner is bi-weekly,  Vlad and I took Friday night to spend time with two of our dear friends. Vlad made baked seasoned salmon, and I added green beans & mashed potatoes to the mix!  We spent a few hours telling funny stories, discussing the local gossip, and recharging before the long weekend really began.  Sometimes quiet evenings, with people close to your heart, are just good for the soul!
         I hope everyone is having a great and exciting Labor Day Weekend, if you are celebrating!  Sorry for such a short post, but I promise some great ones next week! :D

        

Our pretty table, Nic working on dinner, and Vlad's delicious salmon!

Cupcakes and Sparklers

          For the 4th of July I helped host a festive cookout for our close friends.  Along with watermelon, coleslaw, and strawberries, I made cupcakes for dessert.  Almost homemade, I used french vanilla cupcake mix and added blue marbling to the batter to make them more festive!  I think they turned out really beautiful, not to mention delicious.  They were definitely a party hit!

      With seasoned hamburgers and hot dogs, grilled pineapple, homemade deep fried french fries, out cookout was just the right way to get everyone together to celebrate our homeland!

Gourmet Girl's Night

          Girl's nights with Jenna are usually homemade, saving us money and letting us experiment with new recipes.  Plus, nothing beats an evening of catching up over good food and white wine!

          Jenna's a far better cook than I, so I took over the dessert menu while she whipped up the other two courses of the meal.  For an appetizer we mixed fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and avocados dressed with balsamic vinegar.   As our main course, we had chicken breast with rosemary and a side of squash and red onions baked in olive oil with garlic and pepper.

          Next it was my turn, with limited ingredients (no milk being especially limiting) I choose to make simple peanut butter cookies!  Fast and easy, these crisp cookies are perfect for an after dinner dessert, and the best part is they are only need 4 ingredients!

Summer Heat

Summertime Popsicles

          For not being the most handy in the kitchen I own interesting gadgets, my favorite is my new popsicle mold!  With all my fresh fruit, from grocery shopping this week, it was the perfect time to try it out!  On one side I used strawberries and kiwis in white grape juice, and on the other, I added pieces of mango in pineapple juice.  So far I've only tried the strawberry ones, but I can't wait to taste the sweet mango ones!

From the Garden

           As you may know, cooking is not amongst my many talents, but when the moment strikes I like to try something new.  Since my garden has been established, I haven't had many opportunities to use my new herbs, so when I made spaghetti I added basil, parsley, thyme, and rosemary.  I love Basil, which I used all the time last summer, but I hadn't tried the others.  I'll use parsley more often now, but rosemary  wasn't really my favorite, at least it makes my garden smell so nice!

Pasta Salad

          Since I've lived on my own, I've been trying to learn how to make new dishes, or at least occasionally try, but the one thing that I think I have mastered is the pasta salad (I prefer an oil based recipe).  It's probably one of my favorite things to make, through the entire process. I love going to the grocery store, or during the right season, the farmer's market, and roaming though stands of colorful produce.  

          Browsing over the various options of vegetable varieties, I generally pick ones with the brightest color.  Sometimes my choices in vegetables change depending on if there's a particular craving I have, or a unique vegetable available to try. 

         Making pasta salad is like painting, selecting a palette of veggies, choosing texture in your pasta and adding detail with feta cheese on top! 

This Week's Recipe Ingredients:

-Colorful Spiral Pasta

-Cucumber

-Tomato

-Green Bell Pepper

-Italian Dressing

-Apple Cider Vinegar

-Salt and Pepper

-Feta Cheese

Surroundings

          Happiness is an emotion not a destination.  We may not be happy all the time, but if we decide that we can be happy in this moment, then we can let ourselves cherish the day.  So I've been surrounding myself with things that make me happy.  I exchanged my matching orange pillowcases with one that my grandmother embroidered and one that I had on my very first big girl bed when I was two.  They comfort me when a moment of tribulation arrives and offer a sense of hope that when I wake up the sun will have risen on a better day.
          And when there are days that I feel the least motivated or in need of something productive to do, I give myself a challenge, or a project, something that will give me an accomplishment.  Something that will make me happy in that moment. Something that will save me from a moment of doubt.  Cupcakes save me.  Especially vanilla cupcakes with homemade butterscotch frosting and green sprinkles!

Finished Cupcakes!