Almond & Raspberry Pesto

I got up at 4:30 this morning. And I am still functioning. That is an astounding accomplishment all on its own. But there is more...

I made my personal best time in the 5k that I ran today. A 9:30 minute mile pace. I'm no track star, but considering where I started at, I'm pretty damn proud.

I survived the first week of school. Fresh off newspaper camp. With zero days of prep. Teaching a course I've never taught before. No one died. Victory.

I defended my thesis on Friday. Successfully. I only have a small pile of edits to complete before I officially turn it in to the Office of Graduate Studies. That's a good feeling. (this also explains why I have not posted since August 9--I'm sorry!!!)

And here's the biggie: I RELAXED today. Granted, this was easier, given that my day started at 4:30 AM, but I layed on the couch. I vegged out.

And I made pesto. And it was delicious. I can't take all the credit for it, because my friend Kerri gave me a starting point... But I'd argue that my tweaks make this pesto border on perfection.

Perfect Pesto

photo by Jessica Y.

Simple ingredients. Amazing flavor.

1/2 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup slivered almonds

10 oz spinach

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 cup fresh basil

1 cup fresh raspberries

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup vegetable broth

1 tablespoon italian seasoning

This next part gets tricky, so pay attention....

1. Throw all that stuff in the blender or food processor (or magic bullet!).

2. Hit "puree".

3. Toss with fresh pasta, drizzle over chicken, take a bath in it, etc. ENJOY!

Famous Chicken Lasagna

In the last few weeks, my life has revolved around kids, camp, dorm food and mini vans.

Unlike many teachers, my summers aren't much of a break. I load up the school mini van with yearbook and newspaper kids and spend days at a time in warped world of copy, picas, pictures and deadlines. And I love every minute of it. Seeing students get excited about things that I fell in love with myself as a high school kid is amazing. Hearing their ideas, talking about the upcoming year and watching their leadership skills develop is so exciting.

Of course, there are things that I don't love about camp, too. For one, the food usually leaves something to be desired. The first two camps of this summer were a mundane drone of dining hall drab, without a lot of options or variety. The accommodations aren't always the most comfortable either. My days in a twin double long are kind of a thing of the past. Showering in flip flops is definitely not my favorite. Listening to kids fight over who gets the "bucket seat" or "shotgun" in the minivan for a five minute car ride makes me want to pull my hair out. The long hours are tireless, too. They are jam-packed with fun and activities, but by 11 PM on the fourth day, I can barely keep my eyes open. I think my age is catching up with me.

But newspaper camp is different. We stay at an apartment-style hotel. We cook our own food. We have down time. We sleep. There is time to go to the gym. It's kind of outstanding.

One of the best things about newspaper camp is the bonding that happens. I get to know my students on a different level. I watch them start to build relationships with each other. We all hang out together and relax. I cook dinner. I cook really, really big dinners.

Food brings people together. And this lasagna may be the new official food of my newspaper staff. I think almost every kid had a second helping and/or took it for lunch the next day. And long before it was famous with high school kids, my friends loved, craved and worshiped this dish.

The Famous Chicken Lasagna

photo by Jessica Y.

This creamy chicken lasagna had my students coming back for second 

and third helpings. And they took it for lunch the next day.

9 uncooked lasagna noodles (I use the no-bake kind)
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon ground basil
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
4 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Lightly coat a 9x13x2 pan with non-stick cooking spray.
3. In a medium bowl, combine chicken soup, mushroom soup, onion, Parmesan cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, milk and spices.
4. Smooth a small layer of the soup mixture on the bottom of the baking dish. Then, layer 1/3 of the noodles, soup mixture, chicken and cheese; repeat 3 times, ending with cheese. 
5. Cover with foil.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil.
7. Return lasagna to the oven for 15 minutes until the cheese begins to brown.

Sooner than I thought...

So many things have happened sooner than I thought they would...

I've become a grown up, seemingly overnight (and I'm really not sure how that happened).

My house is starting to come together (thanks to some heroic efforts on behalf of my boyfriend... and NOT thanks to the lil' hoodlums who tried to burn the place down).

 photo by Jessica Y.

My house? Just on the other side of that charred patch.

My thesis is done, and the end of my degree program is in sight. August 19th... can't come soon enough (and there is still some work to be done, but the hard part is over).

Summer is wrapping up and I've championed my way through leadership, yearbook and newspaper camps (and the survival here is thanks to the students, who constantly reminded my WHY I went into teaching).

photo by Jessica Y.

Yearbook Camp madness. Who would have thought that a t-shirt gun could get high school kids SO EXCITED at 8 am?

photo by Jessica Y.

My newspaper students and their PBJ assembly line. Journalists gotta eat, too!

But I think the most surprising development of the past several months has been cupcake-related. I started this blog, started baking, and started feeding everyone around me because I simply like to make people happy. Cupcakes (and baked goods in general) do that very effectively. I knew that sweets would make me popular, but I didn't really dream that people would be willing to give me anything other than "thanks" for my baking.

Almost instantly, though, I started getting requests. Because I hadn't anticipated that, I didn't really know how to respond. But what I've realized is that if I can get this little hobby of mine off the ground, I may have a rather lucrative side business. Doing something that I love (instead of the part time job that I have now, which I'm starting to hate).

So here's the deal---it's on. You want cupcakes? You got them. I'll make them. If you're local, I'll deliver. If you're not... We'll figure it out.

Get in touch with me. Tell me what you want. I'll make it happen. And you'll pay me a little. And it will be awesome.

Lemon and Oreo Cupcakes (2 recipes... not together... gross!)

Lucky you! Today you get double the fun... because, really, there's been a lot of excitement in my life lately.

First of all, last week = yearbook camp = madness. Crazy, fun, nerdy, yearbooky madness. But all in a good way! Yearbooks West kicked off with cupcakes two ways--Oreo Creme Cupcakes AND Dark Chocolate Pomegranate. Let's just say, I might have been really popular at camp. My plan was to post the recipe before I left for Orange County, but with that whole thesis business, it just didn't happen.

Second... My house almost burned down today. For real. AND NOT BECAUSE OF MY BAKING!!! How dare you even think that! I was off taking care of business at the gym, then gettin' my hairs did, and I come home to a HUGE FREAKING FIRE TRUCK in front of my house! Not quite what I wanted to see, right?

photo by Jessica Y.

Oh, hello firemen...

Apparently, my neighbors saved my house. Some neighborhood hooligans were down in the ravine, smoking their blunts and they either sparked something or lit something on fire on purpose, and then when the blaze started going, they bolted. Luckily, the folks across the ravine, saw the fire and called 911. The lady across the street dispatched her son in law and he grabbed our garden hose, while the mailman hopped our fence and grabbed the hose from the back yard. Their efforts kept the blaze under control until the fire department showed up. Our fence is a little scorched, but it could have been a lot worse!

And what better way to thank these people than with cupcakes!?!? And what says, "Hey, thanks for not letting my house burn down" better than lemon cupcakes? Nothing, of course!

photo by Jessica Y.

Delicious, lemony goodness that screams, "arson sucks!"

Summertime Lemon Cupcakes

1 Cup Butter
2 Cups Sugar
3 Eggs
2 Teaspoons Grated Lemon Zest
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
1 Teaspoon Lemon Extract
3 1/2 Cups Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
2 Cups Sour Cream

1. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

2. Add the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and lemon, along with the zest.

3. Sift together dry ingredients.

4. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and the sour cream.

5. Scoop into muffin cups and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

6. Cool, frost, enjoy!

Oreo Creme Cupcakes

photo by Jessica Y.

These taste JUST LIKE cookies and milk!

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 ground oreo cookies
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup whole milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place muffin cups in tray. Split oreo cookies in half and place the side with the creme in the bottom of the muffin cup.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. 
3. Combine flour, oreo dust and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Finally stir in the milk until batter is smooth. Pour or spoon batter into the prepared cups, ensuring that the oreo remains in the bottom.
4. Bake for 25 minutes. Yum!

Kerri cakes

Thesis countdown: 8 days. Yes, you could say that I'm freaking out. And I go out of town tomorrow. Who's genius idea was that? But I've been a whirlwind of productivity over the last week. On all fronts, both thesis and non-thesis alike.

Unfortunately, my motivations for keeping busy are beyond the usual "I don't want to do my homework..." woes. Last week, one of my mentors passed away unexpectedly. Her teaching career has been going strong longer than I have been alive, and she will be missed by so many. She was a phenomenal woman who, alongside my other mentor, has guided me through my early years of advising. She is someone that I often tell my students I aspire to be like someday, when I am a grown up. You can read more about her here. My eyes well up with tears every time I think about having to share this news with my students, who idolized her...

Her best friend (for over 50 years!) is my other journalism mentor (you can read about us here) and my heart is aching for the loss she is dealing with. Hearing the pain in her voice when I talked to her earlier this week brought me to my knees. I cannot imagine not being able to wake up and call my best friend tomorrow morning. I love these women like my family, so, in a sense, I feel like I've lost one of my own family members... And really, these women, JEA and my yearbook and newspaper kids ARE my family.

And what do I do when I can't deal? I bake! And what makes everyone happy? Cupcakes! Itty bitty ones!

These cupcakes are special to me because I named them after one of my best friends--she's vegan, and I wanted to make her something delicious for her birthday and this cupcake was born... She's one of the people I'd be lost without. Who would go on runs with me? Who would let me borrow their dog three days a week? Who would make fun of my "sort of" skirts and my tie dye obsession?

Kerri Cakes

(vegan chocolate cupcakes)

photo by Jessica Y.

Their vegan-ness does NOT detract from the deliciousness. 

Even the pickiest eaters will devour these! 

(Garnished with a dark chocolate covered almond.)

3 Cups flour
2 Cups sugar
6 Tablespoons cocoa powder (Dutch Process)
2 Teaspoons baking soda
1 Teaspoon salt
3/4 Cup vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons vinegar
2 Teaspoons almond extract (vanilla works, too)
2 Cups strong coffee (plus extra for brushing)

1. Preheat your oven to 350. Line your cupcake tin with the most adorable liners you can find.

2. Sift together all dry ingredients.

3. Add each liquid ingredient, stirring well after each addition. This is especially exciting, because of the magic that the baking soda and vinegar make!

4. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full. Bake in oven for 9-11 minutes for mini cakes and 18-20 minutes for regular cupcakes.

5. Once the cupcakes come out of the oven, prick the tops 2-3 times with a toothpick. Brush the tops with the remaining coffee. Allow to cool before frosting.

Vegan Frosting

Chocolate Mocha Flavor

photo by Jessica Y.
A wire whisk and an electric mixer make frosting a breeze! 
Trust me, I had four years of doing this by hand.

 

1 Cup sugar

6 Tablespoons cornstarch

4 Tablespoons cocoa

1/2 Teaspoon salt

1 Cup strong coffee

2 Tablespoons oil

1/2 Teaspoon vanilla 

 

1. Mix sugar, cornstarch, salt and cocoa in saucepan on medium heat. Whisk in coffee.

 

2. Heat until boiling and mixture begins to thicken (1-2 minutes). 

 

3. Remove from heat and stir in oil and vanilla.

 

4. Allow to cool. Whisk before using. 

Summer Fruit Cobbler

Two days ago, I was packing all my "grown up" clothes, toiletries and shower shoes into my bright pink suitcase, preparing to embark on a cross-country journey that would have me preventing a bunch of rowdy high school kids from unleashing their havoc on Yale University. This stressed me out for a number of reasons. First and foremost, I was worried that my house would not get cleaned or looked after while I was gone and would subsequently be overrun by ants. Second was that I was also seriously concerned that my boyfriend would exist solely on energy drinks and hot pockets in my absence. And finally, I had mounds and mounds of guilt welling up inside of me about the copious amounts of fruit (and the decent chunk of change that I spent on it) that was going to go bad in my fridge while I was gone. I am not kidding when I say I lost sleep over this final quandary. There was also this pesky business about a thesis I have to have finished in less than three weeks, but I mean... really? Minor detail.

BUT!!!

Lady luck has smiled on me (and simultaneously given me the finger). My flight out of San Diego was cancelled and the airlines are so inept at their own job that they couldn't get me across the country in time for me to do the job I was supposed to do... So I ended up keeping my feet on the ground and scoring five more days of summer that I hadn't planned on. The only drawback? I don't get to spend those five days with my friend I would have been working with... But I'll see her when I work a similar conference at UCLA next week... which will involve cupcakes (but that's another post entirely).

So, I get to stay in San Diego. I get time do things. Like my nails. And clean out my email inbox. And organize my towels. And buy a REALLY awesome hammock. But the best part? I get to put that fruit to use! And you get to read about it, in all of its delicious glory...

Summer Berry Cobbler

photo by Jessica Y.

A summer concoction of berries makes for happy melody in your mouth.

5-6 Cups of assorted fruits (I used 4 cups of sliced strawberries, 1 cup of peaches and 1 cup raspberries & blueberries... I used all fresh fruit, but frozen would work as well... Just let them thaw first and drain the run off, otherwise you're going to have a very soupy cobbler on your hands.)

2 Tablespoons white sugar

3/4 Cup whole wheat flour

3/4 Cup rolled oats

1/2 Cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 Cup butter

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 Tablespoons Milk

1. Preheat your oven to 350. While that baby is heating up,  slice all of your fruit into bite-sized pieces. Place in a large bowl and add the sugar. Stir to coat all of the berries. 

2. In another bowl, mix together all the other ingredients. Add the milk last, and if you don't need a full two tablespoons, don't use it all. The ingredients should mix to form a crumbly, chunky dough.

3. Spray an 8x8 baking pan (or similar sized baking dish) with cooking spray. Press half of the dough mixture into the bottom of the pan. It doesn't have to be perfect, but cover most of the bottom of the pan.

4. Spoon the berry mixture on top of the crust you just pressed into the pan.

5. Crumble the rest of the dough mixture over the top of the berries. Sprinkle with sugar (if you want).

6. Place in the oven on a middle rack. If your pan is almost filled to the top with goodness, you may want to place it on a cookie sheet so that if it bubbles over while it bakes you don't end up cleaning your oven for the next three days. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the fruit is bubbling around the edges.

7. Let cool for 10 minutes (if you can wait that long) and top with a healthy scoop of vanilla ice cream. We actually ate ours with vanilla bean gelato... Amazing.

photo by Jessica Y.

Melting ice cream + sweet fruity goodness + green polka dots = winning!

Oreo Rice Crispy Treats

I fear that I would fail on one of those competitive cooking shows simply because my plating skills suck. I can make things taste all kinds of delicious, but they are not always so pretty.

Case in point? I made quite possibly the most delicious and addicting rice crispy treats known to man (and woman, and dog) this weekend. I had many motivations for setting out on this baking endeavor...

A) Oreos + Rice Crispies = winning! They sounded liked something that my boyfriend would add to the list of "things to bake to get yourself out of trouble for scheduling too many activities for me to participate in//putting too many things on the 'to do' list for the weekend"...

B) I had my student editors over for a planning meeting and BBQ, and you really can't go wrong with chocolate, cookies and high school kids.

C) While there was some stove-top heat involved, this did not require my oven. And it was just too.damn.hot. to really "cook" anything this past week.

So, I'd been planning to make these for a few days. I had my little shopping list all set up on my phone, and I dutifully ticked items off as I pulled them off the shelves... evaporated milk? check! mini marshmallows? check! chocolate chips? who are we kidding? I bought an extra bag, just to be safe. Now, what did I realize that I forgot to buy when I got home (at 10 PM, mind you...)? Freaking Rice Crispies! So, back to the store I went, kicking myself the whole way there... But let me tell you, they were sooooooooo worth it.

I guinea pigged these on a wide audience, and they were met with rave reviews across the board. Boyfriend + his friends: loved them, even before they cooled and set. Newspaper kiddos? They devoured them. My coworkers at the gym: A+ from them (and yes, I was a little torn about taking baked goods into the gym... but those things were too addicted to leave in the house!).

The only drawback? They're kind of ugly. They just aren't all that nice to look at. I know that the way they taste is really what matters (just like how it's 'what's on the inside' that really matters with people...), but part of me can't get past the fact that these treats got their ass kicked by the ugly stick. But they do have a winning personality going for them.


Oreo Rice Crispy Treats with Chocolatey Drizzle
adapted from Baking Serendipity

 photo by Jessica Y.

They may not be the best looking dessert on the block, 

but you won't be able to stop eating them.

1/4 cup butter (half a stick)
4 cups mini marshmallows (or about 40 normal sized mallows)
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (in the future, I want to try this recipe with Cocoa Pebbles)
2.5 cups  Double Stuffed Oreo cookies, quartered (This is about 2/3 of a package of Oreos)

1.Quarter Oreos and combine with Rice Krispies in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

2. In a skillet with high sides, brown butter. This is not as hard as it sounds. Seriously, just put it on medium heat and stir it slowly until the butter gets to be a golden-brown color.

3. Add in marshmallows and stir to melt marshmallows and distribute brown butter evenly throughout.

4. Pour marshmallow/brown butter mixture over Oreos/cereal and stir gently, just to coat. A wooden spoon works nicely for this.

5. Press into a 9x13" pan coated with cooking spray and let sit to firm up before topping with ganache.

Chocolatey Drizzle

1/4 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup white chocolate chips

1. Bring evaporated milk to a boil in a small saucepan.

2. Add chocolate chips slowly, stirring to melt, but not burn.

3. When chocolate has melted and chocolately drizzle is thickened, drizzle over Rice Krispies. A whisk works nicely for this. Let set to firm up before covering or serving.