really, who follows recipes?

so! on wednesday night i ventured to make tofu parmigiana. after reading the reviews, i decided to freeze the tofu in the morning and then, when i was ready to use it, placed it in a bowl and poured boiling water over it. this was supposed to give it a more chicken-like, and less tofu-like, texture. the final product was still obviously softer than chicken, but it did give it a less tofu-like texture. so i would recommend doing that. i had to omit the parmesan from the breading since ours turned out to be moldy. after slightly patting dry the tofu i coated it with the breading, and it didn't stick perfectly so i sprayed with pam then coated again. this helped. i then tried to bake them (rather than fry) but i didn't have the time that it was going to take to get them crispy, so after a while i ended up just frying them with pam. for the red sauce, the recipe called for only 8 ounces of tomato sauce, but i ended up using the whole 15-ounce can, and i'm glad i did..that was just the right amount of sauce. i used a combination of fresh and block-style shredded mozzarella. for dad's, i knew his cheese wouldn't melt perfectly (seeing as that it's "veggie shreds"), so i gave it a sprinkle of olive oil. i think it helped! dad asked if it was regular cheese; it tasted a little better than that stuff normally does, and it looked a lot better/melted a lot better. i think the dish turned out great..salted just perfectly! i served it with steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and zucchini, and the leftover pasta from sunday. i really loved it. i think i'll have the last piece for lunch today.

then there was dessert. i found a recipe for gluten-free vanilla cupcakes. the recipe called for 4 eggs, but i only had one. yet i was determined to make the cupcakes. so, i looked up substitutes for eggs and found you could use 1/4 cup applesauce for each egg. so, i figured i would half the recipe, and i found a single-serving size of regular applesauce in the pantry--perfect! well, the all-to-familiar happened. i forgot to half the dry ingredients! and, to further complicate things, while adding the dry ingredients, i discovered i did not have enough GF flour. so, i found GF biscuit and baking mix. this was going to work! i combined the flour and mix. i also added additional baking powder, due to the loss of power from 3 eggs. then, i needed another container of applesauce since i now needed 3/4 cup rather than just 1/4. we only had mango peach or cinnamon. hmm...fruit, vanilla, and chocolate or cinnamon, vanilla, and chocolate? in the spirit of summer, i chose the mango peach. after mixing the batter, it seemed a little thick, so i kept adding lactose-free milk until it was the right consistency. boy, this was such a mish-mash of ingredients! but i was determined to make cupcakes and NOT got the grocery store! well, the cupcakes came out looking okay, but they quickly fell and had slight indents in their centers. i decided to make dark chocolate frosting to top them off. now i just had to wait nervously till mom and dad got home to taste-test them.

well, mission completed! they really like them, they were nice and moist. dad apparently couldn't get enough of them; when i woke up the next morning, half of the cupcakes were missing. now there are only 2 or 3 left. well, just goes to show that recipes are no more than general suggestions! ;)

other than that, haven't been cooking much this week. we had leftovers twice because our fridge was jam-packed full. i'll be on my own for dinner tonight since mom and dad will be having dinner with friends. mom brought home leftovers from bravo last night, so i think i might have to take care of those.

this morning i ventured to make pecan roulade. i'm making the dessert for mom and dad to take to dinner tonight. it's cooling right now, then i just have to frost and roll it up.

i work this afternoon and possibly tomorrow night. if i don't work tomorrow night, for dinner it is chicken fajitas with crunchy lime cabbage and avocados. yum!

so uh, coconut milk doesn't come from cows?

well, friday's dinner was pork chops with wild mushrooms and caramelized onions. i served it wish mashed potatoes and steamed green beans. it turned out pretty good. that's all i really have to say about that haha.


saturday was lovely weather for our grill-out dinner. we had zesty grilled tilapia, coconut mango rice, grilled zucchini, and corn on the cob. i made dad his own mango rice, coconut milk-less, because he can't have dairy, right? WRONG. apparently, coconut milk, seeing as it comes from a coconut, does not contain dairy. who knew?! (apparently everyone BUT me) :p
it all tasted pretty good. i love coconut rice. for dessert i made lemon bars. they went over pretty well.











for sunday's dinner, dad had requested some sort of pasta dish because he had the Hare & Tortoise 5-mile race on Monday. So i whipped up penne with chicken and sundried tomatoes. it was pretty good, the balsamic added an interesting flavor. i tossed in some almonds at the end; i think walnuts or pine nuts would work, too.





Monday we had some family over for a Memorial Day cook out. We decided to do grilled pizzas along with some grilled meats. we did a grilled veggie pizza (red sauce, zucchini, tomatoes, black olives, green peppers, goat cheese, and some fresh chives). this one was good, but i don't like goat cheese. mom loves it though, so she was happy! the second was a steak and arugula pizza (red sauce, arugula, flat iron steak i had cooked in a skillet, and provolone). i love creamy provolone, so i thought it was pretty good. the final pizza boasted olive oil and garlic as a base, topped with sundried tomatoes, marinated artichokes, sweet italian sausage, fresh mozzarella, and a bit of fresh rosemary. twas tasty! overall, the pizzas turned out pretty good. i had started to worry earlier in the day that my dough wasn't rising like crazy, but it ended up doing it's thing slowly but surely. we toasted the pizza dough in a skillet like flatbread, then topped and grilled. some of the crust did get a little too crispy on the grill, though. we also grilled turkey legs and brats.

i also made spicy cashew dip and served it wish fresh veggies and crackers. it was actually pretty good. i'm embarrassed to say who it comes from, so i'll let you discover that on your own. hey, everyone deserves a chance, right? ;)

for dessert i was all set to make a delicious fruit crisp, but david usually makes it (at least the topping), so i wasn't 100% on all of the adjustments we'd made to the recipe. i gave it a shot, and failed. the topping just didn't come together like it should've. i guess that's permanently his department now. we also had the fixins' for smores. however the grilled weren't still hot enough when we were ready to make them, so i think everyone just found their own way to put a sandwich together (microwave, used the semi-hot grill, etc.). all in all, it was a beautiful day and delicious food!

as for the weather, i'd say it's being pretty nervy. it was like 50 degrees yesterday, 48 right now, and uh, hello, IT'S ALMOST JUNE! not cool. as for today, i might work. i might hit the mall (if i work, go a little early), because while cleaning the kitchen yesterday, i found some great coupons to limited & express. i just can't let them go to waste. oh ya! i cleaned the kitchen. now i have much more space to work in (okay, now i have space to work in). :)


what's cooking tonight: tofu parmigiana, some type of vegetable, and for dessert, some experimental GF cupcakes.

yo! well, it seems to be warming up..not the 70 or 80 degree weather that i would hope for, but at least it's not snow. it's supposed to be pretty nice on saturday, which is perfect since we're grilling out for dinner. i'm thoroughly enjoying a break from school, sleeping in past 9 (unheard of!) on the days i don't work.

on wednesday we had quinoa cakes with zucchini-tomato ragu (i changed it a little after reading the reviews, the original recipe was quinoa cakes with eggplant-tomato ragu and smoked mozzarella). they were pretty good! of course, they turned out to be more like crumbles of quinoa with ragu, as they did not hold together very well while flipping them. i also made a salad with spinach and other mixed greens, artichoke, black olives, cucumbers, and tomatoes.







last night was curried beef pot pie...twas a hit! oliver couldn't get enough of it! ;) so the original recipe called for a frozen puff pastry...and for the pie to be made in a casserole dish with the pastry on top. clearly i changed it. made my own crush (DUH!) and made them like regular pies in dishes (why would i put crust just on top when you can have it on the bottom too??). however, i forgot to add my mango chutney to the filling before assembling the pies, so we just had it on the side. (that recipe i used more as a guide--i only needed a quarter cup so i just decided how much mango i wanted to use and then added the rest of the ingredients relative to that amount). i made two pies, one with our flour-full crust one one with dad's gluten-free flour. it was a nice spin on your traditional pot pie.

today, the quest to clean, organize, and declutter my room continues. maybe i can finally start getting clothes into my closets and begin to remember why my floor looks like.


what's cooking tonight: pork chops with wild mushrooms and caramelized onions, steamed green beans, and mashed potatoes. i plan on it not sucking. :P

for all you out there

okay, i know it's been like 2-3 weeks since my last post...but i've been busy with finals, yo! gimme a break :P so i've got a lot of updates, i'll just list what i can cuz i don't really remember everything!

sloppy joes and mac & cheese...(but i have to admit, store-bought kaiser rolls because i lacked the time to make real ones)

















lunch with nina and alyssa...our first try at sushi! we made vegetarian sushi (cucumbers, carrots, and zucchini, and soy sauce on the side for dipping), foreigner rolls/falang rolls (peanut butter and banana rolled inside rice, and honey on the side for dipping), and miso soup. once we figured out how to properly make the sticky rice, it was pretty easy and fun :)









































and then it was david's turn to try his hand at cannelloni. he always wondered why i never want to make it. i said it's a very involved process and takes a while.. so, on the day of the meal, he said we'd eat at 6:30. he strolled in around 5:30. three hours later....here is the result, along with the comment "I hate making cannelloni!" I have to say, he did a pretty good job. Not as good as mine, definitely some improvements can be made, but not bad! ;)








that's a pretty manly apron & bow -->





























then there was mojo's chicken and dumplings...which was fabulous, but the picture is blurry..
for dessert there was caramel apple flatbread. we added a little icing drizzled on top.

















and then the school year was over! on thursday before david left for big tens, he came over for a very early morning breakfast...high-rise apple pancake! (although in the picture, it had already fallen) with syrup, it tasted like french toast. and it was nice and light...so my belly wasn't too full when i went back to sleep for a few hours after he left :P

















and now i'm home! on saturday night, i made hamburgers and sliced potatoes on the grill (but i of course didn't do the actual grilling--that was mom's department :p), along with a salad. then, today the peters' came over for a belated mother's day brunch, and i made bananas foster french toast, gluten-free blueberry pancakes (although that recipe calls for brown rice flour and i just used all-purpose GF flour), and mom put together a fruit salad with blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, pineapple, and bananas. it was an AWESOME lunch!! (...pictures to come...)

for dinner, i made chicken with roasted lemon and rosemary sauce. it was really good--a zingy lemon sauce over chicken and potatoes. mom really liked it--she's got a passion for lemons and rosemary. :P