Supernatural Botanicals

Tired of taking the same old bottle of wine when you and friends get together on the weekends?  Mix it up and take a basket of muffins.  Muffins are always a hit.  Every.  Single.  Time.  Muffins are quick and easy to make when you get home from work on Friday, and will be amazingly delicious when your friends are nibbling on them that night.  One caveat…make plenty.  Make at least 3 to 4 muffins per person.  Trust my experience on this one. 

Links to some of my personal favorite blogs….check them out, you’ll see why!

Favorite Style Icon Blog:  http://ultimatecarolyn.blogspot.com/

Favorite Inspiration Blog:  http://nieniedialogues.com/

Favorite Bloggers Group:  http://www.CincinnatiWomenBloggers.com

Favorite Cincinnati Food Review Blog:  http://winemedinemecincinnati.com/

Favorite Cincinnati Downtown Living Blog:  http://5chw4r7z.blogspot.com/

Favorite Local Eco-Awareness Blog:    http://www.parkandvine.com/

Favorite Adult Swim Website:  http://www.dlisted.com 

Favorite Domestic Blog:  http://thepioneerwoman.com/

Favorite Green Blog:  http://www.treehugger.com

Today was a delicious day.  I spent all morning at the Farmers Market, all afternoon playing in my garden, and all evening cooking.  It’s good for the soul…try it.  Here’s a look at the day….

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wV_qYfjtxc

Don’t shy away from making your own pizza crust.  It’s super economical to make your own, and very easy.  Don’t let rising yeast scare you.  It’s easier than you think.  And lets not forget, better tasting.  You can add extra herbs (such as Rosemary or Basil), or seeds (such as Sesame or Poppy) to your crust to make it gourmet.  Not to mention, less than 300 calories.  Love that!  When the onion and fennel caramelize, they become very sweet and smell amazing (the whole house smells amazing, in fact!)  The presentation is beautiful, and your family and guest will think you spent hours making it. 

Try this delicious pizza with caramelized fennel, onion and olives.   Great for entertaining. 

Servings:  6 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)

Ingredients

• Dough:
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  dry yeast
• 2/3  cup  warm water (100° to 110°)
• 2  cups  all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• Cooking spray
• 2  teaspoons  yellow cornmeal
• Topping:
• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 4  cups  thinly sliced fennel bulb (about 4 small bulbs)
• 2  cups  thinly sliced onion
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  dried oregano
• 1/4  teaspoon  dried thyme
• 1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
• Remaining ingredients:
• 1  cup  bottled tomato-basil pasta sauce
• 1  cup  (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/4  cup  coarsely chopped pitted kalamata olives

Preparation

To prepare dough, dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl, and let stand 5 minutes. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 1 3/4 cups flour and salt, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel tacky).

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 45 minutes or until doubled in size. (Press two fingers into the dough. If an indentation remains, dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down; knead 5 times, and let rest for 15 minutes. Roll dough into a 12-inch circle on a floured surface. Place dough on a (12-inch) pizza pan or baking sheet coated with cooking spray and sprinkled with cornmeal. Crimp edges of dough with fingers to form a rim.

To prepare the topping, heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add the fennel and the next 5 ingredients (fennel through black pepper), and cook for 20 minutes or until golden, stirring frequently.

Preheat oven to 450°.

Spread sauce over crust, leaving a 1/2-inc

For a quick dessert, dip (rinsed and patted dry) strawberries into melted white chocolate.  I made this dessert tonight, start to finish, in five minutes.  The white stars are simply white chocolate molded in silicone star molds.  This will be perfect for my 4th of July picnic block party (the white chocolate stars colored blue), for a patriotic-looking display.  A Silpat is an extremely useful  tool for this project. 

Create a gorgeous mini-greenhouse indoors.  You’ll need mini glass vases, a glass dome (the shape above works really well), and fresh herbs or flowers.  This creates a greenhouse effect, allowing herbs and flowers to last for days and days.  How eco-chic!  Makes a great centerpiece, and allows you to change the look with your mood. 

Tiny vases filled with herbs or flowers adds an instant pop of color to your table or windowsill.  It costs pennies, and looks like a million bucks!  Not to mention, it smells delicious. 

Group different types of herbs together to create a more interesting display.

Keep mini vases of rinsed fresh herbs in the refrigerator for quick access to herbs for cooking. 

I’ve been making banana bread since 5th grade.  That’s also the year I begged my mom to teach me how to do the laundry.  I was born with domestication in my bones, evidently.    I have literally been making this recipe since I was 10 years old, so it has deeply-rooted memories of home to me.

Home smells like freshly baked banana bread.  I’ve baked thousands of loaves of banana bread.  When you stop by my house for a cup of coffee, odds are, I’ll make a banana bread while we are gossiping around the kitchen island.

Banana Bread Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°.  With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4″ x 8″ inch loaf pan.  Bake for 1 hour.  Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

*Note:  There are so many variations you can add to this, such as walnuts, banana chunks, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, sliced almonds, coconut, dried cherries, etc., in addition to various icings and glazes on the top.  For a quick icing, purchase cake icing, and microwave in its container for 30 seconds (or until pourable), pour over loaf of banana bread.  Sprinkle chopped walnuts on top of icing.  I can tell you from experience, this brings ooohhhs and aaahhhhs.

Al fresco dining can be one of the most romantic things you do all summer.  Opt to go al fresco when given the option.  Dining outdoors, whether it be in a restaurant or in your yard, can be ultra-sexy.  The outdoors and fresh air will lift your spirits, and the sun gives your body the needed vitamin D it requires.

Al fresco dining can be incredibly sexy.  Dining outdoors is beautiful when the sun is going down and there are flickering candles all over the table.  If you need ideas to spice up “date night”, think al fresco!

Alfresco not only works on your date, it also works on a crowd.  Have some friends over and dine alfresco in your own yard.  Attention to details, such as beautiful glasses and plates, gorgeous linens, candles on the table, hanging lanterns, pillows, fresh flowers, etc., are essential in making your al fresco experience shine!

Throw an al fresco dinner party for your friends or your date this weekend.  Make it shine.  Be original.  Be fabulous!

Del Monte wants to give women what they want.  They asked 1000 British women whom they would most like to lick, in the form of a popsicle.  James Bond won…the Daniel Craig version.  Thus, you now have a frozen Daniel Craig on a stick.  Unforch, they are only being sold in England.

Excellent choice , Brits!  Daniel Craig is a superior selection.  I actually made it through an entire James Bond film courtesy of Daniel Craig….meow!  In my opinion, he’s the best James Bond…ever.  He perfectly melds all the qualities of smart, sexy, cool, dangerous, rugged, masculine, and drop-dead-gorgeous together to create the deliciousness that is Daniel Craig.

The popsicle’s face is a bit frightening.  Keep in mind, this is their model.  Stay focused!

Okay, Del Monte, share the fun in the States.

   Whether you need a quick bite for friends who suddenly show up on your door step, or if you just want to look like a rockstar to your kids and their friends, you can make this in seconds with zero effort.

Grab a great serving platter, then put rinsed strawberries on one half of the platter, Oreo cookies (low fat, double stuffed…whatever you like) around the other half of the platter, and Fat-Free Cool Whip in a bowl in the center (not the bowl that it came in, please.)  (editorial note….Fat-Free Cool Whip tastes just as great as regular.  It’s one of the few foods on the market that you can’t taste the fat-free-ness in the product.  It’s delicious!)

It’s all in the presentation.  Great serving platter  + Great center bowl + Display beautifully = Big results for little effort.  Perfect for a picnic (keep Cool Whip in the cooler on ice until ready to serve.)