Blueberry-Lemonade Martini

To make measuring easy, use a shot glass.
1 handful of blueberries
2 parts lemon juice
1 part simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water brought to a roiling boil, then cooled)
2 parts vodka

Muddle your blueberries in a tall glass along with an ice cube. Add the lemon juice, vodka, and simple syrup. Add more syrup to taste, the lemon and blueberries are both bitter fruits so you may like to use more sweetener. Next, add more ice and shake to blend. Strain the ice over a martini glass, or in my case the same glass you muddled the blueberries in because I don't yet own martini glasses. Enjoy!

Granola for your Soul

I never find myself rushing home to dig into some granola, in fact when I see it on the menu in restaurants I think "ANYTHING but that!" But once I actually take a bite I think, "I could eat this everyday." I don't know why my brain plays tricks on me like that. Now granola is not cheap anyway you cut it, but making it at home is a great way to save a little dough. You probably already have some of the ingredients in your pantry. If you're like me and starting off with the bare minimum in your cupboards then be prepared for sticker shock. Nuts will be the most expensive item on your grocery list but you can also try cheaper alternatives like sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds as opposed to cashews or walnuts. This is a great granola recipe, I like mine chunky and served with vanilla yogurt and fresh berries with a splash of honey on top. The egg whites in this recipe is what binds the granola to make it nice and chunky. Don't like chunky granola? Simply omit the egg whites. WOW, I could definitely eat this stuff everyday.

I drew inspiration for this recipe from an article in the New York Times, you can read it here.

3 cups oats
1 cup wheat bran
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup almonds
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 cup coconut flakes
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups maple syrup
1/2 cup olive oil
1 egg white
1/2 cup cranberries
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix oats, wheat bran, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, cinnamon, syrup, and olive oil together in a large bowl. Once your ingredients are thoroughly combined whip the egg white in a bowl until it becomes frothy. Pour egg white over the ingredients in your bowl and mix well. Spread granola on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes stirring occasionally to cook evenly. Let it cool completely before removing from pan. Once granola cools completely break into large clusters and add cranberries and raisins. Store in an airtight container for up to one month. Freeze for up to 3 months.

Cottage Cheese Salad

Cottage cheese is never something I've craved, but this salad is so wonderful you'll be stocking up on cottage cheese unknowingly just to make this delicious side dish that can accompany so many entrees. Even during the winter months this salad is a breath of something fresh aside from hearty soups and root vegetables. You can always find a good tomato, cucumber, and red onion any time of the year.

Just grab..

1 quart of cottage cheese
3 roma tomatoes, diced
1 cucumber, chopped
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

Blend together with salt and pepper. Let sit for at least one hour and try not to eat it all at once.

Twice Baked Potatoes

Six months ago my husband and I left the amazing city of Seattle to travel abroad in South East Asia where we filled our bellies full of delicious delicacies and drank beer over ice while we pondered where life would take us next. Seattle was a hard city to leave, I made amazing friends, listened to great music, and Seattle is where I learned what good food really tastes like. As a girl growing up in Oklahoma words like fresh, local, organic, and all-natural were not in my vocabulary. It wasn't until I made the giant leap to the Emerald City that I realized how foods varied from region to region and I loved that Seattle put such an emphasis on fresh, locally grown produce. I remember when I tasted my first Rainier Cherry, I realized I never knew what cherries REALLY tasted like. And nothing compares to northwest salmon, I might miss that the most. My love for good food has slowly evolved into a passion and from here I want to start fresh in the big city of Chicago and share recipes, restaurant recommendations, and of course the best drinks to wash it all down with.

My first blogs will most likely be small stuff, mainly CHEAP stuff. I haven't worked since July 2011 after all. Our savings account has dwindled dramatically since furnishing our tiny apartment. And I mean TINY. The kitchen itself is practically non-existent. This food blog will be a testament to my ingenuity in working in small spaces as well as cooking something that catches your eye.

The first post for me was easy, what's cheaper and more delicious than a twice baked potato to warm us up in this frigid Chicago winter? There are a few secrets that will help your next batch of these beauties turn out better than ever. I love cooking these because of the versatility of ingredients you can add to the mix. Add any vegetable under the sun to give this dish an added nutritional boost and add cheese because it's so darn good, plus cheese has calcium right?.








After giving your potatoes a good scrub score your potato all around the middle using a sharp paring knife. No need to cut deeply, you just want to break the skin. You won't be able to tell much at first, but after baking you will clearly see where you made a slight incision which makes it easy peasy to cut your potato right down the middle without damaging the skin. Then grab a slender knife and poke a hole right in the center of each potato which will help them cook evenly.

Next, you'll bake them in a 400 degree oven for about an hour or until the skin outside is crisp and the inside is nice and soft. No need to worry about placing them on a baking sheet, just plop them right onto the rack in your oven.

An hour later...









See how easy it will be to cut them open now? No more damaged skin! Presentation is everything. Now cut those babies open and let them cool a bit before you scoop out the insides into a big bowl.









The next secret to perfect twice baked potatoes is to mash the heck out of the fluffy stuff you just scooped out. Add some butter and my grandma's secret to mashed potatoes, MAYONNAISE! Just try it, its delicious and will help your mixture get a nice creamy consistency. Bust out the kitchen aide or beaters to really help whip these potatoes into submission. The creamier, the better. You don't want to take a big bite and find yourself gnawing on a hunk of dry potato.

Next, add whatever vegetables and cheeses that please you. I sauteed an onion until it caramelized then added carrots and then wilted some spinach over the mixture. I also love these with broccoli but spinach is what I had close at hand.

YUM!

I also added some ricotta cheese to the mix. Other things you could try is plain yogurt or sour cream. Now the fun part, you get to heap it all back into your potato skins. Don't be shy, really mound it all in there. Add some cheese on top to round it all off.

Pop these babies back in the oven for about 15 minutes or until its heated through and the cheese on top is nice and golden. Try not to burn the roof of your mouth as you inhale these.









I love the green poking out of these beauties, I think everything you eat should have lots of color, that's how you know what you're eating is not only delicious but healthy. Not sure if I would classify twice baked potatoes as "healthy" but the spinach certainly gives you some nutrients this dish would otherwise be lacking. Now you need something to wash all this goodness down with. How about a blueberry lemonade vodka cocktail?