Spooktacular Cookie and Cupcake Decorating

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Check out all my fun treats!

Homemade cookie cutouts, homemade frosting, experiments with fondant...all on a Wednesday night.

Want cookies or desserts like this for your next party?..check out the **Holiday Cookie Ordering Link.

Pumpkin Cookies

 Ghost Cookies and Happy Skull Cookies

 Mummy Cupcakes

 Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Skulls

BOO!

Scary Skulls

 Pumpkins and Black Cats

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Almost every person in America is affected in some way by breast cancer or just cancer in general. Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among American women today. The chance of developing breast cancer is 1 in 8…scary.

It is unclear at this time what we can do as women to prevent these scary diseases. Of course they have the books like “Breast Cancer Prevention Diet” or “The Non Dairy Prevention Program” but I truly believe that an overall healthy diet and lifestyle is the way to go.  Studies have shown that women who limit alcohol, exercise regularly, and maintain a healthy body weight have a lower risk of developing breast cancer, also, mothers who choose to breastfeed may reduce their breast cancer risk.

Some Helpful Links:
http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/BreastCancer/DetailedGuide/index
http://www.breastcancer.org/tips/nutrition/reduce_risk/reduce_risk.jsp

A few weeks back I stumbled upon a fellow Bostonian’s Blog. It’s called "Beantown Baker" and I love everything about it!  This month Jen is having a contest called The Power of Pink Challenge where basically you enter a recipe and photo of a food that is pink! Knowing of course that October is breast cancer awareness month and having planned on doing this post anyways, I figured, hey…why not enter the contest too. Wish me luck J!

The Power of Pink Challenge

Pink Whoopie Pies and Pink Marshmallows

 

 Pink Awareness Cookies (...and Fondant Experiment)

 Beet Breast Cancer Gnocchi

Beet Breast Cancer Gnocchi

3 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 beets, peeled and cubed

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 egg, extra large

½ tsp salt

Boil the potatoes and beets until they are soft, about 45 minutes. While still warm, pulse in a food processor until smooth.

In a large bowl mix together all ingredients using a fork. Once dough is somewhat together knead gently on a floured surface until a smooth ball is formed, at this time sprinkling flour to prevent sticking.

Cut dough into 4 sections. Roll each section into a ½ in thick dowels and cut dowels into 1 inch long pieces. To cook, gently drop into boiling water until they float (2-3 minutes).

These earthy tasting gnocchi’s pair great with a butter and herb sauce or a Alfredo cream sauce.

End of Season...

Sadly, today ended my main season CSA share. It was bittersweet picking up my goods this week because I knew that it was the end and I wasn’t going to get anymore amazing produce. Of course I know that I can continue shopping at the farmers markets (which I will) until the end of the month, and of course they have winter markets as well, but I have to say, I enjoyed the challenge of getting something new and interesting every week from the share and figuring out what to do with it.

Laura and Theresa are the girlies in charge of my pick up location at the Whole Foods Market in Brighton. They work for Red Fire Farm and have an extreme passion for food and locavore-ism. Their excitement and knowledge about food and recipes never went without notice this summer..they are so great and quick to help people figure out what to do with their produce. Their ideas were original, inspiring and so delicious. I’d like to say thank you to them both for making my first (but not last!) CSA so amazing. Oh, and by the way…thank you for the yummy homemade Lemon Raspberry Jam J.

Check them out at…www.lovelylocavoreladies.wordpress.com

 Lemon Raspberry Jam..Thanks Lovely Ladies!

Root Veggies (Celery Root and Pasnip)

Potato and Red Onion

Leeks and Thyme

Spinach and Romane Lettuce

Kale

HAPPY FALL!

Morning Brunch with the Girlies!

Saturday I had the pleasure of having some of my college buddies over for breakfast/brunch. Seeing that we are all nutritionist and somewhat health conscious, I knew that my menu had to be fresh, simple, healthy and delicious of course.  We had a lot of yummy food, mimosa (made with bubbly Moscado wine and Sara’s made with sparkling cider..she’s expecting a little bean J), and lots of giggles of course.

Homemade Banana Pecan Muffins and Apple Crumble Muffins

  Sweet Potato Hash and A Yummy Spinach and Mushroom Quiche

Sweet Potato Hash (serves 4-6 people)

3-4 sweet potatoes, pealed and diced into ½ inch cubes
2 tbsp olive oil
½ large white onion, diced
1 tsp fresh thyme
½ tsp salt
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1-2 slices of crispy bacon, crumbled

Heat a sauté pan with 1 tbsp oil on high and add onions. Sauté until caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add salt, thyme, and red pepper flakes and sauté another minute. Add the other tbsp of oil and add sweet potatoes, let cook without stirring for 2-3 minutes, stir and allow to cook another 2-3 minutes without stirring (this allows the sweet potatoes to get brown on the edges). Turn heat on low and allow to cook for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft, stirring every few minutes. Right before serving mix in crumbled bacon.

Lets go fishing...

Cheers to another great weekend with food and family. It was very unexpected here in Boston mid October having weather like we did. Amazing, 80s, got one last beach weekend before the snow arrives!

This weekend we spent it of course with great friends and family. We went to Marshfield and stayed for the 3 weekend days. Had lots of laughs, lots of snacks, and even visited a new place, Duxbury Beach. All the years we have been going south in the summer we have never been to Duxbury…the guys wanted to do some fishing off the bridge near the beach, so we pack up our chairs and a cooler full of cocktails and we went on our way. No luck with fishing but we still had fun.

Last weekend my Mom and Father In Law...caught a Blue Fish!

Very proud of them...

The Beautiful Duxbury Beach

 Me trying to catch dinner...

 (back up plan...from the supermarket he he)

Simple Haddock Filets with Garlic and Fresh Herbs

Lavender

I was very excited when I got home from work today. I was welcomed home of course by Basil puppy, but also to the most amazing aroma of Lavender. In the beginning of the week I purchased a big bag of lavender buds online and my package clearly arrived today! Lavender has one of the most amazing smells; it is used in aromatherapy and for other medicinal purposes such as relief for upset stomach and is known to be a natural stress reliever and relaxant. Believe it or not the taste of lavender flowers is also quite amazing, they have a sweet and floral flavor with hints of lemon or citrus and maybe even mint.

The lavender that I purchased is culinary lavender, which means that it is safe to cook with and eat. You do not want to eat lavender from a florist or from your own garden; these can be treated with chemicals that are not meant to be consumed. Edible or Culinary Lavender is available on the Internet or at the supermarket (I got mine on www.amazon.com).

 

Lavender can be used in many different ways. Its delicious in cookies or desserts such as custards or ice creams (Blueberry Lavender Sorbet), but it can also be used in savory dishes such as in a rub on steak or pork, it is actually a component of the popular spice mix “herbs de provence”. Today I got a little bit creative and made my own lavender infused honey. Lavender honey is something that you can actually purchase at a farm or at a specialty store. This specific honey is infused naturally with the lavender flavor due to the fact that the bees harvest the nectar from lavender plants and flowers. Lavender honey is expensive and luscious but my Lavender Infused Honey is pretty amazing to boot!

Lavender Infused Honey
1-cup honey
4 tbsp dried lavender
Tiny pinch of salt

Heat honey in a double boiler until it is warm, add lavender and allow to steap over low heat for about 30 minutes. remove from heat and allow to sit for up to 30 minutes longer (if you do longer the lavender can start becoming bitter). Using cheesecloth or a strainer with small wholes, strain out the lavender and put honey into jars.



Black and Yellow...

In honor of the Boston Bruins opening game...we had Black and Yellow Ice cream Sundaes!

Black-Nutella

Yellow-Banana

Yumm!!!

Marshmallows!

I’ve been exploring the world of candy making for the past few months now…successfully making things like salted caramels, homemade nut brittle to burn sugar crusts on fruit. Marshmallows are something I never really thought of trying to make but I came across a few recipes online and wanted to give it a try. Now candy making, similar to baking is a science. You have to follow the directions to a t; otherwise you will have a mess. Normally I am not very good at following a recipe but this time I did ok...after making a few changes. Like I said before, I came across a few recipes online for different ways to make marshmallows. Some called for corn starch, some called for corn syrup, some called for vanilla extract or peppermint or berry extract, I eventually went with my own variation of the recipe from the Martha Stewart Website. I chose this one because it was pretty simple and I had all of the ingredients and equipment on hand (except for the powdered sugar and the candy thermometer). You can see that my recipe is a tiny bit different, a few short cuts that worked for me…so try it, sooo simple and yummy!

3 packages of unflavored gelatin

½ cup warm water

2 cups of sugar

2/3 cup light corn syrup

¼ cup water

¼ tsp salt

1 tbsp vanilla

Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting (could also use powdered sugar)

Line a 13x9in-baking pan with parchment paper (allowing paper to hang over the sides). Using a paper towel or cooking brush coat with oil or spray with cooking spray, set aside for later.

In a large bowl add warm water and sprinkle with gelatin, set aside and allow gelatin to dissolve and form (about 5 minutes).  In a saucepan add sugar, corn syrup, water and salt and heat on medium to a rolling boil, reduce heat to low and allow boiling for about 10 minutes, and immediately remove from heat.

Turn your electric mixer on low speed and while running slowly pour the sugar syrup into the bowl with gelatin. Once you have added all of the syrup increase the speed to high and add the vanilla extract; whip for about 5-7 minutes or until you have a fluffy white mix (like marshmallow fluff). Using an oiled spatula add the marshmallow mixture to the prepared baking pan. Spread evenly in pan and allow it to set for at least 3 hours or overnight. When marshmallows have set lift them out of the pan and dust with cocoa powder, flip onto another piece of parchment paper and dust the other side. Using a pizza cutter, cut into 1x1 inch cubes. Will last up to 3 weeks in an airtight container…yum!

Homemade Cocoa Marshmallows

Share Your Sweet Tooth to Help Fight Against Lung Cancer...

Coming up on 3 years ago, we lost my Papa to a horrible battle of Lung Cancer. This year, my sister and I decided to put together a team and walk in the Breathe Deep Boston, 5k Walk To Stop Lung Cancer on November 5th.

Our team name is "Papa's Pennies". This may sound weird to some of you but after my papa passed away we met with a Medium (someone who communicates with spirits). She told us that one of the easiest ways for spirits of loved ones passed to communicate with us is through metal and coins. We coincidently started finding coins everywhere! My dad always found dimes, and for my sister and I it was always pennies (always tails up), we jokingly started calling them "Papa's Pennies" not really thinking too much of it until they started showing up in some pretty mysterious and impossible places.
Examples:
1. My sister, some friends and I were shopping and by my foot there was a penny (heads up). My sister said “Oh look a papa penny!” and I said “No it’s heads up, it’s not a papa’s penny!” No sooner did I say that we looked down again and there was another penny about 2 inches next to it that was tails up!

2. When Phil and I bought our house the women who lived in it previously left a lot of her stuff in it. When we were cleaning it up my mother and I were taking pictures and decorations off the wall. One of the decorations in the kitchen was screwed on...so we removed the screws and lifted it and “BOINK” 2-3 pennies came flying out from the back of it.

I could go on and on with crazy stories…but I think you get the idea on why our team name is this…

This month we are going to have a Share Your Sweet Tooth Charity Contest. Please send your favorite cookie or dessert recipe with your name and email and at the end of the month the winner will receive kudos and recognition on the Food Fashionista Blog, a featured post on their recipe, where I will make it and talk about how yummy and creative it is, and a $25 dollar gift card to Amazon.com. The recipes will be judged on creativity, originality and of course taste. Send your entries to foodfashionistamv@yahoo.com.

So..I am calling all Foodies and Sweet Lovers, please help our cause and donate!! You can donate by joining our team and walking with us on that day, you can help by making a donation gift to help us reach our donation goal or you can just be there to cheer us on in person or in spirit.

Please Click HERE to support our team. All contribution, big or small are appreciated!!

The funny part is, as I was writting this post I looked to my left and in the middle of the floor was this...gotta have faith :)