Sweet potato BACON soup

I have a secret to share with you all... one of my favorite cooking tricks... ready? Everything tastes better when it's cooked in bacon fat. "Well no duh, it's bacon" you might say. But you probably also cringe at the thought of saving bacon fat in a little side cup and (gasp) adding fat to your food. Well guess what? Don't stress about it. Bacon fat is not going to make you fat.

If you're interested in learning more about why this is, here is a link to a talk given by the creator of Fat Head, a response to and criticism of Supersize Me. Or here is a cardiothoracic surgeon from the University of Washington discussing why saturated fats are good for you. If you want more resources, feel free to contact me! I've got buckets of sources for ya. 

Or.... if you don't feel like doing research, you can just take my word for it. Jump on the bacon fat train. 

In order to save bacon fat, just spoon up the extra fat when you cook bacon on the stovetop, then put it in a mason jar, tupperware, solo cup... any container of your choosing will work. Then, use it all the time. 

My personal favorite is cooking eggs in bacon grease. Bacon flavor without the bacon prep, say what? It makes eggs that much better and brings all the boys to the yard. Ok, not really... but I keep trying. 

You can also use bacon fat when cooking vegetables! Mmmmmmmm.....

Lastly, use bacon fat to cook other meats in. Double the meat, double the flavor, double the fun. 

Those are all my age-old favorites, but I recently found this recipe for a sweet potato bacon soup that is to die for. It's sweet, spicy, delectably smooth, and has bacon. Score. 

What you'll need: 

• 6 slices of bacon
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tsp Lebanese Spice blend (recipe here; don't worry about having extra, use the leftovers as a flavor boost for burgers! You won't regret it)
• 1/2 Tbsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• dash of cayenne (more or less depending on your spice tolerance)
• 5 cloves garlic, minced or smashed
• 2 lbs. sweet potatoes
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup water

What you need to do:

0. This is a "before-you-do-anything-else" step. Chop up your sweet potatoes into thin slices. If you don't do it now, you will be rushing around in the middle of cooking, trying not to burn anything or ruin the dish. You're welcome. 

1. Acquire bacon fat. It can come from that nifty little side cup that you already have going or from a fresh batch off the skillet (check out The Art of Manliness on how to properly cook bacon on the stovetop). Somehow, you'll just need to end up with about a tablespoon in the bottom of a large soup pot. 

2. Turn the pan on medium high heat and add the onion, Lebanese spice, salt, pepper, and cayenne to the pot. Stir occasionally for about 6 minutes, or until the onions are soft. Toss in the garlic and wait about 30 seconds or until it's really fragrant. Then... 

3. Add your beautifully pre-chopped sweet potatoes, broth, and water to the pot. Bring it to a boil, reduce to a simmer, then cover and cook for about 15 minutes. The time will fluctuate based on how thickly your sweet potatoes are sliced, but leave them in there until they are soft.

4. If you have an immersion blender, that's great! Stick it in there and blend it all up. Almost as magical as a crockpot. If you don't, that's ok too. You might just have a bit more clean-up (but what's cooking without the mess, right?). Just use a food processor or blender and blend in batches until smooth.  

5. Sprinkle a bowl of this beauty with some of the bacon that you made earlier and eat up! 

Note: If you are a vegetarian, this soup would still be fantastic without the bacon, too! Just use coconut oil as a substitute. 

I like to have this soup for breakfast. The spices wake me up while there's also something soothing about a hot bowl of creamy soup in the morning. 

It's fun to challenge the conventional notions of breakfast, lunch, and dinner by eating whatever you want, whenever you want. Who says spaghetti pizza pie and sweet potato soup isn't for breakfast? Cause that's what I had this morning. 

PALEOMG Pizza Spaghetti Pie

I keep up with a lot of food blogs, many of which are Paleo and almost all of which have mentioned PaleoOMG's Pizza Spaghetti Pie and raved about it. I've put off trying it out for the longest time because of my wariness about spaghetti squash, but I'm so glad I finally decided to make it. My bar was set high and it was totally met.

My first reaction after making it was wondering why on Earth I had never tried spaghetti squash before... It's seriously the most fun vegetable I've ever encountered. Yes, a fun vegetable. Not "fun" like my mom told me husking corn was, or how the quiet game is "fun" for all babysitters... but actually really fun.

It's a squash, then it's noodles. This video is a pretty close approximation to my reaction the first time I tried it out. I plan on looking up more ways to use spaghetti squash, just so I can scoop out the noodles again.

But even if you aren't Paleo or you don't get excited about vegetables like I do, this recipe is damn good. It was so simple and saves in the fridge quite well, which makes for easy leftovers! Yay laziness.

What you'll need:

• 1 large spaghetti squash
• 1 lb Italian sausage
• 1/2 onion (diced)
• 1 cup pizza sauce 
• 1 teaspoon dried basil, plus any other seasonings you might like to add (garlic powder, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper, etc)
• 3 eggs
• optional but recommended: fresh basil, cheese, veggies, really anything you want- get creative!

What you need to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F (You know how I feel about this... don't forget it!)

2. Follow the instructions in this video on how to properly cut a spaghetti squash; it's only important if you don't want to lose a limb... and while you're at it, bookmark her blog, she's one of my favorite foodies.

3. THE FUN PART!!! It's noodle time. Take a fork to the squash and let the magic happen, placing the noodles in a greased 8x8 baking dish as you go.

4. Put the Italian sausage and diced onions in a pan over medium heat until the meat is browned. (If it's not 100% cooked all the way through, that's ok, it will continue cooking in the oven)

5. Add spices and pizza sauce to the pan and mix well, then pour the meat mixture into the 8x8 dish with the noodles. Mix!

6. Lastly, add the whisked eggs and anything you might want (cheese, basil, veggies) in your pie and mix it all up again.

7. Bake in the oven for 1 hour- there should be little crispies on top when it's done.

8. Nom nom nom. It's not the prettiest dish, but it's delicious and nutritious. Enjoy!

Video goodie of the day: I was reminiscing about my time in Paris and this video was oddly satisfying when I needed a good laugh. For all you 90s kids, this one is for you. And I guess everyone else too, cause everyone loves the Spice Girls...

Ba-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na BREAD!

Sorry not sorry for the pun. 

Banana bread has always been my thing. I brought it to almost every potluck I attended when I was younger and everyone who tried it raved about it. That is, everyone except the adults who heard the ingredient list... specifically, the cup and a half of sugar in each loaf (yes, a CUP AND A HALF). It was one of those "holy shit I can't believe I just ate that, I feel like I'm going to explode" kind of foods. But when you're a kid, that doesn't really exist.

Now that I've grown an actual set of taste buds and have realized that things can be naturally sweet, I wanted to find a new way to re-live this childhood indulgence of mine without the sugar overload.  

I've tried a few recipes, but the one posted here is by far my favorite. It's surprisingly close in taste to the sugar-loaded banana bread I ate as a kid, but has no added sweeteners! All you have to do is let your bananas ripen to that gross looking, "should I throw these out?" stage, and they'll be sweet enough to satisfy!

This is my favorite kind of recipe; the "mix it all together, then cook it" kind. So easy. 

What you'll need:

• 4 bananas, mashed
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup almond butter 
• 4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted (or butter)
• 1/2 cup coconut flour (or almond flour)
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• pinch of sea salt
• optional (but recommended): 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• optional (but highly recommended): 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

What you need to do: 

1. Set your oven to 350 F. (I always forget this, then have to wait for it to heat up... so annoying)

2. Use a blender or hand mixer to blend together the mashed bananas, melted butter, almond butter, and eggs. 

3. Add the coconut flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, and nutmeg; then use your blender to mix it all up again. 

(4.) Add in the chocolate chips and chopped walnuts, if you want (... do it).

5. Do you want a loaf or muffins? If a loaf, pour the batter in a greased pan and cook for 55-60 minutes if it's a glass pan and 35-40 minutes if it's a metal pan. If you want muffins (side note: I tell myself that portion control will be easier if I make muffins, but that's only if I can limit myself to one muffin... easier said than done with these babies), pour them in a muffin tray with paper liners and bake for 35-40 minutes. 

6. Do the toothpick test (or my way, the "eat one to test it" method), then you're done! Enjoy not only the taste of these beauties, but the way they will make your home smell. It smells like a job well done.  

Note #1: Coconut flour can be expensive if you buy it at the grocery store, but if you have Amazon Prime (or a friend with it...) and don't mind waiting a few days, you can get a much better deal online, here! 

Note #2: Almond butter can also be a little tricky. Try to avoid the brands that add sugar to their almond butter.. it kind of defeats the purpose. I like to buy mine from Whole Foods, where you can freshly grind it yourself! Then, you can be sure there is nothing else added to it. Plus the little machine makes me feel powerful. 

These are easy, delicious, and a little addicting... see for yourself!

Video goodie of the day: Look at these goats, just messin' around.... what a bunch of kids. 

Source for batnana picture.

Original banana bread recipe from Civilized Caveman Cooking.

Don’t be scared of vegetables

Growing up, I rarely ate vegetables. I had the occasional side of corn or peas, yes, but it never stemmed (pun intended) far from that. Some of my family’s favorite dinner conversations were my mom’s horror stories about “Vegetable of the Week." She and her siblings were forced to eat poorly cooked, un-flavorful, often mushy vegetables one day every week. No wonder she didn’t pass down a love of vegetables to her kids... Vegetables, to me, were something to be scared of and certainly not something to enjoy.

Vegetables were what grown-ups ate at parties when they were on a diet. They somehow managed to pass up the homemade, double layered, oozing-with-chocolate-sauce brownies for a sad looking tray of store-bought veggies. If they’re laid out in a pretty circle, they taste better... right? Maybe so, but not for me. Veggies were scary.

India taught me to love vegetables. I recently traveled to India for two months in what was a life-changing study abroad trip. I am thankful for my experience for many reasons, one of which is the broadening of my food horizons.

India is a majority Hindu nation and one of the major principles of Hinduism is abstinence from meat. There are about 500 million vegetarians in India and most restaurants are either labeled as “veg” or “non-veg” for the practicality of consumer choices.

Needless to say, India was a great place to acquaint myself with vegetables. I had vegetables at almost every meal… and not just peas and corn. I ate cauliflower, okra, spinach, zucchini, mushroom, carrots, radishes, yam… the list goes on. A hella ton of veggies. Certainly more than I’d ever consumed in my lifetime.

India is also famous for its delicious spices. Almost all Indian dishes are smothered in spicy sauces (my spice tolerance seriously shot through the roof). This made for some seriously delicious veggie dishes… something I never thought I’d say.

When I got back from my trip, I was ready to tackle the dining hall with a newfound appreciation for vegetables and the readiness to take on the vegetarian options they had. Worst idea ever. When I asked for a big plate of cauliflower (one of my personal favs in India), I got an overcooked, flavorless, translucent pile of mush. I suddenly remembered why I used to be scared of vegetables.

But I didn’t want to give up all the delicious veggie dishes that I had discovered in India, so I took matters in my own hands. I was still hankering for some cauliflower, so I did a little search on the Google machine and found a recipe for roasted cauliflower with red chili, cilantro, and lime. It. Was. Fantastic. Faith in veggies restored!

Here is my version of the recipe, with a few minor tweaks to the original. I urge you to try it, even if you don’t like cauliflower, or even if you’re still scared of veggies. If I, meatatarian extraordinaire, can become a veggie lover... anyone can.

Roasted cauliflower with red chili, cilantro, and lime

Since I mainly cook for myself (plus leftovers) I chose to only use half of a head of cauliflower, but if you’re feeling ambitious or extra-hungry, go crazy and make the whole head! Just double the recipe.

What you'll need: 

• 1/2 head of a large cauliflower, or 1 head small cauliflower
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp powdered cumin
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp cilantro leaves, chopped
• 1/4ish lime, juiced
• salt to taste

What you need to do:  

Preheat oven to 300 F. Separate the florets from the cauliflower and toss them in a bowl with the garlic, chile powder, cumin, salt & olive oil until they’re well coated.

Spread the deliciously seasoned cauliflower in a shallow roasting pan, then put it in the conveniently pre-heated oven for about 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally to ensure even cooking and crispiness on the outside (don’t want to miss out on the crispies).

When your cauliflower is done cooking, take it out of the oven (duh). Dress it with lime juice for an extra kick of flavor and sprinkle it with cilantro to make it look fancy. It’ll impress your friends. 

The end result is a super flavorful, healthy side dish that I find pairs particularly well with Mexican dishes because of the chili and cilantro. 

Note: If you wanna get crazy, I’m sure you could try this with broccoli or add a little onion if you want to make it sweeter! I just like to stick to cauliflower when I’m reminiscing about India.

Enjoy!

So please, take my word for it. You don’t have to take a trip to the other side of the world to realize that veggies can be delicious. Stick to your kitchen- it's a whole lot cheaper. 

Original recipe here. 

Vegetable picture sources here and here.

Valentine's Day is yummy

OH EM GEE VALENTINES DAY IS THE BEST… kidding. But it is a really good excuse to make some delicious food and eat a lot of chocolate, so I’m not complaining.

This year, our school had a special opportunity for students to use their food points to buy chocolate covered strawberries. The choices were to buy either a ½ dozen or 1 dozen strawberries, so naturally, I bought 2 dozen. The cashier looked at me, seemingly disgusted and confused, until she realized that I *must* be giving one dozen to a special someone. She kindly pointed that out to me, and it got a little awkward when I responded, “Uh, no… they’re all for me.” But hey, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.

In order to celebrate, my roomie and I had a super romantic dinner date. What was on the menu? Well steak, duh, with a rosemary/thyme butter sauce and sautéed mushrooms, a side of asparagus with onions & mushrooms, and a little homemade applesauce to add some sweetness.

If you aren’t sure how best to prepare your steak, check out this article; it gives a pretty good breakdown and will help you look like you know what you’re doing. Key points: 1) Choose a good piece of meat. 2) Prep is important- use salt to soak up moisture and create a nice crust on the outside. 3) Don’t be afraid to use a lot of butter and herbs to add flavor. And most importantly… 4) cover up the fire detector with something. This is not a joke. Not that I would know from experience or anything… but the alarm will go off if you ignore that step.

But really, this is all so important. Poorly prepared steak is a deal breaker. I can’t help but cringe when someone orders steak… “well-done”… *shudder*. " As they note in the article, "Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is a perfect medium-rare."

Then for dessert, we had a flourless chocolate cake. It was very dense, like a mix between chocolate cake and fudge... aka to die for. In order to cut through the intensity of the rich chocolate, I added some sliced bananas. In the future, I'll probably experiment with a raspberry sauce or maybe even some coconut/lime to add acidity. This is the recipe that I used, with only minor adjustments of halving the amount of honey and adding a teaspoon of arrowroot powder to give it a bit more cake-y consistency.

The most important side dish we had? Mood music. Don’t forget it.

So whether you’re cooking for friends or for someone special, use Valentine’s Day as an excuse to get fancy with food. Have a meal with the people you care about, served with a side (or two) of chocolate and a glass of red wine. Good food leads to happy hearts. Happy hearts lead to... who knows what.

Ps: If you really feel like you need a boyfriend on V-Day, this is the article for you. 

Crockpot applesauce

What was your favorite Christmas present this year? I bet it wasn’t as cool as mine- I got a crockpot. Yeah that’s right, a crockpot. My friends sometimes call me Grandma, but it’s ok, because crockpots are seriously the best. Throw some food together, come back hours later and you have a meal? Magic.

So, the crockpot enthusiast in me got a little too excited when apples went on sale at the local produce stand. I had a perfect excuse to make homemade applesauce! 

Those little cups of applesauce were one of my staple childhood snacks (like most kids of the 90s), but I never really liked them. Something about the texture really freaked me out and it tasted fairly bland. 

Then, when I was 13, my eyes were opened to just how delicious applesauce could be. I had just gotten my wisdom teeth removed and a friend of mine (Kathy Yang, shoutout to you if you're reading this) made a delivery to me in my drugged-up state so I could enjoy some liquid food. It was amazing. 

Even though it sounds fancy making applesauce from scratch, it turns out making applesauce is one of the simplest things I've ever made. As long as you have a little patience and a good soundtrack to listen to, you'll be all set. I feel bad even listing it as a recipe, because you really just throw all the ingredients in the crockpot and walk away… but here it is.

What you’ll need:

• 4 lbs. apples (~10 apples, enough to fill your crockpot, enough to make a little apple pyramid… however you like to measure 'em is fine)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (fresh is always better)
• 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon, depending on how cinnamon-y you like it
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ¼ cups water

What you need to do:

1. Peel and slice all of the apples… this takes a while. Bring out your speakers and get some good jams going (Frozen soundtrack anyone? I was able to listen to the whole thing through once). When you’re done, dump them in the crockpot.

2. Stir together the water, cinnamon, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt. Pour it over the apples.

3. Go do something fun for 6-8 hours while the apples cook on low. When you come back, stir the apples with a wooden spoon. All done! Enjoy this homemade, delicious treat.

(4). If you want a smoother finished product, you can blend the applesauce after its done cooking. I personally like the bits of apple you get when you just stir it up instead.

Note #1: Don’t have a crockpot? What are you doing with your life, go get one. Kidding, you can just bring all the ingredients to a boil in a pot then let it simmer for half an hour. That'll work too. You also are probably a more sane, less Grandma-y person than me, so props to you. 

Note #2: I used a mix of Pink Lady, Gala, and Fuji apples and it was delicious, but feel free to use whatever apples you like. Some may be more tart and some sweeter, it’s just personal preference.

This applesauce ended up tasting pretty similar to apple pie filling. Aka delicious. I might use some of it in a baking experiment... but that's only if I don't eat it all first. 

This is me, eating everything in reach