Yummy Fruit Pizza!

I realized that I should really start showing pictures with the things I like to make. Today Andy I and made a yummy fruit pizza for brunch. I apparently made a resolution to myself to eat better...which I do anyway BUT eat more whole foods, grains, to be more educated about where my food comes from (googlee Michael Pollan) and to feell GOOD not guilty about the things that I eat. It's amazing that only a few years ago all I could do was think about fashion. I would draw croquis endlessly and I could't go to sleep because I would constantly be inspired to draw and sketch. I was known as the "fashionable" friend. Now that I'm older and not so much self absorbed I'm comfortable in myself and my body. I appreciate fashion now and it's not so much an obsession BUT I have a new obsession...food. I've always loved food and not just because I needed it but because I appreciate the art and the science that go into food. I appreciate the nutritional value of it. I am a foodie. I like simple, nutritional, and delicious food. Anyway, enough with the life ephiphany back to what I was saying...Andy and I woke up this morning or afternoon...11am and were hungry. I thought hmmmm what can we eat. We don't have that many things in the fridge because we leave for vacation in a few days and we're really trying to stretch out our food ha! I saw marscarpone cheese frozen pizza dough, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, rasberries, blackberries what can I make. So this is what I came up with

Yummy Fruit Pizza

1 pkg of frozen pizza dough
1/2 cup marscapone cheese (you can substitute fat free cream cheese or nufchatel cheese )
1/2cup strawberries, bananas, blackberries,raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries
1tsp cinnamon and some for sprinkling
a drizzle of honey or agave nectar

Mix a tsp of cinnamon into the marscarpone and set aside.

Cut the strawberries in quarters and the bananas into thin slices.

So basically you roll out a DE-thawed pizza dough and sprinkle some cinnamon on it while you roll it out that way the cinnamon is rolled into the dough. Using a fork poke holes into the dough if you don't the dough will bubble up.

Bake the dough for about 10 min until golden brown

After the crust has cooled spread the marscapone cheese on to the pizza dough and starting with the strawberries start putting the fruit on the pizza.

After all the fruit has been placed on the yummy marscapone cheese drizzle the whole thing with a touch of the agave or the honey.

Cut into triangles or squares and enjoy!

April Fool's and my hubby's b-day!

My husband wouldn't give me ANY ideas on what he wanted to do for his b-day! I was at a loss until he decided to plan it himself at a local bar. Fine with me but what could I do to contribute?! If you know me (which you probably don't) I LOVE birthdays! I like to make people feel really special and important because you only get one day a year that's all yours. So anyway, I knew I wanted to bring a cake to the party and of course balloons but what kind of cake? Keith's new infatuation is Guinness beer so I thought hmmm...very stout and kind of coffeeish so I wonder? Cupcakes just seemed to make so much more sense small, bite-sized and no-mess clean up! So this is what I came up with:

Chocolate Guinness mini-cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

This recipe is so insanely easy you might just make them all the time! I try to be health conscious all while keeping the integrity and flavor of the things that I make .


Cupcakes:

1 box cake mix

1/2 cup plain applesauce ( I substitute applesauce for the oil. Keeps the cupcakes moist and cuts the calories and fat from the oil.

1 1/3 cups Guinness beer

2 eggs

Mix until well incorporated either in mixer or by hand. Don't over mix if you do you'll encourage the starches to develop and you'll have hard dense cupcakes.

You can use a regular cupcake mold or mini whichever you prefer. Line the mold with the paper cups and then spray the with non-stick cooking spray making sure you get the surface of the mold. If some of your cupcakes rise above the cup they won't stick to the pan.
Cut 1/2 the batter in a freezer bag and cut the tip (this just makes the batter so much easier to handle and your liners won't pull out of the cups and blah,blah, blah.

Pipe to fill 3/4 of the cup and bake for 15-19 min. Prick the center of a cupcake with a toothpick and if it grabs just a bit of the cake their done!

Cream Cheese Icing:

2- 8oz. Pkgs. of Cream Cheese (room temperature)

1 stick of butter (room temperature)

1/2 cup to 1 cup of powdered sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla extract

1 tsp. of lemon zest and 1 squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Cream together the cream cheese and the butter until nice and fluffy. Add the vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice. After well incorporated add the powdered sugar a little bit at a time so you don't have an explosion!

Fill a freezer bag with the yummy goodness and pipe in a swirly motion on the tops of the cupcakes. Finish with the chocolate sprinkles and Voila!

Back in Fashion!

So lately everyone keeps telling me that I need to get back in fashion. Which, I agree is my calling but I'm so afraid to go back into the industry and be UNhappy again. I'm tired of working my butt off for someone else and it taking 5 positive things to erase 1 negative! I miss fashion so much it's what I've always known I would do! But being here in Austin there aren't a lot of outlets for me. Besides, Austin's fashion sense doesn't exactly make me swoon. My style doesn't belong here. That's why I've decided to start my own business. Who better to work for than yourself?! I feel as though I'll never be truly happy unless I work for myself. I love vintage clothes but high-end vintage. Not pearl snap shirts and worn down shoes. Vintage Chanel, Lanvin, etc. Now I know it'll take some time to develop this type of repertoire but I'm patient and assured that it'll come. I love to shop, I love to style, and I love finding unique fashiony pieces that I know are one in a million. So wish me luck and I'll keep updating my journey into the abyss haha!

Rain Rain Come Back...Anytime you want!!!!

Last night a tropical storm came through the area which meant lots of rain, lots of warning tickers on the t.v., and the inevitable dumb ass drivers!

For me rain only means one thing...POPCORN AND CHAMPAGNE MOVIE NIGHT!!!! I wait in anticipation for these nights because what's better than sitting in the dark with homemade popcorn, champagne, and a cheeky British romantic comedy?!? (INSERT BLANK HERE) Yeah, I didn't think anything could beat that! My next thought was what kind of popcorn do I want? I'm one of those people that has to doctor up anything I eat...it's just a thing. I had some really bland "gourmet" popcorn that I completely overpaid for so what could I do with it? Hmmm...as I scuffled through that refrigerator I found a little chunk of Piave Vecchio and Parmigano-Reggiano cheese and then EPIPHANY! That's right people greatness once again! If you're like me and just love easy, yummy, beautiful and semi-gourmet food please see the recipe below!

Rosemary-Parmesan Popcorn

1/2 cup UN-cooked popcorn kernels
1 Tbs. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil*
1 Tbs. Butter
1/2 Finely chopped Parmesan Cheese*
A couple pinches of freshly chopped Rosemary
Salt* (the Parmesan is already salty to just a pinch will do)

In a large pot put the the Olive oil and the butter over medium-high. As soon as the butter melts pour the kernels into the pot and throw in a pinch of salt. In a circular motion shake the pot to slather the kernels with all that olivey butter goodness. Put a lid on the pot but make sure it's cracked just a little bit to let the steam escape. Shake the pot about every 30 seconds to make sure the Kernels don't burn! When the popping slows pour the popcorn in a large bowl and sprinkle the warmed popcorn with the Parmesan cheese and the rosemary.

* Alternative to Champagne...I LOVE this popcorn with a really nice red wine because the rosemary in the popcorn really brings out the depth and flavor of the wine. Prosecco (Italian sparkling wine) is also a really great choice not only is it about half the price of Champagne but it's super light, refreshing, and crisp!

DIRECTIONS:

Pop in movie of your choice and find a cozy blanket to nestle into the couch with. Bubbly in one hand and ginormous bowl of popcorn in the other. Turn off lights and enjoy the rain!!!

Coconut Shrimp Ceviche morphed into Yummy Shrimp Tacos!!!

After a long day at Barton Springs I was feeling like a delish, healthy, and light dinner but something that looked pretty enough that I could invite my friends over to enjoy so after much thought BAM!!!! Shrimp Ceviche BUT with a twist! Coconut shrimp ceviche (Yum!) Something about being outdoors and a hippie for the day turns you into a whole foods kind of person or it could just be Austin, TX (we're a bunch of hippies here but fit hippies.) So I did some research and realized that poaching liquid is like the BEST invention ever! I'm going to poach EVERYTHING! Anyhow, this is what I came up with a flavorful and aesthetically pleasing recipe that you can eat in your bikini and still look good...really?!

Yes, Really!!! Drum roll Pleeease...




Barton Springs Pool in Austin, TX. It's the place to go on a hot summer day! Everyone goes from hippies, to those who are definitely tripping on acid, the fit and fabulous(steroids), artists (all drugs in general), and really BAD musicians (No drugs?!) Everyone comes to enjoy the beautiful park and my favorite people watching...but only if you have really dark shades then the people watching is much better ha!

*WARNING!!! You may see an older gentlemen who is pitching a slightly small tent in his 2 sizes too small speedo. It's Austin and we're proud! (sort of)

And back to the recipes...

"LOCO" COCO SHRIMP CEVICHE

Poaching Liquid

1 1/2 De-veined shrimp
1 Lemon (halved)
4 Bay Leaves
1 Tsp. Peppercorns
1 Head of Garlic (halved)
1 Tsp. Red Chili Flakes

Marinade
1 Can of coconut milk
1 small red onion roughly chopped
2/3 Cup Pineapple chunks
1/2 Fresh lime juice
1/2 Bunch of chopped cilantro
3 Serrano peppers (2 if they're large peppers)
*1/2 Tsp. Red Chili flake if you like it extra spicy!
A pinch of Salt and Pepper

In a large pot fill 2/3 of it with water. Next, add the garlic, lemon, peppercorns, chili flakes, and bay leaves and let it come to a boil. Once the water is boiling add the shrimp and turn off the heat. Let the shrimp poach for about 3-5 minutes but don't leave them in there for too long or else the shrimp will become rubbery and tough. Remove the shrimp from the pot and place on a sheet pan and put in the refrigerator to cool (You can put them in the freezer also depending on how fast you need the shrimp.)

For the marinade combine the coconut milk, lime juice, red onion, Serrano peppers, pineapples cilantro, *red chili flakes, and s/p. Once the shrimp has cooled cut them in half from top to bottom so it looks like you have two identical pieces. Fold into the marinade and put in the refrigerator for 30 min to overnight.

I like to serve the ceviche with some pita bread that I cut into small triangles and drizzle with olive oil and bake until crunchy about 8 min.

*For a cocktail affair serve the ceviche in a colorful martini glass and garnish with a drizzle of
olive oil, cilantro, and a pretty edible flower.








*If you're just HUNGRY and want a meal serve over a bed of mixed field greens or spinach.

...Ceviche re-incarnated as the best shrimp tacos EVER!!!

This is such an easy morphed meal because the shrimp has all that delicious flavor from the marinade that you don't need to add much to make it another great meal!


HOUDINI SHRIMP TACOS

Left- over ceviche
Corn Tortillas
1/2 Sliced avocado
*Homemade salsa (In a blender combine 3 tomatoes, 1/2 red onion, 1 garlic clove, 1 handful cilantro, 1/8 cup jalapeños, and s/p. Blend and Voilà...homemade salsa!

Turn the range to medium heat. Spray a pan with a little non-stick spray and cook the ceviche marinade and all until warmed. Be sure NOT TO OVERCOOK!!!! Shrimp will become rubbery and tough!

Warm 2 tortillas in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Double up on the tortillas because this will prevent the tacos from falling apart. Garnish with a couple slices of avocado and homemade salsa and Ay, Que Rico!!

If you feel like this after you've eaten my recipes...you've done something wrong!

I Love Your Curves!!!!

And apparently so does the Fashion Industry! Since all of the drama with models being too thin and the industry's push on health I've seen a significant change especially in magazines. Ads are flourishing with real life people instead of (the WAY over used term) "waifish" models. Now I have to admit that when "normal" people were being used in place of our brainwashed opinion of "ideal" models I was a little un-accepting at first. I couldn't help but judge and critique every "imperfection" I saw! If I were to see the same person walking down the street...nothing I'd think that they were just another passerby but to spotlight a "normal" everyday Joe Schmoe in a magazine or on t.v. I just didn't get it. But as I kept flipping through the pages I saw something in these new models that I hadn't seen before in the "perfect" models. I saw life. I saw soulfulness. I saw real 120% beauty. The things that make us insecure are the things that make us beautiful and unique. So what if you have a Houdini dimple that ONLY shows up when you take pictures (annoying...but beautiful and one of a kind) or that bikini shopping has become something you do in the privacy of your own home on a computer and results in buying two different sizes of EVERYTHING!!! I like the "NEW" beauty! Makes me feel like I'm in control of my fashion and not being directed by someone I don't even know or knows me! With that said I'm going to enjoy my Panamanian curves by cooking some authentic curve loving food!!!! Recipes to follow...after I eat of course! Ciao!!