Pump up the JAMS. Preserving plums.

Before you begin, here is what I would have done differently: I would have opted out of the cinnamon stick, while it was good, it wasn't really what I was going for. But it is delish, if you like cinnamon.

Before begining, I cleaned my jars in boiling water. This is only necessary for canning, I think, but I wanted to be safe, considering some of my jars were salsa jars. Salsa jam...mmm?



1. Coarsely chop plums and stir together with sugar, water, and cinnamon stick in a 2-quart heavy saucepan.

Chop those puppies!

Use a heavy saucepan so the plums don't burn.

2. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally (more often toward end of cooking to prevent sticking), until thickened and reduced to about 2 1/2 cups, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

This was after about 20 minutes. Be sure to stir frequently!

Finished! After an hour.

3. Discard cinnamon stick and cool preserves. Transfer to an airtight container and chill, covered.

The recipe made 2 of these jars, and half of another jar about this size.
Notes- Preserves keep, chilled, 1 month.

Warm, it was so delicious. Chilled, I had it on Peanut Butter and Jelly, and I loved it.

Like a big Pizza Pie...

Everyone loves pizza.

Really...who doesn't love pizza?! Lactose intolerants, maybe, but they can take their's cheeseless.

So I know many of you spend many a penny on ordering pizza. My theory is, why waste your money on Dominos when you can have better pizza, that is better for you?

Not only do you get to use fresh ingredients, but it's also very simple and easy. Buy the pizza dough from your local grocery store (typically you can find it in the deli or by the cheese section) and just follow the directions on the bag. A little bit of elbow grease later, and you've got yourself a delicious slice of heaven.



This is a pizza I made on Valentine's day (notice the slight heart shape). I typically use a little bit of tomato sauce, fresh mozzerella from the salad bar at the grocery store (you can buy it in small balls), fresh basil, and sliced fresh tomatoes.

Stick it in the oven till the cheese is melted and the crust is browned (it typically takes about 15-20 minutes) and you've got yourself an amazing meal.

Some Cake Reminiscing

I am a huge birthday person. Shouldn't everyone be?

For my birthday, when I was just a tiny freshman in college, I was a little sad about being away from home for it.

Luckily, my new college friends knew just what to do.



That's right. It's a Koi Fish cake. Don't even ask me how they managed it, cause it was a surprise. This is probably one of the nicest things people have ever done for me.

Thank you, guys. <3

Celebrity Guest Appearance

Not really. At work today, some man who looked like he could be Tom Hanks' brother came in.

I swear, he must SOMEHOW have been related to the Hanks. I even called him out on it.

I said, "You look like Tom Hanks!"
And he said, "Oh, really? I'll take his pay check."



It would be nice to meet a cool celebrity like Tom Hanks. I'll let you know when I do. So keep posted!

He does, however, have a Pancetta Pasta recipe that I've seen. I'll be checking up on that.

Key Lime Pie Cupcakes. Original Recipe!

I am very lazy. It's a well known fact, just ask my dad. I like to use boxed cake mix (i.e. Duncan Hines). I think they are pretty tasty, and you don't have to run out to buy more flour when you find out your roommate has used all of yours to make paper mache. I have developed many a delicious cupcake recipe using just a couple extra ingredients along with your cake mix.

Key Lime Pie Cupcakes

1 box yellow cake mix
1 lime
Green food coloring.

1. Follow all the directions on the back of the box, but add half the lime juice and some zest as well as a couple drops of food coloring to the batter before baking.
2. Bake following the directions.
3. Let cool, and then frost. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs on top of the cupcakes



Lime Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup butter
1 lime juice
1 teaspoon lime zest
1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream

A couple of crushed graham crackers

In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.

Add lime juice and zest, and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.


See! The inside is tinted the color of my favorite citrus!

So as you'll see in the pictures, there are raspberries on top of the cupcakes. They look cute but don't really have anything to do with Key Lime Pie (my roommate put them on top).

These cupcakes are sure to please, and make you crave tropical weather.

Slightly Failed Sugar Donut Muffins

I'm not sure how good it is if I'm posting a recipe that I didn't like, but maybe you, dear reader, can figure out where I went wrong. Lacking a background in culinary school as well as chemistry, I'm not sure what made these muffins so lack-luster. A slight disappointment, but I brought them to my office and they were gone in a jiffy. I wasn't so happy with them.

Sugar Donut Muffins
Recipe from Nicole at Baking Bites

3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking power
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup milk (I used soy milk because it's what I had.)
1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar, for rolling

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a muffin tin with cooking spray or vegetable oil.

1. In a large bowl, beat together sugar and egg until light in color.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Pour into egg mixture and stir to combine. Pour in vegetable oil, milk and vanilla extract.

3. Divide batter evenly into 12 muffin cups or ~24 mini-muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full.





4. Bake for 15-18 minutes for standard-sized muffins or 11-12 minutes for mini-muffins, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

5. While muffins are baking, melt butter and pour remaining sugar into a small bowl.

6. When muffins are done, lightly brush the top of each with some melted butter, remove from the pan and roll in sugar. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 12 standard muffins or 24 mini-muffins



So here were my issues.

Number One- They didn't brown. They were very pale on top, but I knew they were done, and to me, this is an issue. Pale muffins are strange.

Number Two- They tasted almost exactly like a corn muffin. With an absence of corn meal, why the heck did they taste like one? Sort of on the dry side.

The picture in the original recipe made them look like muffins straight out of heaven. Sadly, this wasn't the case with mine. Insert sad-face, right here.

Miso Poached Cod

Adapted from a recipe by Sandra Lee (Semi-Homemade Cooking on the Food Network. My mom hates that show). I think she is fabulous because she does what all of us do. She works with what she has.

Anyway, I thought it was a must-try because lately I've been craving asian flavors. I have had sushi for lunch the past two days, so it must be taking over my life. Anyway, the original recipe called for Tilapia, but my sadly stocked local grocery only had Cod. That was fine with me, because I just love it.

Udon Noodles with Miso Poached Cod:

Ingredients

1 (32-ounce) container vegetable broth
3 tablespoons miso paste
1 cup sake or white wine
3 1/2 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
3 scallions, sliced diagonally into 1/2-inch pieces, plus chopped scallions, for garnish
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 pound cod fillets
12 ounces udon noodles



In a large pot over high heat, bring water to boil for noodles.

In a large straight-sided frying pan over medium-high heat, whisk together all ingredients except fish and noodles. Bring to boil; reduce to simmer. Add cod fillets, cover, and poach for about 10 minutes, until fish is white and flaky.



Add udon noodles to rapidly boiling water and cook for 6 to 8 minutes for thin udon and 10 to 12 minutes for thicker udon. Serve udon in a bowl with miso broth. Top with poached tilapia and chopped scallions.



Yum-o, as Rachel Ray would say, if she ever recovers from her throat surgery. Gross. I promise never to talk about surgery in any of my other posts.

Welcome to the Beginning

You are here to witness my first blog post.

One small step for girl, one giant leap for girl kind.

And away we go!