Graduation cake

My cousin works at a school in Nebraska as a school shrink (not the kind that recommends colleges) and dance team coach. She's hip, funny, no nonsense and therefore very popular. Instead of attending all her students' graduation parties, she selects one student who gets a special cake. Sophie is her regular babysitter and dance team member.

Their mascot is a Monarch (ruler of the world kind of monarch) and their colors are purple and white. Its true balance in the world because the high school my cousin and I attended - Manzano HS in Albuquerque - had a Monarch as a mascot and colors of purple and white. Cake looks pretty good, eh?

Go purple, dig in (clap clap),
Go fight win!

"G"LBT Sandwiches

Basic Rights Oregon Equality PAC House Party
menu: glbt sandwiches, hummus, tres gay deviled eggs and carrot cake cupcakes

The L, B and T in the sandwich are the obvious ingredients in this great meal. But the G, that was a pesky one. I reached for it and came up with garlic and basil mayo - covering ingredient and color - for G. Lelo told me it was a stretch and she was right. I also did not add in the "Q," (queer) so I quickly said, "You can question what the G is!" That was after only one delicious margarita.

Cinco de Mayo 2008

Margarita for two


3 shots tequila
1 shot triple sec
juice of two limes
splash of orange juice
ice


Shake in a cocktail maker and serve with ice. I forgot the salt on the rim, but feel free







Nachos for two


1 bag of chips (I used multi-grain)
1 can black beans*
1 chicken breast
1 tomato, diced
2 scallions, diced
2 cups shredded cheese, Mexican blend
1 Serrano chile, with seeds


*seasonings for beans:
cumin, oregano, salt, New Mexico red chile powder


Layer nachos in the way your choose, bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Dress nachos with tomatoes, scallions and chiles.

Saturday night at home

I waited to late into Saturday night to take this picture, but you get the delicious gist. Cuban food, inspired by Whole Foods. See, I was there on Saturday to pick up my favorite adult beverage and their cafeteria area was serving Cuban food. My first thought was, "I can do this better." Cuban food is pretty similar to Panamanian, hence I was up to the challenge. The second thought was to get to a cheaper store to get the ingredients. I did get the plantains there at Whole Foods for $1.49 a pound, a decent price. Rule of purchase for plantains: when you see it ripe, just buy it. You don't know if or when you'll see one ripe at another store.

My sauce for the pork:

Juice of one lime
1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
2 shakes of cumin
1 tbsp. oregano
1 crushed garlic clove
1 Serrano chile
1/2 white onion, diced

I seared the pork on both sides in my Dutch oven, then poured the sauce in. I placed the whole thing in the oven to roast on 450 degrees.

My beans:

1 can black beans
1 tsp. oregano
handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
some salt
few drops of apple cider vinegar

Cook the beans in a pot with all ingredients. Taste this one through until it has all you need.

My rice:

I cooked my rice with coconut milk instead of water - that easy.

My plantains:

I sliced them on a bias and dry fried them in a skillet. Usually, I would fry them in vegetable oil, but no more. Still as good and a little less fattening.

Cupakes for home viewers

In the continuing quest to get my home to smell like treats, I present you the raspberry lemon cupcake.

Orange Chicken

I was craving Chinese food like crazy on Friday night, but it's not really on my eating plan. And while I give myself three meals a week to eat casually, Panda Express' orange chicken is not the casual list. In a recent article, I read that lemon chicken has about 1400 calories! I only eat about 1700 so alternatives are needed. I decided to give the chicken a try - homemade. I scoured a couple of versions of the recipe on line, took my favorite suggestions and this is what resulted.

Orange Chicken

2 skinless chicken breasts, diced in 1 inch chunks
2 navel oranges, peeled
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup white wine
1 tbsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. fresh ginger, chopped
1 Serrano chile
2 garlic cloves
2 scallions, chopped
sprinkle of dried basil

Put all the ingredients except the chicken in a blender or food processor. I used a bowl so I could use my immersion blender!

Blend the ingredients until smooth. Taste the sauce a bit to make sure its to your liking. I felt my oranges maybe weren't juicy enough so I added a bit of orange juice (about 1/4 cup) to enhance the flavor. All the recipes I saw used juice, but I had 7 oranges so I knew it was the way to go. Plus, oranges are packed with fiber.

Dry fry the chicken in a skillet prepared with cooking spray, for about 15 minutes. I added in another chopped scallion (I love onion-y flavor) and some orange zest while I fried. Pour in your sauce, turn the stove down a bit and let simmer for another 10 or 15 minutes. Serve with your side of choice. We went old school for some white rice.

Gross banquet food

This is what I didn't eat at a recent lunch event. Ice cold chicken sandwich, syrupy salad dressing and something that called itself "cheesecake." While I realize that it can be difficult to cook for 500 when the options are only $20 a plate, but there was no excuse for this. YUCK.

Almost perfect muffins

We are selling our house. I know, it's a bit of a bummer, but its the right choice for us. It was originally an investment and want to make sure that we get out money's worth. Now, we want out of all our debt, we want to travel and we want to stop stressing about money. I knew less money was the trade off for choosing a life of do-gooding, but I didn't plan on missing out on so much. So, we are planting back in financial reality for a least a little while - or at least until our income doubles.

With the selling, my house has never been cleaner. To add to the feeling, I wanted to make some homemade goodness to entice the viewers. I made some delicious orange and banana muffins using flaxseed instead of butter. These were going to be great treats and with a healthy kick. I baked them when I woke up, hoping the smell would linger. When the cinnamon came through the shower curtain, I knew it worked. I grabbed a muffin for the bus ride and was ready to eat. When I bit down I instantly knew my error - no sugar. Its like the video sped backwards and I saw myself cooking and never grabbing that Mason jar full of natural sweetness.

Now let me tell you, these little babies were good. Soft, steamy, cinnamon, banana and orange-y; the entire makeup for a perfect muffin. Crapola now though, because what do I do with them? My couple of thoughts: Honey butter, brown sugar butter, icing. What do you think?

The donuts keep a-calling

Today was my last day of boot camp. I've been working this program for 10 weeks and I have to say, I'm lookin' pretty good. I've stuck to my good protein, green vegetables, water, smoothies, no booze (mostly) and sleep and it was worth it. I've had my treats here and there - following the 90%/10% plan - but sticking to it.

Why oh why then, is it hard for me to walk by those damn donuts in my building? They are calling my name now almost daily. Yesterday, I gave in. I had a maple bar. It was so sugary and sweet. This morning I resisted again. I had yogurt and a cheese square.

Please, someone invent a protein and fiber laden donut.

Friends are food

I'm full this day. I'm full of love, happiness, laugher, booze, chicken wangs and some tears. I visited my best friends this weekend and it filled me up with all the love I needed. Friends are the most delicious food. Can't wait until I can eat them all up again.