May 10 2013

Transitions

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Nikkilooch

According to Merriam-Webster, transition is defined as “a passage from one state, stage, subject, or place to another.” There isn’t another word that better describes where I am right now. Or where I’m not. Unsettled. In a different state, stage, subject, and place. But not afraid. I prayed about nine months ago for God to unsettle me. To make me uncomfortable in a complacent life. He’s answered my “unsettle me” prayer with “I’m faithful.” More faithful than my human mind can conceive.

You’ve kept track of my every toss and turn through the sleepless nights, Each tear entered into your ledger, each ache written in your book. Psalm 56:8 The Message.

All of these tears count for something. God’s counting them. My hurt is known and acknowledged. My basic human need of being heard is met before I even know what to ask.

May 1 2013

hello May

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Nikkilooch

Hello spring time. Hello freckled shoulders and bare feet. I love how everyday you’re getting warmer. Hello gardens and new plants and fresh herbs. I can’t wait to get my hands dirty and sweat with the sun on my back. Hello swimsuit season. I’m not ready for you, but I’m totally ready for you. Hello family time. Hello wedding season. Hello fresh haircuts and painted toenails. I’m ready for all the good things you have to bring me this month.

Apr 25 2013

Red Lentil Soup

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Nikkilooch

Spring done sprung here in Richmond, Virginia. Pollen has coated all the cars, giving them a yellow tinge. I’ve been sneezing and waking up with swollen eyelids. The dogwoods are blooming. Tupils are singing. Birds are chirping and chipmunks romping all through the budding forrest. And here I am, posting a soup recipe.

I’m a sunshine girl. I’ve been getting my fill and am so happy about it. But the nights are still cold. I’m still sleeping with three blankets on the bed. It takes the sun a few hours to get the day good and warm. The first thing I do in the cold morning is get the coffee going for that hot mug to hold. (This morning I forgot to add water to the pot. My mama saved me. I’m blaming pre-coffee brain.)

This soup is perfect for taking the chill off. It’s perfect to serve alongside dinner. Think cup-of-soup half-a-sandwich at lunch situation. This soup dreams of marrying a grilled cheese. Plus it’s ready in under an hour. No hot stoves heating up the house. Spring time soup is a thing I’m starting. It’s genius.

Red Lentil Soup
from More Peas, Thank You

cooking spray or oil to grease stockpot
1 cup yellow onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
4 cups vegetable stock
1/3 cup orange juice
1 cup red lentils, picked over and rinsed
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon orange zest
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, minced (for serving)
1/2 cup sour cream (for serving)

Lightly coat a medium to large stockpot with cooking spray or oil and place over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery and carrots and saute until softened, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add cumin, turmeric, smoked paprika and garlic and cook until aromatic, about 1 minute. Pour in vegetable stock and orange juice. Add lentils and salt and bring to a boil. Cover pot and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 13 to 15 minutes, or until lentils are soft. Stir in orange zest. Carefully transfer soup to a large blender or use an immersion blender to puree until smooth. Serve soup with cilantro and sour cream as garnishes.

Apr 23 2013

Simple Guacamole

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Nikkilooch

Life is messy and complicated. It’s full of messy, imperfect people. These imperfect but well intentioned people infect other imperfect people with their issues. Relationships get complicated. Feelings get hurt. The heart starts messing with the head, and it’s not long before you don’t know which way you’re going. So when I find a person who’s messy and imperfect and embraces that about themselves with a peaceful simplicity, I make that person my friend. They’re hard to find, but worth looking for.

This guacamole is messy and imperfect and simple, just like my favorite people.

Guacamole is a personal thing, much like tomato sauce. Everyone makes it their own way and the only thing they have in common is an avocado and citrus base. Possible variables include: garlic, tomato, lime, lemon, red onion, white onion, salt, pepper, white pepper, jalapeno, cilantro, chile, cayenne. There’s not even a common ratio of one thing to another. One recipe is heavy on the garlic and peppers, light on the onions and must have deseeded tomatoes. Another has tons of tomato and salt, but not much of anything else.

But this recipe in Mama Pea’s new cookbook only has 5 ingredients. Simple, simple. Delicious, delicious.

Simple Guacamole
from More Peas, Thank You

2 ripe Haas avocados
2 Tablespoons red onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 Tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

Mash avocados in a large bowl. Add chopped onion, lime juice, salt, and cilantro, and mix well. Adjust seasoning accordingly.

Apr 18 2013

Vanilla Bean Buttercream

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Nikkilooch

My birthday was last week. I made my own cake, chocolate with vanilla bean buttercream. This is my first time ever assembling and frosting a cake. This picture doesn’t do it justice. It was beautiful. Dark chocolate shavings on the top really added a little fancy punch. My aunts and uncles thought that it was store bought it was so pretty. It’s a good thing I took it to a group gathering or I would have eaten slice after slice of this cake until I got a tummy ache. Family really is important. For your life, for your waist.

Now, the cake was from a box but the buttercream… oh the buttercream, it had to be homemade. Chocolate cake with white frosting is the best cake combination. The frosting must be fresh and rich and over the top.

Vanilla Bean Buttercream

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
4-5 cups powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, seeded
1 teaspoon salt
1-2 Tablespoons heavy cream

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Slowly add 4 cups of powdered sugar, beating thoroughly after each cup of sugar. Add the vanilla extract, vanilla bean seeds and salt and beat until well blended. Now test your frosting for consistency. It needs to be spreadable but thick. If it is too thick, add cream a teaspoon at a time. If too thin, slowly add more powdered sugar 1/4 cup at a time. You’ll see the vanilla beans speckled throughout the frosting. Frost a baked good of your choice. Or just eat it straight from the bowl, with a spatula, spoon, finger.

Apr 16 2013

Weekend WOD and foot update

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Nikkilooch

The WOD at crossfit swift this weekend kicked me square in the tail end. I’m used to being the slowest one and finishing last, but I finish feeling strong. This time I was a heap on the floor at the end of the workout. It’s all down to the fuel you feed your body. My ice cream dinner, although delicious, didn’t give me the good energy I needed to perform well. Lesson learned… again. Hopefully remembered.

Here’s what’s going on with my foot: plantar fasciitis. Basically that large tendon going down the center of my foot is inflamed and aggravated. The physical therapist said that it’s because I don’t have enough range of motion in my ankles. She gave me some stretches to do and some anti-inflammatory medicine to take at night. The pain I was feeling all day everyday to differing intensities vanished in just two days. If I go see the physical therapist again, I might kiss her on the mouth. She said no running (which is fine by me) but other forms of exercise that didn’t aggravate my foot were fine. Thank the Lord.

This weekend was all blue skies and sunshine. Exactly what my soul needed. It’s amazing how much good getting outdoors does for me. Sometimes, since I’m such an introverted homebody I forget that getting outside energizes me. A little sun on this pale skin and feeling cool overgrown grass on the souls of my feet lets me know there’s a whole big world out there. And much of it is good. Creation is so, so good. Things are still growing and moving even if I don’t get out there to see them. The world is still being the world even if I miss it.

After what happened in Boston yesterday at the marathon, I realize this even more. My prayers are with Boston. But one thing I know about the north east is that they are tough. They don’t take no crap from nobody. The people of Boston and the entire country will rally together and overcome this tragedy. That’s one of my favorite things about Americans, we’re helpers. As Mr. Roger’s said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”

Apr 11 2013

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Nikkilooch

Let’s not pull each other’s chain. Muffins are an excuse to have cake for breakfast. Their individual wrapped little behinds waltz right past and stand in the front of the breakfast line. They can be chocolate or loaded with chocolate and no one bats an eye. Streusel topping for breakfast is an excellent idea so long as those sugary crumbs sit atop a muffin.

Atop a muffin. Muffin tops. Tight jeans. All these things are related.

Lemon Blueberry Muffin
adapted from Joy the Baker Cookbook

7 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup milk
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 lemon, zested
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

For the Topping:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a muffins pan with paper or foil liners, set aside.

To make the muffins: Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly. It will melt, froth, and begin to crackle. That’s the water cooking out of the butter. The crackling will subside and butter will begin to brown fairly quickly. Remove from heat when butter solids become a medium brown color and butter smells slightly nutty. Immediately pour hot butter into a small bowl, or the butter will continue to cook in the hot pan. Allow to cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add browned butter and whisk to combine.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add milk mixture all at once to the flour mixture and stir gently to combine. Gently but thoroughly fold in the lemon zest and blueberries. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups.

To make the topping: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and rub together with clean fingertips until crumbly. Sprinkle topping evenly over the muffin batter in cups.

Bake muffins 18 to 20 minutes until golden and crisp and a skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool muffins in the pan for 15 minutes before removing. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Apr 1 2013

hello, April

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Nikkilooch

Hello, April. Hello more sunshine. Hello springtime and birthdays and new terms. Hi, tons of reading and big mugs of tea to get me through. Hello new adventures. Thank goodness I’m a writer to start scrawling these new chapters. Hello suitcases and rest. Hello hard work and trying new scary but really real things. I’m ready to roll my sleeves up and get up to my elbows in April.

Mar 26 2013

Coconut Bread

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Nikkilooch

In the past six-months I’ve tried to not reward myself with food. Rewarding myself with food tends to end in overindulging too often. That leads to been twenty pounds heavier than I am currently. I don’t want to be twenty pounds heavier. In fact, I’d like to be 5-7 pounds lighter.

But sometimes. After I’ve finished writing a 13-page research paper and a 7-page personal essay sometimes I need to stand in the kitchen and sift flour with cinnamon and beat eggs into milk with vanilla and lick the wooden spoon I used to combine but not over-stir the ingredients. So really, I rewarded myself with the baking process and not the bread (even though the bread is a gift that keeps on giving).

The spicy comforting smell that this loaf produced while baking was worth the effort. Add in the satisfaction of slicing a thick piece and slathering it with butter, you have a perfect Sunday.

Now, I know I’ve been doing a lot of Smitten Kitchen recipes lately, and I made a mental note to dial them back. But as soon as I saw this recipe pop up in my reader last week I knew I had to make it this weekend. Really, any excuse to make a quick bread is a good one.

Coconut Bread
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

2 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups unsweetened flaked coconut
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil or nonstick cooking spray for baking pan

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Add sugar and coconut, and stir to mix. Make a well in the center, and pour in egg mixture, then stir wet and dry ingredients together until just combined. Add butter, and stir until just smooth — be careful not to overmix.

Butter and flour a 9×5-inch loaf pan, or coat it with a nonstick spray. Spread batter in pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, anywhere from 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Cool in pan five minutes, before turning out onto a cooling rack.

Slather with softened butter and enjoy.

Mar 22 2013

Maple Granola

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Nikkilooch

My relationship with granola has always been on again off again. On when I taste the salty sweetness, off when I see how many calories two handfuls are. On when I see all the pretty packaging in the stores and the empty promises of health benefits, off when I see the sugar content on the back.

I realize it’s not the granola’s fault. It’s the maker. Don’t hate the sinner; hate the sin. Don’t hate granola; make your own.

This granola is crunchy and not too sweet. Deb from Smitten Kitchen has topped herself with this recipe. I didn’t follow it exactly because I was missing some ingredients, but it still came out great. The key, as she says in the recipe, is the egg white. Don’t leave it out. You’ll be sorry you did.

Top yogurt with it. Throw it in your morning smoothie for some added depth. Mix some with tart fruit, like strawberries. Eat it straight out of the jar. I dare you to try not to burn your finger tips as you pick at it straight from the oven.

Maple Granola
adapted from smitten kitchen cookbook

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup unsweetened coconut
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 pure maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 large egg white
1 1/2 cup dried fruit (optional, I prefer apricots)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Combine all the ingredients but the egg white and dried fruit in a large bowl, tossing to coat evenly. Whisk the egg white in a small bowl until frothy. Stir into the granola mixture, distributing it throughout. Spread it in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 45-55 minutes. About halfway through the baking time, use a large spatula to turn over sections of the granola so it is evenly browned. When the granola looks dry and golden, remove from oven and let cool completely. Sprinkle in dried fruit.