Dogs Share Noodles

Noodles, now!

This is a scene from our kitchen today. We made a nice big bowl of spaghetti and eggplant parmesan in a casserole dish big enough to last us for a couple of days, and the dogs wanted to have a taste. We already knew that our dog loved pasta, but it was the first time to record him on the video sharing noodles with his friend. So cute!

Dogs share one strand of spaghetti

Spaghetti with Italian sausage... Sunday comfort food

My hubby came home from work with a huge eggplant. His co-worker was giving away eggplants since she didn't like them. Just one eggplant made this whole casserole. It was the best looking eggplant I've ever seen. And I don't say that about eggplants very often.

Eggplant parmesan

Eggplant Parmesan

1 big eggplant, cut in 3/8 inch discs
1 egg, beaten
2 cups Italian breadcrumbs
1 cup flour for dredging
1 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 cups marinara sauce
Parsley to sprinkle on top
Olive oil for frying

Preheat oven to 350. Dredge eggplants in flour, coat with beaten egg, and coat with breadcrumbs. Fry in the oil till golden brown. Spread marinara sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish. Lay fried eggplants on top. Add a thin layer of mozzarella cheese and marinara sauce on top of the eggplants. Repeat one more time. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown. Sprinkle parsley on top.



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Rice Flour Muffins in Green Tea Flavor

Toasted pecans and white chocolate chips tasted good!

I haven't made muffins for awhile, and today seemed to be as good as any day to do it since we were sort of out of breakfast stuff in the fridge. Pantry food to the rescue! Out of the pantry, I got out a bag of rice flour, white chocolate chips and pecans. I was out of canola oil, so I used walnut oil. There was a little bit of milk left in the fridge. That's all you need for nice fluffy muffins.

Gluten free muffins

17 minutes later...

Rice Flour Muffins In Green Tea Flavor

1 cup rice flour
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp green tea powder
2 1/2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp walnut oil
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
3 Tbsp pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 420. In a small bowl, mix milk and powdered tea and whisk till well blended. Add flour, egg, sugar, oil, baking powder and salt and mix well. Fill muffin tin and top with chocolate chips and pecans. Bake for 17 minutes. 


Check out this post for another muffin recipe.



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Metal Beads and Chains Earrings

You don't have to be a heavy metal fan nor do you have to be stuck in the 80's fashion to wear one of these! These sets of earrings are made of copper and charcoal colored beads and chains. The copper colored links and white pearls added a girlie touch to these sets of earrings. 

Multi-strand chains balance out well with the charcoal beads.

The copper links add a fun element.

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What Is Your Metabolism Type?

Could Dr. Oz be a Type B?
He seems organized, sensitive and stressed....

When I was watching Dr. Oz the other day, something caught my attention: you are born with a certain metabolism type. Depending on the type of your metabolism, the food you eat is metabolized in your body differently. That is to say the same foods that can help someone lose weight can make someone else gain weight, according to this study. I was intrigued enough to take the online quiz, and I found out that I was a Type A.

My day starts with a glass of superfood.
I feel good after drinking it.

Type A people have a strong appetite, crave salty foods, which is totally me, and are prone to anxiety and fatigue, which also is true with me, and outgoing and talkative. I am neither talkative nor outgoing, although my hubby tells me that I can be very talkative and outgoing with the people I feel comfortable being around.

Salty potato chips are my weakness....

Anyway, I should be eating about 50% protein, 30% fats and 20% carbohydrates, because Type A people can burn protein and fats more efficiently than carbohydrates. The cravings for the salty fatty foods stem from my body's need for protein. (From Dr. Oz's website.) If this study is true, the food I've been eating could be contributing to my personality, and I have been eating way too much carbs. If I modify what I eat, do I get less anxious or fatigued? It is interesting.

Cheese is salty and fatty.... Just what I like.

If you want to find out what your metabolism type is, go to his website and take a simple quiz. I don't know if I totally believe it, but it is an interesting thought anyway. By the way, my hubby is a Type B, who has cravings for sweet foods. Type B people are organized, sensitive and stressed. He could be all that, under certain circumstances.

My hubby would grab this bowl of M&Ms instead of a bowl of potato chips.

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Berries Inspired Earrings

These earrings make me think of the berries on the trees that I started seeing in our yard. There is a tiny tear drop dangling from the bunch of berries. 

Cranberry colored crystals and tiny pearls

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Today's Snack Attack!

Some of you may remember the purple colored mochi from a while back. They were flavored with taro and are in a beautiful purple color. I found another flavor in the same kind of mochi, and they are delicious. My hubby specially likes these because they are filled with sweet peanut butter and sprinkled with crushed peanuts. I may have to go back to the store and stock them up!

Chewy and gummy yumminess

Coated with crushed peanuts

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Signs of Fall

We are getting a nice relief from the brutal heat. Summer is gone, and I must say, I don't miss it all that much. We had a specially hot summer this year, and our outdoor fun was quite limited. I've waited for the weather to cool down a bit to pull some weeds out, then I started seeing some changes in the yard.

Black walnuts. They smell like a perfume.

Dogwood in our front yard

Berries on dogwood.... Birds love to eat them.

Japanese maple is starting to turn orange

Small persimmons. We think this is a wild/native variety.

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Black Plum Wine Cooler

Do you remember the wine coolers from the 80s?

We had some leftover black plums from making the plum tart. I cooked them with sugar, water and Grand Marnier to make it syrupy. Throw a few pieces of cooked plum in a glass, and add white wine, sparkling water, lemon and agave nectar. Garnish with a sprig of basil. There you have it. Your own wine cooler at home!

Black plums in syrup. Great for ice cream, too 

Fresh basil is the key

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Dinner with Friends

Dinner is served!

We had a nice dinner with our friends last night. We made Jim's chicken casserole, orzo with basil and parmesan, green beans in Dijon dressing, and my hubby made a plum tart. Our friends brought a wonderful bottle of wine. It was fun, come again!

Beautiful flower arrangement from our friends

My hubby's creation. Delicious!

San Sebastian Vintners Red from St. Augustine, Florida

This wine was such a nice surprise! We have never tasted anything like this. It smelled like wonderful grapes that were sweetened by the sun, and it had a lot of character. Rustic and rich, we loved the earthiness of this wine. It went great with a piece of plum tart.


Plum Tart

1/2-1 lb. black plums, in 1/4 inch wedges
1 store-bought pie sheet
1/4 cup fig jam 
1 egg for egg wash
Sugar for sprinkling on the top

Preheat oven to 420. Lay parchment paper on the cookie sheet and unfold the pie sheet on top of it. Spread fig jam on the pie sheet leaving about a 2 inch border from the edges. Place plums on top of the jam. Fold edges over towards the center, making a free-form pie. Brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle sugar. Bake for 30-35 minutes. 
Recipe loosely adapted from food network.

Pâtissier at work

Orzo With Basil And Parmesan

1 cup of dry orzo
1 can chicken broth
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup basil, chopped 
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Toast the dry orzo in the melted butter until slightly brown. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and continue cooking until the liquid is gone, about 15 minutes. Toss in basil and parmesan cheese and stir. Serve warm.

Toasted orzo has a nutty flavor

Green Beans In Dijon Dressing

1/2-1 lb. green beans
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
2 Tbsp parsley, chopped
2 Tbsp walnuts, chopped
2 tsp walnut oil
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Blanch the beans in boiling water, about 4 minutes. Toast the chopped walnuts in a dry frying pan. Mix the walnuts with parsley and onion. Add walnut oil, vinegar, mustard to the walnut mixture and mix well. Toss the green beans in the dressing and coat well.
Recipe adapted from food network.

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Today's Snack Attack!

Anpanman is considered a superhero in Japan

I went to the local farmer's market today and found this Japanese chocolate on a stick. They come in the shapes of a few different characters from a Japanese cartoon called Anpanman. Anpanman is a superhero whose head is made of bread filled with sweet bean paste, and he lets people in distress eat his face to cheer them up. A story of self-sacrifice. I will save one for my hubby.

I took a bite out of his face. It made me smile for sure.

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