Good in the Kitchen

This weekend I chose to have a rather Hobbit like existence. I stayed [mostly] in my house by myself reading and making delicious food.

The first delicious food that I made was Carrot/Pumpkin/Cinnamon Chip muffins. I love these and ever since having been given the super easy and Weight Watchers friendly recipe by my awesome roommate, I have enjoyed keeping them on hand.

The recipe:
- 1 box cake mix
(I chose carrot this time, but have done chocolate, vanilla, and spice. All have been yummy.)
- 1 can of pumpkin
- 1 cup of water

That's it. Blend it together, put in some chips if you like and bake at 350 for 18 or so minutes. Delish!

The second thing I crafted was pasta salad. I looked up some recipes to get some ideas, but mostly I just kept adding stuff to the bowl until it tasted and looked so fantastic I could hardly stand it.

 

Things I remember including in this deliciousness:

- 1 box garden rotini pasta

- cherry tomatoes halved

- sliced green peppers

- black olives sliced

- feta (anything with feta is delicious in my opinion)

- cucumber chunks

- roasted red peppers (my new favorite thing)

- Italian/Caesar dressing

- herb infused olive oil (thanks, Amy, for making me an olive oil snob)

- blackberry ginger balsamic vinegar (thanks, Lara)

 

I have no idea how much of each, I just know it was so so good. Also, if you have never tried herb infused olive oil or specialty balsamic vinegar, you are missing out. I was delighted to receive them as gifts this Christmas and have gladly been converted to an olive oil and vinegar snob.

 

The third thing I concocted was fabulous black bean hummus from the recipe given to me from my second mom, Karen Cattell. It calls for a food processor, which I do not have, but I used a blender. It worked enough, although I did end up wasting a bit of it that I could not get out.

 

The recipe:

- 1 can rinsed black beans

- 1 minced garlic clove (I am terrible at mincing)

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

- 1/2 tsp ground cumin (my favorite spice)

 

Just throw it in a mixing device and blend it up until it is an even consistency. I enjoy eating this with carrot sticks.

 

The last thing I made was the most satisfying of the creations as I have been thinking about and wanting to make them for some time. The pocket pita, how do they get that pocket in there anyway? I used a recipe I came across on Pinterest and it worked splendidly.

 

This link takes you to the blog containing the recipe:

Pita Recipe

There were only 4 ingredients: yeast, water, salt and flour. (I used whole wheat flour, so the consistency could come out different pending your flour choice.)

 

I was so excited that it actually worked I could hardly contain myself. They did turn out pretty crunchy, which was still good, but I might bake them a for a little less time next time. 

So in my opinion, as someone who has been labeled a thera-baker (one who bakes when under stress), it was a wonderfully refreshing weekend in the kitchen for me. Some of the deliciousness was consumed by wonderful friends at our pre-contra potluck Saturday, but much of it is still left to be enjoyed throughout this week.

And for your listening pleasure, follow this link to the song inspiration for this blog title:
Good in the Kitchen - Bearfoot