Hiatus

The blogging thing has felt like more of a chore to me than anything else lately. So I think I'm gonna give it a break. I may pick it up again, I may post recipes or book reviews here and there, but for now, don't count on new posts!

If you're looking for other food blogs to read, I really enjoy Orangette, The Wednesday Chef, and Everybody Likes Sandwiches.

Or if you're looking for book reviews, I recommend Goodreads, it's really easy to create a profile and then review/read other reviews of books.

My latest book recommend, by the way, is A Homemade Life, by Molly Wizenberg, the genius behind the aforementioned Orangette. A Homemade Life is basically a collection of essays, similar to her blogposts, that chronicle Molly's journey through childhood, adolescence, the death of her father, and the meeting and marrying of her husband. Food has always been integral in her life (she even met her husband through her blog!) and so each chapter involves a description of foods that she remembers being enjoyed at various points of her life. At the end of each chapter is a recipe--some of which sound completely delicious! I highly recommend the book, and some of the recipes! Her lemon yogurt cake has become a staple of mine.

Good reading and eating!

Taco Pizza!

As you've probably noticed, pizza is my favorite food. But running a close second (or third, if you count doughnuts as a food) is tacos. Mmmm....tacos....

So tonight I decided to combine the two to make Taco Pizza! Ok, really, it was kind of like a Mexican Pizza from Taco Bell, but much tastier. And probably much healthier now that I think about it. Basically this was a result of my having leftover taco meat and leftover lavash bread on hand. But it worked really well, and it was a really quick dinner. So give it a shot!

Taco Pizza

2 lavash flatbreads (mine were about 10 x 7 inches)

1/2 lb lean ground beef

1/4 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced bell peppers

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

salt to taste

1 cup shredded cheddar or jack cheese (I used 2% fat and it worked really well)

1 cup fat free refried beans

1/4 cup salsa

2 tablespoons Catalina dressing (or taco sauce if you want to go spicier)

Place the lavash on a large cookie sheet and bake for about 5 minutes at 350 degrees, or until lightly crispy.

I used leftover taco meat to make these a speedy meal, but if you're starting from scratch cook the bell peppers, onion, and beef together in a medium skillet until the beef is no longer pink and the veggies are slightly soft. Season the beef/veggie mixture with the garlic, cumin, and salt.

Meanwhile microwave the refried beans in a small bowl for about 30 seconds until they're warm. Stir in the salsa and dressing/sauce to thin the beans out for a more "sauce-like" consistency. Spread the bean/salsa mixture over the lavash, evenly covering them in a thin layer. Sprinkle each pizza with 1/4 cup of cheese. Then divide the meat and veggies evenly between the two pizzas. Finish by sprinkling the top of each pizza with another 1/4 cup of cheese.

Bake the pizzas at 350 degrees for about 7-8 minutes, or just until the cheese starts bubbling. Cut into squares, and enjoy! Serves two...or maybe four people with small appetites!

Confessions of a TV Addict

I have a confession to make. I haven't read in almost 2 weeks. I made 3 birthday cakes--but forgot to take pictures of any of them.

They were delicious though: one cherry garcia chocolate cake (mentioned in the last post), one blackberry-lemon yogurt cake, and one vanilla pound cake with chocolate ganache. I'm pretty sure the blackberry-lemon cake was the best, but you'll just have to use your imaginations because I have no pictures to prove their deliciousness. Well, not that pictures can really prove taste anyway, but I feel that pictures help at least.

There is one reason, and only one, for all my distractedness/ lack of reading attention span. It's called Battlestar Galactica. I love love love love love it. I have no qualms with admitting that I am completely addicted. In the last 3 weeks Noel and I have watched more than 30 episodes of it!

In case you haven't ever watched it, the basic plot is this: humans created Cylons (robots) who rebelled against them, and launched a nuclear attack which wiped out all but about 50,000 people. These people are in a fleet of spaceships, attempting to evade the Cylons, under the protection of the Battlestar Galactica.

Oddly enough, when I type it out that way, it looks ridiculous. But I promise that it's not really about the aliens, or the spaceships. It's about the struggles of the humans attempting to survive: their alliances, their problems, their struggles, their attempts to survive. And plus, I'm kind of in love with one of the Viper fighter pilots! So anyway, at some point I may read a book again, or remember to take pictures of something I baked, but in the meantime I still have forty-odd episodes of Battlestar Galactica to enjoy. I'll keep you posted.

Noel's Birthday (again!)

It's Noel's 28th birthday today!

I made him this cake.

And I realized that I blogged about Noel's birthday last year. Which means that I've been doing this blog for more than a year! I obviously failed to take advantage of my opportunity to write a year in review post. Oh well, I think I'll manage just fine with another slice of the cake and another episode of Battlestar Galatica with my 28 year old husband...

Happy Birthday!