Kids Baking Class!

Today I taught Olivia how to bake a Pineapple Upside Down Cake.  She did a fantastic job, and did everything on her own!  Good Job Olivia! 

Cakes!

Bridal Shower Display
Vanilla Bean cake infused with raspberry syrup and topped with Raspberry Buttercream
Cheesecake Bites topped with fresh Strawberries
Lemon cupcakes filled with Raspberry gel and topped with Lemon Buttercream
Chocolate cupcakes filled with Vanilla cream topped with Chocolate buttercream



German Chocolate Cake




Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream inside and Frosted with Ganache



My new cupcake display for a Woven Carmel Apple Pie!

Its great that since everyone loves pie..I can trade for services that I need!  I am very thankful..but...

For the past 3 years, on the morning of the weekends, I enjoy sleeping in.  Until I hear the relentless sound of saws, hammering and a power sander.  It has killed me-time and time again, I storm out of bed, flip my sleep mask off, charge to the windows and wildly close them to cut out the godforsaken sounds coming from a garage across the way.  Two weeks ago in the midst of a good Saturday morning sleep session, I found myself once again, getting up in disgrace...cursing the sounds across the way.  Then I dared to think to myself,"what the heck is this man doing in there!" 
Bob is a kind man that is a retired cabinet maker that now spends his time doing this and that in his garage.  I went over and introduced myself and was impressed by his full -on set up wood shop domain.  He now makes me my displays, and I make him pie, we are friends-and now when I hear his saws in the morning, I don't care.  I should have introduced myself to Bob sooner instead of grunting for 3 years!  So a fist in the air to neighbors helping neighbors!  Loud saws on Saturday mornings and all...

This display is huge and collapses so I can travel with it.  And plain wood so I can decorate it with different fabrics/ribbon for the occasion.

Tell you no lie, you'll love Chicken Pie!

I make savory pies too, and this chicken pie with an herb crust will make you happy.

Pie is good and fun!

Thursday I delivered two apple pies.  It was fun, they look really good, everyone should eat and order some pie!

Skinny Greek Bitch Meal: Lemon Chicken Greek Salad with Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

I have a few friends that are on a carb free/sugar free diet, and I'm constantly on a carb free diet..hahah.  This is a great salad, topped with homemade hummus for extra protein.  It is a good idea to keep a batch of hummus just laying around and dip carrots, celery and cucumber slices into it..for a no carb snack.  Its so easy to  make and so much better for you without all the preservatives and crap that is in the packaged kind.  You can make the hummus plain, herbed, artichoke, garlic..whatever flavor you want.
  So enjoy skinny bitch, Greek style.

Lemon Chicken Greek Salad with Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Lemon Chicken Greek Salad:
Serves 4

1 lb chicken breast fillets  (free roaming happy chickens only please!)

1 cup feta cheese

A big crunchy bunch of romaine lettuce

1 cucumber sliced

cherry tomatoes-halved

1/4 cup Greek olives-halved

1/2 red fine diced red onion

4 stalks celery chopped

1 cup artichoke hearts-halved

1 red pepper julienned

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

3 T olive oil

Sea Salt

Pepper


Dressing:

Juice and zest from 1 lemon

3 T champagne or white wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

Sea Salt

Pepper

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus:

1 roasted red pepper-peeled

1 clove of garlic

1 T tahini

2 cups garbanzo beans (canned, organic ones are cool)

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 t lemon zest

1/4 cup olive oil

2 T water

Sea Salt

Pepper

Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper.  Cook them in the 3 T of olive oil, lemon juice and lemon zest for about 5 minutes on each side.  Set aside.

Chop the Romain lettuce and prepare the other veggies.  Put them in a huge salad bowl with olives and artichoke hearts. 

For the dressing- mix the lemon juice, zest, and vinegar in a small bowl.  While whisking, stream in the olive oil until emulsified.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Slice the red pepper in half and seed it.  Place in broiler, skin up for 10 minutes.  Let cool and peel the skin off, the pepper is done for sure when the skin is blackened and peels off easily. 

Drain the garbanzo beans and rinse them off.  Put them in a food processor with lemon juice, zest, tahini, garlic clove and the roasted red pepper.  Mix it on high, and stream in the olive oil and water.  Blend until your preferred consistency.  I blend the heck out of mine cause I like it smooth.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Chill in fridge before serving.  You can do this in a blender, but you may have to do it in batches.

Toss the salad with dressing and top with feta cheese, lemon chicken and a dollop of hummus. 

Refreshing, healthy and easy!  Don't forget to make extra hummus!  It stays good in the fridge for a week.  Helping women around the world become more of a skinny bitch day by day...

-Domesticated Peacock

Skinny Bitch Meals: Grilled Pineapple and Prawn Skewers with a Crunchy Fennel and Arugula salad-tossed in Pineapple vinaigrette.

Grasp the end of summer with this fresh and healthy recipe.  Its light, colorful and guilt free! 

Smart and Innocent: Grilled Pineapple and Prawn Skewers with a Crunchy Fennel and Arugula salad-tossed in Pineapple vinaigrette.
Serves 2

Shrimp Skewers:

1 lb large prawns (please be careful choosing quality prawns.)

1 red bell pepper

1/2 of a cubed pineapple (save juice from cutting for the vinaigrette, and 1/2 cup of the cubes)

1 white onion

2 T honey

1 T red pepper flakes

1 clove chopped garlic

1 T chopped parsley

1 T sea salt

1 T fresh ground pepper



Fennel and Arugula salad:

2 bulbs fennel

1 bag arugula

1 avocado

1 shallot

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

2 T chopped parsley

Reserved 1/4 cup pineapple juice and pineapple

1 T sea salt

1 T fresh ground pepper

1 t cayenne

3 T champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

2 T honey


Shrimp:
Marinate the skewer items first.  Shell and de-vein the shrimp, leaving the tail on and put them in a medium bowl.  Cut pineapple in 1x1 inch cubes and put them in the bowl with the shrimp along with 1x1 chunks of red bell pepper and 1x1 chunks of onion.  Add the honey, red pepper flake, parsley, salt, pepper and chopped garlic.  Toss this around and let marinate while you prepare the salad. 

You can grill or broil the prawns.  Skewer a prawn, a pineapple, onion and bell pepper.  Repeat.  Do not over pack the skewer, it does not look pretty that way, just do it twice.  Grill/broil for 3 minutes each side.  That's it!

Salad:
Trim the fennel bulbs and rinse them...wash the arugula too.  Julienne the fennel bulbs very thin, avoiding the core.  Throw the core away, its just too tough.  Toast the pine nuts for about 3-5 minutes-  Julienne the shallot and toss with the arugula, fennel, parsley and the pine nuts (cooled).

Pineapple vinaigrette:
Crush the pineapple, put in a bowl with pineapple juice, vinegar, honey, and cayenne.  While whisking, slowly stream in the olive oil.  This is a good time to let an overly eager friend or spouse finally help you in the kitchen.  Jason gets really excited to help me with the dressing...

Whisk until the dressing has emulsified and is thick.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Toss into the salad and top with sliced avocado.