Hasselback Potatoes

I saw these potatoes while clicking around a blog carnival. I was immediately smitten, despite not being the biggest fan of potatoes.

We had company this week for dinner, so what better time to try something "special?" In reality it's just a baked potato, but the presentation is what earns it a gold star.

I used Chris's pictured tip of slicing the potato sandwiched between two items to avoid cutting all the way through. He used chopsticks, I used the handles of two wooden spoons. (See his post for photo demonstration.)

There really isn't a recipe, per se.

Just grab potatoes, give them a good scrub, slice them, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with Kosher salt and black pepper. Pop into a 350° oven for about an hour, until the insides are tender and the outside is crisp and browned.

Serve plain, with butter, with sour cream, or ketchup!

Friday Firsts - Mandolin

Happy Friday everybody! The wedding planning is chug-chug-chugging along! I've officially ordered my dress and booked the venue!

Another Christmas gift I got from Johnny was a mandolin. I've wanted one for a really long time to make some prep work easier.

I used it for the first time to julienne my carrots for the Cold Thai Peanut Salad. It was scary and I don't think I got the hang of it. I'll have to ask Johnny to take a look at it. (Sometimes men are just better at figuring things out, especially if you're an impatient girl that ignores skims directions.)

To participate in Friday Firsts create a blog post featuring a "first" of yours. Next, link that blog post below and tell us about it! If you don't have a blog or a specific post to link to please tell us about your first in the comment section! Any and all participation is welcome!



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Sweet Treats

My mom sent some jars of sweet treats in the Christmas box for Johnny. (I'm a little late in posting this, and some of the jars were already dug into at the time of photos.)

Each one was in a jar that I can reuse later. She labeled the tops to let us know what was inside.

These are delicious pepita (pumpkin seed) brittle cubes.

Chocolate covered sunflower seeds. Really tasty and beautifully bright!

Rock candy! Har har - get it!!? These are Johnny's favorite - they're dark chocolate.

And "chicken bones" which are cinnamon flavored hard candy with a chocolate "marrow" in the center.

She purchased these in bulk bins for Christmas gifts by weight, then divided amongst recipients and jars. I think it's a really cute, special idea!

Cold Thai Peanut Salad

I come across recipes I want to try.

A lot.

Most of the time I bookmark them and they sit in wait. It could be days, weeks, months, sometimes years before I get around to making them, if at all.

Then, other times there are recipes I see and I need to make them right then. Regardless if I have all the ingredients or not, it just sounds so good I've got to try and replicate it ASAP.

This recipe is one of those. I got it from Laura, the Queen of All. Her version is here.

My version, modified because I didn't have everything on hand:

mix of No Yolks egg noodles and elbow macaroni
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup your favorite salsa
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp dried parsley
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
2 carrots, julienned/shredded
1/2 green pepper, diced
salt, to taste

Cook noodles according to package instructions. (If being "resourceful" like me and using more than one type, make sure to compare cooking times.)

Mix the peanut butter, soy sauce, oil, salsa, pepper, ginger, lemon juice, garlic cloves, and parsley in a pint mason jar. Shake until well mixed, about 1 minute. Taste and add salt as needed. (Fight the urge to put it in a syringe and inject it directly into your bloodstream.)

Drain the noodles, rinse with cold water. Pour into a large mixing bowl with the dressing. Stir to coat and add the sunflower seeds, carrots, and green pepper. Toss to mix everything. Refrigerate at least 4 hours to let the flavors develop.

Enjoy! This is GOOD. I highly, highly recommend.

Amazing Grass - 1 Year Later

It has been about one full year since I started using Amazing Grass.

I wanted to re-visit this subject and let you guys know how it's been going.

I have used Amazing Grass every single day, except a few days here or there when I forgot, or when I left the tub behind in travels (sad). In total, I'd say in the whole year there were only about 10 days I did not use Amazing Grass.

The benefits have been life-changing for me.

Headaches - completely gone. I've had maybe 5 in the past year. This is huge for somebody that used to get them once or twice a week and have to call out of work when they got bad enough to make me nauseous and cause blurred vision.

Nails - healthy, strong, and fast growing. I have to cut my fingernails every week and my toenails every other week. They are thick and never crack or break.

Hair - healthy, strong, and fast growing, too! In late September I cut my hair to have bangs. It's now early February and the bangs are long enough to put up in my ponytail. That is inches of growth in less than six months.

Acne - I still have small breakouts here and there, mostly around my period. My regular acne and smaller breakouts on my chest and back have disappeared. I used to get large, painful cyst-like pimples on my face and I cannot remember the last time I had one.

Digestive system - before I started Amazing Grass I used to go poo only about two or three times a week. I thought this was normal for me. Since starting Amazing Grass I now go every single day. I believe this regular elimination reduces build-up and toxins in my system which contributed to the headaches and the acne.

Instead of the smoothies, I now mix my Amazing Grass with a small glass of orange juice every morning. I find when mixed with orange juice, the gritty texture of the powder disappears completely.

I purchase my Amazing Grass through Amazon on a subscription basis. The 17 oz. (60 serving) Berry Flavor tub ends up costing about $32, which is far less than I've seen it anywhere else. You can pause or edit your subscription preferences at any time and keep the same cost, too.

This is not a compensated review. These are my personal opinions and experiences with a product I purchase and use on my own accord.

The Ridiculously Delicious Challenge - Stage 1

Marx Foods has challenged me. And I accept.

The Goodie List

Kobe Beef Sliders OR Kobe Beef Burgers	Whole Quail OR Semi-Boneless Quail
Wild Boar St. Louis Spare Ribs	Pink Salmon Fillets
Kangaroo Burgers OR Ground Kangaroo Meat	Wild Mushroom Sampler (contents may change)
Live Oyster Sampler	Ultimate Chile Head Sampler
10lb Specialty Burger Sampler	Mega Pantry Sampler
Pekin Duck Breasts	Fresh Blood Oranges
5lbs Frozen Wild Huckleberries	20lb Heirloom Potato Sampler
1lb Fresh Daruma Wasabi	Specialty Sausage Sampler
14lb Dried Bean Sampler	1lb Bourbon Vanilla Beans
Superior Spanish Saffron Threads	2 Live Geoducks
Edible Flower Assortment & Microflower Blend

My first task: Choose three of the goodies above and answer "what would I do with them if I won?"

I hemmed, I hawed.

I pondered weak and weary. I nodded, nearly napping.

Finally, finally I decided on three.

(Source)

Duck ...


Duck ...

...Potato!?

Duck breasts because Johnny and I have fallen in love with roasted duck. I even made it for Thanksgiving in lieu of the oft boring turkey. I would roast a few of them, of course. I would also use my ever-growing collection of precious duck fat to confit them.

Sausages because it's in my blood. My dad has made sausage my whole life (and has even e-mailed Justin about trying it!) and I respect it as a true art form. The sausage sampler (containing many duck options) looks like a real adventure I'd like to partake on! To appreciate the sausages' true flavors, I would most likely cook them plain and pair with complimentary side dishes, like polenta.

Heirloom potatoes because they're beautiful! I've heard of heirloom tomatoes, but never heirloom potatoes. I can't wait to sample the different varieties and see their stunning hues on my plate! I think I'd try my hand at gnocchi again, but with a blue or purple variety. How cool would that look!?

PFP Week 4 Update

Hi guys! Hard to believe another week has flown by. We're a MONTH into the challenge!

My progress for the week:
I got out of the habit of weighing myself everyday when I went to NY. I need to restart that. I had been down about a pound (hard to tell when you weigh everyday), but seem to have gained that back. I have been making an effort to be less stagnant during the day and also have reset my sleep schedule, which I know makes me more active during the day. We'll see if this initiates any weight loss by next week's check in. I still need to make a real, conscious effort to exercise in some form (ie: DVDs, walks, etc.)!!!

Laura's update:
lost .2 and joined a gym

I am working out at least 3 days a week
full weight lifting circuit +bike before that and elliptical afterward
the gym is 24 hours a day so I can zip down anytime and burn off steam
I'm trying to do things that don't involve ankle stress
pain makes me eat, which makes me fat which makes more pain
what a vicious cycle!
So low impact cardio and strength training plus a good and healthy diet should really ramp up my weight loss

Debbie's progress:
She has been taking a 6 mile walk twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. She's been charting her walks on Dailymile to track them.

Beth aka Biz checked in on the Facebook page:
She did a 5k on the treadmill in 41:12 (on a day she didn't even want to work out!) and was down another .6 this week for her WW weigh in. She's down a total of 5.6 pounds in six weeks!

Beth also checked in on Facebook:
- after being sick, I restarted exercising, and began using my new Turbo Jams DVDs (which I looove). I've exercised for 3 days straight now. Yay!
- I'm tracking food intake and trying to snack appropriately between meals, and have been staying within a nutritious calorie range
- I'm down 2 lbs. since I last weighed 4 days ago -- wow!
- I'm feeling good in body, mind, and spirit ♥

Menu Plan for the week:
Baked eggplant parm
1 crust chicken pot pie
Penne with cauliflower sauce
Marx burgers (company for dinner that night)
leftovers

Tip of the week:

Freecycle is a community of people in a neighborhood by you, with one goal: avoid putting unwanted items in landfills.

It's really simple to use - you visit freecycle.org and join based on your location. Then you can post to request items or to get rid of items. Everything is 100% free, they just ask that you balance your wants to your offers to remain fair.

I'm telling you about Freecycle because I find it's a great place for exercise equipment. Many, many people have treadmills, bikes, DVDs, weights, etc. that they no longer want. I was able to get a dumbell set with a stand completely free from a woman a few miles from my home that I use with my workout DVDs.