Guest Blog!: Spice Rack

Another guest blog from our favorite fellow foodie and running buddy! Enjoy!!

Spice Rack

Some people are planners when it comes to home-cooked foods.  They like to sit down with cookbooks, decide what meals to prepare for each day of the week, then make up meticulous lists of ingredients to purchase at the store.

I am whatever is the complete opposite of being a food planner.  Most of the time, when I walk into a grocery store I have no idea what I will be buying.  I wander through the produce section picking out whatever looks tasty, is on sale, or I haven't bought in a while.  Then I'll wander through the meat and dairy section, grabbing enough quantity and variety to get me through the week.  If I have time, I'll then wander up and down the dry goods aisles looking for interesting new sauces, snacks, and treats. 

Usually during this process I come up with a couple general meal ideas, at least sufficient to round out one complete dish for the week.  I fortunately have a near perfect memory of my pantry and fridge contents, so I rarely forget essential items or buy too many duplicates (what can I say, I think about food a lot).

One of the big things that enables me to cook this way is having an arsenal of go-to flavor combinations.  I know that I can turn any piece of chicken into an Asian dish with some soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and sriracha.  Likewise, I can go Italian (tomato, basil, oregano, balsamic or white wine vinegar), Mexican (cumin, chili powder, cayenne, oregano), Moroccan (see recipe below), Indian (berbere, curry powder, and coconut milk), or BBQ with spices and a small handful of other staple ingredients.

  

Spices and dried herbs make up a huge part of my cooking.  I am a huge fan of Penzey's spices because they are so much more flavorful (and sometimes more cost effective!) than the grocery store varieties.  My birthday present may have been a mini shopping spree at Penzey's... where I may have walked away with more than 10 different spices.  If you go there, buy the bags, not the glass jars for maximum cost effectiveness!  My favorites are the chipotle powder, Penzey's cinnamon blend, and the Galena Street bbq rub.  Yum.

Moroccan spice rub

This is the only spice blend I mix up ahead of time to keep on hand - it's fantastic on both meat and vegetables. 

3 TBSP Sugar

1 TBSP Salt

1 TBSP paprika

1 TBSP cumin

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cayenne pepper (spice wimps like Briana may want to cut this to 1/2 tsp)

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp coriander

dash of peri-peri / berbere (optional - very spicy!)

For maximum tastiness, use on meat that is naturally juicy (boneless skinless chicken thighs are excellent).  It's best when the rub has a bit of a chance to caramelize, but use caution because it burns easily!  I tend to saute the chicken on the stove top until mostly cooked, then add liberal amounts of spice rub for the last few minutes of cooking. 

Also great on baked chicken wings, grilled lamb chops, mixed into turkey burgers, and sprinkled on diced or mashed sweet potatoes!

- Cindy

Marshmallows! (And a little Running)

Well Friends, I have happy news! First I'm going to show you how to make amazing, homemade marshmallows today and second, I can run again! On an unhappy note, Blogger was stupid and didn't save my work so this is the second time I'm writing this and the pictures were being a jerk too so sorry for the odd formatting.


Let's start with the boring.... I can RUN!! I got the OK to try some some running from my physical therapist and honestly, it's feeling kind of great! Not something I ever thought I would say again.... But I'm pretty excited. I have just been doing some short running segments in a 30 minute treadmill session and was able to bump up the speed last night with minimal pain afterwards. I'll write more on my upcoming running plans but for now ColorRun in August here I come!!!!

NOW on to the fun part! I had every intention of writing this post over the holidays, took the pictures and everything and then promptly forgot about it, which is an offense of the highest magnitude. We're talking about homemade marshmallows, people. HOMEMADE MARSHMALLOWS. No one and I mean No One should have to go through life without making and tasting homemade marshmallows at least one time in their life. It is a Peterman/Smith holiday tradition. I make at least 2 batches of these, if not 3-4. They are the perfect gift for teachers, friends, daycare providers, that family member that is impossible to by for. Pretty much everyone will adore these. My favorite way to gift these is with a jar of homemade hot chocolate mix. Whomever receives it will be your BFF for life, so long as you continue to provide said marshmallows.

These delectable pillows of deliciousness are unlike any marshmallow you have tasted as of yet. You will never be able to eat a bland, oddly textured, store bought marshmallow again. Consider yourself warned my friends. Another warning, these do require time and a bit of "special equipment". Do not attempt to make these without a candy thermometer, a sturdy electric mixer (A hand mixer will not work) and a mesh sieve. The recipe is from Ina Garten, my other foodie crush and can be customized in so many ways. My favorite flavor is just good, old fashion good quality vanilla extract. Peppermint is also a great flavor but please learn from my mistake. Do not use the same amount of peppermint extract as you would vanilla extract. That resulted in some seriously overpoweringly peppermint marshmallows. A teaspoon of a stronger flavored extract would probably suffice. I have also seen Ina make a coconut version of these which sound scrumptious. You get the point, there's a lot of options to make these your own. Also don't be surprised when you get confectioners' sugar all over your kitchen. It will happen, embrace it.

So go home,stop at the store if you don't stock powdered gelatin in your cupboard like I do, and make these. I promise you won't be disappointed! I'm working on a couple fun posts that should be up soon and looking forward to being able to increase my running mileage and start getting into pre-injury condition! Let me know in the comments or on Facebook if you have any recipe questions. I'm telling you, MAKE THESE!!

Homemade Marshmallows
Ina Garten- From Barefoot Contessa: Family Style

Ingredients:
3 packages (Not boxes) of unflavored, powered gelatin (I prefer Knox brand)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract *
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting


Put the gelatin and 1/2 cup of cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment. Allow gelatin to bloom in bowl while you make the syrup.

Combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt and 1/2 cup of water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until syrup reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Stir occasionally to stop the syrup from bubbling over. Remove from heat.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the syrup into the gelatin. BE VERY CAREFUL, it is very hot. Put the mixer on high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes. Add vanilla (Or other flavoring) and mix thoroughly.

Using a mesh sieve, Very generously dust a nonmetal 8x12 or 9x13 baking dish with confectioners' sugar. Pour mixture into pan, smooth top and dust with more confectioners' sugar. Let stand 24 hours or until they dry out. Run a butter knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the marshmallows. Turn out onto a board and cut into squares. I find my biggest chef knife works well.  Dust cut edges in leftover confectioners' sugar. Store in airtight container.