Easter Peep Eats

You know, like "eat like a bird," but for Easter it's "eat like a peep." Get it? Not to be confused with eating peeps, which I happen to find disgusting whether they're fresh, stale, or freshly microwaved. Ew.

My family is really big into tapas. And wine. And boating. And boat shoes. And English Springer Spaniels. But definitely not peeps. Anyway, back to the tapas. So for Easter this year, we thought we'd try something a little different. Since there may be only three of us (mom, dad, and me), there's no sense in buying a whole ham, making all the sides, and getting a full dessert. That's just way too much food for so few people. So this year, we thought: TAPAS! (Betcha didn't see that one coming, didja?) 

Mom thought it would be a great idea to stick with the typical Easter-type fare, so after some souring of pinterest, here's some inspiration we came up with: Instead of honey-baked ham, we're going for ham and pineapple pops; Potato Slabs in place of potatoes au gratin; Baked zucchini with sweet onion dip for green bean casserole; In place of croissant rolls, parmesan bread sticks; and Curried shrimp tarts because Mom requested shrimp and we try to make her happy :)

So what do you think of our Easter tapas idea? What are you cooking up? I'm thinking we'll eat way less than normal, waste less food in the long run, and enjoy the change of pace. Hopefully it'll be nice enough to eat outside on the deck. Now that would make a perfect Easter Sunday!

Love, 

Stephanie Marie

Sources here: ham and pineapple pops, potato slabs, baked zucchini sticks, parm bread sticks, and curried shrimp tarts.

Tour de Fells

Thought I would show you a few scenery pictures from this past weekend. My appreciation for Baltimore grows with each day. I just love that Baltimore is a city that has distinct neighborhoods and styles but also huddled around the harbor so that everything feels cozy. I get the benefit of some amazing restaurants and bars, but the comfort of a harbor view. I can take a walk through the bustling main streets to take in the sights and smells of the many cultures nearby or walk on the Promenade to feel the relaxation of the waters. I just love it! There are so many options here. I don't think I'll live here for a long time; I also need a backyard and some room to breathe, but for now I'm loving it. Hopefully my next apartment will have a roof-top deck so I can get a bit more sun on my face :) Anyway, here are just a few shots from my weekend:

The Horse You Came in On from Sat night.

The Waterfront for brunch Sunday.

A view of the marina on Monday afternoon.

This is where I'll be sitting with a book come summer.

Straight and narrow pier.

What do you love about where you live?

Love, 

Stephanie Marie

Meals for One: Black Bean Burger

Last night I was telling my sister everything that I had made for dinner: black bean burger, roasted cauliflower, and loaded baked potato. Without the burger, I would be calling this white dinner, since growing up my favorite meal was yellow dinner: chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, and yellow squash. Anyway, it wasn't a hard meal to make, was quite tasty, and was pretty nutritious. And she said that she'd be interested in me sending her the recipe, since she needs to make one-person meals every once in a while when her husband isn't home for dinner. Well, my friends, do I have a treat for you! :) I'm almost always a one-person meal maker right now and I'm sure there are a ton of people out there for whatever reason need quick meals for one. Therefore, I figured this is the perfect time for me to highlight a few meals that are easy to make and still taste good. And so we have Meals for One! 

This first Meal for One is vegetarian and could be made gluten free too. It took me about an hour to make from set up to sit down. I based my black bean burger on this recipe. Thanks, Suzie, for turning me onto this recipe! It's so easy. I just made mine with black beans, flour, salt, pepper, and the leftovers from my roasted garlic. (For me, about half of a can of black beans equals one burger.) I think I was most proud of the roasted garlic, which is kind of funny since it was the easiest thing to make.

 

I got the idea from Ray and Michelle, and since I had two garlic bulbs I figured I'd still have one left to use in future recipes. (There's a lot of strategy going on in my kitchen, since I don't want to have to keep returning to the grocery store.) I love garlic and when roasted it seems to be not as potent as fresh or sauteed. However, garlic definitely is something I can't eat a lot of. Not only does the smell come out my pores and stays on my breath for days, but it also upsets my stomach if I eat too much. I actually gave it up for a few years around 2007, but have since added it back into my diet. I really think that time off reset something in me to allow me to have it in moderation. Excuse the garlic side note. I love it so it was a big deal that I have to watch my intake ;) Anyway, I followed these directions to make the roasted garlic, which I ate with my baked potato. Squeezing the outsides was the easiest way to get those delicious suckers out of their casing.

My version of a "loaded" baked potato last night meant caramelized onions, onion-flavored Laughing Cow cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic. And finally, I had roasted cauliflower. I roasted it just like I do asparagus or broccoli (covered in olive oil and seasoned with salt, pepper, and rosemary). BUT, this is a big but haha. I decided to toss on a tiny bit of roasted red pepper flakes and it really made the difference. It's amazing what a little kick will do to take a dish up to the next level!

Anyway, that was my dinner last night after an hour walk around the Baltimore Promenade. The potatoes were a little undercooked, the onions were a little overcooked, but hey. Who cares, right? I made this meal for one all by myself and that alone makes me happy :) And I have to say, I'm also figuring out how the timing works. Everything took about 40-45 minutes to cook, excluding the burger, so I just did that last on the same pan as I made the caramelized onion. OMG. Loved the additional flavors that brought to the table!

Have any Meals for One to suggest? Happy cooking!

Love,

Stephanie Marie

Kitchen Mixes and Fixes

I've been figuring out this cooking thing, one dish at a time. I went from being mad that I had to cook just for myself again to overwhelmed that I didn't know how to plan or prepare anything to where I am now: Feeling creative in the kitchen! I'm no Ina Garten, but I've found that a few simple ingredients can make a variety of dishes. Protein + grain + vegetables + seasoning = 1 Delicious meal!

I found this article to be very interesting. It's about the 25 most commonly made cooking mistakes. I think I'm going to try to make caramelized onions tonight with some baked potatoes, roasted cauliflower, and baked chicken. We shall see how it goes :)

Have any tips or tricks you'd care to share?

Love,
Stephanie Marie

Weekend Update: April FOOLS

My friends and I were a bunch of April Fools this weekend :) I've been helping my rowing coach plan an alumni event and this past Saturday was the actual race/picnic. Thank goodness the rain held out. Honestly, I'll take chilly and cloudy any day over rain! My friend Kath came down on Friday for the race, so we met up with Michelley for dinner at Gitan. It's a new tapas restaurant a block away from my apartment. So adorable! We love tapas and wine and this place was great for both. Then we headed down to the Canton Square to the Speak Easy for some drinks and fun. Lindsay and RayRay met up with us for a little impromptu dancing. You know it's been a good night when you create your own dance floor :)

We woke up Saturday morning a little worse for the wear and headed to the boathouse with a quick stop at Starbucks on the way. I didn't take any pictures at the boathouse, but we stayed from 10am-3pm and had such a great time catching up with old friends and getting back in the boat. We had enough alumni to race two male and two female boats against each other. That's about 32 alumni plus we had families attend too. Even had a group from the 1993/1994 team! 

Afterwards, a bunch of us headed over the Hanover Street Bridge to Nick's Fish House. It was the perfect place to continue hanging out before our Philly friends had to head home. After a few hours, Kath and I left to get some much-needed sleep and shower. Then we turned around and headed out to meet the crew (pun intended) at the Horse You Came In On. We had a small hiccup (someone forgot her ID), but quickly overcame that and made the night a memorable one! People started leaving a little at a time until only six of us were left. Perfect six-some to do a little (ok a lot) of bouncing around the room. Good times! I decided sleep was more important than the after party, which was perfect for our brunch/walk about Fells Point with Michelley and Ray. Seriously, how much more could we have packed in one weekend?! So much fun. I can't wait til next year's alumni race!

Here are some highlights from the long and glorious weekend:

Impromptu dancing at the Speak Easy in Canton.

Jean and Toolan got into the Horse You Came In On!

The last six standing. Probably best that it's blurry since we're sweaty.

A little bit softer now!

Ray and Kath at the AUTHENTIC Baltimore museum :)

I'm not a practical joke kind of person really, but always get them played on me. Anyone come up with a good practical joke this April Fool's Day?

Love,

Stephanie Marie