ArtWorks

Hi, blogosphere!

In a shameless effort to promote my art and make money, here's a post with a link to my shop at fineartamerica.com! I've been busy with my new camera the past 6 months or so, and I've finally updated my merchandise. I've been doing a lot of traveling, too, so my shop now features shots from Minneapolis, Owatonna, Ely, Willow River (all Minnesota) as well as my hometown (Wildwood, MO), Colorado and New York City.

Here's the link:

Addie's Photography Shop

I'd love feedback, too, what you like or don't like and why, (be nice.) either in the comments here or in the shop.

Even if you don't buy, I hope you browse, enjoy, and SHARE!!
(Preferably with all of your art lover friends that have money and want to support starving law student hobby-artists.)

Thanks, friends!

This one is also on my facebook page; it's from the Young Workers Vacation in Estes Park, Colorado this summer. I just like it,  it isn't in the shop. Those you can view via the link.

The Secret is Bacon Bits

Ok guys. It's about the time of year: The Week Before Student Loans Disburse.

That means if you're a person like me in full-time school with no job, the Christmas season has hit you pretty hard in the one place you ain't got it: the pocket. So now it's 4 degrees Fahrenheit outside your house and feels like -2, and you don't care because you're broke as shit. Where would you go anyway? You can't even buy yourself a cup of coffee without the extra $10 Starbucks card that your sister re-gifted to you because she's got more freebies than she can drink. (Clearly, your sister is not a law student.)

Clearly. But you love her anyway.

Anyway, it also means that now is a really good time to start making foods that, preferably,
1) will last for more than two meals, and all week if possible
2) cost less than your average pack of gum.

Thankfully, I have a recipe that's (nearly) both!! Ready? It's called "lentil soup." Yep.

When I first asked my boyfriend if I could make lentil soup for dinner, he was skeptical. More specifically, I believe he gave me a funny look, hesitated, said I could make whatever I wanted, Sweetie, but he was thinking of going to Subway anyway and did I just want something from there? AND NOW HE ASKS ME TO MAKE IT ALL THE TIME. Which is great because it's dirt cheap, filling, and there's a ton of it.

For this recipe I have to give a brief shout-out to my former roommate Emily Tommie from SoCal, CA. (She said I could call it anything but "Cali.") Anyway, she was trying out this crazy (but apparently wildly healthy and successful) diet called GAPS. I was interested in it at first, but then I did a little research and realized that to do it hardcore you have to suck the marrow out of chicken bones for breakfast or something like that for the first week. Well, there went that, I don't care how healing it is for my gut. However, she did give me this recipe, which while being all warm and comfy is also delicious and good for you, so my short-lived interest in healthifying my intestines wasn't a total failure. So here we go.

Lentil Soup

You will need:

1 bag of carrots. The big kind. 

1 bag of celery

1 bag of yellow onions

1 bag of lentils

1 bag of rice or Other Grain

1 box (32 oz) of [insert favorite broth flavor]

(Pause. Isn't "broth" a weird word?)

AND (drumroll) THE SECRET INGREDIENT

1 bag of Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Bits

which isn't really a secret because it's in the title. Also because it's not a secret, it just wasn't in the original recipe. If you'll recall from my last post, the one person forced to eat all of my cooking experiments won't eat anything that doesn't have meat in it. So by "secret" we mean "the secret to getting Rafe to ask us to make it again." 

I've decided to give directions for the two different groups of people in cooking, the People That Either Know What They're Doing And Are Just Looking For New Twists Or Just Don't Care and The People That Freak Out In The Kitchen If The Recipe Doesn't Have Exact Measurements.

THE EASY DIRECTIONS: (for Group 1 or the lazy people)

Okay. Put some of each of these ingredients in a pot. Boil it then simmer it for an hour. You will now be able to enjoy lentil soup for every meal for the next month, and your grocery shopping for that period of time will consist solely of broth and bacon bits. You're welcome.

THE "INTRICATE" DIRECTIONS: (Sorry, Group 2, these will still probably drive you crazy...though in all fairness, "intricate" is in quotes because it's really not.)

Just start out knowing this: the AWESOME thing about soup is that it's really, really hard to screw it up. Like lots of carrots? Put in the whole damn bag of carrots. Don't like celery? Skip the effing celery. It doesn't matter! I'm the kind of person that likes lots of good stuff in my soup, so I put in extra of all the goodies. I'm also really bad at careful measuring, which is why I stick to "improv" foods (Ok! We're in the kitchen! Audience, give us a suggestion...what's going in the pot??) rather than "careful" foods like....soufflé. Or whatever.

But for real. To make it my way, chop up:

--two whole carrrots (WHOLE carrots, none of that baby carrot shit. We are not children who refuse to eat our real vegetables),

--three celery sticks,

--and anywhere between a half and a whole onion depending on a) how big the onion is and b) how much you like onion. 

Dump the whole thing of chicken broth (or 4 cups of veggie broth or whatever kind of broth is your favorite) into a small/medium-sized pot. You know, the biggest one of the kind that only has one handle. Bring it to a boil. 

This is why I like lots of carrots. Yummy, and it's so pretty!

While you're boiling, fry up your onions and celery in a bigger pot. Probably the largest pot you have if you're a grad student, probably a size down or two if you're, I don't know, Paula Deen. In which case I'm flattered that you're reading my humble blog. Add the bacon bits. I usually use between a half and a quarter of a bag, it's usually just what's left over from when we make Kristen Bohnert's Grilled Chicken Caesar salad. Fry everything until its smells mouthwateringly good. Add the carrots at the last minute, stir it all around but turn off the heat until the broth is ready. Pour boiling broth into the large pot. I rankle at dirtying two pots for the same meal, but I find that doing it this way is best for 2 reasons:

1) chicken broth is easier to rinse out of a cook pot than bacon grease (even trace amounts) out of a frying pan

2) I don't spatter myself with scalding chicken broth when dumping in a bunch of vegetable chunks.

The alternative is just bring the broth to boil in the big pot and throw everything in without the extra frying step, but let's be honest....my way probably tastes better. So. Get the broth boiling in the new pot (you might have to turn the heat up again for another minute) then add:

--1/2c of dry, uncooked lentils and 

--1/8c+ of dry, uncooked Other Grain. 

My Other Grain is usually white rice. You can also use brown rice, pearled barley or whatever. If you're cheap, it'll be white rice. You could even just skip the Other Grain and throw in extra lentils, which I do anyway. Also the + is because the 1/8c is so freaking tiny I don't even consider it worth my time to get it out of the drawer to measure with, so I measure by instinct. Exhibiting at the same time why I'll never be a baker.

Give everything a good stir, and reduce heat to low. Cover it, simmer for 40-60 minutes, or until carrots and lentils have reached your desired mushiness. If it's too thick when it's done, just add a little water, no prob.  It'll cool it off for immediate eating, too.

OH, almost forgot: garlic salt and pepper the heck out of it! Go crazy, people, this is your life we're spicing up.

I'd give anything for a Rosemary Italian loaf right now.

Nom it up for the next few meals with buttered whole wheat (I think the two cancel each other out) Ritz crackers or artisan bread if you can afford to be snobby. 

Go buy yourself a Clif bar or something with all the grocery money you've saved. Woo!

Vegetables for Dishes

Apparently, every time a new year comes around people make "resolutions" to help guide them to be "better people" or some such nonsense. Well, since I'm all about the bandwagon I thought I'd make one of these so-called "resolutions" and try to "eat healthier" or more such similar nonsense for 2013. Hopefully, veggies turn out to be cheaper than bacon, Ben&Jerry's Phish Food and Kraft "The Cheesiest" Spongebob macaroni and cheese. We shall see.

For my first experiment this evening, I adapted a recipe from the spare copy of Healthy: A Dierberg School of Cooking Publication that my mom gave me in 2010 when I first came to Minneapolis and have never removed from the shelf since, except when I moved to my new apartment. If you don't know what Dierbergs is, you're clearly not from West St. Louis County. It's ok, we can't all be. I'm sure they'll still let you try their recipes.

The major problem I face in cooking for my two-person household is that the other person in the household refuses to eat anything that doesn't have meat in it. Which is fine, I'm no vegetarian myself. And he's super nice about it; he eats some and tells me how yummy it is and then quietly doesn't finish the other half and I find it in the trash later and it's all good, more leftovers for me. But no one wants to be the girl who can't cook something to please a dude whose palate is so accommodating that he will eat one of those godawful cheese-sausage-hotdog things from the gas station (the ones that have clearly been slowly turning in the same spot for at least the past 3 months) and want a second one.

At any rate, I picked this because it has green peppers and couscous, both of which I like. Especially the word "couscous." Also I already had two boxes of couscous in the pantry that I didn't know what to do with. Also it has black beans in it, which my sister eats voraciously and she's in way better shape than I am, so they're worth a try. Also it has plenty of ground beef, of which I could add extra (at Rafe's request) or remove entirely if I don't want to pay for beef. (In which case Rafe can order pizza.) Finally, the whole damn thing is actually served in the green pepper, which I thought was cool and also might save me some dishes. (This turned out to not be true.) So, without further ado:

Couscous-Stuffed Peppers 

You'll Need:

This is really why I started this blog--so I can
take pictures of my food and put them
on the Internet without being one of
those Instagram people. Yay!

Bell peppers--any color. I used green bell because Rafe thinks the other colors "taste funky" and also they're like twice the price

Ground beef

Chopped onion

1 can petite diced tomatoes

1 can black beans

1 average-size box of couscous (1 C dry)

Seasonings of choice

Mozzarella cheese

The actual recipe calls for 4 peppers, halved and seeded. Since I was not trying to feed 4 people, I only made two, but didn't halve the other ingredients. This makes enough filling to fill, in my estimation, at least an extra pepper or two. (After the called-for 4.) Luckily, I have tupperware and now have tortilla filling for lunch tomorrow and the day after that and also maybe the next day. Also, I could just go out and get two new peppers and do the same meal were I so inclined. Variety is the spice of life (that and garlic salt) but I'm also poor.

Anyway, halve your peppers and put them in a baking dish with water at the bottom. Just a little, maybe a 1/4 cup, just enough to keep everything from drying out. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes til they're half-done. Softish. I don't know. It really doesn't matter. 20 minutes. Ish.

Meanwhile, in a large frying pan with a lid, brown the beef. 1/2 lb. if you're going by original recipe proportions, but it's whatever. Throw in your chopped onions, however many looks good to you. Or a 1/2 cup if you're a stickler. I added mushrooms, too, just for the hell of it and because I really like to eat mushrooms and onions and beef straight from the pan. Not a joke. 2-3 minutes, just enough to start them cooking, then add the cans of tomatoes and beans (rinsed) and your spices. The original recipe called for Italian seasonings and Cajun spices. I didn't have the latter so I went with Italian and some paprika and a dash of cayenne, plus garlic salt (spice of life!) and season salt on the meat when it first went into the frying pan. (P.S.--I added paprika because it looks like something that could pass for a cajun spice, but WTF does it actually do? Amateur hour. Oh well.) 

Some suggestions: I don't like the Italian spices in this flavor combo. It just seemed out of place. I will not be adding them next time. However, I did enjoy the tiniest bit of heat from the cayenne. Then again, I'm not a spicy-food person. Rafe is. He probably didn't even taste it. So flavor how you like. My taste-tester did suggest the possibility of using taco-type seasonings instead of the Italian. I'm intrigued by the idea and will update this post if I try it in the future. Or use it at your own risk and remember it's the brainchild of the guy who eats the gas station hotdogs. 

Anyway, spice it up and throw in 1/2 cup of water. Boil, then add couscous. Cover, remove from heat for 5 min. Fluff with fork. (You know...follow the directions on the couscous box.) By now you should probably have removed your half-peppers from the oven. Dump the water out of the bottom of the pan. When the mix is done, spoon it into the pepper halves, cover with tin foil and bake again for another 25-30 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle mozzarella over top, pop back in the oven long enough to melt the cheese and it's done. 

Unfortunately, due to the unstable nature of bell pepper half-bowls, you will need to serve them on a plate. 

Yum.

B+ for Effort

Hey, kids!

Remember how when you were little, your mom would magnet all of your elementary school art and the math tests you got As on to the refrigerator? (Assuming both that you didn't have a cabinet-front refrigerator, as  my house so disappointingly switched to after 4th grade, and that you ever actually managed to score an A in math.) Well, welcome to Idle Hands, my own personal refrigerator door. I know, I know...someone has already come up with this concept, and it's called Pinterest. The thing is, I'm enamored of Pinterest. I think it's a great idea and I wish I could use it. Which brings me to the other thing, which is that I don't really understand how it works and I'm super intimidated every time I log on because I get lost. Besides, Pinterest is for things that you find on the wide, wonderful Internet and want to be able to find again later...like bookmarks, but with pictures. Or something. Anyway, needing a narcissistic outlet beyond facebook (because that's what technology is doing to my generation) this refrigerator door is not for other people's things that I would like to try, it's for my things that I've done. Frankly, mostly so I can look back and remember how I did them. But also so other people can look at them and see how fun and artsy I am. And then maybe they can try to be fun and artsy too. Or maybe just think I'm a weirdo hipster who spends too much time at the thrift store and/or nearest bar. Anyway. It's a project blog, okay? It's for fun.

Welcome to my refrigerator door. Just don't open it, I'm pretty sure there's something molding in the back.