Do you believe in love at first light?

On our pie date

This all started because I wanted to hear their love story.  I scheduled a coffee and pie date and picked them up.

“Tell me your story.  How did you meet?”

Grandpa, 94, responds, “My memory is so poor I could hide my own Easter eggs.”

It was November 20^th, 1941.

Grandma has moved to Asilomar with her friend Louise, following high school graduation.

Grandpa, originally from Colorado, had been drafted into the army, he was stationed at Fort Ord.

The Lodge at Asilomar

Grandpa’s friend Milt had a car, which was rare, and they found themselves at the Asilomar lodge “We’d just heard there were girls there.”  As fate would have it, grandma had heard “quite a few soldiers spent time there, so we went to check it out.”

A special thank you must be extended to Milt; first, for having the car, second, for the courage to approach the girl at the desk and ask if she would like to go for a ride.  We must also thank Louise for not giving Milt the cold shoulder. 

Not much has changed from 1941 regarding guys calling dibs, because that is exactly what Grandpa did.  He told Milt “I want that one,” gesturing to Grandma.

“Milt was almost bald headed and short, I didn’t think much of him.”  But beside Milt stood Bill (grandma) and “He was SO cute!” gushed Grandma.

Grandpa recalls they attempted to go to a bar for a drink, but the bar refused to serve the girls because they were under age.  Instead, they went to a restaurant down the street for hamburgers (I’m not buying this whole poor memory thing).

During the conversation grandma mentioned the light bulb in her apartment had burnt out.  Grandpa excused himself to the restroom and returned carrying a small paper bag.  Inside the bag was a light bulb.  He had raced down the street to the hardware store…wasn’t this a bright idea (get it?!).  “He bought me light bulb, so that I could see to read.”

“It was the smartest purchase I’d ever made.”

Grandpa said several times, “In the short time I knew her, I knew she was very special.”

I asked grandma, “Did you know right away?”

“I was so PLEASED to see him.  He was so cute, so handsome. And polite. held the chair for me, open the car door for me, his manners were so good.” (I swear, Grandma, they don’t make them like this anymore.)

They met on November 20^th 1941, and went on 3 dates before Grandpa was deployed November 29^th 1941.  While he was in the Aleutian Islands they corresponded by letters; Grandpa smiled as he said, “She wrote good letters!” When he returned from his first deployment Grandpa asked Grandma to marry him.  They were wed July 19^th, 1944, in San Francisco.  He was deployed to the south pacific shortly after.  Grandpa returned to San Francisco on their one-year anniversary for he had been wounded in battle.

“All the way through you can see” (gestures towards the heavens). “Everything worked out exactly right.  It was perfect for me.  I just happened to fall into, no, luck into it.  All of this, her." (gestures towards grandma)

Grandma and Grandpa’s love story filled my heart with hope, peace, faith, and above all, LOVE.  Hope that one day I’ll get to share my love story with my granddaughter.  Peace knowing all good gifts comes from above; my future rests in the creator’s perfect hands.  Love stories revive my faith that my love story is being written, even though my relationship status remains very single.  I left our pie date with a heart overflowing with admiration for the love my grandparents share, their love has survived  many trials, and yet at 69 year married they are still clearly smitten with one another.

Do you believe in love at first light?  I certainly do. 

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Odera, my best friend, was the inspiration behind these insanely delicious cookies, or more accurately speaking, her boyfriend visiting was the inspiration.  Odera doesn’t bake, she provides wine and moral support; although it is beneficial to have a physician in the kitchen just in case an emergency arises. Isn’t that right, Safety Officer Corliss?  Regardless, she placed the request for a peanut butter cookie to share with her sweetie pie and I utilized what I found in my cupboards.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2-cup butter, softened
1/2-cup peanut butter
3/4-cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1-teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1-teaspoon baking soda
1/2-teaspoon salt
12 Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate peanut butter cups mashed up

1/2-cup semi sweet chocolate chips (I’m very generous with this measurement)

1/2-cup peanut butter chips

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Cream together the butter, peanut butter, and sugars until light and fluffy; you can use a mixer, I use a spoon and a lil muscle ;) Beat in the egg. Stir in the vanilla.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to the creamed mixture and beat until well combined.
Stir in the peanut butter cups, chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips
Drop spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheet 2 inches apart and bake for 8 minutes exactly.

Spicy chicken, sweet potato, and quinoa stuffed green peppers

These vegetables that so beautifully remind me of Christmas ornaments will serve as the boat for tonight’s meal.  This boat will be stuffed, almost overloaded to the point of sinking with passengers packing protein, fiber, amino acids, vitamins galore, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory nutrients, and blood sugar-regulating nutrients!!  Can you say delicious and NUTRITIOUS!  This dish was inspired by the contents of my fridge…I can say I am incredibly pleased with the results! 

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cup Sweet potato
1 small onion

2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 ½ cup baked chicken
½ cup Quinoa
½ cup salsa
½ teaspoon Cumin
Sriracha
2 Bell peppers
Cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Season chicken according to your preference, I used garlic salt, Mrs. Dash salt free garlic seasoning, cayenne pepper, and paprika.  I did not measure the seasonings, I applied Mrs. Dash heavily and the remaining lightly.
2. Bake chicken at 375, for full chicken breast bake for 35 minutes.  However, I sliced the chicken breast into strips and monitored by sight and smell.  Once baked thoroughly, dice into cubes.
3. Slice sweet potato into ¼ inch pieces.  Sautee sweet potato and diced onion with olive oil over medium heat.  Sautee until sweet potato softens and onions begin to brown.  Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.

4. Quinoa can be cooked stovetop or in the microwave.  It can also be cooked using water or chicken stock.  Although I imagine chicken stock would be more flavorful I used water to reduce the amount of sodium in the dish.  I also used the convenience of the microwave and prepared the quinoa according to the package directions: 1 part quinoa, 2 parts water, place in a microwave safe dish, heat on high x 4 minutes, stir and continue to heat in 2 minute increments until water is completely absorbed.  Fluff with fork.
5. Combine quinoa, cubed chicken, and sweet potato with onion into a large bowl.  Add cumin, salsa, and sriracha.  Mix thoroughly.  (Taste, if it is missing something, this is the chance to alter seasoning to preference).
6. Cut bell peppers in half, remove seeds, and place in a baking dish.  Fill each bell pepper with the quinoa filling.  Sprinkle cheese atop the filled bell peppers.
7. Bake bell pepper at 375 for 30-35 minutes, until bell peppers are soft.

Dinner is served!!

Pumpkin Pie Truffles! Oh YUM!

These delicious mini desserts were an absolute hit at Happy Friendsgiving last weekend!  And let me tell you, they were easy as pie.  Take these truffles to your Thanksgiving Feast and impress all family with your fancy culinary skills!  Pair it with a cup of coffee, oh. My. Word.

Pumpkin Pie Truffles

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white chocolate
• ½ cup pumpkin puree
• ¾ cup finely ground gingersnap cookies
• ¾ cup graham cracker crumbs
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 ounces cream cheese

Coating:

• White dipping chocolate

Melt white chocolate in the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring every 30 seconds.  (Approximately 4 intervals)

Set white chocolate aside and allow mixture to cool slightly.

Add pumpkin, gingersnap crumbs, graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar, cinnamon, and cream cheese.  (This only re-emphasized my need for a food processor!  Goodness!  I had to smash the gingersnaps with my fist!)  Combine ingredients until smooth.  Prior to rolling mixture into balls, place mixture in the freezer for 30-60 minutes for greater ease with this step.

Remove mixture once chilled and roll into 1-inch balls.  Place balls on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.  Put balls back into the freezer for 1 hour.

Melt the dipping chocolate according to the specific instructions written on the packaging.  Dip chilled balls into the white chocolate.  Place dipped balls back on the parchment paper covered cookie sheet.  Sprinkle with gingersnap crumbs.  Place truffles back inside the freezer for minimum 1 hour until chocolate coating has set.

Give thanks and enjoy!

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

I’m not good at being sick.  I get bored.  I lay down to rest and think of all the tasks I should accomplish instead of resting.  All I really want to do is go to the gym to sweat all my germs out, but it isn’t fair to expose all gym goers to my nastiness.  To combat my boredom I entered the kitchen and accepted the challenge of creating a meal with vegetables in my fridge that were approaching their expiration date…I found a purple onion, a bag of cauliflower, and a box of cherry tomatoes...TADA!!! Cauliflower crust pizza topped with homemade cherry tomato sauce and baked chicken!  HOLY DELICIOUSNESS!

Cauliflower Crust Ingredients:

• 1 bag washed cauliflower
• ½ cup mozzarella cheese (or ¼ mozzarella and ¼ parmesan cheese)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt)
• 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed
• 1 egg

Place a pizza stone in the oven, or baking sheet if you don’t have a pizza stone. Preheat oven to 450ºF. On a cutting board, place a large piece of parchment paper and spray it with nonstick cooking oil.

This entire process would have been MUCH easier if I had a food processor…but instead I used my hands/fist.  If you have a food processor then I recommend using it, the cauliflower should turn into a “powdery snow.”

Place cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl and cook for four minutes.

Allow cauliflower to cool.  Once cauliflower is cool enough to handle, wrap it up in the dish towel OR a TON of paper towels, and wring the heck out of it. You want to squeeze out as much water as possible. This will ensure you get a chewy pizza like crust instead of a crumbly mess.

To create the dough: combine squeezed cauliflower, cheese, salt, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed.  Add the egg and mix thoroughly!

Place the dough on the oiled parchment paper and create a tight crust – don’t make it too thick or too thin.  Place the parchment paper on the baking sheet.

Bake for 8-11 minutes, until it starts to turn golden brown.

It’s TOPPING time!  Top the crust with whatever you fancy!

Cook for another 5 to 7 minutes until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and slightly golden.

Enjoy!

Cherry Tomato Sauce:

• 1-tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic
• ¼ cup purple onion
• 1-container cherry tomatoes
• Salt
• Pepper
• Italian seasoning 

Let me be honest, this sauce recipe was an experiment, I didn’t measure any of the ingredients or accurately assess the time; my advice – watch the skillet.  Place olive oil in a warm skillet with crushed garlic cloves and purple onion.  Cook until slightly golden, add tomatoes and seasoning to taste.  Simmer 15 to 20 minutes.  I wanted a smoother consistency to my sauce so I crushed all tomatoes with a potato masher.