Things I Want You To Know

[crazyhappypretty]

Spicy Fig Brie Grilled Cheese?

So there is this super fun thing I do where I see a recipe online, immediately want to make it, and then proceed to attempt said recipe while not having all of the ingredients called for.

Today I really wanted a grilled cheese (and It's impossible to buy regular sliced American cheese where I live) and after determining that it would take to long to pick out, defrost and cook the blueberries called for in this recipe, I went searching for another option.

I found this delicious looking Joy The Baker recipe called Cranberry Brie Grilled Cheese. I decided I could manage this recipe by adapting the recipe to the ingredients I had, mostly, on hand.

Ingredients

2 slices sourdough bread  I didn't have that so I walked over to OXXO and bought a loaf of Bimbo wheat sandwich bread.

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened Well it was softened for sure after microwaving it on low power for 30 seconds.

1/4 cup cranberry sauce The recipe specifically says I can use "chunky fig jam" so i figured my fig butter (not chunky) was close to that

A good hunk of Brie cheese I did have a small roll of brie that had been sitting in my fridge a while. I thought it would be ok to eat since I'd be heating it up on the stove top.

1 heaping tablespoon whole grain mustard I had an unopened jar of Aioli Garlic Mustard Sauce from Trader Joes in my cabinet and I never eat mustard otherwise so it wasn't like I was going to buy something else in the future

The recipe is very straight forward. Butter the bread and on the inside pieces, slather one side with jam and the other with mustard. Lay sliced brie in between and put in hot pan. Basic grilled cheese making directions.

I proceeded through the steps with my modified ingredients and the sandwich cooked up nice and quick.

Eating It

First bite hmmmm, this is super weird, not sure I'm liking it. Garlic mustard? What was I thinking, ew.

Middle bites Wow this is good! (the brie and fig butter were prominent during these bites) I wonder if my husband would like a bite? (he hid his face under a pillow when I told him the ingredients)

Last few bites Nope, it's weird again, for sure needs more sweet stuff and less spicy mustard. Why does my chest feel weird? Are those my sinuses?

Conclusion I (cautiously) might try again but I would make a bigger attempt to have proper jam and a lot less mustard. It was not super awesome but I KNOW it has potential. Will I ever get my husband to try it? (he says no way)

I think I should stick to baking

[crazyhappypretty]

First cinnamon rolls. Food Network Paula Dean recipe. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/cinnamon-rolls-recipe.html

[crazyhappypretty]

Cooking with zucchini

[crazyhappypretty]

the cheaper the event, the more people bitch about it

I'm running a Meetup and I thought people would really be easy going and chill, since it's a free Meetup and the attendees don't have to pay for anything, I don't even charge dues to pay for the page. Wow was I wrong!

There is a fair amount of complaining for 5 hours of free fun. I mean, all you have to do is get to the meeting place and then follow a group around for a few hours. You get to visit another country and sometimes go off the beaten path. You have guides and everything is safe. The word "walking" is in the name of the group so you should be prepared for quite a lot of that. I tell people they should expect to spend about $20 for food and taxis - but they aren't giving me the money and technically they could choose not to eat and to walk back at the end.

[crazyhappypretty]

First time making meringues. The piped ones are missing the vanilla extract and are covered in cocoa powder. The free-form ones have the vanilla extract and cocoa mixed in and are covered in rainbow nonpareils. You know I cannot leave baked goods alone when it comes to sprinkles and flavoring. These were cooked at 150c and I think they turned out quite well.

[crazyhappypretty]

Tijuana Day 3 : not murdered yet

I'm half way through my third day living in Tijuana and so far I haven't been murdered, not even a little bit. Today was exciting because I had to drive from south Tijuana to the Costco in la Mesa, near the airport. While I had checked out the directions beforehand, both of my cell phones refused to show me gps directions. I had to drive there on instinct. I successfully made it to the Costco but failed twice when I tried to get on the rode back. I turned around near the airport (and again when I didn't take the right exit). Luckily, instead of enduring the free road back to Rosarito, I followed some signage to San Diego and eventually picked up the toll road again back to my house. This may not sound that impressive but seeing as I never learned my way to the mall in San Jose after living there two years, driving across Tijuana and back without gps was a big achievement.

[crazyhappypretty]

Baja Learnings: Day 1

The Pemax gas stations have bathrooms. The one I stopped at off the free road in Tijuana was totally acceptable except there was no toilet paper. Lucky me, I had forgotten to take my recently purchased toilet paper out of the car. Always have backup toilet paper in your car! This bathroom had soap and water for hand washing but it would be smart to have antibacterial stuff in your car just in case.

[crazyhappypretty]

Still no water

This morning I took a Bonafont shower. This process involves a large (4 gallon?) container of Bonafont water, a loofa, men's body wash and a drain ready area (such as a bath or shower). Pretty much you have someone else pour some water on your body from the multi gallon container and loofa to get you started. Remember, this water will be cold. Pour body wash on the loofa and scrub scrub from the neck down, adding water now and then to keep that lather sudsy! After you are sufficiently soaped up, have the other person dump more water on you, careful to utilize every drop. It'll be difficult to keep focused as you will be freezing cold but cleanliness was has it's price. Wipe off as much soap as possible with this rinsing. You won't feel completely rinsed, but you will feel a lot cleaner then before. Feel free to dry off using absorbent hand towels, you might need 4 of these. If you are all done, wait to dress in case your partner also needs assistance with their Bonafont shower.

[crazyhappypretty]

Shells. Basil, garlic, pine nut and parmesan pesto. @Tofurky Italian sausage. Toasted bread bits to finish up the rest.

[crazyhappypretty]

Cupcakes. Pastels & Brights. Cream Cheese & Milk Chocolate. Sprinkles & Cookies. Large & Mini.