I Like it Spicy Part 1

I really don't like not blogging for long periods at a time. I always miss you guys! I am SO behind on my reader right now, but I promise I will catch up soon--after I wrap all my presents, mail all my cards, work an extra day this week, celebrate Christmas early with my in-laws on Friday and hit up my work holiday brunch Saturday a.m. Yikes. But I know you all know how it is this time of year...

Anyway, it seems the consensus from my last post is that Chex mix totally rocks and that most of you call that choco/peanut butter/chex combo "puppy chow" instead of "muddy buddies." Word up.

Well, inspired by all the holiday goodies of the last couple weekends in a row, I endeavored to take on some more baking as I was busy being a work widow on Saturday.

Luckily, on Friday, I received an awesome package from Rachel who represents some fun products like Mrs. Dash Seasonings, Ronzoni pasta and my all time favorite sweetener, Sun Crystals!

She was kind enough to send me all this cools stuff to review and I couldn't wait to try out a new product--Sun Crystals baking blend!

One of the reasons I love Sun Crystals so much is that it is all natural, with only two ingredients on the label list, as opposed to most sweeteners with chemical-laden lists a mile long. The Sun Crystals baking blend is no exception and still contains only cane sugar and stevia. The only difference is that the ratio of sugar to stevia is slightly higher to maintain the delicate balance required in baking.

Nutritionally, the Sun Crystals baking blend carries the same calorie count as sugar, but is twice as sweet, so only half as much is required. Unlike using liquid stevia or agave, this is in crystallized form, so it doesn't require any extra calculation or run the risk of a change in baking chemistry or texture.

I was so excited to try this new product with a version of an old favorite--gingerbread cookies! These have always been some of my favorite cookies around the holidays. I absolutely love to cut them out into different shapes and decorate them with all kinds of sprinkles and colored icings!

I have a recipe that I prefer to use from my parents' old battered (and I mean that literally--there are lots of dough and flour covered fingerprints on those pages!) Betty Crocker cookbook. I had to actually call my mom on Saturday and get the recipe from her. I have modified it just a little over the years to reduce the fat and arrange the spices more to my liking. Here it is!

Extra Spicy n' Sweet Sun Crystals Gingerbread Cookies

• 1/3 c. shortening
• 1/4 c. Sun Crystals Baking Blend
• 1/3 c. molasses
• 1/4 c. water
• 2 1/2 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. ginger
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/ tsp. cloves

Cream shortening and Sun Crystals together in a large bowl. Stir in molasses and water. Add dry ingredients and all spices and mix until thoroughly combined. Dough will appear crumbly.

But all you have to do is get in there with your hands and smoosh everything together until you get a tidy little ball like so:

Wrap you little dough baby in plastic wrap and pop into the fridge for at least 1 hour to firm up.

After dough has chilled, roll out on a floured surface and cut into shapes (or non gender specific people) using a four inch cutter.

Bake cookies at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack before decorating.

**Hint** If you want to remove the fat completely from these cookies and add an extra delicious element, try subbing pumpkin puree for the entire amount of shortening. You can still roll and cut out the cookies as directed, but they turn out softer. Yum!

Since I teach Sunday school for a class of 6 -7 year olds each week, I decided to make this batch especially for them (please ignore the ugly on on the bottom--he was an extra and I didn't feel like frosting his face).

And because we're all kids at heart, I made some for all Dustin's and my siblings who came over on Sunday for dinner...

The cookies turned out beautifully with the addition of the Sun Crystals baking blend. They weren't dry or crumbly like baked goods sometimes turn out with other granulated sweeteners (I'm looking at you Splenda!!!). Plus, I felt much better about feeding this healthier, chemical-free cookie to my little class and family.

In addition to my cookie baking and funny face decorating on Saturday, D finally made it out of work in time for us to take a culinary dinner adventure.

To India! There is a place I have been dying to try for a while now called the Bombay House.

I was super pumped when Dustin agreed to go there, but a little perplexed when he kept insisting that we weren't trying it for the first time--we'd actually eaten there before.

Of course I kept insisting right back that he was crazy and I'd never been there before in my life...that is, until I stepped in the door and remembered that I had. Whoops. But I also remembered that I hadn't liked my food, the service had been terribly neglectful and slow and that I'd vowed to never return.

Well, it's a good thing I'd forgotten all that junk because we had a completely pleasant experience and I loved my food. Our order still took a little longer than my hungry little belly would have liked, but I believe it's because they actually cook everything fresh and to order. My belly can definitely wait for that!

Dustin wanted naan, and I usually don't turn down any chewy, doughy goodness myself, so I was thrilled to see a caramelized onion version on the menu. Yes, please!!

For my entree, I ordered the aloo gobi with extra veggies. Apparently that is not a common request because the server looked at me very quizzically and asked "Like potatoes?" Um no. Like carrots and stuff. Sweet. That's what I got.

I also ordered mine medium spicy, which was just about perfect. I contemplated going with the medium plus, but you have to be careful with those kinds of things or else you end up with fire coming out of your ears. So yummy I'm thinking of recreating it at home this week. Given my success with the last Indian dish I cooked, I'm really becoming a big fan--plus at home I can make it my own kind of medium (plus) spicy!

How about you guys--what type of ethnic food is your favorite to prepare or eat out? Are you a mild, medium or hot kind of gal?

You'll notice that this is Part 1, so never fear my friends! There is more nice n spicy goodness coming your way later on. Love and kisses for now! xoxo

Asparagus Risotto Mockery

I have been wanting to make this for a while now--it always sounds soooo tempting. I've seen a few different recipes for mock risotto, most of them involving asparagus. So eeny-meeny-miney-moe this one from the Food Network looked easiest, so that's the one I chose. Plus it had PEAS!! Love those!

This was a little more time-intensive than most of my dinners, but fairly simple to put together nonetheless. It looked so good and creamy when I dished it up and I was so excited...

....meh. It wasn't that great! Boo! The risotto did look beautiful, but the texture wasn't as creamy as I'd hoped, and it was actually kind of bland. Not really a mock risotto, more like risotto mockery!

The recipe makes a ton, so D and I had it later in the week and I doctored mine up with mucho red pepper flakes, parsley and the wonderful addition of chickpeas. SO much better! D liked his the first and second time around (I added chopped ham to his bowl for the encore performance). He said it reminded him of a rice and Campbell's-type casserole. Um, I don't think that's what they were going for!
Suggestions:

• Add some sort of extra protein like an egg a la Jenna (which I did the first time for D), chickpeas, lentils or chopped meat for flavor and balance
• Try using Light Laughing Cow cheese instead of the cream cheese. I think this might improve the texture a little. The garlic and herb flavor would be great.
  
• Get biz-zay with the spices! This would be lovely with a little rosemary and thyme or basil. Try some more Italian-style seasonings or pour on the red pepper flakes like I did and add garlic. I think almost any spice addition would be better than leaving the recipe as-is.
  
• Add a little more liquid and stir the rice even though it says not to before adding the vegetables. I don't know if this would work, but I think it might bring out the starches in the rice a little more and give the risotto a more traditional texture.
  
• Another thing I will try next time is using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. I think the veggie broth usually has a lot more flavor versus chicken, which obviously, is kind of bland.
  

All in all, this recipe wasn't terrible, so I think I will try it again in the future with some of the modifications listed above. I really think it could be DE-lish with a little more experimentation! If any of you try this, be sure to let me know how you put your individual twist on it. Also, don't forget to send me your personal power play songs here! Race day is less than a week away!