Blondie Likes Food

We helped Tyler's brother move from one end of Tennessee to the other. I wanted to bring a housewarming gift, and I came up with this recipe. On one of our trips we took down there, he took us to the Jack Daniels Distillery. It was a fun experience, and enjoyed the tasting room lined with all of their hand-made oak barrels filled with their aging whiskey. This recipe is adapted from www.delectablebakehouse.com. The whiskey and coffee make them super moist and the caramel frosting makes them more unique than the average cupcake. Ingredients 2 cups flour 3/4 cup cocoa or cacao powder. I used cacao powder. It adds an intense chocolate flavor which came out wonderfully in these cupcakes. Cacao powder has it's health benefits as well (as long as you don't put them in cupcakes all of the time :) ).  Because cocoa is processed at a higher temperature than cacao, the difference is the nutrients are more depleted than cacao.  2 cups sugar 2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp...

It's grilling season! I wait for it impatiently all winter long, and expect to embrace warmer weather at any moment. April gets here, and it's still feels like winter. It didn't really get warm until May, after my parents lovingly bought me a new grill and then the next day (and the following two weeks) it rained all the time and was gross. Really?! Well, it's June now, and hotter than hell, so I am in heaven. What do I love most about grilling? The simplicity of it. You can take about any piece of meat, throw it on those grates, and you're done. Granted, you can get fancy with all your marinades, rubs, wood chips and smoker packets. My favorite thing is just a simple burger. I threw together some burgers the other night after I got out of work late, and wanted something quick and easy. I also had to take care of a long standing burger craving. So, I got out my 80/20 meat and made my patties. I prefer to make my own patties instead of pre-made ones. They are ...

My boyfriend did not like the idea of sushi. Cold, raw sea creatures wrapped in seaweed and other unknown things. Something cooked and warm sounded more suitable. He asked me where i'd like to go for my birthday dinner. I love sushi, so obvious choice! We were also newer to the St. Louis scene, and wasn't sure what was good. It took us a while to find this place, but once we both tried it we were hooked. He started his sushi journey with a tame maki roll; the middle roll pictured here called the Sakura Roll . The salmon is fried, with cucumber, avocado and spicy mayo wrapped in pink soy paper. Guess what part he didn't like? The soy paper was pink ;). Now it's our go-to sushi place. It's Wasabi Sushi Bar in Town and Country. It's close, and they have Tuesday $6 sushi roll specials. So, that is where we spend a lot of our Tuesdays! We powered through these last Tuesday. From left to right are the Wasabi Special, Spicy Mango , Sakura, Spicy Omega, and my favo...

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I have to have it, but it can't be loaded with sugar or else I'll be crashing by 10 am. I try to eat healthy when I get up. At least in my experience, it makes me feel better throughout the day and leads to better food choices for lunch/dinner. When I'm off for the weekend, I will get up and try to get a workout in first thing. I'll usually have to drink some water and eat a handful of almonds or cashews to help me power through a workout or a 5k run. When I get back, I'll make some coffee and one of these small but effective breakfasts that I've adapted from other recipes to create a single serving for myself. These recipes are so simple to mix up or swap other ingredients I don't happen to have on hand at the time. Have a good morning! Microwave Pancake: 1/3 cup whole-wheat flour (or whatever flour you want to use) 1/2 tsp cinnamon 0.5 T ground flax 2 T Oats (rolled/old fashioned/instant) 1 tsp baking powd...