Recipe blog by Adrianna Adarme

Lemons

24

Jun

Lemon, Chard and Spicy Sausage Lasagna

Hi, ummm…you look cute today. Your make-up looks pretty. And those lunges are paying off ’cause your legs are lookin’ maaaad tight.

First week of summer got me in a good mood, what can I say?

Summer does a weird thing to me. All I seem to make during these months are popsicles, variety of ice creams and salads. I dunno…I guess whenever temperatures start to rise, eating outside with friends just sounds better. Or I just eat cereal in my air-conditioned apartment with socks on. I dig socks year-around

But sometimes I need a legit dinner/lunch. I mean, don’t we all?! We can’t eat popsicles for dinner ALL the time.

This lasagna? Super legit. There’s chard (how pretty is raw chard?! good gracious), a creamy-not-too-heavy bechamel, spicy sausage (hi, kick of spice!) and lemon slices that give it that taste of summer we’re all craving.

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{ 21 comments }

21

Mar

Blood Orange Lemonade

in Drinks

I’m a little excited about Spring, can’t you tell?!

Also, aren’t Spring showers so much more glamorous in theory.

In our dreams, there’s brightly colored tulips dripping with rain drops, yellow Hunter rainboots, super cute umbrelleas–but it never goes that way, does it?

Instead there’s matted-hair-that-was-just-rained-on, water seeping through shoes reaching socks (ew!), and just overall not cuteness.

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{ 19 comments }

05

Jan

Cute Five Minute Snacks!

in appetizers, Breakfast, Snacks

Let’s talk snacks!

You know how all those diets say “eat four-five small meals a day.” Umm…I can’t cook that often. I have a job. I like to see my friends. I don’t have a dishwasher. I have to curl my hair. These are all reasons why I can’t cook five times a day. Sorry, diets.

BUT I do love snacks, especially ones that take five minutes to put together.

WARNING: I have no idea if theses are “healthy,” but I do know they taste good, and are sorta healthy. Or at least I think so.

The first one is Avocado on Toast. Super easy and delicious.

All you’ll need is a half of an avocado, bread lightly toasted, a little crushed red pepper, salt and pepper, dash of olive oil and a squirt of lemon. Done. Delicious.

Second awesome snack of the day. Perfectly boiled egg on a buttered whole wheat english muffin topped with a little salt and pepper. Easy! Fast! Cute!

This is my favorite. I love protein shakes, but I also love my morning coffee. This is hybrid of the two.

I present to you: Coffee Banana Protein Shake.

Some cooled coffee, scoop of whey protein powder, couple ice cubes, dash of vanilla extract and a half of a banana. That simple!

This isn’t a snack, but more of a way to force myself to drink more water. We all need to do this, right?

Just some filtered water with the latest winter citrus: sliced meyer lemon and a tangelo. And cucumber for some added freshness. It’s like the water you get at a spa.

What are you snacking on?

{ 44 comments }

03

Jan

“Healthy” Lemony Angel Food Cake

in Cakes, Desserts

I have a confession.

I gained weight during the holiday season. Like, can’t-fit-in-pretty-dresses type weight gain. This is not okay. I’m determined to be a girl who can fit into pretty dresses. Or maybe I should just wear bigger dresses? Whatever. You get what I mean, right?

So now I’m on a cliché “bad” food break. It’s gonna be hard. To ease myself into this tough transition, I figured baking a cake would be an awesome idea.

Before you flip out and call me crazy, let me explain. This cake is “healthy.” It has NO butter. My normal self would typically have nothing to do with a cake without butter, but tight zippers and waistbands made me give this cake a chance.

And guess what? Best idea #1 of 2011.

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{ 26 comments }

31

Dec

How to Make Sangria

in Drinks

Is anyone else having as busy of a holiday season as I am? I’ve traveled from coast to coast, been all over the state of North Carolina and have seen more family and friends than I did at my wedding. I’m hitting that point where all I want to do is relax and enjoy the remainder of my vacation with a tasty cocktail in my hand. Preferably a cocktail that’s easy to make. If it comes in a pitcher that would be pretty cool too. Sangria, anyone?

Sangria is really, really easy to make. It’s also really fun to play around with. If you have some leftover fruit you need to use, or a couple cups of fruit juice you want out of the fridge, or your friends gave you 2 bottles of cabernet when you only drink pinot noir, sangria is the answer.

First, you start off with two bottles of wine. Some people will tell you to use something sweet like a moscato or something light and fruity like a pinot noir. I disagree completely. I like a more full bodied wine such as a cabernet or shiraz. If I’m using white I tend to lean toward chardonnay or a sauvignon blanc. My theory is that the purpose of the wine is to add flavor, so use something that will come through all the other fruits. Otherwise this is just alcoholic fruit juice, although even I’ll admit that’s not necessarily a bad thing. if you want to sweeten sangria, just use some old-fashioned sugar.

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{ 27 comments }

29

Nov

Portobello Eggs Benedict

in Breakfast

I learned a few things this weekend.

1.) Eggs Benedict should be against the law. I’m convinced of it. I mean, the whole dish is just butter, eggs and bread. Amazing.

2.) Making Hollandaise sauce the “right way” will make you whisk to the point where your arm might fall off.

3.) Losing an arm is worth it.

For three consecutive Saturdays I went to my favorite brunch spot and got this dish; Eggs Benedict with Portobello Mushrooms. But, this past Saturday I was 3,000 miles away, so I tried to make it.

Can I be honest?

Making hollandaise sauce made me kinda angry. I tried (and then failed), my dad tried (and then failed) and since my dad refuses to give up, he watched four youtube videos about hollandaise, read three different cookbooks and then finally reached amazing, buttery success..

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{ 34 comments }

14

May

Lemon Pizza

in appetizers, Dinner, Pizza

I find this strange enjoyment with ringing myself up at the grocery store’s self-checkout. I love pressing the touchscreen, looking up produce numbers, and scanning each product’s bar code. After thinking about it for a bit, I realized it all goes back with my ambitions as a kid to be on Supermarket Sweep. Do you remember that show? Oh my, how I wanted to wear one of those brightly-colored sweatshirts! And those gigantic name tags! Oh and my strategy. Umm…can we talk about the strategy that went into that game? Everyone knows that you go for the most expensive stuff in the store first. Like the turkeys or hams. And then you grab all the over-the-counter drugs, and then you move to the cereals or liters of soda. Man, they really need to bring that show back. It’s so 1990 in the most awesome way possible.

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{ 33 comments }

07

Apr

Brown Rice Pudding with Blueberries

in Breakfast

I have an issue with rice pudding. It’s not that I don’t love it. I do. A lot. My issue is that I always seem to convince myself that this is somehow a “healthy” dessert. I mean, it’s rice, right? How can rice be bad for you? This explains why in the past I have ordered rice pudding for breakfast, ignoring the looks of my friends when they realize my early morning meal will be coming from the dessert menu.

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{ 13 comments }

26

Mar

Spring Lemon Pasta, Risotto Style

in Dinner, Pasta

Let’s talk risotto. Risotto and I have an awkward history. A few Christmases ago, I thought it’d be a fantastic idea to add risotto to our Feast of the Seven Fishes menu. As I was prepping, cooking and juggling five dishes, I started the risotto and between ladling chicken stock in the pot and doing random other things, I totally overcooked it, and it turned into a dry, rubbery, gross mess. Once I realized I messed up the one dish I was most excited about, I had a breakdown. A total kitchen breakdown. My lovely family felt so bad about my breakdown that they ate the gross risotto anyway….as they laughed, of course. So needless to say, me + risotto = not friends. BUT, me + pasta, risotto style = BFF. I’ll explain…

There aren’t many recipes that totally transform the way I eat. I mean, I try a lot of stuff and methods to cooking things, but rarely do I ever make a recipe over and over again. This recipe totally did it for me. It’s the one recipe I repeat at least once a week. Why? It’s super adaptable. Literally you can put anything you want in it. Have some scraps from a rotisserie chicken in the fridge? This is the recipe for you. Have some extra vegetables without a purpose? Their home is in this dish. Have that awkward amount of cheese (ricotta, marscapone, etc)? Put it in this thing. It’s also quick, but at the same time I wouldn’t feel shy about serving this to guests. Basically, it’s a huuuuge step up from the sometimes bowl of cereal I have for dinner.

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{ 10 comments }

11

Jan

Lemon Olive Oil Pound Cake

in Breakfast, Desserts

I realized something about myself today. Olive oil is my thing.

When I was 12 or 13, I received a spa cookbook for my birthday and became hooked on mixing up oatmeal masks, honey hair treatments and avocado masks. Why my 12 year old self needed any sort of facial mask is another story. But I think I just liked the idea of cracking eggs in my hair and slapping oatmeal on my face; it seemed so neat and kinda retro. Now, the thought of slathering avocado all over my face sounds sort of weird, and plus, I’d probably just end up eating it anyway, which is even weirder. I know.

Anyway, I didn’t think much of it when I picked this pound cake out of a book of 200 or so recipes. Lemon Olive Oil Pound Cake? I’m there. Sooo there. I then went to get ready for the day and grabbed my olive oil face wash and then put on this olive oil body lotion. And then I stopped. Whoa…I umm…really like olive oil. I guess I’m not so far off from my 12 year old self. I still put food on my face thinking it’ll make me pretty. Hmmm…interesting.

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{ 11 comments }

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