Queen Creek Peach Festival

Remember how I told you about our picnic at the local park? Let’s continue on with another free activity that took place a few weeks back: The Queen Creek Peach Festival. I’m so far behind on updates from May… going back home to California is like a vacuum that sucks me right up every time. It was great to be home; I am sad every time I head back to Arizona!

A local family-owned farm hosted the Queen Creek Peach Festival four days during what seemed like the hottest weekend of the year thus far. On the final day of the festival, we jumped into the car, grabbed some Starbucks (story for another time, I’ve almost entirely cut caffeine out of my diet) and were ready to tackle the festival.

There were tractors providing rides to the orchard, celebrity chef demonstrations (which we couldn’t seem to locate), peach pancake breakfasts and tastings.

It was crazy hot and everyone and their mom wanted to ride the tractor, but we opted to brave the mile walk on the way to the orchard. I couldn’t get over how hot it was already in May. I’m also pretty sure there wasn’t a minute that went by without me wiping sweat off myself. Hot, I know.

But eventually we picked several pounds of peaches and also came home with a jar of farm-bottled peach salsa. Yummy!

So what’s the first thing we did with all those peaches?! Make breakfast, of course!

Sausage and Peach Pancakes

Pancake Ingredients:

• 2 c pancake mix
• 1 c water
• 2 peaches
• 8 oz package sausage

Syrup Ingredients:

• 1/4 c sugar
• 1 T cornstarch
• 1/2 c peach juice (we just blended up half a peach with water)
• 3/4 c maple syrup
• 1 T butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix pancake mix and water and pour into greased 9"x13" pan. Arrange peaches alternately with sausages that have been cut in pieces. Bake for 30 minutes. For Topping: mix sugar and cornstarch with juice and cook until thick. Add maple syrup and butter.

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My mom used to make pancake and French toast “casseroles” often. This reminded me of a specific Dutch baby recipe she’s made several times. As an added bonus, ours was made from Swedish pancake mix. Oddly enough, it puffed up to the same thickness as a regular pancake, which confused my crepe-eating palate.

I also enjoyed peach smoothies for days. Funny, we never made any cobblers or grilled peach halves with all those peaches!

Oh well, at least summer (produce) is finally here!! I love watermelon and cherries and am waiting to strike as soon as they’re available at the grocery store.

Week 21: Home Made Garlic Hummus

Every week in 2011, for 52-straight weeks, I hope to try something new and blog about it here. This is the 21st week of the year, when I made my very first jar of (garlic) hummus. Here you can find a list of all my weekly adventures in 2011.

This girl looooveeees hummus. My favorite is Sabra, and I especially love their garlic and olive (two different flavors) hummuses. Hummi? Whatever, kinds of hummus. But I’ve never tried making it myself.

 

Hummus is crazy easy to make!!! (And it looks even prettier with the Instagram app, it’s probably my favorite iPhone application and it’s freeeee) What the heck have I been doing with my life before this?!?! The one thing I will say is make sure to refrigerate it before eating. I sampled it right out of the food processor and was not pleased. Chill that crap. Then enjoy.

Garlic Hummus:

• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained
• 1 T olive oil
• 2 T minced roasted garlic
• 1 T Italian herb blend
• salt and pepper to taste

All you have to do is pulse everything in the food processor for about 30 seconds. And voilà, your hummus is done.

Just so you know, my favorite thing to eat hummus with are veggies and pita chips. But I went balls out this week. I’ve been talking about making falafel at home for-EVER now. And since I had the hummus, why not?!?!

Sadly, I did not have Kalamata olives or Feta. I’d make a terrible Greek. My mouth is watering just thinking about those olives….

Know why else I’d make a terrible Greek? That’s naan and not a pita. Oy vey.

Either way, it was a pretty good meal. And just like hummus, falafel is one of the easiest things I’ve ever made! This actually came out of a box, all I had to do was add water, roll into balls and then grill on each side for three minutes. So yummy.

And just like that you, too, can have a quick and easy – and ridiculously tasty – “Greek” meal at home. Trust me on this, if you haven’t made hummus at home yet, get on it. It costs less than $1.50. And now I have an excuse to eat more pita chips.

Birthday Bacon Cupcakes

Yes, you heard that right.

For my bf’s birthday on Monday, one of my friends joked I should take him to Denny’s for their bacon-fest. They even have bacon sundaes. She wasn’t joking – she knows how much that boy loves bacon.

Well, instead we had plans to go to Fogo de Chão, but I figured I’d finally attempt cooking dessert with bacon. Yes, I’m late to the party. If we’re being honest though, I never would have even considered making these if I hadn’t tasted the bacon French toast cupcakes with maple frosting my sister made for Easter. They were good, and I can’t believe I’m admitting that. So the scary factor of throwing bacon in cupcakes was gone. I rolled up my sleeves and knocked out a few of these babies:

Peanut Butter Bacon Cupcakes with Peanut Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

• 1/2 package bacon
• 1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1/8 cup bacon grease
• 1/8 stick of butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 package yellow cake mix
• 1/3 cup water

Directions:

Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Reserve 1/8 cup bacon grease and set aside to cool. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate. Chop the bacon.

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Beat the crunchy peanut butter, bacon grease and butter with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the peanut butter mixture before adding the next. Pour in the cake mix alternately with the water, mixing until just incorporated. Fold in 2/3 of the chopped bacon (saving the rest to top the cupcakes after frosting); mixing just enough to evenly combine. Pour the batter into prepared cupcake pan, about 2/3 full.

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Frosting Ingredients:

• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 c peanut butter (if piping, learn from my mistake: use creamy and not crunchy so you don’t clog it up)
• 1 c powdered sugar

Directions:

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and peanut butter together until smooth. Add the powdered sugar 1/4 cup at a time. Frost cupcakes once cupcakes are completely cooled.

Then, top with bacon! Confession: I topped mine with bacon before baking, so they looked like little muffins. Not only is there bacon inside, but also on top of the cupcakes AND atop the frosting!

And enjoyed them with Cupcake wine… silly I know. But I’d do it again. If only I had more of that wine…

Tant pis. Oh well. Off to watch the French Open am I! And I also should start packing and/or cleaning my house. We’re driving back to California for Memorial Day Weekend in THREE DAYS!!!!!!!!!!

French Friday + Week 20

I’ve been struggling with something new to do this week. I was going to cop out and write about the peach festival J.D. and I went to earlier. But I’ve been to festivals before, that didn’t feel right. I literally didn’t know what to do.

Until I watched an old episode of No Reservations on my DVR. I’d started watching one on Haiti a few days ago and finally got around to finishing it this afternoon. I literally cannot tell you what I saw. It’s devastating and immense and beautiful all at the same time. It didn’t feel right watching all of that without doing anything. Seriously, I urge you to watch that episode if you haven’t yet.

Anyways, as a French speaker, I’ve always been drawn to Haiti. The French Caribbean is something I’ve marked as a travel destination for a long time. And the ironic part is that I would have been placed in Haiti if I went through with my Peace Corps application almost two years ago. I would have been there (maybe not Port au Prince, but somewhere on the island) in January 2010. It is inconceivable for me to think about what volunteers were doing there before vs. after the earthquake.

Which is why I can’t just sit back after watching that episode. One of the things I wanted to do in 2011 was make a donation to an organization. I’m pulled in a thousand directions: cancer research, feeding the homeless, donating to Japanese earthquake relief, supporting international efforts, helping out people in my own state… and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s overwhelming to think about who all needs help, and all the work still left to do in the world.

But like I said, after watching and hearing about J/PHRO (Haitian Relief Organization) over a year after the earthquake, I knew that was my start. Now I know I’ve griped about money issues a ton, but I live comfortably and have basically everything I want. Some of these people don’t have homes or food on their plates every day. I could scrounge up a little from my pocket to send their way for the time being. One day, when I have more money, I would certainly like to make charitable donations to a few organizations. Until then, this will have to do.

I just don’t know why it’s taken me 26 years to make my first donation. If you’re interested, you could help too. Maybe not to J/PHRO, but a charity near you (check that link for a searchable database of nonprofits or this one for a list of the larger international charities).

I know it’s not much, but it’s a start. Thanks for hearing me out.

Picnic at the Park

Since jumping into my 52 new things in 2011, my 101 goals in 1,001 days have kind of fallen by the wayside. Well, my initial aim was to knock a few out at the same time (since I am halfway through with 52 percent of my goals completed). This week I checked off going on a picnic!

Lately I’ve been really assessing my financial situation (my four jobs dropped down to one now that the academic/collegiate sports year has come to an end) and J.D. and I have been trying to think of ways to entertain ourselves without spending money. We’re only going to go out to eat once a month. I’m also going to limit my alcohol consumption because that’s not an expense I need right now.

But I’ve gotten ahead of myself. The first thing we decided to do that would be fun and cheap free was a picnic in our town! There is a huge park nearby that has two lakes and sounded like the perfect place.

How cute is that?!

We walked around the lake before picking a free spot and noticed the wedding, prom, birthday and graduation parties going on. One even had a DJ all the way across the lake BLASTING Katy Perry. Score :) We laid out my A’s blanket, some napkin placemats and then took out the goodies and soaked up the remaining rays of sunlight.

They consisted of grapefruit flavored water, carrots, pasta and spinach salad, BLTT (with turkey and provolone), the last remaining oranges from our backyard and Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies! It was so much fun sitting there on the lake, being outside and watching the day pass by.

This family near us started feeding some ducks bread crumbs and what seemed like out of nowhere birds flocked to the scene. Even a small family of ducklings following their mother’s lead!

They were adorableeeeeeee!!!! Note that I’m talking about the ducks and NOT the children, haha. And this doesn’t even begin to show how many ducks and birds were on the lake, by any means.

After dinner, we walked around and I snapped some more pictures of the park. Apparently they do outdoor yoga and free, to cheaply-priced movies every now and then too. There is also an amusement park with rides and a janky little roller coaster for kids, softball fields, outdoor basketball and volleyball courts and ample field space for playing soccer. Or what we decided to do – before being devoured by bugs – playing catch! I haven’t broken out my softball glove in a looooong time, and it was a good night for playing catch. Until the sun set and I could no longer locate the ball once we switched from softball to baseball.

I’ll leave you now with some more pictures from the park :) Stay tuned for more free fun! It’s hard trying to come up with ideas, but really worth it. And my bank account thanks me!

Week 19: Hot Yoga

For almost three years I've been wanting to do hot yoga, but never was willing to shell out the money for it. You see, I'm not the kind of person that feels comfortable spending money on a gym membership when I can workout for free.

Back in 2006 my mom and I took a yoga class at our resort in Hawaii. That was the only time in my life I've ever done organized yoga. Other than that, I've DVRed free yoga classes on tv and OnDemand. The hottest I ever got to hot yoga was doing on on tv while my the temperature inside my house was 83 degrees without air conditioning. I like yoga, but it's a pain because my dog always sits on my mat or tries to jump on me.

How could this be the face of guilt?!

But a few months ago, Groupon offered two weeks of unlimited yoga for $10 at a studio not far from my house. You bet I jumped all over that. This week, I finally found a clearing in my schedule allowing me to almost visit daily.

I've only been to a handful of practices and my thoughts on it are very, very cyclical. The first day when I walked into the studio, I was overwhelmed by a really pungent menthol scent. It was actually nice, I was thinking it'd get stuffy and sweaty, but not the case. As for the actual workout, it kicked my butt! It was 101 outside that day so they kept the room down to 97 degrees with 30 percent humidity.

I was told this was the advanced class, and if I needed to lay on the mat the whole time for my body to adjust to the heat, that would be acceptable. The instructor warned me that it takes about three to four times to get used to it. That being said, I was able to hang for 75 percent of the workout. The heat never truly bothered me until the end. I was also doing advanced poses in modified ways, unthinkable for someone who's done yoga less than 10 times in her life!

Afterwards I was DRENCHED in sweat. My clothes were wet the entire ride home until I threw them in the washing machine. But I felt good, refreshed and my skin felt all tingly and cool, in contrast to the very warm weather outside. I knew I'd love to get back and do it again.

Gross, but feeling great!

After the first day, I had to take a day off since my biceps and hip/buttock muscles were sore. With proper hydration and stretching, I felt a little more at ease on the second day, but my stomach still hadn't gotten used to the full 80 minutes of yoga. About 60 percent of the way through, I had to sit out a series of flows. I felt utterly gassed and almost unable to peel myself off my mat. Being in a hot room for over an hour makes you painfully aware of how much liquid your body really needs. Eventually, I mustered up the strength to get up and finish. I was so exhausted by the end and literally felt every one of my muscles. My third trip was much like the second, but my body was slightly getting used to the heat.

After just four days, I was able to power through the entire class. I was doing some of the more advanced poses, I never needed to sit out a flow and my stomach didn't hurt -- as much. I am by no means still accustomed to it, but I'm getting better! After a day off, my fifth day saw me acclimated to the heat again, but my balance was way off. As I said, it is a veritable roller coaster of emotions!

I also am noticing muscle definition already. It is most noticeable in my abs and legs. Seriously, this is fast results in a short period of time (don't kid yourself though, it's HARD work). Remaining on my account is one more week. My goal is to try and go every day to get the most out of my $10, but also to push my body and see if I'll be able to do the entire time without taking a break! The studio is very costly, so I don't know if I am going to continue with a membership after the two weeks expire. Who knows, we'll see...!

It's going to be a long weekend...

The little monster woke me up at 6:45 this morning. Of course he immediately fell back asleep after doing his business. Me on the other hand, not so much.

I originally contemplated hiking Camelback or going for a run (it's been in the 70s-80s all morning, only to get hotter). But the amount it'd cost me in gas to get there and the pain I'd cause to my knee weren't entirely worth it in my mind. Instead, I ate breakfast and resorted to more creative outlets.

I considered strangling him or giving him an embarrassing haircut in the drawing, but I didn't have the heart. He's still sleeping like a baby. I guess there could be worse things. Clearly, I've been bored. At least I've been listening to French news all morning.

Oh, here's the original by the way...

How could you be mad at such a silly face?! <3 Enjoy your weekends, everyone!

French Friday!

This week I officially registered for my classes, signifying the beginning of my master's in French comp lit! ...Quite a change from the sports management master's program I completed a year of but ditched my studies in favor of a full-time job. But that's a story for another time.

On my plate for Fall 2011 will be Teaching Methods for my TAship (I'll be teaching 1-2 introductory undergrad French grammar classes), Théâtre du XIXe siècle (19th Century French Theater) and a cultural class that's cross-listed in the French, Italian and comp lit departments: Paris & Florence in the Middle Ages. I'm beyond excited to get started. However, a small part of me is fairly nervous/apprehensive. I haven't officially taken, spoken, or read French since 2008 and feel like I needed to do something to prepare myself over the next three months.

Enter {French Friday}! During the week, I am hoping to absorb all the French news/movies I can in effort to retrain my ear and cultivate my knowledge of French language/current events. These posts will feature various elements of French culture, cuisine, linguistics, literature, politics, geography, etc. Basically, it will be a little piece of France every week, from me to you :)

We'll ease into it this week with some of my favorite things right now. I present to you one of my favorite all-time songs, Complainte de la Butte by Rufus Wainwright (eh, who cares that he's Canadian and speaks English, the song is in French haha). I would say extra points if you can guess what movie it's from but it says it right on the video, oops :) Yes, Moulin Rouge! has been my favorite movie since 2001. So great.

The other video I have for you is a recent discovery. Grand Marnier has begun airing commercials in my area and I LOVE THEM! They're vintage and fun, like all the old French travel posters I adore. And of course, they're entirely in French! Here is a longer version of the one I keep seeing:

Grand Marnier - Balcony from Bo Opfer on Vimeo.

If you were curious about this Grand Marnier ad campaign, read more here. Oh and they also have an iPhone app. I'm definitely checking it out :) Please note, I have not been compensated by Grand Marnier to write any of this. This purely stems from my love of the French language and vintage French designs!

Bonne journée à tous! xx

Six inches from the face

Because I love you and can't keep this to myself anymore. You're welcome. (It has come to my attention YouTube took the video down. In that event, try this link, it's the same video!)

Oh local Los Angeles news stations, how I've missed you. I mean, it's no Ron Burgandy, but these are some CLASSY anchors and reports.

P.S. I may have grabbed my Shake Weight and shook along with this video.

P.P.S. Doesn't the brunette anchor look strangely similar to Kristen Wiig, who brought us this first Shake Weight clip?!

I hear laughing burns just as many calories as Shake Weighting.

Do you own, or have you ever used a Shake Weight?! I only bought mine for Halloween and have maybe used it once since. I don't see the appeal (other than the obvious).

Week 18: Black Velvet

Every week in 2011, for 52-straight weeks, I hope to try something new and blog about it here. This is the 18th week in the series, when I made and tasted my first Black Velvet cocktail. Here you can find a list of all my weekly adventures in 2011.

If you recall, I recently bought my first pack of stout and made chocolate stout cupcakes two weeks ago. Earlier last week, I inched closer towards finishing that six pack (slow and steady, guys) in a new cocktail: The Black Velvet.

As someone who's a fan of Black & Tans (see here for a recipe and photo), I stumbled across a recipe for the Black Velvet several weeks ago. I bookmarked it as something to add to my weekly new things and kept it in the back of my head. Ever since buying the stout, I knew this would have to be next on the list.

Black Velvets are fairly simple, really. All it involves is champagne (or sparkling wine) and stout, Guiness is recommended. Well, we had Veuve Clicquot and milk stout.

The only "directions" I read said pour each equally in a pretty glass and enjoy the beautiful color. My mistake, I used both hands to pour equal proportions of the alcohols and it never crossed my mind to tilt the glass. Before I knew it, the ratio was 30 percent cocktail and 70 percent foam. Oops. Letting it settle, I slowly tilted the flute and poured in the drinks one at a time. Finally I was left with a flute of what resembled a very fizzy barley wine.

The verdict: I think our champagne may have gone bad. It had been in the fridge for a while. If not, I think something rubbed me the wrong way with this beverage. It was sweet, sour, bitter and heavy all at the same time. Interesting sensations and flavors for cocktails, but maybe not all at the same time. I did like the color and the foam. I think I might have to try this again with the recommended Guiness and maybe a different kind of bubbly.

Then again, maybe it was the Thai dinner paired with the cocktail that made something taste funny. If I do this again, it's going to be solely as an apéritif. Lesson learned :) But glad I finally drummed up the courage to take the plunge into the Black Velvet!

Avocado Daiquiris: more good than weird

Before I get into the good stuff (booze), I have to tell you about this show J.D. loves called Drinking Made Easy. It's a pretty neat show and it's based loosely off Zane Lamprey's earlier show, Three Sheets. Three Sheets is actually the show that sparked my desire to one day travel to Belize :)

We all know I'm a sucker for travel, so why not throw in some interesting alcohol facts and recipes, right?! Well, when Drinking Made Easy hit Portland, Ore., the illusive avocado daiquiri caught my eye.

And it was only a matter of time before I put my own spin on it.

Avocado Daiquiri (adapted from Mint/820)

Ingredients:

• 4 oz mango rum (original recipe calls for 4 oz light & gold rum)
• 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
• 2 oz simple syrup
• 1/4 medium-ripe avocado, peeled and pitted
• 1/2 oz heavy cream
• 1/2 oz skim milk
• 1 1/2 c ice

Directions:

Blend all the ingredients together and enjoy!

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As weird as it sounds, I really enjoyed this cocktail! It was creamy and fruity and refreshing. I think it would be a lot bolder without the mango rum, and will definitely have to try it again. Although I had to work during the night of Cinco de Mayo (and I'm French, remember?! I shouldn't even have to acknowledge that "holiday") I'd definitely make these again to "catch up". Or for any occasion, really.

Enjoy! Oh and...

To summarize, two posts ago I said I was going on an alcohol detox, didn't I...?! Oops :)

Week 17: Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

Remember my deep love for all things cupcake?! Does it surprise you to learn I've never made a batch from scratch before?

Up until now, all my cupcake-making adventures involved pre-mixed boxes. Despite it being Monday, last week I finally rolled up my sleeves and made my own cupcakes from scratch.

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes, that is.

(Side note, aren't these silicone cupcake holders my mom got me for Easter adorable?!)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c unsweetened cocoa
• 2 c sugar
• 2 c all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch fine salt
• 1 bottle stout beer
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1 T vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 c sour cream (I subbed plain Greek yogurt)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt.

In another medium mixing bowl, combine the stout, melted butter, and vanilla. Beat in eggs, 1 at time. Mix in sour cream until thoroughly combined and smooth. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture.

Lightly grease 24 muffin tins. Divide the batter equally between muffin tins, filling each 3/4 full. Bake for about 12 minutes and then rotate the pans. Bake another 12 to 13 minutes until risen, nicely domed, and set in the middle but still soft and tender. Cool before turning out.

And the recipe on the website for the frosting calls for powdered sugar. That I did not have on hand, but I had heavy cream. So I scoured the Internet and came up with this recipe for Whipped Cream Cream Cheese Frosting.

This was also the first time I've ever piped on frosting! Usually I'll just slather it on with a knife and make those messy peaks. But since buying piping bags in Sonoma last weekend, I figured this was as good as any time to start! Regardless, the messy look still shone through with my piped whipped cupcakes... Soooo, I really need to learn techniques. I tried to make flower petals instead of spiral frosting toppers, but they turned out heinous. Instead, I just swirled right on top haha. If you know of any websites/videos on how to pipe pretty designs, please send them my way :)

Now about the beer:

Yes there is an entire bottle of beer in my batter. Mixing it all together in my KitchenAid, you could DEFINITELY smell the stout. It reminded me of staying at a bar near closing and smelling the booze freshly spilled all over counters and floors ;) Ok, it was actually more of a pleasant aroma. And, interestingly enough, despite baking for 24 minutes, you can distinctly taste the beer in the cupcakes! It is interesting and very subtle, which I think makes for a delicious cupcake. Kind of reminds me of the time I dumped a whole lot of Bailey's into chocolate chip cookies....

Sensing a theme here? Seriously, try this. Or at least try alcoholic baked goods. It's kind of fun, in a childish-I-want-to-be-an-adult sort of way.

One final note. I found this recipe because I had all that stout on hand. Why?! Because I found alcoholic whipped cream at Total Wine and bought some when my sister was in town. My sister bought German Chocolate and I went with Amaretto. We honest-to-God tried whipped cream shots in our mouths, but this was too much. It literally tastes like taking shots. Stings the mouth, even.

I initially thought they'd be really good on top of a glass of stout. I've actually had whipped cream on top of a pumpkin beer before, in a restaurant, so this seemed similar. Upon contact with the beer, the alcoholic whipped cream curdled. Needless to say, I didn't finish it, at all. As unpleasant as that sounds, who knows, maybe it'll be decent on top of stout cupcakes...