Dirty 30, Red and Flirty

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By now, you probably realize that today is no ordinary day. Today is our BIRTHDAY! And not just another birthday, it’s Sonia’s dirty 30! This weekend we’re celebrating together with a red velvet cake from this awesome little shop in Sonia’s town. We figured we’d keep with the theme and give you all a tasty red velvet cake to join in! (PS. This is also great for V-Day).

Cake mix

  • 1 box Betty Crocker German cake mix (TRUST ME. I tried making this without the premade mix and it’s just not worth it.)
  • 1 Tablespoon cocoa
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups oil
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 Tablespoon vinegar
  • 1-2 oz. red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8 inch cake pans. Put all of the ingredients in to a mixing bowl,  mix on medium until well blended, and pour directly into cake pans. Now here’s a cool trick I just learned – drop the pans on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles. (Who knew?!) Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. After about ten minutes, remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack (approximately 20 minutes). While they cool, it’s time to blend the frosting.

Frosting

  • 8oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 5 cups confectioners’ sugar

Blend the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla well, then slowly add in the confectioners’ sugar one cup at a time. Once all the sugar is added, blend on medium-high for another minute until it’s a thick consistency.

Put the first layer of cake on a plate and add a layer of frosting on top. Then add the second layer and frost the entire thing to your hearts content. (We give you permission to lick the spoon when you’re done.)

 Red velvet cake

Happy Eating Birthday!, XO

Welcome to the birthday week!

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Hey guys, it’s just about here – our birthday! We don’t have to tell you how excited we are about this. You’ve already heard all about it in our two birthday posts from last year – cake, cake, cake, and pink champs, darling.

We know you’re used to getting a recipe every Monday, but we wanted to create a little drama this week and save it for the big day (aka Thursday). And trust me, we have another damn delish birthday creation to share with you!

Until then, let this kid get you through the week:

Spicy Detox “Teas”

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Over the holidays I got a bit of unpleasant news – I developed a stomach ulcer. Yuck. And ow. After going to the doctor they told me that I need to change my diet a bit. Cut back on spicy foods, no more tomatoes/tomato sauce (sigh, goodbye red sauce) and eat more frequent, smaller meals throughout the day. Challenge accepted.

A couple of years ago I went to an Ayurvedic cooking class with a friend, which teaches you how to incorporate healing spices in to your diet. I decided now would be a good time to really pay attention to what I learned. Turmeric helps with heartburn and an upset stomach, so what better place to start?

In your comfiest mug, fill it with hot water and these healthy ingredients:

  • 2 dashes of turmeric
  • 1-2 drops of honey or Agave
  • 2 tsp of lemon juice (or lime if you’re in a pinch)
  • 1 dash of cayenne pepper if you’re feeling frisky (although not recommended for getting over a stomach ulcer…)

After doing a little more research on spices that promote a healthy stomach, cumin, anise and nutmeg were at the top. So for a something a little sweeter:

  • 1 stick of cinnamon
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 dash of nutmeg
  • 1-2 drops of honey

 

Turmeric tea

You can find more information on healthy herbs from the Huffington Post.

(PS. This your friendly reminder to go get your yearly physical!)

Happy (Healthy) Eating, XO.

“Suddenly Salad”, suddenly more delicious

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In keeping with the theme of keeping it super simple (we know you’re still recovering from the holidays) here’s a way to cheat with your next lunch or dinner. Buy a box of the new Suddenly Salad and spruce it up with chic peas and kale. I used the Tuscan Grains flavor and it was seriously amazing. It’s already exploding with flavor, so adding in the kale and chic peas just adds some “oompf” to it.

  •  1 box of Suddenly Salad Tuscan Grains
  • 1 can of chic peas
  • 3-4 leaves of kale, chopped
  • 2 tbsp of olive oil

Make the Suddenly Salad according to the box instructions. In a separate pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once hot, saute the kale. Add the chic peas to the kale to warm them up for roughly 5 five minutes. Once the Suddenly Salad is done, combine everything together and serve hot. (But honestly, if you want to make this ahead for an office lunch it works just as well cold.)

Suddenly salad remake

Happy Eating, XO.

The “I’m too tired to cook” pasta

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This is one of those recipes that comes together when you A) need to clean out your fridge and B) are exhausted and can’t stand the idea of making some fancy pants dinner. Especially after you’ve just done the holiday marathon of hosting an ugly sweater party, attending an ugly sweater party, attending your office party, attending your significant others’ office party, and making the rounds to all of your relatives on Christmas day. We know. You need a break.

Change in to your comfiest sweats and start throwing it together.

  • 1/2 box of angel hair pasta
  • 1 small container of cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 3 tbsp of olive oil
  • 1 chopped zucchini
  • 2-3 oz of goat cheese
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
  • Dash of salt and pepper (or Adobo)

Boil a pot of water for the pasta, and while that’s heating up, heat the olive oil in a pan. Once the oil is hot, add in the tomatoes, zucchini, and onion. Cook until soft and the zucchini is slightly browned. While that’s cooking, boil your pasta. Once the pasta is done, drain it and return it to the pot. Add in the pan of vegetables and toss with the goat cheese, salt, and pepper.

Tomato, zucchini, goat cheese pasta

 

Happy Eating, XO.