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Thursday, July 26, 2012

Yummo Style

This was a GNO 4 years ago before JT concert. Cute top, great hair/make up and good accessories.

The Problem:

I have found myself in a serious fashion rut. I have been in this rut for the past couple of years and I believe it's largely due to me working from home, being settled with my man and learning that paying off a rather large credit card bill from weekend shopping is NOT COOL. I miss being fashionable (please read in an obnoxious whiney girl voice). I live in Boston and I see all these 20's something girls wearing the latest trends, while the 30's something women are showing off their latest designer bags (because they finally can afford them) and 40 year olds looking polished and put together as ever. I am envious of these women and I finally have the strength to admit I was once a fashion vixen, but now I’m a fashion victim *sigh*. I guess admitting is half the battle, right?

                                            

The History:

Let's see a few years back I would not be caught dead leaving the comforts of my home without at least being in designer jeans, flattering top and a designer bag with matching sunglasses. Oh boy, how times have changed! Sadly my current daily wear consists of either my cut off cameo shorts (that have some paint stains on them) or black stretchy pants with a tank top that I may or may not have worn for the second day in a row. J And you know what the REALLY sad part is? I actually have different black stretchy pants for different occasions! I have casual BSP’s (black stretchy pants)  for in the house and lounging, BSP’s that make my bum look good and I strongly believe make me look hot (seriously Pam?) and the designer Lulu Lemon ones that I think just because they cost a fortune it's ok to wear them on a Saturday night to a local bar. (Oh My!)


The solution:

So I am determined to find a balance between my fashion and financial status so welcome Yummo Style. I am determined to get back into my fashionista self without racking up the credit card bill and I want to share all my findings with you! Think of this as an I help you, you help me. I help you by sharing what I find for deals and steals / styles and trends and I am forced to get my act together and become that fashionable girl I once was and gain that confidence back I once had.  I don’t care what they say… when you look good, you feel good.


I think I will start by going through my closet this weekend so I know what I am working with…eeek…to be continued…

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake! Oh My!





My husband and I celebrated our one year anniversary this past Monday. Wow does a year fly by! Let's see we traveled to Chicago, Washington DC, San Diego and soon Denver, renovated our kitchen, redid our decks, bought a CUTE.. * ahem* sorry MANLY red Jeep Wrangler and participated and finished the Boston Ruckus. PHEW! No wonder why it went fast! SO instead of buying each other fancy gifts or fly off to some fancy schmancy destination we decided to go back to the spot where we exchanged our vows and partied the night away in Kennebunkport, ME. Since the gift is paper for your first anniversary we decided to exchange letters about this past year and about what we learned/loved about our relationship. We are saving them to re read after 25+ years of marriage and I am sure we will get a good laugh! :)  Anywho... enough of the mushy stuff, we got married at St Anne's church which is a beautiful stone church along the rocky coastline of Kennebunkport. The minute we laid our eyes on the church we knew it was the right place to say our "I Do's".  Our reception was held at the Nonantum an Inn that exemplifies New England charm with a touch of class. We incorporated unique touches in our wedding such as a lemonade stand outside the church, a lobster boat that carried the wedding party to the cocktail hour and a cigar tent that served Cubans and the finest scotch. The Nonantum provided excellent service and an unbelievable scenery, but for me best part about the Nonantum was the FOOD! We had stations of Prime Rib, Roasted Chicken, Lobster Ravioli, scallops wrapped in bacon...(Drool)…just to name a few. People to this day still talk about how delicious it was. We wanted our wedding to have that rustic Maine feel, but also be elegant and refined. Each time I think back on that day I feel blessed that we had so much love and support from family and friends and that I got to promise my heart and soul to such a wonderful man.

One of the traditions that we passed on was freezing and eating the top of our cake for our one year. We actually decided not to freeze it because we heard that it wasn't worth it and a waste of money. Instead we were to order cupcakes of our lemon blueberry cake from our baker. Well this is how my life goes, the baker quit her baking job two weeks before our anniversary and took an amazing job for National Geographic writing food columns for them. BAH! Lucky for us though Mom saved the day and recreated our lemon blueberry yumminess for us. She did an AMAZING job on it...and it made me think I could have saved some money in our wedding budget! :) I asked her to provide the recipe below which she got from the Food Network website. Trust me you don't want to skip this tasty treat.


Lemon Layer Cake

Ingredients

  • Lemon Cake
  • 2 1/2 cups cake flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 large whole eggs, at room temperature
  • 3 large egg yolks, at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • Lemon Filling
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, slightly softened
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions

1. To make the lemon cake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of two 9-inch round cake pans. Dust the pans with flour and tap out the excess.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir together the dry ingredients with a whisk. Set aside.
3. In an electric stand mixer, using the paddle attachment or beaters, beat the butter on medium speed for about 30 seconds, or until creamy. Gradually add the sugar, increase the speed to medium-high, and continue to beat until the mixture is light, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. Add the whole eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and lemon zest. Reduce the speed to low and gradually beat in he lemon juice (the batter will appear curdled at this point smooth out after you add the dry ingredients). Beat in the dry ingredients in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for another 10 seconds. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans.
5. Bake the cakes for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans on wire racks for 20 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the rakcs and cool completely.
6. To make the lemon filling, in a medium nonreactive saucepan, whisk together the yolks and sugar until combined (We made blueberry filling). Whisk in the lemon juice, butter, and salt. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the mixture turns opaque, thickens, and coats the back of the spoon. Do not let the filling boil, or it will curdle. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Stir in the lemon zest and allow the filling to cool.
7.Cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly onto the surface, and refrigerate for 1 hour, or until chilled.
8. In a clean bowl of the electric mixer, using the whisk attachment or beaters, beat the heavy cream on high speed until soft peaks form. Remove the lemon filling from the refrigerator and whisk until smooth. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the whipped cream into the filling. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the filling until ready to assemble the cake.


10. To assemble the cake, place 1 cake layer on a serving plate. Pile the lemon filling onto the center using a small offset metal spatula, and spread it into an even layer, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge of the cake layer. Top with the second cake layer. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the  frosting. (If some of the filling oozes out from the middle, just blend it with the frosting around the sides of the cake.) Serve the cake immediately, or refrigerate and bring to room temperature before serving.

Mom Note: "I used all fruit blueberry jam for filling and I decorated top with blueberries, rinsed and dried off."

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

  • 3 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream

Directions

In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.
Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency

Friday, July 20, 2012

Tasty Taco Salad!!!



This salad is one of my Go To's in the summer time...it's quick, easy, light and healthy.  You can mix this bad boy up any ol' way you see fit, just open up that vegetable drawer and go nuts!  I have included some my staples in the recipe below. Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 lb of Ground Meat (Turkey, Chicken, Beef)
1 Package of Taco seasoning
Approx 1/2 pint of Cherry Tomatoes
1Avacado Diced (Squeeze w/ lemon or lime juice to prevent browning)
1 Green Onion chopped.
(And I threw in some left over yellow pepper ( the choice is yours...))
1 cup of Cheddar Cheese
1 can of black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 can of garbanzo beans (rinsed and drained)
Approx 2 cups of Green Leaf Lettuce, chopped
1 Small back of Cheese Doritos (broken into pieces)
2-3  Tablespoons of Fat Free or Light Thousand Island Dressing (To lightly coat salad)

In large salad bowl mix all the beans and vegetables.  In pan bring to medium high heat and brown the ground meat. Once browned, add taco seasoning on top to coat meat  (sometimes I add a tiny bit of water to spread the seasoning love) add to the vegetables in salad bowl.  Add cheese and top with enough dressing to lightly coat the salad. For an extra salty  crunch and to slightly negate all of your other healthier choices, top off salad with small bag of cheese Doritos!  YUM!

Loving Food Friends Friday! Thanks http://alilcountrysugar.blogspot.com/ for hosting!

Blog HOP







It's BLOG HOP Friday! I am new to this...but visit these YUMMY blogs to see the rules and the play the game to gain more followers!!

ABpetite, Chelseas Culinary Indulgence, Skinny and Delicious,  and Bargain Bites!

Cheers!

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

It's HOT and I'm not talking about the weather...



OK I have totally been ignoring my cooking/ blogging duties because:


1) It’s 100 Freak'n degrees outside and we don't have a grill that works so I don't feel sweating my butt off in front of the stove! Waaaaa!

B) I attempted to make ice cream and failed miserable, it made me sad. :(

THIRD) I am obsessed with 50 Shades of Grey Trilogy...disgusting I know.

But seriously, these books have just sucked me in! I don't know what it is, the writing is TERRIBLE (if I read "murmur" as a description as to how they speak one more time...) and the love scenes I could do without all the detail (ouch! And who knew?!)! And really E.L James, you expect me to believe this girl's first boyfriend EVER is insanely hot and rich? Puh-lease! BUT yet I find myself counting down the hours until I am finished work and errands only to pick up this disgusting novel and bury my nose in it for hours.

Maybe it's nostalgic, as I relive those feelings and complications of a relationship when you are first getting to know each other. The passion, the intensity, the mystery...OR maybe it’s the fact she is living an insanely rich life which I envy in a dark sinister like way, greatly...wardrobe full of designer clothes, helicopter rides, cars for presents...etc..., or maybe it's just an easy fun read that allows my mind escape from all the everyday stresses this world beholds on us and live in a fantasy of love, sex and desperation. Regardless of what it is it has me hooked and I can't get enough of my 50 Shades...  


Saturday, July 14, 2012

Lobster!

My husband grew up on Bailey Island, ME where his parents still reside. We both adore going up to this little lobstermen island with it's rocky coast and ocean views. The island is only 3 miles long and 1 mile wide with only a General Store for immediate supplies. It is quite remote and the the minute you cross the Cribstone bridge and breathe in the salty air all of your stresses from city living seem to disappear.

During our visit my Mother and Father in law fed us lobster rolls and oysters (spoiled!). Due to shedding season, the lobster was amazingly sweet.  This succulent lobster only required a dollop of mayonnaise and some juice of a lemon. I piled the lobster meat high in my lightly buttered and toasted bun for the most hearty and delicious lunch I have had in awhile.


Lobster Roll Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter, softened
4 hot dog buns or kaiser rolls, split
4 lettuce leaves
1 1/2 pounds cooked and cubed lobster
meat
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
2 Green onions, Choppe
1 Stalk celery finely chopped
Salt and Pepper




Directions:
Lightly butter the insides of the buns or rolls and line with lettuce leaves. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, lime juice, salt and pepper until well blended. Mix in the green onion and celery, then lightly mix in the lobster so it just gets coated without falling apart.
Stuff the lobster filling into the buns and enjoy!