A Food Truck Social

Today I bring to you music from the un-sung Knowles sister,Solange. I prefer Solange over Beyonce.They both sing really well but Solange has a style and creativity...a uniqueness her sister does not possess.I decided is a spirited,peppy song that combines a present day Solange Knowles with the flavor of the supremes,and the Shirelles.You will like it!

This weekend I went to my very first food truck social.Whats that? Glad you asked, its where all of the best food trucks in chicago take about about 3 blocks space on the west side and ppl come and taste,listen to live music and enjoy.Some of the proceeds went to hungry children,so thats always good.

It started at noon and it was truly my intention to get there by 1245 at the very latest.Did not happen.I CAN NOT  watch the first 15 mins of Ghost whisperer and not see it thru,i just can't.I had to watch that and then I was waiting for a novel I ordered from amazon to show up...it never came,ugh. Anyhooslebee's I had to get an oil change first so I didn't there till about 230pm and it was packed.I didn't try as much food as I would have liked because the lines were waaayy too long.I got some goodies tho...

You see what I mean by crowded.... 

I thought these candles were adorable,and all handmade.  

Sweet ride is a great dessert truck and they never disappoint! 2 sugar cookies for $5! 

    

Then I headed over here:

where I got a German chocolate brownie for $3...something.It was ricccch but delicious.As I stated previously there were other trucks I wish i had gotten there earlier to try,but I really enjoyed what I did get.

Getting to know you...just like the King & I

Remember the other day how I said I don't like remix's but I love a good re-do. Well on his latest album Tank (the most under-rated talent slept on singer) does a re-make of the old classic I can't make you love me.Listen here .I really think he does this song so beautifully,and he really does it justice.Everybody can't saang like this yall!

Earlier this week whilst reading one of my favorite blogs it gave me an idea for an interesting post Jess at the sauciest kitchen kinda did a questionnaire and I thought it would give you guys some insight into who I am.Because we all know thats what the world is clamoring for...more of me!! Let's get to it I won't torture you any longer.

1.What 5 items are always in your fridge?       
Wine,cheese,yogurt,water,cilantro

2.Do you write a grocery list or shop off the cuff? 
I MUST MUST have a list.I will not shop w/out if i did I'd come home $40 over budget and with items I don't need.

3.What is the most unused item in your kitchen?  
The Crock pot..purchased in July and I've used it 3 times,no 4.

4.What do you have in your kitchen that seems odd to visitors?
Hmph.. nothing really. I do have a picture of Janet Leigh screaming in my shower tho...folks get a kick outta that.Put there haven't been many ppl in my shower..and never any men :)

5)What one condiment could you not live without?
Mustard,spicy & brown.It helps me function.

6.What is your favorite alcoholic drink?
It changes with the seasons but for now a manhattan

7.What is your favorite food?
You already know...CHEESE. Sooo many things you can do with it.

8.What kitchen items have you never owned?
Where do I begin...pasta maker,bread maker,ice cream maker,mandolin,garlic press,food proccessor yada,yada,yada.

9.If you could grow 3 herbs in your garden what would it be?
Cilantro,basil,oregano

10.What 5 items would you pack for a lunch at the park?
Ummm all the possiblities..Homemade sangira,shrimp qusadilla,spicy rice,pound cake and raspberry yogurt.

The Ultimate grilled cheese

Well today's song will be mildly out of character for me as I do not like re-mix's.I only like to re-mix in the kitchen.I don't mind a re-do if it's done well,but no re-mix's. That being said I bring to you what is the best re-mix I've ever heard. We all remember the Destiny's Child Hit Say My name well here is the re-mix.It's waaayyy better than the original.

So by now we all now that cheese is my favorite food.Early this week I just got the hankering for a decadent grilled cheese sammich.I couldn't figure out what else I wanted on it though.I first thought bacon would be nice and it would but all that cheese and bacon is like sodium overload.So I vetoed that...then I went to my go to food,eggplant.Yes grilled cheese w/ grilled eggplant & onions,pure yumness. Here's what you'll need:

We have here:roughly a handful of parsley(some will be for garnis),2 slices of farmer bread,few slices of onions,2 slices of eggplant,1/2 c of aged w.cheddar & 1/2 c of y.cheddar.
1) After cheese has been grated,parsley,onions & eggplant cut;turn your grill (mine is a gridle I call it a grill...because I want to!) onto about 400 degrees.
2) Then pour a little olive oil and spread it around half the grill and put down the onions and eggplant. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.Cook the onions untill they are browning but still have a crunch,the eggplant should cook on both sides for 5 mins.
                                                                

3)After this is done take it off the grill and put aside.
4) Now get a tblspn butter and olive oil to coat and put down on the grill.Then grab most of the parsley and a few shakes of the herbs De provence and mix it around in the oil & butter,were making an herb butter...you could also buy herb butter,but who does that??LOL.
5) Now put the bread down and load the cheese on

 6)After the bread has been down for about 4 mins add on the eggplant & onions,then turn the oven onto broil and put them in for about 5 mins.It will be melty deliciousness!

It will come out looking just as desirable as this,and you will immeadiately want to dive in,and you will.

Brown bagging it !

Today's song is one of my very fav's and its a constant prayer of mine. Order my Steps is a simple prayer,and it helps keep me focused and God in control. But remember don't ask Him to order your steps if you aren't really ready to step!


So today were talking about brown bagging it. I've found myself having alot of convo's about my lunches and how I manage my to always bring my lunch,something tasty and blah blah.Chicago has some amazing food but eating lunch out everyday can be costly;and not real nutritious. I'm a really organized person so lunch is typically taken care of the night before,and I like to keep it healthy as well.Here are three of my easiest go to weekday lunches.


1)A tuna melt (recipe here) it's super simple and with it I typically grab a yogurt,pear or small bag of lays chips. Always lays because is as natural as a potato chip can get.


2) Leftovers! You guys have seen my blog so you know the kinds of things I typically eat. It is sooo easy for me to grab some tupperwear and just pack up the previous nights dinner. If it's only a small serving I'll grab mango or yogurt to go along with it.


3)Healthy choice steamers,they look like this .I admit the sodium is little higher than I'd like,but I typically only eat one of these a week.The potassium and vitamin count is pretty good though.


So thats that. I hope this gives you guys some ideas about how to save money,time and eat a little better. If not...well I hope I amused you somehow!

Potatoes on a kabob?

So I have been trying to figure out for a while now how I'm going to do song of the day. I tried to just get a song to play whenever you clicked on a certain post a different song would play...but I am really really horrible with computers,not good at all. So clearly that did not work.I have deleted the song of day page cause really who was checking it?? I will simply just post a song here at the top of every post.So here goes.....

This is my favorite song from El Debarge's latest album,its just classic El; and I love it! listen here

So last nite,kabobs w/potatoes! I've never done kabobs before and I won't be doing it to often. It took me longer than I thought it would. The chopping,the spearing the object onto the skewer craft stick,the end result was rather tasty tho. I really wanted to try something I've never done and kinda keep it healthy and fresh. I ended up using 2 carbs (potato's & rice) but feel free to substitute one when you try the recipe. I already know after you read this you'll be rushing to get home and serve this for dinner.LOL, here's what you'll need:

 

You will also need craft sticks which you can get @ Michael's!

1) Soak or boil your rice, while this is occurring get a saute pan and put it on low heat. Then add the butter and 1/2 c of olive oil.If you've got garlic/herb butter use it!

2) Once the butter has melted in goes the rosemary and stir that around a bit until the smell becomes almost sinful or 3 mins. Then in goes garlic,salt,basil & oregano.Stir for another 2 mins then turn the heat off.

3)Now wash a potato and cube it up,then put it on a microwave safe bowl and cover the cubes w/ water and zap them in the microwave for 2 mins.

4) Get a bell pepper & onion and cut them into..ummm pieces...triangular like.Yes do it now,simultaneously while reading this.Now all you have to do is cube the chicken breast.

5) You can load the items onto the stick anyway you'd like. Most of mine wound up with at least 2 pieces of chicken. When this is done turn the oven onto 400 and start spooning that herb mixture onto each kabob.Make sure that each side gets in on some of that delicious herb mix.They are now ready for the oven.

6) Now its time to cook the rice. The kabobs will be in the oven for about 12 mins and you will turn them 7 mins in. We have time for rice and maybe an adult beverage...

7)You will cook the rice in the same pot you made the herb mixture in. First you need to grab a spatula and scrap the garlic and leftover rosemary into the trash.Don't worry the flavor will still be there.

8)Put the pan down on low heat and add a little butter ( yea we're Paula Deening it today).I had leftover peppers and onion so i cooked it along with the rice. So pour it all in,then add some garlic pepper and salt. Toss it to get it seasoned well. At this point everything is about ready to come together!

It was really good and the rice had just the right amount of seasonings,the potatoes & chicken worked well together.It will be a while before I do this again but I've got to get around to it soon!



Banana upside down Cake

Have you ever heard of a banana upside down cake? I hadn't. I had this idea in my mind..something like a play upon pineapple upside down cake. Sure enough I looked online and recipes did actually exist. Well ya'll already know I have a hard time following directions so I didn't really follow any specific recipe. Here's what I did:

1)Make bananas foster,if you need guidance,here it is :
http://chicagosdomesticdiva.blogspot.com/2011/07/bananas-foster.html ( I used 3 bananas)
2) Then you'll need some kind of cake...I used a white batter cake mix (on sell for 97 cent)
3) Take one banana and mash it up with a for really well.














3 cont'd) make cake batter and mix smashed banana in,mix really ,really well.

4) Turn oven on to 400,then spray cake pan w/butter,then pour in the bananas foster and make sure to spread them about so that they will cover the top of the cake.














Yea..when I did this the bananas didn't actually stay put at the bottom they kinda floated around the side,but oh well!

5) After is baked on 400 for 40 mins its ready to come out.














Now whats that big hump doing on top?? I dunno do you? After this the only thing left to do is enjoy.












See what I mean when I said the bananas didn't stay on the bottom like I wanted them to,they moved to the side. It was still a scrumptious cake,even tho there's only one banana in the cake the flavor is still very present.It really is one of the better cakes I've made. I served it with vanilla ice cream and a sprinkling of cinnamon.













This is my new favorite cake,seriously it is so delicious and has an amazing array of flavors.It's not to hard either!

Black Womens Expo 2011

Hey bloggers & bloggettes,how have you been?? Well I hope. I had a rather busy week and wknd. As you know I was a vendor at the Black womens expo this wknd.I sold a corn salsa,bbq sauce and a salad dressing. All hand made by me,all natural no preservatives. Well guys I didn't sell out, which kinda had me down until Tuesday....

A woman I met at the expo told me she wrote for the examiner and that she'd be doing a write up of the expo and she might include me. What she didn't say was that she would be listing me as one of the top 5 vendors!!! Can you believe it?? Little ol me one of the top 5. You can read the article here: http://www.examiner.com/african-american-community-in-chicago/top-five-black-women-s-expo-vendors-review.

Is God awesome or what? I met so many genuine and encouraging people all weekend it really warmed my heart.Folks who didn't know me from Adam or Eve but were proud of me,how cool is that? Don't ask God to order your steps if you don't mean it!

Like I said before I had been feeling down about not selling out of everything but when I saw that article it made that whole exhausting weekend worth it. Now I'll share some pictures:

Corn salsa sample

Best shot I could get of most of the table.

Yours truly,yea my booth was right next to the rifle assoc...

Peanut butter cookies

Hey bloggers & bloggettes,quick post! this will be my last post for a week or so. I'm a vendor at the black womens expo this wknd.I'm gonna take this week to hunker down and get things together. It's a 2 day event and the biggest expo I've ever done. I'm pretty excited and a little nervous so wish me luck and keep me in your prayers. Thanx!

I had almost a whole jar of peanut butter left over after experimenting with a recipe for dressing.I was going to sell in at the expo this weekend but I really didn't like it. So what to do?? I don't eat peanut butter sandwich's..I don't eat it unless its in a Reeces soooo I made cookies.Seriously what else was their to do??I found the recipe on http://allrecipes.com I love being able to adjust the measurements to what I need.Here it is :http://allrecipes.com/recipe/quick-peanut-butter-cookies/detail.aspx
Here's what you'll need......+ cinnamon to dust on top when they're done















I forgot to take pictures of the dough but it never actually became "smooth" it certainly didn't affect the taste though.This is them going in:












I had to use 2 cookie sheets,I really didn't realize how much dough I had till it was oven time.










Ummm is it me or did they gain weight while in the oven. I don't bake cookies hardley ever but why are they so huge and flat? I was kinda hurt when I saw how flat they were,then I dusted some cinnamon on them and had a taste...I hurt no more. Do you guys have any ideas for why they turned out so flat??

I'll be back next week with all details of the glitz and glamour from the black women expo.