Some Local Favorites

One of the best parts of summer is getting fresh veggies from the local farmer's market. Conveniently, Baugher's Orchards & Farms is located in Westminster, MD, a pretty short drive from where I live. I ventured up there earlier in the week and only walked out with some sweet corn because I had already been to the grocery store but it's still fun to look. You really can't beat getting enough produce to last you 2 weeks for around $20 and nothing will ever be as fresh unless you have your own garden. It's very easy to detect a difference in taste when you buy from the market instead of the grocery store. Along with the fruits and veggies Baugher's also has homemade pies, cookies, various candies, and sauces and dressings, as well as cooking supplies, household decorations, and a plant nursery. My favorite sweet treat to take home is their homemade peanut butter fudge.

Yesterday I had a lovely dinner with my friend Ashley from nursing school. We hit up one of my all-time favorite places in Sykesville, MD, E.W. Beck's Pub. What makes this restaurant fun is their seasonal menu. It's changed 4 times a year, so I'm always excited to go back once a new menu comes out, and this place never disappoints. I'm trying to get back on a healthier eating regimen so for this meal I chose the grilled Asian mahi mahi tacos:

Doesn't it just look pretty? Topping the fish were fried wonton strips, seaweed (yes seaweed! Surprisingly very good despite it's gelatinous looking appearance), cherry tomatoes, and a sweet chili sour cream. The portions are big and I wasn't able to finish it all! Ashley chose the crab, spinach, and Old Bay flatbread pizza, which she said was the perfect balance of crab and cheese without being too rich.

Beck's also changes their cocktails for the season so we both had the Ashley's Homemade Pink Sangria. This was delicious, very light and refreshing.

I highly recommend Beck's to anyone who's in town.

Sunshine and Summertime

Fall has always been my favorite time of year, but usually when it's followed by a long and bitter winter like this year I find myself getting really excited for the warmer weather. I especially look forward to flip flops, tank tops, sundresses, BBQs, carnivals/fairs, frozen treats, swimming, and the beach!

My first carnival was local at the Gamber Volunteer Fire Department very close to my house. Some good friends of mine are members and were volunteering so I went to visit them and enjoy the atmosphere. Funnel cake is probably my favorite carnival food but ironically I didn't have any this time. I did partake in a crabcake sandwich with french fries and macaroni salad, all of which were pretty good. I heard tell that the crabcakes were from a local seafood restaurant called Park's Landing, which I have visited a few times in the past. I also learned that this restaurant offers all-you-can-eat steamed crabs for around $40 a few evenings a week. The only catch is you have to eat them there so something to think about if you really enjoy the outside, picnic aspect of eating crabs. Definitely a good deal though!

Here's a picture of the fireworks that ended the night:

Last night while I was making the zucchini pizza I got a really bad craving for my mom's deviled eggs, one of my other favorite foods of summer. Plus, I had some eggs that were about to go bad so the quickest way to use them and make them last a little longer is to hard boil them. I also found an awesome egg tray at Marshall's earlier in the day so I wanted to use that too. I'm partial to my mom's deviled eggs. Many deviled eggs include relish but hers do not and that's one of the things I really like about them. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

6 eggs
3 tablespoons of light mayo
1/2 teaspoon of dried mustard
1/4 teaspoon of salt
Dash of pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon of finely chopped onion
Paprika

Directions:

Hard boil the 6 eggs, cut in half and scoop yolks into a medium sized mixing bowl. Add in all other ingredients except paprika and mash with a fork until all large pieces of yolk are broken up. Place your egg halves on a tray and scoop the mixture into each one. Sprinkle with paprika and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

Here are mine:

What are some of your favorite summer foods?

**New addition. I can't believe I almost forgot this!**

Over the holiday weekend a cupcake bakery in Elkridge, MD called Kupcakes and Co. was featuring an Old Bay cupcake, but sadly only on Saturday and Sunday, both of which I had to work 7a-7p :( But my awesome sauce parents went on Sunday and got me a few and boy am I glad they did! The cake was dark chocolate chip with Old Bay infused throughout. You could definitely taste the Old Bay and it left a nice spicy kick on your tongue. Sounds weird but a good combo! Kind of like chiles in dark chocolate. The frosting was a delicious chocolate buttercream and was topped with a red fondant crab. If you're interested in trying something like this Sweet Cascades in old Ellicott City offers milk and dark chocolate Old Bay crabs all year round :)

Food Trucks, Pit Beef, and a little bit of Spice!

Tonight I'm working on two posts to play catch up for the pretty ridiculous week of eating delicious food I just had. Some weeks are less foodie than others but this one was definitely over the top!

It started with a visit to Chaps Pit Beef on Thursday for lunch. I had heard of this place before (hard not to when you're from Baltimore) but the interest in it didn't really take hold until I started to get really OBSESSED with BBQ a year or two ago. If you stuck me on a desert island and told me I could only eat one thing it would hands down be BBQ. I have tried many places, some of my favorites being Mission BBQ, whom have several locations in MD, and Black Hog BBQ in Frederick, MD. Also, if you want a BBQ caterer for an event I highly recommend P.I.G.S. in Frederick. I really, really, really wish they had a restaurant. I could eat that every day.

Anyway, Chaps is located on the east side of the city on Pulaski Highway, and it's not unusual for there to be a line out of the door at any time, any hour. This place has been featured many times on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives and definitely did not disappoint. I opted for a pit beef sandwich with green peppers and onions topped with Tiger sauce, and we shared a side of mac and cheese.

I never said I was a neat eater...

I really have no complaints about this place. What I will say is if I could do it over I would opt to leave off the green peppers and onions and just eat the beef with the Tiger sauce in all its glory. It really doesn't need much.

Later that day we visited the McCormick World of Flavors store in Harborplace downtown. You know you're a nerd when you get excited about spices. I knew this store existed but had never really had a reason to go. Let me say that I'm very glad we went!

The store prominently features Old Bay; you're bombarded by a wall of it when you first walk in. After wandering for a few minutes on our own, we were greeted by an extremely friendly woman who was determined to find us every discount we could get. The great thing about the store is that many of these spices are already deeply discounted from grocery stores so they were dirt cheap by the time we made our purchase. Plus they had quite a few things that you cannot buy anywhere else. They also allow you to play a cornhole game and if you can get a hole in one you get a HUGE container of Old Bay for just $4. I will never need Old Bay again. At least a half an hour later we left with 3 spices each, a container of lime salt (perfect for rimming margaritas), 2 things of Old Bay, and some festive beer glasses.

For the final adventure, who has ever heard of a food truck rally? Because I don't have a Twitter (nor do I plan on creating one) I had never been to a food truck because I was not in the know. While stalking the Facebook page of one of my favorite cupcake bakeries I discovered that their food truck was going to be at an event called The Gathering. Kind of sounds like a cult, doesn't it?

Basically, at least 10 food trucks from the Baltimore area pick a spot to gather and have an event, often with live music and all you can drink in order to promote their businesses. This particular one was held at the Metro Centre in Owings Mills. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but by the time we got there quite a few people had shown up. I was particularly interested in the Gypsy Queen truck, voted the best in Baltimore two years running. We tried the Korean Beef tacos, which were definitely a hit.

The rest of the pictures are from various trucks. Below is a watermelon and goat cheese salad (this was great! A weird combination but something I would love to recreate at home!) 

 Samosas:

 Bibimbap (left) and a Cuban slider (top right) and Portobello slider (bottom right)

There were several other trucks we didn't get to try but I saved them to my phone so hopefully we'll be able to attend another gathering or visit them wherever they are for the day!

You can make pizza crust out of veggies??

I have always been really interested in zucchini and cauliflower pizza crusts but haven't ventured to try them until now. Pizza has to be one of my favorite foods. Saucy, doughy, cheesy goodness smothered in whatever other toppings you desire, I can never resist it if someone buys it. Especially night shift at work, then it's really bad. Or like today when my aunt bought Ledo's for lunch while I was there visiting her, my cousins and their kiddos.

It has been a week filled with pizza. My guy and I have a new goal to try every Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives restaurant in the Baltimore area. When we finish with Baltimore, the plan is to move on to DC. For those of you who don't know, the show airs on the Food Network and basically is exactly what it sounds like. Host Guy Fieri visits restaurants around the country recommended by viewers and tries the restaurant's most popular dishes. So far we have been to the Blue Moon Cafe (Captain Crunch french toast! Every bit as good as it sounds), Chaps Pit Beef, and Joe Squared.

Joe Squared has two locations in the city, one in Station North and the other at Power Plant Live! We decided to visit the Power Plant location. With over 20 pizzas to choose from plus an option to make your own, there's no way you won't be able to find something you like. They also offer salads, risottos, and other fare if pizza is not your thing.

We ordered the Bacon and Clam:

And the Chicken, Corn, and Apple:

This was seriously some of the best pizza I have ever had. The combinations were so unique, and they are all on thin crust so you don't get too much dough in each bite. If I had to pick a favorite of the two it would probably be the Bacon and Clam. I'm partial to white sauces and this one had a roasted garlic cream that was fantastic. They also didn't skimp on the clams or the bacon. The chicken pizza had a little bit of an unexpected kick to it but it wasn't overpowering. Apple is also really great as a sweet ingredient to cut the saltiness of the rest of it! This place is amazing and if you really love pizza you should go check it out!

Okay back to tonight's dinner. I opted to try zucchini crust because I love zucchini and it seemed like it would be something that would be really easy to shred. I wasn't disappointed. All you need is a cheese grater and two fairly large zucchinis. Both were shredded in under fifteen minutes. I love anything that is easy and doesn't take much time! Then you microwave it for 6 minutes and once done wrap it in a towel to squeeze out all the water. This step was optional but I highly recommend it! No one wants a soggy pizza crust.

To hold it all together you mix it with 1 egg, mozzarella and parmesan cheese, oregano, and salt and pepper. Then you place it on a baking sheet, preferably one lined with a silicone baking mat. Do this! I did not own one and decided to get one today and it made getting the pizza of the baking sheet so much easier! Here's the link to the one I purchased, cheap and easily found at your local Bed, Bath, and Beyond:

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/real-simple-professional-silicone-baking-mat/1014715754?Keyword=silicone+baking+mat

Once you've mixed your crust you spread it out on your baking mat and bake it for about 20 minutes. It should look something like this:

After baking simply pull it out and slap on your favorite toppings! I followed the recipe and used Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Chipotle BBQ sauce, red onions and corn. It also called for bacon but in the interest of trying to eat healthy I left it off. Here's the finished product:

So the verdict on the taste? Yummy! I was really concerned it was going to fall apart but it held up well. Yeah you don't get the chewy goodness of dough but I really didn't feel gipped. It had great flavor. And look at that golden delicious cheese! If you would like to try the recipe it can be found here:

http://www.closetcooking.com/2013/07/zucchini-pizza-crust-with-chipotle-bbq.html

What are some of your favorite pizza joints or recipes??

Let's Talk About Cupcakes

I can guarantee that at least once a week, you can find me at a local cupcake bakery that I have been dying to try, crossing off my list and stuffing my face with moist, creamy, sugary decliciousness. At least I hope, it all depends on how well the cupcake is executed. I then promptly hit the gym ASAP and prep lots of lean meats and leafy greens so I can continue to try these delectable treats without deleting all the hard work I've put in the last few years. 

My cupcake obsession began at least 2 years ago and man, I. AM. HOOKED. See below:

I have always loved cake and can never resist it at parties. Or really in all other aspects of daily life where there is cake involved, like in your direct line of vision while you're in the produce section of the grocery store trying to be good...

The first gourmet cupcake I ever had was from Georgetown Cupcakes in DC. I no longer remember what flavors I had because it was so long ago but they were delicious! At the time, sitting outside the bakery's Bethesda outpost at a table in the sunshine people watching on a busy weekday,  I thought they were the best cupcakes I would ever eat. But I was soon to discover that while they are great, there are some local, fantastic cupcake bakeries that are not nationally known that seriously hold their own over these large chains. 

Eventually I will feature each cupcake bakery I have been to, but for now I'll start with the ones that I have visited in the last few weeks. A rare adventure into Baltimore City on a non-workday led to Oooh So Sweet Bakery in Mt. Vernon, which was unexpectedly closed (sad face). Never fear, a quick Google search and an excruciating 30+ minute drive to Federal Hill that really should have only taken 5 deposited us at Midnite Confections Cupcakery. Ranked as one of the best in Baltimore, I couldn't believe that I hadn't heard of it before. 

The shop is on S. Charles Street near all the bars and Cross Street Market. If you blink you might miss it but pay close attention because it will be one of the best cupcakes you will ever eat. A single glass china cabinet displays the flavors of the day. All of the fresh cupcakes are secreted away in the back, like they're hiding a very, very good surprise. We tried the bakery's signature Black Velvet, Sublime-inal, and Eclipse. Only the first 2 are pictured below, Sublime-inal on the left, Black Velvet on the right. 

Both of these cupcakes were incredible. On the Black Velvet, the cream cheese frosting was extremely smooth and had perfect flavor. The cake is a classic velvet with a little bit of chocolate and was very moist (there is nothing that I dislike more than a dry cake). The Sublime-inal was the best lime cupcake I have ever had and I mean that with the utmost sincerity. The cake is lemon and pairs extremely well with the lime frosting, which had real bits of lime in it. The flavor was never overwhelming or too citrusy. This cupcake would be perfect with a margarita on a hot summer day! 

I did not take a picture of the Eclipse, only because I had actually meant to order their Full Moon cupcake, a vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream frosting. Of course I still ate it :P

The real showstopper of the cupcake adventure for this past week was the Flavor Cupcakery food truck at an event called The Gathering that I went to on Friday (more on that in another upcoming post). I have been hearing about this place nonstop recently, but have had a difficult time finding a good day to get to it since it's 2 locations are in Bel Air and Cockeysville, neither of which are super close to where I live. Flavor features 10 "classic" flavors each day plus at least 2 others specific to the day of the week and a surprise flavor. I had particularly been interested in their Tres Leches, which is only offered on Fridays. 

At the end of the evening I made a beeline for their truck and picked up a Tres Leches and Strawberry Margarita cupcake (see a theme?). I managed to not eat any of them in the car and when I finally took a bite of that Tres Leches cupcake, ladies and gentleman it did not disappoint. The cake was so moist it was almost like you could taste the 3 milks it had been soaked in, some of it even appeared to glisten in the middle. The frosting was like a whipped cream with a strawberry on top and melted in my mouth. It was hands down probably the BEST cupcake I have ever had. Will definitely be going back for more of those. Tonight I tried the strawberry margarita which tasted like both strawberry and lime and appeared to have a drunken strawberry center. I particularly liked the festive decorative straw. This one was great too, but nothing will top the other. I mean nothing. Here they are below:

In the coming days I have several other cupcake adventures to post, as well as quite a few other foodie related things that have happened! In the meantime, what are some of your favorite local bakeries/cupcakes? 

Scallops & Bacon & Brussels Oh My!

Growing up with a mother from New England, there's very little seafood I will not eat. However, after one very unfortunate incident in which scallops were my last meal, I couldn't touch them for years (I'm sorry scallops, it's not you, it's me).

When I finally did eat a scallop again it was slowly, perhaps in a seafood chowder or layered on a flatbread. Only recently, as in a week ago, did I become brave enough to actually attempt to make them on my own. Of course, I had to find a recipe with one of my new obsessions i.e. Brussels sprouts, but that's a story for another post. And bacon! Crispy, salty, crumbly, delicious bacon.

Pinterest, among other things, has become my go-to for finding fantastic recipes, and this one was no different. Delectably titled "Seared Scallops on Shaved Brussels Sprouts and Crispy Pancetta," I just had to try it! I modified it a little by swapping pancetta for bacon hoping to save on costs. But really, has anyone seen the price of bacon these days?? Geez.

I was nervous to cook the scallops because due to their slightly tan, almost white color I was afraid I wouldn't be able to tell when they were done. I didn't want to knock them off my rotation on the first try! Fortunately while searing them in the pan the line of demarcation between cooked and uncooked was pretty obvious. My only complaint is that I'm not used to the stove I'm working on (it gets hot really quickly at lower temps) and I ever so slightly burned the bottom of a few of them. But most of them came out with a beautiful golden brown crust :)

The bacon and Brussels hash was incredibly easy to make and I could've eaten that by itself! My tidbit is to just make sure you don't over salt. You need some to give the Brussels some flavor but with the bacon and shallots and other seasonings mixed in you won't need much.

Here's how mine turned out:

If anyone is interested in trying this recipe at home here is the link: http://www.insockmonkeyslippers.com/seared-scallops-on-shaved-brussels-sprouts-and-crispy-pancetta

If you're nervous about cooking scallops don't be! They were surprisingly easy and will hopefully be making their way into other dishes of mine soon. Scallops, I forgive you!

Where It All Began

Growing up, my father never ate anything (no offense Dad, I love you). Mayo? Gag. Anything resembling mayo such as sour cream, cream of mushroom soup, really anything with cream in the name? No thank you. And you can forget ricotta cheese, ranch dressing, blue cheese, etc. Really the list goes on. Sensing a theme here? My father would be perfectly happy to eat scrambled eggs, peanut butter toast, and spaghetti day in and day out for the rest of his life. And you know what? That's okay. But it definitely wasn't making our house an experience in culinary bliss. 

As a result, my mother had to adapt. My mother has always enjoyed cooking. Raised in a small town on Massachusetts's North Shore, she is particularly fond of seafood. After 3 years of service in the Army and bases in Alabama, Texas, and Washington, D.C., my mother has also learned to cook almost everything else in the classic American diet. But all had to be Dad approved. There were certain staples I remember: ham steak, pork chops, greenbean casserole, meatloaf, baked chicken, some kind of filet of white fish. Every time I go home and eat one of these dishes it brings back lots of happiness, as well as fond memories of my mother griping to my dad at the dinner table, "Fred, can you just taste it before dumping all of that ketchup on it?" 

If you read the above list you'll note that while good, everything is a traditional meal. Sushi never passed our lips, who ate organic? Unfortunately my taste buds took after my dad's, and I really hated vegetables. You know how at least a third of your plate is supposed to be green? Mine usually consisted of whatever protein we were having, the carb, and not much else. Lots of white and brown. Salad would be in a bowl and I had one of those lovely habits where I would eat one thing at a time until it was gone, meaning the salad would often go untouched. I loved my frozen chicken nuggets, Kraft mac and cheese, and heavily breaded fish sticks. The only veggies I would eat were cucumber, lettuce, green peppers, and green beans only if they were in the aforementioned casserole. 

Unfortunately this pickiness, coupled with a family history of diabetes and heart disease, led me to struggle with my weight my entire life. I was always on the heavier side in elementary and middle school. In 8th grade I lost about 30 pounds and I was swimming on a club team year round. In high school I kept a large chunk of it off swimming and rowing, but by my senior year of high school it had started to creep back on. And while my diet was improving in variety it wasn't necessarily going in the same direction in relation to healthy. The seemingly limitless cafeteria in college further derailed me and I gained the freshmen 15 and then some. I moved home my sophomore year and promptly took it all off and was able to maintain it through my first year of nursing school. However, anyone who's been through nursing school knows how stressful it is and when it comes to school I do not lose weight because of stress. Back on the weight went. By the time I hit my last semester of school I realized that I did not want to be the nurse that is telling her patients to lose weight but doesn't look healthy herself. So with a little patience and a lot of hard work I took off over 50 pounds and it has stayed off for a year and a half. 

During nursing school my palate really exploded. A relationship with someone who truly enjoys food pushed me to try new things and get creative in the kitchen. While I still enjoy chain restaurants such as Red Lobster, now I seek out local restaurants and keep a running list on my phone of places I want to eat. Before I would never touch Mexican or Chinese food. Now they're some of my favorites. I hardly ever cooked and now my favorite room in my house is the kitchen. 

This blog isn't really meant to be a how-to although I'll probably include some recipes, it's more so meant for me to showcase my passion for cooking and eating, something I have really come to love and enjoy very much. I hope you'll follow me on this journey and maybe find some yummy places to eat or dishes to try! 

In the meantime, I'll be here with my less than foodie nighttime snack of wine and gummy bears...but still delish!