Ever since getting my hand run over, I haven't been cooking or baking much of anything.  In fact, I was physically unable to do a myriad of everyday tasks I've grown accustomed to over the past 23years.  This was frustrating for many reasons, not the least of which is I'd just bought a bunch of new dishes and was super excited to use them!

A week and a half after my accident, I rolled out of bed and decided to make brownies to take to work.  It was the first recipe I'd made since my hand got smushed, and I'd actually never before made brownies from scratch. 

I started with this "Fudgy Brownies" recipe from All Recipes (something I'd pinned ages ago on my pinterest). Based on reading the comments, I tweaked the recipe a bit.  While the ensuing result wasn't particularly "fudgey" to me, it was incredibly delicious, and I think more of a fudge quality could easily be achieved with some added ingredients.

I've never been one for New Year Resolutions.  I figured, people never keep them anyway, what's the point in setting yourself up for failure?  I like to keep in mind some things I'd like to achieve, but I don't make pointless promises to myself. 

Slowly, but surely, this city is getting back on its feet.  Power has been restored to much of downtown Manhattan, but subways are still not running below 34th st.  Many of the Broadway shows opened on Halloween, but theatres downtown were without power until yesterday - so they are just beginning to check everything and hopefully open today and tomorrow. (I hear The Public (425 Lafayette St) is giving away free tickets to Giant today and tomorrow - if you can, go! It's an absolutely terrific show.) The road to recovery will be a lengthy one, but we are on our way.  The NYC Marathon was cancelled.  I understand why Mayor Bloomberg wanted it to go on - rally the troops, show things getting back to normal, etc. etc., however, I'm glad they finally saw sense and cancelled the race.  They said it wouldn't take away from relief efforts, but that's just not true - and all resources should be going to helping those devastated by Sandy.  For an interesting look into the New York attitude of things, check this out.

One of the great things about visiting home was getting to grocery shop and cook and not have to pay for any of it.  Going to the store with my mom was fantastic - "Whatever you want, get it" she told me.  It was such a new concept for me that for once I didn't actually need to snap up the cheapest items and count every penny.  I was able to splurge on a few things - like a 4 pack of bottled Sprecher's Rootbeer :)  We went to the apple orchard, constantly went to restaurants, traipsed up and down Oktoberfest - in other words, I was constantly eating my entire vacation.  Which is as it should be.  But as time went on, I increasingly felt of one mind with Hwin, when. staying with the Hermit, she proclaimed, "I'm getting as fat as a pet pony - eating all day and getting no exercise." Too true, my friend, too true.  Though, I weighed myself every day, and never gained any weight.  Huh.  I sure felt fatter.

Anyway, here are the PFC recipes I made while on vacation.  I made many other things as well, but didn't want to take the time to photograph and write them all down.

1. Chop up all the veggies and put in a bunt or angel cake pan seasoned with a bit of olive oil and S/P. Place the bird's butt on top of the hole so he's sitting nicely. (Ok, I know that sounds really dirty, so I'm just going to snigger quietly to myself and move on.) Feel free to season your bird however you so desire.  I used what was in my sister's kitchen - so Basil, Parsley, Oregano, some lemon pepper seasoning, olive oil, and a bit of butter.  Make sure you season under the skin as well.

2. Roast at 400 degrees for 15minutes per pound, plus an extra 15minutes.  I think Horatio roasted for about 2hrs.  A meat thermometer would be a good idea, esp. if your oven is funky. Also, be sure to put a cookie sheet underneath to catch the drips.

I put the brussel sprouts in for the last 30-40 minutes. I'd never made them before, and read a whole lot of different things about how to make them.  The ones on top turned out fine, but the ones not directly on the surface didn't cook quite enough.  My sister and I aren't partial to them anyway, but Rob enjoyed them.

This was a fine way to roast a bird and vegetables together, and it tasted delicious, but having the bird upright made Horatio come out kind of funny...

Anyway, on to the cauliflower:

1. Cut up the cauliflower head into small pieces and put in a microwave safe dish with the vegetable broth and butter. Microwave 5 min, stir, and microwave another 5 minutes.
2. Process in a blender. Season with S/P and cheese if you want, and done! 

I'd never tried mashed cauliflower before, and indeed am not a huge fan of cauliflower in the first place.

However, once I made this dish, I am a firm believer.  It was so light and fluffy, utterly delicious, and super easy! Definitely will be making these instead of mashed potatoes from now on.

Being the Fall time of year, of course I was going to try as many apple recipes as possible. Here they are.

Apple Cider in an Apple Cup (wk.21)
Ok, ok - I didn't make the actual apple cider, I was just doing this to make a cup out of an apple, because how awesome is that? Pretty awesome. 

So, you cut out the core from the top, then scoop out the insides with a spoon - being careful not to puncture all the way through.  Fill with warm apple cider, garnish with a cinnamon stick, and voila! 

It was the presentation.  Isn't it always? And after you're done, you can EAT your cup!! Awesome!


I got super excited when I found out the cinnamon stick could act as a straw...

Crockpot Caramel (wk 21)
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Cook 8hrs on low, completely submerged in water, in the crockpot. Cool for 2hrs in the fridge. Voila! Well, supposedly.  I, however, found this to be quite disappointing.  I mean, just compare the two pictures (mine here and from the original link)- an obvious difference.  I followed the directions, but heck if I know why it didn't taste (or particularly look) like caramel. I thought this'd be an easier, cheaper alternative to buying the caramel from the store, but it didn't taste like caramel at all - but rather, sweet, thick milk.  Bleg.  Ahh well, can't win 'em all I suppose.

I'm very happy I was able to continue my PFC while on vacation - and it was so nice not to have to buy all my own ingredients.  Hopefully, one day, I'll be as financially secure as my parents.  But aren't you supposed to be a poor penny pincher in your twenties?  Looks like I'm right on track :)

As you may or may not know, I'm a writer for the site Quarter Life Daily. They finally got around to posting my article about traveling in Guatemala!  Check it out: http://qldaily.com/travel-tips-for-guatemala/.

Seeing as how Madam Fury's Traveling Show has taken up all my time the past few weeks, I think it's about time I caught everyone up with some Pinterest Recipes - considering I'm currently in wk 19, and haven't shared any recipes past wk 7. I know, I know. I said a while ago I was going to be better about keeping up - but this time I really mean it!  So, here we go.  We got some good, some mediocre, some delicious, and some disappointing.

Oreo Drop Cookies (Orig. recipe)
2 sticks butter, room temp.
1 brick cream cheese, room temp.
1 C white sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 C flour
1 C dark chocolate chips
Oreo Crumbles (I used about 1/2 a package)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment/wax paper.  In a large bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese.

2. Add sugar and vanilla, mix well. 

3. Add flour 1 C at a time, and stir until just combined.  

Pumpkin Snicker-doodle Cookies (Orig. Recipe)
3 3/4 C flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 sticks butter, room temp
1 C sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
1 C pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract

Confetti Chicken Pasta in Spicy Cream Sauce (Orig. Recipe)
Box Penne Pasta
Olive Oil
2-3 Chicken Breasts, cubed
salt and pepper
1/2 onion, chopped
chopped garlic
Veggies (anything you have on hand - I used red, green, yellow, and orange peppers, zucchini, and mushrooms)


Spicy Cream Sauce
2 TBLS butter
2 TBLS Flour
2 C Milk
red pepper flakes - adjust according to your taste for spice :)
1 pkg Feta Cheese

1. Start cooking pasta.  In a skillet over medium heat, season chicken with salt and pepper and cook until brown. Remove to a large bowl. 
2. Add more oil and cook the onion and garlic for 2 min.  Add in other vegetables and cook a few minutes - until desired texture (I like mine done, but still with a bit of crunch). Remove veggies to the large bowl of chicken.
3.  In the same skillet, melt butter then toss in the flour and stir, cooking 1-2 minutes.
4. Slowly add in the milk, mixing to avoid lumps. Sprinkle in the red pepper and simmer until it begins to boil, stirring occasionally. When the sauce begins to thicken, turn off the heat and mix in the cheese until it's deliciously melted.
5. You can either mix everything together in the skillet or a large bowl, or pour the sauce over individual servings. I added the chicken/veggies back into the skillet and mixed them all up.  I put my pasta in a bowl and topped with the mixture. 

This recipe is incredibly delicious!  And I like to think it's healthy because of all the veggies ;)