April, You Filthy Animal

I have been a little behind posting. I apologize... I've been having way too much fun.

Let me just give you a brief overview of what has been going on:
1) Spring skiing
2) My birthday
3) Easter - I never knew this could be such a fantastic holiday.

This season has been absolutely fantastic. I don't think I could have spent the winter with better people, snow, adventure, and cheese fries. Lots and lots of cheese fries. I can't believe it took until the last day of the season at Discovery to finally ski with my lovely friend Allison. Bikini clad and buzzed we rang in the season.

Next came Montana Snowbowl's closing weekend. I have to admit, we didn't actually ski. Myself and a few friends are pretty much in love with costumes, ski hills, and bloody mary's. Snowbowl's bloody mary's have won the 'Best of Missoula' for countless years and I had a local contender to compare it against. Both are delicious, I may just have to give it another shot before I make a decision. I mention my love for cheese fries fairly often, but I'll admit that Snowbowl has the best mountain food ever...and cheese fries aren't ever an option. I highly recommend any pizza and the strawberry/brie platter. With our fellow skiers and porch loungers in costume, it made for a fantastic day of people watching and festivities.Lindsey has acquired potentially the best beer carrier of all time, I introduce to you "the snackpack".

To the best birthday I have even had: 24, you were a good one. Such a bum age, can't quite rent a car yet but hey, we can still have fun. My parents had flowers delivered to my office which were fabulous, the birthday cake bouquet!

Finally, we come to Easter. I'm glad that people in their mid-twenties can still make an Easter brunch, paint eggs (and beer cans), and enjoy the holiday overall. My friend and I decided to barbecue which only means one thing: Heather and I are going to make entirely too much food for the two of us. At least it's delicious and at least you all are getting a recipe out of it. My favorite and probably only potato salad I will ever make in the future.

Sriracha and Banana Pepper Potato Salad from The Food In My Beard 

This salad is full of flavor and brings a spicy twist on the traditional dish with the cooling flavors of cucumber and mint.

Ingredients:
5 lbs of potatoes, mostly peeled
1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch mint
1 bunch scallions
1 cucumber, diced
juice of 1 lime
1 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 12 oz jar of banana peppers, chopped, save the juice in the jar
1.5 c mayonaise
1.5 c sour cream (I used non-dairy)
1/4-1/2 c Sriracha (I would start with 1/4 c and add from there)

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the potatoes by dicing into 2 inch chunks. Toss in olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast on a baking sheet for about an hour or until fork tender. Meanwhile, chop cilantro, scallions, mint, and cucumber. Add to a bowl and toss with the juice of one lime and some salt. Set aside in the refrigerator. In a very large bowl, mix the red onion, garlic, and chopped banana peppers. Add about half the liquid from the jar. Next add the mayo, sour cream, and Sriracha. Mix well.

When the potatoes are ready, chop and mash them up a little bit while they are still hot and add them to the bowl. Mix everything together and continue to chop and mash the potatoes until the consistency is about half mashed with a few chunks.

If the mixture is too dry, add either more mayo, sour cream, or sriracha to taste. Allow this mixture to cool for about an hour before adding the herb and cucumber mixture. Serve! The salad will keep for about 5 days and only gets better in time. Enjoy!

April has been a fabulous month. I can't wait to see what else spring has to offer. xo

Just Can't Get Enough - Soup and Muffin Frenzy

Some things are so good you just have to have them twice. In the past 2 weeks I made two new recipes and then made them again because I enjoyed them so much. Both recipes are healthy and very easy to make. Both can be modified using any ingredient to fit your taste. If you don't love these... I honestly don't know what to tell you. Enjoy!

Spring is finally here. Spring cleaning my apartment also brings cooking to clean out my cupboards. One of my favorite ways to do this is making a soup. Yes it is spring, but remember I am in Montana where "spring" temperatures are > or = 40 degrees. I digress...  I had some veggies that were bordering their lifespan that I didn't want to waste and 2 huge logs of goat cheese, my guilty pleasure.

I found a recipe that I decided to modify both in ingredients and in quantity.

Roasted Red Pepper and Cauliflower Soup with Goat Cheese
2 red bell peppers, cut in half and seeds removed
1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 TBS olive oil
1 TBS olive oil
1/2 red onion, diced (use yellow onion if you do not want the strong flavor)
2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
1 TSP thyme
1 pinch red pepper flakes
2 cups vegetable broth (chicken is also fine)
4 ounces of goat cheese
and of course, Sriracha to taste

Method:
1. Place red peppers on a baking sheet with the cut side facing down, broil until the skins are blackened, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and place in a sealable container and let "steam" for about 20 minutes before removing the skins and dicing. Honestly, I can never remove every bit of skin, just do the best you can to remove the blackened part.
2. Meanwhile, toss the cauliflower in olive oil, place in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast in a preheated 400 degrees F oven until tender and golden. About 20-30 minutes.
3. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat and cook the onion until tender, 5-7 minutes.
4. Add the garlic, thyme, and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
5. Add the roasted red peppers, cauliflower, broth, and goat cheese. Simmer 10 minutes before pureeing to your desired consistency using a hand blender or transferring the mixture to a stand up blender.

Made about 4 servings.

In my last post I talked about the 5K my friend and I ran at the end of March. I failed to mention that afterward we went to a gathering at my coworker's house where we ate muffins and drank sangria (yum!). I fell in love with these muffins and so did everyone else. They are easy, healthy, and delicious. Naturally I had to make them again.

Coconut Morning Glory Muffins
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp allspice
2 large eggs
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil (if solid, put jar in a bowl of warm water until melted)
1 1/2-2 cups shredded carrot (about 4-5 large carrots)
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and allspice. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, applesauce, honey, and vanilla. Add in coconut oil and combine.
4. Slowly stir in flour mixture until it is moistened. Batter will be very wet.
5. Slowly fold in the carrots, chocolate chips, and raisins. Batter will still be thick.
6. Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray. Divide batter among the cups evenly..
7. Bake muffins for 30-35 minutes until the center comes out clean with a toothpick. My muffins took the full 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the muffins to sit for 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. Also note that the muffins will look and be dense.