blow-ups and blondies

These last few weeks have been busy! Graduations, people moving away for school, people coming back to school, work getting hectic, training for another half marathon in June...whew. It's a wonder I haven't thrown in the towel and quit cooking - I hardly have time these days! But despite crazy times, I can never be found far from my kitchen.

So what's been cookin', you might ask? In truth, nothing fancy. Some bread pudding and snickerdoodles to satisfy my sweet tooth. Tried out arugula for the first time...and the last. Cooked a delicious dinner with my dear friend Meg. Still obsessed with tilapia - for once, "cheap" and "flaky" are actually good things.

Which brings me to the "blow up" part of this post's title (which sort of sounds like an ad for a porn shop...but I digress). Last week I attempted to bake tilapia, which involved marinating the fish in lemon juice and herb seasoning, then placing it under the broiler for about 5 minutes or so. We don't own a broiling pan, so I grabbed a glass pie dish from the cupboards. BIG MISTAKE. Apparently, when glass is placed close to high heat (such as mere inches from the broiler), then removed from heat, it will shatter into a billion pieces. That was terrifying, but the fish was still good. Miraculously, none got ON the fish, just around my entire kitchen. My poor little tilapia sat in the middle of the round dish bottom, while I scooped curved pieces from the sides out of the stove and off the floor. So, word to the wise: broiler and glass do not mix.

And now for the more fun part of my post: blondies! Trying my hand at these gorgeous-looking bars seems only appropriate, as I am a blondie myself. Plus, some tum issues sidelined me from my training tonight, so it follows that I should bake myself into oblivion with these heavenly treats. Right?

These sweets are delightfully simple to make. Flour, sugar, eggs, butter. Mix, pour, bake. Enjoy. They appear to be a perfect blank canvas for whatever addition you wish: dried fruit, chocolate, butterscotch, bourbon. I opted for that last one. Couldn't resist being a little ambitious on my first go-around.

Sadly, they were not very attractive, so pictures were deemed unnecessary to post. BUT they turned out deliciously! The bourbon was a great add, I fear the blondies may have been a bit bland without it. What would your take on these blondies be?

Blondies
Adapted from How to Cook Everything (posted on Smitten Kitchen)

8 tablespoons butter, melted [I used Smart Balance...perhaps I will try real butter next time]
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Pinch salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

1. Butter an 8×8 pan
2. Mix melted butter with brown sugar – beat until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla.
3. Add salt, stir in flour. Mix in any additions (below).
4. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350°F 20-25 minutes, or until set in the middle. I always err on the side of caution with baking times — nobody ever complained about a gooey-middled cookie. Cool on rack before cutting them.

Further additions, use one or a combination of:

* 1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts, toasting them first for even better flavor
* 1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips
* 1/2 teaspoon mint extract in addition to or in place of the vanilla
* 1/2 cup mashed bananas
* 1/4 cup bourbon, scotch or other whiskey; increase the flour by one tablespoon
* 2 tablespoons of espresso powder with the vanilla
* Stir 1/2 cup dried fruit, especially dried cherries, into the prepared batter
* Top with a vanilla butter cream or chocolate peanut butter cream frosting

saturdaze

Ah, weekends. Apart from the errand-running and laundry-doing I have to do after the workweek, weekends are lazy times for me. I try not to make too many plans, so the day can take me wherever it feels. Today I slept in relatively late (9:30, don't judge) and made blueberry pancakes for me, myself, and I.


Then I had to go into work for a spell, nothing too troublesome, just end-of-the-month things to be dealt with. I spent a good chunk of my time there playing with my office manager's adorable 4-year-old son, who tickled my feet under the desk and insisted that crocodiles should always be drawn in black. I'm in love, and am already hatching a scheme to babysit soon.

After work I puttered around the house for a bit, taking care of a few things before heading up to Jon's place, hoping to pass a sunny afternoon reading by the pool. Alas, the weather turned against me and became sullen and cold, so I half-napped on his couch watching a House marathon on Bravo. Almost as exciting, I suppose. Since Jon had plans this evening, I decided to date myself: cook a nice meal, have a little wine (OK, perhaps a lot), clean my room...yes I understand cleaning isn't standard date fare, but having a tidy room makes me happier than watching a sappy romantic comedy.

So this is what I made: pan-fried tilapia with white wine and capers. Sounds fancy, cooks quickly, absolutely delicious when it's done. I loved the buttery taste of the flaky fish paired with the lemon-flavored sauce. I served the fish and sauce over a bit of brown rice and wilted spinach, and it was just fabulous (paired with a glass of sauvignon blanc, of course).



Pan-Fried Tilapia with White Wine and Capers
From WeightWatchers.com

1/4 cup white wine, dry
1/4 cup tomato(es), seeded and chopped
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp capers, drained
1 medium garlic clove(s), minced
1/2 tsp dried basil (I used fresh basil here, since it's all I had, and it worked nicely.)
1 1/2 pound raw tilapia, four 6-oz pieces
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 sprays cooking spray
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp light butter
2 Tbsp parsley, chopped
1 medium lemon(s), cut in wedges (optional)

Combine first 6 ingredients, stirring well with a whisk; set aside. Sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper. Dredge fillets lightly in flour, and coat both sides of fillets with cooking spray. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add fillets; cook 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; turn fillets, and cook 3 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Remove from pan. Add wine mixture to pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in butter until melted. Spoon wine mixture over fillets; sprinkle with parsley. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 fillet and 2 tablespoons sauce).