off to a great startnot

      no pictures, No five star recipes (not even three stars)?! What kind of food blogger AM I... a noob, obviously. even worse, The following recipes don't even have real measurements! A pinch of this, a handful of that... *sigh* Everyone has got to start somewhere though, right? Right.

      So we'll start with yesterday's breakfast (my work schedule is very forgiving, albeit nonexistent during certain weeks). My sister, who was visiting me this past week and cites Chuck Williams as her own personal lord and savior, made these amazing, AMAZING blueberry and graham cracker pancakes. I will post the recipe as soon as I ruin tweak it to accommodate the Fruits That Must Go in my refrigerator and The Homemade Cookies That Must Be Consumed Before God Summons the Apocalypse Ponies To Destroy My Kitchen in my pantry. My only responsibility was to make whipped cream. Fool-proof, right?

      In the hands of Leilani, wrong. So very wrong. As you can see from the photo, the "whipped cream" is closer in consistency to refrigerated butter. And I obviously didn't take into consideration how much whipped cream the entire pint of whipping cream, half a cup of powdered sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla would yield. HOWEVER, it still tasted pretty peachy keen. But really how could you go wrong with powdered sugar and vanilla.

      So here's my suggestion (unless you plan on making enough whipped cream to bathe in): use only half of the pint. Use two tablespoons of powdered sugar. And half a teaspoon of vanilla (or to taste, really. I'm sure 3/4 teaspoon would still be mmm mmm good).

      Next culinary endeavor: dinner. I decided to stick to a failsafe: spinach and goat cheese pasta, with artichoke hearts thrown in. I'd been playing with this one since February and think I finally got it right. Obviously, it depends on your tastes (if you like it a little saltier, add more sea salt or goat cheese... If you want more spinach, go for it).


Spinach and Goat Cheese Pasta with Artichoke Hearts - feeds 4 very hungry fancy lasses

• Ingredients
  
  • 1 handful fresh spinach, washed, dried, chopped (it's going in a blender so it doesn't matter how finely you chop it)
    
  • 1/2 cup cremini mushrooms, washed, dried, chopped
    
  • 1/3 cup white onion, washed, dried, chopped
    
  • 3 tablespoons goat cheese
    
  • 1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil
    
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
    
  • 1 lb pasta (i used linguine... next time i'm trying whole wheat spaghetti! how adventurous.)
    
  • 1 8 oz can of artichoke hearts
    
• Directions
  
  1. you should start with preparing the pasta. use a pot (i had to ask my roommate what we called those new-fangled things. "do we call it a pan? ...bowl?" "...pot?" "christ...") big enough to boil all the pasta in. fill it halfway with water and throw in a couple pinches of sea salt and a tablespoon or so of olive oil. when the water starts to boil, put all of the pasta in and stir occasionally. i almost always sometimes forget to set the timer, so be sure to set it according to the directions on the pasta bag!
     
  2. while the pasta is doing its thing, sautee the onions and the mushrooms (sauteeing for newbies: put a pat of butter in a pan that's on medium, medium-high heat, and move the pan so that the butter coats the bottom evenly. if the butter browns, you've burned it, so ten cuidado. once the bottom of the pan is completely coated, through the onions and mushrooms into the pan and turn the heat down to low. push the veggies around for a couple minutes; the onions will become clear(er) and the mushrooms will brown and soften). pour the mushrooms and onions onto a plate that's lined with paper towels (a couple layers) and let dry.
     
  3. put the goat cheese, olive oil, spinach and sea salt in the blender. pat the mushrooms and onions dry, then throw in the blender as well. blend blend blend! add salt and/or goat cheese to taste, and olive oil if it's too thick (it should be a creamy but not too thin sauce).
     
  4. when the timer goes off on your pasta, taste a noodle to make sure you've cooked it for long enough. good? good. pour it into a colander and let drain.
     
  5. while the pasta is draining, give the sauce one good blend to make sure it's staying together (the olive oil tends to separate). drain the artichoke hearts (i put these in a separate colander and rinsed them).
     
  6. when your pasta is dry (enough), pour it into a bowl and pour the sauce over it. mix so that the sauce evenly coats all of the pasta. then, throw in the artichoke hearts and mix thoroughly.