sparkling pink champagne cupcakes!

Random Dinner Day

Chicken Enchilada Dip and Dr. Pepper Jello!

And, if you can hold onto the seat of your pants tomorrow to celebrate New Year's I shall be making Sparkling Champagne cupcakes, and Champagne mousse. YUM.

2012.

I don't like posting about everything I did in 2011, because frankly I can't fucking remember it all. I won a photo contest, got published, started playing roller derby, became the president of said roller derby league. Had fun and explored myself as a human being.

What's more important is what I want out of 2012. That's how I start making resolutions. What do I want to do or eat or see or create this year?

First things first. Food. Always food.
I want to eat everything I possibly can in New Orleans this summer. I want to envelope myself in Creole & French culture and cooking and long lost friends. I want to bake or cook one new thing every week, tweak and change it until its mine. (Personal challenge is coming.) I want to learn everything I can about pastries and baking. More so along the lines of advanced decorating techniques.

Not to be cliche, but, I want to get fit. I've done well on weight loss but I want to tone up, eat better and maybe feel better about what I put in my body. I'm slowly finding that real natural food tastes good and I want more. I also am finding that I prefer knowing what is in what I am eating and how its made over convenience. Also that I eat for pleasure just as much as for nutrition and that the two should meld into a wonderful meal that tastes as good as it is for you. That is food.
More on the food front, I want to grow herbs to make tea as well as to use in the kitchen, so I'm planning my garden now.

Second. I want to get better at roller derby. Just because I am the president of the team doesn't mean I'm the best at derby. It just means I am crazy enough to take on the responsibility because I actually want there to be a team and I want it to be successful.

Third is photography. Time and memories captured in a little square to go back and see when I grow old and too feeble to remember my life as I can now. All the insignificant made significant by the push of a button. Time made physical and permanent even though the moment is gone. I want to take more photos, experiment more, enter more contests to push myself and my creativity as an artist. Ignore the expectations of the world around me and satisfy my own curiosities as a photographer. What else? Who knows. I am a modern Renaissance woman. I want to do everything, taste everything and try everything at least once. Since the world may end this year I better get on it.

I suppose in short what I want out of 2012 is to live.
Goodbye, 2011.

Pizza Sauce!

I'd been wanting to make pizza sauce from tomatoes my grandmother canned for months and now that tomatoes are somewhat out of season I figured now is as good a time as any to open up a jar of summer and eat it. Spicy, garlic, delicious!

Basic Pizza Sauce

Ingredients

1 can (28-ounces) whole peeled tomatoes, in juice

1 small white or sweet onion, finely diced and minced

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

3 to 4 fresh basil leaves

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon fresh Parsley

Pinch salt

Pinch fresh ground black pepper

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes

2 tablespoons olive oil, to saute

Directions

Empty the contents of the tomato can in a mixing bowl and coarsely crush the tomatoes with a fork or your hands, leaving them just a little chunky. In a heavy bottom 2-quart saucepot, add the olive oil, over a medium high flame and heat a little. Add the onions and saute until slightly translucent. Add the garlic and saute about a minute until golden. Quickly add the crushed tomatoes to the mix. Stir well and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and add the fresh basil, oregano, parsley, cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes. Simmer on a low flame, stirring often for at least 15 minutes. If not using right away, cool down and store in airtight container in the refrigerator, up to 1 week.

This recipe was based off of this one. I modified it to suit my spicier tastes!

Enter pizza. 

Since I don't have much tolerance for bread (sadness) I used tortillas for my "dough". Grated Fontina, Asiago, Mozarella, and Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes and consume. Crunchy, cheesy, fresh heaven.