bb-q.to-fu

ok. bottom line.
i don't like bbq sauce.
not. at. all.
well, i lie. i like eastern nc bbq sauce. call me a traitor. that's fine. but as for that thick, tomato-ey, bbq sauce (esp the ones in the bottle)... no... thank you.
then, a co-worker of mine had her class of three year olds make a vat of bbq sauce. they blindly spiced it up, added brown sugar to the base, and through some form of magic...(maybe boogers - ha!) it was great!
i cubed up some tofu and fried it in a pan. once my tofu cubes were browned, i added half the jar of bbq sauce. it cooked down, got thick, and glazed my tofu cubes perfectly. yum!
there's no doubt that it was the sauce that made me enjoy this bbq tofu. it was more original than any of that bottled crapola. and it was pretty spicy. mmm!
bbq tofu is perfect in the summer. it's not everyday that you get to have bbq ribs, or other bbq meats. besides, it's expensive and heavy, and i know i'm not made of money.
but, bbq tofu cubes? light, saucy, and... bbq-y! delish!

best... ice cream... EVER! (pt. 2)

just when i thought that larry & luna's had it on lock with their dark chocolate coconut milk ice cream, i bought.... the chocolate peanut butter.
*sound the angels*
i never realized that spending $6 on a pint of ice cream would be so... rewarding!
again, larry & luna's is vegan & dairy free. it's made with coconut milk which makes it ridiculously rich, with excellent coconut flavor in addition to the chocolate & hard swirls of creamy delicious peanut butter.

wipe your mouth, you're drooling.

it must be a special occasion!

it's not everyday you see me cooking, eating, posting about meat.
i rarely eat or cook with meat.
but there was this creeping feeling in my belly that i *needed* some chicken.

i really REALLY love pounding out chicken breasts and rolling them up with all sorts of delicious things. i've done ham & swiss, spinach & sun dried tomatoes, stuffing, the possibilities are endless! ...and that's what i love!
so, i pounded out a chicken breast and then it was time to empty the fridge. what do we have here? i thawed out some chopped spinach and mixed it with some goat cheese. i added diced roasted red peppers and chopped pickled garlic cloves. *drool* there was these amazing layers of flavors going on in the filling. tangy & creamy goat cheese with the sharp pickled garlic. i rolled my little chicken breast up with all that delicious filling. stuffed... if you will! i topped them with a unique spice blend i picked up, basiks key west spice blend. the spice blend is citrus-y and spicy, and all basik spice blends are sugar & preservative free! woot!
i stuck my decadent (*drool*) piece of chicken in the oven at 425* for about half an hour. the top of the chicken started to brown with the spices, it was heated through, and the middle was creamy and rich. de-lish!
i completed my dish with the maple roasted purple sweet potatoes, and kernels off the cob tossed with hot sauce.
holy crap, i'm hungry!

hit me up,
i'm now taking reservations for dinner.

onion revolution.

i love red onions!
sometimes people call them purple onions!
it's crazy!

i always thought red onions sucked. big time. in fact, i thought they tasted like gasoline! when have i ever tasted gasoline, you ask? never. but for some reason, my brain made that comparison. little did i know that all it takes is some red wine vinegar and these little gasoline onions turn into something i love. <3
i use red onions all the time. they have become famous in my cucumber & onion salad, and now i've started adding them to all my raw salads!
my secret: i chop them in long stringy slices and soak them in red wine vinegar. the vinegar bath cuts the horrid overwhelming onion taste and makes them ripe for the eating!
yum!

i know i've sparked your interest, now go in the kitchen and try it.

summer pasta salad.

yum! i love orzo.
i think it's the best base for a pasta salad.
those tiny little noodles don't over-power any other guest stars in the salad. not like the way those big curly-q noodles do.
so for this version of light & fresh pasta salad, we have:
-orzo
-diced tomatoes (drained)
-chopped cucumbers
-slivered red onions
-chopped mushrooms (from a can)
-kalamata olives
-red wine vinegar <3
-oregano
-basil
-parsley
(variations: add juice of a lemon, goat cheese, feta. don't worry, you're free to make your own decisions. i won't yell at you. i promise.)

directions are pretty simple. cook the pasta, toss everything together in a bowl.
it's so easy, i bet even cheryl could do it.

the oxford!

bitches!
i absolutely LOVE this place.
i'm pretty sure the oxford is one of my favourite places in raleigh. (no need to worry, flying saucer. i'll never cheat on you... xoxo)

there are a ridiculous amount of fabulous things on their menu. too many too even discuss!
but i will say that i've had enough food and beer off their menu to dub them... amazing!

this evening i had panko covered avocado fries. yeah, you heard me right, bitches. avocado fries. deliciously creamy slices of avocado, covered in panko, deep fried, and served with chipotle cream sauce. honestly, this is the first place i ever had these deliciously golden brown pieces of heaven, and they're outstanding.
additionally, i had a greek salad. boring, i know.
then, the royal oscar chicken. what royal and oscar have to do with a chicken dinner is beside me. i do know that this plate of meat, potatoes, and veggies was out of this world. some ashley farms chicken (organic and locally grown... woot!) with asparagus and a lobster/crab mash... this dish was... regal. it was rich and delicious, the chicken had a crispy seasoned skin with flavourful mash and the asparagus gave me a little... summer. my only complaint was how salty the dish was. in the defense of the nearly-untouchable oxford, i don't eat salt often. i rarely cook with it (after the brontosaurus diet) and i infrequently add it to anything. i feel that i'm hypersensitive to salt, so i'm sure my complaint is my personal downfall. other than that... bring on the food & beer!

located in downtown raleigh, across from the wake county court house, the oxford is an amazing place to hang out, drink, eat appetizers, dinner, or late night snacks. (i've been there for all...) the atmosphere is one you would want in your house, and the food is original & gratifying.

get your ass on a plane, and get down here.
...maybe i'll even buy you dinner.

a la kathrine!

shrimp & grits.
call me southern, call me what you will.

shrimp & grits are outrageously delicious!
i don't care where you get them... well, i do. i don't want them to suck! clearly!
but, they are a safe bet.
there is something about the creaminess of grits and the sweet luxurious taste of fresh shrimp that just pair so super well together.
so tonite! i make my own...
of course i need to "beef" it up with some veggies. so, i made some grits, they were instant. sorry, i'm no professional grits maker. i pan fried some shrimp, and i defrosted / pan fried some spinach. there is something about spinach that pairs so well with shrimp, grits, and shrimp & grits together! you will love it...
i layered my amateur-attempt at grits in the bowl, topped it with spinach, shrimp, and i made a savoury sauce to top it all off.
i put about a cup of chicken broth in a pan and added chopped roasted red peppers. yeh, they were out of a jar. i'm totally okay with that. i cooked that on super high on the stove to cook out some of the water in the broth. as it was boiling, i added about two tablespoons of weight watchers cream cheese. (what!? it's 2pts all together!) so, somehow i managed to make (what i believe to be) and creamy roasted red pepper sauce. i was pretty impressed with myself.
i topped my tower of grits, spinach, & shrimp with roasted red pepper sauce and took my fork, and dug in.
i cannot believe that i achieved a perfect balance of sauce to food, and meat to veggies.
i can't lie, i was totally blown away by myself.
yeh, i'm awesome.

my ultimate compliment was when i brought the shrimp and grits to work to share with a friend. i left a cup with the perfectly-portioned bite for her. i thought was rude to not share with with a fellow foodie, and luckily i did. what she was about to eat turned led her to give me one of my most flattering reviews.
"that was delicious" she said. "what was it?"
"shrimp, spinach, grits, and roasted red pepper cream sauce. i literally had to stop in the middle of my meal and portion you out a bite or it would've been gone"
"i've never had grits, and i don't like them. but i REALLY liked that." she replied.

as rj would say.... yesssssssssss.

tofu - three ways

#1. garlic, ginger, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce.
#2. satay sauce.
#3. puree of green onions & chicken broth. i marinated the tofu in it, and then added some splenda after the tofu browned.

the green onion puree was a little.... strong. way too oniony. i would've repelled people with my awful onion breath. the sugar cut that rotten onion taste and made it milder.

purely gratuitous.

for your enjoyment, blue point on the nc coast.
what a pleasant surprise.

return to cupcake town.

obviously, the cupcake shoppe has become a fixture in my life.
(side note: i love delicious and unique local food. i am more than happy to support local business and local food. local deliciousness! yum!)

this week: old timey hostess cupcakes.
don't lie. you remember them... and you LOVE them!
the cupcake shoppe is doing them right!
real chocolately cake, real marshmallow filling, real chocolate ganache, and a super-sugary curly-q on top.

real ginger beer!

*drool*
i love this beer.
it's so... summery!

left hand's ju ju ginger is by far the best summer beer i've had. that i can remember. right now.
it's light, it's refreshing, and it's gingery! some beers are brewed with ginger and you can hardly taste them, but this beer is the love child of a light beer and a ginger ale.
it's hard to find in these parts, and summer is by far the easiest time to find it.

perfect on the beach or by the pool, it's the best beer to drink out in the sun.
in fact, i'm drinking one right now!

jealous?

i viva le locopops !

LOVE it!

...that's an understatement!

a gourmet ice cream / ice pop place in raleigh? all natural ingredients? holy crap!
loco pops is located on hillsborough st. in raleigh across from the nc state campus, and has been the object of my desire for quite a while now.
i can't lie. i've been studying their menu for weeks. checking the regular flavors, checking the guest stars every week. deciding what i want.
and finally, the day has come!
i decided to have their cherry lime ice pop. i thought of those delicious diet cherry limeades from sonic, and figured it was a necessity. it was tangy and super sweet. i was surprised by how sweet it was, seeing as all the ingredients are natural. i thought the ice pop was amazing, sweet and tangy and perfectly refreshing.
i also tried the cookies n' cream pop, which was super creamy but not as overwhelming as ice cream. it was creamy, light, and sweet and had HUGE chunks of oreo in them. yum!
the last pop i tried today was the vanilla cinnamon heath. i thought this would maybe be too overwhelming with the cinnamon, but the cream pop was light and creamy, still sweet and had a hint of cinnamon that brought out that deep caramel & toffee flavor in the heath bar.
perfect!
...and because tasting three different pops wasn't nearly enough for me i brought home:
-a pint of mojito sorbet
-a cucumber ginger pop
-a mexican chocolate pop (chocolate with nutmeg, cinnamon, & clove)
-a chocolate brownie pop

don't worry, i'll be happy to update you on how delicious those are as soon as i eat them.