jamie of all trades

eat :: mexican orzo pasta

i made my original orzo pasta salad a while back and decided it was high time i make a new one.  i thought a mexican version would be fun.  mexican food is some of my favorite flavors so why not but them in a pasta salad?

the fun thing about this recipe too is that you can have it as a side or make it a meal and serve with toppings like cheese, avocado, salsa or sour cream.

1 pound orzo pasta
2 tbls champagne vinegar
2 tbls maple syrup
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 pound chicken breast either cooked in enchilada sauce or marinated in overnight
1 15-oz can black beans, drained
1 15-oz can whole kernel corn
1 large red pepper, diced
1/2 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped
salt + pepper and lime chili seasoning to taste

bring 4-6 quarts of water to a boil.  add pasta and slowly stir.  cook for 8-10 minute until pasta is al dente. drain and allow to cool.  

while the pasta is cooling, in a dressing jar, combine champagne vinegar and maple syrup.  add the olive oil and shake vigorously.  season with salt and pepper.
pour half the dressing over the pasta and mix until the noodles are coated. place pasta in the refrigerator to chill, about 1 hour.
in a separate bowl combine the chicken, black beans, corn and red pepper.  stir in with the pasta and coat with the remaining dressing.  season with salt, pepper and lime chili seasoning.  top with shreadded cheese, avocado or sour cream if you like or put on the side and let people dress their own.

 

enjoy :: winter playlist

i find myself making a short playlist of songs i listen to over and over every three months or so.  here are the songs that were on my winter mix for you to enjoy.  i'm starting to make my spring playlist.  i'm trying to pick 'springy' songs in hopes of brining warm weather to seattle.  any suggestions?

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enjoy :: the 10 best supplies for baking cupcakes

since cupcakes have really taken off in the last few years the amount of cupcake baking supplies has too.  there are so many options i find it overwhelming and hard to know what's best.  after many years of cupcake baking i've had my fair share of trying anything and everything.  i decided to share my ten picks for best cupcake baking supplies.

1. wilton white nonpareils sprinkles - if i use colored sprinkles on cupcakes i love mixing whatever color i'm using with these sprinkles.  the white really makes the color pop!

2. wilton fondant - fondant is definitely a personal perference but i like wilton's.  i've found a lot of fondants to be too sticky.  this one is not.

3. brown cupcake liners - cupcake liners come in all colors, designs and shapes but i like these because they go with every color scheme and they don't show grease and look pretty!

4. ateco flower + leaf cutter set - there are million sets of cutters out there.  i like this one best because of the size of the flowers and leaves.  you get a bunch of option and they all fit neatly in this little tin.

5. mexican vanilla - courtney, the good eater, went to mexico and brought me back this vanilla and it's the best vanilla i've ever used.  the flavor is spot on and is a strong, true vanilla taste.

6. kitchen aid mixer - now this is a little bit more of an investment but i love mine.  i've had it for over 10 years and it works just as good as it did the day i got it.  if you don't have, i highly recomend investing in one.

7. guittard semisweet chocolate chips - i've tried baking with a lot of chocolate chips and these are the best.  they really took my chocolate frosting recipe to the next level.  plus the color these chips make the frosting is the color you want your chocolate frosting to have.  it's just a little bit lighter than normal.  really beatuiful!

8. wilton decorating bags - pastry bags come in many different sizes.  my favorite size are the 16-18" versions.  i go back and forth between one-time and reusable versions.  the reusable versions get gross really quickly but i think the key is the bigger the better.

9. gel food coloring - gel food coloring is a lot better to use than liquid food coloring because you can really control the amount of color you add to frosting or fondant.

10. the best icing kit - i get questions about my favorite icing all the time.  i love this kit from bake it pretty.  it isn't expensive and works great.  bake it pretty has tons of other great cupcake making supplies too.

see more cupcake posts here.

 

eat :: food i want to make

 

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during the week i try to do as much food planning as i can.  this way i have lots of projects to tackle on the weekend.  this weekend i'm thinking BLTs and crispy cornmeal sweet potato fries!  how good do these look?

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eat :: flower wedding shower cupcakes

i baked some cupcakes for my friend tess' wedding shower over the weekend.  she requested chocolate so i made chocolate chocolate cupcakes and since she owns a floral design business with i had to make some flower toppers for them.

i loved how they turned out!  simple and so beautiful. congratulations, tess!  {and if you need flowers for your wedding or event you should definitely check out july floral design.  tess is the real deal, peeps!}