blackberry vanilla almond muffins, two ways

Yes, more muffins. You're not complaining, are you??? By the way, please forgive the lack of pics around here, and the less-than-superb quality on this one -- our camera went kaput, so all I have is an ipod.

Whether you make these whole wheat or gluten-free, they make you think you're indulging in a decadent treat, when really you're giving yourself a whole host of nutrition. As long as you don't eat five in one sitting.

shhhh! they're, ahem, whole wheat

Whole wheat, no butter, and tastes good... impossible, you say? Nay! As luck would have it, I discovered this gem of a recipe on my very first attempt at whole wheat banana muffins, and they're perfect! Perfectly perfect. I do have to confess that, in what was not my proudest culinary moment, I took these from being pure, whole food made from mostly organic ingredients, to having a container of vanilla pudding from my pantry. But I forgot we were out of milk, and I stumbled upon some random pudding we had leftover from something else. So I used the whole container (single serving size) and upped the oil to 6 tablespoons. 

italian sausage soup

I love Italian wedding soup, but I was too lazy to look up a recipe for it, and I didn't have any orzo/pasta, and I knew that if I was going to serve soup for dinner, it had better be chock full of meat, or Mr. Improv would go on strike. Hence, pantry items, plus some fresh ground turkey & sausage, all put together in hearty & delicious soup.

I made this gluten-free by using GF oats and GF chicken broth. I also used chicken Italian sausage, which was a tasty option for any non-pork eaters. Oooh! And I discovered a way to cook meatballs that I loved. LOVED, I tell you.

a healthy dose of reality

Tonight's plan?
Homemade calzones with sausage, olives, and homemade sauce. Gluten-free apple pumpkin muffins. Mop up the trails of mud & grass that were tracked through the house by 3 girls enjoying some water play on their day off. Have all of the above done by 6:20 when Mr. Improv was due home from work.

Tonight's reality?
Out of tomato paste, diced tomatoes, and fresh tomatoes. Pulled out the small amount of sauce I made yesterday for the girls' lunch. Not quite enough for one calzone. Used it anyway.

Made the muffins with Mia (just turned 2) while the calzone crust was proofing. Got 1/2 way through & discovered that the pumpkin I'd been wanting to use was gone - must have grown legs & walked off. Substituted applesauce to make apple-applesauce muffins instead.

Still relatively "collected."

Got the calzone crust ready for topping, only to realize I'd forgotten to cook the sausage.

Cooked the sausage. Realized I'd forgotten the olives. Gave up on the olives.

Sniffed around the kitchen for the weird stench, and realized it was coming from not-so-fresh sausage. Gave up on the sausage.

Made 1 kinda small calzone with 1 small bit of sauce, some cheddar cheese cuz I was out of mozzerela, and some cut up baby spinach.

Realized I'd forgotten to add the diced apples to the muffins. Added them to the remaining 1/2 of the batter; gave up on the muffins in the oven which were now applesauce muffins instead of apple pumpkin muffins.

Decided to throw together a crustless quiche and serve that for dinner along with applesauce muffins, after serving 1 bit of calzone to each person as an appetizer.

Still thought I was relatively "collected;" I wasn't.

Made the quiche from "memory" but doubled the flour accidentally.

Served the calzone.

Served the applesauce (i.e. sugar & spice) muffins.

Served the quiche. It was more like, well, we won't go there.

Told girls to clean up; realized I'd forgotten the second batch of apple-applesauce muffins in the oven. Pulled out very brown muffins.

Gave Pink a muffin. And the verdict?

"They're good mommy! They taste fiery, but good fiery!"

Ahem. I think I'm going to bed. Cooking will have to wait for another day.

crustless quiche

Sure, it still has flour. And oil (but it's olive oil - hardly counts, right?). And it has an almost shameful amount of cheese. But still, you can feel much better about yourself because there's no empty-calorie crust. And it's all about making yourself feel better, right? Right.

This quiche has so many variations, they're nearly endless. I've listed some below, but really, it's just a sampling of what you could do.

peanut butter brownies

So simple - a mere handful of ingredients & the perfect balance of rich chocolate brownies and peanut butter. The smooth yet cripsy glaze makes indulgent chocolate even more decadent. Fair warning, though: these things are so super rich that even I can't eat the whole pan in one night (or even one end of the pan), so make these to share.

a sneak peek...

...at a huge success

let the games begin!

This decadent mille-feuille is on my to-do list this week, but more on that later. First, THE CONTEST!

polenta layered with beef

This creation was the result of a friend's text: "tired of thinking of dinner, have lots of food, but no ideas - what should i do with these?!" I sent back 3 menus for her, proof of the fact that we work better in teams. Plus, I love the challenge of an almost-blank canvas.

A friend asked me recently, "So, you love to cook; what do you love to cook the most?" I was stumped at first, because I'm a person who can MUCH more easily come up with a Top 20 than a single favorite. Then I remembered the text challenge & the menus that resulted, and I realized... I love having seemingly random ingredients thrown at me and finding ways for them to come together for a good dinner.

Which brings me to this: first, a once-in-a-while column where readers send in their this-is-what's-left-in-my-fridge ingredient lists, and I publish a recipe that would incorporate them. Hopefully, we'll all learn more about how things go together, which spices add certain nuances to a dish, and how we can become more confident in the kitchen.

Also, a CONTEST: I'm too small-time to offer actual prizes, but once per quarter I'll publish a reader's ingredient list and let you all have at it. My favorite recipe will be published here, and if you have a website, I'll happily link everyone to that website so they can get to know you a bit better. Rotating themes (quick & kid-friendly, exotic, romantic, etc.) will spice things up a bit, too. CONTEST starts next week, so get yourselves ready!

Now, for a surprisingly simple dish that tastes anything but simple:

update - pics posted for stuffed artichokes

I finally got around to making the stuffed artichokes again and remembered to take pics. Also, I got some feedback on the process of stuffing the artichokes seeming a bit daunting, so there are step-by-step pics for the process of stuffing, too.

Make a box of mac n cheese for the kids, and put these artichokes on the menu soon!