R is for Rice and Rhubarb

Remember me?

So a lot has happened since last I blogged. First, The Mrs. and I have moved. We recently bought a house and are really happy being homeowners and having a mortgage. Next, Mrs. ALPHAbiteICAL got accepted to graduate school! She'll take her first class in the fall for Higher Education Administration. And lastly, the cupcakery I manage has opened a second location. There have been several challenges to work out with the new store but it is going pretty well. Cupcakes have been selling like... well cupcakes and that's all I can ask for.

Recently I had a chance to play in my new kitchen and here are the results.

Rice Balls

-1 cup uncooked rice

-3T cilantro, chopped

-3t paprika

-1t oregano

-1/2cup chopped onion

-2 cloves of minced garlic

-2 eggs

-2T mayonnaise

-2t salt

-1t pepper

-1 cup Panko bread crumbs

-Oil for frying

Cook rice and drain water. Stir in cilantro, paprika, oregano, eggs, mayonnaise, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Roll the rice mixture into balls and roll in bread crumbs. Heat the oil and when it is hot fry the rice balls for about 4 minutes.

Rhubarb Pie

-2 stalks of rhubarb, chopped (about 2 cups)

-6 strawberries, chopped (about 1 cup)

-1/4 cup brown sugar

-1/4 cup sugar

-2T flour

-1t lemon juice

-1t lemon zest

-1T instant tapioca pudding

-2 sheets of puff pastry

Spread the puff pastry sheets on a floured surface and roll out the pastry 1 inch. Press the pastry into 4 ramekins. Roll out the remaining dough and cut out 4 circles to top your pie.

Mix all the other ingredients in a large bowl and fill the ramekins with the mixture. Bake for 40 minutes in a 360 degree oven.

Remind me to blog if you don't hear from me soon. Enjoy the food!
-J

Q is for Quinoa

Quitters never win...

So it has been a while since I blogged, so long that you may have even forgotten about me.
Hey!
I still exist.
I wish that I had a Quick Quotes Quill to dictate to fill you in on everything that has happened since my last post. I don't so here goes: Halloween, Thanksgiving, a tree fell on our house and we moved in with the in-laws, went on a cruise, the bosses opened another cupcakery, Christmas, and New Years.

With all of that there was a part of me that thought that I should quit the blog and just leave it where it was. I questioned if I could even get through the ALPHAbite. With the letters that are on the horizon it is even more daunting than when I started. But it is a new year, a new day, and my first day off since...I have no idea, I really haven't been keeping track, so who cares. I'm back to tackle the ALPHAbite one letter at a time.

Enjoy.

Again.

Hopefully.

(sorry.)

Quinoa Stuffed Squash

• 1 quarter of a quart (cup) quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 3 squashes
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 cup of crab meat
• 1T drained capers
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds
• 1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 lime, juiced
• salt 
• pepper
• olive oil

Cook the quinoa by boiling 2 cups water and adding 1cup of quinoa. Reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. Saute onions in olive oil. Stir in crab meat and add in the wine (quick before you drink it) Add the onions, crab, cilantro, capers, lime juice, and almonds to the cooked quinoa and stir.
Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds.

Lay the squash in a baking dish and fill them with the stuffing. Put the rest of the stuffing around the squash and top each stuffed squash with a little bit of Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 325 for about 30 minutes.






...and winners never quit.

P is also for Popcorn

Perhaps I should just post about the food.

 Popcorned Chicken 

• 2 cups of popped popcorn
• 1/4 cup onions, minced
• 1t dried oregano
• 1/2t salt
• 1/2t pepper
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup water
• 2T mayonnaise
• 1T brown mustard
• 7 chicken tenderloins

Pop popcorn according to the package directions.** I used buttered popcorn, because it is what I had in the cabinet. The only thing worse than watching a bad movie is watching a bad movie with unbuttered popcorn.

**Don't burn the popcorn. The only thing worse than watching a movie with unbuttered popcorn is watching a movie with no popcorn and the stench and smoke of burnt popcorn lingering in the air.

Place your popcorn in a plastic bag with the minced onions, oregano, salt, and pepper. In a bowl combine the egg, water, mayonnaise, and mustard. Soak the chicken tenders in the egg wash mixture. Then roll the chicken in the bag of popcorn.


Preheat a large skillet with a little bit of olive oil to medium heat. Cook the popcorn coated chicken for about 7 minutes on each side.

This was the mine and the Mrs's lunch today. It was the perfect way to spend my day off. Tomorrow it is back to cupcake world.