March Madness

To say that March is not my favorite month is polite. March is a tough month to get through in Maine. It's not the dead of winter, but it's no where close to being spring. There's still several feet of snow on the ground. One day there might be a bit of warm sun to melt a little. The next day there could be another 8". There's nothing to look forward to in the month of March, except for the end of it. No holidays, no vacations - nothing but a root canal on the calender. I wish I was kidding.

In the spirit of optimism, I have come up with some ideas for surviving (and even thriving) in March.

1. It's going to be Healthy Eating Month at Mignardise!
This isn't a punishment for the all the fun we've had with baked goods. It'll be interesting, enlightening and delicious. Look for new recipes and ideas throughout March.

2. A fitness goal!
The club where I work out is having an Ultra-Athlete Challenge. You have to acquire 250 miles in 31 days, walking, running, on the cross-trainer, rowing machine and bike. That's a lot of miles and I am certainly no ultra-athlete. But I like having a quantitative goal. I like knowing it's for a finite period of time (although I fear it might make March seem even longer). And I like the fact that it might help me shed some of those cookie and margarita pounds I acquired at the ranch.

3. Schedule events!
This is a good time to do all those things you've said you want to do. I want to see the National Acrobats of China when they come to town. I want to support local businesses during Maine Restaurant Week. I want to go snowshoeing and skiing at least once more. And I want to hear what you've got planned, so leave me a comment with some good ideas.

So here's the deal...I'll help you get through March if you help me. Together, we can!

Postcards from the Ranch

Vacationing at Tanque Verde Ranch in Tucson, Arizona is a wonderful thing...

There are horses,

and elephants,

and jack rabbits too.

Cowboys...

and cowgirls.

The desert,

and dessert.


Saguaro cactus,

prickly pear cactus,

and at the end of the day, a prickly pear margarita.

Wish you were here!

Live From Arizona...it's Mignardise!

 

I am a very lucky girl this week. Instead of freezing in Maine, I am enjoying the sunshine in Arizona. Not a moment too soon either.One more day of staring at that snowy landscape would have pushed me right over the edge, into an icy crevasse, no doubt.
But having lived in Maine for a few years now, I know that I have to plan a getaway for February school vacation. It gives me something to live for in the dark days of January.

This year we have returned to the Tanque Verde Ranch in Tucson. It's our third visit here, so that should tell you something. It's a dude ranch, for us dudes who like to play at being cowgirls and cowboys.There's trail riding, mountain biking*, hiking in Saguaro National Park, swimming, tennis and...food. Lots of food.

This morning, I swung up into the saddle on a horse called Jaeger.We took a ride up to the Homestead where a hearty breakfast was being cooked up on a fire-fueled grill by Bob Cote, owner of the Ranch. There was enormous blueberry pancakes, smoky bacon, ranch eggs with chiles and cheese cooked in a huge cast-iron skillet, hash browns, biscuits and coffee. Doesn't breakfast always taste better outside?

Afterward, we walked the horses back to the corral, fat and happy (us, not the horses - they're discouraged from eating on the trail). And guess what? Only 2 hours until lunch!

* True story: Two years ago when we were here, I thought a little mountain biking amongst the cactus would be fun and good exercise. Five minutes into the adventure, I skidded on a sharp left turn and fell smack into a prickly pear cactus. Cut to Bob pulling cactus points out of my derriere (that's French, just like mignardise) for over an hour. Then it took another hour for me to remove the thorns from more delicate areas. I will not be biking amongst the cactus EVER again.

I Heart My Readers

In case you haven't heard, Valentine's Day is creeping up on us this weekend. Sure you could go all "bah humbug" about it, if you're in that kind of mood (and frankly, who isn't in mid-February?). Or you could go all out and declare your feelings with a run to the local market for a flocked velvet heart, filled with assorted chocolates. Exactly what does that say about your love?

I say let's use Valentine's Day as another excuse to bake something sweet and delicious. A day to eat chocolate without guilt, whether it was a gift from a friend or a gift foryourself. A day to send little love notes in lunchboxes and cupcakes for the class party.

Bonus Baby kindly offered her mom, the food blogger, to be Chief Cupcake Maker for the third grade class. I don't think they are allowed to call it a party, and they're not even supposed to have sugary snacks (the classroom being the new frontier in the fight against childhood obesity.)
But again, it's Valentine's Day, and I mean to keep it dedicated to all things sweet.

So we made chocolate cupcakes a la Martha Stewart. You can make them in one bowl, no butter required - it's almost too easy. We frosted them with the ooey-gooey marshmallow frosting I wrote about a few weeks ago. And we decorated them. So cute! And the sweetest part isn't the sugar - it's baking with the BB.

Celebrating World Nutella Day

Did you get the memo that said Thursday February 5 is World Nutella Day? I did.
I got it from Ms. Adventures in Italy, a blog by a lucky young American who happens to live in Italy. Go to her site and learn 50 ways to eat Nutella.
My favorite way? On a banana! Or in a crepe. Or in a crepe with a banana!

If you haven't yet been introduced to Nutella, it's a chocolate-y, nutty, yummy, creamy treat from Italy that you can find in your own grocery store. Smooth and spreadable like peanut butter, but chocolate with a hint of hazelnut. And you don't even have to go to la groceria italiana to get this little bit of heaven.

Go get yourself a jar. Now, before World Nutella Day passes you by! Try one of Ms. Adventure's delicious suggestions, or use it to bake...



Nutella Cupcakes, from Baking Bites

10 Tbsps. unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup white sugar

3 eggs

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
(that means sift first, then measure)

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

Nutella, about 1/3 cup (a little more is always better)

Preheat oven to 325. Line 12 muffin tin with paper liners.
Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Don't worry of the batter looks curdled. Add vanilla.
Stir in flour, salt and baking powder until thoroughly combined and no flour remains.
Fill each paper liner with batter, 3/4 full. Top each cupcake with approx. 1 1/2 tsps. Nutella.
Swirl Nutella and batter together with a toothpick, making sure to fold a bit of the batter up over Nutella. Bake 20-25 mins., until toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean (except for the Nutella). Remove to a wire rack and cool completely.

Caution! Once you've tried Nutella, it's easy to get hooked. See this post by Bleeding Espresso (another lucky girl living and drinking coffee in Italy) to find out if you are truly addicted.

Game Day Guacamole and More

Ok, we all know the Patriots should really be playing today. They demolished the Cardinals not too long ago. And Matt Cassel stepped in so sweetly for Tom Brady. And please, I don't want to hear any of that "Oh we're so sick of Boston winning everything" stuff from people who just wished they lived in New England.

So with the Pats out, today is all about 2 things for me: commercials and food. Having previously worked in the exciting and glamorous world of advertising, I have a great appreciation for all the work, time and cocktails that go into making a commercial. Having a blog, I also appreciate a day dedicated to junky food.

If you are sticking to your resolutions and being very good, look away now. Because what I have is tempting enough to make you forget your promises. Just for today.

I'm going classic Super Bowl food today. Guacamole, chili and peanut butter brownies.My family loves guacamole. When my kids were little, I fed them avocados as snacks - full of vitamins, good fat and soft, perfect baby food.  My guacamole recipe is pretty basic, more of a suggestion really, open to interpretation. Add hot sauce if you like, use lemon instead of lime, use mayo or yogurt instead of sour cream, leave out the onions. You get the idea.

Mash 4  ripe avocados,  but with some chunks remaining. Squeeze in the juice of half a lime.
Dice one tomato and 1/2 of a small red onion. Add to avocado.
Mince 1-2 cloves of garlic, add. Chop some cilantro, about 1/4 cup and add.
Stir in one heaping Tbsp. sour cream. Season with sea salt, freshly ground pepper and a little chili powder and cumin, about 1 tsp. each. Mix well.
If making in advance, lay a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface before refrigerating.

If you read this blog regularly ( oh please read regularly! and urge your friends!), you'll know that chocolate and peanut butter has been somewhat of a constant theme. Brownies too. This recipe*stirs it all together. They're decadent and worth every calorie. Go back to your resolutions tomorrow.

*Note: I replaced the chopped peanuts with chopped mini-Reese's cups, and scattered the peanut butter chips on top. Go for it.