JuBella.com – Get Your Creative Dose

Don’t you just love when you stumble across a blog that inspires you so much that you click away feeling super motivated, as if you can now go out and conquer your creative world. That’s how I felt after browsing the immaculate photography and recipes that are taken and written by Photographer Katie Quinn Davies. I left her blog feeling as though I could prepare beautiful dishes and create lovely photos to remember my own kitchen creations by! What I like most about many of Katies photos are the rustic tones that many of them have…so comforting and inviting don’t you think?

Be sure to look out for her first recipe book due to be published in 2012! Woo Hoo, and click the image below to see a short video highlighting her work and her inspirations via Martha Stewart Living!

This past Sunday I roasted a chicken that was flavored with lavender and glazed with fig preserves. I knew that I wanted something comforting and cheesy to go with it but I also knew that I did not want it to be macaroni and cheese. Most people love macaroni & cheese, but I’m just not that big of a fan! So, I decided that my comfort dish would involve cauliflower, portobello mushrooms, butter, and lots of cheesy goodness! It was quite fantastic and you know you have a winner win the 7 year old says: “that was so good, that was better than macaroni and cheese”…lol.

I simply boiled some cauliflower in salt water and once tender I took them off the stove, added lots of butter, a tad more salt, fresh black pepper, shredded monterey jack & cheddar and crumbled up some portobello mushrooms. Stirred it all together, put them in small ramekins and baked them until the cheese was bubbly! You should definitely give this a try, it’s scrumptious and just as comforting as traditional macaroni and cheese!

Good Morning Everybody! Hoping all is beautiful in your part of the world? It has been a while since I have done a true “Good Morning Monday” post, so, this morning for breakfast we are having Tartelettes Lavender Oatmeal Squares! I am a huge fan of Tartelette as her recipes as well as her photos are so decadent and inspiring & I really love how she presented/packaged these little oat squares! Click Here For The Recipe!

Also, I wanted to let you all know that I have started two new blogs to further help categorize the many facets of my life! One focuses on the many faces of fashion which is called Style Gypsy, and the other is a motherhood blog called Inspiring Mama. So, for all of you who love fashion and/or motherhood then do feel free to stop by and visit! I have found some fantastic eye candy to post this week, so stay tuned and I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Ingredients for Crab Sauce:
Crab Legs, fresh
2-3 C. Water
Salt for water
Beer (optional, yet the alcohol cooks out and adds a GREAT sweetness to your crab)
1/2 Lemon, fresh & cut into small wedges
3-4 Garlic Cloves
1 Tbsp.Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. Flat Leaf Parsley
4 Tbsp. Butter/Margarine
1 Tbsp. Sour Cream
1 Roma Tomato, diced
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 Bay Leaf
1/8 tsp. Black pepper
Pinch of Crushed/fresh Basil
1/2 Tbsp. Red Wine

Ingredients for Linguine:
Salt for Boiling Water
3 Cups Spinach Leaves
1 Tbsp. Sour Cream
1/4 Tsp. Crushed Basil
Dash of Black Pepper
1/2 Tsp. Garlic Powder
1 Tbsp. Butter
Drizzle of Olive Oil

Topping/Garnish: Fresh Parmesean Cheese

Directions for Crab Sauce: Pour your water, salt, lemon, & beer(optional) into a large pot. Add crab legs & let steam until warmed. Remove from heat. Crack open your crab legs and remove the meat from them. Place meat into a bowl or onto a plate.

With stove OFF, drizzle your olive oil into a pan. Add remaining ingredients including the lemon wedges from your steamed crab and simmer on high until your butter has melted. Continue simmering on low for about 10 minutes. Turn off heat, cover, and set to the side, as you do not want your crab meat to overcook.

Directions for Linguine: After your linguine has boiled to a tender texture in your salt water, add all of your ingredients and toss together.

To Plate: lay a bed of linguine onto your plate and top with your crab sauce. Garnish with fresh parmesean cheese!

Good morning everybody! Oh, I am feeling so much better in the past few days! I have not been bothered with morning sickness, but the fatigue and lack of energy is something to deal with, especially when you have a running list of things you have to/would like to do! Nevertheless, it’s a beautiful Monday morning and I hope your week is off to a creative one! I wanted to share this recipe that I found via Cream Puffs In Venice. It’s called Lemony Bread Pudding French Toast(does that nor make your mouth water as you read it?). I must try this, even if it is just as a dessert or a guilty pleasure snack! Just click on the link above for the full interview, and while you are there you will definitely want to bookmark the following that really caught my appetite:

Jam Crostada

Strawberry Lemonade

Three Cheese & Mushroom Pizza

Stuffed Eggplant

Chocolate Toffee Biscotti

Okay everybody, i hope you enjoy these tasty finds and I have some inspiring posts for this week! Have a wonderful Monday to you all!

Oh my, yes, I have missed my Monday routine, but all is not lost because we still have Tuesday afternoons! I ran across this recipe from the lovely Heidi Swansons: 101 Cookbooks and thought I just have to try this next week! It’s an Artichoke Dip recipe made with silken tofu! It looks so good. I would probably add a bit more cheese to mine, and I wish I had some cute mini iron “pots” to serve mine in!

Click here for the recipe!

We do not really do too much for the Fourth of July. We are just happy to have the hubby home for a long weekend and the little one gets so excited about going to see the fireworks over the Savannah River. Nevertheless, I thought I would share a couple of easy and laid back recipes that are a breeze to fix for your 4th of July gathering!

Frozen Sake Lemonade
I do not like drinks that are heavy on the alcohol and outside of ordering virgin cocktails I usually just enjoy a glass of wine or sake every now and then, So this cool concoction that I came up with of sake, lemons, and sweetness is perfect for a summer gathering with friends.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients
zest of one lemon
1 C. fresh lemon juice
1/2 C. sugar
1 1/2 C. ginger ale
1/2 C. sake
Ice (about 24 cubes)

1 C. frozen blueberries and strawberries for garnishing

Directions
Stir together your lemon juice and sugar until sugar dissolves. Blend all ingredients EXCEPT for your frozen blueberries and strawberries in your blender. Place your frozen blueberries and strawberries in your glasses or pitcher. Pour in your mixture. Serve with a slice of lemon on the side & Enjoy!

Alternative: Take your mixture and let it freeze. When you are ready to use it simply take it out of the freezer and blend in your blender to make a lovely sorbet. Garnish with lemons, berries, and mint!

Berry S’mores

I have to be perfectly honest…my four year old came up with this idea. He wanted me to make smores for a snack but we had no chocolate, so he says, “well, we can use strawberries”. I was in a desperate need of a sweet fix so I agreed to it. These were SO GOOD!!! I am sure they would be a hit for any kid that comes over as well as the adults (I must have eaten quite a few myself) You could also add some fresh blueberries to escalate the whole 4th of July red white and blue theme, but these are great for a snack at anytime!

Ingredients
graham crackers
marshmallows
sliced strawberries
fresh blueberries (optional)

Directions
Simply place your marshmallows on top of your graham crackers and warm it up in the microwave for about 10 seconds. Your marshmallows should be soft but NOT totally melted. Take your graham crackers out of the microwave and place your berries on top of the marshmallow. Sandwich your graham crackers together. Serve immediately & indulge in the sweet gooey goodness!

Summertime is pretty much here and that means that the sweet smell of honeysuckles are in full bloom, cool glasses of fresh lemonade, ice-cream, and candlelit porches filled with laughter and friends, and but of course something sweet to top it all off! What should it be you say? Rhubarb! Rhubarb is a vegetable plant in which you can only eat the stems, as the leaves are quite toxic. The beautiful red stems are packed with nutrition and is a bit tart, so when added with a bit of sugar, you get the perfect filling for a scrumptious rhubarb dessert. Here is a great video recipe of cook Annabel Langbein of New Zealand. She is one of my favorites among many others and I thought this Rhubarb & Yoghurt Crumble Cake sounded absolutely divine and perfect for a summer get together with friends and family! For more recipes using rhubarb, check out this cookbook: Life’s Little Rhubarb Cookbook: 101 Rhubarb Recipes

Rhubarb & Yoghurt Crumble Cake

Prep 15 minutes
Cook 50-60 minutes
Ingredients:

140g butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp natural vanilla essence
3/4 cup plain yoghurt
2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 stalks rhubarb, thinly sliced, or 190g berry fruits or other chopped fruits
Topping:

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup slivered almonds or chopped walnuts
4 tbsp flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
60g butter, melted

Preheat oven to 180-C. Grease a 25cm spring-form or loose-bottomed cake tin and line the base with baking paper. Beat butter and sugar together until creamy.

Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Beat in yoghurt then add sifted dry ingredients and stir gently to just combine (mixture will be a thick consistency).

Spread into prepared tin and sprinkle over rhubarb.

Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over cake. Bake until golden and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes. Stand 15 minutes before turning out. Allow to cool before cutting. Store in an airtight container.

Serves 8-10
Variations:

In summer I like to make this cake with stone fruit. Use 6-8 stoned plums or apricots cut in wedges in place of rhubarb. In autumn use feijoas or apples cut in chunks in place of rhubarb and flavour crumble topping with 1 tsp ginger in place of cinnamon.
Copyright Annabel Langbein Books 2000 – 2007

Cookbooks by Anna Langbein:

Cooking to Impress Without Stress,

Assemble: Sensational Food Made Easy,

Desserts.

I am absolutely in love with the work of Food Stylist and Photographer Beatrice Peltre. Her way of styling food is is a true art form, and I was instantly engaged by her use of color. Her award winning blog La Tartine Gourmande, is filled with some of the most delightful photos of food, her travels abroad, and of course recipes that are all cataloged into tasty categories. She also has a wonderful amazon store that carries some of her favorite culinary reads. If you love food, photography, and traveling as I do, then you might find yourself browsing her blog and website for hours.

Beatrice has officially inspired me to become an Artist within the kitchen. I can honestly feel her passion for food and photography within every picture and that sort of love for something just makes me happy and I commend Beatrice for bringing such beauty to something that is most commonly taken for granted throughout our days. What if we all created art within the kitchen and shared our photos with the world to be enthused by! Thank you Beatrice for being such a creative inspiration!

Here are our top 5 picks from her blog, but to be quite honest every one of her posts are impeccable, and you will just have to taste the goodness of it all by visiting your blog and website yourself:

A Whole World of Sweet Mini-Bites — Tout un monde de petites bouchées sucrées/

Rhubarb and Raspberry Yogurt Ice Pops — Sucettes au yaourt glacé rhubarbe et framboise.

Apple Trees Give us a Queen — Les pommiers nous offrent une reine.

Vitamins in a Summer Verrine — Verrine estivale vitaminée

Fall Medley Vegetable Soup — Soupe automnale de légumes variés

oh, and this: A Casual Lavender Crème Brûlée — Crème Brûlée à la lavande à la bonne franquette because those heart shaped handles are just too cute!

I usually prepare a quick and easy flat bread to go with fresh soups, salads, and curry dishes, but lately the flat bread has become a bit of a bore in our house. So, what to do? Why fry up some bread of course! I love the way that this Native American based bread turned out. It was light, soft, slightly chewy, and flavorful. These are most popularly served as the base for making ,Indian Tacos, which I plan to try as well minus the ground beef. I couldn’t help but think that a dough like this with more sugar and maybe some cinnamon and vanilla would be a hit too, so I think I am going to fry up some Bunuelos soon. Bunuelos is a fried sweet bread that is divine, similar to churros in my opinion. They are especially delightful served with a creamy spicy tea or a really good cup of cocoa! With this recipe the key is to not overwork your dough..your dough should be soft and not flaky. Also, do not fill your pot to the rim with oil. You only need enough to cover the bread, about 2-3 C., depending on the size of your rounds. use your better judgement. You don’t want greasy fry bread. They should not leave any grease on your fingers.

Ingredients:

4 C. All Purpose Flour

1 Tbsp. Baking Powder

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Sugar

1 tsp. Garlic Powder

1 1/2 C. Cold Water

Vegetable or Canola oil for frying

Directions:

Sift together all of your dry ingredients. Gently mix in your water until you have blended all of your ingredients well. Very LIGHTLY knead and work your dough until you get a soft non-sticky ball of dough (you may have to dust your dough with a bit of flour until it does not stick…do not over work your dough, as this will make your bread tough and too chewy), cover with a kitchen towel, and let rest for about 15 minutes.

Separate your dough into 7-8 equal pieces. punch down with your finger tip and stretch each of your balls of dough out into 4″ diameter circles at about 1/4″ thick. Be sure not to stretch your dough out to much or else you will end up with crispy bread. Heat your oil to where it is hot but not smoking. You do not want your bread to fry to quickly or burn.

Poke a SMALL hole in the center of your rounds using a toothpick or skewer(just a quick poke, thats all you need, this helps the heat disperse throughout your dough evenly), and then one at a time, fry them in your oil, about 1 minute on each side or until lightly golden brown. transfer to a paper towel lined tray. Serve warm & Enjoy!

This is one of my favorite dishes, right next to grilled asparagus, salmon, and stuffed garlic potatoes! Not only does this meal taste great, but it is super easy and quite quick to prepare. Pardon the absence of measurements, as this is a meal that you can measure out the amount you feel you will need to serve your family or guest…I just season and taste until it is to my liking. I usually serve this with jasmine rice, which has a great aroma and some Sangria or a nice lemon tea. The “Spiced Ginger Green Beans” are simply seasoned with a bit of olive oil, bean paste, ground ginger, brown sugar, salt, and drizzled with honey. Yum!

Filling Ingredients:

Cream Cheese

Fresh Spinach leaves, chopped

Paprika

Salt

Sprinkle of Sugar

Mozzarella, shredded

Roma Tomato, sliced into circles

Directions: Simply mix all of your ingredients together with the exception of your sliced tomatoes.

Tilapia Ingredients:

Fresh Tilapia Fillets

De-veined Shrimp

Garlic Powder

Paprika

Coarse Salt

Black Pepper

Lime or Lemon Juice

Olive Oil

Honey

Directions: Slice a thin layer of your fillet from the top, cutting your fillet into half, without completely separating the top from the bottom (do not completely cut the top of). Place about 2-3 of your sliced tomato rounds on the bottom, lightly sprinkle the top of your tomatoes with black pepper. Now spoon your cream cheese mixture on top. Fold the top of your fillet on top of your cream cheese mixture.

Now season your tilapia with your spices and drizzle your lime or lemon juice on top. Place your shrimp on top of your seasoned fish and sprinkle a bit of salt and paprika on top of your shrimp. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and honey. Bake at 350 degrees until cooked.

Avocado Salad: Ingredients

Avocados

Roma Tomato

Fresh White Corn, off the cobb

Lime Juice

Coarse Salt

Honey

Olive Oil

Pinch of Garlic Powder

Paprika

Directions: Dice your avocado and tomatoes into small chunks. Mix in your lime juice, corn, salt, paprika, garlic powder, olive oil, and honey. Stir together and serve.