When we got back from NOLA, a friend of mine linked me to a picture on JamBase of Mick and I at Jazz Fest, holding up a Crawfish Monica. I remember the guy taking it, but for it to show up on a music blog…that’s funny.

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So we decided that we didn’t want to do a traditional wedding cake, and I have been looking into alternatives for the standard, tiered cake that you see at most weddings. If I was to get a “cake”, Debbie Does Cakes might be the best cake maker I’ve seen in ages…if you get some time, I highly recommend checking out her Flickr set of past cakes. Looking for an eggs and bacon cake? Look no further. How about a Coach handbag? She can do it. Seriously….her talent is endless. These are the “cakes” I would consider getting.

Cupcakes

Short of getting a custom funky Ace of Cakes style cake, cupcakes are a huge trend right now too. You can purchase tiered cupcake stands to hold your decorated cupcakes which will give the appearance of a wedding cake when the cupcakes are added. I like the idea of customizing them to go with your theme and colors. So many options of flavors too, so you dont have to stick the whole party with the chocolate buttercream cake that you purchased but your mother-in-law hates.

image via Cupcake Decorations Club

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So a week ago I decided it was time to detoxify my body (and loose a little weight in the process) so I went ahead and started The Master Cleanse.  Mick was leaving for Vegas and I was going to be home alone for almost a week…figured it was the perfect time to start.

Most people who attempt to cleanse their body using The Master Cleanse go a total of 9-10 days. Today is day 7 for me and I have thrown in the towel.

The Master Cleanse is a lemon cleanse that consists of 6-12 glasses of the below ingredients.

• 2 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
• 2 Tablespoons Rich Maple Syrup
• 1/10 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper Powder – or to taste (as much as you can stand)
• 8 ounces (250 milliliters of Pure Water

I tended to just make a large batch of the lemonade sans water and add it to my water all day. 1 cup of maple syrup, 1 cup of lemon, and add the cayenne to each individual glass.

Basically, I’m didn’t eat for a week.  You are also supposed to drink a herbal laxative tea at night, and do a salt water flush in the morning for the first few days to clear your system…so with the lemonade all you are doing is ingesting fluid. And TMI, but you eventually stop pooping. These two things flush all that out of you, till your intake and output is all liquid.

My Experience with it this time around….

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We are still working out the logistics of our bar set up. Do we host the bar, do we do a cash bar with wine on the table and a signature drink? We need to figure out what we can afford with our budget, but we are leaning toward the latter. We need to chat with our catering manager and see what the pricing for that would be, but all of this talk of signature drinks got me thinking…what would we choose?

Mick is a bourbon guy, and Im not really a huge fan, so do we just go with one or two? I would feel bad being selfish and not letting him have bourbon, because after all…its his thing. Maybe Mick has the Mick’s Manhattan?

I also got to thinking that whatever we do decide on…likely has to be supplied by the bar, so we cant get too crazy with ingredients…but here are a few that I found to sound absolutely refreshing, summery and delish! These all came from The Knot’s Signature Cocktail Page... What would YOUR signature cocktail be? (more…)

Today was amazing. A few friends, Mick and myself all took a short road trip and went to Harley Farm in Pescadero, CA. It was a rainy day, but the tour that we signed up for was rain or shine, so onward we went. Something was looking over us though, because only a few minutes before we arrived did the rain lift, and then it started again on our way home…but no rain at the farm.

The reason we headed there…was because its a Goat Farm!!! Seriously. Between Mick’s love for goats, my blogs namesake, and all of our love for some amazing fresh cheese, it was a no-brainer.

This farm was awesome. They weren’t in milking season, because all of the females were pregnant! In fact, they had their first kids born in 2010 a few weeks ago, and one of the goats had 4 on Friday!  4!!! They were 2 days old, and our tour group was able to hold them and pet them and snuggle their little soft faces. They are so cute! They bleeted, and bahhed, and were as soft as kittens. Little Goats!!!

In the area with all of the goats, while we were standing and hanging out with them, one started to have contractions. We waited around for a bit, but she didn’t give birth in the time we were there. How amazing would that have been? The other ones were using us as scratching posts, nuzzling, and smelling us with their mouths. It was pretty much the best “petting zoo” ever.

We were told the history of the farm, taken on a tour of the cheese-making facility, and even got to try all of their cheeses. Needless to say, we all headed to the dairy shop after, and bought quite a few of the fresh goat cheeses…in addition to some fresh ravioli which I got to dine on tonight. It was AMAZING.

Some of the photos from today are below. You can see the whole set here.

The Little Goat

a mama goat

Little Goat in Micks beard

Beard and Hair nets

a field of mustard

Alright…so I mentioned last week that I wanted to make homemade ricotta. There are a ton of recipes out there, all easy, but I chose the simple one that uses ONLY whole milk, salt and lemon. I went to Whole Foods and bought the cheesecloth necessary, and came home to get to work.

I got my milk simmering, put the lemon juice in it so it would start curdling…and then realized I DONT HAVE A SLOTTED SPOON! (It felt like a “taste the soup” moment from Coming to America)

How am I supposed to get the curds off the top of the milk if I dont have a slotted spoon? I tried using a spatula, I tried using a fork. Nothing. So, I’d say I got 6 curds total, sitting in my cheesecloth, and have a pot of what is now warm milk.

FAIL.

This is why I guess its good I’m getting married in 5 months. Slotted spoon on the registry..Check.

I want to do this…Its all I can think about. I don’t know why…maybe I want to make a nice blintze? Maybe I want it in my pasta? I don’t know…all I know is the second I saw that you could do this…I wanted to. I think I’m going to get the stuff later and try…seems easy enough! I’ll let you know how it turns out!

This recipe came from BonAppetit.com. Here, New York chef Andrew Carmellini shares his method for crafting it, as well as his signature dishes that showcase ricotta at its creamy, comforting best (whether you use fresh homemade or fresh store-bought). With three ingredients, 15 minutes, and no fancy equipment, I’m a cheese maker.

How to Make Fresh Ricotta

Makes 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients
8 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preparation

1. Line a medium colander with four layers of cheesecloth. Set the cheesecloth-lined colander in the sink.
2. Bring the whole milk and salt to a simmer in a large, heavy-duty saucepan over medium-high heat.
3. Stir in the fresh lemon juice. Simmer the milk mixture gently until curds form, usually one to two minutes.
4. Using a slotted spoon or mesh skimmer, transfer the curds to the prepared colander. Let them drain for only a minute.
5. Transfer the ricotta to a medium bowl. It can be served right away, or covered and chilled up to two days.

Sure sure…I’ve been dieting now for years. I have this pesky 8 lbs that I need to get off, and no, I’m not complaining about my weight. I know I’m at a weight that a lot of people would like to be, but I personally, for me, would like to lose another 8-10 lbs to be comfortable….and now, I have a reason.

I found “the” dress. My mom came into town this weekend, and we went shopping. At the second boutique, we found the dress. Actually, we found it at the first, but I liked it so much that after comparing it to the others at the second place, we just opted to get the same one there instead. So….I have a dress.

The thing is, I measured between an 8 and a 10. The dress I tried on was an 8. It fit, but there were possibilities that it had stretched cuz it was a sample. So I could order a 10, and get it altered…or pray an 8 fits when I get it in a few months. So I went with the 8. I figure if I get those few pesky pounds off, and don’t gain any weight in the mean time…I should be good. All the more reason to get serious about the pre-wedding diet. I HAVE to fit in the dress .

What are your thoughts on the best method to finish losing 8-10  lbs. Ive never really been a dieter….though I eat pretty well now and go to the gym regularly (somewhat). I have 6 months….I think I can, I think I can…

I need a favor. I need all of you to tell me how you cook your pig.

Mick an I went to “Pork Prom” last Sunday. Thats right. Pork Prom. It was hosted by Live Culture Co. and located at the new Oakland location of Blue Bottle, so with promises of cooked bacon and coffee, we went to pick up our 5 lbs of pre-ordered pork. I honestly don’t know how I found out about this in the first place, (probably one of many blogs that posted), but I got on their mailing list, got on their list to buy and with a happy heart, went to get it. It was a little disorganized, but I’d gladly go again, for I now have 5 lbs of an Ossabaw Pig in my freezer.

I have spare ribs, chops, a hock, some sausages, and some other thing that I forgot about but will update when I get home. The only thing I didnt get that Im a little bummed about is a slab of bacon, but I’ll take what I can get.

Do you have favorite ways to make spare ribs? I’ve been looking online, and there are some awesome recipes out there…but I thought I’d try you first. How about the chops? Can you leave me a little recipe love in the comments?

(via It's all about the bacon)

We decided to throw a holiday party this year for some of our friends, and figured that the Ugly Christmas Sweater thing had been played out…so we went with a Cookie Party. I had never even been to one, let alone thrown one.

I guess typically, a few women get together, make a few dozen cookies and then exchange, so when they go hang out with their families, they have an assortment, and they werent responsible for cooking them all. My rules weren’t terribly specific. I basically charged a batch of cookies for admission, but people made all sorts of goodies…i didn’t get particular. Peanut butter cookies, banana bread, peanut brittle…etc. I was actually super impressed with the success of that part of the party. Everyone decided to participate…and for that I love my friends. (Don’t forget the awesome karaoke madness and raging dance party that occured during the party. Raging in the sense of a filled living room in a small apartment= Super Fun)

I didn’t get too many photos of the actual party, as I was having too much fun and have friends that are better at that than I am…but I did take a few of the food I decided to prepare.

My cookie contributions were a ginger snap and a peanut butter cookie. Got to use the KitchenAid again…spent the day in the kitchen, wore my apron and did my thing. Its fun for me to get super domestic every once in a while.

in-progress peanut butter

completed ginger snaps

We also decided to have a few savory items out…so we didn’t overdose on cookies. Mick made some little cocktail weenies that he crocked with a sauce made of mustard, BBQ sauce and of all things, Grape Jelly….it was an unexpected amazing sauce. I put together some stuffed mushrooms filled with the chopped stems, cream cheese, garlic, green onions and cayenne pepper. I also made some endive appetizers filled with a pear, blue cheese, walnut mixture.  The one thing I did realize while preparing food for a party is that I have no serving trays. I guess that comes later in life with a registry?

endive and mushroom appetizer

endive goodness