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Happy Eggs - Huckleberry Cookies

I just want to start off by saying that I am a true fan of Happy Eggs. But, it really started with that one story of that one man who went mad and destroyed a large flock of nesters. It was a pretty sad, mad, story which you can find here by Bloomberg. I remembered that when I heard the story, it made me sad to think about these chickens cooped up and just grasping for their lives. It made me look at eggs differently. One, was the sudden spike in price. When all eggs are averaging around $5, you really start to look at them a bit differently. The prices has fallen since, but I've stuck with Happy Eggs since.

So what's the difference? There's caged, there's cage free, and then there's free range. I think this is something all of you should look into if you are serious about your eggs.

Caged - Well, this is pretty obvious. Caged eggs come from hens who live their ENTIRE lives in a wire cage that is so small that they can't even flap their wings. I can't even comprehend thinking about an animal stuck in a confined space for the rest of their lives. But... let's not open a can of worms and start talking about all other animals.

let's take one step at a time.

With caged eggs, a typical hen only has 8 1/2 by 8 1/2 square inches of space. Just think about your standard white piece of paper for a moment.

Now, California bans the producing and selling of eggs from battery caged hens. Hens are required to have enough room to turn around freely, lie down, and extend their wings. Is that wrong? Keep this in mind.

Caged Free Eggs - Here comes the fun marketing part. We see caged free eggs packaged all the time. But.. what does it mean? We believe it's good. I mean, even the packaging on these caged free eggs look happy. But, cage free eggs come from hens that are locked inside all their lives... they never go outside. Cage free birds have no outdoor access and spend their whole lives inside barns with only 10.5 x 16.5 inches of space. This angers me a bit. Because we've bought caged free eggs before assuming they were able to roam around. I guess I was ignorant.

But in lieu of the downside with some of these eggs, there are good businesses out there like Happy Eggs that does it right. Free Range Eggs - Happy egg hens have access to a total space of 8 acres, which is equivalent to 6 football fields. The hens get to roam outdoors everyday. And okay, before we start assuming that these poor hens are smooshed up outside! EACH individual pasture raised hen has access to 21.6 square ft a day. As it's a rotational pasture, pasture raised hens have daily access to 20% of the total 108 square ft available.

American Humane Certified. Free Range Eggs.

Oh and guess what? Besides having the whole 8 acres of pasture to roam among the beautiful trees, shade, sand pits and fresh air, they also have large protective barns overnight, freedom to choose where to roost and even their favorite nesting box.

If that doesn't do it for you, they even have a few pecking toys to keep them engaged.

 

So let's get into some Happy Eggs. Because I feel GREAT to use them. I've decided to make some cookies with these cute copper cutters I got from Marshall's. My very dear friends, Ben & Ricky, who recently got engaged, brought me back some Huckleberry jam from their trip to Montana. They also have a fabulous blog called the Visualante that you all need to check out.

Recipe:

  • 3/4 cups of butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
  • 2 Happy Egg YOLKS!!
  • 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 & 3/4 cups of unbleached flour
  • Huckleberry Preserves/Jam (or any preserves you would like)

It's pretty simple. Preheat your oven to 375. Whisk the softened butter and sugar together, followed by the egg yolks and vanilla extract. Next thing you need to do is mix in your flour and salt until the dough is formed. If the dough gets too soft, like all dough, stick it back in the fridge till it's easier to roll out. I cut the shapes out with my cookie cutter, make a small dent to fill the preserves, then pop it in my Breville convection oven for 10 minutes.

Buttery cookies with a tart preserve always made the knees go wobbly. I brought these to work and the crowd went crazy! These will be around during my New Years eve party.

I'm telling you, this is so easy to make and I didn't even need to take out my Kitchen Aid.

Stay tuned for more Happy Egg recipes to come! I have a few more things up my sleeve that I think you will enjoy :)

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Krusteaz Pancake

I've been meaning to make pancakes for a while, but November became quite expensive. From my brother's birthday, to a lot of other unplanned events that is making my credit card statements a little painful to look at.

With that being said, I became just a tad discouraged to make something from scratch. I went to Vons to make a quick run for groceries when I came across Krusteaz buttermilk pancake mix. I'm really curious about this, because for $2-$3, I can make this again for a few more breakfast/brunches. All I needed was to add water. At that point, I was sold. The batter was extremely easy to put together, literally. 1 cup of Krusteaz with 2/3's of cold water. I mixed the ingredients with a fork to not "over whisk" the batter. As mentioned on the box, it's okay that there are lumps, but not to over mix.

The batter made 3 pancakes, but you could easily divide it to 4 pancakes (I was only able to eat 2 out of 3).

I brûléed a banana to use as a topping. Just grab one firm, but ripe, banana. Peel, cut in half and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Stick it under the broiler until the top starts caramelizing. When this happens, keep your eyes on it because it will burn quick. Let your bananas sit out as you assemble your plate.

Layer pancakes with a slice of butter in between, top with your caramelized banana, toasted pecans, crispy bacon pieces, drizzle with pure maple syrup (or Aunt Jemimas because everyone loves Aunt Jemima) and top off with just a sprinkle of kosher salt. To make it taste like the holidays, sprinkle a little nutmeg and cinnamon.

Now, remember your pancakes it just a blank canvas. I happened to have pecans and bananas at home to throw on. If you have frozen fruit, you can make a quick compote to throw over these pancakes. The verdict with these pancakes are pretty straight forward. I would rather make my own. I love pancakes to be extremely fluffy and buttery which wasn't the case for the Krusteaz buttermilk pancake mix. But, was it easy? very. And sometimes you just need something quick and easy to make breakfast happen. The toppings however, made this feel very gourmet.

So have fun with this and don't stress too much on breakfast. This will still be a crowd pleaser, and everyone will think you made this from scratch. Because, bacon. And brûléed banana. Pecans? You totally win.

Let the holidays begin!

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SeaPak Shrimp Scampi

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SeaPak Shrimp Scampi

I stopped by Von's after having a few glasses of wine with some coworkers for our department potluck. I think it was around 5 when John asked me about dinner. I do remember telling him I'm planning on leaving in 1-1.5 hours, so we could still have dinner together. Checked back and realized it was 9 with hangry text messages. Eeeeppss! I really messed up this time.

Back to Von's, I was trying to find something really good. Not just for him to be happy, but I was pretty hungry myself. After a few strolls, I came across a selection of SeaPak products. I've never paid attention to much frozen foods until recently. I do have a not-so-secret obsession for frozen TV dinners. My dad would always brought home frozen Banquet and Maries Calendar dinners, so frozen meals always had a place in my heart. After cooking one pack with thin spaghetti, I realized how much I underestimated the product.

Recipe:

  • 1 12 oz frozen SeaPac shrimp scampi
  • 1 1lb of linguine pasta
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 packed cups of baby arugula
  • salt for seasoning pasta water

Pretty simple. Start a pot of heavily salted boiling water to cook the pasta till al dente. On the side, start cooking the shrimp scampi about 4 minutes before the linguine is ready. Drain the linguine and return it back in the pot, throw in the arugula, and then pour in the shrimp scampi. Mix everything all together and serve with the lemon and Tabasco hot sauce.

I layered the pasta with arugula to add some color and more texture. Plus, It's a good way to incorporate veggies in your food. I can honestly say, this shrimp scampi is better than a lot of scampi I've had, even at a fine dining restaurant. The shrimp is smaller, but the butter, garlic and herbs were on point. The flavors were really refined and not something I would expect to find frozen. I went back today, and bought 3 more boxes.

John was extremely happy, and I am not in the dog house anymore.

Everyone wins! Go get a pack and let me know what you think. It was on sale today, 2 boxes for $10! What a steal.

Daisy

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Lemongrass Beef

I've been craving lemongrass beef for the longest time EVER. I've also been meaning to make it, but never had much time to do so. And the days that I do buy lemongrass, they would start molding since I dont end up making the dish. With that said, I went ahead and bought a tube of lemongrass which you can find at your local market (I got mine from Ralphs).​

I had a piece of frozen skirt steak weighing in at about 1.5 pounds defrosted. I like to utilize what I already have, and ​simple ​recipes like this makes it easy.

​recipe​

  • 2 tablespoons of lemongrass paste by Gourmet Garden​
  • 1 large clove of garlic​
  • 1 tablespoon of fish oil ​
  • 1 tablespoon or so of granulated sugar​
  • ​1-2 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice (whatever you have)
  • 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder​
  • 1/4 teaspoon of salt​
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cracked black pepper​
  • 1 red Thai chili​
  • 1 shallot​

The list may look lengthy, but you should have most of these items at home. For the red Thai chili, I keep a container of it in the freezer so they won't spoil. Garlic is minced, chili and shallots are sliced. Put All ingredients in a mixing bowl and let it marinade for at least 30 minutes to an hour. ​

On high, add some oil to your pan followed by your meat. You want a good sear and you will notice the char building on the steak from the sugars caramelizing. By the way, the skirt steak was cut up to smaller pieces before marinating. ​

Served with steamed jasmine white rice and your choice of veggie. Drizzle with sriracha and more citrus!​

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Enjoy and happy cooking!

 

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Beef Stew - EASY PEASY

This recipe is made for my friend Joanne. From her daily commute, to the hours that she spends at work, she is literally spending 12+ hours away from home. Does this sound like you? If so you need to get your self a slow cooker NOW. I've made beef stew once with my slow cooker, but this time I made sure to document the steps. My friend JoJo has been contemplating on getting a crockpot, well now she better get one. I mean it Jo. I know you will be seeing this post so the pressure is ON.

First things first. The night before, prepare EVERYTHING. For Jo, she's spending that much time away from home so I'm already assuming she will have no time to do so the day of. After all, one of the discouraging things about cooking is the prep work. But, if you actually do it ahead of time and be organized about it, you will realize how easy your life will become.

Recipe:

  • 4 pounds of beef chuck. Cut in Large chunks.
  • 2 large carrots. Cut 1-2 inches.
  • 4 celery roots + all the leaves from your original bundle.
  • 1 large white sweet potato. Cut into large cubes.
  • 1 large onion quartered. Not diced.
  • Literally, 10 cloves of garlic.
  • 1 cup of beef stock.
  • 2 Tablespoons of corn starch. (For last step to thicken the stew)
  • Salt.
  • Black Pepper.
  • Lawry's garlic parsley salt.

What? That's it? Remember! I want to make recipes that are within your reach meaning you should be able to whip up something quickly and not be intimidated. Don't underestimate yourself.

Whole Chuck

You can always get top round.. but I love fatty marbled meats. I always buy a large piece instead of little chunks because the meat will disintegrate if it's cut too small. Remember, if you have a career that's 8 hours of your day, and you live in Los Angeles, you are probably out of your home for 10+ hours of your day. Big chunks will make sure you will still have a normal looking stew. I seasoned the meat liberally with Lawry's garlic parsley salt. It's sold at your local grocery store, but a huge bottle can be found at Costco.

Sear this bitch on High. I used Thrive algae oil since it has a super high smoke point. All sides were nice and golden. After the beef is removed, I added about a 1/4 cup of water to scrape off the brown bits. It's all flavor sugah don't leave none of that behind. Let the beef cool, saran wrap, then throw this beast in the fridge!

 

The Layers

Ok, after coming home to his, I am changing the layers.
First layer should be onions & garlic, followed by potatoes, beef, mushrooms, carrots, celery, and celery leaves.

By leaving your meat on the bottom or mid layer, it will ensure you that your meat is submerged in sexiness till you arrive. Otherwise, it will get cold if your crockpot stopped at a certain hour. If your crockpot is off, turn it back on to mix 2 tablespoons of corn starch (dissolve with a little water before pouring the slurry) Cooked some spaghetti with it to arrive with:

Yum! Flavor PACKED! Amazing with spaghetti. You can always use a different starch, like rice, but I've been eating that almost everyday and wanted to break away from that (I used "Break away" because Kelly Clarkson "Break Away" is currently on). Use whatever you have! and remember if you have any leftover herbs that are almost at the end of their lifetime, go ahead and throw them in! Because.. who knows it might taste amazing.

If you let the stew cool completely in your fridge, you can make beef pot pie! Look at you all looking like a chef. I am so proud.

Get cozy with warm fuzzy foods.

Daisy

 

 

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