I'm...too busy for this blog...too busy for this blog...

{Please go back and re-read the title to the appropriate tune of Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy..." otherwise it just isn't effective.}

Alright, kids. Work is cuh-ray-zee right now {as it normally is in July}. I haven't had time to eat meals let alone blog about them. When I'm busy dinner turns into regular stuff like: meat, rice, and broccoli. No one cares to hear about that. Once my life settles down in August, I'll be back up to the old shenanigans...mixing stuff into a bowl and praying to the sweet Lord that it tastes good.

I keep up with my tweet game though. @bsmblog

A Foodie's Nightmare - Food Allergies

When I was a kid, I was allergic to wheat {among a LONG list of other things that had potential babysitters running far away from my siblings and I for fear of being held responsible for a food-related death}. Apparently, when you approach 30, your body reverts to it's childhood ways. For me this means new patches of eczema and a swollen life at least three times per month.

I'm allergic to fish and shellfish {which are different}, soy {found this out by eating TOFU and nearly dying}, nectarines, tree nuts, I have a peanut sensitivity, and until my 21st birthday, strawberries were definitely out of the question. I used to be unable to touch raw potatoes {this is a foodie nightmare}. The reaction for most of these = anaphylaxis. Translation: two shovel scoops from death. I can't even be around fish/shellfish as it is cooking because there are proteins released in the steam which cause severe reactions {had to exit stage left at my little cousin's birthday dinner because of this}.

I own multiple EpiPens and should probably be part-owner of Benadryl's parent company because I keep them in business for sure. 

So today, I write you in devastation as I have to now remove whole wheat from my diet. Things containing wheat flour don't seem to bother me as much, but I sit here writing you as my tongue and lips are painfully puffing up.

Because of my serious near-death experiences, I am definitely a fan of labeling everything. I don't eat at pitch-ins. I rarely eat at receptions because the poor servers never know what is in what they are passing. It makes my life in food quite an interesting one.

As I bid a fond adieu to whole wheat, I'll be spending the weekend finding something else to love.

If I look the way I feel, then Quasimodo would be a sight for sore eyes.

Check out the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network {FAAN} for more info on food allergies.

Kitchen Experiment: Caribbean Jerk Fajitas w/ Cilantro-Lime Yogurt Sauce & Chipotle Corn

Sounds amazing, right? Yeah, I thought so too. Let's be honest, not every kitchen experiment ends in glory. Sometimes, you have disasters - that you are forced to eat anyway because there are starving people somewhere in the world and you really should not throw away food.

Let me explain how this started. I purchased a skirt steak earlier in the week and knew I wanted fajitas at some point. But, regular ol' fajitas are boring to a true kitchen experimenter. So, my brain started working. I sat at work thinking..."what can I do to this fajitas to make them special..." My thought stream went a little like this:

-I love cilantro always, but especially in summer.

-I rarely use sour cream but always use nonfat plain yogurt in place of it.

-I did buy all of those peppers on sale this week...gotta use those.

-I wonder if I could make some kind of cilantro cream sauce.

-Oh wait - cilantro and lime.

-Hmm, cilantro-lime yogurt sauce? Check.

-Cumin...gotta have cumin.

-Rice on the side? No corn. I could put cilantro in the corn. Or I could put cumin in the corn.

-What about green chiles. Oh wait! Chipotle. Yes, chipotle corn.

And there begins, the kitchen experimenters dream. So I made a list of what I thought I needed, went to the grocery store and slowly walked the aisles for more inspiration just in case.  Perhaps I should have known that I'd meet my match at some point. Just didn't think it would be something so simple that would do me in.

Before you continue, think back to the time where I told you that I don't measure stuff and that I don't post exact recipes - just an inspiration and recounting of what I did. Perhaps you should remind yourself on my ABOUT page. This is one of those moments kids. Please, don't try this at home...

Peppers & Pasta - Summer Veggie Pasta

My weekly grocery store run yielded some wonderful produce finds.

Ok, let me stop here with the lies: I go to the grocery store 3-4 times a week. I'm single. There is no good reason for me to go into a grocery store once a week or twice a month, spend $150 and stock up. That's how food gets wasted and things go bad. I buy stuff as I use it {save for the regular staples}. This also happens to be why I wish we had more markets with local stuff, fresh stuff, where I could buy LESS stuff. Sometimes I don't need an entire freaking bag of celery - I just need one - and I would never do my Santoku the injustice of buying diced celery from the deli - I like to cut stuff up - and it is cheaper.

Wait, why are we talking about celery? Back to my other produce: Peppers.

My grocery store had red, yellow & orange bell peppers on sale for 10/$10. They weren't damaged - they were gorgeous. And there were A LOT of them. Professor Greenberg taught me well and I know this to mean that some lovely wholesaler likely jacked the order up & probably shipped too many peppers and the grocery has the option to discount and sell what they can. Maybe that isn't what happened here, but that's what we're going with, ok?

Along with some other things I snagged in the produce section, a star was born: Summer Veggie Pasta.

Inspiration when you Read More...

Around the World: CHICAGO

Anyone who knows me knows I spend just as much time in Chicago as I do in Indy. I love Chicago and threaten to move there every time I visit, but you can't really beat the cost of living in Indy, so...yeah.

This trip, most of my time was spent in Lincoln Park. Bailiwick Chicago is running a production of AIDA at American Theatre Co. {which happens to be the first Chicago revival of the production post-Broadway}. Tiny theater...big impact. My sister is cast as Amneris, so of course the parents and I made the journey for the opening night performance.

Sidebar: I really have no interest in traveling with my parents ever again. I say this every time I take a road trip with them. I'm smart enough to book a hotel room on a separate floor if I can, but I think my first new thing to do in my last year as a 20-something is to stop these crazy road trips. Case in point: we were in Chicago for 2 nights. My parents had enough luggage/coolers/crap to be gone for 2 months. That is not ok.

Moving on...

I love to eat. {Surprise!} Isn't Chicago a fabulous place for eating?? And in case you forgot, I certainly have a love-love relationship with Empanadas. If I can find one...I'm gonna eat one. {This almost got me in trouble in the middle of a shaky area in Cancun when I was tempted to eat one from a guy on the corner. The pigeon playing in the bucket of water he was using to cook/clean/drink & the crazy long line at the nearest hospital definitely changed my mind. Smelled good though.}.

That brings me back to Chicago. Lincoln Park. LITO'S Empanadas. We all went to Golden Nugget Pancake House for breakfast, so needless to say I was full. As we made our way down Clark St to browse & be nosey, we stumbled upon a little self-serve frozen yogurt place. I don't remember which one, but I wasn't thrilled with it. But, my impulse said - "it's hot - get frozen yogurt". I would have much preferred Ms. Impulse to say - "it's hot - but wait because across that next block is an empanada shop and you know how you are so put the yogurt down and keep steppin' missy". She didn't say that, so I was 27% into my frozen yogurt when I gasped loudly, frightened my parents, and stopped sidewalk traffic to oogle and drool over some empanadas. It's a personal problem. The fatty in me said "do it...", but I've learned to silence her by reading nutrition labels and reminding myself of my 6-months-ago BMI. Mental note: we'll be back tomorrow. And we did go back.

We ordered 1 Beef & Rice Empanada and 1 Vegetable Empanada. They were deep fried to order, but made right in the store. I love a good entrepreneurial story. Carlos, the owner, is Colombian and moved to Ohio with dreams of one day having his own business. He and his wife realized this dream in 2007. Now, if I could only convince him to pack up and move to Indy that would be fabulous.

I don't know how any one could not love anything deep fried in a pastry-like dough. Definitely added to my list of forever pit stops I make on every visit.

So yummy.

Pictures from LITO's Empanadas.

Burgers and Fries and Cupcakes - Oh My! Part Deux

Well I promised an update to include the Burgers I made at my parents' impromptu BBQ this week. Good news is - I've got the experiment. Bad news is - there are no pictures. Why? Because I was too into the process of throwing stuff into a bowl and mushing my hands in it that I forgot to take pictures of the process. Then, not long after, I proceeded to SMASH said burgers {as did everyone else} and there was no remaining evidence of which pictures could be taken. I do apologize.

Here's the thing you need to understand about my family. We over-do everything. Every event, every meal, ev-er-y-thing. Our regular BBQs generally include burgers, hot dogs, brats, ribs, pork chops, steaks, chicken breasts, chicken with skin & bones, mac & cheese, baked beans, potato salad, corn on the cob, greens or green bean casserole or both, etc. Get the idea? We cook alot of food. This Fourth of July I wasn't feeling it. I'm still recovering from the Father's Day meal I prepared. So I convinced my Mommy to let me keep it simple. Burgers & Hot Dogs.

Burgers and Fries and Cupcakes - Oh My!

Hope you kids had a fantastic Fourth of July weekend! The actual 4th I admittedly did not participate in many patriotic activities. After church I was in and out of a Benadryl-induced coma due to a lovely allergic reaction from eating a Caesar Salad. Crazy, you say? I think so too. I'm allergic to anchovies {among other things} and the salad dressing I used had too high of a concentration apparently, therefore: swollen face, throat, life, etc. It's really attractive I assure you.

So, in my near comatose state {remind me to tell you about my life before I actually started measuring the Benadryl I take}, I decided to experiment with some cupcakes. For the record, I love cupcakes. Always have - even before they made their oh so fantastic resurgence into the food world.

Naturally, being the Fourth of July, I decided to make ... that's right ... Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes. Nothing about these little guys says Red, White & Blue/Patriotism/God Bless America or anything remotely having to do with the purpose of this Holiday. That's a big "Oops & Oh Well" on my part.

Please, kiddos - remember that this is not a sure-fire, exact recipe that is guaranteed to give you the same results as me. Just me experimenting and you finding your way around your kitchen to try some experiments of your own. You've been warned. Click Read More below for the inspiration & cooking adventure.