Traveling with 3 loves

I am a lucky woman in all aspects of the word. I grew up loved and supported with caring parents and loving sisters. Some of my very favorite childhood memories are of traveling together to visit family in Kentucky. Now its my turn to bring my children to the beautiful state of Kentucky in the spring time. I want my children to know their wonderful grandparents, their sweet Aunts, and their adorable cousins. So my dear, sweet children and I are venturing across the nation to surprise an unsuspecting sister and her brand new son. I cannot wait to hold my precious nephew. It is times like these in a family when the true meaning of life is felt. Being together, loving a new life, wondering what is in store for the newest set of baby blue eyes. Welcome to the world baby Henry! We love you always!

BBL Banana Ice Cream

Oh boy, watch out! I have been really trying to figure out video editing and am having a lot of fun with it. Today I filmed my super easy banana ice cream recipe. It truly is super simple! Here is the link to the video:

Click here to see my banana ice cream video!!!!!

Here is the recipe:

BBL Banana Ice Cream
Ingredients:
2 Frozen bananas
Directions:
Peel and freeze bananas in a ziplock bag over night or until bananas are frozen solid. Take bananas out of baggy and place in blender or food processor. Blend until smooth like ice cream consistency. Scoop the ice cream out and divide into 2 dishes. Share! You will probably want to eat it all but share.... That's nicer. That's it! Your done! There are some optional add ins that I talk about on my video.

Optional add ins:
Cinnamon
Coarsely ground flax seeds (gives a light crunch... Yummy!)
Finely ground flax seeds
Chia seeds (they add fiber, protein and those ever important omega fats!)
Almond butter (ahhhh, so smooth and creamy and grown up tasting!)

After your ice cream is done just add in these extras to add even more of a health kick to your healthy treat. Enjoy bikini style!

The Way of the West

Dust devils, rodeos, cowboy hats and a more relaxed, slower way of life.... Ahhhh traveling to Arizona. I was picked up from the airport by my uber sweet Uncle with whom I have not had the opportunity to talk with in quite some time. We met my kind, sweet and hard working Aunt after our drive from Phoenix to Tucson.

I immediately felt a sense of calm, relaxation. Little did I know what was in store for me during my out West vacation. Guess what?! I tried lamb's tongue! Wow! I am always up for trying something new and thanks to a new, super sweet, talented artist, friend, Julie, I will try something new or do something new each and every month. I think that's a great idea!

So let me tell you more about this restaurant and the lamb's tongue! We walked into this contemporary green and blue chaired restaurant and I immediately noticed the huge river rock wall. I mean a big wall with huge stacked up rocks. It was really interesting. We sat at the bar so we could get half priced wine, beer and tacos. I ordered a clean, crisp Pino Grigio and my table mates all ordered assorted beers and wines. When the menu came and I really saw lamb's tongue tacos as an entree I knew exactly what I would order. I was the only one in our group to be so adventurous (Julie's birthday was a few days prior and she had lamb's tongue to celebrate her big day.).

The lamb's tongue reminded me of gyro meat. So to me it tasted like regular lamb. But really to have another mammals tongue in my mouth was something to think about. It was tender, flavorful and perfectly seasoned. It was served with a cabbage mix, salsa and a cilantro sauce all on top of a home made flour tortilla. I thoroughly enjoyed each bite.

The moral of this story? Try new things. I convinced my Aunt and Uncle to take a walk on the wild side and try quinoa, hummus and flax seed (all at separate occasions) while I was with them. I hope I introduced them to some new foods and experiences. Their kindness, compassion, advice, time and most importantly their
love was truly appreciate. I also want to thank my new friends Julie and Mike for their time and love. I know I have met new life long friends and I now know even more about myself and my super kind family. Thank you for your time my wonderful family!

Spring Madness Cookies

Happy Springtime! I love this time of year and love playing outside with my kiddos. I also love it when they ask for my home made cookies! Ok that is all a hunk of baloney! I made these cookies for myself. I just hope the kids like them. They are so yummy to me. I hope you like them too!

Spring Madness Cookies

1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1/2 c chopped almonds
6 chopped dates
1/4 c chopped craisins
2 T cinnamon
3 egg whites

Directions:
I started by toasting all the nuts together on a baking pan at 400 for about 10 min. Keep a close eye on them. You just want them lightly toasted or you can do this in the microwave (put all nuts in a single layer and microwave for about 3 min). Lower oven temp to 350 degrees. Mix all chopped nuts, date and craisins in a large bowl. In small bowl mix egg whites and cinnamon until well mixed. Add liquid mixture to nut mixture and mix well. Use your hands to form into cookie balls and place on greased baking sheet. Makes about 14-16 cookies. Bake 350 for 12-14 min. Enjoy Bikini Style!

Baked Oatmeal Bikini Style

Ahhhhh, my sweet, beautiful, Austrian friend, Laura is here with my children and me. It is wonderful to talk to her and learn about her life and travels during the years I have missed in her life. And I love, love, love cooking for her. When she likes my food I get a jolt of energy with her approving smile after that first bite! So while she slept on her first morning back in her "American Home" I quickly made a morning treat for us all. I know she loves granola and oats mixed in with her yogurt each morning so I thought having a warm oatmeal base would be nice since it was such a chilly morning. So I whipped up a healthy version of baked oatmeal. Some baked oatmeal recipes contain over a stick of butter, mine has none. Some baked oatmeals have a cup of sugar or more but not mine. Enjoy this warm morning treat bikini style!

Baked Oatmeal Bikini Style

3 C quick oats
1/3 Cup ground flax seed
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 C plain Greek non fat yogurt
1 dropper full of cinnamon stevia (or 2 tiny packets of powdered stevia or 1 tsp if its not in packets)
1 Cup milk (I used skim because I knew I'd be sharing with my nut free friend but its more awesome with almond milk!)
2 eggs
1 C unsweetened applesauce
2 tsp vanilla extract

Optional add ins: (mine is pictured without these) 1/2 cup chopped, toasted nuts, 1/2 Cup raisins, craisins, or chopped apples.

Directions: heat oven to 350 and grease a 9" square pan. In large bowl mix 1st 6 ingredients (the dry stuff). In a different bowl whisk together the last 6 ingredients (the wet stuff). Add wet stuff to dry stuff and mix. (If you love nuts and dried fruit now is the time you could add 1/2 cup toasted walnuts or pecans, and/or 1/2 Cup dried cranberries, raisins, or chopped apples). Pour into greased pan. Bake 350 for 35-40 min or until set in the center. I like it right out of the oven nice and hot! But some like it cool and others prefer cold with milk or yogurt on top. Either way enjoy and let me know how like it... Bikini style!

Bikini Baking Lady's Black Bean Hummus!

Oh boy, now I really enjoy teaching again! I have missed my days as a culinary arts teacher. My daily cooking demonstrations were the favorite part of my day but now I feel like I am teaching again to anyone out there watching in Internet land. I love telling the world about products that I enjoy and recipes I make up. Yesterday I posted a cooking demonstration video on You Tube of my black bean hummus recipe. I used my new Ninja blender/food processor. That thing is super powerful! I got it for free for testing their Shark mop! I like the mop but I LOVE the food processor. But I have made this exact same recipe with my 1950s avocado green blender and it came out the same way. It just took longer and was tougher to get all of the product out of the bottom once it was all blended. A friend reminded me that I should make the recipe more visible so you don't have to watch the whole video each time you want to make black bean hummus so I have jotted it down below. If you cant find avocado oil in your local store or health food store or you can use Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO). EVOO and Avocado oil have similar properties. For cooking avocado oil may be superior due to its higher smoking point. But you can use either oil for this recipe or omit the oil all together if you prefer. The texture is altered only minimally.

Here is the link to my You Tube video:
Bikini Baking Lady's Black Bean Hummus

Black Bean Hummus Recipe:
2 Cans Black Beans (drain and reserve liquid)
1/2 Cup fat free plain Greek yogurt (or same quantity of cottage cheese or sour cream)
2 Tablespoons Tahini
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 Tablespoons real lemon juice (squeeze it...use your muscles! ;-)
1 Tablespoon avocado oil
Fresh sea salt to taste
Fresh cracked pepper to taste
1/4 to 1/2 cup reserved black bean liquid from the can

Mix all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth and creamy. Use it as a dip for fresh veggies or as a condiment with sandwiches or wraps. Enjoy Bikini Style!