GORP, as one theory goes, is “good old raisins and peanuts”. Well, this GORP ain’t no regular stuff then because this trail mix is chock full of tropical fruit and nuts. I’m a big fan of trail mix and almost always make it myself. I do a lot of road trips in the summer, and it’s better than having to stop for junk food. The dried mango is particularly yummy. All the fruit and nuts are from Trader Joes, because they have the best!
May 2018
So, have you guys noticed that I seem to buy random ingredients and then kind of after the fact, think to make something with them? Yep, I have a pantry full of weirdness. And in today’s edition of “what does the CSPS Girl have up her sleeve”, I present my lunch: Charred Sweet Potatoes with Chile-Infused Honey. A few weeks ago, I was in some kitchen specialty shop and they had Mike’s Hot Honey (can he found here and on Amazon also. I had no idea what to do with it when I bought it, but I am guessing that it would go well on pretty much anything where you want that whole sweet and spicy thing: chicken, ribs, stir fry and apparently sweet potatoes. The honey is *really spicy* so keep that in mind (or mellow it out with a bit of regular honey.
I found out a few hours ago that today is National Chocolate Chip Day. This is not to be confused with National Chocolate Chip COOKIE day, but just the chip itself. Well, you know what happens when I find out about these things? Well, of course I had to dig out some chocolate chips and make something. These are just your average Toll House “Back of the Package” type of cookies, but I did have a blend of three types of chocolate chips to make them a little more unique. As Cookie Monster would say Nom Nom Nom Nom!
Dessert in a jar! Here’s a clever way of bringing individual little cheesecakes to a picnic or BBQ: bake them in Mason or Weck jars, screw on the lids and voila! Portable! I took these along on a picnic and they worked out great. If strawberries aren’t your thing, top with any other fruit (blueberry or mango might be good options) or even chocolate or caramel sauce. A totally decadent idea!
Here is a riff on both pasta salad and caprese, the tomato-mozzarella-basil salad that I eat normally when the local tomatoes come into season. I used mini-everything for this recipe: cherry tomatoes, perlini mozzarella and orecchiette pasta. Orecchiette meand “earlobe” which I think is just funny and somewhat appropriate.