Noelle likes Good Food

I know I know, long time no see. Life has been kicking me in the butt lately with everything going on. Classes, working with the band, work, and a husband have been keeping me busy. Today I don't have to go anywhere though, and I am really happy about it. Chris and I can be at home and catch up on some work and homework respectively. However, as I contemplated revising my essay for English class I thought about how long it had been since I updated, and decided blogging sounded like way more fun. I was looking back at some pictures of the last few months and realized I never blogged about making a Dog Bone UGA cake. I made it for a lady to take to a tailgating party after one of their football games. It was a blast to make, and I think it turned out really cute.  It was a chocolate cake with buttercream icing. I baked a 9x11 cake, and 12 cupcakes. I cut down the 9x11 cake to size, and cut the corner of four cupcakes out to fit into the four corners of the cake. I cut off the tops...

 This was a particularly delicious lunch I made the other day. I came home from school very hungry and remembered I had some leftover cooked spaghetti squash in the fridge.  Here are the players. 3 cloves of garlic, about 10 medium sized basil leaves,  2 cups of arugula, 2 cups spaghetti squash, salt, pepper, lots of red pepper flakes, and a sprinkling of parmesan. I put a little olive oil in a pan and sauteed the garlic. I added all the other ingredients and cooked until everything was heated through. I dumped it all in a bowl and sprinkled parmesan on top. It was delicious! In other news, I met with my academic advisor today at school. We came up with plan that will have me graduating in Spring 2013. I wrote out what I need to take for each semester to be able to finish. I am very excited to have a goal to work towards. It will be a little rough with having to complete 6 more science courses in three semesters. But I believe I am up to the challenge. I also found o...

I have so many things to post about! I have been cooking up a storm this last week and took pictures of it all. Now I just need to find the time to write about everything. Unfortunately, the time for writing on this blog gets pushed aside with all my other commitments. I really appreciate those of you who continue to read even when my posts are sporadic. Thank you! Today I want to tell you about my wonderful breakfast. Masa Harina and Besan Pancake with a Fried Egg and Pepper Jack Cheese on top.  Let me tell you, this was completely delicious. I make pancakes a lot. But they aren't your normal every day pancake. Mine have brown rice flour, chickpea flour (Besan), and lately I have been putting in a couple Tablespoons of masa harina (corn flour) for a little twist. I usually put a 1/3 to 1/2 cup flour with baking soda, salt, packet of stevia, and water and it makes two pancakes. Then I make it like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and eat it as I run out the door to either cle...

Happy Labor Day everyone! I have had a great weekend so far and I am excited to spend some time with hubby today and get caught up on some homework. Lazy days at home at the best! I got some laver seaweed the other week, which is an edible seaweed that has high levels of iodine and iron. It is paper thin, and has a little crunch when you bite into it, but then easily dissolves in your mouth. It has a wonderful savory, sea-salty taste that makes it a great condiment. If you have tried sushi, which is wrapped in a similar type of seaweed called nori, I think you know what I am talking about. I have been finding different ways to incorporate it into some asian inspired meals.  For lunch as school last week, I brought some brown rice mixed with rice vinegar, thinly sliced cucumber and carrot, and torn laver on top.  For dinner two nights ago, I made a Quinoa Stir-Fry with carrots, peas, chicken, fresh garlic and ginger, and sesame oil. I scooped it up with my chopsticks and s...

Well, it's that time again. I started classes again last week. I am taking Chemistry, Precalculus, English, Communication, and PE. I am really enjoying all my classes, and all my teachers. It just means lots of homework and early mornings. It is definitely an adjustment, and I need to be so careful about how I manage my time to get everything done.  A perk about being back at school again is a Costco and Super H Mart that are only twenty minutes from the school. I went the other day with my sister Jenna and we had a blast! I had not been in a long time and needed to stock up on a few essentials.  I got a big bag of besan (chickpea) flour, rice paper wrappers, korean chili powder, seaweed, rice noodles, wasabi peas and a few other items. It is very exciting to have a stocked pantry!! Every-time I go to Super H I try to pick up something I have never tried before. This time I picked up some hijiki. It is a dried seaweed that can be reconstituted in water and takes on the fla...

I wanted chocolate for breakfast. So I made chocolate pancakes.  Mission accomplished. Dark Chocolate Pancakes (Free of Gluten, Dairy, Refined Sugar, and Eggs) Makes enough for two pancakes 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp Brown Rice Flour 2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder (I used Hershey's Dark Cocoa) 1/2 tsp Cinnamon 1 tsp Baking Powder pinch of salt 1 Tbsp Coconut Oil 1 Tbsp Honey 1/4-1/3 cup water (add a little at a time until you get the right consistency) Mix dry ingredients together. Add wet ingredients. Heat up a nonstick pan, add a little bit of butter, pour half the batter in. Flip and wait until cooked through. Repeat with the rest of the batter. Enjoy with your topping of choice.  I spread a little bit of peanut butter and drizzled some honey on top. But I also think that some blueberries or strawberries would be amazing. I like very dark chocolate so I barely sweetened the pancake. If you like something a little sweeter you can add some stevia or a little more honey. I thought these were...

Before I got married I definitely did not like okra. My experience was with okra that had been fried and had sat too long, and tasted like greasy mush. Not very appetizing. But my husband, he loves okra. Rumor has it when he was a kid he requested a fried okra cake for his birthday. He got it too. I wish I could see the picture of his big bowl of okra with candles pushed in for him to blow out. I am sure it was a magical experience. Since we got married I have had good fried okra when it is fresh out of the pan and super crispy. So, I like it now. But, for the two of us at home I hate frying stuff. The main reason is not even because it isn't healthy, but because it makes a big mess. I have to clean so much anyway, why would I do that to myself?  My new mission was to find ways of preparing okra that didn't require frying. I found that roasting it in the oven produced very tasty, slightly crispy, nuggets of okra gold and I have been doing that since last summer. But roasting ...