Elvis' Favorite Milkshake

Bo and I have completely opposite eating schedules.  I wake up ravished!  Literally, my stomach is like a hungry monster in the morning, and if I don't give it some food within about 30 minutes of rolling out of bed it gets to growling quickly!  Bo, on the other hand, would be satisfied to wait several hours before eating after waking up.  I can't imagine...

The same opposite hunger schedule is also true for us at night.  Bo and I both like to eat dinner around 5:30-6:00, and then have a little snack later on.  I usually grab a little something around 7:00-7:30.  Bo's hungry monster, however, has only just started to wake up at that hour.  By 8:00 p.m., even with a hearty dinner behind us, Bo is always starving!

Enter last night's scene:

Bo:  Do we have any ice cream?
Ally:  No....
Bo: (insert sad face)
Ally:...but I can make you something!!!
Bo:  What are you going to make me?
Ally:  Something yummy!  Give me a minute!

So here is what I came up with!

Elvis' Favorite Milkshake

Serves 1 hungry husband

• 1 very ripe, frozen banana
• 1-2 T peanut butter
• 1 T unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2-1 T brown sugar
• handful dark chocolate chips
• 1 C milk
• 2-3 ice cubes

Some of you might not know about my uncanny connection to Elvis.  My birthday (January 8th) is actually Elvis' birthday!  Ironically, or perhaps creepily, my mother's birthday (August 16th) is on the day Elvis died.  Weird, huh?  I guess we are cosmically linked to Elvis somehow.  Maybe that explains my intense love of all things with peanut butter and banana (also known as Elvis' favorite sandwich combination).

Any-whoo!  Here is the final, delicious product:

Doesn't it just look delicious?!  I added a few unblended chocolate chips on top for garnish.  Bo slurped it right down and made a specific note of telling me that it was "blog-worthy"!  Thanks, love!

Wouldn't you just love to dig right into this glass of chocolate-peanut-butter-banana-heaven?  Too bad we only had one frozen banana, otherwise I might have had to make one for myself.  But not to worry, I bought six more ripe bananas today, so this milkshake will definitely be in my not-so-distant future!

In other news, we bought new sheets a few days ago!  Our old sheets were scratchy and uncomfortable, so we bit the bullet and bought some new egyptian cotton sheets from Ross.  Although they weren't the exact color we were looking for, the price was right so we decided to go with it.   Bo said he is comfortable enough with his masculinity to sleep in pistachio colored sheets! :)

I must say, the sheets do complement the mandala artwork! 

Up next - a healthy (but more importantly, yummy!) ice cream recipe!

Question of the Day:

Which do you prefer: peanut butter and banana vs. peanut butter and jelly?

 Blessings,
Ally and Bo

All About Roasting

I am sure that many of you have been roasting all kinds of vegetables for years.  But for me, this was a recent and amazing discovery!  Who knew everything was better roasted?  Well, apparently many of you did, but failed to tell me... Don't worry, I forgive you ;)

On Saturday, Bo informed me that we were out of avocado hummus.   We always keep a fresh supply of hummus in the refrigerator, so this meant that I needed to make a new batch.  But what kind?  We were craving something a little different, and perhaps with a little kick to it.  Thankfully, I noticed a couple of red bell peppers lying in the vegetable drawer.  I had been thinking about stuffing them with a rice mixture for dinner one day this week, but when I saw them lying there I knew right away that they had a different destiny to fulfill.  Roasted, spicy, red pepper hummus here I come!

Problem: I had never roasted a red pepper in my life!

Sure, I had bought the jar of roasted peppers from the grocery store, but do it on my own?  No way!  But there is a first time for everything, so I decided to give it a shot!  Thankfully, I discovered that roasting peppers was as easy as 1-2-3!

1. Cut bell peppers in half, scrape out all the seeds, and place skin side up on a greased baking sheet.
2. Roast on broil (500-550 degrees) for 5-10 minutes, or until skin begins to blacken (mine took 7 minutes).
3. Remove peppers from the oven, immediately place in a ziploc bag, and allow to cool.

Once the peppers have cooled (approximately 20 minutes), remove them from the bag and peel off the skins.  The slightly sweet flesh of the pepper will be revealed!

I used a portion of the roasted red peppers in a hummus.  I didn't write the recipe down, but if memory serves me correctly, it was something like this:

• one can of great northern beans, drained
• 1 1/2 roasted red peppers
• 1-2 garlic cloves
• 2 T tahini
• 1 1/2 T lime juice
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• small handful of cilantro, minced

This hummus has been super yummy with crackers, vegetable crudites, dolloped on salads, and spread on sandwiches.  The extra kick of the cayenne really takes it up a notch! 

I foresee many roasted red peppers in my future...

As for roasting other things, I am a huge fan of roasted root vegetables.  In particular, I love roasting butternut squash.  It brings out all of its sweetness and creates a caramel-like result. 

Just a few days ago Bo and I had roasted butternut squash with sunflower oil, salt and pepper, along with one-pot millet and nutmeg-laced collard greens.  Don't worry, I'm not withholding meat from my hubby!  Bo had turkey sausage on the side as well. :)

Lesson: Roasting makes all things yummy!

So, pull out your baking sheet, check out your refrigerator and pantry, and see what you can start roasting!  I assure you, you will not be disappointed with the result!

Tomorrow - Elvis' favorite smoothie...which a chocolate twist!

Question of the Day:

What are your favorite cooking techniques?

Blessings,
Ally and Bo

"About" Us and the Joys of Coloring

First things first: Check out our new "About" page!  We worked hard on it, and we hope you will enjoy learning a little bit more about us and our journey to blogging.

Now, on to more important things...like coloring.

I am a professional colorer.  Just ask Bo; he will confirm it!

I have honed my coloring skills from a very young age.  When I was a little girl I spent many a summer's days at my Mee Maw and Pee Paw Hudson's house.  One of our favorite passed-times was coloring.  Pee Paw always graded our creations, and he was sure to always give me an A+++ and my Mee Maw an F---.  Don't worry, I always remembered to assure my Mee Maw that "F" stood for fantastic! :)

Since then, my love of coloring has matured.  Now I color in adult books, such as:

Over time,I have cultivated a personal coloring style.  I always use both crayons and markers. 

The markers are used to outline the perimeter of an object, whereas the crayons are used to fill-in the object.  This particular technique takes quite a bit more time, but I think the final project is worth it.  The colors POP!  Take a look at these (Bo has nicknamed the left one "The Beatles" and the right one "Electricity"):

And this one (which Bo has nicknamed "Aztec"):

Recently, I have been coloring mandalas.  The word mandala originates from Sanskrit and means "circle."  Mandalas represent wholeness; and personally speaking, remind me of my relationship to God.  It's interesting to realize that mandalas are around us all of the time in the form of the earth, sun, moon, and our conceptual circles of friends, family, and community.

In our bedroom, Bo and I have hung a grouping of 16 mandalas as a headboard.  I have to give Bo credit for figuring out how to display my work.  He did an awesome job!  Check it out:


Sorry for the imperfect pictures...I am quite the amateur photographer.


Confession time:  I don't always color sophisticated adult mandalas.  Here is a sample of some of my other work...hehehe. :)

One day, when Bo and I have children, I hope to color a dozen or two Disney pictures and use them to decorate the nursery.  It will be such a fun project for our little one!  Until then, I will just keep practicing!

Tomorrow - how to roast a red bell pepper (a first for me!).

Question of the Day:

What are your favorite creative hobbies? 

Blessings,
Ally and Bo