Strawberry and Mint Angel Food Cake

In order to use some of my extra mojito mint, I made a Strawberry & Mint Angel Food Cake from a slight variation from a recipe on Semi-homemade.

First, remove the top of an Angel Food Cake with a serated knife. Then hollow out the inside of the cake as shown:



Keep the hollowed out portion of the cake, cut into cubes, in a medium bowl. Add to the bowl: 16 ounces fresh strawberry slices, 15 finely torn mint leaves, and 1/2 cup fat free cool whip. Stir mixture togther and use to fill the cake.



Reattach the cake top to the cake.



Top cake with the remainder of the thawed cool whip (I bought the largest size.) Allow the cool whip frosting to set in the fridge for at least an hour. Serve!

My Heavenly Cheese Platter

Recently, I visited Point Reyes, California. On the way home from the National Seashore, we stopped at the Cowgirl Creamery to buy some cheese. We were able to sample around 10 different kinds of cow, goat and sheep cheeses. We ended up buying the San Andreas Bellwether sheep cheese and a St. Pat Nettle Cheese. Delicious! At home, I put together this cheese platter with locally grown organic strawberries, grapes, a sliced baguette, and a dried apricot and almond bread. We drank a Pinot Noir with this. I was in heaven!

This platter was way too much food for the two of us. A little bit of good quality cheese went along way.

A close-up of the Cheese (The St. Pat's is on the right. The green is Nettles.):



Cowgirl's description of their St. Pat Cheese: ST PAT is our seasonal springtime cheese. These rounds are made with whole organic milk and are wrapped with stinging nettle leaves. Do not fear the nettles, since they are washed and then frozen to remove the sting before they are wrapped around the cheese. ST PAT, with its distinctive, green wrapping, commemorates the arrival of spring in Marin County. After three weeks of aging, ST PAT is mellow, soft, and full of flavor. The nettle leaves impart a smoky, artichoke flavor.

Mmm Mmm Good

Easy Lemon Chicken
From: Campbell's Kitchen
Prep/Cook Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1 lb. boneless chicken breasts
1 can Campbell's® Healthy Request® Condensed Cream of Broccoli Soup
1/2 cup skim milk
1 tbsp. lemon juice
lemon slices

Directions:
SPRAY skillet with vegetable cooking spray and heat 1 min. Add chicken and cook until browned, stirring often.
ADD soup, milk, and lemon juice. Top chicken breasts with lemon slices. Heat to a boil. Heat through.

Serve over rice, pasta, or couscous, with a side of steamed broccoli.

Ok, so it isn't perfect nutrition

I made my first ever mojito.

Meld together 15 mint leaves with 2-4 tsps of sugar and the juice of 1/2 lime. Fill a tall, skinny glass with ice. Stir in 1.5 ounces rum and 7 ounces of club soda.

Enjoy!

The mojito was good, but next time I will try to make a simple sugar mixture instead of using straight sugar. Hmmm....I wonder how well splenda would work?

I'm Back.....And Have a New Lunch Box!

I'm Back!

My lunch is something that I have done before, but I would like to show off my new lunchbox that I purchased in San Francisco's Japantown for only $7.00.

This lunch features my tuna pasta salad. I also packed halved pickles (5 calories per pickle, but lots of sodium), grapes, and apple slices. If you look closely, under the apple slices there is a baggie of 2 fat-free fig newtons, tucked below.

Tomorrow, is my first day at my new job! I am used to packing meals to last me 12 hours. This lunch box would have been perfect for those long days with the two levels. I would have (and still may) packed the second level with a breakfast. Or a snack of air-popped popcorn.