Spinach and Brown Rice Salad with Lime Dressing

This salad is INCREDIBLE!

Place in a large saucepan:

- one cup of brown rice
- 2 1/2 cups of water
- 1/2 of a teaspoon of salt

Bring all of these ingredients to a boil, then turn down the water to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes or until done.

In a large bowl mix together:

- 8 ounces of finely chopped baby spinach leaves
- one finely chopped small red onion
- 3/4 of a cup of toasted pine nuts
- 1/2 of a teaspoon of dried basil
- 1/4 of a teaspoon of ground pepper
- 1/2 of a cup of kalamata olives



Toss the salad, then add some of the Lime Vinagrette from the recipe below.

Lime Vinagrette:

Combine these ingredients, put them in a jar, then shake it well!

- 1 crushed garlic clove
- 1/2 of a cup of olive oil
- 1/4 of a cup of fresh lime juice
- the zest of a whole lime

The Salad without dressing before it's tossed

Enjoy!

The Salad is tossed

Delicious!

- Flavor, Fun and maybe a little mess!

Unbleached Flour

Today during an exiting cooking class, while making Pound Cake (recipe coming soon) Candi taught us an important fact. Bleached flour is very unhealthy and slightly toxic. It's as if you literally are putting bleach in your birthday cake and breads! The flour may look whiter but what does it matter? It's not like you can see how white your flour once it's in a baked good. Really, Unbleached flour is the healthier and safer choice. There really is no difference except that Unbleached flour is a bit less white, and a bit less toxic!

New Recipe Coming Soon!


- Flavor, Fun and maybe a little mess!

Flawless Tabouli Salad

I made this easy dish on my very first cooking class. My family loved it and yours will too.

1. Place in a large bowl:
- 1 cup of bulgur wheat

2. Then, on top of the bulgur wheat pour:
- 1 1/2 cups of boiling water
- 1/4 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice (store brand works too)
- 1/4 of a cup of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of salt

3. Stir the mixture and let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

4. The water should have mostly evaporated. Once it has been, add:
- 1 cup of minced scallions (about 1 bunch should do)
- 1 cup of chopped fresh mint leaves (really for all the ingredients, the fresher the better)
- 1 cup of chopped flat leaf parsley
- 1 or 2 diced medium cucumbers
- 2 cups of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of pepper

5. Mix well

This recipe serves about eight people as a side dish. Again, this recipe is from Candi Talley, my cooking teacher. Thanks Candi! Enjoy the Tabouli!



- Flavor, Fun and maybe a little mess!

Contact Me!

You can now contact me with ideas, recipes, comments, contest sumbissions
and more at funflavorandmess@gmail.com

New Recipe Coming tonight!

A new surprise recipe is being posted tonight!

Pumpkin Bars

These are great for the fall... around Halloween! But really, it doesn't matter when you make them, they're delicious any time of year!

1. Preheat your oven to 350° F.

2. Combine:
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
- 2 cups of granulated sugar

3. Mix well

4. Add:
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups of canned pumpkin
- 1 cup of oil (canola is fine)

5. Stir together until all the ingredients are incorporated and combined.

6. Add:
- 1 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts (this is optional but it does make the recipe a whole lot better)

7. Pour the batter into 2 greased 9X11 pans. Bake for 25 minutes or until done. Frost the bars with cream cheese frosting (recipe below). When I made them, I cut them into bars and put little pumpkin shaped candies on each one. Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

1. Beat together:
- 3 ounces of cream cheese
- 3 tablespoons of butter
- 1 teaspoon of milk
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 of a cup of confectioners sugar

2. Spread on your Pumpkin Bars!


P.S. These bars freeze well!

Yummy!

This recipe is from my beloved cooking teacher, Candi Talley. Give her some credit, folks!

- Flavor, Fun and maybe a little mess!

Time

Hello Again! I just wanted to inform you that my time is off so it will say I posted something 3 hours before it was really posted. Real time: 4:13


- Flavor, Fun and maybe a little mess!

Welcome!

Hi, my name is Ian! Welcome to my cooking blog. About a year back, I began a cooking class with a friend of mine. This has sparked my interest in cooking and has inspired me to cook more often and collect recipes, the recipes you will see on this blog today. Here's how it all goes down:
Every other day I will post a new recipe. I still have to get the camera up and running so there won't be many pictures but that is sure to change.
On Friday I will post a single ingredient, The Weekend Ingredient. You will have until Monday to send me a recipe incorporating that ingredient (kind of like Iron Chef). What ever recipe I vote as the best will win recipe of the week for the whole week, and will be posted on the blog. The first recipe is coming today!


- Flavor, Fun and maybe a little mess!