cooking ala mel

Almond "Graham" Crackers (Gluten Free)

July 19, 2013

Today has been.. interesting, to say the least. I started off my day all excited to get some baking and frozen treats done. I got all of those finished, and then I went to transfer some photos to my computer, realizing my camera battery was dead. Woops. And then the power went out for about 3 hours, meaning my frozen treats are definitely no longer frozen. On the bright side, the few hours without electricity gave me ample time to clean the kitchen and do a workout! Although, taking a shower in the dark was a little bit weird..

I finally got my battery charged up so that I could share these delicious gluten free “graham” crackers with you! While they obviously aren’t really graham crackers, not made with any wheat, they are just as delicious. Lightly sweet, spiced with some cinnamon, with a great crunch. And pretty darn healthy to boot.

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Strawberry Tomato Basil Bruschetta with Blue Cheese Spread

July 17, 2013

One of the very first “recipes” I made with Alex was bruschetta. It wasn’t much of a recipe, considering we were just following his mom’s spice instructions and tasting as we went. But boy, oh boy was it delicious. The next time I made bruschetta, I did follow a recipe, for my sister’s bridal shower, but the photos sure weren’t pretty. Now, years later, I created my own recipe, and the flavors blow all of the previous bruschetta I’ve had out of the water.

I’ve discussed my brown thumb many a time here on cooking ala mel. Every year that we’ve lived in this apartment, I’ve gotten basil and rosemary plants and failed to keep them growing. This year, I decided to try keeping only one basil plant alive, thinking that one plant might be something I can handle. So far, so good, although it’s only been about a week (which is a success for me, albeit a very small one).

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Chopped Salad with Roasted Chickpeas (My Favorite Chopped Salad)

July 16, 2013

One of our favorite “fancier” restaurants around the Buffalo area is a steakhouse called Black and Blue. Everything we’ve ever had from there has always been delicious, and they serve some of the best prepared steak I’ve ever had. My favorite thing there, though, would have to be their chopped salad. Tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, blue cheese, bacon, and my favorite, roasted chickpeas, all atop fresh shredded romaine. The flavors meld together perfectly.

I’ve made my own version of their salad a few times, and we’ve always enjoyed it, so I finally got around to writing down exactly what I did and took pictures so I could finally share it with you! This time around, I didn’t add bacon, but I’ll include it as an option in the recipe. It’s totally up to you, but it’s good with or without it!

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