Egg, spinach and feta wrap

My relationship with my barista is suffering.

We used to see each other every day. I'd swing into Starbucks and be greeted with a smile and a, "Hey Katie!"He always knew to start a venti dark roast for me - no room - but then depending on how hungry I was feeling, I would also grab a spinach and feta wrap. 

For as lovely as this interaction was, it cost me close to $6 every day. Which is simply unreasonable for a girl who knows how to make her own coffee and prefers to drink it black. 

My barista was a habit that I needed to quit.

But sometimes time gets away from me. Sometimes I hit the snooze button one too many - okay let’s be real - four too many times.

These are the mornings that I'd usually swing by Starbucks.

But every time I'd circle the lot for parking, stand in that line and then wait for my order to be ready, I'd realize that I wasn't saving any time at all. In fact it probably took longer than scrambling and egg and making my own coffee. Oh, and I was also hemorrhaging money. All because I liked seeing my barista. Time to make some changes.

The coffee part I had under control. Nothing fancy there. But an easy, portable breakfast is another story. All I wanted was that delightful envelope of egg, cheese and spinach that my barista would kindly heat up for me.

So I went about recreating my beloved breakfast. I looked up the ingredients in Starbucks's version, I found some delicious sun-dried tomato pesto at the grocery store (no need to go overboard and do homemade), and then I made a week's worth of breakfast wraps and stuck them in the freezer.

A quick zap in the microwave and I can wrap it back up in the aluminum foil, throw it in my bag, and eat it on the way to work or at my desk. I definitely don't miss fighting for a parking spot in the Starbucks lot, and I even like the coffee I make at home better than what they have sitting in the carafe all morning.

All of this doesn't make up for the fact that I miss my barista. Yes, I've moved on, I'm making better choices, I'm growing. But there are mornings when I'm pouring my coffee into my traveler mug that I wish he would hand me my coffee with my name scrawled in marker, and then cheerfully tell me to have a nice day as I walked out the door.

Those are the days that I'll pop in for just a tall coffee at lunch.

Egg, Spinach and Feta Wrap

makes 6 wraps

Ingredients:
6 whole wheat wraps
6 eggs
1 box frozen spinach (you can use fresh, but if you're just going to freeze it again anyway...)
12 Tbsp feta cheese
6 Tbsp sun-dried tomato pesto

Directions:

Let spinach thaw and drain liquid.

Scramble eggs and season with salt and pepper. Stir in spinach. Scramble so that they are stil slightly runny - that way they're not overcooked when you microwave them.

Spread 1 tablespoon of pesto on each wrap, and then add 1/6 of the egg and spinach mixture and 2 tablespoons of feta.

To make the wrap, fold up the bottom of the wrap, then fold the right side in toward the center. Fold the wrap and it's contents to the left, and then fold down the top. Roll the wrap to the left one more time until it's sealed. This will make sure nothing falls out.

Wrap each wrap in foil and put in freezer. To reheat, take wrap out of foil and wrap it in a damp paper towel and microwave for 3 minutes.

No-Churn Margarita Ice Cream

Sometimes life demands a cocktail. Sometimes life requires ice cream. And sometimes, life throws a whole bunch of nonsense at you and says, "YOU. You need a cocktail and ice cream at the same time."

Don't worry. I've got you covered.

I'm a sucker for a good margarita. You could say tequila is my jam. Sure I like the taste, but I have a lot of positive associations with them. The first legal drink I ever ordered was a margarita in Oaxaca, Mexico when I lived there with a host family in high school. When my family goes to the beach, it's as if vacation hasn't started until someone whips up a pitcher of Margs. The refreshing tang of lime and salty rim of the glass immediately makes me feel happy and at ease.

Although, that's likely the José Cuervo.

José was invited to this fiesta, as well as some Triple Sec, and since there is no cooking involved, this is indeed some boozy ice cream. But no one is going to be stumbling home from your Cinco De Mayo fiesta if you serve this for dessert - which I suggest you do.

The beauty of this recipe is that you don't need an ice cream maker to make it. You don't even need a stand mixer, really (although, this came together beautifully in my Kitchen Aid with the whisk attachment). Any kind of mixer and some patience will do.

I hope you decide to make this for whatever summer shindig you're hosting this year, complete with rims dipped in sugar and salt with a lime zest garnish. 

But for those days when you've lunged for the Jameson and the Cherry Garcia at the same time - maybe have some of this waiting in the freezer, and just eat it out of the container.

Margarita Ice Cream

recipe from Nigella 

Ingredients

1/2 cup lime juice

2 Tablespoons tequila

3 Tablespoons orange liqueur (Cointreau or Triple Sec)

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

2 cups heavy cream

Directions

Pour the lime juice, tequila and orange liqueur into a bowl and stir in the sugar to dissolve.

Add the cream and then softly whip until thick and smooth but not stiff (about 4 minutes on medium speed in a stand mixer).

Spoon into an airtight container to freeze overnight. This ice cream does not need ripening (softening before serving), as it will not freeze too hard.

Presence, presents, Pi and Key Lime Pie

Okay sue me. Maybe I got a little carried away with the homophones. But since there hasn't been a ton of writing around these parts recently, I may as well pepper this post with some poetic punch.

Alliteration. Boom.

What a bizarre and wonderful five months(!) it has been since I moved to Florida. A cool job that I like,  impromptu jaunts to the beach on nice Sundays, a new apartment that's all mine, and some pretty stellar people who have also found themselves in these parts by some happenstance have made this decision one of the best I've made in a while.

You could say that my absence from this neck of the internet woods could be attributed to my motto for 2013 - "Presence and Presents." 

It started out as just "Presence" but then, you know, homophones. And seriously, who doesn't like presents?

I decided to start practicing some yoga outside of the confines of my mat and to practice being fully present in everything I am doing. Take in everything that is happening right now and live exactly what is happening now. Not to stop considering the future but to stop pining for the future. To stop the vicious cycle of, "when this happens then I'll be happy."

Presence works for me. When I'm stuck in traffic, instead of pounding on the steering wheel (like that will make traffic start moving) I put on my favorite Ludacris song and appreciate the moment of rapping alone in a car since, really, no one wants me rapping anywhere else. 

The "Presents" part of this year has mostly been about making the effort to do the little things. Sending that birthday card so it shows up on the right day. A pan of brownies for the office. A bottle of bourbon with a Post-It on it. 

Presence happened yesterday because I felt like making pie, So I went to the store and got the stuff to make PIE.

Today is Pi Day. 3.14. And as you already know, I'm a sucker for a good poetic device. 

I've been making this pie for years and it's a wonderfully easy recipe. It's also so good that it will forever be referred to in my household as "Crack Pie." Not like I know what crack's like but I'm guessing it's pretty good. 

I'm going to go out on a limb and say this is better. This is the pie I always recommend to my male friends because there are barely any ingredients and all you have to do with those ingredients is pour them into a bowl, mix them up, and then pour the batter into your crusts. Done. 

If you're feeling ambitious you can make your own graham cracker crust or your own whipped cream. Or both. I decided to buy my crusts and make my own whipped cream, but you do you. Presence, remember?

Key Lime Pie

From Nellie and Joe's Famous Key West Lime Juice bottle

Makes 1 pie, 6 large slices

Ingredients:

9" graham cracker crust

14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk (find it in the baking aisle at most grocery stores)

3 egg yolks (discard egg whites or save them for omelets)

1/2 cup Key Lime Juice (find Nellie & Joe's with the juice at the grocery store)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 Tbsp sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine milk, egg yolks and lime juice. Blend until smooth with whisk.

Pour filling into pie shell and bake for 15 minutes.

Allow to stand for 10 minutes before refrigerating. Refrigerate for at least a hour before serving.

Whipped Cream:

Combine cream and sugar in bowl.

With hand mixer, immersion blender (what I used - so easy), or stand mixer with whisk attachment, mix until peaks start to form and you achieve a creamy texture. 

Spread on whole pie or serve individually.