Homemade whipped cream, ooh la la!

Whipped cream is one of those things one should never buy.  It's fantastically more delicious when homemade, and super easy to make-- if we're talking about ease of ingredients, that is. All you need is heavy whipping cream and a bit of sugar!

Just mix the cream and sugar (for this I used only half the sugar listed in the NYT's Mark Bittman's recipe). Then keep mixing. Really, beat the damn thing!  Beating the cream and sugar with a whisk is the hardest part-- it's a workout!  I added some extras-- vanilla extract and mint extract. Yum. So deliciously yummy and refreshing, and so easy and impressive.  Now you're done.  Just add berries!

Weekdays are for Pasta Carbonara

Pasta Carbonara is one of those seemingly fancy dishes that seems a lot harder than it is. All you need is pasta, eggs, cream, milk, and peas!  And bacon. You don't need it, but you kinda do. More about that in a bit.

Boil the pasta in your choice in salted water. About one minute before you finish boiling, throw in your peas. An easy way to cook them without using more dishes!

On the side, saute some chopped onions and garlic. This is optional. Put aside when done. While the pasta is boiling, make the sauce. Just crack open two eggs, and beat until well mixed. Pour in a bit of cream, an equal amount of Parmesan, and mix well. Add plenty of pepper and a bit of salt. Mix, mix, mix! 

Drain the pasta (and peas) and save a bit of pasta water to the side. You may need this.  Mix the hot pasta with the sauce mixture immediately! You need to do this so that the eggs will "cook" a bit in the sauce. Now you're done. Eat up!

Oh, and about the bacon: next time I definitely plan to add it since it adds a bit of flavor that I found missing in my dish. Just another excuse to make it soon enough!

Homemade Ginger Ale is the best Ginger Ale

I had a hankering for some ginger ale, but none at home. I did have a plethora of ginger, and a Soda Stream. Easy enough!  Making your own ginger ale is incredibly easy-- the only hard part is peeling the ginger! 

Just peel and chop 1 cup of ginger, add in equal amounts of sugar (or however sweet you like it), and 3 cups of water. Boil the mixture for an hour and half until it turns into syrup-- then simply add to your carbonated water. Yes, it really is that easy to be fancy. Delish!

Gnocchi Making: A Pictoral History