The Quinoa Song

We're sure many of our lovely Hungertons have discovered the wonder that is Pinterest. You can just get lost for hours looking at the many great pins from friends or even random users and being inspired by all that Pinterest has to offer. One of our favorite things to look for here are yummy new recipes to try out! Paula came across today's recipe through a pin from her favorite blonde, Miss Jessica W. It's a great recipe filled with lots of bright colors and is a refreshing dish for the hot days of summer! The original recipe came from The Diva Dish and we made a few adjustments to enhance the tastiness of this recipe.

Summer Quinoa Salad

Salad Ingredients

• 1/2 cup dry quinoa
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
• 2 avocados, diced
• 2 cups spinach
• 1/2 bunch of cilantro
• 1/4 cup purple onion
• 2 small cloves garlic

Dressing Ingredients 

• Juice of 2 lemons
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tsp. dijon mustard
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation
Place the quinoa in medium saucepan and add the vegetable broth. Let it soak in the pan for 15 minutes, then bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When it comes to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring periodically. Once almost all of the liquid has been absorbed, remove from heat and cover.

Finely chop up the spinach and cilantro and place in a large bowl. Then, finely dice the onion and garlic and add into the bowl with the greens. Add in the quinoa, drained garbanzo and black beans and mix well.

In a separate bowl, whisk together all of the dressing ingredients until well incorporated. Add the grape tomatoes and diced avocado to the salad, then pour the dressing over the salad and mix until combined. Serve up and enjoy!!

Note, if you think you might end up with leftovers, add in the avocado to each portion so that it doesn't turn black in your salad.

Not only is this quinoa salad a tasty treat, it is also very healthy. With the quinoa for grains (technically it's a chenopod... Google that shizznick), beans for protein and the greens, tomatoes and avocado for veggies, you just can't go wrong! It also leaves a guilt-free conscience that will feel inclined to have a little dessert. Go ahead on!

As for your music... well let's just say, only the internet and YouTube could bring us this little gem.

Bon appetit. Buen provecho. Quiiii-Noa!

Mariana and Paula

Still Hungry... But for Ted!

How I Met Your Mother offers a plethora of men for more tastes than one can shake a stick at (thank you thesaurus for that one!). While some of us enjoy the seductive awesomeness that is Barney, others enjoy the hopeless romantic charms of Theodore "Ted" Evelyn Mosby.

Ted has sparked a movement. Romantics around the world have professed their love to their objects of affection, inspired by Ted's determination to find love. Women desperately swoon over men who are willing to express their emotions, watch Star Wars regularly, design buildings, and wear red cowboy boots.

Fact: the CDC reports that the sales of yellow umbrellas have increased by 450% since the first season of HIMYM. The Wall Street Journal noted a shortage of red boots last year. And the FBI is currently investigating the suspicious rise in Google searches and Amazon purchases of blue French horns. Why you ask?

Why else?

Bon appetit. Buen provecho. Pull a Mosby!

Mariana and Paula

Sangria Wine

We've mentioned our lovely Biggest Loser get togethers before, and this week, we were in charge of the refreshments. Enter a time-honored Vazquez tradition: SANGRIA!

Ingredients

• Ice
• 1 cup white rum
• 5 key limes
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 bottle red wine
• 1/2 liter of sparkling water or club soda
• Chopped fruit (watermelon, pineapple, berries, apple, pear, grapes)

Preparation

In a small saucepan over medium heat, mix sugar and water, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved. Let cool. This creates a simple syrup which you'll use to sweeten the sangria.

Put a significant amount of ice in a large punch bowl. Add rum and shimmy to "burn" (that's what our father calls it, we don't know what it actually means, but do it). Add the juice of the five limes. You may want to have a couple more on hand in case you need to add more later. Slowly stir in the simple syrup then pour in the bottle of red wine and the 1/2 liter of sparkling water.

Chop as wide of a variety of fruit as you would like. This time we used watermelon, pineapple, and frozen berries, making it slightly tropical and delicious. Sangria often includes red apples, pears, and/or grapes, so you really can't go wrong. Mix the fruit into your yummy punch, serve in a tall glass, and enjoy!

Warning: Pace yourself! Although tasty and refreshing, it can be sneaky. Especially the rum-soaked fruit. Mmmm... rum-soaked fruit.

As always, here's a little music to accompany your sipping (or downing as the case may be).

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Why is the rum always gone!

How We Met Barney

First things first... we made the most AH-MAZING sangria yesterday! Look for the post soon :) But in the meantime, let us talk about the wonder that is Barney Stinson.

Now, for those of you who watch How I Met Your Mother, you may think, "Aw, I love Ted!" But ladies, in case you haven't realized it yet, Barney is where it's at. We've paid homage to the man's theories before, but we felt it necessary to also showcase the man himself.

On the outside, Barney is a womanizer and nothing more. However, if you continue to watch you'll find that Barney is also witty, smart, funny, and very sweet. Oh, also, he's awesome. In fact, when he's sad, he stops being sad and is awesome instead. True story. And when he blows his nose, it's just because it was overflowing with awesome and he had to get some of it out. In short, we have an awesome, hilarious man, who's also not too hard on the eyes:

What's not to love?

On a side note, we do understand that Neil Patrick Harris is gay. But have you seen how absolutely adorable he is with his hubby and their twins?

Love!

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Legen... Wait for it-hope you're not lactose intolerant cause the next word is... dary!

Mariana and Paula

Hungry for Drake

We would say that one of the best parts of the return of The Man Hunger is the return of Hungry for Men Wednesday.  So let's get right to the point, shall we?

 
Oh, Drake... You can't tell us that his way with words and rhymes paired with that sexy pout doesn't make the room start feeling a little bit warmer all of a sudden!

We first fell in love with him during his true Canadian days, starring as Jimmy in Degrassi. Even at such a young age, we could see his potential to be a heartthrob.

And of course it only got better when we paired those sultry lips with that sexy voice. How could anyone resist such a man?! We certainly all know that Mariana can't resist a hot man in a peacoat!

Finally, we leave you with the gorgeous spark that set fire to this week's sexy obession of Drake. Just close your eyes and imagine him serenading you, telling you he'll take care of you...

(It's okay if you hit replay about 5 times. Paula sure did!)

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! YumYum!

Mariana and Paula

Always Coming Back

So as you may have noticed, we haven't blogged in about 6 months. What can we say? We just kinda slacked off... But in the spirit of spring and Easter, we bring you the rebirth of The Man Hunger! And really by 'rebirth', we just mean we're going to start making an effort to blog again. Aren't you excited?!

On this lovely Easter day, we decided to make a nice brunch for our family. Didn't want to get too complicated but wanted to try something new. So here is the yummy menu for our Easter brunch!

Easter Brunch

Spinach & Ham Quiche | Rosemary Potatoes | Fruit Salad

Spinach & Ham Quiche

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 cup flour 
•  1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil or canola oil
• 1/4 cup cold water

Filling:

• 6 large eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup fresh baby spinach, packed
• 6 oz Canadian bacon, diced and sauteed
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
• 1 9-inch glass pie plate

Preparation
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Crust:
Mix the flour and salt in a medium bowl with a fork. Then in a separate bowl using a whisk or fork, beat the oil and water to thicken. Add the liquid mixture in to the flour and mix until well incorporated. Press the dough into the pie plate, making sure it is evenly distributed and that there are no holes.

Filling:
Mix the eggs, heavy cream, salt and pepper in a blender for about 1 minute until well combined. Then layer the spinach, Canadian bacon and cheese and repeat. Slowly pour the egg mixture over the top, letting it settle in between all of the ingredients.

Carefully place in oven and bake for 35-45 minutes, until the egg mixture sets. Let cool for a bit then slice and serve!

Rosemary Potatoes

Ingredients

• 6-8 red potatoes
• Olive oil
• 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• Coarse salt
• Pepper

Preparation
Wash the red potatoes thoroughly and remove any bad spots. Dice into approximately 1 inch pieces. In large pan, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil and add potatoes.

Take two of the rosemary sprigs and remove the little leaves by running your fingers down the sprig in the opposite direction of the leaves' growth. Chop finely and add to the potatoes. Throw in the other two sprigs whole (for the aroma and taste). Add a couple pinches of the coarse salt and pepper to taste.

Turn the heat to low and cover the potatoes, turning them occasionally. Cook until the potatoes are soft. If they're cooked all the way through but not browned on the outside, you can uncover them, turn the heat up, and finish browning them. Remove the two whole rosemary sprigs before serving.

Fruit Salad

Ingredients and Preparation
You can really go wrong with fruit salad, so just purchase fruit that you like and in as wide of a variety as you want. Based on our taste and what was on sale, we used strawberries, pineapple, and pears for this. Chop fruit into bite-size pieces, toss in a bowl, and serve.

Note: If the fruit is tart, you can drizzle a little honey over the fruit and toss. A little goes a long way and will give the salad a touch of sweetness.

Easter brunch was served with mango or traditional orange juice mimosas, with strawberry slices dropped into each glass (and another strawberry for garnish).

So there you have it Hungertons! We're excited to be back and hope you're happy to hear from us again. We're also looking forward to re-starting Hungry For Men Wednesdays... oh, hot men, how we've missed you!

We hope you all had happy Easters, if you celebrated!

Bon Appetit! Buen Provecho! We're baaaack!

Mariana and Paula

PS - You didn't think that we forgot your music, did you?!
 

Our Biggest Loser Appetite

Every Tuesday, a group of lovely ladies get together to enjoy the finer things in life - some TV (Biggest Loser to be more specific), some food, some wine, and some eye candy. Sounds like the perfect combo for us Man Hunger sisters, right?!

Each time we gather, every girl is in charge of bringing a dish to share with the group. We've had everything from cheese and crackers, to macaroni and cheese, to meatloaf, and a multitude of desserts. We realize the irony of eating such amazing spreads during Biggest Loser, but we enjoy ourselves anyway. And as we munch away and in between comments about the contestants, we admire one of the newest additions to the Biggest Loser team:

Dolvett Quince

Our man here is one of the new trainers on the BL ranch, and we like his style! Whether he's yelling at the contestants, having a heart to heart, or giving us an enchanting smile, he always elicits a collective sigh or "Oh, Dolvett" from the group. So thanks for being the perfect dessert to our feast, Dolvett!

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Oh, Dolvett!

Mariana and Paula

Strawberry Fields Forever

It has been positively freezing here in Tucson. I know, I know... there are places in the country that are much colder than us, but when you're used to the 80s and 70s and suddenly it drops into the 40s? It's brutal! So when I was trying to find something to bake for a certain someone's birthday, it figures I was drawn to a more summery treat. In celebration of my favoritest sister's birthday, I give you:

Paula's Birthday Strawberry Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups strawberries, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 9 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2/3 cup heavy cream

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Set aside.
 
Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 7 tablespoons granulated sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter in and rub the mixture with your fingers until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cream until dough starts to come together, then stir in strawberry mixture. Using your hands the entire time to mix the ingredients helps it to come together more easily.

Using a tablespoon (or your hands!), drop dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment, spacing them evenly. If they're very round, flatten them a little with a spoon so that the inside cooks properly. Bake for about 24-25 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool. If you try to lift them from the parchment paper too soon, they'll stick, which we learned the hard way. Once they're cool enough to lift, enjoy with milk, coffee, or tea.

Happy birthday sissy wissy! I hope your dinner was fantastic (once again, thanks to Justin for helping make birthday dinners delicious successes) and that you enjoyed your cookies! Here's to a fantastic year for you! (And a little music never hurt).

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Happy Birthday!

Mariana

Return of the Mac

Here we are, at the Maloney house, in the midst of too many dogs, a cat that won't come out from under the couch and lots of hungry people. A perfect Thanksgiving! But we are very thankful to be surrounded by all this love and all of this great food!

Amidst the many adults, we have a couple of young children, as well a few adults that are still kids at heart. And what do kids love? Mac and cheese! So as a nice side dish, we made a big serving of homemade, baked macaroni and cheese! We haven't tried it yet but it smells fantastic! This will be a great dish for children, a cold night or just cause its awesome!

Baked Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. Elbow macaroni
• 3 cups Milk
• 4 tbs. Butter
• 1 Egg
• 3 tbs. Flour
• 1/2 tbs. Powdered mustard
• 1/2 tsp Paprika
• 1 bayleaf
• 2 cups Sharp cheddar, shredded
• 2 cups Mild cheddar, shredded
• 1 tsp Salt
• Black pepper, to taste

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling water (salted), cook the macaroni to al dente. Be careful not to overcook the pasta or you could end up with mushy noodles after you bake it.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add in the flour and mustard using a whisk and keep it moving until the mixture is smooth and free of any lumps. Stir in the milk, paprika and bay leaf. Simmer for 5 minutes, being careful not to boil the milk over, and remove the bay leaf.

Beat the egg in a small bowl. Carefully take about 1/2 cup on the milk mixture and slowly add it to the egg, constantly mixing it with a whisk. This helps bring the egg closer to the temperature of the milk mixture so that when you add it in, it doesn't just cook into a big scrambled mess! It is officially called "tempering an egg". Some of our fellow Hungertons may have known that, some of you may now be further impressed with our cooking skills! Add in your tempered egg to the milk mixture.

Reserve 1/2 cup of the mild cheddar and 1/2 cup of the sharp cheddar cheese and stir in the rest to the milk mixture, along with the salt and black pepper. Fold in the al dente macaroni pasta and pour into a casserole dish. Top with the reserved cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly and browned on top. Let rest for about 5 minutes and enjoy!

For your musical delight, we have a great classic which we hope you all remember and enjoy!

Thanks again for following us in our foodie ventures. We hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Yum!

Mariana and Paula

Ode to Thanksgiving

Our favorite time of the year is here! With our love of food, cooking, and eating, is it any surprise that today is one of our favorite days? The mashed potatoes! The turkey! And the pie... oh, the pie.

But today is also about family, and friends, and love, and being grateful. So we'd like to take a moment to give thanks for all of the wonderful parts of our lives.

We are thankful for our family... for our parents who always support us, for our extended family who brings so much joy to our lives, for our furry children who keep us entertained, and for our new additions (thank you for having us Maloneys!).

Speaking of Maloneys, we are also thankful for Justin. Thanks for letting us do our sisterly thing Just, whether that's putting up with the Bachelor, testing out our cooking, or just listening to our ridiculousness.

We are grateful for our wonderful friends, old and new. You make us laugh, hear us out, and keep us sane! Hopefully we return the favor every once in a while.

We are also thankful for you, our readers, whom we've lovingly started referring to as our Hungertons. We're really enjoying sharing our eating and cooking adventures, and our love of hot guys, with you. Thank you for taking the time to read our silliness and for even trying out some of our recipes. We're excited to continue on with this little venture!

We would be remiss if we didn't mention that we are also thankful for each other. It's been wonderful to live in the same city again and always have someone to share things with!

And finally, we are thankful for food! We think it's important to realize every once in a while that we're lucky to be able to eat the way we do because many others cannot.

Alright... now about getting some wine for this cheese...

So savor today's meal and let us know how it goes! What dish made your Thanksgiving dinner special? If you can, take pictures and notes and send them our way! Oh, and don't forget some dinner music!

Happy Thanksgiving Hungertons!

Bon Appetit! Buen Provecho! Gobble Gobble!

Mariana and Paula