Recipes for Cook

Valentines gifts tend to focus on chocolate treats so its nice to have something a little different for Valentines Day.  This bacon and heart-shaped egg salad fills you up and also provides the freshness and crunch that I feel is so important to enjoy in the winter months and would be the prefect for a Valentines day brunch or lunch.

I was sent this little gadget, called an Eggspress, from Just Mustard which moulds hard-boiled eggs into heart shapes, so when you cut them in half you have a pretty little heart.  Just Mustard is a gift company with lots of fun novelty gifts.

The back of the packet tells you how to create your heart shaped eggs and are easy to follow.

Although it is easy to make, mine didnt turn out quite so perfect as the ones in the illustration.  The yolk does not always sit right in the middle.  The heart shape does form, but its not very pronounced and I think you need to use them fairly quickly as I found that the egg started to lose the point at the bottom after about half an hour.

Bacon and Egg Salad (serves 2)

8 slices of smoked streaky bacon
4 medium eggs, hard boiled and cooled
1/2 bag of mixed lettuce leaves
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 apple, cored and chopped
4 cherry tomatoes, halved
juice of half a lime
2 tbsp olive oil
salt & freshly ground pepper
1 tsp honey

1. Grill the bacon until crisp, drain on kitchen paper and cool
2. Press the eggs as per instructions and cut in half.  If you dont have an Eggspress then simply cut the eggs in half.
3. Place the celery, apple and 4 slices of crispy bacon (crumbled) into a bowl.
4. Make the dressing with juice of half a lime, oil, seasoning and honey, whisk or shake in a jar then pour over the celery, apple and bacon mixture
5. Spread the salad leaves on the plates,  divide the celery, apple and bacon mixture between them.
6. Top each plate with two bacon rashers crossed.  Place 4 egg halves evenly around the plate and place the tomato halves between them and serve with crusty bread.

It was fun to serve the heart shaped eggs with this salad and if you would like to try it yourself, I have two Eggspress egg moulds to giveaway.  UK residents only please.  Just follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter Widget.  a Rafflecopter giveaway

I have never been a casual person. I started wearing heels at an earlier age than Suri Cruise. Sometimes I speak in an English accent, just to be more formal.  And even on the coldest days of final exam week in college, you wouldnt find me in a pair of sweatpants or, worse, without a full face of make up on. So, it goes without saying, Ive never been much of a t-shirt person. That is, until, I discovered StyleMint.


StyleMint is the new t-shirt line from fashion icons/former Michelle Tanners, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. I wonder if Ashley ever gets P.Od that her name always comes last. Because Im an equal opportunist (when it suits me), I shall now refer to the gals as Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen. DONE! Anyway, the tiny twins have big dreams for the casual tee, which means even super special fancy people like myself are jumping on the bandwagon. Here is a list of reasons Im currently obsessedies with the StyleMint line:

• Every shirt is $29.99. Ive paid more at a parking meter.
• Free shipping both ways (not that youd want to return anything).
• StyleMint curates collections based on the results of your style quiz (per the video above). Unlike the pop quizzes my English teacher gave in high school, you cant fail!
• Each style is featured in a 30 second video wherein the twinsies talk about why they designed it and how to style it.
• The fabric is DIVINE. P.S. Im using the word "divine" now. Youre welcome.

I just received my first StyleMint tee (the Prince style in navy) and have already decided I will never take it off. Until, of course, my second one--which is already en route--arrives.

In fact, Im so in love with StyleMint that Im going to be giving away a free tee to one lucky CupcakesOMG! reader!! You could have the Broadway, the Lincoln, the Pacific...whatever the eff you want!!! All you have to do is promise me your first born.

JUST KIDDING!! Its way easier than that, but probably no less degrading. All you have to do is leave a comment to enter...and there are three chances to enter (i.e., you can leave three comments).

-Following me on Twitter
-Tweeting about this giveaway a la "@MHeraldo is giving away a free @StyleMint tee: http://ow.ly/7gMBd"

Then, leave me a comment PER ENTRY (so if you only do one of those things, you leave one comment, if you do two, you leave two, etc.). Thats it, people. Its as easy as accusing Justin Bieber of being your baby daddy!! Good luck!

This week on envy my cooking you will find recipes, giveaways and finds for


toddlers and preschoolers!!!





















Lori

And the giveaway winner for the blog make over is....

RENE BROWN

Rene contact us via e mail and we will get you all set up.

Click the button if you have yet to check out how wonderful her blog makeovers are....