Calling all Foodies: Crazy Gringa Hot Sauce

A few weeks ago, Ruby and I received a message from her aunt and uncle asking us to try their hot sauce. And as ladies who never turn away a good taste test, we said, YES! And thank goodness we did. As a total whimp when it comes to anything spicy (I am sweating at even the thought of Flamin Hot Cheetos), I was SHOCKED by how delicious and dynamic I found the flavors to be in Crazy Gringa's bottles of love.

Here is our review:

Chipotle: This was the collective favorite of the group. Had great flavor, went really well with eggs, and seemed to be on the have just enough kick for my weak taste buds.

Jalepeño: This was my personal favorite. Really retained the jalepeño flavor without singeing off all your taste buds but enough kick to get your mouth watering for more.

Ghost Pepper: Surprisingly, becoming a fire-breathing dragon is not a side effect of the ghost pepper hot sauce. I have always wanted to try a ghost pepper, but seeing as my tolerance level for anything spicy (again... pepperonis tend to make run for the nearest cold beverage) is atrociously low, that was never an option. I really liked their ability to maintain the flavor of the ghost pepper and give me a spicy taste I could actually enjoy.

Habanero: This one was great as well. What I notices about all of these sauces was that they didn't taste like every other hot sauce I've ever had. They're unique and way delicious.

Here is how you can learn more about Crazy Gringa (FACEBOOK PAGE) and here is how you can be as lucky as Ruby and myself and purchase a couple of bottles (ETSY PAGE)

My favorite breakfast on the planet earth.
(Look out for a post to guide you in achieving such a mouth-watering start to your morning) 

Top it with some Crazy Gringa Hot Sauce and we have what I like to call a BREAKFAST PARTY!!!

Rubs sure enjoyed Crazy Gringa.
Get it gurrrl.

Pork Belly Taco // Veggie Taco

yum.

Never underestimate the power of a good sauce. It is one of my favorite aspects of cooking.

Well done Crazy Gringa. Well done.

Fiercely Yours,

Weekend Mixtape

I feel like we are finally starting to get in the groove of things here in the life of Frankie and Ruby. Things are not slowing down, but I feel like we are currently living on cruise control, which is nice sometimes. So, thank you for still saying the nicest things to us about this blog adventure and not being annoyed by our inconsistent posting. Frankie and I have a super busy, but very exciting weekend ahead of us! Hope you all find some time to sit down and relax this weekend as well. Enjoy this list, it's close to my heart. Happy Friday! XOXO


Mixtape #3 
(^click that link) 
Shoeboxes David Ramirez 
Sparks Jesse Woods
Like the Dawn The Oh Hello's
Higher Love James Vincent McMorrow
I Need My Girl The National
The Stable Song Gregory Alan Isakov
In the Wind Lord Huron 
Golden Wake Mutual Benefit
Tamer Animals Other Lives
Pictures Of You The Cure 





Fiercely Yours,

Fashionality: My Feelings Regarding Spring 2014

Happy first day of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week! I don’t know about you all, but I’m going to be watching it streaming live during any free moment this next week. (Watch it here!)

I don’t remember the last time I heard someone say, “I’m SO excited it’s spring!!!!!!!!!!” Mostly because no one says that and if they do, I’m not friends with them on purpose. Spring is like your ex boyfriend; can’t make up his mind, can’t commit, and sure as heck doesn’t have that “one thing” that makes you happy. Fall has cuddles, winter has snow, and summer has the beach. Spring has what? Flowers? I’m sorry spring, but every one has flowers. So, no. I know I’m still about a month behind the first day of spring but I am discussing it for two reasons (other than the fact that it basically is spring in Santa Barbara): 

one- anything I dread, I have to talk about it and plan ahead so I’m not miserable 

two- I secretly really enjoy Spring 2014 fashion trends

That being said here’s something key words // phrases I have picked up on for this season:

// 80s working woman pants (trousers) 

// two piece sets

// tropical

// queen elizabeth (royal) colors

// athletic

// modest girl (3/4) skirts 

// hippie lady (wide-leg) pants

// metallics  

// shift blouse

One: Top, Skirt, Shoes Two: Top, Trousers, Sandals Three: Top, Jeans, Hi-tops 

Fiercely Yours, 

 

Calling All Foodies: Roasted Chicken and Veggies

I'm utterly sorry for the food-lust I may cause you with these photos tonight. Actually, I take it back, I'm not sorry. Now that I am providing you with the recipe you have zero excuses to not make it and drool over the real thing.

This recipe is so simple (it may seem hard to believe but trust me. It's a little bit of chopping a few minutes on the stove and then you just shove it in the oven for 20 or so minutes) so I HIGHLY encourage you to try it out!

INGREDIENTS:

Disclaimer: you may need some more olive oil and you don't have to use all of the salt, pepper, garlic, and thyme.
It is more just to your liking.

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle.
2. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into strips. 
3. Cut onions into chunks.
4. Toss both onions and potatoes with olive oil in a large shallow baking pan and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and some of the garlic. Roast in the oven, stirring occasionally, while preparing chicken (about 5 minutes).
5. Pat chicken dry, then rub with salt, pepper, garlic, and thyme. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over high heat until it shimmers, then brown skin side of chicken, about 3 minutes.
6. Transfer chicken, skin side up, to pan with potatoes and onions, reserving skillet, and roast until chicken is cooked through and potatoes and onions are tender and caramelized, about 20-30 minutes.
7. While chicken roasts, reheat fat in skillet with remaining tablespoon oil, then add vinegar and boil, stirring, 30 seconds. Pour into a cup and keep warm, covered.
8. Serve chicken and fries drizzled with spicy vinegar and ENJOY!

Can you dig it?

You can do this. I have faith in you all. Don't doubt your abilities for a second!!!

Also, we honestly apologize for the sporadic nature of our posts this last week and hope you will forgive us! With our crazy schedules we are just trying to find our groove.

Fiercely Yours,

Calling all foodies: Strawberry & Fried Goat Cheese Salad

Honesty hour guys, I was going to make tacos tonight. I was so excited and then last night that decision changed because Ruby made the most delicious fried goat cheese topping for a salad and I was IN!

So here is a delicious salad topping great for any salad but tonight it is paired with a strawberry salad!

INGREDIENTS:

You will also need either grapeseed or vegetable oil for the frying of the goat cheese

Directions:

1. Cut the strawberries and wash the mixed greens if needed
2. Begin to heat up the vegetable oil in a small frying pan on med-high heat
3. Roll the goat cheese into small bite-sized balls 
4. Coat the balls of cheese in egg white
5. Then roll in bread crumbs (italian bread crumbs are my favorite)
6. Place in the oil. These suckers cook fast so turn them when a side is golden brown and take out when all sides are crispy
7. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, and a dash of salt and pepper for the dressing
8. Combine everything like any other salad
9. Top with the cheese balls and eat up!

Woah. 

Also guys... I have to admit something. The cookie in a cup is... well it's good. BUT BROWNIE IN A CUP OH MY GOSH I HAVE NEVER TASTED SOMETHING SO GOOD THAT WAS MADE IN 3 MINUTES!

So you guys get an EXTRA RECIPE tonight!

1. Melt 2 TBSP of butter
2. Add:
1. 4 TBSP sugar
2. 4 TBSP flour
3. 2 TBSP cocoa powder
4. 2 TBSP water
5. 1/4 tsp vanilla
6. Pinch of salt
3. Mix
4. Microwave for 45-60 seconds!
5. And enjoy more than the cookie (full disclosure: I have eaten probably 5 in the last two days)

Eat up, ladies and gents.

Fiercely Yours,

5/20

Rubes here.

I am a list maker. I'm also a know it all.

I am also a lot of other really great things. I know this to be true, but I do believe that so often we are much harder on ourselves than we have to be. One thing I value about Frankie is her ability to not only see the bad in hard situations, but also the really good. Let's face it, when you're a twenty something you are faced with life altering world burning down situations every single day. Or at least that's what you make it in your mind. So with that in mind, for the next couple weeks I am going to be doing a series of small pieces of life advice from a twenty-something-know-it-all. Life is only as hard as we make it and only as good as we allow it to be. So enjoy, criticize, make fun of any of my pieces of wisdom. These are things I try and live by and stuff I've picked up along the way.

1. set your alarm ten minutes before you have to, to spend some time in bed counting all the things you are thankful for.

This is something that I have been trying to do for the last couple years of my life. Not only do I try and start every morning in prayer, but also in a place of gratitude and humility. We are so blessed. If you're reading this, I can personally count at least five things that you are blessed by and I don't even know you! If this is really hard for you, just start out by being thankful that you're waking up breathing.   

  
2. name the people you are thankful for. now go tell them.

I am beyond thankful for the people that I have in my life. My roommates, my friends, my family, my church. Humans need to know that they are loved and appreciated. Seriously, we do. It's not something I do enough, but it's something I'm trying to do more.

3. find someone you look up to. 

Diana Vreeland changed my life. She is the most creative, powerful, eccentric dreamer I have ever heard of. Find someone of whom you can ask the question, "What would Diana do?"

4. stop asking friends how their day is going. if you really care about them, ask them more intentional questions. 

If you have a second with your friends tomorrow, I challenge you, don't ask them how their day is going. Ask them if anything made them laugh yet today, if anything crappy happened. Hell, ask them to tell you a story. But stop just finishing a conversation at "How was your day?" Your relationships are only as deep or as superficial as you make them.  

5. say yes. no's just hold you back from experience. 

The only thing you should be saying no to is your couch...

 and drugs and scary people.

Fiercely Yours,

Weekend Update!

If only, if only.

Often times, when the weekend is coming to a close, we realize we have a ton of homework to do! This normally is fine, but sometimes we crave some study food (aka chocolate chip cookies) and with said homework, don't have the time to make any. So what do we do? We make a COOKIE IN A CUP, a quick and easy way to get your cookie fix! Enjoy our video tutorial :)

INGREDIENTS:

Fiercely Yours,

Weekend Mixtape

Happy Friday!

Frankie here! I have the honor of leaving you for the weekend with a piece of me aka some music :)

This week's mixtape is a mixture of some of my recent favorites and some oldies but all are perfect for the windows down in this warm SB weather (or great for a relaxing time for those of you escaping the cold!)

Mixtape #2
Sweet Disposition The Temper Trap
Call Me In The Afternoon Half Moon Run
Resolution Matt Corby
Drop Of Smoke Hudson Taylor
Every Breath You Take The Police
This Fire Ben Rosenbush & The Brighton
Night Bus Lucy Rose
Boardwalks Little May
Family Tree Kings of Leon
You Make My Dreams Come True Daryl Hall & John Oats

Enjoy the link above or find AMOKmixtapes on Spotify and follow :)

Fiercely Yours,

Fashionality: Big Bootie Girls

Hello fans,

We are going to be ending one of our favorite days with a little inside to the genius fashion minds of Frankie & Ruby. I am the self proclaimed reincarnation of Diana Vreeland. For those unfortunate souls who don't know who that is, she is basically the whole reason why a small portion of the world actually cares about fashion. She was the editor in chief for Vogue magazine from 1963-1971. Diana was notorious for her eccentric behavior and extreme opinions.

Alright, enough about the only person eccentric enough to inspire me. In our house, we have probably over 30 pairs of booties, collectively. This last season, these ankle cut boots have caused an epidemic affecting girls everywhere. They're still moving and currently are found in millions of different cuts, heights ect. You get the picture. They're big. Bootie, bootie, booties. If you don't have a pair already, or are looking for a way to spice up your closet, enjoy the following.

One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine

Sources: Swedish Hasbeens, Urban Outfitters, Madewell, Free People, Anthropologie

So this one goes out to all my big Bootie girls & my fans. 

Fiercely yours, 

 

Midweek Funnies

Guys.
It's that time to make you giggle
So sit in you seat and don't you squiggle.
Click on the links we think are funny.
And laugh 'till you get sore in the tummy....

Midweek funnies y'all

This is one of the creepiest yet funniest things we have ever read. Don't miss this one.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mattbellassai/the-creepiest-things-a-child-has-ever-said-to-a-parent

Yes. If you have never seen Bad Lip Reading videos... watch this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zce-QT7MGSE

We usually hate animal videos (the internet does not think your dog is funny... okay?). But this one... it's quite the exception... although not necessarily funny, but... it's somethin hahahah
http://www.buzzfeed.com/samir/stop-everything-you-are-doing-and-watch-this-dog-dance

Real life. The ratio of "girls" to "dad" enthusiasm is unrivaled. This is where we go to get our inspiration for dance moves. An all-time favorite video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaaG66xGfDg

We love you.
Send us anything you find worthy of posting on Midweek Funnies. We love collaboration!

Fiercely yours,

Calling all Foodies: Mac and Cheese

Yo, yo, yo!

This past weekend was a 3-day break for us so please excuse us for the temporary absence from AMOK! We still love you all!

I am SO excited to share this recipe because if I am being real... Ruby and I eat this at least once a week... usually more. So drool over it, love it, feed your friends with it, and most of all, enjoy it.

FRANKIE'S FAMOUS MAC AND CHEESE

INGREDIENTS:

As far as cheese goes, I always use cheddar (sharp is best) and parmesan.
I usually grate a block of the cheddar and then also add whatever other cheese I have in the fridge.
Some of my other favorites are smoked gouda, peppered Toscana from Trader Joe's,
and really any hard cheese that's not too strong that it will take over the other flavors.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350
2. Put water on to boil
3. Use this time to grate the cheese and slice the onion
4. Add the pasta to the water and cook for the time indicated on the packaging
5. Add the onions to a skillet with oil on medium-high heat
6. Once the onions are soft and translucent, add the tomatoes whole and put a cover on the skillet. Stir occasionally to keep from burning
7. THE SAUCE (this part is not necessarily difficult, it just moves quickly so be sure to read this part before you start!)
1. In a saucepan, melt the butter on medium heat
2. Slowly whisk flour until it is thick and pasty (you don't have to use all of it)
3. Slowly whisk milk until it is smooth then turn up the heat and continue to whisk until it begins to boil (again, you don't have to use all of it)
4. Once the mixture is boiling, turn off the heat and add the cheese (save a little for the top of the mac and cheese)
5. Place back on medium heat and whisk until it is smooth and creamy (if the cheese isn't melting all the way, add a little more milk to thin it out.
8. Pour the onions, tomatoes and cheese sauce on the pasta and stir
9. Pour entire mixture into a pyrex dish or other oven-safe dish
10. Sprinkle the left-over cheese on top to make a crust
1. For extra flavor in the crust, mix Italian bread crumbs with the cheese 
11. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 then switch the oven to broil for 3-5 minutes or until the crust is crunchy and golden brown
12. Take out of the oven and fend off anyone within the vicinity of the scent because they will fight you to eat it.

Here's that sauce:

I'm sorry.... what? Do you see that cheese...? Yah. That's real life.

Okay... WHAT? It's insane. Try it.

Don't be afraid to experiment with this one! Use all white cheeses and add a touch of truffle oil and mushrooms instead of tomatoes for a delicious alternative. Or add lots of different veggies or even try sausage.. and with this particular version, I must say, bacon is a GREAT addition.

Feel free to comment with questions or success stories! You can comment with failures too... I've had my fair share of epic food failures.

Anywho... ENJOY!

Fiercely yours,

Weekend Mixtape

First of all, thanks for going through our experimental week with us. We are only in our second week of school and trying to juggle school, work, and AMOK has been quite the adventure so far!

Music is a huge part of our lives. We wake up to music, we make food to music, we do everything with music. Back in the early 90s, my dad was a DJ in the underground rave world of Washington DC (shout out to DJ Robbie Clark). So I was pretty much born a music connoisseur. Growing up with Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Jimmy Eat World, and some pretty underground rap just gives you the right ear.

We have made the big decision to gift you with a "Mixtape" every Friday to help kick start your weekend.  

Mixtape #1
1. Paul Revere Beastie Boys
2. The Captain And The Hourglass Laura Marling 
3. Milk Carton Kid Milk Carton Kids
4. I Should Live in Salt The National
5. She Lit A Fire Lord Huron 
6. Postcards From Italy Beirut
7. Wake Up Arcade Fire 
8. Mrs. Robinson Simon & Garfunkel 
9. Rhiannon Fleetwood Mac
10. California Dreamin' The Mamas & The Papas 

Enjoy the link or look up AMOKmixtapes on Spotify and follow Mixtape #1.

Fiercely Yours,

Midweek Funnies

Yay for our first midweek funnies post! Because this is our first week and we are still working out the kinks of the blog the video took a bit longer than expected to upload (sorry about that)! Every Wednesday, we will be posting funny things that happened to us or if we have time, we will make a video because we tend to be better storytellers than story writers! ALSO! If you come across something funny throughout the week (a link, a story, a video, a photo of your parents from the 80 that you feel needs internet exposure) feel free to email us!

 

Little shout-out to our recent obsession, Lucy Rose (look her up on Spotify)
and to the band Frankie is in... Frankie and the Giants! 

Visit out band Facebook page if you liked what Mike and Ruby were singing along to!

If you did't find us funny... here are some links for compensation for your time that others seem to deem funny (although... come on... we're hilarious.... right?)

This one is... well it's really something, but the comments underneath the photos make the post so don't skip out on them

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ariannarebolini/truly-upsetting-vintage-recipes

I hope a lot of you have seen this. Really hit the funny bone. We definitely want to be their friends.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2537747/Couple-mock-cheesy-engagement-shots-switching-typical-gender-poses.html

This one is not funny, but dance videos will frequent AMOK and this one rocks. Straight mesmerizing. WE LOVE DANCE VIDEOS.
http://elitedaily.com/humor/this-elderly-couples-dance-routine-to-bob-marleys-is-this-love-is-absolutely-incredible-video/

Nothing funnier than kid humor. Our favorites: 5,16,20,30
http://distractify.com/fun/fails/the-30-funniest-notes-from-kids-struggling-to-express-their-emotions/

Fiercely Yours,

Cole Erickson

Dear Cole,

Thank you, a million times. Your commitment, patience, and spontaneity on Saturday really made the beginning of AMOK something very special. You are a true genius behind, and in front of the lens...

Thanks for this gem, Cole. 

You truly know how to capture the beauty of a woman... 

Like, this one.

And this one...

You were really aware of our good sides.

The perfect moment.

Very...How do you say...Candid?

Oh, especially here.

 

Sarcasm aside, ladies and gentleman, Cole Erickson is a great photographer. Most likely, you will see a lot of his photos if you continue to keep up with AMOK! If... he can put up with us for that long. We are thankful, thankful, thankful for these truly awesome pictures!
Thank you Cole!

Check out his website at http://coleerickson.tumblr.com/
Or get in contact with this kid at cerickson@westmont.edu 


Fiercely Yours,