Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Couscous with Asparagus, Chard and Shrimp

This is what happens when I go grocery shopping with no real shopping list except "I should make something with shrimp this week because it's on sale."  And after having been on vacation for a week in a country that loves fried food, I was in desperate need of greens.

I have no idea what to call this because I just whipped it up and it's so delicious I just had to share it.  It's similar to a previous recipe I posted, but I was amazed at myself for how wonderfully this turned out for me just decided to throw in some asparagus and shrimp.

Rainbow Chard with Couscous

I made the mistake once of not removing the stems of chard before putting it in my soup... let me just say that they are quite bitter.  But if sauteed up with some garlic and lemon juice, they're not so bad.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Quinoa with Kale

At last year's Thanksgiving, when my mom asked if I would make a quinoa dish, I just stared at her blankly.  One, I had no idea what she said.  Two, whatever it was, it didn't sound like it belonged at Thanksgiving.  She explained that it's a grain that's really healthy for you.  My disinterest continued.  Thanksgiving is supposed to be about consuming as many calories as possible, not making sure your digestive track is in order.   But in the last few months, my boyfriend and I decided we needed to start a healthier routine.  I finally decided to try quinoa, whatever it is.  Surprisingly, it's pretty amazingly delicious when done well.  This recipe has become a staple in my kitchen, and I've been making it about once a week.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Figs with Goat Cheese

Growing up, my mom always packed is fig newtons in our lunches. For a while I thought they were fancy adult food. But then I got bored with them and realized how uninteresting the flavors were. So for most of my life I just avoided figs. Not like they're that easy to find anyway. Now, as a working adult that can afford fresh produce, I have come to realize that fresh figs are actually pretty awesome, and I wish I had rediscovered them earlier. 

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Caperse Sandwich


This year we grew tomatoes from seed, and it was too hard to "kill" the extra plants that we grew.  But with 10 surviving tomato plants, we were bound to have a few tomatoes more than we could eat... So I've been trying to find creative ways to use multiple tomatoes at once. I found this recipe but it used Texas toast and blue cheese. Not being a fan of either, I made this variation.  One slice would be plenty as a side during brunch.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Fried Green Tomatoes

Inevitably, Sacramento gets some pretty hot days. Between the last week of June an first week of July, we had 8 days of temperatures 105F and over. But as much as tomatoes love the heat, they too can get sunburnt. This typically only effects the green ones, but it's still sad to see so many hurt tomatoes. And what can you do with sunburnt green tomatoes? Fry them, of course!

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Penne with Cauliflower


This recipe I actually got from a cooking magazine in Italy.  Translating it from Italian challenged my Italian cooking vocab, but it was a good exercise.  And converting from metric to imperial was just as fun (not).  But thank goodness I figured it all out because it's pretty delicious!  I don't think I've ever heard anyone say the like cauliflower, but you would never know when you have it in this simple pasta dish.

Monday, June 24, 2013

Panzanella

At the same time I was living in Rome, a friend of mine was living in Tuscany.  We didn't know each other at the time, even though we went to the same university, but we now work together.  She shared this recipe with me, which she learned while living in Tuscany.  Tuscany has some of the best farming country in all of Italy.  And because of the all the farms and natural woodlands, a lot of the food is much more earthy and gamey than in other parts of Italy.  These seems like one of those recipes that you whip together when you have leftover bread that's about to go stale and a few too many tomatoes.  But it is a delicious snack or side dish!

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Baked Cod

I must admit, I love fish.  But it's expensive. And it's not like beef or chicken where you can just pull something together and it's delicious.  The last month or so we've been stuck in dinner rut, in desperate need for new flavors.  Thank goodness cod was on sale when I decided to make this.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

A Twist on Paella

If you've never had the opportunity to try paella, you really should find a Spanish restaurant and order it. Famous in the coastal regions of Spain (particularly Barcelona) the seafood and rice dish can easily fill you with a single helping. But, one of the main ingredients in paella is saffron... Between the $20 jar of saffron, paella rice, and the mix of seafood, you can easily spend $60 making paella for a family dinner. This variation uses sage instead of saffron, wild and brown rice instead of paella rice, and meat from land animals instead of seafood. 

Monday, June 17, 2013

Stuffed Zucchini

Every summer, we plant zucchini.  And every summer, we are up to our eyeballs in zucchini.  Last year, all that we knew to do with it was sliced in pasta sauce, grilled or in zucchini bread.  Being so abundant in Northern California, we figured there had to be more ways to utilize this delicious summer squash.  And there are!  This recipe is best with slightly bigger and fatter zucchini than what you'd find at the grocery store.  Homegrown zucchini that were left to grow a day too long are perfect. If you use smaller ones, you'll probably need more of them.  Or use smaller ones as a side dish.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Gnocchi

As a kid I thought gnocchi was really fancy.  It wasn't like regular pasta... it was like a little pouch of carb-y goodness.  Come to find out, it's made out of potatoes... one of my favorite foods.  It's commonly served with pesto because it coats the gnocchi better than a red sauce (though ragu is a pretty commonly used red sauce with gnocchi).  Since I originally posted this over a year ago, I've improved my gnocchi and pesto recipes.  I've actually moved the pesto recipe here.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Rocket Bean Pasta

So apparently in other parts of the world, arugula is called rocket. Not sure where that came from but it sure is easier to say (and spell) than arugula. Anyway. I had a ton of it it was growing pretty giant in my garden. So I needed something quick to put it in. Most recipes I found involved pasta. But with a boyfriend on a high protein diet, it needed to have something else. This recipe actually fit the bill. And surprisingly, he was okay with how much pasta there actually was. 

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Citrus Mint Tea


I live in California's central valley, where, contrary to commonly held perceptions about California, temperatures in the summer soar over 100 degrees, and drop to below freezing in the winter.  Where I live, the closest thing to a beach is a river, and unless you're in that river, being outside in the summer is pretty miserable.  This makes tending the garden pretty difficult at times.  My boyfriend, a San Diego native, hates anything above 80 degrees.  So when temperatures were already at 70 degrees at 9am this morning, he decided we needed to be prepared for the rest of the day.  Enter the second most refreshing drink I've ever had (first place is held by ice water with cucumber slices in it).

The Fanciest Turkey Burger I've Ever Had


Last month, I went to visit my sister who is currently doing a study abroad program in Paris.  Since it was her spring break, and since I've already been to Paris, we decided to meet up in London and explore the British Isles.  While in London, we visited the Borough Market for lunch.  Besides the usual produce for sale, a few vendors were cooking up food for the local lunch crowd.  This is a recreation of a delicious chicken burger we had.  I was quite impressed by the simple yet flavor-packet street food London has to offer.

Monday, April 8, 2013

The Rules about Pasta

Italy is very much about tradition and protocol.  Most people find that odd considering the very laid back Italian lifestyle.  But they are pretty strict on this!

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Sopes

In the words of my boyfriend: "why does fried corn taste so good?!" Sopes are no exception. They're a little more complicated to make but much more fun.

Mexican Kitchen Staples

To make sure your endeavors in Mexican cooking go as smoothly as possible, there are a few things you should have in your kitchen. I was fortunate enough that my mom made sure I had all these (except one which is hard to find) before I moved into my house.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Picadillo

A little known Mexican dish that is oh so yummy. This is the recipe my paternal grandma taught me. I've found other versions in cookbooks but they have way more ingredients that don't make sense to me (Cooking sherry? Really?). But this is so simple and delicious you don't need any of that mumbo jumbo.

Friday, March 1, 2013

Ragu Sauce

When we Americans think of pasta, usually spaghetti with a red sauce comes to mind.  Maybe a fettuccine alfredo. And that's it.  Friends say that after having lived in Italy I've become a "pasta snob," but when I've tasted so many amazing sauces and combinations, how can I not be?!  Since coming back, I find American Italian pasta dishes to be bland sauce on top of mushy pasta.  In Italy, all sauces are made fresh and delicious... nothing is canned or pre-made.  

When I was living in Italy, my Italian teacher has a friend of hers who was a chef teach us some real Italian recipes.  I'm still looking for the gnocchi recipe in my email somewhere, but here's the ragu.  

Kale & Spinach Smoothie

At the young age of 56, my mom started a health food kick. More so than she was already on. She came to visit last week, and brought a bag of spinach with her.  When I asked her what it was for, she said her morning spinach smoothie, which just sounds awful.  Don't get me wrong, but pureed spinach does not sound enjoyable.  But between all the weight she's been losing, and my boyfriend trying to lose weight too, I thought I'd give this a try.  That and the fact that my rabbit eats more veggies than I do.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Buttered Tortellini


I love pasta.  As a broke college student, it was always the cheapest and easiest thing to make.  But when I was living in Italy, it was even cheaper and easier to make than ever.  And there are just so many variations it's easy to find something that fits your budget, schedule and tastes.

Enchiladas

A friend at work says that Mexican food is a rip-off... it's the same 5 ingredients rearranged on a plate.  While there are a few staples, it's all so different.  And of that multitude of arrangements, enchiladas are probably the easiest to make.  This is how my mom taught me.  This one you MUST read the whole recipe first.  Being a recipe passed down over the generations, there's no such thing as measurements.  And it can get pretty messy so wear something you're okay with getting dirty.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

TJ Style Hot Dogs

I love being Mexican. And I love Mexican street food. Pretty much anything made on a cart outside a soccer stadium or on a street corner is delicious. And probably pretty cheap. But my boyfriend, being a San Diego native, is far more familiar with Tijuana street foods and made these delicious hot dogs after a morning of tough yardwork.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Chocolate Mole

Mole.  Not the animal, the sauce.  From the Nahuatl word molli meaning "sauce."  You know, like guacamole.  The Nahuatl word for avocado is āhuacatl, which became aguacate in Spanish.  So ahuacamolli becomes guacamole, or quite literally, avocado sauce.  But back to mole.


Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Beet & Goat Cheese Salad




Good 'ol beets.  No one likes them.  No one likes having to cut them.  And unless they're in the form of red velvet cake, no one really likes the taste of them.  But I found this salad that balances savory with sweet.

Bacon, egg and Gouda breakfast

This one was inspired by a coffee shop favorite. Quite possibly the fanciest breakfast sandwich ever.