April 2012
20 posts
7 tags
Fresh Tomato and Squash Curry
I should call this refrigerator curry. Essentially the curry version of the refrigerator soups I make so often, this curry was born of produce that screamed “use it or lose it” from the crisper.
First I diced and sautéed half an onion over medium heat in a splash of olive oil. I seasoned the onion with salt, cumin, and some phenomenal homemade garam masala that was a gift from...
5 tags
Banana Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding
Bread pudding isn’t something I grew up with. I’m not even sure I knew it existed until I was in college. Even then it was some vague strange thing other people ordered at restaurants. Bread pudding? No thank you.
The landlord and his family love them some bread pudding. Hence I’ve had my fair share of bread pudding tastes over the last couple years. I don’t...
5 tags
Someone Got into the Tulips Again
The landlord says this is why I can’t have nice things.
5 tags
Baked Butternut Squash Fries
We make baked fries all the time. Slice up some potatoes, toss them in olive oil and sea salt (and occasionally a handful of herbs), and bake them until they’re browned and crispy. They’re beyond delicious.
These fries are exactly that but with the sliced rounds from the neck of a butternut squash rather than potatoes. The squash imparts a slightly sweet flavor that is both...
6 tags
Baked Haddock with Lemon and Capers
Fish is one of those things that’s a win on all fronts: it’s good for you, it’s quick and easy to prepare any day of the week, and it snazzes up any plate. That being said, haddock is a fish that I’m not particularly keen on. Buttered up á la fish and chips, haddock is without a doubt delicious. But as a healthful option, haddock often leaves me wanting. It’s so...
7 tags
Power Breakfast
As a vegetarian, you learn to scoff at people who question whether your diet provides sufficient protein. Beans, eggs, dairy, fish (for those of us that are pescatarians), whole grains, tofu — the list goes on and on. Sometimes, though, it can be difficult. I find breakfast the most challenging.
I don’t want to eat eggs more than three times a week, and that includes when I eat...
6 tags
Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato and Asparagus
This was a quick and easy dinner, with a spin on the usual garlicky olive oil and green veggie combo I often make. I saved the olive oil from a package of sun-dried tomatoes and used it to kick things up a notch. Not that there’s anything wrong with traditional olive oil (I’m crazy for the deep green nutty stuff), but everyone likes a change of pace from time to time.
Simply sautéed...
7 tags
Spring Panzanella with Asparagus
I came across this panzanella salad last week on The Bitten Word and it immediately jumped out at me. A beautiful combination of spring’s bounty, this salad is everything I’ve been craving.
My version consisted of romaine, red kale, asparagus, and radishes. I dressed it with a simple lemon caper vinaigrette: the juice and pulp from 1 lemon, a spoonful of capers and their brine, a...
2 tags
Late Night Munchies
Quit clowning around and make me a snack already.
6 tags
Vanilla Lime Pound Cake
We had a ton of limes left over from our equinox party. If Pun was here it’d be a no-brainer — margaritas by the pool. Alas, she’s not, and something tells me drinking tequila midday by myself would be frowned upon. Baked goods it was.
The bright zesty lime was both refreshing and therapeutic. It made for the perfect springtime dessert.
For the cake: Ingredients: 3...
5 tags
Ramen Smackdown
Yowza. Tickets for our next pop-up sold out in under 24 hours. This is going to be one hoppin’ event. (The Washington Post thinks so too!)
5 tags
Taco Tuesday Meets Friday
Renee and I hosted a Mexican pop-up on Friday night at Sundevich. The menu included popcorn with ancho chili powder, creamy avocado and cucumber soup with queso fresco and radishes, chicken tamales with homemade enchilada sauce and grilled scallions, tacos al pastor with Mexican slaw and fresh tomatillo avocado salsa, and a vanilla cake layered with fried sweet plantains and sliced mango drizzled...
7 tags
Bloomingdale Blooms
It’s about damn time the weather got nice again.
7 tags
Asparagus and Meyer Lemon Barley Risotto
Risotto is another one of those things that I shied away from because I thought it was too much work. I had this impression that it was finicky and difficult and better left to the professionals. I’ve made it once or twice, but it was years ago in my college dorm kitchen and what I remember most is lots of sweating and swearing over boiling chicken stock and whirring vent fans. Turns out...
5 tags
Bubbie's Seder
Below are some of the photos the landlord took last night at the Jewish Soul Food pop-up at Blind Dog Cafe. We served a whole mess of goodness: beet carpaccio with a parsley fennel salad and horseradish balsamic dressing, chopped liver deviled eggs, whitefish on rye toast, homemade pickled veggies, crispy fried chicken skin, fried matzah balls and peppery salami, brisket (or seitan and tofu for...
6 tags
Jewish Soul Food Pop-Up
Tonight I’m helping my friend Renee with her Jewish Soul Food pop-up restaurant via Feastly. Together with Renee’s mother and our other friend Javi we’re going to prepare and serve a five-course meal for more than three dozen people. The menu is as follows: homemade pickled vegetables and crispy chicken gribenes (cracklings), beet carpaccio, fried matzah balls with crispy...
5 tags
6 tags
Zucchini Bread with Dates and Ginger
Zucchini bread is something I don’t make very often. It’s always moist and delicious but doesn’t often jump to mind. The other day I dug up a couple zucchini from the crisper that had seen better days. You know where this is going.
I poked around the internets and came up with 101 Cookbooks’s special zucchini bread recipe. I didn’t use Heidi’s special...
6 tags
Spicy Kale Salad
This week has been nuts. N-U-T-S. I’ve had some sort of engagement every night this week. On top of that, I’m in full-blown HIRE ME mode. The landlord helped me revamp my cover letter last week and since then it’s been job site after job site after job site. I’m going cross-eyed. And slightly batty. On top of the zillion applications I’ve submitted, I’m...
7 tags
Strawberry Equinox
Two weeks ago we had a mess of friends over to celebrate vernal equinox. Equinox parties are something my parents have done since we were young and I figured it was about time I carried the baton. First of all, who doesn’t like a good party and the coming of spring? Secondly, who the hell has ever heard of an equinox party? Precisely. While others vie for attention on say New...
