February 4, 2013
What’s your favorite way to spend a lazy day?
On a rainy Sunday are you inclined to a.) curl up on the chaise lounge with a good book b.) scribble in your journal for an hour or two c.) have a movie marathon d.) bake something that fills the house with a crazy-good smell of butter and sugar and spice (?)
I’m not very inventive when it comes to the lazy Sunday. I’m all about tackling a TV series or two. I mean, this is really the only way to watch Homeland, in my opinion. Downton after Downton episode? Oooh yes please.
Catfish? Ugh, I might be addicted in a this-makes-me-nervous-and-I-can’t-stop-watching kinda way.
I also enjoy copious amounts of cookies and tea with my embarrassing entertainment choices. And maybe a lunch that involves a baguette, at least two types of cheese and some sort of pesto.
I love when I can fully enjoy being lazy. Not feeling like I should be doing anything else besides hanging out on the couch with my man.
This Monday, I’m starting the first full-time office job I’ve had in a long while. Of course, I’m a little nervous. I’m concerned about what to wear, wondering what my co-workers will be like, and just plain eager to get that first day behind me.
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February 1, 2013
Oh hey slow cooker, hey.
You’re looking really great over there on the counter, all warm and stuff.
But not too warm that you heat up the whole dang apartment like that gauche oven. No. You’re super classy and independent You take your time, do your job well and I don’ t even have to supervise you. You’re like the perfect job candidate.
Sorry.
I was just…ah, having a fake conversation with my slow cooker to provide a weird/funny introduction to a recipe that I cooked in my slow cooker. NBD, guys.
Slow cookers make me think of meaty stews and thick soups, so at first, they don’t really seem to fit in with summer cooking. But they’re actually pretty perfect for summer (and obviously winter, spring, and fall.) No oven, no stove. Just toss a bunch of things in there, leave it alone, and come back to find a whole meal of cooked food!
Great right?
I love our slow cooker, it’s easy to clean and takes everything from pork neck to big summer eggplants to flavor nation.
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January 30, 2013
Dumplings, gyoza, potstickers. Whatever you want to call little parcels of goodness, I recommend getting involved.
They’re cute, 2-bite-sized and are typically packed with flavor. They’re hard not to like.
I’ve made a sweet potato version before (which I’m going to revisit in the near future) but I usually leave this sort of thing to the professionals.
But if you can find some good pre-made wrappers, making gyoza at home is super easy – and might impress whoever you’re feeding. Once you get the hang of folding the little dough rounds, it’s a pretty soothing activity, too.
You can make the filling a day in advance and let it sit in the fridge. Or you can prep the gyoza a couple of hours before you’re ready to cook them.
I served them piping hot with a simple dipping sauce of a 1:1 ratio of soy sauce and rice wine vinegar and a little sriracha here and there. There are plenty of other dipping sauce options, but I tried to keep it simple to let the flavor of the shiitakes shine.
I’m going to go ahead and warn you: these are addictive. I served the two of us about 16 dumplings for dinner with a big salad and I wish I’d made more. Like double more. Just a FYI.
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January 25, 2013
Even in summertime I crave comfort dishes. I’m talking warm, heavily spiced bowls of things that might make you sweat a little when you eat them. I dunno. I’m aware that no one likes to sweat whilst eating, but I’ll take it over eating chilled soup. Gazpacho? I just…can’t. I’m sorry. (Not sorry.)
You know I’m game for a massive minimal-cooking-required salad, but homegirl needs a cooked meal several times a week, regardless of the weather. It’s something about sitting down at night to eat something that has a story. Something that’s been chopped and sautéed and simmered.
I love experimenting with cuisines that I find a little intimidating, it’s like facing your fears in a totally contained and inconsequential way!
Whatta rush.
Since I’ve been cooking, I’ve found Thai and Indian cuisines to be among my favorites to make at home. Mostly because they involve big vats of stew-like concoctions that can be custom-made to involve heaps of vegetables, tons of flavor and spice, and require being mopped up with rice and/or flatbread. (In general, I enjoy mopping my food up with carbs. It’s satisfying and delicious.)
Plus, a good curry paste can’t really let you down.
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January 16, 2013
Look at that.
I made you breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Eggs are my favorite cure-all any time of the day. They make a salad, a piece of toast or leftovers into a meal. In short, eggs are always appropriate. Which is, uh, more than I can say for myself.
We love a good egg around here. Cheap and wholesome, they ensure that a vegetable-based dinner will be satisfying for both Fabes and I. Best of all, a perfectly poached or over-easy egg will take a bowl of creamy polenta, pasta or risotto into decadent-town.
This frittata was a surprising hit. Garlic-y kale, salty feta and the gratifying pop of green peas is super simple, and my kind of perfect. It’s got greens, protein and some excellent flavor.
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January 15, 2013
This pasta salad is summer. It’s backyard barbecues and days at the beach.
I hated summer camp as a kid. Loved summer (duh), hated summer camp. I went to one of those day camps with my best friend at the local high school. I mean, we were in a school during the summer – what’s that about?
We spent our days trying to avoid playing volleyball and kickball and sitting around in our overalls, making friendship bracelets and talking about which Now and Then character we were. The highlight of my day was getting a frozen Snickers or a Gatorade from the vending machine.
Another thing I always looked forward to was lunch (yes, some things are very much the same.) I think my mom knew I hated camp, (I may have made it painfully obvious. In fact, that may have been the summer I perfected my signature eye roll.) so she sent me off with some extra special lunches in the summer months. Ones like this one, that I still think about.
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January 10, 2013
I used to be one of those people who grabbed a coffee on the way to class or work and called it breakfast. Somewhere around the time that I began my first full-time job and started to run for exercise, I decided to try behaving like an adult and make breakfast a priority. I haven’t looked back since.
Breakfast during the week is what I dream about on my morning run, it’s my fuel and nourishment. On the weekends it’s a recreational activity – going out and getting the freshest bread we can find, trying a new restaurant, meeting up with friends, making something warm and slightly elaborate and enjoying it over too much coffee and the weekend papers.
Any way it’s had, breakfast is a happy part of my day.
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January 9, 2013
This salad is brought to you by: the insane heat that blanketed Sydney yesterday and my favorite skirt that’s a little tight after the long holiday season.
Seriously, it was shockingly hot. Like hotter than your average person’s body temperature. Clearly, seeing 43 degrees (109 Fahrenheit) on my phone weather left a big impact on me.
Anyway, turning on the oven wasn’t an option, nor was boiling or simmering anything. I needed something refreshing but also something with substance to get through the mid-day slump.
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