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By Caroline, October 31, 2009

Halloween has gotten a little crazy this year at my apartment building. Last year, the decorations consisted of perhaps one string of lights and some scattered cobwebs. In 2009 however, without any discussion, every apartment around us has decided that this is the year to go all out. The windows surrounding us are covered in lights, cobwebs, spiders, bats, everything you can imagine. The garden in the courtyard is covered in fake skeletons, rats, and jack-o-lanterns, not to mention the scary music that is playing to accompany it.

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By Caroline, October 28, 2009

They don’t tell you this when you’re a kid, but life is kinda tough. Well, I guess I do remember hearing that, but when you’re a kid you think they mean it’s gonna be tough for everyone EXCEPT you.  So it’s a bit of a shock when you finally get out of school, move out on your own and then look around thinking, “Wait, you mean this isn’t gonna be easy??”

So, right now I’m looking for something that IS easy. Something uncomplicated. These cookies are just what I need. They’re made from simple ingredients, and not too many of them. I don’t have to run out and purchase cake flour or coconut oil, and it’s not going to take me an hour to clean up when I’m done.

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By Adrianna, October 26, 2009

For the past few weeks, everything I’ve made has been “fall” food.  First there was this, and then these…and then this.  I’m guessing that autumn feels pretty appreciated by me…or totally exploited.  Either way, I’m not done with fall.  I have more up my sleeve. So fall, forgive me, because I’m going to use you as long as I can. Everyone, please meet my new food crush: Sweet Potato Scones.

Don’t scones make you feel classy?! I’ve always associated them with High Tea…and wearing fancy white gloves, and maybe, even being snooty enough to point my pinky straight in the air as I sip tea.  I know, I know, I think this might just be my Jane Austen obsession coming into play, but whatever.

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By Caroline, October 23, 2009

In its most basic definition, huevos rancheros is eggs on top of a tortilla and then topped with salsa. Scan through recipes and you see time and again that it’s the salsa that plays a starring role. With tortillas and eggs being a bit difficult to jazz up, each cook will try to distinguish their recipe with a new spin on the salsa.

I, however, am not the biggest fan of tomato salsa, and I have been known to order huevos rancheros and then *gasp* scrape the chunks of tomato right off. To me, the main attraction for this dish is black beans, which isn’t even a required ingredient. Something about black beans and eggs mixed together is just heavenly in the morning. So when I decided to take on this dish at home, I spent none of my energy on the salsa and just bought a  *gasp* store-bought jar, and then began focusing on how to spice up the black beans.

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By Adrianna, October 21, 2009

Everyday I sift through various food blogs and websites looking for recipes that hook my attention.  And time after time the recipes I’m most attracted to are grown-up versions of things I ate as a kid.  One thing I loved as a kid, Mac and Cheese!  I loved every type of it–I didn’t discriminate.  Actually, Kraft macaroni and cheese was the first thing I learned how to cook and I cooked it regularly as an after school snack, and with pride I might add.  I remember getting all fancy with it, playing with the consistency and adding pepper…and hot sauce.  And when I went to college, I wasn’t too good for Easy Mac.  I would cook it up in a microwave at midnight and not think a thing about it.  Basically, my love affair with mac and cheese goes WAY back.

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By Caroline, October 19, 2009

Okay, I know that people normally make resolutions at the New Year, but I’m breaking the mold and have made one for the fall of 2009. Resolution: make something with a fresh, un-canned winter squash. I don’t know why, but there is something about taking a whole, untouched squash, pumpkin, or gourd of any sort, roasting it and then somehow transforming it into cubes, mash or any other edible shape that greatly intimidates me.

I’ve specifically had my eye on spaghetti squash or butternut squash, and since there was a lovely display of spaghetti squash at Trader Joe’s it’s going to be the first one up. I felt proud of myself as I picked up a lovely yellow squash off the shelf as if I was, in fact, an accomplished squash roaster.

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By Adrianna, October 16, 2009

My love for biscuits started as a young lad.  My mother was adamant that every night–no matter what was going on–we sat, as a family, and had dinner.  Since it was the way things were, I usually looked forward to it, unless of course, I was watching something awesome on television like…My So-Called Life or Roswell, in which case I would grumble at the sound of my mother calling me in to the kitchen.  She didn’t really trust my brother and I to do too much; the only tasks she asked of us were to set the table, make a salad, which till this day I still hate, and/or make biscuits.

Now you’re thinking to yourself, Homemade biscuits? Kids?! Oh no, we were totally content with the Pillsbury pre-made biscuits that came in the canned roll…you know, the kind where you peel the paper back and crack open the cylinder by slamming it on the side of the counter, then you’d peel the biscuits apart and stick ‘em in the oven for 10 minutes.  Those were the kinds of biscuits we were into. Homemade biscuits didn’t exist.  My parents were too busy shuffling my brother and I to and from various practices, schools, club meetings and so on. But that was then. 

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By Caroline, October 14, 2009

It’s chilly and rainy in LA right now. Yes, contrary to popular belief, it does actually rain here. Truth be told, I love nothing more than being at home on a dark, rainy day, curled up in a blanket on the couch.

On days such as these, one of my guilty pleasures is the show “Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives” on the Food Network. It wouldn’t normally be the first choice of most vegetarians to watch a show that focuses on greasy spoons, but every now and then I discover a gem like Polka. It’s a family-run Polish restaurant in a tiny strip mall on the outskirts of LA and although it may be a bit of a distance for most people living here, I promise it’s worth the trek.

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By Adrianna, October 12, 2009

Fall is officially here and pumpkin has recently become my new best friend.  It sucks for pumpkin because I know myself and I’ll soon trade him/her in for peppermint come December…or chocolate. Who knows what the future holds, but for now, pumpkin is my pal.  It all started last week when fall set in and I put on my first sweater of the season.  It was a glorious morning:  it was crisp, cool and the feeling of putting on a soft sweater in the early morning had me giddy.

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By Caroline, October 9, 2009

This is the first dish I could cook without looking at a recipe. Not that it’s much of a challenge, I mean, we’re talking about 5 ingredients tossed together in a skillet; it isn’t exactly brain surgery. However, for a college student cooking in the kitchen of her first apartment, it made me seem like quite the fancy cook to be able to whip together a dinner that didn’t come from a box with flavor packets.

Now, there are a few eating habits that I have grown out of since college. Easy Mac is one of them (although I try to turn a blind eye when Chase continues to make it in the microwave). This recipe, however, is a keeper. It’s easy, filling, and a crowd-pleaser. You can eat it hot off the stove with melted cheese dripping off each little piece of pasta, or you can serve it cold as a pasta salad.

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By Adrianna, October 7, 2009

Don’t ask me how, but Caroline found some random website with a random calculator. She put in the numbers and it drew the names of….**drumroll, please!**…Aimee and Michael!! Whooo hooo! The only thing the two winners MUST do is give us feedback; we’re trying to perfect our jam so we definitely need your help. We’ll be having other giveaways in the near future because, well, giving stuff out for free is awesome–it makes us feel all cozy inside!

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By Caroline, October 5, 2009

Okay, so there are a whole lot of cool people in LA. Sometimes I feel as though I live in the Mecca of hipness. Not that I am wallowing in a lack of self-esteem, but I know that I am not one of these people.

For example, I am definitely not cool enough to go to an amusement park in full make-up and stiletto high heels. I just don’t think that I could wipe off the sweaty mascara streaks as well as those 16 year olds do. I’m also definitely not cool enough to wear sunglasses at night, because no matter how hard I try I will never look smooth when I bump into things. Apparently there are a lot of guys in West Hollywood that have mastered this.

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By Adrianna, October 1, 2009

Last holiday season I had this wild ambition to make fig jam for gifts.  Little did I know that fig season was long gone and the process for jarring jam was, well, a process.  So I set out and googled jarring jam and was totally intimidated about buying a kit and sterilizing the bottles and having to boil them and so on. Basically, it just didn’t seem worth it.  And until Caroline bought a canning kit, my opinion stayed the same.  She assured me it was going to be easy breezy and, hey, there were two of us–we can handle something as simple as putting stuff in jars.  With that, we were on our way. My initial failure of jam stayed with me and I was still determined to make some fig jam. Plus, figs are super cool.  I googled some recipes and came across one that added cinnamon.  Sold.

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