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Don’t think of these as popsicles, think of them as the perfect summer afternoon snack. Here’s my issue with snacks: they totally fill me up. To the point that I’m not hungry at dinnertime. Yeah, sometimes I think it would be a good thing if I still had my mother around to remind me not to spoil my dinner. I’m not so good at it on my own.
Not sure if you all recall, but a few months ago a reporter asked Kate Moss what one of her favorite quotes was. She replied with: “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” Umm…isn’t that hilarious…and sorta sad? I mean, I’m grateful for her honesty. Thank heavens she’s not that skinny while scarfing down hamburgers and fries on a daily basis. I’m glad she came clean about depriving herself of all things awesome.
When I’m really super bored, I sometimes dream about what I would feed her. My first instinct is to whip her up some pancakes. Lots of them. But what I really think would make her to cave in are these Baked Portobello Fries with Basil Aioli. You see, the word “baked” means they’re healthy. I think she’d dig that. I mean, I did.
I saw them on a menu at this restaurant across town, but didn’t order them since I wasn’t in the mood for something fried. I was kinda feeling like Kate, so I ordered a whole pizza instead. I couldn’t stop thinking about them after that night, vowing to drive over there just for them, but it never worked out. That’s when I decided to take my craving/curiosity into my own hands and make them myself. And boy, am I glad I did.
A few months ago Adrianna and I attended a picnic hosted by fellow LA food blogger Joy the Baker. There were a hay bales on a rooftop. There were cupcakes. There were other fun food bloggers. There was Joy in an adorable pink dress. Overall, it was a good time.
So, when Adrianna and I heard that Joy was now part of On The Lamb, and would be popping up all over LA with more fun events, we got a little excited. When we heard the three lovely ladies would be at the fabulous Surfas, cooking up some strawberry recipes, we were salivating. Strawberries? Surfas? Free Samples? Where do we sign up?
I wish I had some photos of the demo to show you, but to be honest, we were a little too engrossed in what they were cooking to think of anything else, including taking photos. That, and we were a bit distracted by the woman next to us who thought it appropriate to talk on her cell phone during the demo. To the woman next to us – you were very nice, but please don’t distract me from the culinary goodness going on next time, okay? It might get ugly.
Despite unavoidable distractions, we still took a lot away from this demo. First off, I learned how to properly remove the top of a strawberry. See, you use a paring knife to simply cut out the white part, leaving all of the juicy red berry behind. I know, right? Simple things just seem like magic to me. Continue reading 'Strawberry Balsamic Basil Spritzer'»
Everyone is always on the look out for a weeknight meal. Sometimes I feel like telling people to relax and just eat a bowl of cereal like I do. But then I remember that a lot of people have kids and dogs and Franklins, and bowls of cereal just won’t do. Rather than being concerned about a weeknight meal, I’m always more concerned about an easy weekend morning breakfast. When I wake up a little late and maybe recovering from the night before, going to the store to get fresh ingredients and slaving over the stove doesn’t sound too appealing. Lucky for you, my weekend breakfast can also be your weeknight meal. This, like the Croque Madame I made a few weeks ago, is a unisex type meal–it can be breakfast, lunch or dinner. And with only 3 main ingredients, (bread, eggs and a can of plum tomatoes) it’s the easiest thing in the world to make. You can do it hungover, super sleepy, or super stressed. All is well!
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.
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.
Okay, in my last post we made pizza dough, so now it’s time to add toppings. The pizza Margherita is one of my favorite pizzas, as well as being an Italian classic.
Before we get started, a little history: in the late 1800s Queen Margherita, wife of Umberto I, became quite taken with a bread that was commonly made by Italian peasants. Since it was not considered very “Queenly” of her to like such a common peasant food, she asked one of her chefs to prepare her pizza using this bread that she liked so much. The chef, Rafaelle Esposito, devised a pizza topped with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and basil, the colors symbolizing the Italian flag. Queen Margherita absolutely fell in love with this delicious concoction, and the rest is history.
