Hestia's Disciple

Cinco De Mayo Prep

2011-05-04T20:38:00.000-07:00

Okay so this is technically a quesadilla, but then again, it totally and completely is not. But it's the best I'm gonna get for a Cinco De Mayo post since it is tomorrow and I am at a coffee shop "studying" instead of at home making yummy Mexican food. Plus, it's absolutely, one hundred percent, completely and totally, amazingly delicious. And, easy-easy-easy. This is my new staple for a quick lunch. (I just really wish I had a cast iron that was big enough to use when I make this with 10 inch 8 grain tortillas! But that is totally off point.) I got this recipe off of 101 Cookbooks and Heidi described it as an unda style quesadilla, which is something she discovered at a kati roll place, when they put a beaten egg on the grill and topped it with roti bread. Now, she makes everything that she possibly can unda style. Which I applaud, because this recipe is amazing.

Pseudo Quesadilla
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

Ingredients:
Zest of half a lemon
Large dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream (Clover brand sour cream is absolutely amazing and tastes like a mix between creme fraiche and sour cream)
2 tablespoons capers
olive oil
1 6 inch corn tortilla (sometimes I use a 10 inch wheat tortilla and when I do that, I add an extra egg)
1 egg
A bit of shaved parmesan

Directions:
Whisk together the zest and creme fraiche/sour cream. Set aside
Heat a bit of olive oil and add the capers to it. Wait until they start to brown and then spoon them out onto a paper towel. They will crisp as they dry.
Beat the egg and in a slightly oiled pan (the correct size for your tortilla) on medium heat, add the egg and swirl around so that it covers the whole pan. Once it sets just a bit (like 10 seconds or so) place the tortilla on top. Once it seems set enough that the tortilla and egg and starting to attach, flip the whole thing over.
Sprinkle parmesan over the egg side and let melt while the tortilla browns. Fold in half and top with the sour cream mixture and the capers.

I was pretty skeptical about the whole thing, but completely intrigued at the same time, and it turns out, the intrigued part of my mind was right. It's really a perfect lunch, hearty and filling with the egg (especially with a whole grain tortilla), but fresh from the lemon and tangy from the capers. And in case you were skeptical as well, it turns out that fried capers are mighty delicious--they taste just like capers but are nice and crunchy. A perfect topping! I make different variations of this now, adding different cheeses, taking out the lemon, adding chopped herbs, etc. and they've all come out great so far. So if you're feeling in the mood to have a pseudo-mexican lunch on Cinco De Mayo, try it out and let me know how it goes.

Spring Green

2011-05-03T12:22:00.000-07:00

I have a new cookbook that I'm slightly in love with: Chicken and Egg--A Memoir of Suburban Homesteading with 125 Recipes. It's a compilation of the wonderful recipes inspired by a family's chickens. Since I have a huge urge to raise chickens of my own, this book fills two purposes for me. 1. To further that urge as well as justify it by showing me all of the wonderful dishes I could bring to my kitchen if I did raise a few hens. 2. It allows me to live vicariously through this family so that I don't act on the urge and actually buy some chicks the next time I see them sold at farmer's! Although I'd love some chickens, I don't think it's practical since my backyard is either garden or cement and I'll be moving to who-knows-where in less than 2 years. Instead, I pour over this cookbook whenever I get the urge.

The first recipe I made out of this book reflected the blooming spring outside--Green onions, cucumbers and basil make this an extra-ordinary egg salad and much more colorful than the normal, boiled eggs, mayo, mustard, salt and pepper egg salad that is often found at spring picnics. To prep for this meal, I made homemade mayonnaise that can be seen in my last post. The rich olive oil that I used to make the mayo brought a wonderful fullness to the salad. I highly recommend taking the time to make the mayo if you are so inclined.

Note* I hear my neighbor's hen clucking in their backyard right now. Resist the urge, Brittany. You can't have chicks right now!

Cucumber Basil Egg Salad
Adapted from Chicken and Egg by Janice Cole

Ingredients:
6 hard boiled eggs, diced
3/4 cup seeded, diced cucumber. I prefer Persian cucumbers with the skin on.
1/4 cup minced shallots
1/2 cup sliced green onions. The green parts only.
4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Combine the eggs, cucumber, shallots, green onions and basil in a bowl. Stir in the mayo, salt and pepper. This can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days if it is made with conventional mayo, but should be eaten in the same day if made with homemade mayo.

I prepared some bread to go with this meal topped with fresh herbs and olive oil from the garden and popped it in the oven for a bit to dry it out and make it somewhat crunchy. It was a perfect addition, but some nice pita or a regular sandwich would be great too. Or slice some cucumbers and use it as a dip! I was absolutely crazy about the way that this came out. It had all of the familiar flavors of egg salad, but was completely revved up by the flavor of the basil and green onions and the wonderful crunch of the cucumber.

Being Brave

2011-04-30T21:41:00.000-07:00

I feel like my new thing this spring is simplicity. Okay, that's not right. I mean, I always tend to make plenty of dishes that are "simple", so maybe that's not quite accurate. Maybe "basics" or "fundamentals" or "staples" would work better? Anyway, the moral of the story is that I'm really trying to make sure that I work from the ground up with all of my foods. And since I'm working from the ground up on the whole meal, that usually means putting more time into my meals which then necessitates the simplicity, I guess.

A while ago, I was wanting to make an egg salad recipe (that post will come next), and I'm really not a fan of store bought mayonnaise, so carved out a good chunk of time in my day, I whipped out my Alice Waters, In the Green Kitchen-Techniques to Learn by Heart cookbook and decided to make my own mayo. I'm really in love with this cookbook and I've been leafing through it every time I make something new to see what she has to say about everything I cook--eggs, soups, salads, chicken, etc. It gives really great tips and makes things really easy and straight forward. I adjusted the recipe a bit, because the one in the book was for Garlic Mayonnaise, and I wanted a plain mayo.

Homemade Mayonnaise
Adapted from Alice Waters' In the Green Kitchen-Techniques to Learn by Heart

Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients:
salt
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon water
1 cup olive oil
A few drops of vinegar

Directions:
In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolk and the water until they are completely blended and the mixture is an even color. Slowly dribble in the oil. Here, it is important to make sure that you're using good quality olive oil. My mom is obsessed with olive oils and it's really wearing off on me and I'm starting to get quite the collection of olive oils for myself. At the time that I made this, I didn't have as many choices and I used my "rich and robust" option which is really delicious but definitely has a strong taste. It turned out great, but next time I would probably go for a lighter option so that the olive oil taste wasn't quite so rich in the dish that I'm making it for. It really depends on your preferences and what you're using it for though. Regardless, if you don't like the taste of the olive oil before you make the mayo, you won't like the way the mayo turns out. Use-good-olive-oil. Anyway, continue dribbling in the oil and whisking constantly. The yolk will absorb the oil and the mixture will thicken and begin to lighten in color. Gradually, you can begin pouring the oil a little faster as you continue whisking. Finish with a few drops of vinegar or lemon juice. Taste and add more salt if desired. Serve the mayonnaise right away or refrigerate it. According to Miss Alice, it actually taste better after sitting a while, however, it should be eaten the same day that it is made.

If you are wanting to flavor it with garlic, herbs, mustard, chilies, etc. pound whatever it is you want in a mortar with a pinch of salt until it is a smooth paste. Whisk about half of the paste with the egg yolk and then follow the above directions. Add more of the paste at the end if desired.

I was completely intimidated to make this, and I'm pretty sure that I read through the directions a good 3 or 4 times before nervously diving in. I really don't know why I was such a bundle of nerves. It's yolk...oil...and whisking. Nothing involved in this recipe was anything I wasn't used to. And the results: incredible. Absolutely delicious. I actually dislike mayonnaise, but this tasted nothing like store bought mayo. It was wonderfully creamy and was basically an olive oil spread, and with my obsession with olive oil, that was perfect. Lesson for me: stop being freaked out by the kitchen. Find someone with good technique, learn from them, pay attention to what you're doing, and you'll be amazed at what you can do in the kitchen.

Sad Goodbye

2011-04-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

The moment I walked into Fat Face for the first time, I fell in love. That was March 5th, 2010. On March 11th, 2011, I walked through those doors for the last time. I've been a regular at both Jaymes' L street location and her Farmer's Market booth since I first discovered her amazing sammiches and pops and I can't believe that it has finally come to an end. On March 11th, she shut down her sammich operation in Davis in order to focus on her pop production make a move to Sacramento. Though she'll still be at Farmer's with her pop and her breakfast sammiches, I still had to say goodbye to her Cola Braised Pork, Herbed Grilled Cheese, Fig and Goat Cheese, warm soups, and all of her constantly changing sammich menu at the L street shop.

I was so happy to walk up to her shop to see it absolutely spilling over with patrons. A completely appropriate response from a community that adores her. I went a little over board with my ordering, but I couldn't resist all my favorites along with a new few foods on my last visit to Fat Face.

Caribbean Chicken and Cabbage Soup-This was a new dish for me. I'm not sure how long she had been making it. It was hearty and full of spices. If she were staying open, it'd be a perfect winter meal.

Cola Braised Pork with Avocado Salsa and Queso Fresco-I think this is my favorite sammich besides the smoked salmon sammich she hasn't made for a long time. Jaymes really has some skill when it comes to pork. Maybe her pig tattoo gives her some super powers in this field. The meat is done perfectly, the queso fresco is light, cold and delicious and the avocado salsa really brings it all together with a nice creaminess.

Herbed Grilled Cheese on Walnut Bread-Okay I know I just said the Cola Braised Pork was my favorite but I think I would cry if this ever went off the menu. So simple but simply amazing. The walnut break is a perfect pick and the aged cheddar she uses goes perfectly with the herbed butter she grills it in.

Fig Goat Cheese and Caramelized Onions-Most of my friends claim this is their favorite sammich and I can understand why. The figs are prepared perfectly and go wonderfully with the goat cheese.

Bacon Avocado Parmesan and Sun Dried Tomato-I feel like she's made this in the past but I'm not sure, and if she did, it was a while ago. The bacon was excellent, the avocados perfectly ripe, the Parmesan perfectly tangy and the sun dried tomatoes wonderfully smoky.

Mango Kiwi Pop-Applaud me for not crying while I finished my last Fat Face meal with this incredible Mango Kiwi Pop. No words.

March 11th was one of the first truly nice days of spring and there was so much warmth and love in the air as Jaymes' friends and fans gathered around her shop to show their support. I'm sad that I lost my favorite food spot in town and I'll miss Jayme's incredibly sunny "hey brittany!" every time I walk in the door and her rush to give my parents hugs with a "hi mom and dad!" She's become a big part of my life in Davis and I'm so grateful that she'll still be around Farmer's. Goodluck Jaymes! I can't wait to see what she does next.

Sun, Oats and Berries

2011-03-21T23:16:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I know. I fail. Things happen, I get busy. I apparently neglect my blog...but it's still here and since it's spring break, I have time to write without stressing about other projects. Since I'm sitting in my parent's kitchen with my mom, waiting for granola bars to come out of the oven, I thought it'd be a perfect time to share my recipe for berry oat bars. I know I've talked about it before, but Davis really has an incredible farmer's market. America's favorite, in fact! After growing up with farmer's markets that had about 4 vendors, and then graduating to the Fresno markets with, probably about 30 vendors, the Davis Farmer's Market is like fresh food mecca for me. It's also the place to be in town on Saturdays for families, professors, and students alike (although you probably won't see the students until it hits 10:30). My friend Lianna and I were really good this winter quarter about getting our butts out of bed almost every Saturday and making our way to the market. One day, it was the first truly beautiful day in months, which made for a perfect market day before the hours of work and studying that were looming in front of me. That day, something caught our eye at a vendor that we had never visited before, Flour Chylde. They had these oat bars with raspberry jam on top, and for 1.50 a bar, they were the perfect breakfast, especially since I was really craving something sweet but not sickly sweet like the pastries I usually go for. So we grabbed our bars and our coffee and went and sat in the sun. (I was wearing a tank and wanted to cry for joy as the sun soaked my skin.) Anyway, so we both took our first bites and cried out for joy. Like seriously, I'm pretty sure we both started shouting about how good it was! They have a dense layer of oats on the bottom, topped with a wonderful raspberry jam. Simply incredible. So every week since, Lianna and I have gone to Flour Chylde and begged them to bring back those bars (and they actually finally did last time I went) but the next week, when they didn't have them, Lianna and I decided we'd have to find a substitute. It was another beautiful day and we just had to have our craving satisfied. Here's what did the trick:

Raspberry and Blackberry Oat Bars
Adapted from Color Me Vegan by Collene Patrick-Goudreau

Ingredients:
2 cups berries (of your choice, really...you can also use frozen)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flax seed
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup melted butter (clearly, I changed this from the original vegan recipe)
1/2 cup chopped almonds

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a saucepan, combine the berries, sugar, water and lemon juice. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered for about 8 minutes until it thickens a bit.
In a medium boil, combine the remaining ingredients except the almonds.
In a greased 8x8 pan, press half of the oat mixture firmly into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 20 minutes.
Take out of the oven and cover with the berry mixture. Sprinkle the rest of the oat mixture on top, and lightly press down. Sprinkle the almonds on top last.
Bake for another 20 minutes. Let cook before cutting.

These were definitely a good substitute for our raspberry oat bars. I want to experiment more with this recipe--less brown sugar, more honey, more oats, different types of berries, etc., but this is definitely a good start.

Cookie Buzz

2011-02-13T11:35:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, I was in the mood to bake. So instead of sitting down to watch the Superbowl game, I ventured into the kitchen. The weather has been beautiful lately in davis and something about the 65 degrees, bright sun and the the cool breeze makes me want to open all the doors and windows in my house and bake. I think it's something about the smell of spring (I know it's not spring, but it sure smells like it in Davis) mixed with the smells of sugary treats wafting through my house that is drawing me to these sugar-filled recipes. I decided on a coffee sugar cookie recipe, but I left out the baking powder to make them into thin, crispy cookies. I'm so happy with that decision!

Coffee Sugar Thins
Adapted from i am baker

Ingredients:
1 cup butter softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons freshly ground coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar.
In a small bowl, combine the eggs, coffee grinds and vanilla.
In another bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon and salt.
*Note: If you'd prefer these to not be crispy, you could add 1/2 teaspoon baking powder here like the original recipe that I adapted this from.
Slowly add the egg mixture to the butter mixture and combine. Slowly add the flour mixture until well combined.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least a few hours.
Preheat the oven to 375.
On a well floured surface, roll out the dough (in sections) until nice and thin. Make sure to also flour the rolling pin. The dough is sticky and needs to be worked with quickly, while it's still cold. The scraps get too warm to work with again, so I re-chilled the scraps before I rolled them out again. Once the dough is rolled out, cut out your desired shapes and place on parchment paper or a silpat on top of a baking sheet..
Bake in the oven for 7-9 minutes. Pay close attention the last couple minutes and pull out right before they start to brown. Let sit for a few minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Look at all of those specks of coffee in there! This is a great study snack--sugar and caffeine to keep me awake! The crispiness of these cookies make them so satisfying to eat. And for someone who isn't a huge sweets fan, I could devour so many of these in one sitting. They're especially good dipped in a hot drink (coffee of course!) to bring out the coffee flavor.

Sweetie Pie Honey Bunch

2011-01-29T18:43:00.000-08:00

So, I have this habit of buying sweet potatoes but never eating them. Here's my theory as to why I have developed the first part of this habit: I grew up in a region that is jokingly stereotyped to be the land of meat and potatoes--but of course, I couldn't eat red meat or potatoes. Great. So I was the "weird" kid that ate sweet potatoes instead (and tofu). But I loved them! And since my family was always running from music lessons to dance practice to soccer tournaments, etc., sometimes sweet potatoes were more than welcome as a simple dinner fix. So, sweet potatoes were a staple in my gotta-break-the-midwestern-stereotypes-when-you-have-a-kid-with-a-weirdo-health-diet home. (That's what they called us, probably along with "those hippies down the street".) Anyway, back to the moral of the story, I still love sweet potatoes, hence my compulsive buying of them. However, I always forget about them at the bottom of my fruit/vegetable bowl...the second, sadder part of the habit. This weekend, I decided to fix that when I realized that I had been craving sweet potato gratin for about 2 weeks in a row. Why? I really have no idea, because I've never even had sweet potato gratin...but I was craving it nonetheless.

Sweet Potato, Parmesan and Gruyere Gratin

Ingredients:
Sweet Potatoes
Parmesan
Gruyere
Cream
Salt and Pepper

Directions:
Okay, I'll take the harassment for not using measurements. I was hungry and didn't feel like being a good food blogger. But really, there's no need to have specific amounts for this dish.
Preheat the oven to 400
First, peal the sweet potatoes and slice them into disks. Then, slice the disks into thin strips, like shoestring potatoes.
Place a layer in a casserole dish and place a few small slabs of butter over. Shred a bit over both cheeses on top (it really doesn't need to be covered, just sprinkled over) and season with salt and pepper.
Repeat with another later of all of the ingredients. Pour the cream in, until you can start to see it peaking through the sweet potatoes. You don't want so much that it starts to come to the top of the them though...just enough at least to start covering the first layer. Specific, I know.
Place in the oven, covered with the dish lid or with aluminum foil for an hour. For the last 10 minutes, uncover so that the cheese can brown on top. Make sure that the sweet potatoes are cooked all the way through before pulling it out.
Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

My craving was satisfied! I really loved those two cheeses with the sweet potato. But really, how can you go wrong with sweet potatoes, cream and cheese? You just can't.

My Saturday Morning Cuppa Coffee

2011-01-22T18:27:00.000-08:00

Now that I work at a coffee shop, I've sadly become more addicted to coffee...it really is sad. But delicious at the same time! And at least a great supply of delicious coffee comes with it. However, if I'm going to be running the closing shift and then going home to continue reading for school, I just simply need some artificial liveliness running through my system. It's gotten to the point where all I need for motivation to wake up on Saturday mornings is that beautiful cup of coffee that I know is waiting for me at the farmer's market.

Pachamama Coffee Co-op
At the Davis Farmer's Market

Pachamama is collectively owned by it's 140,000 farmers who ship their beans from Ethiopia, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru--improving the lives of small scale farmers and giving us delicious coffee.

Somehow, this beautiful cup of coffee has some sort of magical power over me to get me out of bed even on cold January mornings and to bike my butt over to farmer's. And I'm not even a morning coffee person let alone a morning person! I first had it a few weeks ago and I was shocked that I had never noticed how awesome this stand was before because really what is so unique about their coffee is that they brew it individually for you as you order. They have this beautiful wooden coffee drip bar where the filters fit snuggly in ceramic holders and your cup sits underneath. As you order, they pour your grinds into the filter, place a cup underneath and pour some boiling water right in. With a few stirs of the grinds, you have your personal cup of coffee ready in minutes.

I think half of the magic of my Saturday morning coffee is watching the process of my coffee being made and then after a few minutes of watching and waiting, finally having that cup in your hand. But the other half is certainly the taste. They usually serve their breakfast blend at farmer's and it's almost like a treat...like chocolate. After the coffee cools down a bit (rather quickly because it's so cold outside), I can taste more and more undertones of cacao. This blend is so smooth and so delicious that I refuse to add anything to it. Yes, I am a black coffee drinker now. Gasp all you like. So I sit with my breakfast sandwich from Fat Face and my wonderful cuppa coffee and I watch through the winter fog at all the hustle and bustle of the market. No wonder it gets me out of bed in the morning...how beautiful is that image?

Side note: Last Sunday, the woman who served me my cup of coffee on Saturday came into the place I work and I was able to repay her with a cup of our roast.

One Fish, Two Fish, Three Fish, Four...

2011-01-17T20:12:00.000-08:00

(The title of this post was inspired by my wonderful roommate, Caitlin. She's so clever.)

Last year, Caitlin and I made one of my favorite dinners--Salmon Cakes, Hot Crash Potatoes and Sauteed Spinach--inspired by the wonderful Miss Sophie Dahl. For some reason (probably because I was having too much fun with Caitlin), I didn't take any photos, so I didn't write a blog post for it...something I've felt lame about ever since. I've had a craving for them for a few days now, so I decided I would finally pick up the ingredients from the Co-op and Farmer's and make them over my 4 day weekend.

Sophie Dahl's Salmon Cakes with Tartar Sauce, Hot Crash Potatoes and Sauteed Cabbage
Inspired by The Delicious Miss Dahl and Miss Dahl's Volumptuous Delights

1 large serving, plus a little left over for your roommates to nibble on.

Ingredients:
For the potatoes:
2-3 small potatoes
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Red pepper powder
Olive oil
For the Salmon Cakes:
1 cup flaked salmon (I baked mine ahead of time with salt pepper and lemon juice)
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon freshly chopped dill
1 red chili finely chopped (I forgot to buy one this time, so I just put in a bit of red pepper powder, but it was way better with the fresh chili when Caitlin and I made it)
2 teaspoons good quality mustard (I used Sierra Nevada Stoneground)
Salt and Pepper to taste
For the Tartar Sauce:
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 small gherkins, finely chopped (a few teaspoons of capers would be a nice addition if you have them)
A small handful of chopped parsley
Juice from 1/2 a lemon.
Salt and Pepper to taste
For the cabbage:
1 chunk of cabbage
Salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:
Bake the salmon ahead of time. Let it cool and flake it.
Set the oven to 400 degrees.
Boil the potatoes in salted water for about 15 minutes, until they are softened all the way through. Once they are softened, drain the water and in a baking pan, lightly crush the potatoes with a fork. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and red pepper powder. Place in the oven at 400 for about 15-20 minutes until they are crispy and browned on top.
Meanwhile, prepare the tartar sauce by mixing all the ingredients. Set aside.
Combine the ingredients for the salmon cakes and form into two patties.
Head two skillets with oil--one for the salmon cakes and one for the cabbage. Place the cabbage in one skillet and season. Saute on either side for about a minute each. Don't let it get too mushy. Place the two patties in the other skillet and cook to brown for a couple minutes on each side.

Serve all together and enjoy!

I don't often make a full meal for myself--sides and all--so this was a real treat to prepare and to eat! I love these cakes because unlike some others, they aren't loaded down with bread crumbs and the salmon is still able to shine through in the dish. The purple potatoes I used were so delicious, especially with the added red pepper powder. They were a lot creamier than I was expecting--almost decadent. I'm also a huge fan of this homemade tartar sauce it goes perfectly with every part of this dish...the cakes, potatoes and cabbage! This was a perfect end to my MLK weekend. I could always do with more time in the kitchen, focused on the delicious smells wafting from the oven and practicing the art of cooking while relaxing my nerves before another week of hectic days and long nights. In honor of the day, I'll leave you with this:

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?' "-MLK Jr.

Mornings in Mom's Kitchen

2011-01-15T15:42:00.000-08:00

As I was growing up, my mom was the queen of breakfast! Whether it was grapefruit, a full on brunch, coffeecake, hot cereal, eggs, pancakes or a fruit salad, it was always ready on the breakfast table to start off our days. For Christmas this year, I got slow cooker and the cookbook, Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook--which isn't a very good title in my case because my mother owns the same cookbook which is how I discovered it and why I love it! After a trip to the Farmer's Market last weekend, where my roommate ate slow cooked steel cut oats, I decided that oatmeal would be the first meal made in my slow cooker. Oatmeal from my mom's slow cooker on freezing cold IL winter mornings is such a beautiful memory and I was so excited to recreate it with my roommates.

Slow Cooked Oatmeal
Adapted from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook

Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
4 3/4 cups water
Pinch of salt

Directions:
Combine the ingredients in the slow cooker and stir. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours (overnight). This could also be done on high for 2 to 3 hours.
In the morning, stir the oatmeal well and set onto warm. Serve with your preferred toppings. That's it!

I topped mine with pure maple syrup, soy milk, cinnamon and brown sugar. The texture of the oatmeal is completely different when it it made in a slow cooker. It is thick and creamy and absolutely wonderful. I can't believe I've been making mine on the stove top all these years! I just simply can't go back to that now. This really brought my back to our kitchen in Illinois and the cold winter mornings when this breakfast got me warm and ready for the day. My whole house enjoyed a warm hearty meal that morning and our tummies were full and happy for hours.

Memories

2011-01-09T00:12:00.000-08:00

Some of my favorite memories from High School involve loads of pasta, garlic bread, occasionally salad, episodes of The Office and the wonderful Alyssa Hook! We were obsessed with making pasta together. I even made her a recipe book with our favorite pastas in it and we still use that book to this day. When we were back for break, we decided to use the old recipe book (which she always packs to bring home on breaks, just in case), and we made one of our favorites--Creamy Baked Fettuccine with Asiago and Thyme, or as we like to call it "The Creme Fraiche Pasta". Alyssa and I both have major issues with fettuccine (we think it's way too thick and creates a completely incorrect pasta to sauce ratio), so we substituted it with linguine and one of our favorite pastas was born.

The Creme Fraiche Pasta
Adapted from Everyday Italian on The Food Network

Ingredients:
1 lb linguine
2 cups grated asiago cheese, plus 1/4
2 (8 oz) containers of creme fraiche
1 cup grated parmesan
1 1/2 tablespoon fresh, chopped thyme leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Bring salted water to a boil and add pasta. Cook until al dente. Drain pasta and reserve 1 cup of the water (this is key).
Meanwhile, combine the 2 cups of asiago cheese, creme fraiche, parmesan, thyme, reserved water and pasta and toss until the pasta is coated. Place in a baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining asiago cheese. Bake until golden on top, around 25 minutes.

Almost too beautiful to dig into.

But we do it anyway.

Homecoming

2011-01-08T13:06:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, I see a recipe and I simply cannot wait to make it. It doesn't even go into my list of recipes to try, and instead, the ingredients go straight onto my shopping list. When I saw the recipe for this noodle and bean soup, that's exactly what happened. It was my first day back in Davis and as I sat watching my fence steam outside, I knew that this dish was exactly what I needed to feel right at home. Plus, who can resist the beautiful sight of beans soaking on the counter all day?

Bean and Noodle Soup
Vaguely adapted from 101 Cookbooks

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 jalapeños, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Freshly ground pepper to taste
8 cups vegetable broth
2 cups dried bean mix of your choice
1 can cooked garbanzo beans, rinsed
Salt
½ pound angel hair or some other thin pasta (I used whole wheat)
3 oz fresh spinach leaves, finely shredded
¼ cup finely shredded cilantro leaves
Juice of one lime (I had to use a lemon, but a lime would be much better!)
For the Toppings:
Very thinly sliced onion
Crème fraiche
Chopped cilantro
Thinly sliced jalapeño
Lime wedges

Directions:
Optional: soak the dried beans over night or even for just a few hours before.
Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and the pepper and cook until they soften. Add the spices and then stir in the broth. Bring to a boil and add the dry beans. Cook until they are just tender, around 1 hour. Stir in the cooked beans garbanzo beans. Add salt to taste and let cook until the beans are heated throughout. Add the noodles at the end to the simmering pot soup and cook until al dente. Stir in the spinach and cilantro. Add a squeeze of lime/lemon.
Serve topped with the thinly sliced onions, crème fraiche, jalapenos and cilantro.

I was right. This was a perfect first meal back at home, all cozy in my warm house before venturing out to bike to work.

Nesting in Davis

2011-01-07T17:36:00.000-08:00

I'm back to school and back to blogging! It's been quite a while, but I'm ready to get back into the whirl. This break was much different than past ones. I had to stay in Davis for a while to work at the coffee shop, and with a lot of my Fresno friends either very busy or out of town entirely, there was a very different vibe--not bad, but different. I did, however, have a wonderful break with my friends that were in town and with my family. I had a few food adventures as well, including gnocchi with my friend's Nonna, a cupcake making party (also at Nonna's house), baked goods galore and tamales with my mom and of course, pasta with Alyssa (some of these dishes will of course be the stars of future posts). After the excitement of break, I wasn't quite ready when I packed my friend's car to come home to Davis last Sunday night. It was not a good feeling. Usually, I am pretty ready to return to Dtown by the end of break, but this time, it just didn't seem right. For me, there's no better way to cure a homesick heart than to nestle into wherever I am. And that is exactly what I did Monday morning.

Monday, I had no classes, so I started the day by waking up around 9 (good time for me!) and taking a trip to TJ's for groceries. I had to fix my pathetically stocked kitchen! Looking in my side of the fridge and only seeing parmesan cheese was not doing it for me. Once the kitchen was stocked once again, I was already starting to feel better, so I sat down to one of my favorite breakfasts--a grapefruit. That's it. Nothing to it. However, I am awfully particular about the way I eat grapefruit. My mom taught me this technique when I was a child and I still do it this way to this day.

I begin by cutting the grapefruit in half and cutting around each section to separate the segments from the walls. It's totally worth it when each section comes neatly out into your spoon and you don't have to spend time digging out all of the good stuff.

And then it looks beautiful like this! Just the site of a beautiful grapefruit like this makes me feel happy. Side note: I use grapefruit scented face wash so I can have feel the joy of this breakfast whenever I wash my face!

The final step is squeezing all of the juice into a bowl and drinking it all. Mmm, fresh squeezed grapefruit juice. It was beautiful to sit at my dining room table and watch out the glass door as the fence in the backyard steamed from the rising sun hitting it's surface. I was all warm and cozy inside with my grapefruit in the beautiful new bowl that my mom got me for breakfast. Everything was starting to feel homey.

Throughout the day, I consumed a lot of tea. Tea always relaxes me and sets my mind at ease, so it felt like a perfect medicine to settle me back into my home.

After breakfast, I spent much of the day unpacking and cleaning the house--kitchen, bathroom, floors, and my own bedroom. Something about getting everything in order made me feel a lot better about being back in my Davis home. Around mid day, I started dinner--a beautiful bean and noodle soup that will be featured in my next post. At night, I went to the coffee shop to close. It was great to be back at work and out of the land of Starbucks (Fresno). By tuesday morning, I woke up ready to go to class and completely excited to be back and starting a new quarter.

"Ong-ones"

2010-11-13T20:45:00.000-08:00

My love of Sofie Dahl has come to a whole new level tonight. I have been wanting to prepare her Grilled Salmon with Baked Onions recipe for ages and tonight was finally the night. Just listen to her description of the onions: "There is something almost puddingy about a slow-cooked onion with the mellow sweetness that the oven coaxes out." Now, insert her melodious British accent and how could you possibly not want to make that and devour it up?

I can't believe that I'm salivating at the mouth over onions--my sworn enemy at the age of about 2 or 3. I used to pronounce them "ong-ones" and oh, I hated them so much! Over the years, I've grown to like them more and more--first in Mexican cuisine, then Thai cooking--and I eventually grew out of my hated, but I never thought I'd be loving them this much!

Salmon with Baked Onions
Adapted from Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights: Recipes For Every Season, Mood and Appetite

Ingredients:
2 medium yellow onions (I threw in a few shallots as well)
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup of lighy cream
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan
2 skinless fillets of salmon
Olive oil
1 lemon

Directions:
Cut the ends of the onions and peel the outside layers off. Boil them in water for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Once the onions are tender, take them out of the water and cut them in half. Put them in a small baking pan or pie pan. Salt and pepper the onions and add them cream, finishing it off by sprinkling the cheese on top. Bake them in the oven for 25-30 minutes.
When the onions have been cooking for about 10-15 minutes, start the salmon. Wash and season the fillets and cover with olive oil and the juice of half a lemon. Heat a grill pan or a skillet and sear the slamon for about 5 minutes on each side, until cooked thoroughly.
Take out the onions once the cheese is bubbling and golden brown. Serve the salmon and the onions together on a plate.

These were my leftovers, ready to go in the fridge after I had already devoured a plate full of salmon and creamy oniony-goodness. I am so head over heels in love with baked onions now and I really can't describe them better than Sophie Dahl, so you're just gonna have to take her word for it. Oh, they are glorious and go excellently paired with a nice fillet of salmon.

How to Cure the Travel Bug

2010-11-13T01:53:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, my heartstrings get pulled and tugged as all I can think about is Greece and how much I miss living there. Good thing my soul is so easily soothed by a delicious meal, full of happy-memory-inducing tastes.

One of my favorite dishes in Greece (that I sadly did not get enough of) was moussaka. This is a casserole-type dish made out of eggplant, ground meat and spices and topped with béchamel sauce. It's oh so hearty and has a wonderful, creamy texture, making for the perfect comfort food.

Moussaka

Ingredients:
1 eggplant
a water and salt solution
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
For the meat:
1/2 pound ground meat (I used ground meat substitute, but lamb or beef are most traditional)
Olive oil
1/2 chopped onion
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Freshly ground pepper and salt to taste
1 can of chopped tomatoes
For the béchamel:
4 tablespoons of butter
4 tablespoons of flour
2 cups of milk
2 egg yolks
A dash of nutmeg
Salt to taste

Directions:
Peal and slice the eggplant into rounds and place in the salt solution for about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, brown the meat in the olive oil. Once browned, add the onions, spices and tomatoes and let simmer for 30 minutes. Set aside once done.
Once the eggplant has been soaked, take it out of the solution and dry it on paper towels. Broil, grill or
sauté the rounds on both sides until somewhat tender.
While the eggplant is cooking, start the sauce. Melt the butter at medium heat and whisk in the flour, letting simmer for a few minutes, without letting the mixture get too dark. Add the milk and whisk over medium while it thickens. Add the nutmeg and salt. Once thickened, temper the yolks by pouring a couple ladles of the sauce into a bowl with the already whisked yolks, whisking the whole time, then pour the egg mixture into the sauce, still whisking until it is all incorporated.
Now it's time to assemble. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Layer the bottom of a 9x9 inch pan with the grilled eggplant. Top with the meat mixture. Cover with half of the cheese and then the béchamel sauce. Finish off with the rest of the cheese. Bake for 30-45 minutes, until the cheese is nicely browned. Take out of the oven and let rest for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

I can't believe that this dish turned out so well. It tasted just like the moussaka I fell in love with in Greece. It's so comforting to be able to recreate my favorite dishes from such an incredible summer. It's a simple way to sooth my travel withdrawals.

Spontaneity

2010-11-12T16:33:00.000-08:00

There are those nights that go like this:

"I have angel hair pasta. That's good, I want this dinner to be easy. Oh look at what I have in the fridge. Might as well throw a bunch of it together. Oh yeah, that looks good too...and that! And that!"

And yeah, sometimes that is just a complete and utter disaster and ends in me wishing I had just ordered take-out. However, sometimes it turns out being your favorite dish of the week! Recently, I had the luck (or was it intuition?) to create a situation like the latter.

Zucchini, Feta and Pancetta Angel Hair

Ingredients:
(for 1)
A handful of angel hair--you know how much you'll eat
2 tablespoons, olive oil
Half of a small zucchini, sliced
A few slices of pancetta, sliced
1/2 of a shallot, sliced
A few slices of feta, crumbled
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to directions.
Meanwhile, heat up a skillet with the olive oil. Add the shallots and a few minutes later, add the zucchini to brown on both sides. Salt and pepper to taste.
Start another skillet heating for the egg. Once the pasta is almost ready, cook the egg to your liking--I enjoy sunny side up or basted. (A poached egg will be great as well!)
Add the pancetta to the skillet with the zucchini and sauté for a few minutes.
Once the pasta is ready, drain and top with the zucchini mixture, the egg and the crumbled feta.

The rich flavor of the shallots, with the saltiness of the feta and the pancetta went so well together, while the wonderful yolk of the egg really brought all of the flavors together into one hearty dish.

Greece Revisited

2010-11-12T16:16:00.000-08:00

This is a very late post, considering that I did this over a month ago! But I still thought I'd share. Since half of the students in my Greece program all live in Davis, we decided to do a little get together once school started--a chance to make some Greek cuisine and reminisce about our summer. Everyone pitched in and brought a few of the ingredients and we had a feast of Greek salad, plenty of feta, figs and olives, and a main course of steak, falafel and chicken souvlakis--our favorite meal that was served in literally every taverna in Greece. I don't have all of my recipes because I went on the fly for most of it and since it's been quite a while now, I can't quite recall what I did.

The Greek Salad was a staple at most of our meals and is so easy to make--cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, olives, feta, olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper so that was very simple to recreate.

For the souvlakis, I marinated the meats in a Greek marinade that consisted of a olive oil and a few spices like oregano, garlic, and dill and I baked them in the oven, then sliced them thinly to place on the souvlakis which are small "sandwiches" made of meat (traditionally pork), tzatziki sauce, tomatoes, onions, and french fries.

I made the tzatziki sauce for the souvlakis by combining sour cream and Greek yogurt, lime juice, salt, pepper, shredded cucumber and lots of garlic.

Homemade tzatziki. I couldn't believe that I pulled if off and it tasted like the real thing!

Not as good as the figs Corinna picked for Lianna but still delicious.

Oh how we love our Feta.

I don't have many photos from this because I was too busy enjoying the company of my friends and catching up on our post-Greek lives. Though we were so ready for a change in our diet after a month in Greece, it was so fun to get back together and attempt to make some of our favorites.

Keeping Warm

2010-11-12T15:42:00.000-08:00

I really love making fall dishes. There are so many autumn dishes that are simple to make but do an incredible job warming up the soul. Another spontaneous TJ's grab: acorn squash. Seriously, I shouldn't be allowed in grocery stores without first taking a pledge to only buy what's on my list. Oh well, my lack of self control always ends in a yummy meal so I'll deal with it.

This is a dish that my mom and dad made all the time when I was a kid. It was within my strict dietary restrictions and it was simple for them to make on those busy nights when they were running my brother and I to our various practices and lessons.

Basic Acorn Squash

Ingredients:
(for each acorn squash)
2 dabs of butter
1 tablespoons brown sugar
a few dashes of cinnamon
a small dash of cloves
a bit of salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions.
Preheat the oven to 375.
Cut the acorn squash in half and spoon out the seeds. Place a dab of butter in each hollowed out section, followed the sugar and spices, half in each side of the squash.
Place the squash in a pan and bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes, until the squash is tender.
Take out of the oven and enjoy!

I love scooping out huge spoonfulls of this wonderful, creamy squash. It's like the equivalent of pumpkin pie for dinner. This was so perfect with a simple side of israeli couscous, topped with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Something about fall makes me adore those simple dishes with one distinct and overwhelming flavor and this is definitely one of those. I wouldn't want to overpower the wonderful taste inherent in the squash with anything too strong. I adore this dish for it's beautiful fall flavors and it's minimal preparation time.

Hello Fall!

2010-11-10T21:52:00.000-08:00

It's official, Trader Joe's is finally open in Davis and it's frighteningly close to my house. Now, I'm smack in the middle of The Co-op and Trader Joe's. Oh dear. Self control is going to come in handy.

I went to TJ's with my roommates the other day and the brussels sprouts were calling my name. As my roommates were unpacking their grocery bags, I started preparing my sprouts, throwing together a few of my favorite tastes to create a perfect fall dish.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pine Nuts and Pancetta

Ingredients:
(I didn't measure anything, throw it all in to your own tastes)
Brussels sprouts (I cut a few in half if they were large)
Olive oil
Pine nuts
Salt
Pepper
Sliced pancetta

Directions:
Toss together all of the ingredients except the pancetta. Roast in an oven at 375 for about 35-45 minutes, until the brussels sprouts are about cooked through. Raise the temp to 400 and add the pancetta. Bake for another 5-10 minutes, until the pancetta and the edges of the brussels sprouts start to get crispy.

Mmm, I can just taste fall in this meal. The brussels sprouts are so warm and comforting and well contrasted by the saltiness of the pancetta and the nuttiness of the pine nuts. It was the perfect throw-together meal for a cold, rainy afternoon.

Halloween Traditions

2010-10-31T16:10:00.000-07:00

This post may be a little late for some of you, but if you're just now carving your pumpkins today, don't forget the most important part--the seeds!

I've carved a pumpkin every year since I can remember. Actually, let me take that back. When I was too young to handle knives etc., I would color a face on a pumpkin with paint markers! My family would always have those stencil kits, and I remember that every year, I would choose more and more complicated stencils, always trying to keep up with my dad and brother. One of my favorite parts of carving pumpkins has always been the roasted pumpkin seeds that my dad would make afterward.

This year, I kept up the tradition, even though I wasn't home to carve with my dad (the only other family member that still carves with me--and he didn't even carve this year so I'm the only one carrying on the tradition). I didn't have a stencil kit, so after deciding on an owl--a homage to Athena and my summer in Greece--I drew it onto my pumpkin and went at it.

Didn't turn out too bad for not having a stencil! Caitlin's boyfriend, Gavin, also carved an owl so we have two of them sitting on our porch at the moment. Next, it was roasting time!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients:
Pumpkin seeds
Olive oil
Worcestershire sauce
Garlic power
Salt
Pepper
*all to taste and depending on how many pumpkin seeds you have.

Directions:
Slowly, sift through the pumpkin guts till you have all the seeds. This takes quite a while. I was so happy that my one pumpkin provided so many seeds. Place the seeds in a collender and wash them with cold water. Pick all the remaining pumpkin gunk out of the seeds and wash them off again.

Once they're all sifted through, boil some water and place the pumpkin seeds in it for about 5 minutes. Drain them and place them in a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients so that the seeds are lightly coated in the seasoning. Place on a cookie sheet and roast in an oven at 375. Every 10 or so minutes, stir the seeds so they can get evenly toasted. I like mine to be nicely golden brown and crunchy so I keep roasting them till I get them to that stage, about 30-45 minutes, depending on your seeds.

These are so delicious and so addicting! They turned out just like they always did when my daddy would make them for me. I would send some to him to show him that I can do it too, but I think I'll have them devoured before I get to that.

Friends and Food

2010-10-17T16:40:00.000-07:00

Shortly after I moved in, two of my high school friends, Staecy and Amanda, came up to Davis to visit me in my new home. We decided to have a night of cooking and since I'd been craving pierogies ever since I wrote my post about my European food adventures, we decided to satisfy my tummy and set out to make these little pockets of goodness. While I don't have exact amounts for the ingredients in the filling (I was too busy having a blast with my girls to write down my expact procedure), it's not really necessary to get that exact.

Potato Pierogies with Cabbage, Pancetta and Browned Onions

Ingredients:
For the dough: (adapted from Gormet on Epi)
3 cups all-purpose flou
1 cup water
1 egg
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt

For the filling: (I made extra so I could have leftovers for potato pancakes)
Several large baking potatos
1-2 cups sour cream
1 1/2 cups sharp white cheddar (or more)
Salt and pepper
For the cabbage:
Several tablespoons of butter
1 head of cabbage sliced thinly
1 onion sliced thinly
1/2 cup chopped pancetta
Salt and pepper

Directions:
First off, get some water boiling for the potatoes. Clean the potatoes and cut them in half if they are large. When the water starts boiling, place the potatoes in the pot and boil until the potatoes are tender, about 8-12 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the ingredients for the dough. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic--about 8 minutes.
Let the dough stand while making the filling. Once the potatoes are ready, drain them and remove the skin. Mash them with a fork till there are no chunks and mix in the sour cream, cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Add as much as you want, I definitely added quite a good amount of sour cream and cheese!
Roll out the dough thinly on a lightly floured surface. This will take a while.
If you've got helpers with you, like I did, get them started on chopping the pancetta, onions and cabbage. Start melting the butter and browning the onions on a medium-low setting. Add the pancetta once the onions have started softening.
Once the dough is rolled out, cut out circles (I used a glass cup to cut through the dough), rerolling the extra dough until it is all cut.
Get some water boiling again--this time, to cook the pierogies.
To construct the pierogies, dollop a bit if the filling in the center of the dough. Moisten the edge of the dough circle with a bit of water (I just kept a cup of water by my side, dipped my finger in it and used it to moisten the dough) and close the circle of dough into a half circle--making sure the dough is pinched together around the sides so the filling won't come out.
To cook the pierogies, add them to the boiling water for about five minutes. Meanwhile, melt a bit of butter in a large skillet (you might need several skillets going if you want to cook them all at once). Once they are al dente, drain them and put them in the skillet to brown. Once they are browned on one side, flip them over to brown on the other side. Note: This step is optional. In Europe, the pierogies I had were only boiled and never browned, but I really like them with a crunchy outer shell.
Meanwhile, turn down the onions and pancetta to a lower heat setting and add the cabbage. Allow it to wilt down and soak up the sauces from the onion and pancetta.
Once the cabbage is nicely cooked and the pierogies are nicely browned, plate and enjoy!

It takes a lot of time (and I had two awesome friends helping me!) but these are really worth it once you get to sit down to enjoy them. The filling is so smooth and tasty, and I love the crunchiness of the outer shell. The cabbage is a perfect side, especially with the hearty, browned onions and salty pancetta. If it's raining where you are, like it is here, this would be the perfect meal to make and enjoy while cozying up against the rain with a few friends.

Who Needs a Real Oceanview When You've Got Potato Pancakes?

2010-10-16T15:45:00.000-07:00

My mom has raved to me about Bette's Diner for years and I've always thought she was exaggerating a bit--although the scone mix she always brought home from their shop was always delicious, even though I'm not a huge fan of scones. When I went to Berkeley with my family for the Davis v. Cal game, I finally had the chance to try this place out. I was not let down!

Bette's Oceanview Diner
1807 Fourth Street
Berkely, CA 94710
510-644-3932

Bette's Oceanview Diner (which doesn't actually have an ocean view, my brother and I were disappointed to find out) is located in a beautiful section of Berkeley CA. The air was so crisp that morning and as we waited for our turn to be seated (there is always a long dinner at Bette's), mom and I wandered around the area, looking at all the small shops. We stopped in a paper store right down the street, where I got two beautiful screen printings on mulberry paper for my new home. When it was finally our turn, we decided on the outdoor seating, right on the sidewalk, where they bring you fleece blankets to keep cozy. After joking around with the amazing host, whom my mom claims is always there, we settled in to look at the menus. There were so many choices and we definitely ended up over ordering, but it was well worth it.

Bette's Potato Pancakes-German style potato pancakes with sour cream and house-made apple sauce! I remember the first time I was urged to eat potato latkes with apple sauce and sour cream--I thought it was an absolutely insane idea but ever since, I've been addicted. These were delicious and were the perfect combo of crunchiness without becoming all dried out on the inside. The apple sauce was delicious as well and reminded me of making apple sauce with my mom every fall as a child.

"California Breakfast"-Poached eggs on ham and toast with a lemon-herb butter sauce, grilled tomatoes and home style potatoes (with an addition of avocado, as per the waitress' suggestion). The eggs we poached beautifully and what goes together better than ham, avocado and eggs? The sauce was to-die-for and brought together all of the flavors wonderfully. The tomatoes were wonderfully ripe and grilled to perfection and really topped off this gorgeous meal.

Salmon and Potato Breakfast-Potatoes and with flakes of grilled salmon, in their lemon-herb butter sauce, served with poached eggs, grilled tomatoes and toast (their special for the day). Wow, was this good. There wasn't a great amount of salmon in the potatoes, but somehow the salmon flavor shined through, brilliantly. The potatoes were cooked so well--perfectly done on the inside, yet crispy brown on the edges--a perfect style for this dish. This was such a hearty breakfast plate, and perfect for the cold morning outdoors.

I'm so happy to say that I have finally made it to Bette's Oceanview Diner. I had a wonderful breakfast with my family, amidst a charming setting and wonderful staff. Now, my stomach is telling me that I have to make my way back there soon.

Home Grown

2010-10-03T22:03:00.000-07:00

The excitement over the last few days? Discovering a fruit tree in the backyard!
The other day, I was in the kitchen and heard a knock on the window. It was Caitlin and she was holding some oblong, green, fuzzy thing. I went outside to discover that the tree outside our kitchen was producing fruit! Weird looking fruit at that.
I went inside and got a knife to cut it open. The inside looked like a really gooey and less seedy fig but the outside was definitely too tough to be any sort of fig.
It smelled delicious! It reminded me of the grapes that we used to grow in the backyard of my childhood home. Those grapes tasted and smelled nothing like the grapes from the store, but I would sit outside and pick them and eat them for hours; resulting in an awful stomach ache.
I took a bite of the inside and was pleasantly surprised. Okay, it's definitely not the best tasting fruit I've ever had, but it was also definitely not bad! It wasn't too sweet and just a tad sour and had a delicate taste.
After calling the troupes on facebook to figure out what this fruit was, and a few google searches later, I had my answer--I have a Pineapple Guava tree growing in my backyard.

On the tree. They kind of look like really big almonds to me.

If I'm good, you'll see some Pineapple Guava jam on here in the new future. If not, maybe I'll try next season.

Cheeseboard #2

2010-10-02T00:39:00.000-07:00

Back to Cheeseboard! Of course. This time, I went with my brother and my dad after the Cal v. Davis game. I needed some cheering up after the incredible loss, and Cheeseboard pizza was just what the doctor ordered.

The Cheese Board Pizza Collective
1512 Shattuck Ave. Berkeley, CA
510-549-3055

I sadly forgot to write down what was on the pizza and it's been a while since I ate it, so I sadly cannot remember exactly what was on it, but I do remember that there were figs, gorgonzola, mozzarella, and arugula. Mmm, delicious!

We ate on the median-per custom. It was dad's first time and it was a successful one at that. It was so rich between the figs and the gorgonzola but it was just perfect for some comfort food especially with a bottle of delicious apple cider that tasted like apples right of the tree in the fall.

Check out my last post from cheeseboard to learn more about the place! Quality ingredients, delicious food and good people.

Calming Down

2010-10-01T21:04:00.000-07:00

The last month has been crazy busy and I've felt like I've had so much on my place and nothing to do all at once. How does that happen? I guess after traveling, many of the things I had to do just felt too trivial or boring to actually consider them to be of any importance. But no worries, I'm out of my post-traveler's-melancholy and I'm back in school (one and a half weeks in). Now that I have a normal schedule, the blogs should be coming out more regularly. The more things I have to do, the more productive I get.

I've been obsessed with zucchini and yellow summer squash lately--probably because I can't resist these beautiful vegetables whenever I go to the farmer's market or the co-op. Browning them in a skillet with a little bit of salt and pepper is definitely my new favorite thing to do. I'm putting it in every dish imaginable! I also had a short lived obsession with orange cherry tomatoes, because there was such a bountiful supply of them at the co-op. Seriously, living so close to this place is going to be the death of me. Or at least my bank account (ignore that, mom and dad)! This meal is such an easy fix on hot nights, when I wanted to be using my new kitchen, but I also feel like exercising little-to-no movement plus having a delicious meal on the table.

Summer Vegetable and Polenta Mess

Ingredients:
A few slices of prepared polenta
A handful of cherry tomatoes
A few chunks of garlic
1/4 a red bell pepper, sliced
A big handful of sliced zucchini and yellow summer squash
A big spoonful of marscarpone (cream cheese, craime fraiche or sour cream works as well)

Directions:
Fry up the polenta with some oil on both sides.
Meanwhile, brown the zucchini and squash. Add the garlic, pepper and finally the cherry tomatoes closer to the end. Season with salt and pepper.
To construct, dollop the marscarpone on the polenta, then top with the sauteed veggies.
Devour.

So simple. So beautiful. Perfect for the end of summer. I love using up all of my delicious vegetables and having it come out this good!

Rainy Day Prose

2010-09-08T22:19:00.000-07:00

My friend just left from a visit and catch-up-session (involving Woodstock’s Cheese Pizza) and now, I’m taking full advantage of an unexpected summer rainfall by laying in bed with my light on dim, surrounded by incense and candles and my windows open wide to let the crisp, cold air flow into my room. I finally have posters on my wall and I strategically placed my favorites at the end of my bed so I could look at them when I’m laying down. One is Chagall’s La Mariee. This is my absolute favorite painting because of the emotions it evokes. I love how romantic it is, with woman floating through the air while she’s being serenaded by a goat. Everything seems so effortless and relaxed. The woman lacks all tension in her body and makes me want to just melt. While the painting has a heavy sense to it, it remains playful and childish. Every time I look at it, I feel something new. I have two favorite quotes about this painting. One is from the film, Notting Hill, when the lead woman, played by Julia Roberts, is discussing her love of this painting and she remarks “happiness isn’t happiness without a violin-playing goat”. In the song, “Painting by Chagall” by The Weepies, one line goes, “all around is sky and blue town; holding these flowers for a wedding gown. We live so high above the ground, satellites surround us”. Another poster on this wall is one that I just got a few days ago in Berkeley from a Japanese paper store. It is screen painted on mulberry paper and is so elaborate that it is hard to explain. It’s a scenery painting with water and hills of flowers, trees, a bridge and flocks of birds flying into the sky. The colors are so vibrant and there is so much going on in the painting that my eyes just flit from section to section, mesmerized by the scene I’m looking at. Lastly, I have a poster from my Dad that he got in Spain of a beautiful Spanish dancer, wearing a beautiful and elaborate dress, with a long, green train. She’s dancing in the midst of bright flowers, in front of a stucco wall. On the bottom of the poster, it says “Gran Festival De Cante y Baile: con la sensacional actuacion de Brittany”. Every time I look at this poster, I want to get up and dance and dance and dance.

La Mariee by Marc Chagall

Well, since that was basically a very round-about way to say that I’m in the perfect blogging mood, I guess I should move onto the food aspect of this post. Here’s a post of the first thing I made in my new kitchen. This was made when the kitchen was still unpacked, so I had to do some digging to even find a skillet. It was a simple breakfast but it felt incredible to be making my own food again. Plus, sometimes the simplest dishes taste the best if they’re made with good, fresh ingredients (on bright green counters).

Egg and Goat Brie Breakfast Sandwich

Ingredients:
1 egg
½ of a bread roll (any kind of bread works, really)
Butter
1 clove of garlic
Brie or any kind of creamy cheese (I used triple cream goat brie)

Directions:
In one skillet, fry the egg.
In another skillet, melt a few tablespoons of butter at medium heat. Cut the bread roll open and place the open part in the skillet, making sure that it’s covered in butter. Fry until the bread is golden. Meanwhile, cut the clove of garlic in half.
When the bread is ready, rub the garlic over the golden part of the bread to impart the flavor. Place a few slices of the cheese on one slice of bread, top with the fried egg and a bit of fresh ground pepper.

If you have any greens that you could sauté up, go for it! That would really add a lot. Or maybe some bacon or ham? This was just thrown together with the ingredients that I had on hand. The orange cherry tomatoes to go along with it and the Pomegranate Blackberry Juice made for a perfect first breakfast in my new place in the midst of mountains of boxes.

New Surroundings

2010-09-07T22:50:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm back from all of my travels, I'm moved into a new place in Davis. I'm living in a house this year, which I could not be more excited about. It's a cute older home, close to campus, with hardwood floors, a fire place, yard space and of course a beautiful kitchen! I love my new kitchen. There isn't much counter space, so we're looking for a table to put in there, but I still love it. It has green/turquoise tile which just adds to the feel of the whole room and it has open shelving! I've wanted open shelving instead of closed cabinets ever since I fell in love with my childhood friend's kitchen that had all open shelves so you could see everything. Something just feels so homey about being able to see a lot of the items that are used for cooking and eating. Why hide it away when you use it so often? It's a part of kitchen and dining life and I just love being able to see everything surrounding me while I'm cooking.

I love hanging pots and pans. One of my favorite kitchens is owned by a family friend and she has an island in the center of her kitchen that her pots and pans hang over. The feeling of being in the midst of all of your cooking supplies makes me feel so cozy and in the cooking mood.

I just love the open shelving. I think it brightens up the whole room. Plus, look at the green tile! How cute is that?

More open shelving and our lovely collection of tea. Hopefully, the table will go in this corner so we're not confined to the small counter.

It's so convenient to have some produce and supplies accessible right by the stove. And again, I love how much it brightens up the room to have apples, square, oils, flour and what-not sitting close at hand.

It feels so good to have a new cooking space. My apartment's kitchen was so tiny and it was so dark too. Light floods into my new kitchen all day long and there are plenty of lights that brighten it up at night. Plus, this kitchen just has a cozier feel. There's something about the way older houses look that make me feel so relaxed and at home. I've only lived here for a week and I already feel like I belong in this new space. I am so looking forward to cranking out a lot of delicious food from this room.

Summer Update

2010-09-06T16:15:00.000-07:00

I'm back! Finally. It's been a long summer (and I still have a few weeks of it left!) I spent 4 weeks of the summer in Greece, 2 weeks traveling through Eastern Europe, and 1 1/2 week in IL amongst various weeks at home in Fresno. Now, I'm finally moved into my new house in Davis and I'm back to cooking my own food (but that is for another post). It was crazy not being able to cook my own food this summer but I was able to try a lot of new foods.

I went to Greece for 4 weeks for a study abroad program. I lived on the Island of Hydra with 19 other people. Hydra is a very small island--2500 people and the village we stayed in is home to about 40-60 people during the summer and only 3 in the winter! I participated in a dramatic arts program, where we learned Ancient Greek Theater, Mask Making, Greek and Egyptian Dance. We lived right on the water and spent our days in class at our house, exploring the island, siesta-ing, eating good food and swimming in the sea. It was a beautiful experience.

Every day, we ate breakfast in our little breakfast pagoda. We had a spread of Greek yogurt, honey, lemon bread, toast and apples. It got a little tiring after a while, but the Greek yogurt was the best I've ever had. Much better than what is sold here.

Breakfast Pagoda at our house in Vlychos.

Every week day, for lunch and dinner, we ate at a taverna called Enalion (Εναλιον). We would go to the taverna at 2 for lunch and 9 for dinner and a Greek salad (or some other kind of salad) and bread was always waiting for us. We had a great variety of entrees there. The owners went back and forth from trying to cater to our "American tastes" with dishes like spagetti, to getting a little too Greek for everyone's liking like the time that we had a dish full of rice topped with all these little fish--scales and all-- in a red sauce. A few times, they served us calamari that they had just fished that morning! Some of my favorite dishes were Mousaka, Greek-spiced meat balls in red sauce, a pasta casserole dish that was similar to Mousaka but not quite the same, and rice-stuffed tomatoes.

Last lunch at Enalion-This was where we sat every lunch and every dinner. It was so nice to eat together at every meal. It kept us close and felt like a family.

Enalion Taverna, Vlychos

Last Dinner at Enalion-and the only meal I took a picture of at our Taverna

Enalion owners and our chefs for a month!

One night, our professor took the whole group out to dinner in Hydra Town (the "large" port town on the island), to a taverna where they served us traditional Greek appetizers. I apologize for the quality of the photos. It was dusk and there weren't many lights around.

Zucchini Cake-I really enjoyed these and even went back to get some more another day. They tasted really nutty for some reason, although I don't think there were nuts in them.

Fried Feta and Greek Salad-Fried feta! FRIED FETA! Oh my goodness this made me so happy. The feta was actually melted and stringy, which I didn't expect. It was salty and warm and stringy and delicious all around.

Sausage in Red Sauce-I really enjoyed this. A lot of dishes were cooked in a red sauce in Greece but this one was spicier to match the spice of the sausage.

Stuffed Pepper-Mmm the pepper had a mild flavor and was well complemented by the feta.

Spiced Meatballs-These meatballs almost tasted like they were spiced with mint! They were delicious with squeezed lime juice.

Pork-This pork was delicious and fell apart nicely.

We had some great dishes and drinks when we would go out on our own. My favorites--Slouvakis, Dolmas, Greek Salad, Cappuccino Freddos, Spanakopitas and Baklava. Here's a sampling of pictures!

Chicken Slouvaki-We ate Souvlakis everywhere and oh my goodness where they delicious! I never got tired of them. I actually never ate a Chicken Souvlaki because I stuck to the traditional Pork Souvlakis but I never got a picture of one of those. The pork in most Pork Souvlakis was so good! It was sliced really thinly and almost tasted like bacon. A Pork Souvlaki consisted of lettuce, tomato, tzatziki sauce which is a yogurt sauce with garlic and cucumber, pork and french fries--yes, french fries--all wrapped up in pita.

Greek Salad-We ate Greek Salad all the time, but I still never got tired of it. Traditionally, it consisted of cucumber, tomato, onion, olives, olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano, topped with a huge hunk of feta. This one also had green pepper which wasn't as common. I think it was the feta combined with the crunchiness of the cucumber and the freshness of the tomato that kept me coming back.

Baklava-So sweet and so delicious! Phyllo die, honey and nuts...but pretty much just honey! I definitely took advantage of this being sold in every bakery.

Meatballs in Red Sauce over Rice-We were served this a few times at our Taverna and at other Tavernas too and I really enjoyed the dish. The meatballs were spiced differently than what I'm used to in a meatball and I really liked having them over rice instead of pasta.

Pasta Casserole?-This was an interesting dish but it surprisingly tasted good. All I could figure out was that it was angel hair pasta in a white sauce baked in phyllo dough. I would never imagine to bake pasta in phyllo dough but it was delicious. The white sauce was mild and creamy and I could taste a good amount of black pepper to spice it up. It went well with the crunchiness of the phyllo dough. Who would have thought?

Cappuccino Freddo-I was obsessed with this drink the whole time I was in Greece. After some searching, I think I understand how it was concocted. It's made with 2 shots of espresso, mixed with a little bit of sugar over ice and topped with frothed milk. I loved the bitterness of the strong espresso, contrasted with the sweetness of just a bit of sugar. The sugar didn't mask up the bitterness of the espresso, like I would expect. Instead, you could clearly taste both. The frothed milk was so much better than whipped cream! It wasn't sweetened and it wasn't too thick. I enjoyed having an Upside Down Cappuccino Freddo, where they would put the frothed milk in the glass first and then top with the iced espresso. I liked this more because it mixed up the milk and the espresso a bit even though the frothed milk would end up moving to the top anyway. I drank so many of these from my favorite cafe, Kiss Cafe.

Dolmas-I was dying for dolmas the whole time I was there. These were so delicious! The rice was still nice and warm and the grape leaves were well marinated and fell apart easily when bitten into.

Greece was such an amazing experience and the food was a huge part of it. Some days the food was a little extreme, but other days, it was simply incredible. After writing this, all I want is it sit down to a huge feast starting with Dolmas, and Greek Salad and Fried Feta, them moving onto a Souvlaki, Mousaka, Meatballs with Rice, and ending with Baklava then washing it down with a Cappuccino Freddo.

After Greece, I flew to Rome and had an evening taking tours by myself before I met up with my travel group to start my tour through Eastern Europe. I had a lot of great food experiences, but I don't have many pictures unfortunately.

The first night in Rome, I had dinner by myself in the Piazza Novona. It was a beautiful view. I was in awe, being in that setting. I called my mom freaking out because it all felt so surreal. It was crazy to be surrounded by so much magnificent history and to be able to just sit there and enjoy Cannelloni and a glass of wine.

Dinner by the Pizza Novona

In Austria, I got to eat the Original Sacher Torte! This Torte was created when Prince Metternich asked his chef to create a special dessert for some important guests. When the chef got sick, sixteen year old Franz Sacher, his apprentice, was in charge. The guests and Metternich loved the dessert, but for a while, no more attention was paid to the torte. Later, Sacher's son took over his practice and perfected the Sacher Torte recipe and began selling it at both Demel and Hotel Sacher. Later on, there was a dispute over who owned the rights to the Original Sacher Torte--Demel or Hotel Sacher. Now, Hotel Sacher serves "The Original Sacher Torte", while Demel serves "Demel's Sacher Torte".

The Original Sacher Torte-The torte has two layers of dense, bitter chocolate cake with an inner layer of apricot jam and covered with dark chocolate icing with a side of whipped cream, made with no sugar.

Demel-Though I stopped by Demel after Hotel Sacher, I did not try their version because I'd already eaten one at Hotel Sacher so I opted for some Gelato instead. I love how you could see the Palace behind the Demel sign.

In Budapest, decided to go traditional and had a huge plate of Gulyás (goulash)! Gulyás is a thick stew, traditionally made with meat, onions, paprika, tomatoes, green pepper and wine. I had beef Gulyás, which was served with csipetke, which are "egg noodles" which seemed more like little tiny dumplings, made by pinching small bits of dough and either adding them to boiling Gulyás or boiling them and then placing them as a side to the Gulyás.

Beef Gulyás-The Gulyás was so good and not really what I was expecting. It had a nice warm spice to it and the beef was cooked well and was very tender. I really liked the csipetke as well. They kind of reminded me of gnocchi. The texture was nice and pillowy and it went well with the beef and the sauce.

In Krakow, Poland, I was super excited to get Pierogies! My roommate, Caitlin loves to eat Pierogies so she got me started on them. Pierogies are these little dumplings made with a delicious, light dough, stuffed with several different types of fillings and often topped with bacon or prosciutto, and green onions or parsley.

Pierogies-These were delicious and filled with potato, onion and cheese. The cheese was nice and strong and the texture of the potatoes was perfect--nice and hearty without being too heavy. I absolutely loved these and could have eaten five more plates of this!

Pierogies #2-I had some more the next day but they weren't quite as good. Here, there are a few filled with spinach, a few filled with meat and a few filled with potatoes and cheese.

This was one of my favorite food experiences of the summer: I was determined in Berlin to find some traditional food. My family is partially German and I feel more connected to that part of my heritage than any other part. Every New Year's Day, my mom makes my family eat mashed potatoes, sauerkraut and either pork or sausage. Now I hate sauerkraut--absolutely hate it. I think it's awful. But I've always been told that it tastes way better the way it's made in Germany so I was so excited to eat some once I got there. After a wild goose chase for a traditional German restaurant, we finally found a great place! A few adorable older German women were running the shop and they let us know what all of their different dishes were.

Currywurst, Mustard, Sauerkraut, and Roasted Potatoes- I decided on Currywurst which is very popular in Berlin. It is a pork sausage that is flavored with curry powder and was delicious with a side of mustard, roasted potatoes and sauerkraut. I was absolutely surprised by how much I enjoyed the sauerkraut. The flavor of the sauerkraut was less pungent than the kinds I've had before and it was a very good side to the potatoes and Currywurst. All together, the sides and the sausage all tasted so comforting and homey. Mmm, now I'm hungry for more!

I had another fun food experience in Holland when we stopped at a small little farm, where the farmers made clogs and cheese. Yes. CLOGS and CHEESE. The Cheese was delicious and was famer-made instead of factory-made. Gouda cheese is a Dutch cheese made from cow's milk. I bought a brick to take home to my family and I learned that this cheese can be kept unrefrigerated for months! If you leave it out for a long time, it will harden into something that resembles Parmesan, but it won't mold and it will still be good. You simply place the part where the casing had been broken down on the counter and cover it with a towel and it will keep well!

Gouda Farmer's Cheese-The cheese had a nice, deep, smooth flavor without being too pungent.

Finally, on the last day, we had a very long driving day from Amsterdam to Calais and then a ferry ride from Calais to Dover and then another bus drive from Dover to London so thankfully, we got a lunch break in Bruges, Belgium and I had a chance to get a Belgium waffle with bananas and homemade whipped cream!

Belgium Waffles-The waffles were the best that I've ever had. They were nice and fluffy and light. I normally don't eat waffles because I don't like how heavy they are but these were nothing like what I'm used to.

This was the best summer of my life and I'm still overwhelmed trying to process all of my experiences. It's so good to finally be back in my own kitchen but I will definitely miss being able to try all of these amazing foods!

Yearning For Some Blogging

2010-05-31T14:51:00.000-07:00

Oh goodness, do I miss my blogs. I just made one of my summer favorites: My Mom's Shortcake Topped with Milk and Rhubarb Compote and it makes me very sad that I don't have a camera to show you all. I'm sure I'll make it again once I have a camera and then I will be sharing it with you all.

In the meantime, I want to share a video with you. Sophie Dahl is quickly becoming one of my favorite food lovers. She is the granddaughter of the childrens' book author, Roald Dahl and a writer and a former model, but she claims her first love to be food. Her cookbook, Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights and her new show, The Delicious Miss Dahl are full of recipes, inspired by her childhood love of food, which was cultivated by her parents' and grandparents' passion for cooking.

Miss Dahl is the same type of food lover that I am--though we lack professional training, the art form we learned from our families and the joy of cooking for those that we love is what inspires us to continue.

Here's a link for a clip of her new show on BBC2. The imagery, her choice of words and the delicate way in which she creates her dishes simply captivate me. Please watch. I hope you enjoy.

Rhubarb and Rosewater Eton Mess--The Delicious Miss Dahl

My Explanation For The Disaster That Is May

2010-05-23T13:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, I feel pretty bad about the lack of posts this month, so let me give all of my explanations as to why my blogging has been an absolute failure this month.

1. For some reason, I am taking 19 units this quarter, the most I have ever taken, AND all of my classes seem to like to give me a billion things to do every week so I have like no time to cook anything more than a basic pasta or stir fry, let alone write a blog.
2. I was sick for 2 weeks (and had a cooking accident that involved polenta and a second degree burn on my wrist that took 2 weeks to heal and in the meanwhile, I was wrapping it every day) which put me behind on my school work and as a result, on my baking and blogging.
3. Last weekend, my camera broke, so even though things have slowed down (relatively so), I cannot take pictures of my food (like the crepes Caitlin and I made last night and this morning). Why not write the blogs without the pictures? I cannot stand food blogs that don't have pictures. I've a very visual person. (If you are too, check out Food Porn Daily.)

I really miss blogging and hopefully I will have a camera again soon and then I can get back into it. In the meanwhile, I'll keep cooking and wishing that I could share it with you all.

Nostalgia-Inducing Sweets

2010-05-12T16:26:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry for the lack of posts lately. I've been fighting off a cold for almost two weeks now, and any time that has not been taken up by sleep has been taken up by studying and classes. Because of that, I have not made much food and I also haven't had anytime to write. I'm starting to feel a little better though, so I thought I'd write a short post.

For easter, I was given a cookbook that I had recently fallen in love with--Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights. This cookbook is organized by seasons, with breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes for each. The photography is beautiful and the dishes are simple but inspired. This is an extremely easy recipe but it makes for a perfect snack. Sophia Dahl says that these british snacks remind her of her childhood and encourage her to cuddle up to a book, "sticky-fingered", while enjoying these little bites of heaven.

Flapjacks
Adapted from Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights

Makes 12 squares

Ingredients:
Butter for greasing
1/4 Cup honey
1/2 Tablespoon molasses
3/4 Stick butter
3/4 Cups rolled oats
1/2 Teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8x8 pan.
In a saucepan, heat the honey, molasses and butter on low heat, until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat and add the oats, and vanilla.
Press the mixture into the pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden. Let cool. While it cools, the liquid will stiffen so that the flapjacks become solid. Once they are solid, cut the squares and enjoy them while they're still warm! Store the leftovers in an airtight container.

As a child I could not eat processed sugars, for health reasons, so all of the sweets my mom and I would make used honey and molasses for their sweetener. Smelling the liquid mixture heating up took me back to those childhood days. To me, molasses and honey will always smell sweeter than any sort processed sugar. Dahl was right, I just wanted to curl up in a blanket and read my favorite books while munching on these warm treats.

After-School-Meal

2010-04-26T16:24:00.000-07:00

The other day, I got home and I wanted to make something simple but super tasty. Here's what I ended up doing.

Easy Tofu and Green Beans

Ingredients:
1/3 brick tofu
A handful of green beans
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 1/2 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon chili garlic sauce (this can be found in the Asian foods section of the grocery store)
Vegetable oil or butter

Directions:
Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil
Cut the tofu into squares and then fry in the the oil or butter (depending on what you prefer. I go back and forth on my preferance) until golden and crunchy on both sides.
Once the water has been brought to a boil, throw in the green beans and cook for about 5 minutes or until they are the crunchiness that you prefer (I like them to be more crunchy than mushy).
Mix the soy sauce, rice vinegar and the chili garlic sauce together. Adjust to your liking.
Once the tofu and the green beans are cooked, place in a bowl and pour the sauce over top. Enjoy!

This dish is easy, healthy and satisfying. What more could you ask for?

Scallop Cravings

2010-04-25T08:09:00.000-07:00

I've been really craving scallops for weeks now, so I was really excited when I saw some at the farmer's market. The guy at the farmer's market sells freshly caught fish so I knew it would be good. I wanted something simple that wouldn't take away from the taste of the scallops. I found this recipe that originally calls for tofu as the protein, but it sounded like it could be perfectly adapted for scallops.

Scallop "Sushi Bowl"
Inspired by 101 Cookbooks

Ingredients:
(for one serving):
1/4 Cup rice
2 Scallops
1 Tablespoon orange juice
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 Tablespoon soy sauce
Butter
1/4 avocado sliced

Directions:
Cook the rice according to the directions on the package.
Mix together the orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, brown sugar, and soy sauce.
Wash and dry the scallops. Season them with salt and pepper. When the rice is almost ready, Melt the butter on medium high heat. Cook the scallops 1-3 minutes on each side, depending on the size of the scallop. They will turn white instead of pinkish and when they are white all they way through, they are ready. When they are almost done, pour a few teaspoons of the dressing over the scallops. Mix the rice with as much dressing as you'd like and top with the scallops and avocado. Drizzle with a bit more dressing.

This was a perfect way to satisfy my scallop craving! The dressing was delicious really pulled together all of the flavors. A perfect, light dinner.

Market Finds

2010-04-24T17:03:00.000-07:00

The Davis Farmer's Market was recently voted America's Favorite Farmer's Market, and for good reason! The Farmer's Market is definitely one of my favorite parts about Davis. It's a fairly large market, with fresh produce from many different local farms, along with seafood, meat, flowers, olive oil, honey, jams, tortillas, cheeses, wine, baked goods, ice cream, popsicles, prepared sandwiches, hot dogs, indian, mexican and middle eastern food...you name it! I'm so happy that the weather is getting nicer out so that it's easier for me to get out to the farmer's market and then once I'm done shopping, I can lay out in the sun and enjoy the beautiful weather. Here are today's finds from Farmer's.

Davis Farmer's Market
Central Park at 4th and C
Saturday 8AM-1PM (Year-Round)
Wednesday 4:30-8:30PM (Spring-Summer)

Strawberries $3 per basket
The woman at this booth added another half of a basket into my paper bag, free-of-charge!

Artichokes $1 for 2 medium sized artichokes
I am so excited to try a recipe with these. I've never made artichokes on my own before.

Asparagus $3.50 for a bunch of thin asparagus
I really prefer the thin asparagus. I'm always afraid that the thicker stalks will be too stringy--yuck.

Scallops $7 (even though the tub says $7.50) for about 7 medium sized scallops
I've been craving scallops for weeks. I really hope these turn out well!

Dark Chocolate with Espresso Beans $2 for a bar
I could NOT resist these chocolate bars. Plus, the stand is run by 7 young girls and all of their profits go to children and environmental charities!

Walnut Bread $3.75 for a loaf
This is one of my favorite loaves of bread that I've found in Davis. Fat Face uses this bread for their grilled cheese.

Cheese curds $5 per tub
I LOVE cheese curds and haven't had them forever. I think they make for the perfect snack food. This place also had ricotta that I was tempted to get, but I didn't know what I wanted to make with it. I'll get it another time.

Eggs $2.50 (I think? Maybe $3.50?) for 6 large (two-yolked) eggs
I'm usually a bit low in iron so I try to eat eggs on a regular basis. Two-yolked eggs should help with that too because the yolks have a lot of iron (and cholesterol, so don't go over board!)

Kiwi $3 per pound kiwi
Mmm, I think kiwi is one of the best fruits to snack on. I usually eat it with the skin on because I like the tartness that it adds and I don't mind the "fuzz". Also, most of the nutrients are in the skin.

If you have a farmer's market close by you, go check it out! They have great finds and food tastes so much better when you get it fresh from the farm/orchard.

Happy Birthday, Caitlin!

2010-04-21T21:53:00.000-07:00

Last week was Caitlin's Birthday! I wanted to make her a birthday cake that resembled the Hungarian Chocolate Cake that she made me for my birthday (which was delicious!) and that her family makes for all their birthdays, but all I knew about it was that it was a chocolate cake and that it had fresh coffee in it. So I went on a search for recipes and found the perfect one! A chocolate cake, made with fresh coffee (but I used espresso), raspberry filling and chocolate ganache frosting! Perfect.

Double Chocolate Layer Cake with Raspberry Filling
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:
For Cake:
3 Ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 Cups hot brewed coffee or espresso
3 Cups sugar
2 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 Cups unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Teaspoons baking soda
3/4 Teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 Teaspoons salt
3 Large eggs
3/4 Cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 Cups well-shaken buttermilk
3/4 Teaspoon vanilla
For Ganache Frosting:
1 pound fine-quality semisweet chocolate
1 Cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 Stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
For Raspberry Filling:
10-ounce bag frozen raspberries, thawed
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoons cornstarch
For an added touch to the filling:
Fresh raspberries

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and grease 2 10x2 inch round pans. Line the bottoms with rounds of wax paper and grease the paper.
Finely chop the chocolate and combine with the hot coffee or espresso. Let the mixture stand. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
In a large bowl. Mix together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another large bowl, beat the eggs with an electric mixer until they are thickened slightly (about 3-5 minutes). Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla and melted chocolate mixture to the eggs, beating until combined. Add the sugar mixture and beat until combined.
Divide the batter between the pans and bake about 1 hour, until a tester can be inserted in the center and come out clean.
Cool the layers completely on a rack. Since I was making this in secret so that Caitlin didn't know, I did not have enough time to let them cool completely and this made frosting very difficult...as you can see from the picture, it does not come out too pretty if you don't let the cake cool. You've been warned! If the layers come out a funny shape at all, you can shape them with a knife.
While the cake is baking, make the frosting and the raspberry filling. To make the frosting, finely chop the chocolate. In a saucepan, bring the cream, sugar and corn syrup to a boil over medium low heat. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate, whisking until the chocolate is melted. Cut the butter into pieces and add to the frosting, still whisking till smooth.
Let the frosting cool in the fridge, stirring occasionally. This will take a while but the cake layers and the frosting should be cool around the same time. If you want to speed up the process, place it in the freezer.
To make the raspberry filling, place the raspberries in a saucepan on medium heat to thaw them. Once they're thawed, mash them with a wooden spoon. Add the sugar and cornstarch and stir until it boils and thickens. Let it cool completely.
To assemble the cake, place the bottom layer on the serving place. Frost the top of the layer with the ganache. Then, spread on a layer of the raspberry filling. Top with the fresh raspberries. Place the second layer on top. Frost the sides and the top and garnish with extra raspberry filling, if desired.

I really wish I had time to make this prettier for Caitlin's birthday, but at least it still tasted good! Hopefully, yours turns out prettier than mine. Remember to let the cakes cool completely! You'll thank me. Otherwise, the frosting will melt and be completely unworkable as you're trying to frost.
I absolutely loved this cake. Caitlin says she's picky about cakes but she claims she loved this one (maybe she's just being nice). If you're looking for a delicious chocolate cake, this is the one to make!

Grilling Out

2010-04-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I attempted red meat for the first time, with the help of my dad. It was a lot harder to bring myself to handle than fish was. We chose a nice Tri Tip Steak. Tri Tip steak is a cut that comes from a Tri Tip Roast and is a great cut for grilling. It is less expensive than some other steak cuts but is still very flavorful, has great marbling and is very tender, when cooked correctly. The marinade I used was meant for a quick marinade--perfect for a busy day.

Quick Marinated Tri Tip Steak
Adapted from Noble Pig

Ingredients:
1/2 Pound-1 Pound Tri Tip Steaks
1/4 Cup grainy mustard (I used Dijon that was not grainy)
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 Teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon hoisin
1 Teaspoon minced garlic
1 Teaspoon minced peeled ginger
1/4 Teaspoon ground black pepper
Salt to taste

Whisk together the mustard, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, hoisin, garlic, ginger, pepper and salt.

Coat all sides if the steaks with the marinade. Cover and chill for 1 hour or longer.

The grilling technique will depend on the size of the steak, the type of the grill and how well done you would like it. We cooked ours away from the flame for about 8 minutes on each side...I'd say? But it's really variable. Ours turned out a little more well done that I had hoped for but they still turned out delicious. The meat was very tender and the marinade was delicious. I love ginger and garlic in any thing and the hoisin, lime and mustard worked wonderfully together. This would be great sliced and placed over a salad.

Tea Time

2010-04-17T20:26:00.000-07:00

My roommate, Caitlin, and I have been wanting to try the new tea room in Davis--Tea List--so we finally did, last week. It was a beautiful day so we spent our lunch hour sitting outside on Tea List's patio, sipping tea and enjoying a good meal.

(I apologize for the low quality of the photos. There was a lot of shade from the leaves of the trees on the patio that made the lighting very splotchy and as a result, the pictures didn't turn out to well.)

Tea List
222 D Street #3
Davis, CA 95616
530-750-2700

Apricot Peach Black Tea Cup $3.25 Pot $5
Caitlin and I were in the mood for a black tea, but also for something that would be refreshing and have a touch of something fruity. This was perfect. The tea was served to us with an hour glass so we would know when to stop steeping the tea leaves.

Chicken Salad Sandwich with Walnuts and Grapes $6.95
I'm very picky about chicken salad but I really liked this one. It was very light and refreshing while still being very flavorful. I usually prefer chicken salad without grapes but they really worked well with the spices in this one.

Side Salad
That came with the sandwich and had mango, strawberries and a house, balsamic dressing. Simple and delicious.

I am embarrassed to say, but Caitlin and I cannot figure out what our dessert was! At the time, I had a hard time understanding what our waitress said was in the cake, but I can't remember anything about it now except that it was delicious--very moist and the perfect end to the meal. So if you go to Tea List and you see something that looks like this, go for it!

I really enjoyed Tea List and Caitlin and I are planning on going back sometime soon for tea service. Keep an eye out for that post!

Food Weekend Post #2

2010-04-16T19:51:00.000-07:00

After the delicious meal in my last post, we stopped by a cupcake place around the corner--Love At First Bite.

Love At First Bite
1510 Walnut Street, Suite G
Berkeley, CA 94709
510-848-5727

Mmm, I've never had a strawberry cupcake before and it was so good! I prefer my cupcakes to be a bit more cakey--dense and moist--and this was a tad too light, airy and dry for my taste but it was still well made and had a delicious favor. The chunks of real strawberry in the frosting really added something.

This flavor was SO good! Again, it was a little too fluffy and dry for me, but the flavors were outstanding. The cake was so lemony and not too sickeningly sweet while the pistachio balanced the lemon perfectly. I could eat these every day.

Though the cake wasn't the texture that I prefer, I really enjoyed the cupcakes from this shop. It was a really quaint little place and you could see the employees in the kitchen, frosting the cupcakes, while the delicious smell of cake and buttercream wafted out front. A perfect end to a day full of food.

Food Weekend Post #1

2010-04-10T13:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, mom came into town on Friday for a visit and to take me home for easter. It was a weekend full of delicious food! After I got out of class on Friday, I took her to Fat Face (of course) and had a delicious meal made up of 3 different sandwiches, a bowl of soup and a salted carmel custard for dessert. Then we stopped next door at Let Them Eat Cake to get a few cupcakes--they had a new one, tiramisu, and it was so tasty! That night, we went out with my roommate, Caitlin, to Katmandu--my favorite place in davis for Indian/Himalayan food. The next morning, we woke up early to go on our next food adventure at the Davis Farmer's Market! We bought plenty of delicious food for our Easter meal and then we settled down to a breakfast sandwich and beignets from Fat Face (yes, they are at the Farmer's Market too!) delicious! I love being able to show my mom around all of my favorite food places when she visits.

Mom eating her dessert at Fat Face.

Then, we set out for Berkeley to have lunch with my brother (and convince him to go back to Fresno with us). We continued our incredible food weekend there by stopping by The Cheese Board Pizza Collective for lunch. The Cheese Board Pizza Collective was born from the original Cheese Board Collective which began as a small bread and cheese shop and was (and is) an employee owned business. They eventually started making pizza a few days a week and it became so popular that along with a new, larger space, they were able to make their pizza sales a full time thing. The 6 members of The Cheese Board Collective searched for new members to form The Cheese Board Pizza Collective and thus it was born. They only serve one type of pizza a day and you can find out the Pizza of the Day by stopping by their website.

The Cheese Board Pizza Collective
1512 Shattuck Ave. Berkeley, CA
510-549-3055

As we waited in the massive line outside the pizzeria, the walls/doors were opened up so we could see the inside of the shop and hear the musicians playing. After ordering our pizza, we took it across the street to the meridian--a tad weird, I know, but this is what you do at The Cheese Board. Despite numerous signs around the restaurant and on the grassy meridian telling people not to, it seems to have become quite the tradition to take your pizza and picnic on the meridian. By the time we left, the whole meridian was completely covered by people eating their delicious pizza. What a tradition!

Tomato with gruyere cheese, onions and fresh herbs

I'm not a huge pizza fan...actually in might be a better description to say that I'm an extremely picky pizza eater. But this pizza was delicious! I'm surprised I was able to stop at 2 pieces and not devour the whole thing in one sitting. The ingredients were simple, but they worked so well together. (Once, my mom went and the pizza had lemon olive oil, caramelized onions, figs and blue cheese! Oh my.) Normally, I really don't like fresh tomatoes on pizza, but somehow they made it work here--I think it was the thinness of the slices of tomato. I can't think of a better lunch than sitting in the grass with the sun shining down and eating a slice of Cheese Board Pizza.

After having our fill of pizza, we ventured over to the cheese and bread part of The Cheese Board Collective to buy a few cheeses for appetizers on Easter. I've never seen so much cheese in one place! The cheese wrapped around the store and you had to take a card and wait to be called by one of the employees. Once you were called, the employees were so nice and would help you decide what you wanted by giving plenty of generous samples.

The Cheese Board Collective
1504 Shattuck Ave. Berkeley
510-549-3183

We ended up buying a triple cream that completely melted and tasted almost like butter and a brie that was much stronger and went perfectly with a nutty bread that we bought from the Davis Farmer's Market that morning. Ever since, I've been wanting a really good cheese, but Safeway's collection just doesn't cut it. I see a trip to the Davis Coop in my near future.

Bringing My Favorites Home

2010-03-29T22:16:00.000-07:00

My three favorite cuisines are Thai, Indian and Ethiopian. These are three cuisines, however, that I am not very experienced at cooking. Over spring break, one of my favorite blogs posted a recipe for green curry and it looked so easy that I just had to try it! Mmm, Thai food made at home is simply perfect.

Thai curry typically consists of coconut milk, curry paste and meat or vegetables. Green curry is one of the hotter curries, but it is also characterized by a sweetness that isn't usually found in other curries.

Green Curry with Shrimp Over Coconut Rice
Adapted from Noble Pig

Ingredients:
13.5 Ounces coconut milk
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 Cups long grain white rice (I prefer white Jasmine rice)
1 Tablespoon green curry paste (This can be found in the Asian section of the grocery store. Make sure you're getting the paste and not an already-prepared sauce...although that could work as a substitute if you want to cut out on time/ingredients.)
1 Bunch of asparagus
A few handfuls of snow peas
1 Pound frozen shrimp-peeled, deveined
Juice of 1/2 lime

Directions:
Bring 2 1/2 cups water and 2/3 cup coconut milk to a boil. Salt and add the rice. Cover and lower the heat to a simmer until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. This should take 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, head the remaining coconut milk over medium heat in a large skillet. Whisk in the curry paste. Stir in the asparagus and cook for 6 minutes. Add the peas and shrimp and cook until the shrimp is done, About 3-4 minutes. Stir in the like juice and season with salt and pepper. Serve over the coconut rice.

I fell in love with this dish! Not only is it very simple, it tasted just like the curry from my favorite Thai restaurants. The coconut rice was so simple but so full of flavor! I don't want to eat regular rice again. This was just too good. I've already make this once again since the first time (without the shrimp though). Substitute the shrimp with tofu or your favorite meat and switch up the vegetables to your liking. Enjoy!

Variations

2010-03-24T09:43:00.000-07:00

Traditionally, risotto is an Italian rice dish, cooked slowly in broth and usually combined with a cheese. The broth and the starch from the rice combine to make a creamy liquid. This recipe is a new variation on risotto, substituting the rice with Cannellini beans. It still has that typical creamy risotto texture and creates the same flavor experience of a simple risotto.

Cannellini and Chard No-Rice-Risotto
Adapted from Green Kitchen Stories

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cup vegetable broth
2 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Large onion (finely chopped)
2 Cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1 Chard cut into small pieces
16 Ounces cannellini beans (rinsed well)
6 Tablespoons mascarpone cheese
1/2 Lemon juiced and zest
Fresh thyme to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Bring the vegetable broth to a simmer over medium heat and then set aside.
In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the chard and 1 cup of the brother. Cook until absorbed. Add thecannellini beans and the rest of the broth. Cook and stir for a few minutes. Add the mascarpone cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest, thyme, salt and pepper.

Mmm! Delicious. It was creamy and rich and very filling. The lemon and the thyme worked together to give the dish a perfect tang. A perfect, simple weeknight meal.

All Wrapped Up

2010-03-23T09:45:00.000-07:00

When my Greek Professor first said that we were going to have a potluck on our last day of class, I knew I wanted to make either Dolmas (stuffed grape leaves) or Spanakopitas. When the grocery store didn't have any grape leaves, I knew I'd be making Spanakopitas--fine by me! I absolutely love these little pockets of heaven.

Spanakopitas
Adapted from The Best Traditional Recipes of Greek Cooking

Ingredients:
1 Onion, chopped
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
3 Eggs, beaten
1 Pound fresh spinach
8 Ounces chunk feta, crubled (it just tastes better when it's not pre-crumbled)
1/2 Cup cream cheese
Freshly ground pepper
Salt to taste
1 Pound thawed phyllo pastry
Olive oil

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375º
In a large skillet, heat up the olive oil and saute the onion until translucent. Add the spinach and cook until wilted.
Meanwhile, combine the eggs, cheeses, salt and pepper.
When the spinach is ready, drain and then add to the eggs and cheese mixture.
Unwrap the phyllo dough from it's box. Lay one sheet of pastry in front of you, lengthwise. Brush the dough with the olive oil and top with another piece of phyllo dough. This part is a bit tough, just because phyllo dough is so fragile. Cut the layered dough into 5 strips from top to bottom.
Place a few tablespoons of the spinach mixture at the bottom of the phyllo dough and roll it up to the top. Repeat this until the mixture is gone. This should make between 25 and 30 Spanakopitas.
Place the pockets on an oiled cookie sheet and gently brush the tops with olive oil. Bake the Spanakopitas until they are lightly browned, 30-35 minutes.

I've been wanting to make these for ages. You really can't go wrong with spinach, cheese and phyllo dough. These actually weren't as hard as I thought they would be. Phyllo dough is hard to work with, but it's doable. And the finished product is just so delicious!

2 Days of Baking

2010-03-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid, my family got all of our bagels from our friend's bagel shop, Bagels and More, in Beloit Wisconsin (the website is currently under construction). Mmm, they were delicious. Because of that, I've become very picky about my bagels. When I saw this recipe for homemade bagels, I was really excited and just had to try them!

Bagels
Adapted from Our Kitchen

Makes 12 bagels

Ingredients:
For the Starter:
1 Teaspoon instant dry yeast
4 Cups bread flour
2 1/2 Cups water
For the Dough:
1/2 Teaspoon instant dry yeast
3 3/4 Cups bread flour
2 3/4 Teaspoons salt
1 Tablespoon malt syrup, molasses, or maple syrup
Optional Toppings:
Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, crispy garlic
Additional Ingredients:
Cornmeal for the baking tray (I used polenta)
1 Tablespoon of baking soda for the water

Directions:
Mix the ingredients for the starter. Make sure they are mixed thoroughly and then cover the bowl and set aside somewhere warm for 2 hours. The starter will rise in that time.
"Knock back" the starter by pushing the air out of it with a spoon. Mix in the ingredients for the dough, reserving 3/4 cups of the flour for kneading.
Knead the dough on a floured surface, adding four as needed. The kneading will take a fair amount of time, about 10 minutes, until smooth.
Cut the dough into 12 even pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. This works better if the dough is a bit wet so dampen our hands or the surface that you are rolling it into a ball on. Place the balls on a tray and let them rest for 20 minutes.
To shape the bales, push your thumb through the center of the ball and then place both thums in the whole and rotate the dough around your thumbs, pushing out a bit to spread the dough. Place the bagels on a try lined with well oiled wax paper. Once they are all shaped, brush the tops with oil and cover them with plastic wrap. Let them rise for 20 minutes or until one can be dropped in a cold bowl of water and will float directly to the top.
At this point, they can be boil and baked but it is much better to place them in the fridge over night to let the flavors and texture develop.
The next day, preheat the oven to 275 degrees and bring a pot of water to boil with a tablespoon of baking soda dissolved inside. Gently place about 3 bagels at a time into the boiling water. Let them boil for one minute on each side. use a slotted spoon to flip the bagels over and to fish them out. of the water. Once they are done, place them on a tray sprinkled with corn meal or polenta. Top with the toppings while the bagels are still wet. I used sesame seeds--my favorite! Repeat with all of the bagels.
Place the bagels in the oven for 10 minutes and then raise the temperature and cook until firm and browned, about 20 more minutes.

Mmm, it was so fun to have fresh-baked bagels. I was a little skeptical of the taste at first, but then I realized that I forgot the sweetener! Opps! They still tasted delicious, but I'm sure they would be much better if I hadn't made that mistake. I'm not going to lie, these are definitely time consuming, but I love having a day full of baking on a slow weekend.

Roll, Roll, Roll It Out

2010-03-21T12:28:00.000-07:00

I've always wanted to try ravioli, so I was really excited when I found this recipe. I decided that I wanted to pair it with a simple tomato sauce that I've been dying to make for quite a while. One day, I was having an adventure at the farmer's market, and while looking for ricotta cheese, I found a vendor selling quark cheese. I tried it and while it was similar to the texture of ricotta (except with a little more moisture), but it had a much saltier and full flavor than ricotta cheese--almost like the taste of cream cheese in the form of ricotta! I was sold. I adjusted this recipe to use quark cheese instead of ricotta and I couldn't be happier. I know quark cheese is harder to find, so if you can't, ricotta would work just fine.

I had a lot of fun making this recipe with my roommate, Caitlin. I'd been dying to make this sauce from our favorite food blog, Smitten Kitchen. It is so simple, you just have to try it, even if you don't have the time to make the ravioli.

I loved how hands-on this was, between rolling out the dough and filling the squares with the dough. It definitely was time consuming, but it's the perfect recipe to make over the weekend.

The result was so exciting. It was so fun to see the ravioli and know that I had made it from scratch. Caitlin and I felt very accomplished.

Four Cheese Ravioli and Tomato Sauce
Sauce adapted from Smitten Kitchen. Pasta dough adapted from Annie's Eats. Ravioli filling adapted from Annie's Eats.

Ingredients:
For the Sauce:
28 Ounces whole peeled canned tomatoes
5 Tablespoons butter
1 Medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
Salt to taste
For the Pasta Dough:
4 Large eggs
1 Tablespoon water, plus more as needed
1 Tablespoon olive oil
3 1/2 Cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 Teaspoon salt
For the Filling:
1/2 Cup quark cheese or ricotta
1/2 Cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 Cup shredded fontina
1/2 Cup shredded parmesan
1 Clove garlic, finely minced
1/4 Teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 Teaspoon dried basil
1/4 Teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 Teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:
Start with the sauce. Place the tomatoes and and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions so that the open ends of the onion are face-down. Once it comes to a simmer, lower the heat to medium-low and keep at a simmer for at least 45 minutes or until your ravioli is ready. Stir occasionally, and work to break up to tomatoes with a wooden spoon. A pastry mixer also works well so smash up the tomatoes.
Combine the eggs, water, and olive oil. Add the flour slowly until it forms a dough. If the dough isn't coming together properly, add more water. Transfer the dough to a works surface. Knead for 2 minutes. Cover with a clean towel and let rest for 20 minutes.
While waiting, in a mixing bowl, combine the 4 cheeses, garlic and spices. Mix well.
After the dough has rested for 20 minutes, it is ready to form. I don't have a pasta sheet roller, so I had to do it the old fashioned way. If you have a pasta roller, you can follow the directions at Annie's Eats. Without a pasta sheet roller, you're in for some work. Roll the dough out as thin as you can get it (on a slightly floured surface). This will take a while, but you want it to be thin or else it will be too tough and will take over the ravioli and be unbalanced with the cheese filling. No need to go to the gym today--this will give you a work out--but the result is so worth it! Roll, roll, roll, and every once in a while, let the dough rest (and your arms) and then roll, roll, roll again. Cut the pasta into squares. Make sure they're big enough to have a good amount of filling in the middle but still enough of an edge to close the ravioli. Mine were about an inch and a half with about a tablespoon of filling in each. Once the squares are cut out, place a tablespoon of filling in the middle of a square, making sure there is an edge, free of filling. Dip your finger in water and lightly brush the edges of the dough, place another square on top and press the edges together to seal. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Boil the ravioli until al dente. This will be between 5 and 10 minutes, depending on how thin you were able to get your dough.
At this point, remove the sauce from the heat, discard the onion and add salt.
Place the pasta into individual bowls and top with sauce.

Wow. The pasta dough's texture was so smooth, the filling tasted incredible and the sauce...oh that sauce! Store-bought ravioli will never be the same. The dough had a completely different texture than store-bought. It was a lot more light, airy and tender. The four cheese filling tasted far different from any four cheese filling I've ever had. The cheeses worked perfectly together and the quark cheese gave it this wonderful tang. This sauce is hands down the best red sauce I have ever tasted. The butter makes it so smooth and the minimal amount of ingredients make it such a clean, simple taste. I had some of the leftover sauce later in the week with some angel hair and it was still just as incredible. If you don't have the time to make the ravioli, at least make this sauce! It is so easy and simply irresistible.

In the Midst of Finals...

2010-03-16T23:22:00.000-07:00

Two finals down, two to go. That means I get rewarded with a blog post! I figured this recipe would be appropriate during finals week because it is a great example of a very quick and easy meal that can be thrown together in the middle of a crazy week--something that really comes in handy when I have 4 huge tests in 4 days.

Fried Rice topped with Crispy Garlic and Ginger
Adapted from Humble Bean, via Mark Bittman in The New York Times, originally a Jean-Georges Vongerichten recipe

Ingredients:
1/4 cup canola oil
3 Tablespoons garlic, chopped
3 Tablespoons ginger, chopped
Salt
1/2 Yellow onion, chopped
6 Stalks green onion, chopped
4 Cups day-old cooked rice (It won't be near as good if it's not day-old! Fresh rice is just too moist to fry. Oh, and I used White Jasmine Rice.)
1 Large egg
2 Teaspoons sesame oil
4 Teaspoons soy sauce

Directions:
In a large skillet, heat up the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they are browned. With a slotted spoon or spatula, take the garlic and ginger out of the oil and place onto paper towels. Salt lightly.
Reduce the heat of the skillet to medium-low and add the onions to the leftover oil (which is now deliciously infused with garlic and ginger). Cook abut 10 minutes, until very tender. Season with salt.
Meanwhile, in a separate pan, scramble the eggs and cook until fairly dry. Mushy eggs and fried rice just don't go together.
Raise the heat to medium and add the rice, eggs and green onions. Cook until the rice is heated up. Add the soy sauce and sesame oil around the edge of the pan. Stir to combine.
Serve the rice topped with a sprinkle of crispy garlic and ginger.

This is my favorite fried rice I've tried. It was very light since the only sauce consisted of a conservative amount of soy sauce and sesame oil. The crispy garlic and ginger were delicious! I was skeptical since you're usually supposed to avoid letting garlic get brown, but the flavor was perfect paired with the rice. This was extremely simple and I was very happy with the result.

For the Love of Food

2010-03-16T00:58:00.000-07:00

A Short Finals Study Break:

"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"
"What's for breakfast? said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"
"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully. "It's the same thing," he said.

Soft Boiled Eggs

Ingredients:
Eggs (they work best if they are NOT fresh)
Salt
Bread for dipping

Directions:
The eggs should be left out until they are at room temperature. (Leave them out for at least 30 minutes beforehand.)
Fill the pan with enough water to cover the eggs, plus a little more. Add a teaspoon of salt. Bring the water to a boil without the eggs.
Once the water is boiling, carefully lower the eggs into the pan using a spoon. When the water reaches boiling point again, reduce the head to the lowest setting so that it is simmering.
If you are using large eggs, cook the eggs for approximately 4 minutes for a runny yolk and 6 minutes for a medium yolk.
If you are using medium eggs, reduce these times by one minute.
Remove the eggs from the water and run them under cold running water to stop the eggs from cooking.
Place the eggs in the eggcup with the smaller end at the bottom. Crack the shell and peel away the top. Dig in with a teaspoon (adding salt if desired).

My dad and I love soft boiled eggs. He introduced them to me when I was young and they remain, to this day, one of my favorite breakfast foods. Sometimes, the simple pleasures are the best. I can't think of a better way to start off my morning.

Happy Saint Patty's Day!

2010-03-13T19:42:00.000-08:00

I really love Saint Patrick's Day. I have so many memories of celebrating it as a kid. I remember all of these movies about leprechauns that I would watch with my family (and I faintly recall being terrified of this one movie that involved a leprechaun and a banshee).

Every Saint Patrick's Eve, my brother and I would construct leprechaun traps in our kitchen. We would prop up bowls and pots and pans with wooden spoons and spatulas, in the hopes of catching a leprechaun. We would lure the leprechaun in with a bits of food and if we caught him, he would grant us a wish, but if we didn't, leprechauns are nice so they'd always leave us chocolate coins. When I moved into my dorm last year, I was shocked to learn that my roommate, Caitlin, also followed this tradition with her family. Needless to say, the two of us still build leprechaun traps.

Every Saint Patrick's Day morning, my brother's, dad's and my milk/soy milk would turn green when it was poured "because we had Irish blood in us", while my mom's would remain white. Our eggs and toast also turned bright green.

This year, I wanted to try and make cupcakes involving classic Irish beverages--Guinness and Bailey's Irish Cream. I was so excited when I came across this recipe from one of my favorite blogs. The Guinness in the cupcakes should bake out, but the Bailey's in the Ganache and Buttercream are fresh. If want to leave out the Bailey's, I would just replace it with milk or cream in the Buttercream Frosting.

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Irish Whiskey Chocolate Ganache and Bailey's Buttercream Frosting.
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes:
1/2 Cup Guinness
1/2 Cup unsalted butter
3/8 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Cup all purpose flour
1 Cup sugar
3/4 Teaspoon baking soda
3/8 Teaspoon salt
1 Large egg
1/3 Cup Greek Yogurt (yogurt or sour cream would work as well)
For the Irish Whiskey Ganache Filling:
4 Ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/3 Cup heavy cream
1 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/2-1 Tablespoon Irish whiskey (optional)
For the Bailey's Frosting:
2 Cups confections sugar (approximately)
1/2 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 Tablespoons Bailey's (homemade is best!)
A few drops of food coloring if desired. (I struggled with this because I don't normally like using food coloring and the color of the frosting was already a really nice cream color, but I finally gave in. Hey, it's Saint Patrick's day!)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 cupcake cup with liners. Melt the butter at medium on the stove and add in the Guinness. Bring to a simmer. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Take off the heat and let cool, slightly.
Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl. In a large bowl, blend the eggs and sour cream together with an electric mixer. Add the chocolate mixture and beat to combine. Using a spatula, fold in the flour mixture to form a batter. Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full with the matter. Bake approximately 17 minutes, until a tester can be inserted and come out clean. Cool the cupcakes on a rack.
Chop the chocolate and place it in a glass or ceramic bowl. Heat the cream to a simmer, on medium-low, and then pour over the chocolate. Let sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. Add the butter and the Irish Whiskey and stir until combined. Let the ganache cool until it thickens. This process can be sped up in the fridge.
If you have a biskmarck piping attachment, you can fill the cupcakes with the ganache with that. If not, cut out a small, 1//2 inch round whole, halfway down into the cupcake and fill it with the ganache with a piping bag and a wide tip.
Whip the butter for the frosting until fluffy. Blend in the Bailey's and food coloring and then slowly add the powdered sugar until it is thick enough. Ice the cupcakes however you please.

These are so tasty! I love the way that Guinness and chocolate go together so well. The chocolate ganache is very tasty, but if you're rushed for time, this is the part that I'd leave out. It adds something, but it's not necessary and the cupcake would still be delicious without it. The Bailey's Buttercream Frosting was outstanding! Mmm, it was so smooth and had a hint of Irish Whiskey without being too overbearing. Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Everything is Better Homemade

2010-03-13T19:11:00.000-08:00

Saint Patrick's Day has always been a big deal in my house. My mom has no Irish blood in her, but my dad does and she's a good sport and celebrates the day with us. I wanted to make some Irish-themed cupcakes for this Saint Patrick's Day, but I figured that I should go all out and start completely from scratch. It's so easy, why not make your own Bailey's?

Homemade Baileys Irish Cream Recipe
Adapted from Cupcake Project

Ingredients:
1 Cup heavy cream
14 Ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 1/3 Cups Irish Whiskey
1 Teaspoon instant coffee
2 Tablespoons Hershey's chocolate syrup
1 Teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Combine all of the ingredients in blender. Blend on high speed for 30 seconds. Store in a sealed container and refrigerate. Shake before using. This should keep for up to 2 months.

Getting Braver

2010-03-07T21:06:00.000-08:00

Confession: in my whole life, the only raw meat I have worked with has been sausage...that is, until yesterday! I've been wanting to work with meat for months but I just couldn't get up the courage to do it. Yesterday, while I was at the farmer's market, I was looking for ricotta cheese. I stopped by one of the cheese places and they didn't have ricotta, but they did have European Style Lemon Shallot Butter. The man said that it was great with any kind of meat, especially fish, so I decided that I would go for it! I went to the fish man at the market and told him that I have never handled raw meat, but that I had gotten the butter and I wanted to make my first attempt. He sold me half a pound of flounder and said to just sauté it with the butter-easy enough. The flounder had been caught the day before and looked great. Quality of the meat is very important to me and another reason why I haven't attempted cooking fish yet-the fish at my supermarket just doesn't cut it for me.

Flounder with Lemon Shallot Butter and Fresh Thyme

Ingredients:
A few Tablespoons European Lemon Shallot Butter
Fresh Thyme
1/2 Pound flounder
Freshly ground pepper and salt

Directions:
Melt the butter in a skillet on medium-high. If you don't have any herbed butter, regular butter will do just fine. European butter is very high in fat content (80-90% instead of 30% in the butter we're used to), which gives it a much different flavor. Because of this, you don't need to use as much of the European butter as you would use normal butter. Add the fresh thyme, pepper and salt.
Meanwhile, wash the flounder in cold water, then dry it and season the fillets on each side with salt and pepper.
Place the fillets in the skillet and cook from 1-4 minutes, depending on how thick the fillet is. Flip the fillets and cook on the other side from 1-4 minutes. When they are cooked completely, the should flake easily and be opaque in the middle.

I still can't believe cooked with raw fish! And it wasn't near as bad of an experience as I thought it would be! The fillets didn't event feel that gross when I was working with them. They almost felt cool. I'm so excited that I can finally use fish. This dish was really satisfying. The butter was so smooth and worked perfectly, paired with such a delicately flavored fish. I see a lot more seafood dishes in my near future.

Way Better than Store Bought

2010-03-07T15:24:00.000-08:00

Everyone in my apartment is pretty obsessed with making quesadillas. It's a staple snack in our house. So when I saw a recipe for flour tortillas, I knew I had to try it. When I saw how simple the ingredients and the process in this recipe were, I was even more convinced. I love that I can make a bunch of these at the beginning of a week and then have them available for snacks the rest of the week.

Flour Tortillas
Adapted from Om Nom Nomnivore

Ingredients:
2 1/4 Cups all purpose flour
2 Teaspoons baking powder
1 Teaspoon salt
2 Teaspoon vegetable oil
3/4 Cup hot milk

Directions:
Heat up the milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir often to be sure not to scold the milk.
Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the vegetable oil and slowly add the hot milk until it forms a ball of dough. Add more milk or flour if needed.
Mix this for a few minutes and then place on a floured surface and knead a couple times.
Divide the dough into 12 balls and roll each ball out into approximately 6" circles. Make sure that they are rolled very thin. The first batch I made, I didn't roll out quite enough and they came out like a mix between Indian Naan and tortillas (they still tasted delicious but they weren't quite tortillas).
Meanwhile, heat up a skillet to medium-hot. Don't add any oil or butter-keep the skillet dry.
One at a time, place a tortillas on the skillet. This part is so fun to watch because the dough starts to form little bubbles all over. Leave the tortilla for 30 seconds and then flip it over and let it cook for another 30 seconds. Repeat until they're all done.

I am never getting store bought tortillas again! These taste so much better and they're so easy to make. They really only take a few minutes. Pair them with some mozzarella cheese and you have a wonderfully simple and tasty snack.

Out of the Kitchen for a Day

2010-03-06T00:48:00.000-08:00

As you have probably noticed, I don't often write posts about the restaurants that I eat at. This is a big area in the foodie blog world, but I tend to stay out of it for several reasons. First off, I am working with a simple point and shoot camera, and while it's great and I've really been getting the hang of using it, it's difficult to take good food pictures with my camera in dimly lit restaurants. Another reason is because I tend to want to just devour my food when I'm eating out, instead of pausing for a second to take some pictures of it. Third, I just love cooking so much that I spend most of my food budget on ingredients to make my own creations instead of eating out!

Yesterday though, when my roommate, Caitlin and I decided that we wanted to go to Fat Face, a restaurant I've been dying to go to, I knew I had to take my camera so that I could let you all know about what was bound to be an amazing meal! Jaymes Luu started out her business serving the much-talked-about popsicles at the Davis Farmer's Market on Wednesdays and Saturdays. She rotates her flavors depending on what is in season and what ingredients are available to her. Often, her ingredients also come from the farmer's market. I love this concept! Buy locally from the Farmer's Market to make your own creation and then sell it right back at farmer's in it's new, delicious form. Her business name has jumped from Pink Rhino to Aisu Pop to Fat Face. Yes, the popsicles are good...no, they're really great-as I said to Caitlin, I don't think I will ever enjoy another popsicle unless it is one of Jaymes' creations-but her newer addition of sandwiches and soups is pure genius. I don't think I could imagine a better lunch in Davis than half a sandwich, a cup of soup and and a popsicle for dessert from Fat Face.

Fat Face
425 L St.-Suite C
Davis, CA
Lunch served Wednesday-Friday 11AM-3PM
Breakfast and Popsicles served Saturday at the Davis Farmer's Market

I immediately fell in love with the location upon stepping foot inside the door. If there was one word that combined the words "quaint", "urban", "minimalist", "homey" and "cozy", I think that could almost sufficiently describe the atmosphere at Fat Face. The kitchen was completely open to the public so that we could see everything that was going on back there. I didn't get a good picture of the seating area because I didn't want to creep on the other patrons, but it was adorable! There were drawings and paintings on the walls of popcicles and pigs which eally added to the homey atmosphere. There was one big table that looked just like a dining room table and had several different groups of people sharing it. To the side of that, there were two, two-person seating areas, where two chairs were situated around a couple milk cartons stacked on each other for a table. Okay, I loved this. Again, I need all of the above words to combine into a single adjective in order to accurately describe the feeling that I have about the fact that I ate at a milk carton table. I took one of the two-person "tables" while waiting for Caitlin to arrive. As I was sitting there, I noticed something kept happening that made me love Fat Face even more-all without even taking a bite of any of Jaymes' food. About half of the people that came into Fat Face, Jaymes and the other employee knew by name. One woman was waiting for take-out and she must have been a regular because the employee asked her her name so that she could remember next time the woman stopped by. I loved this! What a nice, personal touch.

Roasted Winter Squash Soup $4

I've actually been wanting to make a winter squash soup lately, so I was really excited to see it on the menu. Caitlin and I split an order (so what you see in this cup is half of an order of the soup). It was so tasty! The perfect winter soup. It was earthy and almost tasted as though there were some sort of greens in it (though the color makes me think there wasn't). One order of this soup would make for the perfect lunch, but I'm not sure I could step inside Fat Face and not order a sandwich.

Beer Poached Figs, Caramelized Onion, Arugula, Goat Cheese $7 full/$4 half
Okay. This is GOOD. I love figs any way, but figs AND goat cheese? Heaven! Caitlin and I ordered a half of this sandwich and then split that half in half, but if my stomach would have allowed it, I would have eaten about 3 of these without getting tired of it, one bit.

Cold Smoked Salmon, Herbed Cream Cheese, Beets, Onion, Lettuce, Caper Berries $8 full/$5 half

Wow. Jaymes asked Caitlin and I if we had a favorite out of the two sandwiches after we were done. I hesitated before answering because I wasn't sure. At the time, I said "no" because they were both so different that I had a hard time deciding. But upon further consideration, this one takes the cake! The Smoked Salmon was the perfect consistency and the smokey flavor didn't overpower the salmon flavor at all. Likewise, the beets weren't overpowering like I feel that they sometimes can be. Instead, they were the perfect accent to all the other flavors. I'm guessing that the Herbed Cream Cheese had lemon zest in it because I definitely tasted something of the sort. Overall, this was nice and light, but ever so satisfying with the smokiness of the salmon. This was simply an incredible sandwich.

2 halves of 2 half sandwiches and a half cup of soup

Thai Tea and Sweet Potato Popsicle $2.50
The grand finale. What Jaymes is known for! And oh, was it tasty! I really couldn't resist this flavor and I'm very glad that this was the first popsicle I tried from Fat Face. It was far from a disappointment. If you've never had Thai Iced Tea, I'm not sure I can describe it, but I can tell you to get yourself over to a Thai restaurant ASAP to have some (or to Fat Face to have the popsicle) . This popsicle tasted so much like Thai Iced Tea, but the sweet potato cut the sweetness a bit so that it wasn't overbearingly sweet. I am serious when I say that ordinary popsicles will never be the same! It's ALL about Jaymes' popsicles from here on out.

If I had known this morning when I woke up that I would be having such an amazing lunch, I would have jumped out of bed and gotten ready in 5 minutes flat, and I would've been out the door before Caitlin knew what was going on. Splitting the two half sandwiches and an order of soup was perfect and allowed us to have dessert and still not feel overly full. It was an amazing lunch and I highly recommend that anyone from Davis to stop by as soon as you get the chance!

Afternoon Treats

2010-02-28T15:39:00.000-08:00

I recently stumbled upon a picture of a boba drink and I just had to make it! Boba are small, chewy, sweet tapioca balls that are used in Taiwanese bubble tea. The first time I ever had Bubble tea, I despised it! I mean, the tea was delicious but the boba...I thought it was horrible! I've always been someone to have huge issues with consuming food with weird textures and the first boba I ever had really didn't do it for me. It was very chewy and I just couldn't understand why anyone would want to deal with that? At the time, I viewed it as something that was just getting in the way of me enjoying a nice cup of milk tea. Turns out, most of my friends love boba. So we would often go to tea houses and they would all get bubble tea and laugh at me because I would only get tea. About a year ago, I decided to tough it out and try boba again. This time, I loved it! I don't know what it was-if the boba I had the first time was just bad boba or if I had grown into liking the texture-but I really enjoyed boba. Now, I even get cravings for boba quite often. If the boba is good, it isn't overly chewy like I remember my first boba being, and it won't stick to your teeth. Boba can be found at Asian markets and it comes dried and you boil it to create the chewy texture. After it is drained, you mix it with some sort of sweetener. Boba adds an interesting texture and a little extra sweetness to any drink.

The drink I saw recently is called Tahô, and not only does it have boba in it, but it also has silken tofu! Okay, that might sound really weird, I know. When I first saw a picture of the drink, I thought it looked amazing and then I looked at a recipe and saw that it had silken tofu and I was really confused as to whether I should still think it looked amazing or if it was just weird. Well the answer is, it's amazing. Tahô is a common Philippine sweet and is made with silken tofu, boba and a brown sugar simple syrup.

Tahô
Makes 3 servings.

Ingredients:
1 Pound silken tofu
1 Cup dried boba
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Cup water
2 Cups brown sugar

Directions:
Boil water for the tofu. Once the water is boiling, add the tofu and boil for 5 minutes. Once it is done, drain it and split between the glasses.
Boil water for the boba. Add the boba to the boiling water and boil for 5 minutes. Turn the stove down to medium and cover the boba. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Drain and mix with the honey, then split between the glasses.
Boil water for the brown sugar. Once the water is boiling, add the brown sugar and stir until it starts to thicken. I didn't want mine to be too syrupy so I didn't let it thicken too much. Pour enough in each glass so it just comes to the top of the boba.

This was a great treat for a weekend afternoon. It was very sweet so after drinking half, I added a bit of milk to cut down on the sweetness. You could always add less honey if it's too sweet for you.

Baking My Nerves Away

2010-02-27T23:50:00.000-08:00

I really love eating food and I really love cooking food. Cooking relaxes me and puts me in a peaceful state. Baking on the other hand...oh baking! Baking (anything besides bread) stresses me out. And I mean, really stresses me out! I babble on and on and I look at the recipe over and over again before I do ANYTHING...I become a nervous wreck. I get nervous that my measurements will be wrong or I'll beat the mixture too many times or I'll forget it in the oven...there's so many things that could go wrong! But lately, I've been trying to get more used to baking so that one day, it will be natural and become as relaxing to me as cooking. I've gotten to the point where some of my fears have worn off but the nerves are still there and they've turned into more of an excitement.

For my birthday, I went shopping with my mom to get some new cooking and baking supplies. I got some piping materials and I've been dying to use them, so this weekend, I decided to make cupcakes! It was the perfect way to spend a weekend afternoon. I've been really wanting to try a recipe for pound cake cupcakes. It is a "cold oven pound cake" recipe, so you don't preheat the oven and the cupcakes bake at a very low heat. I thought I'd pair it with a buttercream frosting and I went to the store in search of some sort of jam or preserve to spice it up. When I saw the lemon curd, I couldn't resist!

Pound Cake Cupcakes with Lemon Curd Buttercream Frosting
Cupcakes, adapted from Cupcake Project

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Ingredients:
For the Cupcake:
3/4 Cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 Cups sugar
3 Egg
1 1/2 Cups Sifted cake flour or all purpose flour
1/2 Cup milk
1/2 Teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 Teaspoon almond extract
For the Frosting:
1/2 Cup butter at room temperature
1/3 Cup lemon curd
Lemon juice from 1/2 lemon
Lemon zest from 1/2 lemon
1 1/2 Cups powdered sugar
1/2 Teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Cream together the butter and the sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in half of the flour, then half of the milk, then the rest of the flour and the rest of the milk. Beat in the extracts and continue beating on medium-high speed for a few minutes. Fill each of the cupcake liners 3/4 full. Without preheating, place the cupcakes in the oven and then turn the oven on to 275 degrees and bake for 1 hour. I left mine in a couple minutes too long. I wish they hadn't gotten so golden on top. Make sure you watch them carefully! Let them cool completely on a cooling rack before frosting them.

To make the frosting, beat the butter until smooth. Beat in the lemon curd, followed by the lemon juice, zest, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Add more sugar if it needs to be stiffer. This should be able to frost all 12 cupcakes.

I had so much fun piping the frosting for my first time! My first few attempts looked really ridiculous, but I started to get the hang of it after a while. It was hard to apply even pressure the whole time, but with practice, I should get better. The cupcake was delicious! I loved the pound cake recipe. It was a little more dense than your average cupcake, but still moist and delicious. I was really happy with the buttercream too. I'm officially using lemon curd in everything I bake!

Snacktime Really Shouldn't Involve Work

2010-02-25T21:43:00.000-08:00

Okay here it is. My favorite snack. It's nothing fancy, it doesn't take much work and many of you have probably already had this, but I can't help but to stand up on my soap box and advocate for this tasty treat.

Avocado Toast

Ingredients:
1 Piece of bread...or 2 or 3. I just can't get enough.
1/2 avocado per piece of bread...or more or less, depending on your preference.
Butter
Salt

Directions:
Like I said before, this doesn't take much work at all. Toast your bread and spread some butter on top. Mash the avocado onto the toast and top with salt to taste.

Something is so satisfying about this simple snack. The avocado tastes so refreshing and homemade bread makes it even more delectable.

Bread and Braids

2010-02-24T22:41:00.000-08:00

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

Adapted from My Kitchen Addiction, originally from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Cookbook

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons orange juice
1 Cup lukewarm water
2 1/2 Teaspoons instant yeast (or one packet)
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 Cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4 Cup canola oil
1 Teaspoon salt
1 Cup bread flour
3+ Cups white whole wheat flour

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, combine the water, orange juice, yeast and sugar. Stir to dissolve. Make sure it’s all dissolved. Add the yogurt, canola oil, salt and bread flour. Beat the ingredients together vigorously, using a wooden spoon. This helps to start to develop the gluten in the bread flour. Start adding the bread flour, gradual while still mixing with the wooden spoon until the dough pulls away from the bowl and forms a ball. The amount of flour you will need will depend of factors such as humidity. Add enough so that the dough isn’t sticking to your hands. On a floured surface, knead the bread until the dough is smooth (about 6-8 minutes).
Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover it with a damp kitchen towel and let it rise until the dough has doubled in size. This should take about an hour or two. The dough has risen enough when the imprint of your fingers remains in the dough without filling back up.
This is where you take a break and enjoy the leftover Greek yogurt with some honey and berries and a cup of tea.
When the dough is ready, punch it and form it into the shape of a loaf. If you would like to make the braid, take 1/3 of the dough and divide it into 3 strands and create a braid. Place the braid on top of the loaf and tuck in the ends.Place the loaf into a greased loaf pan and cover with the damp towel. Let it rise for another hour.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes and then cover with aluminum foil and bake for another 20-25 minutes.
Let the bread rest in the pan for a couple minutes and then transfer it to a cooling rack. Let cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting a piece.

I was pretty happy with this recipe as sandwich bread. I don’t think it really held up well to just eat a slice by itself but it was delicious as a sandwich, or toast. It was just dense enough to be sturdy without being too heavy.

“Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.” -James Beard

Another Addition to the Comfort List

2010-02-16T14:27:00.000-08:00

Here it is. My mom has been asking for this post for weeks. I made this dish a while back, while I was visiting home and my whole family loved it. My mom has a list of her comfort foods which includes my Macaroni and Cheese, Thai Red Curry, Indian Chana Masala, and now this casserole. So if you're in need of a warm, comforting meal, try this one out!

Arroz Verde al Horno (Green Rice Casserole)
Adapted from Lottie + Doof

Ingredients:
1 Poblano chile, seeds removed
1 Green bell pepper, seeds removed
1/2 Cup fresh cilantro leaves, loosely packed
1/4 Cup Mexican oregano leaves, loosely packed
5 Cloves of garlic
4 Cups vegetable broth
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 Cup chopped onion
2 Cups long grain rice
A few cups of water
1 1/2 Cups grated Oaxaca cheese
1 1/2 Cups grated Manchego cheese
1 Cup heavy cream

Directions:
Place the first six ingredients in a blender and puree. Heat butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for a couple minutes. Add the puree and bring to a boil. Add a couple of tablespoons of salt to taste. Add the rice to the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered. Every few minutes, stir the rice and add water as the broth becomes absorbed. Keep this up until the rice is thoroughly cooked. You don’t want it to have a crunch.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the rice mixture with 2 cups of the cheeses and the cream. If you cannot find these cheeses, they can be replaced by mozzarella or quesadilla cheese. Place the mixture in a casserole dish and cover with the remaining cheese. Bake for 20 minutes and then turn the oven on to broil until the cheese browns on top.

This is a perfect winter casserole. The oregano gives it a really earthy taste and there is just the right spice, while the cheeses give it that comfort-factor.

Simple Staples

2010-02-09T23:06:00.000-08:00

As I’ve said before, I really tried to stay away from pastas last quarter, but I’ve given up on that goal and I’m definitely happy to be back in the world of pasta. This dish, is perfect when I don’t have much time, but I want something delicious. Plus, I usually have all of the ingredients in my fridge and freezer.

Zesty Pasta with Sausage and Greens

Ingredients:
(This is for 1 pound of pasta, but I usually make it by the 1/4 or 1/8 pound.)
1 Pound Angel Hair Pasta
4 Spicy Italian Sausages
1 Cup reserved water
6 Cups fresh spinach
2 Cups edamame
1 Cup parmesan
1-2 Lemons juiced and zested
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:
Bring a salted pot of water to a boil. Once it is boiling, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Before you drain the water, reserved 1 cup of the starchy water. Don’t forget this step! Otherwise, your pasta will be very dry and you'll have to substitute it with olive oil and then you'll just have an oily mess...not appetizing.
While the water is coming to a boil, cook the sausages in a pan with some oil. Cook them on both sides, until they are cooked all the way through, about 10-15 minutes. Cut the sausage up into pieces once it is cooked.
Meanwhile, in a pan with some olive oil, cook the spinach and edamame until the spinach is wilted.
Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and toss so that everything is evenly distributed.

This dish tastes light and fresh with the greens and the lemon but the sausage gives it a certain heartiness. It is quickly becoming my new staple on busy nights when I’m buried under homework and readings. We all have days like that and this pasta can spare you some extra time to get all of your work done, without sparing any deliciousness.

Color My Plate

2010-02-07T12:06:00.000-08:00

I’m a sucker for a beautiful presentation. Especially if it’s easy to achieve! I saw a picture of this salad and immediately decided I had to try it and reading the recipe only gave me more conviction. Yes, this is probably more of a summer recipe, but maybe if you make it, you’ll feel like it is summer and all of the cold and rain will melt away.

Purple Cabbage and Citrus Salad
Adapted from Veggie Wedgie

Ingredients:
1/2 Small purple cabbage
2 Navel oranges, supremed
2 Blood oranges, supremed
1 Avocados
Alfa alfa sprouts (as much as you’d like)
1 Lemon, juiced
3 Tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste

Directions:
Chop the cabbage into shreds. Supreme the oranges by cutting off the ends and the rind and then cutting the pulp out of the membrane. This video will help if you’ve never supremed an orange. Cut the avocado into slices or smaller pieces. Combine the cabbage, oranges, avocado, and sprouts in a bowl and top with the lemon juice, olive oil and salt. Toss and serve

This is such a great alternative to a classic green salad. The colors are exciting and the taste is unique. Purple cabbage is a favorite flavor of mine and combined with the earthy flavor of the sprouts and the bite of the citrus, this salad is definitely a crowd pleaser. I made it a second time and added grapefruit and a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar! Mmm. A perfect meal to brighten up your plate!

And You Thought The Cupcake Craze Was Over

2010-02-05T22:56:00.000-08:00

Yes, I went back. Are you surprised? My previous post about Let Them Eat Cake was certainly not my last.

Let Them Eat Cake
423 L Street - Suite B
Davis, CA 95616
530-750-CAKE

Amy-Winehouse: "Boozy orange cake with a beehive of dark chocolate-orange buttercream." Chocolate and orange! So delicious. This wasn't the best flavor I've had from there, but it was tasty. Seriously Aggies, go check this place out!

Recreating a Favorite

2010-02-02T20:40:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite parts of Davis is all of the cute places to eat…not surprising that my favorite part of my city has to do with food, huh? There’s this one restaurant that I like to frequent, called Bistro 33, which serves Pacific-Northwest inspired cuisine. It’s inside the old City Hall building and has a great outdoor seating area and often has live music. Whenever I go, I make sure to get their Sweet Potato Fries with three choices of dipping sauce: House-Made Peach Ketchup, Malt Vinegar, and Creamy Bleu Cheese. One weekend, a while back, Alyssa visited me and we decided to go to Bistro 33 for lunch and to split the Sweet Potato Fries and an entrée. After asking if it was made freshly in their kitchen, we decided on the Potato Gnocchi with Roasted Butternut Squash in a Gorgonzola Cream Sauce. Oh wow, I can’t even tell you how good it was. The Gnocchi were so light and had the perfect consistency and taste, the Butternut Squash was cooked to perfection and the sauce was so creamy and had just the right bite. A while after I had that dish, I decided to make Gnocchi on my own. What an experience! I wanted to make enough so that I could freeze a lot of it to use later (an easy and tasty meal for a college student, and still home-made!), so I spent around 5 hours one night with my roommate, Melissa, mixing the Gnocchi dough and shaping it into little pillows of deliciousness. It was well worth it though — the result was fantastic. I’d share my recipe with you, but I kind of just mixed two recipes together and played it by ear and thankfully it came out well, but I’m really not sure what I did. Plus, I think you’ll fare better following a real Italian cookbook than anything I could write up. But I do suggest giving it a go. Since I had the home-made gnocchi, I decided that I wanted to try the Bistro 33 entrée. I changed it a bit so it was a parmesan cream sauce instead of a gorgonzola cream sauce, but that is easy to change back…just add in a bit of gorgonzola and there you go!

Gnocchi with Butternut Squash in Parmesan Cream Sauce

Ingredients:
1/2 Pound Gnocchi
For the Butternut Squash:
1 Butternut squash, cut into 1/2 inch squares
1/4 Cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
For the Cream Sauce:
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon flour
1 Cup milk
1/4 Cup parmesan cheese plus more for topping
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix the diced butternut squash with the oil and salt and pepper. Spread it out on a baking sheet and bake until the squash is cooked all the way through but not until is starts to fall apart easily, about 25 to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan. Mix in the flour and whisk together. Add the milk, salt and pepper and continue whisking until the sauce begins to thicken. Once the sauce thickens, add the parmesan and continue stirring.
When the butternut squash is ready, put it in a large skillet on medium-heat. If you don’t have a large enough skillet, use a pot. Then add the sauce and let them cook together.
Cook the Gnocchi according to the package instructions and then add it to the sauce and butternut squash and let cook for a few minutes.
Top with some parmesan cheese before serving.

I was very happy with the result! It tasted very similar to the dish from Bistro 33 but with a little less of a bite, due to my lack of gorgonzola cheese. All of the flavors blended together so well, as did the textures of the creamy sauce, light and smooth gnocchi and the tough butternut squash.

Midterm Therapy

2010-01-31T18:42:00.000-08:00

Okay, I don’t even know where to begin with this one. Last week, I had four midterms! One in every class that I’m taking. So needless to say, I needed a relaxing and enjoyable weekend. I decided to make this recipe that I’ve been dying to make and it was definitely the perfect reward for a long week. What could be better than homemade Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding when your brain has been reduced to mush?

Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding
Adapted from Elizabeth's Edible; originally from Cottage Living

Ingredients:
For the Pudding:
4 Egg yolks
1/2 Cup sugar
1/8 Teaspoon salt
1 Cup milk
1 Cups whipping cream
9 Ounces (2 cups) Chopped Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate
For the Whipped Cream:
1/2 Cup additional whipping cream
2 Teaspoons powdered sugar
1/4 Teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Whisk together the first 3 ingredients until smooth.
Combine the milk and 1 cup of the cream in a pan over medium heat, until hot. Slowly pour this into the egg mixture while whisking continuously.
Return this mixture to the sauce pan and cook over medium-low heat. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens and it coasts the spatula.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the chocolate. Let stand for 10 minutes and then whisk until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Have the plastic wrap directly cover the surface of the mixture. Refrigerate until it has cooled and set. This will take at least 3 hours.
Right before you’re ready to serve the pudding, combine the remaining 1/2 cup of cream, sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Beat at a high speed with an electric mixture until it begins to stiffen. Dollop a spoonful over each serving of pudding.

So smooth! So rich! So simple! I can never eat already-prepared pudding after eating this. I’ve always been on the pudding side of the pudding v. jello debate and I am positive that one taste of this pudding will bring anyone over to my side. I had to control myself to not eat it all by myself—in one sitting!

A Comforting Meal for a Cold, Cold Week

2010-01-22T13:55:00.000-08:00

I tried this recipe a while ago, before I made Polenta from the dried cornmeal for the first time. For this meal, I used the already prepared kind. Though I made this from a log of polenta, I would definitely suggest making the Polenta from scratch like I did in my previous post and letting it set up and then slicing it up to make this dish. You can find the directions in that blog. I would probably make 1/2 cup of dried Polenta to make a good amount for this casserole. I’m sure it would add a much better taste than the already prepared Polenta. But if you don’t have the time or the desire, this recipe comes out great with store bought, prepared Polenta.

Tamale Pie

Adapted from Ezra Pound Cake, originally from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics

Ingredients:

1 15 Ounce can pinto beans with liquid

1 Cup fresh or frozen corn kernels

1/2 Cup chunky salsa

1 Teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 Teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 Teaspoon salt

12 Ounces prepared Polenta

1/4 Cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 Cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x9 baking dish

Drain the beans and mash them with a fork. Add the corn, salsa, cumin, oregano and salt.

Slice the Polenta into 1/4 inch thick pieces. Arrange them in the skillet so that they are overlapping a bit. Spoon the mixture on top and then sprinkle it with the cheese. Top with the cilantro.

Cover it with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes or until the beans and sauce start to bubble. If the cheese doesn’t brown but it seems ready, turn the broiler on for a few minutes until you get the cheese to your liking.

Let it sit for 10 minutes before serving so that all the juices can come together.

This is another dish that is great for cold days. μὲν the polenta and cheese is so comforting δὲ¹the beans, cumin and salsagive it just the right spice. Try it with some sour cream if you want. I’m sure it would be delicious. I am very anxious to try this recipe again with fresh Polenta. If you give it a try, let me know how it turns out. I swear, I could live solely off of Polenta dishes. Enjoy!

1. μὲν...δὲ, pronounced "men...day" is a common term in Attic Greek, which I am in the midst of learning. It is best translated into English as "on the one hand...on the other hand". The phrase is meant to indicate a parallel between two ideas. While writing this post, my brain automatically said "μὲν...δὲ" and when I told my fellow Attic Greek student, she said to go ahead and use it and just add a footnote so that is exactly what I'm doing. I would also like to say that if this were true to Attic Greek, I would have placed the μὲν and δὲ between the article, "the" and the subject (just in case any Attic Greek speakers are out there policing my site). Also, if I were you, I'd go on a google search to find out what my blog's name has to do with my love of Greece and Attic Greek...that is, if you haven't already.

Breakfast or Dinner?

2010-01-21T17:23:00.000-08:00

Last quarter, I kept away from pasta. Pasta has always been my thing, so I wanted to branch out and see if I could go a quarter with barely making any. Plus, if I make a good pasta, I will want to prepare and eat the whole pound in one sitting…not a good thing. This quarter, pasta is looking more and more appealing again, so I’m following my desires and adding a fair amount of pastas to my menu. I saw this one on my favorite food blog a while ago and instantly wanted it! It’s very simple and combines some of my favorite flavors—eggs, bacon, pasta and parmesan! What more could I want in my dinner?

Spaghetti with Bacon, Eggs and Parmesan
Adapted from Noble Pig, originally from Real Simple

Ingredients:
1 Pound of spaghetti
12 Pieces of bacon
4 Eggs
1 Cup parmesan
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat a pot of water with a splash of olive oil and a few teaspoons of salt. Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions. I am not usually a big spaghetti fan unless it's paired with a great red sauce but in this case, spaghetti seemed like the right direction to go and it turns out it was. The thickness and texture of the spaghetti just seems right with the crunchy bacon and the egg. Before you drain the pasta, reserve 1/2 cup of the water. Don’t forget!
Cook the bacon in a skillet on medium-high, until crispy. Don’t cook it till it’s too crunchy and dried out. Drain the bacon on paper towels and then chop it up into small pieces.

Mix the spaghetti with the bacon, 3/4 cup of the parmesan, salt, pepper and reserved water.

Divide the pasta into 4 bowls and top with the extra parmesan and the eggs.

This pasta was a new twist on breakfast for dinner. Eggs, bacon and….pasta? It might look a little weird, but it really is an amazing dish. Simple ingredients, easy preparation, great taste!

My Method of Procrastination

2010-01-21T09:18:00.000-08:00

My roommate, Caitlin, introduced me to this recipe. It calls for raisins, but why would I do that if I could use chocolate chips instead? Chocolate chips definitely trump raisins. Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are my favorite but I’ve never come across such a great recipe. They’re nice and thick and chewy and with good quality chocolate chips, I would devour a dozen in a few minutes…despite my lack of a big sweet tooth. It’s very easy and a great way to procrastinate studying.

My Favorite Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup butter, softened
2/3 Cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 Egg
1/2 Teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 Cup all-purpose flour
1/2 Teaspoon baking soda
1/2 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 Teaspoon salt
1 1/2 Cups rolled oats
10-12 Ounces Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla.
In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ones. Add the oats and chocolate chips.
Chill the dough in the freezer until it is hard (about 20 minutes). Don’t skip this step! They come out with a much better texture if you freeze the dough first.
Scoop the chilled dough onto a greased cookie sheet, two inches apart from each other.
Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, until they are Golden on the edges but not the top.
Let them sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer them to a cooling rack.

If you like oatmeal cookies, you should definitely try these. The brown sugar, cinnamon and bittersweet chocolate chips really compliment each other. Of course, if you like other toppings like raisins, walnuts, craisins, or white chocolate chips, go for it! You will definitely be pleased.

Looking Back

2010-01-20T17:57:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid, I developed a skin condition called Psoriasis. Though it’s not a horrible disease by any means, for a kid it really, really sucked. It causes patches of extremely dry skin that can’t be fixed simply by applying a normal lotion. Though there are medications for Psoriasis, they are pretty rough on your body and must be taken for the rest of your life—not an appealing thought to me and my parents. Instead of starting me on medications, my parents spent a lot of time and energy researching the condition and finding alternative methods to get rid of it. We tried everything! Lotions, shampoos, bath salts, you name it. Finally, they found a book that described in great detail, the causes of the condition and a diet that could help it. This diet was intense! No processed, fried or hydrogenated foods; nothing from the nightshade family (which includes potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant); no red meat; certain foods I could have only on and empty stomach; certain foods I could only have with other food in my stomach; no dairy; a huge plethora of foods to be avoided…the list goes on! It was definitely not a fun diet to follow, but within a week of starting the diet, my psoriasis started disappearing! I was on that diet for 8 years, until my body was able to remain relatively psoriasis-free without it. That whole 8 years, my mom was super-mom. She made all of my food from scratch; read all of the ingredients on any foods that she bought; made food for me to take along to friends' houses because they most likely wouldn’t have anything that I could eat…she was amazing. I think that a lot of my love for cooking comes from that stage in my life because I learned a lot about food and how to prepare everything from only the best of ingredients. Though I no longer need to be on the diet, a lot of my eating habits stem from this diet. One recipe that my mom modified for my diet was just simple guacamole. Still to this day, I much prefer guacamole the way that my mom made it when I was little (no tomatoes or peppers).

My Mom’s Guacamole

Ingredients:
1 avocado
1/2 a cucumber, peeled and diced
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
salt to taste

Directions:
Mash up the avocado and mix in the other ingredients.

This is such a simple guacamole recipe—no bells or whistles—but it is so much better than any other guacamole I’ve ever tasted. The cucumbers add such a great crunch to the dish. Maybe it’s just for nostalgic reasons, but I do really think that this guacamole is fresher and tastier than any guacamole I’ve had with tomatoes, peppers and all the works! Thanks mom.

A Simple Treat

2010-01-20T10:29:00.000-08:00

When I saw this recipe, I couldn’t resist! I immediately wrote the ingredients down on my shopping list and even though it’s freezing in Davis this week, I made one for myself on a slow afternoon.

Toasted Marshmallow Milkshakes
Adapted from Noble Pig (my favorite food blog)

Ingredients:
10 Jumbo marshmallows, plus a few for garnish
3 Cups Old Fashioned Vanilla ice cream
2 Cups milk
1 Tablespoon sour cream

Directions:
Place the marshmallows on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet. Set the oven to broil and place the marshmallows on the top shelf. Watch as the marshmallows toast so that they don’t burn or catch on fire. Take them out once they are golden and let them cool.
Put all of the ingredients in a blender, except the extra marshmallows for garnish. Blend the ingredients until you have the right consistency and the marshmallows are broken up. Pour into glasses, top with marshmallows, and enjoy!

This was so simple, yet insanely tasty! You can taste the toasted marshmallow flavor so clearly. There were little pieces of marshmallow in the milkshake that were still nice and gooey from being toasted! Mmm, so delicious.

Experimenting with Polenta

2010-01-19T20:21:00.000-08:00

I remember falling in love with Polenta the first time I tried it. Something about Polenta is just so different from any other dish. I think its flavor is one of the most comforting flavors out there. Until now, I’ve always just bought it in the prepared logs and fried it and topped it with a sauce (Usually, a spinach and cheese sauce! Mmmm). However, I’ve been wanting for a while to try to make Polenta from the dried cornmeal. Since it’s been cold around Davis lately, I decided that it was a perfect week to make one of my favorite comfort foods.

Parmesan Polenta with Eggs and Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
For the Polenta:
Salt
1 Cup instant Polenta (this will yield leftover Polenta which can be used in my next recipe)
3/4 Cup Parmesan
4 Tablespoons butter
For the Tomato Sauce and Eggs:
Olive oil
1 Onion
3 Cloves of garlic
15 Ounce can of Italian tomatoes or diced tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Tablespoons chopped basil
4 eggs

Directions:
Start the water boiling for the Polenta. When it comes to a boil, add the salt and the Polenta. Stir continuously until it thickens. This should take about 3 minutes. Once it has thickened, add the butter and let it melt. Then add the Parmesan.
Meanwhile, heat up the olive oil in a large skillet and chop the onions. Add the chopped onions to the oil and then mince in the garlic. Once the onions start to soften, add the tomatoes, salt and pepper. Let it all come together for about 5 minutes then add the basil.
Move the tomato mixture to one side of the large pan and then crack the eggs onto the empty side of the pan, without breaking the yolks. Top with salt and pepper and cover with a lid. Check the eggs every few minutes until the yolk is the consistency that you like. I like mine to be runny but for all of the whites to be well cooked (covering it with a lid helps ensure that the whites won't be runny).
Once all of the components are ready, spoon some Polenta into a bowl and top with the tomatoes and a couple eggs and extra parmesan if you want.
Take the leftover Polenta from and place it into a greased 8x8 pan. Place in the refrigerator over night to allow it to set up for future use.

A perfect meal for a cold, rainy day! I made this for my friend, Melanie, while we were "studying". Much better than reading a textbook. Much better.

Rosemary and Parmesan Polenta Chips
I saw Giada make these on the Food Network a few years ago and I have wanted to make them ever since. I searched for the recipe, but with no luck, so I decided to just experiment a bit on my own.

Ingredients:
Left over Polenta (You could make Polenta just for this purpose if you don’t want to make the previous dish. Just follow the directions on the back of the bag to make the Polenta and then put it in a pan and chill it till it is set.)
Olive oil
Rosemary to taste
Freshly grated parmesan to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Take the left over Polenta and gently turn it out of the pan. You may need to urge it a bit by taking a spatula or a knife along the edges. Cut the Polenta up into 2cm x 1.5 inch pieces…approximately. Heat up enough oil in a pan so that it will cover the Polenta slices. To place the Polenta strips in the oil, place them onto a spatula and then lower them into the oil. There is a lot of moisture in Polenta so it will spit out a lot of hot oil. A thorough clean up will be necessary afterward. Let the Polenta strips fry for about five minutes or until they start to become golden brown. When they are ready, take them out and place them on a paper towel to drain some of the oil. Top with rosemary, parmesan, salt and pepper while the Polenta is still hot. Continue frying in batches until all of the Polenta is used.

My roommates and I could not stop eating these! I could barely make them as fast as we were devouring them. They are reminiscent of french fries but so much better! Experiment with the toppings to find what flavors work for you.

Cupcake Craze

2010-01-12T22:48:00.000-08:00

A new bakery opened up in Davis this year, called Let Them Eat Cake. Every time I took the bus to or from campus, I would see a sign advertising their shop. One day, there was a write-up about this bakery in The Aggie. It turns out that the shop is owned by two UC Davis students and their mother. The two girls split their time between classes, studying and running the shop. I was a little jealous. Opening up a restaurant/bakery/cafe has always been one of my dreams. Finally, one day last fall, I decided to stop in with some friends. I was completely floored by how delicious their cupcakes were! They have three cupcakes that they serve every day and then they rotate the rest of their flavors. Since I got back to Davis, this quarter, my roommate and I have been saying we wanted to stop back in and today, we finally did.

Let Them Eat Cake
423 L Street - Suite B
Davis, CA 95616
530-750-CAKE

Illegally Blonde: This is a Vanilla Cupcake with Vanilla Frosting! Sweet and simple and one of their Daily Flavors

Scarlett: This cupcake is one of their Daily Flavors. It is a Red Velvet Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Cheeky-Monkey: A Bananas Foster Cupcake with Rum Infused Cream Cheese Frosting!

Doodlebug: Get-a-load of this one! It is a Honey Cupcake with Lavender Infused Cream Cheese Frosting. Do I need to explain how heavenly it is?

Dubliner: This is another Daily Flavor, for good reason! Guinness Stout Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting...perfection.

If you live in Davis, I highly recommend stopping by. It may be a little out of the way, since it's not downtown, but it's highly worth it! Check out their menu so you know what day they will be serving your favorites. And if you don't live in Davis, come visit me and I'll treat you to a cupcake!

Dabbling in Korean Cuisine

2010-01-10T01:15:00.000-08:00

This weekend, I had the opportunity to see a Master Chef performing in his element. Martin Yan has hosted several successful cooking shows, one of which was recently rated the 4th best cooking show of all time. He has written 30 cookbooks and taught at several Culinary Academies. Most importantly to me, however—he is a Davis Alumnus and a fellow Aggie! He came to Davis this last Friday and gave a cooking demonstration in our Dining Commons. I was in awe while watching him cook his Chinese cuisine! The ease with which he chops and dices and minces is just Godly. He must be close friends with Hestia. I went with my friend, Irvin who also has a passion for cooking and upon leaving, we decided we needed to get together the next day to have a cooking party along with my roommate, Caitlin (although we had to immediately quell our need for good food by having a delicious dinner of Indian food at Kathmandu Kitchen). The next morning, I woke up wanting to try to cook something new—Korean food! I figured a safe place to start would be bibimbap…I mean I’ve always heard it be described as an easy dish, made up of leftovers. I figured it would be a safe starting point. Traditionally, Bibimbap is served as rice, topped with sautéed vegetables, an egg, kimchi (spicy, pickled cabbage), and sliced meat. As long as you have those essentials, you can really just experiment and it will most likely come out beautifully.

Our Bibimbap consisted of a mixture of white rice, brown rice and barley, topped with blanched Edamame and Bean Sprouts, sautéed Spinach, sautéed Chinese Cabbage, Scrambled Eggs, and Tofu, sautéed with Kimchi. The vegetables were cooked with soy sauce, ginger and garlic. The dish was topped with Huy Fong Sriracha (Chinese Hot Sauce), sesame seeds and additional Kimchi, if desired (I say, go for it! That stuff is amazing). If you're not used to Korean food, this may be a little out of the ordinary for you, but as long as you can deal with some spice, you'll love it. Plus, you can add other vegetables you like and take out ones you don't like or change the protein from tofu to chicken or pork. It would also be good with a basted, fried or sunny side up egg. Just take a stab at it and see what comes out!

Macaroni and Cheese Obsession

2010-01-10T00:37:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, my friend Alyssa and I went to the theaters to see Becoming Jane. I don’t know if you’ve seen this movie but for a Jane Austen enthusiast, I found the movie to be horribly depressing and so did Alyssa! We left the theater in a stupor, intent on finding some way to cheer ourselves up. We wandered over to Borders and went straight to the cooking section. Alyssa and I had already shared our love of pasta with each other, so we started looking through a pasta cookbook and in it we found a recipe for Macaroni and Cheese. The picture in the book looked to die for so we wrote down the recipe in our phones, went to the store to get the ingredients and then went home to make the Macaroni and Cheese and spend the night watching uplifting movies. The Macaroni and Cheese worked like magic! We were out of our stupor and hooked on Homemade Macaroni and Cheese. Later on, we both became obsessed with the Macaroni and Cheese from the Whole Foods hot bar. We would go to Whole Foods together every couple of months and eat mounds of Macaroni and Cheese, paired with a Brie, Turkey, Pesto Mayonnaise and Basil Panini on a Croissant and a piece of Chocolate Decadence Cake. One day, we wrote down the ingredients in the Whole Foods Macaroni and Cheese so we could incorporate it into our other recipe. We made Macaroni and Cheese several more times, always adjusting the recipe until we got it JUST RIGHT. This is now one of our all-time-favorite dishes. This week is the beginning of a new school quarter and I wanted to get a few of my friends together to catch up on our breaks and share some delicious Macaroni and Cheese. I actually adjusted Alyssa’s and my fool-proof recipe a bit because I wanted to use white cheddar (a suggestion from a friend) and I ended up going a little cheese crazy and adding more than I normally do. The sauce came out a little grainier than normal, but it was still delicious and ever so satisfying. Here's the non-grainy recipe.

Alyssa and Brittany’s Fool-Proof Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:
1 Pound pasta (I used Campanelle this time, but I really like using Cellentani too. Normal shells or elbow macaroni would do the trick though.)
3 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons flour
3 Cups milk, half-and-half or cream (Go for the good stuff! You know you want to!)
Salt and White Pepper to taste
2 Pinches of nutmeg (This is optional and I know some people don’t like nutmeg but I really believe this dish isn’t worth making without it! It adds so much to the flavor. Be a little adventurous)
1/2 Pound Sharp Cheddar (White cheddar works as well and I added a little Parmesan too. Feel free to experiment with the cheeses. Like Swiss? Go for it!)
1 Cup additional cheese to top
1/2 Cup bread crumbs
3 Tablespoons butter

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Boil water and cook the pasta.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pan on medium heat and then whisk in the flour. Whisk quickly without letting it burn. Add in the milk and whisk the mixture, making sure that all of the butter and flour are mixed in well. Add the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Keep stirring until the mixture begins to thicken. Be careful to make sure it doesn’t start to burn. Turn up the heat to medium-high. No matter how many times I make white sauce, I always feel like it will never thicken. Don't worry-it always does. Once the sauce has thickened, add in the 1/2 pound of cheese and let it all melt into the sauce.
Mix the sauce with the cooked and drained pasta. Pour the pasta into a 9x13 inch pan.
Spread the remaining cup of cheese over the pasta.
Melt the remaining butter and mix with the bread crumbs. Sprinkle over the cheese.
Bake at 350 until the cheese and bread crumbs start to brown. The sauce will begin to bubble and become less liquidy.

I would really make this every week in the winter if I didn’t have any self control. I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I do.

Another Successful Adventure in Baking

2010-01-09T20:21:00.000-08:00

Every Christmas morning, my family has some sort of baked good for breakfast. Since I’ve been working on my baking skills, I decided to try out Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes. I made them the night before and let them rise over-night so they would be ready to bake and frost in the morning.

Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes
Adapted from Pink Parsley, from Beantown Baker, originally from La Fuji Mama

Ingredients:
For the Dough:
1 Packet dry active yeast
1/2 Cup granulated sugar, divided
1 Cup warm milk (approximately 110 degrees)
2 Eggs, room temperature
1/3 Cup butter, melted
1 Teaspoon salt
4 1/2 Cups bread flour
For the Cinnamon Inside:
1 Cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/3 Cup butter softened and spreadable
For the Frosting:
8 Ounce cream cheese, softened
2/3 Cup butter, softened
1 Cup powdered sugar

Directions:
Heat the milk. Dissolve the yeast and 1/4 cup sugar in the warm milk. Let stand for 10 minutes, until foamy.
Mix in the eggs, butter, salt, and the remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Add the flour and mix well, until it forms a ball of dough. Lightly flour a flat surface and knead the dough 5-10 times. Place the dough into an oiled bowl and cover. Let rise in a warm place until the dough doubles in size. This will take anywhere from an hour to 2 hours. Be patient.
After the dough has doubled, turn it out of the bowl, onto a lightly floured surface and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Line your cupcake pans with cupcake liners. If you have cooking spray, lightly spray over the top of the liners. My family doesn’t use cooking spray, so I didn't use any and the cupcakes stuck to the cupcake liners a bit but it wasn’t too horrible.
Roll out the dough into a 12x22 inch rectangle. Spread the butter over the dough, making sure it completely covers it. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the entire rectangle. Roll up the dough. Cut the roll into 24 rolls. Do this carefully without smashing the roll.
To put the rolls into the cupcake liners, you may have to unroll them and re-roll them so they fit better. Don’t worry, it doesn’t make a mess because the sugar is already stuck to the butter.
Cover and let rise. The goal is to have them double again, but mine didn’t and they still rose just fine in the oven. I let mine sit in the refrigerator over night and it worked out just fine.
Meanwhile, cream the cream cheese and butter together and then slowly add the powdered sugar. You can add more powdered sugar if you like your frosting sweeter, but I thought that 1 cup was perfect.
When you are ready to bake the rolls, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake the rolls until golden brown. This will take 8-12 minutes. Let them cool completely and then frost them.

I was very happy with the outcome of these cupcakes. I’m still very intimidated by baking, but I liked this recipe a lot because the dough was very bread-like and I’m very comfortable with making bread. It was a fairly easy recipe and I definitely recommend it! Enjoy.

A Simple Holiday Meal

2009-12-26T16:45:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve was a hectic day in my house! My mom and I spent the vast majority of the day baking cookies and wrapping presents. When it came time to think about dinner, we realized we hadn’t planned out our Christmas Eve menu like we usually do. A busy day, mixed with our lack of preparation led us to throw together a quick meal of whatever we had in the fridge. Despite the way it came about, our Christmas Eve dinner turned out to be simple and scrumptious.

Herb Frittatas Topped with Home Style Potatoes and Goat Cheese

Ingredients:
For the Potatoes:
8 Small red potatoes cut into small cubes
1/3 Cup olive oil
4 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons fresh rosemary
1 Small onion chopped
For the Frittatas:
8 Eggs
4 Tablespoons of a mixture of basil, thyme, marjoram and oregano finely chopped
6 Tablespoons goat cheese
6 Tablespoons milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil
For the Topping:
Goat Cheese

Directions:
First, get the potatoes going. Place them in a microwave safe bowl and toss them with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the microwave until the potatoes start to soften but aren’t falling apart. I set my microwave to the potato setting and set it to two potatoes. This starts them cooking a lot faster than on the stove. Drain the potatoes.
Melt the butter in a skillet at medium-high and add the onion and rosemary. Cook for a few minutes and then add the potatoes. Let the potatoes sit without tossing or stirring them for at least five minutes. This will allow them to brown. Keep them in the skillet, tossing them every five minutes until all of the potatoes have been browned.
Meanwhile, mix together the eggs, herbs, goat cheese, milk, salt and pepper for the frittatas. Heat a small, oiled skillet to medium high. Pour in about 1/3 cup of the frittata mixture into the small skillet and make sure it covers the whole skillet. The mixture will begin to set and when it does, flip it over to cook the other side. Transfer to a plate and keep it in a warm oven. Repeat until all of the mixture is used up.
To serve, top a frittata with the potatoes and then crumble some goat cheese over top.

This dinner was so easy and was really delicious. It’s such an easy meal to adjust to what’s in your fridge. You can change the cheese or the herbs or do away with potatoes all together and top it with whatever strikes your fancy! Enjoy.

Oh There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays

2009-12-23T22:00:00.000-08:00

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: cooking is therapy to me, as is writing. After a rough quarter, I’m ready to get back in the swing of things and return to my blog. Sorry for the unexpected hiatus.

I have been longing for winter break for weeks and now that it’s here, there's nothing more I could ask for than to be right where I am, doing exactly what I'm doing! I’ve spent most of my days with my girlfriends, cooking and baking and just being happy to be near them. My friend, Kaelee, stayed with me for a few days and one day we woke up ready to bake! We made a delicious brunch and invited Alyssa over to feast. Later that day, Alyssa, Kaelee, Staecy (and later on, Christina) and I baked from 4PM to 12AM. Kaelee said she wanted something peppermint-y and as Staecy announced, there isn't enough peppermint for other people to use this winter because we took it all to bake 203948 peppermint desserts. Sorry!

Brunch started out with a simple question-"What do you want...eggs or pancakes?"-so then we started brainstorming and things sort of got out of hand...but in a completely delicious sort of way.

Simple Scrambled Eggs

Orange Muffins with an orange glaze (from the back of Trader Joe’s All Purpose Baking mix)

These muffins were so delicious! Way to go Trader Joe's and Kaelee.

Cinnamon-Banana Stuffed French Toast

This was so simple and so tasty. I made French Toast and while I had that going, I melted butter in a skillet and added bananas, cinnamon and sugar. Then I mixed together some cream cheese with sugar until it was smooth. To serve, I topped the French Toast with the cream cheese mixture and the bananas. So delicious! Sorry for the lack of measurements.

Peppermint Crunch Cookies
Recipe From Two Peas and Their Pod

Ingredients:
2 Cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 Teaspoons baking powder
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1/4 Cup canola oil
4 Ounces 99% unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 Cups granulated sugar
4 Large eggs
2 Teaspoons pure vanilla extract
5 Candy canes-crushed up

Directions:
First combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Combine the oil, chocolate and granulated sugar and blend on medium speed with an electric mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla as the mixer is running. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed. Once everything is combined, place the bowl in the freezer for a few hours or over night.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
When the dough has been chilled, roll the dough into 1 inch balls and roll each ball into the crushed candy cane pieces, so that all sides are covered. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared sheets.
Bake for 10 minutes. The cookies will set up so even though they don’t look quite ready at 10 minutes, they will stiffen up. If you leave them in longer, the cookies will get too hard.

I tried one of these right after they came out of the oven and I didn’t really like them. The next morning, my friends were eating them and saying how good they were and so I tried another and it was so much better! It’s actually a pretty great recipe for easy holiday cookies. I highly recommend them.

Peppermint Meringues with Chocolate Ganache
Adapted from 17 and Baking

The recipe on this blog really gave us a hard time! We didn’t get the meringue to stiffen until the third try. Here is the very adjusted recipe.

Ingredients:
For the Meringue:
3 Large egg whites
1/4 Teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 Cup sugar
1/2 Teaspoon pure peppermint extract (see extract notes above)
Red gel food coloring
For the Chocolate Ganache:
3/4 Cup heavy cream
4 1/2 Ounce semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Directions:
Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and peppermint extract together until it is frothy and then slowly add 1/4 cup sugar while still beating the mixture at a high speed until the mixture thickens. To test to see if the meringue has stiffened enough, take the beater out of the mixture and if peaks form and remain standing, it has stiffened enough. If the peaks fall back down into the mixture, it's not ready.
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and dollop spoonfuls of the meringue mixture onto the paper. With a clean paintbrush, paint stripes of food coloring onto the dollops.
Bake for about 1 hour and 40 minutes. They will be crispy but not brown at all. Let them cool.
When the meringues go into the oven, begin making the ganache. Bring the cream to a simmer. Place the finely chopped chocolate in a bowl and when the cream starts steaming, pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for five minutes and then stir the mixture to make sure all of the chocolate is melted and mixed with the cream. Let the mixture sit at room temperature. It will start to thicken and should be the perfect consistency once the meringues are out of the oven and cooled.
Once the meringues are cool, spread ganache onto the bottom of a cookie with a knife and then top with another meringue to make little sandwiches.

These came out so delicious! We learned that if you leave the sandwiches with the ganache filling for too long, the meringues will absorb the moisture from the ganache and they will be a gooey mess! Good to know. So only prepare the amount of sandwiches that will be eaten at that time. Save the rest of the meringues and the ganache separately—the meringues in an airtight container at room temperature and the ganache in the refrigerator.

Peppermint Patties
Adapted from Erin Cooks

This was so much fun to make! I’d never made candies before, besides peppermint bark, so it just felt really cool to be making peppermint patties.

Ingredients:
For the Peppermint Dough:
1 Egg white
4 Cups powdered sugar plus 1-2 cups for kneading and rolling
1/3 Cup light corn syrup
1 Teaspoon peppermint extract
Cornstarch for dusting
For the Chocolate Shell:
24 Ounces semisweet chocolate chips
2 Tablespoons of shortening (This is optional and I would suggest not using it. All it does is make the chocolate more glossy and considering shortening is ridiculously disgusting, it’s just not worth it.)

Directions:
Beat the egg white with an electric mixer until it is frothy.
Slowly add the powdered sugar while still blending. This will be really, really dry and messy. Think about it-one egg white for 4 cups of powdered sugar! That's a pretty ridiculous wet to dry ratio. The powdered sugar will be everywhere.
Add the corn syrup and 1/2 tsp of the peppermint extract and knead it together until the dough is smooth. Add more powdered sugar until it isn’t sticky.
Dust a flat surface and a rolling pin heavily with cornstarch. Roll out the dough until it is 1/4-1/6 inch thick.
Using cookie cutters, cut the dough into whatever shapes you want. After cutting out the shapes, take the extra dough around the edges and knead it back together and roll it out and cut more shapes. Repeat until there isn’t enough dough left. Place all of the shapes onto a cookie sheet lined with a silpat or parchment paper. Let them sit in the refrigerator for about 45 minutes.
Melt the chocolate chips, the other 1/2 tsp of peppermint extract and the shortening, if you want, in a double boiler over medium heat. Once it’s smooth, turn the heat to low.
To coat the dough shapes with chocolate, it works best to place the shapes on a fork-they will be stiff from being refrigerated-and dip the fork and dough into the chocolate until the shape is completely covered. Lift the dough out, still on the fork, and let the excess chocolate drip off and then set of the lined cookie sheet. This makes a complete mess but is still a lot of fun
Chill the patties for at least 30 minutes on the cookie sheets, in the fridge. Store in containers in the freezer-they taste the best when they’re really cold.

Whew! What a day! A lot of love and a lot of baking. It's good to be back home and it's good to be back in the blogging world! Happy holidays everyone.

Before the Season Ends

2009-09-21T19:22:00.000-07:00

I called my mom the other day to make sure the Zucchini season hadn’t ended yet…thankfully it was not quite over. I got a large zucchini from the farmer’s market so I could make zucchini cakes before the season is over.

Zucchini Cakes
Adapted from Life's Ambrosia

Ingredients:
1 Large zucchini grated
1/2 Cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 Cup bread crumbs
A pinch of ground nutmeg
1 Teaspoon paprika
3 Cloves garlic, minced
1 Egg
Salt and pepper to taste
1-2 Tablespoons olive oil

Directions:
After grating the zucchini, remove the excess water by placing it in a colander and pressing on the zucchini with paper towels.
Mix all of the ingredients, except olive oil.
Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Once heated, add patties by scooping a spoonful and flattening it into a circle on the pan. Cook until golden brown. About 3-4 minutes per side.

My first set were too soggy so I added some more bread crumbs. I paired it with an easy salad with green apple, avocado, parmesan cheese and lettuce and a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. It tasted light and refreshing but was still satisfying and fulfilling. Enjoy!

Making use of Everything.

2009-09-21T19:14:00.000-07:00

Caitlin had two peaches that were getting too soft. I had frozen berries…what to do? Fruit crisp of course! Definitely the best thing to make when you have lots of fruit and nothing to do with it.

Peach and Berry Crisp
1/2 Cup oatmeal
1/2 Cup brown sugar
1/4 Cup flour
1/2 Teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 Cup butter
2 Peaches peeled and cut in slices
1 1/2 Cup berries (we used raspberry and blackberry)…or however much you want really
Honey to taste

Combine the oats, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Add the butter slowly until the mixture is crumbly. Put the peaches and berries in an 8x8 baking pan and cover with as much honey as you want. Add the mixture on the top and more honey if desired.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until the juices from the berries start to bubble along the edges and the topping looks crispy.

Using My Bread

2009-09-21T13:59:00.000-07:00

I made a lot of sandwiches this week with my loaf of homemade bread. Here are a few.

Croque Madame
Adapted from Kiss My Spatula

Ingredients:
2 Slices homemade bread
4 Ounces cheese (I used cheddar because it was what I had on hand)
A few slices of good quality ham
Butter
1 Garlic clove, sliced in half
1 Egg
Salt
Pepper

Directions:
Butter the bread and cover with cheese and ham on the butter-free side. Cover with the other slice of bread, butter side out. Grill in a Panini-maker-type-appliance or on a skillet until both sides are golden brown and the cheese is melted.
Meanwhile, make an egg either basted, sunny side up or fried. I like mine basted because the yolk is still runny but there’s no gooey white part left. To do this, crack your egg in a greased skillet without breaking the yolk. Season the egg with salt and pepper and add a few tablespoons of water to the skillet and cover with a lid for a few minutes till there is a white film covering the yolk but the yolk is still runny.
By this time, the sandwich should be ready. Take it off the grill and rub the garlic over the warm bread on both sides. Top with the egg and enjoy.

Cheddar and Apple Sandwich
Adapted from Real Simple

Ingredients:
2 Slices homemade bread
Spicy-brown mustard
Thinly sliced cheddar
Several pieces of thinly sliced green apple

Directions:
Spread the mustard on the slices of bread and top with the remaining ingredients and sandwich between the slices of bread.

Another variation of this sandwich is to use a bit of sour cream instead of mustard and then to grill it in a Panini press or on a skillet. This way was so good. I was inspired by a crepe that I get from Crepeville that has cheddar, green apples, sour cream and nutmeg. I didn’t add nutmeg to this sandwich but it would probably be delicious!

Domesticity Day

2009-09-13T22:16:00.000-07:00

Right now, I’m sitting at my kitchen table, surrounded in candle light and pleasant smells. When I woke up this morning, I dubbed the day as “Domesticity Day”. As Jane Austen puts it “There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort”. I feel like I’ll have a lot of these days this year. So I made the schedule for my holiday: Mixed Berry Fool for breakfast, Bread for the afternoon and General Tso’s Tofu for the evening (interspersed with listening to music, cleaning, watching movies and chatting with friends). I’m waiting for my bread dough to rise for a second time so I thought I’d take this chance to start my post.

I really don’t know what fool is…I’ve never really heard of it. I also didn’t follow the recipe accurately A) because the quantities were in grams B) because I didn’t have a sieve to strain the berry seeds out—I don’t mind seeds anyway. This is a perfect breakfast though. Honey has become one of my new favorite ingredients. Here’s my version of the dish

Mixed Berry Fool with Honey
Adapted from Greedy Gormand

Ingredients:
(for a single serving)
1/2 Cup frozen frozen raspberries and black berries, thawed
2 Tablespoon honey
1 1/2 Cup Greek-style natural yoghurt or plain yogurt
1/4 Cup granola, crushed biscotti, crushed cookie or crunchy cereal—any thing that is tasty and gives a good crunch.
Extra honey for topping

Directions:
In a blender or food processor, blend the berries and honey until they are smooth.
In a bowl, mix the berries with the yoghurt. The proportions don’t really matter to me…make it how you like it—more or less yoghurt.
Spoon the yoghurt mixture into a serving glass and top with as much honey as you want and whatever you want to give it a crunch.

What a perfect start to my lazy day. Nice and refreshing. After my breakfast, I got ready for the day and headed back into the kitchen to make bread. I grew up making bread from scratch with my mom and brother and I’ve always loved the process but it has been many years since I’ve made any and I’ve never made it from scratch on my own—though I have made it many times in the bread machine. I absolutely love the feel of bread dough in my hands. I prefer to mix all of the ingredients and knead the dough with my hands—it looks so perfect when it’s in the mixer and I can’t resist my urge to pull it out and do it on my own…so I do. The day has been full of many calls to mom: “How warm should the water be to mix with the yeast and sugar? It says 105-115.. how do I know what that is!?”, “Can bread loaf dough be made into rolls?” etc. Overall the process has been so relaxing. Mix the dough, knead the dough, let the dough rise, clean the kitchen, relax by candle light, deflate the dough, shape the dough, let the dough rise again, sit down to write my blog…I love it. Currently, the dough is rising for a second time and I am so eager to put it in the oven. Baking bread is definitely a test of patience—it smells so good! Can’t I eat it now?

I just put the bread in the oven…now time for another 35-45 minute wait while I sit and enjoy a glass of farmer’s market apple juice.

(Somewhat) Julia Child's White Bread
Adapted from Une Gamine dans la Cuisine, Originally from Juila Child

Ingredients:
2 1/2 Cups water (105-115 F)
1 Tablespoons active dry yeast
1 Tablespoons. sugar
7 Cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoons salt
1/4-1/2 Cup unsalted butter softened

Directions:
Pour 1/2 cup of the water into a large bowl and mix with yeast and sugar till it looks foamy. Let it sit for 5 minutes until creamy. Add the rest of the water and 3 1/2 cups of the flour into the mixer with the dough hook (If you have one). Mix slowly until blended.
At this point it got hard for me to use the mixer. I don’t have much experience with them and they kind of freak me out. We don’t have a dough hook…as far as I can tell so it got hard to mix with a normal hook. I took the dough out and did the rest of the mixing by hand.
Add the rest of the flour until the dough comes together. (If it doesn't add a tbsp of flour at a time till it does.) Add salt and mix for 10 minutes (or do half in mixer and half kneading) till dough is smooth and elastic.
Now add butter 1 tbsp at a time (dough may come apart, but mixing will pull it back together). The butter needs to be at room temperature for this to work.
On lightly floured surface, shape the dough into a ball then place in a large buttered or oiled bowl. Turn dough so it is completely coated in the oil and then cover in plastic for 45 minutes to an hour at room temperature, till it has doubled in size.
Butter 2 loaf pans. Make sure they are buttered well! Deflate the dough, cut in half and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out into a rectangle.
With the short end facing you, fold the dough into thirds like a sheet of paper to go into an envelope, creating a roll. Pinch the seam closed, and pinch the ends enough so it will fit in the loaf pan. Drop in the loaf pan seem side down, and repeat OR…..
Make a set of rolls. Cut the remaining dough into nine even sized pieces. Do the same rolling technique you did with the bread loaf with each individual piece. Place them in rows in an 8x8 or 9x9 pan.
Cover the loaves with buttered plastic wrap and allow to rise again in a warm place (80°F) for 45 minutes, until they double in size.
Preheat the oven to 375°F and put the rack in the center of the oven. Bake for 35-45 minutes until they are honey brown.
Immediately turn out of pans onto a rack to cool. I was so nervous that my bread wouldn't come out or that it wouldn't be strong enough and it would break but everything went smoothly.
I like to melt a little bit of butter over my bread when it comes out.

The smell of the bread in the oven was completely irresistible. I don’t think I’ve ever been more satisfied by anything I’ve made than I was when I took the first bite of my bread.

After a day in the kitchen baking, it is time to make some dinner for myself. I have never actually cooked tofu or many Asian dishes but I definitely enjoy them so I might as well attempt my own. This General Tso’s Tofu looked delicious to me.

General Tso's Tofu
Adapted from Grumpy's Honeybunch

Ingredients:
For the Tofu:
1 Brick extra firm tofu
3-4 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 Tablespoon oil
For the Sauce:
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
3 Tablespoons Hoisin
3 Tablespoons white vinegar
3 Tablespoons Ketchup
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1/2 Cup water
1 Tablespoon. Sesame oil
6-8 Green onions, sliced
3 Tablespoons fresh ginger finely chopped
Hot pepper flakes
Prepared rice to serve with (Jasmine is my favorite)

Directions:
Squeeze the excess water out of the tofu by placing it between a bunch of paper towels and then pressing a pan over it to squeeze everything out. Let it sit like that for 20-30 minutes.
In the meantime, mix together the first 6 ingredients and the
While waiting for tofu to be squeezed dry, mix together the first 6 ingredients of the sauce along with the hot pepper flakes and set aside.
Cut the tofu into desired sizes. Coat lightly with cornstarch and fry in the oil until browned and crispy. Remove and set aside
Wipe the pan clean and then add sesame oil, green onions (reserving some for garnish) and chopped ginger (mmm). Fry for about 1 minute. Add the sauce mixture and bring to a boil and then simmer for about 3 minutes. Add the tofu back into the mixture. Coat the tofu completely. Serve with rice, garnished with extra green onions.

I am so happy with how this turned out! It’s definitely a new favorite. My holiday was a success and now I’m looking forward to making plenty of sandwiches with my bread and having some delicious leftover tofu.

First Roommate Dinner

2009-09-11T14:47:00.001-07:00

I moved into my new home last Monday. I absolutely love my apartment. My parents and Alyssa came to help me move in and I couldn’t have done it without them. I am definitely surrounded by a lot of people that I love and care about. I am living with three girls that I lived with last year. We get along really well and living together again only seemed natural. It was so nice unpacking all of the kitchen supplies and organizing the kitchen so that it would flow nicely and knowing that this would be my kitchen.

Tuesday, I went shopping with my roommates to get the staples—flour, rice, spices, honey, sugar, vinegar, etc. It felt so good to have a well stocked cupboard with all of the supplies to make delicious food. Tuesday night we had our first roommate dinner something that we want to make a monthly event. Our menu: Lemon Crème Fraiche Gratin, Autumn Apple Pear and Goat Cheese salad with Pecans, and Chocolate Covered Strawberries. It was so much fun using our new kitchen. It’s small and definitely meant for one person to function normally in it but we’re all comfortable with each other so it was fine maneuvering around each other. Melissa started making her salad while I did dishes and watched. Hillary and Caitlin stepped in once Melissa was done and made their incredible dessert. Once people were out of the kitchen, I took over. The pasta I made is one of my new favorites. Over the summer, Alyssa and I got together to make pasta and I was in the mood for something with Crème Fraiche and Lemon so we adjusted a Capellini Gratin recipe that simply used parmesan and cream and we made it our own.

Lemon Crème Fraiche Individual Gratins

Ingredients:
1 Pound angel hair
1 Container crème fraiche
1 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
Zest of 2 lemons (meyer lemons are especially good)
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
Sea salt
Black pepper
2 Pinches of nutmeg
3 Tablespoons butter
Reserved pasta water
2 Large leaves of basil
1/2 Cup bread crumbs

Directions:
I start by bringing a large pot of water to boil. Add a little bit of olive oil and salt to the water. Set the oven to 435
While it is coming to a boil, butter two muffin tins.
Cook the pasta al dente.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together the crème fraiche, ¾ of the the grated cheese, 3/4 of the zest of the lemon, the lemon juice and the seasonings.
Using a pasta serving spoon, spoon the pasta out of the water and into the cream mixture. Next add the reserved pasta water. I have never paid attention to how much water I add, but I can tell you it’s a good amount. A lot of the water you add will become absorbed into the pasta and you will want extra sauce left at the end to fill up the muffin tins so you’ll want a lot of liquid. I know I use at least 4 cups of reserved water. If you realize when you’re nearing the end that you’re going to need more sauce than you anticipated, just add more at that point. This is why I love cooking—it’s an art to me, not a science.
Take a fork and swirl some pasta onto it. Transfer the swirled pasta into the muffin tins. This takes a couple tries to get it right and it’s a bit messy but the end result is worth it.
Melt the butter and mix it with the bread crumbs. Top each individual gratin with bread crumbs, a little bit of the zest, basil and parmesan. Not add some liquid into each muffin tin till you can see it showing through the pasta.
Put in the oven and bake until the top is golden and bubbly. Let it cool for a few minutes before serving.
Of course, if you don’t have the time to construct the individual servings, you can skip the muffin tin part and simply put it in a large pan and bake it that way.
*The store by my house did not have crème fraiche so instead, I used mascarpone and added a little bit of milk and more reserved water than I normally would. It worked out just fine.

I love the way that these look at the end. It really doesn't take too much work either. The sauce is so easy so it's really just the construction that takes some effort. Usually Alyssa and I tag-team the construction but since she wasn't here this time, Caitlin stepped in and helped me with the toppings.

Melissa's salad was delicious.

What's better than chocolate covered strawberries for dessert?

All of the food was delicious. It was a perfect first meal in my new apartment.

Morro Bay 2009

2009-09-02T23:51:00.000-07:00

Morro Bay is one of my favorite places on earth—of the places I’ve been, that is. I love the small town feel, the friendly people, and of course the view. Every year, my family goes on a trip to Morro bay. We go with another family and with one of my best friends. It’s usually a total of at least 9 people, but sometimes more. We rent a house and stay there for a few days. This year, between my brother studying abroad, my mom working two jobs, and having visitors throughout the summer, we weren’t able to plan our yearly trip with the 2 families (+the extra Vock daughter). Instead, my mom, Patty (the mom in the other family), Alyssa (the extra Vock daughter), and I went, just the four of us. We rented out this condo-type apartment that we have wanted to stay in for years but it was just too small for the 9 of us. The Inn is on the embarcadero and each condo has its own patio RIGHT on the water. It is pure bliss. One of the best parts of getting a house or a condo instead of a hotel room is the kitchen! Yeah, they’re never stocked with what you need and you often have to improvise, but hey—there’s a stove, a sink, an oven and a fridge. I can get by. On our first day, like always, we had lunch at Rose’s. They have the most incredible garlic fries, which we always order with extra garlic. We made a rule a long time ago that everyone HAS to each the garlic fries so that we all smell like garlic and no one feels self conscious. It works out pretty well. I had some really good fish and chips that were lightly fried and not too greasy. Rose’s is on the water and we always sit outside and watch the seals and otters as we eat our grub. That evening, after a day of kayaking and laying on our patio (and taking time out to each some delicious homemade guacamole—my mom’s recipe: just avocados, chopped cucumber, garlic and a little bit of lime juice), Alyssa and I made dinner. Alyssa and I call our yearly Morro Bay trips our “Anniversary” because it was three years ago that I invited her to come with and we found out that we are kindred spirits. But Morro is magic and bringing Alyssa and I together was just one of it’s many tricks. Alyssa and I have an intense love for pasta. And I really do mean intense. We wanted to make one of our old favorites and something that would warm us up on a cold, coastal night. We decided on Spinach and Ricotta Fusilli. Mmmm mmm.

Spinach and Ricotta Fusilli
Adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine

Ingredients:
Salt
3/4 to 1 Pound spinach
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 Small scallions, chopped
Pepper
1 1/4 Cup ricotta cheese
1 Cup half-and-half
3 Pinches nutmeg
1 Tablespoons butter (optional)
1 Pound dried fusilli
1/2 Cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt and olive oil. This will flavor the pasta a bit.
Give the spinach a rough chop just so that there won’t be any huge pieces. The spinach will wilt in the end so it’s not a huge deal what the sizes are.
Heat some olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped scallions and cook for a few minutes until softened. (I get shallots and scallions confused so once I used shallots accidentally and it gives it a heartier taste—good for fall and winter. Both are delicious though.)
Add the spinach to the skillet along with some salt and pepper. Cover the skillet to steam the spinach until it is wilted.
In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of the ricotta, half-and-half and nutmeg. Alyssa and I love nutmeg so we do 3 pinches but if you’re not into it, then use less. But let me tell you, it is so good with 3 pinches. Mmm!
Stir the ricotta mixture in with the spinach. If you are using butter, it goes in now. We did not add it by accident and it was still delicious. Season with some salt and pepper. At this point, let the sauce cook until it thickens. You can use your judgment for however thick or thin you want it. But I would be careful to not make it too thin. Plus, you’ll be adding reserved water later, so keep that in mind.
Meanwhile, cook the fusilli according to the directions on the box.
Before you drain the pasta, reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking liquid.
After the pasta is drained, add the spinach mixture and the left over 1/4 cup ricotta. I like adding this at the end because the ricotta in the sauce loses it's texture and I really like having a bit of that texture in the final dish. Then add enough reserved water to let the sauce coat all of the pasta. Reserved water is something I learned about a few years ago and it is really one of the most useful tricks I know. It keeps sauces creamy while thinning them out. The starch from the pasta is the key to the reserved water but the salt and olive oil that is added in the beginning also helps, I think.
Stir in the cheese and serve!

We paired the pasta with a simple salad and some delicious garlic bread that I made by mixing butter, olive oil, garlic, parsley and salt and spreading it over fresh French bread and baking in the oven.

We ate on the patio, by candle light and everything was peaceful and satisfying.

The next day included delicious scones, made from a mix from Bette’s Diner in Berkeley, Alyssa’s and my favorite coffee (a tuxedo mocha with carmel syrup) and a trip to SLO to visit our friend, Amanda and have some frozen yogurt (tart flavored yogurt topped with kiwi, granola and honey). I miss Morro Bay already, but it has energized me for the beginning of a new school year and a whole lot of change.