It’s been a long time since I last shared a recipe, so I’m just going to get straight to it.
I came up with this recipe to copy a dish I had at Padella, an amazing Italian restaurant right outside the London Bridge tube stop. While its dishes aren’t all traditionally done, they are always delicious, and impressively affordable. (more…)
Greetings from London!
I am currently sitting in a tiny bustling coffee house filled with locals sharing communal tables. As I sit here, listening to ’60s music and enjoying a London fog, I can’t help but feel like I’m in someone else’s dream.
I’ve only been here for a few days, and I’m already totally smitten. When I get back next week, you’re all going to get an earful – or eyeful, rather – about everything I’ve been doing and eating. Until then, I’ve got a bangin’ pasta recipe for you guys, which also just happens to be perfect for the final weeks of the winter doldrums. (more…)
Boston got hit with a big ol’ blizzard yesterday, leaving us all a little bit buried. And as I stare out of my bedroom window onto the adjacent roof tops all covered in a hefty helping of heavy snow, I can’t help but think about what it means to feel stuck.
I’m pretty sure there is no such thing as “stuck”. We make it up so we feel better about not being able to decide what to do with ourselves. When we’re surrounded by a feeling of heavy wetness that prevents us from even leaving the house, it’s easy to feel as if we have no choice but to stay put. We forget how we used to stomp around when we were kids, bundled up to our eyeballs in snow gear, having snowball fights and building igloos with any other kids that happened to be nearby.
We forget how to unstick ourselves.
When I was a little thing and hadn’t yet learned to make my own dinner, my mother had the impossible task of whipping something up that my picky palate would actually accept as edible.
Most of the time I just sucked it up and ate what was in front of me so that I would be allowed to have ice cream for dessert. Of the few dishes that I would eat without complaint, pasta and hot dogs were my all time favorites. It’s a good thing I didn’t cook for myself or else that would be all I ate.
So when my mom wanted to easily sneak some vegetables into me, she’d usually make soup (if a kid can’t see what they’re eating, they can’t complain, right?). And it worked – I vividly remember gobbling down bowlfuls of butternut squash or carrot soup with black pepper and globs of sour cream. (more…)
I know. I know. Leili just put up a tomato sauce recipe and I’m doing something similar. As wacky as it sounds, sometimes we don’t always have time to smartly plan out our next recipes because we’re both busy gals. Also, not to point fingers, but Leili is a terrible texter. Seriously.
Maybe this public shaming will help her curb her response time. Shame. (more…)
Necessity is the mother of invention.
For the past couple of months, I’ve been a staunch vegetarian. I’ve never really eaten much meat, so I naively thought that switching from eating a little meat to eating zero meat would be a cinch.
Well…I was wrong. (And I don’t admit that often. Just ask my boyfriend.)
Guys, I’ve been very bad lately and shopping and spending like Carrie Bradshaw in a Manolo Blahnik store. Except I don’t actually have that kind of dough, but I still find myself feeling extremely guilty whenever I check my bank account. I’m being a bad influence on Leili, too, but at least I’ll look fly while being an enabler. As my best friend Peter says, “I’m a baller on a budget.”
To compensate my recent spending habits, I made a pact with myself to stop getting take out. That means no more sushi deliveries at 11PM. And I am glad to report I’ve been pretty good with this new compromise. To add to that, I’m finally in my exercise groove again and I’m making healthy meals for myself. They don’t teach you this in school, but sometimes irresponsible spending leads to healthier habits, because no money, no takeout. (more…)
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Leili and I love pesto! Ok, it’s no secret that we like to play around and reinvent ways to create this delicious green sauce. I mean, who wouldn’t? It’s fresh, adaptable, and goes with everything. This ginger scallion version is no different.
January is halfway over. Isn’t that crazy? For me, the first month is always a bit confusing – we’ve eaten all these cookies and other feasts around the holidays and we’re expected to just go clean come the New Year. To add to that, it’s also the coldest month of the year. I try to eat healthy generally, but the wintry skies gently nudge me to stay at home and splurge on a hearty meal. You guys still following me?
I’ve never been a big believer in diets, but I do occasionally cave into peer pressure to eat cleaner than I usually do during January. But let’s be realistic here: all you want in the middle of winter is a huge helping of pasta loaded with cheese. Tell me I’m not alone here. (more…)
Simplicity.
It’s something we could all use a little more of.
So I’ll do you a solid and get right to the good stuff, because we both know why you’re here. (more…)
