’Tis the season for comfort food!
But you knew that already. I mean, that’s why you’ve been whipping up apple-stuffed waffles every Sunday morning, and baking up gooey toffee cookies any time you get a hankering for a midnight snack, right?
Good. That’s what I thought. (more…)
Do you hear that? August is here and the slow race to autumn has begun. Gradually, the shift in summer attitudes becomes increasingly obvious – light jackets, talk of Labor Day, and warmer beverages. For my sake, let’s hang on to the summer celebrations a little longer.
There are still plenty of fresh vegetables and barbecues to be consumed. It’s been a busy but wonderful summer – Leili went to Europe to fulfill her food dreams and we celebrated our blog’s first birthday this year. This recipe is one of the final salutes to summer of 2015. (more…)
I think it’s been a while since I’ve posted a salad recipe since I worry that it might be too simple and no one would be interested. Then I thought, ‘Why not? It’s summer and that’s what everyone is eating!’ Tell me I’m right. Either way, this salad is delicious and should not be ignored. Roasted asparagus, golden potatoes, perfectly cooked eggs, and a delightful Dijon dressing. Do I have your attention yet?
As with most fresh summer ingredients, I like to keep things simple and let the vegetables do all the work. My only job is to draw out the flavors and add a bit of heat. The less time I spend on prepping, the more time I have to eat and enjoy the outdoors. (more…)
I think I’m having one of those weeks where I get massively lazy and refuse to shop or cook. The hazy summer informs me I should have a slushie or ice cream instead. It’s a titanic effort to leave the beach or park to initiate any adult responsibilities. You guys know what I’m talking about, right?
So I go the farmers’ markets for inspiration and they never disappoint. This time of year, they are lush with vegetables, flowers, fruits, and energy. This mushroom pasta has been a staple of mine for a long time, but I added some garlic scapes for good measure. If you haven’t noticed, I have a special relationship with garlic from green ‘til bulb. (more…)
We’re going traditional, straight-up, full-frontal Italian with today’s recipe, because I have some very relevant news:
I’m officially going to Italy this summer!
In one month, I’ll be hightailing it out of Boston for a month-long adventure of smelling and eating and seeing all the things in Paris and then a bunch of cities throughout Italy. Even with all my tickets booked, Airbnbs reserved and regional food research completed, I still feel like I could wake up one day and find that all these plans were just a dream; something my travel-thirsty mind created to keep me from going totally insane. (more…)
Here’s a whole lot of green comin’ atcha! What better way to celebrate the weekend?
I always make big plans for my free days or weekends, with the best of intentions. I say I’m going to clean out my closet, finally perfect my brown butter croissant recipe, or spend a whole day prepping meals for the following week. I never, ever do these things. Who do you think I am, superwoman? I usually end up sleeping in, lazily making breakfast, and then I sit around spending way too much time looking at trending recipes, or dream places I could one day live, or fantasy jobs I could one day have. Right now my ideal job is to be a recipe tester at Bon Appetit (but, I mean, whose isn’t. It’s like the unicorn of jobs).
By the time I finally get around to doing anything productive on weekends, half the day is gone and I have to rush around just to get all my necessary errands done. On days like these, I’m always relieved to have a quick, healthy dinner recipe I can pull out of my back pocket. Enter the mighty quinoa bowl.
Despite a little wind and a few sprinkles here and there, spring has finally made its way into New England. No more snow, and days that only grow longer and longer until summer.
I’m ready to jump into my sandals and race to the park for a picnic. In another week or so, I’ll also be racing to the farmers’ market to browse this season’s green offerings. There is no greater joy for me than celebrating the warm seasons with fresh produce and healthy living.
My absolute favorite thing to do in the kitchen isn’t just to bake or cook, or even eat (gasp!). What I truly love to do is to experiment. Sorry Mom, but I just really love to play with my food.
Because really, creating new recipes is so much fun. It’s a chance to channel your inner mad scientist. When I’m working on a recipe, I tweak one thing, try it again, take notes, tweak another thing, take more notes, cackle victoriously, tweak tweak tweak, eat eat eat. By the end I’m usually covered in butter and ready for a nap, but hopefully I’ve at least learned something new and created something delicious. Experimenting with baking is easier to me because all the ratios of ingredients can only be changed in certain ways, so I have more control over everything.
Happy 2015!
I’m sure you guys are bombarded with New Year’s resolutions and what not. It’s almost impossible not to feel the pressure from our social media newsfeed. Meanwhile, I’ve been indulging in Netflix marathons. I’m only human.
To lessen my guilt of binge watching everything, I have made this dish to guide me onto the path of fitness inspiration. This quinoa recipe is made with roasted mushrooms, sautéed leeks with garlic, and toasted almonds – all wonderful ingredients to nourish a new you. The mushrooms taste similar to crispy pork skins after roasting them – a trick I learned from a chef. The garlicky leeks are amazing and I could eat these all day.
This dish also helps me miss summer less – these are ingredients I’d buy weekly at the farmers’ market. Since the days are slowly getting longer again, consider this post my countdown to springtime.
This is a delicious way to start the New Year with no compromise on taste. (more…)
Allow me to ask you guys a serious question: What are the holidays without a big bowl of mashed potatoes? Well, just a regular Thursday dinner.
I’m only teasing. Mashed potatoes always remind me of family; they are the starchy nostalgic equivalent of chicken noodle soup. Of all the dishes you could make for the holidays, I think this has to be the simplest. This side dish requires very few ingredients but packs a lot of buttery richness. Concerning the butter usage, I have to say the butter carries as much weight as the potatoes here. You don’t have to use the full amount of dairy products I have posted here, but you really, really should. Your family and your taste buds will crown you as regional manager of mashed potatoes.
This dish requires no garnishment, unless you want to throw some chives in.
Tip: Since one of the main ingredients is butter, I highly recommend using the nice European kind.
– W. (more…)
