Hey Guys!

February is here, can you believe it? Thank you for the amazing comments on my post from yesterday. I usually keep things pretty light here, but I guess I just wanted to share!

{2.1.12}

Coffee + Coconut Creamer in the dark. Always coffee, and always water in the morning.

 Breakfast: Smoothie. I feel a little bad showing you a smoothie with such an awful shade of color, but this apparently what happens when you mix spinach and blueberries. {3 cups spinach + almond milk + frozen blueberries + 1 cup greek yogurt}

Workout: My favorite lunch crunch workout! (1 hour intense circuit training) I asked Rob the trainer about exercises for a flat tummy and he told me all the things I didn’t want to hear!!! {intervals, exerting as much energy doing cardio as I do during class (a lot) and no walking, “you aren’t 80.” Wah!}

Lunch: I snacked on some veggies and hummus while I put everything else together. Did Trader Joe’s change their plain hummus recipe? It tasted different to me, but it had been a while.

The rest of lunch consisted of: a turkey burger smothered in caramelized onions + sauteed mixed greens (baby spinach, baby kale and baby chard) + sweet potato baked with coconut oil + raw sauerkraut on the side.

I have to tell you about two parts of my lunch that I’m a little obsessed with! Over the weekend, I was working in a HUGE Whole Foods so of course had to check out their extra-large selection. I found the Earthbound Farms “Power Greens” – a mix of baby kale, baby spinach and baby chard. All washed, ready to go and in a HUGE container. It must be new because it isn’t on their website yet. The other is a Raw Garlic Dill Pickle Kraut, by Farmhouse Culture. There were a few different varieites at the store, but I love pickles and kraut so it was the natural choice. It tastes like pickle kraut – genius!

I love both of these items so much, I might have to make the trek out to that Whole Foods again!

Snack: Tea + 1/2 Peanut Butter thinkThin bar.

I proceeded to eat the other half shortly after.

I wish I could say that I did something cool in the afternoon, like lay out at a pool, but I had a lot of work to do, so work I did!

Dinner: Tuna melts were on the menu and as much as I like them, every time I plan them for dinner, they end up not making the cut.

Instead, we decided to try out a near-by Dim Sum Restaurant, called Bao. I had a glass of wine and we shared lots of dim sum plates (dumplings, scallion pancakes, green beans, seaweed salad and more dumplings) – the pictures were horrible so I’ll spare you, but imagine the plate below, x a lot.

We’ll definitely visit Bao Dim Sum again soon, the food was great, they have all day happy hour at the bar and dim sum is the perfect excuse for my dumpling obsession.

Now I’m snacking on a few dried mango pieces and cringing while watching 127 Hours. Eek!

Did you hear?

The Super Bowl is in mere days!

People are usually interested in the game, the commercials or the food. I’ll let you guess which category I fall under…

But yesterday, my sports-obsessed husband asked if we were going to have fun Super Bowl food. (He falls under all three categories).

“Ummm, obviously” I replied.

When I asked him if he had any requests he responded with this:

“Chicken wings, nachos, seared scallops, bacon-wrapped scallops, bacon-wrapped shrimp,” and this continued for minutes.

 I won’t serve solely junk food on Super Bowl Sunday – I like to have a mix of indulgent, delicious, cheesy foods along with a few vegetables thrown into the mix.

Here are some of the things on our standard menu, or that have caught my eye in the past few days.

Super Bowl Food: 

• Jalapeno Popper Dip (Closet Cooking)
• Queso Dip (Two Peas & Their Pod)
• Meatballs
• Nachos (beans + cheese + thinly sliced spinach + salsa + sour cream)
• Sriracha Buttered Shrimp (Bon Appétit)
• Pizza Dip (The Avid Appetite)
• Guacamole Bar 
• Artichoke & Spinach Dip with Raw Veggies
• Crock Pot BBQ Beer Chicken (How Sweet It Is)
• Stuffed Mushrooms (easy way to sneak some vegetables into the day!)
• Crispy Baked Chicken Wings (Bon Appétit)
• Buttermilk-Blue Cheese Dip (Bon Appétit)
• Spicy Pepper Goat Cheese Spread 

(source)

Are you watching the game, the commercials or eating the food?

Salmon Cakes are an easy yet very delicious meal, and one that I made on a regular basis when I was just starting to get into food and cooking.

They don’t require any fancy ingredients, they come together quickly and, the end result is so amazing that I made them frequently when I was trying to impress the Taster with my cooking. I think they worked!

The salmon cakes are crispy on the outside, moist and flavorful on the inside and most of the process can be done ahead of time, making dinner come together in minutes. Thanks to my friend Mercedes‘ Mom for the recipe – she made it for us when we were in college and I’ve been hooked ever since!  I lost the worn recipe card a few years ago, but I think this comes very close.

My Minnesota Aunts made the best egg bakes and it was something I looked forward to every time we celebrated Christmas in Minnesota.  It might be a Minnesota thing – I don’t ever recall having it with Wisconsin family – anyone know? I remember them being full of cubed white bread, breakfast sausage, custardy eggs and of course, some cheese. They were delicious. It’s been a few years since I’ve had it, but I haven’t forgotten.

I decided to put a little twist on the traditional egg bake and added sweet potato and kale instead of the white bread. Much healthier, much more flavorful and much more colorful! The bacon and cheese add decadent flavor and richness so it is just as rich and satisfying as the original.

Braised meat is something that I really didn’t know a ton about, but it sounds so rustic and hearty, doesn’t it?

Like the perfect winter meal. Not that I would know anything about winter anymore, but I hear it isn’t fun.

I had a general idea of what braising was all about, but I wasn’t really sure how it was different from sauteing so I turned to Martha Stewart’s Cooking School book for a few braising facts:

• braising may be a slower form of cooking, but it doesn’t require a lot of hands-on time
• it work best with inexpensive cuts of meat, which make it a great technique for beginner cooks
• as the juices from the meat combine with the vegetables, seasonings and cooking liquid a wonderful rich sauce develops
• best cuts for braising and stewing: brisket, short ribs, veal shank, lamb shank, pork shoulder, poultry thighs, firm fish

With my new-found braising knowledge I got to work.

And it was pretty amazing. The chicken was tender and topped with a velvety, flavorful mushroom sauce. It is one of those dishes that encompasses everything I look for in a meal. It is satisfying but not heavy, utilizes simple ingredients that can be found in any store and is healthy.

The Taster has already requested that we have it again, so next time I think we’ll try a different meat and different vegetable. The possibilities are endless…

I think my Madison friends will really enjoy this recipe. It is from L’Etoile Restaurant in Madison, Wisconsin. If you are from the area, you know what L’Etoile is and what it is all about.

L’Etoile is a restaurant that focuses on supporting local farmers and artisan producers and it just so happened that this recipe was featured in a recent Bon Appétit. I always get really excited when I’ve either been to or know of a restaurant that is featured in Bon Appétit or Food & Wine. It makes me feel like I kind of know about the food world.

The recipe sounded great – I love all things curry – and because L’Etoile has such a great reputation I figured it would be a good one. I switched a few things up in the recipe, mainly because I get frustrated when recipes call for 1/2 can of coconut milk or 3/4 cup broth. I don’t want to open it, use half and then throw the rest away! Right?

But the curry, oh this curry.

It was slightly sweet, really creamy and we loved the flavor. It is definitely a warming dish, perfect for fall and winter evenings.

I definitely wouldn’t skip the roasted squash, the texture was a welcome addition to the smooth curry. Since the curry itself didn’t really contain any veggies, I served it over brown rice and steamed green beans, but your favorite vegetable would work.

We have done a very poor job of utilizing the LA Farmers’ Markets since moving here.

So last Thursday I decided that I wasn’t going to plan every single meal of next week like I normally do. I would go to the Hollywood Farmers’ Market (considered one of the best in LA) Sunday morning and make dinner out of our findings! Sadly, this is kind of my idea of living on the edge…

The farmers’ market was amazing, and I now vow to visit more often. It was the perfect way to spend Sunday morning and I was able to buy all of the vegetables and fruit I needed for the week!

Soon after we started browsing (and people dodging/celebrity spying) I spotted some pak choi (bok choy) and had just seen a recipe on Fake Food Free that I wanted to try out (Ginger Soy Pak Choi) so our meal immediately took an Asian twist.

Then we were at the Oyster Boys stand and I over-heard one of the Oyster Boys describing Thai Mussels…um, done. Actually, we decided it over a few oysters. Um, yum.

So following his instructions, we combined coconut milk and veggies in a large pot and let the mussels cook away. Can we just take a second to discuss how amazing fresh lemongrass smells?! I almost didn’t want to throw it in the pot.

The thai mussels were incredible – the flavors so complex and spicy, creamy and fresh – all at the same time. And so easy! Mussels always strike me as complicated or a lot of work, but they really aren’t!

There is something about rye bread and salmon that just works. Don’t you think?

I suppose smoked salmon and cream cheese is the same way. Any way it is combined is usually a way that I’ll like.

This is a recipe that I worked on for French Meadow, but it was so good I just had to share with you!

In the way that my favorite recipes do, this is one that comes together in minutes and can also be made ahead of time. The salmon mixture needs a spin in the food processor and the bread simply needs to be toasted until crisp. I love the extra touch that the chive garnish adds, especially if you’ll be serving it for others.

Have you ever eaten at a restaurant…

and seen something that sounded so interesting but you just weren’t able to order it because there were so many other things on the menu that you needed to try?

When that happens to me, I jot down a few words and email them to myself. Inspiration I call it. Hopefully I’m not the only one who does this crazy, little thing. (Please tell me I’m not the only one?)

So on April 16, 2010 I emailed this to myself:

And proceeded to think about it every now and then for the last 19 months.

I have no idea what possessed me, but I finally made it. And I’m so glad that I did. For starters, I can now delete that email. I can also share a recipe that can be mostly made in the slow cooker and will be a nice change from the standard BBQ pork.

I wish I could remember where we saw this, I know it was some dark bar in Denver, and we ate mac & cheese with truffle and mushrooms (been wanting to make that ever since too) and something about it just sounded right to me.

The Taster on the other hand was thoroughly confused.

“Chinese BBQ pork with provolone?”

“On a corn tortilla?”

“I don’t get it.” “Why?”

During times like this, I usually just shove some food in his face and wait for his (always honest) opinion.

This doesn’t top his list of favorites, but I loved it.

It is part nacho, where the edges of the corn tortilla get all crispy like chips.

Part tostada, with the classic corn flavor and juicy meat.

And part, “what? I don’t get it.”

Which is the best part of all.

I’ve been making a habit of preparing big batches of whole grains like quinoa and brown rice to last a few days. (Brown rice is on the stove right now.) It is so nice to have the base of a healthy meal ready to go!

The other day, I was feeling a little snacky and needed something so I decided to try making some quinoa cakes with the quinoa I had in the fridge. I’ve seen them at Whole Foods in the deli section and figured I could easily recreate them at home. I’m not sure what the Whole Foods version tastes like, has anyone ever tried them?

We loved these and have made them a few times since. They come together really quickly and are surprisingly addicting. I’m ok with an addicting snack of whole grains, protein and a little fat.

These reminded us of fried rice – but I didn’t add any asian seasoning so I’m thinking it must have been the combination of eggs and green onions.  They are great because you can flavor them with whatever you want. I chose to use olives because we had some on hand, but I think they would be great with vegetables, cheese, etc.