I think we may have found our new favorite neighborhood sushi joint. Which when you move to a new city, is a really big deal. You’ve got to have that one place in the neighborhood that you can really count on. We’ve tried a few here and there (still lots to explore) but I was introduced to one by a friend a few weeks ago and I’ve been hooked ever since. The fish is SO good, the prices are reasonable, and it is a tiny, cozy place.

Ok fine, I went twice in one day. (Yes, ridiculous).

The restaurant is called Yatai, on the Sunset strip and it is a Japanese Sushi & Tapas restaurant. So in addition to the typical rolls, they’ve got eggplant with miso sauce, goyza, seaweed salad and an amazing tempura pumpkin with curry salt. I’m convinced it is actually kabocha squash (the rind is green, you can eat it, and kabocha squash has its roots in Japan) but regardless, it is delicious. I had to make a version at home, naturally, so instead of frying it and serving it with the salt, I roasted it with a sweet curry salt. It was one of those recipes that I just knew would turn out well.

I was right. I came close to eating the whole squash in one sitting, but decided that wasn’t the best idea. I stopped myself after a third of it.

The salty/sweet/curry flavor is amazing on the sweet squash. It is delicious right out of the oven, or as I learned, at room temperature all afternoon. I warned you!

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!

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.

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Pesto is one of those staples that everyone should always have on-hand. It comes in handy for so many things and adds such fresh flavor to everything it meets!

While homemade pesto is usually better, I rely on prepared pesto from the store a lot. Here are some of the ways I use it:

• Tossed with pasta (tortellini is my absolute favorite, but any pasta is good)
• Spread on a tortilla, topped with a little cheese, rolled up and microwaved for 30 seconds
• As a sauce for pizza
• Thin with a bit of olive oil and serve with roasted vegetables
• As a sandwich spread
• On meat, chicken or fish
• Blend into white bean dip
• As a crostini topping with parmesan or goat cheese
• Mixed into shredded chicken with a touch of mayo (recipe)
• Tossed with a grain, topped with goat cheese crumbles

What is your favorite way to use pesto? 

Surely you can only be thinking one thing by this title…

Sandra Lee.

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Quick run-down on Sandy if you aren’t familiar with her (ahem, Mom): she often makes a meal on her food network show out of various packaged foods. Think cookies with cake mix (I’m guilty of that one), risotto with condensed soup (definitely not guilty, ew) and martinis called white knight-ini. Many people have a strong dislike for her, and while I’m not really a fan, she’s pretty harmless.

I saw “stuffing mushrooms” at Trader Joe’s and immediately thought about how easy stuffed mushrooms are to make. They always seem like such a treat too! The easiest way to make them would be to stuff them with one of the many spreads they have at Trader Joe’s and pack it with a little spinach so I did just that.

So you combine the spinach and a spread (I went with the Blue Cheese & Roasted Pecan), stuff it into the mushrooms and bake. So easy it’s kind of ridiculous and definitely considered semi-homemade. I almost went with the frozen spinach artichoke dip since it would be even easier, but I thought I’d mix it up a bit – choose your favorite spread! If you had some bread crumbs in the cupboard, I’d sprinkle a few on top of the mushrooms, but they definitely aren’t necessary.

Sometimes, semi-homemade is just right.

Spill it: Are you a Sandra hater or do you appreciate her “semi-homemade” recipes? 

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…

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Squash can be an over-whelming vegetable. It is hard to chop, hard to peel and then you have to figure out how you are going to eat it! I received a request for a post on squash last week so I thought I’d put together a few tips that I’ve learned over the years. Please add in your own squash tips, I’m not an expert.

There are a few tricks that apply to most of the varieties:

• microwaving the squash for a few minutes will soften it up if you are having trouble cutting through it
• when I cut squash in half to roast, I always scoop out the seeds, drizzle with a little water, season with salt & pepper, and cook cut-side down on a pan
• roasting time will vary, but the flesh should be soft when it is ready to eat

Acorn: 

• cut in half, scoop out the seeds and roast until flesh is soft
• scoop out squash and top with a pat of butter, salt and pepper
• recipe to try: acorn squash with sage brown butter

Butternut: 

• can be peeled with a peeler or knife – I usually cut in half where the base starts rounding, then peel, then cut into pieces to roast
• a great squash to puree and add to soups or use in salads
• recipe to try: classic butternut squash soup (with variation ideas)

Kabocha:

• a newer squash to the US, kabocha squash comes from Japan
• like butternut, it is great squash to puree or add to soups
• cut in half, scoop out seeds and roast
• recipe to try: roasted kabocha squash

Spaghetti: 

• cut in half length-wise, roast, scoop out seeds and then scrape the sides to form spaghetti-like strands
• serve like you would spaghetti with sauce, meatballs, etc. or saute with a touch of butter, garlic, italian herbs and with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese
• recipe to try: spaghetti squash casserole with ricotta and spinach

Delicata:

• this is a relatively new squash to me but it is a great one because you can eat the peel and it is very easy to cut
• cut in half length-wise, scoop out seeds, slice and bake
• recipe to try: roasted delicata squash with rosemary

*All pictures from Real Simple

Did you know that you can make cheese at home?

Maybe it was the over-abundance of dairy growing up in Wisconsin, but it never occurred to me to make my own cheese.  We visited farms at school to see cheese being made, we ate cheese on a very regular basis, and by regular basis I mean daily, we grew up surrounded by dairy farms and if you were lucky enough to have friends that lived on farms? You’ve experienced a dairy farm first-hand.

When I was a (naughty) senior in high school, I stayed with a friend while her parents were out of town to “help” her with the farm chores. One afternoon during my farm stay, my brother (thankfully) warned me (via a huge Nokia cell phone) that my parents were coming to videotape me helping on a farm. As if  they didn’t think I was really helping! I scurried out to the barn and started scooping hay just in time.

I’ve grown up a lot since those days, but my love for cheese has remained constant and the thought of making cheese at home is now a thrilling one! My teenage self would think that is like, so lame.

So I set out with a Bon Appétit recipe to make my own ricotta cheese.

Now someone please tell me how to make burrata cheese and my life will be complete. Like, seriously.

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.