October 31, 2010

Kale with Golden Raisins & Pine nuts

I’ve been sitting on this recipe for awhile because I failed the first time I made it. It was totally my fault too! I dumped a heaping 1/4 cup of pine nuts in the pan and didn’t bother tasting them for freshness. Turns out they weren’t and my family & I had to suffer through it. Everyone kept reassuring me it was fine. IT WAS NOT. I sat at the dinner table beating myself up. How could I have put something out that didn’t taste good?!? Why am I letting people suffer and eat this crap?

Why am I telling you this?

Because we all make mistakes in the kitchen!! I’ve made a lot in the past and continue to make them! If I threw in the towel, I wouldn’t be able to keep posting on this here site. I don’t give up because I love the feeling of accomplishing something tasty & wonderful. I keep trying and as a result I get better!

My mistake was NOT tasting my ingredients beforehand. I could have substituted slivered almonds or toasted walnuts in the recipe to replace the bunk pine nuts. God knows I have enough in my pantry! The next time I made this dish, I used fresh pine nuts with the suggested amount and LOVED it. All those feelings of disappointment were abolished. Crappy pine nuts? What crappy pine nuts? Nuts go bad! I gotta remember that. Apparently pistachios have a really short shelf life too. Watch out for that.

I love the balance between the bitterness of the kale & the juicy plump sweet golden raisins with the subtle crunch of the toasted pine nuts. I daydream of adding a poached egg up top or mixing it with some couscous & throwing a bunch of feta on top. How about taking some leftovers and sprinkling it on top of your pizza with fresh mozzarella and sharp Pecorino before you toss it in the oven?

Let’s make that happen.

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October 27, 2010

An ode to squash…

I’ve been having mad cravings for squash lately. It’s in the air!

I was searching through the Shutterbean vaults tonight looking for some ideas for dinner.

Let’s see what I’ve found….

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Delicata Squash, Kale & Cannellini Bean Salad

Butternut Squash Curry

Roasted Acorn Squash with Cinnamon Butter

Spicy Morrocan Style Stuffed Acorn Squash

Fluffy Pumpkin Parfaits

Pumpkin Waffles

Chewy Oatmeal Pumpkin Bread with Trader Joe’s Mix

YUM!! That may get you started if you’re also craving squashy things!

I hope to add more to my squash recipes to my stash this season. Got any good ones?

I have my eye on these:

recipes, Uncategorized

October 25, 2010

Herbed Cheese Straws

Want to give people the impression that you’re super awesome in the kitchen? Make a batch of these and bring them to a party! I guarantee the lucky recipients of these Herbed Cheese Straws will assume you’ve spent hours making them. You might be the talk of the party, watch out!

Want the truth? It’s pretty shameful how easy these straws are to whip up. Don’t feel bad about the praise.

You totally deserve it!

Afraid of puff pastry & dough? Don’t be a wuss! This is recipe is totally attainable. You can do this. I have faith in you. The power of puff pastry is ridiculous, and once you’ve conquered your timid frozen puff pastry dough ways, you are gonna find any excuse to make something ANYTHING with a box of puff pastry. I’m thinking these would be equally enjoyable if I substituted all the savory bits with cinnamon, sugar and a smear of yummy pumpkin butter!

But that’s an entirely different post….. Stay tuned.

recipes, Uncategorized

October 22, 2010

Hash Browns with Fried Egg & Avocado

Hash browns. Avocado. Fried Egg & Hot Sauce. What else is there to say? All my favorites taking up a lil space on my plate and I couldn’t be happier. I made this for a good friend the other day and two days later she was in her kitchen making it for her man. Watch out! It has the power to change you.

This was my first time making hash browns. They were good. REAL GOOD. And super easy! My thighs are frightened by the future hash brown filled breakfasts I plan on busting out this fall & winter. Guess who will be wearing stretch pants til Summer 2011?

And let me just say that I’ve been having some of the most AMAZING avocados lately. FINALLY! I spent the whole summer eating crappy avos just so I could delight in the most perfect topping for this batch of hash browns.

You are gonna go nuts when you take your first bite. End of story.

recipes

October 19, 2010

Spiced Lemon Cake

When you’ve tackled 5 loads of laundry, cleaned up Cheerios for the 1000th time after being on hold with the garbage company for 25 minutes, and you’re working from home battling Excel spreadsheets to the soundtrack of a little boy screaming “baseball and skateboards,” THIS is the cake that you must turn to to quiet the shit storm you’ve just encountered.

You are worthy. You are capable and you can handle anything now that you have a slice of this cake. Go ahead. You deserve it! The liberation derived from a slice can be compared to the feeling of removing your spanx, pantyhose AND clingy dress with too tight of a waistband and substituting them with a baggy sweatshirt and soft yoga pants. Finally, you can breathe again.

Spiced Lemon Cake. Spiced? Not really. The cardamon didn’t pack as much of a spice punch as I’d hoped. Is it still worthy of being one of the best/simplest lemon cakes? Yes. The glaze provides just enough tang to match the fluffy light lemony cake it rests upon. If you are looking to fulfill the spice aspect, perhaps a full teaspoon instead of 3/4 will do the trick.

Pair a slice with a cup of milky tea, and this cake is absolutely divine.

Crazy day? What crazy day? There’s cake!

recipes, Uncategorized

October 17, 2010

Green Lemonade

Ahhh yes! I’m back on juicing! Life kinda got in the way!

I found this *recipe* for Green Lemonade in the latest Whole Living Magazine. I had all the ingredients and gave it a try. Genius! The apples provide the sweetness you need in a lemonade. The head of romaine lettuce gives the green element & the extra juice you need to dilute the lemon & apple juice.
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