has anyone else noticed how schizophrenic the weather has been?
tornadoes, sunshine, thunder, rainbows, 40 mph winds + rain.
good times for northern california.
the only thing im indecisive about right now is which of these stylish outerware i want in my closet…
ann taylor loft
anthropologie
miss sixty @ nordstrom
anthropologie
miss sixty @ nordstrom
yoana baraschi @ nieman marcus
burberry @ nieman marcus
tulle
lets just get straight down to business here.
these sandwiches are wicked awesome off the hook deliciousness.
yah. i said it.
banh mi vietnamese sandwiches are a beautiful compilation of all the right flavors in your mouth- sweet from the sugar, spicy from the sriracha sauce, salty and umami from the fish sauce and tangy from the carrots that are soaked in seasoned rice vinegar. add some fresh cilantro and basil for freshness and you have one happy mouth.
we made these for dinner tonight and they were a huge hit with both of us. our only suggestion is that you eat them on a soft french roll, not on a cut up baguette. my mouth still hurts from trying to eat our sandwiches on the (delicious) parisien baguette from tin roof bakery.
what are you waiting for?!?!
click on this recipe and make it.
do it.
you will thank me.
***this could be made paleo friendly by having the meatballs and sweet pickeld carrots and daikon on a salad, using the juices from the carrots as a dressing. these meatballs are delish!***
baby, its cold outside.
tip- do not throw on a thin 3/4 sleeve coat over a tank top and head out into the windy + frigid morning and then walk around farmers market with frozen nose + fingers.
learn from my mistakes, people.
we are having friends over to dinner tonight so i headed to farmers market this morning to pick up the grass fed beef chuck roast for the barbacoa tacos that are on the menu. i will be braising the beef in negra modelo, garlic, onions, spices + chipotles in adobo for 5 hours, low and slow. i will post all that dinner business later.
when i was at farmers market, a table covered in charming hand thrown ceramic bowls, ceramic earrings and letterpress cards caught my eye.
hand bound pocket notebook
flat card + envelope
the gentlemen manning the table said that his daughter makes the utter mess press cards and notebooks. the ones on display were all made from 100% recycled paper, but most importantly were all oh so charming. there were owl, flower, bike and type writer cards to name a few. it was hard to choose but i brought the bike notebook and the peacock feather flat card home with me.
she wasnt there today because she was at home working like crazy to get ready to show her goodies at the chikoko craft fair (spring bizarre bizaar) at the chico womens club on april 30th + may 1st. ive never been able to make it to the craft fair before but im going to be sure to get down there this time and support all the local + talented crafts people and pick up some cute stuff, too!
it was my brother in laws bday yesterday and so we had them and my parental units over for dinner (menu of birthday boys choice) and dessert. he chose my bacon macaroni + cheese and i served that with roasted broccoli with garlic + lemon. for dessert he requested german chocolate cake and so i set to searching my cookbooks and cooking blogs for a decadent recipe.
i settled on the recipe from my favorite baking cookbook baked.
but once i started reading the recipe i started rethinking how much effort i would be able to put into the cake with my now fully walking + mobile nephew here all day thursday, the daycare kids from 740-1230 and then my parents set to arrive at 1ish.
a shortcut started sounding pretty darn good right about then.
and here’s the deal…i dont know if its the chocolate cake recipes that i have chosen to make in the past (about 4 different ones) or my oven or something wrong with the baker (moi) but the chocolate cakes never turned out great. they were always tasty and totally edible, but never lived up to what i thought they would taste like.
you know- ethereal, dense in a good way, moist, chocolatey, the best thing to ever grace my fork.
okay, maybe my expectations were set just a touch too high. regardless, they all failed to make me feel like the finished product was worth all the work.
so sometimes i cheat.
and then i dont tell anyone so i can sneakily see if anyone even notices that the cake came from a box.
is that bad?
but heres what ive found in my stealth observations- nobody notices. which leads me to believe that my cakes must taste okay. no one tried to spit their cake into their napkins or feed it to the dog.
i always make the frosting from scratch and i think that dresses up the boxed mix enough that no one notices that the cake isnt homemade. for daniels 30th birthday party i made the double chocolate cupcakes with mint ganache and mint buttercream and candied mint leaves completely from scratch. it was a ton of work but it was truly a labor of love. but im starting to learn that its okay to take some shortcuts. so i used a chocolate cake mix from trader joes but added 2T strong coffee and used butter instead of oil to doll it up a bit. then i just made the frosting from scratch. nobody complained.
my secret is out.
pecan + coconut frosting
(i ended up using marthas recipe for the frosting only because i wasnt sure if the baked recipe would be enough to frost a 2 layer cake. i have made the filling from the baked cookbook before and it was just as tasty)
makes enough for one 9-inch 3-layer cake
combine egg yolks, evaporated milk, and brown sugar in a saucepan. add butter, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick, about 10 minutes. Pour through a fine sieve into a bowl.
stir in vanilla, salt, coconut, and pecans. let cool completely. Frosting can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 day; bring to room temperature before using.
Read more at Marthastewart.com: Coconut-Pecan Frosting – Martha Stewart Recipes
daniel and i heart sierra nevada brewery and taproom big time.
yah, i know its not a big hush hush.
in all the many many many times we’ve been there, i think we have only been disappointed in a small handful of meals. the pork belly wasnt quite what i thought it would be (fatty and jiggly. eeewww), the sauce on the meatloaf one night was a little off, the salmon niciosse salad had thinly sliced smoked salmon in it and i thought it would have hunks of salmon. no big deal.
many times i have gazed longingly at 2 menu items that i couldnt ever pull the trigger on ordering. one is the lentil burger and the other is the flatbread with hummus + veggies on top. i am what my mama calls a good eater, i eat pretty much everything (except pumpkin + apple pie wth?!? yah) so i always thought i would like these things but for one reason or another always ordered something else. usually off the daily specials menu.
but a couple weeks ago all of that changed.
i went to lunch there with my friend anna and she mentioned casually that she had wanted to order the flatbread but never had because no one wanted to share it with her. i was a happy girl. we ordered that and the reuben sandwich and shared both. the flatbread came slathered with creamy, garlicky hummus and was then topped with spring greens, kalamata olives, cucumber, red onions, tomatoes and shards of salty feta. on the side was a creamy and cool yogurt sauce. i washed it all down with an india ink ipa. it was all oh so tasty.
so tasty in fact that i came home and wrote down all the components of the meal so that i could recreate it for dinner this week.
even my sometimes selective husband loved it ( thats a 4 star rating!)
i took some shortcuts where i would usually make things from scratch but anna reminded me that there aint no shame in making life easier on oneself. heres the cheaters recipe…
guess where we are going again for dinner tonight??? you’ll never guess…
greek flatbread with hummus + toppings
1 bag of trader joes whole wheat pizza dough
1 small tub of trader joes organic hummus
big handful spring greens
feta
kalamata olives
cucumber
slivers of red onion
follow instructions on the bag of dough but when you stretch it and put it on the baking sheet prick it all over with a fork so it doesnt puff up too much as it bakes. i brushed mine with a little melted butter that had been infused with a smashed garlic clove for a little extra flavor.
once dough cools, slather with as much or little hummus as you like (i used the whole tub) then add all your toppings.
easy peasy.
lemon + garlic yogurt sauce
1 cup plain yogurt
about 1-2 T lemon juice (as you like)
1 clove garlic, finely minced
chopped fresh mint + diced cucumber (optional)
s + p
mix it all up and let it hang out in the fridge so the flavors can get all mixed up and tasty together. take it out of fridge 30 minutes before you are going to use it so you can taste and adjust seasonings as needed. i also think it tastes better when its close to room temperature. drizzle on flatbread and chow down.
via
im not a morning person.
ive never been a morning person.
when i lived in redding and was attending shasta college, i worked at a coffee cart (*which was inside an upscale grocery store) and had to get up at 5:40 and be at the coffee cart by 6:30 to open it up. and we lived in po dunk so it was a 25 minute drive to get there. you can probably guess how that went- i was late more mornings than i care to remember (the owner of the cart was a dear and sweet friend and so he looked the other way to my tardiness) and i may have fallen asleep on the coffee cart a few times. like, head on the table, dead to the world and drooling a small puddle of liquid while i rested my eyes. until the manager of the grocery store ( who was kind + funny) came over and SLAMMED his hand on the counter thisclose to my head, took one look at my impressive little puddle of drool and then walked over to the closest register, got on the PA system and announced (while laughing hysterically) “clean up on aisle 3, coffee cart!”
yeah, that happened.
i could drink a self made quad iced nonfat mocha and fall asleep 30 minutes later, no prob.
nowadays, i let the alarm go off for at least 5 or (sometimes) 10 minutes while i slowly try to rouse myself from the land of fluffy sheep and fluffy pillows. my sweet spot for waking up in the morning is right around 7:30. thats when my body wants to wake up. i know i shouldnt complain because i get up at 7:oo m-f (which isnt that early), but again
i am just not a morning person.
so this time change thing? it can pretty much suck it.
* dont look so surprised, yes i said upscale grocery store. and yes, i said it is in redding. truth.
*****side note- i have been cooking plenty- baked eggs with kale, bacon, cream and parm and whole wheat toast for dipping. flatbread with hummus, red onion slivers, cucumber, kalamata olives, organic spring greens and drizzled with a lemon garlic yogurt sauce. pasta with kale, garlic, parmesan and egg. however, i left the cord that i need, to connect my camera to the laptop to use the pics, in redding so y’all will have to wait until this weekend when i get it back.*****
that is what i was chanting silently (okay, maybe out loud) to the cinnamon raisin dough as i waited patiently for it to rise up to beautiful + puffy proportions.
it started like this
and then i let it “rise” for 2 hours and it was supposed to have doubled in size.
and yet. after 2 hours it looked like this
hmmmm…. the dough apparently decided to revolt and refused to rise.
lazy, stupid, worthless dough. ( let me just insert here that i am an incredibly poor sport when it comes to baking that doesnt turn out as i had expected. i get frustrated and irritated and angry at myself and the offending baked good. stupid stupid dough.)
i thought i would just follow through with the recipe and see what would happen. maybe if i cranked the heat up to 78 degrees it would rise up to proper proportions if i just kept on truckin and continued with the recipe. so, i kneaded and sprinkled with cinnamon + brown sugar and rolled it up again…
and then let it rise (rise, dammit!) for another 1.5 hours.
but, like a hungover college student that had too many jager red bulls and shots of mad dog the previous night, it wouldnt rise.
i hate you, dough.
i had put so much time and effort into this useless lump of dough by now that i still had (very low) hopes that it would turn out lovely and fluffy after i baked it. so i baked it.
it looks pretty good right?
but it should have been about 2-3 times that size and once it cooled a bit and i tore into it i realized that it was dense and doughy and i knew that if i ate it it would sit like a brick in my belly.
fail.
so that was batch #1. i reread the recipe to see what went wrong. ohhhhh…that says use 3/4 TABLESPOON yeast NOT 3/4 tsp. damn.
then i tried again. batch # 2 had the correct amount of yeast and everything else yet still failed to rise. aaaarrrgggghhhhh!
i know who the culprit is now. its that dang yeast. i (amateur bread baker that i am) didnt check the yeast to make sure it was fresh.
my bad.
i am determined not to let this recipe get the best of me, so i will be trying again and hopefully this time i will have a successful loaf to share with you.
pray for me.
a well stocked cupboard + refrigerator is key to having a successful week of meals. i tend to plan meals for sunday though thursday nights but every once in a while (okay, more often than that) we arent feelin’ one of the meals that i had planned. so, we either end up ordering take out (bad) or seeing what we can throw together with goodies from the depths of the cupboard + fridge (good).
heres what i like to keep in the kitchen for those nights when we need to throw dinner together entirely from whats on hand…
i know that it doesnt look like much, but with these items + what i keep stocked in the fridge, we always have a tasty meal at hand.
in the cupboard…
pasta+ grains- whole wheat penne, whole wheat spaghetti, thick spaghetti, elbow, lasagna, orzo, couscous, quinoa, whole wheat bread, flour tortillas, panko (japanese bread crumbs)
rice- massa organics brown rice, long grain rice, short grain rice (like arborio for risotto)
canned + dry beans- kidney, garbanzo, black, pinto
canned tomatoes- tomato paste, whole cooked + peeled ( i love san marzano tomatoes but have only been able to find those at whole foods which is in a city 1.5 hours from here, so trader joes organic canned tomatoes are good, too), diced, tomato sauce
coconut milk- for curry, rice pudding
tuna fish- for sandwiches, salads, pasta, tuna cakes (like crab cakes)
spices!- so important to have a well stocked spice rack- cumin, chile powder, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, onion powder, garlic powder, curry, garam masala, corriander, oregano, basil, dry mustard, cayenne, cinnamon, nutmeg
vinegars + oils- ( for super simple vinaigrettes for salads) balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, rice wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, olive oil, canola oil
low sodium chicken stock (homemade tastes best, but i also keep trader joes organic + low sodium stocked)
in the fridge…
cheese- at any given moment we usually have about 4 different kinds of cheese. right now we have extra sharp cheddar, blue cheese, parm-reg and gruyere (when inspiration is nowhere to be found a grilled cheese sandwich on whole wheat with cheddar + gruyere always hits the spot)
milk or 1/2 + 1/2
organic brown eggs (1 or 2 dozen from farmers market)
veggies- broccoli, carrots, lettuce (in the freezer- peas, edamame, corn)
butter
condiments- hot sauce, sriracha, mayo, 3 or 4 different mustards (sierra nevada pale ale is our fave), ketchup, soy sauce, sesame oil, tube of anchovy paste ( you like ceasar salad? then you like anchovy paste. truth.)
i also always have a couple yellow onions, a head of garlic and a couple lemons on the counter
with these staples in your kitchen you are always able to throw something tasty together (just to name a few)…
parm reg+ milk or half and half + garlic + spaghetti noodles + fresh lemon juice + peas= creamy pasta goodness
eggs + cheese + onion + broccoli + milk or half and half= frittata
broccoli + carrots + onion + garlic + brown rice + soy sauce + sesame oil= stir fry
lettuce + carrots + edamame + kidney beans + hard boiled eggs + blue cheese + balsamic vinaigrette (balsamic vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard)= a tasty salad
elbow noodles + milk + cheese + onion+ panko= mac n cheese
rice + soy sauce + garlic + eggs + carrots + peas + edamame= veggie fried rice
what do you consider essential staples to have in your kitchen? do you have any go to meals that you know you can always throw together with whats in your pantry?
in the past, i have had several friends ask me what i consider to be essential in the kitchen. which food staples, utensils and cookware could i not ever live without?
today i will give a list of the cooking utensils that i would want to be stranded on a deserted island with (please feel free to throw in jon hamm and an unlimited amount of sierra nevada hoptimum)…
yes, i use them all
heres a little pic so u can get an idea of what i have next to the stove within easy reach any time i need tongs to flip turkey thighs braising in apple cider or a wooden spoon to stir a big pot of homemade minestrone.
i have multiples of several things ( yes i do have 7 wooden spoons + 5 pairs of tongs) mainly so that im not washing them every single day.
heres a breakdown of what i need in the kitchen to make the magic happen…
sturdy, well made wooden spoons (at least 3)
tongs (2)
good chefs knife, steak knife, bread knife and paring knife
wooden rolling pin (although a wine bottle works in a pinch)
metal whisk
plastic spatula
meat thermometer ( i havent mastered knowing when red meat is “done” quite yet)
large metal slotted spoon and reg large metal spoon
metal colander
metal box cheese grater ( the one i have belonged to my mom for many years before it was passed down to me)
bonus item- food processor. mine is a general electric one that my mom received as a wedding gift 36 years ago and it still works like a dream and makes quick work of shredding large amounts of cheese ( for mac + cheese) and for making pesto.
what do you consider essential in your kitchen? what did i overlook?
