Since I last wrote, the cucumbers, squash and zucchini have been pouring in. Which of course means cucumber soup! However, we still had cucumbers left over last week, so I made some pickles as well, tossing in some zucchini in the pickle mix since there was room in the container. Should be ready in a day or two so we'll see how pickled zucchini tastes soon enough. There was also some pasta with zucchini, bacon and pesto (forgot the corn). Blueberry buckle with some of our fresh blueberries. And yesterday, I whipped up some Vichysquash and Chocolate-Chip Zucchini Pecan Muffins to use up some yellow squash and zucchini. Still have more zucchini, maybe some more zucchini pancakes? Also have some cabbage and carrots, so maybe this recipe would be good. We should actually be home a few nights this week, so I might actually be able to go through this week's tally.
In non-cooking news, had a fabulous swim in an outdoor Olympic sized pool this morning - felt good since I was feeling sluggish Thursday after having been sick earlier in the week. And maybe I'll have more time for swimming and cooking since things have been slow at work so I'm now working part-time until things pick up. Hopefully that will be soon, but only time will tell.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Cooking up a Storm
Been busy cooking instead of blogging, as well as relaxing up in the Berkshires for the 4th. Some of the stuff I've been cooking:
- Zucchini Tart (delish! and I love the crust because you don't have to roll it out!)
- yogurt and cucumber dip (threw in some salt, pepper, oregano, and lemon juice)
- more strawberries and dumplings!
- amazing cheese ravioli with arugula walnut pesto (this recipe but with arugula instead of basil and walnuts instead of pine nuts)
- linguine with swiss chard, pine nuts and raisins
- zucchini and squash salad (inspired by deb's recipe, but with basil instead of arugula)
- grilled salmon with grilled zucchini and squash on the side
- roasted beet, goat cheese and walnut salad
- pasta with sautéed green garlic and beet greens (not as flavorful as I would have liked)
- Zucchini Tart (delish! and I love the crust because you don't have to roll it out!)
- yogurt and cucumber dip (threw in some salt, pepper, oregano, and lemon juice)
- more strawberries and dumplings!
- amazing cheese ravioli with arugula walnut pesto (this recipe but with arugula instead of basil and walnuts instead of pine nuts)
- linguine with swiss chard, pine nuts and raisins
- zucchini and squash salad (inspired by deb's recipe, but with basil instead of arugula)
- grilled salmon with grilled zucchini and squash on the side
- roasted beet, goat cheese and walnut salad
- pasta with sautéed green garlic and beet greens (not as flavorful as I would have liked)
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
CSA Week 3
This week our pasta didn't show up, but that's ok because we got tons of strawberries! As for the veggies, we got snap peas, boston lettuce, arugula, zucchini, summer squash and radishes. The lettuce and radishes have been going in salad, but I'm not a huge fan of arugula straight up, so I made a pesto out of the arugula with walnuts, garlic, Parmesan and olive oil and put it in the freezer for later. The snap peas got eaten raw as a snack. Sunday we had some grilled bbq chicken (though of course it started downpouring right as Sam turned on the grill), with a side of grilled summer squash and zucchini. And for dessert, I made Strawberries and Dumplings. As easy as slicing strawberries. Even the leftovers were great tonight. Next time I'd whip the cream to top it rather than pouring it over though.
Tonight, we used the rest of the zucchini to make Zucchini and Chickpea Pancakes. I didn't have garam masala, so I tossed in some coriander and cumin instead. The curry powder was just a tad overwhelming, so I might cut that back a little next time, but its a tasty use of zucchinis, and very quick to put together if you have a food processor.
Oh, and with the leftover garlic scrapes from last week, I made some pesto. We now have three containers of pesto in the freezer - need to label them! And need some nights when we don't have fresh veggies we want to use to test them out!
Tonight, we used the rest of the zucchini to make Zucchini and Chickpea Pancakes. I didn't have garam masala, so I tossed in some coriander and cumin instead. The curry powder was just a tad overwhelming, so I might cut that back a little next time, but its a tasty use of zucchinis, and very quick to put together if you have a food processor.
Oh, and with the leftover garlic scrapes from last week, I made some pesto. We now have three containers of pesto in the freezer - need to label them! And need some nights when we don't have fresh veggies we want to use to test them out!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Beets Turnips and Garlic Scrapes
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Wednesday night and we're done with our CSA food! Which is just as well because we probably won't make dinner at home before our next pickup on Saturday. So far, everything's been delish. Monday we had carrot linguine, which I topped with some chopped garlic scrapes sautéed in browned butter with a dash of nutmeg thrown in.
And tonight, I roasted some beets and Japanese turnips tossed with salt and olive oil as a side dish for pan grilled pork chops. We had some plain yogurt in the fridge, so I made a dipping sauce/dressing for the veggies. I wanted to toss in some lemon juice but I was out of lemons and lime just didn't seem like it would work, so I whisked in a bit of cider vinegar and some Penzey's Florida Pepper seasoning, which has some lemon zest in there. Results were quite good, and ended up dipping the pork in it too. Can't wait for next week's food!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Cooking Afternoon
We had a busy day with a two-mile swim this morning/afternoon that took longer than expected. We had to wait for the tides to change, and then as a result there was barely any tidal assistance. My hip was a bit sore but otherwise a good race.
When we got home though, I cooked up a storm! First, I made some ricotta cheese. Then, I started the soup recipe Sam's mom sent me last week - Greens Supreme Soup. I had kale from the CSA this week, but not as much as the recipe called for, so I threw in the beets and turnip greens too. Also didn't have chardonnay around or another comparable wine, so I used some of the liquid left over from the ricotta instead. The end result was delish.
While the soup was cooking, I made some pesto with the basil growing on our deck - it needed to be cut back so it will get nice and bushy, so it seemed like a batch of pesto was in order. Always good to have some pesto in the freezer.
The soup seemed so nice and hearty that we just had that with some sourdough toast for dinner with a salad rather than making pasta as well. Mmm.
When we got home though, I cooked up a storm! First, I made some ricotta cheese. Then, I started the soup recipe Sam's mom sent me last week - Greens Supreme Soup. I had kale from the CSA this week, but not as much as the recipe called for, so I threw in the beets and turnip greens too. Also didn't have chardonnay around or another comparable wine, so I used some of the liquid left over from the ricotta instead. The end result was delish.
While the soup was cooking, I made some pesto with the basil growing on our deck - it needed to be cut back so it will get nice and bushy, so it seemed like a batch of pesto was in order. Always good to have some pesto in the freezer.
The soup seemed so nice and hearty that we just had that with some sourdough toast for dinner with a salad rather than making pasta as well. Mmm.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Blogging Some More
I got an invite today to join a group Cooking Away My CSA, which may actually revive my blogging. Well that and the cut-and-paste feature on my iPhone once the new operating system is available. For those of you not in the know, CSA stands for community supported agriculture, where you pay a farmer upfront in the spring and then get to pick up a box of food every week in the summer and fall. We joined the Greene Harvest CSA in Fort Greene, getting veggies, fruit and a pasta share each week.
It started up last week, and my brother was nice enough to pick up the first share since Sam and I were busy swimming around Manhattan, with which me made spinach linguine with swiss chard, raisins and pine nuts, and kale and collards boiled and then sautéed with garlic and olive oil and japanese turnips over couscous. With radishes and lettuce in our salad and apples on the side, we used it almost all up.
This week, we got kale, japanese turnips, beets, snap peas, garlic scrapes, lettuce, carrot linguine and strawberries. We had some strawberries with scones this morning, and I'm thinking the pasta with garlic scrapes, maybe a soup or fritatta with the kale, roasted beets and turnips. Other good ideas?
It started up last week, and my brother was nice enough to pick up the first share since Sam and I were busy swimming around Manhattan, with which me made spinach linguine with swiss chard, raisins and pine nuts, and kale and collards boiled and then sautéed with garlic and olive oil and japanese turnips over couscous. With radishes and lettuce in our salad and apples on the side, we used it almost all up.
This week, we got kale, japanese turnips, beets, snap peas, garlic scrapes, lettuce, carrot linguine and strawberries. We had some strawberries with scones this morning, and I'm thinking the pasta with garlic scrapes, maybe a soup or fritatta with the kale, roasted beets and turnips. Other good ideas?
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
My walk from 555 Washington to Na Trang for dinner
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GPS map of my walk from 84th St to Spring St the other day, courtesy of iPhone
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Monday, March 16, 2009
Hawaii
As I alluded to in the last post, we went to Hawaii last month. And I finally downloaded the last of the pictures off my camera over the weekend. All the photos are up on Flickr now if you haven't already seen them. We were there for Sam's best friend TJ's wedding, which was on the most perfect patch of grass on the beach at sunset. It was beautiful, and it was a lot of fun being at a wedding with under 20 people, as we really got to know everyone over the 24 hour span between the rehearsal dinner and the wedding. And the rest of the time, we got to explore the Big Island. Its really a tropical paradise. We had a great hike in the caldera of the volcano at Volcano National Park, explored the coastline thoroughly by car, stayed at a beautiful bed and breakfast in Hilo, toured an amazing botanical garden and swam with the fishes on the Ironman course in Kailua Bay. Altogether a wonderful vacation.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Oh Wait, We Still Have a Blog?
Hmm, so we haven't been good about blogging if it involves actually writing text lately. But as you saw from our posted pictures, we were in Hawaii, for Sam's best friend TJ's wedding, and I haven't written about that yet because I still haven't downloaded all the photos off my camera. Maybe this weekend... And other than that, I've been busy studying for the PE (professional engineer) Licensing Exam which is in the end of April. Oh, and we got iPhones over the weekend, which are just awesome. I honestly think I'd post more if the phones had the ability to paste links, but they don't, at least that I can figure out. Sunday I made Cheesy Baked Penne with Cauliflower and Crème Fraîche and wanted to blog it, but alas, turning on the computer was just too much hassle. We already had an ipod docking station in the kitchen for me to listen to music when cooking, so I just looked up the recipe on epicurious, plopped the phone in the dock, and voila, no computer or printouts in the kitchen - just wiping off the hands occasionally if I needed to scroll, but since it was charging, it didn't even turn off. Awesome.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Ultimate Recipe Showdown
My new favorite show is Ultimate Recipe Showdown, even though Guy Fieri is really annoying. Contestants send in their recipes, and then are invited to compete on the show; they are given 1 hour to make the first recipe, and then a "speed round" of 1/2 hour to complete a second.
So far I have been inspired to make 2 dishes from the show; actually Dahlia mostly made the first one, which was Pumpernickel Pastrami with Rosemary Ale-Jus.
Then yesterday I had the day off and put together some Vietnamese Bistro Burgers.
I totally dig pickling things, it turns out.
The Food Network is on virtually all the time at our house now, between URS, Iron Chef America, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, Ace of Cakes, and the various "Challenge" spinoffs... I like URS the best though, the contestants are less polished, more interesting.
So far I have been inspired to make 2 dishes from the show; actually Dahlia mostly made the first one, which was Pumpernickel Pastrami with Rosemary Ale-Jus.
Then yesterday I had the day off and put together some Vietnamese Bistro Burgers.
I totally dig pickling things, it turns out.
The Food Network is on virtually all the time at our house now, between URS, Iron Chef America, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, Ace of Cakes, and the various "Challenge" spinoffs... I like URS the best though, the contestants are less polished, more interesting.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Test photo from my cell
I finally looked up instructions on posting from my cell. Since the rest of my photos are still on my camera, enjoy the test.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Happy New Year!
Sam kicked off the new year by going for a dip in the Atlantic Ocean at the annual Coney Island Polar Bear Swim. I can't believe he found it so invigorating while I was freezing just watching! A good start to a new year.
Here's my rundown of the numbers from the past year.
My Year in Cities
Brooklyn, NY*
Alford, MA*
Boston, MA
Somerville, MA
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia*
South Gobi, Mongolia
Khongor, Mongolia
Bayanzag, Mongolia
Ongi, Temple, Mongolia
Karakorum, Mongolia
Arkhangi, Mongolia
Tsagaan Lake, Mongolia
Jargal Jiguur, Mongolia
Huvsgul Lake, Mongolia
Beijing, China
St Paul, MN
One or more nights spent in each place. Those cities marked with an * were visited multiple times on non-consecutive days. Our only big trip was Mongolia, but what a trip. (2007, 2006 and 2005)
As for the local scene, I kept track of all the places I went to in NYC. Cut down on the number of visits to Cafe Charlie - only 21 - branching out.
And on the arts scene, I saw 44 movies in the theater and read 21 books, and 16 theater performances. More movies and theater than last year, but a lot of those movies were shorts from Sundance at BAM. And fewer books than last year, but partially because Infinite Jest was so huge.
All in all, a great year.
+More photos from Coney Island on Flickr
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