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Triple-Green Zucchini Pasta With Broccoli-Arugula Pesto

15 Aug

I think I already mentioned that I’d taken a blood test to finally figure out what my food sensitivities are. It turns out that all grains are off the menu, as are soy, beans, legumes and dairy. Well, we knew about dairy already, so no surprises there.

But it made me think seriously about my diet. Beans, legumes (i.e. lentils, my absolute FAVES) and soy are some of the first things I reach for when I’m going for a vegetarian or vegan alternative. Er, those are out the window. Basically I’ve found out that my diet falls under the “Paleo” title, which makes it easier as there’s some cookbooks out there to inspire me.

Now, please don’t think that I’ve fallen for this whole “pre-agriculture everyone was healthy and that’s how we should eat now to avoid every ailment” theory. I know it’s not scientifically accurate, but that’s not what was bothering me. It was reintroducing meat into my diet.

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The Asada Treatment

29 Jul

So it must be pretty obvious by now that The Husband and I like a few things, namely spicy food, grilling and drinking. We like entertaining and having friends over, and the grill (and the Southern California weather) are pretty perfect foils for that.

Recently I found a carne asada recipe that I decided to tweak and use for marinating a whole chicken. “Carne” means meat, right, not necessarily beef, so I thought it would work. And boy, did it. I butterflied that chicken and let it sit for a day before throwing it on the grill, and everyone was happy! Continue reading →

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Pork Burgers and Green Bean Fries

28 Jul

We are usually addicted to bison burgers on a Friday night—they’re just so good we can’t seem to deviate. Until that Friday when there was no bison to be had at the Whole Foods. PANIC! I called The Husband to see if he wanted a turkey burger, which he initially poo-pooed until he realized he had no choice.

Then I spotted the ground pork—hey, I could mix the ground turkey with the pork to give it more flavor! No, said The Husband. I want an all-pork burger. And so he shall, I decided, but of course I need to make it spicy like my bison burgers. So off to the chili section for some serranos, and the store actually managed to have some jalapeño-cheddar burger buns. Result! Grab some arugula and we’re good to go. Continue reading →

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The Father, The Husband and the Holy Carnitas

24 Jun

The finished product. Mmmm….pork.

It’s no secret: The Husband is a huge fan of pork. He seriously can’t get enough, and will eat it any chance he gets.

We used to drive three cities away to San Clemente to get carnitas at La Siesta. Their carnitas are seriously good, and the restaurant itself is quite cool. No outside seating, but inside it’s like a Baja beach shack with margaritas. We fell a little out of love with it when Carmen, our favorite waitress—seriously, she was the best waitress in the world—was fired because the other girls were jealous that every customer wanted to sit in her section if she was working. Continue reading →

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Food on a Stick: Kofte

2 Jun

I love to break up the meat and stuff it in the pita with some of the salad. Find your own favorite way to eat the kofte!

Luckily I didn’t try this recipe last night, especially with the long metal pointy sticks I was using. Even though I managed to cook dinner for four last night after three martinis (many thanks to The Husband’s grilling wizardry), it was bison burgers and we’ve made those several times before. I’m not sure if successfully cooking while intoxicated is really a skill I should shout about on my blog, but it’s a fact of life. So there.

The night before I used the pointy sticks, and there were no injuries to report. These minced-meat-on-a-stick idea came from me wandering around Whole Foods with no clue for dinner. I was not feeling overly creative, and we’d already had chicken twice that week. The Husband doesn’t like lamb too often, I can only eat bison (not beef, as they seem to lie about the “grass fed” part and it kills my stomach), and now we’ve been hearing about radioactive fish I figured he’d not like me bringing home fish either. So, how can I get something on the grill for dinner, I thought? Continue reading →

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In Like a Lamb, Out Like a Lion: Lamb Shank in Adobo Sauce

7 Apr

I know that they say spring comes in like a lion, and out like a lamb, but this recipe will make it the opposite. It is so super flavorful that you could literally put this sauce on anything and make it delicious.

VEGANS/VEGETARIANS: Please have a look at this sauce! It’s totally vegan and SO delicious! I can’t wait to use it on tofu, tempeh or jackfruit for tacos! Just ignore the stuff about the lamb. Please.

And this one goes out to Girl in a Food Frenzy, because I know she’s “down under” and likes lamb as much as I do. I also think my friends in the UK will love this too (well, Tracey won’t love the lamb part). I’m not sure if they’ll be able to get all the special dried chiles over there unless they order them from the Internet… Continue reading →

Pesto, Part Deux: Poulet

26 Mar

Occasionally, The Husband does come up with some lovely ideas for me to try out in the kitchen—long-time readers will remember that the bacon-crumble apple pies were his idea.

As usual, we bought our weekend chicken from the farmers market, and that chive pesto was still hanging around in the fridge—bright and perky, by the way, even over a week old. I love those glass snap-lock containers! He suggested we combine them both, putting the pesto under the skin. Since it was a cold and rainy Sunday yesterday, a roast chicken seemed just the thing for dinner. Continue reading →

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Soyrizo and Spinach Baked Pasilla Chiles

24 Mar

The finished product—don't worry, you won't miss the sauce!

I have to say, I’m getting hungry again just thinking about this recipe! I was trying to cook vegetarian dishes all last week, and I had some Soyrizo lingering in the fridge. I’m always so amazed at how delicious Soyrizo is, and once I taste it I can’t wait to have more.

Last Sunday, to celebrate my nomination for the Versatile Blogger Award (thanks again!), I made myself a Soyrizo, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich. Since that day I was planning what I’d do with the rest of it. And, true to form, I decided to make something that was totally labor-intensive for a weeknight. Oops. But it was totally worth it. Continue reading →

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[Salad] Dressed For Success

13 Mar

Besides, the color looks so nice against the green lettuce!

If I’m going to have a salad, then the dressing has to be good. Nothing turns me off a salad like a boring or badly dressed salad. That’s one of the reasons I’m addicted to Trader Joe’s Seasoned Rice Vinegar. And when I say addicted, I’m not kidding. This stuff, a little olive or grapeseed oil and some freshly ground black pepper transforms any green stuff into a lovely salad.

But today’s tidbit is not about that simple but satisfying dressing. This is one that I bastardized from the lovely Isa Chandra Moscowitz. Yes, again. Continue reading →

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Another Indian-Spiced Sunday Roast Chicken

11 Mar

I know I bang on about toasting your own spices all the time. And I’m not apologizing, because if you don’t, you miss out on a fantastic range of flavors. I was very happy to see a fellow blogger find this out on her own recently (Violets and Cardamom) when she went to a Peruvian cooking course. Her own recipes look amazing, and I can’t wait to try a few.

But I digress. The other weekend I was a bit lazy and decided to grab the panch phoron, or “Bengali five-spice”, instead of coming up with my own spice mix. I did still toast those spices to maximize their flavor, but because of the fenugreek I used the coffee grinder (which has now become the dedicated spice grinder).

It was a lovely lazy option, because soon the house filled with a delicious smell as I mixed the spices Continue reading →

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