Sunday, May 20, 2012

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumb Cake


This morning's breakfast was a leap of faith. I studied my favorite classic Crumb Cake recipe (from Joy of Cooking) and revisited Mom's German Coffee Cake recipe, determined to incorporate at least a bit of the strawberries and rhubarb I picked up recently, in a fit of summer longing at the grocery store.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Fast food

The sort of thing we eat on our busier nights.
In college, the first year Josh and I lived together, I'm not sure we ate anything BUT pasta and vegetables. We'd recently become vegetarians, as college students often do, and we were broke, as college students often are. Add to that a like, totally deep, moral opposition to the Man and McDonald's, and fast food was OUT.

Fast forward I-won't-say-how-many years, and we're not as broke, but we're definitely on a budget. I'm still slightly opposed to McDonald's, but often in need of a quick supper... Enter the old stand-by, once again (now with bacon).

The dinner pictured above is sautéed fennel and sweet onion on tricolor pasta w/ extra olive oil, fresh parsley and bacon. Basically, what was left in our fridge at the end of the week. And it was great!

This is not a recipe, but I wanted to note a couple of things here:

1. Trader Joe's (gluten-free) Brown Rice Pasta is the best. Everything else falls apart. Though, I do recommend rinsing it in cold water once it's done cooking, lest it get all gooey.

2. Fennel and bacon are awesome flavors together. Someone should put them in a scone.

What is your stand-by quick and easy supper?

Friday, May 11, 2012

Not gone, just quiet

It has been a MONTH since my last post. Whoops! Sorry. April & early May completely got away from me. Yes, that's my excuse.

Okay... I'll add to that working at the local yarn shop on the weekends, working from home a bit each day, for the same (and starting several/finishing a few knitting projects as a result of temptation presented by this position); resuming swim lessons x 3; continuing violin; school projects, birthdays and a husband traveling. Oh my!

We've been busy.

That's not to say I haven't been cooking, though...

Like, I finally made paneer!

Sooo easy -- I can't believe I put it off for so long.
Using a mixture of a WHOLE bunch of kale and spinach for the palak part...


The resulting palak paneer, served over rice, was really wonderful. I used this 101 cookbooks' recipe as a guide, then followed her advice to make a quesadilla out of the leftovers -- with a fried egg underneath the tortilla:

The kids thought it was weird, but they ate it. And, yes, that's too much cheese.

I thought it was great!
Anyway, we've cooked some other stuff, too. There are posts drafted for Citrus & Herb Yogurt Cake (which may just morph into a Mojito Cake one of these days - watch out!) and Swiss Chard & Sausage Breakfast Casserole, among others.

Tonight = Apple & Arugula Tarts, which will be much easier than they sound. Enter store-bought pie crusts.

But, you know, when a change in the daily routine comes along -- Not only have I started working just a bit, but Josh changed jobs, too (did I mention that?) -- it helps me to circle the wagons. Focus inward on the essentials. And, love this blog though I do, it is not that. 

However, if you'd click those tacky ads a bit more often...


OH, and donuts:

Bittersweet Chocolate-Chunk Donuts, to be exact.

Totally over the top.

I baked some, I fried some. I even considered chocolate biscuits. All in all, we liked the baked ones better, but the recipe needs some work before posting.

Stay tuned!