September 2012
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August 2012
6 posts
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July 2012
3 posts
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How Do You Say... Cook?
This week is a little bit crazy. In fact, the past few weeks have been a little bit crazy. What I’m trying to say is, my life has gone from having days where I didn’t know what to do, to having very little free time (in which I can’t decide what to do because there are so many things left to do).
I know what you’re thinking. “Welcome to my life.” And yes,...
June 2012
1 post
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Forget Yourself.
Something I wouldn’t have thought of telling you all about is the fact that I’ve been reading “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. Not that it isn’t a hugely popular book that has been a well known motivational book for a long time, but it just didn’t seem like something I’d like to put out there. Hey everyone, I’m reading a...
May 2012
9 posts
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Deep Dish Recap
If you’re just joining us, or if you’ve been following all week, there’s no denying these pizzas make your tummy grumble a little bit. It’s almost 11 o’clock and I’ve eaten plenty today but they still make me want pizza. Just a little bit of that sauce and melty cheese…
“We can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow!” -Jenna
Amber said...
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It's Thursday & it's Deep Dish Pizza Day...
Happy Thursday to you all! Little known secret…Thursdays are my favorite day of the week. Always have been. Something about the day I was born on and being little and having “library day” at school … anyway. It’s also about to be pizza day, which only makes things better.
I’ve always loved pizza. I’ve always loved making pizza. But for some reason,...
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How the Chicken Pot Pancakes Turned Out
So another big thanks to my two biggest fans of the moment, Jenna & Amber. You guys have been awesome this week, and I will forever be grateful for your support. One day I will publish a cookbook and you will get a proper thank you! ;)
As for the rest of you, if this doesn’t entice you enough to make Chicken Pot Pancakes, or to try something new, I don’t know what to tell you.
...
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Wednesday Night: Chicken Pot Pancakes
Chicken Pot … what?
Yes, I said pancakes. And the first thing I have to tell you is to get the image of buttery, syrupy, sweet, pancakes out of your mind. It’s time to think of pancakes in a different way. Once you can do that, you are left with a doughy, bread-like base. Almost like a biscuit. And when you add some veggies and chicken and cover it with gravy (because what...
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Tortilla Soup: How It Turned Out
A huge, heartfelt thank you to my dear friends and family, and fellow cooks who cooked Tortilla Soup with me last night…from their own kitchens across the continent. It really means a lot to me to have participants and for us to create together…without having “too many cooks in the kitchen!”
Beautiful soup and presentation a la Toni Markow, my wonderful MIL.
A very...
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Monday Night: (Chicken) Tortilla Soup
So here it is! Tonight we will make Chicken Tortilla Soup (feel free to omit the chicken and it will be “almost” as tasty!) This soup is like most soup, fast, simple, something I think you will be happy to know won’t take much more out of you than this Monday already has, but will leave you feeling satisfied and maybe even a little spicy.
You will need:
3 corn tortillas, cut...
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Let the Cooking Begin...next week.
Sorry guys, ice cream is not on the grocery list…
First off I want to say thank you to all of you who went and filled out the survey and told me what you wanted to cook. I can’t thank you enough. It really excites me that you are out there and want to cook with me!
As for the results of the survey, most of you seem pretty easy to please. Only a few of you have particular diet...
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Cinco de Mayo!
If you ask me to host Taco Tuesday at my house, I’m going to turn my house into a Cantina.
If I turn my house into a Cantina, it’s going to need a sign.
If I invite friends over to my cantina, we’re going to get thirsty, and we’re going to have to make margaritas.
If the girls are drinking margaritas, the boys are going to ask for cervezas.
If we are all drinking we...
April 2012
5 posts
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Cooking With You (Part Two)
Do you remember that time I posted a full grocery list and a week’s worth of “impressive” meals? If you don’t remember that post, read up, and if you do, shame on you for remembering but not cooking along.
But seriously, I understand if you didn’t. I realize the meals may have been a bit ambitious, or labor intensive. Perhaps they just didn’t sound good. But...
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Life Goals & Dinner Parties
This photo comes from a beautiful post about dinner parties; from Everyday Musings, a blog that I recently came across and cannot stop ogling.
Everyone always seems to have big goals. Be it a particular career path, having a family, or financially related. This is something I’ve always had a hard time defining. I didn’t grow up in one house, with the same group of friends throughout...
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Ask and you Shall Receive
“Everything comes to us that belongs to us if we create the capacity to receive it.”
– Rabindranth Tagore
Even as I write it, I feel as though I should read it again. Although an easy concept to grasp, it’s not as easy to really apply to your own life.
I quit my job about 3 weeks ago. Although it was a career I was able to find good in, it was not my true calling. How do I know this? After...
January 2012
2 posts
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Herbed Garlic Bread
Food processor? Check. If not, blender or good ol’ cutting board and knife will do. Fresh parsley? Yes, I mean that whole bunch of fresh herbs that are only $.49. Check. Butter? Duh. Ciabatta? Of course. I’m always down for good bread.
I once heard Rachael Ray say that Parsley was grassy. Well, the verdict is that she was right. It is grassy. But in a strangely delicious kind of way. It’s...
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Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
This post is about homemade spaghetti sauce (as you probably gathered from the gigantic ladle of sauce pictured above). But this post is also about homemade bread crumbs, spaghetti and meatballs,(or as we’ve been calling it, Spegy N Merbles; see here for hilarious food pronunciations) dreams of Italy, and my lovely Sunday afternoon. That’s right, I went homemade all the way today.
I made wheat...
December 2011
11 posts
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Friday Night Appetizer: Mozzarella Sticks
Ingredients
12 pieces string cheese
12 egg roll wrappers
Oil for deep-fat frying (such as canola or vegetable)
Marinara or spaghetti sauce for dipping
Directions
Place a piece of string cheese near the bottom corner of one egg roll wrapper. Fold bottom corner over cheese. Roll up halfway; fold sides toward center over cheese. Moisten remaining corner with water; roll up tightly to seal....
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Impressive Appetizer: Mozzarella Sticks
Who doesn’t love mozzarella sticks? Seriously, so good. I happened to have almost a whole package of egg roll wrappers and nothing to do with them…until I had the thought that I could probably stick string cheese in them and call it a day. After a little googling, turns out, it’s been done, and was about to be done in my kitchen.
These were so much fun to make, and let me tell you, they were so...
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What’s for Dinner Tonight? Roasted Raspberry...
Ingredients
1/c olive oil
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 1-pound pork tenderloins
1 3/4 cup raspberry preserves
1/2-1 finely chopped chipotle in adobo (depending on how hot you want it)
Preparation
Heat oven to 425.
Whisk together oil, rosemary, garlic, salt, and...
Raspberry Chipotle Pork Tenderloin & Roasted...
Meat and potatoes? Done deal. There’s not a lot you can do to mess this meal up, with the exception of overcooking the pork. Which, is usually pretty easy to do because it cooks so fast. Good news though, tossing this entire meal in the oven guarantees lots of flavor and a quick prep time. I seriously don’t know how people bitch so much about not having time to cook dinner for themselves or their...
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Impressive Meal Wednesday- Poached Eggs in Tomato...
Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 jalapeños, seeded, finely chopped
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained
2 teaspoons Hungarian sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand, juices reserved
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup coarsely crumbled feta
8 large eggs
...
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Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce with Chickpeas & Feta
Can I just type that one more time? Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce with … that’s a mouth full.
Tonight’s dinner was warm, flavorful, and filled the house with good winter-y scents of tomato and cumin. I found this recipe in the December issue of Bon Appetit and thought it looked so good; like comfort food but without the guilt. Another plus to this meal is it can easily be made for breakfast,...
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Impressive Meal Tuesday-Pesto Salmon and Oven...
Ingredients
1/4 cup pine nuts
5 garlic cloves, peeled
2 ounces fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
2 6-ounce portions fresh boneless skinless Salmon fillets
1 bunch fresh asparagus
olive oil
salt + pepper
sprinkling of Parmesan
Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
In a food processor, combine pine nuts, garlic, basil, and oil. Blend to paste.
Rub salmon fillets evenly with the...
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Pesto Salmon & Oven Roasted Asparagus
So night two of my “impressive meals” week, and I am loving this! Really thinking about what I’m making for dinner, taking pictures while I go along, paying attention to the presentation, and talking about it are helping me stay inspired! Even just for the one comment here and there…I love sharing it all with you.
Tonight’s meal was a pretty promising one…salmon? Check. (Healthy, fresh, light)....
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Thai Pork and Noodle Soup Revealed
So it’s Monday night, and I have cooked the first of five impressive meals for the week: Thai Pork and Noodle Soup. I must say that I got a cold last night, and after spending the day on the couch with a box of tissues, I was happy that I had planned soup for tonight’s meal.
Although I enjoyed the soft noodles and the warm broth, I have to say that there wasn’t a whole lot of flavor for me (which...
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Impressive Meal Monday-Thai Pork and Noodle Soup
Ingredients
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger (from a 1-inch piece)
1 pound ground pork
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps thinly sliced
kosher salt
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon fish sauce or soy sauce
about 10 ounces wonton wrappers, sliced...
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A Week of Impressive Meals-For Me & You
Hi all. It’s been a little while. Been a little while since I’ve blogged, had inspiration for something profound to write about, and a little while since I’ve cooked anything worth talking about. It always takes me time to adjust and get back to normal life after a trip somewhere, and a couple weeks ago we were in Florida. Something about the time change or being across the country makes it hard...
November 2011
3 posts
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TEKSTartist
So for the past few weeks I have been helping my husband get ready to launch the website of his newest entrepreneurship; that which is TEKSTartist. I have taken 600 something photos, helped edit and name each one, edited copy, and well, done a lot of copying and pasting. Thank god for ‘control z’.
About seven months ago my husband started creating art pieces; playing around with markers on...
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It’s Beginning to Look a lot like…
Okay, am I still too early? I ask Jason almost every day if we can put the tree up yet. I’m trying to hold out until Thanksgiving…we’ll see.
Anyway, after spending much of last week home sick I can say that I am officially addicted to Pinterest. How could you not be? I was inspired by these beautiful snowy candles and made some of my own this evening, using what I had; the “snow” is Epsom salts!
...
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It’s Getting Personal
Forewarning: If you are not at all comfortable with talking about real life issues and realities we all share, do not read this post.
I just got back from the store with $70 worth of natural healthy foods and drinks, and a bottle of B Vitamins. B Vitamins, as I have learned from doing a ton of research online the past few days, are essential to mental and emotional well-being. What’s wrong...
October 2011
3 posts
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The Weekend in Photos
Changing leaves and pumpkins at the farmers’ market.
More beauties at the farmers’ market.
Watching my artist work and capturing the neighbor’s roses pop against the gray foggy sky.
Halloween cookies+Halloween kitty.
…hope you all had a lovely weekend and have a fun week ahead!
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Foggy Fall Morning Muffins
This morning I decided I was ready to embrace fall. Yes, I’ve been more than ecstatic about it’s arrival since the last day of summer, but lately the weather has been full-on fall. We’ve had foggy mornings that turn into foggy days and yesterday was the first day the sun came out all week by the coast. I absolutely love it. This morning was my morning to wake up whenever I pleased, wander into...
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Mini Lemon Cupcakes
Ah, Saturdays. The weekend. Full of lovely hours of sleeping in, lounging around in comfy clothes, and baking. We had an especially pleasant day, sleeping till 10 and then enjoying a 2 hour brunch with friends, before I decided to bake the most amazing little lemon cupcake bites I have ever had. Don’t you love when a recipe goes right?
At brunch this morning, my dear friend (who writes this...
September 2011
7 posts
Enjoying my Beautiful Life
Last Sunday I wrote about longing to cook for a table full of people and spending a little more time in the kitchen. All week I thought hard of what I could make, who we could invite, etc…and then the day came. The week flew by and we ended up making plans with our dear friends, Ryan and Amber Johnston, to meet up for our weekly “Taco Tuesday’s” (or whatever day of the week it happens to be).
My...
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DIY Salt and Pepper Bowls
I have been eyeing these salt and pepper bowls on etsy for a while now, but haven’t been able to pull the trigger on spending 30+ dollars on well, salt and pepper bowls. There’s just something about cooking with your salt and pepper in a dish that makes you feel like a chef. Like a cooking show host or something, grabbing a pinch of salt and sprinkling it into your dish. Ever since I really got...
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Pork Cutlets with Chimichurri Veggies
So Jason recently started the Slow Carb Diet, from Tim Ferris’s book, 4-Hour Body. Basically no bread, no pasta, no rice…no…anything I like to eat. Ha! So far it has been just a little bit more cooking, like chopping fresh veggies and cooking up more meat like chicken breasts and organic hamburger. Not necessarily a bad thing, it just takes more time. And to be honest, I was sort of afraid this...
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A Monday for the Books
Today was a roller coaster. First of all, it was a Monday, and we all know how those can go. On top of that, Jason and I just haven’t been clicking the past few days (sometimes you’re just off, ya know?) and after buying a very expensive camera yesterday, we found out my car needed new brake pads and what not…let’s just say it added a decent chunk of change to that fun purchase and you’ll get an...
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Simply Satisfying
Perhaps you noticed we got a new camera today…hopefully you can tell by my fancy new photo!
Ever in the grocery store getting all the ingredients for your weeks’ meals, then realize you didn’t plan anything for tonight? We did that today. And by that point we decided we didn’t want dinner to be super involved, just something we could throw together quickly. Being that we were in Trader Joe’s,...
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Quick and Easy Fish Tacos
We have some friends that we love to celebrate “Taco Tuesday’s” with, and we trade off weeks at each other’s houses. We have both made our traditional beef tacos, both crunchy and soft, and one of us tried (quite successfully) the chicken taco. We have not however, ventured to the fish taco, although it is one that I love to make, being both simple and delicious. When I proposed doing fish...
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September+Martha+Butternut Squash
It’s September. That alone makes me smile. Add to that the fact that I got my hands on the new Martha Stewart Halloween issue today, and bought a beautiful butternut squash at the farmers’ market. I am a happy girl.
After staring at the squash all day in wonderment of what to do with it, drooling over pages at foodgawker, and of course consulting my mom, I decided on a Butternut Squash pizza....
