This trip to Barcelona wasn’t my first. I had spent a few days there just after college when I was working in London. However, I only spent two nights and...
My friend and I attended this event on February 18th. We missed the march and joined the rally at City Hall in downtown LA. It was a much smaller crowd...
This is so cute. There are many variations on Pinterest. I think the original idea came from the Free People blog which is worth looking at. I had these animals...
Last fall when I heard about the Ice Bucket Challenge I claimed to have felt bullied into donating since I didn’t want to make a spectacle of myself on Facebook....
We braced ourselves for the start of kinder this year. After all, we knew how pre-school had gone two years prior. She only cried every day for 1.5 years of...
It’s getting HOT and making pasta every night is killing me. I’ve been trying to branch out to more salads now that it’s summer. This is a really tasty dish...
I know, it’s wayyyyyyyyyyyyy too early in the year to start making potato salad. Hold on a minute? Says WHO? I felt like making this salad in March and so I did.
Lord knows, G will gag and possibly need to be hospitalized if he so much as smells mayonnaise. Also, although I love almost ANY kind of potato salad, I wanted to try a brighter, lighter version. This one is AMAZING and can be eaten room temp, warm or cold.
This salad has NO mayo.
All you need is:
and these: Please excuse that basket of junk in the back.
Here’s a gratuitous shot of the parsley from my garden:
INGREDIENTS:
8 oz green beans, trimmed & cut into 1-1/2″ pieces
3 lbs small red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled, halved (if yours are medium-sized, then quarter them)
2 TBSP dry vermouth
2 TBSP white wine vinegar
1 large shallot, chopped
1 TBSP coarse-grained Dijon mustard
2/3 c olive oil
2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley
1. Boil beans in large pot of salted water until crisp/tender, about 4 minutes.
Drain. Transfer to a bowl of ice water. Drain. Pat dry with a towel. (Or let drip dry, like I did!)
2. Cook potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 12 minutes. Drain. Transfer to large bowl (I put them back in the pot to save dishes!) Sprinkle vermouth over hot potatoes. **NOTE: I had medium sized potatoes so I ended up cutting them into quarters. I think I overcooked them a tad but they were still excellent.**
Toss gently and let stand for 5 minutes.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, shallot, and mustard. Gradually whisk in oil.
Uh, YUM!
4. Pour over potatoes and toss gently to coat. Obviously, pre “tossing to coat.”
Cool completely. Mix in green beans and parsley. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
I love this salad!! It’s a little more “refined” maybe? Fresher & definitely lighter than the mayo based potato salad we all know and still love. (Except for those of us who gag and throw themselves on the floor at the sight or even thought of mayo ((Christina Lynch & George, you know I’m talking to you…))) Wow, those parenthesis are blinding me!
Normally, February is the darkest, most dread-filled, dreadful, month of the year for me. It comes after the holiday re-coup month (January) and it can feel like there’s nothing to look forward to. What am I rambling about? I’ve always despised holidays. And I absolutely HATE seeing all the Halloween merchandise at Ralph’s starting in August (that we all know was lovingly made in China and is heading straight for our landfills). But I digress, anyway, despite Bah Humbugging from October through January, I still got the post holiday blues every year. Things were different this year. January & February flew by this year. No dark depression. No sense of isolation, due to conversing mainly with very small people who sometimes remind me of a lunatic and a drunk. (No offense any lunatics or drunks reading this.) In fact, this year, we attended an impressive number of aptly named Happy Hours.
Cheers, Nana!
Besides the Happy Hours, what was the difference this year? This year G’s parents stayed on after Christmas in a cozy little apartment just off of Main Street. We were able to zip back and forth between our place and theirs and did, often. Maddie had a few sleepovers there, she had Fridays alone with Nana & Papa (which meant I had Fridays alone with mySELF!!) and we attended every Happy Hour we could find! Our favorite “kid friendly” ones were at M Street Kitchen and The Victorian. G and I got a few mountain bike rides in and even got away for one night while Jack & Patsy babysat. Amazing!
Basking in the sun outside Anthropologie. Nice!
Having family nearby for two solid months was so special in so many ways. Not only did we get a bit of time away from the kids, but the girls got special time WITH their grandparents. They got to hear “Yes” instead of “No.” and “NO. Wait, what did you ask me? Oh, NO.” And we also got to spend time with G’s parents. His sister and her new husband, Chris came out in January for a few days adding even more reason to be merry.
Sadly, February has finally come to an end despite Leap Year’s helping hand and G’s parents have returned to their home. There was a sense of emptiness coming home from LAX after we dropped them off. Still, the bad month has passed, holding the February dreads at bay for another year.
After Jack & Patsy left, I thought I ought to have a healthy goal for this month. Something to keep me occupied. Since I knew it wouldn’t involve exercise, I decided to do a salad a day for the month of March (and hopefully share the noteworthy ones on the blog.) One of my favorite Christmas gifts from my in-laws was “Plenty” by Yotam Ottolenghi.
The gorgeous pictures and mouthwatering recipes are truly enrapturing until it comes down to trying to actually gather some of the rather exotic ingredients. Fortunately one of the simplest recipes is for “Lettuce Salad.”
You all, I know I tend to describe my recipes as “yummy” and “tasty.” But all those yummy & tasty recipes make me sick now that I’ve tasted this salad. I am NOT kidding (except about the recipes making me sick)! This salad is unlike any salad I’ve had!!
I LOVE THIS SALAD.
It’s easy to make, (especially when you fudge some of the ingredients – dear Yotam, with all due respect, I was in the Ralph’s on Lincoln in Venice this AM. It’s not the nicest Ralph’s and they did not carry sun dried tomatoes, never mind sun KISSED. So I had to use the sun dried ones I had from Trader Joe’s. I know you, dear Yotam, do not like the “harsh flavor & texture” of sun dried tomatoes but I LOVED them in this salad! My palate is obviously not refined enough to know the difference. And that’s why I shopped at Ralph’s on Lincoln. Also, because I happened to be at the hardware store across the street beforehand.
Ralph’s on Lincoln: the proletariat market!!!
Anyway, of course this salad would be best with veg from the Farmer’s Market but since I was unable to get myself there this week, I had to make do. I’m happy to report, the results were amazing.
Use this recipe when you have guests over and are serving something rich. The beauty, brightness and complex flavors are sure to impress…
Here’s what you’ll need:
INGREDIENTS:
(all lettuces need to be rinsed & dried – dried being very important so the dressing can cling)
1 head of butter lettuce, leaves separated
1 head of radicchio, leaves separated & torn
1/2 head of curly lettuce (I used green lettuce), leaves separated
3 green onions, sliced thinly on a sharp angle
20 radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced
2 c sun dried tomatoes (or slow-roasted if you can find/make them)
2 TBSP capers, whole if small or very roughly chopped
Toss all that into a large salad or mixing bowl. Now make the dressing.
DRESSING INGREDIENTS
1 garlic clove, crushed
1-1/2 TBSP lemon juice
1-1/2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP grape seed oil (I didn’t have any so used more olive oil)
salt & black pepper
Whisk those ingredients together & add salt & pepper to taste. Pour salad dressing over the salad and toss gently. Transfter to a large mixing bowl and sprinkle capers over the top. AMAZING!!!!
After pronouncing it “DELICIOUS!” and eating 3 bites, she left it unattended. Three year olds!
Yesterday in L.A. it was cold out. And grey. What I mean is, we had to wear socks & jackets. But we didn’t – we wore flip flops.
Anyway, what better meal to come home to at the end of the day than a thick, warm soup with homemade croutons? Try this for your next Meatless Monday (since it’s now Tuesday…)
I made a barley vegetable soup a few month ago and it was really good but this one is WAY better. I had bought a bag of dried split peas a few weeks earlier because I thought they’d be tasty but I wasn’t sure exactly what to do with them. Since I still had some barley in my cupboard, I looked for a recipe combining the two and VOILA! With some adjustments I had a hearty, thick and really tasty soup. It called for croutons and since I didn’t have any I made ‘em! This is the first time and I want to tell you – make croutons as often as you have soup. They are REALLY easy to make & add that extra something that soup sometimes needs.
Here we go! You’ll need these items:
SOUP INGREDIENTS:
2 c dried yellow split peas, rinsed & drained
6 carrots, chopped
6 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3/4 c pearl barley, rinsed & drained
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper, to taste
3 garlic cloves, minced
1-1/2 TBSP olive oil
5 TBSP bouillon (I used vegetarian chicken flavored – you can also use vegetable broth or whatever you have on hand!)
10 c + 8 tsp water (adjust for desired thickness)
Let’s get started!
1. Saute chopped onions in the olive oil until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add crushed garlic for another minute. Be sure to stir occasionally to coat with oil.
2. Add carrots and celery. Stir to coat with oil and sauté for another 3-4 minutes.
3. Add split peas and powdered bullion/water to pot OR vegetable broth. Cover and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat, add bay leaf and barley.
5. Simmer covered for about 2 hours.
No, it’s not 1:20PM. 60 minutes + 60 minutes.
D’OH!!! That’s a long time.
6. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Add water/broth as needed. I like my soup sort of thick so I didn’t. Sprinkle some croutons on top & serve.
How to make the croutons??
You’ll need:
CROUTON INGREDIENTS:
6 oz whole grain bread, cut into 1/2″ cubes
Olive oil
2 TBSP butter (or, you can just use 2 more TBSP olive oil which is just as tasty)
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
NOTE: I used one of my homemade breads that I froze a few weeks earlier. If it doesn’t get eaten within the first day or so, I freeze it for croutons. I hadn’t actually made any croutons, EVER, but I knew I would! That said, you can use any old bread you have – so next time you have a couple of heels from your Oroweat sandwich loaf – wrap them tightly in plastic wrap or a ZipLoc and freeze ‘em!)
This is so easy!
1. Preheat oven to 375. Cut bread into 1/2″ cubes.
2. Heat olive oil in saucepan. Melt butter in oil over medium heat. (Incidentally, you can also just use oil if you prefer.)
3. Pour heated oil/butter and mustard over bread cubes & toss to coat.
4. Spread bread cubes across a cookie sheet evenly.
5. Bake for about 12 minutes. Taste one – it should be crunchy, not chewy. If it’s chewy return it to the oven for another 2 minutes.
Author: Christina Cox (soup adapted from Food.com, croutons from Annie’s Eats)
Recipe type: Soup
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
Hearty, thick soup topped with crunchy croutons. Perfect for a chilly afternoon!
Ingredients
SOUP INGREDIENTS:
2 c dried yellow split peas, rinsed & drained
6 carrots, chopped
6 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
¾ c pearl barley, rinsed & drained
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper, to taste
3 garlic cloves, minced
1-1/2 TBSP olive oil
5 TBSP bouillon (I used vegetarian chicken flavored – you can also use vegetable broth or whatever you have on hand!)
10 c + 8 tsp water (adjust for desired thickness)
CROUTON INGREDIENTS:
About 6 oz whole wheat (or whatever you have on hand) stale or frozen bread, cut into ½” cubes
2 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP butter (OR skip the butter and just add 2 TBSP more olive oil)
salt
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
Instructions
SOUP INSTRUCTIONS:
In a large pot, saute onion in olive oil for about 3-4 minutes or until translucent. Add garlic & sautee for 1 minute more.
Add chopped carrots and celery, sautéing for another 4 minutes.
Add split peas and water/bullion OR broth (depending what you have on hand.) Bring to a boil, then turn heat down and add bay leaf and barley.
Simmer for about 2 hours. Soup will be thick and cloudy (not clear.) Add water/broth to achieve your desired thickness. Or just leave it alone!
CROUTON INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375.
Heat olive oil on medium-high heat in small saucepan. Add butter (or just double the olive oil and omit the butter). When butter is melted, in a medium bowl, pour over bread cubes. Toss to coat.
Spread bread cubes evenly on a cookie sheet, salt to taste & bake for 12 minutes. Cool and test one cube. It should be crunchy. If it’s chewy, bake for another 2 minutes.
Notes
This actually might serve more than 6. Good in refrigerator for 3-4 days. They will stay good in the freezer up to 3 months.
Don’t be put off by the Vegan aspect – this cake is delicious! It’s also totally safe to lick the batter since there are no raw eggs in it. (Not that I worry too much about that…)
If that STILL doesn’t grab you – think of this as the: “I haven’t been to the store in a while but I still want cake!” cake.
Besides love, all you need is:
INGREDIENTS:
2-1/4 c all purpose flour
1/2 c cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s but original author recommends Dutch processed)
1-1/2 c granulated sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c warm coffee
1/2 c plus 1 TBSP vegetable oil
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
small handful of chocolate chips/chunks
Let’s get started! I promise you will like this. Mine came out almost like a brownie.
1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 in bundt pan (I don’t have one so I used a loaf pan. I’ll include cooking times for both bundt pans and loaf pans.) and dust with cocoa powder.
2. Whisk dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder & salt) together in a large bowl.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together coffee, oil and vanilla.
I didn’t take a picture of this so let your imagination run wild! Oooooo yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
5. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Pay attention to these baking times!
9″ BUNDT PAN: 30-35 mins
LOAF PAN: 35-40 mins
(or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean)
Dust with powdered sugar! I didn’t because one of my kids got the child proof lock off two of my kitchen drawers containing lots and lots of small tupperware dishes and lids as well as assortments of sippy cups and their various attachments. Well, anyway, I was distracted by my own yelling.
Serve with chocolate syrup, a glass of rice milk, or my favorite: a glass of cabernet.
Simple & satisfying vegan chocolate cake for cozy winter days! (What am I talking about? I live in L.A.)
Ingredients
2-1/4 c all purpose flour
½ c cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s but original author recommends Dutch processed)
1-1/2 c granulated sugar
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 c warm coffee
½ c plus 1 TBSP vegetable oil
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
OPTIONAL: small handful of chocolate chips/chunks
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9″ bundt pan or a loaf pan and dust with cocoa powder.
Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Whisk together wet ingredients (coffee, vegetable oil & vanilla) in a medium bowl.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips (if you have ‘em!)
Pour batter into baking pan. If BUNDT PAN: Bake 30-35 minutes. (or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.) If LOAF PAN: Bake 35-40 minutes. (or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.)
How many Sunday nights have I found myself making promises? To myself.
“Starting tomorrow, I’m going to cut out all sugar.”
“Starting tomorrow, I’m going to do 100 crunches every morning.”
“Starting tomorrow, I’m going to finish _____________.” (Fill-in the blank with one of any countless unfinished projects.)
Screw that! I’m going to make one goal that’s easy to accomplish. I’m going to eat something healthy.
Here’s a simple, yummy recipe for “Meatless Monday.” I think I ate the whole thing myself.
You need:
Too bad, Libby!
INGREDIENTS
2 large eggs (I used egg replacer)
1 c cottage cheese
1/2 c sour cream
1 tsp Dijon style mustard
Salt
1 TBSP olive oil or unsalted butter
8 oz crimini mushrooms, chopped
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 c cooked wild rice (and/or brown rice) Btw: it’s a little embarrassing to reveal what a flake I am but I actually boiled 3 c of dry wild rice. Do you know how much COOKED rice that is? A ton. You are supposed to end up with 3 c of cooked rice. But if you do accidentally make a few vats of rice, just put it in some freezer Zip-locs and chuck it in the freezer for next time!
1/3 c grated Gruyere cheese
1 tsp chopped fresh tarragon or thyme
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a medium-large baking dish with olive oil or butter. (I used an 8×11 casserole dish.)
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, mustard, and a scant 1/2 tsp salt.
3. Heat olive oil over high heat in a large skillet with a pinch of salt.
Stir in mushrooms. After stirring to coat with oil, leave mushrooms sautéing for about 5 minutes.
Continue cooking, stirring every couple of minutes.
4. Add onions to mushrooms & cook for another 4-5 minutes, until onions are translucent.
Add garlic, stir and cook for another minute. Remove pan from heat.
5. Add rice to skillet & stir.
6. Add rice mixture to the cottage cheese mixture and stir until combined.
7. Pour mixture into greased baking dish.
Sprinkle with two-thirds of the grated cheese and cover with aluminum foil.
Sometimes I don’t read the directions closely, so I added my tarragon at this point. I actually had fresh tarragon for the first time in my life, having just planted it in my backyard. Even though this is the wrong order, doesn’t this look delish?
Anyway, bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 20-30 minutes, until the casserole is golden brown.
This is seriously so good! Serve with a green salad. I didn’t because I never have time to make more than one component. But I would! If this didn’t turn you on, stay tuned for REALLY easy chocolate cake. Remember my No Knead Bread? This is the No Knead Bread of Chocolate Cakes.
Author: Christina Cox (recipe from Heidi Swanson’s “Super Natural Every Day”)
Recipe type: Side
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Tasty rice side dish that also serves well as a main with a leafy green salad!
Ingredients
2 large eggs (or egg replacer)
1 c cottage cheese
½ c sour cream
1 tsp Dijon or whole grain mustard
Sea salt
1 TBSP olive oil or unsalted butter
8 oz crimini mushrooms, chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 c cooked wild rice and/or brown rice (use whichever you have or a little of each!)
⅓ c grated Gruyere cheese
1 tsp chopped fresh tarragon or thyme
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a medium size baking pan with olive oil or butter.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, mustard and scant ½ tsp salt.
Heat oil in large skillet with pinch of salt. Stir in mushrooms. Leave mushrooms to cook for about 5 minutes undisturbed. After about 5 minutes, stir again every few minutes. Add onion to mushrooms, stir and cook until translucent for 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Then remove skillet from heat.
Add rice to skillet & stir to combine. Then add rice mixture to cottage cheese mixture and stir to combine. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle ⅔ of the cheese on top, cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil, bake another 20-30 minutes, until casserole is golden brown, especially around the edges.
Serve with remaining cheese & tarragon or thyme.
Notes
The cook time includes 45-60 minutes to cook wild rice. You can also buy pre-cooked wild or brown rice to save time! If you buy pre-cooked rice, the cook time is about an hour for the baking and 10-12 minutes for sautéing veggies.
After stirring to coat with oil, leave mushrooms sautéing for about 5 minutes.
