Month: June 2020

I’m not a fan of spaghetti but the kids are, and I always end up with leftovers they refuse to eat. With a slew of my favorite Asian condiments, I whipped up this version of noodles to transform spaghetti into spicy peanut sauce in a hot minute.

Just start with making the sauce right in the pan so that the peanut butter softens and all begins to caramelize a bit. Add noodles, then a little water as needed once the noodles soak it up. You can shred the carrot right over the pan first to give it some time to warm and soften. Then the cucumber and cabbage. No need to “cook”, just toss all together. Add the chili spice last, then remove from heat and top with top with sesame seeds.

This is precisely the reason why I always leave the spaghetti noodles plain until I plate them!

Back in March when SIP went down, I told my mom all the stores in SF were sold out of flour. Days later, I had a 50lb bag of spelt at my door. (No wonder this was the only available flour on Amazon. She didn’t read the quantity in the fine print!) I gave some to my baker neighbor, some in the freezer, and the rest in giant jars and bags. Then began the hunt for spelt recipes. This one is my favorite so far.

If you’re not trying to use up 50lbs of spelt, I recommend a mix of half spelt and half all purpose for lighter, fluffier versions. Spelt and wheat are more dense, though still delicious.

Smells like Auntie Anne’s up in here!

Pro tip: freeze a batch and reheat in toaster oven and they’re ready in minutes!

It’s been a long-standing tradition in my family to have pizza every Friday night. Years ago, I started making it myself, just buying the no-fail dough from Trader Joe’s. The kids have come to love it so much they always say they never want restaurant pizza again! (Gloat!)

I was scared to try my hand at making dough for so long, in fear of ruining a pizza night. So I ordered one NINE dollar chunk of dough from Full Belly Farms in my CSA box to make a tray alongside my version. The kids’ blind taste test results?! Mine won!

If you’ve had it, I bet you’re obsessed. It’s a little hard to find – Whole Foods, Costco, but that’s about it around here in SF. I found a dupe recipe and it’s pretty accurate and definitely a cure for the fever. Here’s the recipe I used, but I added more sweat (extra chili powder, chipotle powder, and some pickled jalapenos. Sriracha would probably be a good addition, too.) It seriously works on EVERYTHING.

Toss this all in your blender. Vitamix takes just a minute. And it’s business time. awwww yeah.

Recipe from Blissfulbasil.com

It’s been a LONG while since I’ve read a book that really resonated enough to make me fly through it with pure pleasure. (Not a proud proclomation from a Literature and Philospher major who spent a decade nose-to-book.) I really had a hard time finding and enjoying reading ever since children came into my life (8 yrs ago!!) But this book grabbed me and had me quoting and evangelizing like a bapist.

So many A-HA moments and quotes that made me feel seen.

“I decided the call of motherhood is to become a model, not a martyr…one who shows her children how to be fully alive.”

“I quit buying the idea that a successful marriage is one that lasts till death, even if one or both spouses are dying inside it…I will not abandon myself. Not ever again. Me and myself: we are til death do us part.”

I know, everyone is baking banana bread these days. It’s not a new trick for this old pony but I have found a new go-to recipe. This one has minimal sugar, is VEGAN, and yet, no one would ever guess either. My kids, my friends…devour it and ask for more.

Pamela Salzman changed the way I cook, the way I eat. I finally found my master chef guru who makes equally delicious and nutritious food.

I first found Pamela’s recipes when I was looking for kid-friendly food that was chock full of good veggies. These green spinach-banana muffins were the gateway to a new clean roster of meals. (I promise, the taste is all maple syrup/banana and zero spinach!)

But this Savory Dutch Baby is one of my new favorites. I’ve made it three times now, for three different picnics, each slightly varied with/without mushrooms, parmesan instead of gruyere, and it’s perfection. Just bring a bottle of white, a big blanket, and you’re good to go!

I used to really enjoy grocery shopping. But now, I hate lines, and germs and have managed to avoid stores for weeks at a time.

I’m fortunate to have a Sunday farmer’s market a few blocks away, but after being the third person in line at 8am and still waiting half an hour in a cold downpour one day, that was the end of that. I signed up for a weekly delivery from Farm Fresh to You and couldn’t be happier to receive an easily customized box on my doorstep every Friday morning.

Aside from the obvious convenience, and supporting local organic farmers, I love eating seasonally and getting a wide variety of fruits and veggies that push me out of the regular rotation.

Never before would I have googled “what to do with fennel fronds” and made this delicious pesto I ended up dipping everything in!

(This is not an ad! But see above caption for a discount on your first delivery!)

You‘ll be amazed how quick and easy this is, not to mention cheaper and cleaner than store-bought.

The kids wipe out a jar of pickles in days. They’ve come to enjoy (and be proud of) chopping the cucumbers.

I make a giant jar of the these pickled jalapenos monthly to bring the heat to sandwiches, pizza, scrambles, salads, nachos and tacos, cheese plates…!

INGREDIENTS

• 15 to 20 large jalapeños, sliced, stems discarded
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
• 1 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1 cup filtered water
• 4 tablespoons sugar (optional as it is for flavoring)
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a medium sauce pan combine the garlic, water, vinegar, sugar and salt.
2. Heat to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt. Add the sliced jalapenos pressing down to submerge under liquid. Remove from heat and let sit for 10-15 min.
3. Use tongs to transfer into a clean jar. Ladle the juice over top. Let cool at room temperature before refrigerating.

I’ve always enjoyed cooking, but not baking. My style of not following directions and measurements and generally being in a hurry was not conducive for a task that depended upon preciseness and accuracy. But with time on my hands, a gifted sourdough starter, and the hassle of long lines and masked potentially contagious people in this pandemic keeping me from the grocery store, I quickly became addicted to making sourdough, no-knead, sourdough crackers, pizza dough, and soft pretzels.

Baking has had a rise (no pun intended) and fall during this quarantine. It became a hipster thing to do, and so, easy to poke fun at. I’ve seen a backlash against those of us who are “being over-productive”, (as if I should feel guilty for making people feel bad that they don’t enjoy the same hobbies I do!) Since that social media baking fatigue, I’m posting here for those 5 few of you may want to see. 😊

I couldn’t stand throwing away the sourdough starter discard with every feed so I found a great recipe to make crackers. Talk about turning trash into treasure! I typically consume pounds of crackers (to go with the pounds of cheese!) But these were so good they made the cheese stand alone 😆

For the second batch, I tried TJs Everything but the Bagel seasoning but made the mistake of adding to the dough before rolling out (as I did with the Herbs de Provence) and it just got lost. Next time I’ll try adding on top after rolling and cutting.