mistinguett.: cooking adventure.

Showing posts with label cooking adventure.. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

on leaning in.

Homemade channa masala (with this recipe) spiced chicken drumsticks, and naan (with this recipe). The naan was ridiculously easy and SO good. Will be making that on a regular basis. With more garlic next time.

Strawberry sponge layer cake with home made whipped cream. Topped with powdered sugar.

Weddings make a great occasion for a reunion. We spent our weekend down in Western Massachusetts catching up with les nantais. There was hiking, cute, slobbery dogs, wonderful breakfasts, and cocktails for everyone.

Doesn't this little piece of bark remind you of the infinity sign?

Things have been up and down over here. Transition periods are always the hardest ones to get through, I know that's not a monumental discovery. But for the sake of my mental health, I've decided to (try to) embrace the hard parts. The pointy edges that I just want to smooth out. There are going to be difficult parts in life and sometimes you just have to lean in to them. Even though it's uncomfortable. I don't know if my strategy is working yet, but I do know I am considerably calmer this week than last. I go for long runs. I did hot yoga this afternoon and sweat everything out of my body. I wrote a story this morning for the first time since who knows how long. And now I'm getting back to work this afternoon, trying to move forward and see what's ahead for me.

How is your week going? What recipes are you cooking up?

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

in the kitchen: roasted eggplant with caper salsa.

This is one of my favorite recent recipes. I love capers, but don't buy or cook with them very often. After this recipe, however, I think I'll keep a jar in my fridge at all times!

via smitten kitchen.

I saw this on Pinterest a while back and decided to give it a try. I love eggplant, and was looking for some new ways to cook it.

First I cut up the aubergine into slices.

I poured a considerable (2-3 tbsp?) of extra virgin olive oil onto the tray before arranging the eggplant slices. I lightly salted and peppered them, and stuck them into the oven at 425 degrees. This is a picture from when I was halfway through roasting them (at about 10-12 minutes) before I turned them over to finish up.

While they were roasting, I worked on my salsa. The recipe from Smitten Kitchen (shown below) gives you a lot of options for substitutions, several of which I took.

Makes about 4 appetizer/salad portions, assuming people will eat two rounds each.

Roasted Eggplant:
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds eggplant (about 2 medium), in 3/4- to 1-inch slices

Salsa:

1/2 cup chopped or crumbled ricotta salata (I used feta, which was delish)
2 tablespoons capers, drained
1/3 cup finely diced red onion (I used about shallots instead)
3 seeded, diced medium tomatoes (1 1/2 cups)
3 tablespoons minced fresh mint leaves (I used freshly chopped parsley)
2 teaspoon red wine vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
Freshly ground black pepper

Once the eggplant slices were done, I immediately plated them and piled a good amount of salsa on top. I kept the rest of the meal simple- pork tenderloin and white rice. I could definitely imagine eating this in the summer, fresh from the barbeque. And maybe I'll try the mint and ricotta version next time. Also ate the leftover salsa with pretzels and crusty bread in the days following (yum!)

What's your favorite eggplant recipe?

Friday, February 17, 2012

at the moment...

'the same questions asked

before the spirit's journey

into the afterlife. did you bring joy?

did you find joy?

Anne Simpson 'Boat of Dawn, Boat of Dusk' in Is

Reciting these lines I stumbled upon this week in a lovely book of poetry by Anne Simpson this week at work. I'm particularly struck by these couple of lines. Simple questions, or are they?

I'm crunching cinnamon sugar roasted garbanzo beans...

Can't wait to try this recipe for caramel apple cider cake. yummmmm. I've never made frosting before, kind of apprehensive. But I'm ready for a challenge.

Excited for the weekend, especially since we're going to drive south to Burlington to explore a bit and take some pictures. Maybe we'll drive back along the coast of Lake Champlain and pretend it's almost summer.

Loving this picture/quote from illuminecreative.

Coveting this kitchen scale.

And looking for the perfect antique/functional bench. Need to find some good antique stores, because I'm not having much luck with the thrift stores as of late. Although I do like this one:

Custom order from an Etsy shop in Baltimore. Road trip time?

What are you cooking, coveting, and crunching on at the moment?

Friday, September 23, 2011

friday top ten: ipod race list.

Tell me. Why is that I can find the motivation to whip up some cinnamon applesauce, a pie crust for a quiche tomorrow, earmark a recipe for simple alfredo pasta sometime next week (I want to add asparagus or broccoli), and a jalepeno omelette that I want to make for dinner tonight, run to the store to buy a magazine... but the motivation for anything work, dishes, or laundry related is mysteriously absent. It must be the obligation part of it, hm?

I am so happy that it is Friday (that sounds familiar) and I'm getting excited for the half marathon on Sunday!! I went for a 2 mile run yesterday and.... no pain in my foot!! Remains to be seen if the pain will come back at say, mile 7. We'll see. I'm just going to go as far as I can, I'm ready!

And in preparation for the big race, I'm debating what's going to be part of my Marathon Mix. Here are some of my ideas so far. A Half-Marathon-Themed Friday Top Ten, if you will.

Adele: Set Fire to the Rain
One Republic: Good Life
Snow Patrol: Finish Line (how appropriate)
Lady Gaga: Just Dance.... or Poker Face
2Pac: Changes (this was always one of the first songs I listened to on my long runs)
Train: Hey Soul Sister
The Midway State: Atlantic (a new find)
Rihanna: Only Girl
Dave Matthews: Bartender (live version)
Coldplay: Viva la Vida (reminds me of summer car rides with the windows down)

Of course I only have about half of these songs, so I'll have to get the rest! Any suggestions? What song gives you an extra burst of energy during your workout?

What's in store for your weekend?

xo,

alli

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

butternut squash & boots.

I dare say this might be turning into a food blog. Tonight I was feeling inspired. I cut up the butternut squash that's been sitting on my counter for..... a week at least now, and roasted it with some olive oil and salt n pepper. Delish! Sugary heaven in your mouth. What you see in the picture is only a fourth of the squash, and since my dinner guest didn't like it much.... there's some leftovers. What does one do with leftover squash? I almost want to make mashed squash with caramelized brown sugar. Is that... allowed? Will continue the brainstorming.

Also, milking the inspiration for all it was worth (and taking full advantage of weeknight with no classes) I tried a recipe for buttermilk biscuits, that were more like 1/2 cup cream 1/4 cup 1% milk biscuits. Which turned out much better than that one time I made scones. Finished the dinner with lemon-y perch and a side of quinoa.

In things not related to food, I've (mostly) decided that I'm going to give the half marathon a try this weekend, and power through the challenging foot issues I've been having. I ran for a bit today and although it's sore/tired at times during the day, during the run everything seemed fine. So I'm going to continue resting a bit and gear up for race day this weekend!

Also,

I'm thinking about these boots.

And this cable-knit sweater.

And this cute as can be video, of a grandma and grandpa accidentally recording 5 minutes of them trying to take a picture using their computer.

How is your week going so far?

xo

Monday, August 1, 2011

le weekend.

coucou!

how was your weekend? was it good enough to compensate for the drag that is monday morning? i remembered at half past way-too-late last night that i didn't renew my bus/metro pas for August, and I was late to work this morning. there were a lot of others who were forgetful with me. add to the mess that it was about 873% humidity this morning when i was running around like a mad woman. isn't it always like that?

there was a real summer thunderstorm tonight. the kind you feel coming when the temperature drops and the clouds swirl around overhead. lots of lightning to watch from my makeshift desk (my bed) where I spread out what seemed like every book or article i've read so far for my thesis. trying to bring some order to this project!

my weekend was full of cooking adventures, punctuated by a birthday soirée and a visit to the science center to see the Indiana Jones archaeology exhibit. which was fun! except in all honesty, the movie clips and set designs kept my attention a lot better than all the archaeology technical stuff :/ still, a very interesting exhibit!

sunday night i made my first.ever.pizza. and folks? it was DELICIOUS. and so easy! i can't believe it took me this long to make my own. chorizo, garlic, basil, mozarella. the crust was light and fluffy, with the perfect amount of crunch. oh, and it's rectangular because that's the only pan i have :)

and THIS was today's cooking extravaganza. fried corn pancakes, if-you-will, accompanied by grilled chicken breast and a scrumptious avocado, tomato, onion, cilantro salsa.

it was my first time really frying something, and I only set off the fire alarm twice! don't worry though, that thing is super sensitive. which, i suppose, is a good thing.

anyways... next time i think i would fry them a bit.... less. and the salsa is great, but next time i would not forget that jalapeno that the recipe calls for, and add that in there too. and i would find a door to put on the kitchen, so my whole apartment wouldn't smell like fried things anymore.

how was your weekend?

alli

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

springtime woes.

pinterest via flickr

today is a gloomy mix of rain, hail, and SNOW. 20th of April, and it's 30 degrees out. how did it come to this? yesterday was a scrumptious sunny day, and i made sure to go on a nice long run, because i knew i wouldn't be doing that today! i won't officially start training for the half marathon until about june, but now that classes are over i have a bit more time to run, which i'm loving. it just evens out my life a bit.

i painted my nails and toenails bright red yesterday, which i've been wanting to do since about.... a month ago. i made this for dinner:

wholefoods

spinach lasagna rolls, minus the ricotta because i didn't have any. next time i think i'll add some spicy sausage or something. and i roasted some eggplant slices to go with, sprinkled with lemon juice. delish!

i think this morning i'll get ahead on some reading, and then i'm heading in to work this afternoon. my umbrella is broken, so i'm going to have to get creative... à voir.

alli