Broccoli Cauliflower Soup

This soup tastes so much better than it should. And it is an easy way to get a large dose of veggies. But it isn't very pretty, so no picture...

- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 cup diced carrot
- minced garlic
- olive oil
- salt
- 1 head of cauliflower, broken into pieces small enough to fit into soup pot
- an equal amount of broccoli (okay to use stems.)
- 1 packet Trader Joe's Savory Broth (I used vegetable)
- water
- about 2-3 ounces cream cheese

In a large soup pot, cook the celery, onion, carrot and garlic in olive oil. Add the cauliflower, broccoli, broth, salt and water (a few cups?). Simmer until broccoli and cauliflower is soft. Blend with immersion blender. Add cream cheese and blend.

Kale Salad

- finely chopped kale
- cooked pearl couscous
- diced red bell pepper
- cherry tomatoes
- garbanzo beans
- lemon juice
- olive oil
- a splash of TJ's seasoned rice vinegar
- salt

Next time I want to add some salty feta cheese. One of the nice things about this salad is that it keeps so well, even after the dressing is mixed in. And it just tastes really good.

Summer Veggies over Pasta

I always tend to overdo it when it comes to adding herbs to my cooking, especially veggies. Recently I had dinner at a friends house - veggies over pasta. It was HEAVENLY. I asked him what he had added, and there was nothing but onion, garlic, salt and pepper.
A few weeks later I went to my friend's farm and picked some summer squash, and tried to duplicate it. It took so much willpower not to start dumping in the usual culprits, but I'm so glad I resisted! SO GOOD!

- summer squash
- yellow onion
- red pepper
- cherry tomatoes
- garlic
- olive oil
- salt
- pepper
- pear juice*

Chop it up and cook it in a big pan. Squash and tomatoes went in last. Eat over pasta. (Later I kind of regretted not throwing in some frozen corn at the last minute.)
* While I was sauteing the veggies, the pan started to dry out. I added pear juice (because I had it on hand) instead of more oil.

New donut shop! And Pasta with Clam Sauce

Frost Doughnuts is a new doughnut place north of Seattle (Mill Creek). In the picture is a cinnamon-sugar cruller, a pecan, caramelly cake doughnut, and a pumpkin spice. So, so, so very good. Luckily their only shop is a long drive from me.

Clam sauce: this comes from my friend who will hopefully start her own blog, but until then I need to store this recipe somewhere. I couldn't find a way to make clam sauce look pretty in a picture, but I'm posting it anyways...

- 1-2 cans of clams
- butter
- white wine
- garlic
- half and half, cream, evaporated milk, or whatever you have on hand (optional)
- parmesan cheese
- black pepper
- herbs of your choice (Italian mix, I use 21 Salute from Trader Joe's.)
- lemon zest
- veggies (a handful of frozen spinach thrown in is good, roasted cherry tomatoes were too.)
- cooked pasta

Drain clams and save juice. Saute canned clams in butter. Add garlic and saute until cooked. Add clam juice, white wine, lemon zest, and seasoning. Simmer until reduced a bit. Add a bit of the dairy of your choice. Serve with spaghetti, black pepper, and parmesan cheese.

Back soon!

As you can probably tell from my lack of posts, I am in dire need of a vacation. Every February I reach my breaking point with the Seattle weather, and become downright desperate for a change of scenery. Luckily, I was thinking ahead last September, and bought myself a plane ticket. So off I go!

But first, here is a photo: it looks like some sort of blood-bath. But it's really just beets and cauliflower tossed in salt and olive oil, then baked in a 400 degree oven until TASTY. The cauliflower had crispy bits that tasted like french fries, and the beets were sweet and caramelized (dessert!).

Winter Farmers Market Dinner

I had no idea that radishes were a winter food. I went to the U-District Farmers Market today and saw tons of them. Which was lucky for me because I LOVE radishes. I was so impressed by how much you could find at this farmers market in the dead of winter: tons of greens, squashes, brussels sprouts, potatoes, carrots, and apples. And every kind of meat you could possibly want, cheese, bread, seafood, honey, jam, and apple cider. And eggs - I bought a dozen.

I also bought some collard greens. I would have gotten a butternut squash as well, but I already had one at home...

I boiled the collard greens in vegetable broth for about 40 minutes, then added a can of white beans and a pinch of red pepper flakes. The butternut squash I baked, cut side down, in a 400 degree oven for about 40-45 minutes. I put the radishes on buttered crackers, and sprinkled them with salt and pepper - definitely my favorite part of my dinner...

I love how many colors there were on my plate - all with local, seasonal food.

Kitchen Sink Frittata

Another left-over post from December...I am mainly posting this (so late) as a reminder to myself: This is easy to make! And was good for taking in my lunches!

Okay - that's all I have to say on that...


- 9 eggs
- milk
- grated Parmesan cheese
- roasted potatoes
- roasted onions
- frozen spinach
- salt and pepper

8x8 baking dish, lightly greased. Oven to 350 degrees.

Sorry...more brussels sprouts

A couple of weeks ago while eating out, I had some amazing brussels sprouts. They were roasted with bleu cheese and hazelnuts. I wanted to try duplicating them at home, but decided I needed to use up some left-over goat cheese I had in my fridge. It was good, and definitely repeat-worthy. (But bleu cheese would have been better.)

I tossed the sprouts with olive oil, salt, and pepper, then spread them face down on a baking sheet with the hazelnuts. I stuck them in a 400 degree oven until they were done, then scattered the goat cheese on top.

PS - It snowed this weekend! (In case you are wondering, that is unusual for Seattle.)

Squash+Figs+Goat Cheese=YUM.

I truly meant to follow the recipe this time. I even made a special trip to the grocery store to make sure I would have all of the ingredients. And yet, I STILL managed to get home missing three things for the soup and a fourth ingredient for the compote... However, this turned out to be a happy accident, because I cannot imagine improving on how either the soup or compote turned out.

The fig compote came from the December 2007 issue of Food. The original version called for thyme, which I didn't have on hand, but I did not miss it!

Fig Compote
- 1/2 cup chopped dried Mission figs
- 1 cup red wine
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- pinch of salt

Boil in a saucepan until reduced and thickened. Cool to room temperature and serve on toast with goat cheese (with squash soup, if available).

The original soup recipe came from the November 2007 issue of Cooking Light. In addition to the missing ingredients, it called for putting the soup through a blender before serving. I don't have a blender, and couldn't really be bothered anyway. Instead I cooked it down a little longer on the stove. It turned out smooth with tasty chunks of squash. Yes, it looks like unappetizing babyfood, but I think that is true of most squash soup; I'm not sure it can be helped.

Squash Soup
- 5 cups water
- two bouillon cubes *please see note below
- 3/4 cup applesauce
- about 2 Tbsp molasses
- 1 butternut squash
- 1 acorn squash
- 1 large onion
- canola oil
- half-and-half

Oven to 400 degrees. Cut the squashes in half, clean out their seeds (save them to toast later). Place halves face down on baking sheet lined with parchment. Coarsely chop the onion, drizzle with canola oil, and spread out onto baking sheet with squashes. Bake until squash is soft (40 minutes? 50? I don't remember.)
Next, add water to soup pot and bring to boil. Add bouillon. When the squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out the insides and add to soup pot, along with the onions. Simmer until soup is at desired consistency, then add applesauce, molasses to taste, and half-and-half to taste (I think I used about 1/3 cup?).

*This is what I used - I did not add any additional herbs or salt, and the soup was perfect, so I guess I have to thank my bouillon...

Brussels Sprouts and Sweet Potato Fries

Happy Thanksgiving! It is six A.M., it is 32 degrees outside, and I am about to head to work...That's right - I will be spending my Thanksgiving at the hospital. For some reason I enjoy being at work during the holidays. It sort of reminds me of being a kid, and going to school at night for a school play or something.(?) Any-hoo, I still need to get my fix of Thanksgiving food:

I love brussels sprouts! These were tossed with melted butter, pecans, salt, and pepper, then roasted in an oven set at about 400 degrees until the were done (browning on the bottom). I had some sweet potatoes that I threw in too. They were good, but nothing compares to brussels sprouts...

Stuffed Pumpkin

I found it difficult to photograph this - something about the Israeli couscous looks a little icky in pictures...
But it tasted really good, and was incredibly easy, so here is the "recipe" (as usual, I don't remember any specifics...)

Stuffed Pumpkin

- a small pumkpin (the kind meant for eating, not carving)
- vegetable broth
- couscous
- tart cherries
- anything else that sounds good (Carrie - I'm sure it would be good with some roasted root veggies thrown in at the last minute?)

I took the top off the pumpkin and emptied it (keeping the seeds for toasting, of course). I think I had the oven pretty hot, around 400 degrees. I put the pumpkin on a baking sheet, then poured hot vegetable broth inside, and stuck the pumpkin in the oven for awhile. When the pumpkin started to seem cooked, I added the couscous and the cherries, then cooked the pumpkin a while longer, until the couscous was done.

One pumpkin made enough for my dinner, and then lunch the next day. The pumpkin become really soft and savory cooked in the vegetable broth, and you can scoop bites of pumpkin out with the couscous. Yum!

Parmesan French Toast with Zucchini, Squash, and Tomatoes

I seem to be doing a lot of complaining about the weather lately, so before I get to my french toast, I need to mention how much I love Fall in Seattle! The weather is totally unpredictable, and can change at a moment's notice. After a sunny day today, the clouds just rolled in about an hour ago. Now there is a flat, grey haze over everything. Leaves are starting to turn amazing colors, and there is a bite in the air. It is cold enough to need a sweater and a jacket. All of this just makes for really good baking weather. (Blondies, actually. I will post about them soon.)

I took the photo below Tuesday night. I was on my way to a lecture on "perspective" at Gage. When the black clouds in the distance finally arrived, they brought a few flashes of lightening, but no rain.




Okay - french toast... I love french toast. I was craving it today, but my sweet tooth wasn't present at the time. This was the result:

French Toast

- eggs
- milk
- pepper
- finely grated parmesan cheese
- good crusty bread

Whisk eggs, milk, pepper, and parmesan together in a bowl. Dip bread into egg mixture, and fry in a pan on medium heat until cooked all the way through.

Sauteed Veggies

- zucchini, chopped
- squash, chopped
- cherry tomatoes, left whole
- butter
- herbs
- salt

Saute everything until done to your liking; serve atop french toast, with a spoonful of sour cream or plain Greek-style yogurt.

Muggy Spring Day

I think this photo makes the day look cold, but in reality it was the first time this spring that we had a warm, overcast day. I was enjoying the green trees against the grey sky, but I was too hungry to take the time to get a really good picture. But for the record, it was a WARM day, not cold.

I went to my mom's for left-overs. It included crab quiche, salad, and potatoes cooked in a funny way that we saw in Fine Cooking a few issues back:

For dessert there was homemade vanilla ice cream, homemade strawberry ice cream, and these kick-ass banana lemon cookies that she has been making since I was a kid. I will probably do a proper post on those cookies on Sweet and Savory pretty soon.

Asparagus and Egg

I got off work early today, which meant I had time to go home, shower, and then actually cook dinner. I looked in my pantry and saw nothing. I was also acutely aware of the beautiful bundle of asparagus I bought a few days ago, that was threatening to go to waste. So I became determined to put it to use, and ended up with the best dinner I have had in ages - one of those lucky accidents that ends up tasting like the best possible food you could imagine at the moment. I was not able to get a good photo - I was so busy scarfing it down that I literally took only one picture simply to record it for later. But I will post it anyways, since it tasted so GOOD.

- Steamed asparagus
- Top with lemon pepper
- Top with grated parmesan
- Top with a 12-minute hard-ish boiled egg
- Sprinkle with seasoned rice vinegar and a pinch of salt

Variations on a Fast Food Salad

It's official - I want a blog. So here I am. I imagine I will spend most of my time talking food and crafts, but the truth is that I have to find an outlet for a few other things too, so the rules are that anything goes.

That said, today is about salad. My emergency food, when I am tired enough to used processed food...

Variation #1: romaine with cherry tomatoes, shavings of whatever strong cheese I have around, a heated can of Trader Joe's cuban style black beans, and then a splash of seasoned rice vinegar over the entire thing.

Variation #2: replace black beans with panko breaded tilapia filet, also from Trader Joe's, and add some mustard on the side.