Dinner in Bonners Ferry

Chicken pot pie, homemade pickles, corn-on-the-cob (which came with a really good story)...

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.

Honolulu

It's the 4th of July, and so cold I could see my breath on my ride home from work. Which would be okay if there had been any nice weather whatsoever leading up til now. So last week I finally snapped and bought a ticket for Honolulu. It was fabulous - only too short! The city was way more interesting than I was expecting with tons of food and neighborhoods I wanted to explore.

Leonard's Bakery for malasadas.

They were basically fried dough. Somewhere between doughnuts and fry bread.

My beverage of choice when in Hawaii.

Granola

Granola (from Molly Wizenberg in Bon Appetit, June 2010)

- 3 cups oats
- 1 cup nuts (I used chopped pecans and sliced almonds)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut (I didn't have any, but will use it next time)
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- generous 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup honey
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 cup dried fruit (I used montmorency cherries)

Oven to 300 degrees; line a baking sheet with parchment.
Heat honey and oil on stove; mix other ingredients (except fruit) in bowl. Add warmed honey and oil. Mix well and spread on baking sheet. Bake until golden, about 40 minutes, stirring every ten minutes.

The directions say to cool before adding fruit. I add the cherries right out of the oven because I like them a little chewy.

The Peanut Butter Cookies I've always dreamed of...

I've never liked peanut butter cookies. I wanted to, because I love peanut butter, and it seemed logical that peanut butter would just make cookies better. But they are always chalky, dry and crumbly, when I wanted them to be chewy. It turns out the flour was the problem! These are exactly what I've always wished for...

The recipe comes from Emeril, in the March 2010 issue of Everyday Food.

Sorry about the photo - it is from my phone.

- 1 cup creamy peanut butter (I used the bad stuff - not natural)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1 beaten eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- (I added about 1/4-1/2 tsp of salt)

Oven to 350 degrees. Stir together all of the ingredients. Roll heaping tablespoons of dough into balls and place onto cookie sheet. Squash with fork. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Cool cookies on cookie sheet.

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.