Brussels Sprout-Potato Hash
You know a dish is a winner when you find yourself making it twice in one week. Say hello to my new addiction, Brussels Sprout-Potato Hash! Breakfast potatoes just got a WHOLE lot better with the addition of Brussels Sprouts! They add lots of depth to the dish, rounding out all the carbs. Yes. I can never get enough carbs, but sometimes my guilt takes over! I don't feel as bad binging on breakfast potatoes now when there's a huge heaping pile of caramelized Brussels Sprouts in the mix. I must also note that the addition of lemon zest & thyme make this hash stellar. Casey immediately asked me "Ooh! what's this spice?" Thyme, baby. Thyme. Other things to note: vegan, low fat, low calorie, gluten-free & fantastic!
FAIL! FAIL! FAIL!
Today I'm opening up the vault and letting you in on a few of my cooking & baking FAILS! I've got a bunch of pretty pictures wasting precious space on my hard drive because the recipes were bunk or I failed at executing them! It's time to clear up some space!
Ahhh mistakes....We all make them! The most important thing is to learn from them! That's the only way to get better. Here's some failures for ya....
This Lentil & Bulgur Soup sounded too good to be true! I was attracted to the recipe because the ingredients list was short. Little did I know the soup would be short on taste! I tried to add more vinegar to the recipe to wake it up. Unfortunately, the vinegar only made it worse. Parmesan cheese didn't even help it. How lame is that? FAIL.
“Life Changing”Vegan Thumbprint Cookies
Whenever I see a recipe described as "life changing," I feel like I'm Marty McFly and Biff is calling me chicken! OH YEAH? I'll be the judge if it's life changing or not! Let me prove you wrong! How could cookies possibly change my life?!? I accepted this challenge and am happy to report that these cookies are life changing in the sense that it's now acceptable for me to eat cookies for breakfast. That in itself is a good enough reason to make these. They pair ridiculously well with my morning cappuccino & make a fantastic snack in the afternoon with some tea. They are like an energy bar in cookie form!
They're a little dense, crunchy and kinda buttery with all of the almonds in them. They're a snap to make, totally kid friendly (as long as there are no nut allergies in your household) and the recipe makes a ton! I definitely think I'll make this WITH Cooper when he's not prone to dumping flour all over the place (that may take awhile). It's no big deal if he eats the batter! The only problem I encountered was figuring out which one of the jams I liked most. I used blueberry jam (I made from scratch) as well as apricot & raspberry jam (from Trader Joe's). I really liked the the seedy raspberry ones; they were the prettiest. I did love the tang of the apricot too! I dunno! I can't decide. Let me just take another sample....
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Kale Walnut Pesto Pasta
Sometimes I wonder if I would have liked kale when I was a kid. My mom made us spinach regularly and Swiss Chard on occasions but never kale. If I had kale chips, I'd have to assume I'd be into them. I have always been a sucker for crunchy things and I don't think my kid palette would have discriminated. But then again I think I might have been horrified with the kale chip-in- teeth- situation. Oh god, imagine if that happened in high school! If I loved them as much as I do now, I'd be Tracy-- that chick with the swamp teeth! I'd be standing alone at the school dance, the Cranberries would be playing and I'd be picking at my teeth waiting for some boy to ask me to dance. Gross...
I digress...So kale AS pesto. Sounds pretty neat huh? It is. With a little bit of lemon it's bright green & lovely. With some toasted walnuts it's smokey and nutty. With some olive oil and Parmesan cheese, it's smooth and creamy. I fantasize about dipping some of my Killer Garlic Bread in some. I bet it would be an amazing sauce/base for a pizza... fantastic on a baked potato or in a bruschetta concoction. Don't feel like going through the whole process of making pesto? Try this Pasta with Braised Kale recipe instead. But really, come on! It's super easy.
Arugula Fennel & Orange Salad
Latest Food Craving: Arugula Fennel & Orange Salad.
I had my first taste of this salad last Saturday at my friend Danielle's Champagne Tasting party. I kept a steady eye on the big glass salad bowl throughout the party. Between sips of bubbly, I monitored how much was left in the bowl. After my third helping, I dropped my napkin (on purpose) near the bowl and scooped up yet ANOTHER helping onto my plate. Did anybody notice that this was my fourth helping? It's salad! Who cares? When I came back from the party, Casey asked me about the different champagnes I tasted and all I could tell him was how blown away I was with this salad. It distracted me; I just KNEW I had to recreate it. Like...I couldn't sleep until I made plans to recreate it the next day.
When we had friends over for lunch on Sunday, I started with this salad as a feature and created a whole Antipasti Party around it. The surprisingly thing is that I've never much cared for shaved fennel, but now I adore it--- especially when it's combined with peppery arugula and juicy orange segments! The salad is light, crunchy, juicy, peppery and tangy. I love everything about it.
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Farro Salad with Cranberries
Dear Friends Who Love to Chop Food,
Let me start by saying that it's so awesome to find people who also enjoy the act of cutting up fruits & vegetables for recipes. Some people think we are weird, but who really cares?! I know they appreciate the heck out of us when we step up to bat in their kitchens. Isn't it just terrible to watch someone hack up a carrot and know that they're not even enjoying it? Blasphemy!
Ever since I took a knife skills class, I've been excited to find recipes that test out my skills. This recipe will totally fulfill your chopping quota for the day. There's onions, celery, almonds, AND parsley. It's fun, awesome, and you are going to love it. The best part? The end result is fabulous! You'll end up with a tangy sweet farro salad with lots of crunchy fun bits. I should mention that it's a healthy dish--great for vegans too! Your knife is begging you to sharpen it and take it for a spin. Please enjoy, and thanks again for your chopping support.
Your chop-happy friend,
Tracy
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Homemade Cheese Ravioli
Working on your resolutions for 2011?
In addition to DRINK MORE WATER, you should add MAKE PASTA FROM SCRATCH to your list. It's definitely a life changer. You will never take fresh homemade pasta for granted again. If you find yourself really digging the experience, you might take it a step further and make a batch of these scrumptious cheese ravioli. Wanna go crazy? Double the recipe and make it for your family on Christmas Eve. Having survived the crazy, I'd make sure you have about 4 hours of time allotted to do so. It's a lot work, but totally WORTH it. Don't let my mom tell you any different!
But let's start off simple. Pasta dough.
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My Interview with Lucinda Scala Quinn
A week ago, I was sitting in our basement in my bathrobe talking to Lucinda Scala Quinn, the Executive Food Editor of Martha Stewart Omnimedia about Bauducco Panettone. My hair was soaking wet and my cell phone was dangerously propped up on a stool while I was trying super hard not to wake up Casey & Cooper. I spent the previous week denying my nerves. This is no big deal. I've got this! Then, the few seconds of hold time made me a little frantic. Lucinda's voice came on the line and my heart sank. There she is....The one I've been watching on TV for years...The one who changed the course of my life with her perfect fried egg! Of course I blabbed to her about my love for her gorgeous cookbook, Mad Hungry: Feeding Men and Boys and how I've never cooked that many recipes from a single cookbook before! It wasn't until we started talking about panettone, when I felt like I could handle this level of responsibility. We're just two women, talking on the phone about addictive nature of panettone and how hard it is to stop eating a whole loaf in one sitting.
