Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Monday, June 28, 2010

Meatless Monday Publishes My Recipe for Snap Pea And Bell Pepper Salad!


Check out my latest recipe published by Meatless Monday--Snap Pea And Bell Pepper Salad!  It's the perfect light, refreshing summer salad, great for beating the heat and it makes use of the fresh produce in season right now.  So click on over, and while you're there, rate it and leave a comment.

And remember, "One day a week cut out meat!"

Click here for the link to my recipe on Meatless Monday!

Friday, June 25, 2010

Domestic Divas Quick Hummus Recipe!


Divas, I'm sharing with you a staple of my kitchen repertoire--my Quick Hummus Recipe!  I love hummus, believing it to be the perfect snack food.  It's chucked full of fiber, healthy fats and protein.

I love eating it with chips and chopped veggies like snap peas and baby carrots.  I also love spreading it on sandwiches and wraps, or stirring it into vegetable soups for a creamy broth.  And if you want to get fancy, play around with this base recipe by adding sun-dried tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts, spinach or curry powder to create your own flavors.

Domestic Divas Quick Hummus Recipe
Serves 6-8 people
Prep time: 10 minutes

Ingredients
1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and liquid reserved
1/4 cup sesame tahini
juice of 2 lemons
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika (pimenton), plus more for garnishing
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 garlic clove, peeled
salt

Directions
Place the garbanzo beans, sesame tahini, lemon juice paprika, cumin and garlic in a food processor and pulse until blended.  Add the olive oil and puree until smooth.  Add the reserved garbanzo bean liquid as needed to achieve desired consistency.  Season to taste to salt.

To serve, spoon some hummus into a bowl.  Sprinkle with a little smoked paprika and drizzle with olive oil.  Enjoy!

Note: Hummus can be frozen and kept in freezer for up to six months.  I like to make a huge batch and freeze portions to eat all month long.

Source For Ingredients
organic garbanzo beans, organic lemons and organic garlic from Trader Joe's

organic sesame tahini, smoked paprika, organic ground cumin, kosher salt and extra virgin olive oil from Whole Foods

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Wordless Wednesday: Eat My Blog 2010 Photo Gallery!


















Congrats to Cathy, Diana and the entire Eat My Blog team.  We raised over $5,000 for the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.

Stay tuned for the next one...

Click here for Eat My Blog's official website!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Meatless Monday: Zucchini With Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Mint And Goat's Milk Feta


Divas, what an exciting weekend!

The Eat My Blog charity bake sale was a huge success!  My Bacon Brownies With Bourbon Caramel Sauce sold out quickly and we raised $5,427 for the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.  I'll be posting picture later this week.

In the meantime, I've got lots of fun culinary trips planned.  On Tuesday, I'm hitting up Providence for their anniversary five course tasting menu.  And in only ten days, I'm taking off for JAPAN!!!  That's right, Kuzak and I will be vacationing in Tokyo and Kyoto, visiting the fish market, eating ramen, shabu-shabu, tempura and more!  The Chicago Foodie and her esteemed husband will be meeting up with us.  I can't wait!  It should be a fabulous trip!  The only downside is that the Adorable Monster will have to stay in Los Angeles without us.  Poor little guy.  I'll miss the heck out of him.

Now onto more important matters!  For today's Meatless Monday, here's a fabulous little dish I whipped up last week - Zucchini With Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Mint and Goat's Milk Feta.  Summer squash is in season big time, filling up grocery stores and farmers markets, so now is the time to take advantage.  I love this dish for lunch (it's great shoveled onto toasted bread bruschetta-style) or served with a big salad for dinner.  Oh, and did I mention it tastes fabulous?  Zucchini and mint pair wonderfully together, while the sun-dried tomatoes and feta add nice tang to the dish.  I wish I would eat some right now...

Zucchini With Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Mint and Goat's Milk Feta
Serves 4 people
Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients
4 cups zucchini, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienned
2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
1/2 cup goat's milk feta, crumbled

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Toss the zucchini with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until tender.  Remove from the oven.

Then, toss the zucchini with the sun-dried tomatoes and feta.  Check seasoning (salt and pepper).  Transfer to a serving bowl and top with the fresh mint.  Enjoy!

Source For Ingredients
organic zucchini and organic mint from the Hollywood Farmers Market

goat's milk feta from Whole Foods

sun-dried tomatoes from Trader Joe's

Monday, June 14, 2010

Meatless Monday: Edamame Spinach Dip


Here's a superbly healthy take on the usual chips and dip--it's my Edamame Spinach Dip!  Edamame is a preparation of baby soybeans with many health benefits.  It's high in protein and fiber and contains vitamin C, vitamin A, iron and calcium.  Meanwhile, I  probably don't even need to tell you about spinach's array of health benefits!  Calorie for calorie, leafy greens like spinach provide more nutrition than any other foods.  It contains everything from antioxidants, to calcium, to minerals like iron to vitamins like vitamin E (good for eyesight).

To make this dip, I bypass any sort of dairy or cheese usually found in spinach dips.  Instead, I blend the shelled edamame and spinach with walnuts, fresh garlic cloves and olive oil, adding healthy fats (walnuts and olive oil), more protein (walnuts) and anti-bacterial, anti-viral properties (garlic).  I serve this dip with whole grain crackers and vegetables like baby carrots, snap peas and chopped bell peppers.  It's hearty enough for a meal on its own, or great spread onto sandwiches or mixed into whole grain pasta tossed with steamed vegetables.  I love this stuff so much, I can even eat it by the spoonful!

Note: For easy prep, shelled edamame can be found fresh at Trader Joe's and frozen at Whole Foods and other grocery stores.

Edamame Spinach Dip
Serves 6-8 people
Prep time: 5 minutes

Ingredients
1 cup edamame, shelled
1/2 cup fresh spinach
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons walnuts
2 garlic cloves, peeled
juice of 1 lemon
salt & pepper 

Directions
Toss all of the ingredients (fava beans, lemon juice, olive oil, walnuts, arugula, garlic) into a food processor. Blend until creamy. Add more olive oil if needed to achieve desired texture.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve, transfer the dip to a bowl and drizzle with a little good olive oil.  Serve with whole grain crackers and fresh vegetables (baby carrots, snap peas, sliced bell pepper).  Enjoy!

Source For Ingredients
edamame, organic spinach and organic lemons from Trader Joe's

organic walnuts and organic garlic from Hollywood Farmers Market

extra virgin olive oil from Whole Foods

Music On Tap

Blitzen Trapper - Destroyer Of The Void

"Over the course of their four full-length albums to date, including their revelatory 2008 Sub Pop release Furr, Portland, OR's Blitzen Trapper have gained a growing international audience. The band's continuing exploration of American music has earned them notice ranging from Rolling Stone magazine to late-night network television to Yo Gabba Gabba. Destroyer of the Void takes Blitzen Trapper further than ever before, building on the band's seamless marriage of the familiar and the fantastic." --from Amazon

Friday, June 11, 2010

Simple Suppers: Seared Albacore With Jalapeno Tarragon Vinaigrette


Divas, I'm back with another great Simple Suppers recipe!  I whipped this one up the other night for Kuzak after he came home from work.  First, I quickly seared a beautiful piece of Albacore, a fish from the tuna family, I'd picked up at Sunday's farmers market, then I made a quick vinaigrette by pureeing jalapeno, tarragon, spring onion with olive oil and lemon juice.  The result?  A delicious, healthy dinner!  I love spicy peppers with fish, and the tarragon added great flavor.

To complete my meal, I served the fish over brown rice (quinoa would be great, too) and with steamed yellow beans from the market tossed with olive oil and tarrgon.  So give this one a shot--I promise you'll love it!

Seared Albacore With Jalapeno Tarragon Vinaigrette
Serves 2 people
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
.75 ounces fresh albacore
2 tablespoons grapessed or canola oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper

vinaigrette:
1 jalapeno, seeded
2 spring onions, green parts chopped and white parts reserved
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions
To make the vinaigrette, place the jalapeno, spring onions, lemon juice, tarragon and olive oil in a food processor or blender.  Puree until smooth.  Add more olive oil as needed to reach desired consistency.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Set aside. 

To sear the albacore, salt and pepper both sides and rub with the cumin.  Heat the grapeseed or canola oil in a saute pan over high heat.  Once the pan is almost smoking, add the albacore and quickly sear it on both sides, leaving the center raw (about 1-2 minutes each side, depending on thickness).  Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

To plate, slice the albacore into thin pieces.  Arrange them on a plate, and spoon the vinaigrette onto the fish.  Top with the chopped spring onion.  Enjoy!

Source For Ingredients
fresh albacore, organic spring onions, organic lemons from Hollywood Farmers Market

jalapeno, organic ground cumin and organic tarragon from Whole Foods

Wine Pairing
With this light, spicy summer dish, we paired a bottle of Auteur Durrell Chardonnay, 2008.  A fabulous wine from one of our favorite producers, this wine was verging on gold in the glass, with great minerality and citrus notes, and lingered on the tongue with a hint of lemon.  It paired excellently with the spice of this dish and the the lemon flavors highlighted the fresh fish.  A well-crafted example of Sonoma Coast Chardonnay--I only wish we had many more bottles!

Click here for Auteur!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

This Is Where I'll Be Saturday Night Feeding My New Ramen Obsession!


Click here to visit Breadbar's website!

Eat My Blog Menu!

Hot LA Lifestyle Website Features My Recipe for Bacon Brownies With Bourbon Caramel Sauce!


Caroline On Crack, a hot Los Angeles lifestyle blog, has just published an article featuring my recipe for Bacon Brownies With Bourbon Caramel Sauce.  I created these treats for the Eat My Blog charity bake sale, which takes place this Saturday at Tender Greens in West Hollywood.  Check out Caroline On Crack's great article, get some yummy recipe ideas and get all the details on Eat My Blog 2010.

Click here to read the article!