Wordless Wednesday: Providence's 5 Course Anniversary Tasting Menu

Click here for Providence! 

Breaking News Update:  Providence has just extended their $65 five course Anniversary Tasting Menu through the month of July.

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!

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

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!

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