Best Recipes of 2014

As 2014 draws to a close, and I get ready to go back to work tomorrow after a nice week at home in Arizona for Christmas, here's a quick look back on the edible highlights from my year: 

January - Stuffed Cabbage Soup

March - Cheesy Stuffed Eggplants

April - Chocolate Almond Bread

May - Lentil Meatballs with Lemony Pesto

June - Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

July - Mini-White Bean Burgers

October - Chipotle Roasted Kabocha Squash and Kale Salad

November - Salted Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake

Not every month is represented in the recipes above, but as anyone who regularly tries new recipes knows, they can't all be winners.  However, the ones featured on this list are all worth repeating and it's been fun to look back at my year(s) in food.  The recipes from the first part of the year feel like I made them in another lifetime, but I guess in a way I did.

It's been a roller coaster of a year, and I am continuing to adjust to my new job and life in a new city.  Without a doubt, I am in a better place than I was at the beginning of the year and while it's hard for me to believe that there are only a few days left in 2014, I am looking forward to new challenges and adventures in 2015.

Thank you for following along on Two Betsu Bara & all the best in 2015!

Lucky 7's

I've been trying to think of a way to recap the last month or so in a nice, succinct manner.  In honor of spending it with Keizo and his favorite number, I present to you the Top 7 Things from February.

1. Mangoes were on sale the week before Keizo arrived.  I bought one and then forgot about it on the counter for a while.  It was a little on the soft side when I finally remembered it and we cut it up to put on top of our pancakes, but in reality it was perfect.  Super sweet, not the least bit crunchy and really, really good on pancakes with a bit of Greek yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup.  More mangoes have made their way into my shopping cart since, and I enjoyed the same breakfast again this morning.

2.  Keizo made Chicken & Dumplings all by himself one evening while I got in a rare workout.  I think he enjoyed this version more than I did, but any meal I don't have to cook is a treat!

3.  One of our jaunts outside of Charlottesville was another trip to Richmond.  This year we went to the Science Museum of Virginia, and had a great time.  Most of the museum is hands on, so we spent the day racing bowling balls, testing our flexibility and tight-rope walking abilities and watched trained rats play basketball.  We grabbed lunch across the street from the museum at a tiny Jamaican place called the Jerk Pit, which was delicious.  I really enjoyed my chicken sandwich and side of plantains, while Keizo got the stewed chicken special and a side of ribs.

After the Science Museum, we braved the traffic in Short Pump to do some shopping and eat dinner, overall an overwhelming experience I feel no need to repeat.  I did get a knife sharpener (so exciting, I know!) and after a long wait we had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.  The cheesecake we brought home was both dessert and half of breakfast the next day.

4.  Planning romantic things for Valentine's Day is not my forte.  Like most events these days, Valentine's Day caught me a bit off guard---thankfully Cappellino's Crazy Cakes had plenty of themed cupcakes left when I finished work, so I could still "surprise" Keizo.  From the previous sentences, it should be pretty obvious that we stayed in, but we were both quite content in our sweatpants and certainly didn't miss the crowded restaurant atmosphere.  The day started with Keizo making pancakes for breakfast; he had a bottle of wine and some snacks waiting for me when I got home; we worked together to make one of his favorite dishes (Japanese curry) and demolished all four of the cupcakes I brought home.  

5. It's no secret that Keizo and I eat really well when we are together.  While it wasn't easy to narrow down all of our meals to the few listed here, there was no doubt in my mind that our "homemade" pizza would make the cut.  We bought two tubes of refrigerated pizza crust to make it easy and created two different masterpieces.  The one on the top left had caramelized onions, apples, pepperoni and a combination of brie and cheddar cheese; the one on the right was a more classic combo of pesto, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and Italian seasoning.  Both were tasty, but there was something really irresistible about the classic combination.  It's a small miracle there were any leftovers for me to take for lunch!

6. Keizo was here to experience the biggest snowfall of my 2.5 years in Charlottesville.   I think we got about 18 inches, and I had the day off of work.  We played in the snow with my housemate, sledding and and sculpting the snow beast below. 

7.  Last but not least, it is long past time for me to share one of my guilty pleasures of late.  A friend introduced me to this dangerously good Brownie in a Mug recipe in December.  I have lost count of how many times I have made it since then, but let's just say I don't need to look at the recipe anymore.  Topped with a generous scoop of ice cream it made a lovely dessert for two.

Describing seven things from last month was not nearly as quick as I thought it would be, but when I signed in to start writing this post, 2BB had 7,700 page views.  Clearly, this post was meant to be ;-)

A BIG thank you for reading!  Keizo may pay more attention to the number of pageviews this blog gets than I do, but 7,700 is certainly more than I ever expected.

Sick Day

After two four day work weeks (thanks Lee-Jackson Day!) I was rather dreading a full five days this week.  Like most worrying though, it was completely pointless since I came down with a serious sore throat on Tuesday that kept me at home and in bed 85% of today.  I don't think I have slept so much since my very first few months of existence!  Thankfully, the rest has seemed to do some good and I am hoping that another solid night of sleep will have me back to functioning human being again tomorrow.

In the meantime, I missed posting last week and there are a few things worth sharing:

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• Greek Salad--really only called this because it has feta cheese on it.  It's been one of my staples lately for lunch and occasionally on the side at dinner.  The last few Sundays, I have pre-chopped the toppings which makes throwing everything together really easy.
• Split Pea Soup with Bacon--from Family Circle. Perhaps better named "Bacon Soup with Split Peas." While far from a vegetarian these days, this recipe kind of overwhelmed me with all its bacon.  I do think I would make it again, halving the amount of bacon, and removing the veggies after they are sauteed so they don't turn to mush while the peas soften up.  
• Fish Tacos--an easy and delicious meal.  Fish coated with cornmeal, cumin and chili powder and sauteed until crispy then topped with slaw of cabbage, creamy dressing, salsa, black beans and corn.
• Okonomiyaki--made with some really old okonomiyaki flour and cabbage that had seen better days, this was a little disappointing.
• Veggie Omlette--nothing too special here; eggs, spinach, tomatoes and feta cheese.  And a big dollop of ketchup.
• Pad Thai--still using this recipe, which I think turns out pretty good.

Week of Eats-Jan 12

I've got nothing in terms of a catchy title and introduction today.  I must have left my creativity in the kitchen this week.

I think this is the third time I have made Green Tuna Enchiladas, and they came out even better than the first two times due to the fact that I replaced the half & half called for in the recipe with about 1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt.  I liked this recipe before because it is really easy to put together with ingredients I usually have on hand, and like it even better now that I have made the sauce even creamier and more delicious!

My large salad from lunch last weekend had quite the variety of ingredients including spinach, shredded cabbage, cheddar cheese, avocado, crumbled veggie burger and pickles!  I took salad for lunch most days this week; they had the same base of spinach and cabbage, but were topped with more traditional toppings like carrots, cucumber, feta and balsamic dressing.

This spicy peanut chicken was the new recipe from the week that worked out (the Italian Pizza Bake hardly deserves a mention).  I threw all of the ingredients in the crock pot before I left for work, skipping the step that mentioned pre-searing the chicken, since that goes against my whole crock pot philosophy and "wake up as late as possible and still get to work on time" habit.  The cooking time may have been a little long as the chicken was bit dry, and I think next time I will add more peanut butter, but these are some leftovers I am looking forward to finishing!  I served the chicken with couscous and garlicky sauteed spinach and zucchini and felt like I was eating a dish from a magazine spread.

In addition to the other winners pictured here, I also made some really beautiful eggs for breakfast one morning.  What a great way to start the day, feeling accomplished before even leaving the house!  It's the little things in life...

Kitchen tip: reheat pizza in a fry pan to retain a crispy crust.

...and speaking of little things, the department I work in has a practice of enticing people to meetings by providing lunch.  And while there may be no such thing as a free lunch--the recipients do have spend at least an hour of their time listening to someone drone on about their project/vision--there is such thing as a free dinner if you happen to respond quickly enough to the e-mail announcing there are leftovers behind the front desk.  This week there happened to be a ton of leftovers from two separate catered meetings, so I got to come home with two pieces of pizza and leftover pasta salad.  Check out the neat-o pasta shapes; I have dubbed it mohawk macaroni.

Warming Foods

Though it was certainly colder in many other places, Charlottesville was not immune to the polar vortex that swept North America early last week.  I am glad to report that I survived the coldest temperatures I have ever experienced--a mere 7*F or nearly -14*C--with lots of layers and hot foods.

• The Stuffed Cabbage Soup was easy to put together, and practically a whole meal in one pot.  The only downside I experienced was as a single eater, I still have a serving left over a week later.
• Looking to eat a bit lighter these first few weeks of the new year, I tried this Stir Fry with Collards & Mushrooms recipe.  The flavor was quite good, but I don't think my stomach nor palette are big fans of nearly raw collards.  
• Somewhat surprising given the weather, I only had oatmeal for breakfast once this week.   I think I overdid it with this bowl, which I had trouble finishing.
• I dusted off my crockpot to make a batch of vegetarian chili, and then had to come up with some creative ways to finish it off.  The "fries" (oven roasted potatoes) were the end of it, thankfully.

I did my meal planning for the week yesterday, choosing two new recipes to try out and making a grocery list that seems much shorter than usual.  Hopefully that doesn't mean I will run out of food!

Best Eats of 2013

I am not generally a fan of these posts on other blogs; it is just too hard to compress a whole year into something concise and readable.  Case in point: my "Sayonara 2012" posts where I tried cramming everything about my year into long, monthly recaps.

This year I am sticking with my culinary exploits, and went through my photos to choose the best dish from each month.  Some decisions were more difficult than others; where applicable, the runner-ups also get a mention below.

1. Pumpkin Roll Cake--really not as difficult as I thought it would be.
2. Sausage & Potato Calzones-- similar recipe here. Coming home to Keizo making gyoza was a close second.
3. Simple but delicious Falafel Salad.  This was also the month I started weekly meal roundup posts.
4. Learning to make Pad Thai at home was a pretty big deal.  I have made it several times since.
5. Spanish Tortilla; in the baking category, Joy the Baker's Peanut Butter Pretzel Brownies takes first place.
6. Should really be a tie between hiyashi chuka (cold summer noodles) and "Fingerling Potato-Leek Hash with Swiss Chard and Eggs" with homegrown chard. .  Yum X 2.
7. Peach Cobbler with Blueberry Topping made the most out of summer produce.
8. Homemade Pickles--not these exact pickles, but others can be found here
9. These versatile Black Bean Quinoa Patties made good veggie burgers as well as crumbled salad and nacho toppings.
10. I could probably eat these Eggplant "Meatballs" at least every other week and not get sick of them.
11. Apple Slab Pie--roll cakes and pie crusts, oh my!  I think I brought my baking to a new level in 2013.
12. Christmas Tree Cookies--similar recipe here

2013 saw a vast improvement in blogging from 2012, and I am excited to continue experimenting in the kitchen and documenting it all here in 2014.

Thank you for reading & Happy (almost) New Year!!

Superlatives: Dinners

New business:

I haven't been doing my weekly wrap ups of late because while they were helpful in establishing a blogging routine they became, well...a little too routine.  In order to shake things up a bit, I have created a list of future post ideas to work on little at a time in the coming weeks.  

I blog for myself and with a few other loyal readers in mind, but checking this blog's statistics page makes it clear there are more people than I think stopping by.  I assume that most of the viewers come from random internet searches ("cracker barrel sign" is the most common one, actually) and never visit again.  But in the off chance there are some regulars, or semi-regulars I'd love to know why you keep reading.  Please feel free to leave a comment below!

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Old business:

Ignoring the first paragraph of the "new business" section, this is basically a "week of eats" post in a different format.  No need to completely re-invent the wheel here.

HEALTHIEST--Cooking Light's Tempeh + Green Bean Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce

I recommend adding more vegetables and doubling the amount of stir fry sauce called for in the recipe.

"HOMIEST"--My mamacita's Mexican Lasagna served with green salad and green beans.  Tastes like home (but with more Fritos!)

MOST "LIKED"--Margot's Eggplant Meatballs and Spaghetti

This dish lived up to Margot's high praise, both in terms of ease and deliciousness.  The photo below got a lot of "likes" and two recipe requests on the ol' facebook too.

  

CHEESIEST--Flatbread pizza with carmelized onions, apples, sausage and brie

Lots of potential here.  Next time, I will seek out thicker flatbread and better sausages (after spending $7 on the cheese, I was trying to economize on some of the other ingredients).  It was the kind of pizza you have to eat with a fork and knife--lots of heavy toppings on a thin, soggy crust--but it tasted pretty good!

LEAST EDIBLE + MOST ADORABLE (tie)

The ultra kawaii (cute) banana kitchen sponge that arrived in my birthday care package from Keizo.  I don't care for doing dishes, but this does help make it a bit more enjoyable.  

A Week of Eats--September 23

I didn't have much time to cook last week, which worked out fine in the end since I was still finishing some leftovers at the beginning of the week and went out to celebrate my birthday at the end.

Clockwise from top L:

• Oatmeal with bananas, yogurt, peanut butter and granola.  I have made two rather unfortunate bowls of oatmeal recently; I think I need to experiment with longer cooking times and less liquids.
• I feasted on these birthday flowers from Keizo with my eyes and nose!  They look even better now that they have bloomed more fully.
• Spiced lentil soup, the one meal I managed to throw together for the week.
• Egg breakfast sandwich on naan with a plum on the side.
• Recovery food. I had a headache most of the day on Friday, but wouldn't dream of missing my birthday celebration that evening.  I went and had a great time...and then could hardly stand up (or sit down) on Saturday with a case of the chills, body aches and headache.  So I made some instant soup with lots of vegetables; these are the leftovers I ate on Sunday with a zucchini muffin and half an Asian pear.
• Sunday night I was feeling better so I made some coconut/peanut dressing to top my salad with.  Garlic naan on the side.
• More muffins for breakfast with yogurt and undrinkable coffee (this is day two it has tasted really off to me...I blame being sick.  Even water tastes a little weird)
• Leftover soup with a grilled cheese (comfort food at its best) and homemade applesauce from upstairs.

There was a huge difference in how I felt between Saturday and Sunday, but less of a difference Sunday to Monday.  Less of a headache, but more coughing.  I hope another early night will put me on the mend for the first day of October tomorrow!

A Week of Eats--September 16

A lot of repeat meals this week, with just a little variety thrown in at the end.

Clockwise from top left:

• Vegetable quiche.
• Quiche for breakfast with apple, PB and coffee.
• Pasta bake from Smitten Kitchen; I substituted chard from the garden for the broccoli rabe and added some sweet potato chunks.  Rich, delicious, and I still have leftovers!
• Pasta bake with salad, but the most important thing in this photo is the pumpkin beer.
• Sardine salad melt with grapes for lunch felt just right on a rainy day.
• Unattractive but tasty quesadilla with mozarella, crushed up black bean patty and pickled peppers and onions dipped in tomato sauce (I mentioned it would appear again!)
• Potato medley before they turned into oven baked fries.
• Veggie burger with all the fixin's and fries on the side.  Quick and easy Sunday night meal.

Have a great week!

A Week of Eats--September 9

Having time on the weekends to meal plan is making a difference in my weekly eats.  Right now, choosing two recipes that will work for at least two meals and deciding on a few lunch/snack staples seems just about right in terms of quantity as well as time spent in the kitchen.

Clockwise from top left:

• I decorated two pre-made pizza crusts on Monday night with quick roasted veggies (15 mins @ 500*) shredded Italian blend cheeses and dollops of herbed goat chesse.  Plenty of leftovers!
• Green salad with tomato grilled cheese for dinner on Tuesday.  
• Pancakes for breakfast on Sunday.  I made plain, blueberry and craisin/coconut varieties, but couldn't leave the plain ones well enough alone and topped them with vanilla yogurt and nectarine.
• Wednesday night's project was these quinoa black bean patties (recipe from the back of a TJ's quinoa bag, I think...)  A bit messier than I like to be on a weeknight--multiple pans, steps and hand molding--but overall a nice, healthy, versatile recipe.  Not all of the patties held together well, something I think could be improved by adding an extra egg next time.
• The next three meals showcase the versatility of the black bean patties:
• Crumbled black bean patty nachos with avocado and salsa;
• Black bean "burger" with all the fixin's and the last bit of curried potato salad;
• Black bean patty on a bed of greens with tomatoes and homemade pickles, green bean "fries" and curried potato salad. 
• Greek-style salad with arugula, garbanzo beans, banana peppers, red onions, tomatoes and leftover quinoa.  Simple dressing with equal parts olive oil and cider vinegar, salt and pepper.  Sweet potatoes on the side. 

I have still have some random vegetables in my fridge and on the counter due to last week's double whammy of going to the farmer's market and inheriting my housemate's CSA share when she went out of town, so you can expect to see some zucchini and lots of potatoes next week, as well as something with the leftover tomato sauce from the pizza.

A Week of Eats--September 2

A pretty good variety of things this week!

Clockwise from top left:

• Being an adult isn't always fun, but one perk is eating a banana split for lunch if you feel like it.
• Being an adult also means not wasting produce that is past its prime by blending it into a breakfast smoothie.
• Delectable roasted sweet potato, cucumber and mushroom salad with a simple maple-y dressing leftovers from a potluck lunch with friends last weekend.
• Oddly named "Asian style fried rice with beans" from BH&G (one of two recipes I followed this week.  I must be an adult!)  I liked that this was pretty much a complete vegetarian meal, but I had to add some salsa to give it a bit more flavor.
• Quick Friday night dinner thrown together after getting home after 7 PM from work: pasta, pesto, tomatoes, roasted corn and leftover chicken.
• Saturday's farmer's market haul.  I have barely been all summer, and I was not prepared for all of the fall pumpkins and squash taking over the stalls.  It was a challenge to find salad greens and a few remaining peaches.
• Breaking up the smoothie routine with sunny side up eggs, toast, jam and nectarine on the side.
• This dinner probably took less than 30 minutes to put together, but felt rather fancy all the same.  Tilapia on a bed of spinach with lemon butter (microwaved in parchment paper) and curried potato salad.  I would make both dishes again, but use less curry powder and maybe add a dash of nutmeg or cinnamon to the potatoes.

A Week of Eats--August 26

It was a big week around these parts.  Thousands of students returned to classes at UVA, making certain parts of town including my regular grocery store a bit less pleasant.  I had my first official job interview and ran the Charlottesville Women's Four Miler.  <--They are still accepting donations for the UVA Cancer Center Breast Care Program through September 23, 2013.

Summer and the accompanying feeling of relaxed freedom are starting to fade.  Real 'fall' may still be several weeks away on the calendar, but for me Labor Day weekend marks the beginning of the transition.  While I don't expect summer temperatures and humidity to disappear instantly, I can usually count on nicer weather by my birthday towards the end of the month.

Here are a few things I ate this week:

Top R: Started the week out right with a big bowl of oatmeal for breakfast Monday morning.  Topped with cottage cheese, strawberries, a spoon of peanut butter and coconut sprinkles.

Top L: Power breakfast before my interview on Thursday.  My interview was in Blacksburg, about two hours away and my plan was to leave before 10, arrive with plenty of time to grab lunch and review my notes before my 2 PM interview.  Highway closures completely changed that plan, and I sat in traffic for nearly four hours, had a Clif bar for lunch and went straight into the interview 90 minutes late.  Despite these complications, the actual interview was a positive experience and regardless of the outcome, I am glad to have the first one behind me.

Bottom R: Chicken and veggie fajitas. I made these on Wednesday after my final (hilly) training run for the Four Miler on Saturday and ate four of them.

Bottom L: I'm calling this dish "Fiesta Noodles" and it served me well as my dinner the night before the race.  It consisted of leftover fajita filling and roasted corn mixed into a pot of pasta with cottage cheese and melted shredded cheddar.  Served with some spicy "taco stand" pickles and avocado on the side.

The morning of the race, I ate two pieces of whole wheat toast with jam and peanut butter and drank a cup of coffee before I left the house.  I packed a banana to eat while waiting to line up and drank 20 oz of water.  I am writing about all this to remember it for future races--my time this year was significantly faster than last year's--from just over 38 minutes to under 36!  While people I had previously passed still flew past me in the last 1/2 mile (argh! There should be a prize for being consistent!) I am really, really pleased with my time.

A Week of Eats--August 19

There was a good amount of cooking going on this week, at least early on.

Top row, L to R:

• Cocoa Kiss Cookies for a wedding shower at work.  The poor organizers had a hard time getting people to volunteer for things, and we played almost the same games as were played at the other wedding shower I happened to attend back in October.  The conference room did look lovely decorated in pink and white, and as of Friday, the balloon chandelier was still in place.
• Marigolds from my garden, which I finally gave some much needed attention last Thursday.
• Leftover pancakes fixed up with Greek yogurt and strawberries.

Bottom row, L to R:

• Artichoke paella, an easy but a time consuming dish.  Worked out perfectly though as it took some time for the landlord to remedy the giant black pond of ooze coming up from the drain in the kitchen floor.
• Thursday's garden cucumber harvest.  Last year it was zucchini, this year it's cukes.  While I have missed making eating zucchini bread, I have had some fun trying out different pickling recipes.  More on that later.
• My own version of pad thai with whole wheat spaghetti, eggplant, bell peppers, shrimp and scrambled egg. 

This week I am departing a bit from my usual work schedule for an interview on Thursday, and have the Charlottesville Women's 4 Miler race on Saturday!  I'm hoping to celebrate the successful completion of both events with something fun next weekend.

A Week of Eats: August 12

This week brings us squarely into mid-August, but with the weather recently has made it feel more like mid-September.  I woke up to temperatures in the low 60's this week, and didn't feel like I needed a full on shower after biking into work, always a plus!

The change in weather hasn't been dramatic enough to really cause a change in my kitchen, except for the pancakes I made this morning.  Waking up late to a consistent drizzle made them all the more delicious.

Other meals that made the cut:

• tuna melt with tomatoes and a side of homemade pickles
• breakfast smoothie made with peaches, bananas, orange juice, vanilla protein powder and cinnamon roll flavored yogurt--AMAZING!
• Sunday breakfast set up: pancakes and blog reading
• turkey sandwich with tomatoes and cucumbers dipped in sesame dressing 
• chef salad of sorts with more pickles (can't seem to get enough!)

I spent most of last Saturday out running errands and learned that a mental list is no substitute for a written one.  I failed to buy anything on my "list" at Target and instead left the store with this:

On the bright side, my total at the register was only $7, something rather unheard of around here; and I had a fun Sunday morning baking project.

Eight things ate of late

This post is inspired by today's date: August 8th.  Five years ago, it was 08/08/08 and an insanely popular day to get married, according to my Facebook feed.  Happy Anniversary Anna + Mike (and all of the rest of you, even if I wasn't there to see you get hitched)!!

One--I polished off the peach cobbler with some vanilla ice cream.  Note to self: get some more peaches before they are all gone.  Topping and ice cream are optional, but go big or go home, right?

Two--This "Enchilada Casserole," was not one of my better creations.  I am going to blame the jar of green enchilada sauce I used.

Three--The last piece of enchilada casserole drowned in fresh green salad with a garden tomato.

Four--Spicy breakfast eggs on toast.

Five--Homemade pickles, batch one.  The cucumbers keep on coming, so there will likely be more batches in my future.

Six--"Easiest Ever Choucroute" recipe torn from an old Family Circle magazine.  Choucroute is French for sauerkraut, and this came out pretty tasty, just in case you were wondering.

Seven--I bought ground turkey to make meal #8, but only used half of it, so I made turkey patties with the rest.  Topped with homemade pickles and some amazing grapes that held up in the fridge for over a week while I forgot about them.

Eight--Slow cooker cabbage rolls with rice; garden cucumber topped with cottage cheese, salt and pepper.  See the link for an appetizing photo; this was the best I could come up with!

A Week of Eats--June 10

Looking back at this week's eats, I had a few observations.  First, I didn't think I even had enough pictures for a round up as I've been eating a lot of the same lately: salads and sandwiches.  Conveniently, an enticing meal showed up in my blog reader earlier today, and I happened to have 98% of the ingredients on hand (see #5 below.)

Second, the stars of this week's line-up are the two dinners I made while following recipes.  Both also involved drinking a glass of wine while cooking, so it's awfully hard to say whether the recipe or the accompanying beverage should get the credit.   Maybe some of both?

1. Potato and Chard Skillet with Eggs torn from an old Cooking Light.  One of the two winners mentioned above.
2. Garden greens topped with brown rice salad with tomatoes, cucumber, mozarella and banana peppers; chicken sausage with ketchup and mustard on a slab of toast on the side.  This was dinner on one of the days I did Insansity...I was hungry!
3. Breakfast tacos with eggs, turkey, cheddar and salsa verde.  
4. Salad with garden greens, last of the roasted beets, queso fresco, kidney beans and homemade garlic croutons.
5. Shrimp scampi from this recipe.  I halved the butter and added chard from the backyard.  Another winning recipe!

I am headed home to AZ on Thursday, and I need to clean out the fridge before I leave.  Should make for some "interesting" meals this week...

A Week of Eats--June 3

I have a summer-y selection this week:

1. Peanut noodle salad made with whole wheat spaghetti and veggies.
2. Chicken and brown rice with sauteed greens and zucchinis from the City Market.
3. Salad with corn, tomatoes, peas, olives and queso fresco.
4. Spring rolls with chicken, rice, garden greens, carrots and edamame on the side.
5. Another salad, with roasted beets, hard boiled egg and chewy bread on the side.

A Week of Eats---May 27

The title of this post is a bit misleading, as the photos below include meals from over a week ago.  That's what happens when family is in town and there's a lot of eating out!

Top row, L to R:

• Sandwich crafted with leftover ingredients from my class trip to Mountain Lake.  I've been into sandwiches lately; they hit all of the food groups, and are easy to pack.
• Pizza! It's hard to tell, but it has pesto on one half, and red sauce on the other.
• My haul from Christina's pantry upstairs.  She left this week for a new adventure in Phoenix, but apparently didn't want to take any of her grains with her :-P

Bottom row, L to R:

• My first meal from the stash above.  Tostadas with black beans, mozarella and salsa verde.
• Meal two, inspired by my need to use up my grains to make room for the new ones.  A chef salad of sorts.
• Breakfast smoothie with banana, fresh strawberries, frozen pineapple, yogurt, almond milk and a scoop of vanilla protein powder. 

The smoothie above was the best of the week.  Coming home to a rather empty fridge on Monday meant Tuesday's was all frozen fruit (thick and cold!), Wednesday's bananas were too green, and I forgot the yogurt on Thursday which made for a really watery, unappetizing smoothie.  I have been thinking about doing a post on smoothies, but I need to up my game first with more exciting recipes and figure out how to make a glass of froth look exciting in a photograph.

A Week of Eats--May 6

I've fallen a bit behind on the blog as well as cooking in general with graduation and such.  I am excited to continue the celebration at my cousin's wedding this weekend, before getting back into a routine (of sorts) next week. 

Top row, L to R: 

• Trader Joe's Chile + Cheese tamales with green salad; 
• The first lettuce harvest from my garden--tender and delicious, but requires at least two washes to remove all of the grit;
• Carrot Cake Cupcakes, perhaps it's time to invest in some wire cooling racks...

Bottom row, L to R:

• Joy the Baker's Peanut Butter Pretzel Brownies; best when eaten cold from the fridge in my opinion.
• Mini quesadillas made with corn tortillas and queso fresco with a salad, pretty much what I have been eating for dinner 4 out of 5 nights lately.
• Carrot Cake Cupcakes frosted.  I made these primarily as a vehicle for the cream cheese frosting. 

A Week of Eats--April 22

This post does a pretty good job of hiding the kitchen malaise I've been feeling lately.  It's the end of the semester, what do you expect? 

a) Oatmeal with greek yogurt, strawberries and granola

I used to eat oatmeal for breakfast nearly everyday.

Now I am more into smoothies, but the texture from the granola 

goes a long way in making a bowl of warm mush more palatable.

b) Tortellini soup with kale, tomatoes and chick peas

Kale in soup is a great idea.

c) Green salad with tuna and avocado

A 5 oz. can of tuna is considered 2 servings?  Yeah, right.

d) Fritatta with tomatoes, broccoli and cheese

Good for breakfast, lunch or dinner.