For the Love of Food

Time sure does fly when you have a lot to do.  I want to apologize to my Taste&Create partner for being over a whole week late to post…even though i did have my recipe done with plenty of time left.

For those of you who are curious – this is what I have been working on: Columbia Bakery Café for over a year now, and I will finally be opening my café in July.

And, let me tell you, this soup is GOOD! really good. It tastes like silky smooth sweet and slightly savory buttery potatoes. Please check out Samayal Arai for her recipe. It’s really quick to put together and so delicious!

Here’s her recipe.

For this month’s Taste&Create I was partnered with Seduce Your Tastebuds…. who has a whole slew of exotic dishes on her blog.  I searched through her blog for a while not able to decide on exactly which dish I would make – they all looked so good – until I came across her Kiwi Salsa recipe and I knew then and there that that was the one I had to make.

I LOVE salsa: fresh tomato salsa, cooked tomato salsa, tomatillo salsa, roasted tomato salsa, mango salsa…but I had never heard of kiwi salsa.  And, I thought that it was quite fitting since I am currently on vacation in Texas to go ahead and make a salsa.

I was very pleasantly surprised by how well all the flavors harmonize together.  The acidity and subtle sweetness of the kiwis left little need for added acidity (lemon juice) and perfectly replace the traditional tomato.  I did add more kiwi than the recipe originally called for because I thought it tasted good, but needed more kiwi to really hold the name kiwi salsa, and I reduced the onion to 1/4th of an onion, which I still found a bit over powering – I will reduce to 1 Tablespoon in the future.  The cucumber gave the perfect body to the salsa helping to diminish the heat of the huge jalapeño I added.

As opposed to PJ, I went ahead and threw my ingredients, individually, into the food processor because I don’t like chunky salsa since I feel I don’t get all the flavors in one bite.  That and (sorry mom) my mom has a tiny knife that I don’t get along with when chopping vegetable…I really miss my cook’s knife.

Ironically enough, I didn’t have any tortilla chips on hand to go with the salsa, but crackers work well too.  I will be using the salsa tomorrow as an accompaniment to fish which I can’t wait to try because I think they will go perfectly together.  I will keep you informed on that!

Here’s my version of PJ’s recipe: Continue Reading »

I rarely have leftovers standing around in my refrigerator for the simple fact that I am so well practiced in cooking certain meals for my family, that I only make just the right amount for us to eat. Not too little, and not too much.

However, when we have guests over, I often go overboard because it’s hard to calculate know just how much each guest will eat since I’m not well acquainted with their eating habits. Last week I happened to have two set of guests over for dinner on different evenings. On one evening I made the best (unfortunately photographed) fajitas that I’ve eaten to date – even beating the best Tex-Mex restaurants I’ve visited in Texas, and on another evening we enjoyed a Greek meze in my attempt to bring a little bit of summer into the cold days of Fall.

By the time Friday rolled around, I had left over sautéed bell peppers and homemade guacamole from fajita night and hummus from Greek night – as well as some left over deli meat that I use to make sandwiches for my husband and older son during the week. But, what drove me to make this salad was, quite simply, the alfalfa sprouts.

I love alfalfa sprouts, but I so rarely come across theme here in the grocery stores. But, on the rare occasion that I go to my local, but not so close, organic grocery store, I can almost always count on them having it there.

Our local organic grocery store is also our only source of certain products, such as 100% cranberry juice, chocolate without soy lecithin, and steel-cut oats. I happened to be there looking for all three last week. And, when I walked by the alfalfa sprouts, I quickly took a few steps back, grabbed the last package, and headed off to the check-out with a big smile on my face because I knew just how I wanted to enjoy these – in a sandwich.

While I enjoy a traditional mustard, meat, cheese, and pickle sandwich, I mush prefer a non-traditional mixture of whatever I have at hand sandwich. And, this sandwich really hit the spot. Continue Reading »

As you can tell, my current cooking trend is fueled by my longing for warmer days. This meal is made up of predominantly Mediterranean dishes to compose a Greek Meze.

It’s great for when you’re going to have guests over – and works well in any season since most ingredients are preserved in some way, shape or form – well, when eggplant is out of season, you’re out of luck for the baba ganoush, but other wise, this meals practically throws itself together very well.

And, I made it with recipes I have tried over the years as well as items I picked up at my local Turkish store:
Falafel
Jajeek
Hummus
Baba Ganoush
Greek Salad
Stuffed/Marinated Chili Peppers
Stuffed/Marinated and Filled Mushroom Caps
Olives
Marinated Red Onion (red wine vinegar + a pinch of sugar + a pinch of salt)
Pita Bread
Rice-Stuffed Dolmas

I prepared everything early in the day, but made the falafel shortly before so that they were nice and warm.

For the luxurious dinner party I held a few weeks ago I wanted to serve a salad that reached into the heart of the middle east and was quite different than the typical Fattoush or Tabbouleh salads.

After many days of searching, I came across a sandwich called Sabich a few times, and decided to leave out the bread and let it be an interesting salad.

The components of the salad really harmonized well together, and the salad was light, but hearty and filling. I can see why it is loved as a sandwich/wrap filling.

You can find the original recipe here. Continue Reading »

Way back when my husband and I were just married, we used to go on picnics all the time. My husband’s work route took him through a park, and after work on nice warm days, I would meet half way and we would have a picnic for dinner.

Now that we have two wonderful children, our picnics revolve around play grounds and sandboxes more than they do around food. So, since Foodbuzz asked us to blog about a meal on the go for this weeks Project Foodblog challenge, I decided to recreate a picnic for two.

On one of our previous visits to Prague, we discovered 94-year-old Deli in the heart of Downtown that has some of the most unique and delicious sandwiches I’ve ever had the pleasure of enjoying. Today, I would like to share the experience of a true Bohemian picnic with you.

The region of Germany that I live in is right next to Bohemia – which is in the western part of the Czech Republic, and much of the Bohemian culture extends into Bavaria. And, my butcher’s family just happens to be from Bohemia, so I asked for some advice as to what would be a typical Bohemian picnic meal to complement my potato salad and roast beef sandwiches. His mother-in-law came out from the back where she usually helps prepare take-away food, and shared some advice with me.  We settled on Brussels sprout salad, rice pudding with preserved, sour cherries, and elderflower spritzer.  My Bohemian picnic was starting to come to life.

And, with the surprisingly sunny weather we had this weekend, we were able to head on over to our community garden for a nice picnic dinner for two – while the kids played in the playground, of course!  I really love the scent of fresh air with my meal – it makes everything taste better.

Potato salad is a very classic picnic dish, but it’s much more fun – and delicious – when it’s in a sandwich.  It transforms a dry piece of bread into a deliciously creamy sandwich.  You can top it off with any deli meat of your liking; my favorite is roast beef because, not only does it taste good, but I have many wonderful childhood memories attached it it.  Then, go ahead and add some tomato, hard boiled egg, and pickle, and you have yourself the perfect Bohemian sandwich.

To complement the flavors and textures of my creamy potato salad and roast beef sandwich, I made a Brussels sprout salad.  I actually grew-up eating this same dish at home – even though I’m not Bohemian – with one major difference.  They add sugar.  I was really worried that this would over sweeten the Brussels sprouts and make them taste gross, but I was quite wrong.  And, although I still prefer my mother’s tangy version, this one is quite palatable and a really big hit with the kids.  My son was begging me for more after 2 helpings!

To help wash everything down, I chose to make an elderflower spritzer.  True, beer is very Bohemian, but I wanted something lighter that would offset the savory flavors of the sandwich.  This was actually the first time I had ever used and tasted elderflower syrup, and I was pleasantly surprised by its fragrant flavor.

To crown the meal, we enjoyed rice pudding topped off with the sour cheery pie filling that I canned this summer.  Traditionally, you would use sour cherries preserved in their own juices, but I find the creamier pie filling preserves the consistency of the rice pudding instead of turning it into a watery mess.

The general rule of a Bohemian picnic is to use what’s available to you.  Don’t have access to roast beef?  Use ham.  Or, go vegetarian and leave the deli meat out all together.  Not a big fan of Brussels sprouts?  You can make the same delicious salad using cauliflower.  Did you miss-out on the 3 weeks of the year when sour cherries are in season?  No problem, you can also top off your rice pudding with preserved plums, raspberries, or apples.  Use what you have in your pantry or what is in season and local.  Never heard of elderflowers and they don’t grow in your region?  Make a simple syrup with fresh petals and herbs available to you: rose petals, orange or lemon blossoms, lemon verbena leaves, lavender flowers, hibiscus flowers, mint leaves, vanilla bean …the list goes on and on.  Mrs. Willomitzer shared with me that when there was no wine they even made a simple syrup out of red wine vinegar and drank that mixed with water.  Creativity is key.

So, get your creative juices flowing, get cooking, pack your awesome Project Foodblog cooler or picnic basket, and take the time to have a Bohemian picnic. Continue Reading »

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We really like pizza around here. Back when I only had one kid, we used to make pizza all the time. Now, I have a second child and not as much time during the day to make my favorite homemade pizza dough. So, when Foodbuzz asked us to put our own spin on pizza for Project Foodblog’s fifth challenge, I was happy to get baking again.

I decided to make a pizza that revolved around two of my favorite ingredients: chicken wings and ranch dressing, but not in a form that you would normally suspect.

Continue Reading »

In the spirit of trying new foods for my Iraqi dinner party that I held last weekend, I made shorbat rumman (pomegranate soup).

This was the only course that left people saving the word “interesting” too many times to have it seem enjoyable. To be honest, I was quite disappointed by this soup. It ended up being over spiced, but not flavorful enough. I would definitely make some changes to this soup to have it fit my flavor palate.

Now, I’m not a big fan of cilantro (coriander), but I wanted to try the recipe in it’s entirety…although I had to leave the mint out because mint will dry up your milk if you are breast feeding. So, I left it as it was – the recipe called for 2 cups of chopped cilantro. It just sends chills down my spine to think of eating so much cilantro in one dish. Next time, I will just leave it out completely. If you are a cilantro-lover – like my mom – just leave it in and you will be happy. Also, in the second round of adding liquid – at the very end when the pomegranate juice comes into play, the original recipe calls for adding another 8 cups of water. I think this really ruined my soup’s flavor and made it taste so watery that I couldn’t save it by adding my of anything else. I would also add more salt to the meatballs.

Here is the original recipe. Has anyone ever made this or had it somewhere? What is it supposed to taste like? Continue Reading »

This is the dish I served as entrée for the luxurious Iraqi dinner party that I held this weekend.

I used my favorite bulgur salad recipe and found this delicious shrimp recipe on Taste Buddies. The shrimp were out of this world. The harissa really gave it a nice spicy flavor without leaving my mouth burning. And, the cooling flavors in the salad help to off set the spiciness of the shrimp. This is definitely a dish worth making again.

My guests were all thrilled about the bulgur salad. They all thought this was such a complicated dish to make, but I reassured them that there was nothing more than a bit of chopping.

The servings in this dish are meant as a side dish. To serve as a main course double the amount of shrimp – 2 large shrimp per person, and double the salad recipe. Continue Reading »

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Now, I have hosted many parties in my short life: impromptu dinner parties, lunch parties, brunch parties, garden parties, winter solstice parties, children’s birthday parties, Thanksgiving parties…I could go on for quite a while.  But, I’ve never hosted a luxurious dinner party.  So, when Foodbuzz challenged us to host a luxurious dinner party I hit the web to get ideas on how to host one.

To my utter surprise, there is not a lot of information out there on how to host a luxurious dinner party – needless to say a small intimate dinner party.  There is plenty of information on how to throw huge and elegant wedding bashes, but since I cannot seat 100+ in my home, I had to turn to other sources.

I quickly emailed the two people I knew would have detailed thoughts as to what a luxurious dinner party would entail.  Could I hold it in my home since my dining table is in my kitchen?  Would I need a server?  These are just some of the questions I had.  Surprisingly – well, maybe not – I got quite different answers from both sources, but good advice none the less.

So, what do you need to put together a luxurious dinner party?? Continue Reading »