My So-Called Tortilla Espanola

Like most people who hit adolescence in the 90s, I have a soft spot for My So Called Life. That's not entirely accurate--when I was 14, I really wanted to be Claire Danes. No joke. I wrote a poem for English class that emulated one she wrote on the show. I really didn't understand why my English teacher didn't think I was a genius.

Why am I telling you this? It accounts for my tendency to put "so-called" in front of anything that I've improvised or is not an authentic version of something. Kind of like this tortilla espanola...  (Also, D has been watching MSCL of Netflix Streaming all week,)

CSA Week 9

I am a creature of habit. When my schedule gets thrown off, my whole day is a mess. It's kind of a problem. I stayed up too late last night (I got home at 10:30--remember how it's physically impossible for me to stay up past 10 PM). It was just all over from there.

Fresh Foods Blog Hop #4

Welcome to the Fresh Food Blog Hop!

I was all set to tell you about the wonders of celery this week. It'll have to wait. I'm wrapping up my job this week and then I have a couple weeks off before I start the new job at the new school. In the mean time...I got nothing. Time to blog hop!

Spicy Pearl Couscous with Cabbage & Chickpeas

I can deal with too much zucchini--zucchini bread, zucchini cake, zucchini mint chocolate cookies, pickled zucchini...I can deal with too many cucumbers, too much lettuce, too many tomatoes. I can't deal with an over abundance of cabbage.

CSA Week 8

It has finally cooled down here. In fact, yesterday it rained almost all day and didn't really go above 72. The high for the day was 74, and that was just after midnight. For the first time in about a week, it's actually comfortable in here. It's pretty amazing. Right now I'm making a pot of hot coffee for the first time in two weeks.

Summer Meze: Mixed "Grilled" Veggies with Herbs and Olive Oil

It is so hot. It's so humid that walking down the street feels more like swimming. Sitting still in my apartment is causing profuse sweating. The back of my dress is soaked through. I keep sticking to the couch (yes, we have a leather IKEA couch. D and I hadn't met when he bought it. I was told they were out of the other one so he just bought the leather...). Guys, I just stuck my rosé in the freezer because it got hot when I got up to go splash some cold water on my face. This is not good.

And yet, I chose to make something that involved turning on the stove/broiler. It really only took about 10 minutes to cook, and after it cooled to room temperature (while I was taking a cool shower) it made a delicious hot-weather meal.

Fresh Foods Blog Hop #3 and More Berry Preserving Tips

Welcome to third edition of the Fresh Food Blog Hop!

If you're new here, Kristy and I are pleased to have you. If you've been before, welcome back! Today I'll also be sharing with a couple of ways to store and preserve fresh berries. As always, you can see my CSA goodies from the week by checking out my post from the previous Saturday.

CSA Week 7 and Canning It Forward

Happy Can It Forward Day! Although, I actually celebrated on Thursday. It's OK. I'm celebrating with all of you here today by sharing some canning resources (and talking about teaching people to can). I've also got a delicious looking bag of goodies from my CSA.

Orzo Salad with Radish Leaf Pesto

I've been  really into using orzo in pasta salads lately. I don't know why. Possibly because there's a bag of it in my kitchen cupboard, possibly because it looks like rice but my stove only needs to be on for ten minutes instead of forty.

I've also been very into making pesto out of the tops of various root vegetables. Again, no idea why.

I do know that when you put these two obsessions together it's delicious.

Fresh Foods Blog Hop #2 and How to Choose and Store Berries

Welcome to the Fresh Food Blog Hop!

If you're new here, Kristy and I are pleased to have you. If you've been before, welcome back! Today I'll also be sharing with a couple of ways to store and preserve fresh berries. As always, you can see my CSA goodies from the week by checking out my post from the previous Saturday.


Also, today is my little brother's birthday. I don't think he actually reads my blog, but just in case: Happy Birthday, Kris!

Zucchini Tacos with Kohlrabi-Radish Slaw

I mentioned in my post on Saturday that I am on a mission to make America, or at least my neighborhood, love kohlrabi as much as I do. What I've discovered in my dealings with my picky boyfriend and my picky nieces is that almost any vegetable is more palatable to people who are not sure they like it if you make it into   either a pizza or a taco. So here goes...

CSA Week 6

Today was my work shift and it's approximately 100 degrees outside. Guess which super-pale woman has a sunburn while wearing SPF 50 sunblock and standing in the shade...That's right. This one.

But I have plums. And kohlrabi. And some beautiful radishes. What more can a girl ask for?

No-Bake Chocolate-Raspberry Mousse Pie

Every year we have a party for the Fourth of July on our roof top. I cook some things, people bring some drinks. This year we had a pre-party bridge game with some good friends. But this year it is hot hot hot. I was listening to NPR Morning Edition over the internet from a west-coast station. It is cooler in LA than it is in NYC. Not cool. No raspberry cakes or any sort of baked good this year. So I decided to go a largely no-cook rout. Breads and spreads. Chips and dips. And a no-bake pie. A no-bake (mostly) vegan pie. An no-bake pie that you can, if you so choose, make totally gluten free.

It's easy. It's delicious. And even the most hard-core anti-tofu meat eater will swoon.

Fresh Foods Blog Hop #1

Hello! Welcome to the first ever Fresh Foods Blog Hop hosted by me and by Kristy of Gastronomical Sovereignty.

Before we get going, a little word about storing fresh food. Each week I'm going to give you some of these little tips and tricks before we start the hop, in addition to my normal weekly CSA post (check it out every Saturday...) When you're not used to dealing with things like greens on your root vegetables or giant bunches of herbs it's hard to figure out what to do and how to store them.

Pan-Cooked Marinated Tofu with Summer Vegetable Saute

Monday was the first day of summer school. After a week off getting up at 5:45 was not pleasant. I got home, forced myself to go to the gym, and made a quick dinner.