Happy New Year! Let's get healthy. Have you tried romanesco yet? It's my lastest vegetable to play with. I'd already made up my mind to like it simply because I think it looks so cool. It looks like something whimsical you'd see growing from the ground in the Lord of the Rings series. With a hobbit sitting underneath it. But it's a little known vegetable originating in the 1600's in Italy. I call it "broccoli light", because that's what it tastes like, but it's ...
Lobster and Crab Chowder
After living in the Bay Area for 30 years, we're moving this month. We still need to sell the house – that’ll happen in the spring - but we officially hit the road, with cars packed to the roof, for Lake Tahoe’s snow country this week. It's only 3 1/2 hours away (if all goes well with traffic, which rarely happens unless it's 2 AM), but we’re shaking up our lives in a big way. There's a lot to love in Tahoe. My husband and I both enjoy the snow, and Rika (our mini-labradoodle) is nothing short ...
Italian Chickpea Stew with Swiss Chard
After a busy summer, I'm looking forward to autumn - and yes, even winter. Bring it on, cold and blustery weather! I'm ready for rainy days where I have the perfect excuse to stay home with a good book. I want to have nothing more pressing to do than search for seemingly identical pieces to complete a puzzle in front of the fireplace, while snow falls and drifts up to the windows. And eat soup. Bowls of steaming, hearty soup loaded with vegetables and beans, topped with cheese, and finished ...
Trofie Pasta with Creamy Poblano Sauce (Espagueti Verde)
Trofie pasta tossed with a creamy poblano sauce made from roasted poblanos, Mexican crema, garlic, cilantro, and queso fresco. One of the ways to be mere minutes from dinner being on the table at 6:30 pm, when you haven't given dinner a single thought until 6:00 pm, is to have sauces all ready to go in the refrigerator. An essential part of a well-planned pantry, an array of sauces you've cooked ahead over the weekend can be tossed with pasta, grains, legumes or vegetables during the week for ...
Sopa de Fideo Verde (Green Spaghetti Soup)
You gotta admit, Sopa de Fideo Verde sounds more mysterious than Green Spaghetti Soup. And it tastes wonderful too. I'm doing 2 Secret Recipe posts today, and this one is from the fabulous Leslie at La Cocina de Leslie. For the uninitiated, The Secret Recipe Club is a group of around 130 food bloggers, separated into four smaller blogging groups, each of which post at different times of the month. Every month, we’re each assigned a blog in our group to look through. We try a few recipes and ...
Cauliflower Tetrazzini with Poblano Peppers | #SundaySupper
Vegetarian tetrazzini loaded with cauliflower and poblano peppers, and switches out the more traditional sour cream or heavy cream for yogurt. I hope all of you had memorable holidays, as we wrap it all up with a huge football weekend (go Steelers!!). My stepson and his 3 of his 5 kids came to visit us in Tahoe for several days of fun times. Skiing, sledding, bowling, go-kart racing, Star Wars VII, and playing games were all on the menu, along with celebrating two of my grandson's birthdays. ...
Spiced Acorn Squash with Charred Poblano Pepper – Cornbread Stuffing
I like to think travel broadens the mind. For a snapshot in time, you sneak a glimpse of another culture, up close and personal. What people eat, how they live, and how they navigate human issues common to us all. We weigh these observations in our minds as we contrast them against our own familiar lives, and sometimes feel the pinching discomfort of a traveler far from home. “Why is there only one person selling train tickets? Holy Jesus, can’t they see how long the line is??” This can be as ...
Cheesy Polenta Lasagna with Swiss Chard
Our weather just sucks. I hope I'm not offending anyone, but it's in the 60's, sunny, and the magnolia tree in the backyard is covered in plump, fuzzy buds ready to burst into bloom. Tahoe isn't much better. It's in the 50's right now, and it's January! The mountains should be covered in 20 feet of snow. Instead, not all chairlifts are open, scrub brush pokes through the snow alongside many runs, and we're relying on the man-made stuff, which takes a lot of water. And we're in a drought. Argh!!! ...
Cheesy Polenta Topped with Mole & Pepper Relish
Comforting cheesy polenta topped with a mole sauce and roasted peppers. I lived in Italy in a former life. I crave pasta and risotto. If I buy canned tomatoes, they're San Marzano. And every soup I make simmers with a chunk of Parmesan rind. Unconvinced? I've got more proof. Dessert? A fig crostata, prego. Appetizer? Farinata. And when I want comfort food, I make polenta. OK, maybe it all just means I should live in Italy in this lifetime. But until that happens I can at least cook like I ...
Roasted Poblano Peppers Stuffed with Warm Corn Salad
Every summer when fresh peppers and corn show up at the market, I think about making this dish. The poblano peppers take a little effort to roast, peel, slit open and stuff, but it's all quick work if you roast the peppers earlier in the day. The warm corn salad can be made ahead as well. And the "wow!" effect you'll get at the table will be well worth the effort. Wimpy Tips I salt and pepper some shrimp, and sauté them in a little olive oil for my husband, Carnivorous Maximus. I toss them in a ...
BBQ Chicken Pizza + Poblanos: #SundaySupper
BBQ chicken pizza with roasted poblano peppers and pepitas, with vegetarian option. There's a nearby restaurant my husband and I love to go to that's very popular with local families, Joe's Taco Lounge. Our favorite dish on the menu is Oaxaca Pizza with BBQ Chicken, made spicy with poblano peppers and salsa. Yes, I know, chicken isn't on the vegetarian menu. But when we eat out, I eat some fish, and when we go to Joe's, I get this pizza. It's absolutely the best pizza I've ever had. So for this ...
