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If I could eat fresh hot doughnuts every day without worrying about turning into a doughnut myself, I would absolutely do it. My birthday is in two weeks. I encourage each of you to send me your favorite doughnut. Perhaps by the dozen. (Not seriously/ completely seriously). The beauty of a homemade fried doughnut is […]
Sometime over the last two weeks, I dropped out of the blogosphere. Life happens. It moves. Time tucks itself into moments that don’t feel like they’re flying by while they’re escaping you right under your grimy garden-dirt coated fingers, or rushing beneath quick moving feet that run up and down the staircase approximately three hundred […]
For the first time in well over a year, a week has passed since I posted anything here. I have been b-u-s-y. My in-laws are here visiting. A week or so before they arrived, we decided to do a full house revamping. Meaning getting rid of my husband’s music studio and turning it into a […]
The last week has been absolutely nuts… but it looked a little like this:I actually made these almond butter dark chocolate fudge brownies to welcome our new neighbors… but they apparently went back to California before I could deliver them next door. Solution? Eat a whole 9×13 inch pan of brownies in two days… Duh.The […]
In the last few weeks, I’ve grown a deep appreciation for leftovers and nearly empty refrigerators. I’m not even being sarcastic (gasp, I know). The sparseness remaining once all the newer groceries have been consumed can be motivation to try new recipes. When I found leftover rice the other day, I knew I wanted to […]
I fully believe in putting care, intent and thought into everything I cook. That doesn’t mean I need to make an overly elaborate multiple course dinner every night, or that the meal must consist of an exhausting list of ingredients. Sometimes simplicity is both desired and necessary, but still provides a filling meal that nourishes […]
Sometimes I forget what it’s like to cook with additional little hands in the kitchen. That sounds really creepy, I know. I’m referring to cooking with kids, not miscellaneous spare body parts I’ve failed to confess to owning. I have mentioned before that I really prefer cooking solo. It isn’t that I’m unaware of how [...]
One more week has come and gone, and it looked a bit like this: Clothesline accessories. Sometimes one must bake cookies at 10:30 PM. Hopefully macadamia nut-white chocolate chip-cranberry and cherry cookies. Sorry, no recipe because I we ate all the cookies before I got a better picture than the above i-Phone shot, to post on Le’Blog. [...]
Somehow it’s already the first weekend of May. My brain tries to wrap itself around how quickly time flies, but in the midst of doing so, all I can really think about is big fat veggie burritos or tacos laden with freshly cooked beans, melted cheese and spicy sauces of every type imaginable. Then there’s [...]
Some days require baking for sanity purposes. I almost opted for pie when I found myself hoarding strawberries and rhubarb. I decided I wanted to use similar flavors, but in a fluffier, softer sense. These muffins are very lightweight. They’re sweet, tender, moist, tasty! I love to incorporate apples with strawberries and rhubarb both. Its [...]
In the last six years, the amount of meat that goes into my diet has drastically shifted. Truth is, I enjoy learning about plant based proteins and nutrients… in a very nerdy way, which has included reading about the ways vegetables break down when consumed and countless hours spent finding recipes to experiment with. I [...]
Let’s have a look at the past week, shall we? Things looked a little like this: Fresh organic eggs were delivered to our front porch early in the week. Fresh eggs were a good excuse for this breakfast-dinner. A vegetarian chorizo hash with baked eggs that’ll come your way soon. SO good. Strawberry Rhubarb [...]
I’ve never been good with diets. The first time I remember trying one I must have been nine or ten. What I remember most is a white paperback book from the late 80′s – this one, actually – and trying to follow the meals listed, word for word. It meant eating things like wheat germ and plain [...]
Recently, I was asked to share the recipe for a photo I posted on Facebook, featuring the above pancakes. “I’m starting a food blog!” said Eve, a lovely lady I grew up with on Kauai. When I received a follow-up e-mail from MouthPocket.com I knew any further reading was going to be funny, smart, and certainly [...]
It’s 4 o’clock in the afternoon. I’ve folded precisely seven loads of laundry, done the dishes four times since waking up, ran up and down the stairs in our house fifteen billion times, pulled weeds that will inevitably show up again tomorrow. I’ve worked my ass off at the gym, responded to x-number of e-mails, photographed three entirely different [...]
The past week looked a bit like this: Overcast skies are some of my favorite skies. I have no qualms about telling you I buy Yogi tea mainly for the little quote that is attached to each teabag. This particular day was a good life reminder. This week’s tea of choice? Lavender Honey, good hot [...]
At times I am nearly positive that I reside in a peculiar realm of craziness. Sometimes my days bring an overwhelming sense of urgency and half the time I am not certain what that is born out of. The days move by so quickly, it’s easy to feel like I forgot to stop and catch [...]
I try not to romanticize baking cookies, but then there are days when I wake up thinking about oatmeal cookies, the scent of butter creamed together with sugar and vanilla… and it seems futile to fight that (too hard). I’m not going to lie – part of the reason I love oatmeal cookies so much [...]
One of the most rewarding things I’ve learned from really delving into cooking is: mistakes happen. Not that I wasn’t aware of this before. And certainly in the areas of life outside of the kitchen, I’m a mistake aficionado. Life happens. You mess up. By “you” I also mean “me,” or “I.” If you’re like [...]
The most simplistic recipes often are not born out of a lack of creativity, nor a lack of skills in the kitchen. Sometimes simplicity is both competence and comprehensibility of the ingredients at hand. Knowing that you can put X, Y, and Z together and create a meal that is both satisfying and filling? It’s [...]
This week looked like this: Garlic rubbed sourdough toast with peppery egg and chives. So good. Brown eyed boy. Silas’s mom shared the pickled quail eggs she’s been pickling… delicious. Company for chips. I baked a surprise birthday cake for our friend Gary. Who says you need to be under 10 to appreciate sparklers on [...]
About a month ago, I was offered the opportunity to try Nasoya’s new vegan mayonnaise. I was told that Nasoya recently perfected their recipe, creating a smoother, creamier Nayonaise. After accepting the offer, I received a jar of original Nayonaise and a jar of NayoWhipped – the newest addition to Nasoya’s product line. I’ll be [...]
Let’s discuss something. Pineapple. And how adding pineapple to anything does not make it “Hawaiian.” For instance – Hawaiian pizza, topped with pineapple and Canadian bacon. C’mon now. Being born and raised on Kauai, I have to tell you – I didn’t eat pineapple in or on everything, nor with most meals. We saw it [...]
When it came to potlucks when I was a kid, everyone had two requests from my mom: her stir-fried beef broccoli or her fried chicken. Even writing the names of these things down makes my mouth salivate. I remember the taste of both, regardless of the fact that I’ve eaten neither in probably close to [...]
The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. I thought about skipping two weeks of Day-to-Day posts, but alas… I’m opting for this route instead. Three weeks worth of photos (while the number of them may seem overwhelming, they’re the careful pickings from over 1000 photos edited and navigated through!). A post-workout lunch. Beet/grapefruit/orange/celery/apple/grape juice; [...]
The beauty of being a legal adult is that you can happily indulge in sea salt caramel gelato for breakfast whenever the hell you feel like it. Granted, you wait until the kids are in school because you can’t have gelato for breakfast then tell them they can’t – for fairness’ sake. Oh, I know, [...]
Sometimes I will see a recipe while browsing food blogs at 11:30, midnight, and think I need this in my mouth right now. Then I fall asleep dreaming of said food, waking in the morning still craving what I saw the night before. When I saw this spinach and artichoke grilled cheese sandwich, it blew [...]
I apologize for the lack of recipes. Truth be told, being out of town, I didn’t cook a single thing for the last week. Granted, hotel breakfasts lend a little room for creativity. I do mean little… like plain packets of instant oatmeal that can be spruced up with added banana, brown sugar, granola, cream, and raisins [...]
Like I mentioned earlier this week, we are on the road, heading towards sunshine. Heading towards warmth that Southern Oregon isn’t offering yet. We are in San Francisco for the evening, heading to Santa Cruz in the morning, ultimately winding up near San Diego so a 7-year-old boy can take in the wonder of Legoland [...]
Whirl-wind weeks. They come and go, but damn… when they hit, it’s from every angle. I am writing this post from an i-Pad. My laptop – you know the one holding every back up of my posts here, all the poetry I haven’t sent out for submissions yet, the collection of poems I’ve been working [...]
This week looked a bit like this: Blue skies for days… At times when I’m missing Kauai particularly much, my insides crave noodles. Saimin, specifically. When I first left the islands for Oregon to go to college (on The Mainland), Top Ramen would suffice for this craving. Especially at less than 10 cents per package [...]
Do you ever have days where you’d like to demonstrate the “crotch chop” at the world and say, “Suck it!” as goes along with such an act? Yeah, I just said crotch chop. And suck it. In the same sentence. Perhaps it’s because I grew up with brothers – one of which was very (very!) [...]
Some days require baking for no reason other than to fill your house with the smell of something freshly baked. Of course baking something that tastes as good as it smells is preferred. I’ve loved banana bread since I was little. We grew bananas in our backyard, so they were always available. I don’t remember [...]
In the last few years, I’ve learned a few things about going to the gym: 1.) If I go between 7:30 AM and 11:30 AM, the senior population scattered around the place is out of control. And parking? Forget it. 2.) If I go between 4:30 PM and 6:30 PM, the after-work rush has already taken [...]
This week looked a bit like this: We drink a lot of drip coffee around here. Probably more than necessary. I went through a phase (when our coffee maker broke) of drinking a LOT of french press… but I much prefer the rich, bold, nearly creamy taste of espresso. I’ve never felt like we could [...]
Sometimes I’m pretty sure I can demolish pizza like a teenage boy. I love the versatility of pizzas: sauces of whatever variety you like, toppings galore, dessert, dinner, breakfast… Really, the possibilities are limited only to your imagination. I have very much turned into a pizza snob over the last couple of years, and eagerly [...]
Yesterday, my dad came up to Ashland for a visit. I somehow managed to not take a single photo (as evidence, or as a possible inclusion in this coming Sunday’s Day to Day Life post… C’est la vie). The last time he was here was three or so years ago and I did not cook [...]
The past week looked a little like this: Whoa, buddy. I’m not sure why, but when it came to food this week, all that ever sounded good was breakfast. And burritos. To wrap up breakfast in a burrito for dinner? Magic. These are cumin potatoes, fluffy scrambled eggs, TJ’s Soyrizo, monterey jack cheese, salsa verde, [...]
I laugh to myself when I think of sharing juice recipes. Mostly because my method of making juices includes a lot (I mean a LOT) of winging it. Using what is on sale for the week, what looks and feels ripe, what flavors my body tells me it wants. Then when I give directions for [...]
I’ll admit – posting the following recipe absolutely feels like cheating. It’s not fancy, it’s not intricate, it’s not labor intensive, or evenly remotely time consuming. But it’s a delicious snack that I threw together out of sheer hunger… Speaking of hunger, let’s discuss and not discuss how I’ve been H-U-N-G-R-Y for the last few [...]
Today’s Tuesday. We’re two days into the work week. The last two days have brought breakfast for dinner. First, a breakfast burrito larger than my face. Then a pizza topped with hash brown potatoes, Soyrizo, eggs, pesto, and cheese. No big deal. It’s no secret that I prefer my breakfast that way, anyway – after [...]
My family has always been largely into music. Growing up, my dad played the French horn, piano and sang in various ensembles. My sister had a knack for the piano and was a percussionist throughout high school. My brothers both dabbled in various instruments, too. My mom could play the piano when she decided she [...]
This week looked a bit like this: Morning smoothies include raw oats that have been soaked overnight, a handful of fresh blueberries, a couple small bananas, peanut butter, and a bit more vanilla almond milk. Very reminiscent of this smoothie. I do not own a blender, thus the food processor smoothie business. Sweet boy who [...]
Since this little juice fountain showed up in our house, I’ve used it every day except one, when I wasn’t feeling so great. It’s hard to not feel healthy after drinking freshly juiced fruits and vegetables that don’t carry added water, sugar, or un-nameable ingredients. I’ve been having a lot of fun experimenting with different [...]
I’m under the impression that some days require overindulgence, with allowance for that to be okay. I’m not always good about the second part of that. Other times, I’m very good at it. Regardless, let us come to the conclusion that this recipe was born out of one of those days. I saw this recipe [...]
When it comes to waffles, it’s hard to beat a light, fluffy, crisp-on-the-outside, fresh-out-of-the-iron, hot waffle. At the opposite end of that spectrum is the dense, mushy, but hopefully-still-tastes-good waffle. I hate to tell you, but my kitchen experiments have more often resulted in the latter. I made these lemon ricotta waffles with blueberries a [...]
This week looked like the following: I had forgotten what it’s like to go through the car wash until this week. We decided to go through all the books in the downstairs part of our house. Twelve or so shelves worth. There was buried treasure found. Words needed to be found. Titles that beckoned to [...]
Babe, that’s the real thing! is what my Southern born and raised, then West Coast transplanted, husband said as he ate this étouffée (eh-too-fey). Étouffée is a Creole or Cajun dish generally served with some kind of shellfish (most popularly, crawfish), over rice. The easiest way to describe it is to say it’s like a [...]
As I was doing my juice fast last week, I told myself I was going to be a green juice kind of girl. I have had green juices and not once have I enjoyed any of them. At first I thought it was the spirulina that I was hating so much, so I tried green [...]
‘Tis still the season for soup, I say. Sometimes when I can’t think of what to make for dinner, I will look around the kitchen and my brain immediately goes to soup. Especially if it’s a pureed type – anything can go in there that tastes good! (Okay, certain things pair better with others, but [...]
