Oat and Apple Crisp

Apple Crisp

Fruit crisps are the best desserts. Effortless to put together, sweet, buttery, with layers of textures, and totally guilt free of course, because, duh, fruit. (Ok, I guess that last part isn’t entirely true, but the rest of it is so good that you really shouldn’t feel guilty.) If you’re not sure how you feel about baking, I’d recommend starting with a fruit crisp. You don’t have to get the measurements exactly right, there is room for variation, you can use seasonal fruit, or just fruit that you like, and the amount of work required is minimal. Peeling the apples was the hardest part of this process.
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2012, Week Eighteen

This week, Sean and I celebrated one year of living in California together. It’s been a tremendous year: I feel like I’m home again, after too many years away. I’ve been able to see my family more times this year than in the previous three combined. And Sean and I are happily settling into our quiet domesticity.

Our anniversary celebration was put on hold for a few days, as Sean was in Boston for work. Kind of ironic. But we toasted to each other, and to our excellent year together, on Saturday night. We even opened a special bottle of wine, one we had been saving for just this occasion.

My week alone wasn’t too bad, though. It started off with my very first perfect poached egg.

Poached Egg on whole grain toast
Apr 29 – I’ve been trying to poach eggs, and failing, for years now. But last Sunday morning I tried a new method: I cracked the egg into a ramekin that held a splash of vinegar, and let it sit in the vinegar while I brought the water to a boil. The vinegar held the white together, and the egg didn’t taste of vinegar at all. Success!
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Cooking for Cinco de Mayo

I grew up in Southern California, so Mexican food is like comfort food to me. Burritos are a staple in my life. Enchiladas are an endless canvas for inspiration, and my chicken enchiladas are a dish I am perhaps overly proud of. I survived on large pots of beans during my poor college years. And this weekend, well. Cinco de Mayo might not be a particularly important holiday in Mexico, but in California, Cinco de Mayo means its time for Mexican food. And, if you’re lucky, a Mariachi band.

If you’re looking for something fun to make tomorrow to celebrate the awesomeness of Mexican food (that’s what that holiday is about, right?), here’s a round up of my favorite Mexican food recipes.

Starting with enchiladas:

Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas
These Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas are a great riff on a classic.
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Classic Curried Chicken Salad

Curried Chicken Salad

This week Sean is out of town, and I am eating like a total single lady. By that I mean on the couch, surrounded by magazines and watching How I Met Your Mother. By that I also mean I’m eating super easy salads, for which most of the prep work was done Sunday night. This Curried Chicken Salad is a perfect example a of single lady dinner. It took me about 15 minutes to throw together, it’s simple and summery, and its served in endive leaves, for goodness sake.

I love Curried Chicken Salad because it is totally classic, but still a little unexpected. It’s easy, but seems kind of decadent. It can be varied in endless ways, or kept simple and basic. I had originally intended to eat this chicken salad wrapped in lettuce leaves, but I couldn’t find any with that good cup shape. However, the endive was perfect: It added just the right amount of bitter crunch. This salad is also great wrapped in a soft whole wheat or green spinach-y tortilla.
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Recipe Organization

Organizing!

If you’re interested in food, and you spend any amount of time on the internet, it’s likely that so many amazing looking recipes cross your path every day that you can’t possibly remember all of them. I’ve experimented with many different recipe organization tactics, but through it all, I always had my blue folder. This folder contained recipes I’ve been collecting since I was 10 years old. Most of them are printed from websites, and stained from use. There are pages torn from magazines, emails from aunts, and even some typewritten sheets from my youth, when I practiced typing by copying recipes from magazines.

The recipes have never been organized in anyway, and I rarely used them because it was too much of a pain to sort through the messy piles and find what I wanted. Last week, the folder finally gave up the ghost, and it was time to find a new solution.
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Healthy Salads for Spring and Summer

There is something about warmer weather that just calls out for us to start eating more healthy salads. They are cool and crunchy, and full of thing that make us feel better about ourselves going into those seasons-of-lesser-clothing. Well, some people go into seasons-of-lesser-clothing. I’ve been known to wear cardigans all through summer, because I’m a total weirdo. But I still want big, crunchy salads. Unfortunately, I think with salads I can occasionally feel a little stuck. What goes after lettuce? Which vegetables go well together? And when is fruit acceptable? Can I think of another salad dressing besides a basic vinaigrette? Sometimes I need some healthy salad inspiration. Do you?
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Julia Child’s French Onion Soup: An Easy Way In

French Onion Soup

Julia Child. Just her name is intimidating. Her blue and white tome is like the holy grail of French cookery, and for over a year now it has been sitting on the shelf, tempting me and taunting me. I pick it up occasionally and flip through the smooth, unstained pages, falling in love with words like Filets de Poisson and Coquilles St. Jacques. But then I get a little frightened, and I slide the book back into its spot. It’s that word: Mastering.
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2012, Week Sixteen

Another week, more pictures. I’m still forgetful. I’m not beating myself up about it too hard. This was a full week of good things: time with a good friend, good meals, beers, books, and hiking.

And this carrot sandwich.

Untitled
Apr 15 – I like to call it a carrot tartine. So simple: Baguette, a smear of hummus, and some grated carrots that have been tossed with a bit of olive oil and some za’atar. Love.
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Friday Favorites

It’s finally Friday, and an absolutely beautiful day in the Bay. We’ve been promised some spectacular weather this weekend, and Sean and I are already dreaming about hiking in Marin tomorrow. We have tickets to the A’s game tonight, and I have an exciting Sunday dinner planned. I thought I’d jumpstart all the goodness by sharing with you some of the things I’ve been really loving this week.

Happy Girl Pickled Green Beans

1. These pickled cumin green beans were a Christmas gift from Sean. Yes, Christmas. I have no idea what on God’s green earth prevented me from opening them before now, but I was a fool, I tell you. These are a-a-a-mazing. I am imagining them chopped up in a hearty salad, topping off a perfect bloody mary, and tucked into a melty grilled cheese sandwich. You can check out the Happy Girl Kitchen Co. website to find out where you can buy them, if you’re local. If you’re not, might I suggest a trip to the Bay Area?
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