DIY Vanilla Salt

Vanilla Salt.  It's a thing!  You may already know about Vanilla Salt, but I did not until a few days ago, so please do not burst my bubble of excitement.  What a perfect topping for cookies and bars (like these, in fact).  And it would also make a great homemade gift this holiday season.    

I followed this tutorial, however, I did not use Grey Celtic Sea Salt.  I do not have that in my pantry, and I didn't feel like braving our horrendous Whole Foods parking lot just to get it.  So I used regular old coarse sea salt and it turned out just fine.  Easy peasy!      

Read More

Healthy Burger Toppings

We eat a lot of burgers in our house, especially in the summer.  Turkey burgers (here & here), chicken burgers (here & here & here), veggie burgers (here & here), fish burgers (here) or your classic and DELICIOUS beef burger.  And while I see nothing wrong with topping these burgers with cheese, bacon or onions and mushrooms (sautéed in butter, obviously), I thought I'd change it up a bit and search for healthier and more unique alternatives.

Instead of lettuce, try chopped bok choy sautéed in garlic.  Instead of pickles, try lightly sautéed yellow squash or zucchini.  It's almost impossible for me to eat a burger without tomatoes and avocado, so I had to include those.  But other ideas: roasted red peppers, pickled carrots or crispy kale.  And instead of basic ketchup and mustard, I tried out two different greek yogurt toppings: one with a dash of sriracha and the other with lime juice and lime zest.  Also, the vessel?  One half of a toasted English muffin instead of a bun.  Not exactly easy to eat, but delicious nonetheless.   

Doesn't that look pretty?  All assembled and ready to eat, yes?!  Well SECONDS after this photo was shot, this happened...

The glamorous life of a food blogger... always in a rush to photograph your food and then EAT it.  Oh, and don't worry, I put it all back on my plate and did just that.  Judge away!

Read More

Crispy Capers

I am a big fan of texture when it comes to salads or pasta - a little extra crunch can transform a dish.  I'm also a big fan of salt, so it's no wonder that I love these Crispy Capers.  They're also the easiest thing in the world to make.  Oh, except for I burnt the first batch and nearly set off the smoke detector.  But the second batch was the easiest thing in the world to make!  A couple tablespoons of canola oil, a bottle of drained and dried capers, a few minutes over medium-high heat... done.  Let them dry on some paper towel and they're ready to sprinkle over pasta or salad.  Or you can just snack on them, like I do, with everything in life. 

They are also delicious over roasted cauliflower...

Read More

Mushroom Crumbs + Food Processor Review

As I mentioned earlier in the week, the department store Kohl's let me pick out a few items to review from their Food Network line of products.  I was like a kid in a virtual candy store trying to choose, but one of the items I finally decided on was this Mini Food Processor (just searched for it online and it might be sold out!) because I didn't own one.  This little guy holds 3 cups of food, has chopping, slicing and shredding options, is dishwasher safe and comes in a bunch of colors (which is usually important to us gals).  I've only tried the chopping function so far but it worked like a dream!    

I used my new food processor to make something I'm going to call Mushroom Crumbs.  Like bread crumbs, only these are mushrooms.  Do you understand?  Great, you're smart.  These would be a great gluten-free alternative to bread crumbs, actually!  But I sprinkled these on top of a hot dog that was placed in a regular old, gluten-packed bun.  It, was, delicious.  All I did was throw some sliced mushrooms into my food processor, chopping them finely.  Then I heated a thin layer of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, tossed the mushroom crumbs in, and lightly fried them for roughly 7 minutes until they got golden brown...       

I removed them from the pan using a slotted spoon, let them rest on some paper towel, and seasoned them with salt and pepper.  Done.  

p.s. Always soak your hot dogs in beer prior to grilling.  ALWAYS.  

**Now remember, this week Kohl's is giving away $500 to a lucky winner.  All you have to do to enter the sweepstakes is tweet about your favorite hot dog topping or show a photo on Instagram, using the handle @Kohls and the hashtag #CookWithKohls.  What a simple way to make yourself eligible... DO IT!  And there's still one day left to enter my $25 Kohl's Giveaway, so do that too.   

Read More

Peanut Sesame Noodles + Homemade Sriracha

Lately, I've been wanting to eat take-out Chinese food from those paper cartons.  I want to shovel food in my mouth using chopsticks, like they do in the movies when something bad happens.  I'm not saying I want something bad to happen, I just want to enjoy a lot of Chinese take-out, in my mouth, while watching Pretty Woman.  Is that okay with you?

Problem is, there is not great take-out Chinese in the Santa Monica area (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).  So I had to make my own version of Asian-style take-out, even if I was paper carton-less.  I followed this recipe for Peanut Sesame Noodles, and they were delicious!  The sauce was everything I wanted it to be - smooth, spicy, nutty with a hint of sweet.  But what made it excellent was the Homemade Sriracha I stirred it all together with.  A good friend, Marianne, makes her own and hands them out as gifts and I'm telling you, the store-bought version does not come close. She shared her recipe with us below... yay!

Homemade Sriracha

(Makes 1 jar)

Printable Recipe

Adapted from Gwyneth Paltrow's My Father's Daughter

1 1/4 cups peeled garlic

1 pound red jalapeños, steamed and sliced into thin rings (seeds removed - the more seeds: the hotter the sauce)

2 1/4 cups rice vinegar

1/4 cup brown rice syrup

2 T sea salt

1 T arrowroot

1 T fish sauce (or soy sauce)

In a small sauce pan, add garlic and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and immediately drain.  Cool the garlic under running water and return it to saucepan.  Cover again with water and repeat blanching process. 

Thinly slice the blanched garlic and combine with jalapeños and vinegar in a large pot.  Bring to a boil, cook for 3 minutes and then remove from heat.  Add the brown rice syrup and salt and stir to combine.  Let the mixture sit undisturbed for 1 hour to steep and cool. 

Whiz the mixture in a powerful blender until smooth.  Return the pureed sauce to the pot, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, skimming off any foam until the sauce is slightly reduced and has some body.      

In a small bowl, dissolve the arrowroot with 1 tablespoon of lukewarm water.  Whisk into the simmering sauce and cool for 2 minutes more or until sauce has thickened.  

Remove the sauce from heat, let it cool slightly and stir in the fish sauce.  Store in a screw top jar in the fridge for up to 6 months. 

I chose to toss my Peanut Noodles with diced red bell pepper, cucumber, green onions, cilantro and chopped peanuts.

Read More

Olive Tapenade Spaghetti

I have been pretty creative this week when it comes to dinner.  You can send my medal via mail.  I accept cookies.  The other night, I took pasta and olive tapenade and created dinner!  Make pasta and then scoop in some olive tapenade.  Oh, and then throw in some toasted pine nuts and grated Parmesan cheese.  Salty, crunchy, cheesy... again, you can give your mail carrier pigeon my award... he knows where I live.  BUT!  I'm going to bake next week.  More than once.  So stay tuned... and have a nice weekend, why don't you?!      

Read More

Balsamic Glaze

Have you guys tried Trader Joe's Balsamic Glaze?  It's stupid good, or "sick" as my 4-year-old now likes to describe happy things.  Deep in flavor, not overly sweet or vinegar-y, and a perfectly thick consistency.  I use it as dressing ALL the time.  Just drizzle it over your salad with a splash of good olive oil (yup, I strive to sound like Ina) and that's all you need.  Marinate your chicken, or serve it over ice cream and fresh berries (which I have yet to do).  The other night, I used it to roast vegetables (with olive oil, salt and pepper).  It was so perfect, and much better than using watery balsamic vinegar.  

Sorry for all the iPhone photos as of late.  I lost my camera card and my to-do list says BUY ANOTHER.  My to-do list currently says 347 things.  I hate my to-do list and it's stupid face.  

Read More

Sriracha Salt

Besides the fact that I don't really know how to say "Sriracha" - I'm obsessed with it.  Now, just yesterday, a friend gifted me a bottle of homemade Sriracha Salt.  WHAT!?!?!?  That was my reaction. Just the smell of it made me do a happy dance in my kitchen (no really, there's evidence of said dance on my iPhone).  She used this recipe, which looks simple enough!  If you're a fan of the spicy condiment, you should probably make a big batch of this salt and put it on everything.  I sprinkled it on my salad last night, DELISH.  Can you imagine a margarita with this stuff rimming the glass?!?  I feel another happy dance coming on... I've gotta go.  

Thank you for the feedback on my new site design!  I'm sort of sick of the "label" section (do you use it?) and I'm trying to brainstorm some new organizational elements.  Ideas are welcome : )    

Read More