Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Drawing a Blank

I'm having a bit of writer's block lately. Only it's not that I have nothing to say, it's that I have tons to say but not sure what I should really share here. Not sure how much to edit myself. I have been consumed with thoughts, day dreams, wishes, doubts and fears. Excitement and anxiety. And then excitement again. I saw a quote through pinterest, which I traced back to Liberian President Ellen Johson Sirleaf's speech to the Harvard graduating class of 2011 (correct me if this is the wrong attribution), "The size of your dreams must always exceed your current capacity to achieve them. If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough." If she is right, then I must be doing something right.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Clementine Salad


Quick post of a clementine salad I made the other weekend. I topped the salad off with sardines, but they were kinda ugly and I only made matters worse by failing to remove them from the can in one piece. Read: broken, slimy fish chunks. Not ideal. I never had sardines before so I had no idea what to expect. I'll just say they looked worse than I expected and tasted better. The combination of citrus and onion dominated the flavor of the fish. I have really come like the combination of fruit and purple onion, especially blueberries and purple onions. Don't knock it till you try it! Or knock it and do your own thing, it's your salad.


Friday, April 13, 2012

Beans & Blondes


If you couldn't tell by the title, this soup has a story. One in which I will openly embarrass myself and then try to defend myself. If I tell you the name of the soup it will be a dead giveaway of my mistake, so I'll tell the story first.

On a Monday night after work and night class, one bleary-eyed Nicole decided to do an epic grocery shopping trip for this. After spending a good 45 minutes wandering around produce like a lost child, there was only one thing left on the list: beans. Red lentil beans. I know these are not red lentil beans--now. I took a lap around the store stopping in all the "authentic" areas and staring at cans and bags of beans waiting for the red lentils to suddenly jump out at me. Instead, I used my mind powers to turn a small bag of red beans into red lentil beans. I carried on as if they were lentil beans with a lingering sliver of doubt for a few days until I saw a picture of lentil beans and remembered, oh yeah, that's what lentil beans are supposed to look like. In my defense, the picture the recipe provides shows no beans. That's it--that's all I can really say to defend myself. That and that I do know how to read. Pinky promise. And for those of you with some cooking chops who are wondering: No, I did not soak the beans overnight; and no, they did not cook all the way through. Save your applause, folks.



Thursday, April 12, 2012

Deviled Eggs


Hello. I hope everyone had a nice weekend. Here are some pictures I took on Sunday while preparing deviled eggs for Easter dinner. I don't use a recipe, I just go by taste and add lots of dijon mustard, as a rule. I prefer eggs with speckles, they really add character and look more legitimate to me than perfectly white eggs. I know it only has to do with the type of chicken (mostly because I just googled it) but I'll go ahead and maintain my non-nonsensical bias. Perhaps it's related to my jealousy over freckles. People with freckles tend to hate and hide their freckles, but I think they're pretty awesome. I guess the grass is always greener.


Friday, April 6, 2012

Avocado Salad


The recipe for this easy salad comes from Whole Living. I enjoyed it with the grapefruit, orange, carrot and ginger juice, a modified version of this juice. Try as I might, I just cannot get into grapefruit. Anyways, this is a great filling yet light lunch that won't leave you in a post-lunch sleep coma at your desk. You know what I'm talking about. When you are looking at words and trying to read them but you cannot fully process their meaning so you end up just staring at them and next thing you know you're on [insert social network here]. I know I'm not alone.

Happy Passover and Happy Easter, whichever you fancy. Or just happy weekend; it's Friday!!


Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Juiced


I modified this juice recipe from Whole Living on account of my aversion to grapefruit. The verdict: slight success. I still love the color and like the smell, but cannot handle the bitter taste. I thought the addition of a large orange could mask the bitter taste, but it is still too strong for my liking. Thanks to my sister who let me borrow her juicer, I have been trying lots of juice over the last week. My neighbors are probably wondering if I purchased some kind of power tool, but it's totally worth it.



Monday, April 2, 2012

Scottsdale

These are from my recent trip to Scottsdale, hence that cacti. I have been high on the stress and low on the creativity lately, so yesterday I decided to turn that around by photographing three recipes, editing photos and reading. I must say, it felt really good.