Thursday, September 6, 2007

for the foodies (Desyl, this means you ;)

when you go to watch discrectionary actions in another city, it may be a true sign that you’re officially a planning geek.

*thanks Stacy!

On the other hand, when there’s good food afterwards, almost anything is excusable, especially when that good food includes:

Deviled eggs with homemade mustard

Wild Mushroom Stew served on a bed of Maytag Blue Cheese grits

Butter Lettuce Salad with rosemary blue cheese dressing, candied pecans, smoked pears, roasted peppers

and some of the best beer I’ve ever had (and I’m not a beer person)

I thought for a fleeting second about snapping a picture, but, well, mostly, I just wanted to eat. Miss Meg, if you ever come visit, I’m so taking you

Posted by M at 15:28:52 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Concertina, Part 2

Big breakfast with Little Miss Bossy (and you thought that I was kidding when I called her that)

after which I bought the sparkly hoop earrings that I’ve been coveting forever and she bought an ultra glamorous shirt.

Big day in LA with MisAdventure (although we never did find that perfume shop!), Bad Voodoo Daddy at the Bowl with dancing and fireworks.

In between, I met up with the Native Hyepinay, a very old and dear friend, for delicious Indian cuisine. All Fridays should be this good.

Posted by M at 07:58:58 | Permalink | No Comments »

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Saturday

Happy Birthday, Mom! Hope that you’re having fun in Chicago!

Lazy Saturday - it’s as warm and sultry as it’s going to get here and I’m still relazing from last night. I’m deep in fantasies of decorating and spent a chunk of the afternoon enjoying a breeze and collecting furniture for my virtual apartment. Today, I like this bed with these nightstands. Met up with Stacy later, intending to see a movie, but ultimately succumbing to the lure of hanging in her new apartment, making dinner and laughing. Bad TV is way more fun with a friend.

Here’s dinner. It was delicious.

 

Orzo Stuffed Peppers

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
See this recipe on air Monday Aug. 20 at 4:30 PM ET/PT.
Show: Everyday Italian
Episode: Greek Fusion

 
1 (28-ounce) can Italian tomatoes
2 zucchini, grated
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano, plus more for sprinkling
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
6 sweet bell peppers (red or yellow)
 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Pour the tomatoes into a large bowl and break apart using a pair of kitchen shears or your finger tips. Add the zucchini, mint, cheese, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.

Meanwhile, bring the chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the orzo and cook for 4 minutes. The orzo should be only partially cooked. Use a fine mesh sieve to transfer the orzo to the large bowl with the other vegetables. Stir the orzo into the vegetable mix to combine. Transfer the warm chicken broth to a 3-quart baking dish.

Slice the tops off the peppers and remove all ribs and seeds. Cut a very thin slice from the base to help the peppers stand up.

Place the peppers in the baking dish with the warm chicken broth. Spoon the orzo mixture into the peppers. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle the top of each pepper with cheese and continue baking until the cheese is golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, carefully transfer the orzo stuffed pepper to a serving plate.

 

Posted by M at 07:27:01 | Permalink | No Comments »

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Lunch Box of the DAMNED


VeganLunchBox makes the best lunches EVER

Cue the scary music and ghost sounds, because it’s time for the Halloween Lunch Box! It’s a ghastly Mummy Calzone on a bed of mummy wrappings (torn paper towel), with a bucket of blood (pizza sauce) for dipping.

Two gruesome shrunken heads (a baked apple with clove eyes) rise up from a swamp of blackberry applesauce, and a little paper pumpkin holds dessert.

I saw this clever calzone in a Halloween recipe booklet at the grocery store. I veganized it by using my recipe for Broccoli Calzones in Vegan Lunch Box . I divided the wholegrain pizza dough into five pieces instead of eight, in order to roll out each piece and trim them into triangle shapes. I used a pizza wheel to cut the sides into strips, then filled the center with broccoli and tofu “ricotta”. I rounded the top strip of dough into a head and overlapped the dough strips all the way down to form the mummy body. Bits of black olives are the eyes.

For dessert, a little pumpkin filled with candy and confetti is a nice way to make a small amount of candy feel like a very special treat. Just wrap one or two pieces of candy and some Halloween confetti or toys in a circle of orange tissue paper. Twist the top and seal with a bit of green floral tape.

Verdict: “It’s very important to decide whether to eat the head or feet first,” shmoo informs. “I ate the head!” He was delighted by the shrunken heads. “Weird!” he says. I warned him ahead of time not to try to eat the cloves!

Posted by M at 21:45:19 | Permalink | No Comments »