Monday, May 18, 2009

Sushi!

05.17.09 005-1

It's really a pity that yesterday was my first time making sushi - ever! Serious? Someone who loves fish and rice and all food as much as myself has never made sushi?

Well, it took a trip to the Japanese grocery store near my house to inspire me. Put together some fabulous tuna, some homemade sushi rice (2 cups rice cooked, mix with 3-4 tbsp rice vinegar, tsp salt, 4 tsp sugar), and some rolling skills and you have tuna rolls. I will have to try it with other ingredients and fancier next time.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Spaghetti and meatballs

05.15.09 016-1

To use up some of my vegetables, and to continue my resolution to use something out of my freezer, I decided to make the spaghetti and meatballs with a dash of spring vegetables. I have to admit that my weekly CSA is rather challenging - before I can use one week's vegetables, another week has come! So, to use up the vegetables that I have accumulated through the CSA (spring garlic, fresh shallots, chard, and summer squash) and in my garden (fresh basil, thyme, and oregano), I decided to cook up some spaghetti and vegetables. However, I was craving something meatier and remembered that I had a bag of Trader Joe's turkey meatballs in my freezer. Put it all together and you have spaghetti and meatballs (and spring vegetables!).

Ingredients:

  • Any vegetables you'd like to add - squash works particularly well
  • Garlic & shallots - I used spring garlic and fresh shallots because that's what I had. You can use regular garlic and shallots, or only one of them, if that's what you have.

05.15.09 005

  • Fresh herbs (I had basil, oregano, and thyme - but any herbs of your choice would make do)
  • Tomato sauce (I would make my own usually out of fresh tomatoes and tomato paste, but I didn't have any on hand)
  • Trader Joe's turkey meatballs (or any other meatballs)
Instructions:

  • Boil and prepare pasta.
  • Saute the garlic and shallots in a pan with olive oil until fragrant.
    05.15.09 007

  • If you want, you can add the other vegetables now and saute until brown.
    An alternative I used this time was to broil the squash for about 12 minutes (stirring in between) until brown and caramelized. I am convinced that nothing tastes as good as grilled/broiled/barbecued zucchini. If you broil it (with salt, pepper, and oil), add the zucchini last minute to the sauce.
    05.15.09 013
  • Add tomato sauce and meatballs (optional). Cook until heated through.
  • Sprinkle with fresh herbs and parmesan prior to serving.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Foodie indulgence

One day about 5 months ago, I bought a pasta maker on a whim.  Definitely not a huge machine by any means, but more of the type that you clamp onto the corner of your counter and hand crank the pasta through.  However, my spur-of-the-moment buy was back ordered and I just got an email that it's coming in the mail - talk about delayed gratification.  Now, as I'm craving pasta (with some broiled zucchinis and turkey meatballs), I turn on the tv to my nightly public television cooking show marathon and am greeted by none other than homemade pasta recipes.  Now, I'm really craving pasta. 

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Spring Summer Fall Winter

I forget how much I love summer.  It's almost 8pm and the sun is still out, the weather is beautiful, and my lemons are growing.  What else could a girl ask for?

Talking about time, it's funny that I suddenly have so much of it on my hands.  I'm on an "easy" rotation right now (really, what's easy in intern year?) and I have so much time, I don't know what to do with it.  Right now, I'm working on a presentation (obviously not working too hard), but I haven't done much of anything this month - and it's almost over!

Here was my to do list:
  • Make jewelry (which I did some of - I made a few necklaces and earrings, some of which were worn to a friend's recent wedding)
  • Deal with my finances (which I did halfway. I successfully deferred my loans yet another time, but haven't figured out whether I can pull together enough money to buy a house)
  • Plan my trip to Morocco (now, on this, I have been slacking.  You'd think that this would be easy - I mean, it's vacation!)
  • Read academic stuff (lots of studies, studies, and more studies.  Oh yeah, and textbooks. Don't get my started on those.  Oh, wait, I haven't started on those.)
  • Deal with my garden (I'm nurturing it, but it needs to be cleaned up - argh.)
  • Begin biking to work again (I pumped my tires.  That's a start, right?)
  • Read for fun (I'm still working on a book I started 3 months ago - of short stories.)
  • Update my blog (Ironically, I think I updated more when I had less time.  Maybe it's because my life is so dull without anything to do?)
Yeah, I'm not so successful in getting things off my to do list.  I still have one more week...to waste.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Scrabble

One of my favorite ways to totally geek out is by playing scrabble. The thing about scrabble is that it's hard to find someone to play with. I've even gone to scrabble clubs, where I promptly get my butt kicked because I don't know every two letter word or "q" without a "u" word in the dictionary. However, tonight, I found a formidable and yet not too formidable player in my friend, C (who I happen to share my weekly CSA goodies with).

Here is our board at the end of the night:
05.13.09 002-1

You can't make out the score card too well, but I won by only 2 points. 2. And that's after starting out with a zinger such as "ripened" (though the "n" was a blank).

I think that nicely sets it up for a rematch. We're playing for best 2 out of 3.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Flash from the past

I paid a visit to the San Francisco Antique Market over the weekend and hit on a jackpot of bird cages! I have been trying to find a birdcage for several months now. One that's not too large, not too small. One that's wood (though if it's a beautiful antique brass, I would love it too). And a stand would be a huge bonus. So, imagine my surprise when I found this:
05.02.09 111

Look at this beautiful kimono. It was stunning in person, about 6 feet tall and in exquisite condition. If only I had use for a kimono.
05.02.09 113

And I just have to post this picture, illustrative of the various "living rooms" they have set up to display the furniture. I just love it. Of course, I didn't buy anything (I love the look of antiques, but somehow the idea of it sitting in a closet collecting dust, and germs, for decades doesn't appeal to me).
05.02.09 110

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Agretti

05.03.09 003


My newest foodie discovery is agretti. I love agretti. What is agretti? Well, I had no idea it even existed up until 2 weeks ago, when it made a debut in my weekly CSA (this week's: agretti, lettuce, carrots, shallots, sugar snap peas, parsley). I had no idea what to do with it and it kind of scared me since I hadn't even heard of it, let alone cooked with it.

Alas, last week, I was at a loss and decided to make an omelet with agretti, parmesan, and tomatoes. It was beyond awesome.

So, just when I was lamenting the fact that you cannot find agretti at any market around (including the gourmet ones), what do I get in this week's CSA?

Agretti, of course. Today, I made a quick stir fry with the sugar snap peas, agretti, sesame oil, chile flakes, and soy sauce. Yummy.