I know I have said it before, but I cannot help to say it again. I love green beans. I could eat them every meal. Growing up we would buy pounds of green beans. For breakfast we would fry them with eggs, at lunch we would make a delicious salad with raw green beans, and then at dinner we would sauté them for a perfect side dish. It says a lot that I would not only not get sick of them, but that I would still crave them. I would love to hear how you enjoy your favorite green beans in the comments!
Thanksgiving is a perfect day to make all of your favorite green bean dishes. Especially with a big group, green beans are one veggie that is a guaranteed crowd pleaser. We have a lot of vegetarians in our family, so we are always looking for new ways to add filling dishes with protein to our holiday menu. Green bean almandine is a great way to do just this. It is delicious, salty, nutty, and crunchy making each bite the perfect taste sensation. I love garlic, so I added a clove to my recipe to make the dish a little more of my own. Feel free to leave it out! Either way it will be delicious!
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It is officially fall in San Francisco and while sadly, we do not have the beautiful changing leaves, we do have 80 degree weather. The weather makes me want to just play outside and enjoy everything the city has to offer, including the plentiful parks.
This weekend marks one of the biggest celebrations in the parks all year, The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. I am grilling out ahead of time and coming prepared with these fun, Shrimp Taco Lettuce Wraps. You can make the ingredients up to a day ahead of time and keep them refrigerated or eat them when the shrimp is fresh off the grill. Either way they are guaranteed not to disappoint. [click to continue…]
My dad loves making things. As a child, he built us a treehouse and dollhouses, throughout my adolescence he brewed beer, and now he is a beekeeper collecting delicious honey! He then shares the honey with us (my favorite!), uses it in food, and makes candles. I really enjoy this hobby of his.
Today using a special batch of his honey, I made an Arugula and Honey Roasted Almond Salad. The salad is light and summery offering a peppery bite from the arugula and a sweet, salty crunch from the almonds. The almonds also step this dish up a little offering a source of protein for a more complete meal!
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There is nothing like sporting events to bring people together. As a Penn State alum, I believe that I gain 110,000 friends whenever I go and watch a football game at Beaver Stadium. Sporting events allow everyone to speak a universal language, one of pride, competition, and teamwork. Right now, in the midst of the Fifa World Cup, this sentiment is so strong.. Walking through the streets of San Francisco, I see so much USA pride and at game time, the city transforms itself to only teammates and friends.
Getting in the spirit of the World Cup, I made these Plantain Guacamole Bites to enjoy with my friends, as we watched the US play! The fresh flavors transport you to Brazil. Each bite offers a fruity sweetness from the plantain, a tart kick from the lime, and a little spice from the jalapeño. I would recommend making extras, because I know I could eat them all by myself!
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This salad hits on all our taste sensations, the pepperiness of the greens with the sweetness of the fresh figs, the crunch of the toasted hazelnuts and the saltiness of the parmesan cheese. I love arugula, when my girls were small, I bought a case of it and we ate arugula twice a day till it was gone. It took a year before they even wanted to look at it again. Now they can’t get enough and would love it if someone brought them a case.
When I shop for fresh figs, I look for a little drip of liquid at the bottom or eye of the fig, telling me they are ripe. Somehow figs manage to be crunchy, sweet and chewy all at the same time. This effortless salad is delicious without them but figs take it to another level of flavor. [click to continue…]
My go-to snack ever since childhood has been a can of chickpeas with salt and pepper. I just cannot get enough chickpeas – I love them! When other kids were bringing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to school, I was bringing hummus sandwiches on pita bread. When my college roommates bought cases of mac and cheese or ramen noodles, I was online ordering a case of chick peas from Amazon. That’s why a few years ago when I saw fresh, chickpeas in the pod on a cooking show, I knew I had to have them! I looked everywhere for the beans with no luck. Then this past week at my neighborhood Whole Foods, I saw none other than the beans starring at me from their almost hidden spot on the bottom shelf in the produce section.
After purchasing a few pounds of the chickpeas, I went to my kitchen to experiment. Eaten raw the chickpeas have a slightly sweet flavor with a tender crunch. They are everything I expected and more. While the beans are fabulous alone, combining them with these Mediterranean flavors brings out their whole flavor profile. This recipe has delicate, light flavors making it the perfect meal for any season.
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Around the time I turned 21, I was doing a six-month co-op for Johnson and Johnson in New Jersey. It was a wonderful experience; I loved the job and it made the commute home to Connecticut relatively short. The weekend before my birthday I went home to celebrate with my mom, stepdad, and grandpa. We had a wonderful celebration eating, gabbing, and laughing, and my mom surprised me with a beautiful Le Creuset tagine.
That was the last birthday I got to celebrate with my grandpa. But I am so lucky, because now whenever I cook with the tagine I think back to that night and all of my wonderful memories with my grandpa.
This lamb and date tagine recipe offers delicate and delicious flavors. The meat is exceptionally tender and holds a light sweetness from the dates. A dear friend of mine just returned to California after a long time away. I could not think of a better recipe to celebrate his return, as this recipe makes you feel right at home.
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There is nothing better than crispy chicken wings. This recipe is no exception, especially when you happen upon a spot with a little extra crispy sauce! [click to continue…]
Spring has sprung in Oakland! To celebrate the beautiful weather I wanted to make something light, but filling. This recipe keeps the chicken moist and has a wide range of delicious flavors that bring your tastebuds to a warm, sunny place! I put mine on top of basmati rice that I prepared with a little bit of coconut oil to make all the flavors come together!
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