Archives for the month of: July, 2012

beet, tomato, cabbage + tarragon salad

July 18, 2012 //
2

get used to lots of recipes this summer with wee little yellow orbs from dave jr. because he is producing like a mofo. this was simply another combination of what i happened to have on hand.

ingredients:

  • 1 medium fresh yellow beet, peeled and sliced into thin strips
  • 12 yellow cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 1 cup red cabbage, sliced thin
  • 1 large sprig fresh tarragon, leaves removed from stem, but not chopped
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • olive oil (i used a little regular evoo, and some orange infused from adams’ olive ranch to give it a little more citrus flavor)
  • balsamic vinegar
  • paprika
  • black pepper

after prepping the beet, tomato, cabbage and tarragon, toss them in a bowl with the lemon juice. add a touch of olive oil and a splash of balsamic until nicely coated but not drenched. you can be generous with the paprika, and add black pepper to your taste.

i’m sure one of these days i will use the fruits of dave jr. and actually cook them, but for now i am enjoying them raw, sweet and tangy.

note: this makes enough for about 4 side servings, and is only about 100 calories per serving.

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Categories dave jr., recipes

a shakespeare in the park picnic

July 17, 2012 //
0

last year i was introduced to the independent shakespeare company. i saw quite an enjoyable version of the merry wives of windsor, and if you can believe it, a somewhat humorous hamlet. they have had a few venues over the years, but as of 2010, they put on their wonderful performances under the magic hour, moon, stars, and sometimes howling coyotes of los angeles summer nights at the old griffith park zoo.

their audiences are encouraged to bring blankets, chairs, coolers and picnic baskets filled with snacks and libations to enjoy before and during the performances. sometimes i just bring an assortment of meats, cheeses, veggies, bread, olives and salad. wine is a no-brainer.

to kick off the 2012 season for the winter’s tale, i decided on making fried chicken (ala america’s test kitchen) and macaroni salad (ala omnivorous) to accompany the usual suspects mentioned above, and the pinot noir from red car wine was perfect.

…so was the performance, and evening.

this season of isc runs til september 2, 2012. shows are thursday-sunday starting at 7p. make sure to catch all three plays: the winter’s tale, a midsummer night’s dream, and the comedy of errors. all performances are free. donations are strongly encouraged (by me, but i’m sure they approve of them too).

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Categories beverages, recipes, review

grilled yellow zucchini + herbed cherry tomato salad

July 12, 2012 //
0

even before my first harvest of dave jr. i have been looking for different recipes to test out with his delicious sweet and tangy fruits. a friend at work brings in vegetables from her garden from time to time. this week was yellow zucchini. i am a fan of most vegetables, and although the squash family has never been a favorite, i was not going to turn down a fresh home garden grown zucchini.

doing some quick googling for recipes, i found this on thekitchn.com. i chose to use a grill pan for the zucchini, and it worked just fine. while they cooked, i cut up my yellow cherry tomatoes and herbs (i had dill, tarragon and chives on hand.) i chose an espresso balsamic vinegar from amphora to drizzle over, and tossed in the rest of the ingredients.

of course they used green zucchini, grape red tomatoes and a different mix of herbs, but i’ll bet mine turned out just as tasty. i served it to accompany cacio e pepe, but this would be a wonderfully fresh side to any summer meal.

note: i liked this zucchini recipe so much i think i’ll try out more from this list on thekitchn.com, perhaps proving that i like squash after all.

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Categories dave jr., gardening, recipes

first harvest

July 8, 2012 //
1

i think it is safe to say that dave jr. is a yellow cherry tomato plant.

several of them seemed just soft to the touch and ripe for the picking, so today was the day i decided it was time to pluck a few of the beautiful orbs and have a taste test.

they are like little pieces of candy.

i’m off to the market to get some fresh bread, arugula, bacon and perhaps and avocado, because a blt for dinner is screaming my name.

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Categories dave jr., farming, gardening

you didn’t really think i would take a road trip and not blog about the food, did you?

July 7, 2012 //
1

i took a road trip with my sisters kate and emma the week of june 10-15, 2012. i enjoyed every single moment and meal of this week, regardless of the food we consumed, and where it came from. (well, with the exception of tuba city.) this is my story.

6/10

i left on a sunday morning. i flew to chicago from los angeles with nothing in my belly but a nectarine, and a grapefruit in my purse. of course, when i got into chicago, it was discussed that we would have lunch.

kate picked an awesome start to our journey.

lunch at belly shack, chicago, il: pork rib + sausage sandwich with chihuahua cheese, caramelized onions, and mushrooms.

finding a good dinner spot was another thing. the three of us were used to being able to get food past 9p. not so much in the middle of iowa, or as we found out, in many other parts of the country.

dinner at casa tequila, tiffin, ia: pork tacos, tecate.

the beer was good. the salsa tasted like canned tomato sauce. not kidding.

6/11

good morning! god love college towns for having decent coffee shops. this place made my morning, and besides the slow service, it was a wonderful way to start the day.

breakfast at mars cafe, des moines, ia: ham + egg, lavender dijon on ciabatta, intelligentsia americano.

i had a lot of good breakfasts on this trip. this would prove a hard one to beat.

for lunch i was determined to find a non-fast food place in the middle of nebraska. it was tough, but we did it.

lunch at cafe on the square, seward, ne: blt (perhaps on homemade bread) + coleslaw. (no photo)

by the by, i loved finding this place smack dab in the middle of america.

although we weren’t able to stop, i surely would have liked to have a libation here:

on the way to denver, we researched a few places for dinner, but again we were getting in past 9pm. thankfully, our cousin penny and her husband charlie, who were putting us up for the night, were gracious enough to make us dinner. honestly, it was so very wonderful to have a home cooked meal after being on the road for hours on end.

dinner at penny + charlie’s, denver, co: brats, ravioli, green beans + asparagus.

this was hands down my favorite dinner. oh and there was ice cream later. happy girl.

6/12

the next morning, emma and i needed to get our caffeine fix, so we walked to the local coffee shop.

coffee at tenn street coffee, denver, co: black coffee.

we returned to yet another homemade meal.

breakfast at penny + charlie’s: eggs, toast, grapefruit and kefir. (no photo)

we stopped in glenwood springs, co for lunch. emma found the spot. if anyone knows me, they know i enjoy the pig. this place was made for me.

lunch at the pullman food + drink, glenwood springs, co: miyagi oyster with cranberry fennel vinaigrette, pulled pork in balsamic bbq, homemade talera bread, tempura caramelized onions and asparagus, salad with house vinaigrette.

definitely the best lunch of the trip.

once we made it to moab, we were again a bit stifled on choices for places for dinner, but ended up with the safe bet. italian.

dinner at pasta jay’s, moab, ut: caesar salad, margherita pizza, chianti.

meh. average italian, but really not that bad. the chianti was the star of this meal.

6/13

we had walked by this place on our way to dinner the previous night and commented on the possibility of having eggs benny before hitting the road in the morning.

breakfast at jailhouse cafe, moab, ut: coffee, eggs benedict, bacon, more coffee.

this place was in contention for best breakfast on the trip. damn good bacon, and non-intelligentsia coffee.

lunch at goulding’s stagecoach dining hall, monument valley, ut: mini navajo taco.

their idea of ‘mini’ is ridiculous. i think even if kate and i were to have split a ‘mini’ we still would have had intestinal distress regardless.

dinner from sonic, tuba city, az: cheeseburger, fries. (eaten in our motel room)

no comment.

6/14

breakfast at cameron trading post, cameron, az: red ranchero cheese eggs benedict, hashbrowns.

good try. not what i needed on top of a sonic dinner the night before though.

lunch at bright angel dining room, grand canyon village, az: roasted red pepper soup, arizona caesar salad, grand canyon pilsner.

the soup wasn’t bad, but super salty. the salad was a huge disappointment. once again, the beer was the winner of this lunch.

dinner at plaza bonita mexican restaurant, tusayan, az: pollo mole, grand canyon pilsner.

emma: ‘is it good?’

me: ‘no.’

lots and lots of laughter.

6/15

breakfast from american flyer coffee, williams, az: cinnamon roll, black coffee.

yup…delicious sugar high.

lunch at ludlow cafe, ludlow, ca: tuna melt, peach pie.

i had been here previously while working on the john mayer #roadtripmusicvideo, so i knew what was to be expected as far as the tuna melt. i didn’t get to taste the homemade pie on that trip, unfortunately i did on this one. fail. fail. fail. the crust tasted like something from a communion cracker i once had when i was eight, and the fruit was obviously from a can. blech.

obviously this trip was not about the food. it was so much more than that. when we reached los angeles we had all learned a few more things about each other: kate rules at off-road driving, and music education; emma makes high pitched noises whenever she sees a cute animal; and i think we can all agree…i am a huge food snob.

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Categories road trip