Herbal Rice Noodle Salad With Broccoli Rabe

It's finally spring! With the snowstorm that came through last week, it doesn't quite feel like it yet but I'm hoping today's recipe will help usher us into the season of renewal. This rice noodle salad is all about bright, fresh flavors that will make you feel energized and ready to come out of winter hibernation and into the sun again.

We start off with a base of cool rice noodles, then add broccoli rabe that has been quickly blanched to mellow the spiciness but keep a slight crunch. Mix that with some garlic and dried shrimp which has been pan fried in oil, a few other veggies, and a medley of fresh herbs. And finally top it off with a salty, slightly sweet, brightly acidic dressing made from coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice, and lemongrass. You can serve it as a side or add your favorite protein and make it a main meal, it's no less delicious either way.

Hope you guys enjoy this refreshing recipe. Do you have any fun spring plans? Phillip and I are jetting off to Tokyo for a week and a half at the end of march, so if y'all have any good recommendations please send them along. Our main goal is to eat as much as possible so I'm hoping to come back with a lot of food inspiration and new recipe ideas to share here. See you when I get back!

Vegetarian Loaded Nachos

One of the most common questions people ask about this blog is how I decide what to make. The answer is as simple as "whatever I feel like eating at the moment (and is within my capabilities to cook)". The execution of those whimsies is another story. A lot of posts sit perpetually unpublished because I'm unhappy with one thing or another, sometimes I try to make a more creative variation on a classic dish and by the time the recipe is perfected, I don't want to eat it anymore. But there's always some success among the many attempts and this post is a great example of when the process works!

I've been having some really strange food obsessions lately, with special emphasis on nachos, banana shakes, and red meat, none of which are foods that I have ever in my life craved or sought out with such fervor until the last few weeks, separately of course (although...steak nachos with a side of banana shake? Sign me up). Today's recipe is a manifestation of the nacho obsession, which started on super bowl sunday and has yet to show signs of diminishing. They're loaded with cheese and all the best veggie toppings for a fun snack or meal. I decided to go sans meat to give them a fresher, lighter vibe, but you can alter them to your heart's content since nachos don't really need a recipe. They're just so goshdang colorful and delicious that I had to share. Hope you guys enjoy.

Broccoli Rabe and Crunchy Cauliflower with a Lemon Tahini Dressing

Hi friends, it's been a while. The last couple of months have been super busy and passed by in such a haze. Consequently, I've been taking lots of "me" time during the hours outside of my day job. Things like dinner parties, lots of movies (omg The Handmaiden!), and lots of books (currently The Wind Up Bird Chronicle). Today I'm back with a recipe, so hi, hello, how have you been doing?

It's the holiday season, which means lots of feasting, drinking, and good times with family and friends. Last month we hosted a big Friendsgiving, it was delicious and everything we had hoped for. To our surprise, the most popular dish of the night was a leafy green salad with an almond dressing. It was mostly there as a show of good faith to the divine entity who presides over my dress size, so I was floored at how quickly it went. What a topsy-turvy kind of world we're living in these days, but if veggies are what people want, I am more than happy to serve. In keeping with the theme of eating healthy during the most decadent of seasons, today's recipe is a vegetarian side dish made with roasted broccoli rabe, raw cauliflower, pine nuts, and a creamy lemon tahini dressing.

The broccoli rabe is roasted to get two distinct textures from it: the tender stems + florets, and the crispy leaves. Then the cauliflower is thinly sliced and served uncooked for a subtle sweetness and refreshing crunch that contrasts the spiciness of the broccoli rabe. The zesty tahini dressing brings it all together, and the pine nuts add a final note of richness to the dish. Per Phillip's request, I'm making a New Years Lasagna for our first dinner of 2017, and I have a good feeling we'll be balancing the hearty lasagna with a refreshing side such as this. However y'all are celebrating, I hope you have a wonderful holiday.

Fresh Fig, Blue Cheese, and Caramelized Onion Salad

Fig season is almost over and this post has been sitting in my draft folder for almost two months. The reason being that every time I sit down to write, I'm at a loss for words. I have no stories, nothing interesting to tell. Thankfully I have blog friends who have been encouraging me to just publish the dang thing.

So for today's post I want to tell you about my typical week. It's pretty mundane, but perhaps it will help us connect as something more than voices over the internet. Okay. Here goes:

Monday through Friday, during the day, I work on the dev team at a tech company in midtown Manhattan where I spend most of my time writing code. Almost daily I get lunch with my work friends, we sit around and shoot the shit. We usually eat in the cafeteria of our building but sometimes go out for lunch, which entails weaving through the bajillion people walking around time's square. Midtown is terrible. Phillip always complains that I'm a slow walker, but he's never seen me power walk down 40th street in a desperate attempt to get back to the office and away from the throngs of tourists.

Wednesday afternoons we have a half hour guided meditation (we get a lot of perks at work). The meditation is different every week, but always focuses on similar themes, my favorite being "mindfulness." We learn to slow down and be mindful of even the most mundane task such as washing your hands or making a sandwich.

Thursday nights after work I go to pottery class from 7 to 10 pm. I'm trying to make my own props! It's actually very difficult to make good looking bowls and plates that don't look like they were clobbered together by a 5 year old, hence why you have yet to see these props in any of my photos, but I still love it and look forward to it every week.