Old Boss

I'm not much of a dessert person, I'm not known to be one to bake very often.  I have inspirations once every few years when I have something going on like the cookie exchange in my old office where I solicited the help of my mom to help me make the very labor intensive hamentashen or when I was co-hosting my friend Jen's baby shower.

A couple of summers ago Jen invited me to go with her to her ex-boss's wedding party at her boss's house. Amongst all the delicious food that was served was also the most amazing strawberry tiramisu. Because I loved it so much I decided to make that instead of your everyday, ordinary baby shower cake at Jen's baby shower.  It was a huge hit.  Everyone loved it.  It's really simple to make, although you have to make it the night before you want to serve it as it has to set in the fridge at least 8 hours before serving.

Enjoy!

Addiction

This year for Hanukkah my friend Megis decided to give me a subscription to Martha Stewart's cooking magazine. I'm always looking for new recipes I can add to my list of favorites and the very first month I received did not let me down.


I am a huge fan of black beans and my friend Rachel, after coming back from El Salvador, sealed my love of the bean after making El Salvadorian breakfast for me several times. In the January/February 2011 issue of Food Everyday is an amazing, easy, totally vegan, gluetin free (for those of you who are cooking for people with food allergies or preferences) recipe for spicy black bean soup. If you like black beans I highly recommend trying this:

Serves 4

3 cans black beans (drained and rinsed) or 1 pound dried black beans (see note below)
3 cups water
2 yellow onions, diced small
2 jalapenos, minced
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
course salt and ground pepper
2 tbsp ground cumin
1 1/4 cups vegetable broth
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp fresh lime juice (from 2 limes)
diced avocado, diced onion, cilantro, sour cream or low-fat yogurt and tortilla strips for serving


Drain and rinse beans in a colander. In a large dutch oven or heavy pot heat oil over medium-high. Add garlic and onions. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often until onions are soft and golden brown, 10 minutes. Stir in remaining jalapenos, cumin, beans, water and broth. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook until beans are soft, 20 minutes (if necessary add up to 1 cup water to keep beans covered).


Transfer 2 cups soup to a blender and add cornstarch. Puree until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Return to put. Cook, stirring until soup thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Add lime juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. To serve top with avocado, diced onion, cilantro, sour cream or yogurt and tortilla strips if desired.

**If you would like to use dried black beans use 1 pound dried beans, picked over, soaked overnight and drained.  If you use these follow this as step number 1.  In a medium saucepan cover beans with cold water by 2 inches.  Add 1/4 each of onions and jalapenos and bring to a boil over high.  Reduce to a rapid simmer, cook until beans are tender, 45 to 50 minutes.

Good thing to note.  This recipe does really serve 4 adults.  If you want seconds or would like leftovers you should make a double batch.

For crunchy tortilla strips cut corn tortillas into strips, toss with a little olive oil and bake at 350 degrees until crisp.

Fun Art Project

Some of my fondest memories of my grandmother are the times we spent doing origami together when I was much younger.  As I was looking for something else on YouTube the other day I accidentally ran into this video.  I think it would be fun to make this.

Apps

Just found out about a new food blog - Pioneer Girl. Always looking for good appetizers. This one looks especially delicious:

Recipe: Rosemary Mozzarella Skewers
Prep Time: 30 Minutes  |  Cook Time:  |  Difficulty: Easy  |  Servings: 12

Ingredients:
Stalks Of Fresh Rosemary
Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, Cut Into 1-inch Cubes
Marinated Artichoke Hearts, Drained
Black Or Kalamata Olives, Drained
Salami, Sliced Thin And Folded Into Fourths
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
3 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
Pinch Of Salt
Fresh Ground Black Pepper (lots!)
Sprinkle Of Ground Thyme

Preparation Instructions:
Strip all but 1 to 2 inches of rosemary leaves from stems. (Leave leaves intact at the top of the stem.)
Use stem to spear cheese cubes, artichoke hearts, olives, and salami in whatever order you’d like.
Mix dressing ingredients until emulsified, then drizzle over the top of the skewers. Serve immediately or refrigerate for later.

Ode to B'ham

I Dig On Swine

I never thought I would actually say this, much like my previous post on the best chocolate dessert ever, but one of the best sandwiches I've ever tasted is made with delicious, juicy, flavorful, drip down your arm, shredded pork.  I've been noticing lately that a few of the restaurants I haven't been to in a while that I used to love just aren't what they used to be.  There are a couple of places I went to this weekend where I was excited to eat there as we were sitting down, but left disappointed.  Paseo, on the other hand, is just as good as the last time I ate their food and it's been a couple of years. 

For those of you who know me I've been very picky about pork in the past.  As a kid I used to eat bacon at breakfast and all my life I've eaten manapuas, but honestly never really liked pork all that much until a couple of years ago when my friend Charlotte made twice baked potatoes with crispy bacon bits.  If I go to a restaurant and I have the choice between pork and other meats I tend to order the other meat.  In the case of Paseo it's hard for me to order anything else on the menu as this pork sandwich is so delightful it doesn't matter if you eat it right after it's been prepared or a bit cold after you've taken it home.  

If you are in the Fremont area, and you eat pork, you HAVE to try Paseo.  It is easily one of my favorite restaurants in Seattle.  Three things to note.  I don't remember if the menu actually mentions this, but the sandwich is topped with fresh cilantro.  I'm not a fan, so I always order this without the herb.  This sandwich is so popular that they can run out at the end of the day and the caramelized onions are so delicious Paseo has a sandwich that is devoted just to the onions.

http://www.paseoseattle.com 

Labor Day Weekend

Went to Bumbershoot last Sunday and saw a band called the Crash Kings.  What I found interesting about this band is the fact that although their music has guitar in the sound, they don't actually have a guitar player.  The lead singer, also the keyboardist, has two keyboards he uses.  One is for the electric piano sounds, the other is for the guitar.

Check it out.  This shows the lead singer sampling popular songs to demonstrate how he uses the keyboard: