mediterranean baked feta

i've been feeling under the weather all week.

but you know what? i went to a dinner party a couple of nights ago,

where i stayed up late laughing with great friends.

laughter is truly the best medicine :)

recipe via smitten kitchen

modifications by me

ingredients

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup chopped, pitted kalmata olives
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 tablespoons finely-chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon fresh basil
1 teaspoon olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
4-ounce block feta
crackers, pita chips, or crostini, for dipping

directions

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. in a bowl, mix the tomatoes, olives, onion, garlic,

parsley, oregano, olive oil and a few grinds of pepper.

3. place the block of feta in the middle of your dish.

(i used a baking pan covered in foil)

pile the tomato mixture on top of the feta. bake for 15 minutes.

4. the feta will not melt, just warm and soften.

serve with crackers; eat immediately.

this was definitely my kind of appetizer!

it was easy and delicious!

i would have actually halved the amount of cheese, or doubled

the amount of toppings to improve the cheese to goodies ratio.

but that's just me :)

haricot vert with shallots

yes. more stories about moving...

after realizing i have an insane amount of scrapbooking supplies

(even though i have never made one scrapbook in my whole life)

i thought there might be someone who wanted that stuff...

me: do you know anyone who scrapbooks?

my mother: no. i defriend those people immediately.

hilarious. i love my mother.

recipe via smitten kitchen

ingredients

1/2 pound of haricot vert, trimmed and tailed
2 teaspoon butter
1 small shallot, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons diced tomato
half a lemon

directions

1. bring a pot of well-salted water to boil.

boil haricot vert for 3.5 minutes

plunge them into an ice bath and drain the beans.

2. in your empty pot melt two teaspoons of butter over medium heat.

add the shallot and saute them until they’re just translucent,

not browned–about one to two minutes.

add the drained and cooled haricot vert back into the pot

and reheat them in the butter and shallots.

season with salt and pepper.

3. spread haricot vert and shallot onto a plate,

throw the diced tomato over them and squeeze a

few drops of lemon juice over the dish.

serve immediately & enjoy :)

i love a simple salad based on one vegetable that's the star.

this was easy and delicious!

the buttery shallots mixed with the tangy lemon. YUM!

check out other great veggie dishes here, here and here :)

summer squash & bacon quiche

i've been packing up all my life's belongings

in anticipation of the big move.

a couple of revelations i've had along the way...

*i have an inordinate amount of white tank tops

*i have enough craft supplies to restock a local Michael's

*i'm well on my way to 27 bridesmaid dresses

*i have enough stickers to run a local preschool

*i have cookie cutters for more holidays than you've probably heard of

*i apparently love hanging on to empty shoe boxes (like 50 of them)

*i have too much stuff. obviously.

goal for the next two weeks?

breathe. downsize. breathe. downsize. repeat! :)

recipe via cooking light

ingredients

store bought pie crust

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 cups (1/8-inch-thick) slices yellow squash

2 cups (1/8-inch-thick) slices zucchini

1/4 cup chopped shallots

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1 cup 2% reduced-fat milk

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 slices center-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled

3 large egg whites

3 large eggs

3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

directions

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. spread dough across pie pan, fold edges under, and flute.

pierce bottom and sides of dough with fork.

bake at 400° for 15 minutes. cool on a wire rack.

3. reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees

4. to prepare the filling, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

add oil to pan; swirl to coat. add squash, zucchini, shallots, and thyme;

saute for 5 minutes or until squash and zucchini are tender, stirring frequently.

cool the squash mixture slightly.

5. combine 1 cup reduced-fat milk and the next 5 ingredients

(through eggs) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.

arrange squash mixture evenly over crust,

and sprinkle with 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese.

pour the egg mixture over cheese.

6. bake for 45 minutes or until filling is set.

cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack.

a couple of tips for next time...

*always make your own crust - it's worth it.

*be sure not to allow your egg mixture to spill over the top

of your crust and down the sides of the pan.

this will take away from your crust's consistency

*double the bacon. obviously :)

*the fresh thyme is a must!

*salt and pepper generously.

whole fruit margarita

yesterday while packing with my lovely mother at about 2pm...

my mother: i'm afraid that i'll need a glass of wine earlier

than you probably think is appropriate

me: is now a good time to tell you that yesterday

i poured a glass of wine at 12:30pm?

my mother: perfect. you can pour me a glass now then :)

now i know where i get it from!

i am my mother's daughter.

that is for sure.

recipe via vitamix

(although i have no such thing)

makes 8 cups.

i cut my recipe in half.

ingredients

1/4 water

6 oz tequila

2 oz grand marnier or triple sec

1 orange, peeled, halved

1 lime, peeled, halved

1 lemon, peeled, halved, seeded

1/4 cup & 2 tablespoons sugar

6 cups ice cubes

directions

1. place all ingredients in your blender.

2. blend until smooth.

3. pour into a salt rimmed glass & enjoy :)

GREAT margarita recipe!

i'm not even usually a fan of a blended margarita.

but this was perfect for a hot day.

hard not to slurp it all down in 5 minutes. YUM.

spiced roasted chickpeas

i don't know where my mind was yesterday.

you know that feeling where you drive all the way across town

but don't really remember how you got there?

so, i made this recipe last night...

but looking at it again now i realize

i didn't follow the instructions at all. LOL

i only used 1 can of garbanzo beans and cooked them

for 40 less minutes than i was supposed to. oopsies.

the funniest part? i thought they were great!

i'm sure yours will be even better ;)

recipe via cooking light

ingredients

2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans garbanzo beans rinsed and drained

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon ground cumin

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1 garlic clove, minced

directions

1. preheat oven to 300 degrees

2. gently remove skins from each bean.

(some people like to do this by gently rolling the beans between two paper towels.

i prefer to just do it by hand. be patient. it will only take about 5 minutes total.)

discard skins.

3. combine chickpeas and remaining ingredients.

arrange on a baking sheet.

bake for 1 hour and 40 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes.

asparagus salad

i have another million dollar idea.

does anyone else get super confused about the parking signs?

zone parking from 8am-8pm, except sundays and holidays.

but it's a 30 minute load zone from 4pm-6pm

and no parking during the lunch hour?

what the heck!

here's my idea.

you take a picture of the parking sign with your phone.

it scans the image and tells you if you can park there,

and whether or not you need to pay or not.

genius, right? :)

it would make my life SO MUCH EASIER!

recipe adapted from smitten kitchen

ingredients

1 bunch of asparagus 

1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 lemon

3 oz parmesan cheese
salt & pepper (if desired)

directions

1. trim rough ends off your asparagus and cut into bite size pieces.

pop into salted boiling water for about 2-3 minutes. do not overcook!

drain and rinse with cold water. drain thoroughly.

2. toast up your pine nuts. shave your parmesan with a vegetable peeler.

3. top your asparagus with lemon juice, parmesan, and pine nuts.

salt and pepper to taste. (i didn't use any)

4. toss & enjoy!!

i loved the simplicity of this salad.

i didn't even use salt or pepper. was totally delightful,

and hearty enough to be your whole meal :)

honey-spiced grapefruit

what a perfect way to start my morning!

a honey vanilla spiced grapefruit,

rich with cinnamon, nutmeg & cardamom.

the smells of this healthy treat baking in your over will overwhelm

you with good memories and a longing for the holidays.

(this song started playing in my head)

and hello! it only takes 5 minutes. AMAZING :)

i would love this for breakfast or dessert!

recipe via eat yourself skinny

ingredients
1 grapefruit
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch of cardamom for each half
pinch of cinnamon for each half
pinch of nutmeg for each half

directions

1. position oven rack 4 inches below broiler. preheat the oven to broil.

2. cut grapefruit in half and place halves in small baking dish.
drizzle with honey and vanilla. sprinkle with spices.
broil for 5 minutes.

3. let cool. enjoy!

french 75

big news friends!

I'M MOVING!

i hope you are excited as i am :)

i'll be in my new place september 6th.

for now though, i'm just celebrating with my new favorite cocktail... the french 75.

find something to celebrate and make this tonight! :)

delicious!!

recipe via bon appetit

ingredients

2 tablespoons dry gin

1 tablespoon simple syrup

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

champagne or sparkling wine

directions

1. combine first 3 ingredients in a cocktail shaker.

2. fill shaker with ice. shake vigorously 20 times.

3. strain into a coup glass. top off with champagne. 

three bean salad



all of a sudden i love salads.

this is a new phenomenon in my life.

i used to think they were just blah.

now i'm obsessed :)

check out some of my recent favorites here, here and here.

recipe via cooking light



ingredients

1 medium red bell pepper

3/4 cup frozen shelled edamame (green soybeans), thawed

8 ounces haricots verts, trimmed

1 1/2 cups cooked, shelled fresh chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup minced shallots

3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

(i actually omitted this)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

directions

1. preheat broiler to high.

2. cut bell pepper in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes.

place pepper halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet;

flatten with hand. broil for 10 minutes or until blackened.

place in a paper bag; fold to close tightly.

let stand 10 minutes. peel and chop.

3. cook edamame and haricots verts in boiling water 4 minutes;

rinse with cold water, and drain.

4. combine bell pepper, edamame mixture, chickpeas,

salt, and pepper in a medium bowl.

5. combine shallots and remaining ingredients, stirring well with a whisk.

(i omitted the mustard, but feel free to add) :)

6. drizzle dressing over bean mixture; toss. ENJOY!

*i found that i liked my salad better after it had chilled

for a couple of hours and the flavors had all blended together.

really really enjoyed this a lot. YUM!

macrina bakery

this past weekend i had a morning all to myself.

i don't know about you, but sometimes i like to explore.

and recently i've been drawn to my old favorites places.

so macrina bakery it was :)

i think i first discovered macrina in college with one of my favorite people.

we used to hike up queen anne hill to drool over the gorgeous houses

and pick up a perfectly roasted espresso and a scone.

then, somewhere along the way i met the most amazing woman.

she was almost 30 years my senior, and lived down in california.

she was the mother of one of my classmates

and practically adopted me as her own daughter.

she would send emails of encouragement,

and never missed a holiday or a birthday

without something arriving at my doorstep.

she also loved macrina :)

and when she would visit seattle i distinctly remember

how she would recreate their 'rocket muffins' by the dozens

and freeze them for us to enjoy during our long weeks of studying.

a number of holidays later, she gave me a gift.

it was a macrina cookbook signed by the author herself

and you know what?

i haven't thought about that lady or that cookbook in quite sometime.

it's good to go back to those old places sometimes.

just to think back on old seasons of life.

i think i'm going to pull out that cookbook again.

and write a thank you note to that woman :)