Throwback Thursday: Sesame Chicken Chow Mein
I have finally transfered almost all of my old recipes to my new blog, only one or two more Throwback Thursdays after this one. I am going to start a new weekly theme idea once Throwback Thursdays are over. I would love to hear your input about what you would like to see. I was considering a few things. First, I was thinking about focusing on a different country each week and discussion the traditions, flavors and any other interesting things behind the culture. The other idea I had was to really focus on the senses, since that is what my blog is really about. I was considering zoning in on a different sense description each week and showing how it is represented in certain recipes. For example, I would use the word “tangy” one week and discuss what that really means and give you a recipe that really represents what the word “tangy” means. Please let me know what you think of these ideas and let me know if you have any others that you would like to see!
Greek-Style Mahi Mahi
I just realized that most of my fish recipes are for Mahi Mahi, but pretty much any white fish can be substituted for most of my recipes that use Mahi Mahi. I personally just use Mahi Mahi because I live in the mountains in the middle of Colorado and don’t have a very large seafood selection. Those of you who live on the coast are very lucky! While I was living in New Zealand last summer, I loved going to the farmer’s market every Sunday and buying fresh fish off the fishing boats.
Sun-Dried Tomato, Flank Steak & White Bean Stew
I feel the need to start this post by saying that this was supposed to be a recipe for Mexican Posole. Of course, I had a bit of trouble with the one ingredient needed to make an actual posole- the hominy. I have heard many people say that they usually used canned hominy, but I decided to use dry hominy since that was what was in the pantry. Recalling my artichoke disaster, I am noticing a trend that apparently canned food works better for a lot of things. Luckily, I had a feeling the dry hominy would take a long time to cook and decided to cook it separately, rather than cooking it in the stew. I must have refilled the pot with water at least four times, but the hominy still wasn’t getting soft. I don’t know what I did wrong, but I had to improvise from there. I decided that white kidney beans would be a good substitute for the hominy, since they kind of have a similar texture.
Throwback Thursday: Green Chile Chicken Corn Chowder
The title of this Throwback Thursday recipe may have some of your running for the door because it is a soup. Also, I know it may be hot where some of you are, but that doesn’t mean you have to cut out hot food! I know you will have a chilly night when you are craving a delicious soup and this recipe is going to hit the spot. It is a spicy, cheesy chicken corn chowder that is just the kind of heat you want in the summer time.
This soup is packed with green chiles, red peppers, onion, cheese, chicken and potatoes. If you are not one for spicy food you can simply just leave out the green chiles and cayenne pepper. This soup goes perfectly with the Ciabatta Bread from last Thursday’s throwback recipe. Dig in!
Artichoke, Celery Root & Potato Gratin
Until about two weeks ago I had always bought canned artichokes. My friend Kelcey and I decided to make a delicious vegetarian dish after planting our new garden and wanted fresh veggies for this recipe, so I decided I would buy fresh organic artichokes. Little did I know that trimming an artichoke is no easy task. We completely butchered two organic artichokes and ended up having to purchase canned ones in order to finish the dish. Another downfall to our dish was that we topped the bread with way too much cheese, which kept it from getting crispy and left us with a soggy bread topping… Not the most appealing. So here’s to round two!
Grilled Mahi Mahi w/ Olive & Shallot Tapenade
Since I have come home from Africa, I have had a serious case of the travel flu. I’m sure many of you had come down with this bug at some point in your life. You know that feeling when all you can think about is traveling and you would just love to get out and explore, just be anywhere but here. Well this time it has hit me hard. I have been planning my around the world trip for two and a half years from now. I have also been trying to squeeze some sort of trip in for the meantime.
Shrimp & Goat Cheese Quesadillas
I am back at it again with the goat cheese. I recently read that goat cheese has a large amount of tryptophan in it, the same stuff in turkey that makes everybody so sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner, so if you are having trouble sleeping you might just want to try one of these quesadillas before bed, or maybe the Smashed Potatoes with Goat Cheese & Parsley. Tryptophan is not only good for sleeping, but is an essential amino acid that has been shown to boost your mood and help you relax as well. If that isn’t enough to get you eating goat cheese, maybe this recipe will.
Maple-Glazed Salmon w/ Pineapple
How many of you liked fish or veggies when you were a kid? Now, how many went through that phase in your life where you magically began to like all sorts of food? As a kid, I would not even eat fish sticks, let alone a real fish! My vegetable category consisted of mashed potatoes, peas and corn. In only the past two years, my taste buds have matured. Now the only vegetables I really don’t like are mushrooms; except I must admit I ate a grilled portobello with cheese the other day and it was delicious! Also, I also absolutely love seafood now. Living in Colorado I have not had the luxury of tasting a huge variety, but I have fallen in love with it.
Garlic Roasted Asparagus w/ Poached Egg & Food Photography Insight
As many of you know, the world of food blogging is huge. How can you follow all the good food blogs there are? The answer is you can’t, there are just too many! So this brings up the crucial question- how do you get people to read and follow your own blog when you are just a tiny ant in the food blogging universe? Maybe the answer is in the recipes; but what kind will people want to read- healthy, hearty, easy, quick, gourmet? Or maybe the answer is in the writing; maybe your witty sense of humor or helpful information will win you followers. Personally, I think these two things are important, but every food blog reader has different tastes and personalities. You can never meet everybody’s standards. You need to be yourself and post what you want, and the way to still gain followers when doing this? I believe it’s all in the photos.
Baked Shrimp w/ Tomatoes
This week the weather has gotten nicer and it is starting to feel a bit more like summer, finally! The sunshine and warm weather has caused a shift in my food cravings; I’m sure many of you experience the same thing each season. For me, warm weather makes me crave light food and summery flavors, such as citrus.
These individual dishes are light, and not to mention kind of cute! They are great for a dinner party. It does not take long to make and the individual gratins make serving much easier. This recipe is very light and healthy, perfect for summer. The balsamic vinegar gives a great tangy kick to the dish as well. I also baked some extra tomato slices to drizzle with balsamic and serve with the dish. These go great served with roasted asparagus with lemon or a nice salad.