Category: Eats

Garlic + Bacon = Love

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Last night in our fridge we had: turkey bacon, cheese, and 2 eggs.  We also had some garlic and a bag of tortellini in the cupboard.  Paul is a master at finding or creating recipes using whatever we have around.  And this night he came up with  Tyler Florence’s Spaghetti alla Carbonara (or some variation of it…Tyler Florence is Paul’s go-to online chef.)   Changes to the recipe include:

  • Turkey bacon torn into pieces (unfortunately it doesn’t really crumble) instead of pancetta
  • One egg instead of 2
  • Tortellini instead of spaghetti
  • No parsley
  • A little less cheese
  • Add a side of cauliflower and broccoli

Voila.  It was actually really, really good.  Quick, easy to make, and delicious.  Nice work Paul.

This week’s recipes

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Monday

  • BBQ sandwiches

I can’t take credit for this one really, Paul came up with a recipe and it rocked. Instructions (straight from Paul):

1. get crock pot
2. get pork tenderloin
3. put pork tenderloin, some onion, garlic and bbq sauce in crock pot
4. cook for 6-8 hours on low

Scrumptious.

Tuesday

I had a meeting that ran until 7:30pm, so left over barbque sandwiches it was.

Wednesday

I stole this recipe from my friend Vanessa (and her friend Samantha’s) blog (located on my blogroll).  Paul was kind enough to go pick up some ingredients for me, which resulted in a few changes to the recipe:

  • Brown instant rice instead of white regular rice
  • Linenkugel’s Oktoberfest beer instead of Stone Pale Ale (I asked him to get KentuckyAle, but that somehow got lost in translation)
  • 1 cup chicken stock, 2 cups beef broth (instead of chicken broth…misunderstanding, these were all left over from previous recipes, Paul thought we had a lot of chicken broth, but we didn’t)
  • Chicken breasts instead of chicken legs
  • Low sodium tomato sauce (didn’t matter at all, there were so many other spices in there)

Turned out pretty good, as Paul will attest to.  Lots of leftovers.

Thursday

A pretty good, apparently French salad

Changes included using turkey bacon, no croutons, and a little less swiss cheese than recommended.   Also a delicious chicken noodle soup…from the can.  And some fresh potato rosemary bread from the bakery.

Heading out of town to Michigan again this weekend for a football game with an old coworker from California, so…

Friday

…will probably be Taco Bell on the road.  Yum.

We’ll fire up the stove again on Monday.

Go Blue.

Fighting the Cult

~ meh ~ 4 Comments

Today I was reflecting on the content of this blog, which started off as a guide to navigating the wild backroads and busy streets Northern California, and I noticed that the past 10 posts are comprised of:

  • cooking (4)
  • the dog (3)
  • the weather (1)
  • felt trees from Pottery Barn (1)
  • octopuses (2)

I told myself that the move to Kentucky would not turn me into a housewife whose favorite topic of conversation is the weather, but looking at that list…isn’t encouraging.

This week’s recipes

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Fail.  I think I cooked twice this week, and by “cooked” I mean made sandwiches.  I blame this on the fact that I started a new job, which threw off my schedule. 

Off to another wedding this weekend in DC, picking up the spatula again when I return on Monday.

Last week’s recipes

~ meh ~ 4 Comments

My first week of cooking was….less than exciting.  (And it was cut short by a weekend wedding in Texas.)   I was a little bit disappointed by my creativity, I tend to gravitate towards recipes I know and like as opposed to the Kentucky Proud site.  And the theme this week was apparently turkey.

Sunday:

Turkey loaf, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, and Green Salad

The turkey loaf was surprisingly healthy comfort food that I had never thought of making before.  Mashed potatoes and salad were fine.  Off to a good start.

Monday:

Tacos (with the leftover turkey from the turkey loaf.)  Boring.  But still tasty.

Tuesday:

My most favorite turkey chili recipe ever.  It is super easy to make and there are lots of leftovers.   I add a little extra chipotle (careful, it’s super hot…and P.S. no one in Kentucky knows what en adobo means…I had to go to three stores to find it), corn, and use plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream.  If you have avocados it’s even better.  Super delish.  (My colleague told me that to maximize the scrumptiousness of any chili, corn and chipotle are a must.  So true.)

Wednesday

Leftover chili

Thursday

Beef Stroganoff (per Paul’s request)

A few changes to make it a little bit healthier: wheat noodles instead of egg (makes a huge difference in the amount of cholesterol), fake soy meat instead of ground beef (a bag of it stolen from Paul’s parents’ house), and again plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.  Wasn’t a huge fan of the recipe, tasted like it was missing something…maybe meat.  Though I’ve made beef stroganoff before with fake meat and it tasted just fine.  Probably won’t use this recipe again.

Friday-Sunday

Tacos at 3am at taqueria Taco Cabana in Austin.

Here’s to a better 2nd week of cooking.

Letting go of the past…in the kitchen

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Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in, forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day, you shall begin it well and serenely…

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Paul's Birthday Banana Bread--final presentation

 

The cookies that came out like scones because there was a little mix up between baking soda and baking powder, almost burning everyone’s eyes out because you accidentally substituted 3 tablespoons of cayenne for what should have been paprika in the frying pan…those days are in the past.  Nowhere to go but up.

…and as fate would have it, I came across this site the other day.  What better way to start a new chapter in the kitchen than by following Kentucky Proud Recipes.  Because I am in Kentucky.  And I am proud.

Cook, Pray, Run

~ meh ~ 2 Comments

Being new in town and unemployed, where the one person I do know well is attempting to survive the first year of med school, while living in a small apartment with very little furniture (our living room is 2 chairs), no internet, no TV, and few working appliances…I need to get out, find ways to maximize my enjoyment during this rare period of time off.

And so, in the spirit of productivity and enjoying my (hopefully) short-lived freedom, my days have been (and will continue to be) devoted to three central activities:

  • Cook:  I am not a good cook.  But I am going to be.  I have been trying to make sure Paul has dinner every night when he gets home (because, well, I am a lady that lunches, and that is what we do).  For both his and my own sake, I am committing myself to improving my technique…through practice.  I am cooking a different meal (that requires more than throwing bread and cheese or something frozen in the toaster oven) at least 5 nights a week.
  • Pray: for a job.
  • Run: I have that half marathon in December.  Instead of just trying to finish it (which was my original goal, considering I didn’t exercise at all for over 3 months), I have decided I am going to try to PR it…which may not be as impressive as it sounds, considering the only other half-marathons I’ve ran were 1.) with a friend who walked part of it, and 2.) the day after Halloween in San Francisco.

And coaching (but that messes up my title, and it’s a job, so I left that out.) Not a bad way to spend your day.   Anyone who’s around is welcome to join in the trifecta.

Fernet and Coke

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This is the polar opposite of favorite.  Fernet and coke is a popular drink here for both men and women.  It tastes like….death.  Mixed with coke.  But, our new Argentinian friends (below) were all about it and bought me one…so I had to pretend to like it.  Don’t ever get one, no matter what the locals tell you.