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Back in December, I was in NYC visiting a friend who has a strong passion for food: cooking it, eating it, writing abt it, etc and she made me a brunch I had never even dreamed of, baked eggs. Honestly, it kinda blew my mind. I'd never even heard of baked eggs. She sauteed up mushrooms, which I'm not even a big fan of, in truffle oil and, simply put, they were divine. See her food blog here-- South Bronx Foodie
So after getting some awesome ramekins from my aunt for Christmas, all I could think was BAKED EGGS. This weekend, I finally took them on. I sauteed up leeks, frozen spinach and tomatoes in olive oil w/ s&p. I added this to the bottom of my ramekins, topped w/ a slice of cheese and then cracked an egg on top. Then put in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes, then I rotated the pan for another 10 minutes. Katherine served them w/ toast, while I opted to make homefries while they were in the oven. I used the same pan and honestly these were the best homefries ever. Not sure how I managed that...
Ultimately, my yolks came out hard, but I made these again this am w/ broccoli instead of spinach and rotated after 8 minutes and everything was runny... edible for sure, but I'm still a little skeeved out by runny whites. Maybe 9 minutes is the happy medium...
I make a pretty mean hummus if I do say so myself. While I always enjoy hummus, I often think the store bought kind is a bit too acidic, whereas mine is not... As always, I try to make it a bit more healthy than normal too.
I start w/ a can of drained and rinsed chick peas in my all time fav kitchen gadget, the Magic Bullet. I add a heaping tablespoon of tahini, a squirt of lemon juice, some parsley, pepper and paprika, a splash of olive oil and maybe 1/4 cup vege stock, then for a kick I add 2 cloves of raw garlic and blend. Trust me, it has a kick. A friend once asked me what I used to make it spicy before realizing it was just pure, raw, unadulterated garlic. My fav...
Serve w/ veges such as baby carrots, cuke sticks, celery sticks and/or homemade tortilla or pita chips.
For alternatives, I cut back to one clove of garlic and add something else for flavor. My favorite was fresh, raw spinach. Made a nice bright green hummus...
I was at a friend's house for dinner/drinks one night and she whipped together this delicious white bean salad. She lives in the North End and would probably kill me for not saying Cannelini beans. Anyway, I attempted to recreate it months later from memory.I used one can of white beans, drained and rinsed. I diced up a few slices of red onion to mix in. I stirred in some dried basil and parsley (she used fresh basil and of course that is wayyy better, I'm lazy and cheap...), a small amt of olive oil, s&p, a squirt of lemon juice and finally some parmesan cheese. At first it tasted a bit bland and I was sorely disappointed in myself, but I threw it in the fridge and that really helped the flavors come together. Nice simple side or snack and pretty healthy as long as you don't go too heavy on the oil or cheese...
So while I'm sick of the lion/lamb March references that have been made all over the place, it is pretty fitting considering we got one of the worst storms of the year on March 1. That being said, March 31 better be at least 65 and sunny. Even if it pours all day and is 40 on April 1. March, you owe us.
I was lucky and got a late opening today. I didn't really know that was possible and I would have preferred a straight up snowday, but hey, at least I got to roll over at 730 and go back to sleep until 10. We were supposed to be in by 12; I rolled in around 115. Anddd, I left a 415. Not too productive. Oh well, there's always tomorrow. And if the moonbats of the Herald ever find this blog, I'll come off as a normal, lazy state employee. Except that I'm a girl. And I didn't get my job thru my dad. But whatever, they'll look past that to complain abt my lack of work ethic and my big fat paycheck (ha).
But here are some pics of the wintry wonderland we now inhabit. Btw, I walked home from work on Friday. It was 60. No coat, no socks. Now that's what I'm talking abt.
Walking the freedom trail.
All week, I look forward to the weekend, when I can make myself a delicious brunch. Most days this means making an omelet or fritatta. Sometimes, I make french toast, pancakes or another egg dish, but most times I just love a good fritatta.
What I put in depends on what's in the crisper. Generally it is comprised of onion, either red or white, cheese and some other veggies, such as broccoli, spinach, tomato, bell pepper, etc. Lately, I've been doing more fritattas then omelets cuz I've never really mastered the fold over that an omelet requires. Plus, w/ a fritatta the potatoes are right in there w/ the egg, and while it's delicious that way, it is also one less pan to clean!
I start by putting a pierced potato in the microwave for abt 2 minutes. I then cut it up, add it to a frying pan w/ heated vegetable oil. As the potato fries up, I dice my veggies small and grate the cheese. Then I whisk two eggs w/ milk and pour it over the potatoes.
As the egg sets, I add s&p and then sprinkle the veggies in. Finally 
I top w/ cheese and cover w/ a lid to firm the top and melt the cheese. 
Ideally, I'd throw it in the oven to brown, but I don't think my pan is oven safe and I don't think my oven is big enough. C'est la vie...Then I settle down on the couch in front of the tv w/ my fritatta and a big cup of coffee to catch up on my dvr, some trashy reality tv or the soup w/ joel mchale. Ahhh, weekends!
This is where most of the magic happens-- my teensy, tiny galley kitchen. When I moved into my basement studio apt, my dad and I painted. My kitchen is a lovely avocado green. I think every kitchen I ever have will now be this color. I love it! But the kitchen is certainly a bit tight and lacks some key storage, but I make it work best I can. Being a bit of a midge doesn't help since I have to use a stool to reach the top shelf of my cabinets. Little used kitchen tools hide up there.
This night I made black bean soup, homemade tortilla chips, guacamole and corn bread for when I brought the soup for lunch.
I made this soup a long time ago, so my memory may be a bit hazy, but here goes. It's essentially the recipe off the back of the Progresso black beans, but w/ some changes. I'd made it once before and found it to be a bit too salty, this time it was a bit bland. Maybe next time... Also, I prefer a thicker soup and this is still a little runny for my liking. As for the recipe, I'm not a big follower. I always make adaptations and as a result will not be very specific. I think it best to play around and find out what works best for you.
I diced up a large onion, some celery and carrots and sauteed them for abt 5 minutes w/ chili powder and cumin. You then add 2 cans of black beans and something random like 4 cans or 52 ounces of chicken/vege stock. Last time I stuck to this and I blame it both for the saltiness and the runniness, so this time, I believe I added the beans in their liquid, instead of rinsed and drained, and one cup of stock and one cup of water. It was still a bit runny, but definetly less salty.
Then you take 2 cans of drained, rinsed beans and blend them with a jar-ish of salsa. Last time I used up my jalepenos and their juice and that added a nice kick. This time I needed to add additional liquid to get everything moving. Then you mix this mixture into the soup, which thickens it up a bit. I like that this soup has blended beans and chunky beans and vege, I guess I just want the overall soup a bit thicker. I'll need to continue to play w/ water content...
Next, I used my new favorite kitchen gadget to make some delicious guacamole. I love this 
gadget cuz it is a salad spinner, egg separator and hand spun food processor all in one. It's amazing! I think guacamole is one of the best things ever, but I'm pretty much a purist and don't like to add much to the avocado. I generally use red onion, garlic, salt, lime juice, cilantro and maybe tomato. No sour cream ever, it just cuts the flavor. I also prefer it a bit chunky, that's why I use this gadget and not the infamous Magic Bullet.
For tortilla chips, I just rip flour tortillas and place on a sprayed baking sheet. I generally make a spice mix that has salt, chili powder, cumin, paprika and pepper. I then pinch this over the tortillas. I bake them for abt 8 minutes at about 400 degrees.
Here's the finished meal. I garnish the soup either with scallions or a Mexican cheese mix (seen here). This meal was complimented by a glass of Spanish sangria that I brought back from my most recent European vacation...
