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how moving abroad changed my attitude on cooking
pre-moving to europe, there were some kitchen items that were just self-evident. lean cuisines. a microwave. pancake mix. a toaster. a coffee maker. (alright, actually i’ve always rebelled against these, but they certainly are a staple in most american kitchens) a microwave. because EVERY good household needs a microwave, right? how would i heat up my lean cuisines otherwise? here’s an old kitchen behavior for you: i used to keep this giaaaaant container of minced garlic in the fridge that i was so proud of ‘cause whenever a recipe called for some, you could just reach in for a pinch. no chopping or peeling necessary. bam. so smug about that.…
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september noms
it’s the time of the month that i talk about what tasty goodness i have been creating! even for all of the budget measures that had to be taken, we have done quite well for ourselves.last night, knowing it would be my last very free evening of the week, i went on a three hour cooking “bender”. (woooooo) i turned on a couple of podcasts (rick steves, this american life) and finally prepared my second annual kimchi canning, this time with almost two kilograms of delicious spicy cabbage. last year i made one jar and it lasted until spring with no problem! looking forward to eating even more delicious fermented…
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june noms
ah yes, the time of the month i like to talk about food is here. june has been so inspirational to me in terms of cooking. perhaps it’s all the fresh produce available… or the retrograde in mercury… or the warm weather! whatever the reason, i’ve finally had a healthy dose of inspiration to make a bunch of fun recipes. all of them were alex tested and approved, and he put up with all this food photography. what a guy. mushroom & caramelized onion risotto: a healthy favorite of mine made with the two vegetables alex formerly disliked. i used no butter and only a tiny amount of milk to make…
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may noms
normally i like to write travel related posts on tuesdays. ah, but not this week. i’ve been concentrated more on blowing my nose and drinking “fizzy drink” (vitamin tablets). herbal tea with local czech honey has been a mainstay the past weekend… then i ran out of herbal tea. i purchased this aptly named herbal tea (for 10czk!) yesterday, and it’s been doing the job alright. may has had some great noms, so far. on my birthday, a stop at starbucks inspired me with one of the breakfast sandwiches on offer: a fried egg on belgian toast with ham and gravy. yes, yes, and yes. what makes the dish is…
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march noms
a low-key, windy weekend here in south bohemia: i focused most of my time and effort on planning the epic slovenia trip in june. and have realized, dang, slovenia is AMAZING! a country half the size of switzerland with so much to offer: alps, adriatic beaches, caves, glacial rivers, countryside, karst plateaus, national parks…. i am really looking forward to it. and with the recent acquisition of a blender last month, i tried my hand at making delicious creamy almond milk– a drink which i would buy exclusively instead of milk while living in the states but never have been able to find it here. fortunately, it is so easy…
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berlin valentine
berlin for berlinale and valentines’ week was a hell of a time. i was a little unsure about returning so soon after my all-too-short weekend getaway last summer somehow rubbed me a little bit in the wrong direction, but the city’s back on my good list now and it seems that valentines’ week was the perfect time to realize that it was just a rough patch we were going through. as i was being smothered by winter monotony here in south bohemia, five days in the hauptstadt was just the thing to refresh my spirits. although i was looking forward to seeing the city in it’s snowy winter glory, the…
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february noms
it must be winter because food is largely on the mind again. and guys, i’ve been creating some gooooood stuff lately. my week of good cooking has been capped off by a sunday excursion to tesco to exchange my twenty-five stickers for a $46 grundig blender. THIS THING IS A BEAST! it’s got this gigantic 1.5 liter glass jug and the base is the size of kilimanjaro. i have been wavering back and forth on this purchase for literally months, as it is really hard to justify buying stuff during my time living abroad– plus, i’ve already lived here over a year without it and got by okay. but…. eh,…
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snowy sundays
awoke this morning with the intention of creating an amazing mexican brunch a la señor moose, my favorite ballard mexican joint. created chilaquiles with ingredients i had already– basically fried tortilla squares under variety of diced vegetables, two eggs topped with sour cream (erm… plain yogurt) and jalapeños, served with horchata lattes. this yielded a big thumbs up from alex, who could not believe he was enjoying eating a mushroom, a pepper, and an onion in a single bite (three vegetables he used to dislike). it’s near impossible to get food mexican food here, and they barely even sell mexican spices. at nicer grocery stores you can pick up…
