Twisty Turny = Yum, or the "Left-over Breakfast Burrito" Phenomena

The other night I made a slightly inventive fall stew. It was not the best dish I'd ever made, but none-the-less it was yummy.

Using what I had in the fridge and pantry:

butternut squash - such a handsome fella

I roasted some butternut squash, onion and garlic, greased up with olive oil and seasoned with white pepper, salt and a pinch of cumin.

veggies going in to the sauna

Meanwhile I sauteed up the ground turkey with more onion & garlic and a squeeze from the handy tomato paste tube, then seasoned with s & p. Mixed in a can of diced tomatoes (I know, so lazy when the front yard is abundant), a can of garbanzo beans, and a 1/4 cup of water. I seasoned this with chili powder and cinnamon.

Once the the meat was all brown and the tomatoes were looking bubbly, I added in the roasted veggies and let it all meld together for a couple minutes. Spooned into a bowl with a glob of sharp cheddar on top - this dish made me want to pour a glass of red wine and light up the fireplace (so I did! But minus the fireplace since we don't have one).

So this was all good, not shabby - but Vince and I agreed that it needed a twist. We thought about it ... but not too hard.

The next morning Vince, with his man-ingenuity, gave this fall stew it's needed twist.

"Hey Elyse, come try this".

"No thanks, Dear. You know I only like coffee for breakfast".

"Fine, I didn't really want to share anyway".

I walk into the kitchen to find a fall stew with scrambled eggs and cheese and hot sauce breakfast burrito.

I ate it a l l regardless of my coffee-only breakfast rule.

And it was..........

soooooo yummy.

See for yourself below:

Excessively Southern Californian? Eh, who cares! It was good!

I suppose you could call this the "left-over breakfast burrito" phenomena. Even I, EHo, will break my coffee-only breakfast rule for a breakfast burrito made from last night's goods. Try it.

Foodie Things

Three topics for today's blog entry:

1. Has everyone heard that Gourmet magazine has shut down shop?
Just last week I was telling Vince, "You know Dear, I am a real foodie now and need a real high class magazine to accompany this status. Thus, I need a subscription to Gourmet for Christmas!" I bet Gourmet magazine might have changed their minds had I subscribed sooner...

Sad, sad loss for the food magazine world.

2. I found this very entertaining and motivating article about the Naked Chef, Jamie Oliver and his most recent project. I have always been ambivalent about him, but I now have a greater appreciation. Plus it totally addresses the ever relevant Public Health topic! Check out the article:

Putting America's Diet on a Diet

3. Today our landlord/next door neighbor told us to help ourselves to her harvest- she just can't eat it all fast enough. To this I said, "OKAY!!!"

Tonight's dinner is consisted of tomatoes and basil from the back (and front) yard.





Next week I start consuming the Japanese eggplant and red peppers! Suggestions?

Welcome to my new kitchen!

We MOVED!!

We have uprooted ourselves from perfect San Diego and ended up in Santa Monica - a not so shabby little nook of Los Angeles - while I attend grad school at UCLA. We now live in half of an old Craftsman-style home not very far from the beach. The duplex has old funky quirks and lots and lots of hardwood!

The kitchen is smaller than I was used to, but that's not saying much!

The weather has just barely started to cool down, so I think tonight I'll roast up some garlic and beets - and maybe even a batch of pumpkin bread!

Procrastinating studying? Yes.

Refrigerator Revelations

Does this look messy or cluttered to you?

Because sometimes I feel that way; that I should strip my frigde clean and have a blank slate to look at before I ponder dinner. But this evening when I was lingering over ice cubes I noticed that I love my fridge! And what I love about it is the little notes and pictures and invitations that I have left up to remind me what a wonderful community and family I surround myself with.

Below you can see that I decorate my fridge with beloved photos of my sweet nieces and nephew, invitations from fantastic weddings (Todd and Erin's) and memorable 40th anniversary parties (Mom & Dad). Most these items are suctioned to the fridge with a set of italian poetry words that Rachel gave us one Christmas. On this fridge I also have the Monterey Bay Aquarium's sustainable fish list (good find, check it here) which reminds me of my 5 year anniversary road trip up the California coast with Vince; an angel magnet my mother gave me one year that makes me smile every time I see it; a Homel family contact card - fantastic back story, another entry!

But as I stood there this evening, while refilling my ice tea, I thought to myself - look at all these wonderful people. I looked down the list of names of Homel family members (on the contact card) and it brought a huge grin to my face to think about each person. I have an amazing family and I feel so blessed to be able to clutter my refrigerator with their faces and the knick-knacks that remind me of memorable times.

I also have some other items up there that should probably come on down, but I hate removing an item from the fridge because... well, because I am just sentimental like that!

What does your fridge look like?

Koo-koot-zaaaaaaa

I have seriously been carrying quite a bit of guilt about my lack of posting for the past month - maybe two?! So, without further adieu, let us get back to where I left off.


Vince proposed and I practice being a good faux-Sicilian fiancée:

This vegetable I am holding is called a Cucuzza (pronounced "koo-koot-zaa"). It is a Sicilian long squash; similar to zuchinni, but milder in flavor with a hard outer skin. This one is small by all comparisons, since often they grow to be 4 or 5 feet long. This cucuzza was grown by Vince's father, who got the seeds from plants his father brought over from Sicily nearly 50 years ago - cool, huh? When you plant the seeds, you also have to install a trellis over them (check it out here) so the vine can grow up and the vegetable can drop down.

The only way I have eaten this vegetable is in a super simple, but oh-so-delicious soup. Below is how I made it:

Chop the cucuzza into manageable sections and with a vegetable peeler, peel the skin off.

Cube into mouth-sized chunks.

Also chop up onions (in this case 3) and garlic (for my preference, about half a head).

Sauté all three together, season with salt & pepper until soft & translucent.

(I like it a little spicy, so I also added a pinch of crushed red pepper).

Add either 3 fresh home-grown tomatoes, peeled and seeded - then chopped (yum!) or the equivalent in a can. Add the tomatoes and 4 cups vegetable broth. Bring the soup to a boil and then simmer for at least 30 minutes to develop the flavors. Right at the end add a handful of broken spaghetti, and cook until al dente.

To serve: Add a heaping spoonful of grated parmesan, slivered basil and crusty bread on the side - oh! don't forget a glass of vino!

Buon Appetito a Tutto!

My frontal lobe.

One's frontal lobe (of their brain) is said to reach full maturity by age 25. This means, that until age 25 one is developmentally considered a teenager.

I am a few days early, but I think my frontal lobe just reach maturity.

I was sitting here thinking about how I need to write a blog and was considering writing one on the garbanzo beans I made for dinner last night and then turned into hummus. I was about to write all that when a group of seven preteens rode (on their trikes) past my condo.

I hear them yell out a saying I particularly despise. I step outside onto our patio to observe, and they say it again!

I pipe up and tell them firmly, "hey kids, why don't you tone it down."

"Fuck you bitch" - YES THEY SAID THIS! (sorry for the foul language Mom, but remember I am just quoting).

And then it happened. My frontal lobe matured past teenagedom and said,

"I will find your mother. And I will -"

I get cut off with laughter and the preteens bicycle away.

I almost laughed at myself. I will find your mother?? Oh geez!

Today I learned...

That when chopping peanuts, you pound - not chop!
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