Thursday, October 22, 2009

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.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

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?

Thursday, October 8, 2009

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.