Sincerest apologies for the photo quality of late… the screen on my iPhone has been broken for months, and my upgrade isn’t scheduled to arrive until November. Please bear with me through the blurry photos!
It’s apple season! We volunteered at our CSA recently- a requirement for all members- and had fun meeting meeting our neighbors. We’ve been getting lots of different varieties of apples + pears: gala, honey crisp, macoun, bosc, bartlett… they’re so much better than the waxy fruit our local grocery stocks.
Dessert plates are back! Apple, coconut date roll, salted caramel + chocolate covered almonds (impulse buy at Starbucks… and so good!).
I made a batch of these golden quinoa cakes. We ate half throughout the week, and froze the rest. They’re great on their own for a mini meal, or topped on a salad.
This tuna pasta has been on my mind for awhile now…. Growing up, my dad used to make a delicious linguine with seared tuna, capers and herbs. This version is more of a peasant’s meal, using preserved rather than fresh fish, but we made sure to buy good-quality imported Italian tuna. It costs about $7, which is more than the $2 Bumble Bee brand, but the taste was fantastic! And still a lot cheaper than buying a whole filet.
Grain + veggie bowls are always a staple around here, and especially so when heartier produce like potatoes and squash comes into season. Here, we’ve topped quinoa with sautéed greens, steamed sweet potatoes + baked tofu. Here’s a quick tutorial on how to build your own bowls.
Asian-flavored shrimp + veggie bowl with greens, sautéed peppers + onions, steamed sweet potato, and gingered shrimp.
And, because it’s now officially Fall, pumpkin is back! I didn’t want to overdo it and get tired of my favorite fall flavor early in the game, so I’ve only made a few things with it. One of my favorite fall soups uses pumpkin, peanut butter + lentils, and we ate a few bowls of that last week. Another favorite- perhaps even the best recipe I think I’ve ever written!- is this pumpkin, mushroom + miso soup. That’ll be making the rounds around here soon, too.
On the breakfast front, I tried Gena’s pumpkin porridge, which uses almond pulp, i.e. the stuff leftover from making homemade almond milk. We make almond milk about once a week, and I usually make hummus for B to eat for lunch throughout the week. This was a fun change! It’s not overly “almond-y,” nor is it heavy.
It was also delicious topped with this granola, which I made a few weeks ago and LOVE, and have been putting on everything from steel cut oats (’tis the season!) to chia pudding to yogurt to smoothies.
We’ve been going out to eat quite a bit, too… I’ve been trying to pinch pennies, but it’s not working out so well in the dining department! Some things just taste better when other people cook them! B and I shared a gouda grilled cheese + kitchen sink salad (both of which I could eat every day) at Kickshaw, as a reward for tackling a big list of errands. I went back a few days later for dinner with my friend Rebecca… it seems I still have yet to have my fill of cheesy bread.
Yesterday, my friend Sofia and I met for brunch at Hu Kitchen for a study date. They have an $8.95 deal where you get two eggs, two sides, and a piece of grain-free bread. I was happily munching away on my coconut biscuit when I discovered what looked like little pieces of sausage scrambled into my eggs. I’ve worked in restaurants, on and off, for years, and know that these things happen, and that grills and fryers are often used for multiple things. However, for a restaurant that was founded to cater to special diets, specifically paleo- which I am not, but I know that I can find items that are truly gluten free- it was kind of bewildering to see meat mixed in with a vegetarian dish. The man I spoke to behind the counter was very nice, and cooked me a fresh batch of eggs himself in a separate pan. Still, I’m not sure I’ll be running back to brunch there…
A friend of B’s from college was visiting with his wife, so the four of us went to Snowdonia for their grand opening. It was hoppin’! They’ve got their liquor license now, and the bar was three deep. We had some drinks and eats… B ordered fish ‘n chips, which comes with three delicious sauces: pea-wasabi, herb mayo, + curry catsup. I gobbled up almost all of B’s fries! That curried catsup is addictive.
What are you noshing on this week?
