For NYE this year, I had the privilege of enjoying a Colombian feast cooked by my favorite Colombian friend, Natalia. She claims to be a mediocre cook, but I’ve seen no evidence of this mediocrity. The food we had last night was awesome. So awesome that I was too busy eating to properly photo-document the experience. But, this was the end result:
Colombian Feast
Item 1: Arepas…
…and I don’t mean the good home-made kind. Hear me out.
So I had boxed macaroni and cheese last night. Stop judging me. I realize this is a food blog, but it’s my food blog so keep quiet. Also, it’s actually a restaurant review blog; it’s ten kinds of pathetic up here in my own kitchen. As you probably know. Moving on.
Trader Joe’s brand boxed mac ‘n cheese with: peas, beans, avocado, parmesan cheese.
I put peas in my mac and cheese. See? Health food. Today I have left over macaroni and cheese and peas. And no microwave*. What’s a gal to do? Make a numbered list, of course:…
Summary: New apartment. First use of stove in this apartment. First use of any stove in months.
Conversation I just had with my stove:
—-
Me: You’re making weird noises, what does that mean? Are you on? I guess so, the big coil at the bottom is all red.
Stove: …
Me: Ok, it looks like you’re heating up my pizza. How the fuck do I use this timer? Forget it, I’ll just use my phone.
Stove: …
Stove: BEEP
Me: Oh god, are you going to blow up? Why would you beep? Did I set a timer by accident or something? Why is the coil getting dimmer?
Stove: …
Me: Oh. I’m a tard. You’re pre-heated. To the temperature I set you to. That’s what the beep was for. Now I’m supposed to start cooking my food.
Stove: …
Me: I am not good at this game.
—-
I think the stove may have rolled its eyes at me. I don’t really blame it.
Blog-related note: Restaurant reviews to re-commence soon; I haven’t gone entirely insane (yet).
Yes, it’s true. I made a pie. It was this one, here:
Chocolate Cream Pie a la Angie
I made it for Christmas, for my family. Like a normal person might do. I even created it under the loving tutelage of my mother, who refuses to do such things anymore but has no problem telling me how to do them.
And my family complimented the pie. “Wow, this is a good pie, Angie” “You made this, Angie?”
“Yeah, I made it. I’m good at cooking.”…
After a short hiatus, it’s recipe time!! Have you had kale recently? I’d honestly never really heard of it until the Taminator (omg, that’s the best nickname, I hope I’m the first one to think of it, Tami) brought it over for Girl’s Night. This is, of course, Tami from Everyday Bites, mentioned also previously in the delicious Pesto Pita Pizza post.
KALE!
So, kale! It’s sort of a fancy lettuce-type food that’s a bit tough and frilly. It seems to be uber “in style” now, like bacon and macaroons. See below photo of Boyfriend with Kale.
Boyfriend with head of kale.
Kale, when toasted lightly in the oven, turns a bit softer and (if you do it right) gets a bit crunchy. And then eating it is like nibbling a fun crunchy snack instead of being forced to consume vegetables because they’re good for you. Actually, I love vegetables, so I never have to be forced. But still, this is a great way to eat kale.
Ingredients:
Steps:
Kale in strainer.
Kale waiting to be baked.
Cooked kale looks just like raw kale. Just cook it and trust me.
Healthy, simple, delicious! Yum! For another take on kale chips, see the Runner’s Delight version!
Say that three times fast.
I sort of hate when people tell me to say something three times fast, so I apologize.
Ok, Pesto Pita Pizzas. Are surprisingly delicious. Hence, they make it to my blog. You may have noticed that I don’t love to cook very much, but Tami made these for a few friends and me the other night and I just had to bring them home. And by “bring them home” I mean drive to Trader Joe’s and buy the ingredients for myself.
Ingredients.
PPPs require four ingredients from Trader Joes:…
It’s not a restaurant, but it provides me with food just the same — take a trip over to the Hayward Farmer’s Market every Saturday from 9am-1pm! We’ve been hitting up the market for a few weeks now and spend around $30 every time on local and (typically) organic produce for the coming week. It’s super fun and, after reading the Omnivore’s Dilemma, a total must.
It’s always a goal to “eat better” and, for me, attending the farmer’s market every week helps me do this. Here’s why:…
B&C has been, so far, solely interested in food that other people make. Specifically, East Bay restaurants that serve food that I purchase from them. It’s a good relationship: drive, eat, pay, write. But perhaps it’s time for B&C to evolve to discuss some home cooking too, no?
I’m not a great cook, it’s true. In fact, I (we) typically don’t cook anything terribly exciting on any kind of a regular basis. Boyfriend gets a bit upset when I say this, but I’d argue for the most part that it’s true. I’ll concede, also, that he’s a better cook than I. Moving on. When we do make an effort, and we’re successful, why not blog about it? This is a food blog isn’t it?…