food | Ofrenda

Crispy chickpeas

Posted by gwen on Jun 13, 2011 in photo, recipe | 0 comments

Some girlfriends and I have beach day whenever our schedules and the weather allow [which hasn’t been often lately, we’re having a cold, wet almost-summer here in northern California — the annual sandcastle contest was even cancelled] and we bring a stack of guilty pleasures magazines, including Cosmo, one issue of which featured a sidebar of quick snacks to make with chickpeas (garbanzos), which are loaded with fiber and some other good stuff.

Crispy chickpeas
Sauté chickpeas in a bit of olive oil with a pinch of coarse salt til crispy. Sprinkle with parmesan.

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Crepes!

Posted by gwen on Jun 6, 2011 in photo, recipe | 0 comments

Crepes
From Martha’s Food Everyday magazine

1 c all purpose flour
1 T sugar
1/4 t coarse salt
1 1/2 c whole milk
4 large eggs
3 T unsalted butter, melted

Puree about 30 seconds, until smooth with bubbles on top.
Let rest 15 minutes.

Pour 1/3 cup in heated, lightly buttered 12″ skillet on medium. Cook 2-3 minutes until golden brown then loosen edges with spatula and use fingertips to quickly flip and cook about a minute more.

Repeat then fill with stuff.

Recipe says it makes 9 crepes but I ended up with a dozen.

Chocolate sauce

I kind of winged this so measurements are approximate.

Whisk 1 cup water with 1/4 cup each unsweetened chocolate baking powder and sugar. Put over low heat and add 2 T unsalted butter and a sprinkling of coarse salt. Check taste when butter’s stirred in and add chocolate/sugar accordingly. Stir often and cook til it’s saucy enough.

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Farmer’s market

Posted by gwen on May 10, 2011 in Alameda, recipe | 1 comment

3 lb. fava beans
1 garlic
1 onion
3 lb. potatoes
2 red pepper

5 lb. tomatoes
2 lb. zucchini
3 baskets strawberries
1 bunch thai basil
1 baguette

$21

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Things we ate this weekend

Posted by gwen on Jun 7, 2010 in recipe, travel | 1 comment

ham and swiss croissants
fresh OJ
fair trade coffee
bagel
grapes
free bottle of merlot and a very nice note from the folks at the hotel thanking us for our return visit [i guess had our credit card on file?]
BBQed pork tenderloin, chicken, and tri-tip and some sweet island-style pulled pork
clam chowder
garlic bread
bacon cheese bread
strawberry blintzes
bacon
veggie omelette
lots of fancy imported licorice
caramel-wrapped marshmallows
a giant dark chocolate peanut butter cup
oregon bing cherry and coffee-truffle ice cream cones
deep-fried artichoke hearts
grilled meats
peach cobbler

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Chad and his fancy-pants dinner

Posted by gwen on Jan 9, 2010 in photo, recipe | 0 comments

After about six months of cooking, starting with absolutely no knowledge at all of anything domestic, Chad has officially surpassed my culinary skills.

I had to wait til midnight to eat but it was totally worth it.

Skirt steak with paprika butter
Sunchoke-kale hash with Farro
—Food & Wine (January 2010)

If you’re a veggie, don’t look.

…

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Cafe au lait, $1.82, Cafe du Mond

Posted by gwen on Dec 15, 2009 in photo, travel | 0 comments

Here’s one more folder of photos from our trip to New Orleans in March done, fourteen more to go. I might just finish by New Year’s.

This was our last full day in town, we did all kinds of things that I will get to the photos for soon! really!, the first of which was a stop at Cafe du Mond. [Come to think of it, stopping at Cafe du Mond was about the last thing we did that day, too. Stick out that video, it’s funny.]

I wish we had one here, not being able to get beignets and coffee at 3 a.m. is seriously, negatively affecting my quality of life.

And the only thing you can get for $1.82 any time of day here is a taco. Which is not a bad deal, but I need more coffee than tacos.

» All them New Orleans photos so far are here.

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