Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup

Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup

It used to be that whenever I would go out of town, Adam would get himself Vietnamese take out and watch a bunch of action movies, two things I claimed not to like. I still don't really watch anything without Colin Firth or Julianne Moore in it (I kid), but I did eventually fall in love with Vietnamese food, including Bun Cha, Goi Cuon-Fresh Spring Rolls, and the simple, easy to replicate Chicken Pho Ga- Vietnamese noodle soup.  I made this today for Jasper who is stuck at home with a nasty outbreak of poison oak, because it is his favorite too, and chicken soup really does make everything better.

Read More

Flourless Double Chocolate Cookies

Flourless Double Chocolate Cookies

T'is the night before Christmas, and when Santa makes his way to the house tonight we will wow him with the most delicious cookies in the world.  They are toasty, chewy, and gooey. They are sooo chocolately. And amazingly, they are gluten and dairy free, made with just 6 ingredients that you probably have in your pantry right now. You should go make some...

Read More

Be Well

Be Well

Leading up to every major family gathering, someone in our immediate family gets wicked sick. It's a fact. There was the great summer flu of 2010, where we wiped out the entire family while on vacation in Pajaro Dunes. We had already established ourselves as Typhoid Mary the Thanksgiving prior when my nephew Luke was born, and we promptly dismantled the family including the new baby with a preschool acquired tummy bug.  Last year when we hosted Christmas, my husband and I passed a doozy of a stomach flu onto the family, sidelining my sister-in-law Stacey from New Years festivities.  For a family that rarely gets sick, we sure choose to do so at the worst times.  So this last week we were not all that surprised when Wylie spiked a fever and evacuated from every orifice the day before Thanksgiving, the dinner we were to be hosting. The whole family decided to come anyway, and we're still waiting to find out who we've knocked down. Jasper came down with it on Saturday, and is just now feeling better. 

Read More

Miso Porridge with Charred Bok Choy

Miso Porridge with Charred Bok Choy

This is the time of year in California when it finally starts to get chilly. I've pulled out my sweaters and tall boots and I've been making more comfort foods like soups and stews. One of my very favorite warm-you-up comfort foods is Risotto, an Italian style porridge made with Arborio rice and stock.  It's actually very easy to make, and once you know the technique, you can experiment with your ingredients.  I sometimes make this Japanese version using a ginger-miso broth(found at Trader Joes) and shitake mushrooms. I thought I'd share this recipe today along with a simple technique for making charred bok choy, which I just add straight to the bowl. Stay warm and have fun tonight, Happy Halloween!

Read More

Salted Peanut Butter-Chocolate Cookies

Salted Peanut Butter-Chocolate Cookies

I'm in the middle of two projects right now, one that I'm working on for Apartment Therapy's Holiday DIY Gift Guide, the other a new iteration of the paper lantern project that involves collecting hundreds of leaves.  I hope to bring you at least one of those by next week.  In the meantime, here's what we were snacking on this week.  I followed my usual peanut butter cookie recipe, and added a couple of ingredients to the mix to give them a little something more, one being baking cocoa, the other cracked sea salt. The result is a soft at center, crispy at the edges cookie with a peanut butter cup flavor. Here are some glamour shots of cookie eating and the recipe.  Have a great weekend!

Read More