A European-style Indoor Picnic

For the past week or two my apartment has been nearing 80 degrees. (Yesterday it was 77.7 if we want to be exact about it.) So, I figured I would take a night off from “cooking” – i.e. using my oven. I’ve been anxious to try out this recipe for Technicolor Tapenade for some time, so this was the perfect opportunity.

Apple-Pepper Salsa & Black Bean Soup

I tend to enjoy cooking Mexican/Southwestern food and realized that the past few meals I’ve prepared have been more Italian in variety. So I decided to sort through my cookbooks and find some Southwestern-inspired dishes. I really enjoy meat – I mean REALLY enjoy -- but I don’t tend to enjoy cooking it (unless it’s on a grill, for some reason I like slapping a burger or steak on the grill but hate cooking meat in my kitchen – especially chicken). So my home cooked meals tend to lean towards the vegetarian side, stuff my newly vegetarian little sister would actually eat! Cheers to her on this weeks creations!

Pennette all Puttanesca Bianca

“30 Minute Pasta” this book claimed, so how could I turn that down? Among nearly 100 other generally easy to make pastas, I picked this one for its uniqueness. I am not a fan of traditional Italian “red sauce”. Wait, I shouldn’t be so nice – I HATE “red sauce”. But, I love pasta! So, I figured I would try out something different that didn’t have a typical sauce...

Mussels in Red Chile Broth

2 Weeks Ago... I cheated, I’ve made these before. Though, never in my fancy new pot… so it’s sort of a new experience.

Apricot Baked Brie, Italian Wedding Soup & Saffron Ice Cream

3 Weeks Ago... The recipes for this meal came out of my new “Cooking with all Things Trader Joes”.

Artichoke, Olive, and Feta Pizza

By happenstance I’ve found myself part of a Tuesday tradition where I pick a recipe out of a cookbook then hit the kitchen to experiment. A tasty meal and some good (cheap) wine, and Tuesdays never looked better. Since I only recently started posting my food adventures I’ll give a little rundown of creations of the past few weeks. Here’s what I’ve been making:

And so it begins...

I'm a writer so I spend hours on my laptop banging out the perfect story. Since my apartment is small, I do the majority of my writing sitting at the counter in my kitchen. The other day, while pondering the perfect word choice for a story, I noticed my stove looking forlornly at me...