Tag Archives: food

Turkey Soup for the Soul

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I thought I was going to make it through this winter without getting sick, but unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be. On Thursday, I woke up with a scratchy throat, which – despite my best efforts – developed into a sore throat, headache, and stuffy nose by Saturday.

When I get sick, I’m pretty strict about the foods I won’t eat. While these may not be official recommendations you’ll hear from a doctor (if you choose to go to one), I have found that my recovery time is a lot quicker when I avoid these types of foods: dairy products (because they make you more phlegmy, i.e. help you produce more snot), anything with sugar (sugar feeds the cold), greasy foods, and I limit the amount of fruit I eat.

turkey soup

Nothing more comforting than homemade turkey soup.

This restricted diet doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat anything though, and I find that soups are the best way to go because they let you pack a lot nutrients into one meal. Not to mention the heat helps soothe sore throats a lot. I combine this dish with regular doses of airborne and a lot of mint tea when I’m sick. Continue reading →

Chicken Pot Pie from Scratch

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Some dishes I make because I come across them in cookbooks or online while I’m searching for ways to cook a certain ingredient. Other dishes are made upon request, and this was one of them. A few weeks ago, the boyfriend mentioned that he wanted chicken pot pie, something I have never made before.

It would have been easy to just go to the freezer isle and buy one (I actually think that’s what he meant at first), but what would be the fun of that? So this past week, I decided to try my hand at this comforting dish. Some searching led me to this recipe over on Simply Scratch. I love her three rules for making chicken pot pie and will always follow them.

Rule No. 1: They have to be in individual portions.
Rule No. 2: No “cream of chicken soup” can be used, what-so-ever.
Rule No. 3: There has to be plenty of crust. So much crust you won’t notice that there isn’t a bottom one.

chicken pot pies

The crust isn’t perfect, but it was nice and flakey.

Here is my take on her recipe. I’ve added a few more spices and cook the potatoes differently. Continue reading →

Lamb and Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie

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You know those days when you know at least one ingredient you want to use for a meal, but aren’t at all intrigued by dishes you usually make with it? That is exactly what happened to me yesterday, and is what led me to make this dish.

The ingredient in question was ground lamb. Now, lamb is one of my favorite meats, but I was not at all excited by the thought of burgers (we already ate some this week), meatballs, or a bolognese sauce, or anything to do with pasta really.

Pie sideview

Lamb and sweet potato Shepherd’s Pie.

Enter the wonderful Google, where I came across a site that listed five recipes to make with ground lamb. As I scrolled down, Shepherd’s Pie jumped out at me, and I thought that is it! A perfect dish to make on a cold winter’s night. Continue reading →

Jumbo Lumb Crab Cakes

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I love crab cakes and they’re my preferred method of eating crab. While eating a whole crab can be fun, sometimes it’s just too much work and somehow I always end up crunching on a piece of shell, which isn’t so fun.

Crab cakes also remind me of the summers I used to join my cousins down the shore. Every year, they would rent a house in Avalon, NJ and at some point crab cakes always made it onto my plate, contributing to fond memories I have of spending weeks at the beach.

crab cakes

Did you know that the consumption of crab cakes dates back quite a few centuries? According to Food Timeline, the “practice of making minced meat cakes/patties (seafood/landfood) is ancient. Minces mixed with bread/ spices/ fillers came about for two reasons: taste and economy.” But, crab cakes weren’t known as crab cakes until sometime in the 20th century. Continue reading →

Oh, the Places We’ll Go in 2013

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happy new year

Happy New Year!
How were your holidays and how have the first couple weeks of 2013 been for you so far? Have you set any goals for this year?

My holidays were very enjoyable. I spent a few days up at my grandparents’ house and got to see the whole family (well, my mom’s side of the family) for the first time in a while. It’s just amazing to me how quickly children grow. My one cousin is five, about half my size, and speaking in full sentences. The last time time I saw him he was three. The difference is just amazing.

Over the past few weeks, I have been thinking a lot about how I want to continue with this blog. Of course, I still be cooking and sharing the dishes I make, but I’d like to expand my content more.

So here are some of my goals for 2013. Continue reading →

Lamb, potato, and cheese pierogi

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A couple weeks ago, I came across this recipe for pierogi on Pinterest (isn’t that one of the greatest sources ever?), and I knew I had to try them. Since I was born (and partially raised) in Philly, I’m very familiar with pierogi and they always remind me of family get-togethers, but this was the first time I made them.

lamb, potato and cheese pierogi

A peak inside lamb, potato, and cheese pierogi.

Although, they look very much like empanadas, pierogi are a Polish potato dumpling, made with unleavened dough and can be filled with a variety of ingredients mixed with potatoes. I chose to make mine with lamb, potatoes and cheese, and I absolutely loved them. They’re great to eat as a snack or with a side salad to create a meal. Trust me, these are quite filling.

Continue reading →

Swordfish with mustard and rosemary roasted potatoes

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I love roasted potatoes, I really do. It’s one of my favorite ways to eat potatoes (buttermilk ranch mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving come in second) and swordfish is definitely up there on my list of favorite fish to eat.

Swordfish with roasted potatoes

Swordfish with a heap of roasted potatoes.

As usually happens with favorite foods, you learn to make them one way, love it, and then get bored with it – at least that’s how my taste buds work. I always notice this when I go in the kitchen and thought of cooking gets a “meh” in response. This is why I love borrowing cookbooks from the library.

Two of the cookbooks I borrowed over this past month are fine Cooking In Season: Your guide to choosing & preparing the season’s best by the editors of Fine Cooking and Jamie’s Italy by Jamie Oliver. The first is wonderful because if divided into sections by season: spring, early summer, late summer, fall, and winter. The potato recipe I’m about to share comes from the fall section. The latter, I picked up because Jamie Oliver is one of my favorite chefs. Continue reading →

Experimenting in the kitchen: almond, tomatillo, and spinach pesto

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Pesto is one of my all time favorite sauces for pasta (I’ve made an avocado one before) and I knew it’s what I wanted to use last night when I got the request for chicken and linguine.

Since I got off of work at 9 p.m., at first I was going to just stop by Target and pick up one of the pre-made sauces that they sell (bad, I know). As I was sitting on the bus home, I was thinking of what I had in the kitchen, and that’s when I had the idea of making a pesto out of almonds and spinach.

What’s great about pesto sauces is that you can pretty much mix and match any ingredients you want while sticking to the basics: leafy green/ herb, nuts, olive oil, garlic, and cheese. Of course, you can get even more creative and started using roasted tomatoes etc.

linguine with almond pesto

The result of my experiment: Linguine and corn with almond pesto.

And I’m very glad I decided to do that because I ended up creating a sauce that tasted amazing – seriously, I wouldn’t be sharing it with you otherwise.

Continue reading →

Three words you never want to hear: high blood pressure

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High blood pressure. The three words, one little phrase, that started off this Monday with a wake-up call. While I’m happy these three words do not apply to me, they do apply to my man, who enjoys my meals everyday, which almost makes it worse.

For the most part, I’ve always thought that we live a healthy lifestyle: I buy fresh meat and vegetables from the Reading Terminal Market (RTM). We rarely eat dessert. The only time I fry something is when I’m making corn tortilla chips. We both exercise on a regular(-ish) basis, at least 2 – 3 times per week.

But, of course with a little bit of research, I have narrowed it down to two main culprits: sodium and alcohol, but the main one is sodium.

Doritos Jacked

A big source of sodium./ Photo: brandchannel.com

Continue reading →

Just desserts: Baileys white chocolate, chocolate covered truffles

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Someday last week, FP featured a recipe for Baileys & White Chocolate Truffles, and I couldn’t resist the temptation. I just had to make them for myself; well, and my man because he loves sweet things.

Baileys white chocolate truffles

A look at the finished product.

For the most part, I did follow the original recipe since I have never made truffles before, but I did change a couple things. Continue reading →