FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Pan-Seared Radishes & Greens

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Pan Roasted Radish and Greens

I’ve been trying to make this salad for weeks, but plans kept getting in the way and ingredients continued to go bad.  But tonight, I was determined.  I walked to Whole Foods {stopping at Anthropologie on the way…} and picked up radishes and spinach.

Poached Figs

I hadn’t cooked much with any of the ingredients in this salad.  And I had certainly never considered using radish greens or soaking sliced dates in boiling water.

Radishes

But even though all of the ingredients were unusual for my kitchen, I was excited to see how they all would work together to become my dinner.

Pan Roasted Radishes

It was no surprise that I dug the salty, tart, sweet that came with the nuts, olives, balsamic, and figs.  But what was a surprise was how much I enjoyed sautéed radishes and how they did, in fact, taste much like turnips.

Check out one of my favorite turnip recipes here!

Spicy Broccoli & Leek Soup

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Broccoli and Leek Soup

After making this recipe, my friend Molly and I wondered if we could use it as a formula for other veggie soups.  Asparagus and broccoli came to mind first and they’ve been stuck in my head ever since.  So today when I was at Wheatsville Co-op {becoming an owner!} and saw a beautiful bunch of broccoli, I decided to give it a go.

Almond Slivers 1

I modified a couple things about the recipe to make life a little more simple.  Like using 4 cups of broth instead of 3.  Since broth is packaged in a 4-cup container, you were always left with a cup of broth in your fridge that never found a home.

Broccoli and Leeks

Beyond quantity, I added a complimentary veggie, more nuts, more lemon, and more spices.  The addition of cayenne pepper gave the soup a welcomed kick.  And the drizzle of olive oil gave the soup a little complexity that made it feel restaurant worthy.

Array

Pea & Ricotta Crostini

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Pea & Ricotta Crostini

After months of jam-packed weekends, I decided to break for a moment.  And by break, I mean jam-pack my weekend with me things: things I wanted to do, things I needed to do, things I had been putting aside for too long.  And cooking with spring peas just happened to one of those things.

Peas in Ice Water

I used Pinterest to visually narrow down the direction I wanted to go.  And when I settled on ricotta, I turned to Google which yielded Emeril’s Crostini with Ricotta and Spring Peas.  Mint, basil, and parmesan… I loved everything about this recipe.

Ricotta with Herbs

I splurged on the fancy, whole-milk ricotta at Central Market and that made all the difference in the world.  The ricotta mixture, by itself, was divine.

What I couldn’t bring myself to do…  Purchase fresh peas in the pod.  Even though the pea pod photo opp would have made my day, the thought of de-podding one and a half cups of peas felt much like torture.  Frozen peas worked perfectly.

And lastly, the combo of the two atop a freshly toasted baguette slice.  So seriously good.  I can’t wait until I have another excuse to make these again!

Double Rainbow Quinoa

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Juiceland Double Rainbow Quinoa Recipe

I’ve eaten Juiceland’s double rainbow quinoa almost once a week since I started the new gig last November.  And lately… it’s turned into a two time per week thing {maybe three}.  I’m addicted.

Sliced Cucumbers

Juiceland noticed my excessive check-ins and self-proclaimed addiction and sent me the recipe video via Twitter.  Seriously, Juiceland, thank you!

Quinoa

Although I would have preferred a written recipe over a video, I was thankful for anything that allowed the recreation of this dish at home.  I jotted down ingredient notes, walked over to Whole Foods {another recent obsession}, and re-played the video as I assembled each component.

Juiceland Double Rainbow Quinoa Salad 2

The recipe made a seemingly gigantic amount of quinoa, but our table of four polished off every last bit.  This just might be my go-to recipe for potlucks this summer!