Cookie Dough Popsicle

I think every food blogger on the internet has made these popsicles this summer in honor of The Cookie Dough Lover's Cookbook coming out. And for good reason – they take about 2 minutes to make, use ingredients you probably are taking out of your pantry now, and taste AMAZING.

Seriously, I have no clue why I didn’t know that frozen milk, a pinch of salt, vanilla, and a bit of brown sugar would resemble cookie dough so closely. But I’ll be enjoying this combo as DC continues to tease me with autumn. If we’re going to magically spring back into summer weather, you better believe I’ll be eating a popsicle.

And possibly be staring at my new boots resentfully.

Tortilla Espanola

Tortilla Espanola is possible the world’s most awesome food. It’s simpler and less fussy than quiche, it’s comfort food in the best sense of the word, and if you ever visit Spain, you can find it on pretty much any menu. And when I studied abroad there, I did my best to sample every piece I could find. And Tortilla is magic because you can eat it for any meal you please – cold out of the fridge for breakfast, warmed up at lunch, or at room temp with some veggies for dinner. However you best like eggs, Tortilla can provide.

So while you could wait until get there, it might be easier (and tastier) if you learned to make it yourself.

Honestly, I’ve been putting off how to learn how to make this dish for a while. Partially because I was afraid to learn how easy it is to make (hint: very) and partially because I didn’t want to make it incorrectly (namely, starting it on the stove and finishing in the oven).

But then I found a slide show from Serious Eats with step-by-step pictures of how to make Tortilla – specifically how to flip the Tortilla. If my instructions aren’t clear, please click on the link. It’s super helpful!

Tortilla Espanola

From Serious Eats

The hardest part of this recipe is the flip, and that’s just an issue of confidence. Don’t over think it. I promise it’ll work and you’ll be enjoying tortilla in just a few minutes more. I know looking at this block of text for instructions makes this recipe seem complicated, but honestly the longest part of the entire process for me was peeling the potatoes.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds of potatoes, about 4 to 5 medium Yukon Golds or Russets, peeled

1 large yellow onion

4 eggs

Between 1/3 and 3/4 cup Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

* Depends on your pan. I used a non-stick pan and ended up using a smidge over 1/3. If you don’t have a non-stick you’ll need enough to make sure the potatoes won’t stick to the bottom on the pan, probably closer to 3/4 cups

Equipment

Food processor/mandolin (recommended, but if you like slicing things into very thin, even slices, not strictly necessary), mixing bowls, colander, deep pot (to cook potatoes in), medium/small skillet, plate large enough to easily cover the skillet

Instructions

Use a food processor, mandolin, or knife to thinly slice the potatoes and onions.  Pour 1/4 cup olive oil into pan over medium-high heat.  Add onions and potatoes and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are soft and potatoes are cooked through. You’ll know the potatoes are done if you can spilt it easily with a spoon or the side of a fork. Drain the potatoes and onion in a colander and reserve the drained oil for the next phase.

While potatoes are draining, beat together four eggs and a bit of salt in a large bowl. Add the potatoes and onion mixture and mix it around. You want to make sure all the slices are coated in egg. You can let this rest up to 15 minutes before going to the next step, which is lucky since it gives you time to get the next step set up.

Preheat a medium or small skillet over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of the reserved oil and spread it around the inside edges and bottom of pan. Once the skillet is very hot, add the tortilla mixture and give the pan a couple shakes to make sure it’s evenly distributed. Reduce heat to medium-low and occasionally run a heat-proof spatula around the edges to make sure the tortilla isn’t sticking.

After 10 minutes (when the eggs are just set around the edge and the potatoes aren’t sliding around when you jiggle the pan) the tortilla should be ready the flip. This is honestly the trickiest part of the whole recipe and you just have to go for it. Be confident! Show those eggs who’s boss.

Place plate over the top of the skillet, pick up the pan, and flip it over.  Add a bit more oil to the pan and ease flipped tortilla back into pan, cooked side up.  Feel free to use your spatula to nudge stubborn bits back into position. Cook another few minutes (about 5 – 8 more minutes) to ensure that the eggs have set through the middle of the tortilla.

Enjoy hot, cold, or at room temperature.

Serves 6-8

Spicy Salmon Burgers

I don’t really like reheated fish. For some reason, that’s where the dreaded “fishy” smell hits me and suddenly what was delicious the night before is inedible. Which leads me to the point that I tend to only buy enough fish to for a single meal – pretty much the antithesis of the rest of my grocery strategy.

So I’m always on the lookout for seafood recipes that are a) single meal, b) not too complicated, and c) don’t require a ton of work or ingredients. I mean, why go to all that trouble if you’re only going to eat it once?

So I like this recipe because if I’m really hungry I can simply eat both burgers. And if I’m not, I can freeze the extra. Win, win!

Whole Wheat Banana Blueberry Muffins

I’m fairly sure every time I post a muffin recipe I mention the fact that I don’t really like sweet muffins. And then the recipe is for a sweet muffin. I know, so consistent! Go me?

In any case, I’m finally living up to my self-proclaimed favorite type of muffin. One full of whole wheat, fruit, and minimal sugar. I actually took sugar out of the original recipe – who needs additional sugar sprinkled on top of the muffin when you have blueberries bursting with flavor?

You do? Well, feel free to distribute a tablespoon of white sugar over the tops of these before baking. But personally, I was a huge fan even without it.

In any case, enjoy the uncharacteristic consistent recipe below!

Homemade Ravioli and Summer Squash

I promised you more zucchini and here I deliver. In today’s recipe it plays second fiddle to homemade ravioli, because why not? If you’re going to go to all the trouble of making ravioli by hand, you want it to be the star of your dish. And since zucchini is pretty easy to find right now, might as well make a bed of it to add some veggies to your meal.

When I last tackled ravioli (seen here), I lamented that I couldn’t master egg yolk ravioli. Today is still not that day. But I am getting one step closer! One of these days…

It’s not as easy as using wonton wrappers because you actually have to make pasta dough. You would think this might have given me a clue that my kitchen was about to be inundated with flour, but I marched on to my cleaning hell unconcerned. Don’t skimp on flouring your work surface. It might make cleaning up more interesting, but your pasta won’t roll out nicely without it. Necessary evil folks, necessary evil.

(And yes, that is an instagrammed picture of the pasta I made. Can you tell I got a smartphone recently?)

Spicy Shrimp with Zucchini

Shrimp is a great protein to taste spices on. If I haven’t convinced you to try turmeric yet (though how you could pass up my Spicy Red Lentil and Rice Soup is beyond me), this might be a good one to start on. The relatively mild flavor of shrimp and what some have called flavorless character of zucchini allows the spice mix here to shine.

This dish packs a kick, but not in the “please give me all the milk in the world, dear god it burns” way. More like “ooooh, that’s good” way. There’s an important difference here.

And since zucchini is currently cheap and abundant, expect to see another zucchini recipe here in a few days. Might as well figure out how to use it while it’s here!

White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Enough of this health food! I know what you guys really like - sugar! And wouldn't it figure that it's one of the few recipes I made in the last few months that has more than 1 picture? If that's not a sign of my obsession dedication, I don't know what is.

I feel bad about not sharing this one sooner – since mid-May I’ve constantly had a batch of these in my freezer in case a cookie emergency hits (hint: it hits frequently). I’m not normally a fan of white chocolate (all about the dark chocolate in this half of the apartment folks), but they were on sale at the grocery store and I can’t resist a bargain. Or free shit. It’s a serious clutter-causing problem.

In any case, I bought them the started trying to figure out what I could make. This recipe appealed because a) I’ve had a pretty good relationship with Hershey’s chocolate so far in my life and b) I had all the ingredients on hand. Originally I had hoped to make a chocolate cookie with white chocolate chips and pistachios, but I couldn’t find a small enough and cheap enough quantity of pistachios to make it worth it. One day though….

In the mean time, enjoy these! Tasty, chocolate-y, and very easy to make.

Lemon Caper Tilapia

I’m not a huge fan of red meat (or sausage) and chicken breasts can get boring if eaten enough times, so I’m always on the lookout for new fish and alternate protein recipes. If you have any favorites, please let me know!

This recipe got me from the get go – lemons, tomatoes, capers, and garlic, oh my! Is there anything better, especially in the last gasps of summer we’re now experiencing? Grab some fresh tomatoes while they’re available. Plus the fact that this is the seafood equivalent of slice and bake - slice veggies, bake fish in aluminum. Perfect gateway recipe for people who want to add seafood to their diet but haven't made it at home before. 

As I’ve mentioned previously, I’ve recently been experimenting with freezer cooking. One of the more useful resources I’ve found has been Once a Month Mom – a website with a large collection of recipes that have freezing instructions already spelled out for you (they also sell memberships to buy their monthly and mini meal plans). This was one of the first recipes from them that I made and I think you’ll enjoy it as well!

Tomato Soup

After my first year in college, I worked a variety of jobs over the summer – intern at an environmental NGO, babysitter, and in retail. It was the first summer I’d ever worked like that (at one point I estimated 60 hours/week was probably a conservative estimate) and about halfway through I just got tired of bringing my lunch. In some ways I was lucky – I was working at Nordstrom in the costumed jewelry department, so I could just grab something at the Café and eat it in the employee break room.

In fact, I’d go so frequently, I wouldn’t even have to beg to get them to serve me the children’s tomato soup special – a cup of their tomato soup and half a grilled cheese sandwich. If you’ve never had the tomato soup at the Nordstrom Café, you are missing out. It’s deliciously chunky, actually tastes like tomato, and has a fabulous mixture of herbs.

This soup doesn’t replicate the soup. I’ve found that I like a bit of spice in my soups, so instead of aiming for the sweeter, almost Bolognese flavor of the Nordstrom soup, this version is chunky with a hint of a kick. And I think I’ve succeeded nicely in this version.

Surprise!

Surprise - I'm alive! And blogging again.

Whoops. That was a long three months. Sorry for completely falling off the map there. What was I doing?

Let's answer that completely made-up question with a good old fashion "what did I do on my summer vacation" essay. But with Instagram! Because all the cool kids are doing it. And I am nothing if not a lemming when it comes to internet trends.

So you might think my three month hiatus from blogging was due to being overwhelmed by awesome summer weather in DC. I mean look how pretty it looks in this picture:

But what you can't tell is that DC in the summer is evil. PURE EVIL. It's hot. It's humid. And there are only two ways to beat the heat when you have no car and air conditioning is expensive: the pool and milkshakes. Lots and lots of milkshakes.

See? Key to happiness right there. A pool and a milkshake. Extra points if you grab the milkshake to make the walk back to your apartment to get to the pool. That's expert level DC-living. 

But I promise that wasn't why I didn't update for 3 months. There was also this little event:

Olympics! Who doesn't live the quadrennial clash of cultures in sports we only care about when we win them. But seriously - watching Gabby Douglas grab gold in the all-around, watching Michael Phelps become the most decorated Olympian in history, and watching the U.S. - Canada women's soccer game (and the U.S -Japan gold medal match wasn't shabby either) was amazing. I like many Washingtonians was an avid reader of the Guardian's liveblog of events.

There was also this tragic event:

Just when you thought those nightmares from "Jurassic Park" were gone. My bad. At least it wasn't velociraptors? In any case, I survived this tragic T-Rex attack with minimal scarring (reality check: this skull is on display at the National Zoo, which I visited when my friend Amber came to visit).

Obviously this attack got me right in the blogging arm, so once again I was forced to post-pone my planned return to blogging.

But then this happened:

Family vacation is just too much fun to take time away from to write blog posts. There's too much hiking, biking, water slide riding, lazy river tubing, swimming, laughing, and "So You Think You Can Dance" watching to worry about writing up recipes. 

But now I'm back! And with copious free time! So be on the look out - new recipes should be posted here started next week. And this time there shouldn't be any three month gaps between blog posts.

... At least not without fair warning.