at home with ann

Before we get started today, I need to jump on the royal wedding bandwagon. I've actually always been on the royal wedding bandwagon.  In 1981, my mother and I watched Charles and Diana's wedding together.  I was too young to remember watching, but I do remember that dress.  I visited St. Paul's Cathedral when I went to England at age 15, and hoped I'd run into William around London and he might decide that I'd make a good princess.  If it wasn't going to be me, Kate makes an excellent choice.  I confess that I haven't seen all the coverage yet today (although of course I DVR'd it), however, my first impression is that she looked lovely and they seem very happy.  It has been reported to me that they had the same hymn at their wedding as we did at ours, and also my mother said Kate didn't look as beautiful as I did on my wedding day, but mothers are supposed to say things like that. I should have made scones.  Instead I made couscous. This salad ...

I've been working on a Swedish Meatball recipe for a while.  I've been piecing together recipes and have gotten pretty close to what I want. It's all about the sauce now, finding the balance between creamy and flavorful but not too thick or including cream of anything soup. Swedish Turkey Meatballs Ingredients: 2 slices sandwich bread (or 1/2 cup breadcrumbs) 1/4 cup milk 3 Tablespoons butter, divided 1 medium onion, chopped 1 pound ground turkey 1 large egg 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg 1 teaspoon ground allspice 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour 3 cups beef broth 3 Tablespoons sherry 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 2-3 Tablespoons sour cream Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil, and spray with cooking spray. In the bowl of your mixer, or any large bowl, tear the bread into small pieces (or breadcrumbs) and soak with the milk. Allow to sit for a few minutes. In a large saute ...

Tomato soup and grilled cheese is one of my favorite meals of all time.  This soup is especially good because it uses pureed beans to thicken, which adds protein and creaminess without adding fat.  It is also made from ingredients you might already have in your pantry, so it's easy to pull together for a quick lunch or supper. The first time I attempted tomato soup at home, it did not go well.  After simmering the ingredients together, I used a blender to puree it in batches.  I didn't let it cool before blending, however, and the steam made the lid lose it's seal.  A couple blending batches in, I filled it a little too full, and that combined with the compromised lid seal led to disaster.  Tomato soup on the ceiling, the cabinets, the floor, and me.  I went out that night and bought an immersion blender.  Best $30 I've ever spent on an appliance. Tomato and White Bean Soup recipe from Giada DeLaurentis Ingredients: 2 Tablespoons butter or...

Carrot is my favorite kind of cake.  This may be because cream cheese is my favorite kind of frosting.  Plus, you're eating vegetables, so it's "healthy".  Eat enough carrots and you get a nice fake tan (ie. your skin turns orange).  Eat enough carrot cake and you'll get more than a fake tan, but we're all about moderation around here.   Carrot Cake recipe from Joy of Baking Ingredients: 3/4 pound (340 grams) raw carrots (about 2 1/2 cups finely grated) 2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose  flour 1 teaspoon  baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons  baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 4 large eggs 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white  sugar (I would cut this down to one cup next time, it was pretty sweet!) 1 cup (240 ml) safflower, vegetable or canola oil (or other flavorless oil) 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (optional, but makes the cake super moist) Cream Cheese Frostin...

Last night was pizza night, because it was Friday, and Good Friday, and I actually had someone to eat dinner with for a change. I used the usual recipe for pizza dough , and did an assortment of vegetable toppings.  One pizza had lightly sauteed red peppers, and onions.  The other was topped with roasted broccoli, asparagus, and grape tomatoes.  The sauce on both was just crushed tomatoes, oregano and garlic.  For cheese I used freshly grated mozzarella and a few dots of ricotta.  I would highly recommend topping pizza with ricotta, it adds a whole other flavor of mild creaminess. Also, Jon would like to add that the Chimay Grande Reserve you see in the background of these pictures is excellent, and a perfect accompaniment to pizza.

I have no recipe to share with you today, because I've eaten egg sandwiches for my last three meals. I will, however, branch out from my usual food-based posts to share the fantastic present I received yesterday. I met my dear friend Heidi on the first day of orientation at college.  Those of you who went to Richmond know we were pretty much inseparable after that.  She shares my love of wonderfully bad 80s music and movies, egg sandwiches, shopping, and wine drinking.  I also trust her sense of style implicitly, because we showed up to the first event of college orientation wearing exactly the same dress. Yesterday, she had a big box delivered to my doorstep packed with adorable Anthropologie dishes!  I am thrilled to have a few more interesting patterns to add to my dish cabinet, and you can look forward to seeing these on the blog very soon.

Water Kefir is amazingly good for you.  It is naturally antibiotic and antifungal, and contains a variety of healthy bacteria and yeast, as well as vitamins and minerals.  WaterKefirGrains.com has a whole list of the benefits, but there's nothing bad about it.  Natural detox and rebalance, what more can you ask for? Once you have the grains, they will multiply and potentially live forever.  You can buy grains online, or you can get 1/4 cup of grains from someone that already has live water kefir.  Lucky for me, my sister is my source for all healthy and random foods, and gave me water kefir grains a couple months ago. Store the water kefir grains in water in the fridge. To make water kefir: Drain and rinse the grains. In a quart sized mason jar (or other glass jar with a tight fitting lid), dissolve 1/4 cup sugar in water.  Add in the grains, 1/4 lemon, 1/4 cup of raisins.  You can use a variety of different fruits.  Don't be intimidated ...

This is one of those recipes I always come back to.  It's a nice change from the usual Italian or Greek flavored cold salads, and has some of my favorite ingredients (broccoli and feta).  In case you haven't noticed, I like to top almost everything with at least a little cheese. I would make an unsuccessful vegan.  Curried Couscous with Broccoli and Feta recipe from Cooking Light Ingredients: 1 cup uncooked couscous (I used whole wheat) 1 1/2 cups broccoli florets (I probably used about double) 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion 1/3 cup shredded carrot (I grated the carrots on my large microplane grater) 1/4 cup raisins 2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar (I used red wine vinegar) 1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil 1 Tablespoon sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder 1 teaspoon ground ginger 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed Bring 1 cup of water to a boil.  Add couscous, remove from heat, and cover for at least 5 minutes, or un...

I love seafood, especially fish, and I'm making an effort to incorporate more into my diet.  All those good omega-3s and all that.  While canned tuna can be high in mercury, canned salmon is all good.  Of course, you can use fresh if you have some leftover from dinner the night before.  I liked this salad so much I'm planning to stock up on canned salmon next time I go to BJ's.  And also the huge multi-pack of Sharpies, because those are obviously necessary. Inspired by Kath Eats and her Super Salmon Salad , this can definitely be a dish where you throw in whatever is in the fridge and strikes your fancy. Ingredients: 1/2 cup dried wheat berries, cooked according to directions.  I soaked overnight, and then drained, rinsed, covered with fresh water, and simmered for 45 minutes. 1 can salmon, drained 1/2 lemon, juiced 1 Tablespoon olive oil 1/2 - 1 teaspoon dried dill, or 1 Tablespoon fresh Vegetables - these are just what I had around, use whate...

As some of you already know, my husband and I bought a house and moved to the suburbs almost a year ago.  Prior to that, we lived in an apartment in Brookline, MA.  Our apartment was wonderful in many ways, not the least of which was the proximity to our favorite thai food and craft beer restaurants. Off the back of our apartment building we had a little deck, which was small and had a view of the parking lot.  Not exactly the type of place to lounge outside on warm evenings.  We did, however, have room for a small gas grill.  We bought the Weber that is actually designed for tailgating, but you can stick it on a stand and pretend it's supposed to be used at home, too.  Everything was going wonderfully until all our neighbors saw we were grilling and put grills on their decks, too.  Not long afterwards, the fire marshal posted that grills on decks are illegal and they needed to be removed.  That was the end of grilling at our apartment. Last s...

As usual, there are a whole bunch of beautiful and appetizing recipes that have been posted by my favorite bloggers recently.  I can't wait to try these! Carrot Cake and Cheesecake Cake - Beantown Baker Carrot cake and cheesecake are easily my two favorites cakes.  Combining them into one fabulous dessert? Decadent and amazing!  Now I just need to find people to help me eat it... Crispy Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus - Steamy Kitchen I can't get enough asparagus in the Spring.  You'll be seeing more of it on my blog at the end of this week!  This would be so lovely accompanying a nice dinner. Mmmm Sauce - Peas and Thank You This looks amazing.  I need to get some nutritional yeast.  I think you can get it from the bulk bins at Whole Foods.  Added bonus, you will thank me for directing you to Peas and Thank You, because it is the funniest blog I read.  I literally laugh out loud all the time.  So, your day will be brightened. ...

I think all wonderful salads have a combination of vegetables, fruit, cheese, and a little protein.  This salad starts with a bed of greens, then topped with sliced apple, dried cranberries, crumbled goat cheese, and sliced almonds.  Dressed simply with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  Perfection. For more beautiful salad ideas, check out Salad Pride .  I bookmark a post from them at least once a week.

Eggplant parmesan is good.  Mini things are cute.  Mini eggplant parmesan is good and cute.  Lately, when I've been making eggplant parm, I broil the eggplant slices.  It's healthier.  In cooking class in Italy, I learned to make eggplant by lightly dredging in flour and quickly frying.  So, today, I cooked eggplant the classic way, and it was great. Eggplant Parmesan Stacks slightly adapted from Martha Stewart Ingredients: 3-4 small eggplants, sliced in 1/4 inch rounds kosher salt canola or vegetable oil, for frying 1 1/2 cups simple tomato sauce (recipe below) 4 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated I like to peel stripes in eggplants before cooking.  The skin helps the eggplant stay together, but it can be tough.  When you peel in stripes, you get the best of both worlds, and it looks nice. Slice the eggplant and put slices in a colander.  Sprinkle with kosher salt and let sit for at least an hour....

My aunt gave me a quiche dish and a recipe for crustless quiche.  I like getting recipes as gifts, because I'm sure you'll be shocked to learn that I like to read recipes.  You don't need a quiche dish to make this, a pie plate will work, but with the right dish it's prettier.  And pretty counts.  And a quiche dish is uniformly deep, so it will cook more evenly. Eggs are one of my favorite foods.  I think I would take them if I was abandoned on a desert island.  Eggs and hand lotion.  If you saw the state of my hands, you'd understand. Crustless Quiche adapted from my aunt, Harriett Ingredients: 1 medium onion, chopped 1 bag baby spinach, or 1 box frozen spinach, thawed olive oil 5 large eggs 1 cup milk or half and half (I used 1% milk) 1-2 cup grated cheese Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Butter of spray a 10" quiche dish or a glass pie plate. Heat a few teaspoons of olive oil in a skillet, and saute onion for about 5 minutes.  ...

While posting this recipe, I realized that I had already shared Caprese Couscous with you a month ago.  This one is slightly different, so I'll share again.   As you can tell, I love Caprese salad.  Juicy tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, and fragrant basil are the perfect combination in my book.  While on our honeymoon in Italy, in addition to the best pizza in the world, we ate Caprese salad nearly every day.  Even on Capri, itself. Caprese Couscous - Version 2 Ingredients: 1 cup whole wheat couscous, uncooked 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved 4 ounces mozzarella, cut into cubes (or use bocconcini cut in half) 1 15 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained 3-4 Tablespoons pesto olive oil kosher salt balsamic vinegar                                   Bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a saucepan with a lid.  Add a little kosher salt and olive oil. Stir in the couscous, cover, ...