Black and White Wednesdays

Barrel Room

Submitted to Black and White Wednesdays

Greenwich Village Food Tour

As I mentioned a few weeks ago in my post about Eataly, we had some amazing food experiences on a trip to the mainland earlier this year. One wonderful day was spent experiencing all things food related (well, not ALL, but many) in Greenwich Village, New York.

Recipe for Chicken with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Kalyn’s Kitchen was one of the first food blogs I started reading on a regular basis.  Kalyn has great healthy and flavorful recipes which tend to adhere to the South Beach Diet principles.  Even if you aren’t dieting, there are some amazing recipes on the site. 

This chicken recipe uses Kalyn’s recipe for roasted red pepper dip with feta and mint as the sauce for baked chicken thighs (you could also use breasts).  It’s fabulous as a dip and great as a cooking sauce.

Black and White Wednesday and One Year Blogiversary!

Little Pots of Olive Oil

It is hard to believe, or maybe not, that on August 31, 2010 I published my first blog post.  I started this blog as a creative outlet, a way to share recipes with family and friends, to share vacation food experiences, and as an impetus to work on my photography skills.


During this year I've published 263 posts; tried a bunch of new recipes from other bloggers, cookbooks, recipe sites, and magazines; improved the quality of the photos somewhat  (but not as I had hoped); and met (either on line or in person) some great people who are also interested in food, recipes, and blogging.  I've entered and won some contests, placed in the finals of others, published a recipe in a magazine, attended a blogging conference, joined Twitter, created a Facebook page for Eat Little, Eat Big, written a couple of cookbook reviews, participated in new product marketing and blogged about the products, and created some of my own new recipes.  


Starting with my hubby, Mom and kids as my followers, the blog now has 62 followers via Google, 110 via Facebook, and 417 via Foodbuzz-with some duplication between the groups.  I have a "blogging buddy"-mutual online support and encouragement-thanks Steph!

I've participated in a few blog hops and on line culinary photography events.  I've submitted images to some "food porn" sites-and yet to have any accepted!  Oh, not true.  The site that takes all the rejected stuff from the other sites accepts everything I send!

I've tried publishing Monday through Thursday, Monday-Wednesday-Friday, and various other permutations.  I've done photo Friday-my "Picture This" postings where I had planned to really work on the photography skills, but didn't!  Right now I'm enjoying these Black and White Wednesdays postings.

For a while I was sharing what I was finding on other blogs and on the internet once a week with you but haven't done that lately.  I do enjoy that feature on other people's sites-I mean the internet is sooooo big, we can't find all the good stuff on our own, right?  So look for that feature to return this fall.

It's been a fun year.  I'm still enjoying blogging.  I like the progress I've made this year with Eat Little, Eat Big and hope to progress further in the upcoming year.  Thanks for tuning in!  If you have suggestions, constructive criticism, or ideas for this year feel free to share them in the comments.


Submitted to Black and White Wednesdays

Recipe for Orzo with Broccoli, Red Pepper, and Olives

Here’s a quick, easy, and tasty side dish for those dog days of summer.  It goes great with grilled fish or pork chops.

A Trip to Eataly

We were very fortunate earlier this year to take a trip to San Francisco, New York and Atlanta.  San Francisco to see friends and visit some of the old 'hood, New York to explore with friends from Maui who were also in the city, and Atlanta to see family and attend a blogging conference.  We had some amazing food experiences along the way, one of which I want to share with you today.  A trip to Eataly.

Black and White Wednesdays

Busy Hands Making Bread

Submitted to Black and White Wednesdays

Recipe for Slow Cooker Steak Sammies

Here's another good recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking.  I'm all in to quick and easy these days and this recipe hits all its marks.  Two ingredients in the slow cooker (plus salt and pepper); seven hours later-a flavorful, aromatic, tender pile of beef and peppers just waiting to be plopped on some healthy whole wheat buns with some provolone or pepper Jack cheese.  Yummy!

Recipe for Godiva Chocolatier French Vanilla Coffee Adult Milkshake

How about a frosty, creamy adult beverage to cool you down?  Thanks to the kind folks at Godiva Coffee and the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program, we were treated to two bags of Godiva Chocolatier Coffee.  These coffees are inspired by Godiva's most popular truffles and make a lovely cup of coffee.  In our care package was a bag of French Vanilla Coffee and one of Chocolate Truffle Coffee-the kitchen smelled amazing when making morning coffee!  This recipe is for a poolside creamy iced drink or an after dinner drink in lieu of dessert.  It's decadent!

Black and White Wednesdays

Pasta Counter at Eataly, NYC

Submitted to Black and White Wednesdays

Recipe for Indian Spiced Beans

A few months ago I saw a couple of mentions of the Secret Recipe Club but didn’t really have time to look into exactly what it was all about.  Until now.  How it works in a nutshell is you sign up to join and are assigned a different blog each month (from another participating blogger).  Once you receive your assignment, you choose any recipe to make from that blog.  The secret part is that participating bloggers don’t know who is cooking from their blog or what is being made until the assigned day. 

Today is the day, and I am featuring a recipe from the blog Beantown Baker.  Jen is the author and lives in Boston with her hubby and two cats.  She loves to bake as you could probably guess but also features other recipes on her blog.  Since Mr. ELEB and I are still trying to recover (ie lose the weight we gained) from our (not so) recent SF/NY/Atlanta trip, and because I’m trying to cook more Indian food, I chose this interesting bean recipe rather than one of her delicious sounding desserts.  However, I’d encourage you to check out Jen’s blog for some decadent cupcakes!

Yield: 3 servings

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup light coconut milk
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves

Method:

• Heat oil in a medium skillet over med-high heat.
• Add onion and sauté until translucent.
• Stir in the minced garlic and garam masala.
• Cook for one minute. 
• Stir in the beans, tomatoes, ginger, and salt.
• Simmer for fifteen minutes. 
• Pour in coconut milk.
• Heat until warmed.
• Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

This is a great, quick recipe for when you want something flavorful but easy to put together, especially if you are on an Indian food kick like I am!  I stayed pretty true to the original recipe.  I used cannellini rather than pinto beans but as Jen noted, any bean will work.  I also omitted the small amount of sugar in the original recipe, used fresh instead of ground ginger, and used light instead of regular coconut milk. 

Check out all the other recipes that were made as part of the Secret Recipe Club.  I can’t wait to see what someone picked to make from Eat Little, Eat Big!  

Printable Recipe

Recipe for Chicken Vindaloo

Indian dishes are something we really enjoy eating.  How about you?  I've been trying to cook more Indian recipes at home and with that in mind, I bought some Vindaloo Spice Mix at Penzey's when I was at their retail location in Menlo Park last month.


This probably wouldn't be considered a traditional dish which most references say includes potatoes, not beans or tomatoes, but I wanted a one-pot dish, didn't want potatoes, and had green beans to use.  I used the directions on the Penzey's package for general guidance and then went my own way!


If you want to mix your own spice from scratch, here is an ingredient list I found on e-How.  In Penzey's mix: coriander, garlic, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, mustard, cayenne pepper, jalapeno, cardamom, turmeric, black pepper, cloves.

Black and White Wednesdays

Colchagua Valley Grapevines, Chile (in Sepia tones)

Submitted to Black and White Wednesdays

Recipe for Figs with Spiced Mascarpone Cheese

It's a rare thing, in my experience, to see figs on Maui so when I saw some recently I grabbed a basket.  Now what to do with them?  I wanted something simple and something that would complement the not-too-sweet taste of the figs.  I also wanted a little bit of decadence.  I thought about something with goat cheese and figs, which I've had in restaurants and know is a good combination.  Not really what I was aiming for, though.  I thought of Chef Dennis's mascarpone cheesecake recipe and thought "Brilliant!"

PICTURE THIS: Food Display Ikebukura, Tokyo

Hello Kitty!

Recipe for Chai Oat Smoothie

One of my sons gave me a smoothie book last Christmas, "Supercharged Smoothies" by Mary Corpening Barber and Sara Corpening Whiteford, Chronicle Books, 2010. They have a recipe in the book for "Cha Cha Chai" - a chai and fruit blended drink. I thought it was a great idea to use chai in a smoothie so I made a simple one using homemade chai concentrate and oats. If you missed my post about adding oats to smoothies, here it is.

Homemade chai concentrate

Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients:

• 1 cup light vanilla soy milk
• ½ cup chai concentrate
• ¼ cup old fashioned oats, uncooked
• ¼ cup plain, non-fat Greek yogurt
• Ice for serving (optional)
• Cinnamon stick for serving (optional)

Method:

• Mix all ingredients except ice and cinnamon in a blender until frothy.
• Serve garnished with cinnamon (optional).
• Serve over ice if desired (optional).

If you are a fan of chai, give this a try-I think know you'll love it!

Printable Recipe

Black and White Wednesdays

Street Food-Fried Octopus Osaka

Submitted to Black and White Wednesdays

Recipe for Ground Turkey, Black Beans and Rice Mexican Casserole

Staring at a package of ground turkey breast, I was pretty uninspired...until I remembered reading about a chicken and black bean casserole Jenny recently posted on her blog, Picky Palate.  I love food bloggers!  I changed things up a pretty good bit and loved the results. 

PICTURE THIS: Foie Gras Bon Bon, Commonwealth, San Francisco

Yes, Foie Gras and Dark Chocolate. AMAZING!
Off the Chef's tasting menu at COMMONWEALTH, San Francisco

Recipe for Summertime Brown Rice Salad

A while ago, I blogged about how I was trying to be more organized and plan ahead by preparing some basics like beans, rice etc and keeping them in the fridge for meals during the week.  Here is a quick and easy (and adaptable to what you have on hand) salad using made ahead brown rice. It is light and delicious for summer as a side dish to pretty much anything. I served it along side my Ponzu Cardamom Marinated Tuna and it was perfect.

Black and White Wednesdays

Street Market Hong Kong

Submitted to Black and White Wednesdays

Recipe for "Sate" Roasted Chicken

This is one moist and delicious chicken, if I do say so myself, and I do!  Another experiment with some of the Penzey's spices I picked up on a recent trip to the mainland [and no, Penzey's isn't sponsoring these posts : -)]. This roasted chicken is slathered in a slurry of olive oil and Indonesian Sate seasoning (that's their spelling). I roasted it following my favorite "not just for special occasions" method.  It's foolproof.  The meat is so moist and the Sate seasoning was fantastic.


So, you might be wondering "what's in that Sate seasoning Susie Bee?"  Here is the list of ingredients:  

PICTURE THIS: Now that's a WINE TASTING!

From "Three Decades of Reserve Cabernets" at the Kapalua Food and Wine Festival.
BTW, what's that white paper cup for anyway?

Recipe for Sweet and Sour Grilling Glaze

Mr. ELEB chuckles sometimes when he sees me standing in front of an open pantry or refrigerator door.  I understand why…you can almost see the steam coming out of my ears as I’m looking at what’s in front of me and concocting possibilities in my head.  He also laughs because he knows that he might get something really yummy, occasionally something yucky.  Well, he lucked out on this most recent experiment!

It was burger night-I had defrosted some ground buffalo-and I was pondering what to do in front of the open fridge door.  I didn’t a want cheeseburger so I was trying to come up with ingredients to make the burgers interesting.    I had a bottle of white wine open (imagine that), some garlic, ginger, and I spied the bottle of ponzu tucked away in the door shelf.  I figured with some brown sugar and mustard, I could probably cook up a reasonably good glaze to add a nice layer of flavor to the meat.

Voilà!  Here’s my sweet and sour grilling glaze.

Black and White Wednesdays

Shaved Asparagus Salad

Check out the fun with black and white (and sepia) at Black and White Wednesday.

Recipe for Oven Roasted Rack of Lamb

Not everyone likes lamb.  I used to think I didn't like it, probably from having some gamey tasting mutton somewhere in England as a kid!  Today's New Zealand, Australian, or Colorado lamb is wonderful and, if you trim the fat well, it has none of the possible gamey flavors that turn some people off.  We even have lamb being raised on Maui now through the Maui Cattle Company.  I haven't tried any yet but can't wait.   This rack came from Australia via Costco.  I've found their Australian lamb to be very good and competitively priced.

PICTURE THIS: Smart Words

And if you really love them,  Healthy Tasty Food!
(Penzy's Sticker)

Black and White Wednesdays

Street Food Sweet Auburn Market Atlanta

I love black and white photographs and Susan from The Well Seasoned Cook has a brilliant idea for others who share this love with me.  Every Wednesday Susan will post submitted black and white photos as part of a Culinary Photography Event!  


So whether you have some awesome black and white photos to share or just want to gaze at some, check out the event every Wednesday at Black and White Wednesday.

Recipe for Quinoa Salad with Roasted Red Pepper, Feta, Mint, and Almonds

Even though it is warm/hot year around here in Maui, there is something about summer that just makes me want fresh, tasty salads.  This quinoa salad is great. Simple to make, yet complex in taste.  It is great as a side dish to grilled meats or alone as a meatless main course option.

Welcome Baby E!

I'm happy to report the safe delivery of my first grandchild today!  E, Mom, and Dad (the older of my two sons) are all doing great.  She is 7 lbs. 10 oz and 21 inches, head full of hair, just like her daddy had when he was born.  Can't believe I'm a grandma!  Actually, I'll be known as Meme (pronounced mimi).
Aloha, what a blessing!

Book Review: "On A Stick" by Matt Armendariz (and recipe)

Photo by Matt Armendariz, used with permission

A few weeks ago, I was fortunate to receive a free review copy of a new fun and quirky cookbook, “On a Stick!” by photographer and blogger Matt Armendariz, published by Quirk Books, May 2011.   Ha!  Quirky cookbook, published by Quirk books-unplanned, honestly!  OK, moving on.  I follow Matt’s blog (mattbites.com) so I was enthusiastic to see what in the world he had come up with for his “anything on a stick” cookbook.

Well, Matt did not disappoint!  Now, I’m not saying I’d make everything in this cookbook. However, there are plenty of fun appetizer or snack ideas that I would make and others that will inspire me to adapt the recipes to my ingredients/style. 

PICTURE THIS: West Maui Mountains and Lahaina

A Beautiful Day in West Maui

Recipe for Ponzu Cardamom Marinated Grilled Tuna

Yes, cardamom.  I thought I was using ground coriander but I realized when I smelled the pungent aroma of the cardamom that I’d grabbed the wrong bottle.  Ah well, I thought I’d give it a try since I’d already dumped it in the marinade with the tuna.  Cardamom imparts a sweet and savory flavor to chicken, meat, fruit, pastries…why not tuna?

Newton's Fruit Thins Gelato Sammies

Mr. ELEB and I are big fans of Fig Newtons, especially the 100% whole grain version. It is a go to snack for him an hour or two before he heads off for an afternoon run. There is always a bag in our pantry!


So you can imagine that I was particularly pleased to receive a complimentary bag of Newton's new Fruit Thins as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program to try.  They come in three flavors: Cranberry Citrus Oat, Chocolate Raspberry, and Blueberry Brown Sugar.  The package I received was the Blueberry Brown Sugar.

PICTURE THIS: Summer Sunset on Maui

No Words Necessary!

Easy Way to Have Money Donated to Share Our Strength

Just a quick note today.   If you make Yahoo your homepage, a donation will be made to Share Our Strength, dedicated to ending childhood hunger in America.  No brainer...just do it!  Click here.

From the Share Our Strength Website

Recipe for Smoky Tomatillo Sauce

My friends make the most amazing herb sauces to go with grilled meats.  One is a cilantro flavor bomb and the other is an amazing lime and tomatillo sauce.  I need to get the recipes, but in the mean time, I came up with my own flavor bomb-if you love cumin, you’ll love this sauce.  We had it with grilled pork chops the other night and it was amazing!  The ground nuts add a pleasant twist!

Time: 5 minutes plus chilling time

Yield: 1 ½ cups

Ingredients:

• 1 can, 12 oz, whole tomatillos, drained
• ½ cup cilantro leaves
• Juice of ½ lemon or lime
• 2 tsp smoked cumin (I’m sure it would be good with regular cumin too)
• ½ cup roasted almonds
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Place all ingredients in food processor and process until well combined.
• Chill for one hour before serving.

I’m gazing at the left over sauce and coming up with all kinds of ideas to use it.  I’ll let you know my favorites!  Do you make any herb sauces?  Please share!

Printable Recipe

Recipe for Red Wine and Garlic Portabellas Over Whole Wheat English Muffins

When we had friends visiting recently, I pulled a bunch of stuff out of the fridge for a pot luck lunch.  I had some portabellas that needed to be used and came up with this recipe.  Everyone loved it and insisted I write it up for the blog, so here you go!  This is a rich and filling veggie dish that works for lunch or dinner.  I’m also going to try the mushies on top of whole wheat pizza sometime.

PICTURE THIS: Mountain view from morning bike ride

How beautiful is that?!

Recipe for Mediterranean Crunch Salad

Here’s a healthy and hearty salad that serves a crowd.  It is modified slightly from a Whole Foods recipe.  I used chard instead of kale and made a basil-feta dressing instead of just dressing it with red wine vinegar.  It definitely needs the dressing for my tastes.  This keeps well for several days in the fridge.

Recipe for Azwain Seasoned White Beans with Roasted Red Peppers and Salmon

Mr. ELEB asked for "something light" for dinner the other night.  We're both doing pretty good with our diet and exercise plan after the excesses of the recent trip and this meal, adapted from a Mark Bittman recipe, hit the spot.

PICTURE THIS: Tommy Bahama Sliders

Beef, touch of bacon and cheese, guacamole, perfect buns.
From Tommy Bahamas, Wailea, Maui-the best happy hour nibbles and pours.
Tommy Bahama Wailea

Recipe for Strawberry Chocolate Oat Smoothie

It is widely accepted that oats help lower cholesterol. High cholesterol runs in my family and mine has been up over acceptable levels in the past so I usually have oats as part of my breakfast several times a week.  I love overnight oatmeal but sometimes I want something different.  Could I incorporate oats into a smoothie? Why yes, yes I can!  And you can too.

Corn on the Grill

Old and new worlds come together in the best ways sometimes.  This past week we have been fortunate to have some “old” friends visit from San Francisco.  Everyone has now gone home except our one friend Olivia who leaves today.  The first night when everyone started arriving, we did a sunset picnic down on the beach.  It was a rare cloudy evening, so not much in the way of sunset but the clouds provided a beautiful sky once the sun had set and was reflecting its rays from beyond the horizon.  For Olivia’s last night, our “new” friends here on Maui, Jennifer and Ryan (and their dog Chimi), hosted us at a pool side sunset barbecue.  The sunset was amazing, as was the food. 

Book Review: "The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches" by Susan Russo, Photography by Matt Armendariz (and recipe)

As you can see, the full title of Susan Russo's new book is "The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches, Recipes, History, and Trivia For Everything Between Sliced Bread."  And it is just that-a chunky, little book chock full of sandwiches made from just about every ingredient imaginable and nuggets of trivia and history for your reading pleasure.  


I was delighted to be able to review this book.  I bought one of my sons her first book "Recipes Every Man Should Know" so I was pretty sure this one was going to be an enjoyable read too.