Posts in "When Life Hands You..."

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, we send out an email newsletter to our fans (sign-up for mor.sl to be added to our email list!). In them, we offer nerdy debates around the week’s events/news/scandals — of course, we always tie them back to food.

This was a tough week. The mister-to-be suddenly left town on Tuesday to attend to family business on the left coast, leaving me to celebrate our five year anniversary all by lonesome.

Thanks, Frankenstorm, for canceling my plans to bus back up to Philly on Sunday night. Thanks, Frankenstorm, for shutting down the government,closing the Metro and Septa lines, and for creating a State of Emergency in the two states in which I reside.

After my recent success with tomatillos, this week I once again went for a wild card vegetable at the market. A bulging bin of super green padron peppers caught my eye and I was quickly stuffing a bag with a few handfuls of the little guys.

Hypnotized by the giant tub of watermelons at TJ's doorstep, I lugged home my first melon of the summer on a recent particularly hot eve. I have a long standing love of various types of Mexican agua fresca (basically diluted fresh fruit juices), and I felt like I was up to the challenge of making my own.

Raw kale salads are suddenly everywhere in Los Angeles. The first bite is always a shock - I've never fully processed how tough kale is somehow transformed into delicious salad green.

There are different kinds of people in the world when it comes to cooking: the plan aheaders, the last minute frenzy cook, the i-don't-cook cook. I fall somewhere in between the first two.

I had far too much fun on Cinco de Mayo. In fact, I am still suffering the consequences of the many margaritas and beers consumed on Saturday. See, we were fortunate enough to be invited to a "Guac-Off" by one of our fave couple friends.

So, remember when I said I was trying to shift towards the Hunter, Gatherer's way of eating? I really meant it. It's a slow transition and it's very imperfect, but at the very least I'm consciously buying leafy greens, sulfur-rich veggies, and bright colored produce when I'm at the supermarket.

In an ongoing quest for the perfect lunch, my recent explorations have centered on introducing more protein into my working girl lunches. Baked tofu bits mixed into a salad and quinoa are legit options, but there is only so much super health food I can handle.

Ever buy an ingredient for one recipe and then watch it spoil in your fridge long after that recipe was cooked and eaten? I have. And last week, when I made Chicken Tikka Masala, I was determined not to let it happen to me again.

New Year's day is good for a few things: hang overs, good luck beans and resolutions. So as I sat at a sunny brunch at the Ferry Building in San Francisco, haunting menus for beans, when asked what my resolution was, I made a snap decision.

Confession: I did not make these. My roommate, Niharika, did! But they were so good, I had to share them with you. I don't even usually like muffins all that much, but the crumbly topping on this made them to.

I've kept my curry chicken salad sandwich recipe fairly straightforward and simple in the past. But last week, when I had real roast chicken leftovers in the fridge, I felt a need to embellish the standard recipe and experiment a bit.

Project apple continues to push ahead, but I'm getting worried that the 20 or so apples I have left are going to go bad soon. I'll have to pick up the apple-consumption pace this week.

The day the beau and I went to Stribling Orchards, we didn't just bring home 50 apples, we brought home a giant butternut squash. For days I fretted about how I would use the thing (actually, I was more worried about how I would cut it open), and then it dawned on me to make butternut squash soup (and that I had a manly man around to do such things for me!) I also thought apple would add a nice tartness to the sweet squash, so I sought out a recipe for butternut squash soup with apples.

The smell of crisp fall air and pungent apple cider vinegar hit my nostrils as soon as we got out of the car. My shoes started to trample over the hundreds of fallen apples that lay strewn on the ground as we walked towards the orchard.

Fall  was a tease. It's still warm in D.C. The lovely kind of warm that you want to savor and not let go of (versus the hot humidness of the rest of the summer). Feeling this warmth, Blake decided he was in the mood for a salad for dinner (very rare for us).

Editor's Note: Today's blog is contributed by guest blogger, Namita Koppa  - Namita is a food and nutrition enthusiast, yogini, runner, dancer, and living proof that culinary masterpieces can be created in tiny kitchens.

Fall is in the air. I could smell it when I opened my window this morning, and I'm sure you early morning commuters felt it, too. Some of you, like my roommate and my dear friend from Haas, may be in denial of fall's impending approach, but I relish it.