Baby bok choy in Pullman?? Hallelujah!

I love baby bok choy. When I see a bunch of it I giggle and shrug my shoulders involuntarily, and I've noticed that most food bloggers share the opinion that it is the cutest of all vegetables (I also have a crush on the radish, and I feel sorry for the rugged, Father Time ginger root).

Pullman isn't known for its cuisine, and foods I used to use all the time in my cooking have become distant memories. So imagine my surprise and delight when I noticed my food crush beckoning to me from the produce section at Safeway. Ever since Safeway has been remodeled and restocked with more upscale products, it's been so much easier to find foods I desperately miss. Since Ian wouldn't be eating with me one night, I decided it was a perfect opportunity to cook up my long lost love.

What to do with leftover mashed potatoes

I made tons of mashed potatoes earlier this week, and I had no idea what to do with them beyond shepards pie (which I admit was tempting, but invoked memories of snow that I have trying to repress for weeks). So I shaped them into cakes since there was too much to make potato balls with, added turmeric, garam masala and frozen peas, and rolled them in wholegrain mustard and panko. I might also mention that in order to ensure the mashed potato didn't overcome the panko crust and fall apart, I froze the cakes for about 20 minutes before rolling them in breadcrumbs. Then I fried those tasty little morsels. Yum. Next time I make them I think I'll use egg to bind the panko.

Served them with lentils and spinach with curried coconut sauce and mango salsa. I make my mango salsa with basil, cucumber, honey and lime juice.

Sorry if one of the photos is a little shaky--my camera isn't very high tech (it's a little too much like it's owner...)

It may be spring, but the silence doesn't mean I'm tanning...

The Pacific Northwest has decided that "spring" is only a suggestion, so time I would spend updating this blog while lounging in my backyard wearing a tank top has been eaten up by shivering, squeezing my feet into wool socks and cooking fall-inspired comfort foods. Alright, I'm being dramatic. I've been optimistically making mango salsa and bbq'ing my heart out in hopes of seducing a warmer breeze into my little valley.

It hasn't worked.

Despite all my hard work in planning my garden this year, it's been too cold for most of my careful planning to be fully realized. The daffodils, garlic and onions are the only plants to survive the frost so far, but I have high hopes....

My kitchen must-haves

I leave my pastas and oils in the cupboard right above the stove hood. Whenever I'm in a rush, it's a lot easier to have all of my staples right in front of me. I eat a lot of pasta, as you can probably already tell. Usually I have on hand farfalle for quick pasta tosses, shells for stuffed pasta, orzo for soups or for a break from couscous (great with a little pesto blended in, and compliments salmon superbly), penne, spaghetti, fettucine, angel hair, lasagna, cappellini, and macaroni. I also have thin rice noodles and egg noodles as backups for when my usual pasta fix won't do the trick.

As for the oils, I have two different kinds of extra virgin olive oil (one's sweeter and lighter), peanut oil for higher temperature cooking and sauteeing, Smart Balance blend oil for baking, truffle oil for fancy occasions and dinner parties, and I keep the walnut oil in the fridge since it spoils.

Pesto marinated chicken and asparagus risotto

Cuban stew!!

I love black beans and rice, and I've been making Cuban black bean stew for years. Even if it isn't Cuban, I also love guacamole (not to mention my avocado supply looked like it might take a turn for the worse soon)--and well, there were tortillas involved....

My Cuban Black Bean Stew

4 slices bacon, drippings reserved in pan

1 medium onion, chopped

1 bay leaf

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 green pepper, diced

1 yellow pepper, diced

1 teaspoon ancho chile powder

2 cans black beans, liquid reserved

1. Cook the bacon until crisp and drain on a paper towel. With heat on low, add the onion and garlic to the bacon drippings, stirring until garlic is fragrant and onion is translucent. Add bay leaf and ancho chile powder. Add green peppers and saute for two minutes.

2. Pour in black beans with liquid, and turn heat down to low. Crumble bacon and stir into mixture. Allow to simmer for ten to fifteen minutes, or until peppers are soft. Remove bay leaf and serve with rice.

Note: This stew version goes best with pork dishes (I love it with pork carnitas in tomatillo sauce), but may be served with poultry or omit bacon for a vegetarian main course with tons of protein.

What happens when your husband makes awesome pancakes....

....he's excited about them..

If you like/love cooking....

...you should subscribe to these magazines! Well, actually, I have to admit that Bon Appetit is only useful if you are pretty far advanced in your cooking capabilities. However, I have picked up a number of useful tips from the magazine in terms of finding new ways to cook old items.

Cooking Light is extremely useful in finding new life for old recipes that seem to have no chance of withstanding the current dietary guidelines. I even bought a subscription for my mother as a gift. Another reason to love the magazine: they devote each issue to a new ingredient that they update, provide recipes for and inspire you to try new foods. One issue focused on the avocado, the most delightful of all fruits. I used to bring an avocado to the teaching assistant meetings and eat it straight out of its skin, which grossed pretty much everyone in the room out. It was wonderful to find new uses beyond guacomole that wouldn't provoke this reaction. My favorite issue focus? CHOCOLATE!! Chocolate infused BBQ sauce, chocolate chipotle chili....I was in serious heaven. And dark chocolate has some major health benefits.

MMMMMMMMM....Salmon....

Yum. I like salmon even if my husband, my father and most of my family doesn't like it. Here's to eating a nice slab o' fish when no one else is around!

Dinner in 10 minutes (eat your heart out, Rachael Ray!)

Easy dinner. Shrimp, sugar snap peas, grape tomatoes, black beans (rinse them so the "gook" doesn't turn the rest of the dish black, and knocks down sodium), garlic, butter, lemon pepper and olive oil or some other heart healthy oil. Bed of couscous (I add the tiniest drizzle of olive oil and cook the couscous in chicken broth so it has flavor and doesn't clump).

Also on board: orange sections and avocado. They complement one another perfectly, and provide a welcome alternative to the usual leafy green salad.