Starting Fresh

Fresh produce from @FarmFreshtoYou = healthy weekend kick-off. Tonight I went to work in the kitchen, chopping up all the seasonal veggies I could get my hands on for dinner. David and I both ate pretty decadently this week (hello, In-n-out) so we thought it was a good night to start fresh.

First, I shredded a head of cabbage, reserving two bowls’ worth for the base of a pseudo farmer’s market salad. Next, I chopped up tomatoes and walnuts, sliced two carrots, and diced an avocado. And a salad in the Jackson house isn’t complete without dried cranberries and Ranch. 😉

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Meanwhile, I steamed fresh corn on the cob and roasted a combo of fingerlings and sweet potatoes on a makeshift foil “tray” in the oven. I only had two sweet potatoes, so I mashed them up with ricotta and brown sugar. The fingerlings were delicious with a bit of olive oil and a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper.

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No guilt this Friday night! And it probably cost less than $10 given it was half my delivery from Farm Fresh to You.

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Makin’ Gnocchi

Potatoes, patience, plus a Williams-Sonoma pasta class = homemade gnocchi. I never thought I would make one of my favorite menu items at home, but I successfully made gnocchi tonight. In subsequent posts, I will give the full instruction. But for now, here’s something worth 1,000 words.

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Pad Thai at Home

Pork tenderloin + pad thai = @everydayfood recipe fusion. Why cook one recipe when you can merge two? Tonight I combined the roasting technique from “Roast Pork with Squash and Onions” with “Vegetable Pad Thai,” give or take a few ingredients. The result was a delicious pork pad thai that put the leftover citrus in my kitchen to good use.

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Notes from the trenches: I prepared the pork as instructed and substituted zucchini for butternut squash. I also made a few modifications to the pad thai. I didn’t have lime so I used lemon juice instead (and added orange juice later after mixing in the zucchini with the noodles). Also, I didn’t have scallions, which would have made a nice addition, or cilantro and peanuts. The original recipe isn’t available online, so leave a comment if you’d like me to share it.

PS – I just discovered a blog that loves Everyday Food as much as I do (if not more): The Bitten Word. Gorgeous photos too! Check them out on Twitter @bittenword.

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Hot/Mild in the City

Taco truck + Korean BBQ = @bbqkalbi. Foodies of 2700 Garcia and Intuit have a new reason to proclaim TGIF, thanks to BBQ Kalbi. It’s a taco truck with a Korean BBQ fusion menu, which ranges from spicy chicken and beef teriyaki to unagi tacos for less than it costs for a Subway sandwich. Tacos are $2 a pop, and two were plenty for me.

It’s always fun to get outside in the sun with an impromptu gathering of coworkers, corporate neighbors, and dogs who appreciate the warm pavement and heavenly aroma of BBQ.

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Down with O.P.K?

I’m down with OPK= Other People’s Kitchens. Confession; I haven’t made dinner in almost a week. So I wanted to give a shout out to some of the local kitchens that made us dinner this week…

Tuesday: In-n-Out (enough said).

Wednesday: Sushi at Akasaka in Menlo Park. I had the “Sushi Regular” which consists of a variety of nigiri. David ordered a couple of rolls, but I couldn’t snap a pic before he plowed through the first one. 🙂

Thursday: Half and half at @TiedHouse. While enjoying numerous pints, I feel a little less guilty having a spinach chicken salad and penne marinara at our favorite neighborhood watering hole.

Friday: Maldonado’s Special with white sauce (pizza on Friday? standard).

Where do you go when you can’t make it into the kitchen?