About
My name is Michelle but my friends call me Mitch. I live in the Silicon Valley part of California, where I work as a clinical dietitian. These are my adventures (and boring weekday evenings) in home cooking.Find
Chocolate and cherries are one of my favorite food combinations, so of course I thought to spike a cherry smoothie with a little cocoa.
¾ cup plain Greek yogurt
8 frozen cherries
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp chia seeds
drizzle of agave nectar or other sweetener
¼ tsp almond extract
2-4 fl oz milk
Blend together. Drink!
I am late to many many things, but was only a little bit late to this sensational cookbook by Alison Roman that came out last year. (And very late to actually sharing what I’ve made from it during peak citrus season in California.) I still haven’t made the cookies yet though. But I have made these really cool citrusy dishes:
Slow-Roasted Salmon
You poach it in a lot of olive oil and pretty citrus. What’s not to love?
Burrata and Citrus Salad
Inspired by an orange creamsicle. Again, what’s not to love?
Grapefruit and Fennel Salad
I bought a jar of sumac just for this. And happy to have it now.
I made these while my baby napped. (Mostly) IN MY ARMS. I assure you it was very safe, but it probably would’ve looked pretty dicey to any eyewitnesses (who should’ve then offered to help me hold the baby, right?). The happy ending to this story is that she woke up and really enjoyed eating these delicious chewy little things that I’d been meaning to make since before she was born. Here’s the recipe.
This combo of saucy, deeply flavored mushrooms and creamy smooth polenta has been in heavy rotation these days. Polenta on a weeknight? With a baby who needs to go to bed by 8pm? I have found a way: the rice cooker. I use the porridge setting on my super reliable Zojirushi, set the timer in the morning, and come home from work to hot polenta that just needs a stir, salt, butter, and cheese to finish it off.
As for the mushrooms, a touch of soy sauce really gives them some oomph. I’ve believed in that since trying this recipe. And not shown: the runny fried egg(s) that we always always put on top!
I love getting Cook’s Illustrated in the mail every other month. There are great tips from readers, product reviews, and recipes that were developed after someone put a lot of thought into how to perfect them. Here’s a good one for a vegetarian “meat” sauce to make a large batch of, perfect for storing in the freezer for later.
Another spin on chicken salad made with leftover chicken. I combined reheated brown rice (I crisped it in a hot oiled pan, but simply microwaving would be ok too), shredded chicken, and shredded cabbage with some fish sauce, minced garlic, a little sugar, and lime juice. Some minced or thinly sliced fresh hot pepper would’ve been great too. Then I tossed in a hefty amount of herbs that needed to be used up: Thai basil, mint, and cilantro. I topped it off with some crispy fried shallots.
Oh the things you can do with plain old store-bought rotisserie chicken. When it comes to deli counter type salads (you know, chicken salad, potato salad, pasta salad) I like to go heavy on vegetables and light on mayo – more crunch! less oily-ness! This was part of a recent fridge-purge of assorted ingredients that have accumulated as parents have visited, attractive farmers market items have been picked up in hopes of some good use, and a sometimes-anxious baby mama has been thinking about maintaining some pretty good meals and eating habits when she goes back to work.
To make it: Combine shredded leftover chicken, thinly sliced fennel, thinly sliced celery, scallions, fresh leafy herbs (I had dill and mint), lemon juice (and zest if you’re up for it), mustard, a little mayo, salt, and pepper.
Here’s a classic and simple pasta dish to enjoy pretty much whenever. Bucatini is like fat, hollow spaghetti (or alternately: long, skinny macaroni); not the most common pasta shape but I did find it at my local well-stocked Safeway. Amatriciana sauce is traditionally made with guanciale, which is cured pork jowl, and also not easy to find in American grocery stores. Most recipes let you use pancetta, cured pork belly, as a substitute.
To make it: Heat a little olive oil in a pan large enough to hold all the pasta you’ll be making. Add small-diced guanciale and cook until crisped. Remove and set aside. Add chopped red onion, hot red pepper flakes, black pepper, and salt. Cook until onions are soft. Chop or hand-squish some canned whole tomatoes and add to the pan, along with the guanciale. Cook until sauce has reduced a bit.
While you’re working on the sauce, cook bucatini – I like to go 1-2 minutes under what the package’s directions say since the pasta will cook a bit when you add it to the sauce. Add bucatini to sauce and toss to coat, adding pasta water to thin things out as needed. Top with grated pecorino romano cheese.
Ingredients I like in my baked goods: banana, lemon, olive oil, chocolate, whole wheat flour. This recipe happens to combine all of these, which sounds a little dicey at first but then you take a bite and think “oh! okay.” I didn’t add the glaze until later (”too much sugar,” I thought) but I’m glad I didn’t skip it altogether because how can a tart lemony icing not be good on this?
Previously in banana bread:
- super chocolatey
- tropical-ish, with coconut and lime
- nutty and herb-y
- with coffee and chocolate
Another beautiful kale salad to add to the repertoire. This one is all about the dressing, in all its gingery, spicy, savory glory. It sounds strange to roast unpeeled ginger and even stranger to puree roasted unpeeled ginger, but the end result is un-boring and very delicious. I made what I think are minor substitutions: baby kale instead of big-leaf adult kale, shallots instead of red onions, fried shallots instead of fried onions, one kind of thin-skinned cucumber instead of two. You could also veganize the dressing by using light soy sauce instead of fish sauce. This salad can really liven up an otherwise basic meal of, say, brown rice with some kind of simply cooked protein.