Another Successful Date Night In

Cooking is such a fun past time. Jacob and I had such a good time last week that we decided to do another date night in. We met at our usual spin class. This time we had an interesting substitute teacher who wanted us to sing along and handed out a prize to the first person who waved a towel and growled. (yeah... I won the prize!) Since my calves have been burning from my new athletic conditioning class, I didn't push myself as much as I typically would. Nevertheless, I enjoy the workout because it helps calm my stress and puts me in a good mood.

This week I decided to experiment with a recipe from Jamie Oliver. I have been trying out a few things from his book, Jamie's Ministry of Food. I made pasta with homemade pesto, sliced up fingerling potatoes, broccoli, and parmesan cheese. While my pasta was boiling, I decided to slice up all my veggies. Using a food processer was very helpful in this process. I would make sure you slice up the fingerling potatoes thinly. Right before the pasta is cooked, you add the thinly sliced potatoes, broccoli florets and thinly sliced stalks. You drain everything leaving a little bit of water in the pot. Dump the pasta and veggies back in the pot and mix in your parmesan cheese and pesto sauce. We added a little bit of salt and pepper to taste. I would probably try and experiment with crumbled bacon on the top. The stuff was so good. We had to get seconds.

I had some leftovers for lunch today, and it gave the pesto more time to soak in. Quite tasty!

good things happen when... curry is involved

Through this blog, I hope to share some culinary moments and adventures. As you can see from the previous posts, they could be delightful experiences in restaurants. But for today, I will share a beautiful home-cooked moment. Over the summer, I have re-discovered a love for cooking. I love how cooking slows your mind down and helps you engage in being present: the visual colors, the exotic tastes, the energy that comes forth from putting something together in a pot.

As a sweet gesture, I thought I'd make my boyfriend a home-cooked meal that would be simple and tasty. I went to the local grocer and picked up some shrimp (1.5 lbs), green beans, potatoes, carrots, fresh basil and this amazing ten minute simmer sauce. After an intense sweat session spin class, we scampered home, and I halved the jumbo shrimp, thinly sliced the carrots and potatoes, and snapped the ends off the green beans. And, I cooked the shrimp in the curry sauce while adding some honey (to balance off the curry flavor) and black pepper.

Once it was about halfway cooked, I added the veggies in order of thickness. No soggy veggies here! Put the potatoes first, then the carrots and the green beans last. And let it come to a boil and then simmer for about 15 - 20 minutes. The prep and cooking actually took about 30 minutes. (Yeah, so much for ten minute simmer! It's those darn veggies that always take the most time. )

While this dish simmered, I cooked a pot of jasmine rice. This is a good partner with the curry because it creates a nice "bed" for your veggies and shrimp to soak up all the sauce. Stir your rice and check on it because rice loves to stick to the bottom of the pot. You'll have to check on the tenderness of the veggies. Once you know that the potatoes and carrots are at a soft consistency, you can slice up some basil and throw it on top of the dish.

Plate your food, and you are good to go. The beau loved the sauce so much he came back for seconds! :) It's a very easy dish and you can substitute veggies and meats to play around with very different combos. Exotic, healthy, and colorful - yummmmm.

(Photo is courtesy of flickr!)

Easy Like Sunday Morning @ Guadalupana

I like coming to this cozy little place. La Guadalupana has a lot going for it. It's a place you can practice your Spanish. I think this place has the best tasting and affordable cinnamon coffee. And, their pastries and breakfast plates are delicious. The owner loves coming around and talking to people, and there is a nice welcoming vibe to the place.

Last Sunday, my beau and I took his brother and sister-in-law here for breakfast. A lot of us didn't know how to decide between getting a sweet pastry or getting a savory torta or taco. So, each of us picked both. If you are looking for something filling, I recommend their three-star Breakfast Torta. It is filled with eggs, beans, chorizo, and cheese. But, I think what makes the sandwich is the soft bread. I think it makes sense since they make good pastries, their bread should also be tasty, too. The two favorites as far as pastries go are the almond croissants and the churros. The almond croissants are filled with a delicious almond paste and the churros have a cinnamon filling inside of them as well.

If you are looking for something cozy and intimate while practicing some of your Spanish, you should make plans to have breakfast at Guadalupana soon.

Taste @ The French Riviera Bakery

My French teacher would often speak soulement en francais. So, it would be a fun puzzle game to figure out what exactly she was saying to our class. One time she was recounting the buttery tasty goodness of the bread at the French Riviera Bakery. When it comes to food, I am able to learn very quickly the specific names of various, foreign cuisines. She insisted that it was the only place in town that was able to duplicate the bread from back home. She was quite shocked to hear that the owners were actually from Madagascar.


I've been a handful of times this summer, and I enjoy the warmth from the staff and the brightly cheerful painted walls. They have delicious cappuccinos with fluffy and frothy cream floating in the demitasses, and a tasty ham and cheese croissant. The whole eating experience is friendly and laid back. I like the efficiency of the staff, and I enjoy staring at all the posters from France. It kind of reminds me of those old school pictures that my French teacher would adorn his classroom with.


If you need a jolt of caffeine and want to enjoy a lovely croissant, this is your place. Come as early as you can, and make sure to bring a good book or the paper.

Bon appetit!