test

hihi

hi

HI

HI

hi

Holy Blueberry

Holy Blueberry

Customize Gmail with colors and themes

Import your contacts and old email

Get Gmail on your mobile phone

When In Doubt, Make Pizza

I was making a pizza last week.  It had roasted potatoes on it and olive tapenade. I had a friend over and she really liked it. Then the next night I wanted more. The great thing about my thinking around pizza is that it's relatively undefined. I think of pizza as flatbread with stuff on it, cut in either squares or triangles.

I had leftover chimichurri from something else I was working on and bought a bunch of meaty portabellas. I get the whole wheat Traders Joes dough. I sauteed the mushrooms and used the chimichurri in place of red sauce. Then I topped it with the mushrooms and added some caramelized onions at the last minute.

I highly recommend doing this. It all took about 10 minutes and it was absolutely delightful.

Swedish (fish) Sushi

All of that Baltic Sea seafood... the Swedes must have great sushi. Swedish... Sushi... Fish... Swedish... Fish... Swedish Fish Sushi.  I found this on This is Why You're Fat. I am appalled and yet intrigued... and definitely know someone who will likey.

Marmont Avocado Smash

A little celebration platter + Old Fashioned at Chateau Marmont.

Two Hamptons Essentials

A mid-week trip to the Hamptons reminded me of a few of the best things in life- beachy picnics and lobster rolls. What's a perfect day for me? Well there's sunshine and exercise to start. My hair cooperating makes a difference as well. But even a bad day stands no chance when indulging in an Oceanside spread from Schmidt's. Taylor and I stopped at the crowded country grocer in Southampton to pick up some tasties for the beach. On the list: jumbo shrimp, fresh corn and cilantro salad, broccoli slaw, a turkey & Brie Sammy and of course some chips.
The afternoon was filled with kayaking, swimming and a solid walk along the beach as to ensure there'd be room for our favorite kind of dinner. I don't consider myself the mayo eater of the year but mix it with seafood and I lose control. Lobster rolls at The Lobster Roll are too classic to pass up- not to mention delicious. We also went for a crab cake sandwich, fried puffers and a basket of fries.
When chillin in the Hamptons, Schmidt's and The Lobster Roll are two time tested pit stops that'll keep you smiling all day long.

Brat, Zurich

Last meal in Zurich. We had to do it. You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?

Skipping Stones, Sweden Edition

Something familiar? In honor of my last week helping out at Appelfabriken, I decided to treat family and guests to our signature DISH Skipping Stones. These little wafers pack a punch with espresso, cinnamon and black pepper. Looking good on the dessert table, huh?

Greenhouse Dinner

Now doesn't that look lovely?! A simple salad from the garden plus bruschetta. I sat next to a Green Zebra vine.

The Perfect Lunch

It's pretty tough for me to get shrimped out. Behold the perfect lunch. Baltic shrimp + sliced boiled egg + mayo + lemon + petit salad all piled on soft bread. I've eaten this for four meals in a row thus far. Going strong.

Speaking of Tomatoes ...

I had an interesting and very delicious appetizer at a funky little "joint" across the street from the Ohio River... Since you probably won't be coming to Cincinnati soon, you can make this at home in a flash!
Slice a tomato. Add a dollop or two of guacamole. Top with a few slices of seared tuna! I could make that dinner!

A Day on Möja

After traveling to Möja, a far off island of Stockholms archipelago, I'm officially in love with this country. The Swedish archipelago is like Martha's Vineyard x Bar Harbour Maine. Blueberries line numerous trails tempting forest walks. Old wooden houses feature little old ladies picking roses in their gardens. Sail boats dot the horizon.

My German travel buddy Judith and I disembarked at Ramsmora and wandered into an hour-long nature jaunt. Soon after we were hungry so we found our way to the water, climbed onto a rock and made our picnic- lox and crackers. Simple but perfect with the sea air. We also had a few pieces of fruit to temper the salty.

Soon after we happened upon a cafe in Loka. We entered and decided to sate our sweet tooths with kanelbulle, ie a Scandinavian style homemade Cinnabon :-)

Still warm, it was glorioBackEr continued our walk and made it to Berg, the anchor town complete with bed and breakfast.

Back on the boat now headed home. The Archipelago, in all it's picnic-perfect, summer by the sea stereotype, is not a place to pass up.

Classic or Seedless?

While heirloom tomatoes, peas, and apples appear regularly in the gardens and kitchens of serious eaters, the designer engineered Pureheart watermelon, prized for its lack of seeds and small dimensions (3-6 lbs), overshadows old-fashioned varieties, such as the moon and stars watermelon, as well as classic melons with black seeds.

[caption id="attachment_2740" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Watermelon courtesty of flikr user S n o r K e l."][/caption]

As illustrated by Amy Goldman in Melons for the Passionate Grower (2002), heirloom watermelons and other melons are more fragrant and aesthetically pleasing than the standard specimens piled at the grocers.  Goldman’s melons have intriguing names, such as snake melon, serpent melon, and Prescott Fond Blanc, and the palatable varieties have generated a passionate following among those  in the know.

Yet engineered seedless watermelons persevere.

Is it the pure joy of halving a miniature watermelon to create a single personalized serving?  Is seedless too irresistibly convenient?

What do you think?