Meals With Eggs: Cilantro Pesto & A Fried Egg For Lunch.

In honor of my dear friends Lucy, Lulu, Amanda Jo, & Miranda, I bring you some meals made from their amazing eggs. It still feels like magic when I find one. Thanks, ladies.

2.29.2012: Snowy Leap Day Lunch. 

Last day of February. I came home from work around lunchtime due to impeding snow, just in time to kiss my husband goodbye before he left for work.
We had some leftover homemade cilantro pesto from dinner the night before. I try to eat in season, but the local discount grocery store, The Barn, had really cheap bunches of cilantro & I am craving spring tastes so badly. Arugula pesto soon. But not yet. So, the Barn.
There was a fresh egg in the chicken coop, perfect for frying on top of some pesto & cappellini reheated in a cast iron skillet, topped with a drizzle of sriracha & eaten at the dining room table, reading Achewood on my laptop, drinking coffee, & watching the snow. 
Who needs convenience foods! Eggs!
Having eggs seems like such an important step towards self sufficiency. We've had a couple of summers now of pretty much from all our own vegetables, but producing our own protein! That's so cool. With eggs & veggies we could really take a break from the grocery store, especially now that my husband is producing his own (now drinkable) beer regularly.
Seeds are sprouting under lights. one of the pullets is laying, hopefully the other two will be soon. The baby chicks turn four weeks old this Friday. I'm daydreaming about acquiring meat & fur rabbits.

Piles Of Noodles, PIles Of Opinions.

Welcome to my controversial world of noodles. Linguine, fettuccine, elbow macaroni, whatvever, noodles have also been one of my favorite things to draw. Long long long before I had a food blog I was painting piles of noodles everywhere. For example, this classic painting of mine: 

"219", Acrylic on canvas, 2005

So, visually,  I am all about the noodles. Gastronomically, they are actually not my first go to comfort food, or at the least not the classic Italian style pasta variety. I am a chickpea curry girl all the way, or spicy beef & soba. Milkshakes & onion rings, I'm all over that. I believe I have mentioned my opinion on the general American trend of paying way too much money for a large plate of crappy pasta, & eating it in a mall, probably. Why not eat cheap food with some complexity & flavor, a bowl of pho or steamed pork bun? & We all know my Grampa Diamond's strong opinions on red sauce.  I guess it's a family thing. 

That said, there is more to do with a box of fettuccine than dump some jar of sauce from the grocery store over it .  

2.10.10: Homemade Red Sauce, With Bacon, Chicken, & Veggies. 

 3.2.10: Angel Hair, In White Wine & Butter, With Summer Squash, Thyme & Mushrooms. 

I guess behind my ranting & raving ala Anthony Bourdain about the Olive Garden (we actually saw him do this that night) is that both these meals weren't particularly creative, didn't cost much money, hardly took any real time or effort & were delicious. Learn to cook your own food, rather than throwing away money on crappy American chain restaurants, please. Seriously, learn to cook, y'all, at least enough to cook some veggies in butter & olive oil, chop some garlic & onions, & boil water.
This is the lesson in the noodles.
(It is still very much winter, although it is March, I am therefore apparently still cranky). 

Tegan & Sara, & Noodles & Cake & Friends.

A little more than a year ago, two out of the ordinary events occurred on one winter night in Northampton: Tegan & Sara played at the Calvin Theatre, & someone besides Owen made me dinner.

Yes, last February, Melissa, Ashley, & I had tickets to see Tegan & Sara, & Melissa made Ashley & I dinner (Penne, Red Sauce), I brought the wine (of course) & Ashley brought a chocolatey thing from Woodstar.

The first Tegan & Sara album I owned, The Con, I bought on itunes immediately after my hand surgery in late November 2008, & I have very vivid memories of listening to it in an intense sort of way, tucked in bed with the laptop, vaguely pleasantly high on oxycodone & watching the snow out the window. Staying in bed after surgery gives one plenty of alone time to think, & all the details of those memories are really clear. Made for an interesting show, I guess.

2.12.10: Noodles, Wine & Cake at Melissa's, Tegan & Sara at the Calvin.

This blog did use to be a lot more about rock music, I guess I used to go out more. Back when it was just me & the cat, before we decided (mutually) to add a boyfriend & a dog into the family. It's still about rock music in the sense that it is very difficult for me to paint or write without music, but maybe I should see go see more shows.

Owen & I saw the Corin Tucker Band at the Iron Horse back in the fall, if I can remember what we ate first I'll try to draw that one, because that show was amazing. Sleater-Kinney! Rules!

(Ashley is from Oregon, so somehow this train of thought makes sense?)

Don't worry though, Owen, Ali, Katie & I have tickets for Loretta Lynn this Saturday, & that's sure to be an art piece. Hopefully that show begins with a lovely meal with lovely people like this one did.

Cali Part Three: Family Drinking & Mall Culture

& We're back.

At this point in our trip, I can say truthfully that we were losing our minds.

Here's what that looks like, Cali-style:

A Pair Of Chicken Dinners:

Part A: Old School Chicken, Carrots, Potatoes & Peas with Gramma, Grampa & Cousin Amy (following pinto grigio at 5 pm in the hot tub as went our Corona custom)

& Part B: Chicken, Onion, & Green Pepper Sandwiches at Uncle Bob's House, aka The Diamond Family Bar. With Top Gun (Ali, was it Top Gun? Now I'm blocking out the details?!) & copious amounts of scotch. Yup, weird night. Thank Christ it included the adorable puppy Bailey!

What could follow up a night of drinking at your family's own personal bar better then a truly old fashioned day of SO-CAL MALL CULTURE. Oh yes, the Diamond sisters meet a GIANT MALL. In the desert.

In short, our visit caused us to become addicted to Jamba Juice & Ross Dress for Less (actually, these are both re-addictions for me, I acquired them living in San Francisco & have been coping with the withdrawal ever since).

When Liz & Ali drove a red Ford Mustang convertible through the Hills:

to drink smoothies in flavors such as Green Tea Matcha & Pumpkin Pie & purchase discount Marc Jacobs scarves, gigantic Le Sportsac totes & sequined dresses of no brand name whatsoever but still beautiful,

(thank you Ali, I stll remember that is one of my Christmas presents)

So I mentioned Romano's Macaroni Grill? Same mall as the smoothies & shopping, 4:45pm on the dot, Diamond Cousin Reunion.

This type of crap food still makes me angry, but on the other hand I haven't had dinner with all four Diamond grandchildren in about ten years, so maybe I'll let this one go (Cousin Erin seems to have become a grown-up now, who knew?).

However, I must mention the following: that the waiter drew on the table with a crayon, offered the house Chianti as his wine selection, took his half hour break during our dinner, & served me a glass of wine I had ordered approximately 45 minutes before after the check came. Did I mention the food was crap? & Really quite expensive? How do places like this shithole get away with these shenanigans? Are we really that stupid as a food culture? (yes yes I know I know) (I guess I haven't let it go but REALLY?! In ten minutes with $3 I could have made better food for four with ten dollars I could have had better wine too) But anyway,

Seafood Linguine & Loster Ravioli, aka Mediocre Food & An Excellent Family,

(love&thanks Ali, Gramma, Grampa, Amy & Erin)

We did have one truly great meal, Ali & I, & eventually, I'll end this saga on that note.

Hint: Deep Fried Zucchini & Carne Asada. & That meal carried us through LAX & home again.

Dinners at 133 #2: Spicy Sauce & Sausage.

The next installment of the winter dinners series.

11.30.2009: Spicy Spaghetti Sauce with Sausage, Over Cappellini.

The last day of November, a day I did not work, it was a classically damp chilly November day, & I walked a lot in the mist, & as a remedy for the crap weather, on my way home I went to Deals & Steals & Serio's Market & State Street & acquired cans of tomato paste & cappellini noodles & fresh italian sausage & garlic & shallots & jalapenos & red wine & made this & Owen came home earlier than expected & we actually got to eat dinner at a normal hour. & I used my Christmas napkins for the first time, in honor of the arrival of December.

A Valentine's Postscript & An Ode To Condiments.

As everyone knows, I truly, truly love holidays, & all the traditions & rituals & generally performative & decorative activities that go along with them, but there's also something to be said for the regular days, without all the pressure of a holiday attached.

So here's to coming home from work on an ordinary Monday & using the valentines leftovers to make something new with veggies & wild yam soba noodles & listening to music & watching Six Feet Under in bed & working on projects & doing laundry & petting kittens,

& to home. just home, & love.

& of course, to mirin, sriracha, shoyu, hot chili oil, vietnamese fish sauce, hoisin sauce, honey garlic sauce, sesame oil, & all the other lovely items that making reinvented leftovers so delicious.

Happy February 15th, y'all

(oh yeah, it's pretty much Mardi Gras too. ooohhhh shit. )

Sometimes It's Nice To Be Cooked For.

I love to cook, but sometimes it really is. I always insist that cooking is the most fun for me, & that I rather be the one doing it, & this is all absolutely true...but when last Sunday night Owen insisted that I sit at the kitchen table & get some shit done & drink a glass of wine & eat chips (Tostitos With A Hint Of Lime left behind by temporary housemate Dennis) & salsa (Green Mountain Gringo), & that he was cooking with no help from me so just shut up Liz, it was an amazing feeling. I think this is exaggerated by the fact that the absolute last time anyone cooked for me was Rin's fabulous margarita cupcakes on my birthday, & before that the last time I visited Mum in Brewster & ate delicious leftovers. & the fact that we didn't eat all day of course & I was all typically stressed out & starving.

I drew this on the phone. Owen cooking at 133.

what Owen made: shells, kidney beans, garlic, cheese, I didn't make it so I don't really know but it tasted good.

What I love most about cooking is feeding the people I love. It's nice to experience the other angle of that feeling too.

Root Vegetables & Mushrooms.

DnDnE Dinner with Beth, 10.7.09.

I was very broke on this on particular Wednesday, & was making this DnDnE dinner for the lovely Beth out of entirely free produce from work & what I happened to have in the pantry.

(this is a common situation for me). On this day, I had parsnips, garnet sweet potatoes, carrots, & an excess of crimini mushrooms. I consulted my colleague, Rin, & between the two of us, we came up with this,

(Oh wait! & Beth brought red russian kale & magic minty garlic from the Garlic Fest):

Mashed Roasted Root Vegetables, Pappardelle with a Mushroom Cream Sauce, Kale sauted with Olive Oil & Magic Garlic.

& here is Beth & Maggie, enjoying our dinner. Well, actually Magazine, being a cat, is sound asleep on a bag, & Beth is drawing, but whatever.

(you will, if you look very closely, notice a certain shimmeryness to this drawing.

thanks to the fabulous miss Beth, who gave me an iridescent watercolour set for my recent birthday. thanks honey. I thought it only fitting that I try them out on a portrait of you. ps I LIKE. thanks much xo. )

In further news, I really liked the mushroom sauce, & I invented it off the top of my head too. Onions & garlic sauted in white wine & butter, added to crimini mushrooms in the Cuisinart, with heavy cream.

Wait until my mushroom soup.Totally recreated from the one at Croissant D'Or in NOLA aka one of the best places on earth, when I first moved here.

& was really homesick. Really really good.

If only I actually could make my own croissants. Anyone wanna help me out with that?

noodles, fiddles, girls

Still more randomness from the 11's, 5.22.09. DRINKING & DRAWING, NOW IN COLOUR!!!