poke is totally taking over the fast casual scene, and for good reason. it’s cheap for restaurants to put out and they don’t need a full kitchen to produce — just refrigeration. but there is so much more to hawaiian food than poke bowls. musubi, for example!
i wrote all about the growing hawaiian food trend in today’s herald-dispatch. check it out! and follow the jump for a how-to on this hawaiian staple. spoiler alert: you gotta buy some spam!
we love having friends over for dinner. selfishly, i love it because it forces me to clean the house (lol but really). for steven, it’s much more of an emotional thing. cooking is his love language. it’s how he tells people: you’re special to me. whether it’s an intimate pasta dinner for four, or a rowdy chicken and waffles brunch for twenty — being in the kitchen is his happy place and he loves sharing his food and heart with friends.
wow, that got sappy fast.
if you’re having friends for dinner and really want to impress them with your culinary prowess, this grilled octopus appetizer / salad / lunch dish is the way to go. just $4 at h mart, 1/2 a pound of baby octopus goes a long way when you add fresh baked bread grilled into toasts. and not to be all ina garten, but we also grew that thyme and parsley — and steven made the pottery it’s plated on.
spoiler alert: matsumoto’s is not number one. sorry, obama.
when it comes to shave ice, the most important thing is the texture. it has to be creamy and not the least bit crunchy. then the flavor. natural is preferred. not too sweet — and you have to have condensed milk as a topping.
yay! i’m so excited!
i’ve spent the last two years working as a freelance journalist + writer for various publications. i’ve written about epa water violations in west virginia, i’ve tracked and explained presidential candidates tax plans, i’ve produced an investigative series about american universities operating in qatar and funded by some of the middle east’s most rich and influential families (google education city in doha, it’s fascinating). i also write for a digital parenting magazine out of brooklyn called well rounded. but today, my first food piece was published! did i say yay?!
i’m working on some food trend stories for my hometown newspaper. the first one is about homemade ketchup. you can read it here, and follow the jump for the recipe!
now that i’ve finished *cough* four *cough* of these, i can take a break before eating a few more to write down the recipe!i’ll be honest: i never ask my husband to make two when he has his nightly cup of matcha, but i really love baking with it because it gives everything such a fun, natural pop of color. if you’re trying to get on the matcha bandwagon, these donuts are a great way to ease into the new, unique flavor. if you’ve loved matcha for years — well, these should make your breakfast (or lunch, or dinner, or second dinner) even better!
i’ve always loved finger foods. tiny sandwiches at bridal showers, crab puffs at weddings, doritos on the couch. doritos are finger foods, right?! something about lots of small plates has always spoken to me, and we’ve been enamored with creating grown-up small plate meals lately. korean banchan is a nakano house favorite, but lately we’ve been toying with spanish tapas.
you guys. this meal. it was epic.
here’s a cute way to impress your sweetheart this valentine’s day! we posted a quick how-to, along with pictures, for these apple rose tarts over on the baltimore chef shop‘s blog. make them with your kids or with your valentine for a super fun afternoon activity! and send me a picture after you’re finished! ; )
there’s this restaurant in the chef’s hometown, grand junction, co., that serves this delicious beet salad. that’s something i didn’t necessarily see myself typing — delicious beet salad. but it is. then the other day we went out in baltimore with our neighbor besties, peter + jenny, and had another delicious beet salad. and now its october and beets are in their prime season so i thought the next place a delicious beet salad should be, is in my kitchen. and now it is. see:
when it’s cold and i’m bundled in thick socks and sweatshirts and blankets, all i want to eat is anything i can put cinnamon on. today’s victim: the last two apples in our pantry. these cinnamon sugar apple chips made the house smell sooo good. and i don’t know, but maybe they could be healthy if you just used cinnamon and forgot about the sugar. if you’re into that sort of thing. i’m not.
it’s getting cold outside, so we’re eating lots of warm food… like this warm corn salsa. it was part of a recipe we created for the baltimore chef shop. you can find the whole thing, including how to make some homemade corn tortillas, right here.
food | life | baby
food | life | baby
chef meets girl 