8.05.08 - Scallops and Summer Veg

Ok, ok, so it's been a long while. Phoodski has been collecting a bit of dust while we've been out enjoying the summer. But that's not to say we haven't been eating! As we try to get caught up, we'll also post previous meals. Sometimes it's nice to mix things up a bit. ;)

While Mike was out with the boys, I decided to have a little feast for myself and Franklin and George. I was hoping they would help, but Franklin seemed a little preoccupied with Animal Planet. Oh well.


On the menu tonight: seared scallops along with two very special sides: fresh corn with garden grown onions along with garden grown green and wax beans. These veg (grown from seed, mind you) came from Aunt Irene and Uncle Walter's house. Yum!

4.23.08 - Cooking for the Pack

First, a note for you local readers: Yesterday, I noticed a new sign had gone up in an empty storefront on my walk to work.

Behold, a new cupcake bakery, right on Dupont Circle, dangerously close to and on the walk to and from home and work. Sadly, they're not opening until summer, so I'll have to fight the lines at Georgetown Cupcake until then (still haven't had one yet). Now that DC's finally on the NYC cupcake bandwagon, I can think of a ton of other trends our fair city should copy... noodle houses, street food, late-night eating, real French bakeries...

And stay tuned for the unveiling of the best cupcake-related birthday gift ever! Everyone knows I'm more of a cake gal, but cupcakes are a close, miniature second.

Now, on to the food!

Mike's in L.A. this week doing his government contractin' thing, so it's just me, George, Franklin and our adopted furry friend for a few days, Bodhi Boyle.

I feel a little bit like I live with a dog pack. And I have to admit, I'm slightly afraid they'll figure out that they outnumber me and stage some sort of canine coup. In any case, I made them each a bowl of dog food and a lovely portion of mac 'n cheese (a guilty Mike's-out-of-town pleasure) for myself. And no, not the high-falutin' homemade pasta and cheese sauce kind, but the Kraft variety. Yum.

4.20.08 - Sunday Vegetarian Feast

We decided to atone for our meaty sins by having a veggie dinner on Sunday. We started with the most amazing and rather simple salad of butter lettuce (on sale this week at Giant!) and radishes with a lemon-dill vinaigrette.


Then we had a Moroccan cous cous dish with roasted vegetables. Step one: roast butternut squash, carrots, zucchini and onions on a sheet pan in the oven.


Step two: add spices and cous cous. That's it!


For dessert, Mike made some honey-poached pears a la Jacques Pepin (one of my favs!) which we had warm with vanilla ice cream. Apparently, you can also rent Jacques' condo in Playa del Carmen if you're looking for a vacay.

4.18.08 - Charcuterie

There's nothing better than a no-cook meal on the roof, which is quickly becoming our primary dining room. After a productive day of cleaning, we opted for a plate of cheese, prosciutto, bresaola and a white wine salami from Trader Joe's generously drizzled with olive oil. There's really nothing better than cured meats, unless you're Oliver, a neighbor's adorable dog who was tortured by the wafting aroma. It all goes back to how having opposable thumbs really gives you a leg up in this world.

4.12.08 - Pancakes and Pizza

Saturdays are usually big cooking days for us. We generally go out on Friday nights since it's Date Night. But Saturdays are great for sleeping in, cooking and golfing (not necessarily in that order). It's been while since pancakes with TJ's life-altering blueberry maple syrup made an appearance in apartment 503, so we thought it would be nice to have some for breakfast (well, lunch, technically but who's counting).


And since pizza season is almost over, we thought we'd say goodbye with 2 thin crust half-cheese and half-mushroom pies. In case you're wondering, pizza season coincides with the cold weather months since you have to heat a ridiculously hot pizza stone in a 450 degree oven, which usually heats your living space to 450 degrees as well.



The best part about Saturday dinner? It was warm enough to have on the roof deck as the sun set. With a bottle of chardonnay, of course.

4.10.08 - Spring Rolls Over Vermicelli Noodles

Since we had a little filling leftover from the wontons, spring rolls seemed in order. Wonton filling is ground chicken or tukey + onions + carrots. Add cellophane noodles and wood ear mushrooms (sometimes called cloud ear as well) and you have spring roll filling. I'll occasionally add potatoes to the filling if the mood strikes me. Jicama is also a great addition if you have it handy.

4.9.08 - Fennel Salad

Our mandoline is one of our favorite kitchen gadgets. No, not this kind of mandoline:


We're talking about this kind of mandoline:

While using a mandoline is usually horrifying because the blade is very sharp and very close to your fingers, it's the only way to slice paper-thin fennel for fennel salad. Yes, the mandoline comes with a guard, but it doesn't really work. Plus, what's cooking without a little danger? In fact, this fennel salad is all about danger since you have to employ some knifework for the orange slices as well.

The aforementioned salad includes sliced fennel, asparagus, Parmesan cheese and orange slices. Top it off with a orange vinaigrette and you have one of my favorite salads of all time. And somehow, when I order it at restaurants, it doesn't taste quite as good since I didn't have to go through putting my fingertips in the line of fire. Luckily, we're only a few miles from GW Hospital in case anything happens.