Huevos Rancheros

Growing up on the East Coast in the 1970s huevos rancheros were not a part of my world. They were never on menus and it wasn't until at least 2009 that I became aware of their existence, after moving to California of course. Native Californians (my husband in particular) truly do not believe me. Honest to god truth!

While fried eggs have been very low on my totem pole - childhood trauma, no need for explanations - getting over food ickies is high on my list, so I made huevos rancheros.

They were good, they were great! Life became more interesting and I conquered a fear! So now they make a regular rotation on our weekend brunches. Good thing because they are quick, easy and tasty.

A friend of hubby - Hi Luciano! - pours the beans and salsa on top of the eggs as they cook to make an even more delightful concoction. It seems to work best with individual pans for each serving.

Arancini - Rice Balls Stuffed with Mozzarella in Tomato Sauce

Arancini are street food of the gods...or so they tell me. While I have not actually eaten them on the streets of Italy, once discovered about 25 years ago they have made the regular rounds in my cooking repertoire.

Arriving at the table looking like meatballs in sauce, they are actually crunchy morsels of rice wrapped around a cube of mozzarella and doused in your favorite tomato sauce. Such deliciousness!

It was shocking to realize that there was no arancini post on this blog, so naturally I whipped up a batch to remedy the situation. These are stuffed with cheese, but apparently the Italians will stuff them with ragu (meat and tomato sauce), or peas and mozzarella, which all sound tasty but too complicated for me.

For this meal I also made a grilled smoky chard dish that had garlic breadcrumbs so I showered some on the arancini, great move!

Traditional arancini are usually made with white rice but brown rice has always been my choice. I like the nubby nutty texture and taste better than white rice, and it makes for a healthier meal (despite frying them in oil!)

Pan Fried Salmon with Aioli

Once I discovered how easy it was to make aioli, it has been a struggle not to make it all the time. It could make an old shoe taste good! Imagine what it does for a gorgeous piece of Sockeye Salmon like that pictured above. It boggles the mind!

This dish is almost too simple to be an actual recipe, more of a suggestion. So if you need another excuse to make aioli (or force yourself to learn) here is the link to my post with all the tips to ensure success.

As for cooking salmon perfectly, make sure your pan is really hot and that you have a cover for the pan (preferably one that does not fit snugly). Unless you are blackening the salmon, only cook it on one side, skin side down, and cover it to steam it so that it doesn't dry out. Remember that salmon is similar to any meat you cook and will continue to cook once removed from the heat source. Once the white stuff begins to ooze out of the flesh (which you can scrape off for a more appealing presentation), it is getting close to being done. Don't be afraid to stick a knife in the center to see if it is cooked through. The flesh will turn a slightly duller color when it is cooked and you can also feel how the flesh is firmer once cooked. You do want the color to change all the way through the fillet but just barely so that it is not dry.

Green Beans with Feta and Crispy Shallots

This is one of of those simple side dishes that kind of sneaks up on the main event and steals the show! It's inspired by a traditional dish that was always at my family's Thanksgiving feast - steamed and chilled green beans with chevre and sliced almonds - but since there were an abundance of shallots in the veggie bin, I decided to fry them up in super hot oil and make some crispy toppings for these steamed beans.

For years I resisted the idea of being "fancy" with my meals, but slowly I have given in to the wonders of garnishes and sauces - they really do make the meal feel special and don't require that much extra effort. Here making the crispy shallots was simple and quick, my kind of garnish!

In our house feta and chevre are always on hand, so why not gild the lily! Crunchy, creamy, green bean deliciousness awaits you!

Spelt Biscuits

Good biscuits are one of life's true pleasures. They can be tricky if you're not used to working with butter/margarine in flour but once you get the hand of it, just try to not make these all the time; they are such a reward for the effort!

Ever since I discovered the vegan version of "buttermilk" biscuits, buttermilk has no place in my refrigerator, which is great, because you use so little for the biscuits and then you're stuck with lots of leftover buttermilk. (Ok, you can make this pie, but some of us are still trying to fit in the clothes we own, so it's pie or biscuits...Biscuits for the win!) So don't fret, use baking soda and cider vinegar and you are all set. Cider vinegar will curdle dairy milk just as well as it does non-dairy milk.

What was even more exciting in this version of my beloved biscuits was realizing that the soft wheat flour that all truly traditional southern biscuits are made with is very similar to spelt! Less gluten and it absorbs more liquid (i.e. butter/margarine) so more to love! These were fantastic, light, fluffy and rich!

In case you're curious, the round sausages are my own DIY vegetarian breakfast sausage, gluten free to boot! Yup, just a party in your mouth around here!

And if you are looking closely at the picture you will notice that there are rocks on the stovetop. Yes, yes, they are rocks. We dry our dishes on the stovetop and the rocks keep them from sliding around.... It's also pretty to look at!

Thai Seafood Curry with Noodles

For the seven years of my self-imposed banishment to small college towns, otherwise known as my graduate school years, Thai food was the holy grail of cuisine unavailable to my friends and me. Big cities had Thai food; we had pizza and tacos if we were lucky. So when I realized how easy it was to make a Thai curry with the help of store bought curry sauce it was a liberation moment for the ages.

Ahh, coconut curry with veggies and an assortment of seafood is still decadent, but now it's easy to make at home even though I once again live in a small college town - voluntarily! in bliss!

You can make this curry at home with just coconut milk and curry paste, but if you can find fresh lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves, snatch them up. The lime leaves freeze well and they add a more authentic taste.