Insomniality & Pie

Friends…

I can’t seem to sleep, which is weird for me. I just thought I would write a quick note mentioning my ridiculous idea that (my tired brain thinks) now would be a perfectly acceptable time to bake the strawberry-rhubarb pie I have been planning.

If it wasn’t for my husband sleeping sweetly upstairs (and the knowledge that mid-night baking makes for crazy dreams as well as a kind of bakery-deprived morning insanity) I might be chopping strawberries and measuring sugar…and have had pie for breakast tomorrow…

Still, pie sometime this week is just as good (probably better).

Well, I think I’m off to try for some sleep. Here’s hoping you have delicioso dreams .

Good noche.

Food Writer Redemption

Hello Friends,

Long time no see. I’m totally embarassed to see the date of the last post being March. What happened to this blog anyway? Well, things got busy, my grandpa died, and I just haven’t been into writing. I can’t say that I’m totally into it again with the same fervor as before, but I can commit to posts more frequently than 3 months apart. I mean really.

In the world of food, my life has been a little crazy when I compare it against where I was 6 months ago. I’d been ignoring most cookbooks, and hadn’t made bread in forever. I still haven’t purchased any bread in the store this year (go go gadget 6 months) and was going without it instead. I haven’t been doing a whole lot of cooking, but I’ve still be photographing food I eat and make (mostly) and have been enjoying that a great deal.

In my family food life, my husband has been eating vegan for about 3 weeks. It’s crazy. He’s a spinach eating machine. Since this happened, I’ve been eating less meat, though I haven’t given it up, and I’ve been taking it easy on dairy. Not much in comparison, sure, but I don’t know if the veggie life is for me – at least not right now. I like butter too much. The upside has been the complete and total abundance of fruit in the house, which I love. In other news, my dog, has switched to a fancier dog food (Merrick) to give him less filler and more variety. Right now he’s eating “Grammy’s Pot Pie.” The extra couple of dollars makes the difference when I see him dancing for his food each time. It’s sort of a trip.

Today, I tried to make some hummus and totally failed. I took no pictures. It was a waste. The recipe was junk. This was first time this had happened in a long time. It called for 1/3 c water to 1 c garbanzos (in addition to tahini, lemon, and garlic) and seriously…we made garbanzo soup. It looked gross. The texture was just too gross to eat. We actually saved it and put it in the fridge to see if it would harden at all – and 6 hours later = no. Still gross.

My garden is still going strong, yet I have products exactly zilch in terms of vegetables. The basil is doing well. The war with the insects rages on. Who knew moths were so evil? I planted a sprouted onion yesterday (to go with all the sprouted garlic) and it looks pretty good. I have some flowers on the tomatoes and I’m hoping for at least one.

So, what happened, why am I back? Well, I cleaned off my desk (yay), got my flickr account back online (things got jankety for some reason), and I’d been missing it. I look forward to reconnecting a bit (yay for comments) and bringing the skinny on phx food back to the web.

Sidebar: Went to San Francisco – had the best Chinese food we’ve ever had. House of Nanking. Cash only, probably a line. It’s worth it. I have great photos of the noodles I still dream about but that will have to wait for another post

That’s it for now.

Hearts & Flowers,

R

Pre-Soccer Pasta Dinner

Tonight I made some pasta for my husband to satisfy his pre-soccer uber-carb requirement. This always works out for me bamecause it is a quick easy thing.

Tonight I used some lemon pepper pasta from the market and was totally lamed out by it cooking/shattering into about a bazillion tiny pieces. This was accompanied by some wild blue shrimp sauteed with asparagus, garlic, butter, lemon, and white wine.

Dinner was ok. The flavors were decent but the mushy tiny pasta threw me off..along with there being random shells on the self-proclaimed de-shelled shrimp. Shame on me for not checking each one but really?

I took pictures and will post the mañana because right now I’m going to bed. Sleep tight and dream of delicious pies.

Sabbaticality

Foodie friends, I have been missing you. Around mid-February, I got the cold-thing that was going around and then my grandfather died, and then it got a little crazy at work as we moved our offices. It’s been a busy, long, stressful, emotional, tiring 6 weeks. All this madness had me feeling out of sorts and it  had me uninterested in eating with my usual gusto.

After a weekend trip to LA to see my lovely family, I feel like myself again, and…it…is…on.

I spent this last weekend eating street tacos and wood-fired pizza. I got to feel the icy cold ocean run over my fingers. I got to walk through markets, looking at fabulous  roiling broths and stacks of fresh vegetables. I got to feel the warm dryness of a Chinese herb store, the smell of ginseng and other roots in the air. With all of these sensory delights, how could I not be inspired! I have lots to tell you about so stay tuned !

So, here’s to daily posts once more and getting back into the swing of things.

Hearts and Flowers,

R

Restaurant Review: Pete’s Fish and Chips (Mesa Main St. Location)

So, I reviewed Pete’s as being the best fried fish you can get. I have a caveat. It’s the best in Tempe. We went to Pete’s for lunch in Mesa and it just wasn’t the same. The Fish was ok, but the shrimp and onion rings weren’t good at all. Both the flavor and texture were different.  What’s worse is that we were introducing a coworker who had never been to the delicious chain. I was SO bummed. It was also lame to be able to look in the pickup window and see the giant freezer full of packaged fish. I mean I guess I knew, sort of, but really? I still love the Tempe locale and will be going there to get my fix, but Mesa (as it so often does) fails to impress and I shall therefore not return.

Pete's Warning

Rings N Justice's Nails, yo

Super Special (called something else in Mesa)

Restaurant Review: Green

Last weekend before going out to see some good music, we stopped in at Green for a date night dinner out. Green is an excellent local restaurant in South Scottsdale, and it is completely vegetarian. We go pretty often, but I thought I would take a moment for a proper review.

This is a hip joint. There are always a bunch of cool kids hanging out and eating delicious vegetarian eats. There’s a neat indie local, sustainable vibe going on that helps make the whole environment so slick.

First of all, always check the board for specials (it’s above the cash register so you can’t miss it). The specials are a great opportunity to get some neat food and some of my Green faves have been from there. Next, be aware that you have to wait in line to order, get a number, and food will be brought to your table. Beverages are self serve either via a cup or getting a specialty soda out of the cooler on your way to the register.

As for appetizers, I am a huge fan of the Artichoke Gratine and the Spicy Buffalo Wings – that’s right wings. Through the magic of science, technology, and hippie ingenuity, we have the pleasures of fake meats. And at Green they are the best. Period. I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it to date, but I am allergic to chicken. Since I only found this out a couple of years ago, and at the time I was eating the sweet bird probably twice a day, I miss it. I particularly miss it when it’s drenched in Buffalo sauce.

Green, however, manages to make an excellent Buffalo Chicken meal, whether it be wings or the “G” Sandwich (Buffalo Chicken sandwich) (I prefer it with the veggie ranch over the veggie mayo as I think that mayo is gross). Simply delicious. I think that various Asian noodle dishes are good, though not always for me, but the Oricciette pasta is always a winner. If offered a side, go for the Thyme fries. They are super skinny (sacrilege) but delicious. When we went, we got the wings and I paired it with a Balsamic Picnic Salad (small, no figs). It’s a great meal for going out because it’s light and gives you lots of great energy.

So basically, everything we have had here is good, if not great, if not phenomenal. The only thing we haven’t liked is the pizza. Soy cheese is an acquired taste that we just don’t have, but you might, so proceed as desired. The meat is fantastic here, but the cheeses are not my bag – I just love real cheese too much.

While I didn’t that day, I usually end the meal with a Tsoynami. They’re huge, wicked excellent soy blizzards. I have had everything from birthday cake to tiramisu to strawberry shortcake. Get one.

Plus, how can you not love a restaurant that does this. Love it. Even Muad’ Dib would approve.

Green to the Right

Green Up Above

Numbero 21 esta aqui

Restaurant Review: Bosa Donuts

After hearing much about the acclaimed Bosa Donuts, Brendan and I decided to splurge and try them. We stopped in on our way to work. Set in a location that was a Taco Bell in its previous incarnation, it may look a little unassuming, but its very worth the step inside.

Let me give it to you straight: this place is AWESOME. Open 5a – 10p and a full 24 hours (with the drive thru) you can get your donut on anytime you feel like it. Already a win.

Then, the donuts themselves taste crazy fresh, and are very light and airy. Translation = they don’t make you feel like you ate a brick of sugar. They almost make me think of chinese fried bread I used to eat in my youth. The selection of donuts is lovely and they have some fritters and cinnamon swirls for those that aren’t into sprinkles or chocolate glazed. I loved that they had some fun new flavors like strawberry glazed and coconut in a variety of styles.

The prices were great, and we were about to get a whole dozen and donut holes for the office without taking out a small loan. Everyone at work loved them and I think that there was a consensus that this is the new shop in town.

Really, the donuts are fantastic and they seem to be a small local chain (2 locations) which is much more desirable to me than a megacorp (and the equivalent of a +5 bonus on their check). Most important, though, everything is delicious and I can’t wait to go back. Mmmmm…Donuts!

Ext. Donut Shop. Morning.

Rosa likes Bosa

Donut Box Detail

Donut Shop. Int. Morning.

The Case

Dining Area

Their Donuts

Mmm..mini bits of fried dough!

10/12: Donuts for the office

Brendan's Boston Creme

Rosa's Chocolate Glazed Raised!