Last weekend, I spent Saturday hiking and enjoying a BBQ with church friends. We had schedule a hike in the canyons near the Laguna Playhouse and a little BBQ near the tidepools. It was so much fun! Don’t take my word for it, check out this gorgeous pictures, that John took (I think he said he uses a Canon 5D, sounds fancy doesn’t it?).
My mom has been learning to play the cello for the past 12 months. She was telling me how she wishes she started learning it sooner but relishes it now despite picking it up in her late 50’s. She was saying how since I’m a young person (relatively), if I learned a new hobby or skill now and develop it for a decade, it would be amazing where I would be! This made me think about Malcolm Gladwell’s book, blink, about mastering a subject area or skill progressively over 10,000 hours to become an expert. Is there anything I’ve been doing progressively for that amount of time?! I realize I’ve been tinkering in the kitchen for about a decade, on and off, but not with the concentrated and all consuming effort year in and year out. But what kind of cook will I be if I spend a cumulative 10,000 hours in the kitchen?
In cooking, learning how to use the same ingredient in multiple ways is part of becoming a so-called expert. I found this recipe from one of my favorite food blogs and adapted it to my taste buds.
It’s a versatile and light dish perfect as a side to a protein (i.e. barbeque chicken), a potluck side dish, or a simple and satisfying work week lunch.
lemon orzo pasta salad (adapted from Week of Menus)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups chicken broth (I used one carton of Trader Joe’s regular sodium and added 2 cups of water)
1 pound orzo (find at a supermarket and Fresh & Easy in the pasta section)
2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup carrots, julienne
1 cup chopped fresh basil
1 cup chopped green onions
½ cup sunflower seeds, toasted (or toasted pine nuts or pepitas)
½ cup golden raisins
Whisk vinegar, lemon juice, minced garlic, and honey in small bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Season vinaigrette with salt and pepper.
Bring broth to boil in large heavy saucepan. Stir in orzo, reduce heat to medium, cover partially, and boil until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain. Transfer to large wide bowl or baking sheet, tossing frequently until cool.
In a large salad bowl or serving bowl, mix the remaining ingredients into the orzo. Add vinaigrette; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.) Serve at room temperature.
This tastes the best the same day but it’s great for lunch the day after. The key in this dish is the freshness of the veggies and crunchy texture. Serves about 6. Enjoy!
Cindy and I met through church but we really got to bond through our small group experiences. I still remember her scrumptious bruschetta (oh man!). Take a few minutes to read about the mad scientista and her quirky blog. Btw, aren’t her photos beautiful (swoon)?!What are 3 interesting, weird, or random “Cindy” facts?
1. I love raunchy humor. If you tell me a dirty joke, I’ll act horrified…but inside I’ll be dancing with glee.
2. When we decide where to travel to as a family, the first question I’ll ask myself is, “I wonder which city has the best food?” and then go from there!
3. I de-stress by plucking hair. I LOVE my tweezers. I pluck my armpits, eyebrows, and knuckles. But I also love plucking other people’s hair too!! I’ve plucked many of my friend’s armpits! Just feeling a hair come out of the pore is soooo satisfying!
What’s your favorite “go to” dish?
My favorite go-to dish would have to be my galbi-cheem. Takes many hours to cook, but it’s definitely worth the time and effort! It’s my husband’s favorite dish and he swears it’s better than any restaurant’s! (gotta love him!) But if I’m looking for a quick-n-easy recipe…it’ll always be spam/kimchi bokeumbap or my sundried tomato and peppers pasta! Both take about 20 minutes to make!
Cindy’s galbi cheem (a must-try!)
Which celebrity chef would you want to meet?
Without a doubt, that would have to be….The Pioneer Woman!!! I love Ree and her humor, her easy and fattening recipes, and her step-by-step food photography. I’m such a die-hard fan that my dear hubs wrote her a letter begging her to let me go to one of her “Weekends at the Lodge” cooking adventures! I guess she hasn’t read his letter yet……sigh. But I love Ree’s easy recipes and her step-by-step food photography.
What was it like having bearded dragons as pets (explain what they are first, please)?
What is a bearded dragon, you ask? Ummm…a gentle lizard with soft spikes??? hahahah no one has ever asked me that before!!!! Well, here’s a picture of our family’s 2 bearded dragons, “Rocko” and “Geh-gee-beh” when they were just babies. (my mom named them!)
These are my mom’s pets. She cares better for them than she does for us! Even to the point of tucking them into bed with her. Please refer to this crazy post about my crazy mom. (http://themadscientista.com/2011/01/19/my-mom-is-crazy/) It was definitely interesting growing up with atypical pets….but props to my mama for loving them so much! Now, my little son loves them too! As soon as we visit halmeh’s house, the first thing he’ll do is rush upstairs to feed them mealworms! Makes this scientista very happy. =)
I can’t believe it’s been almost a month since my last blog post. Sorry for for the woeful neglect. I’ve been trying different breakfast dishes on the weekends beyond my usual egg and veggie scrambles. As a way to get my whole wheat into my diet, I made these one Saturday, and you know what, they were pretty good! I know I have my bias against whole wheat pasta (might as well eat cardboard) but this mixture of all-purpose and whole wheat flour is pretty good.
whole wheat pancakes with strawberries (adapted from here)
1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
2/3 cup whole wheat flour (about 3 ounces)
2 TB brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 2/3 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
1 TB butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten
Topping
1 ½ cups strawberries, sliced (or use any berries or bananas you have)
2 TB granulated sugar (white)
Preparation
1. Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Combine milk, butter, and egg; add milk mixture to flour mixture, stirring until smooth.
2. Pour about 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto a hot nonstick griddle or nonstick skillet. Cook 2 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Carefully turn pancakes over; cook 2 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned.
3. Place the sliced strawberries in a bowl , add sugar, and mix. Let it sit for about 10 minutes so it gets a bit syrupy.
Enjoy!
