That's right: a journey. A journey of self-discovery. A journey of learning. A journey of patience. A journey of thrift. And at last, a destination of sweet salty tasty melt-in-your-mouth salmon.

Gravlax, much like it's cousin lox, is good on thing such as crackers, bagels & cream cheese, and plain by itself. However, unlike lox, gravlax is simply cured salmon, and can be made at home. I suppose one could make lox at home, too, if one had a smoker, and this one doesn't have a smoker.

It takes 72 hours to make gravlax. It could take longer, but I'm impatient. My first batch of gravlax cost me a total of about $4.50 for approximately 4 servings. As you may see, gravlax is much cheaper than lox, which was the main reasoning behind making it. I <3 me the lox, but can't afford the massive Costco package every 2 weeks. Plus, the Costco package? Is too big for one person to eat. So here we go.

Gravlax (center) presented with hummus (left) and ajvar (right).

Continue reading "72 Hours for Gravlax: a journey" »

Posted at 4:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My mom made gumbo every once in a while while I was growing up, and I still think that her gumbo is better than any I've ever had at any restaurant, no matter where that restaurant may be. Mom lived in the Virgin Islands for a while before I was born, which is where she learned this recipe. She gave me the info for the base, and I just added into it some southernish greens and made a couple of changes to make it kosher. The recipe is relatively simple, but takes time. Making the roux itself takes almost 40 minutes and should not be attempted by someone who has lack of stamina, heart palpatations, or is less than 50' tall, as it must be stirred constantly.

That warning aside, this gumbo will knock your southern socks off:

Continue reading "A return from haitus: Chicken Gumbo" »

Posted at 6:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A lot, I'll bet. There is an amazing variety of lettuces out there, not to metion everything else with which a salad can be made. And, with all the dressings available these days... but lettuce and dressing does not a proper salad make. It takes... love... feeling... understanding the greens, the accoutrements, and above all, the dressing. The flavors must meld together perfectly, creating a balance of sweet, savory, sour, and salty. The texture should be varied - soft, crunchy, smooth, rough.

You know I'm totally full of shit, right? Salads are like the easiest thing to make next to pouring a glass of milk. While not necessarily something one would serve to guests at a non-vegetarian-un-hipster-non-minimalist dinnerparty, this first salad offering is easy to make and effing lovely to eat. I persent to you Steak'n Salad:

Continue reading "How much Lettuce can one eat?" »

Posted at 6:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Continuing with the streak of cooking as little as possible, I present to you Cucmber Soup with Wasabi-Avocado Cream:

Continue reading "Cucumber Soup with Wasabi-Avocado Cream" »

Posted at 5:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The weather here in sunny Boise Idaho has turned for the worse. For the past 3 days, the heat (95°F!!!!) has been leaving me ignoring the kitchen, prefering to eat out than to deal with the heat. It looks like gazpacho and multitudes of cold salads are in my future, starting with this one.

The only "cooked" part is a piece of chicken, and one totally doesn't need to be in the kitchen to watch chicken cook in the oven. The finished product was exactly what I was hoping for, and I'm thinking about making the exact same thing tonight. So awesomely good!!

Continue reading "Ch-ch-chinese Chicken Salad, bitchez" »

Posted at 6:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I originally made this salad for the dinner party I had a couple of months ago, but at that time, I didn't have a chance to pick up the camera due to the sheer volume of things I was making at once. It was requested of me to bring the said salad to a BBQ at Laura's house on Saturday, so I took the photos this time. This salad, originally called Purple Cabbage Salad (from the Kosher By Design cookbook) is now called "Speculum Salad" by my friends due to the salad tongs with which it was originally served.

Tongs wielded by Queen Alisha

Without further adieu, Purple Cabbage Salad, adapted from Kosher By Design:

Continue reading "Purple Cabbage Salad" »

Posted at 4:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

First things first: I love Caesar Salad. I consider myself a Connoisseur of the Caesar Salad, and know the best place in Boise to have one (Bardenay downtown), which restaurants don't make their own Caesar dressing (most of them), and where one may get anchovies placed atop the salad (Smokey Mountain Pizza, Red Feather, others). There is, however, nothing like making Caesar salad at home. I think though (much like cheesecake), that most people are intimidated by making what may be considered "restaurant food" at home. Or just don't care enough to make it. This is why I am here. Let's get one thing straight:

Making Caesar salad is easy! And tasty! And you will want to eat the whole thing yourself!

Continue reading "POW! Hardcore Caesar Salad!" »

Posted at 7:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This is what I had for dinner the other night. Ben was out of town, and I was eating late, so I didn't actually want to cook anything. The mother-in-law had given me the fixings for some Caprese salad a couple of days prior, so I thought it was the perfect time to toss it all up and eat something lovely. Here is a generic Caprese salad: fresh mozzarella, tomatoes (oh the tomatoes at Costco! So lovely!), fresh basil, S&P, olive oil, and vinegar.

I, however, wanted to spice it up a bit. I had some oregano leftover from a main dish made for the first seder, so I threw some of that in, too. Then I looked at all of my leftover fuji apples (originally for charoses), chopped one up, and tossed that in. Now, normally Caprese salad is made with balsamic vinegar, but I accidentally locked mine up in the chametz cupboard, not to open until tonight, so I used some red wine vinegar. All the rest was the same. And I cannot describe to you how bloody good this was. The sweetness of the apple balanced the tartness of the vinegar perfectly. The addition of fresh oregano was genius, adding a more earthy flavor to the rest of the standards. I will definitely be bringing this at whatever BBQs/Parties to which I am invited this summer.

Posted at 4:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With the incredible business of cleaning for Passover, along with all of the friend-type activities going on, I haven't had a second to start thinking about what I'm going to put up here. Thankfully, I documented a 3-course night: my version of an Italian Wedding soup, Lasagna, and Cheesecake. I made all of these in one night to make sure I had time to prep a salad for my mom's dinner meal, which included the lasagna and the cheesecake. The Italian Wedding soup we ate that night. So, I'll beg forgiveness and wow you with 3 different recipes today. First up: the Italian Wedding soup:

Continue reading "Here come the excuses... Italian Wedding Soup" »

Posted at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)