Dinner Tonight

Ramen - with braised short-ribs and homemade noodles.

Smoked Salmon and Asparagus Frittata

It must be spring – it's hard to walk two feet in the farmer's market without seeing asparagus. I've roasted them, made soup, stir-fried and here, in my favorite everything-but-the-kitchen-sink recipe, added to a frittata. Not only does a frittata absorb leftovers in my refrigerator, it's also easy to make. I like the look individual servings so I used a muffin tin. Good with a salad. We had ours with stir-fried watercress and baby shitake.





Salmon and Asparagus Frittata

4 eggs
¾ cup smoked salmon, chopped
¾ cup asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
½ cup whole milk
½ cup grated parmesan

Pre-heat oven 400°F. Lightly oil a muffin pan.

Whip the eggs and milk in a bowl. Add parmesan cheese, asparagus and smoked salmon. Pour mixture into muffin tin. Bake for about 25-30 minutes.

Makes 6.

Oh Happy Day

Congratulations H & J!

Wow

(via All Things Pakistan)

Macaron shells #2 - peanut

For peanut butter and jelly macarons.

Macaron shells #1 - orange zest

Haberdashery - Fauna

When I first saw the picture of the pandas, I thought the men were carrying stuffed toys! But they are not. More pictures here and a video here.

Cat owners "more educated" than dog owners. Word.

Super fat cats – Dexter does not belong in that gallery. Yet.

Maybe he should be featured here?

Some good looking dogs.

Rabbits have their day.

This made me laugh.

This made me cry.

Crispy Mushrooms and Squash Soup

The lack of food posts does not in any way indicate the state of my kitchen. The stove has been heating-up but the shorter winter days meant that the light was not cooperating so it was tough to take decent pictures. We've been eating well. We've been having plenty of soup. Like butternut squash soup. My new favorite thing is roasting mushrooms until crispy and putting them in the soup. I've been these throwing crispy mushrooms in everything we eat - salad, fried rice and sandwiches.

But back to the soup – to put it in the OTT category, I also microwave pieces of apple and stir it into the soup. Recipe? Make your favorite butternut squash soup. Mine is about 4 cups roasted butternut squash and 1 cup vegetable or chicken stock mixed with a teaspoon minced ginger and a tablespoon ground cumin. Line a baking pan with parchment paper, then roast oyster mushrooms (salted and peppered) at 425°F for about 10 minutes or until crispy. You have to scrape the mushrooms off the baking pan. Dice an apple and blitz it in the microwave for one minute. Serve both with the soup and dinner's ready.

I've also been cooking with recipes off the internet – I am still amaze at this resource. I have many cookbooks but the recipes in the blogosphere continue to tempt me. Here are a few, tried and tested, in our kitchen:

Oatmeal pancakes from Orangette. I made these the first time only because I had so much oatmeal. But I've made it four times since. It's that good.

Citrus and beet salad. This is a dish inspired by Sassy Radish. I added roasted beets and used honey instead of maple syrup for the dressing. My new favorite way to eat oranges. Three times.

Fish & chips. I used No Recipe's, err, recipe. I've made it only once but I used 3 lbs worth of fish so that I could freeze some of the fried fish. I just pop a couple in the toaster oven when I feel like a savory snack.

Ma pu tofu. Userealbutter's version is the easiest and tastiest I've ever made (I use ground chicken or turkey). Made this too many times to remember how many exactly.

Marshmallows. I had all the ingredients so while S was assembling new furniture, I whipped this up. I flavored them with orange zest. And then coated them with chocolate.

Macarons – Ok, I didn't make any. But D did - and they were awesome. Have been meaning to try making some myself but never got round to it. Soon. And other recipes that I hope will be heating up the kitchen in the near future – shrimp salad in wonton cups, morrocan fish stew and chestnut torte.

Starman

Happy that Jeff Bridges won best actor at the Oscars last night. But have you seen "Starman"? One of the best romantic films I've seen – poignant and heartbreaking. Jeff Bridges is brilliant in it. As an alien. So it's a romantic film about an alien. No, really, it's good. I highly recommend it.

Alice In Wonderland circa 1903

The damage to the film makes it, sort of, magical.

Vintage Crochet Blanket

Ever since we had our own home, I have fallen into the trap of "collecting". Wooden carved animals? Check. Pretty tins? Check. Vintage cake stands? Check. Globes? Check. I need to join "Collector Anonymous."

My latest obsession is the crochet blanket. I love the look of the stitches, the texture and most of all, how it adds a homely look to an otherwise a bland decor of our home. I recently acquired this white blanket with dark aquamarine circles because it matched the colors of our bedroom perfectly.





And more importantly, Dexter likes it because the color matches his eyes.

Half Price Books

Nothing makes me happier than discovering a new book store. Over the weekend we drove to the Fremont branch of Half Price Books. We spent over an hour browsing and I bought the five books above for $1 each! Love.