Category Archives: Foodie Kels

Music To Cook To: Ribs & Black Keys “Turn Blue”

Posted on by

1

It’s no secret that Brad and I are big Black Keys fans.

Brad’s been a fan for years and years.  He introduced me to them back when we first started dating, and I was drawn toward the bluesy rock, the grittiness but soul that they brought to the table.  I liked the simplicity of their first albums, with just guitar and drums.

Plus, Brad was really hot – so I probably would have liked any music he brought me.

DSC_0122

Since then, we have seen them in three very different venues.  We’ve been front row, just a few feet away at the Hollywood Palladium.  We’ve been underneath the stars in Liberty State Park with the Statue of Liberty practically behind the guys.  And then we saw them with my family at the Verizon Center in DC.

DSC_0126DSC_0138

But we most often listen to the Keys while we are whipping up something delicious for dinner, or driving down to the market, or over to Hollywood…

DSC_0128

Or just anytime, really…

DSC_0135The Black Keys aren’t just good music to cook to, they are good all the time music.

But if you’re throwing together some dinner tonight and need a pumped up, bluesy-rocking, but slightly chill soundtrack – throw on iTunes and stream their new album Turn Blue, out May 13th.

IMG_4211

Because it goes just so nicely with a rack of ribs and a glass of rose on a weeknight.

xoxo

Grapefruit Mint Julep

Posted on by

2

It is summer in Santa Monica.

I don’t know how it happened, but we kind of skipped spring and went straight for the dog days.  And I’ve quickly realized that I’ve become so accustomed to the 70 degree and sunny norm that I have almost nothing to wear on days when its 95.

Not that I want to wear anything at all.  I’d be happy sitting in my underwear on our stoop with a iced down cocktail in my hand.

Which brings me to today’s cocktail recipe…

Tomorrow is the 140th Anniversary of the Kentucky Derby.  This means very little to me, except I know there are horses, hats and bourbon cocktails involved.  I grew up outside of Baltimore, where one of the other three horse races of the Triple Crown is held – Preakness – and one summer I went.  We didn’t wear hats, I think we were drinking Natty Lite (?!), and I can’t even tell you if I actually saw a horse.

Obviously we were doing it very, very wrong.

I still have never gotten into the “greatest two minutes in sports”, but I very much enjoy big hats and I also really enjoy fancy bourbon cocktails.  So to cool me down for the weekend, mint juleps it is, Kentucky!

I muddled the mint with the sugar. I cursed myself for not having crushed ice. I used the last of the true Kentucky Bourbon from my bar.

grapefruit mint julep recipe Continue reading →

Candied Grapefruit Peel

Posted on by

2

Candied Grapefruit PeelLast week at the market, I wore my grapefruit shirt.  Therefore, I bought grapefruits.  Of course.

Not only was it a no-brainer to buy the fruit that I was advertising on my shirt, but I had been craving candied grapefruit peels ever since I had a greyhound a few weeks ago adorned with a little slice of the sugared candy.  The actual greyhound was kind of mediocre, but that candy!  The bartender ended up giving me a few extra pieces because I was raving so wildly about how much I loved it.

So this week I broke out the peeler and got to candying.

Candied Grapefruit Peel Candied Grapefruit PeelFor some reason, I thought the naked grapefruits were really entertaining.  It’s kind of weird how many pictures I took of them.  And posted to Twitter about them…Candied Grapefruit PeelAnyway, enough with the grapefruit porn.

I found a couple of different recipes and took the best of the feedback from both of them to come up with my method.  I wanted them to be sugary sweet, but to still have the bitterness that I love. Continue reading →

Homemade Butter With Your Kitchenaid Mixer

Posted on by

3

Last week I stopped by the raw milk stand at the Santa Monica Farmer’s market, which is right next to our dear friend who sells pork and flowers.

(i have such a normal life)

I wanted to buy a gallon of raw milk so I could make myself another batch of delicious homemade mozzarella.  But when I stopped by, my raw milk lady had a mason jar out with her, and was showing the guy in front of me a funny yellow blob that was inside.

She had made her own butter!

So, naturally, I asked her all about it. It was something I’m sure I had done in kindergarden or girl scouts when I was young.  And I had been wanting to experiment with shortbread cookies ever since making those shortbread caramels, so homemade butter could take my next baking project over the top!

I bought a container of cream with my mozzarella milk and went on my way.

butter from cream with kitchen aide

A little nervous about the arm workout I was in for with all the mason-jar shaking in my future, I told Brad about my plan.  Of course he had a genius idea.

Skip the mason jar. Use the KitchenAid.

butter from cream with kitchen aide butter from cream with kitchen aide

Only halfway feeling like I was cheating (i was making homemade butter! that’s already the opposite of cheating!), I started up my stand mixer and let it go.  Brad only gave me one bit of advice: Continue reading →

Colors of Spring

Posted on by

1

Sometimes during the cold winter months of potatoes and hearty green kale, you forget how much color there is in the world.

And then weeks like this week happen.  The market was drop dead gorgeous this week.DSC_0202 DSC_0219

Spring here in Southern California is in full bloom.  There were blossoms and flowers and blooms everywhere.

DSC_0258 DSC_0260

Even the herbs were flowering with spring. Continue reading →

Who Needs Flowers? Artichokes!

Posted on by

2

Our Farmer’s Market is always introducing me to amazing new things.

This week, one of our favorite famers gave me these awesome artichokes.  Except they were arranged with all of his flowers, not his other produce the way you’d think artichokes should be.

artichoke as decoration

He said it was something new he was trying.  They weren’t quite good enough to sell as produce, but he loved arranging them at home as decoration.

DSC_0667 DSC_0660So I got home and threw those babies in a vase.  And almost a week later, they’re still choking it up. Continue reading →