Tag Archives: How To

Bring Your Produce Back To Life!

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Brad has all kinds of fun kitchen tricks.

Maybe one of my favorites is when there is a bunch of basil – or a bag of spinach, or some carrots or herbs or whatever – that looks limp and sad.  Maybe it wasn’t in the crisper in the refrigerator.  Maybe we went to lunch after the market and left them in the car a little too long.  Maybe I took something out of a bag that it would have been better off left in…

Whatever happened, the produce looks withered and faded.

(hopefully this is not how you feel after that glorious memorial day weekend.  if it is, then use this same trick on yourself.  plus maybe a pastry or two.  i guarantee the holiday weekend hangover will be over in no time.  and – cheer up!  it’s “officially” summer!)

Just looking at those sad, limp, green leaves, you think you should probably just throw them away.

limp kale key of kels

Like this kale, for example.  I have no excuse, I just didn’t get to it fast enough and it sat in the bottom of the crisper out of a bag just a little too long.

But wait!!

I tried Brad’s magic trick.

limp kale key of kels I stuck the kale in a jar with a good amount of water.  I set it in a sunny spot, but not one that got direct sunlight.

And I – once again – forgot about it.
limp kale key of kelslimp kale key of kelslimp kale key of kels

Seems this week I’m just really not good at kale.

limp kale key of kels

But a few hours later, I happened to walk by the arrangement, and I noticed that the leaves were no longer touching the tabletop I’d set them on.

kind of limp kale key of kels kind of limp kale key of kelsThe leaves felt a little stronger to the touch.  A little more rigid and tough. kind of limp kale key of kels kind of limp kale key of kelsSo I left them a little while longer.  Just to see what would happen.kind of limp kale key of kels

24 hours later, the kale was pretty much 100% back to it’s natural kale-like state.

back to life kale with the key of kels back to life kale with the key of kels back to life kale with the key of kels

I was really amazed at how it had transformed from being limp, soft, and inedible right back to being tough, thick, crunchy kale.back to life kale with the key of kels back to life kale with the key of kels back to life kale with the key of kels

I will admit, it looked so pretty in the jar that I kept it on my desk for a day next to the gorgeous protea flowers I picked up at the farmer’s market.

Kale arrangement with protea

Now I’ve had both kale and artichokes as floral arrangements.  This is either multitasking or a giant waste of food.

Kale arrangement with proteaAnd I just keep thinking of what I can do with all this kale…

So, I’m off to make lunch.

xoxo

The Pink Peppercorn Paloma

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This has been a very weird week for me.

I am not a cocktail maker.  I am not even much of a cocktail drinker, unless I am out at a bar that obviously doesn’t have an interesting wine list.  And even then, I hardly ever order those funky specialty cocktails.  Well, unless it is a bar known for their specialty cocktails…

You get the point.  I don’t usually drink cocktails.  I’m a wine drinker.

But with the crazy heat wave that overcame Los Angeles this weekend, I wanted something cold and fruity and refreshing.  So cocktails it was!  If you follow me on Instagram, you saw that I was hanging out with my friends who also like cocktails, and there wasn’t a vodka soda in sight.  No, no, no.  We did the heatwave cocktails up right.

So today, in honor of Cinco de Mayo, I thought I’d share a classic Mexican cocktail (other than the margarita!) with you.  Something that doesn’t require a whole lot of limes, since they are so darn expensive right now.  Something that helped me use up the rest of my leftover grapefruit juice.

A Pink Peppercorn Paloma!

Pink Peppercorn Paloma

The “Paloma” – meaning dove in Spanish – I can only assume got it’s name from being a majestic flash of relief from the heat.  The Paloma is actually the national drink of Mexico, not the Margarita, so whip up a few of these tonight and impress your friends! Continue reading →

Grapefruit Mint Julep

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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

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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

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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 →

Love Is A Strawberry Tart

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Ok, maybe love is more than a Strawberry Tart, but I’m going to go ahead and say that there is a definite correlation between the amount of love you feel and the amount of this tart you eat. Just ask … Continue reading →