Whoa! (Broccoli Salad)

I live in Nashville! I just turned 30! This is my first post on my new blog!

Whoa!

It's been quite a week... starting with my decision to drive to Nashville rather than fly, as originally planned.  And let me tell you, driving to Nashville, TN from Santa Cruz, CA is no joke. Navigating that trip with two Rat Terriers is even less of a joke. Josie, the bigger of my two little dogs, was not so keen on a 5 day road trip. Normally car ride friendly, she had a little doggie melt down just before Bakersfield, CA. A mere 4 hours into our trip, mom and I had to stop at a veterinarian and Josie was prescribed a little something to take the edge off. Four additional hours into our trip, I considered dipping into her stash.

Precious cargo

When I informed my mother of my plans to drive across the country alone with my two little dogs, she offered her aid (ok, she insisted upon) being my escort. Having already had the time off from work, the timing couldn't have been better for her to tag along for the ride. Every mile marker we passed reminded me how grateful I was that she was with me.

We drove and drove, stopping to let the girls out every few hours. I quickly learned that while driving across this giant country you are certain to see more McDonald's than trees. I was prepared to leave the Pacific ocean behind, but I was not prepared for the sea of golden arches that wait in my future.

Miles from Santa Cruz to Nashville: 2268. Number of McDonald's you pass along the way: 2268.

Personally, I would rather eat a tree than anything from McDonald's so I was super stoked to take advantage of Urbanspoon, a website that lets you choose a city and tells you everything you want to know about the local restaurants: reviews, foodie blog posts, and recommendations from critics. We found that most of them were not far off the beaten path but would have never found them without help from Urbanspoon. Our cross country road trip was turning into quite the foodie adventure. This made me very happy.

 

We had breakfast at The Slate Street Cafe in Albuquerque, NM. Mom and I each had a mimosa with fresh squeezed OJ while we waited for our breakfast burrito which we ordered to-go. Back on the road, we shared a delicious burrito filled with fluffy farm fresh eggs, smokey bacon and green chilies.  

Waking up the following morning in Oklahoma City, I was tempted to forgo breakfast and just get out of there. Our experience trying to find a hotel the night before was less than pleasant. But, the Urbanspoon highly recommended a little place not far off the interstate called Big Truck Tacos. Redemption came in the form of a vegan spinach taco with black beans and avocado. The place was adorable, crawling with locals raving about the house-made chorizo and melody of sweet and spicy sauces. 

Day four of our road trip called for a little break. The dogs needed it and so did mom and I. It just so happens that my Grandfather lives in Mulberry, Arkansas and we were headed directly through there. We arrived in Mulberry late Friday afternoon. Grandpa and his wife, Sissy, were ecstatic to host the weary travelers. Sissy made a pot of Arkansas beans, potato salad, and generous potions of grilled rib-eye steak for dinner.

Grandpa made us omelets with ham and parmesan for breakfast. Turns out he is quite the cook!

The next morning, we said goodbye to Grandpa and got back on the road. Well rested and fed, we were ready for the final eight hour stretch to Nashville.

Mom and I pulled up to Monica and Ryan's house Saturday night just before 9pm. The exact time I would have arrived had I got on the plane in San Francisco that morning. Monica and Ryan greeted us with champagne and we spent the evening around the kitchen table sipping cocktails and chatting about our journey. As much as I was relieved to finally be there, I was saddened with the realization that my mom was leaving in two days. It was so hard saying goodbye to my friends in Santa Cruz, I didn't know how I was going to say goodbye to my mom.

But, I did. And now I'm here, in this big 'ole city, and I know it's exactly where I am supposed to be.

Press play and begin...

Before she left, mom made us her version of broccoli salad with raisins and bacon. It's one of my favorites! Monica and I have been eating it for days!

Broccoli Salad with Raisins and Bacon

  

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches broccoli, florets and stems, chopped
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 10 to 12 slices bacon, fried and crumbled
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped cashews 
•  Dressing:
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar

Preparation:

Combine salad ingredients; top with dressing mixture. Chill and serve.  

This salad can easily be made vegetarian by omitting the bacon. Also, you may use a full cup of yogurt in place of the mayonnaise to lighten the dressing.  

Semi-homemade pizza, food matters, and Nashville

This year has already been full of change! In just four weeks from now I am moving away from Santa Cruz, California for the first time in my life. For almost 30 years I have worked, lived, and played in the same town (yes, that means I am almost 30 years old!!). I gave notice at my rented condo (for real this time), and I am moving to Nashville, TN. I figure now is as good a time as ever to give my dream of becoming the next country music sensation one last shot :)

Plus, Monica and Ryan have offered to let me stay with them in Nashville while I break in my boots!

I am thrilled to be starting the next chapter of my life in a new city! I can't wait to learn how to cook some good 'ole southern comfort food and blog about it. I have even been researching culinary schools in Nashville! The world is my oyster, and this time the pearl inside is a black eyed pea.

Other changes include the possibility of a new blog! I have been racking my brain to come up with a title but have yet to decide. I feel like I have grown out of The Kind Blog. My foodie-ism has flourished since the days of cooking nothing but quinoa and kale.

Learning about food, where it comes from, and how it's produced, cooking and eating vegetarian (and maybe sometimes non-vegetarian), and eating local as well as keeping an open mind and maintaining my zest for adventure, are all things I want my new food blog to represent. Plus, I have a new food guru, whose philosophy on eating a responsible diet, personally and for the planet, I couldn't agree with more. I feel like I have finally found my place in this modern day food world full of controversy and debate.

Anyway... new blog, new city, new chapter. Maybe THIRTY won't be so bad after all.

With my kitchen half packed and not wanting to order take out, Mandy and I decided to go semi-homemade and jazz up an otherwise boring store bought cheese pizza. We served it with a pile of fresh spinach with vinaigrette. I have been getting better at homemade vinaigrette. Buying it now seems so silly - and don't even get me started on my new obsession with vinegar!! There are just so many wonderful vinegars out there!

Ingredients

1 prepared, uncooked, large size cheese pizza (Whole Foods has a decent one for $9.99)
1 Italian style chicken sausage, casing removed.
1 orange bell pepper
1/2 large white onion
1 clove of garlic
8 crimini mushrooms
2 large handfuls of spinach
2 tablespoons olive oil
Red chili flakes to taste

Directions

Dice onion and garlic and saute in olive oil until fragrant.  Cut bell pepper into 1/2 inch strips, slice mushrooms, add to onion and garlic. Once the vegetables are limp, add two heaping piles of spinach. Saute until the spinach is wilted.  Spread the hot veggie mixture over the cold, uncooked cheese pizza. Remove the casing from sausage and using the same pan, cook until brown. Garnish the pizza with sausage and cook it as directed. 15-20 minutes in a 425 degree oven.

It came out crisp and delicious. With little effort, the ordinary and not so nutritionally impressive cheese pizza, became a healthy, balanced meal. Loaded with veggies and a little extra lean protein from the chicken sausage. I recommend trying this as home!

Serves 3 girls plus a leftover slice for 1 boy.

Dear Mom,

Just in case you may have forgotten, we cooked up a storm last weekend! If I only concentrate on the time we spent together in the kitchen, it was a perfect Christmas...

I have baked this cake twice before. Unassuming from the plate is the pure pleasure you will experience when the cake is greeted by your mouth. Next time, I will surely make two. It tends to disappear at an impressive rate. 

Just for the smell of it (panch phoron)

If I were to be granted one wish, I would wish for scratch and sniff capability on my blog. Really, this dish smells that good...

From shopping, to prep, to roasting, this has to be the most intoxicatingly fragrant meal I have ever prepared. It smells as though you are walking through the streets of Northeast India, passing through ghosts of aroma wafting around street food vendors.

Once again,  I found this recipe while flipping through my new favorite magazine. I am desperately trying to convince myself that my recent obsession with Sunset has nothing to do with my upcoming milestone birthday. Lately, I find myself relating everything to the fact that I am almost THIRTY. I don't wear high heels much anymore - must be because I'm turning thirty. I stay home on Friday night and pickle Brussel sprouts and green beans - definitely because I'm rapidly approaching thirty.

I never thought I would be one of those women who freaks out over my age. Due to the fact that I have 'been there done that' when it comes to reaching certain relationship goals that society sets for women my age, and the fact that I have completely entertained the idea of not have children and am completely OK with it, I'm not quite sure where all of this big 3-0 anxiety is coming from. Maybe I have a slight clue but that is an entirely different blog post, perhaps an entirely different blog. So, I'm going ditch the 'woe is me, I'm turning thirty' bit and teach you to make this chicken...


And so begins, a slow, romantic waltz through aromatherapy heaven.

Bengali five-spice roasted chicken and vegetables

(recipe from Sunset magazine)

Bake in a very hot oven, the sauce reduces until the panch phoron seeds cling to chicken and vegetables in chewy nubbins

Ingredients

2 1/2 tbsp. vegetable oil - I used olive oil

2 tbsp. panch phoron*

2 dried bay leaves

2 1/2 tbsp. grated fresh ginger

2 1/2 tbsp. minced garlic 

2 1/2 tsp. ground coriander

1 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

1 1/4 cups plain whole-milk yogurt mixed with 1 1/2 tsp. flour- I used low fat yogurt and it was just fine. 

4 each bone-in chicken legs and thighs (separated; 2 lbs. total)-Free range and organic of course! 

1 each red and yellow bell peppers cut into chunks

2 large carrots, quartered lengthwise and cut into 3 inch pieces.

1 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks - I used sweet potatoes, very yummy!

*Panch phoron, "Five-spice" in Bengali, is a blend of five seeds: cumin, fennel, fenugreek, brown mustard, and nigella. I had never heard of panch phoron prior to this recipe but I was sure that my local health food store would carry it. Turns out I was wrong. The otherwise impressive bulk spice section at The Staff of Life in Santa Cruz is not a natural habitat for the exotic spice blend. A very nice empolyee, who just happened to be from India, was familiar with panch phoron and helped me concoct a similar cocktail of spices. They carried all but the nigella seed which he says I may be able to find in San Jose, otherwise, San Francisco. I decided to forgo an entire day trip in search of the fifth spice, so my version of panch phoron is actually "four-spice," don't tell my dinner guests. :)

Directions

1. HEAT oil in a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Add panch phoron and cook, stirring, until seeds begin to pop, about 30 seconds. Reduce heat to medium and, all at once, add bay leaves, ginger, and garlic. Cook, stirring, until ginger softens, about three minutes - at this point, your kitchen will smell so amazing you may begin to hallucinate and actually believe you are in Bangladesh. Not to worry, this is normal. Remove from heat, stir in coriander and salt, and let stand for about 30 seconds. Add yogurt, stir to loosen brown bits, and let marinade cool.

2. MARINATE by putting chicken, bell peppers, and carrots in a 1-gal. resealable plastic bag. Scrape in yogurt mixture, seal, and squish to coat. Chill at least two hours or over night - I marinated it over night. 

3. BAKE chicken: preheat oven to 475 degrees with a rack set in upper third of oven. Put potatoes on a large rimmed baking sheet and squeeze contents of bag over them. Mix to coat, then pat ingredients into a single layer. Bake, turning food with a wide spatula every 15 to 20 minute and ending with chicken skin side up, until browned, 40 to 45 minutes.

I served this meal at an intimate dinner party of 3 men and 3 women. It was extremely well received and the perfect amount of food. Enjoy!!