Roasted Butternut Squash and Arugula Salad

This recipe is adapted from one of the Barefoot Contessa's recipes which I happened to see on her show on the Food Network several years ago. Over time I have added a few tweaks to it, but all the credit goes to Ina Garten.


The combination of roasted butternut squash, peppery arugula and tart-sweet cider dressing makes a wonderful winter salad that is relatively simple but exploding with flavor. When Jamie came over a little while ago for dinner, I served this salad alongside the mac and cheese recipe from the previous post. I normally use goat cheese, which is what you will see in this recipe, but the other night I used blue cheese instead and the flavor combination was a real winner.

mmm... mac and cheese

Please forgive the slightly blurry camera phone shot. My camera wasn't working and Jamie was kind enough to take a few shots for me.

I am a carb slut, it is true. I have a deep fondness for breads and pastas and I've never met a potato I didn't like. My waistline and my genetic predisposition for diabetes don't appreciate it, but often I find myself with fiendish cravings for starchy dishes. I also adore dairy products. Cheese, in all its delicious varieties, is probably one of the single greatest accomplishments of human civilization. Forget penicillin, I vote for cheese. Given my penchant for cheesy, carby goodness, I was none too surprised when last Sunday I woke up with a huge hankering for mac and cheese.

Urban Farming, Soba Noodles, Butternut Squash and Kale

 The Thanksgiving holiday is coming to a close and whether it's a meteorological phenomenon or purely a psychological one, the air already feels chillier. After several days of cold rainy weather, here in DC, the long Thanksgiving weekend burst forth in sunshine and miraculously warm days. After stuffing myself silly on turkey and all the trimmings on Thursday and then repeating with turkey leftovers on Friday and Saturday, I decided on Sunday that I should actually cook something. But first, I needed to get outdoors and enjoy the last of the beautiful weather.

Things in My Fridge I Can't Live Without

I wish my fridge was this cool...

Moving to a new place forces you to evaluate some key realities of your life such as your daily habits, your social skills, your directional skills, your financial stability, your stress level, and and particularly for me, your essential kitchen items. I have moved a good handful of times in my life and each time the task of restocking a kitchen takes considerable time, money and patience. After living in Hong Kong for about three months, and then suddenly returning to DC, I have finally gotten my food stocks to a level that I can enjoy. Given the amount of energy I have expended over the past few weeks getting the kitchen adequately stocked, felt it was only appropriate to share those things which deserved such attention. Thus, I have decided to write a few posts dedicated to the foods I can't live with out. This week, the inaugural week, I honor my fridge.

Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Hot Pot

So this week I had one of my very first food adventures in Hong Kong; I tried hot pot. To give you a basic image of what hot pot is, refer to one of its informal names: Chinese fondue. What hot pot consists of is a large metal bowl at the center of your table, which is sitting on a small burner and filled with boiling broth. You are given plates of raw food and you cook the food in the boiling broth, dip it in soy sauce and eat it all using your finely honed chopstick skills.

Holy Guacamole!

Steph's addictive and pretty darn authentic guacamole

I promised in my previous post that I would post this recipe, so here it is!

Unda Quesadillas and Big Buddhas

I love those rare Sundays when the sun is shining and you realize as you slowly roll out of bed, that there is nothing you have to do; no bills or work projects, or errands that just have to be taken care of. Today was one of those glorious days, so I decided to take full advantage of it. This meant making myself a delicious unda-style quesadilla and exploring the Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas.

Here it goes!

It's amazing how crazy ideas take ahold of you and with little chance to catch your breath or think it through properly, they manifest themselves and leave you look back wondering what you just got yourself into. Starting a food blog was one such crazy idea. It popped into my head a few days ago as a way for me to connect with my friends and family, document my adventures in Hong Kong, and most importantly, talk about my ridiculous obsession with food.

Now, I have never been described as a diligent writer; my most productive writing periods have always been about four hours before a paper was due. The thought of writing for pleasure and writing on a voluntary basis is, admittedly, a bit daunting for me, but like most endeavors in my life, I see this as a chance for self-improvement. So I will try to post on this here blog, and I will even try to post consistently. I don't promise anything, but I'll certainly give it a go. I hope you enjoy my musings on food, travel, and this crazy idea called life!