Split Red Lentil and Apricot Soup

This soup is something a bit different and completely addictive. I took inspiration from my recent travels to Eastern Europe where oil- toasted spices were added to simple soups and stews, creating a fantastically warm and rounded flavor. My friend Casey and I spent two weeks wandering around Hungary and Croatia where the food is almost as stunning and exotic as the scenery. In Budapest we gorged ourselves on pastries and cheeses, and discovered that Hungarian gulyás makes the perfect hangover cure after a late night of drinking palinka at the ruin pubs. It is nothing like the oily, food baby-inducing goulash we were all forced to eat at the school cafeteria and I am still working to try to come up with a recipe that can do the dish justice.

We spent much of our time in Croatia on the Dalmatian coast whose rugged beauty is like nothing I've ever seen. The medieval fishing towns cascade off the steep hills into water that is ice blue, ice clear and ice cold. The cuisine in this region is much simpler and fresher than inland and dining on a whole fish, caught that morning by the chef's son is commonplace. I still have dreams about the black sea bream we ate served with nothing but crispy-hot french fries and a local glass of wine.

I tweaked several recipes and came up with this version of lentil and apricot soup. I personally think that cumin and apricots make for an unusual combo that needs to happen more often. This soup makes a great lunch or light dinner that will keep you full forever. Just top with some fresh plain yogurt, pickled vegetable of your choice and you are in Eastern European dining heaven!

Hidden Bean Potato and Leek Soup

A few weeks ago I had a bunch of potatoes and some leftover leeks so I decided to make a french-style leek and potato soup. To help thicken the soup and to punch up the nutritional value, I added garbanzo beans and pureed the whole thing. The beans blend with the potato and leek flavors beautifully, add a lovely richness and yet hide completely in the background.

You can leave this soup unpureed for a rustic effect, but a pureed soup is more traditional. If you do leave it unpureed, I suggest using navy or cannellini beans instead of garbanzos. They will be softer and won't dominate the final soup as much.

"Old-Fashioned" Cupcakes

My friend Martin, in honor of this 27th birthday, decided to host a St. Patrick's Day brunch this past Saturday. It was a potluck brunch so everyone brought a whole slew of delicious fare, both sweet and savory. Brunch is a somewhat regular event among our friends, but since this one was a special celebration, I thought I should make cupcakes.

I was debating about what type of cupcake I should make, and I knew classic chocolate or vanilla was not going to cut it. Martin makes a mean old-fashioned and I thought it only appropriate to celebrate his birthday with an interpretation of his favorite cocktail. Plus, it was St. Patrick's day, so why wouldn't I include in my cooking that most Irish of elixir, Whiskey?

The classic old-fashioned gets its flavor from maraschino cherries and oranges muddled with whiskey. This is mixed with a bit of simple syrup, bitters, and served on the rocks. When I make an old-fashioned I usually use maple syrup instead of the simple syrup; I find the earthy flavors of the maple syrup really mesh well with the oak flavors in the whiskey. Thus, I ended up making a vanilla-maple cake, which I then drizzled with maraschino-whiskey syrup. I topped all of this with more maraschino-maple-whiskey-flavored frosting and garnished with a slice of orange and a cherry on top.

Spring Pea, Leek and White Bean Soup

Spring is finally here! Yes, I know that we never really had a winter, but I still get excited when I see the first buds on the trees appear and the first daffodils start to tentatively bloom even if I never had to chip ice of my car.

I have been on a soup kick recently and the appearance of fresh peas delicately green peas in the grocery store gave me a flash of inspiration. Pea and leek soup is a classic spring combination, one that I come back to each year around this time. For this version I wanted to make this light soup into a proper meal so I gave it more body by adding white beans and caramelized onion, and made it sing with a generous portion of lemon zest and tons of herbs added at the last minute. This simple and elegant bowl of soup was topped with grated Parmesan more herbs and served with a thick slice of bread for the best spring kickoff meal imaginable.

Curried Brown Butter Heaven

This is a quick post about my new condiment obsession: curried brown butter. There are two ingredients and I will only give you one guess. Making curried brown butter is fast and simple and it will change the way you dress all of your food. I have taken to drizzling a little over soup, tossing warm potatoes or veggies in it. I have even spread some on my grilled cheese sandwich. The last one was a bit unnecessary but boy was it tasty!

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!