adventures in the kitchen

One of the Christmas gifts I got this year was a wonderful cookbook called Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison. When I was studying abroad and I had regular access to fresh and local food from the weekly farmer's market, and I had the time to experiment with new ingredients and recipes, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the kitchen learning about new flavors and combinations of food items. It was there that I learned how to make a vinegar reduction, how to eat preserved lemon, and what to do with a jerusalem artichoke.

Since then, I've had the chance to continue working on my cooking and kitchen savvy, both as something fun to do during my free time here in DC as a working adult, and also in order to survive. One simply cannot subsist on take-out pizza and things from the convenience store...especially when one lives without a car or bike in such a food dessert as the Bloomingdale neighborhood of NW DC.

And so, this combination of factors has motivated me to have much more fun with food, grocery shopping, and my three meals a day, leading me to create all sorts of delicious things, that I'd like to share with you!

Mushroom risotto

ingredients: arborio rice, vegetable stock, scallions, yellow onion, parsley, white mushrooms, lemon zest

Polenta cakes w/tomato sauce and salad

ingredients: pre-cooked polenta, eggs, bread crumbs, tomato sauce, oregano, garlic powder, sugar, salt, pepper, spinach, garlic, lemon juice, mixed greens, green goddess dressing

Kale chips

ingredients: kale, olive oil, salt

Portuguese kale soup

ingredients: kale, white potatoes, cannelini beans, vegan chorizo, vegetable broth, white onion, crushed red pepper, salt, pepper, lemon juice, rosemary, garlic

In other words...YUM :)