365 branch multi-seed flatbread crackers with brillat savarin and chopped olive tapenade.
Omg, I love these! I buy everything at Whole Foods and put everything together whenever I need a little snack (usually when watching tv). Every bite is packed with tons of flavor and it incorporates one of my favorite cheeses. The brillat savarin is soft and spreadable so this snack is super easy to assemble. Noms!
I went back to the Puget Sound to spend time with my family over Thanksgiving. It was great to see everyone, even my dad who usually doesn’t leave the house very often in his old age. My oldest sister and her family were having their own Thanksgiving in Tacoma so I wasn’t able to see them, but there were so many others I was glad and fortunate to spend time with this holiday. Everyone else (which included 5 of my siblings and too many nieces and nephews) met up at the second oldest siblings house in our hometown. We and an amazing time catching up, telling stories, playing games, and generally teasing each other and having a good laugh. There was TOO much food, but here are some of the pics I was able to snap before I literally drank myself to sleep, LOL!
Pancit.
Acorn squash with stuffing.
Mashed sweet potatoes topped with maple-glazed nuts.
Fresh fried lumpia.
Roasted duck and lechon (roasted pork).
Crab foo yung.
Turon (dessert lumpia with banana and jackfruit).
And WAY too much wine!!!
The “Skelly” wedding was absolutely beautiful! My “adopted” English family is full of ridiculously kind, funny, and wonderful people and I was thrilled to be able to join in their celebration. They held the ceremony and dinner in the couple’s backyard. They had purchased the property a few years prior and had built the luscious garden from scratch. They’d also undertaken the enormous task of restoring their house to its original detailing which included wattle and daub construction. And all this by themselves!
The ceremony was probably the best I’ve ever witnessed. It was small and intimate (I’m used to large, formal Catholic weddings in huges churches with hundreds of people). The wedding was beautifully officiated and everything just seemed SO genuine and heartfelt. I think I cried 5 different times, lol!
The wedding food was delicious! The majority of the dishes were actually prepared by family and friends. The wedding couple had tasked some individuals to bring certain dishes. Wow, I would not have guessed that the food was homemade! Everything tasted amazing and were beautifully presented. They also had little labels with the dish and the cook’s names in front of each serving plate. It was super cute!
So I learned something new. Apparently, the English call large tents marquees. It took me a couple seconds to figure out what they were talking about, lol!
They converted one of the shed to a little bar. Cute!
Inside the shed bar.
They also created a play ares for the kids.
Family and friends gather before the ceremony commences.
Version with bacon, roughly chopped fruit/nut/chocolate mix, and topped with a dollop of hazelnut chocolate spread.
Mmm, I love these cookies! The original recipe is from Make it Paleo by Bill Staley and Hayley Mason. I’ve made the recipe several times and really love the cookie dough batter. I’ve subsequently played with the add-ins and have decided that the cookie pictured above is my favorite so far!
Original Recipe:
Ingredients
5 slices nitrate-free bacon
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 cups blanched almond flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup coconut oil, unrefined
1.5 cups 72% dark chocolate chips
1. Preheat oven to bake at 350’F.
2. In a medium size mixing bowl, toss bacon in 1/4 cup maple syrup.
3. Lay bacon on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
4. Bake for 20 minutes.
5. Remove bacon from oven, and allow to cool.
6. Crumble candied bacon for cookie batter.
7. Heat oven to 375’F.
8. In a medium-sized mixing bowl combine dry ingredients.
9. In small mixing bowl beat eggs, 1/2 cup maple syrup, and vanilla extract with a hand mixer.
10. Pour wet ingredients into dry and beat with hand mixer until combined.
11. Add melted coconut oil into batter, and continue to blend until combined.
12. Stir in chocolate chips and candied bacon.
13. Drop balls of dough on parchment-lined baking sheet, about a tablespoon in size.
14. Bake cookies for 15 minutes at 375’F.
15. Let cool and serve.
My Notes: I’ve never done Steps 2-6. I think that candied bacon is too much for these cookies especially since there’s already maple syrup in the batter. If I do include bacon, I just chop up a few strips and fry them until most of the fat has been rendered out. I love these cookies, but it’s good to reduce the fat content where you can!
Baking these cookies for only 15 minutes keeps the cookies soft and moist. I’ve also baked them longer and they turned out crispier and flakier (if that floats your boat). I think the ingredient that I keep adding every time are chopped dried plums (prunes). They really make the cookie!
Crispier version with bacon, chocolate chips, chopped dried plums, and almond slivers.
Frida Kahlo sidewalk stencil, The Mission.
I love it when my friends throw potlucks at their homes! It’s a great time to catch up with everyone and enjoy wonderful food. I’m a little bit competitive so I always like to bring something that everyone will enjoy. It can be simple or complicated, but it should make a statement either way. My friends’ tablescape certainly did. It was really pretty with the assorted flowers, fruits, vegetables, and candles.
And what’s a get-together without some refreshments! 🙂 You can never go wrong with a nice mimosa to start.
Bam, this slider rocked!
For our last potluck at work, a co-worker and I decided that we would team up and bring sliders. He would be in charge of the meat and buns, and I would bring all the toppings. What resulted was the best, juiciest, most flavorful sliders EVER, lol! He ended up grilling the beef patties and toasting the buns on a George Foreman grill in the office, and I skillfully laid out all the toppings. I like to think that a stampede ensued to grab all the available sliders! 🙂
Colby jack cheese, avocado, tomatoes, and a spicy smoked paprika aioli (I tweaked a recipe I found on Epicurious).
Romaine hearts and spicy capicola chips (I slowed dried the capicola slices in the oven).
Here are a couple pics of other items brought in.
Assorted Turkish sweets.
Whenever I’m back visiting Seattle, my large family scattered throughout the Puget Sound usually finds a day when we can all get together and catch up. These parties are fun because I get to see all my brothers and sister, nieces and nephews, and any random relative who has been invited. Here are some pics of some the food that I snapped throughout the day.
Smoked chicken wings. One of my brothers has really gotten big on smoking things so he made these amazing chicken wings for the party. They were super tender and juicy and had a great smokey flavor!
Frying lumpia. No Filipino gathering is complete without these delicious babies! We fry so many of them throughout the day that we have to do it on the back patio so the house doesn’t smell like oil all day.
Freshly fried lumpia. These are SO good straight from the fryer. My sisters always let me steal a few before they even make it to the table. Noms!
BBQ’ing steack and corn on the cob. Our family gatherings never have a food theme. We just make anything and everything we feel like eating. Heck yeah!
Beef tostada and grilled short ribs. See what I mean? Our stomachs know no culinary border. You certainly have to be prepared to eat all day during these parties.
Jello – a kaleidoscope of colors. These look labor-intensive to make especially considering the amount of colors they used. Regardless, they were yummy!
Pancit. This isn’t a very good pic because this was the last of the stuff. I kept forgetting to take pics earlier cause I was too busy stuffing my face, lol!
Tacoma Narrows Bridge “Galloping Gertie”. I’ve always thought this bridge was really beautiful. I cross it every time I drive back home.
Whenever we’re down at the PS house, I always make a large batch of sangria to keep in the refridgerator. I love the stuff because it’s so refreshing and nice to have around on a hot, sunny day!
At the nearby grocery store, I look for a variety of fruit that are on sale or look particularly good. I like to get a nice mixture for extra flavor. Here I have nectarines, pears, oranges, mangoes, and apples.
Slice up the fruit and place in a bowl. I like to keep them in large chunks because eating the alcohol soaked fruit is the best part.
Here’s where I cheat. I mix 1 part bottled sangria (I really like the Cruz Garcia Real Sangria brand) with 1 part red wine (I’ll just get anything on sale because I’m just mixing it with the sangriz mix anyway). I’ve experimented with the different sangria brands and have found that a higher quality brand really makes a difference on the end result. The bottled sangria tends to be too sugary for my taste so adding more wine helps to temper the sweetness.
Pour some sangria into a decorative glass and enjoy poolside. Cheers!
Marinated chicken on the grill (with Maggie girl in the background)!
Our work group decided to have another weekend bbq to celebrate a birthday/last day of work. We decided to switch it up and have it in the East Bay this time around. It was a little cold and windy, but we had a great time eating, drinking, playing volleyball, and just hanging out.
Marina Park, San Leandro CA
It took a bit of effort and lot of lighter fluid to get this baby going!
Kalbi spareribs, fried chicken wings, more meat and corn on the cob wrapped in foil.
Cheese and fruit plate.
I made a lemon cheesecake!
I make this sandwich with leftovers and things I already had in the house, so it’s super easy!
Ingredients
Leftover roasted chicken from the store, chopped
Celery, finely chopped
Capers
Tartar sauce
Mayonnaise
Salt and pepper
Cheese
Bread or roll
Combine the first 6 ingredients in a bowl and mix to the consistency and seasoning you like. I’ve found that adding tartar sauce is great because it already has some of the great flavors I enjoy. There’s usually some in the fridge already so it’s also very convenient. Scoop a generous portion onto the bread, top with cheese, then I like to put it under the broiler until the cheese is melted and the bread is a little toasted.
There you have it! A delicious, quick and easy chicken salad sammy, enjoy!
Lavendar pansies (Viola tricolor, Violaceae), Jersey Street.
Aw, I love it when David cooks dinner! I try and offer to do the dishes, but he’s such a putzer that he ends up doing them before I can get the chance. Hehe! This meal was lovely and a nice change of pace from eating out. As much as I love dining at restaurants, it’s the home cooked meals that I remember the most!
Tender pork chop served with dirty rice and beans.
Mixed greens salad with sliced beets and feta cheese. Simple and delicious.
Assorted marinated olives. He knows that I love olives so he was sweet enough to purchase some to snack on.
Ornamental lemon tree (Citrus sp., Rutaceae), Roosevelt Way. You can see Twin Peaks in the background covered in a shroud of fog.
Project 365: Day 7
Omg! I am SO tired. I biked almost 15 miles to work this morning even though my legs were still tired from squats a couple days ago. Then Rapunzel, Papa Chang and I took a 30-minute bike ride before lunch. And then I biked to Bart after work and back home from the Bart station near my house. I was so hungry all day because I burned so many calories from biking. Maybe I’m over doing it on the exercise. I keep thinking, “Cruise, cruise, cruise!” I even had a dream about the cruise last night!
I’ve got to say that taking the midday ride was really fun and beautiful! It was nice to get out of the office, get some exercise and enjoy the outdoors. I love being outside and I’m glad that some of my coworkers do too!
Prosciutto, salame al tartufo, taleggio cheese, reblochon prefere de fromi cheese, mixed olive tapenade, fig and olive tapenade, multiseed flatbread.
After I had an early dinner, I was still super hungry so I made myself a nice snack plate to munch on while catching up on DVR. I love truffle flavored salami – I bought these from Whole Foods. Actually, everything on this plate is from Whole Foods, lol!
Vittle Monster 