organizing my most useful kitchen tools
I love healthy food, but I love it more when it doesn’t taste like healthy food. Best of both worlds! Click around to find some of my tried and true staples - and new recipes too, whether my own ideas, inspired by other blogs, torn from the pages of a magazine, or passed through friends or family. Learn more about me and My Utensil Crock HERE.
Today was a perfect Salsa and Chips Day in Washington, D.C. What do I mean by that? The kind of day when I want to snack a lot, and don't mind the oven on for a while. Winter has arrived, as evidenced by Winter Storm Diego wreaking havoc a bit to the south, and my hands and neck getting itchy again. Yeah, I have a weird winter thing. … [Read more...]
I started having to really actually feed myself during law school. My apartment in Ivy Gardens in Charlottesville, Virginia, is where I had 3 friends over for what I guess was my first real dinner party, of my mom's lasagna, something green (probably broccoli), and brownies. And a bottle of wine. SO grown up. I don't even think we really liked wine … [Read more...]
Cider season is in full swing, and I am reposting this oldie but goodie from May 2013. Five and a half years later, I wanted to re-share this fun fall recipe, with a few adjustments and lots of new photos. I was so intimidated by the thought of cooking a whole chicken - until I tried. Turns out, there is very little more to it than putting … [Read more...]
Winner: Easiest, prettiest, most impressive appetizer. Also Winner: Least planned blog post. The week before Labor Day, I headed back to my family's house on Lake Michigan. You may recall my trip from last year, when I posted about 10 Tips and Techniques That Improved My Food Photography, and told you about delicious grEATings™ as I launched … [Read more...]
Is it even a cooking blog if it doesn't have an "Easy Summer Ratatouille from the Farmer's Market" post? I'm not taking any chances. I didn't even mean to make this into a blog post; I was just enjoying some beautiful produce from the farmer's market... I have truly become a parody of myself. There is a (very) small farmer's market just … [Read more...]
I made this recipe, took a bite, and lost my mind. I mean, in a good way of course. It was SO good. And SO easy. Sometimes cooking is more rewarding than other times, and this Easy Roasted Tomatillo Salsa was a very rewarding time. And so little effort - 10 (TEN) minutes, start to finish. And it's SO good. I can't remember if I … [Read more...]
If you follow My Utensil Crock on Instagram, you recently saw this gem: I would like to wish a very happy birthday to my basil plant. I bought you a year ago this month, and you have thrived in this bowl that I fill with water when I don’t forget. I took you to Michigan last summer, where you helped out with some mahi and other recipes, … [Read more...]
We are having an exceptionally rainy spring in Washington, D.C. It may be hot, but rain always makes me crave comforting foods. I can eat warm, filling meals all the time, weather notwithstanding. I mean, it's never that hot inside, right? How did I come to add this Lentil Cilantro Soup to my repertoire? I was digging through my pantry for … [Read more...]
In January, I looked at a 4-pound bag of Domino's sugar and had a moment of terror. I bake a lot. This, you know. Recipes for baked treats usually have at least a cup of sugar in them, if not two or more. I go through that 4-pound bag in no time at all. I was not at all ready for a January cleanse of any sort, but I decided that in February, … [Read more...]
This is a very special "Snow Day Snacks" - WIND DAY edition. There was much hype this week about impending high winds today. The forecast was no joke: gusts up to 70 MPH. The news started stressing that the weather would be hazardous during the morning commute, and last night one of the more rural school systems canceled school for today. These … [Read more...]
