Angel Hair with Shiitake, Caramelized Onions and Spinach

We here in DC are quietly waiting for Hurricane Sandy to collide with some nice arctic Canadian air. It's the calm before the storm...just waiting. Will classes be canceled? Will the city flood, or, more specifically, will my basement manage to stay dry? Will we all lose power? When we all lose power, how long will it be out? We'll just have to wait and see, I suppose. And just what does this have to do with this dish? Not one thing. I just wanted you to think about the hurricane even if you live far away. It's a little exciting in a bad-things-could-happen kind of way. Anyway. On with our recipe for today.

One of the farmers at the market in Old Town Alexandria sells some of the most delectable mushrooms I've ever eaten. And the shiitakes, oh the shiitakes! I knew they deserved their own dish to highlight such a rich, buttery flavor. So I caramelized some onions, and tossed them together with the mushrooms and some spinach (or arugula, as my husband prefers, but it's a bit bitter for me sometimes) in some angel hair pasta and voila! A simple, elegant, and, might I be so bold to say, superb pasta dish that will tempt even those who think they don't love mushrooms. 

Potato Kale Bake

I love and hate Sundays. I love them because it's the one day of the week when I generally don't have anything I simply have to do- I can sleep in, go for a long walk, relax, cook, read, go to church, talk with family, watch movies, etc. I hate them because we have church at 3. 3:00 to 6:00 pm, to be precise. And yes, it's just as dreadful as you might imagine. Gone are the days of elaborate Sunday dinners. Gone are long afternoon naps. But. It does give me time and reason to make much tastier lunches than I normally would have. Which, considering my usual distaste for that meal, is quite a feat. So yesterday I decided to make this potato kale concoction before heading out to our evening church. And it was a warm, flavorful, and delicious lunch.

Kate's Chicken Chimmichangas

There was a period of time not so long ago that chimmichangas were pretty much the only thing my sister Kate would eat (that and ice cream, of course). She used to beg my parents to take her to the Mexican place one town over at least once a week. But then I came to visit and we dug up an old recipe from my aunt, modified it a bit, and suddenly trips to Newark were no longer necessary for Kate's happiness. She could actually have chimmies any time she wanted.

So now it seems like I "get" to make them whenever I go home to visit. It's not like Kater can't make them herself, but like most things in life, they're better when someone else makes them for you. And I'm not going to lie- these are a little bit of work. There's cooking and wrapping and frying involved, but the end result is so tasty that we usually forget about all the hard work (and oil splatter burns) after the first bite.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

One of my very favorite things to make. Nothing fancy, but I always love these meatballs. I serve them over rice with a green salad or other vegetable, or as the case was here, a Tomato Cucumber Salad. I also always make a full 9x13 pan, which this recipe is good for and makes about 24 golf ball sized meatballs or 40 ping pong ball sized meatballs. That way I have left overs. No, I don't eat them the next day (usually) instead I put them in a big freezer bag and have them ready for a night I don't want to cook, but want something really good.

Sweet & Spicy Chicken

I'm finally back! Yes this is Caroline, I have been such a huge twolittlechef slacker (sorry Kelly). I had a big family reunion, followed by another family reunion in that large nation just north of us, and then I returned home, packed up house and home and moved to my first real home. Meaning, my husband and I are no longer renters, but are homeowners. Needless to say, the last 6-8 weeks have been busy!

So here I finally return with an easy meal that is surprisingly good. In fact I decided to classify it under a Super Simple label. Yes, it does have move than 4 or 5 ingredients, but it really is a delicious meal for a novice and it is healthy.

Mushroom Zucchini Quinoa Cakes

And...we're back! Our travels are done (for now at least), Caroline has moved into her new house, which I'm sure she's excited to tell you about, and I've decided that it's time to start cooking. I always go through a summer stretch of no cooking (pasta again! tomato salad again! stir fry again!), but I'm ready for some real meals. I've been working on some interesting new recipes that I'm hoping you'll enjoy. The first teaser: peanut butter and jelly will never be the same. The next: cinnamon swirl what?!

My husband can't imagine eating quinoa before these cakes entered our lives. I think I've mentioned this before, but he's not really a fan of the "new" super grain; I have to sneak it in when he's not paying attention. But hands down, this dish one of his our favorite ways to incorporate quinoa into a meal--he'll even eat them cold. I usually eat 2-3 cakes (ok, sometimes 4 if I'm really hungry) along with a green salad. If there's company coming, I add another side like Turkish Carrot Salad or fresh fruit.

Curried Couscous Salad

I have one more week left at my current (non-teaching) job before I get a nearly a month of pure freedom until the next semester starts. That's five days. Are you just a teensy bit jealous?  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my spare time when I'm not visiting family, prepping for my fall classes, and trying to find the husband a job, but I'm hoping it will involve a lot of cooking, reading, and sitting in the sun, preferably at the beach. We'll see what happens. Until the end of the week, however, I'll be eating leftovers of this salad for lunch and dinner, which doesn't bother me one whit.

This recipe makes a lot- you might want to cut it in half if you're cooking for a small family. And the flavor will be significantly improved if you have some good curry powder (the $.99 kind from the sale section of the grocery store won't cut it. Wish I'd mentioned that to T-rav before he went to the store so I didn't have to go back). Since curry powders often vary in strength and heat, I recommend waiting to add all the curry to the couscous until you've tasted it. If you need to add more, mix the curry powder with a teaspoon or so of olive oil before drizzling over the couscous. 

Cheater Chicken Marsala Pasta

This is a recipe that I based off of our standard Chicken Marsala recipe. I was craving something salty the other night (probably because I have been doing a lot of jogging lately), but I didn't want anything too heavy or too laborious to put together. I remembered that I had a handful of mushrooms in the refrigerator that needed to be used and I had all the other ingredients on hand for Chicken Marsala.

Roasted Beets with Barley, Greens and Feta

This is the last time I'm going to expend any more energy urging you to give beets a chance. I've already shared two of my favorite beet dishes here and here; if they weren't enough to convince you, I'm unsure that this dish will. Maybe you need to read my top 3 reasons to eat beets: 

1. They're pink! Or is it purple? Somewhere in between.
2. They're full of tons of vitamins and minerals, including folate, manganese, beta keratin, anti oxidants, and lots of fiber.
3. They taste good when you eat them. (especially when they've been roasted into sweet tenderness rather than pickled in a can). 

Are you convinced?  

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Spicy Peach Glaze

Start the grill and pit the peaches. Chop the garlic and get some cold drinks ready, because it is summer time, and that means it is grilling time! This recipe is awesome. Not only is is another chicken recipe to add to your grilling repertoire, but it is easy and you get to grill peaches too!

Vegetable Tikka Masala

I feel like I'm totally cheating on this recipe. I'm cheating because a real Indian chef wouldn't use a spice paste to get the delicious tikka masala flavor. A real Indian chef would grind up the spices herself and make the paste. But here's my justification: 1) A long list of ingredients can be intimidating and overwhelming. And this recipe is already sufficiently long. I did it for you. Really. 2) Most of the spices that would go into a tikka  paste are not commonly found in an American kitchen (well, aside from mine and others who like to make Indian food). Rather than tell you all to go out and purchase 7 new spices, you just need to buy one little jar that's most likely under $4. Again. I did it for you. Aren't you grateful?

Fish Tacos with Chipotle Cream

Last night we had some delicious fish tacos at our house. I purchased some tilapia from the local market for a few dollars, which was awesome. The flavor was light and fresh and perfect for a summer night. I threw the tortillas on the grill like the directions suggested and WOW! Turns out that grilling your tortilla shells takes them to a whole new level of smoky flavor goodness. I happen to have a top rack on my grill, so I just put them on there when the fish was about done, flipped them once, and voila, perfection. If you don't have a grill, try them in the broiler and I imagine it will enhance the flavor as well. The crisp corn, fresh cilantro, chipotle flavored sauce, and of course fresh lime juice truly made these tacos perfect. I would suggest putting  them on this weekends menu.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

I spent the past week back in Utah visiting my sister and her new baby Sophia...and Caroline and all the other friends I've been missing so much since moving to DC. It feels like I've been gone for ages and like I never left. Kind of surreal. 

One night our friend Lindsey hosted a picnic in my honor and made these pulled pork sandwiches, one of her many specialties. So we thought we'd share it with you.

Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Parmesan and Herbs

I was rummaging around in my cupboards the other day, struggling to find a serving dish that I knew had to be in there somewhere, when I was startled to encounter a spaghetti squash rolling around. Oh! You're still here! How nice. It was a fortuitous find since I had very little idea what to make for dinner that night, no desire to go to the store, and an odd and unhelpful collection of produce in the fridge.

So although it's May, and in truth I did feel a little strange roasting squash in May, this ended up being a most delightful dinner. I caramelized the onions until they submitted to their sweet brown coloring and topped the squash with a healthy handful of parsley from my garden and a bit of cheese. We ate our squash with  some slightly crusty bread from the farmer's market that had been well slathered with garlic butter and then broiled for a few minutes. Simple but delicious.

Spicy Coconut Shrimp with Mango Basil Salsa

This post is brought to us by my friend Ginny Miller (who you may remember me mentioning in our chocolate zucchini bread post). Mother of two seriously cool little boys, her family lives most of the time in Northern California but is soon to make a summer move to North Dakota. Wait. What? California to the Dakotas? Maybe a little strange for the rest of us, but not if you're a beekeeper. And that, my friends, is exactly what Ginny's husband is.

Beekeeping gets me excited on a number of levels: 1) We wouldn't have much food without bees. Save the bees! I ♥ bees! I plant flowers and herbs and vegetables that will attract bees so they can happily pollinate the neighborhood. 2) What would the world be like without honey? I shudder to think of it. It makes me want to go buy barrels of honey to store in my closet...Dutch Gold honey because that's where the Miller family honey goes. 3) Being a beekeeper means you get to be around bees all the time...which means you get to be outside a lot. And you're kind of saving the planet, too. So the fact that Ginny and her husband made the decision to bring on the bees makes them that much cooler.

But I digress. Aside from being a beekeeping family, Ginny is a great cook and lover of good food. When we were lucky enough to live near each other, our conversations inevitably turned to food and travel. Eating while traveling. Eating food that makes you feel like you're traveling. Traveling for the food. All good options, if you ask me. So please welcome Ginny and enjoy what promises to be a superb combination of flavors.  I can't wait to try it.

Creamy Peppercorn Pasta

I love a good, easy pasta. Really who doesn't? This recipe is full of flavor, but really is easy to throw together. The combination of cream and peppercorns is fantastic, especially if you are a fresh-pepper lover like myself (I like it on almost everything, including my green salads; really you should try it) and I added some balsamic which is quite mellow with the cream, but adds some depth of flavor to the recipe. 

Chili

It's that time again...when we shake things up a bit around here to give you the opportunity to see what other people like to cook (very noble, right?)...to give you a chance read something someone else besides us write about their food...and it just might also happen to be the end of the semester which equals tests, projects, exams, and lots and lots of grading. Cold cereal will be the main course in the Zirker house for the next 2 weeks. Meanwhile, you'll be hearing from Caroline as well as a couple of my favorite cooks. 

This guest post is from one of our most loyal readers (and dear friend), Lindsey R. She has actually already made a few culinary appearances on this blog in the form of her family's cookie salad and buttermilk blueberry pancakes (which I may have made 3 times the past 8 days), but this is her first official post. Welcome, Lindsey!

Spicy Turkey Meatballs

These meatballs will add some variety to spaghetti night. The addition of the sausage, prosciutto, and Asiago cheese to the turkey provides a nice flavor that is different than your average beef meatballs. Plus this recipe makes a lot of meatballs, around 40, so you can toss any extras in the freezer and save them for another day. So wash your hands, boil the water, and get ready to roll those meatballs!

Campanelle Pasta with Walnuts, Ricotta, and Lemon

This pasta and I shared a special moment during my first bite. It actually happened before it was fully assembled, when it was just perfectly salted al dente pasta drizzled with garlic infused olive oil. I hate to brag, but I think it may have been one of the best things I've ever tasted...which just goes to prove that sometimes the simplest of foods are the very best.

There's one thing a little different about this recipe: the ricotta is added at the last possible moment before eating, preferably onto each individual plate. The reason is to prevent it from melting all over the pasta and giving it a gooey coated look. It's also nice to have a pop of sweet ricotta in some bites but not in all. But if this seems like too much of a hassle, you may choose to toss the cheese with the rest of the ingredients. It just won't look as pretty as mine. ;)

Qunioa and Spring Vegetables

I had the day off yesterday. Completely off. It wasn't Saturday, so I didn't have to clean. It wasn't Sunday, so I didn't have to go to church. Yesterday was my day. And take a look at all the things I accomplished: got up (major accomplishment for a day off) made steel cut oats for breakfast, prepped the flower beds for more planting and moved some dirt to our future vegetable plot, made this quinoa dish for lunch, exercised, read outside in the sun, showered (yes, that's also an accomplishment), purged my email inbox, made dinner, went for a bike ride, finished doing laundry, watched the documentary Ingredients (which I highly recommend), and chatted with the husband.  The only thing I didn't do was make rhubarb crumb bars (coming soon, I hope) because rhubarb was nowhere to be found today.  All in all, I think I'd like to order 3 or 4 more such days, please.