We Tried Trader Joe’s Apple Cider Marinated Pork Loin

Trader Joe's Apple Cider Marinated Pork Loin is a great way to welcome fall. I only regret that I didn't grab a jar of applesauce or the pineapple fruit spread. Because while it has cinnamon, cloves, and other spices in the marinade, this is definitely a savory pork roast. I ended up using a little…

ByMichelleSeptember 16, 20210Comments

Product Review

We Tried Trader Joe’s Harissa Chicken Thighs

It's a weird time to review Trader Joe's products, because well, it's just a weird time, period. We're in the throws of a pandemic, you're doing your part to socially distance yourself. And maybe you did or didn't pick up a package of these chicken thighs on your last TJ's run. All anyone is…

ByMichelleMarch 16, 20200Comments

Summer Pasta Solution #1 – Penne with Zucchini, Ricotta & Chickpeas

Summer is officially here! And along with the beach parties, cookouts and s'mores, it's time to complain about zucchini! Get ready, overzealous gardeners every where are about to start leaving crazy amounts of zucchini on your doorstep. I've never been lucky enough to live next door to someone whose zucchini crop gets out of control every…

ByMichelleJune 20, 20160Comments

Cooking Main Course Recipes

Not a Sad Desk Sandwich: Braised Kale, Mozzarella & Red Onion Jam

How often do you eat lunch at your desk? Whether you’re in a corporate environment, or working from home, researchers suggest getting away from your desk for even a short break can dramatically impact creative thinking. It’s not even so much about the food, it’s about a change of scenery. I have to admit, until recently, I’ve…

ByMichelleMarch 23, 20160Comments

Photo One-offs

Photo One-Off: Pizza Poblano

I don't think of myself as a cheap person. I'll gladly buy a bag of sea salt for $8, a good bottle of olive oil for $20 or more. I'm not a nitpicker about splitting a check when out to eat with friends. But we've had pizza delivered a couple of times in…

ByMichelleJune 29, 20120Comments

Restaurants Travel

Victoria, BC: Lure & the Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort

The last time I was in Victoria, BC, it was a pass through point on the way to and from Tofino. We darted around downtown trying to find some quick lunch before the ferry to Port Angeles. This past weekend, I headed up to Victoria with the city as the end destination for a girls weekend celebrating my friend Linda's birthday. We stayed at a great little place on the Inner Harbour - the Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort.

ByMichelleJune 19, 20120Comments

Main Course Pasta Recipes

Spring Penne with Sugar Snap Peas and Asparagus

It's been four years and I'm still having a hard time adjusting to the seasons in the Pacific Northwest. I'm used to strawberries starting in late January, asparagus starting in April and lasting nearly to the fall, stone fruit starting in May, and then being socked in by June gloom. But if there's one benefit…

ByMichelleJune 1, 20125Comments

Main Course Recipes

Build a Better Burrito: Black Bean, Kale and Yam

My first "Build a Better Burrito" post was more for meat eaters and focused on Alton Brown's Taco Potion #19. This time around, I'm doing a vegetarian burrito -- starring home-cooked black beans. I was a hold out on dried beans for a really long time. At New Year's, I'd make red beans and rice (yeah, I know it's technically supposed to be black-eyed peas), but I never just made beans on the regular to have them ready to go. And then, I made this pot of black beans and a light finally flicked on in my head. It took a little time, but they tasted better, cost a fraction of the canned version and froze well. I'd heard all that before, but like I said, a light flicked on.

ByMichelleOctober 27, 20110Comments

Recipes Salads

Chinese Chicken Salad Like Grandma Used to Make

If you think of Chinese Chicken Salad as something that went mainstream in the 80s because of Wolfgang Puck and his Chinois Chicken Salad, you might be missing a chapter. Madame Wu's Garden, an LA restaurant, may have really originated it another 20 years earlier. Now closed, the lore is that that Madame Wu's salad…

ByMichelleAugust 5, 20111Comment

Recipes

Quick Chicken Stir Fry w/ Peppers, Green Beans & Zucchini

In college, chicken stir fry was a mainstay for me and my roommates. It was something you could make a lot of, relatively cheaply, when we had friends over for Must See TV on Thursday nights. Friends, The Single Guy, Seinfeld, Caroline in the City and ER. I liked Jonathan Silverman in the Single Guy, but that 8:30 pm slot was always no man's land despite being bookended by Friends and Seinfeld. Anyway, the stir fry. Back then, we used San-J Szechuan sauce, a Sun Bird packet for seasoning and a big bag of frozen stir fry vegetables.

ByMichelleJuly 21, 20110Comments