hippy happy!

Today is njr's natal day--hoorah! I for one am very glad he was born. To celebrate, we made a fete this past weekend featuring some of the best things about parties in august--BBQs, swimming, and ice cream cones. Although my photo-taking was compromised by a certain forgetful member of our tribe, (sirrah, i'm clearing my throat in your direction) some documentation exists of our mediterranean-inspired repast.



The menu was as follows:

guacamole & chips
white sangria w/ peaches & mint

green salad of lettuces, cucumbers, & tomatoes
duo of quinoa salads: beet/carrot/celery/dill & shitake/zucchini/corn/basil
chicken kabob w/ cucumber yogurt dipping sauce
steak kabob w/ parsley lemon dipping sauce
vegetable kabobs: red onion, peppers, tomatoes

do-it-yourself ice cream cones featuring scoops ice cream!



I lugged a fair amount of veggies and herbs from our parents' garden (aka rancho puesta del sol) including avocados, tomatoes, giant scallions, beets, cucumbers, parsley, basil, lemons, squash, and the largest zucchini i've ever seen. such wonderful raw materials make cooking easy and elemental--everything is flavored with little more than fresh herbs, lemon, and some good olive oil. i am not one to follow a lengthy recipe, so this is my favorite way to cook--riffing on some simple ingredients prepared with a minimal amount of fuss. i thought i'd post the recipe for the beet quinoa, as it has made a number of appearances at recent parties and everyone seems to adore it. plus it looks amazing in a bowl, all bright crimson textures with little green flecks of dill.

BEET QUINOA WITH DILL
serves 6

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
3-4 beets, cooked and diced
2 carrots, diced
1 celery heart, diced
1/2 onion, diced
2 cups chicken or veggie broth
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon lemon
salt
pepper
olive oil

bring broth to a boil and add quinoa. simmer about 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes, then transfer to large bowl. in a frying pan, sweat onions until translucent, then add carrots and celery, plus some salt and pepper, cooking until softened. add these to the quinoa, along with the beets, dill, and lemon. stir well, taste, and add a bit of olive oil if it seems dry, plus additional salt and pepper. serve at room temperature.

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we've been baddie

It's true. No amount of apologizing will remedy the fact that there has been a sad lack of posts as of late, and no amount of excuses will get back those (probably) millions of readers who have already turned away, dismayed and saddened by the laziness and ineptitude of the baddiefish management.

I'm here to tell you that I'm gonna turn this old ship around--stolen computer be damned! Today I will write about cookies! Lots of cookies! And not just any cookies--a special sneak peek of cookies I photographed for a friend whose cookie company website will soon be up and running, featuring some of the photos below! (Details and website to follow in the near future...this is but a sneak!) I hope they make your mouth water with anticipatory delight! They taste about a million times better than they look, by the way--for every cookie I photographed, I ate 5 more of the same. Some would even say I was paid in cookies. Please email me if you are interested in buying some from my fine cookie-purveying friend. They make an excellent hostess gift, client appeasement offering, co-worker birthday treat, etc.


oatmeal blueberry


chocolate chip cookie present


lemon pistachio

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