by Sam Tackeff | Feb 10, 2009 | bento
I make bento lunches almost every day. My bentos are usually a mixture of leftovers, and whatever is in my home made freezer stash – cooked rice, dumplings, turkey meatballs; things that I’ve spent some Sunday cooking and saved for another day.
Sometimes though, when I’m running low and I’m getting lazy, I do the unthinkable – I use a frozen meal. Today was one of those days, and I hesitantly pulled out a Butternut Squash Ravioli Lean Cuisine. As soon as I ate it, the regret melted away. These ravioli are really good. The butternut squash filling is sweet and light, there are plenty of vegetables that hold up really well and are not over cooked, and a really pleasant walnut cream sauce. I’m actually suprised every time I eat these that they taste so good. You could probably serve them at a dinner party and nobody would know…
The other container was the last of the leftover bright and happy slaw, from a few days ago. As you can see it holds up well, and the flavor just keeps on getting better!
by Sam Tackeff | Feb 9, 2009 | Random
On this door, located in the main building at Cal State East Bay, is a powerful message: SNACKS. Snacks! I wasn’t really sure what this meant, but it sure made me hungry. Would I head through it and find a tasty treat? You would think that, but the door was quite locked. I tried to open it, I jiggled it, I smelled through the door to see if snacks were hiding. But nothing. Just a locked door, an unfulfilled pavlovian response, and a mystery…
by Sam Tackeff | Feb 9, 2009 | Japanese, Soups
My kitchen for the past several months has seemed to take on a distinctly Asian flare inspired by the wonderful posts of one of my favorite food blog writers, Maki, of Just Hungry and Just Bento . With her influence, I have been making bento lunches almost daily, and have a large stash in my freezer of dumplings, steamed buns, and udon noodles. I have been experimenting gleefully with fish sauces, chili oil, rice vinegar, adzuki beans, and miso paste, and have found that for the most part these ingredients are actually quite simple to use, and produce tasty results (regardless of whether they are being used authentically). (more…)
by Sam Tackeff | Feb 9, 2009 | Salads
To think that I almost missed out completely on the joyful possibilities of cole slaw… After years of being served the gloppy, mayo mess at summer picnics or lobster pounds, I had developed an extremely negative association with anything that called itself “slaw”. Fortunately I learned that all slaw is not the same, and there are some really fantastic versions out there with endless varieties of of crispy, crunchy vegetables dressed lightly and most importantly not swimming in jarred mayonnaise. (more…)
by Sam Tackeff | Jan 30, 2009 | Salads
As I child, I did not like fennel. Raw, it has a crisp, bold, anise flavor that takes some getting used to. Luckily for me, our palates tend to change over time, and now I can’t seem to get enough of the fresh, crunchy and delicious vegetable. I’ve been picking up a bulb every week at my farmers market in Noe Valley. Conveniently, fennel is a hardy plant, a member of the Apiaceae family, and can be grown year round here in Northern California.
(more…)
