On travel blogging, taking Costa Rica by the head — and a recipe

I was browsing vacation pictures today, contemplating the approach I would take to the first of several posts about my recent travels, when my super duper procrastination skills brought me to a rather relevant post over at Dancing Branflakes — one of the internet’s most elegant blogs, authored by none other than my high school classmate and allover beautiful person Tiffany. (She’s a spectacular dancer in spectacular shape with spectacular taste, so check her out.) The post title? “Being a Good Travel Blogger.” How ’bout that. Much along my same thoughts, the chic Mrs. Branflake asks her readers: “…it’s hard … Read More

Recipe: Restaurant-style, oven-baked potato rounds

Do you ever have one of those nights when the only thing you can possibly fathom for dinner is a life raft of french fries, preferably with a bucket of bloomin’ onion sauce on the side? I’ll pretend you said Yes so we can close the chapter on commiserating and get on with the good stuff: these de-fricking-licious potato rounds. Ok, so they’re not fries, but they ARE a very close, crispy, seasoned approximation, eerily similar to the thick-cut potato wedges you see at fine dining establishments across America. You know the ones — red and white awnings, 2-for-1 Double … Read More

Recipe: Soft-scrambled tofu with oyster sauce, Thai basil and egg

When Chris is out of the house for mealtime, a couple of things happen: 1) I catch up on DVR’d episodes of Real Housewives of ____________ and 2) I whip up a two big portions of a simple, unfussy meal full of comforting flavors — and then eat them both. Tonight was no exception. Tofu is one of those things I always have in the fridge. With sweet and salty oyster sauce and fresh, aromatic basil, this is tofu at its dressed-down best. Soft-scrambled Tofu with Oyster Sauce, Thai Basil and Egg By Emily Stoffel Cooking time: 10 minutes | … Read More

Recipe: Zucchini “fritters” with chard and poached eggs

This afternoon at about 5:45, I called my husband at work. It was the usual: how are things going, when are you headed home, and then — in simulcast — what do you want to do for dinner? My answer: Jinx, you owe me a Coke! His answer: Should we do something with all those veggies in the fridge? You mean, besides just letting them decorate the crisper drawer? Like, yeah, I guesso. So that’s what I did. On the drive home, I mentally inventoried our booty of garden fare and tried to think of a way to cram as … Read More

Recipe: Eggs marinara on crostini

This recipe goes out to my dear friend Emily, who, in addition to having an excellent name, has an excellent palate and is one of my most frequent dining companions. At Emily’s request, we made up some of these eggs for a quick breakfast before heading into the office yesterday, but they’re just as much of a treat for dinner or brunch. I believe Rachael Ray would, in fact, call this a BLAD recipe, which is supposed to stand for “Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner” but instead seems like onomatopoeia for a plain ol’ BAD recipe, so I’ll scrap the acronym and call … Read More