When I first met my husband all he had in his fridge was string cheese and beer. Fast forward 12 years and now he is the one asking for salads for dinner.
The key was to show him that salads could be hearty and satisfying. This Grilled Chicken Salad with Peaches, Bacon, and Healthy Choice Power Dressing Creamy Ranch Dressing is a great example. The salad has a TON of flavor thanks to the Healthy Choice Power Dressing Creamy Ranch - I use it not only as a dressing but also as a marinade for the chicken. It is full of flavor and it even has extra vegetables in it in the form of cauliflower puree and each serving is 45 calories
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There are two types of herbs - soft herbs and woody herbs. Soft herbs are just that, herbs that bruise easily, are delicate, and usually leafy. Examples are parsley, cilantro, basil, and chives.
Woody herbs are those herbs with thick woody stems like rosemary and thyme and will keep for at least a couple weeks in your fridge. The hardest herbs to keep fresh are the soft herbs. They have a tendency to wilt in your fridge and their shelf life is a lot shorter than their woody counterparts.
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Below is a list of the pantry staples that I always get at the store. Most of these are basic items but the important thing is that they can be used in a number of different ways.
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Countertops were a big decision in the kitchen renovation. . (Read more about the full renovation here ) Not only are countertops an aesthetic decision but function was also incredibly important. I use my kitchen every day for work and for my family. I not only cook on them, my daughter crawls on them, I use them as my desk, and we entertain on them. So they get a lot of use and sometime abuse.
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So this post has been a loooooonnnng time coming, but I am thrilled to share the before and after images of my kitchen! It has been such a transformation to this house - it is incredible -and feel so lucky to have this kitchen as the kitchen I get to cook in everyday.
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Oh Japan, where do I even begin?!
I can't believe it has been it was last fall that I headed across the Pacific for Tokyo. So first off, I should tell you it was one of the top 10 trips I have ever taken, maybe even top 5. To put it differently, it rained every single day of the trip and it still was amazing, that is how much I loved Tokyo and Kyoto. So here are the details.
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If your family was anything like mine, the veggies of our childhood were overcooked and bland. I am still traumatized by the way my dad cooked zucchini. He would cook it on the grill in tin foil until basically there was nothing left. You have to give him credit for trying but the zucchini was so overcooked that it was pretty much inedible. I still have a hard time eating cooked zucchini because of it.
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Here is my master Thanksgiving plan. This menu was based on my Friendsgiving for 35 people last year and I wanted to show you how I broke it down. Here is the menu if you want to take a look.
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A little bit of news....we are moving to LA. Holy sh@!#$$t.
We move in a couple days and I don't think it has quite hit me yet. It is all a very long story that I won't bore you with, but we are making the move south from the Bay Area to LA. And I am both excited and nervous. Excited to live in a new city and explore new places and try new things but nervous because I have been to LA a total of three times, one of those times was when I was 13 years old. So there is that. (For the record 13 yr old Amanda quite enjoyed it though)
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I just got back from an amazing weekend in Palm Springs. Every time I visit that desert town, the more I love it. For the record I have only gone in February when the weather is perfect and July might feel like walking on the face of the sun, but I grew up in Florida, I can handle a little heat. Maybe. As long as there is air conditioning. It was a weekend filled with good food, strong cocktails, interesting conversations and great girlfriends. Here are the details:
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Since 2015 has almost come to a close and 2016 is upon us, I thought it was time for some reflections and intentions. 2015 was quite a year. There were trips to NY, Chicago, Florida, the Bahamas, Italy and Big Sky, Montana. There were dinner parties for 35 people, quiet weekends spent on the couch and days spent with family and friends. I finished renovating my kitchen and fell even more in love with my newfound home of Oakland. Looking back we are really lucky. Really lucky.
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This past weekend we hosted our 4th annual Friendsgiving. Because we live on the West Coast while most of our family is on the East Coast our friends have turned into our adopted family. Each year we celebrate that with a Friendsgiving. What is Friendsgiving you ask, well it is Thanksgiving +friends = Friendsgiving. It is basically just another excuse to have a Thanksgiving dinner. Since I cooked for 35 people this past Friendsgiving, I thought I would share my menu with all of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes, as well as some tips and tricks for pulling off your best Thanksgiving ever. Since Thanksgiving is 2 weeks away, here is your game plan to make this Thanksgiving your most delicious and easiest one yet.
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Can you believe it, we have been Oakland residents for over a year and a half?! Crazy – it seems like just yesterday we made the jump over to the East Bay from San Francisco. Since I have unofficially become Oakland’s #1 fan, I thought I would share some of my favorite places to eat, and things to do in Oakland, just in case you ever find yourself on the right side of the Bay.
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I saved the best for last. After Rome and Florence and the madness of trying to see everything and eat everywhere, we slowed WAY down for Tuscany. Way down. We rented a car in Florence and drove south to the town of Chiusi in the southwest part of Tuscany. It might have been the most gorgeous car ride of my life. Everywhere you look there is an ancient town or vineyard or those stunning Italian Cypress trees that just scream Tuscan countryside. It was magnificent.
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After a couple whirlwind delicious days in Rome we took a train from Rome to Florence. The train was easy, especially when you have wine, cheese, salumi and fresh figs to tide you over. Honestly, I probably could have stayed on that train for a lot longer, watching that gorgeous Tuscan countryside whizz by.
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We recently returned from a whirlwind trip to Italy. It was a gorgeous, hot, delicious and an all-together wonderful trip. I had never been to Italy before and I am totally hooked. Now I know why so many people fall in love with that country. Between the food, the people, the language and the history, it is one magical place. We only had one week off from work so we tried to pack in as much as we could. First stop was Rome.
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We recently returned from a whirlwind trip to Italy. It was a gorgeous, hot, delicious and an all-together wonderful trip. I had never been to Italy before and I am totally hooked. Now I know why so many people fall in love with that country. Between the food, the people, the language and the history, it is one magical place. We only had one week off from work so we tried to pack in as much as we could. First stop was Rome.
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I am hosting a food styling workshop! I am really excited to team up with Fullosophie here in SF and teach a workshop on the basics of food styling, shooting pictures with your iPhone, as well as teach some easy Spring recipes.
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