Posted by Emma Barker on Thursday, September 16, 2010,
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Since turning 21, the wild and crazy world of cooking with wine has been opened up for me. It still feels weird to walk into the wine section at the grocery store, as if I'm not supposed to be there. Putting a bottle (or box) of wine into my basket and carrying it to the checkout, then going through the checkout and actually being allowed to carry the wine out of the store seems somehow wrong to me. But that didn't stop me from going out and buying wine a few days ago.
I've wanted to ... Continue reading ...
Curried Lentils with Kale
Posted by Emma Barker on Monday, August 23, 2010,
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After spending a week in the bay area at my parents' house, where it was cold enough to compell me to borrow a sweatshirt from my mom, I was happy to get back to Davis. It's been a weirdly cool summer both here and there, which is good for me since Davis temperatures usually get into the 100's during the summer. It's not so nice for my parents, who were actually lighting fires in the fireplace while I was visiting. Since returning to Davis, I've been eating almost like a vegetarian, with ... Continue reading ...
Potato Garlic Naan
Posted by Emma Barker on Saturday, June 19, 2010,
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Given my love of all things carbohydrate, it should come as no surprise that I always fill up on naan when I go to Indian restaurants. Nothing completes an Indian meal like warm, freshly made naan. The chewy, tender flatbread tastes great by itself, and even better when used to soak up a spicy curry. Traditionally baked in tandoor ovens, naan can be made at home by frying dough in a large cast-iron skillet. I got the basic dough recipe I used for my naan from the blog Avocado and Bravado,... Continue reading ...
Pesto Stuffed Tomatoes
Posted by Emma Barker on Wednesday, April 28, 2010,
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Throwing a party means serving food, and the type of food you serve is important. It needs to be easy to make, so that you can concentrate on having a good time. It needs to be easy to eat without making a mess (I'll never forget the disasterous fondue party I threw when I was eight, which turned into a food fight and, consequently, chocolate stains all over Mom's dining room). It should also be tasty. When it comes to party food, many people like to play it safe with cheese and crackers... Continue reading ...
Focaccia
Posted by Emma Barker on Friday, April 16, 2010,
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Sometimes when life feels like it's accelerating, all I crave is simplicity. Sometimes I just want to make all the things that make my life complicated go away, but then of course I wouldn't have a blog, or a job, or be taking any classes. In other words, I would be a blob. A bored, unhappy blob, at that.
So what I do when I want to simplify is reorganize. I clean my room, so that I can actually walk around it without stubbing any toes. I get out a nice, blank sheet of paper and write... Continue reading ...
Roasted Broccoli with Walnuts
Posted by Emma Barker on Thursday, March 18, 2010,
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Now, I know it's bad to count your chickens before they've hatched (aren't I just full of folk wisdom this week?), but it's looking like I'm going to survive finals. I took out two of them yesterday, and the other two are both take-home finals due on Saturday. In other words, I won't be worrying about them until Friday night. One of the survival instincts that finals seem to bring out in me is the instinct to take in tons of sugar and caffeine. For the past couple days, just the w... Continue reading ...
Potato Gratin with Green Onions
Posted by Emma Barker on Sunday, February 21, 2010,
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After working all three days of last weekend, this weekend I didn't get scheduled to work at all. So how did I spend my first free weekend of the quarter? After promising myself that I would get ahead on homework later, going to the grocery store and buying some overpriced cookies from some adorable girl scouts, and watching the first few minutes of this season of Survivor only to give up in disgust when I realized they were just recycling the same people who had already been on the show ... Continue reading ...
Warm Goat Cheese, Walnut and Honey Toasts
Posted by Emma Barker on Friday, January 29, 2010,
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Sometimes in winter quarter I feel like I've run into a patch of the doldrums. All the papers I turn in start to blend together, until I might as well just be writing the same paper over and over again. Any urge to get out of bed in the morning and actually do something is immediately quashed by the sight of frost riming my windowpane. At times like this, the thought that keeps popping into my mind is, "I'd rather be in Paris right now". And of course, this is not particularly helpful sin... Continue reading ...
Cheesy Spaghetti Squash Fritters
Posted by Emma Barker on Tuesday, January 5, 2010,
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I've had potato latkes, and I've had Okonomiyaki (japanese cabbage pancakes). After tonight I can say I've had spaghetti squash fritters, and boy, were they good! Even when I forgot to add flour to the first batch, they were still pretty good. With flour, they were exquisite: crispy on the outside, soft and cheesy on the inside. Mmmm.
Winter quarter started today, and so far all of my classes look like fun. Philosophy of the Mind was particularly entertaining-the professor has a deligh... Continue reading ...
Spicy Spaghetti Squash
Posted by Emma Barker on Monday, January 4, 2010,
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I have fallen in love with spaghetti squash. The sweet strands of squashy goodness yielded by baking a spaghetti squash look, smell, taste like potential. "We could be great, you know," they try to say, but find themselves lacking in vocal chords.
This is the first of what will probably be several spaghetti squash recipes, since I still have two containers of cooked spaghetti squash in the fridge waiting to be turned into something. It is extremely easy to make, and the spices and le... Continue reading ...
Crispix Mix, David Lebovitz Style
Posted by Emma Barker on Saturday, December 19, 2009,
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It was an old TV commercial that got me thinking about Crispix Mix. In the late eighties when my brother was a baby, my parents taped a Disney Christmas special that included Mickey's Christmas Carol and a bunch of classic Disney cartoons. I was watching the tape and reminiscing about my childhood when I noticed the commercials. They were hilarious! Everyone had goofy hairdos and microwaves were at the forefront of cooking technology. Sometime between then and now, advertisers learned to ... Continue reading ...
Pork and Brussels Sprout Gyoza
Posted by Emma Barker on Wednesday, December 16, 2009,
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My dad is a teacher at the high school I went to, and on Wednesday he's hosting the faculty Christmas party at our house (technically it's a "holiday" party, but cm'on, who are we kidding?). This means that tomorrow at 3:12 when school lets out, a large group of my former teachers will descend on my house, bringing booze and (hopefully) cookies. I plan to hide for the duration of the party. However, before I lock myself in my room, I will take 5 minutes to cook up some of the gyoza I made... Continue reading ...
The Third Way With Brussels Sprouts
Posted by Emma Barker on Thursday, November 26, 2009,
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Yesterday I finally made my third brussels sprouts recipe, which attempted to use garlic to drown out the flavor of the sprouts. I think it did this a little bit too well; the garlic flavor was really strong! However, if you love garlic, this might be just the recipe you have been looking for, so here it is:
Ingredients: *serves 1
2 brussels sprouts, thinly sliced 2 cloves of garlic, crushed 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil salt and pepper to taste sliced almonds to garnish
In a plastic sandwich bag... Continue reading ...
Another Way With Brussels Sprouts
Posted by Emma Barker on Friday, November 20, 2009,
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As I mentioned in a post earlier this week, I have taken on the Brussels Sprout. I plan to cook the detestible vegetable into submission, pickling it, spicing it, and sauteing it until it cries out to be eaten. My first recipe for brussels sprouts involved pickling them before sauteing them, and relied on the flavors of salt and vinegar to combat the intense bitterness brussels sprouts are known for. This recipe attacks from an entirely different angle, and the results were fantastic! Thi... Continue reading ...
A Way With Brussels Sprouts
Posted by Emma Barker on Wednesday, November 18, 2009,
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Sometimes when I make a lot of desserts, I almost feel like I'm cheating. After all, when you're cooking with large quantities of butter and sugar, it's pretty hard to go wrong. And even if things don't go as planned, many a messed-up dessert can still be redeemed by dipping it in chocolate or covering it in whipped cream.
Much though I love baking (and eating) sweets, I also like a good challenge. I think one way to really improve as a cook is to take a food you absolutely detest and... Continue reading ...
Mashed Potatoes with Pesto
Posted by Emma Barker on Sunday, November 8, 2009,
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If you read my blog (which I know you don't because nobody reads it yet), you may have noticed that I like pesto. A lot. I use it like some people use ketchup- I'm always looking for ways to add it to whatever I'm eating. So it should hardly be surprising to you, dear nonexistent reader, that I got the idea in my head yesterday to put pesto in my mashed potatoes. The point is, it was a good idea. Just the way it made my kitchen smell as I added the pesto to the hot, freshly boiled a... Continue reading ...
Pimped Peas
Posted by Emma Barker on Wednesday, November 4, 2009,
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Frozen peas can be a godsend when you need to whip up a vegetable fast-but they can also be boring. This recipe takes plain 'ol peas and gives them some pizazz.
Ingredients: *serves 1-2 1 strip of bacon 2 crimini mushrooms, chopped into eighths 1 cup frozen peas water to cover the peas a teaspoon of butter
First, cut the bacon into small pieces (about an inch wide) and cook it in a small pot over medium heat. When the bacon has exuded some grease into the pot, add the mushrooms and brown them. ... Continue reading ...
Sausage Rolls
Posted by Emma Barker on Friday, October 30, 2009,
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Last night the cooking club on campus that I participate in was having a meeting/potluck, and I needed something to bring. It had to be fast, easy, and delicious, of course. But since this potluck was taking place on campus in a classroom with no way to reheat food, there were the added challenges that it needed to be reasonably easy to transport, and it needed to taste good cold. Usually when I go to these potlucks, I just make cookies. This time, though, I wanted to bring something savory r... Continue reading ...
Garlic Bread
Posted by Emma Barker on Wednesday, October 14, 2009,
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I love the taste of garlic bread way too much to care how bad it makes my breath smell. Ingredients: Sourdough bread, sliced 1 inch thick 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 tbsp butter *makes 3 slices
Crush the garlic. In a small bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. Add the garlic to the butter, and mix well. Spread the garlic/butter mixture generously on one side of each slice of bread. Toast in the broiler at 350 degrees F for about 2 minutes, until the edges of the bread begin to turn brown.
Continue reading ...
Garlic Rice
Posted by Emma Barker on Monday, September 28, 2009,
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Rice makes a great accompaniment to many meals. It works well as a side dish for meats, seafood, and vegetables and is perfect for soaking up tasty sauces. However, the same old rice day after day can quickly become boring. This garlic rice recipe is a delicious variation that I use to make rice more exciting. I learned how to make it from a high school friend who had grown up in Peru, who told me that they had made it daily in Lima when she lived there. Ingredients: 1 cup long grain white rice... Continue reading ...
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About Me
Welcome to my blog! I'm Emma, a recent college graduate with a BA in French. I am passionate about cooking and writing, among other things. Come share in my love of food!
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