A look into my culinary past. . .

For the past three weeks I have doing my public health rotation at the Cambridge/Somerville WIC offices. It's been a great opportunity to work with low income individuals of many different cultures and stories. The kids are absolutely adorable and the vibe is pretty laid-back. However, I do have quite a bit of free time either waiting on participants to show up, or sitting out on an appointment because I don't speak french or portugese.

Even though I have some other work I should be doing, I seem to float toward reading my favorite blogs/twitter feeds when I have down time. This inspired me to look through my folder of recent food pictures and see if I had anything exciting to write about. Unfortunately, all of my kitchen shots are from the past two years of cooking, including pics from my old kitchen in Bloomington, Indiana. But instead of keeping these photos from the world, I might as well share them in some other way.

Soooo, below I have included several pics of dishes I've made in the past few years and a short edited version of the recipe. If you would like a more detailed recipe to any of these dishes, please leave a comment and I will post the full recipe in the near future.

And remember, for me this is like airing out all of my old forgotten clothes that I don't wear anymore. Some of these dishes are experiements that I never made again, and others are recipes that I have improved upon. So, enjoy. . . .

Also, please excuse the blurry photos. Some of these were taken with my ex-iPhone.

Grilled Chicken, mashed potatoes, steamed broccolini, and crispy onion.
This is a throwback to our first apartment in Bloomington for me and my husband (at the time boyfriend). Pretty self explanatory recipe, with the crispy onions being made especially for Zach.


Turkey and Sweet potato dumplings.
I had LOTS of leftovers from Thanksgiving that year, so I got creative with a basic chicekn and dumpling recipe. I substituted turkey for chicken and devised a potato dumpling out of sweet potatoes. Pretty delish.


Wedge Salad
Zach loves a good wedge salad. It is surprising how filling they can be! This one was done with a low fat yogurt ranch dressing.


Squash Casserole
I was obsessed with the squash casserole from "Ted's Montana Grill" at the time, so I took advantage of the summer bounty and tried to recreate a healthy version. This one had corn and summer squash. Pretty good, but I will improve on it this summer after tasting the real thing =)


Beef and Broccoli Curry
This is kind of embarrasing, but I guess it's good to show the kind of improvement I've had throughout the years. This was the beginning of my curry phase, and I hadn't quite gotten the hang of it. I make MUCH better curries now. Ask Zach if you dont believe me.


Eggplant Parmesan
Ah, one of my favorite recipes from studying in Italy. I have made this many times for friends and families and it's always been a hit. I grill the eggplant instead of frying to cut back on fat and calories. Homemade tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, and basil make this an irresistible summer combo. I look forward to making this soon, while thinking of Italy.


Summer Zucchini Salad
Can you guess what vegetable was pouring out of baskets at farmer's markets during the development of this recipe??? A lovely mix of zucchini, summer squash, and onions along with a refreshing basil ricotta creme was perfect for the late summer months. I will definitely be pulling this recipe out again when the warm weather comes back (and I hope it's soon!).


Zucchini Soup
Another late summer recipe. A chilled soup made with zucchini from my Mom's garden in Indiana. It tastes amazing after a steamy hot August day.


Homemade mozzarella
I have recently tried my hand at making homemade mozzarella cheese. This one looked good, but tasted a little off. I'm planning on doing another try within the next few weeks.


Homemade pizza
Zach and I love a relaxing night making pizza and watching the tube. This was the first time making homemade pizza in Boston, and it was a particularly tasty one. I also think this was during our obsessive Lost phase. Whole wheat dough with my homemade mozzarella, sausage, fresh tomatoes, and arugula. Very tasty!


Barbeque pork chop, quinoa salad, and summer vegetable salad with ricotta cream.
This pork chop was basted with Squealers barbeque sauce (which is amazing btw). If youa re ever in Indianapolis please check this place out. Boston has NO idea what real barbeque is lol.


Truffle goat cheese, dried figs, precorino romano, and dried cherries
This was our appetizer spread for Thanksgiving 2010. This was my first time making Thanksgiving without my mom and grandma, which was a little emotional. The meal turned out great and I think they both would have been very proud.


Amazing turkey that Zach prepared.


The whole Thanksgiving spread, complete with turkey, stuffing, 3 Philosophers cranberry sauce, potato parsnip puree, roasted and shaved brussel sprouts, and many many other dishes. All I can say is--food. coma.

And this now concludes the tiny snapshot of my past few years in the kitchen. Now I can move forward with more exciting and current posts. Stay tuned more info on cooking, recipes, nutrition, and food policy. Cheers!