ReadyMade: Instructions for everyday life

Via Honey & Jam, I stumbled across this fantastic blog, Honest Fare, from Gabi in Orlando, FL. While she works at an ad agency during the day, she loves being in the kitchen and from what I’ve been able to explore on her site, it really comes through. Some recipes that caught my eye:

Sauteed Beets with Romaine and Feta (above): I have a row of beets at home growing in the garden (knock on wood the rabbits don’t make their way into the raised beds!) and this looks like the perfect way to enjoy them.

Kale Chips: because salty chips in the form of a leafy green is a win-win to me!

Grape, Pecorino Romano and Pinenut Flatbread: I love bread (and eating it for dinner) and this flatbread, maybe with a simple green salad, is my idea of summer dinner.

I’m always on the hunt for new-to-me food bloggers, so if you have a favorite, please feel free to comment and share!

[Images via Honest Fare]

In honor of the Nudo Adopt An Olive Tree giveaway (if you haven’t entered, hurry! You only have until tomorrow morning!), Love & Olive Oil gets this week’s food blog love. Here’s the scoop:

Welcome to Love and Olive Oil, the culinary adventures of Lindsay and Taylor. We’re not chefs, in fact we’ve had our fair share of flames and failures. But like any good relationship, cooking has its ups and downs. We’re all about quick and flavorful dishes that don’t hurt the wallet. We invite you to our kitchen (as tiny as it may be) and share in our love for food and desire to always find something new to eat.

I love how many of their posts remind me of foods that I love but have for one reason or another forgotten about, or needed a bit of a push to try. It’s been too long since I’ve had a version of Orrechiette with Italian Sausage, Broccoli Rabe and Crunchy Garlic Breadcrumbs (I am a big fan of breadcrumbs mixed into pasta), the Fresh Mint and Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (never made it with fresh mint and this will help me continue my love affair with my new ice cream machine!) and this Beet Green and Garlic Scape Bruschetta because I have both of those things either in my garden or in my fridge (via my CSA). Oh and I will not miss out on this Banana Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream- which might be just the thing for a dessert potluck I’m participating in tomorrow night. Yum!

Between my new ice cream maker, my love for tarts, and birthdays and celebrations galore this spring, dessert has been having a big moment in my life. I am all in favor of that and am currently contemplating what to make in honor of my 30th bday next week (I’ve been consulting this post from Jeanette repeatedly as I consider cake types). I am drawing a lot of inspiration from Flagrante Delícia, a site that I first found in Spanish Portugese and proceeded to use Google Translate to read the recipes in English…until I realized that there is a full fledged English version. Anyway, the blog is desserts by Spanish Portugese chef (and lawyer, from what I can tell from her bio) Leonor de Sousa and photographer Miguel Coelho and it’s fantastic.

This is a Tarte de chocolate con cerejas (chocolate tart with cherries and custard) which looks pretty darn divine.

There are also Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, sweet little Honey Madelines, and Caramels—which I suggest checking out in Spanish first, simply because it’s pretty entertaining to just get lost in the words and the images.

After seeing this Rhubarb Upside Down Cake yesterday on the kitchn, I spent about a half an hour on the Blue Ridge Baker’s blog perusing all of Sarah’s lovely baked goods. Here are some of the other items that caught my eye:

Rhubarb Upside Down Cake: it’s so unexpected looking, with the long slices of rhubarb on the top, and I love how the color stayed to create such lovely streaks. There is also a crumb bottom, which makes it just cry out to be made (and enjoyed with a scoop of vanilla ice cream).

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies: how could you not want to make these based on the picture alone? This is just one of the recipes that she’s posted from Good to the Grain, a book that’s now officially on my please-buy-me-for-my-birthday list.

Almond Butter Thumbprints: almond butter comes in ahead of peanut butter in my book, I just love the flavor and texture. Making cookies, with a hefty dollop of jam in the middle of them, seems like an ideal way to use it.

Strawberry Shortcake: our food stylist came to town for a shoot this week and brought me a strawberry shortcake kit as a gift (so sweet, right?). Mine didn’t look as pretty as this, but I am glad I have a way to recreate them on my own.

Congrats Sarah!

After learning about Vanilla Sugar from Jeannette’s post about what kind of cake she was going to make for her birthday, I’ve become a big fan for these reasons:

1. Dawn posts about baked goods (Quarter Pound Double Chocolate Cookies, Morning Glory Whoopie Pies, Raspberry Buttermilk Crumb Cake with Lemon Crumbles) with regularity.
2. Images of said baked goods make me want to dive face first into the plate.
3. Her photographs are lovely, but they actually make me believe that I could recreate the item that she’s captured with some degree of success (if a recipe looks too pretty, too perfectly styled, I can get a little intimidated to actually try making the recipe at home).

Throw in some main dishes like Homemade Cheesy Tater Tots and Bucatini all’amatriciana, and you’ve got yourself a great food blog. Particularly if you like dessert as much as I do.

The current post up on Slow Like Honey talks about how important and meaningful email relationships can be, and how much Amanda is looking forward to meeting one of her favorite email buddies in person for the first time. The lovely story drew me in and I happily stayed and hopped around the blog because of the downright lovely photography. Her photos are bright and clear, colorful and engaging—just the type I wish I knew how to take. Plus, there are the recipes, many of which are adapted with Amanda’s skill full hand from some of our favorite food mags and sites. Make sure to take a look at the Raspberry Yogurt Cake, Grilled Cheese and Jam (simple, but a delicious tweak on a version I love making with apple butter) and the Peach Oatmeal Bread which I know I’m going to be gunning to make once we have fresh and flavorful peaches around.

To see more of her photography, head over to flickr. I suggest skipping straight to her cake set.

I am thrilled to share this week’s food blog of the week with you because I find A Sweet Spoonful to be positively delightful. From the photographs to the recipes and the stories about real life food, Megan Gordon does a fantastic job. I am particularly taken with her post on Banana Pudding, which tells of her enjoyment of the banana pudding from Magnolia Bakery, only to find out that it’s made with instant pudding when she considered making it at home. As I am a big fan of banana pudding with Nilla wafers and had my own lukewarm experience with Magnolia’s version, I’m definitely going to try her scratch-made take on the recipe.

Some of my other favorite posts include recipes for Blackberry Cornmeal Muffins, Moroccan Carrot Soup, and Fairmont Lake Louise Granola Bars.

[I found A Sweet Spoonful via Kelly's blog roll on Eat Make Read- thanks for the referral Kelly!]

Molly Martin has a big goal: to make a batch of macarons every week for a year. That’s 52 weeks and 52 batches of macarons, each one a different flavor which she shares on her blog, The Velvet Macaron. I know, crazy awesome, right? But I guess it’s what a girl’s got to do in order to be crowned the Macaron queen. (And it seems, food blog of the week this week!)

I totally get why Molly would do this though, having a serious sweet spot for the dessert myself. Some of the best ones I’ve had were from Mad Mac and Payard in NYC and Jin Patisserie in Venice Beach—which I remember most fondly because they have a lovely courtyard in which to each the macarons.

Anyway, my point is that each time I’ve had the chance to eat them, it has never once occurred to me to try making them at home. Which is why I’m happy that Molly shared her blog with us because I love the idea of both customizing flavors in my own kitchen and saving some serious cash in the process (macarons can be pricey!). And I seriously admire her for taking on this challenge.

Though Molly if you’re reading, I have to ask: Where do they all go each week?

P.S. I’d still definitely take a macaroon—the coconut kind—over a macaron any day. And frankly, I’m seriously confused as to why they have such similar names.

With all of the posts and tweets I’ve been seeing about the summery weather in NYC, it’s hard not to be in the mood for the other benefits of warmer weather—like setting the table with freshly cut flowers. Whether or not you can head out into your own yard with clippers to fill a vase (or if you’d rather pick them up at the store), Sunday Suppers is one of my favorite sources for pretty table settings—like the one above from a recent springtime brunch. Even on posts that are about a simple beet salad or a weekend guide (photos from both shown below) to foodie happenings, their photos are styled into inspiration.

If you aren’t familiar with what Sunday Suppers is all about, here’s their story:

Sunday Suppers is a class-cooking- dining experience, pairing friends and food. The food is market fresh, local and organic and the approach is to create seasonal and fresh meals together. The classes are held in a waterfront loft in Brooklyn, NY and are taught by Local Chefs. Photography and Food Styling by Karen Mordechai. If you’re interested in coming to a class email us at: info[at]sunday-suppers.com

And yes, I realize that we don’t all live close to NYC, but that’s why their blog is so handy!

[Photography and Styling by Karen Mordechai and Sunday Suppers]

In addition to ricotta pie, Easter at my house also featured butter in the shape of a lamb, lamb served with bright green mint jelly, my great grandmother’s cookies (that might be a version of these), and braided bread with dyed, hard-cooked eggs. My parents are coming to visit this weekend, which means that I’ve been making grocery lists and meal plans so that I can be prepared to make good food (you could say that I’m feeling a little pressure to perform as this is the first serious food holiday I’ve ever hosted).

Depending on how the ricotta pie baking goes, I’ve been toying with the idea of making the braided bread since it seems like I should. Simple Bites has an excellent tutorial on making this bread and working with yeast that is extremely reassuring. If you haven’t see the site, hop on over there right away. Here’s a bit about them:

Come here to find practical cooking tips, nourishing recipes, and an encouraging perspective to help the everyday parent provide great food for the family. We’re a group of writers passionate about food, and we want to help you provide the best for your family.

The site was started by Aimee of Under the High Chair, so you know it’s going to be good. They also have interesting ingredient spotlights (like this one on oats and this one on leeks), recipes (like this one for oatmeal muffins and 10 tips for making the best muffins ever), and a slew of info for feeding/raising a healthy family.

I’m not a big meat eater and when I’m thinking of what to buy at the store or make myself for dinner, it simply doesn’t occur to me to cook meat. Last night I made this broccoli cheddar soup and I was in heaven. (I made breaded chicken for my boyfriend but I seriously could have cared less about it, I was so distracted by the punchy flavor of the soup.) As I’m eagerly awaiting the start of my CSA membership in May, and considering what to plant in my own garden, I’ve been paging through food blogs to get a sense of what I really want to explore. Via Seven Spoons, I found Fresh 365 and I love the assortment of dishes based on seasonal fruits and veggies—particularly the sound of the Black Bean and Sweet Potato Quesadillas, these Chickpea Croquettes, the Spring Panzanella and the Rhubarb Strawberry Cobbler with Cinnamon and Cardamon.

Erin is also a very talented food photographer, so perusing the sight is as much a feast for the eyes as it is for your stomach!

By clicking through this link on the Kitchn in search of the source of the Semolina Butter Cookies with Sea Salt, I happily found myself at Cooking Books. Andrea is getting her PhD in art history and when not working on her dissertation, she’s cooking through some of her favorite cookbooks. The previously mentioned cookie recipe is from Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, there’s a Tomato Quinoa Bread from Patricia Wells’ Vegetable Harvest, Lentil and Wild Mushroom Hash is from The New Spanish Table, and the Jam-filled Buttermilk Country Cake is from The Cake Bible, just to give you an example of the lovely recipes available on the site.

I choose this week’s food blog of the week mostly based on the photos of spring produce that appear in a recent post about making soup on market day. I am longing to have some radishes in my life! Even more important, I am loving the section on Kiss My Spatula called “Homemade Pantry” which is full of recipes for homemade staples like peanut butter, butter, spicy mustard and even cherry garcia ice cream.  And if that’s not enough reason to get into the kitchen, check out the recipes for coconut cupcakes, Vietnamese spring rolls (which were recently featured on Design Sponge), walnut pesto and satsuma sorbet.