http://iamafoodblog.com Just another WordPress site Sun, 07 Apr 2013 19:51:56 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://iamafoodblog.com/mini-scotch-quail-eggs-recipe/ http://iamafoodblog.com/mini-scotch-quail-eggs-recipe/#comments Tue, 26 Mar 2013 05:49:21 +0000 steph http://iamafoodblog.com/?p=1320 I can’t remember my first Scotch egg or even why I decided to try one, but after the first bite I was hooked. How could I not fall in love a perfectly boiled egg wrapped up in a sausage coat? A Scotch egg is all good things about breakfast rolled up into one awesomely hand holdable ball. My love for Scotch eggs is even further fuelled by the fact that they are traditional British picnic food. They were invented in 1738 by London department store Fortnum & Mason as a portable snack for long carriage rides. I don’t regularly go...]]> http://iamafoodblog.com/mini-scotch-quail-eggs-recipe/feed/ 32 http://iamafoodblog.com/best-banana-bread-recipe/ http://iamafoodblog.com/best-banana-bread-recipe/#comments Thu, 14 Mar 2013 22:56:22 +0000 steph http://iamafoodblog.com/?p=1308 I’m a purist when it comes to banana bread: no nuts, no chocolate, no dried banana chips. I like my banana bread to taste like bananas. I love how something magical happens when bananas are baked; the sugars caramelize and intensify, making the bananas taste even more banana-y. I’m always tempted to have a slice of banana bread when I go out for coffee, but I rarely give in because I usually end up disappointed. Too often store bought banana breads are too oily, too dry, or too bland. The cure, of course, is homemade banana bread. I’m forever trying...]]> http://iamafoodblog.com/best-banana-bread-recipe/feed/ 21 http://iamafoodblog.com/parsley-pesto-pasta-with-broccoli-and-salmon-recipe/ http://iamafoodblog.com/parsley-pesto-pasta-with-broccoli-and-salmon-recipe/#comments Thu, 28 Feb 2013 19:45:43 +0000 steph http://iamafoodblog.com/?p=1288 Do you ever just wander around the grocery store until inspiration strikes? Sometimes that means I’m in and out of the store in five minutes, but sometimes it means I’ll wander aimlessly for hours. I find it very zen to walk the grocery store and contemplate what I can make. The choices sometimes overwhelm me but on a recent trip I was in-and-out. The result: a super-fresh, full of green flavour flat-leaf parsley pesto with broccoli, pasta and salmon. Generally, pesto is made with basil and pine nuts, but it’s not unusual to find it made with other green herbs...]]> http://iamafoodblog.com/parsley-pesto-pasta-with-broccoli-and-salmon-recipe/feed/ 12 http://iamafoodblog.com/sweet-potato-and-carrot-curry-soup-recipe/ http://iamafoodblog.com/sweet-potato-and-carrot-curry-soup-recipe/#comments Tue, 19 Feb 2013 02:48:34 +0000 steph http://iamafoodblog.com/?p=1271 State Bird Provisions in San Francisco has been on my radar for a while. I’ve been meaning to try it even before Bon Appetit named it 2012′s Restaurant of the Year. My first attempt at eating at State Bird last April was a utter fail. Mike and I were road-tripping down the Pacific Coast with a wild dream of hopping in for some late-night nibbles, but we arrived a bit too late – by the time we rolled into town they were closed. We didn’t try again for another year, but the second try was the charm. Armed with hope and...]]> http://iamafoodblog.com/sweet-potato-and-carrot-curry-soup-recipe/feed/ 15 http://iamafoodblog.com/heart-shaped-pizza-recipe/ http://iamafoodblog.com/heart-shaped-pizza-recipe/#comments Wed, 13 Feb 2013 23:09:16 +0000 steph http://iamafoodblog.com/?p=1252 Seems to me like there are a lot of Valentine’s Day haters out there, but I will confess right now, I’m not one of them. I’m not the hugest fan – I don’t go all out and decorate my house with pink and red hearts, but I do appreciate the large outcropping of heart-shaped foods that tend to pop-up in February. I literally squealed when I saw a heart-shaped doughnut for the first time. Heart-shaped food is just so much cuter than regular shapes. If I wanted to have a problem with Valentine’s, it would probably be this: too many...]]> http://iamafoodblog.com/heart-shaped-pizza-recipe/feed/ 22 http://iamafoodblog.com/ranger-cookie-recipe/ http://iamafoodblog.com/ranger-cookie-recipe/#comments Mon, 10 Sep 2012 18:37:21 +0000 steph http://iamafoodblog.com/?p=1232 Mike and I love going on long rambling walks that go nowhere in particular. More often than not, we’ll end up in a grocery or kitchen goods store. The other week we stopped into Williams Sonoma where they were sampling their ranger cookie mix. I’ve never had ranger cookies before but how could I say no to oats, chocolate, raisins and coconut? These cookies go by a plethora of names (cowboy cookies, kitchen sink cookies, everything cookies) but they’re completely new to me. Basically, they’re a raisin oatmeal cookie with extra add-ins. Generally the add-ins include coconut and chocolate, but...]]> http://iamafoodblog.com/ranger-cookie-recipe/feed/ 24 http://iamafoodblog.com/paella-recipe/ http://iamafoodblog.com/paella-recipe/#comments Sat, 28 Jul 2012 01:51:14 +0000 steph http://iamafoodblog.com/?p=1216 I haven’t had paella in Spain, but if I ever hit up Valencia I know paella will be on my must eat list. Paella has bits of everything I love: rice, seafood, and most importantly, crispy burnt parts. Not everyone is into that toasted rice flavour, but I think the socarrat is the best part. If you want the all important burnt bits, or socarrat, you’re going to need a paella pan. Paella is a dish where the cooking vessel is crucial. The width of a paella pan helps with rice distribution, ensuring that the rice cooks in a thin...]]> http://iamafoodblog.com/paella-recipe/feed/ 54 http://iamafoodblog.com/takoyaki-recipe/ http://iamafoodblog.com/takoyaki-recipe/#comments Wed, 04 Jul 2012 23:58:47 +0000 steph http://iamafoodblog.com/?p=1200 A couple of years ago a good friend of mine gave me an electric takoyaki maker for my birthday. Takoyaki literally translated means octopus fried, but takoyaki isn’t just fried octopus – it’s a tiny, piping hot ball of batter filled with green onions, ginger, crispy tempura bits and octopus. It’s crisp, it’s gooey, it’s delicious. Takoyaki is one of Osaka’s quintessential street foods. Thankfully for us, you don’t have to travel to Osaka for takoyaki – they’re basically found everywhere in Japan and are quite popular in North America too. If you ever come across a takoyaki stand stay...]]> http://iamafoodblog.com/takoyaki-recipe/feed/ 38 http://iamafoodblog.com/raspberry-lemon-cake-recipe/ http://iamafoodblog.com/raspberry-lemon-cake-recipe/#comments Sun, 24 Jun 2012 18:24:37 +0000 steph http://iamafoodblog.com/?p=1189 Do you have any friend who don’t like sweets? It seems to me that all the people I know don’t like chocolate or sweets. What’s a girl obsessed with sugar supposed to do?! Its downright difficult pawning off my baked goods. That’s why I get so excited when friends’ birthdays roll around. I pretty much know they’re going to indulge in at least one piece of a homemade birthday cake. It used to be that most of the cakes I made were liberally frosted. Not because I was a huge fan of frosting, but because I love the way frosted...]]> http://iamafoodblog.com/raspberry-lemon-cake-recipe/feed/ 32 http://iamafoodblog.com/chinese-steamed-fish-recipe/ http://iamafoodblog.com/chinese-steamed-fish-recipe/#comments Thu, 14 Jun 2012 18:25:18 +0000 steph http://iamafoodblog.com/?p=1165 Do you ever have random cravings for food? This happens to me all the time and while I’d like to give in to my stomach’s every whim, I rarely do–usually because my food fantasies revolve around elaborate feasts that would be entirely too time consuming to make before passing out from hunger. Thankfully my elaborate feast fantasies don’t happen all the time. The other day I had a very sensible, down-to-earth desire for a simple steamed fish. Steamed fish and rice is total comfort food to me. One bite and it brings me back to countless nights of me, my...]]> http://iamafoodblog.com/chinese-steamed-fish-recipe/feed/ 23