A rice side dish can be a nice alternative to potatoes or pasta. Early in our home and cooking life, we used to make a lot of boxed rice dishes. Not that there is anything wrong with rice-from-the-box, but a couple of years ago we decided to cut preservatives out of our diet where possible and try to cook more dishes from scratch. The boxed side dishes were among the first to go. We thought we might miss the flavor from those little seasoning packets that come with boxed rice, but then we found this recipe, which tastes way better than the stuff from the box. We found the recipe on this awesome site, which has tons of great (non-sponsored) product reviews, happy hour recommendations and lots of fun content to browse, especially when you’re working killing some free time. Back to the rice — the ingredients are simple: rice, chicken broth, olive oil, butter, onion, garlic and salt — but they turn plain old white rice into a rich and flavorful side dish. For obvious reasons, we refer to this dish as “The Good Rice.” Continue reading “The Good Rice”
Month: August 2011
Grilled Branzini
We are big fans of Michael Ruhlman and regularly read his food blog, which is where Dan discovered that “branzini” is a really easy and tasty fish to grill. We’re always trying to work new fish recipes into our weekly menu routine, but it can be difficult because I’m not a big fan. But we are mindful of the health benefits of eating fish on a regular basis, so we continue searching for good fish dishes — especially ones that don’t involve breading or heavy sauces that cancel out the beneficial aspects. We have some old favorites (here and here), but this grilled branzini may be the most healthy — and still delicious — we have tried to date. It is also ridiculously easy.
Carrot Cake
This is our first dessert post here at FoodieLawyer. We don’t post many desserts because we don’t cook many desserts. I don’t really have a sweet tooth (salty is my thing), and Dan does his best not to indulge his too often. But it’s a special occasion around these parts — today is our birthday! On August 7, 2010, FoodieLawyer came into the Internet world. We started this blog way back then as a hobby and method of keeping track of recipes we enjoy. At the time, we weren’t sure we would be able to come up with enough recipes each week or that anyone other than our families and close friends would read our content.
One year and way more regular readers (not related to us) than we ever expected, FoodieLawyer has grown into something between a vocation and a lifestyle for us. We are humbled by the experience and grateful for the support from so many of you who have come here this past year. It has been a year of meeting interesting people, documenting amazing food experiences, acquiring new cooking toys, and learning cooking techniques that we never would have considered a year ago. Through this little blog, we have discovered an even greater appreciation and passion for all things food-related, and we are thrilled to still be here — cooking, photographing, writing — and hopefully inspiring others to do the same. Happy Birthday to Us!
Weekly Menu (Aug. 6)
Saturday
- Skirt Steak with Bloody Mary Tomato Salad
Sunday
- Marinated Chicken Thighs with Mint-Tahini Sauce, Cucumber Salad
Monday
Tuesday
- Take-Out
Wednesday
- Tilapia with Chile-Lime Butter, Rice Side, Saute Veggie
Black Bean Soup
On our 34th (and counting) consecutive day of temperatures above 100 degrees, what sounds better than a big bowl of hot soup? It is counterintuitive, but this soup actually does sound good to me right now, even as hot as it is outside these days. Also counterintuitive? Wanting to beat the record of 42 consecutive days, even while complaining how ridiculously hot it is. It’s so hot that I don’t have the energy to make any “how hot is it” jokes. But it’s not too hot for this particular soup, which is lighter than you would expect, with southwest flavors and a creamy texture. We found the recipe in Cook’s Illustrated’s book “The Best 30-Minute Recipe” — making it even more appealing to cook on a hot summer night because the recipe is quick and means less time slaving over a hot stove or grill. Have I mentioned that it’s hot here? Continue reading “Black Bean Soup”
Napa Valley
Okay, this is the final post from our trip to Napa Valley — pinkey swear promise. I whittled the more than 300 photos down to these, but there are still A LOT of pics. So if you’re not the type of person who enjoys looking at other people’s attempts to capture their amazing vacation memories in waaaay too many photos of lots of the same things, sit this one out and check back in a day or two for regularly scheduled food-related content. Continue reading “Napa Valley”