This summer, after discovering that coriander, cilantro, and strawberries taste fabulous together, I had to immediately create a fruit salsa. The end result was both spicy and sweet.



Of all my salsa adventures this summer, I can't remember a single recipe. It's a shame: some of my salsa batches were delicious. My problem is that I like to sit on the floor in front of the TV and throw tomatoes, pepper, and salt into a bowl until it tastes good. By the time the mix is perfect, my salsa has been through oodles of revisions.

Someday, I'll record a salsa. Until then, photos will have to suffice!

I'm dreading my return to school--not just because of the classes, but because of the drastic decline of dining delight.

I'm not looking forward to cafeteria food. The exceptions: creamy, buttery mashed potatoes; cheesy-beyond-belief broccoli-cheddar deliciousness; and a full-size well-stocked salad bar available at my beck and call.

I better get my kitchen!love on before the metaphorical clock strikes twelve.

I'm so excited that a new season of No Reservations is starting to air. Tony rocks my socks; he's unafraid of new flavors and has enough moxie to carry him through the toughest of joints. Tonight's episode was excellent--I want some bone marrow soup!--and I'm really happy to see New Orleans and Berlin on the list of upcoming episodes. I wonder whether Tony will visit any of the places I ate at on my conference trip?

In my fangirl dreams, I want Anthony Bourdain and Alton Brown to be best of friends. :)

Earth Fare's salad bar really is quite amazing.



It even has natural lighting! ;)

Do you like Korean food?



I like Korean food.

Although I "touched" upon this topic a few posts back, here's a close up of the "wealth" (greens) and "happiness" (black-eyed peas) from my New Year's meal.





The "happiness" was interesting because the recipe involved tasty things like sriracha hot sauce and butternut squash. It wasn't our usual Southern-style Hoppin' John. Rather, it was flavorful and new--hopefully an auspicious start to the year ahead! :)

Also, yes! That is lemon zest on the steamed spinach. Yum.

This just in:

Bison is robust beef.

That is all.

Food is fun. Inappropriately large items are fun.

Together? High-larity. :)

The blackberry was delicious, by the way.

Today was an apple-esque sort of day. I experimented with apple soup and created apple snacks and probably would have drank some apple juice had we had some stashed in the pantry. (I think I have some apple cider squirreled away somewhere...)

This particular snack was created because apple corers are just so darn awesome. I cored an apple and sliced it in half. Then, using red pepper hummus as a "glue," I stuck a piece of string cheese into the groove. Doesn't the cheese fit perfectly into the apple's contours? Luckily, the mix was fantastic: sweet pepper melding with tart apple and bland, milky cheese.

The kitchen got some use today. :)

Happy New Year! I hope you have plenty of health, wealth, and happiness in the year to come. :)