No longer updating, but hope you enjoy the recipes!
Unfortunately, I got too busy to go back to blogging, after I was forced to take a break from it in 2015 because of tendonitis.
But you can still follow my cooking, eating, and travels on instagram: (@spontaneoustomato)
Mole Poblano
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Paula told me once that she pretty much wanted to marry me the first time I made her bulgogi chicken.
I’ve never even told her this—until now, but I think I knew she was the one the first time she made me chicken mole. (And that mole wasn’t even from scratch!)
There’s something about being cooked for… it’s intimate and infinitely better than being taken out to dinner (even though that’s nice, too). Not only does someone care enough to spend the time and energy preparing a meal for you, they are also nurturing you in a very real sense, by feeding you: food as a tangible expression of love.
And if the dinner is delicious? That’s just icing on the cake.
Kumquat Cardamom Marmalade
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Have you ever tasted a kumquat?
Kumquats are like citrus fruit in reverse: bitter-sour* on the inside yet sweet on the outside. And by outside, I mean the rind; you can eat the pith and peel! How cool is that.
So what better citrus to turn into whole-fruit marmalade than one whose rind is sweet as candy?
Not that I set out to make marmalade and decided on kumquats… On the contrary, the whole enterprise was kumquat inspired!
An abundance on a friend’s backyard tree (yes, the same backyard responsible for my bounty of apricots last summer) was too tempting to pass up. My friend had been wanting to marmalade-ize her kumquats and give the preserves away as gifts, and I was eager to help.
Rabokki (Ramen + Tteokbokki)
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I was in a bad blogging mood last week– not that I let it show on the blog itself… Paula just had to put up with some grumpiness (the usual) and my reluctance to be in the kitchen (unusual).
The bad mood was due to all sorts of things, including this article from Buzzfeed that I shared on my blog’s Facebook page, which perfectly sums up all of the things I don’t like about food blogging (emphasis on photos-over-recipes, aggregator sites, networking, social media, etc.).
It didn’t help that I was tackling a very frustrating strawberry cream cheese cookie recipe, for which apparently the third time is not yet the charm. (<== More evidence that cooking is better than baking I am still not a baker: I’m not even advanced enough to make up my own cookie recipe.)
Rabokki rescued me. A scrumptious Korean masterpiece of chewy tteok (rice cakes) and ramyeon (ramen noodles) in an addictively rich chili sauce, ra-bokki is the perfect blend of ra-myeon + spicy tteok-bokki.
Berry Rhubarb Crisp (Gluten-Free)
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I love a good dinner party; I have just as much love for the day after a good dinner party.
If we can manage to do all the clean-up that night– as my OCD demands– then the day after a dinner party starts out just right: a clean-ish, clutter-free apartment, still warm from the glow of good friends and good food, and no obligation to cook anything on any kind of a schedule… especially if you are practically swimming in leftovers.
Paula and I had a dinner party on Saturday (we made tapas!), and I served a rhubarb crisp à la mode for dessert.
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The following day we were able to bask in our clean-ish apartment and luxuriate in our leftovers, with one major exception: the rhubarb crisp had been thoroughly devoured the night before.
This struck me as absurdly tragic… in other words, I think I may have a bit of a rhubarb obsession.
Roasted Tomatillo Guacamole
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Today’s recipe is barely a recipe.
I could mash avocados in my sleep (and not forget the squeeze of lime juice).
The other day BuzzFeed had a list of 30 foods to DIY instead of buy. The list included hummus, granola, nutella, tomato sauce, pesto, and guacamole. My question is this: Who doesn’t make their own guacamole?!
Call me a DIY snob, but I think this is actually a guacamole-specific issue. I’ve bought plenty of storebought hummus in my day (despite also making it at home quite frequently). But guacamole is different.
Japanese Tofu (two ways) and Kurogoma Dressing
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The little Japanese market in Santa Barbara is dangerously close to the Trader Joe’s. (And Trader Joe’s is already dangerous enough as it is, whether I go on an empty stomach or not…)
If I am lucky enough to have some free time to swing by the Japanese market, I like to take my time and wander around it, looking at every single item in the store.
It doesn’t take long; it’s a small enough shop. Stacks of sweet packaged mochi and large sacks of rice give way to three narrow aisles of Japanese (and other Asian) staples and condiments. (Cardboard boxes stuffed with daikon, taro, and avocados line the aisle floors.) A few small refrigeration units display the more delicate vegetables– shiitake, eringi, and enoki mushrooms, Japanese eggplants, and gobo root– along with jars of umeboshi and kimchi, frozen sushi-grade seafood, and plastic packs of natto.
Continue Reading: Japanese Tofu (two ways) and Kurogoma Dressing…
spontaneous tomato 