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)
Yaki-tori-niku (Japanese Barbeque Chicken) with Grilled Vegetables
%20with%20Grilled%20Vegetables%20(Yaki-tori-niku).%20Try%20this%20Japanese%20spin%20on%20Korean%20BBQ%20for%20an%20easy%2C%20interactive%20dinner%20party%20or%20family%20meal%3A%20grilled%20meat%20and%20vegetables%20served%20with%20a%20tangy%20dipping%20sauce. "Pin it!")
You’ve never heard of yaki-tori-niku? That’s because my friends and I made it up.
Allow me to explain: Japanese yaki-niku (meaning grilled meat, i.e., beef) is basically a Japanese version of the famous Korean barbeque. At Korean (or Japanese-style Korean) barbeque restaurants, you order plates of raw sliced meat and raw vegetables, then you cook up the ingredients yourself, over a tabletop grill, as you eat it.
%20with%20Grilled%20Vegetables%20(Yaki-tori-niku).%20Try%20this%20Japanese%20spin%20on%20Korean%20BBQ%20for%20an%20easy%2C%20interactive%20dinner%20party%20or%20family%20meal%3A%20grilled%20meat%20and%20vegetables%20served%20with%20a%20tangy%20dipping%20sauce. "Pin it!"){kind=small}
This makes for an excellent family-style meal in the home, too, where electric non-stick griddles often replace the restaurants’ built-in gas or charcoal grills.
Think of it as an interactive dinner party. Like fondue without the forks.
Continue Reading: Yaki-tori-niku (Japanese Barbeque Chicken) with Grilled Vegetables…
Parsi Tomato-Poached Eggs
New Year’s Day breakfast, 2013.
Ok, so it was more like brunch. (At lunch time.)
Since I stayed in for a low-key New Year’s Eve, it’s not as if I required a hangover cure– though this would serve: a savory blend of juicy acidic-sweet tomatoes, spices, and comforting poached eggs, rich in layers of flavor and texture (all sopped up with fresh rustic bread).
This is a lovely dish, and one which I’ve barely modified straight out of a cookbook– don’t you love it when that’s possible?
It’s very similar to shakshouka— which I still haven’t made yet(?!)– and probably right up there among the best ways to combine two of my favorite edibles: tomatoes and eggs.
Spinach Cheese Mini Quiches
.%20Perfect%20as%20an%20addictive%20little%20party%20appetizer--%20or%20as%20an%20addition%20to%20brunch. "Pin it!")
Happy almost New Year’s!
This year went by so quickly, especially these last few months.
But then, maybe it always feels that way– the near past and present are all enveloped in a busy blur, while the more distant past stretches out behind us, deceptively calm and rose-colored, punctuated by a few specific memorable events.
Homemade Masala Chai with Whole Spices
It’s been a whirlwind of a week.
I arrived home in Wisconsin just in time for the blizzard.
I caught up with family and friends (and caught a 24-hour-ish stomach virus).
Then just when I tried to fly home to California on Christmas morning, my flight was canceled. (The entire crew called in sick. My first thought was sympathy; they’d clearly all come down with the same stomach flu I’d just been suffering from! But I suppose it’s also possible it was some kind of protest for being scheduled to work on Christmas day.)
Hours of airport lines and airline phone calls later, I succeeded in landing seats on a flight that left at 5am on the 26th– and on two more flights after that– which got me home. Exhausted, but home.
Gingerbread Pancakes with Cinnamon Coffee Whipped Cream
Wisconsin’s first snowstorm of the year arrived just in time for a white Christmas!
The blizzard on Thursday dropped over 18 inches of snow in 24 hours. All over Madison, tree branches snapped from strong winds and the weight of the snow.
Our power (and heat) went out several times, but luckily there was always the option of Sisyphean shoveling– as the snow fell all around us, slowly drenching our clothes– to warm us up.
It was all worth it for the glittering, sunny day after the storm.
Continue Reading: Gingerbread Pancakes with Cinnamon Coffee Whipped Cream…
Sambal Goreng Telur (Indonesian Egg Curry) with Chinese Long Beans
%20and%20a%20recipe%20for%20easy%20Adobo-style%20Chinese%20Long%20Beans%20with%20vinegar%2C%20black%20pepper%2C%20and%20garlic. "Pin it!")
I’m writing today from the midst of a blizzard.
(In fact, our power is out, but thanks to my brother installing a back-up battery for our wireless router, I have internet! …just not heat.)
Today’s weather forecast is: 33 degrees Fahrenheit (“feels like 20”) with (“100% chance of”) heavy snow and wind. And man is this a change from sunny Santa Barbara.
I’m back in Wisconsin, visiting my family. And even though it means an adjustment to dry skin, chapped lips, wearing socks, and constant shivering, it’s good to be home.
The evergreens and bare tree branches are all coated with snowy highlights, and the ground is bright and white, untarnished by mud, slush, or even snowplows or shovels– for now.*
Continue Reading: Sambal Goreng Telur (Indonesian Egg Curry) with Chinese Long Beans…
spontaneous tomato 