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)
Maple Cinnamon Bagels (Guest Post)
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There is no such thing as too much cinnamon.* For many years that saying has been true for me.
I’ve always loved cinnamon; when I was a kid I used to enjoy cinnamon in sweet rice (a dish my brother and I survived on, sometimes literally, during our childhood). I sucked on hot atomic fireballs whenever I found myself craving cigarettes, back when I quit smoking nearly 11 years ago. A few years ago, I tested my resolve when I accidentally dumped what had to have been two tablespoons of cinnamon into a little pot of oatmeal. All I’d wanted to do was add a few dashes but the jar’s top was broken. What I thought was too much cinnamon was actually tasty– hot and spicy, but so tasty.
While I like the idea of cinnamon in breads, many of the cinnamon breads I’ve seen offered in stores and bakeries also contain raisins. I like raisins; I just don’t like raisins in things. Cookies? Nope. Savory dishes? Nope. Sweet dishes? Nope. Bread? Please just no.
Jap Chae with Kimchi
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It’s a stressful time of year, when warm comfort food recipes abound.
Jap Chae (Korean stir-fried glass noodles with vegetables) is the rare sort of comfort food that boasts a variety of vegetables.
The tasty noodle dish has a relatively healthy mix of textures, colors, and flavors. Usually made with a little stir-fried beef, jap chae is by no means a meat-centered recipe; this is an ensemble piece. (So you can leave out the protein altogether, or substitute chicken or tofu.)
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The dangmyon glass noodles, made from sweet potatoes, are naturally gluten-free. And the vegetables, lightly sautéed in a little oil, remain crisp and fresh-tasting. Frying them individually lets you cook each ingredient for just the right amount of time– and allows the vegetables to keep their bright colors.
Zesty Lemon Lime Bars
Lemon bars seem so magical to me.
The bottom crust is buttery, crunchy shortbread-like perfection– nothing too unique or miraculous in itself– but the top is a delicate custard: fresh lemon juice in solid, pudding-like form. A tangy, translucent miracle.
Lemon bars rank among my favorite desserts; yet making them myself had always been intimidating.
So here I am– happy to report what most of you probably know already: it’s actually very easy.
I still haven’t technically made lemon bars, though, since these have one-upped that whole concept– and taken it to a phenomenal level– with the addition of lime juice. Lemon Lime Bars with lemon and lime zest mixed in.
Hearty Miso Soup
It’s here! The season {when I feel too busy for yoga, too chilly to make a salad, and too nervous that my car will break down to go to the grocery store when I’ve run out of both broccoli and kale} has arrived!
Don’t get me wrong; I have nothing against the other parts of December– you know, the good parts. I’m looking forward to seeing my family, the break from school/teaching, and eating more than my share of peppermint joe-joe’s.
But starting with Thanksgiving– no, wait; starting with Halloween– November and December always leave me feeling like I need a little bit of a detox. And I am not one of those people who has the tolerance to try out a maple syrup-cayenne pepper-lemon juice master cleanse. I’m sorry, but: ew.
I just want to be able to enjoy a lazy, quick-to-throw-together meal that feels like a healthy, hearty interlude amidst a season of too many restaurant outings and pumpkin ginger cookies.
Spiced Apple Cider Cupcakes (Guest Post)
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I have a love/hate relationship with winter. I hate how cold and wet it gets. It doesn’t rain much in Santa Barbara, but the air is moist and I get covered in a wet dew whenever I bike to work. I wear the works– wool half-cape, warm and fluffy gloves, scarves, etc.– while every other bicyclist in SB is wearing spandex, and everyone else dresses like it’s still a sunny day at the beach.
Winter to me means that if someone comes into work with the sniffles, I’m bound to get a cold (which happened this week). Winter means staying in on the weekend, baking goodies, drinking hot soothing elixirs and snuggling with the girlfriend, and watching movie or TV marathons. Winter weekends are also the perfect time for slowly mulling a pot of hot cider on the stovetop.
Cilantro Lime Moules Frites
Whoa. Somehow this happened: I’ve reached my 100th post!
I have a hard time believing it; I still feel like a food blog newbie.
Constantly torn between spending time creating this blog (fun) and my dissertation (real life), it seems I can never devote quite enough time for either one to really make something of itself… but here’s my little blog– almost a year and a half old, and already boasting 100 Allison-approved recipes.
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(Well three posts were guest recipes, and 11 were food photos from traveling, but I’m guessing there’s still around 100 recipes in total, considering some of the posts are a 2-for-1 like this one!)
spontaneous tomato 