pink potato, blue potato...

...and yellow potatoes, white potatoes, and red potatoes... all fresh from the farmers market this week!

dinner for two on the patio - potato and summer squash pizza:

see on flickr

my basic whole wheat pizza dough recipe, baked with pesto and layered with thinly sliced potatoes, yellow summer squash, and topped with goat cheese, parmesan, salt and pepper. delicious and simple! the only trick to this recipe is to soak your sliced potatoes in ice water for about 10 minutes, to release some of the starch. drain and salt them and let sit for about 10 more minutes until the moisture comes out a bit.

and for a picnic dinner at the lake - pesto potato salad with fresh green beens:

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for this salad, i roasted red, yellow, pink and purple potatoes, halved and smothered in olive oil and pesto, in the oven for about 25 minutes at 425 degrees. let them cool. then i mixed in a bunch of fresh green beans (of the yellow, green and purple varieties) cut 1 inch long. more pesto, mizithra cheese, a bit of balsamic, tons of sea salt and pepper, and chives! this would have been amazing with pine nuts on top too...

i've never been the meat and potatoes kind of gal... but potatoes and greens! how delicious!

birthday crepe!

for my 21st birthday, my partner took me out for fancy crepes at my favorite cafe! tucked away on a corner on capitol hill, is joe bar... with funky art, a quirky loft space, an amazing crepe menu, and fantastic coffee. the day's sweet special was an anise flavored lacy crepe with fresh berries, bananas and a cinnamon spiced sweet cream. so good, i almost ordered a second one!

crepes are served only on the weekends at joe bar. the place can be packed, but it so worth the wait for a table! the daily special crepes are always unique, unpredictable, and delicious beyond belief!

the forgotten cheese of my childhood

when i was young, my dad would make me pasta with brown butter and mizithra cheese... a classic dish. it was probably my favorite pasta dish for years, but somehow i forgot entirely about the lovely mizithra cheese! it's been years since i've had the dish, and my tastes have changed (i can't seem to go a meal without veggies)... so here is my new take to this old childhood favorite:

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for the pasta:

spinach spaghetti

unsalted butter

greek mizithra cheese, finely grated

olive oil

1 head of garlic, peeled

cherry tomatoes

fresh basil

sea salt and pepper

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to time the cooking right, i first roasted peeled garlic with olive oil, wrapped in foil (450 degrees for about 25 minutes or until lightly brown). while the garlic is roasting, bring a large pot of water to boil with salt. in another small pot, brown a few table spoons of butter, heating slowly and stirring often until color becomes dark caramel-like. once the garlic finishes, mix the garlic cloves and their oil with the brown butter. let cool. then spread your cherry tomatoes out on a foil covered tray, and spray with olive oil to coat. toss your pasta in the boiling water, and then throw the tomatoes under the broiler for about 5-10 minutes until the tomatoes start to pop and blacken. in the mean time, grate the mizithra cheese. once everything is finished, toss your cooked pasta with a bit of the brown butter and olive oil mixture. top with whole garlic cloves, whole roasted tomatoes, fresh basil, sea salt, cracked pepper, and of tons of mizithra!

i just love the way the light mizithra clings to my pasta! yumm!

see on flickr

out camping. be back soon!

hundred degree heat kept me out of the kitchen in my little loft home this week. instead, my roommate and i have been busy cooling off the house cat in the sink... kitty loved it.

i'm escaping to a mountain lake for a few days... by the time i return i hope it's a bit cooler and i can get back to the blog. cheers! - aubrey