Eat It, Kid.

Poached Eggs Over Kale and Quinoa

Dacia — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 13:00:24 +0000

Like any healthy adult, I hate going to the grocery store. It’s tiring, especially with two kids in tow, and it means a lot of waiting in lines, lifting heavy things and dealing with parking lot traffic. So about once a week, I find myself pawing through my refrigerator and pantry, looking for anything that [...]

Eating New Orleans With Kids

Dacia — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:00:38 +0000

On a whim, we recently tossed the kids in the car and headed east, specifically to New Orleans. We left the 100+ degree convection oven that is Austin in August and headed for the almost as hot and infinitely more humid swampland. And we had a blast. I was mostly excited about the culinary possibilities [...]

Tofu and Peas in Lemon Grass Broth

Dacia — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 19:40:43 +0000

We’re going into month three of daily over-100-degree temperatures here in Austin. So I was kicking myself the other night when I made meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner. An oven set to 450 degrees plus a hot stove top equals a sweaty cooking, and eating, experience. And a ridiculously high utility bill. Quick cooking [...]

From Pyramid to Plate

Dacia — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 15:19:00 +0000

The food pyramid, which the USDA first rolled out in 1992 is gone. It looked like this when I was a kid: It’s been replaced with “My Plate,” which looks like this: I can see that this is an improvement. I mean, just from a design standpoint, the new plate seems much easier to get [...]

Summer Tomato, Basil and Cheese Tart

Dacia — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 14:58:48 +0000

Nothing angers me like a pink tomato on my plate. I seriously get livid when I order a sandwich or a salad and see an unripe sitting on top of my meal. I want to walk back into the kitchen and ask the chef Why Bother? Unripe tomatoes aren’t juicy. They have no flavor. If [...]

Celery Root and Green Bean Slaw

Dacia — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 03:45:30 +0000

Celery root isn’t something you see at the grocery store every day. So when I saw one in the produce department on my weekly grocery trip, I snatched it up, having no idea what I was going to do with it. I’ve learned that it’s better this way. If I plan, say, a soup featuring [...]

Eggs and Peas Over Pasta

Dacia — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 22:34:07 +0000

Spring has arrived. My favorite season, spring sadly only seems to last for a few weeks here in Central Texas before the endless summer begins. So I have to make sure to enjoy our short spring while it lasts. Neko and I are playing outside and hitting our favorite playgrounds before the swings and slides [...]

Collard Green and Cherry Pasta

Dacia — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 23:48:28 +0000

Eating seasonally is amazing – you truly get the best quality produce when you make sure it’s in season. But doing so has its drawbacks. Like endless green beans. Every year, around August, I get incredibly sick of summer vegetables. I get to the point where I feel like I’m going to be sick if [...]

Fennel Avocado Citrus Salad with Meyer Lemon Dressing

Dacia — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 22:55:10 +0000

Neko still won’t eat avocados. And it still blows my mind. Well, I kind of take it back. She did eat a bite of avocado once. When I was pregnant, we went to a TexMex restaurant and I was so hungry I ordered an avocado stuffed with cheese and deep fried. It felt like a [...]

Spinach Salad With Fresh Berries

Dacia — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 00:16:39 +0000

So many of my favorite dishes can hardly be called recipes. Toss veggies with salt and olive oil and roast. Steam veggies and toss with salt and olive oil. Chop up raw veggies and toss with salt, olive oil and vinegar. I was feeling like it’s overstating things to call these dishes recipes and post [...]