Quiche Lorraine

Forget Eat. Breathe. Love.

Try Eat. SWEAT. Love.

Today I did yoga with my lovely friend Angela, at Bikram Yoga Renton, aka The Hot One. And hot it is. The room is 105 degrees with 40% humidity, and the class is 90 minutes. I’m not sure when the last time I was silent for 90 minutes save sleeping was, and I wouldn’t say I exactly got a gold star today as I did get sternly hushed at our first water break for looking over at Angela and quietly whispering, “This is insane!” Continue reading

Artichoke Hearts, Prosciutto, Sun Dried Tomatoes, and Fettuccine

Day 1 of my self-imposed month of personal work (or what my dear friend Emma more generously calls “my month of exploration.”)

Doggedly determined to do (and enjoy) all those things I always swore I would do if I wasn’t sitting at my desk at 7a I slept in, albeit waking up at 6:30a on the dot and smugly noticing that the “on” button on my alarm clock was humbly dark. I lounged in bed in my PJs. Continue reading

Morning Mimosas in Walla Walla

I recently watched Julia Robert’s Eat. Pray. Love. and felt that while it was cute and moderately interesting it was not the brilliant and awe-inspiring story the critics had made it out to be. For those of you not familiar with the plot, Elizabeth Gilbert, successful NY author who seems to have it all wakes up one night and realizes she doesn’t want to be married anymore. What ensues is her personal struggle to figure out who she is, via three-month stints in Italy (Eat), India (Pray), and Bali (Love). Continue reading

Tom Kah Kai (Thai Chicken Coconut Soup)

I was going to title this post “De-toxify: Tom Kah Kai” (get it, it rhymes?!?), but my husband looked at me like I was one of the top five biggest nerds on the planet, shook his head, and then asked me if I thought I was Lindsay Lohan checking in for more rehab.

No…I am definitely not Lindsay Lohan, but I do love to start off each year with a bit of a cleanse. Continue reading

Oysters on the Half Shell with Tobiko

Happy New Year fearless Shut Up and Cook readers!

First of all, I’d like to say thanks for being here. 2010 was an exciting year for this blog and many new subscribers and readers became a part of the conversation. It’s very fun to realize that it’s not just friends and family reading this (usually who  I’ve bullied into submission), as well as hearing from people all over the world about how food fits into their lives. Continue reading

World’s Best Molasses Cookies

I like to think of myself as moderately successful adult. I own a house, I have a career I’m proud of, I contribute to my 401k, and I even floss most nights. No matter what though, regardless of how grown up we think we are, there are times when you just want your Mama to swoop in and save the day. This past week was one of those times for me. Lucky enough, she had scheduled a trip out from Boston already, so I was in luck. Continue reading

Grilled Portabella Sandwiches with pepper and onion medley, topped with goat cheese

I seldom cook vegetarian dinners. It’s not that I don’t like them (though my husband does look like a 5-year-old discovering Santa doesn’t exist when he sees a veggie evening on the meal plan), but that I just innately feel as though meat is a somewhat critical part of a full supper.

Granted…I fully understand the merits of eating some meals without meat. The environmental, economical, and nutritional factors alone are enough to make someone declare their forever loyalty to falafel. Continue reading

Spicy Scallop ‘Po Boy with Spicy Remoulade

Seldom does anyone say to themselves, “Man…I’m really craving a crappy crab cake.” or “Geeez…I could really go for some mediocre mashed potatoes right about now.”

No, we crave delicious food (healthy and not), but life often doesn’t provide us with the bandwidth to support those desires.

Take today for instance: As a current member of the Communications Team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation I had spent the day in a social media training. Continue reading