I have been very uninspired to cook lately. This tends to happen to me every summer since I started cycling. I do ride a fair amount and the rides during the week end around 8:00 pm, so who wants to go home and cook. Having a simple dish is key. I have been grilling a lot, which is always easy. We recently purchased a new grill and I really like using it. I have not messed anything up yet! :)
My sister mentioned a new cookbook that she recently purchased called Lucid Food: Cooking for an Eco-Conscious Life. She made several dishes from it and was very happy with them. I decided to go to the store and check it out. After flipping through it, I was sold. Everything sounded so delicious. And the photos of the dishes were really beautiful! I could not wait to go home and make some of the dishes. What I love most about this cookbook is that the recipes are categorized by seasons and they require minimal ingredients.
I purchased the cookbook on Friday and I’ve already made three dishes from it. I am super inspired!! :) I have made a Cucumber and Pomegranate Salad, an Egg and New Potatoes with Green Olive Pesto salad, and a Chilled Cucumber Soup with Avocado, Cumin, and Mint. All three dishes were delicious!
I really loved the Egg and New Potatoes with Green Olive Pesto. It is one of the best potato salads I have ever had. The salad included hard-boiled eggs, potatoes, celery, and scallions, which were tossed with this amazing pesto made from parsley, anchovy filets, green olives, walnuts, lemon juice, and olive oil. YUM!! I am making it again this weekend for a friend’s dinner party.
I tend to ride every Wednesday evening, but today has been storming all day, so I could not ride. I decided to cook and bake. I know… can you believe it!! :) I made the Chilled Cucumber Soup with Avocado, Cumin, and Mint dish and served it with some pressed sandwiches. The recipe mentioned to cut the cucumbers in chunks and then blend them in the blender. I quickly realized that you perhaps have to use an industrial grade blender, since my blender did not even make a dent in my mound of cucumber chunks. I switched to my food processor and I was set. The soup required cucumbers, avocado, almonds, lime juice, cumin, jalapeño, scallions, mint leaves, water, and salt. You just put everything in the blender (I mean the food processor) and voilà… you have some pretty tasty soup.
As I mentioned, I made some pressed sandwiched to go along with the soup. I love making them! I don’t have a fancy press. I simply make them in a frying pan and press them with one of those meat presses. I actually used to use a pot, but then upgraded to the meat press. It works great!! I love making sandwiches up. Today I used store bought basil pesto and roasted red pepper hummus, sliced tomatoes, prosciutto, and goat cheese. The combination was delicious.
On Sunday, my mom called me to tell me that she and my dad picked a bunch of fruit, and that I should stop by and take some. They really did pick fruit… a lot of it. She gave me two large containers of blueberries and raspberries, as well as a few apricots and peaches. While I was there, I asked my mom to give me her recipe for a cake that will allow me to use some of this fruit. The cake is called Prăjitură cu Fructe, which translates as Cake with Fruit. I know… very original. :)
The recipe is of course one of those recipes that requires her trusted spoon and cup. As I was getting ready to bake it, I called her to convert the ingredients. We kind of accomplished that task. I had a feeling that it was going to be one of those experimental cakes. I was right! The cake tasted good, but as usual, it did not really look like my mom’s cake. I’ll have to try it again to see if I can perfect it.
I am amazed how a new cookbook awakened my cooking inspiration. I cannot wait to make the rest of the dishes from it. If you are ever uninspired to cook, try flipping through a new cookbook.
ride.hike.eat. 