White Bread

I've toyed around with the idea of homemade bread several times.  I love baking, especially from scratch, but bread is another creature all together.  What with the kneading and the rising, there are so just too many ways I could mess up.  Plus its such a lengthy process!  I'm not home long enough to mix dough, knead, let rise a few hours, knead some more, shape the bread, let rise again, bake, cool, blah, blah, blah...

Enter the recipe that inspired this post!  All this headache with trying to bake homemade bread, and I still try every once in a while.  But just last week, there was a batter-based bread on smitten kitchen.  There is still a bit of waiting involved, but no kneading and very little chance of overworking the flour.  This recipe was for sally lunn bread, which had a much debated history.  From what I've been able to figure out, this bread is named for either a French Protestant cake called "soleil lune" or a type of bun made by a baker in England.  Plus, the bread on her site included a fantastic-looking honey butter spread.  How could I resist honey butter spread?

Spicy Tuna

The other night, I was in the mood for sushi.  Shocker, I know, since I am always in the mood for sushi.  But I didn't really feel like going out for dinner (plus I still haven't found good cheap sushi around here).  So I decided to try out a spin on a recipe I saw in last month's Fitness magazine.  The article was about healthier versions of popular take-out dishes.  One of the feature recipes was their take on a spicy tuna roll.  

The reason spicy tuna rolls made their "naughty list" was because of the white rice and mayo typically found in the rolls.  This version skipped the rice and used a low fat mayo.  Technically, this wasn't sushi or sashimi, as the tuna was seared, but it certainly filled the same flavor profile and satisfied my sushi craving.  And it was quick, easy, and healthy.  

Vacation + Zucchini Fritters

I apologize for being totally absent for the last week and a half.  I went on a much needed vacation over spring break last week (Raleigh and Atlanta!) and have had midterms to deal with.  Atlanta was a great break from school and work, but the trip was over way too quickly.  I had some of the best food I've ever eaten on the trip as well... Top Chef contestants Kevin Gillespie and Richard Blais both run restaurants in Atlanta, and we were able to eat at both.  

Hummus

I've been on a long search for the perfect hummus.  I've tried several different recipes, but they always turn out mealy or tasting too much like olive oil or tahini.  I've even made a few that turned out almost waxy.  So I always end up eating a couple of bites of my homemade hummus, then going back to store bought.

If you've never had it before, hummus is a delicious middle eastern dip made from chick peas (garbanzo beans), olive oil, and tahini (sesame seed paste).  The tahini  you buy at the grocery store will separate into layers of paste and oil, similar to natural peanut butter.  Just stir it up before you use it.

I especially love roasted red pepper hummus.  Its like a delicious cross of hummus and salsa!  So when I stumbled across this recipe, and had all the ingredients in my pantry, I had to try it out.  It even features sriracha, one of my absolute favorite ingredients!  If you don't like sriracha or don't want your hummus spicy, you can use another hot sauce or leave it out altogether.  With the little amount that gets added here, its not hot as much as just a warm flavor.