sesame seeds

supposedly its less expensive for you to cook for yourself then it is to eat out every night. but, unless your kitchen's stocked up and ready to go, you'll find yourself buying a $4 jar of sesame seeds or something like that, not realizing you spent $4 on them the last time you made this dish, and you'll be so bitter about the fact that you were trying to save money and now you've spent $8 on sesame seeds that you'll never want to make another thing with sesame seeds in it ever again!

here's a good lesson I learned early on: keep your kitchen stocked. even if you don't cook all the time. get any cookbook, turn to the section that talks about stocking your kitchen and buy everything that they put on the list. you might break the bank the first time you go but at least you'll be prepared and you'll know what you've got to work with. i've blown so much time and money driving back and forth getting stuff that i didn't have or thought that I didn't have.

its a pretty good feeling when its the middle of the week, your just not interested in spending the rest of your non-working day cooking, and you can throw something quick and easy together like this mediterranean salad with artichokes, penne, and sun-dried tomatoes. since i was stocked, all i had to get was the lettuce, feta, and some bread (like $6) and we were good to go. very satisfying; lots of good flavors; we had it for lunch the next day too. Sierra was a fan.

sierra's first post

i made these rainbow fruit skewers to bring to work. i figured pretty much everyone likes chocolate-dipped strawberries. they were quick and definitely fun to make/assemble. and they turn out so pretty and colorful and yummy. thanks ellie krieger!

so, we had a pretty indulgent weekend. we were able to visit a few restaurants on our "checklist". i'm referring to a checklist found in cincinnati magazine's march 2008 issue that highlights the best restaurants in the area.

on Friday it was Pompilio's. i had the shrimp ronaldo, jared had the lasagna. i always like the big hunks of garlic i find in the ronaldo. and of course the lasagna was unbelievable. it was pretty much just rich, comforting, layers of heaven.

Saturday afternoon was Zip's! we finally made it up to mt. lookout for the acclaimed burgers. one million percent worth all the hype. not one thing about the trip was disappointing despite the buildup and high expectations. i first heard about Zip's at a Michael Rulhman book signing (an xmas gift for Jer) when an audience member asked where Ruhlman ate before the event. He replied "Zip's" and the little crowd "oooh'ed and aaah'ed". ever since i knew we had to make it up there asap but we kept putting it off for one reason or another. nonetheless, it was awesome. the fries, the burgers, the setting, the atmosphere and the service were all terrific.

on Sunday we went to Via Vite on Fountain Square. wow. i loved it. we sat at the curved bar and admired the huge hanging wine display that separates the dining area. the open view of the kitchen is such a nice touch. we watched as the chefs prepped for dinner service and fired our pizza in the big round pizza oven. we shared the antipasto platter and a margherita pizza. everything was absolutely delicious. there is a lot of attention paid to detail and pride of ownership going on there. those are two things i look for and truly respect in a restaurant. i seriously cannot wait to get back to that restaurant.

jared's first post

Donut.

That's how I want to start this blog: with the word "donut". Not because its my favorite food (although I do daydream about donuts from time to time) but because, well, I identify with it. Its symbolic. It is, after all, just a little pastry trying to win the respect and admiration of its peers: the croissant and the danish.