Alex loves The Sound of Music. Since the moment she saw me watching it, she became obsessed. She calls it “Maria” and refuses to acknowledge any other name for it. When we first started watching it Nazis were kinda hard to explain–I just left it at bad guys who wanted to force the Captain to…
Archives for February 2011
An Indian Feast: Yogurt Curried Fish and Orange Scented Cauliflowers & Potatoes
My mom observed to me the other day that my posts had been shorter this winter. And it is true, because I seem to be perennially behind. I make a particular dish or dessert, and I fall asleep composing various observations about it in my head–but then I don’t sit down to write the actual…
Potato Chip Cookies
Each semester during parent-teacher conference week, our school’s PTG looks for volunteers to bake and cook for the teachers, who work through the evening hours. Given that cooking and baking is my kind of volunteering, I always try to make something, at least one dessert and one meal. After a few rounds of cookies for…
Riojan Potatoes with Chorizo and Chile
I confess we had this as a meal–but it might be better as tapas. Not because it is not good enough to eat a big bowlful of it–oh it is–but because to me this is not a particularly healthy meal. The carbs completely outweigh the fiber and protein–and the protein is unhealthy flavoring protein (chorizo)…
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars
Cheesecake? Check. Chocolate? Check. Chocolate chip cookies? Check. Delectable graham cracker crust? Check. These babies have it all. I found the start of these bars in Elinor Klivans’ The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook: Recipes from the Classic Cookie to Mocha Chip Meringue Cake; this is one of those over the top creations that I was honestly not…
Kefta Tagine Bil Beid (Moroccan Meatball Tagine With Tomato & Eggs)
I was so excited to eat this meal that I forgot to take pictures before serving it. So picture an entire round skillet with more meatballs and eggs! This recipe is from a cookbook I got for Christmas from my parents, Food of Morocco, a gift which turned out to be auspicious, because I have…
Coconut Lentil Soup with Potatoes and Peas
The Spiced Life family just got back from a whirlwind trip to Disney World! John got invited to talk at a conference there and we said yes, please! 3 days nonstop parks with rides, princesses, food, princesses, fairies, princesses… So please forgive any typos or just plain incomprehensible sentences. My brain feels like Swiss cheese;…
Irish Coffee Heart Crunchies
I rarely make coffee flavored desserts even though they are one of my favorites because John is not a fan. I’ve never liked drinking straight coffee–but mochas and all other things sweet that can be made with coffee are right up my alley. So I was naturally intrigued by these cookies from the year 1980…
Algerian Tagine Of Chicken and Apples
I had trouble with the color of this dish–the flavor was a lot richer and more vibrant than the pictures imply. Perhaps it would have been prettier with quince, the first choice of the recipe author (Joyce Goldstein), but I figured why hunt down a flown-in quince when I still have local apples? (And truthfully…