I made this quick and easy layer dip for my last day of work at Stanford. While there, I lived in the graduate dorms and had no supplies to bake anything sweet. As much as I brainstormed ways to make cupcakes or even cookies, I couldn’t do anything without mixing bowls, baking pans, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, vanilla, cookie sheets, muffin tins…you get the point. Annie from Annie’s Eats posted a much more involved version of this recipe. I simplified it by using pre-dried tomatoes instead of buying my own and by buying pesto instead of making it from scratch.
The recipe was a huge hit. One of the docs I work with actually took out some scratch paper and wrote down all of the ingredients so he could share it with his wife!
INGREDIENTS
To assemble the dip:
Hummus
Pesto
Cucumber, seeded and diced
Sliced olives (black or Kalamata)
Crumbled feta cheese
Sun-dried tomatoes
DIRECTIONS
- Spread a layer of hummus over a 12 inch serving platter.
- Spread the pesto over the hummus
- Sprinkle over the cucumber, olives, feta, and sun-dried tomatoes
- Serve with pita chips
As you may have noticed, things aren’t running very smoothly around here right now. I’m in the process of switching over to a self-hosted site and to say that the process is painful is an understatement. I apologize for all of the down time, the broken links and the missing photos. I’m working 80 hour weeks on a rotation in San Francisco and I’m just going to sort through it as time permits. I promise that before long I’ll be back and better than ever!
In the meantime, try if links don’t work, try replacing runningblonde.com with runningblonde.wordpress.com in any of the posts.
And for the good news, I’m happy to finally announce the winners of the Color Me Rad 5K Giveaway!
#15 Autumn Bradley O’Rell
#21 Peter Williams
Look for an email from the race organizers to help you claim your prize! Thanks to everyone who participated.
To register for the race click here. Use the promo code ‘RONALD‘ and 20% of your registration fees go to the Ronald McDonald House.
Pat came to Stanford my last weekend there and I had to take him to one of my favorite spots in Stanford. The Cantor Arts Center is the University art museum that boasts a huge Rodin sculpture garden. They have one of the largest collections of Rodin sculptures in the world, including the fan favorite, The Thinker. Because the sculptures are made from a mold, there can be multiple “original” versions of each sculpture. There are twenty “Thinkers” all over the world including the most famous at the Musée Rodin in Paris.
I first heard of the Color Me Rad 5K race series from the Young House Love blog. When I clicked the link to the race organizer’s website, I could not believe how awesome the photos were!
It reminded me a ton of Holi, the Hindu festival of colors. I remember being amazed when I saw this photo essay on the celebration.
Via the Boston Globe. I encourage you to check out the rest of the photos. They are amazing!
I was completely thrilled to find out that Color Me Rad is coming to Madison, Wisconsin on October 13! I’ve already signed up and have Pat and a few friends committed as well.
In order to spread the love, I have two free entries to the Madison, Wisconsin Color Me Rad 5K for you, dear readers!
Here’s how to enter. Make sure to leave a separate comment for each thing you do. If you mention more than one in the same post they will not be counted!
1. Leave a comment on this post.
2. Share this giveaway on your blog or website and post the link below.
3. Share this giveaway on Twitter
4. Share the giveaway on Facebook
5. Pin this post on Pinterest
Each is worth one entry. I’ll announce the winner on Friday!
Registration is currently open and there is a $10 price increase on Friday, so sign up now! Use the promo code ‘RONALD‘ and 20% of your registration fees go to the Ronald McDonald House.
I’m so spoiled to live with a man who loves to cook as much as I do. Pat whipped up these fancy sandwiches for a picnic lunch one of my last weekends in Wisconsin. I never would have imagined that carrots and tapenade would be the perfect marriage for a sandwich. The spices were also a good preview for our honeymoon in Morocco next summer. You may have noticed, picnics are one of our favorite summer activities!
Moroccan Carrot and Turkey Sandwiches with Green Olive Tapenade
Adopted from Epicurious
For carrots
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 lb medium carrots (8)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 lb medium carrots (8)
For tapenade
1 1/4 cups green olives (6 to 7 oz) such as Cerignola or picholine, pitted
3 tablespoons drained bottled capers, rinsed
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 flat anchovy fillet, chopped
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/4 cups green olives (6 to 7 oz) such as Cerignola or picholine, pitted
3 tablespoons drained bottled capers, rinsed
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 flat anchovy fillet, chopped
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
For sandwiches
12 slices good-quality pumpernickel sandwich bread
Sliced turkey meat
12 slices good-quality pumpernickel sandwich bread
Sliced turkey meat
Arugula
Prepare carrots:
Whisk together sugar, lemon juice, spices, salt, and oil in a large bowl until sugar is dissolved.Halve carrots crosswise on a long diagonal, then, starting from diagonal ends, cut into 1/16-inch-thick slices using slicer. Cook carrots in a 4- to 5-quart pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 45 seconds. Drain well in a colander and immediately toss with dressing. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, then marinate, covered and chilled, at least 4 hours.
Whisk together sugar, lemon juice, spices, salt, and oil in a large bowl until sugar is dissolved.Halve carrots crosswise on a long diagonal, then, starting from diagonal ends, cut into 1/16-inch-thick slices using slicer. Cook carrots in a 4- to 5-quart pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 45 seconds. Drain well in a colander and immediately toss with dressing. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, then marinate, covered and chilled, at least 4 hours.
Make tapenade and assemble sandwiches:
Pulse olives with capers, parsley, anchovy, zest, lemon juice, and pepper in a food processor until coarsely chopped, then scrape down side of bowl with a rubber spatula. Pulsing motor, add oil in a slow stream and continue to pulse until mixture is finely chopped (do not pulse to a paste).
Pulse olives with capers, parsley, anchovy, zest, lemon juice, and pepper in a food processor until coarsely chopped, then scrape down side of bowl with a rubber spatula. Pulsing motor, add oil in a slow stream and continue to pulse until mixture is finely chopped (do not pulse to a paste).
Spread tapenade on half the bread, layer with sliced turkey and arugula, then carrots.
I loved the Palo Alto Monday Night Gourmet Vegetarian Dinners (say that four times fast!) so much that I went back again this past week. This dinner was even better than the last!
Chef James Holloway didn’t disappoint with the following menu:
Red Bean Vegetable Soup
Garbanzo Bean Cutlets w/Shitake Gravy
Quinoa and Fresh Corn Salad
Roast Cauliflower w/Braised Russian Red Kale
Romaine Ceasar Salad
Millet Sunnyseed Cookies
Mint Melange Tea
This time I was a pro, and even had friends to meet there. I reunited with Nalini and Gina from my first dinner. We had an instant connection last week and it was so nice to see them again. The whole dinner was spent getting to know them better and I couldn’t have asked for a better meal to do it over. The conversation was never boring and ranged from lame medical students to vegan blogs. We even tried to shake James Holloway down for the recipes. He was pretty tight lipped, but did spill that the chickpea cutlets also have yellow and red potatoes, brown rice, and leeks in them. I’m hoping that Nalini can figure out the recipe so I can share it on the blog. They were amazing!
I got a little bolder with using my camera, now that I had outed myself to them as a blogger. I’m really trying to use my camera to capture the moment. Not only do I want this blog to be a place for me to share my ideas, I want it to also serve as a diary of sorts that I can look back on and be reminded of prior adventures.
Say it ain’t so! It appears that my favorite organizer from the early ’90′s is making a renaissance. Caboodles are making a comeback! According to Style.com, in honor of the 25th anniversary of the birth of the beauty box next month, Caboodles is re-releasing the very first model, a peach and cream-colored wonder, called My First Love in a limited 1,000-piece run.
When I was in elementary school, I definitely had one of these in teal and purple. I used to to hold things like my Lipsmackers lipgloss and my Jane cosmetics. Who has two thumbs and rocked brown lipstick covered with teal lipgloss? This girl, that’s who! Considering how conservative my parents were it’s a wonder I was let out of the house! I distinctly remember congratulating myself on how natural my three shades of deep purple eyeshadow looked. Oy vay. Will you be standing in line for this limited edition item?
Via Refinery29 via Style
I’ve been reading the Macro Chef blog for quite a while. I’m not sure how I stumbled upon his musings, but I do know that he cooks delicious meals with vegetarian ingredients that are healthy yet full of flavor. He often writes in his blog about Monday Night Gourmet Vegetarian Dinners in his hometown of Palo Alto. They have always sounded so wonderful – relaxed dining with local and fresh ingredients shared with strangers who are destined to become close friends. After all, what better way to meet people than to break bread (or gourmet vegan cookies) with them?
The Monday night dinners take place about 10 minutes away from my little dorm on the Stanford campus, so I hopped on my bike and checked one out last weekend! I am trying to challenge myself to be more comfortable bring my camera around to social situations. It still feels very awkward to take shots of acquaintances and even more of complete strangers!
The meal was amazing. Just check out the menu!
Chickpea soup with summer vegetables
Tempeh in lemon coconut sauce over basmati rice
Roasted summer squash
Chopped salad with fresh mint and cilantro
Toasted almond cookies
Lemon ginger tea
The meal was set up in an assembly line, manned by volunteers. My plate was heaped with food, but I still couldn’t resist going back for seconds!
Luckily for me, the company was just as good as the food! I ended up at the solo table with an eclectic group of individuals. There was everyone from a French couchsurfer who was headed back home the next day to pick grapes in his homeland, to a recently-divorced Russian lady, to a colorectal surgeon to an entrepreneur who runs a vegan beauty. Needless to say, the conversation was never boring!
I had such a great time, that I went back for more this week. I’ll share more photos and stories from that meal soon! I promise that this time I got braver and took even more photos.
The whole experience cost only $15 and is used to fund future dinners. I highly recommend checking them out if you are in the Palo Alto area. For more information, check out the Peninsula Macro Website.
Today’s post is brought to you by Curate Hub. When Francis from Curate Hub’s Recipe Ideas Newsletter contacted me about writing a guest post, I happily agreed! Francis rounds up some of her favorite recipes on the web and sends them out in a Free weekly email! You can find out more about her newsletter on her website, http://www.curatehub.com/newsletter/recipe-ideas/
It happens to all of us. One week there is just no inspiration and no energy to make anything besides salad and a chicken breast, accompanied by a carton of mediocre ice cream. Those are the days when you wish that you had a personal chef, or that at least the take out guy would appear. Instead of languidly flipping through your old cookbooks, why not take a quick look in your inbox at a Weekly Recipes e-mail? Our weekly newsletter, Recipe Ideas from Curate Hub, is chock full of beautiful photos and delicious recipes ready to end your cooking rut. We carefully cull the best of the web to bring only the most delicious and exciting new recipes straight to you! Subscribe here!
Here an excellent recipe from Gourmet.com. This and so many more are available when you subscribe to Weekly Recipes!
Photo and recipe via Gourmet.com
Roasted Mushrooms Escargot-Style from Gourmet.com
Let’s be honest—the best part of escargots is the garlicky, parsley-flecked butter that the snails are cooked in. In this playful vegetarian spin, meaty mushrooms turn out to be the ideal vehicles for soaking up all that buttery goodness. Capers add a briny pop that fits right in. Serve with crusty bread to soak up all the great leftover juices.
- 1 lb mushrooms such as cremini or white, halved lengthwise if large
- 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and chopped
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Preheat oven to 450ºF with rack in middle.
Toss mushrooms with capers, garlic, oil, and 1/8 tsp each of salt and pepper in a 1 1/2- to 2-qt shallow baking dish. Top with butter and roast, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender and golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and parsley.
Author Info
Francis’ first attempt at cooking was a souffle at age 13, and she has never had one fall (yet). Ever since then she has scoured the web for new recipes and is very excited to share her huge stash of bookmarks with the world in a new e-mail newsletter.
I was not compensated for featuring this post, I just thought it would be something my readers would enjoy. If you are interested in writing a guest post for RunningBlonde.com, please contact me via email at runningblonde(at)gmail.com.
Psst – Did you know that ShopBop is having a secret sale today if you use this link? Get an extra 20% off sale items that are already up to 70% off by using the code EXTRA20 at checkout!
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