mellow yellow

hello friends!  i apologize for my hiatus on the blog.  i've been curled up on the sofa reading harry potter (yeah i finally gave in) and on the rare nice day here in the great northwest i've been playing outside.  sadly my camera has been left at home and the only photos i've been taking are of instagrams of food i ate.  but maybe you want to see that too?

i picked up these steven loafers at the nordstrom sale a while back and finally wore them.  sadly my feet were bloody by the end of the day.  crossing my fingers they'll be comfortable one day.

oh and i could probably stop traffic with that belt.

wearing:

dress ~ hawks by geren ford

sweater ~ club monaco

loafers ~ steven 

belt ~ gap

watch ~ coach

xoxo

alicia

grey skies

i think this entire outfit cost under $20.  other days i don't even want to think how much my outfit costs.  i guess it shows that you can score good pieces for cheap sometimes. :)  these shorts were only $6.  no joke, you didn't read that wrong.  gotta love 50 percent off sale sale.  

sweater ~ banana republic via the bins

shorts ~ gap

flats ~ target

xoxo

alicia

rice noodles with coconut-bean sauce

this was another recipe from the cooking classes, i also learned how to make thai curry paste from scratch. can't wait to try that out. :)  since its the boyf and i, i usually halve recipes so there's just enough for us and a little bit left over for lunch.  because lets be honest, you can only eat sandos so many days in a row.  

rice noodles with coconut-bean sauce

adapted from dana treat

ingredients:

8 oz. rice noodles  

2 tbsp. vegetable oil *or any neutral oil, but not olive oil it doesn't mix well with the thai flavors

1 large shallot, minced

2 cans light coconut milk 

2~3 tbsp. black bean sauce 

8 oz firm tofu *chicken or ship would work too2 zucchini, cut into sticks

1 tbsp. tamarind sauce *found at asian grocery stores or substitute lim juice 

2 tbsp. brown sugar

red pepper flakes, depends on how hot you want it

3 scallions, thinly sliced

2 cups bean sprouts

2 tbsp. soy sauce

coarsely chopped cilantro 

coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

directions:

put the dried rice noodles in a bowl, soak in hot water for 15 minutes and boil a pot of water.  drain the noodles and cook until tender 2~3 minutes.  i can not stress enough to rinse them thoroughly with cold water.  you'll thank me later.  by the way, did your noodles have directions on them?  'cause mine definitely did not.

if you're an efficient cook you'd be prepping the vegetables for the next step.  oh but not me, i decided to take a break and watch some more of the hills.

heat a large saute pan and when hot pour in the oil and add shallots.  if you're going to add chicken instead of tofu add it now.  god forbid if the boyf had to eat tofu.  he'd throw a fit.  its like he was never forced to eat vegetarian food for the first 6 months we were dating.  he may or may not have converted me.  now add the coconut milk and bring to a gentle boil and simmer until it thickens a bit 3~5 minutes.

add the bean sauce, tofu & zucchini and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  add the tamarind, sugar, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and scallions.  stir and cook for an additional 5 minutes.  add the noodles.  did you wash them?  if you didn't you'll probably start cursing right about now.  add bean sprouts and soy sauce.  and mix together.  the dish will be pretty saucy, if you like it that way eat now and have it more like a soup or let it stand for 5 minutes to absorb some of the sauce.  if you prefer it to be less brothy i think you could use just one can of coconut milk and cut the brown sugar in half.  

serves 6~8

frittata with sund-dried tomatoes, basil & goat cheese

 

if you follow my tumblr you know i've been attending some of dana treat's cooking classes.  for some reason the recipes keep getting filed away and i forget about them.  well i finally busted out the brunch menu, for dinner obviously.  sadly there were no mimosas involved.   

frittata with sun-dried tomatoes, basil & goat cheese

adapted from dana treat

ingredients:

12 large eggs *could do 6 egg whites & 6 yolks 

1/4 cup whole milk *i only had 1% and that worked fine

4~5 oz. soft goat cheese, broken into small pieces

10 sun-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced

4 scallions, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons olive oil
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
1 tbsp. unsalted butter

10 kalamata olives, pitted and cut lengthwise

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese *splurge and use the real stuff, you'll never go back to the kind you buy on the pasta aisle

coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

directions:

preheat broiler and place rack in the upper part of the oven.  whisk eggs and milk in a bowl to blend.  stir in goat cheese, tomatoes, scallions, basil and salt & pepper.

melt the butter in a large oven safe skillet (cast iron is a good choice)  add egg mixture ~ do not stir.  cook until eggs start to firm on the sides.  like you're making an omelette.  lift the sides occasionally and let the uncooked egg run underneath, roughly 5 minutes.  sprinkle with parm (remember the good stuff!) and olives and put into the oven.  broil until the eggs start to puff and brown about 2 minutes.  if you're skilled flip the frittata over onto a plate.  

serves 6

another day, another dollar.

when i was picking out my outfit for the day, i ran into a dilemma.  i wanted to wear stripes but i also wanted to wear this dress.  so why not wear them together.  it hurts the eyes just enough that it works.  apparently the guy who called me out saying i looked like an american flag clearly did not like my outfit.  well can't please everyone.

i should be going to the gym tonight but instead i think i'll eat more hot dogs and watch true blood. :)

sweater: gap

dress: ozoc

flats: report

xoxo

alicia

champagne and hot dogs

the boyf and i have lived in the same place for over a year now but have never hosted a proper bbq on our roof top deck.  last summer was one of the dreariest we've had in a while so our goal is to make up for it this summer.  it doesn't feel 100% like summer in seattle until the fourth.  so last weekend seemed like the perfect time to have some pals over for "b-raq's world famous hot dogs".

i whipped up some champagne drinks for voss and alex, that to be honest looked way fancier than they actually were.  it was just champagne and italian blood orange soda.  but when my neighbors were ooohhing and ahhhing i may have fibbed to make me look cool. ;)

did you get a free slurpee yesterday?  i didn't, so sad.

top/flats: h&m

romper worn as shorts: hawks by geren ford

watch: coach

hat: cooperative

moccasins: minnetonka 

xoxo

alicia

tan lines

hello friends!  i hope you had a great 4th of july weekend.  i know i did.  spent the day at the lake with my fam.  georgie couldn't have been happier since he got to swim all day long.  needless to say he's a sleepy puppy today.

and somehow i managed to burn my hairline.  my coworker asked if i was wearing some sort of visor over the weekend.  sadly its due to poor sunscreen application.

i couldn't resist wearing red, white and blue all weekend.  i even got a comment from some guy saying i looked like an american flag, but i don't think he was giving me a compliment.  don't worry there'll be some photos of this said outfit later in the week.  

see that little pub in the background, thats my favorite neighborhood watering hole buckley's.  good beer and awesome wings.

dress ~ bycorpus

flats ~ h&m

belt ~ vintage

sunnies ~ karen walker

its already hump day!

xoxo

alicia

tastes like freedom

have a safe and wonderful 4th everyone!!!!

xoxo

alicia

chicken & chorizo paella

i attempt to plan out my meals for the week.  it takes the guess out of what's for dinner tonight and i don't have to make trips to the store every day.  except i still do, and everyone at the store knows me...  the boyf was too lazy couldn't think of anything he wanted to make, which means i got to decide.  i tried to make this dish last week but the boyf said something along the lines of it being "chick food".  don't ever tell your girlfriend that, because she'll commit it to memory and force you to eat it at a later date.  i of course told him this after we sat down for dinner.  he liked it.


i was trying out my new slicing technique i learned in my cooking class last week and managed to take a slice out of my finger.  could've been worse.


chicken & chorizo paella
adapted from milk & mode/martha stewart living


ingredients:

8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (roughly 3.5 pounds) *i happened to have boneless/skinless 

12 oz dried chorizo, sliced 1/8 inch chunks *i used regular chorizo
4 cups chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon ground saffron *can be left out
1 teaspoon pimenton (smoked Spanish paprika)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 white onion, coarsely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 medium vine-ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2.5 cups arborio  (short grain) rice
1 cup fresh shelled english pea
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste


directions:
heat oven to 400 degrees.  on medium heat, heat oil in an oven safe pan (or a paella pan if you have one).  coat chicken with salt, pepper and pimenton.  brown chicken, roughly 2 minutes per side, and set aside.  while you're browning the chicken, heat stock and saffron.


add chorizo and cook until lightly brown, about 2 minutes.  add onions and garlic, cook until soft, about 3~4 minutes.  now add tomatoes and occasionally stir until everything becomes thick, 5 minutes.  stir in rice then add broth.  at this point, if you're like me, you'll say oh shit its not going to fit.  don't worry, it will.  bring to a boil and cook for 2 more minutes.


toss in the chicken and bake for roughly 20 minutes, until the majority of the liquid has reduced.  let stand covered for 5~10 minutes.


serves 6~8


the paella was definitely a success.  this seamed like one of the more simpler paella recipes so next time i want to test out this version.