pasta with mushrooms and fresh ricotta cheese

super fast, i made this on a cooold coold windy night but its also great at noon in july. i threw some shallots and garlic in a pan and when they started to cook down i dropped in two pints of chopped mushrooms. gave it a stir, added salt and black pepper and about 1/2 a cup of milk. you can add heavy cream but i wouldnt unless you really wanted a heavier dish. i just wanted a little milk so pull it all together. at the same time i boiled water and thew in the pasta which was ready about the same time as the mushrooms. i drained the pasta, combined everything with a fistfull of chopped fresh parsley and parmasian and served it with big spoonfull of fresh ricotta right on top. a little crushed hot pepper or cracked black pepper and its perfect.

Muoi muoi

okay, so this is a nigerian dish thats absolutely delicious but its the ugliest thing ever... my mother always said food should look as good as it tastes and hers always does, but often times, foods from africa, india and some of the middle east just look like different colored baby diarrhea and it'll be the garnish of parsely or strategically placed olive that makes it look a bit more presentable. WELL, long story short, with palm oil (olive is okay but palm oil will bring out the true flavor of the dish), i cooked down onions, carrots and i threw in a few nuts. then i threw in a huge broccoli head (not in the traditional recipe but i had broccoli and it needed to get used up), then on top of that i put in probably about 4 or 5 cups of dried washed black eyed peas, covered it with water and let everything come to a boil. salt and hot pepper were added accordingly and when the peas were cooked and everything got like a thick stew i shut off the heat (its yummy to eat just like this) once it all cooled a bit i put it all in a blender and processed everything till it was smooth and creamy. the i made little 'bowls" out of alimunim foil and ladled in a handful or so. everything gets wrapped and when cooled you have these delicious thick "cakes" that make a great side dish or lunch as is. we picked up some sour cream and hot sauce (bringing muoi muoi into the 21st century) and its SLAMMIN.. soo good... just butt ugly.

ground turkey burritos.. well kinda

uber quick and easy and you better leave leftovers cause they're even better the second time around. coat the bottom of your pan with olive oil, sautée a chopped onion, carrots, celery and garlic. when they start to become tender drop in a pack of ground turkey breast a can (or half a bag of frozen corn) and a bag of frozen mixed vegetables (mine was from trader joes- peas, lima beans, cut green beans and i think something else). add some salt, chili peppers if you like, a couple squirts of worcestershire's sauce (if you dont have that use soy sauce, theyre basically the same thing) and let it all cook till the turkey's done. NOW is the hard part... try not to eat it all before before you make your burrito.. or cut the carbs and gluten and dig in.  Warm a tortilla, add a couple spoonfuls of this + shredded cheese + sour cream wrap and devour.... OR just go at the pan with a fork and just eat it as it.. its pretty healthy (minus cheese and sour cream), packed with protein low on fat and you even get a handful of vitamins from the veggies. MMMMM mmmm.

italian potato salad

i cant think of a much more creative name for this. its just that simple. my parents would make this all the time for snacks, sides or even a light meal. boil the potatoes peeled (or unpeeled and then after they cool the skin slides right off).. you know they're done when a fork will slide into them as easy as a fork would to a stick of cold butter. let them cool, cut them into bite sized pieces, throw in a generous amount of fresh parsley, chopped garlic, cracked pepper, good olive oil and salt to taste. its delicious, light and fresh. give it a try.

steak and cheese, california grill

sorry, cameraphone... steak and cheese has saved me in the past and im hoping it will again this morning.... all i have to say is that it was delicious! from california grill (1090 Vermont Ave NW) (SOOO WORTH IT) underneath barbara boggs. mmmmmm!