I don't follow directions well

I wanted Pad Thai. I wanted to cook it. I wasn't about to let a lack of ingredients or experience stop me. Pistacios worked for peanuts. Spinach replaced the bean sprouts. All from a recipe i couldn't follow on the back of the noodles box.

-- Post From My iPhone

Feeling like Summer

After a brief hiatus and a complete relocation, Cogito returns.

This blog is now based in the pastoral beauty that is Northern California. I am surrounded by rolling hills, green vines, fresh ingredients, knowledgeable cooks, and top shelf libations. I get my milk, rawand whole, from the nearby dairy. Our eggs come from under hens, not styrofoam containers.

This should be fertile ground for a food blog.

What better way to celebrate a move than with some old friends and a some new ones? The old friends: Sauteed spinach and a flank steak with Dad's old school marinade. The new was a recipe I ran across in one of my favorite vegetarian cookbooks, Fried zucchini and feta patties.

It was a good meal in a good place.

Look for future posts on organic gardening and my regrettable slide towards vegetarianism....

Spring Travel and Food

Cogito has hit the road.

While Atlanta has been good for food and fun, the time for a change has arrived.

But just because one has no kitchen is no reason to stop enjoying eating, cooking, and good friends.

Over the next several weeks, the food and fun will travel cross country, with the bow pointed west, eating and writing all the way.

The first stop was at the home of relatives in Michigan. The menu consisted of grilled pork tenderloin (imagine) with a blueberry maple syrup sauce, sauteed spinach (a Cogito favorite), roasted potatoes with rosemary and some grilled bread.


Upcoming cooking and eating destinations include Chicago, Denver, Salt Lake City.......

This Omnivore's Dilemma

Prime or Choice? Grass or Corn Fed? Organic? Local? Dry Aged?


Yes, yes, and yes.

The more I learn about food, the more I understand that we just don't need beef that often. This simple reality makes me want to appreciate it when I do indulge. When I eat steak I try to do it well. This local dry aged rib eye was just the thing to cure my craving this weekend.

Given all the questions and the interest in the details of our food, these days, it can be difficult to make good, informed decisions. Saveur has a piece that helped me to wade through it all and also made my belly rumble. http://www.saveur.com/food_new_recipes.jsp?issueID=200706.

Enjoy your steaks...

Fast, Healthy, Seasonal and Delicious (or It took longer to do the dishes than to cook)

No real recipes or magic, here. This one is as easy as it gets.
Spaghetti squash has directions on a decal Right On The Squash!
While it cooked, I sauteed some shrimp in some sliced shallots, scallions, garlic and oil.

That's it.
Simple.
Easy.

Many thanks to one Lindsay for reminding me of the taste and timeliness that is the spaghetti squash. More thanks to another Lindsay for the cost/benefit analysis of organic fruits and vegetables. Give up a coffee a week. It's worth it and more!

Sunday Breakfast

Nothing extravagant. Just delicious.

Ready For Spirng

Last week I went to a nearby tapas restaurant with a friend. While perusing the menu, something caught my eye. Shrimp in a honey chile sauce sounded perfect. It has been warm in Georgia over the past few days and this has me longing for spring, with its blustery weather, budding trees, warm aromas, and the return of fresh foods.

The problem was that I was left underwhelmed by honey chile sauce.

Of course this got me thinking...

So, I invited my friend over for dinner later that week and began scouring recipes for something that still held the comfort food values of winter, but with the promise of a spring to come. This is what I found.

Seared Scallops with Mango and Melon Salsa

This didn't satisfy my longing for honey or chiles, but it was close. When making the Salsa I began by whisking together some honey and Sriracha sauce, learning a valuable lesson about the strength of the rooster! A Little goes a long way when it comes to Sriracha. Consider yourself forewarned.

I followed the recipe for the remainder of the salsa. It is definitely beneficial to leave this in the fridge for a while to let the flavors combine. This salsa was good with dinner but fatastic the next day. I found myself in front of the fridge, spoon in hand, more times than I would care to admit.

When discussing this recipe in advance, with eyes to a starch, someone at work quipped, “Well, I think just about anything is divine served on top of mashed potatoes." Such words of wisdom are not easily ignored.

Dinner was great. The company was better. It was a good recipe and fun evening.

...and I got both my spring and my chile fix.