food heaven...

Last night I thought I had died and went to food heaven. 

Here's how it all began...

Dano and I's neighbor/friend Mike went to visit a friend at a local farm and brought us back some amazing produce--most notably tomatoes and peppers!  Its hard to get those items here on the coast because it just doesn't get warm enough for them to ripen.  Luckily this farm was pretty far inland with much warmer weather.  As I was flipping through my Martha Stewart magazine I saw this recipe for salsa and got inspired!  I didn't quite follow this recipe, just used what we had which ended up being this-

After roasting...

I let them cool, then peeled the skins off the veggies and whipped them up in the food processor.  I added salt, cumin, chili powder, lime juice (2 limes), and a bunch of chopped cilantro.  After letting it sit in the fridge overnight it was amazing!

The best part is yet to come though! 

The other night I was pondering what to do with an overripe tomato I had up at the cabin and thought of the goat cheese bruschetta Dano's mom introduced me to.  So cut up the tomato with some fresh chopped garlic and let that sit on the counter while I toasted some artisan rolls.  I then slathered the rolls in goat cheese, topped them with the tomato & garlic mixture, then topped that with some of the fresh salsa.... it was so beautiful and delicious!

I've made this bruschetta many times with just store bought pico de gallo but this was so much better! 

The other food-highlight of my week has been the discovery of this pancake mix...

(Yes, I do make pancakes for myself before work...) and it is really easy & tastes great!  It was sort of an impulse buy because it was on sale but now I'm hooked!   It has 8 grams of protein and only 3 grams of sugar (more reason to add chocolate chips ;)

Hope you are having a food-heaven type of week too!

a great food week...

This week I stopped in at Grocery Outlet (for non-west coasters, it's a great way to get super cheap food) and saw a big bag of poblano peppers... probably 5 or 6 in the bag for a $1.99!

I made stuffed peppers by first charring the peppers on the broiler.  Then I used some quinoa already cooked in the fridge, sauteed some veggies (red pepper, onion, zucchini), and a half can of pinto beans.  I mixed up the filling in the saute pan and added chili powder and salt.  Then slit open the peppers (careful, they will be hot!) and fill!  I topped the filled peppers with some slices of garlic chili cheddar cheese and cooked them (the oven was still hot from the broiler).

Also this week I decided to finally attempt to make Challah bread.  I've made many bread types before but this one has always been floating in the back of my mind since I was told it makes the BEST french toast (I love carbs for breakfast ;) ).  Bread is tricky.... I always get nervous before trying a new bread recipe!  I don't recommend attempting it without a food thermometer.  I used this recipe and it turned out great....

And yes, the french toast Wednesday morning was the best!