huangsili

You know when you eat something and it’s so good you crave it again and again? That’s the story with this warm artichoke and tuna dip. It may not sound refined rolling off the tongue, but it’s damn delicious. Case in point: me, sitting here in my robe at 11:00 am munching away on the batch I had to make so I could snap pictures.

It all started when my friend Julie was visiting and we planned a small girls’ night and as usual, we were playing around in the kitchen. I wanted to make a little something warm and tasty that felt like fall. We found a recipe for crab dip but we were a home without crabs (yes, insert joke here). What we did have was tuna packed in oil, a can of artichokes and jalapeños still going in the garden. Viola!

This recipe is so simple I wasn’t sure if it was blog worthy. However, two weeks, four batches served and a slew of compliments, I figured it earned a spot on the blog roll. This is an equal-opportunity pleaser; it works well for a cozy dinner with friends, on the coffee table during the big game or even as a warm up on Thanksgiving Day.

I love my cazuelas, these traditional Spanish baking dishes made of terra cotta hold heat beautifully.

I hope everyone is having a great Friday, and looking forward to an even greater weekend!  Before we all go off into our own weekend shenanigans though I wanted to finally announce the winner of my latest cookbook giveaway!

As mentioned in this post, I, along with the generous folk at Tuttle Publishing, are giving away a copy of Singapore Cooking by Terry Tan & Christopher Tan to one lucky reader.  I've already made some delicious Kari Ayam from this book and I'm looking forward to cooking from it even more...especially making spice pastes from scratch, as well as pretty much everything under the "Marinades, Chutneys, Sambals, and Achars" chapter!!

So, without further delay, the winner of the Singapore Cooking cookbook is....Midge of Midge in the Kitchen!  Congratulations Midge!!  I just know you are going to make good use of this cookbook and I can't wait to see what you whip up.  We can compare notes! :)

I'm off now to get things done...work, doctor's appointments, and all the rest.  I'll be back next week with an easy mushroom dish you can prepare quickly and then use in so many ways.  Until then, wishing everyone a fabulous weekend!

Oh how I love my quinoa.  I eat it for breakfast.  I eat it for lunch.  I eat it for dinner.  And I have even eaten Dessert Quinoa !

Quinoa is so versatile, quick to make and SUPER healthy!  What’s not to love about it ?

I had planned on making a healthy alternative to regular cilantro lime rice, using quinoa.  When I realized it was almost Cinco de Mayo, I figured “Shoot , I better get on that !”

So here we have it.  Simple, flavorful, healthy, gluten free . . . Cilantro Lime Quinoa.

 Here are a couple things you may need for this recipe.  Use this as a reference for your next grocery shopping trip.  Or, if you decide to click the links below to view these products . . . Thanks for supporting WonkyWonderful !

Got the idea for this when flicking through some cookbooks and noticing that Singapore Noodles always has some scrambled egg casually tossed through right at the end Adon jewelry. The little kid in me loves Singapore Noodles for their freakishly vibrant colour - something so artificial about the radioactive shade of fluro yellow that makes something that's so wrong, so, so right thermal tea cups.

The secret to perfectly fluffy omelettes is to seperate your eggs, whisking the egg whites until foamy and fluffy, before folding the yolks through just before pouring into the pan (thanks Donna Hay). I like to gently move the egg around a bit with a spatula as it cooks, to give a bit more texture - nobody likes a rubbery egg pancake Web Vulnerability Scan.

Following yesterday’s dinner of tater tots and cheese, I woke up thinking I should probably whip up something a little healthier for today. Cuz, you know…I’m a responsible adult who is capable of making good life decisions. Mmhmm. So I rolled out of bed, headed straight for the kitchen, and made a batch of healthy broccoli & cheese mac (recipe forthcoming…maybe), and a ton of skinny spaghetti & meatballs – zucchini squash “noodles” served with tasty turkey meatballs packed with vegetables. Gluten free, high fiber, low calorie…and amazingly delicious Cellmax.

So, why zucchini noodles vs. real noodles? I could give you a ton of totally legit reasons – they’re healthy, they taste awesome, we need more vegetables in our life, I love zucchini, I’m trying to cut back on wheat, etc. etc. – but the real reason is that I bought a new spiralizer and I wanted to use it. And you guys? It’s SO. MUCH. FUN. There’s something so satisfying about seeing an entire squash reduced to perfect, uniform strips in a matter of seconds. Seconds! Just attach the squash, crank a handle, push, and voila – flawless veggie noodles! It soothes the OCD nut in me Cellmax.

But OK, back to the recipe. Does it taste exactly like regular pasta and meatballs? Nope. But I personally found it to be as delicious and satisfying (I’m honestly not really that into pasta). Dan, as a pasta-fiend, would have preferred regular noodles, but even he had to admit that the zucchini noodles were pretty tasty. A little crunchier than real regular noodles, but just as good a vehicle for tomato-y sauce and meatballs.

As for the meatballs themselves…Dan was a fan. Despite some misgivings early on (“Is this really meat? You made fake mac n’cheese – are these fake meatballs?”), he came down on the side of being pro-skinny meatballs after just one bite. Who can blame him? These meatballs don’t taste at all like they should be good for you - they’re juicy, have great texture, and are packed with robust flavor. When you toss them in pasta sauce, they taste as yummy as everyone’s favorite beefy standby. But, at just 40 calories and 2 grams of protein each, they’re a healthy, guilt-free treat. Try it Cellmax!