It would seem that fall has officially arrived. I am always reluctant to let go of summer, but something about the crisp air brings on wishes for apple cider doughnuts (of which I had some last weekend), warm soup, and sitting by a fire. Lately, I have had a particular craving for classic spaghetti and meatballs. Of course, growing up in my family, the classic meatballs were Swedish, not Italian (but just as delicious). However, having studied abroad in Italy, I came to love Italian food and culture — and in fact, one of my uncles is convinced we are part Italian, so you never know. In any case, these meatballs make an excellent and hearty dinner, and even better leftovers for lunch the next day. I modified the recipe to make it slightly healthier by using mostly ground turkey instead of pork, but you could also use pork only. I also love how the ricotta makes the meatballs surprisingly light.
Tag Archives: tomatoes
Spaghetti & Meatballs
Farmer’s Market Quinoa Sauté
I actually can’t take any credit for this recipe, and have to give it all to the lovely Kristin of Iowa Girl Eats — a really great and healthy blog that my dear friend Greta introduced me to. It’s always nice to find some new and interesting ways to use quinoa, and the lemon-honey dressing on this recipe is wonderful. The only changes I made to Kristin’s recipe were using carrots in place of zucchini and goat cheese instead of feta (my personal preference). It made an excellent dinner (and lunch the next day), and is incredibly healthy to boot. You can find the recipe here. 
Filed under Gluten-free, Recipes
Tomato-Feta Open-Faced Sandwiches
To me, the end of summer means lazy afternoons spent in the park, swimming, candlelit dinners al fresco, and more than anything — tomatoes. Or at least, the first three are what I dream during the summer (mostly I’ve been in an air-conditioned office and sweating on the subway). But tomatoes, those I can have. My mom made these simple sandwiches for me when I was home a few weeks ago (why is everything always better when Mom makes it?) with tomatoes from their garden, and I couldn’t resist re-creating it once I got back to the city — especially since she sent a few of those tomatoes back with me as well. This makes an excellent appetizer or a simple lunch — but be careful, you’ll eat a whole baguette before you know it.
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Filed under Recipes
Recently
As I am figuring out what exactly I want to do with this blog, I think I would like to do some smaller posts. Not necessarily restaurants, or recipes, or even posts with too many words. I have been trying to take more pictures on my phone since I don’t always have my camera with me, so here are a few pictures from recent weeks (using Instagram, of course):
Filed under New York City
Greek Salad
I think it’s the fact that summer is SO CLOSE so being here (as I sit writing this with raindrops pounding the windows), but I have been dreaming of tomatoes. Big, juicy, bright red tomatoes that only need a sprinkle of salt to accompany them. (Or a sprinkle of sugar, if you are my grandpa!) But for those I will have to wait for a few months (and don’t even get me started on peaches), so for now I will be content with cherry tomatoes, which you can find pretty much all year at the grocery store. My current favorite way to dress them up is in a fresh Greek salad, which is great with chicken kebabs or pita bread and hummus, but also makes an excellent (and healthy) lunch on its own. This isn’t the most classic of versions, as I have adapted it to my preferences (I don’t like olives, ok?? I know, it’s weird) and changed the ratios a bit. Feel free to adapt as you would like.
Filed under Gluten-free, Recipes
