Recipes

Spicy Saffron Heirloom Tomato Sauce with Clams and Shrimp

Sanura
Spicy Saffron Heirloom Tomato Sauce with Clams and Shrimp over Spaghetti
Spicy Saffron Heirloom Tomato Sauce with Clams and Shrimp over Spaghetti

There was a “to do” list written for a productive, busy day. There’s a design proposal that needs to be delivered to a client. The food blog needs a new post. Pictures need to be downloaded. Work beckons my creative-thinking skills. All I want to do is lie down and sleep. I admire all my coworkers and friends who were able to leave out of town for at least a week this summer for a real vacation. New York City has been my vacation hot spot for years.

Despite being stressed from all of life’s beauties and fiascoes, the boyfriend casually announced he was going to the beach. He coyly smiled, “You can come, too.” He knew there was a slight chance, a break or a second option of me saying yes. Beating the odds, I said, “I’m getting my swimsuit.” I needed a break. Some rest. Splashy fun. This was my only chance of escaping from this summer’s excessive heat for a few salty airs of change. Read more →

Corn, Green Bell Pepper and Potato Frittata with Tomato Salsa

Sanura
Corn, Green Bell Pepper and Potatoes Frittata Slice with Tomato Salsa
Corn, Green Bell Pepper and Potatoes Frittata Slice with Tomato Salsa

Quite a few years ago, a friend in my undergraduate printmaking class made a simple observation. She mentioned I have fewer problems with difficult printing techniques, but the easy techniques cause me the most trouble. She found the insight about my simple printmaking problems amusing.

Once again, making an omelet is fairly simple for most people, but it causes me problems. My version sticks to the pan and tears easy. The chopped vegetables spill out of the folded egg. With an aversion to runny eggs, a gorgeous, fluffy omelet ends up turning into a rubberize brown. Hope is lost and the omelet gets scrapped into a scramble. It’s tasty, but the elegance is lost. I do trust my skills in making omelets are improving. Until that day in the near future arrives, the frittata will continue to be an easy adaption to my shortcoming of making an omelet. Read more →

Coleslaw Needs Another Chance

Sanura
Zucchini Fennel Coleslaw
Zucchini Fennel Coleslaw

While my mother is visiting relatives in California, I tried calling her cell phone, but she didn’t answer. The second attempt was successful by calling my grandmother’s house directly. It was my aunt who picked up the phone. She’s made for hilarious conversations. She brought dinner from a Chinese restaurant, in which my mother claimed she wasn’t going to eat. I know that type of response, because I’m her daughter. We both don’t crave Chinese take-out meals. However, eventual hunger wins as we scoop whatever fried, high-fructose corn derivative and artificial flavoring concoction that is only served outside of Asia, onto our plates.

Mom asked what I was making for dinner, in which I told her coleslaw and seared scallops. Like most mothers who know their daughters, curiously she questioned my dislike for coleslaw. It’s true, I don’t like it. Neither does the boyfriend. When I served it for dinner, he hesitated for a millimeter of a second. That quick moment of hesitation is a rare occurrence, because instant memories of eating coleslaw from a popular fast-food, fried chicken business serving their gooey, bland version flashed in his head. My coleslaw memory was of my father’s traditional mayonnaise-based version. It’s tasty, but I didn’t crave it. Our memories of coleslaw are of bad taste. Read more →