dripping with passion

(i just couldn't leave anything out of the title!) i made dinner to share with friends and the missionaries a few weeks ago. i experimented by combining and tweaking a couple of recipes, and making up some add-ons, and it turned out super yummy! i want to keep a record of what i created, and i want to share this deliciousness! honey lime chicken burrito bowls with sweet potato black bean relish and a zesty yogurt dressing arrange the following in separate bowls for a tasty and pretty spread on the dining table to serve about six people: *recipe below -mixed greens -halved cherry tomatoes -avocado slices -chopped green onions -torn fresh cilantro -sliced honey mustard marinated chicken* -lime qunioa* -sweet potato black bean relish* -feta or cojita cheese -zesty yogurt dressing* for the honey mustard marinated chicken : place about 2 lbs. chicken tenderloins or breasts in a plastic bag, then add: -1/2 cup coconut oil -one 4 oz can of diced fire roasted gr...

i’m always on the lookout for new recipes to try - especially quick and easy ones these days. i thought I’d share a few weeknight dinners that we've been digging recently! cajun chicken bowl with cilantro lime rice, peppers and avocado this recipe is super simple but i think the dish really packs a punch! i love the combination of flavors and textures.  recipe adapted from and photo via kitchen sanctuary 1. slice one red bell pepper , one yellow bell pepper , and one brown onion into strips. chop up a bunch of cilantro and zest one lime . 2. cook 1 cup of rice in 2 cups of water (bring to a boil and then simmer for 20ish minutes). 3. heat up a glob of olive oil in a skillet. 4. place 2 chicken breasts in a bowl. sprinkle 1.5 tbs cajun seasoning and 1 tbs oil on top, then use your hands to massage the spices into the meat. flatten the chicken breasts a bit with your hands. 5. cook the chicken in the hot skillet for 5-7 minutes on each side, until it is charred and coo...

a few months ago, josephine and i started a tradition of making homemade pizza together once a week. it’s theeeee best. we swap teacher stories while we chop, slice and grate, and then we enjoy our concoctions together immensely. i really believe that i love pizza more than probably 95% of the world population. and i especially like creative topping pizza. here’s our line up of creations so far… 1. butternut squash and sage 2. blackberry, lemon and prosciutto 3. fig, prosciutto and ricotta 4. rotisserie chicken and pesto 5. sweet potato and rosemary 6. rotated tomato and sausage with spring herb gremolata 7. florentine (spinach and egg) 8. thai chicken with peanut sauce and cabbage slaw 9. pear, gorgonzola and bacon with honey poppyseed sauce 10. greek with garlic yogurt sauce 11. charred corn, poblano pepper and avocado 12. peach, goat cheese, basil and balsamic   what a fantastic mid-week treat – one of my favourite people in the world and my belly’s favourite thing. mmmmmmb...

november in palo alto is oh so lovely. the foliage finally pops and the weather is so dreamy (70ish with an occasional delicious blustery rainstorm) and the world just feels nice and cozy. we've been organizing our little home, eating comfort food for dinner (i trick the boy by making stuff healthy), cuddling a little too long on chilly mornings and then running through the crunchy-leafed streets of our neighborhood in the soft early light. brittany gave us this gorgeous pie pan and an amazing pie cookbook for our wedding, so we got together last week and made sweet potato pie. i have to say, it was really delicious! november! pie! brittany, michelle and i have re-started our weeknight downton abbey viewing parties at michelle's cozy house in menlo park. we get pretty into it (there were some tears this week) snuggled up on the couch. the boy has been applying to hundreds (literally!) of jobs – it’s a quite extremely stressful time for a finishing phd student. the...

i’m in the middle of a three day juice cleanse. i really like this challenge and the feeling of my body being rejuvenated by nutrients from the earth. {i did a six day cleanse nearly two years ago , and i can’t believe it’s taken me this long to do another. i finally bought myself my own juicer.} another thing i like about juicing is the fun of making up random combinations of fruits and vegetables. so far i’ve made orange-grapefruit-cucumber, cantaloupe-carrot-pineapple, apple-pear-spinach and honeydew-kiwi-celery . there’s some strawberry-carrot-mango in my fridge for tomorrow and i’m also excited to try sweet potato-red bell pepper-apple-ginger . although i am sometimes really, awfully bad at it, i super believe in mindful eating . food and the human body are both so glorious!

yesterday the governor of north carolina came into the office for some meetings about innovation in education policy. with this distinguished guest and her posse visiting, it was quite the exciting day around our new digs. meeting governor bev perdue reminded me of my other brushes with political celebrities. in 2005, i interned at the office of senator orrin g. hatch. did you know that senator hatch is a songwriter? one of his songs is a hip-hop hanukkah song. keep in mind that he was born in 1934 and he’s a mormon. also, he looooves sweet potato fries. he ordered about a half a dozen platters of them at our intern dinner in the senate dining room. also, he has been a senator for thirty six years . thirty six. last also – i look like such a baby in these pictures – can’t believe my dc summer was seven years ago! during my summer gig working in the senate, my fellow interns and i made flashcards to learn the faces, names, parties and states of all 100 senators. that way, when we s...

if i had to describe the last month of my life in one word, it would be blah . my usual over-the-top enthusiasm for life and all its stripes got zapped somewhere in the beginning of 2012. i think i’ve let myself harp about it too much. and deep down i’m just not a negative nancy, even if i try! it has genuinely been a rough patch, but honestly, let’s face it, my life is awesome. so i’m dusting off my rosy glasses and sharpening up on my actually oft-practiced skill of embracing a new life with a tablespoon or so of gusto and pizzazz. life has brought me to just where i am, undoubtedly for some beautiful albeit currently mysterious reasons, and i prefer to be happy. to facilitate in this attitude readjustment, here’s a new “things i like about my life right now” list (here is part 1 , part 2 and part 3 ): -i am in the habit of going to bed early and waking up between 6 and 6:30 to exercise. i feel so, so good getting home from a workout at 7:30 or so awake, alive and invigorated. i fe...

last saturday after spending some time in the temple, i drove across the bay bridge to the city. sheesh that really does it for me - seeing the cityscape flash between the silver cords of the bridge as i drive over the azure bay. i parked my car and waited to meet up with kelsey and steph at the ferry building. as i wandered in the sunshine, i just somehow felt like i'd come home to myself. it was like i had a peek out of all the stress and work of the past month and remembered who i am and that i really love being alive - alive in my life. we got milkshakes and sweet potato fries and walked them down to pier 7 and caught up. it was wonderful. isn't life wonderful?

  i am in love with thanksgiving. and it’s kind of tricky to celebrate that glorious holiday living across the wide ocean from america, far away from family members and cultural traditions. but i make it happen … because taking some to express extra gratitude and gather with loved ones and eat turkey and stuffing is important! last thursday morning i woke up with a glowing heart and racing mind - it was thanksgiving day! moses and I made a little turkey hat and cut out the rest of the orange and yellow leaves for our family thankful tree before ian left for work. and then i spent a good chunk of the day in my tiny kitchen preparing a modified feast and thinking about alllll the things i have to be thankful for. ian was able to come home from work a bit early (even though this month is by far the busiest time of the year for his team) and we had a makeshift thanksgiving dinner - a layered mashed potato/gravy/turkey/stuffing/cranberry casserole, some sweet potatoes and some gr...