The Shared Bi Bim Bap / May 31, 2016 by Cynthia Raub

Last week, I was out of town for four nights to celebrate a dear friend's wedding and to accompany my husband on a work-related trip. For two nights, we celebrated our friends in idyllic Tiburon. For another two nights, my kids and I relaxed and played (while my husband worked) in Monterey, California. It was such a fun-filled getaway (and dare I say), it was luxurious. For those five days and four nights, I didn't have to shop, prep, cook, serve or clean up any meals! We ate in restaurants and hotels for the entire trip, and I was the most relaxed I've been in a long, long time. But, I started feeling sluggish on the third day, and I knew I had overindulged one too many times. (My kids, however, were very content to eat cheesy pasta and pizza for nearly every meal.) The morning after we got home, I went into a cooking rampage and roasted every vegetable we had, and cooked off pounds of brown rice and wheat berries. I threw them together for every meal since, and it only took a couple days to feel back to normal.

As soon as I got back, Amy left for a long weekend to Nashville to reconnect with friends, visit the sites, and EAT. So, to continue my healthy gut week and to support my friend when she gets back from a long weekend of food destinations and cocktails, I decided to make us Bi Bim Bap. Bi Bim Bap is a Korean mixed rice and vegetable dish that is completed with beef, a fried egg, and a sweet and spicy sauce. I hope that this light and nutritive surprise aided in the recovery of her overindulged tummy.

Bi Bim Bap with Beef and Spicy Sauce

The Shared Plenty (More) / May 24, 2016 by Cynthia Raub

I was not familiar with Yotam Ottolenghi until a fateful trip to Costco. I normally don't tempt myself with Costco's dizzying array of seasonal items, clothes, and books, but I had half an hour to kill, and I needed to cool my nonchalant visits to the sample stations. Immediately upon flipping through the Plenty More cookbook, I was struck by the beautiful and mixed ingredient dishes that reminded me so much of the foods I love to eat. Ottolenghi elegantly includes grains, legumes, vegetables, and plentiful herbs in most of his dishes, which also lends to a complex variety of temperatures and textures. I immediately tossed the book into my cart and went home to indulge in the tasty photography and accessible recipes. After mentioning my new cookbook purchase to Amy, she divulged that she recently bought Plenty by Chef Ottolenghi. We agreed to try a recipe from each of our books and swap them. It was one of the most delicious decisions we have made!

Rice Salad with Nuts and Sour Cherries

Lentils with Broiled Eggplant

The Shared Pasta and Spring Vegetables / May 3, 2016 by Cynthia Raub

asparagus fava beans and pea salad with gremolata and mozzarella served with fresh pasta

I was probably about 10 years old when I first saw Mary Ann Esposito on PBS's Ciao Italia make fresh pasta. I was mesmerized as to how flour and egg transformed into a taut golden sphere, then rolled out into sheets and cut into elegant ribbons of pappardelle. Since then, I've watched countless cooks, in person and on television, roll pasta, but I've never felt confident enough to try it myself. When I told Amy I signed up to bring a spring vegetable side dish to a potluck, (Yep! Another one . . . ) she suggested fresh pasta to accompany it. Luckily, as the brave and confident cook that she is, she was eager to make it for us. As we rolled the pasta together, we were practically screaming and dancing around, saying how exciting it was and how it was actually . . . turning out! After we boiled our first batch and dressed it with butter and parmesan, we quickly dug into the bowl together. We danced, we high-fived, and in that euphoric moment, we might have vowed to never eat boxed pasta again.

It was very satisfying to make something so readily available, by hand and from scratch. The luscious, tender noodles were delicious - but the experience of creating it and enjoying it with a friend was delightful and just as memorable as seeing pasta rolled for the first time as a child.

Follow us to the recipes:

Asparagus, Peas and Fava Beans with Gremolata and Mozzarella

Fresh Egg Pasta

The Shared Brunch / April 12, 2016 by Cynthia Raub

Parenthood is terrifying. It’s incredibly fun, fulfilling, exhausting, as well as physically, mentally and emotionally taxing. I have two children, and I was a much better parent before I had kids of my own! So having multiple children does not make you an expert. (I actually have less of a grip on parenting now, than when I had one newborn.) When someone has a baby, I like to bring them a meal to say: 1) I’m here to hold (and smell) your baby, 2) I’m sorry you will never sleep the same again, and 3) Welcome to the tribe. A new friend had her first baby, and I wanted to bring her and her husband some yummies that could be enjoyed at several different temperatures (hot coffee and warm meals are impossible with a newborn). I wasn’t sure if they had a meal train set up for them, so I decided to play it safe and bring them brunch foods instead of a dinner meal. I made an all-occasion Swiss Chard and Leek Crostata - one of my standards that is always appropriate, delicious, and fool-proof. As luck would have it, Amy was experimenting with making yogurt and granola and wanted to contribute to the meal too!

Swiss Chard and Leek Crostata

Olive Oil Granola

Homemade Yogurt

The Shared Grilled Cheese Sandwiches / February 16, 2016 by Cynthia Raub

bacon jam and roasted jalapeno grilled cheese

I was still going strong with my health kick that started in the New Year, so naturally, I was craving bacon jam. Making bacon jam can be a process, but it keeps incredibly well - so it's perfect to make in larger, sharable quantities. I didn't have a reason to make a batch of bacon jam, besides my daydreams that featured the sweet and salty condiment, until February. Every month, parents and staff from my children's preschool have a dinnertime meeting to discuss operations, events and issues that pertain to the school. Volunteers offer to bring a savory dish, sweets, or beverages (ahem, wine!) to the meeting. The parents and staff at our cooperative preschool are highly dedicated to maintaining a loving, safe and enriching community for our children. To show my appreciation for the work that these parents put into the school, the least I could do was to make myself, I mean them . . . some bacon jam! Now I had an excuse to spread it between slices of bread and call it a meal. I decided to bring two kinds of absurd grilled cheese sandwiches and a refreshingly simple salad (for balance!) to the meeting to share. What pairs better with wine and discussions about communicable diseases than decadent grilled cheese sandwiches?

Bacon Jam and Cheddar Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Roasted Jalapeno Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Beet and Cucumber Salad

The Shared Lunch / January 19, 2016 by Amy Cantu

Winter was already well underway, when Cynthia, our friend Christine, and I huddled together in my unusually quiet kitchen. We were lucky enough to have grandparents watching the kids, so we had a whole afternoon at our disposal - it felt positively luxurious. So what to cook? We wanted to somehow redeem ourselves from all of our gluttonous holiday eating, but also eat food that would combat the cold, drizzly weather outside. So, we settled on a little bit of each: a bountiful kale salad and also a hearty, white bean soup. I am convinced that the kale with all it’s well-touted vitamins and antioxidants reversed the damage of eating more than my fair share of deep-fried turkey, honey ham, tamales, and cheesecake at not one, but TWO Christmas dinners. Well, that’s what I’m telling myself anyway. Add that to this soul-warming white bean soup that manages to pack its own healthy dose of good-for-you veggies, while still tasting unctuous and rich. Beyond any purported health benefits of said soup and salad, what really struck me on this otherwise gray, frigid day, was how filled with joy I felt spending a leisurely afternoon cooking, sharing, and enjoying lunch with Cynthia and Christine. I love how cooking with and for others has taught us to be generous with our recipes and each other - sharing a nourishing meal that ushered in a little extra warmth during these cold winter months.

Follow us to the recipes:

White Bean Soup with Wilted Greens

Kale Salad with Butternut Squash and Cheddar