Easy Spicy Grilled Snap Peas

We have an abundance of snap peas and I've been trying to think of new ways to cook them/eat them. They're so good when they are raw and have a nice crunch, but that's a little limiting. We were grilling last night, so I took a couple of handfuls of snap peas and tossed them with olive oil, a little minced garlic, salt, cayenne, a little cumin, and a pinch of sugar. Jamie grilled them for about 5 minutes. They were warm and crunchy and a little charred with a great sweet, spicy, fresh flavor. Such a nice way to serve them, and an excellent side dish.

The dogs were interested in the snap peas.

Garden - Week 15, June 21

After missing a weekend, the garden had really grown. We have soo many snappeas! There was a lot of weeding to do, but everything is coming along. We have zucchini blossoms, some little green tomatoes, more radishes, lots of nasturtiums... It's so satisfying to see it all grow, especially the plants we planted from seeds.

A lot of lettuce and major peas

Quinoa-Crusted Pork Chops

After Peru, I was dying to crust something in quinoa and decided on pork chops. I used this basic recipe but subbed in quinoa for breadcrumbs. Yum! It's also sort of healthy, right? Feel free to marinate the chops first, or just season well with salt and pepper. Can't wait to try another quinoa-coated something.

Ingredients:

2 bone-in pork chops

salt and pepper

1 cup uncooked quinoa (cooked according to package directions, cooled)

1 egg

flour

1 tbps butter

1 tbsp olive oil

(I marinated ours with some mint and orange zest and garlic)

Egg in a Cloud

I went to Almar the other day for breakfast and tried their egg in a cloud. It was so cool. They separated the yolk and whites and fluffed up the whites and baked them and poached the yolks and served it on top of brioche toast with ham and cheese. It was delicious. While it looks super cool, I didn't think it would be that hard to try at home. Mom and Jamie were my guinea pigs and it was great! Definitely more complicated than the average egg recipe but it's delicious and such a cool presentation. Would be great for a brunch!

Chez Wong, Lima

Chez Wong is an amazing restaurant in Lima. If anyone is going to Lima, or knows someone who is, make a reservation here! You'll have to speak Spanish and make the res about a month in advance. It's in the middle of no where in Lima at an unmarked door. The decor is very simple - mostly clips about the chef, Javier Wong. He is so cool. He comes out in his hat and just starts to filet flounder after flounder and making fresh ceviche. 

Garden - Week 12, May 31

The garden is thriving! (Except for a couple of bug-eaten pepper plants.) We had a ton on radishes and the new seeds I planted two weeks ago are already about 2 inches high. The lettuce is exploding, the peas are high, the tomatoes are popping out of the wall-o-waters... It's great! Starting to feel like summer. 

Look at the lettuce!

Back from Peru!

We had the best time in Peru! Cusco was so charming and cool, the Inca trail was unbelievable, and arriving at Machu Picchu was surreal. Such a cool trip. We ended with a day and a half in Lima with some fantastic food (though the food was really spectacular throughout Peru). I'm now hunting for a Peruvian cookbook and am going to try to copy some recipes. They really know how to do quinoa. We had shrimp coated in quinoa and fried - yum! Definitely trying to make that one soon. More pics below. 

Pisco sour lesson at the Museo del Pisco in Lima 

Plaza de Armas,  Cusco

Ollantaytambo 

Pretty view in the Sacred Valley

Machu Picchu

Potatoes at Astrid y Gaston in Lima 

Us with Javier Wong at Chez Wong - so cool!