Remember when I said I was going to be cooking a lot more quinoa? I wasn’t kidding. I’m obsessed. After making the quinoa salad with spinach, feta, and dill several times over the last few weeks, I figured maybe it was time for a new recipe. There are several recipes for quinoa that are more of a side dish and as great as that is, well, I love a dish that comes together as one harmonious and nutritious meal, all in one bowl.

This quinoa shrimp salad from Chef Laura at Home fits that bill perfectly. Succulent shrimp, juicy tomatoes, salty ricotta salata, and nutty quinoa decked out with zucchini, beans, tomatoes, and lemon easily make a wonderful and complete meal. It’s healthy, it’s relatively easy to throw together, and it’s perfect for lunch, dinner, or even a summer party on the patio. 

A quick word on shrimp. Did you know that frozen shrimp is likely to be better than the shrimp you find at the seafood counter of your grocery store? And that it’s probably less expensive? The thing about the shrimp at the counter is that it is almost always frozen shrimp that has been thawed. Sometimes, depending on the turnover at the store, that shrimp may actually be somewhat on the old side. You’re much better off getting frozen shrimp and thawing it yourself: you’ll save money and get better quality shrimp. We preferred frozen shrimp with the shell still on.

I still love that quinoa salad with spinach, feta, and dill – it really is my favorite dish this spring – but it’s nice to have another quinoa dish in the rotation. I’m also really looking forward to trying this kale and quinoa bake from A Cambridge Story and these quinoa potato cakes florentine with mustard-yogurt sauce from the Wimpy Vegetarian. I’ve got plenty of quinoa from the bulk section, so let me know what your favorite quinoa recipe is!

I don’t think I had ever paid any attention to the Kentucky Derby until maybe five years ago when Joseph and I just happened to be in Brooklyn the same weekend as the Derby. We were staying with Mark and Jordan, my brother-in-law and his wife, and they didn’t yet have their two beautiful little girls. Some of Jordan’s family comes from Kentucky and the Derby is a pretty big deal for her – I would guess sort of akin to St. Patrick’s day for my family. They were throwing a small party in its honor and I’m sure they had some really great food, but to be honest, I don’t remember it. What I do remember are the mint juleps.

Just as I had never watched the Kentucky Derby, I had never had a mint julep. The idea of mint and bourbon seemed just a little strange to me (who knows what I was thinking because I do like mojitos), but one sip and I was completely sold. And one minute of watching all the hats and hoopla of the Kentucky Derby and I was sold on that too. And so a tradition was born. Now every year I sit with my mint julep and watch the hats, um, I meant the horses.

I actually took these pictures last year, before Joseph got me my great Boston double old fashioned glasses. I was excited to share my love of mint juleps, but then I realized that there was really no point in sharing a recipe for mint juleps after the Kentucky Derby. This year I’m just barely getting it in in time, but hopefully you can still grab some mint and bourbon and enjoy!

Growing up, my family had several traditions varying from reading The Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve to eating pizza and renting a movie every Friday night. Now that my sister and I have grown up and moved out, the big tradition is going to one of our two favorite Mexican restaurants (they’re actually owned by the same people and have the exact same menu) and getting a pitcher of frozen margaritas. It’s pretty much a given that if my sister and I are both in DC at the same time (which frankly, doesn’t happen nearly enough), we will all go out to Cactus Cantina or Lauriol Plaza and enjoy a nice salt-rimmed glass or two of ice cold margaritas.

My brother-in-law gave me his super simple and tasty recipe for margaritas and up until a few months ago, it was my go-to recipe for when I was craving a margarita. But I’ve always wondered: what would a margarita made completely from scratch taste like? Well, when I saw that Cook’s Illustrated had a recipe for fresh margaritas, I didn’t have to wonder any more. If the fine folks at Cook’s Illustrated had a recipe they were going to stand behind, well, I had to try it.

Their recipe uses fresh lemon and lime juice, zest, sugar, salt, triple sec, and of course tequila, and that’s it. Completely natural. And so totally delicious. To make sure the drink is packed with enough citrus flavor, they have you steep the lemon and lime juice with both lemon and lime zest for up to 24 hours.

Now, I have to admit, sometimes the need for a margarita strikes before you have time to steep the juices for a full 24 hours. It’s ok, you don’t have to. Honestly, I have yet to have enough foresight to start it that early, but I look forward to the day that I do. Letting it steep for even just a few hours, this recipe makes an extremely satisfying and refreshing margarita. Even if you decide you need to have margaritas right now or else, you can still enjoy these margaritas and just skip the steeping step altogether.

Trust me, these are worth the extra effort. And as an added bonus, since they’re made with a smaller amount of crushed ice, no brain freeze to temper your margarita bliss. So save some money this Cinco de Mayo and just make a few pitchers of margaritas at home, invite some friends over and impress them with your mad margarita skills. Just be forewarned – they may start inviting themselves over more often.

Where have I been, you ask? No, I haven’t fallen off a cliff and, no, I haven’t given up on blogging. The last couple weeks have been a whirlwind of work, school, and play and I’m only just now catching my breath. I was hoping to make some lemon lime basil cookies to take on my trip to Philadelphia last weekend, but at 11:00 pm the night before we were leaving, I discovered that the huge tub of basil we had in the fridge had gone bad. Since it was so late and I was so tired, I just gave up and went to bed instead.

We made the trip down to Philly for my niece’s dedication, and it was a great excuse to get out of Boston and spend time with family. Sophie, my youngest niece, was adorable and her older sister, Amelia, was giddy with excitement with all the family there. Not only did we get to catch up with family and meet my sister-in-law’s newest nephew, but we got to do it over an amazing dinner at Yang Ming, considered by some to be the best Chinese restaurant in the country. The appetizers were outstanding and practically a meal unto themselves, and my jumbo shrimp with honey walnuts was even better than what I got in San Francisco. Who knew Bryn Mawr, PA had such good Chinese food?

Joseph and I also got to have an amazing dinner at Cochon in Philly with my sister and brother-in-law. My trio of pork was outstanding and the entire table was drooling over the braised pork shoulder with mustard sauce that Joseph ordered. We were so full after dinner that the four of us split the poor man’s pudding for dessert. If that’s what poor men eat for dessert, sign me up because it was rich and caramelly and one of the best desserts I’ve had in a long time. This shortbread dough served in a cup of hot maple-bacon caramel and topped with ice cream is worth a trip to Cochon all on its own if you ask me, although the dinner is nothing to sneeze at.

The guilt of not posting anything new on the blog for so long has been eating away at me. I’m still determined to make those lemon lime basil cookies at some point, but for the time being, I hope I can make up for my long absence by introducing my new favorite dish of the season (yeah, that’s right, I put these even above the deviled eggs with prosciutto!). Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce you to this quinoa salad  with baby spinach, feta, and dill.

If you’re not familiar with quinoa, it’s a grain-like crop (I always thought it was a grain, but just learned it’s technically a chenopod) that’s about the size of couscous, but way more nutritious. It’s high in protein, dietary fiber, and even has  essential amino acids, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and iron. And it’s gluten-free and easy to cook. What more could you ask for?

They’ve been eating quinoa for centuries in the Andes, but only recently has it become more readily available in mainstream US supermarkets. I first had quinoa when I was in Bolivia in 2001 volunteering with Amigos de las Americas (BTW,  I can’t recommend this nonprofit highly enough), and really liked it, but I don’t think I saw it in a store in the States until a couple of years later. Even though it’s become easier to find, I really haven’t been taking advantage of it, which is a real shame. Not only is it a nutritional powerhouse and easy to make and serve, but it’s really tasty. It’s got a slight nuttiness and a light bite to it that I really enjoy. Not to mention it, is really, really good in this dish.

We don’t cook with dill a whole lot, but I have to say I really enjoyed the fresh herbiness that it adds here. The pine nuts add a light nutty crunch, while the spinach gives it color and substance, the lemon adds bright acidity, and the feta rounds it all into a wonderfully fresh, creamy, delicious meal. And it’s healthy. It would be a perfect side for a Mother’s Day brunch, a spring dinner, a summer picnic, or to make ahead to pack for lunch for the week. So please accept this as my apology for my long absence and enjoy! And keep your eyes out for the best margarita recipe ever which I promise to deliver just in time for Cinco de Mayo….

I have a confession to make. I only got Dorie Greenspan’s cookbook Baking: From My Home to Yours a couple of months ago. I love to bake more than just about anything and yet I’ve only just now picked up this book? Greenspan has not only coauthored books with culinary legends Julia Child, Daniel Boulud, and Pierre Hermé, but her spectacular cookbooks have inspired bloggers around the world to participate in Tuesdays with Dorie, an online cooking group committed to baking one recipe from her cookbook every week. The group finished baking their way through Baking: From My Home to Yours right about the time that I got the cookbook and have now moved on to Baking with Julia.

I am sorely behind and am going to have to do things at my own slow pace, but I do intend to make as many of the recipes as possible because they are good. Ok, I’ve only made two recipes so far from her cookbook, but they were both phenomenal and Baking is filled with wonderful tips and techniques. Would you expect anything less from a woman who has inspired hundreds of bloggers to bake a recipe from her book once a week?

This particular recipe for coconut lime tea cake made me especially happy. I made it for a small party at work to celebrate two birthdays and the departure of a coworker. The party was at 9:30 in the morning – the only time that worked for everyone – but I was unwilling to let go of a cake. Two birthdays! There had to be a cake! Sure, I could have made coffeecake and it would have been just lovely (I really love coffeecake after all), but I was so excited to make this cake from Greenspan’s book.

When I saw the title coconut tea cake in the index, my first thought was that it had Earl Grey in or Darjeeling or something in it and truth be told, that’s what inspired me to turn to the recipe page. When I got there I saw that it was a cake for tea time, not made of tea, but that seemed just as fitting. It’s light and refreshing, but it’s still a cake. You could sneak it on to a brunch table, slice it up for afternoon tea, or serve it for dessert. It’s the perfect cake for the sudden beautiful warm weather we’ve been having in Boston and would be perfect for Mother’s Day.  Oh, and after a day or two when it’s starting to get a little old, it’s wonderful toasted!