blistered shisito peppers :: by radish*rose

blistered shisito peppers

Fear not – these are very friendly, not too spicy peppers! You can handle them even if you’re a bit wimpy about hot stuff like I am. They make a great healthy and guilt-free appetizer. Look for shisito peppers at your local Asian market (and many mainstream markets have them now too). They are bright green and longer and skinnier than a jalapeno, with a tendency to curl a bit. Sometimes they are labeled “sweet peppers” or “curly peppers”. Continue reading

all natural microwave popcorn :: by radish*rose

all natural microwave popcorn with olive oil and sea salt

Here is a mind-blowing fact: all popcorn is microwave popcorn.  They haven’t done anything magical to the popcorn to make it pop in the microwave.  IT’S THE BAG.  I know, right?!???  So you don’t need all that other stuff that’s in the pre-made kind. You can just get good old fashioned plain unpopped popcorn and microwave it yourself with whatever flavors you like. And then ask yourself, “Why was I buying microwave popcorn like a fool?”  That’s right.  A fool. Don’t feel bad, it happened to me too. Continue reading

spinach, quinoa, and feta salad with dried cranberries

Quinoa is fun to say (KEEN-wah… I like to sing it) and it’s definitely having a moment, due to being delicious *and* high in amino acids and protein. I make this salad at least once a week for a quick and scrumptious dinner for two.  If you make the quinoa and vinaigrette ahead (or buy pre-made), you can throw this together in a few minutes – no big deal.  It’s still pretty fast even if you make everything from scratch (quinoa takes about 20 minutes).  If your quinoa is still warm, you can still put it right into the salad and you’ll have a nice wilted spinach effect, if you like that sort of thing (if you don’t, just wait for it to cool). Continue reading