The Diary of My Dreams

When I first typed this title I wrote "The Dairy of My Dreams," but that's another post for another time. For now, I want to address a show I've been watching for the last few weeks and is currently at the top of my list of Food TV Worth Watching.

I'm talking about Diary of a Foodie. It's on PBS on Saturday afternoons, at least where I live. The word "foodie" sometimes bugs me, but in this case I'm cool with it, because the show is mesmerizing. That's a strong word, I know, but I do not use it lightly. I was at the gym today, feeling particularly spent and not at all "pumped up" but thirty minutes on the treadmill went by in a heartbeat because I was watching Diary of a Foodie. The content was so engaging I ran for an extra five minutes and the only side effect was extreme hunger (and a burning desire to eat with Heston Blumenthal).

Now don't get me wrong. Everybody here knows that I obviously appreciate the Food Network and wouldn't have the name of this blog without it. But, PBS really has some awesome food-related programs these days and Diary of a Foodie is one of them. Of course, it helps that the show is affiliated with Gourmet magazine, the editor of which I respect so much I have her picture taped to my bathroom mirror. Don't laugh at me! Ok, fine. You can.

Restaurant Wednesday: Adams Morgan Edition

Morning, everybody! It's hot in DC today, and it will be hot again tomorrow. This is the kind of weather that really turns me off cooking. It's just not pleasant to stand in my shoe box kitchen, roasting and steaming right along with the food I'm preparing. So, when the humidity--and the circumference of my hair--increases, I tend to eat out.

Tonight, I'm gathering with some of my favorite people at a cafe for pizza. But the last time this sort of heat took over my city, a couple of weeks ago, I could be found at a tiny Adams Morgan joint, eating Mexican. Lots of Mexican. And not the greasy, now-I-feel-ill kind, but the fresh, give-me-some-more kind. The place where such food can be found is called Pica Taco, and if you click here you can read my review of it, published today in the Washington Post.

I have to go dunk my head in cold water now. Have a great day, and remember Pica Taco the next time you're not in the mood to cook. Or just the next time you're hungry for good food.

Serious Props For Serious Eats

For those of you who are still with me, thanks for sticking around. My summer's been pretty hectic. I wish I could say I've been traveling the world, sunning and shopping my heart out, but really I've just been working a ton. And the "tan" I'm sporting comes from a bottle. Anyway, I apologize for my posting paucity. To make it up to you, I'd like to pass along the most awesome recipe ever.

I found it on Serious Eats, a food blog my friend introduced me to and one that I read regularly. You should check it out if you haven't already. It's entertaining and informative, and every now and then they offer a gem of a recipe.

Case in point, a recent one that begins with this headline: Eat for Eight Bucks: Squid Noodle Salad with Fragrant Garlic Topping. The post instantly caught my eye because a) I'm kind of a squid freak and b) I'm trying to save money. Plus, fish sauce is one of my favorite ingredients. (Don't ever, ever taste it straight-up, though. I learned that lesson the hard way.)

So, my boyfriend and I set out to make this yummy-sounding salad. The first time we ate it, we couldn't stop talking about how good it was. The second time (three days later), we barely said a word to each other because we were too busy slurping and not wanting the delicousness to end. Seriously, it is that good.

Click here for the original recipe. We swapped in crushed peanuts for the garlic topping to set ourselves apart. We also added more cilantro and experimented with different types of noodles. The first time, we used noodles made from tapioca starch. We made the second batch with mung bean noodles. Both noodle types are translucent and lovely to look at, but the tapioca starch ones have a silkier texture and are easier to bite through than the mung bean variety, which are kind of spongy.

The photograph above doesn't do our attempt at this salad much justice, but hopefully the people at Serious Eats will appreciate the homage. Do you have any favorite recipe web sites? Have you found a way to make a dish your own? Let me know! If you're still speaking to me, that is.