Monthly Review: January 2013

First monthly review for 2013!  What photos did I capture with my iPhone this month?

Interested what we did in the past?
2012: May, June, July, August, November, December

We make pizza at home regularly.  This was a shaved pizza recipe from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.  I went to see her at Politics & Prose in November, and now I can’t wait to try out more recipes from her book.

We also made some pizza for our friends who have a newborn.  We came prepared: dough, chopped ingredients, pizza stone.  What a fun nigh!

Need pizza topping ideas?  Try these: Apple & Smoked Cheese Whole Wheat Pizza; Mushroom & Broccoli Pizza.

I was trying out a recipe to post for the Chinese New Year– which will be in February this year.  Look forward to a delicious post in the next couple of weeks!

Need Asian-inspired recipes for your Chinese New Year party? Asian Vegetable Rolls with Peanut Sauce; Pear Sorbet with Sesame Wonton Crisps; Asian Noodle Bowl; Spicy Asian Salad with Sunflower Seeds; Veggie Stir Fry.

Sam and I are really excited to run the Rock ‘n Roll DC 1/2 Marathon in March!  This is a photo from one of our long runs in Rock Creek Park.  Are you running any upcoming races?  What distances?  Where do you do your long runs?

One beautiful Sunday afternoon, Sam and I went ice skating.  It’s been on our bucket list for some time, and we had a great time.  We went to the Sculpture Garden Ice Skating Ring!  What are some of your “to-do” activities for 2013?

Recently, our favorite bar has been Meridian Pint in Columbia Heights.  They have a large selection of beers, and some good food.  Have you been there before?  If not, definitely add it to your list!

We spent a fun Saturday afternoon people watching and eating sandwiches from Paul, the delicious French bakery.  Stop in: buy a sandwich, pastry, or coffee and read a book- it’s a perfect weekend afternoon!  There are a number of DC locations: Penn Quarter, Farragut North, Foggy Bottom, Georgetown, and soon there will be one out in Tysons Corner.

Back in May, Sam and I tried Kushi for the first time.  This time around I tried the lunch version with my friend Alix.  The dish pictured above was my Ocean’s Oyako Don (salmon & roe), and she had the Spicy Zuke Don (spicy soy sauce tuna).  The lunch dishes come with miso soup, salad and pickles- most within a $12-$15 price range.  What’s your favorite sushi place?

The 2013 Presidential Inauguration was held over Martin Luther King weekend.  This photo is from the day before, where you can see they covered up that fresh grass that had been growing.  I think everyone was a little worried it’d get trampled up with so many people walking all over it, but it’s good thing they had a Plan B!  Did anyone attend any fun Inauguration Balls?

I won a set of AirBake cookie sheets from a giveaway Olga, of Mango & Tomato, was having on her blog!  I’m excited to bake some delicious cookies- any suggestions or recommendations?

Olga and I met at the Eat Write Retreat DC Blogger Conference back in May.  It’s been great making a new friend, and fellow food blogger.  I love her recipes, so definitely check out her blog for more giveaways and her fun stories!

I also received Breakfast for Dinner, the new cookbook by Lindsey and Taylor, of Love and Olive Oil.  We got this signed copy for helping out with some recipe testing earlier this year.  This was one of the first blogs I started reading, long before Fifth Floor Kitchen started, and I was so excited to help them out!  Can’t wait to try more delicious recipes from this book (in bookstores on February 12)!

Lastly, we finished off the month by trying out the Moroccan Chickpea & Sweet Potato Stew from A Couple of Cooks.  They have some fabulous vegetarian recipes, so definitely check out their blog- this particular one was easy and delicious, makes for great lunch leftovers!

We’ve got exciting news coming in February, so come back soon!

November 2012 Review

And we’re back with the monthly reviews on Fifth Floor Kitchen!  What photos did I capture on my iPhone this past month?

Interested in past months?  Check them out: May June July August

This was taken on our last day of our honeymoon in Phuket, Thailand.  Check out our posts about it here.

First week back from our honeymoon and we were excited for food from the farmer’s market!  We got: arugula, turnips, a pie pumpkin, apples, pears, sweet potatoes, cheese & eggs from the Penn Quarter Farmer’s Market.

Don’t know what to eat for breakfast?  Check out this post on making Fall Granola– perfect to mix with yogurt or milk!

Sam and I visited our friend Beth in Baltimore.  We loved this place: Abbey Burger Bistro, make your own burger (and it’s got some good beers as well).

While in Baltimore we stopped by the Baltimore Farmer’s Market & Bazaar (check out the post about it here).  Sam pickled the cucumbers, and we enjoyed the spicy cheese & duck eggs.  But the honey butter is the best- have you had honey butter?  If not, you’re missing out!

My friend Alix and I got a chance to see Deb Perelman from Smitten Kitchen!  There were so many people at Politics & Prose to see her!  Checkout her cookbook and blog for some great recipes!

We have 2 cats who have really enjoyed getting wedding gifts.  Well, mostly the boxes that the gifts come in- Van Gogh loves to relax among the bubble wrap and paper!  One of the many gifts was a cookbook- and we tried this Shepherd’s Pie recipe!

Another Penn Quarter Farmer’s Market week!  The goodies were: bok choy, yogurt (to go with Fall Granola), broccoli, cheese, apples, pear and arugula!

Last May, when I attended Eat, Write, Retreat (check out my post about it) I met a lot of wonderful bloggers.  One of them was Olga (blog: Mango & Tomato; Twitter: @MangoTomato), we tried out the new DGS Delicatessen in Dupont Circle for lunch, and I had a delicious Salmon Pastrami Sandwich on a bagel.

As I mentioned, we had a low-key Thanksgiving.  After running the So Others Might Eat Turkey Trot 5K– Sam, myself and his brother went to Hill Country Barbecue for an all-you-can-eat dinner.  As always, Hill Country did not disappoint!  Although my favorite was the green bean casserole- it’s been so long since I’ve had it!

The past week’s Penn Quarter Farmer’s Market finds were: eggs, turnips, cheese, pears, eggs & meat sticks!

Delicious Strawberry Cake

Yes, we had 10+ lbs of strawberries.  What did we do with all of them?  We ate some…for breakfast, for lunch, for snack and for dessert.  Yum!  Making your own whipped cream (using whipping cream) is highly underrated.

Strawberries Part 2: Clearly, you can only eat so many strawberries, so I had to think of other ideas.  Next was a strawberry cake from Smitten Kitchen.  Of course, a lot of times when I bake, it depends on what we have in our cupboards.  So, there were a couple of changes from her recipe, but she’s right- the cake is delicious.  And yes, everyone should make it…and enjoy it!  Details follow the picture.

My friend M*, who has an amazing blog (I want to make sure she doesn’t mind me sharing) suggested a wonderful recipe.  Unfortunately, I can’t eat ricotta, so I was unable to make it.  So yes, I need her to make it so I can drool over the beautiful pictures she takes.  =)

Strawberries Part 3: freezing them!  First we wash them, dry them with a paper towel (or let them air dry).  Next, we take off the green stems.  Most of the strawberries we picked were a little large, so I cut them in halves (but you can keep them whole).  Lastly, they should be arranged on a cookie sheet (keeping space in between).  Cover with Saran Wrap, and stick them into the freezer overnight.  The next day, put them all in a ziplock bag.  Now you have some delicious strawberries to make smoothies!  (we’ll have to add the recipe how we make ours)

Strawberry Part 4: So I had some more strawberries left.  I had looked a recipe on making jam.  Although I was hesitant to try it, I am in the process.  I’ll let you know how it turns out (cross your fingers!).

Strawberry Cake
Adapted from: Smitten Kitchen

6 tbsp butter, softened
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp rose water*
1 lbs strawberries (cleaned, no green stems, quartered)
cooking spray
powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Spray a 10-inch pie dish with cooking spray.

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.  In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until it is pale and fluffy.  Add egg, milk and rose water and mix until combined.  Add the flour mixture slowly, mixing until it is smooth.

Pour the pie filling into the pie dish.  On top, arrange the strawberries.  They should be very close together, and in one layer.

Bake the cake for 10 minutes in 350°F, then reduce the temperature to 325°F.  At that temperature bake for the next 40 minutes.  Let it cool, and then cut into wedges.  Once cooled, sift powdered sugar on top!

*Smitten Kitchen used vanilla extract, but we had none…so I gave it a try!  And it was delicious.  So I think either will work.  If you think of a third option, definitely let me know.