Stacey Snacks

Fun with Beet Greens

2013-05-23T07:00:00.001-04:00

The bumper sticker on my car reads: SAVE THE BEET GREENS. When I trim my beets, I am always left with these beautiful colorful beet greens. Don't throw them away! Eat them! They are good for you and are nice in soups, frittatas or pastas. I used to give them to my neighbor for her juicing in the morning, but now I keep them for myself! Here is a delicious, simple way to use up those

Word of the Day & Pretty Beet Ideas

2013-05-22T07:00:00.000-04:00

Ok, the asparagus is done, now on to beets. I never knew or heard the word "locavore" until I started a food blog 5 years ago. Hello, my name is Stacey ("Mrs. Snacks" to you), and I am a "locavore". I've been called worse in my life. I try to cook with what is in season and local, in case you haven't noticed. I don't eat tomatoes all winter, waiting for that perfect July beauty. Same goes

Tapas Salad: Apple & Manchego

2013-05-21T07:00:00.000-04:00

Recently, at a Spanish tapas restaurant, the waitress recommended the simple apple w/ Manchego salad. I really had no interest, but she insisted that it was her personal favorite. Well, it is now our favorite too. How could something so simple, be so good? It's like spaghetti & meatballs, they just go together nicely. I searched a lot of Spanish websites and they were pretty much all

Grilled Asparagus w/ Burrata & Brown Butter Almonds

2013-05-20T07:00:00.001-04:00

Ok, ok, enough asparagus posts already. I promise, this will be my last one. My harvesting is almost over, next we are on to beets and spinach from the garden. This was a great first course for an al fresco dinner on the patio, inspired by the book MOZZA. You can use bufala mozzarella or burrata, but make sure you are using milky fresh cheese, it makes all the difference, and it also

NYC Bites: Lafayette

2013-05-17T07:00:00.001-04:00

Another beautiful, huge restaurant opens in NYC. Lafayette opened last month, and it's already a hard to get reservation. New Yorkers love a scene. Andrew Carmellini (owner of Locande Verde), opened this grand cafe on a quiet stretch of Lafayette St. in Noho (Noho means "North of Houston St."), across from the Publick Theatre. It is quite stunning, and reminds me of the grand cafes in Paris.

Michael Chiarello's Spring Panzanella

2013-05-16T07:00:00.002-04:00

I apologize for bombarding you with asparagus recipes, but I am still harvesting them daily, so I have to use them. This should be my worst problem in life. A traditional Tuscan panzanella salad is made in the summer, using beautiful ripe tomatoes and lovely stale bread. It's my fave. Here, Mr. Chiarello (who I love!) makes a spring version with lovely croutons and fresh asparagus and spring

Spring Halibut w/ Lemon, Caper & Anchovy Butter Sauce

2013-05-15T07:00:00.001-04:00

Here's the halibut story. I love it. It's one of my favorite fishes (fish? fishes?, sounds wrong). It is only in season and available in the spring here in NJ/NYC, sort of like soft shell crabs and wild salmon. My fish market only gets thin halibut fillets in the spring that look like flounder, and I always take a pass. I want the meaty, thick, beautiful big white pieces of halibut, which I

Simply Asparagus Soup

2013-05-14T07:00:00.001-04:00

There's not much to this soup except some good ingredients to start with. At first glance, you might think this is boring, no curb appeal. A bowl of light green liquid, nothing special. However, when you take a sip, it is anything BUT boring. It is wonderful and tastes like spring. I only made a small batch, but next time will double it for sure, because it was that good. Just a few rules or

Pleasures of Spring: Leek, Ricotta & Asparagus Tart

2013-05-13T07:00:00.001-04:00

It's asparagus week, so buckle your seat belts. What kind of food blogger would I be if I didn't make a spring tart with my homegrown asparagus and some spring leeks? We had our first al fresco neighbor dinner and this tart was a part of it. You will only see 2 asparagus spears here, because that's all I harvested that day, so feel free to add more if you can spare them. Very simple to make.

My First Harvest: Asparagus w/ Peas, Shallots & Mint

2013-05-10T07:00:00.001-04:00

I hope you won't get sick of my asparagus posts, if you do, then feel free to turn the channel. You've heard it here before. It's the only time of year when I LOVE asparagus, in the spring, when it's fresh and local. This is my first real harvest of asparagus, since it takes 2 years for the plant to get strong, then you can harvest it in the 3rd year. It's a long wait, and you have to be

Mother's Day Tartines: Smoked Salmon w/ Avocado & Dill

2013-05-09T07:00:00.000-04:00

What a nice combination. Smoked fish w/ avocado. Who da thunk it? The biggest challenge here is finding avocados that will be ripe for Sunday! I like to use a nice whole grain bread for these, but you can use flatbreads if you like. Toast up some whole grain bread and cut them in halves. Not sure how many people you are having on Sunday, so can't tell you exact measurements. Mash up some

Poach your Mother a Fish!

2013-05-08T07:00:00.004-04:00

Brunch, shmunch. Why not just call it an early lunch? Pet peeve: When people review a restaurant on YELP based on a brunch meal they have had instead of dinner. "The eggs and French toast were amazing.......5 stars!". "Terrible meal, the coffee was cold and the waffles were dry, 1 star". Mother's Day is the brunch holiday, it seems. Every restaurant that serves brunch is packed on this

Early May Random Bites

2013-05-07T07:00:00.000-04:00

It's salad time: Bathing suit season is right around the corner. I'm trying to eat less bread, sugar and pasta and eat more fish and salads. I feel less bloated and more energetic. Here is my favorite Cobb Salad recipe. Avocado, grilled chicken, egg, red onion, tomato, bacon, lettuce & blue cheese. What's not to love? Salad #2: Leftover orange glazed salmon over arugula w/ oranges

Torta di Carote del Veneto (Venetian Carrot Cake)

2013-05-06T07:00:00.000-04:00

If you google Venetian Carrot Cake, Nigella Lawson's recipe is the first to come up. The rest of the recipes are all in Italian. But this recipe is from a very special cookbook called Cucina Ebraica by Joyce Goldstein. It translates to Hebrew Cooking in Italian. I believe it's out of print, but you can preview some of the recipes here. It's really a history book about the Jews who lived in

Mexican Chocolate Cake for Cinco de Mayo

2013-05-03T07:00:00.000-04:00

Why is this cake called a "Mexican" chocolate cake? Because Mexican chocolate has cinnamon in the recipe. It's absolutely delicious, if you can find it, it comes in little round discs. It can be quite pricey in the gourmet shops, unless you can find it in a good Latino grocery store. This cake has a nice kick to it, not your typical chocolate cake. I used ancho chili powder from New Mexico,

Dandelion Greens Frittata

2013-05-02T07:00:00.000-04:00

No, I don't want any yellow dandelions growing on my front lawn, thank you, but I will happily eat their spikey bitter greens. My girlfriend's grandmother makes her daughter pull over on the side of the road so she can pick these yummy spring greens. Free salad! In this case, I paid for a bunch of organic dandelion greens. Not really sure what to do with them, since I enjoy my arugula

Springtime Jeweled Quinoa Salad

2013-05-01T07:00:00.000-04:00

This is so pretty, it looks like candy. It was created from leftovers, really. I always make roasted beets at the beginning of the week, yellow and red. It allows me to be creative during the week for lunchtime salads and other fun things, and half the work is done. Same thing goes for the sweet potato. I always bake an extra one when making dinner, so I can have it for lunch the next day

Special Places: Stockton Farmer's Market

2013-04-30T07:00:00.000-04:00

I know most of you think New Jersey is a pit. We are the brunt of many jokes. Lots of industry, overpopulated, pollution, high taxes, rude people, we are defined by what exit we live off of, and just basic big attitudes. Well, most of this is true. I won't lie to you. However, we are also the "Garden State", and there is a reason. We have tons of beautiful open spaces and farmland. Only 25

Arugula Pesto

2013-04-29T07:00:00.000-04:00

I won't have any basil in my garden until July, so I will have to make do with what I have. Arugula seems to do best in the garden during late spring, early summer, before the heat and humidity knock it down (same goes for cilantro around here). It can stand a cool night. It is by far, my favorite green, I eat it everyday. It is spicy and peppery and needs nothing more than some good olive

Good Food

2013-04-26T07:00:00.001-04:00

Good food is hard to find, so when a woman in my town opens up her backyard cottage to some hungry housewives, you can imagine the happy faces. One of my readers emailed me last week "do you know that a woman in your town is selling lunch and treats out of her gorgeous "shed"? (I would happily live in her shed, it's so nice.....)" I did not. Every Thursday, Carolyn opens for lunch between

3 Minute Chocolate Cake in a Mug after 10 p.m.

2013-04-25T07:00:00.000-04:00

I know, I am 5 years late to the party. Every single food blogger has made this silly (but genius!) chocolate cake in the microwave. First and foremost, let me say I do not cook in my microwave oven. I use it for melting butter and reheating my 2nd cup of coffee in the morning. Pinky swear. I have never baked a potato in the microwave, and I have never baked a cake in the radioactive box.

Asparagus & Ricotta Flatbreads

2013-04-24T07:00:00.000-04:00

By next week I should have a big bounty of asparagus spears, but right now I have only 4. I am loving pinterest lately, and pinned this pretty picture from Bon Appetit waiting to use my own, fresh picked asparagus. Well, here it is (a little light on the asparagus). You can use packaged Naan bread if you like, or buy some ready made pizza dough, like I did. Shape your pizza dough into 2

The Tuesday Tart is Back with an Onion Tart!

2013-04-23T07:00:00.000-04:00

I don't know why I dropped the ball and forgot about Tuesday Tarts. Well, I had better get back on track. I've been making too many frittatas lately. Here we have the classic onion tart w/ bacon. If you want to get technical, this is really a quiche, because it has cream and eggs. But there is no weekday that starts with the letter "Q" so we will stick with Tuesday and Tart. I know it's

Grilled Salmon w/ Red Quinoa & Pistachios

2013-04-22T07:00:00.000-04:00

It's a 2 for one day. I'm giving you this healthy, delicious side dish from Bon Appetit's Cleanse, along with a nice grilled fish recipe from The Kitchn. This was a simple weeknight dieter's dinner, which we both enjoyed, dieting or not. Red Quinoa w/ Pistachios & Mint (adapted from Bon Appetit): 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 shallot, finely chopped kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1

Ancestry: Pickled Herring & Beets

2013-04-19T07:00:00.000-04:00

I must be getting old. I remember as a kid going to my paternal grandmother's house in Brooklyn and watching her and her 9 sisters (there was 1 brother, the poor thing) eat pickled herring and beets. I was repulsed and swore I would NEVER eat this. Disgusting. The Jackson sisters (strange name for a Jewish family, must've been changed at Ellis Island) all lived in either Brooklyn or Queens,