Recently, I introduced you to my mother-in-law, Letty, who is the best cook I know. She never uses a recipe and everything she makes is phenomenal. Today, I’d like to share another one of the invaluable recipes I’ve learned from her.

We make a lot of salads in our family. We improvise the components based on what’s on hand, but the basic formula is this:

• Mixed Greens
• Various chopped veggies (cucumber, tomato, avocado, red onion, bell peppers)
• Toasted nuts (almost always walnuts or pine nuts)
• Crumbled cheese (blue or feta depending on the choice of nuts)
• Letty’s Salad Dressing

I like to chop up the lettuce a little bit when I make salads. I think it makes the salad way easier and more pleasant to eat.

The concept for Letty’s salad dressing recipe may not sound revolutionary, but I think what makes it special is that it goes perfectly with almost any salad you could create. The flavors complement your ingredients, but never overwhelm or mask the tastes of the salad goodies. Plus, best of all, you can throw it together in about 60 seconds and use it all week.

We used to make a full-fat version, but now we’ve basically all switched to a formula with far less oil. Here’s how to make either version:

Letty’s Super-Versatile Delicious Salad Dressing

• Use a cruet with markings for vinegar, water, and oil. Fill up to the V line with rice vinegar.
• Fill up to the W line with water.
• For the light version, add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. For the full-fat version, add olive oil all the way up to the O line. Personally, I don’t like light or diet food, but I can’t really tell the difference between these two dressings. Try it with less oil and add more if you just can’t stand it.
• Add a teaspoon (or slightly more) of dijon mustard and two mashed cloves of fresh garlic. You can even use those little frozen minced garlic cubes from Trader Joe’s if you want to make it even easier.
• Grind a little fresh pepper into the cruet as well.
• Shake well and toss with your favorite salad.

Now I know this might not sound like a super-innovative or earth-shattering formula, but after I tried this, I felt like I’d never need or want to buy dressing from the store ever again. Best of all, I always have the ingredients on hand, which makes it extra easy.

Pumpkin photo courtesy of Scott

You absolutely MUST check out Scott’s pumpkin-carving skills. He’s amazing! Beautiful photos, too. Happy Halloween, everyone!

For San Diego Foodies

I just found this San Diego Eats Livejournal that describes itself as a forum for local food lovers. It’s not super-active, but I figured that I would spread the word to support fellow San Diegans who are passionate about food in our city.

The San Diego Wine & Food Festival is coming up on November 10-12. Here’s the description from their web site:

This festival, which is unprecedented in its scope in San Diego, will feature classes and seminars on wine tasting, wine and food pairings, and cooking classes by celebrity and local chefs. Wednesday and Thursday evenings will feature several wine-paired dinners at San Diego’s finest restaurants.

The Food Blogosphere

Why do I get the sense that I’m the last food blogger to find Food Blog S’cool? If you run a food blog, you must check this site regularly for a supportive community of fellow online foodies. I found the discussion of taking good-looking food photos after dark very informative and relevant. And I also learned about a site called MealMe.com that food bloggers who review restaurants might find useful.

Most Intriguing Recipes

I found way too many fabulous-sounding and scrumptious-looking recipes this week. Here’s what I really can’t wait to try:

Combustication recommends that you make this Butternut Squash Ravioli with Caramelized Onions, Asparagus and Blue Cheese when it’s rainy. I think it sounds awesome any day.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I don’t really cook meat at home very much. Fish is my preferred source of protein at home and on the town. And I’ve been on kind of an anti-chicken trip lately. So that just goes to show how delicious Kalyn’s Roast Chicken with Cilantro and Lime must sound if it watered my tastebuds!

And if you’ve noticed that I love dark chocolate, then it won’t surprise you that I want to try these Crispy Truffle Cookies that I discovered through the Domestic Goddess.

The Domestic Goddess got me again with her original Roasted Pumpkin Soup that she says you can also make with sweet potatoes or any kind of squash. Just try and resist this soup when you see the photo!

Check out these interesting little Roast Squash Bites with Pumpkin Seed Pesto. I never would have thought to prepare squash like that, but they look like delectable little bites of autumn.

Have a great Halloween weekend, friends! Don’t secretly eat all of the candy that you’ve got on hand for Monday!

Yesterday, I felt fresh out of ideas. I had nothing to blog about today. No recipes to report. Nothing spectacular. Since I started Zen Foodism almost 2 months ago, this was the first time I’ve drawn a blank. Usually I feel overwhelmed by all the food I want to talk about and share and photograph and describe.

So, I opened up a cookbook I’d never used before - The New Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen. I felt like cooking something homey and comforting. A casserole would do the trick! I made a half-batch of her Spinach and Rice Casserole. Problem solved, right?

Nope. The dish wasn’t very good. My husband didn’t even finish his small serving of it. The flavors and texture actually kind of grew on me and I liked it more at the end of my bowl than when I first started. But this situation brought up two questions:

1. Should I share this mediocre recipe anyway?
2. Now what would I blog about today?

I decided “No” on the first question and a total fluke lead me to answer the second. While I was cooking the unfortunate casserole, I opened up a cheap bottle of merlot that I had bought at Trader Joe’s about a month ago. My husband keeps really nice and expensive bottles of wine in the house. But when I’m cooking or it’s just a plain, old weeknight, I feel bad about opening a high-stakes bottle just for a glass or two. So, I got a couple $6 bottles at TJ’s recently and the one I opened last night was actually pretty good! My husband approved, too, and I trust his wine opinions more than my own because I am just starting to learn about it all.

So, here’s my bit of wisdom for today: If you’re looking for a cheap bottle of Merlot, I can recommend PKNT from Trader Joe’s.

Phew! I survived this post. Now, what will I write about tomorrow?

This is the cookbook I’ve used the most in my life:

Despite my obvious passion for food, I don’t watch any shows on The Food Network. And I don’t eat very much Italian food. But this summer, I found myself obsessively TIVOing as many episodes as possible of Giada DeLaurentiis’ show Everyday Italian. I felt desperate to make almost everything I saw her create on the show. I don’t know where this sudden compulsion came from, but I’m glad it did.

Before I knew it, her book sat in my kitchen and the pages were slowly but surely getting covered in olive oil spatters and garlicky fingerprints. I’ve liked everything I’ve ever tried from Giada’s cookbook and web site. I’ve found her concoctions are pretty reliable and fool-proof, though definitely not light. The recipes are far from intimidating, but certainly impressive for company.

Besides the two recipes I mentioned last week, here are my other Giada faves:

• Roasted Bell Peppers
• Sweet Red Pepper Crostini
• Cheese and Spinach Puff Pastry Pockets
• Eggplant Rollatini
• Gnocchi with Butter Thyme Sauce
• Peaches Stuffed with Amaretti Cookies & Fresh Whipped Cream

Whoa, that’s a lot of recipes from a single cookbook for me! I own a ton of cookbooks, but they usually sit on a shelf without seeing much action. Why is that? I don’t know. Anyway, all of these Giada recipes are definite repeaters, too. Now, which one should I try next?

Thanks, Michelle, for the tag. So, let’s get down to it. You wanna see my kitchen? I feel like a rap star showcasing his bedroom on MTV’s Cribs. “This is where the magic happens…”

1) Show us your kitchen, and tell us what it is about it that reflects your personality.

First of all, the yellow walls show you that my favorite color is yellow. I grew up eating in my mom’s yellow kitchen, so when I finally had my own house, yellow seemed like a natural choice. We have white tile countertops and the grout is hard to keep clean, so we’re hoping to someday get slab granite countertops. The pink dish towels don’t match our earth-tone decor at all, but I just thought they’d be fun and different and since I’m the only one who cooks in there, it might as well be girly! Above the cabinets, I have three handmade topiaries that I got at the Scripps Ranch Farmer’s Market several years ago. They are blueberry, lemon, and green apple. The blue radio to the left of the sink is there because I like to listen to Dr. Laura while I make my lunch. It’s kind of 70s to have an old non-digital radio around, but that’s the best solution I’ve come up with! The chamsa on the far right is a symbol that basically looks like a hand pointing downwards and it offers protection. It’s supposed to ward off the evil eye. So, don’t even try to give me bad cooking vibes cuz I’m protected!

2) Open a cupboard, take a picture, and tell us what’s inside.

You’ve already seen my pantry, so let me show you something else…

When we moved into this house, we increased our kitchen storage space by 400%! My husband was thrilled because this means that he got a whole cabinet section that he could dedicate to liquor. I told you all that we are lushes, so now you better believe me!

My favorite part of this photo is the tequila in a brown paper bag with the note on it that says, “For use only with Albert & Lydia.” That’s my brother-in-law and his wife. They’re our drinking buddies. We’re famous for our Dance Party USAs in the living room. It’s total debauchery in the comfort of your own home. Try it some time!

3) Show your favorite kitchen appliance

I don’t know how people live and cook without an immersion blender. When a recipe says to dump half of a batch of soup into a food processer and puree it, do people really go through all that hassle? If you don’t have one of these, you really need one! It was actually a bridal shower gift from my little sister, so it’s practically vintage by now. I’m sure they have fancier, better versions available today. But this one still works for me.

4) Take out your favorite ingredients, the one you always have stored

The photo is pretty self-explanatory. I’ll just say that I can’t live without pine nuts on hand, my husband survives off of hummus and whole wheat pita, and isn’t my little olive oil pourer cute? I keep the bulk of my olive oil in the fridge so that it doesn’t go rancid. I read that somewhere and I listen to the advice. Maybe it’s not necessary… who knows?

5) Your favorite cooking/baking tool

This KitchenAid mixer was a 30th birthday gift from my husband. Attached to it was a card that said, “Now go back me some cookies!” I want to bake cookies for that boy for decades and decades to come!

And a little bonus, if you don’t have one of these meat-tenderizer tools, you should get one.

I don’t use it for tenderizing meat, though, because I don’t really cook meat at home. This tool is weighted and it’s perfect for opening garlic cloves, crushing garlic, crushing nuts, and probably dozens of other things that I have yet discover. I love it!

Thanks for touring my kitchen!