Spaghetti & Meatballs: Back to School

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Stephanie

I blame Ian Falconer. Author and illustrator of the Olivia stories, he inspired a constant craving by my children for spaghetti and meatballs. In the original Olivia story, Olivia visits the art  museum and becomes inspired by Jackson Pollock. When she gets home, Olivia decides to create her own “masterpiece” on her bedroom wall (visualize splattered paint everywhere). The story continues with: “Time out.” After that, Olivia has a nice bath, and sits down for a good dinner of spaghetti and meatballs. Starting at a very young age, both of my girls loved to gasp at the page where Olivia goes to work creating art on her bedroom wall (and I realize, we have inadvertently given them ideas), and then they began demanding spaghetti and meatballs. It’s not a dish I usually have time to whip up, so to speak. So, for the past few years, Sofia has requested them for her birthday dinner with the entire family, and I’ve been happy to oblige. And every year, about 80-100 meatballs later, I am usually wondering what I was thinking when I agreed.   Continue reading →

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Bee Pollen and a Bike Ride

Posted on August 12, 2012 by Stephanie

Greetings from The Triangle Plate! It has been quite a summer, and between a national disaster (our heartfelt thanks to the commitment and bravery of the firemen who prevented further devastation in our city) and a few needed escapes to our beautiful mountains, I had taken unplanned sabbatical from the blog, but am back with renewed vigor and a new look (which is still being tweaked over the next few days). All thanks to Megan McCluskey for her extraordinary design skills. She took my photographs of my beloved triangle plate and wrinkled table cloth, and created the refreshing logo you now see. So, here we go. . .

I thought I’d kick off this first post with a new food to me. Bee pollen. During our mountain getaway, we were searching through the menu at the Lodge at Vail for something healthy and sustaining for breakfast before our bike ride up Vail Pass. Granola is our usual choice, but this house made version was sporting bee pollen. Never having tried it, I was intrigued. The granola was delicious, the bee pollen was slightly sweet (and full of protein, I have since learned), and I can attest to a total lack of hunger while pedaling up the pass. Continue reading →

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Gazpacho Blanco

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Stephanie

It was The Wild Fig in Aspen that made me think twice about gazpacho. It was years ago, and we were just passing through town around lunch time on our way home from a visit to see family on the Western Slope. Our firstborn infant should have been reason enough for us to just swing by the town’s market, grab a loaf of bread, some peanut butter and jelly and keep moving. We still had a solid 4 hours of driving to do. But — this is Dave and I. We apparently like to live on the edge, so taking a baby to a chic little Euro-style restaurant in Aspen made all the sense in the world. Fortunately, our sweet baby Sofia cooperated. I still have the notes I made that day in the little Moleskine I carried around during the pre-iPhone era. Lunch was delicious from start to finish, we found a rosé that we’re still talking about, and I sampled a gazpacho blanco (Dave was kind enough to share) that changed my world view on gazpacho. Traditionally an Andalucian specialty, gazpacho originated like most amazing food did. . . From a peasant dish, this one most likely with Moorish influence.

I’m not sure why it took so many years, but I finally made up my mind to make my own gazpacho blanco. I did a bit of research online, and found a variety of recipes, but this one seemed to make the most sense and would deliver a result like the soup I remember in Aspen. I tweaked just a couple of things and was very pleased with the outcome, as were our guests!

Continue reading →

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