harvard beets

ever heard of harvard beets? i hadn't until i looked online for sam choy's garlic mashed potatoes recipe and saw them as part of the same menu.

depending on the website, these were either named for the university or a tavern called the 'harwood' that was pronounced with a russian accent.

these would probably look a bit more cambridge-like if i had used red instead of golden beets.

but i didn't.

for any university with gold as a color- this one is for you.

these are deliciously tangy and sweet and make for a very lively side dish.

garlic mashed potatoes

the geek and his mother both have a story about mashed potatoes. he laughs when he tells it; she rolls her eyes with mock indignance when she tells it. i like to think of myself as an unbiased party when it comes to telling this story...

once upon a time, there was a little geek. occasionally, his mother would serve mashed potatoes as part of their the family meals. now, the little geek did not care for mashed potatoes. to him, it tasted like mashed goo. he tolerated it, shoveled it in and washed it down with milk, but he really, really, most definitely did not like it.

this went on for years, until one day, teenager geek took a bite of mashed potatoes and had an epiphany! this bite of mashed potatoes was delicious! maybe he did like mashed potatoes after all!

"wow," he exclaimed to his mother, "did you do something different with the potatoes because they're really good!"

to this she replied, "this is the first time i made mashed potatoes FROM A BOX."

to this day, the geek prefers his mashed potatoes from a box. in fact, the first time i made this recipe, he was so apprehensive about 'real' mashed potatoes that we bought a box to have on hand just in case.

luckily he liked it enough that we did not have to break open the box. it's in our pantry waiting to save the day if the next starch experiment fails because he still insists that the box is the best.

simple sugar snap peas on an otherwise crazy day

i wish i could say that i went out to the garden and spent the afternoon picking a basket full of sugar snap peas for dinner. i wish i could say that i lovingly selected only the most perfect ones and then carefully removed the ends and strings. i wish i could say that i expertly prepared the sugar snap peas simultaneously with the beef wellington all while a homemade dessert chilled in the refrigerator.

i wish i could say all of that, but i can't.

what i can say is that we do not have a garden. i can also say that i spent my day trying to get actual work done between conference calls. i can say that we did indeed have sugar snap peas but they came pre-washed and trimmed in a bag from the grocery store. i haphazardly prepared them while simultaneously defrosting the shoyu chicken, letting the dog out, and sorting the mail. i remembered to make the rice to go with our meal ahead of time, so i count that as a success. as the geek ate his sugar snap peas, he declared the dish 'not offensive'- which from him is high praise when it comes to vegetables.

as for dessert, i think there's ice cream in the freezer.

don't mind the protective layer of ice, i hear it seals in the flavor.

black bean and corn salad

the geek's father was born on december 24. this makes for a doubly festive christmas eve/birthday dinner! for his birthday dinner request, the geek's dad usually goes with either spaghetti & meatballs or enchilladas.

during one enchillada year, i wanted to bring a salady type side to the dinner. a black bean and corn salad sounded like the perfect compliment... a cool and fresh contrast to the warm, saucy goodness of the enchilladas.

somen salad

it's january. we're in the midst of winter. the average high for this time of year is 49 degrees F/9.5 degrees C. it's the least likely time to crave the cool deliciousness that is a somen salad.

i blame the recent emergence of spring-like weather for my somen salad craving. it's been sunny and warm, the perfect weather for a cool noodley salad. surely the cold weather will return, but for now, i think i'll put away my winter coat and enjoy me some somen salad.

if you're not familiar with somen salad, let me take a moment to introduce you. somen salad is made up of cold somen noodles, a variety of vegetables, usually one or more types of protein, and a sweet-soy-sesame dressing. in hawaii, it's popular as a side dish (especially at potlucks) or light meal but it can easily be elevated to entree status with the addition of more protein or vegetables.