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Leena Cans: Giardiniera for Ella’s Birthday!

Leena Cans: Giardiniera for Ellas Birthday!

My first big canning of the season: giardiniera for my daughter's 2nd birthday party.

Life has been a blur, friends. I have hardly had time to document, let alone blog about my culinary adventures! I have been canning up pickles galore for my daughter’s second birthday party picnic (garlic dill asparagus and pickled carrots to name a few). And having a two year old is trying wonderful and impossible a joy to can around.

“What you doin, Mommy?” is both adorable and just an innocent question…the first two times it is asked. The next 37 time sort of make me want to stuff her adorableness into a mason jar, water bath can her and not open until her 18th birthday.

Leena Cans: Giardiniera for Ellas Birthday!

The adorable persistence in action. In this photo, it clearly won.

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May 15th, 2013
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Posted in Canning, Leena Cooks, Pickles, Recipes, vegetable | No Comments »

Leena Eats: Trencherman restaurant in Chicago

Leena Eats: Trencherman restaurant in Chicago

The chestnut agnolotti, butternut squash and miso broth, smoked pickled grapes at Trencherman in Chicago.

Oh Chicago. How I’ve missed your food! Don’t let the Bay area know, but I secretly think your restaurant scene is the best in the country. So innovative, so delicious, and every restaurant so different from the last (something the Bay area does NOT do well). So when I planned a visit over Thanksgiving 2012, I knew I wanted to check out one of the many new restaurants that have popped up since I left in late 2009. I consulted my local food peeps, and decided to try out Trencherman, a New American restaurant in Wicker Park.

More photos of food after the jump!

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January 10th, 2013
Posted in Chicago, Leena Eats, With Friends | Comments Off

Leena Eats: Just kidding…NOW I’m back! And with dinner party photos!

Leena Eats: Just kidding...NOW Im back! And with dinner party photos!

DUDE. You guys. I made this. For reals. Lovin the Momofuku Milkbar cookbook right now!

So. I said I was back, and clearly, I lied. What I actually meant is, hi, see you again in four months or so. Leena Eats: Just kidding...NOW Im back! And with dinner party photos!

I spent from mid-June through early October studying my ass off for a little test called the GRE, because I decided hey, wouldn’t it be fun to get a doctorate and research food and culture for a living? It paid off, because I didn’t completely fail the math, and I did ok in the verbal and kick-ass in the essay section. BUT. It also meant no brain energy was left at the end of day to cook, let alone blog about food. Or exercise. Or eat well.

But I did occasionally bust out some winners, the cake above included. That bad-ass monstrosity was a chocolate chip cake layered with passion fruit curd, chocolate crumbles, and coffee buttercream frosting from the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook.

More after the jump!

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December 12th, 2012
Posted in Appetizers, Leena Cooks, Leena Eats, Mains, Meat, Parties, Pork, Sorbet, Soup/Salad, The Gastronomical Leena, Vegetables | 4 Comments »

I’m back and filled with more food than ever!

Hey there! Sorry for the several month break there. I have been busy chasing after a 1 year old (she is one now!!), dealing with hospitalizations (yay IBS!) and eating my weight in summer produce. Here’s a quick review of what you’ve missed.

First, and most importantly, Ella turned one! She REALLY got into her cake eating. Big surprise there—she IS my offspring!

Im back and filled with more food than ever!

A little cake for my face, a little for my hair. A little for my face, a little for my hair...

For her first cake ever, I made her a delicious chocolate cake topped with cream cheese frosting and sprinkles. She loved it. She also loved staying up until 11pm, which is what happens when you flavor your chocolate cake with real, caffeine-filled coffee. Joy.

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June 25th, 2012
Posted in Leena Bakes, Leena Eats, Leena Lives Life | 1 Comment »

Gastro Friday: Out with the Baby Food Myths, in with the Global Baby Food!

Gastro Friday: Out with the Baby Food Myths, in with the Global Baby Food!

A baby with a bland and unbalanced diet grows up into an adult with a crappy diet. At least that's what my mommy says.

After all my research into what I should and shouldn’t feed my baby daughter, the information I found was limiting, bland, and in some cases, problem-causing (remember some foods are movers, and others are slowers!). I had to wonder, What do infants around the world eat? Surely, the rest of world isn’t feeding their baby rice cereal and pureed sweet potatoes and unknowingly turning them into tiny constipation bombs, are they?!

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March 2nd, 2012
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Posted in The Gastronomical Leena | 5 Comments »

Gastro Friday: You Know You’re a New Foodie Mama If…

Gastro Friday: You Know Youre a New Foodie Mama If...

A little rice never killed a baby.

You know you’re a new foodie mama if…

1.Your baby regularly has food particles stuck to them due to hanging out directly below your mouth.New babies like to chill on your lap, especially if they are breastfeeding. And it’s not like I’m NOT gonna eat just because there is a baby there, right? DUH. Hence, rice on baby (see photo above).

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February 17th, 2012
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Posted in Gastro Fridays, The Gastronomical Leena | 2 Comments »

Leena Cooks: Ruth Reichl’s Mushroom Soup

Leena Cooks: Ruth Reichls Mushroom Soup

A little Berkeley, a little mushroom--the perfect compliment to a chilly winter day!

Let me be crystal clear here–Ruth Reichl is my Tom Cruise, my Justin Timberlake, my Barbara Streisand. Very few people make me lose my shit. Ruth is one.

She is the godmother of modern food writing who lived in the Bay area for part of her life (like me!), loved the world of food and writing about it (like me!), and was the last editor of the iconic Gourmet Magazine before it closed down (one day!).

The fact is, while there are millions of food writers today in the world, it is difficult to find good examples of food writing career paths for people just starting in the field. Especially just ten years ago, when I was first starting. I immersed myself in the world of Ruth Reichl’s stories of a life filled with food, each accompanied by a recipe from that time. I literally and figuratively ate it up!

More story, food porn and the recipe after the jump!

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February 8th, 2012
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Posted in Leena Cooks, Recipes, Soup/Salad, Vegetables | Comments Off

Leena Cooks: Her Own Ancho Chile Powder!

Leena Cooks: Her Own Ancho Chile Powder!

Screw expensive, store-bought chile powder. I'm making my own!

Last week, I was buying ingredients for a new Mexican chicken recipe, and nearly peed and slipped on it. The two chile powders the recipe called for cost a total of $17! Hell no! I decided to hit my local Mexican grocery store, find some dried chiles and make my own chile powder. Screw you, McCormicks!

The recipe and heaps of food porn after the jump.

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February 1st, 2012
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Posted in Leena Cooks, Recipes, Spices | 5 Comments »

Leena Bakes: Banana Bourbon Chocolate Muffins!

Leena Bakes: Banana Bourbon Chocolate Muffins!

Best muffin of 2012 thus far! Sweet banana with a kick of bourbon and a hint of milk chocolate.

Not too long ago, a pal and fellow food blogger Emily Hanhan of Nomnivorous hosted the first of many supper clubs called Whisky and Salt in the NYC area. In her awesome and drool-inducing post about it, she revealed that she made whisky and chocolate chip muffins as take home gifts from the supper club. I have been looking for an excuse to pop these bad boys out, and a small party with some fellow parents and babies on NYE gave the perfect excuse. But let’s be honest, vacuuming the living room is the perfect excuse for these muffins, they are that damn good.

The recipe and heaps of food porn after the jump.

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January 25th, 2012
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Posted in Breads, Desserts, Fruit, Leena Bakes, Muffins, Recipes | 2 Comments »

Leena Cooks: Andra’s Killer Veggie Chili

Leena Cooks: Andras Killer Veggie Chili

A meaty, hearty, delicious vegetarian chili. Who knew?

For a majority of my life, vegetarian chili has always meant one thing to me: a bunch of beans with some spices cooked in water. Every vegetarian chili I had eaten had been variations on that theme.

At my annual chili cookoff, my world was rocked. I was overwhelmed with a plethora of kick-ass vegetarian chili. More than just beans and water, that is for damn sure. The winner of the event was made by my friend Andra, and she made a hearty chili made richer with the addition of soy chorizo.

I had to get my hands on a recipe that made me actually want to eat vegetarian, so here it is. The recipe and heaps of food porn and tips after the jump.

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January 18th, 2012
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Posted in chili, Leena Cooks, Recipes, Vegetables | 1 Comment »

Leena Cooks: Pot Roast for Baby!

Leena Cooks: Pot Roast for Baby!

Could leftover pot roast and veggies be turned into delicious baby food?

I’m not gonna lie. I’ve tasted the jarred meat baby food–even the gourmet organic brands, and they are all as flavorful as a dirty jockstrap (and that’s putting it lightly). So when it comes to making meat dishes for my baby, I can’t help but feel like I’m cooking for Roger Ebert–pureed foods that just so happened to satisfy an adult palate.

The recipe and more after the jump.

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January 11th, 2012
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Posted in Baby food, Beef, Leena Cooks, Meat, Recipes | 2 Comments »

Leena Eats: Pican, kick-ass upscale Southern food in Oakland

Leena Eats: Pican, kick ass upscale Southern food in Oakland

Light is not a word Pican knows well. The "Chicken and waffles" at Pican: chicken livers and hen of the woods mushrooms served with a parmesan waffle and marsala truffle glaze

I stumbled upon Pican a few months after my daughter was born. My husband and I were desperate for a night out without the baby, and once we had a babysitter, I did a quick yelp search and came up with Pican. Upscale Southern food? Done and done.

I became Pican’s bitch shortly after my first meal there. With creative twists on class Southern dishes, comfort food I crave on a regular basis, how could I not? They had me promising to do very bad things for another bite of their smoked brisket meatloaf. Smoked meat is my kryptonite.

More food porn and restaurant review of Pican after the jump!

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January 4th, 2012
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Posted in California, Leena Eats, Oakland | Comments Off
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