More photos than I know what to do with

I like to think of these orphaned photos as my blog b-sides. I don’t write about everything I eat/cook/discover, whether it’s because I’m taking a recipe straight out of a cookbook or because there’s not enough motivation/time/reason to generate a post.

Here are some random photos I thought should see the light of day one way or another.

Potato dumplings mushroom sauce and goat cheese. It's a recipe from the Italian Academy of Cuisine’s “La Cucina: The Regional Cooking of Italy” that I found thanks to the Associated Press)

Delicious fishy dishy at The Press in Midtown Sacramento

Some of the snack options at our Christmas cocktail party

Cute wrapping paper I found in San Francisco

These little guys are jujubes, a small stone fruit my co-worker wrote about a while back.

Pan-roasted salmon atop lentil salad (recipe from California Country)

Friend Colleen and I wanted to try our hands at lumpia. We ended up crafting an Asian-inspired feast for our friends!

Giving French lentils a go

My favorite bargain grocery store has an amazing bulk-food selection, and I love buying all kinds of herbs, rice, beans and other goodies for next to nothing. Imagine my delight when, during a recent visit, I stumbled upon French lentils for little over a dollar a pound. I’ve encountered a couple recipes involving French lentils in the past but never seemed to find them in the store. These guys seem smaller than regular lentils, but also seemed to hold their shape better when cooked.

French Lentils with Smoky Sausage
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 white onion, chopped
1 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 14-ounce smoked sausage, diced
1 ¼ cups French lentils
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon Creole seasoning

Heat oil in soup pot over moderately high heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté for a couple minutes before adding carrots and celery and sautéing for about five more minutes. Stir in sausage, tomatoes, lentils, Creole seasoning and broth and bring to a boil. Drop down to medium heat and let pot simmer until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes, and serve in bowls.