Delicious Dish: Rock My World, Arugula

There is something I recently discovered that is rockin' my world. Arugula. Yes, I know... it sounds a bit strange, but recently I've been all about this leafy green. A few weeks back I posted about a warm pasta tossed with Arugula, and since then I've been looking for different ways to use it. 

Monday was a lazy day around here. Jason put a tri-tip on the grill and I started looking through the fridge and cupboards to see what what indigents catch my attention, then see what type of things I can make with it.  I do this a lot, in my head I've branded it "Google Recipe Roulette" - I find 1-2 things that I want to use in a recipe, and type them into Google and see what comes up. Since it was memorial day, I was looking for some kind of pasta salad, and after breezing through a few different recipes, I found the site The Arugula Files  and their pasta salad offering.

Recipe from The Arugula Files:

Ingredients
1 bag of arugula
1 box of rotini
2 lemons
4 garlic cloves
1 cup of garbanzo beans ** I used the Trader Joe's 3 Bean salad and it was delish!
1/2 block of feta **or crumbled feta
a knob of butter
1/4 cup of olive oil
Dash of rice vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Chop garlic into small pieces
2. Heat butter and olive oil over low heat – add garlic
3. Add juice of 2 lemons
4. Add dash of rice vinegar
5. Let simmer for a few minutes (do not burn the garlic)
6. Boil pasta
7. Strain pasta and save a few tablespoons of pasta water
8. Mix pasta water with lemony oil mixture
9. Pour 1/2 of lemony oil mixture over hot pasta
10. Add half of the arugula bag to hot pasta and stir around until it wilts
11. Add garbanzo beans
12. Add remaining arugula
13. Add the rest of the lemony oil mixture
14. Add feta
15. Toss
16. Add salt and pepper to taste

Have you tried that marinated bean salad from Trader Joes's yet? It's fabulous - a great item to always have on hand. I drained the liquid and just used the beans, but they gave it a little more flavor. Also, my feta was a seasoned crumbled feta, which I prefer to a block feta.

The salad was a hit and I think it would be a great item to bring to a summer BBQ. Something a little different and great for those who don't like a mayonnaise-based salad. 

STOP! Hammer Time.

So, I'm pretty much a slave to fashion and trends. If Vogue or Rachel Zoe tells me to wear it, I will or die/sprain my ankle trying. If you read fashion blogs and/or magazine's you KNOW that Harem Pants are "the hottest trend for summer 2010". Every designer out there has shown a pair in their collection. Celebrities are performing in them. Every list of "things to own" includes a pair. But, I've yet to actually see them on a real person. But THEY say I need them, so I obsess. 

Last weekend my mom and I took a day to meet at our "Happy Place" - South Coast Plaza, for a girls shopping trip. And after some lunch and a little chardonnay, I was feeling brave and ready to ramp up my look. We headed to H&M (which, for some reason the SCP H&M is the ONLY one I've ever had luck in) because while I have no issue with trendy clothes, I refuse to drop fist-fulls of cash on something that I'm not even sure I will wear. (Although, I did notice a pair of L.A.M.B. Harem Pants on the sale rack at Nordies...)

Visit hm.com

H&M had just what I was looking for, a black pair, with a roll-over waist and the BEST part? The $14.99 price tag. Now I will admit, that even after trying them on I wondered if they were even worth 15 of my hard earned dollars. It's not that I didn't like them.. it was more that I didn't know if by wearing them I would be thought of as a total fashionista or totally fashion fugly?

A few years back my favorite summer look was the cropped wide-leg pants with flip flops and a white tank. In my opinion, these pants may just be an update to this look. Easy, cool, hip and comfy - they seem like a good option. So I was sold and almost excited about them...I even got Zoe a little baby pair because I just COULD NOT RESIST.

So Sunday morning, feeling hip, slick and cool,  I walk out of the bedroom clothed in my new duds, and Jason looked at me, and without pause, says "So, where are we going to breakfast MC Hammer?"

So tell me this, am I fashion forward or a slave to fashion?

Summer lovin', having a blast

This weekend we hosted our first summer party of the year! Memorial day + Jason's birthday = a great excuse to have a BBQ. It was a bit of a last minute decision, so because of that I didn't obsess for too long, which left me wracked with anxiety on Sunday for not obsessing earlier! The other thing is that I was doing this party more pot-luck style, which always stresses the planner in me out. Usually I tell people just to bring wine/beer because I can't handle the uncertainty of not knowing what and where the food will go. 

Our home is an outdoor event house. I rely very heavily on our patio and backyard for entertaining... if it's chilly out, people just end up standing around my pink kitchen and peak my self conciousness over my 1958 Kitchen of the Year. Over the past few months I've accumulated some bright colored party decor, so instead of going traditional red, white and blue, I went with a palette of bright colors - very summery and very outdoorsy.

Since Jason is more of a pie guy than a cake guy, I thought that a variety of pies would be a fun table of desserts. Of course, everyone commented on the lack of cake balls... so, note to self, I now can not have a party without my "balls". 

While wine is usually the drink of choice, I also like to have that special cocktail for people to remember the party by. At my birthday party it was the "lemontini" and for this party it was a "Drunken Arnold Palmer". Add some sweet Tea flavored vodka to some lemonade and voila! It's like you are drinking punch. Which is why I labeled it with a warning that this was a special "Adult Only" drink. I could totally see someone giving their kid a cup not realizing the potency of that baby.

Another one of my favorite new touches are the funny cocktail napkins. These purples ones were a gift, but you can find them at Z Gallerie or Sur la Table. They are good for a giggle - especially if you pair them with a novelty wine. Bitch wine is hilarious.. and it's not bad tasting. 

Even tho I ran out plates and didn't make my cake balls, the party was still a wonderful celebration of Jason's birthday and the onset of summer!

 

Even tho I ran out plates and didn't make my cake balls, the party was still a wonderful celebration of Jason's birthday and the onset of summer!