RYE PANZANELLA SALAD

all of the people these days are done with winter and ready for spring. they want pastels and ham and no more snow. they want to run outside (?)

and while i do love a good spring onion and my springtime birthday, i am cozied up here making cookies just begging winter to stay for a few more months because this whole farming off season thing, with eggboy free for impromptu road trips, and the pretty snow everywhere, and all the reason in the world to spend days and days baking is absolutely the best ever.

and it's like, well, if you wanted me to invite you over to eat cookie dough for breakfast in our jammies and then spend the day making a layer cake, why didn't you just say so? then you will know what this winter has been to me. then you will know. 

especially in your butt. (bc actually your girl could use some running outside, if you know what i'm saying.)

the recipe i have for you today is a winter panzanella salad, and just looking at its worried face, i think it knows its brussels sprouts will soon be replaced by tomatoes, its crispy shallots by ramps.

...oh did someone say tomatoes and ramps? well, i guess the changing of the seasons isn't that bad. but for the record, i do plan on wearing my ugg boots and fleece lined pants until someone delivers me a ramp to my doorstep.

my winter eye panzanella salad with brussels sprouts, salami, and dijon vinaigrette (as its birth certificate actually says) is up on betty crocker's site. it should be known that after i took these photos, i sat on my couch with that massive red bowl and a fork, watching made-for-tv christmas movies in total pastrami winter heaven.

-yeh!

scottsdale

i enjoy rooting for the lesser known city in a pair: the moorhead of fargo-moorhead, the st. paul of minneapolis-st. paul, the east grand forks of "the greater grand forks area" (aka our future place of residency, aka the butt of everyone's jokes around here), for really no other reason than i feel bad that more people know about their bigger sibling. so when the eggdad told us we'd better explore scottsdale instead of phoenix, i was extra excited. 

so excited that i wore my favorite grey t-shirt.

our first stop was the cutest farm fantasyland i ever did see. singh farms is a little farm in the middle of the desert that primps itself for visitors every saturday. chickens and a horsy greet you and then you can walk around the winding wooded paths that are lined with herbs, onions, flowers, and other cute things. you may come across a yoga class, you may find a jam stand, and you most certainly should buy a fresh english muffin. eggboy did a hot pepper juice shot at a little juice truck and only winced once. it was the greatest place ever! eggboy actually took a lot of these pictures so that he could get ideas for his farm. (i hope that means a pony is in my future!!!)

after the farm, we danced around old town scottsdale, eating yummy thing after yummy thing. there was the best darn cauliflower i ever had, some crispy polenta topped with fresh tomatoes, a salad with a facebook page, and pastrami with rye spaetzle. 

at night the city lit up with string lights everywhere. it was so pretty and welcoming.

we had the perfect amount of time to explore. we saw the sun again, i filled my pockets with vitamin d, and i filled eggboy's pockets with the rosemary that grew along the sidewalks all around town. such wonderfulness. 

here is a little list of restaurants that we tried and loved. (i wish i could hug all of you guys who gave me these recommendations!! alas, i am far away and haven't showered in three days.)

america's taco shop // the old town scottsdale location is in a cute little house with a patio out back that has ping pong and a massive chalkboard wall. you feel like you're in somebody's home! my favorite taco was the carne asada.

fnb // fnb is basically everything you want in a restaurant when you want to counter all of the blobby feelings of eating too many tacos: local fresh vegetables done incredibly well, really nice service, and just a few great options. we had a perfect lunch with perfect cauliflower and polenta.

citizen public house // fancy cocktails, great creative food. i'd totally have my birthday party here if i was a scottsdale gal.

pizzeria bianco (phoenix) // valentine's day fell on pizza night! so we spent the evening at pizzeria bianco's second location (not their downtown phoenix location, which we heard would have a super long wait) and it was just the loveliest experience. everyone was so sweet and the decor was a really hip mix of vintage and new, and the pizza! ok once you get out of the mindset that it isn't supposed to be the chewy and slightly soggy goodness that is kesté or motorino (even though it kind of looks like it), you can really get into it. it's a bit thinner and crisper, but oh! is it good. i'd recommend the sonny boy. 

gallo blanco (phoenix) // any place that will allow me to order a breakfast torta at 10pm with a margarita pitcher has my heart. furthermore the waiter had a man bun. furthermore there was a pretty good crowd on a monday night. egg and i got to catch up with two of our juilliard friends on the patio and it was the awesomeist!!!! and i loved the torta. 

-yeh!

A HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE!

i did not barf and mum did not freak upon reading my obligatory tweet from a hot air balloon. i'd call that a success right there! so when you add the egg family, the arizona views, and a celebratory toast complete with cake and champagne, oh yes, i'd call that a quadruple success.

with the prettiest rainbow balloon, we floated ever so daintily 2,000 feet above the ground in a little wicker basket. we looked down at cacti, swimming pools, and doggies who went wild at a high pitch from the balloon. we waved to new friends down below and dropped little plastic parachute men. it was a moment i'll remember forever.

we are back from arizona! 

and what a joy it was. that state, as it turns out, is for more than retiring, eating tacos, and going to party schools. (forgive me for ever thinking that.) arizona is for achieving hikes you never thought you could, 25 mile walks, and margaritas with friends you last saw at midnight in hong kong. 

i am off to unpack and launder my grotesquely dirty hiking clothes but i will be back soon with pictures of my new cactus friends and tales of tacos and tortas.

-yeh!!!!

panko and za'atar crusted chicken with balsamic date chutney

did i ever tell you about the time i won free schnitzel for an entire month? 

back when i was an upper west side bicycle-riding college person (and also a "restaurant blogger") one of my twelve twitter accounts became the 5,000th follower of the schnitzel truck and the prize was free schnitzel for a month. it was one of the greatest most delicious most water retained months of my life. you can read all about it in vintage my name is yeh.

the glorified chicken nugget that is schnitzel always has and always will be one of my most favorite foods. in today's molly on the range, i confess that if ever a valentine gave me a heart-shaped schnitzel, i'd probably propose right then and there all leap-year style. but then i go on to discuss the downsides of eating so much schnitzel (especially when there is a cute valentine's day outfit to wear) and give an alternative yet equally as tasty option complete with the superhero spice blend za'atar. za'atar!!!!

it's a really tasty valentine's day meal if i do say so myself. i won't be having it because i had it every day for a week when i was testing this recipe. but you should!

-yeh!