Greek Pasta Salad

Posted by: Nicole Dula on May 31 2016

Memorial Day weekend was hot and humid, but I loved it. We made some tasty cheeseburgers on pretzel buns. Our gym had a special memorial day workout class and a new girl passed out! I stayed in my two favorite spots, the one under the fan for strength training and the boxing bag next to the AC unit. It’s 10 am on Tuesday and my deodorant is already failing me. I’m not used to being this warm, you guys. I need to keep emergency deodorant at work. That’s my life now. I love summer, though, and won’t want it to leave.… Continue reading ≻

Strawberry Rhubarb Lemonade Compote

Posted by: Nicole Dula on May 10 2016

In honor of Beyonce’s album, Lemonade, I’m serving up this strawberry rhubarb lemonade compote that I would totally make for Beyonce if she came to my house. She’s veegz now, right? It’s sweet and tart with a lemony zing from long strips of lemon peel that soften as it cooks. While Beyonce is making us crave lemonade, I came across Tim’s anti-lemon zest manifesto that made me laugh and coincidentally had 3 recipes lined up that all included lemon. After far too much deep thought on lemons, I decided that for me, lemon has its place. Even boldly mingling with strawberries and rhubarb… Continue reading ≻

Creamy Ramp + Lemon Pasta

Posted by: Nicole Dula on May 3 2016

My week was made when Shoko shared this link to what’s in Prince’s fridge. He had 5 pounds of DUNKAROOS in his fridge! #GOALS He also had Usinger’s braunschweiger, which I grew up eating on thick and hearty pumpernickel bread because my Oma was very German. I HAVE THINGS IN COMMON WITH PRINCE. I highly recommend the link. Now let’s talk ramps. How are they so pretty?? I just can’t resist them in the spring, even though some people are over them. It’s the one time where the people of California are jealous of our midwest produce. I foraged these at… Continue reading ≻

Bacon + Kimchi Cauliflower Fried Rice

Posted by: Nicole Dula on Apr 26 2016

As you may have seen on Instagram/Snapchat last week, I tried Goop’s nutritious kimchi cauliflower rice with her buddy Cameron Diaz’s addition of lean beef and a fried egg, but it didn’t capture the magic of our first cauliflower fried rice experience. It was a bit watery and needed more kick. I did some more homework and looked at several recipes, including my favorite kimchi fried rice and the original Nom Nom Paleo recipe we tried during whole 30. The resulting recipe was a success and I may have high-fived Marc over it. I grew up on rice and will always love it,… Continue reading ≻

Easiest Blender Cauliflower Rice

Posted by: Nicole Dula on Apr 19 2016

Last June during Whole 30, I found myself poring over grain-free recipes. The diet never left me hungry, but I did miss certain textures and seriously craved comfort food. Cauliflower rice sounded odd, but fried rice for dinner sounded like a lifesaver. It turned out to be one of my favorite meals. The only problem is that making cauliflower rice is typically a real pain. Most recipes call for it to be blitz up in a food processor and I really hate cleaning my food processor. However, now I’ve discovered this blender method and YOU MUST MAKE ALL OF YOUR CAULIFLOWER… Continue reading ≻

Shrimp Salad

Posted by: Nicole Dula on Apr 12 2016

Sometimes you just want to eat something that makes you think of warmer weather and maybe sitting on a porch in Charleston. Marc and I spent 3 days there in 2009 (whoa) and it was 100 degrees every day. Unseasonably warm for that part of June they said. We stayed at a bed and breakfast and each day at 4:30, they’d have tea time (iced tea for us) with light snacks. A spread of tiny sandwiches and tarts and crackers and dip. It was so lovely. We felt young and like we were pretending to be grown-ups. We kind of were. Whether… Continue reading ≻

Napa Cabbage Slaw

Posted by: Nicole Dula on Apr 5 2016

This salad is famous in Marc’s family. His grandpa and grandma make it, his aunts make it, his mom and sister make it. I haven’t met a person who can resist it. It’s essentially shredded napa cabbage with toasted crunchy bits and a sweet vinaigrette. I did the unthinkable and altered the recipe a wee bit. While I love the original, I always thought the dressing was too sweet, so I kicked the sugar back by half. I also added more almonds and seeds to the crunchy bits because, as Marc reminded me, it’s the best part. I love this… Continue reading ≻

Olive Oil Banana Nut Bread

Posted by: Nicole Dula on Mar 8 2016

Banana bread is one of my favorite comfort foods, yet, I rarely make it! What’s wrong with me?? It reminds me of childhood church picnics where the older ladies sliced the banana bread thin and smeared each slice with (let’s be real) margarine. I could eat that forever. Eleven years ago now, my sister-in-law suffered a terrible loss. She was still so young at 17 and she needed us. We invited her over to our new apartment and she wanted to bake something together. A quick search of the internet produced an EXTREME banana nut bread recipe and it was… Continue reading ≻

Quick Diner-Style Cheeseburgers

Posted by: Nicole Dula on Feb 16 2016

We’ve been making these quick burgers for a year now and I’m always impressed with how quickly they come together and with so little effort. Ah, my favorite kind of recipe. Most of us probably have a favorite burger dive or the proximity to a Five Guys, Shake Shack or In-N-Out, but sometimes you just want to eat really good, messy, burgers at home in comfy pants. I first heard about this recipe from Sarah Jessica Parker, of all people, when she tweeted that her family loves them. I don’t follow SJP on Twitter, but someone else mentioned the tweet. SJP… Continue reading ≻

Creamy Black Bean Dip

Posted by: Nicole Dula on Feb 9 2016

I’m just not that into football, but I do love the snacks. If you root for the snacks, you always win. On Sunday we watched the game with Marc’s parents and I brought this dip. I’ve made it several times now and each time I get the look that says we’ll never eat all that. The bowl is always emptied, though! Best of all, it’s so easy, too. My mother-in-law made minestrone with a ton of veggies, a colorful salad with sesame dressing, meatballs, shrimp cocktail and apple crisp. A fun mix! We busted this dip out at half time and I was scooping… Continue reading ≻

Dula Notes

Seasonal recipes and adventures from Michigan with love

Posts tagged: Quick