The Pig and I

One of the other things I like to eat while P is out of town is couscous. Again, it's simple to prepare, but more importantly, it's one of those things I don't eat often when P is here because he doesn't like Moroccan couscous. Anytime he's out of town I try to take advantage of the opportunity to load up on couscous. This is a simple meal to prepare, but also works very well when you just need a side dish (instead of a full meal, as I'm using it for). Hope you enjoy! 1/8 cup dried mushrooms (I used king oyster but you should use what you have) 1/8 cup dried rutabaga (optional) 3/4 cup boiling water 5-6 sun-dried tomatoes, diced 1 3/4 cups vegetable broth and reserved liquid (total; the vegetable broth should make up the difference lacking from the reserved liquid) 1/4 preserved lemon, diced 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels 2 dried lime salt and pepper to taste 1 1/3 cups couscous Pour boiling water over mushrooms and rutabaga, then let sit for 20 minute...

No Food Waste Friday today, since it's Christmas. I'm out of town, and there wasn't any waste before I left. I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas and spend it sharing love and laughter with your friends and family.

Well, you guys may have noticed in previous posts that I eat a lot of random stuff when P is out of town and I'm on my own. One of the things I normally don't admit to eating copious amounts of when I'm by myself is potato flake mashed potatoes. I primarily because I never have fresh potatoes on hand (and I like to use canned potatoes for other things), but also I eat them because they're fast to make, can be made in single portions easily and because technically, dairy + potato = nutritionally complete meal. Sometimes I really like to top my potatoes with something (loads of mashed potatoes really can get boring sometimes), though, and today is one of those days. These toppings are convenient and easy to make, and I often make them out of scraps of produce that I need to use but simply haven't gotten around to yet. It's easily modified for whatever produce you have on hand, and of course it's great on "real" mashed potatoes as well. Hope you enjoy...

No picture this time either. I lost: 2 slices havarti 1 slice toast 2 biscotti (can you imagine I let biscotti go to waste???)

For ages, I have looked at packages of apricot paste when I go to Phoenicia with longing. Lots of longing. Ridiculous amounts of longing. Oh, how I wanted it. However, looking at a 500 gram package of what I equate with fruit roll-ups seemed maybe... not so good for the waistline. So I just looked, and occasionally touched the beautiful, bright orange packages, but never put one in my basket (which really is impressive, given the tiny amount of restraint I have when it comes to food). Then, one day, I was reading one of my favourite Syrian food blogs, Syrian Foodie in London , and I suddenly had a great excuse to buy this stuff. Kano posted a wonderful roundup of traditional Ramadan drinks, including one that contained this enticing paste. It seemed to me that drinking 300 of the 500 grams (and munching on the remaining 200) seemed okay, particularly given that I'd split it with P. Still not great for the waistline, but less damaging given that I wouldn't simply open the packa...

I finally got around to cutting open one of the pumpkins that's hanging out in the pantry. Since then, we've enjoyed the seeds, and I made a batch of pumpkin butter to can. Yum. I still had half the pumpkin left after roasting, though, so I thought it might be good as a sweet addition to an overly savoury meal (sausage and kraut). Normally I might have mashed the pumpkin and then roasted it a second time with butter and sweetener, but I really just wanted cubes this time. Hope you enjoy! 1/2 sugar pumpkin, roasted then shelled and cut into cubes 3 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons brown sugar pinch each: nutmeg, ginger, salt 2 tablespoons maple syrup Melt butter and sugar together with spices in a medium skillet. Add pumpkin and cook lightly, evenly coating the pumpkin with the butter mixture. Let cook long enough that the butter mixture becomes sticky and caramelized on the pumpkin. Drizzle on maple syrup and cook another minute. Serves 2.

So close. Again. But once again, no cigar. Despite the rampage I went on to eat up all leftovers in the fridge, I discovered a lone culprit who languished for God knows how long before I discovered it, covered in mold. What I didn't do, however, was keep track of the things on the counter. You'd think that having lived in Houston almost three years I'd be used to the humidity, but sometimes I forget (as I did this week) and as a result, some baked goods were lost. Hopefully next week I can have zero waste. My waste this week is: 2-ish ounces cream cheese 6 dinner rolls 1/3 apple-pear cake

I was looking for the perfect cookie to make. Something spiced, and sweet but not too sweet. Something that you could taste and it would just make you smile. But not something I might normally label as "junk food," i.e., a treat that was a delicious dessert while still being "real food." Something I'd never had before. Something with figs. I poked around all my bookmarks, finding nothing that appealed. Then I poked around my favourite blogs (which really did take a considerable amount of time). I'm thankful I found something here , at Smitten Kitchen , because the next step was to start sorting through my hundreds of cookbooks in search for the one. I found The One. Fig and walnut biscotti . These things are just delicious. I was actually too lazy to toast the walnuts, and they were still phenomenal. I took some of these to work so I could share (because really, who needs to eat 2 dozen cookies on their own?) and even the girl who lives on frozen pizza rol...

Is it just me, or have I been posting a lot of things that are not related to recipes recently? Food waste updates (which are important, since I'm trying to consistently eliminate food waste from my life), product reviews (which admittedly, never make me sad to post because I LOVE LOVE LOVE trying new foods), and updates on my semester. But no recipes. Somehow, that just doesn't sit right with me. My last exam was Thursday, since I happily have no finals to take this semester, I was left with one 5th grade class left to teach on Friday and then lots of cooking to do. I've been baking a lot, which I rarely post since I rarely make my own recipes for baked goods. Perhaps I should start posting those things as well. It's a thought. It's fall, and during fall and winter I think we all get bitten a bit by the baking bug (say that five times fast!). So I believe I'll start posting the things I'm baking, with links back to the original site I got it from. For...

This week was better. We lost only 3-5 ounces of carne asada. Not perfect, but a definite improvement. And, a recipe will be coming either tomorrow or Sunday. I'm done with all my exams now, so I actually have time to cook!

I didn't take a picture this time, because the brunt of my waste I realised occurred in the very beginning of the week (and I didn't want to keep rotted food in my fridge). So, here's what was wasted: 1 tomato 6 brussels sprouts 1/2 cup spaghetti squash and sausage 1 dinner roll In fairness, I think this was actually pretty good, particularly given that it's Thanksgiving week! I hope you all had a great holiday!

I hope you all are having a great Thanksgiving! Over here, we're having a great time. This year I declined to cook (!!!) and we ordered a lovely tenderloin package from Whole Foods. The food was great, and since it's just the two of us this year we have plenty to snack on through the weekend. However, not doing the spread doesn't mean I ignored the kitchen completely. Instead of making dinner, I've spent the day baking various types of cookies to send to my mother for her holiday gift (we're doing only handmade gifts this year). Which brings me to the mesquite. The people at Casa de Fruta (which is one of my favourite places in the world, primarily because of how wonderful their olives, dried apples and sheet apricots are! Plus they make some really delightful wines; I stop there anytime I'm in northern California) sent me a bag of their mesquite flour. It tastes kind of carob-like, and is flour made from the beans of the mesquite tree. Doesn't really get m...

Oy vey. This week I did very, very poorly on controlling food waste. I think this is the most food I've wasted in quite some time, and I'm kind of embarrassed. What I find most odd about this week's waste, however, is that the brunt of it was bread related. That's weird to me because I obsess over bread and almost always eat any piece of bread that falls within my line of vision. That being said, I wasted: 3 slices of white bread (this is actually P's bread, but I should've finished the loaf) just under 2 loaves of kaak half a head of butter lettuce

This is kind of an odd take on spaghetti with meatballs. It really bears no resemblance to spaghetti with meatballs, though that was the inspiration for this dish. It's relatively simple to make and only costs a couple dollars to feed two people. Since there's no real starch component to this meal, I served it alongside garlic-cheese bread . These bars were for dessert, and were the perfect close to the meal. Hope you enjoy! 1 spaghetti squash 1 can stewed tomatoes 1/3 pound fresh sausage, either crumbled into little "balls" or sliced 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon rubbed sage salt and pepper to taste 1 1/3 cup vegetable broth Cut the squash in half. Put the halves on a plate, cut side down, and microwave for 10-15 minutes. Let sit until cool enough to touch, then scrape the flesh into a saucepan. Add remaining ingredients and simmer over medium to medium-high heat until sausage is cooked through. Serves 2.

I have to say, the people at POM are really winning me over. They sent me some of their new iced coffees. These things go beyond addictive. They're delightful, rich in flavour, creamy in texture and just amazingly, sickeningly delicious. You probably already knew I love coffee (and tea!), but these are just wonderful. They're pretty high in calories, averaging about 190 for 10.5 fluid ounces, but I'm guessing those high calories are what make them taste so good. They also pack a large caffeine wallop, at 175 mg of caffeine per serving (which is one bottle). That's just over twice the amount of caffeine in a red bull, but without all the chemical after-taste. It's also slightly more caffeine than in a grande latte from Starbucks, but without the burned flavour (or maybe that's just my thing against Starbucks?). Anyway, they're really delicious, and if you're going to go for an energy-type drink, I recommend this one.

I didn't think to take a picture, because it would've probably meant taking pictures on different days, but this week I wasted the following food: 2 tortillas 3 ounces baby spinach Both of these somehow got lost in the fridge, and when I discovered them it was not pretty.

Finally, I got around to making the acorn squash. One squash down, 5 to go! I've been wanting baked beans, and also have been wanting squash, so I thought it would make sense to combine the two. I actually baked this for 2 hours at 300F and about a half hour at 400F (because I was doing it differently than I would've made it if P wasn't in class while I was cooking) instead of how the directions will say to make it, but you can easily modify the temperature to fit your scheduling needs (including, I'm guessing, a slow cooker). I served this with jalapeño-cheddar bread. This recipe is also easily modified for vegans and vegetarians if you leave out the salt pork (though you'll want to add more salt). Hope you enjoy! 1 can white beans 2 slices salt pork, cut into bits 2-3 tablespoons molasses (I didn't measure, but it was roughly this much) 1/2 cup BBQ sauce 1 teaspoon yellow mustard 1/4 cup minced onion 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1/2 cup vegetable broth ...

Oh, it's been a week again. Here I was, doing so well posting more than once every week or two, and then the upcoming vector analysis exam needed to be studied for. It's either going to be incredibly difficult, or shockingly easy. We'll see I guess. Anyway, I'd intended to live in the realm of squash and beans and potatoes and cabbage, but a trip to the farmer's market (where we'd gone to get some of that amazing beef sausage) turned up some adorable little round eggplants, and I needed to have those too. Seeing as squash can last nearly the entire winter, I decided to put it off in favour of the eggplants. Typically we think of dolma as being stuffed grape leaves, but really the word just means "stuffed thing" and can apply to myriad stuffables. These little eggplants really just begged to be filled with yummies. Normally we get the beef sausage from the market, but they were out (which is what you get if you show up 30 minutes before closing time),...

You might've thought this was a treat for you, but it's really a treat for your best friend (dog). I got this recipe from the lovely Chile , but I didn't have mesquite or soy flour, and wasn't about to buy any. So we modified it from there to accommodate what I had on hand, and then I added pumpkin too. These smelled pretty good when they were baking, but I didn't try any. I thought it'd be rude to the dog. Hope your dog enjoys! 1 1/2 cups rye flour 1/3-ish cup whole wheat flour (it was probably a little closer to 1/2 cup, but just go w/ it) 2 egg shells, washed and dried then pounded into powder in a mortar (this was fun) 4 tablespoons pumpkin shell puree*, or pumpkin puree 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon water 1/4 cup + 1/2 tablespoon oil (I used soybean oil, but you could use anything you like) Preheat oven to 350F. Pulse the dry ingredients together in the food processor. Add the pumpkin and run the processor while pouring in the water and oil. When fully co...

I used to eat grilled cheese sandwiches with cabbage in them a lot when I was a kid, and I always loved them. Now I almost never eat grilled cheese, but this week I started craving them. I wanted to make a slightly more "adult" version of the sandwich, so I upgraded the cheese from American to colby jack and havarti, and since I had no red cabbage on hand (the usual type, and honestly my favourite), I used napa this time. I really love the cabbage and pickles in a grilled cheese, because it adds a nice crunch to the sandwich, a little extra nutrition and a slight twist on the usual flavour. Hope you enjoy! 2 slices bread handful of pickle slices (optional) 1 slice colby jack cheese 1 slice havarti cheese 1/4 - 1/3 cup sliced or shredded cabbage thin layer of oil or butter Heat pan or sandwich machine (I use a sandwich machine), or grill. Put a tiny layer of fat on the outside of each piece of bread. Put a slice of cheese on the bread, then top with pickle slices and ...

I found a bunch of frozen fruits on sale, so I snapped them up to make smoothies for P. When the POM juice came, of course I thought it'd be wonderful to use some of it for the smoothies as well. These are a wonderful addition to lunch; relatively low in calories and chock full of nutrients. If you add protein powder, it can even make for a quick meal replacement. Hope you enjoy! 8 ounce pomegranate juice 1 cup frozen mango 1/2 cup frozen blueberries 1 cup ice Up to 1 cup of water, as needed Blend. Stream in water if needed while the blender runs. Serves 2.

I love the humble quince. I don't care how it's prepared, I still love it. Quince jam, quince tarts, quince everything. But most of all, I love quince paste. Quince paste is like magic to me. Unbelievably delicious in an almost peaceful sort of way. It's sweet, but not to sweet. The rich pectin content of the quince gives it a silky yet gelatinous texture. It's the perfect snack. Good alone as dessert, as a midnight snack, or beautiful with cheese. It can be melted down to use as a glaze or incorporated into dressings. And yet, it's so satisfying that just one square is enough to make you happy. Because of all this, anytime I see quince at the store I try to buy several so I can make enough paste to last me through the year (though I usually do this in more than one batch). Quince is back in the stores now, and it's a huge source of excitement for me. However, I decided this year to do something a little different with it. Enter vanilla bean. I always figure t...

Today has been a big cooking day for me. Instead of doing homework, like I should be, I've spent the entirety of the day in the kitchen. I made pasta salad for us to snack on during the week, pumpkin bars that I'll likely take most of to school, and the lengthy process of starting meat sauce . I'd also intended to make quince paste, but I just didn't get around to that yet. I suppose I can read my philosophy and make quince paste tomorrow at the same time (since you have to sit there stirring for so very, very long). In light of how much is going on in the kitchen, I wanted something simple for dinner, but still relatively healthful. I had a sweet potato lying about that really did need to be eaten, and I'd purchased a jar of pesto recently in the middle of a craving (okay, I was craving fried plantains dipped in pesto, but I forgot to get the plantains) that I was having. I know... most of you are probably purists in the sense that you don't buy your pesto ...

Well, sort of. My mom always made these when she was baking a chicken, so they're a little different today than how she normally made them. I always remember when she made these potatoes, that I was more interested in them than anything else that was on my plate. I could probably spend days eating bowl after bowl of her potatoes. So, after the second day in a row that we went to the butcher seeking bones for Francis that they were out of dog bones (apparently the K9 unit snaked them all), we decided to have a treat and get some nice ribeyes. Yum. For a side, I'd originally planned to use up some of the frozen cauliflower and brussels sprouts, but P wanted potatoes. Just so happened I'd found a 5 pound bag on sale recently and hadn't used them all for potato salad (though I did make a lot of potato salad). I'd mentioned just making baked potatoes, but P thought they take too long to make so he suggested I cut them up and roast them. Immediately, I remembered mom...

My goodness, the gaps between posts are just getting longer and longer, aren't they? I'm telling you, this semester is going to kill me. Thankfully, the lovely people at POM Wonderful offered to send me some of their juice, which I accepted. This rekindled my desire to be a little more creative with food and to focus slightly less on comforting stand-bys (which means a post, at long last!). They generously sent me a full gallon of the juice, which is good because P has been drinking it faster than you'd believe. He advised me to hide some of it if I intended to cook with it, so I hid some. Good thing, too since we're almost out of the juice that wasn't hidden! Anyway, if you haven't tried the juice, thus far it's been lovely to cook with (and for drinking as well). They didn't send me any of their teas, but I've tried them on my own and recommend them as well. Onward. When I started thinking about pomegranate, and pomegranate juice, the first thin...

We have an overwhelming amount of produce in the fridge right now (oh, the joys of a new Costco membership), and since I'm really trying to eliminate food waste, I thought I'd put together a lot of the produce that's left to make a salad we can munch on while studying (which really, I need to get to soon). This is, as an aside, awesome with leftover pizza. It worked out well that I had this going on at the same time as the No Croutons Required challenge was specifically for a Mediterranean soup or salad. So, here's my submission. Hope you enjoy! 2 English cucumbers, sliced into half moons 1 pint yellow cherry tomatoes, cut in half (you can use red if you like) 3/4 cup celery, sliced paper thin 1/4 large red onion, sliced paper thin 1 1/5 cup snap peas, cut into 1" pieces 1/4 - 1/2 pound feta, crumbled (I had 1/4 lb, but I wish I'd had a half) 1 cup kalamata olives, which you can pit if you feel like it (I didn't) Dressing: juice of 2 limes 1...

It feels like it's been forever since I've posted. I've been insanely busy, mostly with physics, though my other homework has been fitting in somehow. I have never had so much homework in my life before. As a result, I've been living off quick foods and take-out. Finally tonight I had a chance to cook. We bought a good amount of produce before P went camping for Labour Day. I saved most of it for when he got home so we could enjoy it together (plus, when he's gone I seem to live on matzot brei, scones, salads, makdous and hummus). He came home with some steaks, so I figured I'd make those, plus some of that parmesan crusted eggplant. However, I wanted to have a beet and fennel salad. Normally I roast my beets before doing anything with them, but I really do enjoy them raw as well (turns out Francis also likes raw beets), so I thought I'd just make a slaw out of them. Hope you enjoy! 1 large beet, peeled and grated 1 anise/fennel bulb, grated then presse...

I think I've been a little out of control with the black beans lately. I'm eating them all the time, and excepting the latest eggplant, it's been a while since I last posted a recipe that didn't contain them. All that being said, I still had a 1-cup portion defrosted in the fridge. Originally I'd planned to make a simple black bean and corn salad, but then I thought about how lovely it'd be to have spring rolls and I decided to make spring rolls using the beans instead. I cooked up a huge batch of white beans so, despite still having plenty of black beans in the freezer, I should be able to lay off them a bit so we don't all tire of the beans. Enjoy! 1 cup cooked black beans water or bean cooking liquid 8 ounces cooked corn (I used one of those mini cans of yellow corn and had a tablespoon or two of corn leftover at the end) 2/3 cup grated carrot generous pinch each: salt, sugar 2 tablespoons rice vinegar 2 teaspoons sesame oil 1 teaspoon rice vin...

This one is not my recipe. I saw it on livejournal and thought it sounded amazing (though I wanted to put quantities to the ingredients). I had just purchased an eggplant when I saw this recipe, and though I'd originally intended to do an eggplant and black bean (of course!) stir fry, this seemed like an exciting new thing to try. Hope you enjoy! 1 globe eggplant 2 eggs 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 6 tablespoons butter (I used salted because I have some and want to save my unsalted for baking) 1 cup each: dried potato flakes, grates parmesan cheese Preheat oven to 400F. While oven is heating, put butter in a baking dish and melt the butter in the heating oven. Peel the eggplant and slice it into 1/2" rounds. Feel free to cut the larger rounds in half. Whisk together egg, salt and pepper. Combine potato flakes and cheese in another bowl/plate. Dip eggplant into egg mixture, then coat in the potato/cheese mixture. Place rounds in preheated pan. Bake 10 minutes, ...

This month's " In the Bag " run by Julia of A Slice of Cherry Pie and Scott of Real Epicurean lists the ingredients chicken, red chile and garlic. I'm not going to the grocery store this week, so I used the remainder of my salsa, plus a dried chile in place of the fresh chile. It was a relatively quick meal to make (one that could be shortened by a more attentive cook) and I enjoyed eating it. Hope you enjoy! 1 cup rice 1 3/4 cups water 1 teaspoon salt 2 dried lemons (omani) 1 chile arbol 2 tablespoons each: butter, olive oil 1 small white onion, sliced into half moons salt and pepper to taste 4 cloves minced garlic 1 carrot, diced 1 stalk celery, diced salt and pepper to taste 1 chicken breast, cut into 1"-ish cubes 2 tablespoons lemon juice salt and pepper to taste 1 1/2 - 2 cups black beans (or 1 can) 3/4 cup salsa Combine first group of ingredients and bring to a boil. Boil one minute, then cover and let cook over low heat for 10 min...

I wanted to have a nutritionally dense salad to eat with my makdous and olives while I study over the weekend. With the semester wrapping up next week, I have a lot of work ahead of me. Hope you enjoy! 1 cup spelt 1 bay leaf 1 teaspoon orange blossom water (you can use rose water, but I prefer orange) 1 small dried chile arbol water 1 can black beans (drained and rinsed; or 1 1/2 - 2 cups home cooked beans) 1 can artichoke hearts, roughly chopped if you feel like it 1 1/2 cups celery, including leaves 3 thinly sliced carrots Dressing: 2 teaspoons each: double strength tomato paste, pomegranate molasses 1 tablespoon za'atar 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup each: lemon juice, olive oil Combine first group of ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer over medium heat for about an hour, or until wheat is soft but still has some tooth to it. Drain well, then fold into second group of ingredients. Whisk together ingredients for the dressing, then fold into the salad. Makes ab...

I feel like I owe all of you an apology. I have made this recipe more than a dozen times since I've actively kept this blog up and not once have I posted it, despite it being the recipe I use for potluck events, treats for P and I, depression food (meaning, "I'm sad today so I will eat meatballs"), and really every other event I can think of. I never posted it because I always thought I had posted it already. I figured there was no way I hadn't posted one of my most loved comfort foods. But there it is - I hadn't posted it. So today I am doing so. I started making this dish somewhere between 7th and 9th grade, and over the years it evolved from a much less flavourful, not-quite-cooked-through-rice thing to a more complicated, but far better staple dish. It has some exotic ingredients, but it's not necessary to keep them in there if you don't have them, don't like them, don't want them, or just find them too expensive. Anyway, I really hope y...

I have really been on an eggplant kick lately, but today I wanted to have some beans also. Hope you enjoy! 1 globe eggplant, cut into 1" dice 1-ish teaspoon kosher salt 5 coffee filters vegetable oil spray 1 onion, chopped 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 1/2 teaspoon pomegranate molasses juice of 1 lime 2 teaspoons minced garlic 1 diced carrot 1 diced stalk celery 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed 1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes 2 cups appaloosa beans 1/3 cup water 1 cup white rice 1/2 teaspoon tumeric 1 teaspoon salt 1 3/4 cups water Arrange coffee filters on a plate and spray lightly with oil spray. Toss salt and eggplant then spread onto plate. Microwave 10 minutes. Set aside Combine oil, onion and pomegranate molasses in a saucepan. Cook over low-ish heat until onions are soft (10-15 minutes). Add lime juice, garlic, carrot, celery and coriander, then cook until carrot and celery are soft. Add in crushed tomatoes, beans, eggplant and water, then simmer for 1...

I initially was planning to just make a quick stock, but life got in the way, so this became a slow cooking stock, then soup. It can easily be modified for any kind of fowl carcass you've got laying about, and for any size crock pot. I hope you enjoy! 1 turkey carcass, bones plus and attached meat/skin water to cover 3 bay leaves 2 large slices dried galangal or ginger 4 whole dried lemons/limes, barely crushed 1/4 navel orange 1/2 cup each: celery, carrot, onion any remaining meat/bones you have laying about from cooking the bird that didn't make its way to sandwiches 1 tablespoon salt 1 large onion, diced 2 carrots, diced 1 cup celery, diced 1 1/2 cups frozen corn 1 cup sliced sun dried tomatoes (I don't buy mine in oil) 1 can sliced potatoes, drained 1 preserved lemon, rinsed and chopped Put the all of the first group of ingredients in your crock pot with enough water to cover everything. Set to high heat, cover and go about your business. Come back ...

We bought some lovely asparagus the other day, which ordinarily I would either saute or roast. I've really been craving a quiche, however, so I thought I'd make one really quickly. The lovely thing about quiche is that even though it seems fancy, it's quite easy to make (especially if you cheat and use prepared pie crust). This time, I am setting apart the base so you can see the general pattern for making a quiche: make the base, cook the fillings and add them to the pie shell, pour the base over and bake. Any filling can be used, but I generally feel all filling materials should be pre-cooked. If you prefer a stronger cheese in your quiche, substitute the one you prefer for the mozzarella. Sometimes I like to put a layer of cheese on top of the crust before I add in the fillings too. Either way, it's very flexible, and inexpensive to make a great meal for up to 8 people per pie. I hope you enjoy! Quiche base: 1 prepared pie crust (I'm not convinced it matters ...

I like to have a turkey around the holidays, as well as one in the summer. I'm not really sure why I want one in the summer when it's already so hot outside, but I always do. I think from now on, since I'm currently only feeding two (as opposed to previously, when I never knew how many people would be sitting at my table on any given night), I'll probably just buy a small breast for myself and a couple legs for P. Which should give us a few days of turkey without getting tired of it. Anyway, this is the first time I've brined one. I looked at several recipes until I kind of got the gist of how brining works. This is what I wound up deciding on. Hope you enjoy! Brine: 10 bay leaves 1 1/4 cup kosher salt 3/4 cup brown sugar 3 large slices dried galangal 5 dried lemons/limes (omani) 2 tablespoons each: black peppercorns, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, coriander seeds 1 dried chile pod (I used chile arbol, but you should use whatever you have on hand) ...

I buy my polenta from Anson Mills , who just makes some of the loveliest corn products ever. Because their products tend to be heartier than the stuff I can get at the store, I follow their directions for how to make the polenta, grits, etc. So the first part (the basic " make the polenta " part of this recipe is basically theirs - if you buy a different brand, make it the way you're used to). Enjoy! 1 cup polenta 4 cups water 1 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 3 tablespoons finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano 1 tablespoon olive oil 8 teaspoons finely grated colby-jack cheese "Brush or spray an 8-inch square baking dish with oil and set aside. Place the polenta and water in a heavy-bottomed 2 1/2-quart saucepan (preferably one with fluted sides), and stir to combine. Set the pan over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the first starch takes hol...

I remembered there was some beef sausage in the freezer, and I thought it'd be nice to cook it with red bell pepper and onion. Originally I'd planned to serve it over rice, but ultimately I ended up deciding on pasta as the better match. My intention was to make something simple, hearty and rustic. I'd gotten the sausage at the farmer's market a while back and remembered how amazing its flavour was, so ideally, the sausage would be the star of this dish, the other ingredients simply complementing it. This ragout turned out so much better than I expected it to; it's something I'll definitely seek out amazing sausages for to make over and over. When Francis is done with his obedience school (which is at the same time as the farmer's market is open), we'll be back to get more sausage (and other things, of course). Hope you enjoy! 6 ounces beef sausage 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1/2 cup each, chopped: red onion, celery 1 tablespoon lemon juice pi...

We've been knee deep in leftovers and comfort foods (matzo brei, corned beef hash, pasta with meat sauce, etc) recently, so I haven't been doing much cooking outside the norm. Okay, in fairness, I did make some granola bars , and I also made some marshmallows , both with small modifications. But nothing really original to write home about. I looked in the fridge today and realised I had a pile of vegetables that truly were ready to be used up, as well as some beef broth remaining from the beef barley soup (which I will be putting into my regular comfort food rotation). P has been expressing more interest in meatless sauces recently (even going so far as to make a delicious, spicy marinara of his own while I was at work!), so I thought this would be a good way for me to use up the produce. It's easily modified to fit whatever produce you're looking to use up, so please have fun with it! Additionally, I wanted to make a lot of it so I could can some for lazy days. Here it...

My friend Dave makes awesome beef barley soup. Like, really awesome. He gave me the recipe, so I made some yesterday and have been really enjoying it. Dave also says I can share the recipe with y'all, so I hope you enjoy it too! Aside from the carrots and celery, my own quantities are put in here - I make a lot less of it than Dave does, so I kept track of how much I used of each thing. Feel free to adjust quantities to your own liking, or to increase or decrease the size of the recipe. 1 - 1 1/4 pound beef shank bones 1 quart beef broth or stock 1 quart water (you can use stock here too, if you like) 1 onion, sliced or chopped to your preferred size 1 bay leaf (optional; I added this) 2 large carrots, chopped 2 large stalks of celery, chopped 1 potato, diced (optional; I was out of potatoes so I didn't add this) 2 teaspoons salt 1 tablespoon pepper 1 1/4 cup barley water as needed 1 cup sliced mushrooms (optional - I forgot to put these in even though they were ...

I've kind of been in a funk lately, mostly due to my summer break being shockingly more stressful than I expected. P decided that what we really needed to feel rejuvenated was a treat - something excessive and luxurious. So we went to the butcher and had them cut us a 2" thick porterhouse steak. It weighed 2.9 pounds and was utterly delicious. We also learned that Francis is allergic to something I used in the marinade. We ate it with a simple potato salad. Marinade: 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/8 cup red wine vinegar 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon each: coriander seed, thyme Let the steak marinate for two hours (mine was in a bowl, so I flipped it after one hour). Grill. Serves ... well, this steak served 4 plus dog. Before grill: After grill (kind of a dark picture):

P is really into smoothies. Often, he gets cravings and it's a mad dash to a Jamba Juice or Smoothie King. Today, he said he wanted a smoothie and I figured I'd just go make one really quickly, as I don't want him to fill up on smoothies before we have steak for dinner. I rummaged around the freezer to see what kind of frozen fruit was lurking in there, and found peaches. The people at Simply Orange decided to make full sized bottles of their amazing raspberry lemonade, so we picked up a couple bottles earlier today. Seemed like a good combination. It was beyond simple to make, and P now wears a perfectly contented look on his face. Hope you enjoy! 1/2 - 3/4 cup frozen peaches 1/2 - 3/4 cup ice cubes approximately 1 cup raspberry lemonade Put the ice and peaches in a blender. Adding a little bit of juice at a time, blend until it's the right consistency. Serves 1-2.

I have an unending fascination with plums. I'm not sure if it's because they turn into delicious, endlessly sweet prunes or because with plums, you get a pretty good mix of shockingly sweet and slightly sour fruits. Either way, I love them and it warms my heart when I see them working their way into all the markets. We've been munching on plums for the last couple weeks, but really, I just wanted to make a tart out of them. I think I like the lines of tarts more than I like how pies look. Or maybe I'm just prejudiced against pies. Not sure. Intellectually I realise they're the same thing but I just like tarts better. For this one, I wanted to sweeten the fruit just slightly, and I wanted to incorporate a bit of citrus and vanilla into them. This is the conglomeration of all those varied desires. Hope you enjoy! 1 4"x1" strip orange rind (peel only, no pith) seeds from 1 vanilla bean (you can add the pod too, but I tossed it in w/ the vanilla extract I...