The Pig and I

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