At some point I mostly gave up eating mayo. I don’t go out of my way for it. It’s one of the few things I may ask a restaurant to leave off. In the process of saving face by not eating the “bad food,” I don’t miss it anymore. It’s really rich. A little can go a long way into ruining a dish for me because the jarred stuff has such a prominent flavor. Someday I’ll make my own.

Apparently you can make potato salad without mayo. I never knew such a thing existed. It used to be an rule enforced by the food gods, right? Potato salad must have it…but apparently it doesn’t. You make regular salads with other kinds of dressings, so potatoes want to partake in the fun. It makes for a great change to a heavy, rich salad that was sketchy when left out on the picnic table at your BBQ for too long [I never had any problems, though]. This salad is light and bright, with little bits of carrot crunch. I’d add celery next time because crunchy is king in my book.

PS – Thug Kitchen is my new idol.

Inspiration: Thug Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 1/2lbs small red potatoes, cubed
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice [about one lemon]
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Whisk together the garlic, dijon, vinegar, lemon juice, and olive oil in a small bowl or shake it up in a jar. Let it sit in the fridge while you prep the salad.

Bring the potatoes in a pot of water to a rolling boil. Let them cook until fork tender, about 10-15 minutes depending on how big your cubes are. Drain and put into a large bowl. Add the carrots and green onions. Pour the dressing on top, stirring to coat everything. Put the bowl in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. The longer the better with this salad.

These might be the prettiest burgers I’ve ever made.

Again with the bold flavors, but how can you not pair blue cheese with buffalo sauce? This is blue cheese on top of blue cheese dressing. One can never have too much.

The stars aligned and I was able to pick up a package of deliciously perfect kaiser rolls instead of the normal overly bready ones from New Seasons the fridge. It made them that much better.

I had forgotten how much I love broccoli slaw. That packaged stuff makes my life so much easier.

Guess who remembered to pulse the rolled oats into a finer consistency? It makes for a great burger. I went lazy with shredding my carrots and just chopped them in the food processor. I’m pretty sure I have one of those shredding attachments somewhere, but I’m too afraid to use it. I don’t know how. Intimidated by an appliance attachment. I’ve reached a new low.

If you don’t like the flavor of buffalo wing sauce, I implore you to use your favorite BBQ sauce. The slaw is totally optional, unless you’re me. Then it’s not.

Inspiration: Skinny Taste

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of broccoli slaw [about half of one a 12oz bag]
• 1/4 cup blue cheese dressing
• crumbled blue cheese for topping
• 1lb ground turkey
• 2 carrots, grated
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup rolled oats, ground in a food processor/blender
• 2-3 green onions, green and white parts sliced
• 1/4 cup Franks Red Hot Buffalo Sauce
• salt and pepper
• 4 buns

Preparation

Mix together the broccoli slaw and dressing in a bowl. Add a couple tablespoons of extra blue cheese if you dare. Set aside in the fridge until ready to serve.

In a large bowl, mix together the ground remaining ingredients through the hot sauce. Add a healthy pinch of salt and pepper. Mix together until thoroughly combined. Form into four equal patties.

Fire up your grill to a medium heat. Coat the grate with olive oil so it doesn’t stick. Grill each burger on one side for 5-6 minutes before flipping. You want a good sear or they’ll crumble and fall apart in the flipping process. Cook for another 4-5 minutes until it’s equally browned.

Toast buns if desired. Serve with slaw and additional blue cheese.

You either love it or hate it. I’ve always been apart of the love camp, but you just don’t see it much. Is it the stark contrast of feelings toward the immature corn cob that you really only see it in a stir fry or in a salad bar? Or is it because that’s all it is really good for? Inquiring minds want to know.

The call of the corn came when I was looking up new curry recipes. One can never have enough curry recipes. I’m down to one tub of curry paste! I must make a trip out to Fubonn stat. This recipe comes from the BBC, and considering I had one of the best curries of my life in the UK, I assumed knew it had to be legit. I tried it with chicken and with pork, and I definitely prefer the chicken. It’s impossible for me to not dry out the pork. It’s like grilled pork chops or shredded pork butt in the crockpot for me, otherwise it’s just not that desirable.

I always use full fat coconut milk. You knew that, right? The baby corn loves it. I promise. The star of this show is definitely the curry. It’s thick and peanut-y with a healthy level of spice. If you like spice, and you happen to have this peanut butter, use it. It’s over the top. I restrained from loading it up with a ton of vegetables [that's my MO], just a whole can of baby corn. It really seems to make for a better curry consistency when I don’t overdo it. Less water.

So yeah, delicious. Definitely going into the rotation. Viva la baby corn!

Inspiration: BBC Good Food

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon canola or coconut oil
• 4-5 green onions, sliced
• 1/2 of a bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1lb chicken breast, sliced
• 4 tablespoons red curry paste
• 4 tablespoons peanut butter [chunky!]
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
• 14oz can full-fat coconut milk
• 15oz can of baby corn, drained and chopped in half
• 2 tablespoons lime juice [or one lime]
• rice or noodles, for serving

Preparation

In a large saute pan, heat the oil on medium heat. Add the green onions and cilantro. Stir to coat in the olive oil, cooking for a minute. Add the chicken, spreading in an even layer in the pan. Cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown.

Add the curry paste and peanut butter. Stir to break it down to a more pliable paste. Add the sugar, tamari, and coconut milk. Stir everything together, bringing it to a simmer before putting on the lid. Stir occasionally for 10-15 minutes so the chicken doesn’t stick.

Remove the lid, adding the baby corn. Cook for another couple minutes while the sauce thickens and the corn cooks through. Season with lime juice before serving. Serve on top of rice or noodles.

When I lived at home, I used to eat a lot in front of the TV. Then when I moved out on my own, I realized I don’t like to watch TV [seriously, I bought cable and the box stayed unplugged for MONTHS], so that usually puts me into mode one or two. One when Andrew’s home; two when it’s just me. An entire bag of pita chips and hummus totally make a meal.

Occasionally I’ll eat my Chinese take out while sitting on the couch, but that just results in the dog staring in hopes I’ll give her some so she’ll stop staring. That’s a vicious cycle to get yourself into. No matter how sad the puppy eyes, do not feed the dog those crunchy chow mien noodles. She won’t go away.

Then there are the times I pretend I’m on a date with myself and set a place setting. I may even make myself a cocktail [Campari and soda, kthx]. This pasta was totally one of those evenings. It’s a total pantry meal, which hardly ever happens. I would actually need food in the pantry for that to happen. I had a jar of green beans from my grandma’s canning spree, so I was pretty good to go. It’s a simple sauce of olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and a healthy dose of  crumbled and shredded gorgonzola. Simple. Easy. Totally customizable.

CONFESSION: In the end, I totally ate this on the couch. Roma likes green beans.

Ingredients

• 4oz dried pasta [I used linguine]
• 1 jar/can of whole green beans
• 1 glove of garlic, minced
• 4-5 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, minced
• 1oz shredded gorgonzola
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• chile flakes

Preparation

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat in a large enough pan to hold the pasta. Add the garlic, tomatoes, and green beans. Sauté for a couple of minutes until the green beans are warmed through. Turn the heat off, add the pasta, the remaining olive oil, and the 3/4 of the gorgonzola. Stir until the cheese starts to melt a little and the pasta is reheated. Plate [or just eat it straight from the pan]. Top with the remaining gorgonzola and some chile flakes for some spice.

I’ve been playing with a ton of intense flavors lately [and eating frozen grapes]. I guess I do that a lot, don’t I? It seems more common these days. Have you had radicchio [it's pronounced ra-dee-kyoh by the way]? Even if you haven’t gone out of your way for it, it sometimes ends up in those pre-bagged salads you can buy. While it looks like a cabbage and has a similar texture, it is actually chicory that originated in Italy. It’s bitter, especially while raw. When you cook it down or roast it, it looses some if it’s edge, but will never be without a hint of bitterness. It pairs really, really well with tangy, pungent gorgonzola. It cuts through the bitter without issue and bridges the gap between the bitter radicchio and sweet caramelized shallots. 

It’s paired with steak [tagliata is just Italian for sliced] because beef is a great backdrop for whatever you’re throwing at it. In this case, bitter and tangy. It’s seared on a cast iron skillet for a few minutes on each side for a nice medium rare.

Inspiration: La Cucina Italiana Magazine

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium head radicchio, cored and thinly sliced
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed
• 1-2 ounces of crumbled gorgonzola [depending on your affinity for the flavor]
• 1lb rib eye, brought to room temperature
• fresh cracked pepper
• salt
• 1 tablespoon butter

Preparation

Cover the steak in a healthy layer of salt and pepper on both sides and set aside.

Heat a large cast iron skillet on medium high heat. Once it’s hot, add 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil. When it gets heated through, add the radicchio, shallot, and garlic. Sauté until the radicchio wilts and the shallot turns translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Empty the contents to a bowl and add the gorgonzola. Mix well. Wipe out the pan as best as possible.

Adjust the heat to high and add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the butter. When the butter melts, add the steak. Allow it to sear on one side for 3-4 minutes before flipping. After another 3-4 minutes, pull the steak off the pan and set it aside to rest for 10 minutes before slicing across the grain. I ate half the steak with half of the radicchio, and saved the rest for lunch the next day.

Lesson of the Day: Don’t second guess your lunch choices. I was going to get tacos. Carnitas tacos. I thought about them all morning. I went to the gym, and I thought about them. By the time to was at the row of food carts by my office, I went with…a veggie mezza plate. I was disappointed the whole ordeal. The overall quality and presentation was underwhelming at best. It was as if an entire bottle of tzatziki sauce exploded in the to-go container. To add salt to the wound, I could have bought SEVEN tacos for my trouble. Lesson learned [until I do it again, and I will].

Confession: When I first wrote the title to this post, I wrote salad instead of soup. I’m losing my mind.  I guess it’s basically the same thing, just blended and warmed up. So similar.

I have a feeling that this wouldn’t be a universally loved soup, so I won’t even pretend. It’s green after all. It tastes green. It’s a huge bowl of health. There is chicken stock and a whole mess of chickpeas slathered in tahini in there, but you should probably have a mild affinity for spinach and kale if you’re going to like it like I did. The kale isn’t nearly as intense when cooked down and pureed, but you can still taste a little bit of it. I happen to like love my greens, but after the fourth bowl, even I was kind of tired of it. Roma ate the remaining chickpeas. They’re dog approved.

Inspiration: Green Kitchen Stories

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• dried chili flakes
• 500g frozen spinach
• 300g frozen kale
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 4 cups chicken broth
• salt and pepper
• 15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 3 tablespoons tahini
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice [juice of a small lemon]
• 2-3 tablespoons chopped parsley

Preparation

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot on medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and chile flakes [start with a teaspoon, you can add more later]. Sauté for 5-7 minutes until soft. Add the spinach, kale, and nutmeg, continuing to stir. The kale and spinach should wilt almost immediately. Add the broth and a healthy pinch of salt and cracked pepper. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until everything is cooked through. Use a regular or immersion blender to puree as much of the soup as you like.

In a separate bowl, toss the chickpeas, remaining olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, and parsley. Use your hands to make sure everything is mixed thoroughly. Every chickpea should be dressed in a thick coating of the tahini mixture.

When serving, top each bowl of soup with a handful or two of the chickpeas. The soup is good hot or cold.

I finally made Indian food!

I’m pretty sure I was talking about this months ago, but that’s beside the point. I made some, and it was awesome. I decided against making naan so I could focus my whole attention on what I was doing. I’m notorious for doing too much at once and screwing something up. I bought some frozen naan instead, which while good, wasn’t really naan-like.

Start to finish took a whole lot longer than I thought it would, but maybe that’s because it was my first time or because I really let it simmer down. I like it really thick and stew-y. I followed this recipe, using the evaporated milk. Now that I have a sweet zit cropping up on my chin, I’ll probably go back to using coconut milk. These are the things I do to try new recipes.

I was honestly surprised at how similar it is to the Thai curry I make all the time, but yet they have two completely different flavor profiles. I picked up a container of hot madras curry powder, which means I have no excuse not to make this again. Indian food is one of the few cuisines where I don’t miss meat. It’s filling and flavorful enough without it.

Time to check out other recipes.

Inspiration: Budget Bytes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped into quarters
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 inches of fresh ginger
• 1-3 tablespoons of curry powder
• 1-2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1lb frozen spinach
• 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 12oz can of evaporated milk
• 1/4 cup water

Preparation

Toss the onion and garlic into a small food processor and pulse until finely chopped. I’m lazy, so feel free to mince it if by hand. Heat the canola oil in a large sauté pan on medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, stirring to coat. Grate the fresh ginger into the pan as well. Stir for several minutes until the onion is soft and translucent and the garlic is fragrant.

Add the curry powder and cumin to the mixture. Start with one tablespoon of the curry powder if you have a low spice threshold. You can always add more later. Stir it well, letting it cling to the onion mixture. It’s going to smell awesome. Add the diced tomato and salt. Stir and cook for another five minutes or so until the tomato is broken down and soft.

Add the chickpeas, spinach, and water to the pan. Stir to break up the spinach and distribute the onion mixture throughout. Bring everything up to a simmer for five minutes so the spinach can heat through. Once most of the water has simmered away, add the milk. Let it simmer to desired consistency. I let it go for 10-15 minutes before I pureed half of it in the blender to really thicken it up. Taste for more spice. I added another teaspoon of cumin and two tablespoons of curry powder before I was satisfied.

Serve with brown rice and naan.

I put together a small to do list first, so I’m not completely worthless lazy.

So I stopped buying the individual carrots at the grocery store because they tend to be the most flavorless carrots of all time. It’s usually way more efficient for me to do that, but I can’t possibly tell you how bland they’ve been. They were just little orange coins floating in the rich chicken curry. The carrots are finally coming around, though, having way more carrot-y flavor so long as I grab the bunches of them. I always feel guilty buying them because I need one, and I’m not a meal planner so I hate wasting. I took it upon myself to carry a carrot to work in my purse for a few days for a mid-morning snack. That’s not that weird, right? It ranks right up there with #publicbanana, right Allie?

I still had a couple left that were starting to get…rubbery. What’s a girl to do? Shred them up and make these weird cookie/cake things. It was an excuse to use my biscuit cutter for the first time. Fancy. They’re not really that pretty, but they taste a little like carrot cake. They were taken from this neat carrot cookie recipe. I made things full of gluten, which is why they turned out so cakey, and I’m totally okay with that. The dough is so, so good. It’s a win-win.

Inspiration: Carrot Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 egg
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoons turmeric
• pinch of salt

Preparation

Place the carrots in a food processor and pulse until it is coarsely shredded. Add the egg, coconut oil, and maple syrup. Pulse to shred further until it is a wet pulp.

In large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, and salt. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir thoroughly until it is all mixed through and all the tough is wet. I really had to use my hands in the end. Wrap in plastic wrap and stick in the fridge for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350° and line a couple cookie sheets with a silpat or parchment. Roll the dough out between two sheets of plastic wrap [it's sticky!] to about 1/4 inch thickness. Cut the cookies to your preferred size/shape. Bake for 10-15 minutes depending on the size. Mine took about 12 minutes and were about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.

Allow to cool on a wire rack. They will be chewy, carroty, and awesome.

This has been on my to-do list since I got my hands on The Sprouted Kitchen cookbook, and finally and the tomatoes are started to look better at the store fridge. Who doesn’t want to eat 8oz of feta in a single sitting? I mean, c’mon [I split it with Andrew, promise]. It’s like this was practically made for me. Grilling the feta, which is really nestled inside a foil packet with the rest of the goodies, just gets it warm and toasty. It holds its shape despite being super hot and soft [I'm sure there is a joke in here somewhere]. The foil method makes for tricky plating between the heat and all the juices.

I ended up just opening it and digging right in with light rye crackers. I couldn’t help myself. I didn’t want to try my hand at hot foil and trying to slide the contents into a bowl. If you want, you should definitely try Smitten Kitchen’s method in the oven. Way less mess, but way less grill involved. I paired this with some tandoori marinated chicken thighs from the fridge mostly because I needed something quick and easy to go on the grill, and because it’s delicious. I like good things, what can I say?

What are you grilling lately?

Inspiration: The Sprouted Kitchen Cookbook

Ingredients

• 8oz block of feta cheese, drained
• 1 container of grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/3 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
• 1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• fresh cracked pepper

Preparation

Preheat your grill to a medium heat; you’ll want it around 400°. In a large bowl, toss together the tomatoes, olives, onion, garlic, parsley, oregano, olive oil, and some cracked pepper. Set aside.

Get a large piece of tinfoil, and place the brick of feta cheese in the middle of it. Pour the tomato mixture on top of the cheese. Fold up the the foil into a packet so it doesn’t leak all over. Put it straight on the grill for 15 minutes. Smell the deliciousness.

Use caution when removing the hot packet. Eat with chips/crackers of choice.

Of course I’ve made it everyday since then. That’s just how I roll. I don’t like having to think about things in the morning. Consistency is my friend. Rolled oats, chia seeds, cinnamon, fresh grated ginger, a couple drops of stevia, and a sprinkling of cacao nibs. It tastes delicious, but of course I’m hungry two hours later. I hate that about rolled oats. So good, but so not filling for my seemingly bottomless appetite.

I threw a new meatloaf recipe at my appetite recently. I was really craving meatloaf, and more specifically, gravy. I prefer to have them together. It’s like my peas and carrots. Peanut butter and jelly. This was the most ingredient intensive meatloaf I’ve ever made. Two unusually ingredients popped out at me, so I knew I needed to make it — bacon and prunes. Color me intrigued. I ended up using in raisins because that’s what I had [LAZY], but they’re virtually the same thing. It definitely added a little extra moisture, and a hint of sweetness. You don’t really notice it.

This was super good. I like all the vegetables. I love the mixture of meats. I really just need to remember to grind my rolled oats into something a little more fine. It doesn’t taste funny or affect the texture, but it just doesn’t look as nice.

Leftovers for lunch the next day? You bet.

Inspiration: Epicurious

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 medium onion, chopped into quarters
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 medium celery rib, chopped in 4-5 pieces
• 1 medium carrot, chopped in to 4-5 pieces
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 pound of bacon, chopped
• 1/2 cup pitted prunes (chopped) or raisins
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup parsley, finely chopped

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350° and have a 9″x13″ pan handy. Pour the milk into a large bowl with the rolled oats. In the bowl of a food processor, add the onion, garlic, carrot, and celery. Pulse until finely chopped and combined. Heat the butter on medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the onion mixture. Cook, and occasionally stir, for five minutes before covering. Lower the heat and let it cook for another five minutes until the carrot is soft. Remove the pan from the heat and add the Worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, nutmeg, two teaspoons of salt and pepper.

Add the raisins and bacon to the food processor. Pulse until mixed and finely chopped. In the large bowl with the rolled oats, combine the bacon mixture and the carrot mixture. Add the beef, pork, eggs, and parsley. Use your hands to combine everything evenly. Form a loaf in with the meat mixture in the 9×13″ pan. Bake the loaf for about 75 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meatloaf comes to 155°. Let it stand 10 minutes before slicing serving.