She likes to dig …  =/

So this year we’re thinking more “big-picture.” What to plant? What do we eat a lot of? I’m all about some tomatoes, red peppers, red bliss potatoes, zucchini and beans. I picked up some adorable little strawberry plants a week or two ago, and now I want more! I think I’ll keep those in their boxes.

With this available space … what would YOU plant?

Oh! And see those straggly, dead, vine looking things in the back corner? I’m pretty sure that those are raspberries, but we’ll see. If they are, I want to plant more. If they’re not … I want to plant more anyway =)

I’m also thrilled that spring is on its way (it’s going to be 85 degrees today, y’all!) because it means that it’s time to hang out in the backyard with a big ol mimosa and some puppies. Yesterday, two of our friends hauled over some lawn chairs and their little yellow dog. It kind of continued that way all day, with a stream of people dropping by: one of our good friends stayed to help Matt with the recording studio, and two other wonderful people dropped off a futon so we can actually sit in our cabin.

I just love spring. It’s so pleasant to be outside and share things with friends.

The next few weeks promise to be busy, but I hope that ends up being a good thing for The Pseduotarian. HBO has a new special coming out, and we’ve set up a tentative show-watching “party” on Sundays. I’m hoping that means good friends … some wine … a great show … and maybe some good old fashioned knitting and yarn (I’ve been diving into project after project!). I have so many ideas that my head is spinning! I’m also hoping that Sundays can turn into my formal “time to try a new recipe” night. To cut down on my grocery spending, I want to keep it to one new recipe a week. Now I just have to either convince our friends to try my cooking, or start eating earlier. Matt and I didn’t chow down until 10 pm (!!!) last night, partly due to the construction in the recording studio.

So, now that I’ve laid out a 5-year plan for you, my faithful, by-now-must-be-snoozing readers, I’ll get to the good stuff.

In honor of spring, and in the heart of repurposing leftovers, I wanted something light, warm … and something that helped me use up some ricotta from one of the new recipes I’ve tried out recently.

Pasta Primavera with Ricotta Sage Cream Sauce

1 cup short pasta, cooked al dente (I used about two and a half handfuls of broad egg noodles)
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Milk – I’m terribly sorry, but I can’t give an exact measurement … maybe 3/4 of a cup? I got lazy and just poured it right in  =(
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
2 pinches ground sage
1/2 tomato, chopped
1/2 cup spinach, torn, uncooked
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1/2 cup of peas, frozen
Parmesan

salt and pepper
Olive Oil – optional

While your pasta cooks, prepare your cream sauce. Melt the butter over medium heat, and whisk in the flour, breaking up any clumps. Normally for a bechamel I use a 1:1 ratio, but I wanted this sauce to be a little thinner.  When the flour is blended in and the butter-flour mixture is smooth, slowly add your milk. Ideally, you should heat up the milk first, but it doesn’t matter here. Whisk the liquid, breaking up any clumps that may have formed. Turn down the temp, and let this heat until it thickens and bubbles. If you see the butter floating on top, do not be alarmed.

When your pasta is done cooking, pile your peas in the bottom of the colander and drain the pasta. The heat form the water and pasta will thaw the peas without cooking them into mush, and save you a pot or two to clean!

Put the cooked pasta, peas, tomato, red pepper and spinach in the bowl that you will be using to chow down. Don’t worry too much about keeping it warm – don’t pop it in the oven. The heat from the save will heat everything back up nicely.

Back to your bechamel – it should have thickened up a bit, to the consistency of half and half. Whisk in the ricotta, spoonful at a time and break up any lumps. Now it should be the consistency of un-strained yogurt.

Season your sauce with sage, salt and pepper to taste. Now, I added a drizzle of olive oil over my plain pasta before adding sauce, but that’s entirely optional. I just happen to have a very good, fruity olive oil right now and it tasted magnificent. Pour the ricotta sage sauce over the pasta, garnish with Parmesan and sit outside and enjoy this gorgeous weather!

I loved this – just enough creaminess without being heavy and I love the fresh veggies. You could steam them or saute them if you wanted, but I loved the texture provided by the crunchy peppers, fresh snappy peas and bite of the spinach. Yummmmm!

(When I make this again, I WILL update with the amount of milk I used. I wasn’t thinking of publishing this recipe, and just poured it in a large saucepan, just enough to cover it.)

Pictures to come when my internet gets turn on at the house (I know right, like ACTUAL pictures of the food!)

I know I’ve been yapping my head off for months about the new house and the next kitchen. We’re almost in, I just have a million things to paint. I’m hoping that we’re in and functional by this Sunday so that we can start inviting good friends over on Sundays for HBO specials (and potentially dinner if I can convince everyone to eat my cooking) and cookouts and music-playing on Wednesdays.

Either way, I’m so excited for you to see the before and after of my apartment kitchen vs my new fancy kitchen.

Though, I don’t want to leave you without some yummy goodness, so here is a quick “recipe” for my favorite guacamole and a quick tip. Don’t judge people – work owns my life again! I don’t even have time to bold half the copy in this post like usual!

Guacamole

2 avocados
1/2 cup yellow corn
1/2 cup raw tomato, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Crushed red pepper flakes

salt

Scoop avocado from skins and place into a good-sized bowl and chop roughly with a knife into approximately 1-inch cubes. Add garlic to the bowl and mash the two lightly with a fork. You don’t want to turn these into mush, just break up the chunks a little bit. This is not a goopy guac’, it’s a loose, chunky, wants to get into your pants guac.

I’m sorry, I’m tired.

Stir in the corn and tomatoes along with salt and crushed red pepper flakes to taste. I recommend any kind of “scooping” chip, but hey – who am I to tell you what to do?

Also a quick tip:

I don’t like bacon. I don’t miss it, I don’t care about it, I didn’t eat it when I ate meat anyway. What I DO miss is the smoky flavor that comes from using it in other dishes. I believe I’ve found a WONDERFUL alternative …

Smoked Sun Dried Tomatoes.

Try them. Love them. Come back and thank me and give me your firstborn. Or a puppy. Your call.

Can I make a confession? … Given my Mediterranean ancestry, it’s a bad one too.

I really don’t care for marinara/pomodoro sauce … or any thick tomato sauce really. I love tomatoes, and I’ll eat a big bowl of spaghetti if it’s served at dinner by family or a friend. But if I’m home alone or cooking for one, I will bypass pasta and red sauce 99% of the time.

While we’re confessing here, I also hate most olives. Holy hell I hope my biological mother and her side of the family do not read this.

I have theory, because in addition to my Mediterranean heritage (which is where my temper and gigantic head of curly black hair came from), I’m also half Irish (also accountable for my temper and black hair …).

Before I continue with my theory, please note that I make Italian and Sicilian food ALL THE TIME. However, I never make Irish food. Like never, never, never. I never bake soda bread, never had shepherd’s pie, I don’t eat meat other than fish and shellfish, and I avoid potatoes except occasional circumstances. I only eat colcannon if someone else makes it for me and I can’t stand potato pancakes.

My Irish ancestors …?

They… are … pissed.

So I believe, somewhat irrationally, that this imbalance has exacted itself in the form of my hatred of olives and my total apathy toward tomato sauces. The screaming Irish blood in my veins makes me hate olives and care not for tomato sauce to get even with the screaming Mediterranean blood. It’s totally like a Lifetime movie in these blood vessels, y’all. At this point, I feel totally compelled to mention that I can drink whiskey like nobody’s business. It’s a blessing and a curse, people.

Whiskey, olives and blood cells aside, I really don’t care for tomato sauces. I think they’re boring. Even homemade, simmer for hours, 10-ingredient sauces are just … boring. Tomato tends to overpower every other delicious thing in the dish, so it’s pointless adding peas or spinach (in my irrational little brain, anyway). Anyone who’s seen me cook pasta knows that if peas and spinach are to be had, then they’re in, no questions asked.

I’ll stop rambling and attempt to be concise, because this has become the most ridiculous PseudoBlog entry I’ve ever written. It’s been a long week and my irrational, pea-loving, olive-hating brain is fried just like a cute little potato-pancake (…uggh!).

The other night, cooking for just myself, I came up with a delicious solution. I wanted something more than oil and herbs, but naturally I didn’t want to drench my poor fettuccine in “Ragu Chunky Mushroom.” I love mushrooms, but that name is repulsive. Also, since we’re moving in a few days, I have no “fresh food” in my house. Only pantry items.

So I started cooking … and praying my nightly kitchen prayer that goes a little something like this:

“Lord, oh lord, please let there be parmesan in the fridge!”

Sacrilege, I know.

Silky Smoky Tomato Herb Fettuccine

1/4 lb fettuccine
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Crushed red pepper flakes
Tarragon or thyme, dried and anything but whole
Basil, dried
1/4 smoked sun dried tomatoes, chopped
Smoked paprika
Ground Black pepper
2-3 tablespoons red tomato sauce

Salt

Start the pasta cooking in some salted water. Cook until al dente and drain (of course). While this is happening, you’re going to put together your sauce.

Heat the olive oil over medium low eat and add garlic. Keep your heat low, you want the flavors of each ingredient to infuse the oil, but not brown or burn. When the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds later, add your sun dried tomatoes, crushed red pepper, tarragon or thyme, basil, smoked paprika and black pepper. Since you can’t really taste hot oil, try to gauge the amount by the fragrance coming from the pan. I know, super vague, I’m sorry.

If I had to estimate, I’d say a teaspoon of the herbs, and half a teaspoon of the red pepper flakes and a half teaspoon or less of the paprika. Black pepper is totally up to you.

Let this heat through and even simmer/sizzle for a bit, but keep an eye on it. The sun dried tomatoes will soften and absorb some of the delicious oil, but don’t let them brown. If your pasta is still cooking, feel free to turn the heat on the oil off. It will stay warm, and only takes about 30 seconds to reheat after you drain your pasta.

With that said … drain your pasta!

Toss with the oil mixture until coated and salt to taste. Toss with the tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon at a time. At first the sauce will look almost watery, and then after the second tablespoon of sauce, it will take on a silky red look without being drenched in jarred sauce. After that, add more only to your taste, but not too much or you’ll loose that great silky texture that the oil gives the pasta.

Now, my kitchen prayers were NOT answered, so this is vegan. But feel free to sprinkle some parmesan if you have it, or nutritional yeast if you’re one of my vegan friends  =)

I love this pasta. It made me rediscover my appreciation for the great taste of tomato without ever addressing the idea of “chunky” or “ragu”. The herbs come through wonderfully. Oh! And if you take that first bite and think that you want MORE herby deliciousness … it is perfectly acceptable to add more even after the pasta, oil and tomato have been combined. I just like to make my oil as infused with flavor as possible. Oh and this would be great with zucchini or eggplant cooked with the oil. Eggplant especially because it melts right into the sauce. Toss in some chunky cubes of mozzarella and oh my heaven I am a happy lady.

This isn’t the most health conscious dish, but it is such a perfect small-portioned quick and easy dinner. I made it in less than 15 minutes, which was great after a run. Plus, unlike all those OTHER red sauces which shall not be named, I could totally have added peas or spinach and not been freaked out. When it comes to my food, I’m still that girl in the back of the class that chews on her chair. I’m weird, I know. My ancestors agree with you, don’t worry.

I don’t know about you, but when I have a craving for something … I am insatiable. For example, when I’m stressed out or really upset, or even just not feeling good, I want macaroni and cheese. Even salty fake macaroni and cheese. I just want gooey goodness in a bowl sprinkled with smoked paprika and crushed red pepper. Nothing gets between me and my awful mac and cheese habit (much to my scale’s chagrin – but I’m working on that! More on that next month).

Or the other day I was craving fish. I left my apartment at 10 pm just to find a filet of tilapia. I’m telling you, when I think I need something, it consumes my brain.

So why am I talking about intense, undeniable cravings in the context of “a simple sandwich?” Well, because for a week or so, all I’ve wanted out of life was, simply, the best sandwich ever.

Tall order, I know.

Last night after a long day of only eating an English Muffin toasted with goat cheese, this recipe/idea sure came freaking close.

Also, sorry for the short post. I’m ridiculously busy, but wanted to keep on keepin’ on with my regular posting. But who knows, maybe you like short posts  =)

Meredith’s World Endingly Delicious Sandwich (or something like that)

1 whole wheat English Muffin
1-2 slices of a good melting cheese, I used swiss, but mozzarella, gruyere, american or thinly sliced gouda could also work
1/2 avocado, sliced
1 handful baby spinach
1 handful smoked sun dried tomatoes, chopped
1 egg

Condiment of choice – I used Dijon Mustard

Like I said, this isn’t much of a recipe, but rather an idea.

1. Spread your condiment of choice on the bottom slice of the muffin. Layer cheese on top of that side (or both if you want), and place in a toaster or under the broiler in the oven until just melted and bubbly.
2. While the cheese is melting, blanch or steam your spinach just until wilted. Shock under cold water and drain.
3. Fry or poach your egg, but try to leave the yolk runny =)
4. When the muffin is ready, it’s time for assembly! On the bottom slice, layer the chopped sun dried tomatoes, spinach and avocado. The order is up to you, but I found that this order stacked neatly with less chance of toppling.
5. At this point, make sure that the sandwich is on the plate you’re going to use. Not crucial, but important if you want yummy yolk to dip the sandwich in. Slide your poached or fried egg on top of the sandwich, take the top of the muffin, and press it lightly down on top. The egg will break and yolk with drizzle down into the crevasses of this magnificent creation and onto the plate.
6. Grab plenty of paper towels, since this one is messy!
7. Most of all: enjoy!

Try it. Love it. Add meat to it if you’re a carnivore … or sub Daiya if you’re vegan. You know what, just add or sub whatever you want. Just keep the basics  =) I had this with a small spinach salad and it was perfect! I always forget how delicious English Muffins are with their little nooks and crannies.

Do I paint my kitchen right when we move in? OR … do I wait, and paint it when we’re less stressed about things like, say … how to fit the couch into the truck (by the way, it doesn’t).

This is not a matter of just painting some walls either, people. This is taking off ALL the cabinets, sanding, priming, painting. Painting the walls while the cabinets dry. Freaking out because I’m worried about the paint color. Crying. Making macaroni and cheese in the microwave because that’s what I do when I stress out.

I jest (mostly). I’m very much looking forward to painting, but I know the kitchen is going to be a big endeavor. That’s why I’m debating doing it when we move, or waiting. A big concern is that if we wait … I’ll just leave it in its sad, drab, olive-colored state for the next 10 years. Or however long we’re there.

I digress.

While we’re gearing up for gallons of paint and hundreds of trips back and forth between house and apartment, I’ve been trying to keep our pantry and food items manageable. This includes nixing that extra grocery trip for 10-lbs of potatoes because all I want is a bowl of porcini mushroom soup. It also includes attempting to eat as much of our stockpiled odds and ends as possible – pantry and fridge alike. So I’ve been trying to dig up recipes that use plenty of lentils, rice and beans, since I always have way too many bags of each in my pantry.

By the way, have I told you what I’m using for a “pantry” in my teeny tiny, awful apartment kitchen? A crappy old bookshelf.

Now, I hope you can see why thoughts of my beautiful, teal, soon-to-be kitchen have consumed my thoughts.

Ok, I’ll stop blabbering about my house. That I love.

Already.

Back to my pantry and my attempt to cook with it. Hey, it’s not an easy feat, people. I’ve been up to my ears in lentil soup lately, so I decided that I wanted to try something a bit different. Something a bit risky … something baked … and cheesy …

Enchiladas!

I’ve been finding recipes for them all over the place, but the majority called for a laundry list of ingredients: queso fresco, echilada sauce, jalapenos, eight OTHER different kinds of peppers and/or salsa. Please take note, that none of these things exist in my pantry at the moment. But I decided to approach enchiladas as more of a “theory.” Go ahead, call me a nerd, I don’t care. My basic understanding of the dish was: creaming/delicious filling rolled up into tortillas which then have some kind of sauce poured over top and then they are baked until they are crispy, gooey and delicious all at the same time.

If you’re an enchilada devotee, my version may seem way off base. Sacrilegious, even. But I can accept that, because if I did have those ingredients in my pantry, you can bet your enchilada-lovin’ you-know-what that I’d have used them.

I will stop with the colloquialisms and kitschy sayings now … sorry  =)

Now that we have the disclaimer out of the way, we can get to the good stuff.

Vegetarian Two-Bean Pantry Enchiladas

1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup cooked rice
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 can cooked white beans (you can also use kidney or pinto beans for this, anything except for black beans – those show up later)
1 cup asiago cheese, shredded and divided
1 cup colby cheese, shredded and divided
1/2 cup of plain yogurt (or sour cream if you’d like)
Smoked paprika
Cumin
Parsley
Salt and pepper
1 can black beans
1/4 cup water
Annie’s Ranch Dressing (I’m only listing the brand so you don’t judge me too much)

Tortillas (I used ones that were way too large – more for burritos, so I only had space for 4 – I recommend smaller ones)

I know it’s a daunting list of ingredients, but bear with me!

Saute your onions in the butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally until they’re soft and lightly browned and add the garlic, cooking until just fragrant. Add rice, corn and white beans, stirring to combine. Add yogurt, stir and let the mixture heat.

When it’s just about bubbling (be very careful to not let it boil!), add half the shredded asiago and half of the shredded colby.  and stir until well melted. Delicious strings of cheese should come off the spoon. Feel free to adjust your cheese here – you don’t have to use that much, you can add more … you can change what type of cheese you use. Stir in paprika, cumin, parsley salt and pepper to taste. I have no measurements, since I like to finagle my spices!

Spoon this mixture into the center of the tortillas, roll them and place them seam-side down into a greased/buttered/oiled 9×13 baking dish. I recommend steaming the tortillas in the microwave first, so they’re soft and pliable. Repeat until your dish is filled. Also, this is important, only … one … layer. Learn from my mistake dear readers who find this blog via wordpress tags and my tumblog!

Pour black beans into a sauce pan with water over medium-high heat and stir vigorously, to mash a few up and create a more sauce-like consistency. Add more liquid if need be, but it shouldn’t be watery. When hot, pour this mixture evenly over the wrapped enchiladas. Lightly drizzle some ranch over the enchiladas. Do NOT soak them, people! Light drizzle!

Sprinkle the remaining cheese evenly over the enchiladas and pop ‘em in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes. They’re done with the cheese is melted and bubbly and the tortillas are crisp.

Serve with a little more yogurt if you wish, and a sprinkling of paprika and parsley.

Next time, when I’m not hampered by my pantry’s lack of food, I want to try to use fire roasted tomatoes for the sauce that tops the enchiladas. However, if you do it my way with the beans, I’d recommend adding a tablespoon or two of yogurt to the black bean mixture to make it more saucy.

Also, love this because it’s very customizable. Add or ingredients. Play around with spiciness. Clean out your pantry and/or freezer.

Anyway, enjoy these gooey little delights. I’m making another batch tonight. What else would you add to enchiladas that are common pantry or freezer staples?

We are just one month (ONE MONTH!) away from moving, so I feel like I should cram as many posts as possible into the next four weeks, because I doubt I will have time with all my planned painting and projects. Plus, the weather is starting to get warm and I see a lot of afternoons where I want to run home and walk the puppy instead of writing a blog post.

Additionally … my weird job (that I can only describe vaguely) is changing. That means a lot of training, and a lot less time to hop around the internet and write blog posts for you all to read.

Whew.

Sorry for that disjointed disclaimer for my possible lack of posts in the future. I DO want to keep this going, however, so I’m going to share one of my absolute favorite recipes of all time. Seriously! I make this recipe at least once a month, if not closer to once a week. I think you’ll find it’s a great way to … reset … after a particularly grueling week or a weekend of too much fun and celebration. For that reason, I often make this on Sunday. From it, I’m able to set the previous week and fun weekend behind me, and look ahead with clarity to what’s coming in the next seven days.

Oh, and it’s relatively inexpensive.

And healthy.

And variable.

It’s perfect with a sandwich and your favorite movie.

Before I get started however, I have to note that this is NOT my recipe … and then I have to start gushing about Heidi. Have you been to 101cookbooks.com? Heidi’s website was the catalyst for my vegetarian whole foods obsession. I’d already started dabbling in vegetarian eating, but these recipes made me see what eating healthy, whole (unprocessed) foods was all about. Plus, every recipe I’ve tried is an recipe I’ve absolutely fallen in love with. From the rich and earthy Porcini Mushroom Soup (which I’m making for dinner tonight, by the way) to the reimagined Mushroom Casserole of our mothers’ to the TLT – remedy for the days when all I want is a bacon sandwich and I need to behave myself.

However, in our household, this recipe takes the cake. It wins out over just about everything else I could make: even recipes that take more time, are more complicated, use more exotic ingredients (or more cheese).

You can link to Heidi’s website here, or to the right among the list of food blogs I adore and stalk and drool over. Below, I’ve reproduced the recipe as I make it, but I encourage you to visit her page with the original recipe. Along with stellar recipes, you’ll find beautiful photography and insightful writing, along with links to her two cookbooks – one of which isn’t released … and I’m getting antsy for it!

Anyway, this is a very simple soup, and therefor requires the highest quality of ingredients and special attention to salt and flavor balance. This also could be done very quickly by skipping the step where you simmer the garlic in the broth. I do it just because garlic always makes me feel better, and as I’ve said, this is my “recovering health and clarity” recipe.

Orzo Soup

7 cups good quality vegetable broth (I recommend homemade)
5-10 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed, but otherwise relatively whole

1 1/2 cups orzo (I’ve also used rice and quinoa, but I’ve precooked them)
3 cups fresh spinach
4 egg whites

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
14 oz (canned is fine) diced, fire roasted tomatoes
Red pepper flakes, to taste
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Salt

Parmesan, grated, to finish

Bring your vegetable broth to a boil and add garlic cloves. Drop the heat down to a simmer, cover and let the broth simmer away and extract all the flavor from the garlic cloves. I usually allow 45 minutes to an hour, but as I said above, you can totally skip this step if you’re in a time crunch. Simply leave the garlic out entirely.

If you do take this step, after your 45 minutes to an hour is up, fish out the cloves with a slotted spoon and discard. Bring the broth back up to a boil and add your orzo, cooking until tender. When it’s cooked through, stir in the spinach.

While the orzo is cooking, combine in a small sauce or saute pan, heat the tomatoes, red pepper flakes and smoked paprika with a splash of olive oil.

Just before serving, slowly whisk in the egg whites into the simmering soup – they’ll look almost like ragged leaves, such as you’d find in egg drop soup (which essentially this is). Taste your salt and adjust if needed. I mentioned above that salt is key here. Add a bit at a time until the flavor of the soup is bright and refreshing.

Ladle the soup into bowls, and top with a spoonful or two of the tomato mixture and a dusting of parmesan. Now – and here is a key to why I love, love, love this soup – add a thin drizzle of olive oil around the bowl and/or over the tomatoes. Not TOO thick, but enough to have a visible golden thread around the bowl. This adds a rich, velvety dimension with a beautiful bright, strong flavor to each spoonful. You might be tempted to leave this out … but I’m telling you right now that you will thank yourself for adding it.

Yum!

Deceptively simple, and deceptively freaking delicious. One of the reasons I chose to post this today is because it was Matt’s request for Valentine’s Day dinner. Neither of us are big “V-Day” people, as I don’t expect shiny things and he doesn’t expect to have to take me out. We just enjoy an evening together and I offered to cook. Bam! Orzo Soup request.

Edit: When I mentioned it’s variable, thats because you can tweak this to suit all kinds of needs. I’ve added tofu to it for a bit more protein kick, sometimes mushrooms. To the tomatoes, I sometimes leave off the paprika, add some peppers or some chili sauce. I’ve also used cooked rice or quinoa in place of the orzo. You could swap the spinach for chard, sauteed bok choy or kale (mmmmm! kale!). Just some thoughts!

Make it, and you’ll find in front of you a big bowl of nice, warm, almost creamy comfort. Vegans, feel free to leave off the eggs. You’ll have a different dish, but it’s still very good. I also always love that this isn’t too heavy. It’s just right. And, as I said … great with a good sandwich. Maybe it’s time for a TLT? Yes?

However, I have not been deaf to all the health benefits associated with this tough, leafy green. Fiber and calcium as well as vitamins A, K and C. Plus, kale helps lower cholesterol levels and contains tons of antioxidants, anti-carcinogenic nutrients and anti-inflammatory nutrients. It’s really not hard to see that kale is incredibly, incredibly good for you.

But I was so scared of it! So tough and leafy. So reminiscent of my awful steakhouse job. So easy to use spinach instead.

Then the day came where this all changed. I was debating on which container of organic spinach to purchase, mostly on price. $4 vs $7, when I saw a big bag of chopped kale. Twice the amount of spinach, and half the price, and I decided I needed to stop being ridiculous and jump on the kale-wagon.

Since then, it’s been a torrid love affair. One that Matt is not as excited about, since he doesn’t exactly like kale in every dish.

Which is exactly what I’ve been doing.

I love it because not only is it full of great nutrients as I’ve already pointed out, but it also fills me up. When I eat a salad or soup chock full of this awesome leafy green, I don’t have any more desire to keep munching. Big perk … because I’m the ultimate 10-pm, makin’ a sandwich girl.

Lately, I’ve been going to town on some mac and cheese. It’s been cold, I’ve been stressed, and those yellow boxes of Velveeta are soooo easy. And so bad for me. Last night when I came home, I was craving fresh, clean and natural flavors. Something simple and filling, with a little guilty pleasure of (real) cheese.

Kale and Lentil Salad with Parmesan and Pepper Jack

(note: this recipe only serves 1 – feel free to double as you see fit)

1/4  dry green lentils
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups kale, chopped
1 lemon
1/2 to 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon walnut oil
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons pepperjack cheese, shredded (swiss, gruyere, fontina … any number of easily-melting cheese will work!)
Salt and pepper
Crushed red pepper (optional)

Cover your lentils with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil, cooking until just tender. In salads, I don’t like mushy lentils, so I leave mine with a bit of resistance in the bite.

When you have about 10 minutes left of cooking time, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Add the kale, and toss the pan to coat. While the kale cooks, squeeze the lemon juice into the pan (or into a separate bowl to catch any seeds, and then over the kale). Toss to coat again. The kale is done when it’s bright green and the stems are pleasantly chewy – totally up to you. Try not to overcook it, because you don’t want to leach out all the nutrients (also why you should avoid boiling kale!). When it’s done, add the butter and go ahead and turn off the heat. Leave it in the pan and sprinkle salt and pepper, to taste, over the whole delicious mess. The butter will melt in the still-warm pan while you’re finishing the lentils.

When the lentils are done, drain them and put them in a bowl. Add the walnut oil and sesame oil. Be careful, since these two oils are very strong-tasting. Try a little bit of each first, stir and then taste the lentils. Also, don’t let the lentils sit in the bowl for two long. If they finish before the kale, keep them in the pot over warm until the kale is ready. When you’ve dressed them in the oil, sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the top. This is why you want the lentils to stay nice and warm! Shake a bit of crushed red pepper into the bowl, depending on how spicy you like your food.

By now, the butter in the pan with the kale is at least mostly melted. Give the pan one last stir to coat everything, and then pour the kale over the parmesan-covered lentils. Sprinkle the shredded pepper jack cheese on top of everything (it will melt beautifully into the salad). Serve right away!

I don’t know how I came up with this salad. I don’t. I just kind of … followed my instincts and my body’s needs and went with what sounded good. For once, it worked! This was so delicious. It was everything I wanted, with tons of flavor and packed full of great protein and fiber, with minimal fat. You could definitely veganize this and leave out the butter and cheese, or substitute Earth Balance and Daiya.

This salad filled me up too, and completely discouraged any munching and gave me a surprising amount of energy. Though great for dinner, I’m going to try to eat it for lunch today too, and see how I feel during my usual 3 pm “I’m so tired I want to chug a gallon of coffee” ritual. The flavor is incredibly rich, and the modest sprinkling of cheese makes it jsut a wee bit creamy (pairs perfectly with the tangy lemon).

Sometimes … it pays off to listen to your body =)

We’ve been distracted trying to get our apartment cleaned up and ::ahem:: acceptable to visiting eyes, since our pesky slumlord, er, landlord will be showing the place. Apparently whenever they damn well please, too. So, I hope they like 65 lbs of Border Collie, because she most certainly will like them. Adamantly.

Anyway, I wanted to share this quick idea with you, because I tried it last night with amazing, amazing results. Like I said, we’re trying to make our apartment look and feel nice for visitors, especially surprise visitors. One big chore was making the place smell nice. Let’s be honest, owning three cats and a dog can make our place smell a bit musty. We can’t open the windows because they’re painted shut (BIG frustration there), and also because it’s freezing outside. While perusing various home/garden/kitchen/craft blogs this week, I stumbled on an ingenious idea.

So ingenious, that I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t already thought of it.

What one thing, without fail, makes your home smell amazing? What one little thing will always brighten up a friend’s or lover’s face when they walk in the door?

Mmmmmm – home cooking! So, I encourage you, my wonderful reader or two out there in the world, to make soup! But not your ordinary soup … not a soup you are ever going to actually eat. EVER.

First of all, start saving all of your citrus and fruit peels and castoffs in a ziplock bag in the freezer. Start right now. Peel an orange for breakfast? Add the peels to the bag. Squeeze a lemon into a pan of pasta? Toss the whole, squeezed lemon on in. Mealy apples that you don’t want to eat, but are otherwise a-ok? Yep. Make sure you keep this in the freezer and keep it sealed tightly.

When you have at least a handful or so of citrus scraps (lemon and lime go well together, as do lemon and orange), you can get started!

Bring a pot of water to a boil, and add your desired combination of fruit scraps and peels. Boil for a few minutes, and then turn down to a low simmer. Check back every half hour or so to make sure there’s enough water in the pan, and add more as needed. I kept my most recent one going for about 5 or 6 hours.

Along with fruit peels, explore your spice pantry and get creative! Here’s the exact combination I used last night, followed by a couple other ideas …

Winter Citrus Simmer Pot

1 lemon, peel and what flesh remained after I’d squeezed it
Peel from two small navel oranges
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cinnamon sticks

It made the musty, cat-filled apartment smell amazing! Matt kept getting cravings for cookies and desserts and I found him a few times rummaging through our pantry to see if we could bake anything sweet. Also, this has the added benefit of acting like a humidifier – a great perk for this dry winter air!

I’d also love to add:

Walnut Oil
Lemon Extract/Oil
Pear and Apple peels
Whole Cloves
Star Anise
Bay Leaves
Chinese 5-spice Powder
Dried Lavender or Oil
Ginger Peels
Tea Tree Oil
Lemongrass

In fact, I’m heading home on my lunch break and I think I’ll start a new one, since my “soup” from last night is a bit exhausted.

OH! And, though not cooking related really, here’s another idea for you! Instead of throwing out old, wick-less, unlightable candles, save similar scents together in a bag. When you need to freshen your house a bit, toss one of the candles in an old slow cooker. Make sure it’s an old one that you won’t use for food any more, because I’m pretty sure that if the wax melts … the interior ceramic pot is gonezo. Anyway, toss the candle in, turn it on and the heat will cause the wonderful scent to spread all over your home.

Neat, right?

I also know I’ve been griping about my current food budget (HA! What food budget??), but I’ve started to adjust and learn to make some pretty good stuff with the meager means I have at the moment. And, if you haven’t noticed or if you live in the U.S. Virgin Islands (damn you!), it’s winter time. Winter means cold, cold weather. I work in a cold office, I live in a cold, drafty apartment building and drive a car with a wonky heating system. So I’m a cold lil otter, and when I’m cold … I want mac and cheese.

***Oh, and ATTENTION PSEUDOREADERS!!! I FINALLY learned what I was doing wrong with my goopy mac and cheese issues …

… so I’m totally able to make my own mac and cheese now. Stay tuned and be afraid!***

Anyway, so when I’m cold I almost always want mac and cheese. However, 99% of the time I eat mac and cheese other than homemade, I feel awful 10 minutes later and remind myself that this is why I gave up processed foods in the first place. Uggh. Unfortunately, sometimes you just need something warm and covered in sauce to get your blood moving when it’s 17 degrees outside.

Well, I do anyway.

So I’ve been bookmarking all kinds of comfort foods: casseroles, moussakas, panades, vegetable bakes, mac and cheese (I’m sorry people, I love it so much) and countless pasta combinations. Plus drinks, lots and lots of drinks, from mulled cider to an amazing dulce de leche liquor – which may or may not having something to do with the jar of dulce de leche sitting in my fridge. Keep your eye for THAT one, because it’s happening as soon as I get my hands on a bottle of vodka. One recipe really stood out while I was doing all this searching and drooling. Lasagna. Mostly because the only lasagnas I’ve ever had were from a bright orange box and burnt on the edge and frozen in the middle, at my university’s cafeteria or at the restaurant where I used to work (old, dry and full of suspect meat). Sub par to say the least.

Lasagna.

Sounds so delicious, but I’ve spent my whole life disappointed. I kept trying that stupid orange box, and I kept hating it. I didn’t go anywhere near my university’s version, and the restaurant version was always one of those that veteran servers warned me away from. So disappointing! I became determined to make my own. Except … it always sounds like a lot of work. A lot of precooking and parboiling. Oh and then it has to spend a million hours in the oven and by then I would have just crawled into a box of Velveeta and said, “Goodnight, moon.”

Enter the slow cooker. The beautiful machine that saved me from slaving over stock pots or turning down the heat on a stew every 20 minutes. Slow cooker … I love you.

And now I love you even more, because you brought this into my life …

Slow Cooker Lasagna*

1 box lasagna noodles, uncooked
1 jar (or approximately 24 oz) pasta sauce (the jar is more a measuring tool for later on, so if you have an old one, just use as much sauce as you like and keep the jar handy!)
1/2 onion, chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
12 oz mushrooms
1 1/2 cups spinach or kale
1 container of ricotta cheese
2-3 cups mozzarella, shredded
1-2 cups parmesan

*Before I lay into the actual “how-to,” let me just say that this is an extremely subjective recipe. Add more or less cheese. Add more sauce. Forget the spinach and add Morningstar gorund “beef’ crumbles. Super subjective. Also, many other recipes will have you mix the ricotta and parmesan with an egg to form a batter … maybe this works, I still have to try it and let you know. Also, I have a rather large, slow cooker, around 4-6 quarts. Please adjust this recipe accordingly. Without further ado, here’s how I’ve been rocking it …

Pour your pasta sauce into a saucepan along with the onion and garlic over low heat (SAVE YOUR JAR! DO NOT RINSE!). Give it a good stir, and leave it alone to heat. At this point, I also turned on my slowcooker so that it could get a headstart on heating. When the sauce was hot,spoon a layer into the bottom of the slowcooker. Then, add a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles. I had to break a lot of the noodles, but this is absolutely fine. This won’t be the prettiest lasagna, but it’s going to be delicious. So, cover the sauce layer with a layer of uncooked noodles, broken and whole alike.

Layer your ricotta, followed by mushrooms and spinach on top of the noodles. Then add a sprinkle of mozzarella and a sprinkle of Parmesan. Follow this with another ladle of your heated pasta sauce. Then lasagna noodles, then ricotta, then mushrooms and spinach – etc. Just keep repeating your layers. This sounds crazy, but in the end, the order itself won’t matter too much. It’ll be a big saucy mess of your own customized goodness. Try to save about 1/2 cup of mozzarella for the top of the lasagna – you’ll add this cheese in the last 20 minutes or so of cooking.

When you get near the top, make sure you end in a layer of red sauce, and then a layer of noodles. Top this off with one more ladle of pasta sauce to cover the noodles. Now, take that empty sauce jar that I know you saved and DIDN’T rinse, and fill it halfway with water. Shake it up, to get some of that yummy tomato left behind. Pour the water slowly over the lasagna mixture. I filled the jar about halfway, but you might need a bit more. General rule of thumb I follow is to add the water until just before it gets to the top of the lasagna. Cover it and let it do its thing.

Now here’s the tricky part … you can cook this on low the whole time for 4-6 hours until the noodles are soft. That’s fine. I alternated, because I was worried I added too much water. So every once in a while, I popped that sucker on high, took off the lid and let it simmer for a bit to take off some of the water. That’s your call. Definitely trial and error. If you see some noodles poking out of the mixture and getting a bit dry, don’t worry. You can push it back down into the liquid, no harm, no foul. Like I said … this lasagna isn’t going to win beauty contests, but it will make your tummy win the gold in Olympic gymnastics.

Now, about 20 minutes before it’s done, take off the lid, sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on top and replace the cover. Let it melt. Let it get delicious. Usually, you want to let casseroles and the like rest for a bit, so that they can reabsorb some of the water that exists naturally during the cooking process. So just turn off your slow cooker, take of the lid if you wish and just let it sit for about 10 minutes. Trust me, it will not get cold. I pinky swear.

After about 10 minutes, start dolloping this messy, gooey WONDERFUL thing onto plates. I recommend garlic bread and a great salad. Your boyfriend/wife/husband/girlfriend/partner/soulmate/parents/neighbors/grandparents/coworkers etc … are going to love you.

Despite how delicious this is, here are a few changes I should have made to the particular recipe above:

1. Added mushrooms into the sauce itself, rather than layers. Not a faux pas … but it might have changed the texture for the better.
2. More ricotta – This recipe is definitely more sauce-focused
3. More mozzarella – because you always need more mozarella. Next time, I want to use mozzarella slices instead of shredded.
4. Added seasonings to the pasta sauce, such as thyme or tarragon. Though it’s hard to season this with salt and pepper as you go, you’ll need to season each individually, or have salt and pepper on hand when you eat.
5. Layered the noodles a bit more thickly in each individual layer. Like I said, this was very sauce focused. A good thing, but I’d have liked a bit more noodle action.

Now, I’d love some more suggestions on what ELSE I can do with this amazing lasagna! Or what else I can do with my newfound best friend slowcooker. And perfect timing to go reheat MY lasagna from last night!

I haven’t given up on you, I promise! But when I said things were busy in the Pseudohousehold … I wasn’t lying! Matt and I weren’t expecting to find a house so quickly, but we did. We close on March 15 and couldn’t be more thrilled. You should be excited too, since it has a wonderful kitchen, and I’ll be much less poor and able to buy good food again to experiment and cook delicious things.

It has a breakfast nook! Matt and I can’t wait to spend our evenings here, cooking and catching up on our day. I love how the fridge has it’s own compartment, so It’s not sticking out in the way.

We’ll be switching to electric appliances (unfortunately), but I love the extra counter space and the warmth. I can’t wait to start cooking here! So, you see why I’ve been so busy and so distracted, food blog. However, come March 15 when I have a real pantry and not a bookshelf, and full size oven, stove and fridge, we’ll be doing a lot more cooking together.

In the meantime, I want to finally share the recipe I made over the holidays. Our family celebrations can be kind of large, and many people have specific dietary needs and preferences. Matt’s brother and sister-in-law are vegans, our diet is plant-based, though we’re okay with eggs and dairy, our moms doesn’t like anything remotely spicey and his dad is meat and potatoes, through and through, and also a diabetic. So, sometimes it can be difficult to figure out what to cook. This recipe … was perfect. I found it in the archives on The Kitchn and did a bit of tweaking to make it suit my winter needs (and tight budget).

It reignited my love of pearl couscous and asparagus, and I discovered the special place in my heart where goat cheese now lives – figuratively of course, because otherwise that would be scary. For our holiday meal, we served the goat cheese on the side, making this vegan friendly. For the sake of price, season, ease and my own personal taste, I did alter the original a bit. And unfortunately, there were no Meyer lemons to be found …

“Meyer” Lemon Grain Salad with Asparagus, Almonds and Goat Cheese

adapted from The Kitchn

12 oz Pearl Couscous
1 lb raw asparagus
Olive oil for roasting
1 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1 medium-sized orange, zested and juiced
1 lemon, zested and juiced
3 oz soft goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 tablespoon walnut oil
Salt and pepper
4 oz goat cheese

Cook the couscous according to package directions. Alternatively, if you buy in bulk, bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add couscous and stir until water is absorbed, adding more as needed until it’s al dente and dry. Set aside in a large mixing bowl. Please note, you can also use a mix of grains: wheat berries, farrow and/or spelt in addition to the couscous. Cook all separately and mix together.

Snap off the woody ends of the asparagus, cut into 2-inch pieces and place in a roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil, toss to coat and roast in a 400-degree oven until cooked, about ten minutes. Toss with the grain. Add to this mixture the toasted almonds and orange and lemon zest.

Whisk the orange and lemon juice with the oils, taste and adjust. This is the really imprecise part. I adjusted countless times. Be very careful adding in the walnut oil, as it’s very, very strong. Toss this mixture with the couscous, asparagus and almonds, and salt and pepper to taste.

I LOVE this salad, and so did everyone else. We served the goat cheese on the side, but in the times I’ve made it since, I’ve mixed it right in with the hot asparagus and toasted almonds. My only complaint about this dish, was keeping it warm! It tends to cool very quickly. Next time I take it to a potluck style dinner, I’ll bring it in a slow cooker and set it on low. Other than that, this dish is so light and refreshing! The pearl couscous (and DO make sure you use the pearl variety, also known as Israeli cousous) isn’t heavy and doesn’t steal the show. It more provides a vehicle for the beautiful citrus and walnut flavors to shine, leveled out with the wonderful, earthy asparagus. As an alternative, you can also briefly saute the asparagus until tender instead of roasting it, but I have a weak spot for roasty, earthy, creamy asparagus.

Like I said, vegans, veggies, omnivores and decided carnivores all loved this. In fact, I’m making it again this week to make sure I have something to bring to work for lunch. I’d love to add more veggies to this too. Maybe some fresh parsley? Kale or spinach? Also, I hope I can find some Meyer lemons this spring!