*I’m proud to partner with Watkins to bring you this story and recipe. It’s quite evident in my recipes that I’m a big fan of flavor and I rely on good, fresh organic spices and dried herbs. Watkins uses only USDA Certified Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified ingredients in its spices, spice blends, and herbs. You can find their products at Watkins1868.com and select stores nationwide.

As always, the words and photos are mine. I appreciate your support and the companies who graciously partner with me so I can continue to share my stories through the recipes that fill our table.

You may have heard of the popular street food recipe in Mexico called Elote. If not, it’s an incredible dish that starts with corn on the cob; grilled until blackened and smoky then slathered in a creamy and spicy sauce before being rolled in cheese then finished with fresh lime juice. It is now absolutely my preferred way of eating corn. Esquites is the same idea but minus the cob. Corn kernels are blackened (or the cobs are grilled then the kernels removed) and then mixed with mayonnaise, cheese, chili powder, cilantro leaves, ground cumin, adobo seasoning and lots of lime.

Because I’m a believer in “all things are better when wrapped in a tortilla” we’ve turned this classic Mexican corn dish into a taco. It’s paired with what is basically a chunky guacamole that is loaded with scallions and a touch of sour cream (or if you’re an Antoni fan you can use Greek yogurt).

This recipe is written to feed a crowd or to have plenty of leftovers. I also added slow simmered pinto beans to bulk up the tacos but you can add grilled fish, chicken, steak, or carnitas – the options are endless.

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Esquites Tacos

Author Ashley Rodriguez

Ingredients

Esquites

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup crumbled Cotija or Parmesan cheese

2 tsp lime zest

1/4 cup lime juice

1/2 tsp salt1 tsp Watkins Organic Chili Powder

2 TBL butter

8 corn cobs, kernels removed (or about 24 ounces corn kernels – you can use frozen corn here too)

Instructions

In a medium size bowl stir together the mayonnaise, cheese, lime zest, juice, salt and chili powder. Feel free to add more chili powder if you want more heat.

Add the butter to a large skillet set over medium high heat. When the butter sizzles add the corn then let blacken. Give a quick stir after a couple of minutes then let sit again. Add a hefty pinch of salt then turn off the heat.

Stir the blackened corn into the creamy mayonnaise mixture.

Alternately you can grill the corn cobs then let cool and remove the kernels from the cob before stirring into the creamy sauce.

Creamy Avocado and Scallion Salsa

2 large avocados, peeled and diced

5 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced

2 TBL sour cream

1/2 tsp Watkins Organic Ground Cumin

1/2 tsp Watkins Organic Adobo Seasoning Pinch salt

1 TBL fresh lime juice

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 TBL minced jalapeño (more or less depending on your spice preference)

1 TBL Watkins Organic Cilantro Leaves

In a medium size bowl stir together the avocado, scallions, cumin, adobo, salt, lime juice, garlic, jalapeño and dried cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired

Tacos

12 small flour or corn tortillas

Meat or beans (optional)

Crumbled cotija or queso fresco

Pickled jalapeños

Warm the tortillas then serve with meat or beans, esquites, salsa and whatever other toppings you prefer. I’ve listed my favorites.

I feel like celebrating. It’s been a year (give or take a day or so) since Let’s Stay In hit the bookstores and I’m feeling sentimental. This little book went out to the world with a bit of fanfare and then I just left it to do its thing. Hoping, praying and crossing my fingers that the recipes will find their way into your homes, around your table and perhaps even into the stories of your families. I’ve received so many incredible messages throughout the year that indicate that my prayers were answered.

Thank you for trusting me with your time, your resources and with those precious moments spent around the table. I’m overwhelmed with gratitude today as I reflect on the incredible gift it is to be able to share this work. Just like any job there are many moments where it feels just like work. That’s when I sit back, often head into the kitchen just to cook and revel in the goodness.

Words fail me so let’s just celebrate this little occasion with a warming, special yet delightfully simple dinner. It’s what I’ll be making tonight and I hope you join me. Connecting with you all over recipes really does bring an intimacy that is felt beyond the computer screen.

Thanks for all the support and for enjoying and sharing the work I do. It would not happen without you all.

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Oven Baked Risotto with Butternut Squash and Candied Rosemary Walnuts

Author Ashley Rodriguez

Yield 4-6 servings

As much as I love cooking the reality is most days don’t afford me the luxury of gingerly stirring a pot for an hour with a glass of Pinot in hand. But just because that’s my reality doesn’t mean I can’t have risotto on a regular basis. Enter oven-baked risotto. This no-stir method produces a creamy, satisfying result without all the stirring (don’t worry, you can still have the wine in hand while the oven does all the work). 

The process starts with a cold oven so that pesky preheating isn’t even an issue here. And if fall is a season or two away feel free to skip the squash and candied walnuts and go for say, roasted asparagus with peas. Or how about roasted corn and tomato laced with twangy goat cheese and a few wisps of basil? The adaptability here makes this dinner a perfect candidate for cleaning out your fridge.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons/ 60 g unsalted butter, divided

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, divided

1 large onion, diced about 3 cups/ 450 g 

2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary leaves

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced, about 4 cups / 540 g 

1 1/4 cups/ 250 g arborio rice

4 cups/960 ml chicken or vegetable stock

1 cup/ 240 ml white wine, divided

1 cup/ 10 g finely grated Parmesan

1/2 cup/ 60 g crumbled gorgonzola (optional)

Instructions

Add 2 tablespoons butter to a large skillet. Stir in the onions and rosemary and sauté over medium heat until they just start to color, about 15 minutes. Add the butternut squash and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt then continue to cook for 5 minutes. In a 9×13 baking dish add the rice, stock, remaining 2 tablespoons butter, and 1 teaspoon sea salt then stir in the butternut squash mixture. Place the dish in the middle rack of your oven. Turn the oven to 400°F. Bake the rice for 30 minutes stirring about halfway through. The rice should still be ever so chewy. Remove the rice from the oven then stir in the remaining 1/2 cup white wine and the parmesan. Serve with the candied walnuts and gorgonzola crumbles, if using. Serve while warm.

*Leftovers? Breaded in Panko crumbs leftover risotto fries up beautifully in a skillet with just a bit of oil. Add an egg if the risotto is not wanting to hold together. 

Candied Rosemary Walnuts

1 cup/ 120 g walnuts

1/4 cup/ 50 g sugar

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves

Flake salt

Add the walnuts, sugar, and rosemary leaves to a dry skillet set over medium high heat. Stir occasionally as the sugar melts and caramelizes. Don’t leave the pan as the walnuts and sugar can easily burn. As the sugar starts to melt stir continuously until completely melted and the walnuts have shifted in color. The sugar will start to smoke but continue to cook until deeply caramelized. Carefully dump the caramelized walnuts onto a plate, sprinkle with flake salt then let cool. 

I won’t take up too much of your time because at this point your turkey is probably defrosting and menu plans are well underway. But I didn’t want to let the holiday pass us by without sharing this recipe for a simple, bright and fresh slaw. While I am one to honor the traditional flavors and dishes that Thanksgiving brings I am always eager for a bit of health and heft on the table.

This slaw is just ever-so-slightly creamy with the addition of a bit of mayonnaise in the dressing. The cranberries pop and cause a bit of a pleasant pucker from their bath in a sweet and spiced brine. Green apple carries another hit of sweet tang while heaps of fresh dill and scallion nudge the salad back toward the savory. All of this to say it’s a delicious salad that will sit beautifully on our holiday table next to our smoked turkey with a bourbon and bacon gravy and fresh corn and cornbread stuffing.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving brimming with gratitude and grace.

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Brussels Sprout and Green Apple Slaw with Pickled Cranberries

Author Ashley Rodriguez

Ingredients

Pickled Cranberries

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup water

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

4 cloves

Pinch salt

8 ounces cranberries ( about 2 cups)

Dressing

1/3 cup pickling liquid

3 tablespoons mayo

Salt

Salad

8 cups shredded Brussels (about 1 pound)

2 small green apples, diced or julienned

1 cup chopped dill

3 green onions, white and green parts thinly sliced

Instructions

Pickle the cranberries:

In a medium saucepan combine the vinegar, sugar, water, salt and spices and bring to a simmer. Add the cranberries then turn off the heat. Let cool. These can be made up to 3 days in advance. Cover and refrigerate.

Make the dressing:

In a small bowl whisk together the pickling brine with the mayonnaise. Add a pinch of salt. Taste and adjust to your liking. It should have a bit of bite to it.

Assemble the salad:

In a large bowl combine the brussels sprouts, green apple, dill, scallions, and dressing. Mix well to combine. Drain the remaining bring off the cranberries then add to the salad.

Serve straightaway.

The quietness in this space is in no way an indication of a lack of cooking. The cooking I have been doing has been less calculated and getting back to the pure pleasure of tossing in this and that without pausing to grab the measuring cups. For months I detailed the intricacies of what hits our dinner table. I measured salt down to the grain for the purpose of writing another cookbook (coming out October 2!!) so it’s been a lovely reprieve to simply cook and eat.

The table at the shop has been full. I have found my favorite spot in this space. It’s behind the stove, tucked into the kitchen watching the full table pass around the platters of food and joyously clean their plates. I love hearing the dull roar soar to a raucous booming filling our little space.

These simple sprouts are a riff of a recent recipe I served here at the shop. The process of separating the leaves from the Brussels Sprouts may seem daunting and it can be but it’s the sort of task that is almost meditative. That is if you don’t have little children clamoring at your feet eager for dinner and saddened by the site of these little green vegetables. You could just as easily quarter them but there is nothing quite as divine as the crispy frilly leaves basted in a salty and sweet bath. In fact, I think my diners were fearful that I had burnt their lunch when this platter hit the table but after one bite and you taste the smokey char from a deep roast (*ahem* burn) in the oven they saw the intention behind my madness.

Equally delicious is this same sort of method on broccoli. You could also substitute the fish sauce for soy if you prefer.

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Frizzled Brussels Sprout Leaves with Chili and Maple

Author Ashley Rodriguez

Yield 4-6 Servings

Ingredients

1 pound brussels sprouts

2 tablespoons olive oil

Sea salt

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 Calabrian chili, finely chopped (or 1/4 teaspoon chili flake)

1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan

1/2 small lemon

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 425°F and line a sheet tray with parchment paper then set aside.

Trim the ends off the brussels sprouts then pull off the outer leaves. Trim more off the end to release more of the leaves. Once the sprouts get too small to pull off individual leaves quarter what remains.

Add the Brussels sprouts to the sheet pan then drizzle with the olive oil and add a couple of hefty pinches of sea salt. Roast for 25 minutes in the top third of the oven. Stir halfway through.

In a small bowl whisk together the fish sauce, maple syrup, and Calabrian chili.

Take the sprouts out of the oven. Then 5. pour the sauce all over, stir well to coat. Top with the Parmesan and again stir to evenly coat.

Turn the oven to broil then crisp up the leaves for 3 to 5 minutes. Watch this process closely and stir often but don’t be afraid of the char. This is where deep, roasty and bitter flavors come from.

Transfer the sprouts to a serving platter then finish with a squeeze of lemon. Serve while warm or at room temperature.

It takes a lot for me to say something is perfect. Perfection isn’t really worth striving for but for us this chicken is as close as it gets.

There are endless variations. Sometimes there’s a mustard laced butter studded with herbs that I nudge under the skin. Other times there are a few lemons and shallots tucked into the cavity. More often than not there is a bed of potatoes roasting alongside But this version, in its most basic form is the one I turn to again and again. And as the first sign of cooler weather is making its appearance I have this simple roast chicken to look forward to on repeat.

While the herbs are still abundant in the market make this vibrant sauce to accompany. Later in the season I recommend switching to a seedy mustard aioli with perhaps a few pickled peppers finely minced and thrown in there as well.

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Perfect Roast Chicken with Salsa Verde

Cook 1 hour

Total 1 hour

Author Ashley Rodriguez

Yield 4-6 servings

Ingredients

1 3 (or so) pound chicken

2 teaspoons sea salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

Green Sauce

1 bunch scallions (about 5 to 7), white and light green parts thinly sliced

2 cups herbs (mint, dill, chives) finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

Zest and juice from a medium lemon

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds

Instructions

Pre-Seasoning

This step is absolutely key. Thoroughly salt and pepper the chicken 12 – 24 hours in advance.

We were once taught that salt should be applied just before cooking meat as it draws water out leaving the meat dry and tough BUT when you salt well in advance some water is drawn out and then reabsorbed. The salt not only flavors the skin but makes its way deeper into the flesh seasoning throughout. Each bite is perfectly seasoned – not tasting salty but rather more of chicken. Salting 1-3 days in advance actually makes the meat more moist and tender. I do this for virtually all meat, with the exception of tender fish.

Place the chicken on a tray or large bowl and let it sit uncovered in the bottom of the fridge away from foods that will be consumed raw. Left uncovered the skin dries out and gets even more delightfully crisp in the oven.

Having said all that there are times when I’ve not planned ahead and simply salted even as little as 30 minutes in advance and still enjoyed the results.

To Truss or Not to Truss

I don’t bother tying the chicken into some sort of position fit for a contortionist. I like the hot oven to reach as much of the skin as possible.

Roasting

Preheat the oven to 450°F for at least 30 minutes prior to roasting. The hot oven is what makes the skin blister and turn deep golden.

Take the chicken out of the fridge an hour before roasting so it has a chance to come to take the chill off which will allow the meat to cook more evenly.

Over high-heat add a bit of olive oil and butter to a 12-inch cast iron skillet (you can also use a small roasting pan or skillet). When the skillet is smoking carefully add the chicken breast side down. Sear the chicken for 3 minutes and then carefully transfer the entire skillet into the pre-heated oven. This is a method I developed out common sense and a bit of laziness, I admit. Searing first on the stove sets the skin and keeps the breast moist. I don’t bother basting, flipping, poking or prodding the chicken until it’s been in the oven for 45 minutes. At that point I plunge a thermometer deep into the thigh and remove it from the oven when the temperature reaches 160°F. I then let the chicken rest in the pan for 20 minutes before I serve or cut into it. During the resting time the meat will continue to cook and come up to the safe 165°F. It will also allow the meat to relax and the juices to distribute.

My favorite part of this process, besides eating dinner, is flipping over the chicken after its roasted to reveal a dark, crusty chicken speckled with pepper and covered in a salty, crunchy skin. Always serve the chicken breast side up.

Prepare the green sauce.

In a bowl stir together the scallions, herbs, garlic, lemon (zest and juice), olive oil, salt, pepper, and mustard seeds. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. It should be quite pungent.

Courses Dinner

I think now is as good a time as any to make the formal announcement that I’m working on another cookbook! If you are a newsletter friend then this is old news (also, thank you for subscribing!) or you may have noticed a sly little hashtag on Instagram, #newcookbook, popping up in a few of my recent photos. I’ve sort of tiptoed around all of this for awhile but today it felt right to tell you all. While the fanfare may not be the same as the first time around, the excitement joy I feel is allllll the same. Perhaps even more so because I get it. I mean I know what’s coming and while part of that is terrifying (truly, like wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night scary) mostly I’m reveling in the creativity – waking up and going to sleep thinking about new recipes – and just so excited to share extremely practical, delicious, inventive recipes that will bring us all to the table.

This book is quite a departure from the first and yet totally not because they are both completely me. Date Night In was date food. I mean some menus took hours to prepare and the food was indulgent in the best sort of way – it needed to be, because again it’s date night! The food helped set the intention behind the evening. With this book though, my aim is for it to be stunningly practical. We’ll cover everything from Tuesday night dinners that take all of twenty minutes to prepare and utilize pantry staples, to our Christmas Eve Wellington with homemade quick puff and Winter Greens Gratin. There are recipes for those weekday mornings when you need to somehow make breakfast in-between showering and brewing coffee like Cocoa Coconut Date Shakes or Sesame Fried Eggs with Miso Aioli. And then for those mornings when you have time to preheat your oven and can make Oven Baked Pancakes with Maple Roasted Rhubarb.

Even though I’ve done this before I’m approaching this yet-to-be-named book quite differently. Date Night In started off with an 80 page proposal which served as my road map. This time it was as if the map was sketched by a 4 year old. But I love that about it – sure it’s caused some fretting in me (I can’t help it, I just fret a lot) but I’ve grown accustomed to this new process and embraced the fact that much of this book is simply coming from me spending time in my kitchen. I want to take you with me as I approach food from the perspective of having worked in professional kitchens but now am a home cook who has a passion to feed my family and friends food that evoke joy and beauty. The recipes don’t necessarily follow a certain diet trend and yet to me it’s health food because they are made with real ingredients with the intention of sharing or sparking a moment of gratitude in our otherwise frantic days.

This post is making all of this real. I mean the contract is signed it’s totally happening but it suddenly feels more real having shared the news on this space. After all this is the place that started it all. And even though the Internet is crowded and we are taking in information at rapid speed and most of us are probably feeling overwhelmed by all the noise, this place will always be my happy home on the world wide web. It’s here where I learned how to take photos of food and by making thousands of mistakes I learned how to write a recipe that you all could follow. It’s here where I discovered a love of writing and sharing my heart. This place, and you all, led me to writing Date Night In where I found that writing books is quite possibly the best work I could ever imagine. And here we are doing it again. It’s just all so damn good I don’t even know what else to say, except thank you. From every square inch of my being I want to thank you all for being here, supporting me, sending me the loveliest emails that so often encourage me in my moments of doubt and insecurity. You all are the absolute best and I can not wait to cook with you in the kitchen through this next book, whatever the name may be.

Now let’s talk about tacos for a minute. Asparagus Tacos: Two words found on the Taco Tuesday menu at Essex and the moment I saw them I knew two things – 1. I had to order these tacos and 2. They had to make them at home. My version uses asparagus that I roast with olive oil, salt, and whole cumin seeds. With a few staple ingredients we whip up a zippy, but not too much so, sauce and top it all with shaved radish, cilantro, lime and crumbled Queso Fresco. What I’ve since learned about these tacos is that they are much more pleasant to eat when you roughly chop the asparagus so that’s how I have written the recipe although the images were taken prior to that revelation. Since it is indeed spring asparagus makes perfect sense but I can imagine the taco craving being just as strong in the winter so in that case I think cauliflower roasted in the same way, or even broccoli or brussels sprouts would make a fine substitution.

With a mouthful of asparagus taco my friend said, “This better be in the book!” Yes, it will be in the book.

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Asparagus Taco

Prep 10 mins

Cook 20 mins

Total 30 mins

Author Ashley Rodriguez

Yield 4 – 6

Ingredients

1 bunch asparagus

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1/4 cup finely minced pickled jalapeños

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

3 -4 radishes, thinly shaved

4 – 6 corn tortillas

1/2 cup cilantro leaves

lime wedges

Queso Fresco

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425°F

Place the asparagus on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (for easier cleanup).

Add the olive oil, salt, and cumin seeds to the asparagus. Toss to combine then lay out the asparagus in a single layer.

Roast until tender and frizzled in parts, about 20 minutes.

Once cool enough to handle roughly chop the asparagus.

To make the aioli combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, and pickled jalapeños with a pinch of salt.

Warm the tortillas either in the oven wrapped in aluminum foil or carefully over a low gas flame.

Add a tablespoon or so of the aioli to each tortilla, top with about 1/4 cup chopped asparagus. Sprinkle on cilantro leaves, a squeeze of lime, shaved radishes, and Queso fresco.

Courses Main

What are you going to do when four 1st grade girls are about to take over your house for an epic play date? You want to give them a fun snack to eat in between Beanie Boo sharing and giggling but you don’t want it to be coated in sugar – perhaps only mildly sugar-laden.

Our solution for such a sweet dilemma: S’mores Popcorn.

It’s sweet, but not too much so, salty and delightfully reminiscent of that campfire favorite. In fact if you happen you have smoked salt on hand use that here. I wish I would have thought of that during one the many times I’ve made this popcorn. Next time.

I use a bit of restraint here but if you prefer I don’t see why you couldn’t double the quantity of butter and marshmallows – making it teeter more towards dessert than play date snack.  Feel free to adjust any of the quantities to your taste. This recipe is very forgiving particularly where the chocolate and salt are involved.

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S’mores Popcorn

Prep 15 mins

Total 15 mins

Author Ashley Rodriguez

Yield 6-8 Servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup popcorn kernels

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 cup mini marshmallows

salt

1 – 2 ounces dark chocolate

Instructions

Pop the popcorn into a very large bowl.

Simmer the butter in a saucepan over medium heat until the color changes and it smells nutty. Turn off the heat then stir in the marshmallows. Turn the heat back on if the marshmallows need a bit more of a nudge to melt and blend with the butter.

Carefully pour the butter mixture over the popcorn and then add the graham crumbs. Stir this mixture (carefully as the butter is extremely hot) add a couple of good pinches of sea salt as you stir. Finally grate the chocolate over top. Taste and add more salt if needed.

Courses Snack

These are literally the things I tell myself, “Ashley, you can’t post another pasta recipe. Don’t you remember the cauliflower pasta from just a couple weeks back? You’re long due for a salad of sorts. People are going to think that all you eat is pasta.”

You know what self, I love pasta and I’m okay if the world knows it.  And I do know that you, my sweet reader, understand that I eat more than pasta but you also should know that pasta is our go to. It’s one of those “gah! I have no idea what’s for dinner and the kids are telling me their ‘starving’ and after I rant about how they’re not actually starving and I remind them how incredibly fortunate we are to not have to worry about where our next meal is coming from they’ll not only be hungry but also exhausted from all their eye rolling. So pasta it is, along with whatever I can find in the refrigerator.”

There’s not a fight when pasta is on the table. I don’t mean to paint such a bleak picture as our kids are generally quite good about eating what is on the table but it’s so disheartening when they wander into the kitchen while I’m contentedly cooking dinner, leisurely sipping on a glass of wine, the birds are chirping outside my sun lit window, perhaps I’m even humming a bit – you get the picture. And then I hear, “Mom, what’s for dinner?” The birds are silent, my palms start sweating. Should I answer them? But I know what they are going to say. Their little noses scrunch up, body buckles as if its been under intense pressure, eyes roll back and the moan begins as if they’ve just found out the world is ending or they lost their screen time. But with pasta for dinner I happily inform them, “It’s pasta!” And then wait for the cheers.

I’ve made this pasta twice because after the first time I received such rave reviews  -I even won the title of “Best Mom Ever”. So I’m here to pass along this magical recipe because we could all use a few cheers now and again and we can all, I think, do a better job of helping one another get a few cheers.

In our house we always have these ingredients on hand; bacon, frozen peas, cream, Parmesan and spaghetti. The mint is not necessarily a staple except in the spring when I can’t keep it from taking over my garden. But how many times do we buy a bunch of herbs or the ones that come in those plastic clam shells, we use about a quarter of the package and then leave the rest to wither in the fridge? Well, not today. Mint and bacon may seem a bit odd, I doubted myself a bit too, but it’s coolness tips this comforting dish into one that feels a bit like spring. In fact, when the fresh peas start to appear I’d recommend using those. Or, oh oh oh, you know what? I think halved sugar snap peas cut gracefully on the bias would be a really nice  when they’re in season. Although don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with frozen peas.

I hope this pasta brings you all the many cheers you deserve. Even if it’s cheers from yourself because we need those too.

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Creamy Spaghetti with Bacon, Peas and Mint

Author Ashley Rodriguez

Ingredients

8 ounces spaghetti

7 slices bacon, cut into 1/4-inch slices

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup finely grated Parmesan

1/2 cup mint leaves

salt and pepper

Instructions

Cook the pasta in heavily salted water.

While the pasta cooks saute the bacon pieces until crispy. Drain off the bacon grease (save it for your eggs in the morning) before adding in the peas. Saute until just warmed through then stir in the cream. Add the pasta along with a splash of pasta water and toss the pasta around in the sauce. Simmer gently until the sauce coats the pasta. Stir in a pinch of salt and a good bit of freshly cracked pepper. Add more pasta water as needed. Stir in half of the grated Parmesan.

Transfer the pasta to a serving dish then tear the mint leaves over top. Finish with the mint and remaining Parmesan.

Last week we had people over for dinner three nights in a row. By the third evening I was feeling exhausted and I noticed my mind veering far away from joy as I set the table once again. A little whisper set me back on course: “This is what you always wanted.”

“I want our house to be the party house.” I told Gabe with kids still in diapers. Already anticipating sleepovers and high school hangouts. I envisioned a neighborhood teeming with kids and all feeling free to come into our house as they please. I always wanted our home to be a place where people felt welcome and are encouraged to just stop by. Our door would always be open.

No one wants to sit at a table set by someone filled with resentment. The whisper spoke again, “listen, three nights in a row may be a bit much but no one’s asking you to wear yourself out. They just want you.” So I tucked away the plates that require washing and replaced them with paper ones. I divided the tasks and asked our guests to bring a few things. We grilled burgers on store bought buns and besides the bacon I baked for the burgers there was very little more added to the table that I didn’t already have lingering in my fridge. In today’s terms; there was nothing Instagram-able about that spread. Except that it was perfect.

I didn’t even put out chairs. We sat on blankets in the back yard letting the kids wander in and out as they please. The evening turned to night as we started a fire and didn’t roast s’mores because I forgot to buy the stuff from the store. No one cared. The kids entertained us with improvised skits until we finally had to pull ourselves away well after bedtime.

Summer is especially made for that sort of entertaining. I appreciate so much those reminders that little is needed in order for people to gather. If my own ideas of what a “dinner party” looks like keeps me from actually having one then I know something has to change. The important thing is to gather, it’s not about what’s on the table. That’s always a hard one for me to remember. Sometimes I give myself permission to flood the table with food that has taken me hours to prepare because I love that but again, not needed.

For regular entertaining this is what I’ve learned:

1. Ask for help. Your guests enjoy bringing something to the party, it makes them feel a part of it. So let them.
2. Use paper plates. It makes perfect kindling for the after dinner bonfire.
3. Eat outside as often as possible. No sweeping or vacuuming needed.
4. Keep the food simple. Seriously simple. (This is one is the hardest for me).
5. Don’t aim for three nights in a row – that’s too much for us – BUT set a day a week or a month, find what works best for your family, and send out the invite (a text works). Fill your table with people. That’s what it’s there for.

Before summer is over here’s what you do: Invite a few friends and ask them to bring the drinks and maybe a bag of chips or two. You’re going to be grilling grilled cheese and making a bean salad – but not grandma’s bean salad. This one is loaded with fresh herbs and a piquant shallot vinaigrette. And yes, you can seriously serve grilled cheese to your guests. Again, it’s not just any grilled cheese – there’s bacon, grilled zucchini and nutty gruyere cheese. It’s best served outside on a simple table filled with people.

*This post is sponsored by Bertolli Olive oil. I spun the bottle and landed on two summer classics; grilled cheese and bean salad. My task was to remix these favorites then enjoy them with friends dining al fresco. Bertolli Olive oil is the star here as I used their pure olive oil to grill the zucchini and the sandwiches. It’s high smoke point makes high heat cooking possible without getting any burnt or off flavors. For the bean salad I used the Extra-virgin olive oil. Because it’s made from the first pressing the flavors are more refined; grassy, peppery and clean. It’s perfect for dressings and for finishing.

Grilled Cheese with Zucchini, Bacon, Basil and Gruyere

Serves 6

12 strips bacon   

2 zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch thick strips

salt

12 -18 Basil leaves

8 ounces Gruyere (or sharp cheddar) grated

12 thick slices artisan bread

1/4 cup Bertolli Pure Olive oil

Cook the bacon until crisp.

Brush the zucchini strips with Bertolli Pure olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Grill until char marks appear, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the zucchini from the grill then set aside.

Brush or carefully drizzle the Bertolli Pure olive oil on the bread.

Add about 1/4 cup of grated cheese to one piece of bread then top with 2 to 3 pieces of zucchini, 2 strips of bacon and a few basil leaves. Add a bit more cheese to then top with another piece of bread.

Grill until char marks appear and the cheese is melted.

Serve while warm.

Three Bean Salad with Fennel, Tomatoes and Fresh Herbs

Serves 6-8

1 can white (Cannellini) beans

1 can garbanzo beans

1/2 pound green beans, blanched and cut into rough 1-inch pieces

1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced

2 celery stalks thinly sliced

2 cup fresh assorted herbs, roughly chopped (mint, basil, parsley, tarragon, dill, cilantro)

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 small shallot

1 teaspoon mustard

1 teaspoon honey

salt

1/4 cup Bertolli Extra-Virgin Olive oil

In a large bowl combine the beans (white, garbanzo, and green beans), fennel, celery, and herbs,

In a small bowl whisk together the vinegar, shallot, mustard, honey and Bertolli Extra Virgin olive oil. Add the dressing to the beans and stir to combine. Finish with a couple hefty pinches of salt and a drizzle of Bertolli Extra-Virgin Olive oil. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.

I had the best intentions of sharing these photos from my trip to Louisiana right after I arrived home in March. But you know life sometimes alters the best laid plans and to be honest I’m still finding my rhythm with this space after being away from it in a scattered sort of a way. I poured all of my creative energy into the book last year and it left little to be shared in this space because my desire was to make the book a reflection of the best of my work at this time in my life. I am pretty damn proud of what I, and a team of great people, created but we’ll talk a lot more about all of that soon. For now let’s travel back in time to when I fell in love with Louisiana.

The wispy moss gracefully dangling from the trees, the smell; fresh and damp, the fire engine red platters towering with crawfish and the mayonnaise with TABASCO for dipping, the slender older gentleman who smiled with his eyes and forced me out of my seat and my comfort to get up and dance – I’m so glad he did, and the passion and history laced throughout the long life of TABASCO. I went on this trip with preconceived notions of this product coming from a seemingly large corporation what I found was a pride that has been passed through the generations in the same way the original recipe has. With its prolonged aging in wood barrels, the particulars with the type of pepper grown and the fact that the CEO tastes the mash (mix of aged mashed pepper and salt) from every barrel, every morning, you can understand why this product has thrived for generations and why this family is a passionate and interesting bunch.

I realize that a vegetable platter with such a simple dip as this is an odd way to mark such a bountiful and southern experience but like I mentioned in the last post; if it gets made again and again I feel a certain bit of duty to come and tell you about, no matter how delayed I am.

This dip was born out of a request to bring a “crudite platter” to a dinner party. At first I balked at its simplicity, wanting to contribute more than just vegetables but then I slowly wandered through the market looking for lesser known vegetable tray fixings and came up with something that made me *gasp* at the beauty and be reminded that food, on its own, with little or no manipulation from me is enough. More than enough.

*My trip to Louisiana and this post were sponsored by TABASCO. As always, the words and recipes are mine.

Spicy Garlic Dip for Fresh Vegetables

1 cup (8 ounces) creme fraiche or sour cream

1 garlic clove, finely minced

2-3 teaspoons Green Jalapeno TABASCO

2 tablespoons finely minced fresh herbs (such as chives, parsley, mint, tarragon and dill)

salt and pepper

Combine the creme fraiche, garlic, TABASCO, and fresh herbs in a small bowl. Season to taste.

Use whatever is in season. So many vegetables, when thinly sliced, can be eaten raw and taste sweet, fresh and bright. Beets add an unmistakable color as do radishes. Fennel is sweet and fun to dip its floppy tendrils into the spicy dip. I love endive; bitter and crisp as well as pea shoots which taste faintly of sweet peas, a bit grassy and also fun to manage its vibrant leaves into the creamy bath.

There are some recipes that just seem too simple to share. Some, that for one reason or another I’ve deemed unworthy of a snapshot and a spot on these pages because of their ease and well, because they seem too ordinary.
I think about this as I make these so-called “humdrum” recipes again and again and again. Then I realize, these are the very recipes that should live here because they are the ones that feed our days. They aren’t set aside for celebrations that mark the passing of a year, the birth of a baby or ones that are tinted with twinkling lights on a pine scented tree. These are the ones that are consumed in the rush to get out the door for school. The ones that silence the 3 o’clock “I’m huuuuuungry” moans. The ones that get made again and again because it’s good not because it heralds many ingredients, is covered in chocolate and touts the latest in seasonal feasting. It’s the very sort of recipe that I want to share so you too will have something to fuel the spaces in your everyday. There’s room here for those too.

Coconut Date Shake

These were born after a recent visit to Palm Desert, more specifically Shield’s Date Garden. There I shared a date shake with my mom under the filtered shadows of palm branches. They use ice cream but I wanted something that had a bit more heft and less sugar because well, I wanted to drink it for breakfast. You know I love my ice cream but I was thrilled that here, I didn’t miss it at all. Use the freshest, softest dates you can find. If there are a little tough it may require more time in the blender.
Serves 2

1/3 cup creamy peanut or almond butter
5 pitted, soft medjool dates
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 1/2 cups ice
pinch salt

Combine everything in a blender then blend until completely smooth.

After I posted this simple pasta with creamy chevre, melted leeks and bacon I received a number of thank yous for sharing the sort of recipe that’s perfect for a weekday dinner and then came the requests for more like it.

I want this blog to not only be a source of inspiration but also to be used. I want to imagine the recipes, printed, set on your kitchen counter and getting splattered with a bit of olive oil and stained from strawberry juice. The thought of your computer opened up to this page on the edge of the counter while you cook this recipe makes me giddy, proud and a bit nervous – don’t drop your computer.

I want these recipes to feed you, your family and your neighbor down the street.

Inspiring, yet accessible – that’s what I’m going for. Not every recipe fits this category as I can also tend to get a bit crazy in the kitchen (hello, homemade bitters and butterfingers, I’m looking at you) but most, I hope, do.

Our dinners are rarely repeated, even more rarely cooked from an actual recipe and sometimes are so simple I fear they aren’t worth mentioning. But they’re real, simple and more often than not – quite delicious and satisfying. Unless you ask my kids. Their response is often moans and snarled lips if it’s anything other than a simple pasta or these sandwiches. However, there were no complaints with this meal.

The work comes from gathering the ingredients with this recipe. Mortadella and smoked mozzarella can be found at most stores and if you can’t find it use a good quality ham and go for an unsmoked cheese. Honestly, it’d still be a darn good sandwich without the meat.

The pesto nearly steals the show – it’s bright, fresh, peppery and hard to stop eating it with just a spoon. Like most of our weekday dinners, I try and think ahead and plan for the next day’s meals while I’m taking the time to cook this one. For that reason there’s a lot of pesto here. The next morning we stirred pesto into our eggs and then for dinner the following day there was a simple pesto pasta with a bit more cheese and roasted tomatoes. Suddenly a simple weekday dinner turns into an even simpler dinner for the next night.

I hope this recipe gets used, splattered, shared and enjoyed.

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Mortadella and Smoked Mozzarella Panini with Pistachio Pesto

makes about 2 cups pesto

You really can use practically any combination of herbs you like. I went for arugula and mint because I love the pepper flavor the arugula adds and the bright and fresh taste of mint. And, this is the real reason - because I have both growing in abundance in the garden.

1 1/2 cups arugula, tightly packed

2 tablespoons fresh mint

1 cup pistachios, roasted and salted

2 garlic cloves

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil

Combine the arugula, mint, pistachios, garlic and Parmesan in a food processor. Pulse until everything is well pureed. You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl to get it all well chopped.

While the machine is running stream in the lemon juice and olive oil. Don’t process too much as this tends to bruise the olive oil and add a slight bitterness.

Taste and adjust the flavors. A little salt here is fine too.

For the sandwich:

smoked mozzarella, sliced

mortadella

olive oil

thick slices of good bread

Get a grill pan or panini press nice and hot. A skillet works fine too.

Drizzle the outside of the bread with olive oil. Slather a good amount of pesto on the inside of both halves. Layer in slices of mortadella with smoked mozzarella.

Grill the sandwich on both sides until golden, crisp and the cheese is melted.

Serve immediately.

When the light is golden and hazy I take my time walking down our street to look beyond Ballard and over Queen Anne hill to see the tip of the Space Needle punctuating the top. It towers above the Evergreens just before the hill dips and descends into Lake Union which isn’t seen from my walk but I like knowing it’s there.

Nearly everyday we drive over a bridge. When its arms are stretched upwards to allow a towering boat to pass through it’s a bit maddening. I can’t stay mad for long as I strain to look down its passage and if it is at just the right time of day with the sun peering through the clouds, the water under the bridge sparkles in a way that gives me a bit of a flutter and a burst of pride that I get to call this place home.

In Seattle every day there’s a farmer’s market, our compost is twice as big as our garbage bin, and we can be standing at the edge of the water with the cold ocean lapping at our feet in five minutes or in the mountains in under an hour. When the bustle of the city overwhelms we shimmy up to my parent’s house and in just over an hour we amid the rolling hills, a couple of ponies, a vibrant garden and enough bugs and threat of snakes to remind me that I’m a city girl.

I adore Seattle. It’s home and most likely will remain that way for quite a long while but I sort of feel like a fraud because you see, I don’t much like seafood. Gasp.

It is for the promise of fresh seafood that people flock to Seattle. You think of Seattle and I imagine one of the first images you see is rain and then you probably imagine a large, plump fish with silvery skin flying across a crowd and into the arms of a sturdy, orange-slickers wearing Public Market employee.

It’s my distaste of salmon that I’m most embarrassed about. When I say I’m from Seattle the subject of salmon often comes up. Whoever I’m talking to recounts their love for the pink-fleshed fish and most often I’ll nod as if in agreement as I continue to let them praise the fish. Salmon is practically Seattle’s mascot, either that or a little gray rain cloud.

I once heard or read Andrew Zimmerman, or maybe it was Mark Bittman, talk about how you can grow to like certain foods you once disdained. First you eat it from a place you trust and secondly, you eat it often. I’m a firm believer in this practice as I’ve used it to get over my aversion to mushrooms and oysters. Yes, I’ll eat oysters straight from the sea with just a few drops of lemon squeezed over its briny flesh. So I imagine my love of salmon isn’t far off.

Recently I conquered step 1 when I ordered the crispy skinned salmon at Matt’s in the Market. The details of the dish allude me now but I think peas were somehow involved and I do remember that I cleaned my plate. Now I’m working on step 2. At my birthday dinner earlier this year we made salmon rilletes and most recently, in an attempt to counter-balance all the recipe testing we’ve been doing for the book, I made Gabe and I a light dinner of poached salmon with an herby and lightly spiced cucumber salsa.

The salmon lapped up a bit of Pernod then sat in a warm vegetable-laden bath until just cooked. While the salmon bathed I made quick work of the salsa throwing in a hefty bit of dill, just enough serrano to pop in some heat and plenty of lemon – zest and juice. The flesh of the fish bent under the amount of  salsa I piled on top. If I couldn’t see there was fish under the cucumber maybe I’d forget I was eating it.

But you know I actually enjoyed it. Maybe it was mostly for the satisfaction of knowing I was eating something so vibrant and healthy –  I could practically feel the Omega 3’s reinvigorating me or perhaps I felt that Seattle was cheering me on with each bite. Or more likely it was because it was quite good – tender and lightly herbal fish that made the perfect canvas for a bright salsa or salad of sorts. The plate was nearly cleaned. Just a few more encounters with salmon then I’d say I’m hooked (fish pun embarrassingly intended).

Poached Salmon with Cucumber Salsa

The poaching was inspired by the first part of this Salmon Rillettes recipe (which is excellent by the way) and the cucumber salsa was inspired by Bon Appetit.

This recipe is very adaptable. Whatever vegetable scraps you have can be used to fragrant the broth and the Pernod isn’t absolutely necessary. In fact you could just scrap the poaching all together as a grilled pice of salmon would be quite perfect with the salsa - that’s my next version of step 2. 

Add a bit of tangy yogurt to the salsa to make a creamy dip reminiscent of tzatziki.

Serves 2

2 salmon fillets

1-2 tablespoons Pernod

salt & pepper

Season the fish with the Pernod and salt and pepper. Let the fish sit for 30 minutes while you make the poaching liquid.

Poaching liquid:

2 celery stalks, halved

1 medium onion, quartered

1 scallion

1 teaspoon salt

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon juniper

a handful of dill

1 cup white wine

4 cups water

Bring all of the ingredients to a gentle boil in a large saucepan and simmer for 25 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and slide the fish into the hot liquid. Cover the pot and let sit for 10 minutes.

Remove the fish and check to make sure the fish is cooked through. The flesh should flake and look opaque throughout.

Serve the fish warm with cucumber salsa.

Cucumber Salsa

1 cucumber, peeled and small diced

2 tablespoons finely chopped dill

1-2 tablespoons finely minced shallot

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1 serrano chili, seed and finely diced

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper

Combine everything in a bowl. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.

The salsa will keep for a couple of days in the fridge although it may become a bit more wet because of the salt in the recipe.

When people ask, or even when they don’t I often describe parenting as a roller coaster although I really hate how cliche that sounds. And yet, I can’t think of a better way to describe the highs and lows, dips and dives, elatement and nausea that happens in a single day when you are left to guide and shape the life of a little being or beings.

Let me give you a few examples from my day. Warning: four-year-old humor is involved. Proceed at your own risk.

In the car, where my patience is the most tried, my children sound like the shattering of a thousand plates of fine china. One is touching the other which is apparently worse than death, while the other one just dropped his lego into the deep crevices of the car and expects me to turn around and grab it while I’m driving. The cries from the back increase as I threaten to, “pull this car over”. Languishing both over the fact that I sound like a parent and that I have no idea what I would do if I really did pull the car over I decide to join them in their screams, “No more talking! Ever.”

Now I’m frustrated that I didn’t handle the situation as a mature and controlled parent would and that they didn’t listen to my pleading. While I’m lamenting my behavior I’m stunned by the sudden silence. I glance in the rear view mirror. With contorted necks and gaping mouths they are asleep and I swear I can see a ridge of light around their heads forming a brilliant halo. The last few moments of screams are instantly forgotten as my heart and every other part of me swells with love for these little people to the point where I feel as if I might just burst.

At home and well recovered from the car ride I settle on the couch with my four-year-old as we bond over classic Spiderman cartoons. As Spidey is flinging his webs from his fingers, Roman looks at me and says, “God made you beautiful.” I sit in stunned silence and just start to wipe a tear from my sleep-craved eyes when he finishes his sentence with, “I’m farting.”

At its peaks it is the best “job” in the world. I sit in stunned gratitude that I get the joy of parenting these three who I feel are the coolest people on the planet. And then there are the times when I wish it was an actual job so I could quit or at the very least, take a sick day.

Dinner time is another wild ride. Sometimes I spend the afternoon in the kitchen slowly simmering sauces and caramelizing onions to the point of uncommon sweetness. The herbs are picked from our garden and the bread slowly risen in the fridge overnight. I proudly display my dinner on the table, like my 2 year old and her scribbled drawings, only to be met with grimaces and the immediate separating of dinner into what can and what can’t be eaten categories.

Then there are the times when I bring dinner to the table ready for the assault of moans, grumbling and slouched disgusted bodies as the meal has all the signs of usual disapproval; lots of green, exotic seasonings and no pasta with cheese. So when I see clean plates and hear, “It’s delicious!” it’s enough to sustain me through some of the more common grimaces and groans. They happily devour the sweet and spicy grilled beef fleck with fresh mint and cilantro. Baron, after one bite of thinly sliced cucumber proclaims, “cucumber is my favorite.” I’m in shock as last week it was the worst. As I listen to all this I too clean my plate and marvel at the moment of a meal appreciated.

Until I can think of another visual that better illustrates the range of emotions I see and feel in one day, I think I’ll stick with a roller coaster. I’ve come to realize that while the dips are hard, emotional and trying to the point where I think I can’t handle anything else it’s then when a peak begins and I find again, the joy of the ride.

Thai Beef Salad

Serves 4 to 6
After a stint with a nasty sickness that invaded our house and roughed us all up pretty good I needed to feed my family something hearty and nutritious to make up for the endless days of soda crackers we had become accustomed to. 
I turned this Cooks Illustrated version into more of a salad than is classically called for. I upped the dressing ingredients so there would be enough to coat the pile of lettuce I ate this with. While I adore Cooks Illustrated sometimes I find their recipes a bit fastidious with more steps than I have time or patience for but I’ll tell you about them in case you want to add them into your process. First of all they toast the ground spices so the paprika is a bit more smokey and the cayenne has packs more punch. The other thing they do is toast 2 tablespoons uncooked basmati rice in a dry skillet until golden. Once cooled the rice is then ground and added as a garnish and along with the cooked and seasoned meat. If you have the time or patience this step really does add a lovely crunch and deep flavor but it’s fine without it. I also left out the chile for the sake of the kidlets.
One more thing to point out before you begin: here the meat is not pre-seasoned but rather tossed with the fragrant sweet and sour dressing. For those of you who don’t often pre-plan dinner, such as myself, this means dinner is ready in under 20 minutes. I love that.

1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3-4 tablespoons lime juice (according to preference)
3 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons water
¾ teaspoon sugar
1½ pound flank steak, trimmed
Salt and pepper, coarsely ground
3 shallots, sliced thin
1½ cups fresh mint leaves, torn
1½ cups fresh cilantro leaves
1 Thai chile, stemmed and sliced thin into rounds (omit if you don't want it too spicy)
1 seedless English cucumber, thinly sliced or peeled with a potato peeler
3-4 cups greens (I used a red leaf lettuce but I imagine nearly anything would be great)

Combine the cayenne and paprika together in a small bowl.

Whisk together the lime juice, fish sauce, water, sugar, and ¼ teaspoon paprika mixture in a large bowl and set aside. This dressing will taste strong but remember it’s the flavor for the meat and the lettuce.

Season the steak with salt and pepper. Place the steak over the hot part of the grill or grill pan and cook until it’s beginning to char, 5 to 6 minutes. Flip the steak and continue to cook on the second side until charred and the center registers 125 degrees, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer to a plate, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes (or allow to cool to room temperature, about 1 hour).

Slice the meat, against the grain and on the bias, into ¼-inch-thick slices. Transfer the sliced steak to the bowl with the fish sauce mixture. Add the shallots, mint, cilantro, chile, and half of the rice powder (if using); toss to combine.

Add a bit (save the rest of the dressing for another time) of the dressing to a bowl with the greens. Place some dressed greens on the plate then finish with some of the cucumber and slices of meat.

Serve with the remaining paprika mixture so your diners could add more spice if needed. Also, if you’ve taken the time to make the toasted rice powder serve that on the side as well.

At the end of all the holiday activity I had carved out a day to go see Les Miserables with a couple of friends. The previews alone were enough to fill my eyes with tears so I knew well enough to grab a couple extra napkins to sop up my tear-stained cheeks but what I didn’t know was that it was through watching the movie I would pick up a sentence that I now hope to be my theme for 2013.

First let me tell you briefly of the story – enough so that you see the power in these words but not enough to spoil it as you really must see this film. It’s a story of redemption. For stealing a loaf of bread to feed his nephew, a man named Jean Valjean toils in prison for over 20 years working tirelessly and endlessly cast down with shame. In the end he skips parole and spends the rest of his life running from the law. Along his journey he meets a priest who sees him not as a criminal but as forgiven and free from the shame that he had carried with him as a heavy burden. He struggles with his identity until he understands his forgiveness and finds peace in that freedom. Jean Valjean’s freedom allows him to love others and care for a child that is not his own. He overcomes shame and alters the lives of others through his love.

These few sentences don’t do the film nor the book any justice but it is this picture of grace that always speaks to me most clearly when watching this story.

In one of the final scenes (I promise, I’m not giving it away) the words “to love another person is to see the face of God” ring throughout a candlelit chapel. With tears streaming those words rang in my ears and have not since left.

I have a few goals for the new year. I’ve already begun the annual call for health by supplementing all the cookies and fondue I ate over the holiday with greens; loads and loads of greens. Also, I’m allowing Jillian Michaels to kick my butt by way of the 30 day shred. I’ve even made the doctors and dentists appointments I’ve been putting off for months. There’s talk of tighter budgets and bigger homes. We’re thinking about travel plans and garden plans. And I’ve been thinking a lot about the blog – how I want to be a better writer, photographer and recipe developer, but most importantly I just want to be here more. Even when the words are fumbled and the images aren’t perfect I just want to be here. Because of course we all know reality isn’t perfect and I’d rather you know more about the real me than see me as something that I am not.

I’m not setting a lot of specific goals this year but with the ones I do make I am I’m holding them with an open hand. The idea of creating a goal is not to create anxiety along with it. To rob my year of peace in order to live a year devoted to doing a lot of “things” is actually exactly the opposite of what I want. Which is why everything I do put on my list of “goals” or to dos for the year must first pass through the filter of “to love another person is to see the face of God.” That’s what I ultimately want. To get a glimpse of glory by loving those around me.

I want to love my husband better. To enjoy him more freely and to be less selfish in my love for him. And my children. It’s so easy to go throughout our hectic days and miss the opportunity to pause and look them in the eye and remember that they aren’t just little ones clamoring for more of this or more of that but they are individuals each with their own needs, desires and gifts. I want to know them more and love them as who they are more effectively this year. And myself. I want to stop fighting to be some sort of image of who I think I should be and really enjoy who I was created to be. To not make excuses for what I have deemed weaknesses but to live fully in all of myself – forgiving and asking for forgiveness often and laughing at myself the hardest. And my community. The one closest to me and the one beyond – which also includes you all. I feel so loved by you and it’s quite humbling in that I’m not sure how to return the favor but I do want to share more, show more and eat more so I do hope you’re okay with that.

After many days of very few vegetables, we are loving our bodies a bit better by upping the salads and decreasing the sugar. I love vegetables but it’s still hard to make that transition after cookies, candies, cakes and cocktails became the norm for a few weeks so I make it a little easier on ourselves by making a delightfully creamy dressing to coat our greens. The thing is though, that although this dressing is creamy and as satisfying as the one found in the Hidden Valley it’s made from plain yogurt instead of the usual mayonnaise and sour cream. It’s tangy with a bit of garlic bite and the sort of freshness that you think is only possible in the summer.

It seems silly to talk of dressing while at the same time speaking of love but ever since I’ve had those words stuck in my head it helps me give intention to my actions. It helps me prioritize and simplify. My life is filled with purpose and joy – even in the little things, like a green salad.

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Yogurt Ranch Dressing

After a holiday party where fresh vegetables were served with a classic Ranch dressing I knew I had to recreate that nostalgia with something a bit lighter. Since then our carrot sticks have never looked back. Feel free to use whatever herbs you might have. I used fresh but dried would work too - just not too much as dried packs more punch than fresh. And of course real garlic can be used instead of the garlic powder but for the sake of nostalgia I went with the powder.

½ cup whole milk plain yogurt

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (dill, parsley, basil, chives, thyme - whatever you have)

salt & pepper

Combine all ingredients. Taste and adjust to your liking.

If you think the dressing too thick you can add a bit of milk, water or olive oil.

Spoon on top of clean, cool greens.

Happiness is a Sunday with no plans. An early morning where the first few steps are taken towards the oven in order to pre-heat. And even though Ivy manages to put an entire tub of expensive face product in her hair and the boys spend all afternoon doing everything but cleaning their room, Sunday still delights.

I linger in the kitchen, make plans to read a new book, and mix together a few ingredients to make a simple apple “bread” from a recipe card tucked inside my great-grandmother’s recipe box.

Soon we’ll gather around the table for an early dinner which, unlike weekday dinners, took longer than 20 minutes to prepare. We’ll then head to church then come home to do more of the same. All these things help to ease us into the weekdays. Today we linger. Today we’ll move a bit more slowly and grasp the fading moments of the weekend. Monday brings routine, early mornings and work but we won’t think about that yet. For now Sunday is here, dinner is almost ready and there are a few more slices of grandma’s apple bread. I do so hope your Sunday was as restful as ours.

Chopped Apple Cake

My great grandmother referred to this as apple bread. I love that about her. I also love that nearly ninety percent of her recipes in her box are for baked goods. This cake is wonderfully simple and takes no more time to make than it does your oven to pre-heat. In the future I plan to experiment with some other flours and sugar but this morning I wanted this cake just as grandma enjoyed it.

1 ½ cups flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup oil (I used canola and walnut)
2 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 cups peeled and chopped apples (about 2 medium)

Pre-heat your oven to 350*F. Butter a loaf pan and set aside.

Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar in a medium bowl. Add the oil, eggs and vanilla and stir until combined. Fold in the apples. Scrape batter into the prepared loaf pan and baked until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean, about 60 - 70 minutes.

Let cool 10 minutes before unmolding on to a wire rack. Let cool until just warm then slice.

Like the last dregs of sweet ice cream dripping down the sides of a freshly pressed waffle cone we are lapping up every last bit of Summer. It’s true that nearly an entire month remains of the season but this week school starts and with the oldest darting off to Kindergarten this year, it suddenly feels like Fall is near. While I have no problem with the Fall, in fact it is my favorite season for eating, cooking and reliving childhood giddiness around holidays, Summer still remains and there is much more eating to do. Like those last few lingering tastes off the cone, these remaining days are often the sweetest.

There are birthday cakes to be made, parties to plan and pointy, poof topped hats to don. There are toes to be dipped in and cooled by the sea, sand to be rinsed off said toes, and bbq’s to be lit. There are more meals to be eaten outdoors and a few more strawberries to pluck from our few still-producing plants.

There are tomatoes.

These are the tomato days. When the curtain of summer just starts to draw. When the days are for sleeveless tops and the evenings require light sweaters. Tomatoes have graciously been working all season to provide us with a fruit so sweet, very little needs to be done in order to prepare them for dinner. Considering all the other activities that surround these tomato days this is indeed a gift.

In an evening when we lingered out in the sun well into the dinner hour I searched for something to make and quick (can you tell I’m not much of a planner?). I reached for a few slices of thick-cut bread, brushed them with olive oil and placed on the grill pan. While the bread was getting branded with deep, smokey grill marks I grated (yes, grated – as you would cheese) a large tomato right into a bowl.

When the bread was sufficiently crisped on the outside with a bit of tenderness still remaining I rubbed the rough outer crumb with a garlic clove, topped with a couple spoonfuls of the fresh, grated tomato and finished of with a few curls of Parmesan. Dinner was prepared, served and devoured with still enough time to linger in the last few drips of the sun.

Tomato Toast with Parmesan

serves 2-4
4 slices thick cut bread

2 Tablespoons extra- virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove

1 medium tomato

Parmesan

Brush both sides of the bread with olive oil. Place on a hot grill pan (or an outdoor grill). Grill until dark char marks sear the bread while the inside still remains a bit soft. This should take about 3 minutes per side.

While the bread is still warm rub a garlic clove over the surface of both sides of the bread. Set aside.

Using the largest side on a box grater, grate the tomato into a bowl.

Spoon a hefty amount of the tomato onto each slice of the bread. The bread will soak up some of the juice - this is exactly what you want.

Finish with a few shavings of Parmesan. You can use a vegetable peeler to get long, beautiful strands of Parmesan.

Summer is easy. It’s easy to be inspired by the vibrant rows of produce lining the crowded stalls at the farmer’s market. Flipping through the summer issue of my favorite food magazines it’s easy to create dinner plans for tonight, tomorrow and the weeks to come. Walking down the aisle at the grocery store it is easy to grab a half flat of strawberries on a whim as their perfume intoxicates to the point of near delirium. With no solid plans for them and paying no mind to the fact that I just used up a flat the day before, it is easy to get blindsided by the charms of this season.

The sun keeps us outside for as long as it decides to linger. There are lemonade stands to run, new bikes to ride and a small garden to painstakingly tend to. I’m called in only briefly to quickly assemble a simple summer dinner, one that requires little more than a hot grill (grill pan) and loads of fresh vegetables. It’s easy to be deemed a great cook in this season as much of the work is done for you in the freshness of the produce. The sun sweetens, the earth gives depth and heft and all that is left to do is assemble.

As the weather slowly warms up and the activities of summer take full swing it is the meals that don’t require an oven, that come together in a moment’s time and with each bite taste of summer itself that I turn to. Few ingredients brought together in creative ways served family style at the table or better yet, on the grass – this is the food of our summer. Easy.

Grilled avocado and Corn Salad

It was the latest Bon Appetit that brought my attention to grilling avocados and for that I can never thank them enough. If I could I would grill a stick of butter but since that seems improbable avocados are the next best thing. Their flesh softens under the heat giving them the texture I dream of when thinking on grilled butter. The smokiness from the grill does them well.

2 avocados, halved and removed from their skin (I find a spoon works best for this)
1 Tablespoon buter
2 cups fresh or frozen corn
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
2 scallions, chopped
1 Tablespoon diced jalapeno (more or less)
¼ cup chopped cilantro
¼ cup crumbled feta (optional)

Add the butter to a hot skillet. To that add the corn, cumin and a pinch of salt. Saute until corn is just cooked, 2-3 minutes then turn off heat. Toss in the scallions, jalapeno and cilantro. Taste and add more salt if needed.

On a very hot grill or grill pan place the avocados on the grill. Let sit undisturbed for a couple of minutes. Flip the avocados over and grill the other side. Salt the avocados and place on a platter with the corn salad.

Grill some thinly sliced bread that has been drizzled with oil. Brush the grilled bread with a garlic clove. Served alongside the salad.

Grilled Avocado Salad // Strawberries with Honey Creme Anglaise

Grilled avocado and Corn Salad

It was the latest Bon Appetit that brought my attention to grilling avocados and for that I can never thank them enough. If I could I would grill a stick of butter but since that seems improbable avocados are the next best thing. Their flesh softens under the heat giving them the texture I dream of when thinking on grilled butter. The smokiness from the grill does them well.

2 avocados, halved and removed from their skin (I find a spoon works best for this)
1 Tablespoon buter
2 cups fresh or frozen corn
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
2 scallions, chopped
1 Tablespoon diced jalapeno (more or less)
¼ cup chopped cilantro
¼ cup crumbled feta (optional)

Add the butter to a hot skillet. To that add the corn, cumin and a pinch of salt. Saute until corn is just cooked, 2-3 minutes then turn off heat. Toss in the scallions, jalapeno and cilantro. Taste and add more salt if needed.

On a very hot grill or grill pan place the avocados on the grill. Let sit undisturbed for a couple of minutes. Flip the avocados over and grill the other side. Salt the avocados and place on a platter with the corn salad.

Grill some thinly sliced bread that has been drizzled with oil. Brush the grilled bread with a garlic clove. Served alongside the salad.

Strawberries with Honey Creme Anglaise

1 ½ cups heavy cream
½ cup whole milk
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
pinch salt
¼ cup honey
4 egg yolks
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
In a saucepan combine the cream, milk, vanilla seeds and bean. Bring to a simmer. Then turn off the heat and let stand for at least 15 minutes to infuse the cream with the vanilla.

In a medium bowl whisk the yolks, honey and a pinch of salt.

Bring the cream back to a simmer then slowly pour that into the bowl with the yolks while whisking. Pour everything back into the saucepan and continue to cook on low until it thickens slightly (170-175*F). It should just coat the back of a spatula or wooden spoon.

Strain this mixture into a clean bowl. Stir in the vanilla extract.

Pour warm, if the weather is gray and clouds cover or cold, if the sun persists over the clouds, over a bowl of sliced strawberries.

First of all I need to thank you all for the incredible response from my last post. I have read every single comment and email and they have been like a breath of fresh air. I struggled to publish that post but you all have once again proven to be an incredible community that encourages and lifts us up. So thank you. I apologize for not responding to the emails and comments. It continues to be a bit of a difficult season for me and my family but I have seen so much amazing goodness come out of it already. We are covered in grace and are so thankful for your words and continued support.

________

Of course much can be said on the beauty of sharing a meal with dear family and friends as laughter mingles with the scents of soft spices drifting through the air. Where wine glasses clink over riveting conversation and dishes linger on the table far after the meal is done. There is also beauty in cooking for one.

Perhaps it is because for me this is a rare occasion – one to be celebrated and remembered. It is a time when my cravings and food adversities (of which there aren’t many) are the only ones to consider. It is a time when the pasta can be covered in little green flecks and I won’t hear the moanings from three little ones each one meticulously trying to pluck the herbs off their pasta.

My meals for one are simple and light, often composed of many small tastes and they are consumed in silence.

For another idea of what I like to eat while dining alone check out this cheese plate I created for Wisconsin Cheese. Also, check out CheeseCupid.com for a great tool on pairing cheese with drinks. Somehow I managed to include chocolate with my cheese. I may have a problem.

*Disclaimer – I was paid to produce the content for Wisconsin Cheese. Words and images are, as always, my own.

Simple Pasta with Fresh Herbs

This pasta is far too simple for a formal recipe so instead I’ll channel my inner Nigel Slater (I wish) and contain its ingredients and basic method in paragraph form.

First you’ll set a pot of water to boil with enough salt in it that one taste conjures up images of those horrid accidental times of ingesting a bit of sea water. If you didn’t grow up around the ocean - the water should taste salty. Cook enough spaghetti noodles for one. While the noodles boil mince a handful or two of fresh herbs. In this particular batch I used chives, mint, dill, thyme, parsley and purple basil. Whatever you have on hand will do nicely. Add to that a finely minced half of a garlic clove and about a teaspoon or so of finely grated lemon or lime zest. In total you want to have about two tablespoons of this herb mixture.

Toss that with the hot pasta. Over the top you can grate Pecorino or Parmesan or dot the pasta with a bit of Feta or Chevre. Or just leave it as is. On this particular day the sun was shining and the temperature outside didn’t seem quite fitting for a big bowl of hot pasta. So before I tossed the pasta with the herbs I cooled them off with cold water then tossed in the herbs and had a dish that resembled more of a pasta salad.

Warm or cool it is an incredibly simple dish that satisfies, particularly if eaten alone.

We’re here in the in between. Winter is on its way out but Spring still feels a world away. We’ve seen the same offenders in our vegetable drawers for months and I, for one, am ready for a change. But the frozen rain and threats of snow persist, keeping the asparagus from venturing out of the earth and the Rhubarb from turning to its ready-to-use ruby red (unless it’s green rhubarb).

Within our current limited resources I’m trying to make our salads a bit more exciting. And as is often the case I find a bit of restriction a great exercise in creativity. I’m constantly looking for new flavor combinations and new methods of cooking the same ingredients I’ve been working with for months.

I’ve always been a fan of salad. I find comfort in knowing I’m not alone. It really wasn’t until I started stretching my imagination and moving beyond greens doused in blue cheese dressing (although, at times, nothing can be better) that salads started to really inspire me. Now I find myself dreaming of salads and enjoying them daily.

If I’m having this much fun with them now, imagine what Summer will bring.

Orange Salad with Cocoa Nibs // Grilled Zucchini Salad // Avocado Salad with Warm Jalapeño Vinaigrette

Orange Salad with Cocoa Nibs

serves 1

1 orange

2 Tablespoons cocoa nibs

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons aged balsamic

2 cups fresh spinach

salt and pepper

Carefully cut the rind of the orange off, taking as much of the white pith as you can. Cut the orange in rounds.

In a small bowl add the spinach and place the orange rounds on top. Sprinkle with the cocoa nibs and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic. Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy immediately.

Grilled Zucchini Salad
serves one

2 small zucchini
1 Tablespoon olive oil
3 Tablespoons fresh herbs, chopped (I used basil, mint, tarragon, and cilantro)
salt and pepper
lemon juice

Using a mandoline (or a steady hand and sharp knife) very thinly slice the zucchini.
Toss the zucchini in olive oil and salt and pepper.
On a hot grill pan or indoor grill, sear the zucchini until dark marks appear, about 30 seconds. Flip over and repeat on the other side.
Toss the grilled zucchini in a bowl with the fresh herbs and a hefty squeeze of lemon. Taste and add more salt if needed.

Avocado Salad with warm Jalapeno vinaigrette
serves 2

¼ cup coconut oil
1 Tablespoon chopped shallot
1 garlic clove, minced
½ to 1 sliced Jalapeno, deseeded (depending on how spicy you want it)
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
salt
2-3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 avocado
greens (spinach, cress, arugula, cilantro) or 1 cup cooked quinoa

In a skillet add the coconut oil and shallots. Cook for 2-3 minutes until just golden around the edges. Add the garlic, jalapeno, and cumin. Cook for 1 minute more then turn off heat. Stir in a pinch of salt and lime juice.
Pour ½ of the warm vinaigrette over half of an avocado that is sitting on greens.
If using quinoa stir some of the vinaigrette in the quinoa. Taste and adjust seasonings. Stir in chopped cilantro and cubed avocado.