This recipe is a very humble one, but much beloved. We all look forward to zucchini season so that we can make this! Delicious as a side to a cookout (or other meal), it also makes for a good meatless main course served on its own with a large salad and maybe a watermelon.
Read MoreAn all-time family favorite, this broccoli tuna noodle casserole is comfort food at its best: cheesy, creamy, crunchy, warm.
The broccoli adds a bright pop of green, and there’s enough of it to satisfy the veggie-conscious out there, but it’s also disguised enough to be acceptable to picky eaters.
Read MoreI have to thank my sister-in-law for finding this recipe. She was hosting for a family birthday and had a bunch of asparagus that wasn’t going to stretch far enough for everyone. The original recipe was only potatoes and asparagus, but she threw in some salad greens and now we are forever grateful. My husband grows organic greens for a living, so salad is an everyday thing. But we can get into a rut of the same old, same old. This was a welcome variation, and so dang delicious! Even the pickiest salad eaters enjoyed it. (The blended onion is sort of a revelation to me, and I want to play with it more.)
Read MoreI’m always on the lookout for vegetarian meal ideas because I try to plan three meatless dinners each week. My kids (and husband) would almost certainly be happy with a pasta dish on each of those days - and honestly I wouldn’t be too bothered about it either - but for the sake of variety and creativity and (probably) a trimmer waste, I usually mix it up with other vegetarian staples like eggs or beans and lots of hearty vegetables and grains. But beans and rice and frittata all get a little tired, no matter how many variations you try, so when I saw Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian at the library, I was so excited at the prospect of freshening up my meatless menus. And this book definitely delivers!
Read MoreA little less than a year ago, I posted this recipe for Mac n’ Cheese. The technique of cooking the pasta in the béchamel sauce was new to me and so appealing for cutting down on dishes. It reliably gave the baked Mac n’ Cheese a wonderful texture too, something that had eluded me with other recipes. Now my Mac n’ Cheese comes out the same every time and just the way I like it. I found this recipe, and I’ve stuck with it very happily.
Read MoreHave I mentioned how much I love Ottolenghi cookbooks? His recipes opened up a whole new world of flavor in my kitchen. He is so creative with flavors and food combinations. I’ve never been disappointed with an Ottolenghi recipe I’ve tried, and there are some that we return to again and again.
This recipe here is inspired by one from his newest cookbook Simple. It is simple. It’s also really delicious and makes a substantial meatless dish. The original recipe calls for ciabatta but I only had a loaf of sourdough so I used that. I made it a little more herby, too. I would maybe add some ham or bacon in a future version but it certainly doesn’t need it. It was puffy and light with delightful crusty cheesy baked edges. Mmmm. Serve it with a salad and you've got yourself a perfect weekday meal.
Read MoreI was inspired to make this dish after trying a recipe from this Food52 cookbook. The squash & chickpea salad/side recipe was delicious, but lacked enough “oomph” to pass for a meal on its own (at least in our house). So I added in couscous, tweaked the proportions, and discovered a few toppings that paired nicely. The result: a delicious, filling and surprisingly fresh dinner, sometimes hard to come by in the winter with no garden fresh produce.
Read MorePotato soup is comforting, easy, and economical. This recipe takes under an hour to throw together and makes everyone happy and content. The garlic and cheese are really what make this shine and taste all the more delicious.
Read MoreThe first time I had gnocchi was during a family trip to Italy, during the girls’ trip to Florence specifically. One bite, and I wondered why these little potato dumplings of goodness had never been in my life before. Not long after returning home, I discovered a recipe in the Joy of Cooking and quickly made it. From there, I began making gnocchi more and more frequently from hosting a number of gnocchi parties throughout college to making them for my husband and now my family.
Read MoreI don't know if this is a true "hash" or not. From years of watching Chopped, people always seems to be criticized for calling something a hash when it isn't. The best I can find from a dictionary search is simply something cut up into small bits. I like this from the OED: "A mixture of mangled and incongruous fragments." Mmmm, yes, serve me some of that!
Read MoreThis ratatouille is not pretty. It’s nothing like the one in the Pixar movie. It is basically an obscenely large collection of vegetables that get chopped, generously doused in olive oil, and then roasted until they’re soft and caramelized and melded together into a deeply flavorful dish. The simplest process coaxes so much flavor out of such basic ingredients. And then I get to watch my kids gobble down a couple days worth of vegetable servings in one sitting - and with delight! It’s pretty magical.
Read MoreI love a good veggie burger. I love a good hamburger too, but veggie burgers are so much fun because you can pack so much flavor into them. Plus, the directions you can go seem endless! Even where to start with the base can be a hard choice -- black bean, lentil, chickpea...you name it! Then what sort of cuisine? Tex-mex, Indian, Moroccan, Mediterranean...again, you name it! I haven't even started on what toppings you can add. Finally, homemade buns make them that much more tasty.
Read MoreA while back, I got an issue of Real Simple in the mail that included a 4-week meal plan. I had been in a bit of a meal slump at the time, so the idea of having someone else plan out my menu for the month was something I embraced with full force.
Some of the meals turned out to be duds, or just plain old unspectacular. Other meals have worked their way into my staple recipes, surprising me by their ease of assembly and fantastic flavors. This White Bean & Spinach Soup is one of those recipes.
Read MoreThis spinach artichoke quinoa is really delicious. I love a good, hearty, meatless meal to change things up in my weekly menu. With a cheesy sauce, lots of greens, and hearty quinoa grains, this leaves you feeling totally satisfied.
Read MorePotato Knish. The first time I had one was from Rein's Deli, CT which was a family pit-stop on long trips between Massachusetts and Virginia, a drive we made frequently. It was my kind of food: potato filling enclosed within a pastry like dough. Starch on starch. You can't go wrong!
Read MoreThe real judges for recipes like this are children, and I've got three of those to confirm that this recipe is, in fact, a winner.
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