november.

there is a lot of talk about the weather.  its pink, orange and rusty outside- the air is tight out there and inside is better.

most of me wanted to devour an entire box of mandarin oranges for dinner, instead i made this.

caramelized onion + thyme linguine
strip steak salad with arugula, dandelion greens, radish and blue cheese

fast, love.

I fall in and out of inspiration so suddenly, its often scary.  Tonight I feel inspired again by simplicity.  Easy, comfort cooking.  None of that foodie shit.  Just real food.  Beautiful, read food.


Roast chicken sandwich with pickled purple cabbage, horseradish mustard, spinach, brie on pumpernickel.

grocery bliss, server i am not, and pork.

after a long day, serving at school and dreading each moment of it, i find myself at home, full, satisfied, comfortable.  hunger has long passed, and the comfort of sleep is slowly approaching.  life is good once again.

cupboards and bellies full.

fennel, coriander and honey crusted pork tenderloin
chorizo stuffing

dinner for one.

At last a day to relax at home, clean, cook, read, this is good, real good.

I slice thinner now, and can prep ramps like no ones business (whatever that means) and it feels good to have accomplished something that once seemed so distant from me.

I, however miss my bed, long buzz- free sleep, and slow cooking for two.  

But for now, this is good.  

Super simple garlic/white wine clams 

baked frites

..and good beer.

really good beer.

oh, get well.

jugi is sick today, from me.

it is a gross kind of sick.  but he is not gross.

only ginger, garlic and chili could help.

so i made this green curry soup.

spicy, spicy.

lemongrass, you are tasty.

feel well jules.

no bones.

i've recently begun at a restaurant serving bone marrow.  i want to eat this.  i am so curious.

my appetite is off.

here is dinner tonight:

beet pasta with kale, toasted walnuts and chevre
i made simple pastry and put spinach, red onion, nutmeg and feta too.

sexy/sweatpants/inside day

i am sick and feeling gross.

however, something wonderful happened today which encouraged me to cook.

for two, this was far too much.

mashed brussel sprouts with cream and parmesan
roasted potatoes and asparagus
eggplant, tempeh and tomato pot pie
chocolate chip cookies... that.. burned.

only vegetables.

i spent most of the day looking at recipes (except time spent at work.)

(gross)

(work)

i tweaked a few of them so i could fix something with the ingredients i had at home.

this is what we ate for dinner.


walnut, red pepper, green onion salad on a roasted yam cake - with a dijon dressing, and goat cheese.
roasted carrots and beets with thyme and honey
spinach gratin with gruyère

non-stop soup.

i am quite fond of this tortilla soup i made.

it seemed like quite a cohesive soup.

whatever that means.

can you korma?

it is cold outside but warm in here, so i am happy.

lately i've had a winter attitude (bad) so i am inside tonight cooking spicy food, watching hockey and organizing stupid things. like bills.

i made a cauliflower korma, which i was pleased with.

now i am warm. and full.

cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cardamom, cilantro - you are so good to me.

good girl, eat meat.

i had a good meal friday night with people who i think are great.

it was exciting to learn something new (chicken roasting!) and eat food that was perfectly comforting.

it was very fun, and the meal, very satisfying.

i think often this is rare.

we roasted the  chicken with plenty of garlic, thyme, butter and rosemary.

made a salad with fennel, apple, gorgonzola, and arugula.

and roasted parsnips and potatoes along side the bird.

we ate and ate, talked food, charlie sheen, cocktails.

yes!

vegetarian meatballs do not exist.

well, they kind of do.

i mixed together 5 beaten eggs, 1 cup cheddar cheese, basil, oregano, fresh parsley, bread crumbs, onions and crushed walnuts and wound up with this. this was easy-easy.  you want to reach a consistency where you can easily form the little veg balls!

jul liked them but i thought they were too heavy.  (they were)

i served them with vegetarian gravy made from shallots and garlic, a simple roux and a tiny bit of soy sauce.

okay.  stay out of the snow.

before. after. ready to eat.

halloumi, thank you mint.

i made these for dinner this evening.

they were okay, but i'd change the recipe a bit if i were making it again.

halloumi, spinach-apple salad on crispy papadums.

the spice paste was tasty and was made with mango chutney, ginger, mint, cilantro, turmeric, paprika, cumin and coriander.

food, heaven.

spicy day.

it will snow tomorrow.

need more coffee. pens, and papertowel.

moroccan carrot soup (carrot, onion, cumin, honey, lemon, all spice)
horseradish potatoes via epicurious - you should try these and serve it to everyone you love.  so good.
multi-pepper stuffing! (serano, red, chile, sweet) - need to try it with cornbread next time.


oh, yum.

falling off.

yummy. this felt healthy. oh i like cheese too.

cumin sweet potatoes with smoked chipotle dip
black thai rice
asparagus, artichoke, soy beef stir fry
cubed cheese

food fail/ it happens/ shoot!!

i overcooked everything.

however, everything was sort of tasty.

sort of.


potato/pumpkin puree with sage
pesto, asparagus lasagna with fontina

great food/ sad pictures

a small dinner party.

i was too hungry to take pictures i am proud of, but here are a few anyway.


the menu was:
wilted spinach with nutmeg and candied walnut peices
roasted turnip, parsnip, golden beat, rutabaga with ancho chile honey glaze

eggplant gratin (not pictured) (because the picture is ugly!)
pizza! my first! (fig preserve, arugula, brie, pear, truffle oil)

i need a new tablecloth.

thankful. for. MOM.

my mom is such an outrageously good cook.  it makes me so happy.  she's like me and gets ridiculously stressed in the kitchen when cooking for others, but its always laughable.  i joined my folks for dinner last night, and this is what it looked like.

needless to say.  i am still full.

caramelized brussels sprouts with almonds
scalloped potatoes
vegetable/stuffing with crumble
russian chicken w sausage
ham
apple + pumpkin pie

there was more but my camera died.  my mom is the best.