Two weeks since my last post. It’s not for lack of trying new recipes. I have tried several, and all have been major flops. There were “store bought cookies” that tasted nothing like the classics we grew up with. There were stews and muffins and biscuits and… well, the list is long and the results were depressing. I finally decided to go with a recipe that could not possibly fail: coffee cake, and a William Sonoma recipe to boot. And now look at me! I know it may seem absurd, but it’s February and here I am pulling out pumpkin show stoppers.  I was so nauseous all of November that I missed my pumpkin fix. After 17 looooong weeks into being pregnant, I am finally getting my appetite back. And so it’s time to pull out some of those recipes that I would have made back in autumn if I had not been so sick.

Continue reading: pumpkin streusel coffee cake

This month for the Secret Recipe Club I was assigned Lindsay’s blog, Life and Kitchen. Lindsay has a host of recipes on her blog that range from sweet to savory and from simple to more complex. She shares stories about her family throughout her blog posts and the pictures of her daughter are adorable! It took me a bit to decide what to make this month, but when I saw these onion rings I knew they would be a winner. Any Cook’s Illustrated recipe repeated on Annie’s Eats is guaranteed to be a real winner, and these crunchy onion rings were no exception! I love that these onion rings aren’t quite baked and aren’t quite fried. The oils from the chips that are used in the crumb mixture combined with a thin veneer of oil in the bottom of a rimmed baking sheet are all that’s necessary to make a perfectly crunchy onion ring, without the hassle of deep frying.

Continue reading: oven fried onion rings (secret recipe club)

Don’t tell anyone, but sometimes, I like spying on people. 

Not in a dirty way! I promise! Sheesh….

Anywho, this is a story about one of my spy missions. Â

Continue reading: spicy stuffed mushrooms

I know what you’re thinking. Green beans aren’t that exciting. Well, I hate to break it to you, but you’re wrong. These green beans are exciting. In fact, often times they’re my favorite part of the meal. Unless, of course, they are served alongside these mashed potatoes. I’d probably choose the potatoes just because puddles of melted butter scream my name in the night. TMI? Okay, I’ll stop.

Back to the quinoa again. I made a huge batch the other night and decided I would test recipe after recipe until I found one I liked. I was shocked when I loved these quinoa cakes and then again when I found out that I also loved this salad. This is not much different from my standard winter salad, except that I also add a hefty handful or two of quinoa for some nutritious protein. It can even turn a side salad into a main dish!

But if you really, really, really want a great tasting salad, fry your quinoa. It probably ruins all the nutritious benefits of this grain, but really, who cares? It’s delicious! And it’s still healthy because you’re still eating salad! I was inspired by this when I was making the quinoa cakes and some of the quinoa fell off the patties and into the oil in the pan. It got super crispy and I thought, “Hmmm… I bet we’d love this as a salad topping!” If you add 1 cup of cooked quinoa to a splash of hot olive oil, the quinoa turns a toasty brown and makes the most amazing crunchy topping. My husband loved this part so much that he literally licked the pan clean. Try it. You’ll like it.

I tried on a pair of jeans last week that used to fit me. With room to spare. And now they don’t. Given that all my current jeans are hand-me-downs from my designer-shop-a-holic friend, I simply must do something about this. Enter quinoa. I have heard loads about this complete protein and even seen some recipes here and there that have struck my fancy and I finally decided it’s time to lay off the pumpkin and chocolate themed desserts for a bit while I work on buttoning my pants again. I was certainly skeptical about these quinoa cakes. First, who uses quinoa and cake in the same sentence? Secondly, the little tails on quinoa scare me. And third, these quinoa cakes were supposed to go in a salad, which seemed like health food overkill even if I am on a diet.

I read on another website that someone enjoyed these with a lemon-garlic aioli sauce (I’m certain aioli is either French or Italian for “unhealthy”). I looked up the recipe, omitted half a cup of the oil to help make it designer-jean-friendly and smeared it on my quinoa cakes. And now I’m a quinoa cake convert. These are absolutely delicious. I enjoyed them so much that I plan on making another batch soon, which says a lot. I also am thinking about a sweet version for breakfast. Because, you know, we’ve already had the discussion about how I won’t eat anything savory for breakfast, no matter how delicious it is.

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I posted on Facebook asking the question, “What in the world should I do with the swiss chard growing in my garden?” Boy, oh boy did my readers have soooooo many suggestions! Eggs to soups to lasagnas to pizzas… the list goes on! I whipped up this scramble for lunch that day and I was surprised. I liked it! I really liked it! I liked it so much, in fact, that I made it a week later as a special breakfast for my husband. He loves anything savory for breakfast, so eggs doused in cheese is a real winner. I encouraged him to try these even though his negative sentiments towards swiss chard surpass mine! Brant loved this egg scramble and gobbled it up, swiss chard and all! And so we have a swiss chard winner!

Is your ideal breakfast sweet or savory? Because I’m *totally* a sweet person. In fact, I couldn’t eat this scramble for breakfast. For lunch? Divine. For breakfast? Ick. I gave my portion to Brant and reheated a strudel topped peach muffin for myself. How about you? Sweet or savory to start your day? 

Continue reading: egg, cheese, and swiss chard scramble

Hey! Remember that post a couple days ago where I told you how simple it was to make your own ricotta? Well, I kind of shot myself in the foot because I ended up with almost a pound of ricotta and no plans for it. Ricotta doesn’t last forever, so I froze mine while out of town this weekend (shhhh… don’t tell the cheese gods this… they would strip me of my foodie status immediately!). Today I thawed it for this ricotta gnocchi recipe. Gnocchi is usually too pasty for me. This ricotta gnocchi was totally different and was a real winner! With mostly cheese and only a bit of flour to hold it together, these little pillows stayed fluffy all the way to the table! And did I mention that from start to finish this recipe takes only 20 minutes to make? Weeknight meal score!

I never thought I’d find a blueberry muffin recipe that could compare with the one that I posted earlier on my blog. I don’t even know why I tried this muffin recipe since my usual motto is, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” but I’m so glad that I did try these because they are incredibly delicious! These were so moist and tender and the crumb topping was crunchy (just like I like it!) and if served with a pat of cold butter it deserves at least 5 stars!

Try both recipes and let me know what you think. Lemon-sugar topping or streusel topping? Or both?

Despite the fact that the pancakes in the above picture are obviously overcooked, let me tell you how satisfying these were for breakfast. Unlike my usual blueberry pancakes, these felt healthy. (Well, they felt healthy until I topped them with a slab of butter and a hefty dollop of whipped cream. ) With all those oats and whole wheat flour, I was full after only one pancake. And don’t fear; these aren’t healthy in the “gosh, these pancakes are as dense as bricks” sense. I wouldn’t do that to you, I promise.

Blueberries and lemon are a classic combination. I think you’ll like their flavors in these pancakes. It tastes like summer no matter what time of year you serve them!