Valentine’s Day Treats

Happy Valentine’s Day! I know Valentine’s Day is a boomin’ holiday for restaurants but as a diner (and as someone who loves to cook), I have never been big on the whole go-out-to-eat-with-your-sweetie tradition: I don’t like to fight the crowds to eat from a limited menu that’s usually just too much (both in cost and richness) and then feel rushed to leave in time for the next seating (when I was a waitress, however, my favorite way to spend Valentine’s Day was working: lots of volume, a higher price point and diners who were trying to impress their dates through tipping = a shift that flew by and lotsa money dollahs.) Gist and I usually spend the holiday with a home-cooked meal and this year was no different.

Our big Valentine’s Weekend (because who wants to celebrate on a Monday?) consisted of attending a lecture about Mexican Chocolate Traditions in Massachusetts at the Lowell National Park and a chocolate tasting to raise money for the Brush Gallery’s scholarship program on Saturday evening, and a delicious meal together on Sunday.

On the menu? Heart-Stuffed Shells in a Ricotta Sauce…

…and Maple Syrup Pie.

Snow Day Fun / Quinoa & Beet Pancakes

Those of you that live in New England know that we were hit with a super-awesome blizzard yesterday.  It was super-awesome both because I love snow always, but also because it was forecasted well and meant a snow day for me and Gist.  In honor of the snow day, I busted out my new favorite, Good to the Grain, and whipped up these pretty pink pancakes.

World Peas CSA – Week Four & Fettuccine with Mustard Greens and Mushrooms

This week’s CSA haul:

• Mustard greens
• Chinese broccoli
• Summer squash
• Slicing cucumbers – the whackadoo yellow kind
• Carrots
• Green onions
• Radishes
• Thai basil
• Blueberries

With some of my CSA haul I made a variation of Michael Chiarello’s Fettuccine with Mustard Greens and Mushrooms. 

World Peas CSA – Week One

Finally! YAY!

This week we got:

• Pea Tendrils
• Chinese Broccoli
• Swiss Chard
• Lettuce
• Garlic Scapes
• Radishes
• Mint (which I left in the swop box, my mint plant is double-OC)
• Strawberries
• And of course I picked up some milk at the dairy!

This year, for the first time,  World Peas is offering a small share which is what we signed up for.  This filled up the small (1/2 bushel) box pretty well, so I am interested to see what our yield is as the season progresses.

Slow-Cooked Vegetarian Boston Baked Beans

I love baked beans. I love them in the winter, when baking them in the oven warms the house, and in the summer, when using the slow cooker makes having them and a cool house a possibility. I love them served over brown bread and I love them at cookouts. They are delicious, but they definitely take planning.

Goat Cheese & Roasted Corn Quesadillas

This is, no joke, a really quick and easy recipe (in fact, I wouldn’t even call it a recipe it’s so easy.)  It’s also crazy-delicious.  It is so quick, easy, delicious, and easily made from items I have on-hand, that it was the perfect dinner solution last night (and saved us from ordering pizza.)

See, Gist and I had been camping all weekend, and arrived home smelling of campfire, in desperate need of showers, hungry, and totally relaxed (in other words, there was no way I wanted to cook anything complicated.)  Warning – camping bliss detour ahead:

Fennel Pizza with White Bean Purée

Thanks so much for all of your nice comments about Sebb. He was a well-loved cat and he is missed. His feline diabetes, however, is not. To both cheer me up and acknowledge the fact that we no longer have to be at home at 7:00 am and 7:00 pm to administer insulin, Gist and I headed out to Western Mass. for the weekend where we enjoyed my favorite food:

Pizza, it’s what’s for dinner.

Happy Friday!

Friday is generally pizza night in our house; if you hadn’t already guessed, pizza is my absolute favorite food in the entire world and I just love closing out the work-week with a treat.

Terrible Name, Tasty Dish

Easy, quick, pantry-friendly, and perfect for a weeknight. Oh, it’s reeeeeally delicious and makes great leftovers. What more could you ask for?

The Best Lentil Soup Ever

That is not hyperbole. It’s the honest truth; Gist and I love this soup so much that I have made a big pot of it every week for the past month and a half for us to bring to work for lunch.  So good!