Flatbread Pizza

Having several days of vacation calls for some serious sisterly bonding. My sister, Betsy, and I decided to combine our culinary skills (and appetites) to prepare some kick-ass flatbread pizzas.

The pizza on the left contains butternut squash, red onion, garlic, jalapeño, and arugula topped with Gorgonzola cheese. The other pizza is made of pineapple, red onion, sweet peppers, garlic, jalapeño, and mozzarella cheese. Can we say pizza perfection?

   

My sister made the pizza dough using this recipe a couple hours ahead of time to allow the dough to rise. We only used half of the dough, which made two small pizzas--enough food for about three people. We suggest rolling the dough nice and thin--otherwise the term "flatbread" no longer applies. By the way, do you like our makeshift rolling pin? Who says an empty bottle of wine has to be thrown away? Reduce, REUSE, recycle. Love it.

While Betsy was busy rolling the dough, I chopped, sliced, and minced the vegetables and fruit. I rarely cook with jalapeño peppers, but learned (from my lovely sis) that the heat from the peppers comes mainly from the membrane surrounding the seeds. When I minced the peppers, I removed all the seeds and most of the membrane. The minced jalapeño gave both pizzas the perfect amount of heat and helped bring out the flavors of the other vegetables--star ingredient!

                         

Cranberry Orange Relish with Mint

With one of the biggest food holidays right around the corner (literally, it's tomorrow) I decided to break out a recipe I've had my eye on for over a month.

I absolutely adore Bon Appétit magazine, so when November's issue came to my door complete with lavish holiday recipes, I could hardly contain my excitement. Upon seeing the gorgeous photos of the cranberry-orange relish with mint I immediately flagged the page and made a mental note to keep that recipe in mind for Thanksgiving.

So here we are...

Cranberries! Not to be confused with The Cranberries -- that rad '90s band.

Craisins are about the closest I've ever come to cooking with real cranberries. Sad, I know, but hopefully this recipe will make up for my deliberate avoidance of the tart little berries. 

Want to know something neat? This recipe, although it takes more time than I anticipated, requires no actual cooking. All ingredients are chopped, minced, sliced, diced, and combined all without heating up the stove. Also, this fresh relish can be added to just about any Thanksgiving dish--mashed potatoes, stuffing, salads, roasted vegetables--you name it.

Cozy Cooking

Cooking for one person can be difficult sometimes. I mean, yes, there are some benefits to preparing food for just myself. For instance, if a recipe flops, or I just feel like eating cereal all day, or if I eat the same dinner 5 nights in a row because I make too much, no one is forced to suffer but me. Unfortunately, though, I tend to encounter many problems cooking for just myself-- the main issue being my inability to cook just 1-2 serving meals. I never think to look at the servings, so I end up with enough food for lunch and dinner all week (talk about a boring food life).

In an attempt to counter my issue, I like to reassess my fridge situation every day or two and see which foods can be combined with others.

Enter: chard, leek, and butternut squash.

As you can remember, a few days ago I made a dish that required leek, butternut squash, and chard, among other ingredients. Today, I was able to successfully re-purpose these ingredients to make an entirely new dish. I do this constantly. You may call it creative, but I call it smart. There is no use in wasting perfectly tasty vegetables simply due to a lack of culinary imagination! Look up some new recipes, or create your own.

The entire plate was cozy and comforting. Beginning at the top and moving clockwise, you are looking at goat cheese, caramelized butternut squash, sauteed garlic, leek, and chard, couscous with dried cranberries, and freshly cubed avocado. This dish is loaded with nutrients and completely satiated my appetite.

Butternut Squash and Mushroom Sauté with Pomegranate and Quinoa

Feast your eyes on my newest creation, forged tonight on the tiny stove of apartment 3A. 

When I fall into a sour mood, I often feel the urge to scour every counter top, scrub every sink, do all my laundry, take out the garbage, wash all the dishes---see a pattern? 

On top of all that, I like to throw myself into cooking. Yes, yes, whip out the ol' frying pan and attempt a new concoction. That will surely keep me occupied while my insides boil over.

Whew!

I digress. 

This was an experiment dish for me, one I have never made before. I learned a few things.

1. Seed the pomegranate before food is already cooking in the pan--it takes longer than you think. 

2. When cooking with fresh sage, a little goes a long way. Also, cook it longer than you would typically cook other herbs, unless you're into bitter tastes.

3. Don't be afraid to try strange flavors together, or strange colors.

Brunching with the Best

Wow. Can we talk about how good this looks?

Let me give you a little back story...I have these two lovely roommates, Aravinda and Liz. Sometimes we like to do things that roommates do together. Mainly, we find ways to make delicious food.

However, on this occasion, we decided to hike up to Andersonville for brunch at M. Henry.

Spinach and Kale Soup with Tahini and Lemon Dressed Chickpeas

After a week of despicable eating (I'm talking greasy take out for breakfast and lunch, then scrounging around the fridge for dinner--so reminiscent of my days at college), my body was in need of a fresh, healthy kick in the pants.

So I turned, as I do so often these days, to my new favorite vegetarian food blog: Green Kitchen Stories. This blog contains goodness too delightful not to share. It's where I discovered the recipe for the soup that I am about to share with you right now.

My Fair Frittata

Remember the time I made roasted vegetables that yielded "copious amounts of leftovers?" Well, soon after, I found myself in a little conundrum. You see, after a day or two, eating roasted vegetables gets boring.

And I simply do not like to waste my food.

Starving kids in China? Maybe. But I like to think of my starving bank account as a better motivator to cook up and eat every morsel of food I possibly can.