Edamame Dumplings

Guess what? Spring is on its way! (I literally smiled when I typed out that sentence.)

Birds are chirping in the mornings, the sun stays in the sky a tiny bit longer each afternoon, and that large mound of snow by the bus stop has melted down to a small mass of blackened ice and cinders.

March is always an exciting time of year -- new projects, new plans, new wardrobe, and let's not forget about those lovely tax returns. Soon everything will be budding and green and sunny and happy. Okay, maybe those are just my high hopes, but I certainly have a good feeling about this year. I can hardly wait until I don't have to wear socks or tights anymore.

In order to urge spring to move a little faster, I made a fresh dish of edamame dumplings from my favorite Sprouted Kitchen cookbook (by the way, if you don't have this book, you need buy it immediately). These dumplings require a good amount of prep time, but they are absolutely delicious and taste healthy and fresh. Plus, who doesn't love dumplings and soy sauce??

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!

                         

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.

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.