recipe

Animal Lovers Surprise – Vegan Chili

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If you’re a carnivore like me, you may see the word “vegan” and snarl your lip a bit. It’s all right. We all come with our own judgements and assumptions about non-meat eaters, but I have to say, I’ve made this meat-free chili on many occasions, and often prefer it to its meat-full brethren. I recently participated in a friend’s annual Chili Cook Off, and while I did not win (womp, womp), my chili still received high marks. The biggest beauty is that the chili doesn’t take hours to cook (although it can if you want it to), so inside of an hour, you could be enjoying a delicious, nutrition-filled meal with the people you love. Really, is there a better way to live? Continue reading

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Peruvian Green “Crack” Sauce

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I have no shame. This sauce is so damn delicious that I have straight up nicknamed it “crack sauce”, and so has almost everyone else who has tried it. I bless Pinterest, This is How I Cook, and Serious Eats for bringing this baby into my life. While 2016 has been a challenging time, this sauce has certainly been a glimmering light! Continue reading

Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Chilean Grapes

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Why I haven’t followed more grocery stores’ twitter feeds until recently is crazy to me. If you ever are in need of dinner inspiration, go straight to your favorite grocery establishment’s social media feeds, not the least of which being Whole Foods, New Seasons, Trader Joe’s and Fred Meyer. This brussels sprouts recipe came from Freddy’s, and I’ve recreated this side dish on multiple occasions. Grapes are usually available, but for the more seasonal foods focused people out there, replace the fresh grapes with raisins or even dried cranberries. Want a meat-friendly alternative? Fry up some bacon – a beautifully salty pairing with the sweet grapes and goat cheese. Continue reading

Persimmon, Pomegranate, Celery Salad

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The winter season often leaves me in a rut for colorful, light food, so when I come across something that’s both in season and not heavy on the root vegetables, I’m quite excited to try it.

New Seasons Market is a Portland grocery store that not only has a ton of wonderfully organically and locally grown produce, but they always have super delicious samples to pass out (I promise that’s not the only reason I shop there). Recently I can across this persimmon, pomegranate and celery salad, which completely won me over. Between the sweetness of the persimmons, pomegranate tang and celery crunch, this salad is beautiful as a side dish or a meat dressing. I paired it with a peach bourbon glazed salmon (which basically is 4 tbsp of Aunt Becky’s Peach Bourbon jam on 2 lbs of salmon steak, baked at 350 for 25-35 min) and quinoa, of which there were absolutely no leftovers to speak of. Continue reading

Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs

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If you enjoy food porn as much as I do (obviously you do, because you follow this blog), I strongly recommend following Buzzfeed’s Tasty channel. In less than a minute a video, you quickly find inspiration for future meals, and perhaps a bit of a drooling session.

These meatballs are super delicious, and pretty fast to put together. If you happen to have any leftovers, toast up some sourdough bread, add a little Trader Joe’s cilantro salad dressing and have at it. Continue reading

Creamy Tortellini Soup

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Fall doth arrive, and with it my incredible urge to cook up a storm. While I’ve been remiss in posting frequently the past few months, I promise it’s been for good reason: I’ve been working and cooking hard! As the weather turns to cool, my attention turns from salads to heartwarming soups. This recipe has been on my Pinterest board for many months, and now finally has a chance to shine. Continue reading

Beef Stroganoff

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Stroganoff has been a family favorite for as long as I can remember, and once I went off to college, I had to learn quickly how to make the dish for myself. Yes, many converts were made, and to this day it’s a go-to meal when I could use a pick-me-up or just want something warm, creamy and delicious for dinner. This is a great base recipe, so there’s room to grow and experiment (try adding some curry powder or BBQ seasonings). Continue reading

Rock Solid Tuna Noodle Casserole

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We all have our preferred comfort foods, and one of mine is the ever so delicious tuna noodle casserole. My father is a beast at making leftovers into amazing casseroles (or slumgullion, as he would call them), but my expertise lies with this one dish. It helped me through many a cold winter night in Syracuse, and I’m sure it’ll warm the cockles of your heart as well.

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Curried Beef Short Ribs

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I’ve talked about comfort food before. Sometimes it’s a gluten-laden bowl of Mac ‘n’ cheese or pizza, but it can also be a totally different kind of belly warmer that makes you smile at dinner time. Thai is one of those foods for me, particularly when there’s red curry and coconut milk involved. This is one of my favorite recipes, and extra delicious if you have 6 hours to let it cook, but is just as satisfying with 2 hours simmering time.

While I’ve made this dish many times before, this was my first attempt at using pork ribs rather than beef. The consensus: beef is better. Try it out and let me know what you think.
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Fall Menu Ambitions and Favorites

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The crisp smell of falling leaves, rain and harvest is in the air, and my mind can’t help but shift toward stews, potroast, roasted vegetables, pies and all the good eats that come with Fall. I’ve had a few menu items on my “to try” list since last year, so let’s see how many I get to this season:

What are some of your favorite Autumn-inspired dishes?