I know I’ve harped on this before, but this time of year always drags on for me, food-wise.  Grocery store produce sections look unbearably pathetic, and the farmers’ market (which I know I’m lucky to have this early) has barely anything better.  Potatoes.  Some limp kale.  Once again I have to appease myself with potatoes until I can find something more interesting to spark some creativity in the kitchen again.  And frankly, there are only so many ways to dress up a potato, even a yummy farmers’ market potato.

I’ve dabbled in oven fries before.  It was always a pretty dismal experience, and the fries never really resembled fries… more just like roasted potatoes.  Saying something is a french fry, then not delivering on that promise… that’s unforgivable in my book.  So I steered clear of recipes that promised to be as good as fried.

I won’t promise that these are as good as fried.  But from one fry-lover to another… they are pretty insanely close.  And here is the kicker: when you drizzle them with truffle-scented garlic butter, they are BETTER than their average fried cousin.  That is a big claim, I know.  I am that confident.

Turns out there are a few tricks to making oven fries that are crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and a gorgeous golden hue.  First, you need to soak them in cold water first, to remove the starchy residue.  Then, you need to dry them off completely, so they don’t steam themselves.  Last, bake them at a higher heat than you think is reasonable.  The result is amazing, even without the gluttonous addition of the spiffed-up butter drizzle.  But, please, oh please, do not skip the glorious butter drizzle.  It’s such a small amount of butter and truffle oil, which is a small price to pay for the happiness taste buds you’ll ever experience.  Besides, since these fries are baked in olive oil, you’re still on the winning side of any nutritional conundrum.  The best part of these fries is that they make me forget that an hour ago, I was wishing I could find a halfway decent tomato.  Halfway through the bowl (yes, I did eat a bowl of fries for lunch… what did you have?), I came to the startling realization that if someone offered me a perfectly ripe and gorgeous heirloom tomato at that moment in exchange for my remaining fries, I think I would have turned them down.  And that, my friends, is saying something.

Truffle Garlic Oven Fries

You can easily double this recipe, but make sure that you leave enough room to spread out the fries on the sheet pan.  Anything more than 3 potatoes worth, I have found, requires another pan.

And all joking aside, these really are amazingly delicious without the garlic butter and truffle oil.  If that’s your bag, just serve them hot out of the oven, and don’t bother with the butter step.

2 large baking potatoes (such as Russet), cut into fries 1/4″ thick

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tsp salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons butter

2 large cloves of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon truffle oil

chopped herbs, such as cilantro or parsley, optional

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Soak cut potatoes in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes.  Remove from water and drain on a dry towel, patting off excess water so that they are completely dry.

In the same bowl that you used to soak the potatoes (or a different one, if you love dishes), toss the potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Make sure that they are evenly coated with olive oil.

Spread the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes, depending on how brown and crispy you like your fries, and also exactly how thick or thin you’ve cut them.

While the fries are in the oven, melt butter in a small sauce pan on very low heat.  Add minced garlic and keep heat on the lowest setting.  Do not let the garlic brown.  If the butter starts to sizzle or the garlic starts to brown, take the pan off the heat immediately and leave it off. Otherwise, just leave the garlic and butter on very low heat for a few minutes, until you start smelling the garlic mellow.  Take off the heat and stir in the truffle oil.

When the potatoes are crispy and golden on the edges, remove from the oven and toss them back in that bowl (yep, same one) and pour the butter mixture over the top.  Give it several good tosses, taste, and adjust seasoning.  Sprinkle with chopped herbs, if you are using them.  Serve.

As I’m writing this, I’m sitting in a coffee shop, organizing photos, sipping a decaf coffee (hey’s it’s after 3 pm and I’m not as young as I used to be), and taking a break every once in a while to just sit and savor the calmness.  Because my little guy is safe at home with daddy and I can write full sentences without interruption.

Try as I might not to eavesdrop, I can’t help but overhear the conversation that is taking place at the table across from me.  Two women are catching up, and one just told the other that she is pregnant.  It’s exciting.  They’re gabbing about all those pregnancy things that seem very important while you’re pregnant and completely worthless within about 5 seconds of actually having a child.  Like, say, whether or not you can eat sushi while pregnant.  Current schools of thought on parenting methods.  It’s making me smile to hear them gabbing about it.

But that annoying person in me wants to lean over and say, “Can I give you a tip?  When your child turns a year old, they will most likely eat either a fistful of dirt, a Lego, and/or several pieces of dog kibble, and he’ll live… so you really shouldn’t worry about a little raw fish at this point.  And I guess it’s important to have an idea of what kind of parent you’ll be, but it all pretty much goes out the window when the realization hits you that you are responsible for sheltering and loving and teaching an entire human being.”  What I really want to say is, “Try not to worry so much.  Having a baby will make you crazy in ways you never dreamed of.  And you’ll love every minute of it.”

See, I didn’t think I would be the kind of parent that would make whole wheat cheese crackers for my toddler.  I’ve never been much of a heath nut. (I know, I know.  Try to keep the shock from your face, please.)  I didn’t even have whole wheat flour in my kitchen until recently.  But something about that responsibility for another human being’s everything makes you reassess what you’re willing to put effort into.  All of a sudden, GMOs terrify me.  I, the queen of cheap, will shell out the extra 2 bucks for organic, free-range eggs.  And I made whole wheat crackers for my toddler instead of just buying a box of Cheez-its.

The ironic part of all this, of course, is that said toddler didn’t want much to do with them.  Which is good.  Because I did.  I wanted a lot to do with them.  Because, for being so incredibly simple, they are really tasty.  They’re a bit like cheese straws, but less delicate and with some chew.  They have that nice melt-in-your-mouth texture that store-bought cheese crackers do, but without that funny aftertaste that hangs around after you eat them.  A little disclaimer, though: they are dangerously addictive.  Although this makes  a decent-sized batch, they were gone within a couple of days.  I love the idea of cutting these into different shapes and setting them out with some drinks for a casual get-together with friends.  They’re also just a good snack to have around the house or pack in a bag- they are very portable.  I might even try them again with the little one.  Is it wrong that part of me hopes that he doesn’t want them, so I don’t have to share?  Lucky for me they are so easy to throw together that I can make batch after batch.  Which leaves me with more times to do other crazy things, like cut banana slices into heart shapes and such.

Whole Wheat Cheddar Crackers

from Weelicious

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon salt-free seasoning, such as Mrs. Dash

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Place the first 3 ingredients in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse and until a ball forms. Roll out dough 1/4 inch thick on a floured or parchment-covered surface. Slice into crackers, in whichever shape you choose. Bake for 15-17 minutes.

Meatloaf, while usually not the most exciting choice for dinner, is a favorite around here.  I love it fresh from the oven with mashed potatoes, or on a sandwich with white bread and ketchup (judge away!).  The old-fashioned standby has served us well for years, and it’ll probably always be the default recipe I reach for in a pinch.  However.  This bacon chipotle meatloaf is something else entirely.  It’s not only really, really good (meatloaf often is), but it’s also really interesting (meatloaf rarely is).  Not only does it have bacon chopped up and mixed into ground beef to keep it most and intensely bacon-y (my favorite adjective), but it scores a triple-whammy of smokiness when you also mix in some smoked paprika and chipotle chiles.  If the whole thing is starting to sound a little intense, fear not.  Bright, fresh cilantro and parsley keep it tasting clean and- dare I say it?- light!  I suspect that the panko breadcrumbs play a role in the lightness of the loaf, as well.  Whatever it is, it works.

But one of the things that I truly appreciate about this meatloaf is that it’s almost impossible to dry it out.  The fresh veggies and chopped bacon keep the moisture in the meat, so it stays moist and tender no matter how you abuse it.  When I make this, I typically make two loaves, then put one in the freezer, after it’s been baked.  Even after being cooked, cooling, freezing, then reheating, this meat loaf still does not dry out.  It’s miraculous.  Well, in so far as meatloaf can be miraculous, this one is.

One last thing- the list of ingredients may seem long for those of you who are used to a simpler meat loaf. It seemed long to me.  But honestly, all you do is chop, mix, and shape into loaves, so some extra ingredients are really not such a big deal.  And yes, there is a cup of heavy cream in this.  Yes, this is a bit indulgent.  Just go with it. I promise, it’s worth it.

Bacon Chipotle Meatloaf

adapted from Bon Appetit

1/4 pound bacon, finely chopped

1 3/4 pounds ground beef chuck

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

3 large eggs

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons minced flat-leaf parsley

1 1/4 teaspoons smoked paprika

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons ketchup

4 small chipotle chiles from a can of chiles in adobo sauce, finely chopped, divided

Preheat oven to 400°. Grease a 9″ by 14″ baking dish with a bit of oil. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except for two of the chiles and the ketchup.  Transfer meatloaf mixture to pan and form into two loaves.  (You could also make one large loaf, but you get a better glaze-to-meat ratio with smaller loaves, and then you’ll be able to freeze one if you can only polish off one.)

In a small bowl, combine the ketchup and the other 2 chopped chiles.  Spread 1/2 cup of this sauce over the loaves, making sure to get the sides, as well.

Bake for about 45-50 minutes.  Serve with leftover chipotle ketchup.

Sorry it’s been a while.  A few days ago, I finally pulled it together and wrote a post about this amazing hummus that I made, well, a long time ago, and just as I finished writing it, I clicked save, and WordPress went ahead and ate my post.  I had flashbacks to late nights in college involving lots of coffee and last-minute papers.  I suppose it’s been too long since those days, because I forgot the cardinal rule of writing anything longer than will fit on a post-it note: SAVE, SAVE, SAVE.  So after crafting a nicely worded, polished post… I threw in the towel.  Nothing’s more depressing than trying to re-do something you just finished.  But something good did come out of my misery.  Writing the post made me crave this hummus again.  So I figured re-writing about it for you all could wait, and I made myself another batch instead.  And then I sat down and ate the majority of it with some pita chips and cucumber slices.  It was so, so good.  And now I feel a bit selfish.  Because, really, you should know about how easy it is to make out-of-this-world hummus, too.  

So I’m not going to attempt to re-write my last post, even though there was a cute little story in it.  I’ll save it for another day.  But here is the rundown on this hummus: It’s totally delicious.  It’s insanely simple to make.  It’s in a whole different league than store-bought hummus- you’ll never want that stuff again.  It’s creamy, nutty, smooth, light, garlicky, and bright all at the same time; it’s a flavor explosion. It’s healthy, which lots of protein healthy fats, vitamins, etc.  Did I mention it’s delicious?

So that, in a nutshell, is the moral of the hummus story.  Turns out my original post might have been a little too wordy, because I pretty much told you everything you needed to know about the hummus in that one little paragraph.  So I guess my little snafu saved you some blog-reading time, which is great, because now you’ll have more time for hummus-making.  Trust me, you’ll want to take advantage of that.  Now… go forth and make hummus!

Garlicky Hummus

The original recipe I found on The Wednesday Chef called for a mortar and pestle, a food mill, soaking and cooking beans, etc.  I made it that way the first time, and it was great.  This is the second incarnation, and I’m telling you, it’s every bit as good and about half of the work. Doing everything in a food processor, and using canned chickpeas are the keys to this simplified recipe.  I also added a bit more garlic, because I just really love garlic.  If you don’t suffer from the same infatuation, you can use a few less cloves.

adapted from The Wednesday Chef

1 1/2 cups canned chickpeas (garbanzos), or about 1 can
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 garlic cloves, peeled
3/4 cup sesame seed paste (tahini)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
paprika
2 tablespoons chopped parsley or cilantro
2 teaspoons olive oil

In a large food processor, pulse garlic and salt until the garlic is very finely chopped. Add the tahini and lemon juice and process until white and thickened. Add 1/2 cup of water and process until it’s nice and smooth.

Add the chickpeas to the sesame paste mixture and process until well-blended. Adjust the seasoning with more salt and lemon juice, if needed.  To serve, sprinkle with paprika and parsley and drizzled with oil.

In your circles, do you have “inside” foods?  You know, like foods that are kind of like an inside joke, except they’re no joke at all/  A food that when you mention it, everyone gets this knowing look on their faces, because they understand that the food is more than a food- it’s a memory?  For example, if I mention say, “Pokey sticks” to my friends from college, it’s followed by a chorus of, “Oh, pooooookey sticks.” Not because they are really all that good in the cold clear light of day, but because they evoke so many fond memories of cheesy, garlicky dough in the wee hours of the morning after a rather long night out.  It’s not about the food, it’s about being transported to happy times with people you love.

German pretzels are one of those things in my family.  Well, to be fair, they are, but without the part about them not actually being that good.  Because unlike Pokey sticks, an authentic German pretzel slathered with yellow, creamy butter is legitimately one of the best things that you may ever eat. Just thinking about these pretzels conjures up memories of a family trip to Germany, to the town where my grandma grew up.  It was a great trip for many reasons, with lots of happy memories.  But one of the best memories is that of my mom walking down to the Bakerei every morning and bringing back warm, fresh-from-the-oven pretzels.  We’d break off hunks, slather them with butter, and call it breakfast. Heaven.

The hard part about foods that hold such strong memories is that they can never really be recreated.  You can try, and you may even get really close, but it never seems to be quite as delicious as you remember.  But it sure is fun to try.  This recipe for German pretzels is the closest I’ve tasted here in the U.S.  Most pretzels that you get in this country are of the mall food court variety (which have their virtues, to be sure, but aren’t in the same realm as the real deal) and are fluffy, buttery concoctions. These, on the other hand, are chewy, a bit dense, dark, and lightly salted.

To be honest here, which I always try to be with you all, they aren’t exactly right.  For starters, I have a feeling that those pretzels that I fell in love with in Germany were made with fresh yeast.  And instead of being brushed with a baking soda solution, they were most likely dipped in a solution of food-grade lye, to give the crust that dark hue and chewy texture.  But since fresh yeast and lye aren’t so easy to come by, I think the substitutions below work pretty nicely.  And the result is a pretzel that is nothing to sneer at.  With a generous smear of butter, I can close my eyes and imagine they came from a Bakerei in my grandma’s home town.  And when I sent my family a picture of these baking in my oven, the responses were… “Ooooh… pretzels!”

Success.

Traditional German Pretzels

from  Saveur

I made two pretzels as the recipe told me I should.  However, I recommend making 4 or 5 smaller pretzels out of this batch of dough.  The huge size of these was novel, but not altogether convenient.

1½ tbsp. barley malt syrup
1 (¼-oz.) package active dry yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons)
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
4 cups flour, plus more for dusting
¼ tsp. kosher salt
2 tbsp. baking soda
Coarse salt, for sprinkling

Heat a baking stone in an oven to 500°. Stir together syrup, yeast, and 1½ cups warm water in a large bowl, and let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add butter, flour, and salt, and stir until dough forms. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Halve dough, and working with one piece at a time, roll dough into a 4′ rope, about 1″ thick. Transfer rope to the bottom edge of a sheet of parchment paper, and keeping the center of the rope on the paper, pick up both ends, cross one end over the other, about 2″ from the ends, and twist; attach each end to the sides of the pretzel. Repeat with remaining dough, and set aside to rest for 20 minutes.

In a small saucepan, bring baking soda and 1 cup water to a simmer,  stirring constantly until baking soda dissolves. Then brush each pretzel generously with the baking soda solution, sprinkle with coarse salt, and using a sharp paring knife, make a 6″ slash, about ¼” deep across the bottom edge of the pretzel. Working one at a time, slide pretzel on parchment paper onto the stone; bake until dark brown, about 15 minutes. Repeat with remaining pretzel. Let cool for about 10 minutes; serve warm with butter.

“I made something vegan!” This is what I exclaimed about an hour after I piled all of the ingredients for this dish into the  slow cooker, just as the delicious smoky smell of paprika and cumin began wafting into the living room.  Frankly, I was taken by surprise.

You can probably tell by my reaction that we don’t do too many vegan meals around here.  The truth is that sometimes I find delicious-sounding vegan recipes, and then inevitably  un-veganize them by adding a pat of butter, or substituting chicken stock for water, or heck, adding a few pieces of bacon. Just a few. But this time I had actually done it.  I made something completely chock-full of non-animal based goodness.

I immediately started worrying that I should have added a slice of bacon for just a little flavor, which was so silly, now that I’ve tried these beans.  They are incredibly flavorful, thanks in large part to all the wonderfully smoky, rich spices that have a nice long time to soak into the beans and make a thick, rich broth.  They don’t need bacon.  Strange, I know.

There are a lot of things I like about this ragout.  I like that it doesn’t call for pre-soaking the beans.  I am not so great at pre-mediated bean-soaking.  I like that it’s a crock pot meal, because I like throwing everything in one big pot at the beginning of the day and then feeling like I’m ahead of the game all day.  I also like that I can serve this one night as a side with Cochinita Pibil or tacos or grilled something-or-other, and then have it for lunch the next day, piled on top of garlic toasts and topped with all kinds of good things, and it seems like a whole different meal.  I like versatility in a ragout, don’t you?

I also kind of love that I have a vegan dish up my sleeve.  It makes me feel very prepared.  Prepared for, um… dinner party emergencies?  Are there such a thing?  Do I even have dinner parties?  Not really.  But if I did, and there was a vegan in attendance, I’d be set.

And yes, I do realize that making the cumin crema to top it all off makes it not-vegan.  I also realize that serving this as a side dish for mexican braised pork is kind of beside the point for a vegan dish.  But I don’t care, because this black bean ragout is just plain good eats.

Smoky Slow-Cooker Black Bean Ragout

For the pickled onions, I use the ones from this recipe.  But really, equal parts vinegar and water, with a pinch of sugar and pinch of salt, poured over red onion slices will do the trick.

adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook (which rocks, by the way)

1 large onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle powder or cayenne

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 lb dried black beans, rinsed

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 teaspoons table salt

8 cups water (or stock)

1 TB lime juice

To Serve:

1 inch slices of good bread

Olive Oil

1 garlic clove, cut in half

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 cup sour cream

Pickled onions, diced

Chopped Cilantro

Put all ingredients in your  slow cooker. Cook on high until beans are very tender, approximately 6-8 hours. Add in lime juice and stir. (Note: Slow cookers vary greatly in their cooking temps, so times may vary.

To make the cumin crema, mix the sour cream and cumin in a small bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.

When ready to serve, preheat your broiler.  Brush bread slices with olive oil and place on a baking sheet.  Broil until toasted, and then take them out of the oven and rub the tops with the cut side of the garlic clove.

Ladle a spoonful of beans on top of the toasts, then top with crema, cilantro, and pickled onion.

*Alternatively, skip the toasts, crema, and other toppings and serve these beans as a side dish alongside meat, chicken, or fish.

Sometimes you think you know how much you love something or someone, and then they do something that surprises you and makes you love them even more.    Like when you come downstairs in the morning and discover that your husband has done all of last night’s dishes and taken out the garbage and made you a pot of coffee.  (Yep, it doesn’t take much for me, folks.  It’s the little things.)  Well, these Brussels sprouts are like your husband doing the dinner dishes.

Last year, I told you all about how I made these amazing simmered Brussels sprouts and I kind of thought it was crazy how good they were.  Because it seemed so simple, and yet… they are so good.  They tasted so different from any Brussels sprout I had ever known.  I kind of fell in love with them.  And these are the same, but the opposite.  Where the steamed ones were light, buttery, and fresh, these are nutty, rich, and a flavor explosion.  Both delicious and mind-blowing, but in a totally different way.  

Roasting them brings out an almost sweet, bitter nuttiness that I can’t really describe, except that it is made so much more delicious by garlic and Dijon mustard.  They are bold and… almost meaty.  They’re not just a nice little side like some sautéed corn or steamed broccoli.  They could really almost be a meal in themselves.  And something about this way of preparing them makes them kind of… artichoke-y?  Eating them, I kept thinking they’d be really good tossed with some pasta.  That’s crazy right?  Right???

Well, what can I say, love makes you think crazy things.  And I just fell in love with Brussels sprouts all over again.

Dijon Roasted Brussels Sprouts

2 lbs Brussels sprouts, cleaned and trimmed

1/3 cup olive oil

4 cloves of garlic, minced or put through a garlic press

1 TB stone-ground Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp salt

pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut sprouts either in half or quarters, depending on their size.  (Cutting them in half should suffice for all but the largest sprouts.) Pile sprouts in the center of a rimmed baking sheet.

In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, garlic, mustard, salt, and pepper. When combined, pour olive oil mixture over sprouts and toss to coat.When all the sprouts are well coated, spread them out evenly on the tray.

Roast in the preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes, until sprouts are browned and crispy. (Time will vary a bit based on the size of your sprouts.)

Remember when I made this pulled pork?  Boy.  It was good.  Really good.  Since then, I’ve made it, um, probably 80  million times.  It’s still as delicious and mind-blowing as the first time I made it.  But, turns out, there are other ways to eat pork shoulder. Crazy, I know.

Ok, so… this pork is also braised.  And melt-in-you-mouth tender.  And mind-blowing.  But there, all comparisons can cease.  This is totally different.  This is beer-braised pork’s Mexican cousin, Cochinita Pibil.  I had never even heard of Cochinita Pibil until my Dad came back from a trip to Mexico kind of obsessed with it.  Being the adventurous family we are, we decided to try making it ourselves.  It was really, really good.  And then we tried it again.  And again.

The recipe is about as simple as it gets- only a few ingredients that pack huge flavor.  In researching this dish, I found that, like many traditional ethnic dishes, there are as many ways to make this as there are grandmothers in Mexico.  Everyone has their own spin.  But for us (sadly, not Mexican- one of the great woes of my life) this simple version can’t be beat.  The achiote paste isn’t like anything else, so there isn’t really anything you can substitute in its place.  It’s tangy and citrusy and… achiote-y. Mixed with a little OJ and lime juice, it makes the perfect marinade and braising liquid for the pork. As the pork slowly braises and releases all its rich fattiness, it is greeted by the fresh tang of the achiote and it all just kind of works.

The resulting pork is addicting. I can’t seem to stop eating it until it’s all gone.  God help you if you decide to make a double batch in hopes that you’ll have leftovers.  It’s perfect served with corn or flour tortillas as a taco filling, or it would probably make an insanely good torta. But my favorite way to eat it is with some rice, pickled onions, queso fresco, a squeeze of lime, and some sprigs of cilantro.

Cochinita Pibil

You may be thinking, “I’ll never find achiote paste or banana leaves!”  Well, I bet you that you can.  Go on an adventure to a Latin or Asian market!  Not only will you likely find these things, but I bet you’ll have a ton of fun checking out a new place to shop. Or, if you’re lucky like me, you just have to check out a different aisle in your regular grocery store.  You might be surprised.

Adapted from Simply Recipes

Banana leaves (optional)

3-4 pounds pork shoulder
1 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed if possible
1/2 cup lime juice, juice of 4-5 limes
1 teaspoons salt
3-3.5 ounces of red (rojo) achiote paste

To garnish: pickled red onions*, queso fresco, cilantro, lime wedges

Mix the orange and lime juice with the achiote paste and salt in a blender until combined. Cut the pork into chunks of about 2 inches square, making sure not to trim away any of the fat.  If there is a bone in your pork, keep it and let it marinate along with the rest of the pork.Put the pork in a non-reactive container, then pout in the marinade mixture. Mix well, cover and marinate for 6 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a large casserole with a double layer of heavy-duty foil, or a triple layer of regular foil – you want a good seal. If you can find them, line the dish with banana leaves. Pour in the pork and the marinade.  Fold over banana leaves (if using) and foil.  Make sure ou get a nice seal on the foil.  Put the dish in the oven and bake for about 3 hours- it may take a little longer if you have closer to 4 pounds of pork.

When the pork is tender, take it out of the oven and open the foil. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon to a bowl, then shred it with two forks. Pour the remaining sauce from the dish over the pork. Serve with tortillas or over rice.

*To make picked red onions, slice one red onion very thinly.  In a bowl, combine 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup vinegar, 2 TB sugar, and 2 TB salt.  Stir until salt and sugar dissolve. Add red onions and toss.  Set aside for at least half an hour.  Pickled red onions will keep well, and even get better, for several days in the fridge.

Are you sick of quinoa yet?  No?  Not quite?  ME NEITHER!  I love this stuff. I love the flavor, texture, and how it makes anything you add it to into a filling meal in itself.  Now, some of you may think I need to move on from quinoa, and you might be right, seeing as this is my 4th quinoa recipe in a year.  (See: Little Quinoa Patties, Tabouleh Salad, and Quinoa with Corn, Scallions and Mint)  But, they’re all so different!  Which, I think, just goes to show how versatile of an ingredient it is, no?

Ok, I can hear myself going a little over the top on the quinoa.  That’s not even really the point of this salad.  It helps, but it’s not the whole story.  As shallow as this sounds, the point of this salad is that it’s pretty.  Let me explain.

For the past year, I have been a stay-at-home-mom.  It’s great.  I love it, I really do.  But let’s just say… it ain’t glamorous.  I spend a majority of my day watching sesame street, cleaning bodily fluids out of all kinds of things, crawling around the house on all fours after this little guy (and also this little guy), and in general, being a domestic servant.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining.  I feel very blessed to be at home with my munchkin.  But every once in a while, I stop and think… “I’m hungry.  And I don’t want to just eat whatever is leftover on the high chair tray, darn it.”

When this feeling strikes, I want to make myself something pretty to eat.  Something quick and easy, but pretty.  And tasty, of course.  And it has to be filling enough to get me to afternoon nap time.

Pretty tall order, I know.  But I think this salad fits that description perfectly. It’s light, pretty, totally delicious, nutritious and filling.  I, for one, LOVE salads with a bit of citrus on them, and when I have one, I always have to have a bit of avocado.  Something about the creamy avocado and the tanginess of the citrus are just too perfect together.  The mustardy vinaigrette is amazing with the citrus, but also plays surprisingly well with the quinoa. That said, for all my earlier rambling about quinoa, I have to say that this salad would be equally tasty sans the quinoa, as a side salad with dinner.  Blasphemy, I know.

Quinoa Salad with Oranges, Avocado, and Almonds

inspired by this recipe

The second time I made this, I used grapefruit in the place of the oranges and liked it even more than the original. Either works, or I bet a combo would be great, too.

Also, if you need a tutorial on how to supreme citrus fruit, this one is fairly decent, as long you ignore the ridiculous knife he’s using to do it. (Hint: use a very sharp chef’s knife.) But the music is pretty radical, so it’s worth overlooking.

For the Dressing:
1 tablespoon lime juice (about 1 lime)

1 tablespoon orange juice (about the amount left over in the remaining orange after cutting out segments)

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/3 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste
For the Salad:

1 cup quinoa, rinsed

4 oz spring mix or other lettuce greens

2 medium oranges, cut into segments

1 avocado, sliced

1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion

1/4 cup almonds, roughly chopped

Bring 1-3/4 cups lightly salted water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the quinoa and reduce heat to low; cover and cook until quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool. (You can also use leftover quinoa.  If so, then obviously skip this step.)

Whisk together the lime juice, orange juice, and mustard. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in oil. Season generously to taste with salt and pepper.

Toss quinoa with about 1/3 of the dressing and season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide amongst serving plates or place on a large serving platter. Toss greens, orange segments, avocado, and onions in a large bowl with just enough dressing to coat. Again, season to taste with salt and pepper. Top quinoa with dressed greens and sprinkle with almonds.

Happy New Year!  As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not into resolutions.  But I do love the feeling of a fresh year laid out ahead of me.  So many possibilities!  So many things I’d like to do this year! But before I get started with all that I’ll need a good breakfast.

And that’s usually where it breaks bad for me.  I’m not much of a breakfast person.  Like, at all.  What?  You’re saying, “Um, duh, because you have yet to post a single breakfast recipe, Christina!”?  Well you’re right.  I don’t dislike breakfast foods per say, they are just not so much my thing.  Also, when you have a perfectly delightful, adorable, sweeter-than-peaches 10 month old WHO IS STARTING TO WALK/RUN AWAY FROM YOU, you really don’t have much time to sit down to a decent breakfast anyway.  Enter these breakfast cookies.

Now, the breakfast cookies I’ve had in the past fall into two categories: 1)absolutely delicious and taste like a straight up cookie with little to no nutritional value (and I think I can safely say we’ve all had our share of butter-laden, chocolate gorged, straight up cookies in the past month, no?) or 2)healthy, but taste like rocks and have a similar texture.  It took a few batches of these to get to breakfast cookie nirvana, but I think I’ve done it.  Do not be intimidated by flaxseed meal or coconut oil.  You can find coconut oil in any grocery store, and same with flax seeds.  I make flaxseed meal by putting some flax seeds in my mini food processor and giving it a few whirls.    Easy peasy.

These cookies are moist, chewy, and just the right amount of sweet.  They are packed with dried fruit and nuts and a bit of coconut.  They taste amazing with a cup of coffee and keep you satisfied until lunch.  But here is how I knew that I had finally found the breakfast cookie of my dreams: I found myself grabbing them as snacks throughout the day, they were just so tempting.  Bingo.

Cherry Almond Breakfast Cookies

The following recipe uses dried cherries and almonds, but you can substitute any dried fruit or nuts, with any ratio you’d like.  You could also use chocolate chips, granola, whatever… Just make sure you stick to 2 cups of mix-ins- any more and your cookies will be a bit crumbly.

½ cup mashed banana (about 1 large)

½  cup peanut butter

½ cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

1/8 cup coconut oil

1 cup rolled oats

½ cup flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon baking soda

2 TB flaxseed meal

¼ cup coconut

1cup dried cherries (or other dried fruit)

1 cup slivered almonds (or other roughly chopped nuts)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two cookie sheets; set aside. In a large bowl, stir together banana, peanut butter, honey, coconut oil, and extracts. In a small bowl, combine oats, flour, milk powder, cinnamon, and baking soda. Stir the oat mixture into the banana mixture until combined. Stir in dried fruit, nuts, and coconut.

Using a ¼-cup measure, drop mounds of dough 3 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. With a thin metal or small plastic spatula dipped in water, flatten and spread each mound of dough to a 2¾-inch round, about ½ inch thick.

Bake, one sheet at a time, for 14 to 16 minutes or until browned. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

You can store these in an air-tight container for up to 3-4 days or freeze for up to 2 months.  I like to make a double batch and throw most of them in the freezer.  If you take a few out, they usually thaw by the time the coffee is done brewing.