Leeks

I have gone for almost 30 years assuming that I don't like leeks. I believe it started 10 or 15 years ago when my mom made some gross leek soup and I just assumed it was the veg I didn't enjoy, not her recipe. One day, I ended up getting a bee in my bonnet that I needed to try them again. I found a simple recipe where you braise them in butter then chicken broth (or not chicken broth, as I always say), put a little salt, pepper, and lemon zest, and that's it. Turns out leeks are really good. I have already gotten them at the grocery store again so that I can make this same recipe this week!

I had them as a side dish to the fantastic Asian chicken meatballs.

Breakfast of champions

On weekdays, my regular old breakfast is oatmeal. It's warm and filling. And boring. On the weekend, I put slightly more effort and this has been my new go-to. Earl gray (cannot live without said tea), scrambled eggs with scallions, and 2 uncured, maple smoked, apple and cinnamon breakfast sausages. I have been incorporating more pig products back into my diet, and these are fantastic. I could eat them every day. They have just the right amount of smokiness and sweetness. I highly recommend them!

Spaghetti squash spaghetti

January is the time of new diets and health kicks. As part of mine, I decided to make the plunge from using noodles to squash when having spaghetti. I thought I would just try it and see if it was good enough to have every once in awhile. Turns out it is super great. I think it would be going to far to say I don't care if I never have another noodle again, but I honestly am not missing them in this application. And since it makes for a completely vegetarian dish (vegan if you don't put parm on top) I have started to have this at least twice a week.
To cook the squash, you just need to halve and clean them, put them face down in a casserole dish with a little water, and cook for 45 min or so at 450. In the time it takes to make the sauce (see here or here for examples), the squash will be done. Take them out of the oven and scrape with a fork, and voila! This is a smash hit in my house, even with the kiddo. He can't get enough.

Salmon ceaser

What is better than a ceaser salad? Almost nothing, right? For dinner last night, I was trying to think up a way to use some salmon that we don't normally do, and I decided on the salmon ceaser. Nothing original, I know, but its not anything I ever make. I would say this turned out pretty professional looking!

Lima Beans

I get more flack for this standpoint, but here I go. Lima beans are good. I would have never believed it myself if I were not forced to taste them, but it's true. Get frozen, not canned, put some in a little bowl with a little water, nuke it for a minute on high, pour the water down the sink and hit with salt. Tastes just like edemame! I like to use a salt seasoning mix my girlfriend got me years ago because it makes them a little garlic-y and a little spicy on top of the salt. Now go ahead and never, ever believe me.

Scallops and risotto

There was a good sale on scallops (pretty much the only time we are lucky enough to get them for dinner) so I made an old copycat favorite of bang bang scallops. You can see how I make them in this old blog. A wonderful treat! I was feeling ambitious so I also decided to make some risotto. Now I know everybody thinks it is sooooo scary to try and cook it, but srsly it couldn't be simpler. Can you stir? Then you can make risotto. All you do is add the cooking liquid a little at a time (not-chicken broth in my case) and keep stirring. When it's done, you add a pat of butter and a boatload of parmesean. This is not an every day food, but man is it good.

Pesto

Back a couple of months ago, as summer was winding down, I cleared my garden of basil. We had a pretty large crop this year, and the best way I have found to store it is to make pesto, and freeze it. I make big batches, and freeze portions in ice cube trays. That way, when it is the middle of winter (although today is technically the first day of winter) and you are being lazy, you can just boil up some noodles, pop in a few of the pesto cubes and you have dinner. Go me for thinking ahead! For this particular dinner, I added a little extra by sauteing some onions and mushrooms to add to the mix. It was good stuff, and the baby LOVED it.