Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about sandwiches. I’m been dreaming about this amazing smoked meat sandwich we had in Montreal. It was simple, just meat, rye bread, and mustard but the size of it was massive and the taste was delicious. I still regret not getting a second one immediately after I finished the first. I’ve also been dreaming about the turkey cranberry sandwich I used to have at Earl’s Sandwiches when I lived in Arlington. That sandwich was like Thanksgiving any time of year.

But those are specialty sandwiches, and although I sort of need to find a specialty sandwich place here in London, I’ve turned my attention to takeaway sandwiches.  You know, the kind you can just grab on the go. I’ve found I don’t often like the takeaway sandwiches, and usually it’s because of too much mayonnaise. But I did find some local flavors I like, such as coronation chicken, tuna and sweet corn, or salt beef and gherkins. However, nothing has truly been cutting it. The sandwich I am craving and missing is such a simple one! It’s the Mediterranean sandwich from Potbelly in the US. Once I got thinking about it, I was sure I could recreate.

I discovered this sandwich the summer after I graduated with my Masters in Museum Studies from NYU. I felt like having a Masters meant I should have a real job and be a professional, whatever that means. But instead, I was working at a temporary science exhibit in a place that had no air conditioning and no plumbing. In DC. IN. THE. SUMMER. If you don’t know DC in the summer, it’s like 95°/35° all the time and it’s about 1000% humidity. A woman who lived in the apartment building upstairs and regularly brought her granddaughter to the exhibit would sometimes offer us water and popsicles. It was so hot that the plastic balls in one of the exhibits would become misshapen so the exhibit no longer worked. Needless to say, I didn’t feel especially professional sweating it out and I hadn’t thought that this was where my degree would take me.

My one solace from the heat was Potbelly restaurant around the corner. There I could enjoy cool air and a bathroom. I’d buy a cold water and a Mediterranean sandwich and luxuriate in the comfort of the restaurant and the food. The Mediterranean sandwich might not look like much, but for me, it has a special significance because it was there for me during frustrating time. And besides, it is freaking delicious. I love Mediterranean flavors, as I told you when I confessed that I eat tons of Greek salad when Ryan is away. I love the crunchy, salty, oily, creamy combination of fresh and canned vegetables all coated in cheese and hummus.

I love this recipe also because it allows you to have a little freedom. For example, use whatever hummus you like. I found lemon and coriander (cilantro) hummus here and loved it. But I think regular, garlic, or roasted red pepper would all be amazing. I used a jar of roasted red peppers because I like the roasted flavor and I didn’t feel the sandwich needed additional crunch. However, feel free to use fresh peppers if you like that flavor better. Also, I mixed all the ingredients, minus the hummus, together and then stuffed the pita. I like this because it makes the bites diverse. If you like layering your ingredients for uniform flavor bites, that works too. Do what you like, just be sure to enjoy this in a cool and comfortable place.

Messy level: Ordinarily a sandwich is an easy one spoon recipe. I’m giving this two spoons just because you have to do a little chopping, draining, and mixing. The added steps create more dishes, but help make the sandwich more delicious.

Copycat Recipe: Potbelly's Mediterranean Sandwich

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

Copycat recipe for Potbelly's Mediterranean sandwich. I am counting one serving as two halves of a round pita. Depending on size of pitas, this recipe will make 2-3 servings.

Serves: 3

Ingredients

• ½ cup artichoke hearts, drained from a jar
• 2 roasted red peppers, drained from a jar
• ½ cup roughly chopped cucumber
• ⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2-3 tablespoons hummus (any flavor you like)
• 2-3 pita pocket rounds (size depends on how many sandwiches you get)

Instructions

1. Preparation note: If you haven't already prepared the cucumbers, chop them now. I cut the whole cucumber lengthwise in quarters. Then I chopped along those quarters and made tiny little wedges. (As if you cut coins of cucumbers then cut those circles into quarters) However, shape doesn't really matter, it just needs to be easy to stuff in your sandwich.
2. Cut the roasted red peppers into slices. Again, size isn't so important, just medium length slices that can easily be stuffed into a sandwich.
3. Scoop the artichokes out of the jar and let excess oil or water drain off. You can pat them with a paper towel if you want them especially dry. Put the artichokes in a small bowl.
4. Add the chopped cucumber, sliced roasted red peppers, and feta cheese to the small bowl with the artichokes.
5. Mix the sandwich ingredients until things are mixed up and a little cheese looks like it's gotten stuck to everything.
6. Cut the pita rounds in half and open the pita pockets. Using a knife generously spread hummus inside each half of the pita pocket. You don't have to measure, but about 1 teaspoon should do. If you like more, do more. [Note: If you make sandwiches from 3 pita rounds, then you'll use a total of 1 tablespoon of hummus]
7. Fill the pita pockets with your mixed sandwich ingredients. Depending on how much you fill and the size of your pita pockets, you'll have about 2-3 sandwiches.
8. Serve the sandwiches on a plate. Spoon a large dollop of hummus on the edge of the plate. Use this for dipping your sandwich or any vegetables that fall out. The more hummus the better!

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When I made Greek salad, I told you that I’ve finally decided to use Twitter. I’ve been skeptical about using Twitter, but then I saw someone tweeted about starting a Cookbook Club and I thought, “what a good idea, I guess Twitter is useful.”

The method behind a cookbook club is that the group picks a book and throughout the month, or two, or whatever the time period is, the group cooks a few things from the book. Then on the meeting day everyone in the club has a potluck and brings a dish using a recipe from the book. I think this is awesome because it would force me to cook a few things from the book and it would also allow me to try other dishes without having to do the work. Sounds like perfection. Also, when I’ve done normal book clubs, we never talk about the book anyway.

The most recent addition to my cookbook collection, and the one I’m itching to cook through is the Thug Kitchen: The Official Cookbook. It was given to me as a Christmas present by my wonderful friend Charlotte. She is the kind of amazing and thoughtful friend who sends me flowers on my birthday and also when I’m having nervous breakdowns about being an adult. She sends me care packages with American candies and tiny models of ramen noodles. And I in turn, I send her boxes with no card inside and I buy British sweets and leave them in the bottom of my closet and forget to mail them. Anyway, when I got this book I was so excited and sent Charlotte this crazy picture.

This book is awesome. I’ve literally snuggled up in bed and poured through the book as my bed time reading. The writing is funny and they don’t take themselves too seriously. The recipes tell you when you can make substitutions, when to be precise, and when you can be a little messy. All the recipes are healthy and vegetarian – but they never come off snobby for being healthy or too much like hippies for adding chia seeds or tofu. The authors are really encouraging that anyone can eat healthy, they recognize when they’re asking you to use “scary” ingredients, and the recipes are so full of flavor you won’t miss meat.

Seriously. For example, today’s soup packs a real kick. It has a tomato based and chickpeas to cool it down, but there’s a kick of garlic, chili powder, and jalapenos. It’s a nice soup on to warm you up on a cold winter day. It would be even better for when you’re sick because it would clear your sinuses right out. You can definitely turn down the spice if you prefer, but as written – it’s really spicy. All in all, it’s packed with veggies and you won’t need unusual ingredients. Pair it with a corn tortilla on the side, and you’ve got a meal with some zip.

Messy level: This recipe is a hard one to rate. You’ll need one big soup pot, a knife, and a cutting board. If you have an immersion blender this is a lot easier, and cleaner. If you don’t, you’ll have to use a blender which takes more time and there might be spills.

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

 

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Author: Thug Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 bell pepper (I used red), chopped
• 1-2 jalapenos, minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2½ teaspoons ground cumin
• 2½ teaspoons dried oregano
• 2½ teaspoons chili powder
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 1 14.5 oz (400g) can diced tomatoes
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 4-8 corn tortillas, cut into 1 inch squares (the more you use, the thicker the soup)
• 1½ cups cooked chickpeas or 1, 14oz/400g can of chickpeas
• chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, cook the onion in the olive oil. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until the onion is a little bit translucent.
2. Add the carrot and bell pepper to the pot. Cook for another 3 minutes, until everything started to get golden.
3. Add the jalapenos, garlic, cumin, oregano, chili powder, and salt to the pot. Stir for about 30 seconds. Everything will get pretty fragrant now!
4. Add the diced tomatoes and tomato paste to the pot and stir so that everything is well mixed.
5. Pour in the broth and bring everything to a simmer.
6. Once it is simmering, add the lime juice and tortilla squares. Let everything simmer for about 10 minutes to soften the tortillas. Stir occasionally.
7. Remove the soup from the heat. If you have an immersion blender, blend everything until smooth. If you don't, then use a regular blender and blend the soup in batches.
8. Pour some soup in a bowl, spoon some chickpeas in the center of the bowl, and sprinkle cilantro on top if you're using. Serve.

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I recently came by a recipe for Bloody Mary soup in a magazine and I was really excited about it. I love Bloody Marys, but it isn’t always appropriate to have one. Soup, though, I can have any time of day. But when I made the recipe it came out really thick. The recipe called for pureed beans and celery, which gave it a chunky and stringy texture. I was not a fan. So I decided to try my hand at making a soup recipe all my own. I’ve never made up a soup recipe before! I did a bunch of research, used a bunch of recipes as inspiration, tinkered a bit, and then I came up with something brand new that I really liked.

Let me warn you by saying I like Bloody Marys really spicy. I love this soup because the initial taste is sweet and full of tomato flavor, but then quickly the heat starts to tingle in the back of your throat and then rushes forward into your lips. It’s wonderful. Although, I didn’t give Ryan any warning when he tasted it and his eyes popped out a little bit. But I love spicy flavors in a soup. For me, they are a cure all. I think it will help clear your sinuses when you’re sick or can pep you up when it is cold and dreary outside. I also think Bloody Marys are a great hang over cure. I mean, not that I’ve ever been hungover. But if you were hungover, I think this would be both soothing and invigorating. If you were having a wild holiday party, make a batch the night before, then in the morning heat the soup, line cups with Old Bay, pop in a celery stick and you’ve got warming morning cocktails to serve your house guests.

Now if you’re not into spice, don’t worry! In the instructions below I’ll be sure to tell you how to adjust the seasoning to fit your palate. That’s the great thing about cocktails, right? You can fix them to suit your taste!

Since I’m from Maryland, I love Old Bay and will put it on everything. I put it in the soup in place of some salt, I sprinkled it on top for seasoning, and I lined the rim of the bowl. If you don’t have Old Bay, no worries. You can use some salt to season instead. Finally, if you want an added kick, consider adding horseradish cream. I like it because it adds spice from the horseradish and simultaneously eases the spice because of the cream. If you’re not interested in the cream, the soup is still excellent without it. Ok, now you’ll be ready for all your weekend partying. You’re welcome.

Soup recipe inspired by delicious magazine and Mark Bittman’s winter tomato soup. But I think it’s mostly mine and I’m really proud of that. Horseradish cream from BBC Good Food.

Messy level: I don’t have an immersion blender, so for me, this recipe is a three spoon mess. I used a tray to roast the tomatoes, a blender to puree the tomatoes, and a pot to simmer the soup. That makes a lot of things to clean and a lot of opportunity for spills. If you have an immersion blender, then you’ll have a little less clean up.

Bloody Mary Soup with Old Bay

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 15 mins

 

Serves: 4-6 bowls

Ingredients

• Soup:
• 5-10 garlic cloves (use less if you want less intensity)
• 800g/28oz canned, whole peeled tomatoes
• olive oil
• 1 tsp coarse salt
• ½ tsp celery salt
• 1 tsp Old Bay
• 1-2 tsp chili flakes (I used 2 tsp, use less if you want less heat)
• 2-4 cups chicken or vegetable stock (use more stock if you want to dilute the heat)
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• juice from ½ lemon
• Tabasco sauce (optional)
• celery stalks (optional garnish)
• vodka (optional)
• Horseradish Cream (optional):
• 1 tbsp horseradish
• 4 tbsp of crème fraîche
• salt and pepper
• juice of ½ a lemon

Instructions

1. Heat your oven to 350°/180°.
2. Pour some olive oil on a baking sheet.
3. Take the garlic cloves off of the bulb, and cut a little bit off of the top. Don't peel them. We'll pop them out of their skins easily after roasting. Put the prepared garlic on the baking sheet.
4. Drain the canned tomatoes. Reserve the liquid.
5. Cut the tomatoes in half.
6. Put the tomatoes on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the tomatoes with more olive oil. Season the tomatoes with salt, celery salt, Old Bay, and chili flakes.
7. Roast in oven for 20-30 minutes. The tomatoes are ready when they have started to dry out and get a little bit dark and brown in spots.
8. Remove from the oven. Add the tomatoes to a blender (add to directly to a pot if you have an immersion blender).
9. Let the garlic cool a bit so you can touch it. Pinch the bottom of the garlic and it will shoot up through the top (where you cut before) and it will be easily free from its skin. Add the garlic to the blender.
10. If there are crunchy bits on the baking sheet pour a little stock on them. Use a spatula to scrape them off. Pour the crunchy bits and the stock into the blender. (The crunchy bits are yummy caramelized tomato juices)
11. Add the reserved tomato liquid to the blender. Blend until mostly smooth.
12. Heat the tomato puree in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in 2 cups of stock, the lemon juice, and the Worcestershire sauce.
13. Taste. Too spicy? Add more stock. Not spicy enough? Add Tabasco sauce ¼ tsp at a time.
14. Simmer for 20 minutes so all the flavors can mingle together.
15. While the soup is simmering, prepare the horseradish cream. In a small bowl mix the horseradish, crème fraîche, salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
16. Serve the soup in a bowl, top with a dollop of cream. Pour in a splash of vodka if you like. Garnish with a stalk of celery and a sprinkling of Old Bay.

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This post is part of Our Growing Edge, a monthly blogging event to encourage bloggers to try new food related things. Jules from The Kiwi Diaries is the host for this month’s event.

If you have a blog and you are eating or cooking something new this month, you can get more information here about how to join.

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Meanwhile, while I was doing that, Ryan was in Brussels for work. How cool is that?! Seems super cool to me. He did get to do a bit of walking around, he ate an awesome waffle, and he even saw the King of Belgium! I was jealous. He was only there overnight, so I didn’t go with him, which means I was making dinner for one.

Now, I’ve mentioned it before, but when I’m alone I make girly, vegetarian, salads. My go-to is usually a Greek salad because Ryan doesn’t like olives or feta. I decided to put a twist on a regular salad and do a pretty liberal interpretation of this recipe from Smitten Kitchen. Part of the reason for interpreting the recipe is that I don’t currently have access to an oven or food processor. What I found is you don’t need an oven, but a food processor would definitely be helpful. Either way, it’s a pretty yummy and simple dish. The proportions below are small, since it was just for me – but feel free to double it. And sorry, this is not a photogenic dish.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa

1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes

3 garlic cloves

Dressing:

1/8 cup olive oil

1/8 cup warm water

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives

1/4 cup crumbled feta

Instructions:

1. Cook quinoa according to package directions. Or, put 1/2 cup of quinoa and 1 cup of water in a pot, bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer until all water is absorbed. This takes about 20 minutes.

2. Heat a skillet on low. While the pan is heating, cut the tomatoes in half. Also cut the garlic cloves in half. Put the tomatoes and garlic in a hot skillet. Heat for 10 minutes, stir once halfway through. The tomatoes are done when they’re a bit wrinkly and when you press on the tomato skin, it has some gentle give. This part smells so so good!

3. In a food processor, blend the olive oil, water, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and half of the tomatoes and all the garlic. Blend until smooth (or in my case smash with a fork to the best of your ability).

4. Plate the quinoa, mix in the olives, tomatoes, and feta. Then pour over the dressing. Pour the dressing slowly, to your taste. Don’t just dump it or you’ll have soggy quinoa.

Messy level: Two spoons, and only because you need two pots. It’s easy to make though and won’t have much clean up.

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Then, when I found a recipe for this beet dip I was really excited.  I think dip is wonderful because it’s a great excuse to eat crackers, bread, and cheese. Most importantly, this dip is easy to make and it is pretty. This recipe is just like hummus, only instead of chickpeas it has beets. I was excited for some new twists on old favorites. I served it when my friend Emily and her boyfriend Matt came over and it went over really well. It has the nice, sweet, earthy flavor of beets and the lemon juice gives it a nice bright, citrus flavor. It went even faster than the regular hummus!

Adapted from Food 52.

Ingredients

1 pound beets (about 2 large ones)

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted

2 tbsp lemon juice

3 tsp tahini

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 garlic clove

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 400°.

2. Scrub the beets clean, cut off the ends of beets. Wrap the beets in a foil packet. Roast for 50-60 minutes. Beets are done when you can easily stick a fork through it.

3. Take the beets out of the oven. Let cool enough so you can touch them. Use a paper towel (to keep your hands from getting red) and rub off the skin from the beets. Cut the beets into quarters.

4. If you didn’t buy toasted walnuts, heat a skillet over medium heat. Once it is hot, put the walnuts in dry. Stir occasionally. Heat until they smell toasty, about 2-5 minutes.

5. In a food processor, blend all the ingredients until smooth. Scrape down the sides as necessary.

6. Taste it, adjust seasonings as desired.

7. Serve with vegetables and crackers. I like it with goat cheese and a pita chip.

Messy level: This one is tough to rate because usually making something in a food processor is a 1-2 spoon. But, it’s beets. No matter how hard I try, I dye my fingers and I also worry about dying everything else. I’m giving at a 3 spoon, mostly as a warning to you, your floors, and your couch.

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Rice crispy treats seemed like the perfect treat to make. They are ooey-gooey, pure sugar, and remind me of being in elementary school. But, I wanted to step them up a notch and include candy corn. I’m not a huge fan of candy corn; I want to eat about twelve pieces and then I’m done with it. Other people must feel the same because I had to go to two different CVS locations to find candy corn. When I finally did find it, I was directed to a tiny bag in the regular candy section, not with the Halloween section.

Candy corn might be waning in popularity, but it’s still a Halloween staple for me. I knew they’d add a nice color and different crunch to my rice crispy treats. With marshmallow, butter, and candy corn, there’s no better quick and yummy Halloween treat. So now I’m sugared up and ready! Happy Halloween!!

Adapted from the Rice Krispies website

Ingredients:

4 tbsp butter

1 10oz bag of regular or mini marshmallows

6 cups of Rice Krispies cereal

1 cup of candy corns

2 tsp Halloween sprinkles

Recommended: A silicone spoon or spatula. It will get coated with butter and so nothing sticks to it. 

Directions

1. Using a large pot, met the butter on low heat.

2. Add the marshmallows. Stir occasionally until melted. This takes less than 10 minutes (though I didn’t time exactly).

3. Remove from heat. Add the cereal and candy corn and stir. Do this on a flat surface because the cereal will try to shoot out! Stir until everything is coated in a web of marshmallow.

4. Press the mixture into a 9×13 pan. Press it in using your silicone spoon.

5. Sprinkle the sprinkles on top of the mixture. Press them down using your spoon.

6. Let sit until cool, then cut and serve.

Messy: Seriously a one pot dish. Ordinarily, melted marshmallow gets all over everything – but it doesn’t! It’s so coated with butter and cereal that the pot was almost spotless. I had NOTHING on my spoon, shirt, hands, or hair. It was awesome. I think this is one of the easiest and cleanest desserts  you could make.

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I think the website is hilarious. I feel like if my college friends and I had a cooking show, it would be like Thug Kitchen. Probably less cursing, but the same idea that you’re awesome, what you’re making is awesome, and not to take it all too seriously. Anyway, today’s recipe comes from him.

When I found this recipe I was excited because I thought it would be something both Ryan and I would like. I want to have more meatless dinners, but it’s got to be satisfying and delicious for both me and Ryan. This seemed perfect because chickpeas are filling, there’s vegetables in the falafel, and the buffalo sauce is really flavorful and delicious. Also, Ryan and I were recently in Charlottesville, VA and ate at One Meatball Place and I loved their special buffalo chicken meatball. It was so juicy and amazing and I was eager to try something similar again soon.

Suffice it to say, I was inspired and Ryan and I were going to have buffalo falafel for dinner! I really liked it and had the leftovers for lunch for the next two days. It was spicy, flavorful, and I’ll call it “healthy” since there’s cauliflower in it. And as a broad generalization, I think it’s a good balance of foods girls like and foods boys like. I recommend eating it on pita bread or over lettuce and drizzled with ranch dressing.

If you don’t like spicy, you could still make the falafel and pair it with your favorite sauce. This sauce is great though, and I’d use it on chicken wings or any other meal where you’d like to add a kick.

Ingredients: 

Falafel:

1 15oz can of chickpeas, drained

1/3 of pound cauliflower

1/4 cup diced onion

2 gloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp all-purpose seasoning

2 tbsp bread crumbs

Buffalo Sauce:

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp flour

1 cup cayenne based hot sauce

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp vinegar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Grease a baking sheet

2. Using a food processor, chop up the cauliflower until it’s in tiny pieces.

3. In a bowl, mash the chickpeas until fairly smooth. You can leave some chunks, but you want it to be smooth enough so you can form chickpea balls.

4. Add the cauliflower, garlic, onion, oil, seasoning, and bread crumbs to the chickpea paste. Mix.

5. Form the mix into balls. It will make a little more than a dozen.

6. Put the balls on a baking sheet. Cook for 12 minutes, flip, then cook for 12 more minutes. They should be lightly brown on the outside.

7. While the balls are baking, start on the sauce. In a saucepan, heat oil

8. Add flour to oil. Stir continuously until it is golden. This takes about 3-4 minutes. Don’t let it boil.

9. Add half the hot sauce and mix. It should thicken up.

10. Add the rest of the hot sauce, water, and vinegar. Mix until smooth. It will smell spicy!!

11. After the falafels are done baking, pour buffalo sauce on top of them and bake for another 5 minutes. It’s less messy if you gather the balls on your baking sheet, then pour the sauce on them.

12. Serve and eat!

Messy level: I give this two spoons. It’s pretty self contained and there’s nothing that really splatters. I think it’s important to really grease the baking sheet well. I had a hard time flipping the balls over and so it made clean up a little more challenging.

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Over the weekend Ryan and I had dinner with some friends who were visiting from out of town, and they were telling us all the DC things they were going to do before they left. The next day they were going to Farmers, Fishers, Bakers on the Georgetown waterfront, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I was jealous. I know some people who had just ok experiences there, but I really loved their brunch. I think it’s a pretty sizable buffet with a diverse array of choices. For example, there’s chocolate chip waffles, carved meats, Bloody Mary’s, chips and guacamole, and brûléed grapefruit.

The grapefruit is so simple, yet really delicious and I realized I could make it at home! My brother bought me a kitchen torch for my birthday, so I can have grapefruit brûlée whenever I want. I’ve been excited and scared to use the kitchen torch, but this seemed like the perfect first use since I wasn’t make something too complicated.

So Sunday morning, I walked to the grocery store,  I bought two grapefruits, I made Ryan “supervise” the torch set up, and then we were good to go. It was pretty easy to make and really yummy. I think Ryan and I were startled by how much a little caramelized sugar can enhance a grapefruit.  If you don’t have a torch, you can still do this with your oven broiler. Anyway, here’s how we did it – and there’s even the first ever Cooking is Messy video.

Ingredients:

1 grapefruit

2 tbsp raw sugar (I’m sure you can use granulated, but all the recipes I found recommended raw)

Directions:

1. Cut grape fruit in half along the equator.

2. Cut a little bit of skin off of the bottom of each half. This is so it will sit flat when you’re torching it.

3. Place the grapefruit fruit side down on a paper towel. Let it sit for 5 minutes. This is to absorb excess juice.

4. Flip the grapefruit halves over. Using a paring knife, make a cut all the way around between the fruit and skin. Also cut between the fruit sections. Don’t get crazy with this, you’re doing this just to loosen the fruit so it will be easier to eat in the end.

5. Sprinkle the tops with 1 tbsp sugar.

6. Using the kitchen torch, heat the sugar until it turns caramel brown. It will smell awesome and look awesome and that’s how you’ll know it’s done. Here’s a video of me using the torch.  If you are using a broiler, put the grapefruit in the broiler until it reaches desired color. Check it regularly, but it should take about 6-8 minutes.

7. Eat it! We probably could have browned it more, but it was so wonderful smelling that we couldn’t wait any longer!

Messy level: Low! This requires almost no utensils and there’s nothing to spill. It’s so easy to make as long as you’re not afraid of fire.

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This year Ryan and I decided not participate in a CSA (community supported agriculture). Partially it was because we remembered too late to sign up. But we also had a lot of waste last year. We’d get a huge bag full of beautiful vegetables and we just couldn’t eat everything before the next bag and before things went bad. The thing I miss about a CSA is getting veggies I’ve never seen before. Without a CSA I never would have tried kohlrabi, garlic scapes, or rainbow chard. So I promised myself that instead of a CSA, when I go to the farmer’s market I’d try to push myself out of my comfort zone. Enter, purple cauliflower. It’s just so darn pretty!

And not only is it pretty, but cauliflower isn’t a vegetable I’ve eaten much. I looked to some of my favorite cookbooks and blogs, and what I found is that pretty much everyone covers cauliflower in cheese. I love cheese. I think cheese makes everything delicious. So, when I decided to get cooking, I went with Smitten Kitchen’s recipe (she even used purple cauliflower!). This recipe is basically the creamiest, most luscious mac and cheese – only instead of pasta it’s cauliflower.

I made it before going out to dinner with Ryan and his friend Shane, and both boys liked it. So here’s a boy approved veggie recipe. It did look weird, but it was so yummy. It was also something we’d take out of the fridge, and with each bite we’d be like “oh yeah!” Each bite was always better than we remembered. And of course, the purple-ness makes it fun.

Ingredients:

2-3 pounds of cauliflower florets (I used a mix of purple and white cauliflower)

4 tbsp butter, divided in half

3 tbsp flour

2 cups hot milk

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

3/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese (divide this into 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1/3 cup bread crumbs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°

2. Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Cook cauliflower in boiling water for 5-6 minutes. You want the cauliflower to be a little bit tender with still a bit of crunch. When done cooking, drain cauliflower and set aside.

3. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a saucepan over low heat.

4. Add the flour to the melted butter. Stir constantly for 2 minutes. It should be a thick-ish paste.

5. Pour the milk into the flour-butter mixture. (I heated the milk in the microwave until it was steaming, but not bubbling. It was probably about a minute at high heat.) Stir occasionally until it comes to a boil.

6. Once it’s to a boil, use a whisk to stir the milk for about 1-3 minutes, until it thickens. I have a really hard time with the phrase “thicken” because it seems so vague. When has it gone far enough? What this means to me is that I put a spoon in the mixture, the liquid sticks to it, and then when I touch the spoon it feels thicker than regular liquid.

7. Turn off the heat. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup of Gruyere, and Parmesan.

8. I used a 9×9″ pan. You can use something a bit larger too. Pour about 1/3 cup of the sauce into the bottom of the pan. Pour the drained cauliflower on top of the sauce.

9. Now pour the rest of the cheese sauce over the cauliflower. Mix it a bit so that everything is coated. I used a spoon to mix, and a silicone brush, to make sure the cheese was evenly spread.

10. In a small bowl mix the bread crumbs and last 1/4 cup of Gruyere. Sprinkle on top of the cauliflower.

11. Melt the last 2 tbsp of butter. Drizzle over the top of the gratin.

12. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

13. Bake for 25 minutes until the top is browned.

14. EAT IT!

Messy Level: I’m giving this three spoons. You have to use a number of dishes to make this meal (two pots and a baking pan). Also when cutting the cauliflower I had little shards of leaves and florets all over the counter and floor. Additionally, making and pouring cheese sauce is a bit messy. There are a bunch of steps and some messy conditions, but this recipe is also pretty easy and straightforward. Definitely worth making!

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I feel like I should name my cooking guy. In part because, I feel guilty that I cut him in half. And I cut him in half because I think this recipe is mostly pretty good for beginner cooks – but not completely novice friendly. 2/3 of this recipe is super easy, it’s just the dressing that I think is the step up. It’s not hard to make the dressing, but it requires ingredients that a beginner cook might not want to buy (sherry vinegar). But, this recipe is really yummy and so if you don’t want to make the dressing, just do the quinoa and veggies and top it with some store bought dressing if you like.

Also, before we get to the instructions, I wanted to  let it be known that I think this recipe is for girls. I know that’s a huge blanket statement and probably a little bit unfair, but here’s my reasoning.  This recipe is all about the vegetables. And it has some frou-frou ingredients. Now, that’s not to say that boys don’t like vegetables but based on the men in my life (Ryan, my father, and my brother Eric) vegetables aren’t their first choice. I mean they’ll eat them, but their first choice is never going to be a salad.  Recently, my mom and I made a seafood stew heavy with vegetables.  At the end of the meal the seafood was gone, but the veggies were still lining Papa’s plate. And also, from what my friends tell me, the same is true of their respective husbands and boyfriends. And things like quinoa, shallots, and sherry are a little frou-frou. Now I’m sure some of you are saying, that you totally eat quinoa regularly and it’s completely a staple. I agree, quinoa can be a staple but the average single guy probably doesn’t make quinoa as part of their repertoire.

For that reason I was a little hesitant about posting this recipe. And also because Ryan wasn’t a huge fan, and that made me nervous. Ryan is usually 50% of my taste-testing base. So if Ryan doesn’t like it, and I do, how do I know if I should post it? But, my coworker Cara inadvertently helped convince me that I should post it. I was eating it for lunch in our tiny shared office and she walked in and told me it smelled good. I told her that it was good, and tasted even better two days later. I also told her what was in it and that Ryan didn’t really like it. And she said, unprompted from me, that it sounded good and “like a girly recipe.” Also a few weeks later she said I inspired her and that she had made her own beet-quinoa-salad.

Also, to clarify, it wasn’t that Ryan didn’t like it because the recipe was bad. I mean, we’ve had recipes that have gone awry, and we look at each other like, “let’s throw this away immediately and make a PB&J.” This wasn’t that time. Ryan wasn’t a fan because the flavors weren’t something that his palate enjoyed. So, that’s a whole different beast. I have friends who don’t like tomatoes, or cilantro, or onions and so a recipe isn’t inherently bad because it has those things, it’s just not to their liking. So read the recipe below, and see how you feel.

Anyway, I thought this recipe was delicious and was even more delicious as leftovers because the flavors mellowed and blended. And so I know it’s bad form to start with some weird negatives and then try to convince you that’s it good. But it’s too late I did it. This recipe is good, and easy, and you should try it.

Pretty little radishes and beets

And I was really excited when I found this recipe because I had never found anything interesting to do with radishes. Ryan and I went to the farmer’s market and saw the most beautiful bunch of magenta radishes, and so we just had to buy them. But all I’ve ever done with radishes is eat them raw with dip or chop them up for salads. Occasionally I’ve diced them really fine and mixed them into meatloaf, but that’s the most exotic thing. I did a little Google searching and really didn’t come up with a whole lot.

But then, I got an email from the library and Deb Perelman’s The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook was available for pick up! I love her blog and she is my go-to for sweets and baked goods. I was really excited to get her book and there was so much I wanted to try. And then, when I found this recipe I knew it would be perfect for my lovely radishes. Perelman used radishes, beats, and turnips, but I just used the first two. You could probably improvise and use any root vegetables that are your favorite (carrots, parsnips, potatoes, etc). I really liked this dish because you can prepare it, heat it, and forget about it. You don’t really have to attend to it much throughout the cooking. It’s also a great stand-alone dish or it can be eaten as a side with some meat. I thought it was filling, but not too heavy, and with a great complex and yummy flavor. Hope you enjoy it too.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa

Salt

3 small shallots

1 – 1 1/2 pounds of beets and radishes

Lemon juice

Black Pepper

For the dressing:

2 tbsp sherry vinegar

1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

salt, to taste

3 tbsp olive oil

Black Pepper

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 400°

2. Rinse quinoa and cook it according to package instructions. Cooking quinoa usually means this: Use double the amount of water as quinoa, so in this case 1/2 cup quinoa and one cup water. Put both in a pot and bring to boil. Then turn down heat to low, cover, and simmer until the water is absorbed. This takes about 10-15 minutes. You’re not supposed to lift the lid while it’s cooking, but if you’re a new cook and curious, open the lid about 2 minutes before you think it should be one. Take a fork or spoon and push aside some quinoa to see how much water is under the grains. If it’s a lot of water you need more time. If it’s no water, it’s probably good to go.

3. Scrub and rinse veggies. Chop them in half or in quarters if the veggies are especially large

4. Peel shallots and separate cloves if there is more than one inside the skin. Place the shallots on aluminum foil, sprinkle them with olive oil, and then fold the aluminum foil into a little packet.

5. Coat a baking sheet or roasting pan with oil. Arrange the veggies in one layer. Sprinkle with olive oil and lemon juice. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

6. Put the roasting pan and the aluminum foil shallot packet in the oven.

7. Roast the veggies for 30 minutes. Stir about halfway through cook time. Veggies are done when they are tender (which is when you can easily poke them with a fork).

For the dressing:

1. Remove the shallots from the oven when you remove the root veggies.

2. Take the shallots and put them in a food processor or blender.

3. Blend with the sherry, balsamic, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Taste. Add more olive oil if it’s too tart and tangy from the vinegar. Add more vinegar if you like the flavor.

Assembly:

1. Put some quinoa on the plate.

2. Put the root vegetables on top of the quinoa.

3. Pour the dressing over the quinoa and vegetables. Leave it like that for presentation, but when you eat it I recommend mixing it all up because it tastes GREAT.

Messy Level:  Low. As I said before, it’s pretty much prep, cook, and serve. You don’t need too many utensils and there’s not a lot of opportunity for spilling. Although, beet juice does dye everything.

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