Cooking for One...

I'm lucky to be able to work out of my house a couple of days a week.

And while it's nice to not have to make the commute into the office, to be able to work in my yoga pants and to occasionally walk or ride my bike to get Audrey from school, the best part of this set-up is, by far, lunch.

I love knowing that exactly two days a week, I get to cook whatever. I. want. I get to create a little meal that is 100% completely and wholly for me. On those two days, I don't have to worry that Bryan doesn't like olives or blue cheese or tuna or that the girlies don't like, well...where do I start with what they don't like. There are no other palettes to consider, no other diners to cajole or convince into eating.

It's bliss.

Even during my most persistent cooking funks, these little meals feel inspired. I throw things in with abandon and take ample risks, as I figure if the dish is a flop, I'm the only one who will know (+ if all else fails I can eat a carton of Greek yogurt and some fruit...)

My go-to solo-meal of late is either a simple pasta with whatever is in the fridge or pantry (and usually involving some olives or few capers, just because I can) or an omelet with lots of feta and sauteed veggies. I've eaten some variation of this for the past month, and it shows no sign of waning.

So I'd love to hear, how does this work in your house? Do you ever cook for just yourself? What do you make?

In Praise of Al Fresco Dining...

I complain a lot about the Texas heat.

A lot...

But with a warm climate comes especially lovely Spring and Fall weather. (And often winter -- we've been known to have 70 degree days in December...it's true.) Otherwise known as ample opportunities to eat outside.

Food tastes better eaten outside...it just does. And somehow, my otherwise unruly-at-meal-time kiddos seem to mellow out when we dine in our backyard. Maybe they're blissed out by the chirping birds or maybe they're just vibing off Bryan's and my decidedly more mellow demeanor. Either way, it's a game changer.

Last Saturday we had some of our dearest friends over for a little al fresco dinner. We served that super easy orecchiette with sausage, asparagus and spinach + one of my favorite "salads" -- a tomato hollowed out and stuffed with goat cheese and honey and then baked served over some lightly dressed arugula.

A perfect outside meal for sure...



our little friend Gracie surveying the meal...

An Exceptional Dip + Some Pesto

image via martha stewart.com

(Tiff this is for you ;-)

My friend Sharon came to dinner a couple of weeks ago toting along this insanely yummy dip, and now I'm obsessed with it. I like it best with pita chips, but it's also good with veggies... Heck, I'd even put it on a baked potato.

We've got a bunch of basil in the backyard that has to be cut back tomorrow, so I'm planning on making some of the dip, plus a big batch of pesto. The girls have yet to try pesto, so my plan is mix a couple of spoonfuls into some angel hair pasta, give it a groovy name and serve it up this weekend. We'll see how it goes...

I like this simple, straightforward pesto recipe from Martha, as it calls for only one clove of garlic, and I tend to prefer things that are light on the stinkin rose.

Basil Parmesan Dip

• 1 pint organic sour cream
• 1 clove of garlic
• juice from 1 organic lemon
• 4 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
• kosher salt + fresh ground pepper to taste

Put garlic and basil in food processor and pulse until chopped.

Add sour cream, lemon juice, and parmesan cheese. Blend until smooth and bright green, salt and pepper to taste.

Classic Basil Pesto -- adapted via Martha Stewart

Makes 1 1/4 cups

• 1/2 cup pine nuts, or walnuts
• 4 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 clove garlic
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread nuts on a rimmed baking sheet; toast in oven until golden and fragrant, tossing occasionally, 5 to 8 minutes. Let cool completely.

In a food processor, combine toasted nuts, basil, Parmesan, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Process until finely chopped.

With machine running, pour olive oil in a steady stream through the feed tube; process until smooth.

The Birthday Dinner

Growing up, part of our birthday celebrations always included dinner of our choice cooked by my mother. My hubby's family had the same tradition -- he always picked crab cakes and I requested beef stroganoff, which is funny as neither of us ever eat those meals anymore, but I digress...

Today is our oldest daughter's 6th birthday, so in carrying on the tradition, I asked her earlier this week what she wanted for dinner tonight at our family party. She requested white beans and sausage pasta, which is technically two meals, but it's her day, so she can go wild.


Let me pause here to say how proud I am of her choices. Despite some evidence to the contrary on this blog, we've made progress friends, as I'm certain her request last year would have been pizza or nuggets and Annie's mac and cheese.

The white beans are just a simple pot of navy or great northern beans that we cook all day -- we just sauté some celery and onion, add pre-soaked beans, chicken broth + spices (usually some Tony Chachere's , kosher salt, some fresh ground pepper, a bit of sage...), bring to a boil and then simmer for the rest of the day. Served over brown rice, this is one of our all-time favorite meals... We love it, the girls love it, it's easy, healthy and cheap. A major win!

The sausage pasta is a new favorite we make about once a week and is pretty much a simple combo of orecchiette, turkey sausage and loads of Parmesan. I serve it with just the meat and pasta for the girlies + a side of steamed green beans, and after I remove their portion from the pot, I add sautéed spinach and asparagus for Bryan and me. Maybe by next year she'll be eating that too...

I can dream ;-)

Orecchiette with Sausage, Asparagus and Spinach

• 1 pound orecchiette
• 4 sweet Italian sausages (about 1 pound), casing removed and crumbled
• Small bunch of asparagus, trimmed into 1 inch pieces
• 1 pound spinach, washed, trimmed, and cut into pieces
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup organic chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon organic butter
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Place sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown for about 8-10 minutes, transfer to a bowl.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, 8-10 minutes; drain, reserving about ½ cup of the cooking water.

In the same skillet that you cooked the sausage in (don’t wash it out) add the olive oil and once hot, sauté the asparagus until almost tender, then add the spinach and continue sautéing until wilted.

Add sausage mixture to sautéed spinach and asparagus and mix together.

Add the orecchiette to the mixture. Stir to combine, adding chicken broth plus the cooking liquid if pasta seems too dry; add the teaspoon of butter, sprinkle with cheese, salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve immediately.

Five Failures, One Success and A Really Good Meal

Sunday dinner with my lovely cousin and her boyfriend Ben has become a bit of a ritual. They’re avid cooks and equally passionate about tackling new recipes and eating local/sustainable, so it’s especially fun to cook and eat together.

It was a team effort, with Bryan grilling the sausages for my pasta as well as some lemons for Erin’s salad, which was a great combo of arugula, pine nuts, shaved Campo De Montalban (we’re loving that stuff) and a simple dressing of olive oil, a little champagne vinegar, some lemon juice, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar.

For dessert I made a strawberry rhubarb crumble -- it was my first time to cook with rhubarb, so I was a smidge nervous, but I have to say it was incredibly easy and turned out pretty freakin yummy (I started with this recipe from Smitten Kitchen and then added some brown sugar and oats for the crumble…) Next time I think I’ll go wild and omit the strawberries; I’m living on the edge here people, completely surrendering to the perfect tartness that is rhubarb.



In Audrey news, she tried five new foods this weekend with surprisingly little resistance.

Her foodie adventures and reactions as follows:

• A bit of grilled lemon (above) -- Hated it.
• Homemade hummus on some baked pita – Hated it.
• A piece of drunken goat cheese – Hated it.
• A bit of local mozzarella from Mozzarella Company -- I think she would have normally liked it, but it came out of a tomato mozzarella salad, so it was infused with some olive oil, basil, tomato and a bit of vinegar, thus – Hated it.
• A bit of rhubarb crisp w/ice cream (I'm determined that she'll love fruit crisp) – Hated it.
• A bowl of wheat fettuccini topped with shaved parmesan and mild Italian sausage – Loved it, but this wasn’t a stretch for her at all, so I’m not sure it counts.

Tomorrow, I’ll share a few recipes!