Here you’ll find everything I’m preparing in my kitchen - from veggies, to leftovers and pasta. I eat simply, and I cook for one, but love cooking for others. And no matter what, I always pause to plate pretty.
Most of my meals are often times the result of freestyle recipe free ingredient riffing and a trip to the vegetable market. Produce is my passion, and I hope that you won’t simply come here for a recipe - but that you’ll read, cook and create a new story of your own.
I believe there’s power in a stocked pantry and freezer. From traditional Italian dishes to alternative sweets, vegan and vegetarian swaps - there’s something for everyone.
Let this serve as inspiration and let’s eat!
The last time I attempted to write was on May 3rd. On May 3rd I started to log all of my fire escape meals and then stopped, it was sudden. The onset likely spurred from an online dating burn, I can tend to get lost in my thoughts and in my mind. I’ll cook, create and eat - there’s always eating -
Read MoreMy grandmother used to make a sauce from Birds Eye frozen winter squash. Bright orange, garlicky, cheesy in flavor, silken in texture - I can still picture the way the thick sauce coated broken pieces of pasta in the bottomless bowls she served on a weeknight. The summer I went to live on the farm in Connecticut, I spent half the time recreating her lentils and the other half perfecting this sauce.
Read MoreWith summer officially gone, so with it goes seasonal eggplants and many of my other farm fresh favorite vegetables. The eggplant will likely be prepared in my kitchen in the coming months, clearly not locally sourced (don’t produce shame me), so I scooped up three purple beauties at a farmers market last week.
Read MoreMy love for turkey meat has grown over the years. I’ve found ways to jazz it up, from adding vegetables and herbs to the mix, to topping it with onion jam or caramelized cabbage. Turkey meat on its own still reminds me of diet food and that time my parents bought me these pills called “Fit America” where one eats an Atkins style diet
Read MoreGrowing up Tuesday’s and Wednesday night meals were often Sunday reheats or leftovers. I always say that eating like a peasant never tasted so rich. Often times for dinner we ate stale bread with tomatoes, pasta with potatoes, canned tuna with olives and sauce, fagioli and leftover Sunday dinner bits and pieces. Our meals were home cooked every night of the week and rooted in preparation, leftovers and simplicity. This is how I developed my cooking style once I was able to understand how I was using food to support me emotionally. Now this process supports me emotionally, creatively and in an entirely new way.
Read MoreI spent about $15 at the market to refresh my produce and I'll combine that with leftover produce, pantry items/staples to make meals throughout the week. Because of my teaching and coaching schedule I've been eating many, many more veggie based bowls lately. Lots of colors layered with whole grains, sauces for flavor and in the evenings mainly soups/salads and toasts with avocado or hummus.
This is a system that's been working for me and to be wholly honest I probably wouldn't be cooking in such volume for myself if I wasn't trying to keep my food costs down.
Read MoreRoutine is wonderful and keeps us in check, but stepping outside of our comfort zone is essential for growth - in life and food. And keeping things saucy is certainly one of my secrets to making meals consistently fun and tasty. I don’t know if I could eat chicken, rice and broccoli or the same one pot meal over and over again throughout the week - not without some special sauces.
If you like the kitchen and if you don’t mind getting in it, dare to keep it saucy.
Read MoreA few tweaks to this Sunday bolognese make it not so traditional, but lighter and quick to make. Sure we're losing the pork and beef, substituting for turkey, but we've still got a healthy pour of red wine and finish with a splash of half and half to cut some of the acid and cream up this sauce - all without the ritual of cooking for 2-3 hours.
Read More
