The End...

I'm switching over to my new vegetarian blog now, so I won't be posting here any more. Having to look at all those ham-related recipes would be too much of a temptation for me...

Spinach/tomato/olive rotini with ... sauce (and a warning)

Although I've been off dairy for a couple of years, occasionally I do crave something cheesey. Today it was mac and cheese - I wanted it, I needed it, I had to have it. Hello, internet.

I read several vegan recipes, and they had one ingredient in common: nutritional yeast. I'd never tried it before, but it was typically described as "nutty", "cheesey", and "good on popcorn" (??). And it really is quite nutritious - chock full of vitamin B goodness. I was game. Bring it on.

Luckily I read the fine print on the base recipe before starting to make it: "If you are used to nutritional yeast sauces AND you like Road’s End Chreese, then this might be the recipe for you." Hmm, neither of those applied to me - rave reviews aside, what were the odds that I would find it delicious? I needed a back-up plan.... or rather some back-up ingredients. Something to alter this from yummy "mac and cheese" to "generic pasta dish".

Good thing I did, because the underlying sauce on its own tastes kind of like ass...

Greens and grains salad

This is a slight mod to an earlier recipe - I needed to add some protein while still keeping it vegan. It turned out to be quite tasty and (bonus!) it keeps well in the fridge.

Quick black bean burritos

This recipe is really basic. It's barely post-worthy, but after such a long hiatus I was tempted to post my recipe for opening a Clif bar. (I tear the wrapper just so...) My fridge and pantry were completely bare after living a few days as a shut-in, so I didn't have many options for lunch. When I got home from the grocery store I was absolutely starving, and although it was hot out I was suddenly craving a burrito. And I wanted it five minutes ago. Black bean flakes to the rescue!

Smoked Char Pasta

While cleaning out my freezer this weekend I came across a smoked char fillet. I thought I'd used up my stash, so this was an unexpected treat! But what to make with it? I do have a lovely smoked char pasta recipe with a cream sauce, but I was looking for something non-dairy. (Of course while I was debating which recipe to make I nibbled a bit on the char - how could I resist? :-)

This recipe was a nice find - quick to make, very flavourful, and simple ingredients. I tweaked the original a bit, but this looks like a recipe that would work well with a variety of substitutions. Give it a try!

Asopao de pollo

I'm trying to get back into healthier eating patterns after a few rocky (road) months, and I found quite a few appealing (and easy) recipes at EatingWell. This chicken and rice stew was fairly quick to put together, except for the chicken itself. Trimming chicken thighs is kind of disgusting, and there's lots to trim off (ugh). But the end result is richer and more flavourful than just using chicken breasts, so it's ultimately worth it.

Picadillo meatloaf

I don't usually give meatloaf recipes a second look, but the "picadillo" bit caught my attention. I have a few picadillo recipes bookmarked, but I haven't got around to making it yet. This looked like an interesting recipe, and pretty quick to assemble.

Chile muy verde

After a long cooking hiatus I'm really glad to be back in the kitchen. I did manage to cook a few dishes in the last month, but nothing worth posting about. (And then there were those dark days of take-out and ready-made meals... but let's not dwell on the negative :-)

The original recipe called for red pepper and red kidney beans, but they seemed to go against the chili verde aesthetic. I selected a green pepper instead of a red one, and I was reaching for the white kidney beans when something green caught my eye: a few dusty cans of lima beans, stacked on the topmost shelf where unloved foodstuffs go to die. It's been ages since I've eaten lima beans, so I decided to use some in this dish to up the verde content.

Swedish pea soup

I came back from holidays with the fam to an empty fridge and freezer, determined to fill it back up (or at least to start). Although I didn't cook as much as I'd planned to this weekend, I did manage to make two batches of soup and also (wait for it) bake another ham. (It's for the ham bone, I swear.) A new pork-related recipe for the new year? Clearly "keeping kosher" was not one of my New Year's resolutions ;-).

"Buttermilk" waffles

Hmm, -23 with a windchill of -35. (Or as they like to say on the weather sites, "feels like -35". Thanks.) Since I need to head out into this frigid, snowy wasteland to do some xmas shopping, I'll need a good breakfast under my belt - okay, and also drooping over my belt. (What, you thought that muffintop was self-sustaining?)