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< all recipes Breakfast Farro w/ Cherries, Honey and Toasted Coconut This breakfast bowl is inspired by my Mom who is so over the whole boxed cereal thing for breakfast but has a hard time finding something as easy to have on hand that can be put together quickly in the morning. A cooked pot of grains will last you all week in the fridge and when you think about it, we eat oatmeal for breakfast so why not farro!? I LOVE this cherry, coconut combo. It has such a deep nutty warmth and yet taste wonderfully fresh. Even frozen, thawed cherries would work here, even adding a bit of a sauciness. Yum. Breakfast Farro w/ Cherries, Honey and Toasted Coconut Serves: 2 bowls Ingredients 1 cup cherries, pitted and halved a pinch of sugar 1 cup plain greek yogurt 1 tbl honey 1 cup cooked farro or barley ¼ cup coconut flakes, toasted (i used Bob's Red Mill) Print Preparation Sprinkle cherries with a touch of sugar and let sit anywhere from a few minutes to overnight in the fridge. Stir honey into greek yogurt - adding more or less according to your taste. Divide farro into two bowls, top each with a large dollop of yogurt, cherries and the toasted coconut. Previous Next hungry for more?

< all recipes Fudgy Brownies There are countless ways to make a brownie and not everyone is in the fudgy brownie camp. I have to admit I judge those people just a little bit. Ok, maybe a lot. So when a certain husband revealed his preference for chewy brownies AND the corner piece, I questioned whether our marriage could survive such absurdity. I just can't understand what could be better than dense, moist, super dark chocolatey goodness with a bit of a crackle crust on top. Swirl some peanut butter in there and game over. Take this to another level by swirling in some creamy or chunky peanut butter. Yum. Fudgy Brownies Serves: 16 brownies Ingredients 10 oz (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter 1 cup flour 1 cup coco powder 1/2 tsp kosher salt 3 eggs 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 cup chocolate chips (your choice of milk, dark, etc) 3/4 cup peanut butter (optional) Print Preparation Preheat oven to 350˚F. Grease an 8x8 pan and line with parchment so that some hangs over the sides (for easy removal later). Melt butter. Combine flour, coco powder and salt in a bowl and whisk in melted butter. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar then whisk in butter/flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chips and pour batter into prepared pan. If adding peanut butter: warm peanut butter slightly so that it is runny. pour evenly over batter and swirl with a knife or offset spatula. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the center is set and the edges are starting to pull away from the sides. Let cool completely before removing from the pan and slicing. Previous Next hungry for more?

< all recipes Coq Au Vin I love this dish because everything about it, from the fancy French name to the delicious depth of flavor, is impressive and makes your guests think you are a chef extraordinaire. And it is a perfect dish for a freezing winter day. I would serve it with creamy mashed potatoes or simple crusty bread to soak up all that delicious vino. Coq Au Vin Serves: 6-8 servings Ingredients 2 tbl butter 1 chicken, cut up into 8 pieces and brined 3 lg carrots, peeled and chopped into ¼ inch cubes 8 oz mushrooms (any kind you like), cleaned and sliced 1 lb pearl onions, peeled – frozen are best as they come peeled 1 tbl fresh thyme 2 tbl tomato paste 3 tbl flour 1 bottle red wine (something you would drink) Print Preparation Heat butter in a large pot. Remove chicken from brine and dry well. Brown, skin side down, lower heat to medium, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Flip chicken to brown slightly on other side (5 minutes). Remove the chicken – place on something that will catch juices. Sauté carrots and mushrooms until mushrooms have released their moisture, about 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper while cooking. Add the pearl onions. Stir in tomato paste and thyme. Sprinkle in the flour, stir, and put the chicken back in the pot(along with juices). Pour in the red wine – just enough to cover 3/4 of the chicken. Cook for 45 minutes. Serve warm over mashed potatoes or with some crusty sourdough bread. Previous Next hungry for more?

< Back One Pot of Beans, Five Easy Dishes I have recently become obsessed with these Rancho Gordo Beans (to put it lightly says Chris) because they actually taste like beans!! Ok I am sure most of you are rolling your eyes wondering if I have lost it – to which the obvious answer is yes but you should still check out these beans. They are all heirloom varieties so the unfamiliarity can be a little intimidating but they are SO worth it. I mean have you ever seen such beautiful beans!!? I originally bought these while in San Fransisco at the Ferry Building and just picked out three I thought were pretty and might be interesting to taste side by side. I was shocked at the depth of flavor and differences in texture between the three kinds – all of which have basically been replaced by the grocery store kidney bean. I also bought some Mexican Chocolate, Mexican Vanilla, Canela cinnamon, and Mexican Oregano …I’m pretty excited about it. For the “one pot of beans” recipes I decided to go with this little Ayocote Blanco white bean because it seemed a little more Spring-time appropriate and able to go with everything from spicy lamb sausage to lemon or even pickled red onion. Pretty impressive for a little bean. ORECCHIETTE W/ WHITE BEANS, BROCCOLI RABE & LEMON Yield: Serves 4-6 INGREDIENTS 1 lemon 3 tbl olive oil 3 anchovy fillets (optional but encouraged), chopped 4 garlic cloves , thinly sliced 1 bunch broccoli rabe, thick stems removed ½ cup white wine 2 cups cooked cannellini beans 1lb orecchiette Lots of Parmesan for serving INSTRUCTIONS Slice lemon as thinly as possible and remove seeds (this is a bit tedious in know). Cut slices in half and set aside - toss the end pieces. Start heating water for pasta. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan or pot. Add garlic and anchovies and cook, stirring often until just starting to brown (but be very careful not to burn the garlic!). Add lemon and let cook, stirring occasionally until lemons soften and start to get some color, about 5 minutes. Add broccoli rabe, tossing to coat it in the lemon mixture, then pour in the white wine and scrape around the bottom to get any browned bits unstuck. Let cook until broccoli rabe has wilted and charred slightly, 5-7 minutes. Add beans and season with salt and pepper if needed (be careful with the salt if you used anchovies). Cook pasta according to box instructions, drain and add to broccoli mix. You can toss in some parmesan here or just have it on the table. NOTES The beans can be cooked a few days in advance and kept in the fridge. If you must used canned beans, rinse thoroughly before adding them. WHITE BEANS & BRAISED GREENS Yield: serves 4 as a side INGREDIENTS 3 tbl olive oil 1 lg spicy sausage, removed from casing (optional-see note) 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 2 bunches lacinato kale, chopped 1 cup white wine 1 cup parmesan broth (or water and a parm rind) 3 cups cooked cannellini beans (from 1 cup dried beans) red pepper flakes salt and pepper INSTRUCTIONS Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan or pot. Add sausage and break it up into small pieces as it cooks. Once it starts to brown add the garlic, season with salt, and cook a minute or two. Toss in the kale and then the white wine, scraping the browned bits off the bottom. Add the parm broth (or water) and beans. Let cook until liquid has reduced significantly, 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and red pepper flakes for extra kick. NOTES If you do not want to use sausage, simply up the olive oil amount a tablespoon or two and add more red pepper flakes at the end.If you want this to be more of a main course stew, add a touch more liquid at the end until you have the consistency you want - if using the sausage this could definitely be a main course. WHITE BEANS & TOMATOES ON TOAST Yield: Serves 4-6 INGREDIENTS 3 tbl olive oil 1 lg white onion, diced 2 roasted red bell peppers (fresh or from the jar), diced 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 3 tbl tomato paste ½ cup white wine 3 cups cooked cannellini beans (from 1 cup dried) 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halves For Serving toast fried eggs parmesan avocado INSTRUCTIONS Heat olive oil in a sauté pan and add the onion. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until translucent. Add the red bell pepper and garlic and cook another 3-4 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste - it will kind of stick to the pan which is good, meaning the sugars are caramelizing, just be careful not to let it burn so keep stirring and cook only a minutes or two then pour in the white wine. Add the beans and cherry tomatoes and let cook just a minute to let everything meld. Season with salt and pepper. Serve on some really tasty toasted bread and with any of the additions listed above. SMOKEY WHITE BEAN & SAGE DIP Yield: 2 cups INGREDIENTS ½ cup olive oil ¼ cup sage leaves 3 cups cooked white beans (from 1 cup dried) juice of 1 lemon ½ tsp smoked paprika ½ tsp cayenne salt and pepper INSTRUCTIONS Heat olive oil in a small sauce pan, add the sage and let fry until crispy and fragrant, 2-3 minutes. Combine everything in a food processor and puree. Season with salt and pepper - it will need a fair amount but add gradually and taste as you go. Previous Next

< all recipes Potato Pizza I love the snackiness of this pizza. It feels elevated without being fussy and with steps that can all be done in advance it can come together easily within your schedule. Potato Pizza Serves: 1 13"x17" pizza Ingredients pizza dough: 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose or bread flour 1 1/4 teaspoons (5 grams) instant or active dry yeast 1/4 teaspoon fine sea or table salt 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar 2/3 cups (150 grams) room temperature water 4 teaspoons fine sea or table salt 6 to 8 (1 kilo) small to medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled 1 medium yellow onion, diced 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 4 to 5 tablespoons olive oil About 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves Print Preparation pizza dough: In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Add the water and, using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until well blended, about 30 seconds. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until the dough has more than doubled in volume, about 2 hours. Continue on with making pizza or put dough in the fridge for up to 3 days. In a medium bowl, combine the 1 quart lukewarm water with salt, stirring until the salt has dissolved. Use a mandoline or your best sharpest knife to slice the potatoes very thin (1/16 inch thick), and put the sliced directly into the salted water, which prevents oxidation and also helps soften them so they cook up nicely. Lahey says to let them soak for 1 1/2 hours or up to 12 in the fridge overnight, but I was quite happy with my results after a 25 to 30 minute soak. Heat your oven to 500°F with a rack in the center. Brush either 1 13×18-inch rimmed half-sheet pan or 2 9×13-inch quarter-sheet pans (shown) with olive oil. Divide your risen dough in half and use your fingertips, oiled or dusted with flour, to pull, stretch, nudge and press the dough across the bottom of the pan. The dough will be thin and imperfect. If holes form, just pinch them together. It’s all going to work out, promise. Drain the potatoes in a colander and use your hands to press out as much water as possible, then pat dry on paper towels. In a medium bowl, toss the potato slices with the onion, pepper, and olive oil. Spread this potato mixture over your dough, going all the way to the edges so that there’s no uncovered edge; put a bit more topping around the edges of the pie, as the outside tends to cook more quickly. Sprinkle evenly with rosemary. Usually the salt the potatoes were soaked in is enough, but you can sprinkle more on if desired. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the topping is starting to turn golden brown and the crust is nicely bronzed underneath. Serve pizza hot or at room temperature. Previous Next hungry for more?

< all recipes Chocolate Swirl Meringues Meringue has gotten a bad rap for being unnecessarily complicated to make, something only French pastry masters would dare to attempt, and the ones you often find in stores taste like chalk. These meringues will convince you otherwise. The swirls of chocolate are not only beautiful but they also help make these meringues super moist and just a little bit decadent. Chocolate Swirl Meringues Serves: 8-10 meringues Ingredients 3 egg whites 1 ½ cups granulated sugar ½ tsp vanilla extract ½ tsp white vinegar 2 tbl espresso (optional) 2 ½ oz dark chocolate Print Preparation Preheat oven to 250˚F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Once melted, add the espresso and remove from heat. Put egg whites into bowl of electric stand mixer, fitted with whisk attachment and whisk on medium speed until frothy. With the mixer still on medium speed, slowly add the sugar, then vanilla and vinegar. Whisk until stiff peaks form and the meringue looks glossy (about 2 minutes). Fold in melted chocolate – do not mix too much so you keep those beautiful swirls. Spoon golf ball-sized dollops onto prepared baking sheets. Put the meringues into the oven and immediately lower the temperature to 225˚F. Bake for 1 hour or until meringues no longer stick to parchment. Turn the oven off and leave meringues in another 20 minutes then let them cool on a wire rack. Previous Next hungry for more?

< all recipes Mushroom Farro As cooler weather approaches, I start to get excited about all of the delicious foods of fall. I started making this four or five years ago from a recipe by Tyler Florence. It has morphed many times over the years as a certain sister had it on request repeat - but I never seemed to have the recipe, or all the ingredients i needed (I have since figured out that organization and planning can be quite helpful when cooking). It was really this recipe (or lack thereof) that taught me how to experiment and improvise with what I had, and making that part of the fun of being in a kitchen. I finally taught my (slightly kitchen-averse) sister, Lauren, how to make this and I think she saw that something so tasty was also easy to make. She has been a cookin' fiend ever since and has taught me a thing or two recently! Lauren introduced me to farro pasta, which so is amazing, I dont think I will ever make whole wheat pasta again. I was making it recently for the two of us, when she swooped in and suggested caramelizing some diced onion, mixing the pesto into that, perhaps tossing in some tomatoes, and then adding the cooked farro. Let me tell you, it was so good I have made it three times since then (then being about a month ago). I find this dish much more interesting than your average risotto because the farro retains its nutty texture and compliments the rich creaminess of the mushrooms...this is a particular favorite of mine, if you hadn't noticed. I love using a few different kinds of mushrooms, but feel free to do your own thing. With the stems of the mushrooms you can make a simple mushroom stock that will really enhance the flavor and shroominess of the dish. The longer this simmers, the more concentrated the flavor will be, but any amount of time is better than nothing. To make the stock: heat up a large pot, toss the stems in (and onions if you have them on hand), and brown slightly. Fill the pot with at least 10 cups of water and let boil away for as long as possible, strain when ready to use. Farro is an ancient cousin of wheat that is usually sold in its “semi-pearled” state, meaning some of the bran has been removed during an abrasive polishing process. It should be relatively easy to find, but if you have trouble, here are some excellent substitutions (just make sure you look at the packaging for cooking time – they all work, you just need to plan accordingly): Barley: like farro is has a nice nutty flavor as well as being a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals, and is a heart-healthy soluble fiber. It comes in three forms: whole kernels (40-50min), hull-less (35-40), and pearled (30min). Wheat Berries: whole kernels of wheat that vary in type (hard, soft, winter, spring, red, and white) but taste pretty much the same. They take 50-60min to cook and will always remain slightly chewy. Mushroom Farro Serves: serves 4-6 Ingredients 2-3 shallots 2 tbl fresh thyme 1 lb mushrooms ½ cup white wine 8-10 cups stock or water 2 cups farro Print Preparation Dice the shallots and remove thyme leaves from stem (this can be quite labor intensive so an alternative would be to tie the thyme with cooking twine and to remove at the end – don’t just throw the time in or you will have little twigs on your dinner plate). Clean and slice the mushrooms. Heat some oil in a large sauté pan (with straight sides), add in the shallots and thyme, and season with salt to get the shallots sweating. Once shallots are translucent, about 5 minutes, add in the mushrooms and cook until they have released their moisture, about 10 minutes. Pour in the wine and scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan, then stir in the farro. Start adding your liquid, 2 cups at a time, stirring often, and when most of the liquid has been absorbed, add in the next 2 cups. After about 30 minutes you want to decrease each liquid addition to 1 cup and before you pour it in, taste the farro for doneness. Previous Next hungry for more?

< all recipes Caramelized Onion Dip Onion Dip Throwdown. This is the sort of thing that happens in my family. Ok really just between my Mom and myself, this time I was trying to revamp her (slightly retro) onion dip made from Lipton's onion soup spice mix. Yes, we are slightly competitive. But since we were the only ones around yesterday to do the taste-testing and judging (and we both voted for our own) we will have to wait until Superbowl Sunday for the winner to be crowned. Stay tuned (I know you are all on the edge of your seats in anticipation). In the meantime, I will give you my recipe (I believe my Mom's can be found on the back of the spice packet). Prep Tip 1: if your cutting board moves around at all, place a damp paper towel or dish towel underneath it. Prep Tip 2: having worked alongside the prep guys at Locanda, I learned to work by task and not by vegetable - meaning peel and remove the stems of all the onions (or other vegetable), then move on to slicing all of them. What I like about this method is that it allows you to keep a tidy work area. I used more greek yogurt than sour cream because I prefer the taste (and like when I can go ham on the dip and not feel too bad about it), but feel free to adjust the ratio to your liking. Caramelized Onion Dip Serves: 1 party dip (serves 10ish) Ingredients 2 pounds large yellow or white onions (2-3 large onions) 4 shallots fresh thyme olive oil 1 cup white wine 2 cups plain greek yogurt 1/4 cup sour cream 2 tsp onion powder salt and pepper fresh chives, minced Print Preparation Preheat oven to 450°. Slice onions and shallots thinly and spread out on a sheet pan or roasting pan with some sprigs of thyme. Drizzle with olive oil, toss to coat, and season generously with salt and pepper. Roast for an hour, stirring every 20 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately pour the white wine into the pan, scrapping up anything stuck to the bottom. Roast another 15 minutes. Cool completely and remove the thyme. Place onions in a food processor and pulse to chop finely (you can also do this the old fashion way with a knife). Mix together yogurt, sour cream and onion powder. Stir in onions. Season with salt and pepper. This can be made a few days in advance. When ready to serve, garnish with fresh chives. Previous Next hungry for more?

< Back Organizing Your Spice Cabinet I run a pretty tight ship when it comes to kitchen organization but the spice cabinet was my dirty little secret. I blame some of the disfunction on the cabinet itself but the truth is I moved this mess from my old apartment. I bought those adorable little jars thinking they would magically beautify my cabinet and keep themselves tidy but soon realized they only add to the chaos by forcing you to either buy extra (which you have to store somewhere) or go out and buy more every time you add to your spices . These ones in particular were not even big enough to fit the standard spice jar amount of 3oz – so it was just complete and utter failure. It is stressing me out just thinking about how it was. I have needed to do this for a long time and I hope to inspire anyone else who has been avoiding it too. My method is nothing revolutionary which I hope makes it easier to jump in and just get organized – i mean all you need are some labels and a marker. SPICE ORGANIZATION GUIDELINES ASSESS YOUR STOCK Take all of your spices out of the cabinet and determine what (if anything) needs to be thrown out. There are varying opinions on the exact shelf life of spices – if you are talking about safety its up to 4 years but if you want them to have flavor its more like every 12 months. To help keep them fresh always close the top fully for an airtight seal, make sure the spoon you dip into a spice bottle is dry and never pour directly from the container over a steaming pot – basically moisture is the enemy here so act accordingly. MAKE A PLAN First think about the space: is it a tall or deep cabinet? Is it high up? Unless it is a space specifically designed for spices, you will likely need an organizing aid (stacking shelves, a lazy susan, etc). I went with a tiered exapndo-shelf but use what works with your space. Second think about how to organize – alphabetical? frequency of use? Alphabetical is great is you can see all of the labels at once and can easily return the spice to its proper place. I am going with frequency of use until I have my perfectly made custom cabinet. LABEL IT The only way I am going to realistically label every spice as it goes into the cabinet is to make labels part of the organizational strategy (and ocd aesthetic) but more importantly to keep a stash of labels and a sharpie right there in the cabinet. I know myself and in that 3 seconds it takes to find the marker, I will have moved on to something else. I used packaging labels (2×2¾” to be exact). KEEP INVENTORY It can be quite useful to keep a list of the spices you have if you can’t see them all at once – and so other, less orderly folks wont go rummaging through your spices to find the one in the way back. And when you are out of a spice, make a note so you remember for your next grocery run. Previous Next

< all recipes Roasted Sesame Green Bean Salad Our first few meals in Myanmar were uninspired, to say the least; the first problem being that we were the only people in the dining room…literally. The second was the completely western menu. I ended up getting some sort of fish steamed in foil and presented on the plate, in the foil, with no sauce or sides. Not exactly what we traveled over 8,000 miles to eat. You can thus imagine the awkwardness when the chef came out to see how we liked the meal, and after we gave some rave reviews she continued to stand there smiling as if waiting for more praise. Our last lunch at Inle Lake, however, was traditional Myanmar food and, not surprisingly, was spectacular. I ordered steamed spring onions that were combined with ground rice to make something similar to a tamale. We ended up just sharing everything we ordered and my favorite dish was the green bean salad with sesame seeds. I set about recreating it as soon as I got home, with a few alterations: the original was quite oily so I reduced the oil and used toasted sesame oil for an extra punch of flavor, and I went with sliced almonds instead of ground peanuts for a crunchier texture (feel free to try peanuts if you like). Roasted Sesame Green Bean Salad Serves: 4 side servings Ingredients 16oz green beans, cut into ½” segments (about the size of the edamame) 8oz edamame (i usually buy frozen) 2-3 tbl toasted sesame oil 2 tbl fish sauce ¼ cup soy sauce ¼ cup white sesame seeds ¼ cup black sesame seeds ½ cup sliced almonds, toasted salt and pepper Print Preparation Blanch the green beans – Get a pot of water boiling and prepare a bowl with plenty of ice and cold water. Add the green beans and edamame to the boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes, strain and immediately add to the ice water. Let sit for a few minutes and then strain. Heat up a tbl or two of sesame oil in a large sauté pan. Add edamame and green beans and cook, stirring occasionally, until nicely charred (about 10 minutes). Pour in the fish sauce and soy sauce, scraping up any bits stuck to the pan, and remove from heat. Combine beans with sesame seeds and almonds - add salt and pepper if necessary. This dish can be served hot or room temperature - but is also delicious cold a few days later! Previous Next hungry for more?

< all recipes Belgian Waffles with Caramelized Apples & Maple Yogurt Ok so I know I said I am not that into Valentine’s Day but seeing as my valentine has been requesting waffles about once a week since we met, I thought making them required a special occasion. My reason for holding off so long was the simple fact that we do not own a waffle maker – and I refused to buy one because where the heck do we fit it in our tiny apartment. The struggle for kitchen cabinet space is real. But I happened to find an old one in my parents’ basement and figured it was a sign. These belgian waffles are ridiculously good – they are fluffy and light with an outer crust that actually stays crunchy long after being soaked in maple syrup. The apples were added because well, thats what I had around and I don’t consider breakfast complete without fruit, or yogurt for that matter. So feel free to mix up the toppings to suit your own weird breakfast requirements or whatever is in season. I am pretending like I didn’t lick the plate clean but we all know that happened 30sec after the photo below was taken. Belgian Waffles with Caramelized Apples & Maple Yogurt Serves: 6-8 waffles Ingredients 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour ½ cup (105g) brown sugar 3 tsp (12g) baking powder 1 tsp (6g) baking soda ½ tsp (4g) kosher salt 1 cup (240g) buttermilk ½ cup (60g) cream 8oz (227g) unsalted butter, melted 2 egg yolks (30g) 3 egg whites (105g) for the toppings: 2 apples (I like honeycrisp) ¼ cup maple syrup 1 tsp cinnamon 8oz plain greek yogurt maple syrup (for the table) Print Preparation Make the Caramelized Apples first: Slice apples into roughly ¼ inch slices and set in a pot over low/medium heat with the maple syrup and cinnamon. Cook, stirring occasionally until tender - how tender is a matter of preference, personally I like the apples to still have a bit of crunch. Mix the juice at the bottom of the apple pot into the yogurt, adding more maple syrup if it is not sweet enough for your liking. Make the Waffle batter: Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, cream, melted butter, and yolks. Pour this into the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined (but still a little lumpy). Using a stand or hand-held mixer with a whisk attachment, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whites into the rest of the batter. Let this sit 10-15 minutes while you heat up the waffle maker. Cook waffles (according to your waffle-maker instructions) until golden brown. Serve with apples and a dollop of yogurt and warm maple syrup. *freeze the cooked waffles for a tasty breakfast any time! defrost in the toaster for single servings or in a 350 oven for a crowd (about 10 minutes). Previous Next hungry for more?

< all recipes Warm Winter Salad w/ Tahini & Za’atar I decided to make this winter salad on a whim yesterday, mostly because I needed to get up from my computer before I threw it out the window. Some of you might have noticed an issue with the site earlier this week – and by issue I mean complete meltdown implosion disaster. Caused by yours truly! Its amazing how easy it is to wreak havoc (like innocently trying to add a snazzy font) and how not easy it is to fix things (oh only 6 hours). And that was just the first shutdown. Yeah it happened again about 12 hours later. And lets be clear on what my skill set is here…NOT coding or anything computer related thats for sure. I just like to cook. So I am sorry for any errors you have found – I am still working on getting the “kitchen guides” section organized so stand by on that. Please feel free to let me know if some problem keeps coming and I will try my best not to kill the site again. Deal? Ok cool. Glad we had this chat, I needed to vent a little. Happy Weekend!! Warm Winter Salad w/ Tahini & Za’atar Serves: 4-6 servings Ingredients 2-3 lb sweet potatoes (or use a mixture of potatoes for contrast) 2-3 tbl olive oil ¼ cup tahini paste juice of 1 lemon 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tsp za'atar* a few handfuls of salad greens (I like arugula and mustard greens for their peppery kick) salt and pepper Print Preparation Preheat the oven to 425˚F. Cut the sweet potatoes into bite-sized pieces, toss in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread the potatoes out onto a sheet pan and bake for about 20 minutes, or until easily pierced with a knife. While he potatoes cook, whisk tahini paste, lemon juice, minced garlic and za'atar together - if it seems too thick you can add a dash of water. Season generously with salt and pepper. When potatoes are done toss with greens and just enough dressing to lightly coat everything. Serve immediately with an extra drizzle of dressing on top. Previous Next hungry for more?