Thursday night, I got all dressed up (see evidence at left) to head over to my friend Anna's place in Williamsburg for a girls' dinner. The original plan was fish stew, but when a vegetarian friend joined in, Anna switched the menu to pumpkin and sage soup.
Everyone in this family has an unfortunate Sugarfish habit.
When I was about thirteen, I announced to my family that I was a vegetarian. I'm pretty sure I gave them a song and dance about loving animals, cows are our friends, etc etc, but really: I was mostly just trying to be irritating, because thirteen.
A few weeks ago, my ten-year-old announced that he is a vegetarian, and shan't be consuming meat anymore. "No meat at all?" I inquired.
All three of these recipes are confusingly easy (the dip on the top left in particular, which has a total of two ingredients), and you have to make them. I insist. Trust me.
First up: two-ingredient chili-cheese dip.
I've never been a huge fan of lasagna. I think that this dates back to a mild trauma when I was thirteen and announced that henceforth I would be a vegetarian, or at least until I changed my mind and wanted a hamburger one day (which did actually end up happening). My mother's reaction to this news was to completely ignore me and continue sneaking meat into meals anyway. She made her "special lasagna" frequently during this period, and it was a solid two years before she admitted that the "mushrooms" had, in fact, been...well, not mushrooms. (I was apparently not the most observant teenager.)
But apart from my mother's egregious conduct, I feel like lasagna should be more amazing than it usually is. I mean, it's layered pasta, cheese, and sauce. How could that not be absolutely perfect, every time? Except far too often I find lasagna has too much of one thing, and not enough of another. I want my lasagna to be red sauce-y, and cheesy, and otherwise uncomplicated by unnecessary additions like, say, peppers (BLECH).
For our girls' weekend in Tahoe, each of us was assigned a meal to prepare. This was Alisa's mom's friend Sherry's dish, and it was the best lasagna I have ever, ever, ever tasted (sorry, mom). The secret ingredient? A touch of cheddar cheese. I'm aware that that doesn't sound like a good idea, but this lasagna was transcendent. So you're going to have to trust me.
Hey just bathroom selfie-ing at The Smith
Last night I was packing up to fly back home (and was upgraded AGAIN on the way back, btw, which either means that I am a freaking genius capable of hacking the algorithm, on the receiving end of some bizarrely coincidental good karma, or Beyonce), when I realized that I haven't really explained what I was doing in New York.
I now grow my own basil and make meatless sauces. Oh California, what have you done to me?
A couple of weeks ago a vegetarian friend of mine came to stay with us for a few days, and I was at a total loss for what to cook. So often, it seems like vegetarians just kind of get handed a side dish "that's totally hearty enough to double as an entree!" and I felt...I don't know, like I wanted our guest to feel a little more special. Except over the past couple of months I've grown so reliant on my go-to system of throwing some meat on the grill, tossing a salad and calling it a day that I couldn't for the life of me think of anything to make her. (I ended up not actually doing that badly; I made cool pizzas and a really delicious grain-vegetable-egg combo and such, but still: we're talking about a limited repertoire.)
This would have been a really good solution. Because it's not only vegetarian, it's also really healthy (full of vegetables and protein) and REALLY good. Like, as good as "real" (meaning meat-containing) bolognese. Maybe even better. No joke. It's not going to trick your tastebuds - it tastes like it's own thing, not like traditional bolognese - but it's super flavorful and hearty without being heavy. I like it so much that I prepared each serving with way more sauce than pasta, because it's so good that it's not even as much of a dressing for pasta as it is a really delicious stew.
Pasta primavera basics, plus the easiest recipe ever.
See, I know that this doesn't look particularly impressive...and "impressive" certainly isn't a word I would use to describe it (because wow, is it ever easy)...but here's the problem: it also doesn't look that tasty. Even though it really was.
Yesterday included brunch with Anna, semi-homemade pizzas, and Guinness moustaches.
I've always been a bit wary of chili, because the few times I've had it it's been five-alarm spicy, and I don't want my eating to involve...pain. This chili is painless. And flavorful. And inexpensive. And easy!
