To Eat Lunch: Brox Cakes & Cucumbers Edition

I refuse to do any lunch preparation in the morning. I wake up at 5 and depending upon the state of my hair am out the door between 545 and 6. So there's no brain space to be like, "ohhhh what should I eat at noon?" I also really like the rare treat when I can make a lunch once and not have to prep anything during the week. You're like what're you talking about this prep? Like a salad, you buy the ingredients and then every night have to prepare it so things don't get soggy or gooey or gross. 

Anyway, I made these broccoli fritters. EXCEPT, I used 12 oz of broccoli (she used like 7?) and I cut the flour down to 1/4 cup. I did that to use up the whole bag of broccoli and didn't want to dry them out. They're so broccoli-y! Which feels healthy and like the right move. I forgot to add the Parmesan cheese! So maybe they're lacking a little zing. Don't do that. AND, I grated TWO garlic cloves instead of mincing one, DO that. I made a yogurt sauce for the side. DO that, too! As a side dish I had:

I chopped up cucumbers, added some couscous from the other night and threw some cherry tomatoes into that adorable lunch pail my husband bought for me. MEANWHILE, the paprika on the couscous just keeps getting smokier as the days go by! Anyway, it's a nice filling lunch with some crunch, greens, smokiness, and coolness.

To Reminisce: The April Menus

March 30th

WEEK ONE

Sunday March 29: Brox & Crispy Egg
Monday March 30: Lentils Stir Fry w. Grilled Endive
Tuesday March 31: Frittata, popovers & sweet pepper soup
April Fool's Day: Sakuramen
Thursday April 2: Frittata & Roasted zukes & brox
Friday April 3: Buffalo chicken + salt & vinegar potatoes
Saturday April 4: Passover

March 31st.

WEEK TWO

Sunday April 5: Easter
Monday April 6: Frozen TJs pizza
Tuesday April 7: Matzo ball soup
Wednesday April 8: Pop's Sea Bar appetizer + chicken with creamed kale
Thursday April 9: Arugula ravioli + artichokes
Friday April 10: Oleana
Saturday April 11: Lamb, string beans, roasted potatoes

April 12th

WEEK THREE

Sunday April 12: Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, collards, biscuits
Monday April 13: Tomato juice & blue chips
Tuesday April 14: Spaghetti with meat sauce
Wednesday April 15: Spaghetti with meat sauce
Thursday April 16: Spaghetti with meat sauce
Friday April 17: Sushi take out
Saturday April 18: Zaytinya

April 20th

WEEK FOUR

Sunday April 19: Chinese take out
Monday April 20: Roasted chicken thighs + braised peas
        >>Sausage instead of prosciutto. So creamy.
Tuesday April 21: Maple
Wednesday April 22: Trader Joe's Pizza + Sauteed Artichokes
Thursday April 23: Casserole DISASTER >>> Faux cacio e pepe
Friday April 24: Frittata + Tortellini Salad + Lemon Artichokes
Saturday April 25: Etto

To Bring an Appetizer: Antipasto Edition

I brought an appetizer to a party. Important things when considering what to bring:

1. Have ONE million flavors available
• Lemon, salty, sweet, creamy, crunchy
2. Be seasonal
• In season veggies + berries (with honey) 
3. Ensure several colors
4. Do a mix of handmade & store bought
• HOMEMADE: Garlic lemon artichokes + roasted asparagus + crackers + honeyed walnuts + quickled cucumbers + blueberry jam (not pictured)
• BOUGHT: Berries, goat cheese, salami, cheese
5. Consider how things will be eaten
• Liiiiiike, I made the cheese in triangles so they'd fit on the cracker--cubes would have been awkward 
• The asparagus probably could have been friendlier
6. Aesthetics
• Basil to add fresh greenery
• Color dynamics (Sort of green, red white, red, green, white)
• Flag toothpicks for festivity
7. Do NOT under any circumstances say: "oh, would you mind if I used the oven?" 
• Some people would be like: you fraud! You asked to use the refrigerator at this party and that could have been annoying, too! Agreed.

just cuz.

To Grill Indoors: Chicken (Skewers) Edition

The timing couldn't have been more perfect. Sally asked the British lady: chicken SOS, what do I do? (Or something.) And the thing is, out of context that's bonkers. But, the context is: me, in my car, pulling up to my apartment with chicken breast in the grocery bag. And the British lady said (on the Splendid Table podcast): easy. Olive oil, cinnamon, cumin, crushed garlic, and cayenne on the chicken. So, I did it. The chicken marinated for an hour. Then I grilled it with some pickled jalapenos. Those are spicy, but really good grilled.

I already had in mind to make an Israeli cous cous salad with yellow peppers, garlic sauteed spinach, blistered cherry tomatoes with a splash of lemon juice & avocado oil. Something was missing; I added smoked paprika. Depth. I finished the dish as I planned: with some grilled peppers and mushrooms and a dabble of parsley yogurt sauce for dipping onto the plate. 

I had also planned to grill the chicken and veggies on the sticks. But then things weren't cooking evenly and I decided (bold move) that COOKED chicken was more important than skewered chicken.

Expert tip: use Greek yogurt (plain, obviously) add a little water + salt + parsley or cilantro. 

The Irish lady said the meal would be spicy and cool. (She had also recommended yogurt, but hers was plain.) Sometimes, I forget to add cayenne in my spice blends. But, judging by the speed with which this dinner was inhaled, I'll likely remember it.

Is this a #bigdeal? Since I was wearing so many colors, the cashier at Trader Joe's gave me stickers. "You wear so many colors! These are special, " he leaned in as he whispered to me, "they smell when you scratch them." 

To Treat. Yo. Self.: Staycation Breakfast Edition

Sometimes working 9-5 isn't as perky as Dolly Parton might have you believe. It's even less perky when you're passed over for promotion again. So, treat yo'self. The sun is shining, my windows are open, and before getting up to enjoy the day, I don't mind if I'll help myself to a non-sad, non-desk breakfast. Thank you, please, I'll have my breakfast in bed.

I'm taking a staycation for the next couple days. To clear my head. To think. To do mindless internet browsing. To walk outside. To pet my cat. To remember that work is work and not being recognized sucks, but its not everything. 

Steps to ensuring a pleasurable staycation breakfast:

1. Don't eat what you usually eat at work. (I LOVE my hardboileds [eggs] but not today.)
2. Don't use regular dining accouterments. I chose a yellow bowl we bought in Turkey.
3. Don't eat sitting up. Like, in a chair. Usually, eating while reclined is frowned upon, see: choking. But, sit somewhere cushiony, preferably by a window.
4. Make your beverage special. I foamed some milk for the coffee.
5. Light a candle. Create ambiance. I fluffed my blanket, turned on a podcast, and propped up my pillows.

As for what I put in that bowl. I didn't choose anything gourmet. But, full fat greek yogurt + cinnamon puffins + freshly cut strawberries + trader joe's Turkish honey = a small luxury on a beautiful day. (IDK the veracity of the Turkishness of that honey, or if we should be importing honey from Turkey when we've some American beez. But, that honey is amazing, this coming from someone who hates that honey from a bear.)

Oskar is dubious, but trust me. This shiz was good. Now, I'll go make a second cup of coffee. A thing I never do when I'm at work, treating myself.

To Heartichokes: Loving Springy 'Chokes

I've been obsessed with making artichokes. But I'm a pansy so far and haven't ventured into FRESH ones because what if I don't get the middle out completely (the hairy part that could choke/kill people)? So, I've been taking it slow. I made this pea artichoke salad side dish thingy for a Passover party.

I HATE raw red onions. So I soaked some of them in water and vinegar to both cut the grossness & add some pickling. I also sauteed some of them then threw in the artichokes added a little butter then drizzled lemon juice in the pan. I also blanched the peas then threw it all together with some salt and pepper. If it weren't for Passover I'd have added some feta. It was springy!

Then this guy. Well I just boiled the parmesan + arugula raviolis that I bought at Trader Joe's. Then, I threw that with sauteed garlic and artichokes & some melted butter. Topped it with parsley and parmesan and pepper, because this post is brought to you by the letter P!

To Healthify: Buffalo Wings & Salt + Vinegar Chips

Chicken wings are the best! And so are salt and vinegar potato chips. BUT, they are not the healthiest. These oven baked buffalo wings were great. Did you know buffalo wings have butter in the sauce? I didn't and that doesn't sound healthy, but in the scheme of things it doesn't add up to too much. And the potatoes taste just like the chips, just meatier and fluffier. The trick with THOSE is to boil them in vinegar. It's pungent while cooking, but worth it. I also added some vinegary salt from Williams-Sonoma.

I didn't have any bleu cheese dressing. But I did have: yogurt, milk, feta cheese & chives. And it was a rather decent if less overwhelming option. And though I hadn't thought of it before, dipping those potatoes in that sauce was pretty glorious.

So, sure, there wasn't as much grease but I was totally licking my fingers so that has to be good.

To Recipe Test: Popovers (Test #2 Mostly a Win!)

I tried popovers once before and they were stupid idiots. THIS TIME! 1/3 of the popovers were an utter success while the other guys were just a little undercooked. As a baker (of which I'm not) one of the biggest challenges is figuring out your oven. Had I been paying attention I might have noticed where in the oven the undercooked ones were to understand better where the "cool" spots are. Because, you see, one row (further away from the text) is nicely cooked while the ones closest to these words are much lighter and not as well risen.

The recipe was from Mark Bittman and actually the recipe was almost exactly the same as the stupid idiots I made previously, except Mark used a teaspoon of sugar. AND! The big difference was Mark required the batter to be put into a hot pan and the hot pan to be put into a hot oven. And, I think that's the ticket. 

The innards were craggy and eggy and dense encased in a light shell. That's the thing about popovers! Bits of the innards are like thick, eggfilled custard and other parts are hollow. Picking it up, there's an imbalance because the top is like a tiny balloon filled with the air and the bottom is the eggy bit. I LOVE THEM. Then, put some butter inside and holyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

NEXT TIME: I'll make sure to have ALL the flour the recipe calls for. I made a mistake and only had like 7/8 cup instead of a full cup -- TEEHEHEHEHEHEHE.