Mushroom and Wheatberry Soup with Kale

Some New Year’s resolutions may be to lose weight this year.  Others may want to quit smoking.  And maybe a few would like to spend less money.

I on the other hand, would just like to keep the crew from Hoarders from showing up at my apartment doorstep.

My kitchen cupboards are full, full of pantry staples like flours, dried beans, sugars, canned tomatoes and the like.  Unfortunately, it goes beyond that.

Various dried mushrooms? Shitake, porcini and woodman’s blend (whatever that means…)

Hijiki? Shacking up with arame.  They’re besties.

Dates? Sure, but to get to them you gotta push aside the dried cranberries, raisins, golden raisins, apricots, dried cherries…hold on a sec….where did these cacao nibs come from!?

And with the cupboards being filled to the brim, some items have found “homes” in re-usable grocery bags on the floor.  It just needed to stop.

Soup, was the answer.

The flux of warm, re-circulated, dry air in the lab to a drastically different, wet, cold and sometimes windy Boston side-street, has brought on sniffling noses, stiff joints and knuckles begging to be cracked.  Perhaps it’s a lingering bug, but I’m convinced that the constant change has left my body tired and hungry; hungry for warm bowls filled with hearty ingredients and dunkable broth.

Date Bars

I’ve been out of sorts the past couple of days.

I don’t know if it’s the weather, the three loads of laundry that’s sitting by our bedroom door-a constant reminder of the chores that need to be done-or that the BU and BC students have returned from winter break.

Ok, I’m lying.  I know it’s the students.

My commute gets longer, the lines at the grocery store are doubled, and there are practically no parking spots at Target.  I feel like I can’t get anything done.

However, there are some benefits.  For instance, being able to witness the scene they make at <insert name of favorite local bar here>, because honestly, we’ve all done it.

And by “we,” I mean girls in their 20s.

And by “it,” I mean like…

Shouting your friend’s name when they arrive.  Not only do you channel Oprah by elongating every syllable in their name, but it’s done at a decibel level equivalent to a plane taking off.

“Kaylee!!!! Kaylee is here! KAAAAAAAY-LEEEEEEE GET YOOOOOUR BUUUUUTTTTT UP IN HEHHHRRRRRRRR!!!!”

Or exclaiming that a song being played is your song.  Sweet Home Alabama was actually a response to Southern Man and Alabama by Neil Young.  It’s no one’s song.  Well, maybe except for Neil Young.

Then singing said song as loud as you can, blanking on most of the lyrics, but making up for it nonsensical English (meh reh na na la la la!)

And as the night progresses, decide that your shoes are akin to walking on hot, fiery coals.  It’s totally logical to take off your shoes and walk around, even though there may be pieces of glass on the floor.  The bar is your living room, right?

Oven Roasted Kabocha Squash

This is a followup post to the Kabocha Mochi Cake I wrote about yesterday.

Kabocha squash is very easy to roast in the oven.  In fact, the most difficult part is cutting it up, but as long as you have a sharp knife (a heavy cleaver is best), some muscle, and careful fingers, you should be able to finish prepping in about ten minutes.

Kabocha may not be the prettiest squash-squat and sometimes pimply-but it’s flesh is a lovely shade of sunset orange and tastes like a sweet potato crossed with pumpkin.  It’s sweeter than the butternut squash and quite succulent.  Also, unlike the butternut, there is no need to peel the skin.  The skin is completely edible.

Kabocha Mochi Cake

One of my goals for the New Year was to push myself in the kitchen a bit more.  Changing our diet in October to help lower Roo’s cholesterol levels was a challenge all in itself, but participating in the VeganMoFo Monthly Iron Chef Challenge seemed like a great way to get out of my comfort zone.  That is, reading cookbooks, blogs, etc. and adapting those recipes to meals both Roo and I could enjoy.

The rules for the Challenge are pretty simple in that there is only one rule: make an original dish.  It can’t be something that you’ve previously posted that happens to involve the “secret ingredient” or be from, for example, a cookbook.

The “secret ingredient” this month was squash.  To be honest, I knew right away I wanted to make a dish with kabocha, but how I was going to do it was a little beyond me.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Before you get mad at me for posting a cookie recipe less than two weeks after New Year’s…

Did you really picture 2012 without cookies?

I didn’t.

With the cold weather, sunset by 4, and lack of insulated windows in our apartment, I’m baking cookies.

These chewy, chocolate chip cookies.

Any excuse to turn the oven on really.

But! They have half the oil and aren’t tooth-achingly sweet.

Baked Falafel

This is basically the second part to the Falafel Nachos post I wrote up yesterday.

Falafel is typically deep fried; a reason why I don’t eat it very often, despite a great restaurant serving it on a daily basis near my workplace.

However, when find myself at home craving the crunchy, creamy chickpea ball filled with bold spices, I bake it.

That’s not a typo, I do bake it.

It’s quick to make, as you throw all the ingredients in a food processor to be chopped and combined.  The mixture is then rolled into balls, placed on a greased cookie sheet, flattened and then baked in the oven.

Bright lemon, earthy cumin and aromatic cilantro, encapsulated by a soft, pleasant crunch, makes it a tasty snack or even better, a great component of your nachos for game day.

Falafel Nachos Made With Homemade Pita Chips

With NFL playoffs in full swing, I can’t help but think of nachos.

It’s practically tradition.  A six pack of Sam Adams out on the porch, friends sitting on couches and nachos being scooped up; most of the time to motion at the television with, when an offensive play goes astray.

But with NFL playoffs are also New Year’s resolutions.

Not being one to tempt you to fall off the wagon, I bring a side dish that’s not a compromise, but something better.

Seriously.

Yes, nachos are a “classic,” with cheese and tortilla chip nestled into one another, but these my friend, have different textures and incredibly bold flavors; a welcomed brightness to a dark-by-4 winter’s day.

Crisp, cumin pita chips with dollops of garlicky hummus, and crunchy, creamy cilantro infused falafel, drizzled with a bit tahini, broken through with bold flavors of spicy sriracha and bite of red onion.

It’s good.  It’s really good.

And when you scoop it up all together, it’s like magic.  Like Tom Brady magic.  Not that I’m biased or anything.