A return to kale

I started this blog (so long ago!) with some posts on kale, which at the time was a recent discovery. Back then, I only cooked with it, meaning I always ate it cooked, either braised or sautéed or added to soups. I can say without a doubt that I had never tried it raw.

Then I moved to California. This was probably at the height of kale's popularity (or infamy?). I think everything people say about California is more or less true, especially the food - there is a lot of fresh, local produce, and everything is done to preserve that freshness. And so, for the first time, I had raw kale. Of course, this raw kale was massaged into submission with a Caesar dressing or with avocados and lemons - something to break up the rawness. The first 10 times, I thought it was so delicious, I would eat a huge bowl of salad for dinner. I started to get a little bored, so I would vary the flavors - an Asian-style dressing using sesame oil and rice vinegar. Or I would accessorize: large shavings of Parmesan and slices of apples, or persimmons and almonds. Then it was in smoothies, with apples and avocados and mangoes and pineapple. And then on popcorn! But after that, I just couldn't any more, with the raw kale. It was time for a break.

Not so underground anymore

Well hello!

The past few months have been - suffice it to say - nuts. I guess that is what moving across the country will do to you. It has been quite the roller-coaster ride - new job, new co-workers, new roommates, new routines... exciting and also - literally - unsettling.

And what suffered the most? My cooking, or lack thereof. And when I say "cooking," I mean so much more than just making food - it's a little bit food shopping, food prep, recipe browsing, Food Network watching, cookbook reading, and actually cooking.... Usually I am brimming with ideas and plans of what I will cook, but with all these changes going on in my life, any notion of cooking went out the window. As a result, I have been feeling somewhat incomplete.

Inari sushi

Ask and you shall receive. It is kind of crazy how this works out sometimes.

Inari sushi is one of those things that only Japanese and Korean people eat/like - amirite? I mean, try explaining what it is is to someone unfamiliar with it ("it's rice stuffed into a fried tofu pocket that has been soaking in a sweet liquid"), and just see if they will take a bite.

Accidentally vegan thumbprint cookies

I do not seek out vegan, or gluten-free, or even vegetarian foods (even though I don't eat beef or pork). And despite the name "vegan thumbprint cookies", these cookies appealed to me because they sounded really yummy and very easy to make.

And they were quite yummy - a lovely nutty, oat-y, soft yet crunchy base, perfectly balanced with the sweet and tart jam.

Leftover green curry

In my never-ending quest for the meal for one, I've encountered several challenges, including how to use up an ingredient (herbs are usually the main culprit), and how to make a single portion out of a larger recipe (clearly never going to happen with roast chicken, although - maybe a cornish game hen?).

A new spin on this last one is, how can I make manageable leftovers? As I've said before, leftovers are my frenemy - sometimes they are totally awesome, and sometimes they are the bane of my existence.

Strawberry scones, and a baking mishap

Have you ever wondered what happens if you mistake baking soda for baking powder? I have not.

But, now I know. In the grand tradition of Anne of Green Gables, Jo from Little Women, and the going-blind cook from Downton Abbey, I mistook one ingredient for another, resulting in some very dry, nearly burned, metallic-tasting scones. My error was not as egregious as theirs, I think (salt for sugar, blech), and at least I discovered it before I served it to anyone else.

The thing is, I've made these scones before! This was probably my fourth or fifth time making them, that's how much I like them. I was over confident? Or just distracted? Who knows.