Comfort food |

New Year’s Cinnamon Rolls

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Beth

I made you cinnamon rolls! Er… Hi. Remember me? It’s kind of been a year. 13 months if we’re being exact. But that’s why I brought cinnamon rolls! To help jog your memory. 2013 was a whirlwind of work, life, wedding planning, seven cross country trips, marrying my best friend, an incredibly honeymoon to Fiji, and a Sunday that was 41 hours long. Through it all, I cooked and baked, but I didn’t share any of it with you. I missed this space though, and I’m happy to reclaim it. So, cinnamon rolls. I know it’s January, but if you’re … Continue reading →

Asparagus and Mushroom Tacos with Quick Pickled Onions

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Beth

When I was young, without fail, whenever my mom would ask what we wanted for dinner, my sister and I would chorus “tacos!” Taco night was our favorite. There was something about the self-assembly part of taco night that made it extra special. I usually loaded mine up with extra cheese, only adding lettuce or tomato if strongly encouraged. I still love taco night, but these days vegetables play a starring role instead of being a simple afterthought. I have written about taco night before, as it’s a favorite in our house. While I love these zucchini and potato tacos, … Continue reading →

Grilled Vegetables over Polenta

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Beth

Last night the ladies took over the grill. By which I mean my neighbor did all the heavy lifting and fire wielding tasks, and I chopped some veggies. We wrapped them up in tortillas, topped with feta and avocado, for grilled veggie tacos. In the winter, I’ll usually make a big batch of roasted veggies on the weekend. Butternut squash, mushrooms and Brussels sprouts are the usual suspects. These grilled vegetables must be their summer counterparts. These leftover grilled vegetables can be re-invented in so many ways. Tonight I had them over polenta (cooked in roasted vegetable stock) with goat … Continue reading →

Grandma’s Cast Iron Skillet Apple Pie

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Beth

My grandmother passed away yesterday morning. She was in her nineties and had the privilege of being entirely herself right up until the end. She outlived every expectation of her doctors (stubborn to the end!) and got to die at home surrounded by family. We should all be so lucky. Grandma was a smart cookie. I got such joy out of telling Grandma stories. “My ninety year old Grandma has gmail, and she gchats and reads my blog!” was a sentence I often uttered. I’ve met many wonderful people thanks to this blog, but I’m extra grateful for how the … Continue reading →

A Fully Stocked Pantry

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Beth

A while back I promised my friend Alex a pantry post, and it’s been sitting half completed in my drafts folder for weeks. She reminded me about it this weekend, so I finished it up for you. A large chunk of my pantry is stocked from the bulk section at my grocery store. I always have a few kinds of dried beans and grains, plus nutritional yeast in glass jars. Right now, I have green lentils, snowcap beans, and Christmas lima beans on hand. For grains I have brown rice, wild rice, quinoa, and wheat berries. All of these are … Continue reading →

Vegetarian Black Bean Soup

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Beth

My company has lunch on-site every day. Nothing fancy, mostly just soup, a salad bar, and occasionally a sandwich bar. Still the convenience is great, and I love having warm soup for lunch. Unfortunately, the vegetarian soups lean heavily on lentils. French lentil soup, vegetarian lentil soup, curried lentil soup, etc… I like lentils as much as the next girl, but when the non-vegetarian soups range from wild mushroom bisque to black bean soup, I have some serious soup envy. Especially since many of those soups could be easily made vegetarian by using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. So … Continue reading →

Comfort Food: Mashed Potatoes with Mushroom Gravy

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Beth

I had a whole recipe in mind for you with a creative twist on mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes with whole grain mustard and thyme, paired with marinated mushrooms. I suspect I’ll still make that dish, but as I was thinking about it, I got a phone call. While everyone in my life is fine, the phone call threw me off my axis. With my whole world off-kilter, I no longer felt up for the adventurous new recipe, and I needed an old comfortable standby in my kitchen instead. When I was in Boston over Christmas, my father gave me my … Continue reading →

Buffalo Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Beth

I have spent a large chunk of my life avoiding spicy things. I never understood why someone would want to eat spicy food voluntarily. I associated spicy food with pain and tears; usually after accidentally ingesting a piece of jalapeno. This was not an experience I was willing to seek out on purpose. J, on the other hand, loves spicy food. Before he became vegetarian, buffalo chicken tenders were one of his go to pub orders. I can still feel my eyes tearing up just sitting across the table from his order of “satanic” buffalo chicken at Cambridge Common. (He … Continue reading →

A Vegetarian Riff on French Onion Soup

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Beth

I have no childhood associations with French onion soup the way I did with stuffing. The fact that it’s traditionally made with beef broth didn’t wreak havoc on me when I became vegetarian because I don’t think I’ve ever even had traditional French onion soup. My sister and I hated onions when we were children. I don’t know why we hated onions. I don’t remember being averse to the taste, or the smell, or even the texture of cooked onions. I just remember hating onions. I think sometimes my mom would successfully sneak them into dishes if she cut them … Continue reading →

Goat Cheese and Pear Stuffed French Toast

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Beth

When we lived in Boston, J and I had a breakfast place. Ball Square Café is the perfect neighborhood place, and even though it wasn’t exactly in our neighborhood, it was absolutely worth the mile walk. I’ve eaten nearly everything off their menu (though I have a strong preference for the tri-berry French toast), and every breakfast item is a home run. They do huge creative omelets with homefries or grilled mashed potatoes. That’s right, they take the amazingness of buttery mashed potatoes and then grill them up so they have a delicious brown crust. The pancakes are light, fluffy … Continue reading →

a bicoastal adventure

Tag Archives: Comfort food