I’ve always admired (and kind of resented) those people who genuinely love eating their greens. I’ll eat my greens, but I’m not exactly enthusiastic about them…unless it’s broccoli. I ate a lot of stir-fried or steamed broccoli as a kid and liked it well enough, but then sometime in the last few years, I “discovered” roasted broccoli and fell head over heels in love with it. There aren’t many ...
Side Dishes
Greek Tuna Salad
My parents handed over the task of making school lunches to my brother and me at a relatively early point in our educational careers. If my memory serves me correctly, I was only seven or eight. Since I was already too much of a food snob to make my lunch the night before and end up with slightly staler or soggier sandwiches, I ate years and years of the two sandwich varieties that I could pack ...
Caprese Quinoa Salad with Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette
This past week, the boyfriend and I have been visiting his family in Arizona, where the temperatures have been akin to what Michigan experiences during the summer, but without the attendant humidity. Even though we had a mercifully moderate winter (after one winter with record-setting amounts of snow and another winter with record-setting cold), I’m already looking forward to warmer weather, and ...
Wild Rice and Sweet Potato Salad
After several weeks of plying you (and myself) with holiday treats, I figured we could all use some extra greens. I know, I know…most people don’t want to hear about salads until January, when the cold reality of New Year’s resolutions sinks in, but hear me out, because this wild rice and sweet potato salad is about as cheerful and celebratory as they come! ...
One-Pot Pumpkin Ale Mac and Cheese
Once upon a time, I had oodles of time to cook well-planned, lovingly-prepared meals several nights a week. Or that’s how I remember it, at any rate. I’m no longer even sure when (or if) these culinary golden days took place. Maybe during my senior year of college? Maybe during the summer months of grad school when classes weren’t in session? The details are hazy. ...
Moroccan Apricot Couscous
Do you ever find yourself in a side-dish dilemma? I bet you know what I'm talking about: dinnertime is drawing near, you’ve got the main dish covered, but you still need something more to complete the meal. I often find myself in this predicament. While there’s no shame in plunking down a few random veggies or a dinner roll and calling it a side, these last-minute additions can sometimes feel ...
Crunchy Curried Chicken Salad
A few weeks ago, I shared a recipe for a mayo-free potato salad and was surprised by how many people commented about sharing my reluctance to consume the ubiquitous condiment. ...
Jalapeño Ranch Potato Salad
In my high school biology class, we did a unit on the human digestive system, and for the unit test, we had to describe the digestive process for various types of foods: fats, carbohydrates, etc. I still remember that test: it read, “Sam eats a spoonful of mayonnaise. Describe how he digests it.” My first thought was, He doesn’t. He barfs it back up because that’s DISGUSTING. I mean, really, how ...
Strawberry Rhubarb Vinaigrette
It has been almost five years since I moved from California, and you know what I’m still not used to? Summer rainstorms and the staggering attendant humidity. Snow and the bitter cold I can handle – although I’ll gripe about it along with everyone else, for sure! At least I was mentally prepared for the cold. I mean, it’s all anyone talks about when you say that you’re moving to Michigan. ...
Creamy White Bean Pasta Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette
When I was a writing instructor, I used to caution my students against using sweeping or obvious generalizations to start their papers (“Since the beginning of time…” “Mankind has always…”), but that is exactly what I’m about to do: Sometimes, life gets unexpectedly hectic. ...