You know you’ve made some strides when your husband asks if you’re having “the good salad” for dinner. “The good salad” refers to my version of a chef/cobb salad (not really sure exactly where it falls). It’s a hearty, but healthy salad perfect for lunch or even dinner. It’s really simple to put together, but I have heard a lot of people lately say that they can’t get excited about salad as a main meal. So if you are one of those (or married to one of those) you should try this.
Burgers to Please any Palate: Bareburger
Let’s talk about cravings. How often has a smell or a memory triggered an intense desire for a certain flavor or dish? For someone as obsessed with food as I am, this happens all the time. And who are we kidding… most cravings aren’t for baby carrots or a nice juicy apple (the random times that they are I celebrate). No no, my cravings more often come in the form of warm apple pie or mac and cheese that’s rich and creamy, with the melted cheese stretching from the fork and a panko crust that’s just a touch burnt on top. Sometimes I am able to create a healthy alternative that gets at the root of the craving (examples here and here). Other times I will give in, eat really healthy during the day, and indulge in the real thing… and more often than not in this scenario I end up disappointed because it’s never as good as the version I dreamed up that initially triggered the craving. Isn’t that the worst?
Ahh, but then there is that magical one off time when the dish that you dream of exists in real life and it takes 2 days to convince your husband to go on a food adventure with you, and it’s just spectacular. This is a story about one of those times.
Vegetarian Stuffed Acorn Squash
A couple of weeks ago I had one of those inspired moments in the grocery store where I decided to buy some winter squash. After all, we haven’t had a winter quite like this one in New York in many years, so it felt especially appropriate.
The only problem with these on a whim purchases is that I usually don’t have a recipe in mind so have to get creative when it comes to using the ingredient. It also means, that throughout the weeks, my ingredient gets more and more lonely in the fridge as the rest of the groceries get used. Last night, after a trip to the gym I needed a healthy, quick, and comforting dinner and the acorn squash was calling out my name.