green stuff

Sherry-Dijon Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Onions

December 4, 2013 by Erica

Thank you so much for all your sweet comments on Monday’s post! They mean so much. Nate and I could not be happier. Life is good!

I hadn’t counted on starting wedding planning quite so early, but venues book up fast! We had to start looking if we wanted any chance of getting married in 2014… and we may have found a place! Fingers crossed, but I think we will be getting married next fall. Hooray!

I wasn’t really looking forward to all the planning – I usually procrastinate this kind of thing until I’m completely dreading it. Luckily I have my mom, who so far is the world’s best wedding planner. How I would plan this thing without her, I have no idea. It turns out wedding planning is a ton of fun when someone else is doing all the work!

I hope you’ll put up with occasional wedding talk on here. I am slightly worried I’m not going to be able to talk about anything else for the next 10 months.

And this is the part when I transition seamlessly from wedding talk to Brussels sprouts.

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Easy Italian Orzo and White Bean Soup

November 20, 2013 by Erica

It’s time for another soup! The easiest, peasiest, cheesiest soup in the land.

OK, maybe not the cheesiest. That would probably be this one. Today’s soup is actually vegan… with an optional dumping of parmesan cheese.

I know we’re in Thanksgiving planning mode, and this is not a Thanksgiving soup. That doesn’t make it any less perfect for this time of year, though, because it is a quick and easy pantry soup – perfect for making a big batch of when your next few evenings are going to be filled with holiday prep, or even for throwing together when your family gets into town and you realize that they will be here for days, but you have only planned a single meal.

So yes, my family will probably be seeing this soup next week.

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Lebanese Lentil-Spinach Soup

October 30, 2013 by Erica

Lebanese Lentil-Spinach Soup

So yesterday I asked on Facebook whether you guys would prefer a soup or muffin recipe today… and somehow soup won. What?! You guys are crazy. But soup it is. Rest assured we’ll do muffins on Friday.

Speaking of choosing soup over pastries… I just found out that a donut shop is going in below my yoga studio. And I’m conflicted.

On the one hand, I like donuts. I can’t say I’m opposed to donut-y aromas wafting up into the studio as I lie in shavasana.

On the other hand, I don’t feel like yoga and donuts really go together. I can’t imagine I’ll want to pick up a donut on my way out of my power class at 8 pm… which is probably a good thing. Just cancel all those chaturangas right out, will ya?

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Super Sweet Spinach Salad

September 30, 2013 by Erica

Super Sweet Spinach Salad from Coffee & Quinoa

My salad brings all the boys to the yard, and they’re like, it’s better than yours…

What? No?

Here is the thing about salad (and blogging about salad): It doesn’t exactly bring all the boys to the yard. You know what I mean? Now blogging about milkshakes, that’s another story.

Despite this unfortunate truth, I’m bringing you a salad today, because this is my blog, and on my blog I get to share the food I like to eat, boys in the yard or no.

Super Sweet Spinach Salad from Coffee & Quinoa

Well, like to eat is maybe a strong statement about salad.

To me, salads (and hard workouts, for that matter) are like classic works of literature: you want to have read them (or have eaten or have done them), but you do not want to read, eat or do them in the present tense. No, you want to look into your virtuous past and say “ah yes, I had a salad for lunch” with the same smug satisfaction you would say “ah yes, I’ve read Dostoyevsky.” Rarely could I say with any truthfulness, “I want to eat a salad right now.” (And I’m sorry, but the same goes for reading translations from the Russian.) In reality, I claim to want salad quite often, but it’s because I’m thinking of the present as the future past. And in the future, I will want to have eaten a salad.

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Thai Green Curry with Turnips and Summer Squash

July 24, 2013 by Erica

Thai Green Curry with Turnips and Summer Squash

Remember my CSA bounty I told you about on Monday?

Thai Green Curry with Turnips and Summer Squash

Well, hidden in there were also some adorable summer squash.

Lebanese squash (I think?), pattypan squash, green zucchini, and yellow zucchini.

Thai Green Curry with Turnips and Summer Squash

I only ever really buy zucchini and yellow crookneck squash, so I was really excited about the prospect of trying some new kinds. I mean, they all tasted the same, but I loved the colors. And that little pattypan squash is just too cute to be allowed!

Admission: I’ve been afraid to buy pattypan squash, despite their cuteness, because I didn’t know how to cut them up. This forced me to try, and it was super easy: just slice off the stem on top and bottom and chop into wedges. Duh.

Thai Green Curry with Turnips and Summer Squash

So I got a multitude of squash, but no turnips. I actually planned this meal before I picked up the box, assuming we’d get turnips again. Then, when we didn’t, I just bought some anyway. (Buying turnips… who am I?) They are definitely trying to give us a variety in our CSA box – cherries one week, apricots the next, etc. – which is nice, except when you’re learning how to cook with something new. I’m like, helloooo, now I’m brimming with turnip recipes! Bring on the turnips! Then nothing. But that’s OK, because I’m sure I’ll get my fair share of turnips and squash during the rest of the summer, and now I know the perfect dish to use them all up.

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