Crêpe with Spring Vegetables

Crêpes are just one of those things: they're super tasty, easy and versatile. So why is it that I hardly ever make them? I mean I go through this every time that I make them, I find myself thinking- "hummm what should I make". Then suddenly and of great surprise to myself I think how about a crêpe. 

This morning I was driving home from church thinking, "hum what should I make of lunch". I wanted spring veggies, and asparagus in particular. Its also a Sunday though so it needed to be easy. Suddenly, I realized I should put my spring veggies in a crêpe and that is exactly what I did!

Flaming Tongue Tacos

There is something about Sunday afternoons that just make me crave a little Mexican food. I think its because I’m tired, and Mexican is warm, comforting and just crazy good. Planning ahead I resolved a while ago to make tongue tacos in celebration of Pentecost which was yesterday. At Pentecost we celebrate the birth of the church, anointing of the disciples with ‘divided tongues as of fire’ and the spread of the Gospel across the world. I invite you to read the whole story in Acts 2:1-12. This is an incredible, inspiring and exciting story and I will concede that making spicy tacos is somewhat silly way of celebrating but don’t we all need to be a little silly sometimes?

Pork with Rhubarb and Red Onions

I think rhubarb is one of the greatest things ever. Growing up I always loved spring and the rhubarb sauce mom would make for dinner. It was like stringy pink heaven in a dish! This spring I was determined to try rhubarb in a new way, in a savory dish. We all love rhubarb pies and crisps, but why not as part of the main dish?

Thus I have been on a quest. While I have found many different recipes for rhubarb as part of a main dish, they all seemed pretty blah. The sauce was overly sweet and one dimensional. This could be done better. So I thought and thought about it and decided to give it a go myself. You know, I think it turned out really well. The sauce wasn't overly sweet- or overly tart. Then I added in some rosemary and peppercorns. The peppercorns I think really helped it out a lot. Per Scott's suggestions, I served it with pork.

Polenta with Asparagus, Spicy Butter and a Poached Egg

This weekend, Scott was out of town visiting his mother. I decided to seize the opportunity and make for myself something with polenta which is not one of his favorite foods. I am proud to say that I sort of made up this recipe myself and I think that it worked pretty well. The polenta is crunchy and soft. The asparagus is sweet. The sriracha butter’s spice balances the sweet while the egg makes it gooey and moist. Sadly for the man who doesn’t much care for polenta (but not for me)  after making and photographing the dish I decided that it needed tweaking so I made it again tonight. 

Strawberry Risotto

I fell in love with risotto when I was in seminary. Graduate students are poor, but if there is one thing that even a graduate student can afford, its rice. Really, that's all risotto is, its just that you need to cook the rice just so, then you can mix in just about anything. 

Roasted Radishes

I didn't much care for radishes as a kid. The seemed to be just another raw vegetable, yet lacked the sweetness of carrots. Since then my feelings have changed. I still think that they're just okay by themselves. Then I had them as an appetizer, sliced and served with butter and sliced baguette- perfection! I recommend that you try this my friends, its probably the simplest appetizer ever and so so good. 

Shortly there after, I saw a recipe for roasted radishes- "well why not?" I thought. Roasted radishes have since become one of my favorite side dishes. Roasted, the radishes mellow and taste almost like a very mild turnip. They also give the plate a great splash of color. 

Lately versions of roasted radishes have been featured again and again in magazines. People often drizzle orange juice, sprinkle lemon zest, or add any number of herbs. Experimentation is encouraged though unneeded. Here I have given you the most basic of recipes: radishes, olive oil, salt and pepper. 

My Mom's Coq Au Vin

I found a proper french recipe for Coq au Vin once a few years ago and decided to give it a try. In the end though it took a great deal more work than my mom's and wasn't nearly as good. You see, my mom has an amazing coq au vin recipe- its super easy (so she made it a lot) and the meat just falls off the bones.


Its also really easy to personalize the recipe, making it whatever you want it to be. For a family of four, she always just used a whole chicken, cut into pieces. I usually just do chicken thighs, or boneless chicken breasts. I've also made this in a crock pot and it worked really well. Here, I decided to add onions, carrots, and mushrooms- transforming it into a one pot dinner.

Celery Root Galette: a recipe to celebrate "Occupy our Food Supply" and promote food security

After I graduated from college I moved to Arizona for a volunteer year with the Presbyterian Church. Each of my housemates and I were assigned a different non-profit with which to work. As one of my housemates explained that he was to work in food security, I tried to imagine Phil more intimidating than he first appeared. I envisioned him valiantly defending a food truck from marauding bands of warlords. I wondered if he would get a navy blue jacket with yellow lettering and carry pepper spray. I did not yet understand what this term, food security meant. 

Food security, is not about assembling force. Food security is about insuring that everyone's food sources are safe. This means making sure that people know where their next meal is going to come from, and it means making sure that that meal is safe and heathy. Through his work with the Tucson Community Food Bank: Phil learned about food systems, promoted community gardens, ensured that farmers markets could accept food stamps, and educated the public and his housemates about all of these things. 

Mustard Crusted Salmon

The past couple of weeks, Scott and I have been the recipients of some wonderful hospitality, which included some great meals. The upside to all of this is that I have recently enjoyed some lovely meals. The downside is two fold: I have missed cooking and I have gained weight. As I make my return home, as well as my return to blogging I have decided to begin with one of my favorite recipes:


There is a great little french bistro in St. Louis where I went to a bridal shower a few years ago and they served a mustard crusted salmon. I’m not quiet sure what happened that day but it seemed to me that there was more mustard than salmon being served. As I scraped the mustard off my salmon, I thought to myself “...hummm...this has possibilities” I have subsequently made this salmon from time to time, with a good deal less mustard than I was presented with that day. You can however feel free to double, triple or even quadruple the amount of mustard if it suites your tastes.