recently, in my kitchen...

This morning, I had a lovely surprise waiting for me at work.  Half of my overhead light is burned out, and the other half is flickering like a spastic strobe light.  I sat down at my desk to begin my daily dive into the world of data dumps, but I (literally) feel so nauseous that I am swearing off numbers until maintenance comes to fix it.  So while I wait, I am going to tap into my word reserve and "warm up" for my return to blogging.  This is a post without real recipes (because what little I've cooked, I haven't bothered to write down) and with minimal "photography".

I wanted to post earlier, but since Lent has ended, I’ve been on the "grilled cheese a day" plan.  Great for me, because grilled cheese is delicious and it gives me that warm and fuzzy feeling.  (God. I am so single.)  But, the grilled cheese diet isn’t just bad for my arteries or my waistline – (or my love life?  Will I ever be able to love a human the way I love grilled cheese?) – it also doesn’t make for very inspiring blog material.  Hence my absence. 

What’s that, you say?  Oh, you actually want to hear about grilled cheese?  Fine.  Blame the 40-day dearth of bread, but I just can’t get enough of these sandwiches. (Which I am calling "panini", by virtue of the fact that they're pressed on my stovetop.  Doesn't "I have had a panini every day for two weeks" sound slightly less pathetic than "I have had a grilled cheese every day for two weeks" ?)  Cheddar and tomato may be a tried and true combo, but lately I’ve been really into pressed baguettes with ricotta, asparagus, and caramelized onions, or crusty sourdough with swiss, gruyere, fig jam, and a couple thin slices of prosciutto.  I’ve also been eating a breakfasty variation at all hours of the day - fried egg, a slice of cheddar, smearing of avocado, and a healthy dose of Sriracha.  Yum.

Since I am acutely aware of the fact I cannot, no matter how much I’d like to, eat bread and cheese three times a day, I’ve had some healthier fare in rotation as well.  Luckily, Whitney asked me to give her a few tips on spicing up her brown bag lunches.  So, I’ve enjoyed playing sensei for my not-so-domestically-inclined roommate.  Right now we are concentrating on soup, and she has proved quite the eager pupil.  She now understands the fool-proof way to start any soup (onions, garlic, and a little bit of fat), the importance of a large, heavy pot, and the handiness of an immersion blender.   I am so impressed with her, and I swear, it’s almost like she knows what immense pleasure I derive from being Little Miss Bossy and teaching others “the right way” of doing things.  (After seven years of friendship and almost four years of cohabitation, how would she know such a thing?)  Last week, when we had gorgeous warm weather, we enjoyed a spin on this cold, gingery carrot soup.  (We added a couple sweet potatoes to bulk it up.)  This week, it is rainy and cold again, so we are enjoying this delicious red lentil soup.  (Made with half red lentils and half yellow split peas, instead.)  And yeah, we’re still addicted to orange things over here.

Speaking of orange things and lentils, I made an awesome salad that incorporated both, eaten alongside aforementioned carrot soup.  Hearty little brown lentils, creamy, tangy goat cheese, crunchy seeds, and spicy butternut squash.   That’s right – I finally ate my way through my stockpile of winter squashes. (It is almost May.)  So, cheers to no longer being eligible for casting in Hoarders.  I like to think that I made this salad up, but I am sure that, subconsciously, I read about it somewhere first.  A very similar one is here.

I’ve also done more than my fair share of dining out over the past few weeks.  Rasika, Scion, Shake Shack, El Centro, to name a few.  Must cook more this spring.  Also, must not fool myself into believing that I have an unlimited budget and a bottomless stomach.

Stay tuned, because I co-hosted a barbeque on Friday and over the next few days, I will be writing about some of the recipes I contributed.

Finally, now that I have no restrictions, what do you want to see made here on caramelized memoirs?  Let me know in the comments, or if you still haven't figured it out, shoot me an email.  It feels good to be back!

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