Recipes I've Made And Loved, Part Three

Fun food fact about me: I didn’t like red meat until I was in my 20s, and I didn’t cook eggs for myself until I was in my 30s (plus I only started eating eggs in my 20s). Now, both because I have a better kitchen setup, my city has compost pickup (so I feel less wasteful if I cook up a failure), and it kind of sucks going anywhere in this hellscape known as America, I’ve become a Cooking Person. I now say things like, “We have food at home!” and I barely recognize myself. I love finding new recipes to try, and while I’m still much more of a baker than a cooker, I have learned that I’m actually better at both than I would have thought. Here are some of the recipes I’ve been loving lately. (More recipe roundups can be found here and here.)

This recipe isn’t on this list, but you can find it here and let me tell you, it is DELICIOUS and makes you look like a culinary MASTER when you serve it (and it’s not even that difficult to make).

Pesto Pasta Salad

When it’s hot and you’re depressed and you just want to have food that you don’t need to think about, pasta salad is your lifeline. It’s also great to serve at backyard get togethers (please don’t have those!) or to bring to a potluck (again, now is not the time for that). I like to make this pasta salad and keep it in a big container and just scoop out some for lunch every day until I run out, and then I make some more. Another tip from me to you: Replace the pasta with cheese tortellini and thank me later.

Roasted Potatoes

Another lazy food fix I depend on is this recipe for roasted potatoes that is super easy and super good. I gave this recipe to my mom and she has informed me that she and my dad eat these potatoes multiple times a week. I like to make a big tray of these, then toss them in my largest bowl with broccoli and rice. Then I keep that in a tupperware in the kitchen, and when it’s time to eat I heat up a bowl of this delicious mix in the microwave while I scramble an egg, then add the egg to the brocc/potato/rice bowl and VOILA, it’s lunch. Added tips: Before those eggs hit the pan, season with salt and Trader Joe’s Furikake Seasoning (which itself is salty so you could skip the extra salt but why deny yourself flavor and joy?). Also most of the seasonings used in the potato recipe are in Trader Joe’s Seasoning Salt (which has been discontinued - WHY TJ??) But if you still have a bottle around it can save you measuring endless seasonings (I just add cumin and chili powder and salt).

Peanut Butter Fudge Balls, or as I call them, Date Balls

Peanut Butter Fudge Balls

Ok. these are sold as a sort of healthy fudge and let’s be honest, they are 1) not like fudge, and 2) not remotely dessert-like. I eat them for breakfast, as kind of an “energy ball” thing. If you’re not familiar with “protein balls” or “energy balls” or any other name for these things, a quick Pinterest search will provide you with approximately nine thousand recipes. This one is dates, a banana, peanut buttter, and oats. That’s it. They end up sticky so i’ve started rolling them in shredded coconut so they’re easier to eat, and I think it’s a great improvement. Also, this is the recipe that destroyed two (TWO!) food processors, and even though I bought a much better and more powerful food processor, I still soak the dates in some boiling water for a few minutes before I process them. Better safe than destroying three food processors.

Rhubarb Snacking Cake

I love rhubarb, and it has such a short season, you really need to just commit yourself to eating rhubarb every day while you can (the same is true for mandarin oranges). You’ve gotta dedicate yourself to basking in the season, and I did that with this Smitten Kitchen recipe for Rhubarb Snacking Cake. It uses every mixing bowl I have (only three) and takes awhile but I’m not going anywhere AND it turns out my favorite lockdown activity is baking while listening to an audiobook/podcast. My second favorite is eating this cake.

The mystery berry crisp bars I mention below

Fruit Crisp Bars

This section, by the way, is the Smitten Kitchen Spotlight. I have been making a LOT of SK recipes and not one has ever disappointed. This recipe is technically for strawberry rhubarb crisp bars, but I have discovered it’s my favorite way to use up berries that I need to use ASAP before they get gross and are only fit for the compost. I have made it with golden raspberries, blackberries, loganberries, marionberries, and even the frozen Three Berry Blend from Costco (thaw them first). Never once have these bars fail to be delicious, even with me throwing a hodgepodge of berries at them. I have some in the fridge right now and I literally have no idea what kind of berries I used. And did I mention you make this recipe IN THE PAN?? It’s perfection.

Pink Lemonade Bars

I had never made lemon bars before attempting this recipe, and now I’ve made these Pink Lemonade Bars three times and I’ll certainly be making more. They are gorgeous and delicious and again, easy to make but look like you worked so hard on them and are also incredibly talented to even attempt such a thing. Another standout frr bringing to a social event (please don’t go to a social event).

Blondies that will blow your mind

Blondies

Oh I loooove a blondie. This recipe requires you to brown butter, which I had never before attempted, and it’s worth trying not just for the fabulous flavor they add to the bars, but also so you can learn something new and impress yourself and others. These are super decadent, which I love, because you can cut them into very small pieces that are still very satisfying. Then, because they’re just so tiny, you can have them for dessert after every meal of the day without feeling over-blondied.