one week in... and banana bread

I wanted to wake up early to send nice, encouraging messages to some of my friends who ran in the Baltimore Running Festival today, but then I realized it was Saturday and that I ran my own 5k a week ago and that I haven't slept in in about a month. So I slept until 8:51AM, lazied downstairs, and made some banana bread. Better late than never - Michelle, Rachel, Jaime and Meg, I hope y'all stayed dry and ran like the wind!

Well, I've been 30 for a whole week now and what a week it's been. I had one of the most wonderful and happy birthdays I've had in a very very long time. I started out by waking up extra early for my big 5k, a banana and some coconut water for breakfast, running shoes on, Britney pumping through my headphones, and I was off. Would you believe I finished that race in my best time ever? Because I totally did! Even though there were moments when I thought to myself 'Ugh, I hate this, I just want to walk; why are there so many people around grr grumble grumble' I kept on truckin' and finished those 3.1 miles in 27 minutes and 9 seconds, coming in 121st place! That's pretty damn awesome among over a thousand runners (441 of whom were timed like me,) especially since it was my very first 5k. Afterwards I enjoyed what Honey cleverly referred to as a Runner's Mimosa - 1 can of sparkling white wine and a fresh orange - before heading out to a giant, delicious, waterfront brunch of a fried egg and crabcake sandwich with avocado and sriracha on Texas toast with a giant, spicy Bloody Mary on the side.

basking in the glow of completing my first 5k - a healthy happy birthday!

After a long nap (I'm allowed to take naps now since I'm old,) my honey made me the most amazing supper ever - apple brined thick-cut pork chops, spicy bacony collared greens, and a root vegetable mash with thyme and rosemary infused cream. Holy cannoli was it delicious; seriously, the best at-home pork chop I've ever had in my entire life. I'll make him type up the recipes so I can share them because that's the kind of meal that deserves to be shared. After our early supper we headed off the the movie theatre for some 3D IMAX space action. Gravity is the scariest movie I've seen in a long time. Since we got there late the only seats available were in the very front row so it was pretty much like we were drowning in space. My hands were gripping the seat, I jumped a few times, spilled popcorn all over myself (though to be fair, I do that in almost every movie because I'm a popcorn slobollahead.) Go see it. It was terrifying.

you're never too old to make a wish

Home again home again for cake and ice cream and champagne and presents. And not just any cake, a scratch cake! And one that completed the theme of my homemade meal - that everything gets better with age. He whipped up a Caramel Apple Redemption cake. I'd never heard of it before either and thank goodness because I pretty much ate the entire three layer, fluffy, gooey confection on my own. Now that I'm 30 I have an excuse for being an old frump and going to bed early and boy, did I take advantage of that. 11PM bedtime on my bday, yes please! Between the fabulous day of and the wonderful weekend before I can safely say that this was one of my best birthdays yet. Thank you to everyone involved. Let's make sure this year is the best one ever... until 31!

Side note: Even though I didn't sign on for the Baltimore Running Festival today, I did take myself out for a quick little jog through the park which coincidentally is part of the marathon route. So I guess I technically ran part of the marathon. Like, maybe an eighth of a mile or so. And because bananas are good running food, here's that banana bread recipe to get you all pumped and energized - 

perfect for canceling out the calories burned while running

elise's friend heidi's friend mrs. hockmeyer's banana bread 
adapted from simply recipes and spiced up by me
ingredients
4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 c salted butter, melted
3/4 c dark brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp bourbon vanilla
pinch of salt
1 tsp roasted cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp garam masala
equal sprinklings of cloves, ginger, allspice
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 c flour
directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350. In a medium mixing bowl, stir melted butter into smashed bananas using a wooden spoon. Mix in sugar, egg, vanilla and spices making sure to blend completely.
2. Sprinkle in the baking soda and salt before mixing in. Lastly, mix in the flour being sure to incorporate completely.
3. Pour mixture into a greased loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes to an hour, or until tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack before serving.

one pan wonder

Have I ever mentioned how much I love my cast iron skillet? The one that was lovingly seasoned by my grandmother, then used for years by my mother before being gifted to me not too long ago? It may just be my favorite kitchen tool (shhh, don't tell the KitchenAid!) I use it nearly every night for something or other, feeling wonderfully old-fashioned with my apron and wooden spoon. I especially love the nights that involve sinfully simple meals made entirely in that one genius pan. Nights like tonight.

Oh seasonal veggies, how wonderful you are. 'Tis the season for two of my favorites, brussels sprouts and yams. With some fresh rosemary from the backyard garden, tasty lamb sausage links, and everyone's favorite fat, bacon grease, a one pan meal was made. It was delicious, it was easy, and it was pretty healthy; well, at least there were loads of fresh seasonal veggies. Follow along for a super simple weeknight meal that's sure to please. Bonus - cleanup is a breeze when you only use one pan!

skillet roasted seasonal veggies with lamb sausage
ingredients
6 lamb merguez sausage links
1 tsp bacon fat
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 tsp minced garlic
3 large sweet potatoes, peeled & cubed
5 c halved brussels sprouts
1 tsp hazelnut oil
1 tsp hot Hungarian paprika
1/2 tsp smoked Spanish paprika

1 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp cumin
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
fresh ground salt & pepper to taste

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and warm the cast iron skillet over medium heat. Melt the bacon fat in the pan and toss in the garlic & onions. When the onions begin to clarify, toss in the sausage links, cooking evenly. When the sausage is nearly cooked, remove from the pan and set aside on a plate.

2. With the flame steady at medium, heat the hazelnut oil and spices before mixing in the sweet potatoes. Lightly toss to coat each piece. When the potatoes begin to soften, mix in the brussels sprouts.

3. When the brussels sprouts begin to wilt, return the sausage to the pan and place the entire pan in the oven. Roast for about 20 minutes or until everything has a nice, even crisp. Serve hot with fresh beet greens for a tasty, simple meal.

going nuts

Ugh, I'm seriously the worst! Now it's not only my mother who scolds me for my inconsistent blogging habits, my grandma has jumped on the bandwagon, too (love you ladies!) As usual I've got a billion posts pending and another billion ideas for posts floating around in my brain. Unfortunately, I just came seem to find the blogging spirit in myself as frequently as I'd like to and it becomes a bit of a chore to sit down at the computer and spend time click clacking away at the keyboard. But that doesn't mean that I haven't been  in the kitchen experimenting. Though I may not have it in me to brag and blog about my current or recent culinary adventures, I have had quite a few. So let's flash back to a couple of weeks ago when I tried something brand new.

Like everyone else seems to be doing, I've been trying to cut back. Cut back on what, you ask. Everything. Less meat, less dairy, less sugar, less gluten, less fat. Less everything. When giving up so much, it's easy to fall in to a slump of humdrum meals and snacks. I'm not ok with that; no way jose. If I'm going to create a healthy and balanced diet for myself, there better be loads of flavor, creativity, taste and experimentation - I refuse to eat plain, boring kale salads everyday. I want variety. I want dessert. I want... cookies!

Hmm, how to make cookies with less gluten and sugar and dairy. What's the sweetest nut around (other than myself?) Almonds! And since we are forbidden to have peanuts or peanut butter in the house (honey is NOT a fan of peanuts,) I have loads of almonds in pretty much every form: sliced, slivered, buttered, ground into meal, ground into flour, raw, roasted, all kinds of almonds. So I took my go-to recipe for peanut butter cookies and adjusted it to include no flour and almonds. Since almonds are high in fat and oils even when they're ground into flour, subbing almond flour for regular white flour requires a few other adjustments to the recipe including less butter. I've learned from my previous almond flour disasters that a good rule of thumb is to double the flour and halve the butter. Because I like my nut butter cookies a little more on the chunky side rather than smooth, I used a combination of powdery almond flour and grainy almond meal.

Cooking with nut flours, especially baking with nut flours, takes a keen eye more than anything else. You really just need to add the dry ingredients a little at a time to make sure the consistency looks right. And if you've done it all correctly, you will end up with what might just be the most perfect cookies ever. Seriously, honey even said so! Crispy on the edges, chewy and soft on the inside, perfect to soak up milk or a latte or some Ovaltine. And it's gluten free! And has minimal dairy. The sugar is still the same but I think I might try it with agave or honey next time. Experimentation is key when creating a new diet, I couldn't handle it if I weren't allowed to try new things. I encourage you, darling readers, to do the same.

perfect with a side of fresh sweet cherries!

all almond all the time almond butter cookies
ingredients
1 c packed dark brown sugar
1/4 c salted butter, room temp
1/2 c chunky almond butter
1 egg
1 1/2 c almond flour
1/2 c almond meal
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
directions
1. Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl. In the bowl of your mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and blend until completely mixed in. Mix in almond butter.
2. With mixer on a medium-low speed, mix in dry ingredients one cup at a time. Don't be afraid to add more almond flour/meal to get the right consistency. When all ingredients are mixed and the right doughiness is achieved, roll dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and let chill for at least one hour.
3. Form chilled dough into 1" balls and press down with a fork (criss cross like peanut butter cookies usually are.) The dough might seem to be a little crumbly when you're pushing it down; don't be discouraged, it will be fine! Bake on a silpat covered cookie sheet at 375 for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!

big easy

Normally I try to avoid pre-seasoned or pre-packaged foods because they tend to be too salty and not that great for you. But every once in awhile, especially after a long day of field tripping with the fifth grade, I'm not in the mood to plan a menu and prep all the elements of the meal. Exhausted times like these are when it helps to have a few tricks up your sleeve and a few mains and sides in the freezer or pantry.

Tonight we opened the freezer and pulled out some seasoned waffle-cut fries and saucy cajun salmon. Even though the White House may consider french fries a vegetable, I don't. We needed more color on the plate and since we have seemingly never-ending supplies of beans and kale, that's what I made. I seasoned the kale with some sazon and cumin and steamed it with garlic, onion, and sliced summer sausage. I prepared the beans just like I would a spicy vegetarian chili, but only brought it to a simmer for a few minutes to make sure everything was hot but not totally cooked into chili; almost like a summer chili because it isn't as hearty as winter chili. Thirty minutes later we pulled the fish and chips out of the oven and spooned our two veggie sides from the stovetop for a bright, colorful, slightly inspired by New Orleans meal. Even better than the quick simplicity of the meal was the fact that the ease and swiftness with which we prepared it meant that the weather was still ideal for al fresco dining!

summer chili

ingredients

1 can red beans

5 campari tomatoes, large diced

1 small onion, large diced

1 tsp avocado oil

1 tsp pepper jelly

cayenne, chipotle, black peppers to taste

directions

1. In a small saucepan, heat oil and sautee onions until slightly softened. Add beans, tomatoes, pepper jelly and peppers. Simmer on a medium heat about 10-15 minutes.

uphill bean battle

Lately, I feel like Sisyphus; at least when it comes to beans. I may not be facing a constant uphill battle with a boulder, but I am combatting the seemingly endless supply of canned beans in my pantry. Seriously, it seems as though canned beans are reproducing in the cool, quiet darkness of my storeroom. And I haven't even begun to tackle the dried beans! But all of these legumes and such have been coming in handy since I've been making a concerted effort to cut back on our meat consumption, especially on Meatless Mondays. Fortunately, I'm pretty familiar with all of the beans I've got on the shelf - black beans, pink beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, beans, beans, beans, yadayadayada. There was however, one can that I remember buying on a whim without knowing how I'd use it. As of this morning, I still had no clue how to use butter beans. I didn't even know what kind of bean they were (it's pretty much just a lima bean.) So, I turned to Google.

butter beans + kale. Kale. This bunch of leafy superfood seems to be taking over my refrigerator just like beans have laid claim to the pantry. After a quick browse through the results I stumbled upon a guest post from Kelli of The Corner Kitchen on Say Yes to Hoboken for a butter bean and kale tomato sauce with mushrooms served over polenta. It was fate! I already had all of those ingredients in my fridge, it was so perfect.

Since I like to really own my recipes, I tend to use other recipes more for ideas than anything else so I put Kelli's wonderfully inspiring creation aside until later on. In my mind, the sauce wasn't the hard part even though I did decide to make it more of a hearty stew or ragu. The hard part was going to be the polenta. I cook with polenta quite frequently because unlike most corn products, I actually love polenta. But I've always bought the pre-made stuff in the tube, never made it from scratch. I usually end up slicing it and pan frying it or just heating it up and piling delicious things on top of it. But every time I've ordered polenta at a restaurant I get something reminiscent of Cream O' Wheat which then makes me wonder if I'm eating breakfast or supper (more on that at the end,) and I've still loved it. So now the challenge of turning pre-made tube polenta into creamy, parmesan-y porridge. It wasn't a challenge. The side of the package told me exactly how to do it and I improvised with a potato masher.

creamy parmesan polenta
ingredients
1 tube pre-made polenta
1/2 c milk
1/2 c water or stock
splash of cream
1/4 c seasoned parmesan
salt, pepper & olive oil to taste
directions
1. Slice polenta into 1/4" pieces and crumble into a heavy bottom sauce pan with milk, cream and water. Heat on a med-high flame and mash until you've achieved desired consistency. Stir in cheese, salt, pepper and oil and heat until hot but not bubbling, stirring often to avoid sticking.

Had I known it was that easy, I would have made creamy polenta long ago. And now for the meatless main event!

kale and butter bean ragu (inspired by Kelli's tomato braised butter beans with kale & mushrooms)
ingredients
4 medium tomatoes, chopped (I used a variety of campari, heirloom, and kumato)
1 can butter beans, rinsed
5-7 c kale, rinsed and torn
1 c sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1 small onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh basil, torn
1 tbsp fresh oregano leaves
salt, pepper, crushed red pepper to taste
directions
1. In a large pan, heat garlic and onion in olive oil until the onion starts to get soft. Add 1-2 c water and heat to a simmer on a medium flame while tossing in kale 2 cups at a time, allowing to reduce. Season with salt and peppers. Add herbs.
2. When kale has wilted down and become soft add in the mushrooms, cooking about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and beans. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook for about 3-5 more minutes, covered. Season as desired. Serve on top of creamy polenta with a dollop of fresh ricotta if desired.

Dinner was almost too easy tonight. And it was so delicious and flavorful and hearty and belly-filling good! It's getting a little warm out now, but this is a perfect late winter meal if you ask me. I mention breakfast earlier because I think if you toned down the spices of the veggies and put a poached egg on top, you'd have an unbelievably beautiful brunch dish. Or you could put it all in a skillet with a few eggs and bake it - gosh that would look so nice on a morning table! After we ate, I checked out Kelli's original recipe and it wasn't much different than my interpretation. She used canned diced tomatoes with the juices and shredded her kale so it looks like it was more along the lines of a sauce than a stew. She also used thyme which I lovelovelove! Maybe next time (because I'll for sure be making this again,) I'll try out the original. And maybe I'll even try making the polenta from scratch (did someone say Sunday?) Another Meatless Monday success! Thanks Kelli and your itty bitty kitchen for the inspiration!

sunday from scratch - pizza pizza

Welcome to a brand new slice of the delirious kitchen pie - Sundays from Scratch! A new, weekly installment that will feature a supper meal including at least one brand new ingredient that I've made from scratch. This isn't to say that all the recipes featured here aren't from scratch, because they all are (or at least semi-homemade.) No, these recipes will be brand new to my repertoire; recipes that I've always considered making but never actually gotten down to business with, ingredients that I've always purchased from the grocery store rather than made myself.

For our inaugural post, I've decided to tackle a treat I've been dying to try to make on my own for quite some time now. I wanted to make ricotta cheese... from scratch. I've been reading about it for a couple of years now and it just seemed so simple and easy to make that it doesn't make sense to buy it. But I've never had all of the ingredients on hand (not that there are many,) and I've never created anything that required ricotta to be such an integral ingredient that it needed to be deliciously fresh. But tonight, I decided that I wanted to make a meal around the ricotta, where the ricotta was not only a feature player, but the star. What better way to highlight the creamy sweetness of ricotta than by tossing together a pizza?

This wasn't just any pizza, mind you. The pizza I created for our very first SFS had to be almost entirely made from scratch, each element being of the homemade variety, not just one of the ingredients. So, over the course of the past few days I started prepping everything - ricotta cheese, whole wheat pizza dough, another variety of pesto, plus I took a trip to the grocery store for some fancy tomatoes and dug around the fridge for a few extra toppings including fresh basil, seasoned parmesan from DiPasquales, sliced baby bella mushrooms, and thinly sliced prosciutto. Just looking at the counter full of fresh and colorful ingredients was making my mouth water, there was no way the finished pie wouldn't be scrumptious. Now, let's get down to the business of making all of these ingredients:

The other day when I was going nuts with my food processor, I decided to make a non-traditional traditional pesto. Why not traditional? I didn't have nearly enough basil in the fridge and pine nuts are crazy expensive. Being the frugal gal that I am, I just decided to use any green stuff I had in the fridge and whatever bag of nuts I could grab out of the pantry. On this occasion, the green stuff happened to be kale and the nuts, chopped walnuts. The result was a garlicky and clean pesto with a peppery flavor rather than the usual sweetness from basil. Pestos will last for awhile in the fridge so I made this earlier in the week and let it settle allowing all of the flavors to marinate together in preparation for their grand pizza debut.


kale and walnut pesto
ingredients
3 c kale, rinsed and torn
1/2 c walnuts, finely chopped
1/4 c olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp parmesan
salt and pepper to taste
directions
1. Blanch kale in salted hot water to soften the leaves. Drain.
2. Blend all ingredients in food processor until desired consistency is reached. Refrigerate in an airtight container.

Next came the super simple pizza dough. Back in the day, when I was taking HomeEc classes in Middle and High School, I used to make pizza pretty frequently because we seemed to make dough every time there was a sub. But let's just say that it's been quite some time since I participated in a class like that and therefore, awhile since I've made my own pie. But it really is the easiest thing in the world to make, plus once it's kneaded and risen and kneaded again, it can be frozen for a few weeks until you're ready to toss it in the oven. I've almost completely stopped keeping white flour in my house and have substituted whole wheat flour for any recipes that call for it so I ended up making whole wheat pizza crust, not that I'm one to complain about making something just a little extra healthy.

whole wheat pizza dough (via Crossroads Middle School HomeEc class)
yields two small pizzas
ingredients
2 1/4 oz packets yeast
4 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp course salt
1/4 c olive oil
1 1/2 c warm water (not hot)
directions
1. In a large bowl, pour warm water over yeast and let sit until foamy, about five minutes. Whisk in remaining ingredients until a sticky dough forms. Knead together in a clean, oiled bowl. Cover with a towel and let sit in a dry place to rise for about one hour.
2. After an hour, dough should be doubled in size. Knead a second time. Separate into two balls and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Can be refrigerated up to three days or frozen 3-4 weeks.

Finally, just a couple of days before our pizza supper, I spent a very brief amount of time preparing ricotta cheese. It's amazing how simple and easy it is to make ricotta and how little active time it takes to prep. All of the accounts I read regarding homemade cheese clearly stated that fresh, unpasteurised milk and cream make the best tasting cheeses, but since there are no midweek farmers markets in Baltimore (that I know of, at least,) I had to deal with regular old milk and cream from the grocery store. Despite the shelf life of these dairy products, I think homemade ricotta should probably be used within five days of making it for ultimate tastiness. It really is so much creamier and richer and smoother than anything you'd find at the supermarket so, if you have the time and the ingredients, I say try it out. Especially if you don't use it very often - wouldn't you rather those few occasions have the freshest and most delicious ingredients available.

ricotta cheese (via smitten kitchen)
ingredients
3 1/2 c whole milk
1/2 c heavy cream
1/2 tsp course salt
3 tbsp lemon
directions
1. In a small, heavy bottom sauce pan, heat milk, cream and salt to 190 stirring constantly. When it's reached 190, remove from heat, add lemon juice gently stirring one or two times. Let sit five minutes.
2. Line a colander with cheese cloth and place over a large bowl. After five minutes, pour the curdled mix through the colander separating the curds and whey. Let drain for at least one hour. Remove cheese from colander and store, refrigerated in an airtight container for up to five days.



Mmmm, with all the ingredients ready, Honey and I were set to have a super delicious supper. After a leisurely breakfast with Sunday Morning and The Sun, a long bike ride up to Druid Hill Park to catch a few glimpses of the quickly fading cherry blossoms, a few hours of backyard urban gardening, and some major preheating, we prepped our fabulously tasty pizza. On thinly rolled out dough we smeared about three heaping teaspoons of kale and walnut pesto, then some healthy dollops of ricotta, thick slices of kumato tomatoes, strips of prosciutto, sliced baby bella mushrooms, fresh basil leaves and a sprinkling of seasoned parmesan. A bit of research informed us that it's better to put your pizza on a super hot pizza stone and then in the broiler because the higher the cooking heat and the quicker the cook time, the better off your pizza will be. So we cranked up the heat and preheated the pizza stone to such a high temperature, requiring a very brief 5-7 cook time for the whole pie. I'd say it was a pretty amazing pie and when I asked Honey what he thought of it, he responded with a full mouth mumble which I can usually translate to mean delicious. Sometimes he speaks languages that I can't quite understand. :)

I hope you all enjoyed the first installment of Sunday from Scratch and that you'll try out one or two of the recipes I shared. Make sure you come back next week for another tasty new kitchen adventure! Have a great week! xoxo, me

what a pest(o)!

Ugh! My favorite gal, Miss Martha, has stolen my idea! I just logged on to blog about my pesto party and I saw her post regarding leftover herbs in my feed. Hey Martha, that's what I wanted to write about! What a pain in the butt. No worries, I've decided to write my post before I read Martha's so that she has no influence on what I am about to say -

Last night while I was whipping up another batch of black bean guacamole and a boatload of hummus, I noticed that the beautiful bunch of cilantro I had bought last week was getting wilty and spotted; yuck! But I only use a small bunch in the guacamole and I wasn't in the mood for anything cilantro-centric for supper so what was I supposed to do?! The answer was right there in front of me. The food processor, of course. I could make a non-traditional pesto! So I racked my brain and came up with a spicy cilantro almond pesto and it turned out to be amazing. And amazingly simple.


spicy cilantro almond pesto
ingredients
1 c cilantro, rinsed and pulled from stems
1/4 c almonds, peeled
1/8 c red onion, diced
1/8 c plus 1 tbsp avocado oil
2 tsp favorite hot sauce
pinch course Kosher salt
dash ground pepper (chipotle & black)
directions
Blend together in a food processor until the desired consistency is reached. Top with a tablespoon of oil and store in an airtight container in the fridge up to one week.


Holy cannoli, it was delicious. Though I wasn't very hungry, I couldn't help but rattle off a list of all the ways I could use it - as a sandwich spread, for dipping grilled chicken or steak, to top fish tacos, stirred into gazpacho, the possibilities are endless. But like I said, i wasn't very hungry, so I just topped it off with a splash of oil and threw it in the fridge. However, after a sweltering day wandering around Gettysburg with a gaggle of seventh grade boys, my sunburnt self wanted something quick and delicious for supper. I had some leftover egg whites in the fridge after making ice cream so I decided to do a little breakfast for dinner. I love breakfast for dinner! Some kale sauteed with salt and pepper, slices of warm polenta, scrambled egg whites, topped with a spoonful of pesto and a dash of hot sauce. It was so perfect that I'll be enjoying it again tomorrow night.

so much green!

So, Martha, what do you think of that? I came up with something tasty and delicious using almost old cilantro and I didn't even need your help. Now that I'm stuffed with healthy, tasty homemade goodness, I'll go on to read that post. Maybe I'll even update my darling readers about what it told me!

Update: Ok ok ok, so pesto wasn't the main focus of the Everyday Food blog from Martha Stewart's team. It really was a collection of suggestions for how to use leftover herbs that are at risk of getting icky. There are actually some great ideas including herbed cornbread and green goddess dressing. The pesto suggested and used as the cover picture was made with cilantro, just like mine, but uses peanuts instead of almonds. Honey hates peanuts so that recipe would not be used in my house and, to tell you the truth, I like what I came up with better. But head over to Martha for a few great tips and recipes for nearly gnarly herbs!

the musical fruit

Ever since I was a little kid, I've been called Bean. It's been a pretty natural evolution - Jillian to Jilly to Jillybean to Bean. It makes sense. Does it make sense that I love to cook with my namesake beans? Of course it does! Does it make me a cannibal? Yikes, that's a scary thought. When I unpacked my kitchen after the big move, I unpacked what seemed like fifty cans of beans! Seriously, I must have bought out all the cans from my Brooklyn grocery store just so that I could make the move as clunky and heavy as possible. But it worked out for the best. Lately, with my attempts to cut a significant amount of meat out of my diet, I've been cooking with a lot of beans... and because of my abundance, A LOT of beans.

The other day I had the food processor out to make some hummus, one of my all time favorite foods that I've recently started preparing myself (more on that another time,) when I decided that I should try putting some of those other canned beans to work. Chick peas are not the end all be all, no matter how delicious they are. Naturally the second most common canned bean in my pantry was the versatile black bean. Opening the fridge and cupboard I realized that I had all the ingredients necessary to prepare a sort of guacamole - avocado, red onion, salsa,tomato, cilantro, even crunchy tortilla chips from the tortilleria down the street. I thought to myself 'what if I just mixed in some black beans?' So I did. And you know what? Amazing! It turned into a slightly chunky dip filled with the flavors of a traditional guacamole but with an extra oomph from the black beans. Not only did they add flavor, one $.89 can doubled the quantity while cutting the calories and fat (since there wasn't as much so good but so bad avocado,) and pumping up the protein! Between my kid sister and Honey I'm lucky I was able to taste any; and that I was able to get that taste and keep all my fingers in tact! It's a perfect dip for snacking or spreading and will most likely, based on it's popularity, become a staple condiment in our fridge.

black bean guacamole
ingredients
1 can black beans
1 whole ripe avocado
1 tbsp diced red onions
2 tbsp fresh salsa
1 tsp dried cilantro
dash of cumin
pinch of salt
sprinkling of fresh ground black pepper
splash of favorite hot sauce
directions
1. Blend all ingredients together in a food processor. Add extra salt, pepper and spices to taste. Yup, it's that easy. Garnish with fresh salsa and serve with chips, crudite, or your favorite crunchy dip-able food.

Ok, so that's two cans of beans put to good use with hummus and black bean guacamole. But two wasn't enough, not for this inspired gal! Meatless Monday came around, the first in our new home, and I wanted to make something special and delicious for me and Honey. I didn't want to spend a ton of money but I also wanted the meal to be fresh and tasty. Upon opening the fridge and cupboards I was greeted by beans. Everywhere, beans! It's like they're reproducing in there! I also came across a tube of firm polenta. Immediately, my brain combined the two and added red onion. I started a mental shopping list adding salad stuff to the red onion I needed to get from the grocery store (mixed greens, tomatoes, fresh cilantro, fresh salsa, tortilla chips) and a kitchen list of everything I could use that we already had (avocado, chipotle, cumin, cayenne, avocado oil, pepper jack cheese, black bean guacamole, sour cream, hot sauce, and of course, polenta and beans.) I started mixing and melding in the kitchen. Before I knew it, Southwestern scents wafted upstairs from the sizzling pan drawing both Honey and the cat down ready to dig in. The balance of heat and creamy favors from the peppers and beans and avocado and crisp salad all melded together deliciously making for another vegetarian success!

spicy, cheesy chipotle pink bean polenta (aka honey's melty bean stuff)
ingredients
firm polenta, sliced
2 tbsp avocado oil
2 tbsp diced red onion
1 can pink beans
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salted chipotle seasoning
dash of black pepper
2 tsp chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 c shredded pepperjack cheese
directions
1. In a heavy bottom skillet heat avocado oil over a medium heat and add onion, cooking until it starts to brown and soften. While the onions are cooking, season the polenta with peppers, cumin and chipotle seasoning. Being careful not to overcrowd the slices, add polenta to pan.
2. Flip the polenta slices to crisp and heat through. Add beans, stirring gently so as not to break polenta slices and cook until heated through. Turn off flame, sprinkle cheese evenly over beans and polenta. Top with cilantro and cover about 3 minutes or until melty. Serve with a dollop of sour cream alongside a green salad.

ladies night

(via imgur)

Spring Break woooooo! My parents must have done something right because both me and my kid sister went into the field of education and now we get pretty awesome vacations. The week after my school's Spring Break, my sister was on her break. Since she had no plans to get wild and crazy in Cancun, she headed down to Baltimore to hang out with me for a couple of days and check out my new digs. Get the two of us together and of course some fun was going to happen in the kitchen.

We spent Thursday night quietly indulging in wine and cheese, gossiping while we ignored crummy tv shows, sorting through clothes, rearranging furniture, discussing Pinterest projects, and just generally catching up with one another. Typical sister stuff. It reminds me how much I've missed having another lady around the house to do this kind of stuff with! Living with a boy can be such a drag sometimes. Oh, brother no thank you; sometimes you need oh, sister. Despite our evening of girly good times, we are getting old and decided to hit the hay kind of early so that we could have a full and fabulous Friday.

And it was Friday that saw the real fun and excitement - after early morning errands and some back and forth texting, we decided that something needed to be baked in honor of the Easter holiday. There's a recipe that I've been dying to try out ever since I moved back to Baltimore so I roped her into helping me out with it. After struggling with my new split box spring (finally, Honey and I have a real bed!) we strapped on some windbreakers. A lovely stroll through the neighborhood on a breezy and sunny morning brought us to my favorite place, the grocery store! Along with about a million eggs, we picked up the rest of the ingredients for a Lady Baltimore cake.

how many more minutes?

Had I been aware of the complicated life of Lady Baltimore (Anne Arundell or Charlotte Lee?, married as a child, sooo many babies, separations and scandal,) I might have guessed that the cake that bears her name would be equally difficult. Full of whipping and meringue and marshmallow with fruit, this sticky concoction may be beautiful, but it is not a simple task to create. The batter was easy enough to make, even with the slow folding in of egg whites. Unfortunately, the suggested three layer cake required another tablespoon or so of batter than the recipe yielded and our top layer was pretty puny! Really, it was the icing that was a pain in the butt. When I think of meringue, I think of the whipped up egg whites baked for just long enough to create a crisp and light little kiss of food colored sweetness, just like my grandma used to make. Well, either we whipped it up wrong or the pre-baked version of meringue is an awful lot like marshmallows, and I know a thing or two about the horrific sticky situation that comes from working with marshmallows. I also neglected to read the recipe ahead of time (a mistake I'm guilty of far too often,) and my recipe read-alouder/sous chef didn't tell me ahead of time that I'd be whipping for nearly 15 minutes so I ended up using the hand mixer rather than the simpler and less physically tiring stand mixer. While I did all the whipping, Tricia was put to work cutting up all the teeny tiny dried fruits - cherries, figs, plums, and raisins - into even smaller pieces. The recipe called for candied fruits, you know the kind that you'd put in fruit cake. But I think those are gross, so we used dried fruits instead. Because of that lame third layer, the one that was practically a pancake, we nearly ran out of sticky, messy frosting. And because neither of us are that great at decorating cakes, it wasn't a beautiful endeavor.  But once it was finished and afternoon tea was served (yeah that's right, we celebrated high tea,) we discovered that the sticky, messy, overly-complicated cake was quite the delicious confection. Light, fluffy and with just the right amount of sweetness, we even decided that it made a pretty perfect Easter cake.

can you even tell that this is tiered?

lady baltimore cake (inspired by what's cooking america)
ingredients
2 1/2 c sifted cake flour (with baking powder and salt premixed in)
1 c milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c vegetable shortening
1/4 c unsalted butter, room temp
1 1/2 c granulated sugar
4 egg whites
fruit & nut filling (recipe as follows)
meringue fristing (recipe as follows)
directions
1. Preheat oven to 350; prepare 2-3 8" or 9" pans with butter and flour. In a bowl, combine milk and vanilla, set aside. In the bowl of you mixer cream together shortening, butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
2. With the mixer on low, alternately add flour and milk, mixing well and scraping down the sides of the bowl, beginning and ending with the flour.
3. In a clean bowl, using a clean beater, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Slowly and gently fold the egg whites into the batter in quarters to lighten the mix. Evenly spoon the batter into the pans and bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool before icing.

does it count as child labor when it's you kid sister?

fruit & nut filling

1/4 c raisins, finely chopped

1/4 c figs, cut in strips

1/4 c dried cherries, chopped

1/2 c walnuts, finely chopped

meringue icing

ingredients

2 eggs whites

1 1/2 c granulated sugar

2/3 c water

1 tsp light corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

directions

1. With a clean mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, set aside.

2. In a small sauce pan over medium heat, combine sugar, corn syrup and water, stirring frequently. Increasing heat to high stop stirring and allow mixture to reach a steady boil. When a candy thermometer reads 248 degrees, remove from heat. 

3. With the mixer at a medium-high speed, slowly pour the hot mixture over the already beaten egg whites. Add vanilla and continue to beat until the mixture is cool, thick and shiny. Mix about 1/3 - 1/2 of the icing with the fruit and nut mix to spread between the layers.

we suggest indulging in this cake whilst wearing your most fabulous easter bonnet!

But it was still cake and since we indulged in it both batter and baked, we needed to walk off the bellies. So we walked through Fells Point... straight to the movie theater for popcorn, cheesy crab pretzels, and a dose of giggles from my fave funny lady and my first crush in Admission. It was super cute and we both kind of wish our mom was there because Lizzie B would have totally loved it. A lovely walk home along the sunset painted harbor led us straight to the bar. I'll dish more on my neighborhood bar, Bad Decisions, another time because for now all you need to know is that they make a killer cocktail. Fruity pants, Tricia got some brightly colored concoction that tasted like pineapple (yuck!) while I stuck with a classic old man cocktail like I normally do. We tipsily strolled home to complete our holiday weekend festivities - time to dye Easter eggs! We tried to do the marbled egg trick with oil, but it didn't quite work. I couldn't find any crayons to wax draw on the eggs either. Let's just say that the Faberge family we aren't. They weren't anything fancy until I broke out the glitter and sequins. Easter is a solemnly celebratory holiday made all the more fun with a little razzle dazzle!

can you tell which one I decorated?

All in all I had an absolutely wonderful couple of days with my kid sister. She truly is the best sister I've ever had... well, the only sister I've ever had. Hey, Tricia! I love you a ton, even when you're being cranky because Mom put an embarrassing outgoing message on the answering machine while our teenaged selves are vacationing at the beach (our teeny tiny selves singing "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" in honor of Easter!) Thanks for being one of first house guests, xoxo.

hoppy easter from these cute little bunnies!

hungary/hungry like the wolfs

Last night I shared my dinner party menu with you; the theme was March: in like a lamb, out like a lion/in like a lion, out like a lamb. And though I certainly found inspiration in the seasonal uncertainty us Baltimore folks have seen over the past few weeks, the dishes I prepared were not brand new to me. They come from one of my all-time favorite vacations, shown in the picture I shared. A few years ago I went to Budapest in search of something and came home with a full stomach and no awesome new Hungarian words for my foreign vocabulary. I tried so many amazing foods while I was there but there was one flavor that really stood out and stuck with me as one that I wanted to incorporate into my cooking - hot Hungarian paprika! Based on my March menu, you can see that the Eastern European cuisine has stuck with me and now I think it's about time I shared the flavors with you, darlings. (Also, please don't mind the photos, I had to capture shots of my leftovers because I was afraid I'd scare away the folks by having my camera out to capture their every deliciously satisfied nibble.)

this light and crisp Spring salad represents the lamb of March

To start, or finish depending on your preference, I prepared a simple Spring salad with frisee, mache rosettes, and sliced radishes. I originally planned on using watercress because I like the bitter creaminess of it, but then I saw the mache rosettes and they just looked so pretty. I'd never had this green before but it looked pretty similar to watercress so I gave it a shot; it was kind of the same but maybe a little sweeter. I topped the salad off with a tasty mustard vinaigrette that was super simple to make. In a small jar shake/stir together 1/3 c garlic infused olive oil, 1/8 c red wine vinegar, 1/8 c white vinegar, 1 bulb diced shallot, a pinch of sugar, dash of salt, and a few (or many, knowing me) turns of the pepper grinder, and 1 heaping tbsp whole grain mustard (my favorite is Tin Mustard for its mild flavor; I used the last of it for this recipe and don't know when I'll make it back to Bk to get some more, egads!) Refrigerate the dressing before serving. I like to serve the salad naked and let guests spoon their own dressing because everyone likes a different green to vinaigrette ratio. Ooo I also got to use my new salad plates! I found the whole set of four for only $9.99 at Home Goods! After all what's a dinner party without proper salad plates? What are we, animals?

Since I've been been piling my plates with veggies lately, the side salad was only the tip of the green iceberg. Uborkasalata is a mild Hungarian cucumber salad that kind of tastes like pickles and reminds me of the cucumber salad at M Shanghai. Using a mandolin, slice two large, peeled cucumbers, sprinkle with about 1tsp salt, and squeeze out all the water by putting the slices in between two sheets of paper towel, two plates and putting about 3-5 lbs of weight on them. Drain the water from the cucumbers every few minutes for an hour, changing the towels as necessary. In a medium sized bowl whisk together 1/4-1/2 c water (depending on how dry you were able to get the cucumbers,) 1/4 c white vinegar, pinch of sugar, and dash of garlic powder. Soak the cucumber slices in the liquid mix for a few hours in the fridge (at least 3 hours) until you're ready to serve. This dish should be served chilled. Make sure you serve it with a slotted serving spoon so that the vinegary juices don't get all over the hot dishes on your plate!

My third and final veggie dish was a quick and easy sauteed kale. Double or triple rinse 5-6 cups torn kale leaves, (they're usually pretty sandy when you get them fresh) but don't completely dry them. In a large skillet, heat up about 1-2 tbsp hazelnut oil with 1/2 tsp minced garlic, 1 tbsp diced shallots, and a handful of chopped hazelnuts. Add the damp kale leaves to the skillet and let cook down until it's wilted and tender. Season with course salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

And now for the main course! The spaetzle can be made a couple of hours ahead of time which is probably a good time saving idea, especially since it will heat back up when you toss it with the brown butter. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a large bowl mix 3/4 c scant cold whole milk, 3 eggs, 1tsp salt, 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper, and 1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg. Add 1 c whole wheat flour and 1 c all-purpose flour in half cup batches and stir furiously, the batter will be pretty goopy. Using a colander, a slotted spoon or a bachshaufel, push the batter through in stringy, squiggly batches into the boiling water. Let simmer for about two minutes while the strands float to the top. Set cooked spaetzle aside in a covered, buttered bowl. Prior to serving, heat up about 1/4 c unsalted butter in a hot skillet until it starts to brown, toss the spaetzle in the butter until warm and serve immediately alongside the creamy paprika chicken which is also quite easy to make -

creamy paprika chicken

ingredients

5 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into large chunks

2 1/2 tbsp paprika - equal parts smoked paprika mixed with hot Hungarian paprika (like Szeged)

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1 onion, chopped

5-6 ripe plum tomatoes, chopped
1-2 c sliced mushrooms (optional)

2/3 c sour cream

course salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

directions

1. Toss cubed chicken in half the paprika mix with a little salt and pepper and set aside while you heat one tbsp butter in a large pan over a medium high flame. Cook the chicken, tossing occasionally until it is cooked through but not overcooked. Remove chicken to the bowl but keep the juices in the pan and slightly lower the heat.

2. Add the second tbsp butter to the pan adding the onion and cooking until softened, making sure to scrape up all the browning bits in the pan. Add the rest of the paprika and continue to cook, stirring and scraping for a couple minutes. Add in the tomatoes and 1/2-3/4 c water (depending on how much juice you've already got in the pan) and stir until the tomatoes are softened and the liquid is saucy. Add the mushrooms, if desired, and allow to cook through.

3. Dump the chicken and juices back in the pan to reheat and finish cooking, about five minutes. Stir in the sour cream and bring the mix to a simmer. Season with extra paprika, salt and pepper before serving  on top of or next to the spaetzle. YUM!

they might be leftovers, but they're still delicious!

                                                                                                                                                           
All of this tasty goodness was served up with two Austrian wines, a red and a white (I went to Austria on that trip, too!) They were both bold a dry and perfectly complimented the whole meal. Thanks to the folks at Chesapeake Wine Co. for the recommendations! This is truly one of my favorite meals and it turns out that the Wolf folks love it, too! I think I did a darn good job and genuinely impressed and satisfied our guests. How could a meal this filling and flavorful not put a smile on your face and some warmth in your belly! It's absolutely perfect for cool or chilly nights or just when you need something comforting. Something you'd want to enjoy while sitting around the kitchen table with your family.

looking over the Danube to Buda from Pest 

P.S. Earlier in the post I mentioned my trip to Budapest and that my reason for going there was a little bit of a search. What exactly was I searching for? Well, it's a little corny and embarrassing but I was out to find my soulmate. You see, my adorably, madly in love, amazing parents who have been married for about a billion years met at a bar in New Brunswick when they were teenagers (you could drink at 18 back in the day.) The bar was called the Budapest. So in my silly, dreamy mind I thought that if I went to the actual city of Budapest I might have a chance of meeting my soulmate. I didn't find my soulmate on that trip but, along with some great culinary inspiration, I was able to do a bit of self discovery. Hungary was the most foreign place I had ever been to but I still managed to get by (with the help of the amazing folks at Carpe Noctem Hostel) and explore one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen. Hmm, maybe I'll have to go back through my photo albums (yeah, I think this was before I even owned a digital camera) and share a photoblog of my Budapest memories with you, darlings. Something to look forward to soon!

avocado-yeah!

Ever since I won(!) my KitchenAid I've been blabbering on about how I wanted to get the ice cream maker attachment and make homemade ice cream all the time. And there was one ice cream flavor that I was particularly fascinated with whipping up - avocado. Before you say gross, hear me out. Avocados are a fruit, pretty much my favorite fruit because they are creamy, sweet, full of nutrients and good for you stuff, and the color is gorgeous. Sounds like I'm describing ice cream, doesn't it? (Yes ice cream is good for you! Remember? It healed my broken leg.) They're perfect year round and can be used for every meal, in an omelette or spread on toast for breakfast, adorning a turkey club for lunch, blended into guacamole for a mid-afternoon snack, mixed into a soup, topping a salad or sliced on grilled chicken breast with tomatoes for supper. Why not take advantage of their versatility and flavor by creating something sweet with them? What's sweeter, creamier, and more adaptable than ice cream? I'm sure you're in agreement with me by now because plenty of other people have had the same idea. Seriously, just start typing in 'avocado ice cream' into a search bar and you'll see dozens of delicious results!

you've got to be crazy if you think that doesn't look delicious!

The first recipe to be listed was from Alton Brown. I've never prepared any of his recipes before, but I like him. He's kind of goofy, a bit loud, finds the science of food fascinating, and he was a Boy Scout, so he's a decent guy in my book. He's also friendly with my boy, Bourdain and let's face it, that doesn't hurt his cause. I followed his recipe exactly and it turned out to be delicious and the lovely pale green was very appropriate for St Patrick's Day (I made this a couple weeks ago.) The only problem I had? this recipe makes a banana boatload of ice cream! So much ice cream, I had to put it in two jumbo containers in my freezer AND eat a big bowl as soon as it was finished and still had some left in the mixer bowl. This is not a complaint, but I would have thrown a sundae party had I known I would have this much frozen goodness to consume. Thankfully I had Honey to help me out with quite a bit of it through the weekends but I'm still chipping away at my avocado iceberg!

The other day I was inspired, yet again, by my avocado ice cream dream. Honey and I were on our way home from running errands (we're such grownups now,) and we drove past a Stewart's. Apparently they don't have Stewart's in Connecticut because Honey had no idea what it was. No clue that the delicious root beer was served on draft over vanilla ice cream alongside all-American classics like burgers and fries and hotdogs and gyros! And that you can have it all served on a tray that attaches to your car door! And that back in the day it may or may not have been served by girls on skates! We didn't stop because I insist on only partaking in a place like that in the summertime, but the simple thought of a warm day's tasty treats left me craving a float! But checking off all the tasks on our honey-do list left me lazy, so much so that I didn't want to take a stroll to my favorite place, Safeway, for vanilla ice cream and root beer. So I was stuck with a craving all weekend long... until Honey gave me the idea of using what I had in the house: avocado ice cream and ginger beer. The crisp, spicy fizz from the ginger beer paired perfectly with the cool, fresh flavor of the avocado ice cream. Mmm a pair made in paradise! Trust me, if you have an ice cream maker, get it out, buy some avocados, freeze dessert, and pour some crisp, cold ginger beer over it in a frosty glass! Enjoy and keep preparing yourself for the warmer weather... this snow will be gone before we know it!

ready for a twister of goodness

maybe the wicked witch had such great, green skin
from all the avocados she ate!

Alton Brown's avocado ice cream (adapted courtesy Alton Brown, 2005 via foodnetwork.com)

ingredients

12 oz avocado meat, approx 3 medium to large avocados

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 1/2 c whole milk

1/2 c sugar

1 c heavy cream

directions

1. Put the avocado meat (peeled and pitted, of course) into a blender or food processor with lemon juice, milk and sugar; puree. Transfer to a mixing bowl and whisk in heavy cream. Chill in the fridge 4-6 hours or until it reaches 40 degrees or chillier.

2. Move mixture to your ice cream maker and mix according to directions, but take into consideration the mix may ice-cream-up quicker than other ice creams. Serve immediately if you like a soft ice cream, freeze for firmer ice cream and longevity.

3. To enjoy a super tasty float, pour spicy ginger beer (like Cock 'n Bull brand) over scoops of avocado ice cream in a tall, chilled glass with a straw and a spoon! Enjoy like it's summertime, whether or not it actually is!

snow day, matzo balls

patterson park pagoda

I woke up extra crazypants early this morning to drive honey to the bus station so that he could go back to Brooklyn (womp womp.) I showered and got ready for work expecting to have to go straight there after leaving the man on the MegaBus but then I turned on the news and looked out the window to see - Winter Weather Advisory! By the time I dragged honey out of bed the local news was calling for a 2 hour delay. Ugh, those are the worst! Once I'm awake, I'm wide awake so there's no going back to bed, I usually just end up futzing around with nothing to do but watch the news, read the paper and be lazy - ugh, that's Sunday stuff! Since I knew it would take me forever to get to work because of the crummy road cleanup, I figured that I could just go hang out at a coffee shop and do the crossword puzzle until I had to be at work. So I kissed my sleepy honey goodbye, watched the bus pull away, and headed back towards the city - only to be greeted by the news that the inclement weather had changed our 2 hour delay to a snow day! Now that's something I can get down with.

I very slowly drove home, put on some warm and cozy non-work clothes, cuddled with the cat a bit, and then decided to get outside and enjoy the snow before it turned to the expected sleet/rain/wintry-mix that is so common in Baltimore. So I strapped on furry winter boots and wandered out into the weather. Patterson Park looked so beautiful and calm and all the little kids sledding with their moms and dads made me wish honey had missed his bus so that we could have picked up a sled and enjoyed a little springtime winter fun. It makes me so happy that we're fortunate enough to live next to a really beautiful park! After my stroll I decided that this kind of weather called for my favorite chilly weather food, soup. And 'tis the season for one of my all-time favorite soups - matzo ball! Off to the grocery store for matzo meal and an onion then back home to make a delicious pot for the first night of Passover.

these are not snowballs... though they might make for a fun fight!

sundown supper

Like a lot of my cozy, comfort recipes, I don't have a proper recipe for my matzo ball soup. It's usually a basic chicken stock, some veggies and matzo balls, salted and peppered to taste and with the standard matzo ball mix - 2 eggs, 1/2 c matzo meal, 2 tbsp veggie oil, 2 tbsp broth, mixed, cooled, balled, boiled. Since we ate chicken all weekend and today is Meatless Monday, I wanted to make a totally veggie version of my traditional broth. I started with a little Rapunzel vegetable bouillon, diced onions, peppercorns, olive oil and thyme in about 8 cups of water and brought it to a boil before adding sliced carrots and celery, handfuls of torn kale, and baby bella mushrooms. I found whole wheat matzo meal at the store, so I picked that up to use in place of standard white flour matzo. The whole wheat matzo doesn't fluff up the way the normal matzo meal does, it kind of falls a little flat after awhile, but it's still sturdy and makes a good solid matzo ball for a heartier soup. I'm not sure what time sundown is supposed to happen tonight, it's been so grey out all day I haven't seen the sun to even make a guess for the time. But I would imagine that it's around now-ish, especially since I just ladled out a big bowl of veggie matzo ball soup for myself. I'll sip on some wine (not Manischewitz,) and celebrate a holiday that isn't my own with a bowl of soup that is probably not Kosher for Passover. But it's definitely delicious. Happy Passover, friends!