Cauliflower Steaks with Olive Relish and Tomato Sauce

I don't know if you read the January issue of Bon Appetite, but it. was. amazing.  It wasn't just overflowing with fantastic recipes and gorgeous pictures (per usual), but a solid 90% of those recipes were insanely healthy.  At first I was completely overwhelmed with the decision of what to make first, and then I saw this recipe. I was sold. Granted, using a caramelized cauliflower steak in place of a regular steak isn't exactly a fair trade, but when you think of it in the context of "yummy food" rather than "meat substitute"it is absolutely delicious.

I'll be honest this recipe is a bit of work since you're making a total of three dishes.  I don't know if it was the beer I was drinking while cooking, or my inability to concentrate on the conversation at hand as well as read the recipe, but there was a moment I thought to myself, "There is absolutely NO way you can blog this, you're going nuts!!" But then................

.....then I tried it.  Each of the components by themselves may seem a bit boring, but together they are aaaahhhhhmazing.  This dish perfectly harmonizes the sweet and savory of the relish with the light creaminess of the tomato sauce, and then completely surprises you with texture contrast between the raw and caramelized cauliflower. You absolutely MUST try it.  

Bonus, it's heavy on the veggies, light on the calories, AND it's another great use for your  Immersion Blender!

Party of One

You know what the hardest thing about being 24 is? Cooking for yourself.  I'm not saying this because I don't know how to cook, or because the only thing I CAN make is peanut butter and jelly.  I'm saying this, because cooking for one............sucks.  Have you ever seen a recipe for single serving soup? Lasagna? Coq au vin? Have you ever walked into a grocery store and bought just one tablespoon of chives? Nope. Eating for one is inevitably the art of lean cuisine meals, or the power to distinguish exactly when the leftovers from that giant pot of chili you made need to be thrown out.  But of course, then you have to feel guilty about wasting food.

Don't be guilty! You shouldn't feel ashamed for wanting to eat well with only one or two people!!!

Free yourself from your disgusting microwave meal chains!!!

FREEDOM PEOPLE!!! THIS IS AMERICA!

Don't worry, we can make it through together. The key to being able to eat for one, is knowing how to modify recipes and craft your pantry.  Keeping a perfect pantry is an art.  I'm sure you've seen people who have a billion condiments and nothing to eat, and I'm sure you've seen people who seem to always whip something up from stuff they just have lying around.  The latter isn't necessarily a better cook, they just have a better pantry.  Here are a few things you should always have on hand:

Superbowl Snacks

24 years ago, a gift was bestowed upon this earth.  That gift...was me.

Just kidding!

Well actually I'm not, it really was my birthday this week....thiiiiis is awkward now.

IN OTHER NEWS, it was also my anniversary with my awesome boyfriend.
Now as I'm sure you can imagine, all of this excessive celebration has consisted primarily of extremes of delicious gluttony, followed shortly by HOLY BEJEEZUS I'M DOING THIS IN 2 MONTHS I CAN ONLY EAT CEREAL AND PROTEIN POWDER.

I could show you how to make a bomb protein shake (heads up: it's boring. "Insert powder, insert milk, shake until smooth.") But instead, I thought I would give you some ideas for my next extreme eating event: The Superbowl.

Living in Boston and what not, you'd probably guess that 99.99999% of my friends (as well as myself) are all Patriots fans.  Living in an apartment full of ex sorority girls (but are you REALLY ever an EX sorority girl??), you'd likely guess that we would be planning a superbowl party, and that said party would not only have the most delicious snacks on the planet, but also the most adorable.

You would be right.

Lame superbowl parties are for newbs.  We are not newbs.  I was BORN on a superbowl duuuuude I know what's up!!!

So without further ado, here are some of the recipes I am most excited to try this coming Sunday!

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

You know when you're little and you get a new barbie or other toy and find reasons to bring her out and play with her EVERYWHERE (um, hello Barbie needs to pee too!)? Well I'm currently feeling that way about my newest food toy, this Immersion Blender.  It was a Christmas gift from my boyfriend's parents, and while I can't bring it to work with me or cuddle with it while I nap like when I was little (ok, maybe I do cuddle with it), I'm constantly formulating recipes in my head that somehow include blending.  It's actually pretty remarkable how much you can blend if you really put your mind to it.  Smoothies? blended. Soups? blended. Salad dressing? No whisk needed! Homemade salsa? Did someone say chopper attachment!

I've been blending up a STORM!!!

So here is a thoroughly blend-able recipe with just enough spice to keep you full and toasty even though it tips in at only about 95 calories a cup.  Don't have an immersion blender? GET ONE!!! Just kidding you don't have to, you can also use a regular blender and it'll work just fine!

I also just wanted to tell you all how much I absolutely LOVE hearing you made my recipes, and I LOVE seeing photos of the stuff you made, and I LOVE LOVE hearing you told your friends to make it, and I basically I just LOVE LOVE LOVE you all so much!!!  There is absolutely nothing that can brighten my day more!!

Nacho Nirvana

Are you drooling just ever so slightly?  It's ok, you don't have to feel bad, this is a judgement free blog! Well this beautious pile of cheese, chile, and corn chip-y goodness is from a little place my boyfriend and I like to frequent approximately once a day week called Sunset Cantina (916 Com Ave or 130 Brighten Ave).
I worked at a Mexican restaurant in high school, and to say I'm a nacho snob because of that would be a severe understatement.  I knowwwww Vermont mexican food probably is not the BEST mexican food, but I. know. nachos.  I know when they're getting just a touch too hot, and when they're just a touch too cold. I know the exact ratio of cheese to chip that is ideal for your tasting pleasure.  I know when there are not enough toppings, and when there are too many (yes that is such a thing.) In short, I know their soul.
I've travelled all around this great city in search of the perfect nachos to fiesta in my mouth and you know what?  These are about as close to nirvana as we mere mortals can reach.  Eat them.


Just in case the nachos alone aren't enough to get you there, they also have 100 beers on tap and 400 in bottles.

Yes you read that correctly. FIVE HUNDRED BEERS

Turkey Chili

In Chinese medicine, diseases can either be caused by a disharmony inside your body (things like aches and pains) or an invasion of something from outside your body (like catching a cold).  When something is invading from the outside, it goes through two distinct phases.  In the first phase, the pathogen is on the "exterior" and has only just entered your body.  You have an aversion to cold, and probably want to bundle up in sweats or curl up under lots of blankets.  In the second phase, the pathogen has sort of made your body its home and moved in to the "interior."  During this phase you probably feel an aversion to heat, and throw off your blankets while you sleep.

Now I know you're probably wondering what all this has to do with turkey  chili.

Well yesterday in class I started to feel the tell tale signs of an on coming cold.  My throat felt scratchy, my face felt flushed, and my body just didn't feel....right.  I didn't have time to go to CVS much less get sick, so instead I decided to utilize some of that info I'm paying so many tuition dollars for.  When the pathogen is in the exterior (as mine was) you have a unique opportunity to get rid of it before it sets up camp and stays for weeks.  It's chilling just under your skin, which conveniently is also where your "wei qi" (the equivalent of your immune system) functions.  By consuming warming herbs and bundling up, you can get your wei qi to push the pathogen out of your pores with sweat.  Essentially, at the beginning of a cold you can, in theory, "sweat it out."

Yesterday was disgusting and rainy, and while I'm not sure chili pepper flakes technically count as a warming herb, chili seemed like a delicious solution to both the gloom and getting my wei qi pumping.  I'd never made chili before, so I modified this recipe and couldn't have been happier with the results.  I piled on a couple of sweatshirts and inhaled AT LEAST two delicious and hearty bowls.

And in case you were wondering...I woke up today feeling perfectly healthy :-)

Alice's Trout

About a month ago, I discovered something.....that changed my life.  It's called nike training club, and if you have an iPhone, an iTouch, or even an iPad you absolutely MUST DOWNLOAD IT!!!!! No I'm serious, download it right now! It's free, it's awesome, and I am currently soooo obsessed with it it's not even funny. It's a work out app that has 85 ahhmazing custom workouts that play over your music on your ipod. 

It's like having a personal trainer in your ear.  

This app has revolutionized my life.  

I know I say that about a lot of things....but this time it really has.

SO because this app is SO AWESOME and I've forced my roommates to download it, my entire apartment now has a mild obsession with working out. If you were to knock on our door around 8pm on any given night, you would likely hear only dubstep pumping through the apartment and the occasional expletive of frustration that our arms can no longer lift a water glass much less a 10 pound dumbbell. We have a strange love/hate relationship with the silvery little voice that says "1 minute of crazy ivans" to torture us, and then follows with "2 minute recovery." In short, our apartment is looking smokin' hot.

Last night, was one of these nights.  We endured a brutal work out session in which I may or may not have cried, and after decided to have a classic (and well deserved) roomie night.  Alice made trout as our (healthy!) main course, and I was absolutely blown away by how simple, beautiful, and delicious her recipe turned out to be.  This is one of those fantastic dishes to have in your repertoire of accidental gourmet. You can easily throw it together at the last minute and look insanely impressive.

If, after trying this recipe, you're totally obsessed with Alice (as you should be) you can check out her blog over at Songs Alice Likes!