organizing my most useful kitchen tools
I love healthy food, but I love it more when it doesn’t taste like healthy food. Best of both worlds! Click around to find some of my tried and true staples - and new recipes too, whether my own ideas, inspired by other blogs, torn from the pages of a magazine, or passed through friends or family. Learn more about me and My Utensil Crock HERE.
Is it even a cooking blog if it doesn't have an "Easy Summer Ratatouille from the Farmer's Market" post? I'm not taking any chances. I didn't even mean to make this into a blog post; I was just enjoying some beautiful produce from the farmer's market... I have truly become a parody of myself. There is a (very) small farmer's market just … [Read more...]
We are having an exceptionally rainy spring in Washington, D.C. It may be hot, but rain always makes me crave comforting foods. I can eat warm, filling meals all the time, weather notwithstanding. I mean, it's never that hot inside, right? How did I come to add this Lentil Cilantro Soup to my repertoire? I was digging through my pantry for … [Read more...]
This is the winter of Turkey Chili. I feel like it's everywhere! And why shouldn't it be? Turkey Chili is such a great meal - lean meat, beans, vegetables, tomato - so filling, one-pot, easy to make on a weeknight... need I go on? I will. Turkey Chili is easy to carry to work for lunch, and you can always have the ingredients on-hand to … [Read more...]
I could eat pasta with meat sauce every day. One of my first posts was this basic meat sauce. I think it's cute how I ended the recipe with "let it simmer for 10 minutes." Ha! Like I have the willpower to not dig in immediately. This Take Two Turkey Ragu with Whole Wheat Spaghetti has a little twist, and I don't know why it seems so … [Read more...]
This is a recipe I would have shied away from when I first started cooking. Several techniques, "weird" ingredients, and do I even like "Ropa vieja"? Well, let's smash the why-I-can't list with a meat mallet. Upon further reflection, the "several techniques" were just a few rotations of searing (browning in a pan), and braising (cooking in … [Read more...]
If you have been following My Utensil Crock for a while, you know that I have been a member of a Cooking Club for more than 10 years now, ever since my buddy JBM and I decided that cooking with friends and talking about food and recipes would be the perfect way to spend one Sunday each month. One of our classic themes was "Soup's On!" … [Read more...]
One more soup, before we head for spring? Despite my public affection for kale, broccoli was probably my first green veggie love. When I was young, my brother and I would split the broccoli duties: I would eat the florets, and he would take the stalk. Don't take this to mean we got along, this is just how we got through dinner. As further … [Read more...]
We had a reprieve in December, but it is squarely and completely winter now, at least in Washington, D.C. This past weekend we tallied about two feet of snow downtown (much more in some suburbs), and no one was happier about it than me. And my dog. You see, when you 1) live in a large apartment building that shovels for you, 2) don't lose power or … [Read more...]
Have I mentioned my nickname in law school was "the Dream Crusher"? It's true. I mean, people didn't greet me that way in the hallway or anything, but I'm unequivocally a realist. I break things down and rub off their shiny veneer, leaving - sometimes - crushed dreams. So, Vichyssoise! Vish-ee-swaz. A fancy name for a SUPER-easy soup. … [Read more...]
If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I am coming off a week-plus of cooking using only ingredients I have in my freezer, pantry, and refrigerator. I had no idea it had gotten so bad, but it had. Evidence: I called maintenance for my apartment building, complaining that my refrigerator was SO loud. I received the following written response: … [Read more...]
