Simple Side Dish: Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Is it just me or is cooking inspiration lacking in others too? I blame the weather. Who wants to go grocery shopping when the temperature is hovering around zero? I also blame the holidays. Instead of making a meal planning list, I’m making gift shopping lists.

So, instead of trying new ingenious meals, I’ve looked around my kitchen for items to use up. We’ve eaten a lot of hodgepodge meals lately like a trio of side dishes or a small meal with a bigger dessert. One of my favorite recent meals would have to be Roasted Brussels Sprouts alongside Roasted Delicata Squash. Simple, easy, light, and totally local.

We had planned on making a fresh salad from the Brussels sprouts from our winter crop share. However, we did not use them fast enough and they started to wilt. So, after a little damage control (tossing the wilted yellow leaves & halving the sprouts), they were tossed with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and baked at 425° for 25 or so minutes. I grated a bit of Parmesan cheese on top for extra flavor.

The light dinner gave us an excuse for a big piece of pumpkin pie with freshly whipped cream. Mmm…delicious!

On Being Sick

I have been in total hibernation and out of touch with the world for four straight days. I barely used my computer, did not leave the house, and definitely did not speak on the phone. That’s right, I was sick. No, I wasn’t suffering the dreaded H1N1, I had your garden variety head cold which put me out of touch for awhile.

Problem is: I’m not very good at being sick.

The first day, I felt the symptoms coming on, but chose to ignore them as if they were a fluke. Just in case, I down a bunch of Emergen-C, super nutritious smoothies and a bunch of liquids.

The next day, the symptoms worsen and I accept that I could possibly be sick. Hating to pass it onto anyone else, I cancel lunch plans with a friend, miss out on the Simple, Good & Tasty event, and skip my networking meeting where Jason DeRusha was guest speaking. Bummer.

I try to rest, really, I do. But, I’m just not that good at sitting still. I alternate reading a book and catching up on chores like laundry, cleaning, and cooking. I even make dinner.

(Cashew Quinoa Stir-Fry from Veganomican)

By the third day, I’m sick of being sick. Being cooped up for too long and not being able to socialize, I’m tempted to go to a friend’s birthday party with my husband, but remind myself that my energy level would only last 1-2 hours (and I’m probably contagious). So, I stay home and read all 579 pages of my book while sitting on the couch. How’s that for sitting still?

By the fourth day, although still tied to the box of tissues and had yet to leave the house, things are starting to look up. I can confidently say, “Yes, I can meet for lunch next week”. My life is no longer on hold. So here I am, finally crafting a blog post and feeling a lot better.

Take that sickness!

Bowties with Sun Dried Tomato Pesto

Last week was quite crazy, but full of great activities. I tried out a few new restaurants, Barbette, Nami, Tanpopo, and BeWitched Deli, tried the new Surly Smoke beer (awesome!), attended the No Coast Craft Fair, and went to a really cool Taiko Caravan (drum group) performance courtesy of Metro Magazine at the Southern Theater.

This week should be a bit more low-key and I’m looking forward to it. We still have a lot of our winter crop share to use and I get to check in on the Tahitian Vanilla Liqueur this weekend.

While we were not able to cook too much last week, we did squeeze in one of my favorites from Very Vegetarian, Bowtie Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto.

First I make a sun-dried tomato pesto using home dried tomatoes soaked in hot water for 20 minutes. Blend in basil, pine nuts, olive oil, and water until it has a uniform crumbly texture.

Next, sauté a red onion with strips of portobello mushroom and slices of garlic. Toss the veggie mixture with freshly cooked bow-tie pasta, pesto, and a little water to thin it out.

I love this dish. Not only is it great the first time around, but it holds up well for leftovers too.

Have a great week!

Chex Mix & Mingle Event

I’m excited to share my experiences from the Chex Mix & Mingle event yesterday. Now before you start thinking that I drank the Kool-Aid, I’m going to tell you right now that you’re wrong. I ate the Chex Mix (hee hee):

I’ve always been a fan of homemade Chex Mix (um, hello to polishing off a whole bag of my mother-in-law’s recipe), but when I received an invite to an event featuring Chex Mix and Katie Lee (as in the one formerly married to Billy Joel), I was a bit apprehensive. I’m not a fan of Katie Lee and figured it was just a gimmick to get me to buy her new cookbook. After doing a bit of research, I realized the event was focused on Chex Mix and considering I’ve been chatting with the General Mills/Betty Crocker folks lately, I figured it would be a great opportunity to “mix and mingle”.

If you haven’t been out to the General Mills campus, you need to visit this place! I passed a Caribou Coffee, a bank, a hair salon, and even a mini-grocery store stocked with General Mills products. Their employees can never say, “I didn’t have time to run to the grocery store”!

The group attending was pretty small, probably under 100 people. We sat in the auditorium to learn more about “America’s Most Trusted Kitchens” and hear a bit from Katie Lee about holiday entertaining.

Interesting Fact: Everyday at 4pm, 50% of consumers don’t know what they are having for dinner.

Afterwards, we were ushered into the gorgeous Betty Crocker Kitchens to try the Top 5 recipes in the Chex Mix Recipe Contest. With names like Lemon Rosemary, Deviled, Chexicago, Pumpkin Pie Crunch & Buffalo, I had to try them all. America voted for the winner, which was announced at the event and it was my personal favorite as well: Buffalo Chex Mix.

I have to admit, I’m now really tempted to throw a Chex Mix party of my own to try all the great recipes again. I wonder which one my friends would vote to win.

We also received Katie Lee’s new cookbook, The Comfort Table, Recipes for Everyday Occasions, and she autographed the books. 

After some more mingling, I was whisked off to another area of the Betty Crocker Kitchens where we got to be crafty. You know me, I love crafts and I love food, so what a great combination. They showed us how to make simple gifts using Chex Mix. It was so dead easy that I put them together very quickly and went back to socializing (and eating more Chex Mix). Here’s a picture of me with one of the gift ideas, a recipe box:

I did mention they are gorgeous kitchens, right?

We walked away with some swag:

Overall, it was a great afternoon and I came home on a post-event high. I met a lot of fabulous people and I even found a few recipes I’m going to try from Katie Lee’s book. I am glad to walk away with some hostess gift ideas too.



FTC Disclosure: I received everything mentioned for free, courtesy of General Mills in exchange for attending the event. I drove my own car and paid for my own gas.

Cranberry Contribution

Thanksgiving is over, the weekend has passed and now it is time to return to reality. I considered posting over the break, but tried to stay as far away from my computer as possible as it is always nice to focus on other things.

I cannot say I cooked much over the weekend. I brought the coffee (Peace Coffee, of course) for Thanksgiving Day breakfast to accompany the Eggs Benedict made by Ryan’s mom. For Thanksgiving dinner, I brought cranberry sauce and rolls to go with the traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and green beans at my family’s house. Yep, this cranberry sauce:

The sauce was well received but I had made way too much. I took a reader’s suggestion and mixed the leftovers in with my oatmeal and it was delicious!

One of our newer traditions is to exchange names for Christmas. Once all the nieces and nephews started popping up, they became a priority in gift giving. It just made sense to focus on them and set a limit for the adults. At my family’s house we set the price limit and drew the name of a couple. It remains secret until Christmas.

At Ryan’s family’s house, we buy for everyone (with a price limit) and then exchange names for a handmade gift. This year the theme is “something in a frame”. I don’t have a clue of what I’m going to make, but I’m sure I’ll come up with something fun. It also remains a secret until Christmas and can be tough to keep from our significant others since we live in the same house!

Are you trying to put a halt to the excessive Christmas spending too? How do you do it?