Herb roasted vegetables and bulgur pilaf

From this week: rosemary, sage

From weeks past: carrots, parsnips, mushroom broth, bulgur

Staples: butter, olive oil, salt, onion

There's snow in the forecast. A lot of snow (for Richmond, at least), and I can't wait. It doesn't take a lot for me to feel celebratory: a good day at work, the end of a bad day at work, a pretty nail polish color, a two-night Lifetime special starring Lucy Liu. For me, the mere chance of snow is plenty reason to pop the bubbly. Literally.

(Weird that I'm drinking champagne alone? Maybe. Shout out to my dad for facilitating my parties for one by sending me back to Richmond last weekend with three bottles of champagne.)

Since it was a celebration, I felt entitled to cook myself a delicious snow-inspired meal, despite the double leftovers in my fridge. And I'm really proud of myself because, for the first time in my frugal cooking career, I was clever enough to make a small amount of this dish; just enough for this meal, plus one more. Another reason to celebrate! Go me!

This has the warm, wintry feeling I was going for last week with my disastrous attempt at root vegetable stew, but it's even better. I don't know if I'm seasonally accurate, but the stars of this dish - root veggies, rosemary, and sage - scream winter to me. Combined with nutty bulgur, they are warm and soothing without being too heavy. Kind of like oatmeal, but not sweet, or mushy, or dense, or bland. So not really like oatmeal at all....

Anyway, carrots and parsnips have complex enough flavors that the dish has a lot of depth with only three real flavoring agents - onion, sage, and rosemary. And roasting the vegetables not only makes them super tasty, but also softens them up enough to make them the perfect textural contrast to the grainy bulgur.

Hopefully, if the frigid temps aren't enough to make tomorrow a snow day to remember, my dinner is. A snow dance in a pot.

Herb roasted vegetables and bulgur pilaf

Makes 2 servings

2 tbsp olive oil, divided

1 tbsp butter

1 large carrot, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces

2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces

1 small onion, diced

2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves, divided

2 tsp chopped fresh sage leaves, divided

1/2 cup bulgur

1 cup mushroom broth

1 tsp salt, divided

Preheat oven to 350. Toss together 1 tbsp olive oil, carrots, parsnips, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp rosemary, and 1 tsp sage on a baking sheet. Roast in the oven until soft and lightly browned, about 35 minutes. Meanwhile, heat remaining olive oil and butter in a pot over medium heat. Sautee onion until soft and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add bulgur and remaining herbs and toast, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Add mushroom stock and remaining salt to the pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until liquid is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes. Toss together cooked bulgur and roasted vegetables and serve warm.

Curry chicken pasta salad

From this week: chicken, mayo, sour cream, lemons, celery, grapes

From weeks past: lemons, sour cream

Staples: honey, curry powder, salt, rotini

I deflowered my kitchen this weekend.

Inappropriate? Sorry, but it's true. I cooked meat for the first time in my beautiful, pristine kitchen. Sigh. I feel guilty for bending my rules and stealing my kitchen's virtue, but it was a special occasion: my first official office holiday potluck lunch!

Not impressed? Okay, so it wasn't that special of an occasion, but these days it's rare that I get to cook for others, and I wanted to kill it. And kill it I did. This pasta salad has been my mom's potluck dish of choice for years, and it's a holiday party stunner. Better if made ahead, good cold and at room temperature, pleasing to spicy lovers and losers - er, I mean mild lovers - alike, it was made for potlucks; literally, it seems, since my mom told me today that she got the recipe at my 28-year-old sister's preschool potluck/auction.

It's easy enough to take the chicken out of this. In fact, I split the recipe in half, made half without chicken, and kept it to feed myself for the week. But being the altruist that I am, I thought I'd embrace the holiday season and include the chicken to please my coworkers.

And man, did I get a lot of compliments. Potluck WINNER!

Wait, did I say that? I meant 'tis better to give than to receive.

Ames's curry chicken pasta salad

Makes 12 HUGE servings (seriously, you probably want to make half of this for any normal sized group)

3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (or 7 cups cooked chicken)

1 lb rotini

2 cups mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (approximately 3 juicy lemons)

3 tbsp curry powder

4 tbsp honey

2.5 cups thinly sliced celery

2.5 cups seedless red grapes, quartered

1 tsp salt, plus more to taste

Make dressing: mix together mayo, sour cream, lemon juice, curry powder, and honey. This can be made well ahead of time and refrigerated

Poach chicken (if uncooked): cover chicken and 1 tsp salt with cool water. Place over medium low heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer until cooked through, about 30 minutes (depends on the size of your chicken pieces - cut down the middle of each piece to see if it's cooked). Cool and dice into bite-sized pieces.

Cook rotini according to package directions. Combine 1/2 of the curry mayo with pasta while warm. Combine remaining 1/2 curry mayo with the chicken and celery. In a large bowl, combine pasta, chicken, and grapes. Salt to taste. Cover tightly and refrigerate. Best if made and refrigerated for at least 6 hours or overnight.

This week (12/13)

- shredded mozzarella

- shredded parmesan

- chicken tenderloins (GASP!)

- sour cream

- mayonnaise

- 3 lemons

- 1 can artichoke hearts

- red grapes

- celery hearts

- fresh rosemary

- fresh sage

- Trader Joe's gorgonzola crackers (awesome, if you're in the market for new crackers)

Restocking:

- garlic

- rotini pasta

- peanut butter

- honey

Creamy baked pasta

From weeks past: ricotta cheese, asiago cheese, bell pepper, frozen spinach, parmesan cheese

Staples: milk, butter, flour, pasta, olive oil, salt, herbs/spices

This week was almost a total bust. I told you about Monday's mushroom turnover disaster. As if that wasn't bad enough, Tuesday I made this:

Blood and guts and a bay leaf.

Sorry, that was unnecessarily graphic.... but true. I have come to the conclusion that beets should not go in stews. Except maybe if you're Russian.

The truth is, it tasted okay enough for me to eat it for a couple of meals. But it wasn't worth telling anyone about, and I threw a whole bunch of it away. Sad sad sad.

Two major failures in a row, I was so traumatized that I was forced to eat out Wednesday and Thursday nights. I began to wonder if I'd ever cook again!

Never fear; there's nothing a little bechamel can't fix. Seriously, if you're feeling bad about yourself, for any reason at all, you should make this. Butter, cheese, milk, cheese, pasta, cheese.

Too fattening, you say? I find over-dramatizing your troubles helps to quell the guilt.

Creamy baked pasta

1/2 lb rotini pasta

1 tsp olive oil

1 green bell pepper, chopped

8 oz frozen chopped spinach, defrosted

3/4 cup ricotta cheese

2 tsp dried basil

2 tsp granulated garlic

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

3/4 cup milk

2 cups asiago cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Sautee green pepper until soft and combine with defrosted spinach, ricotta cheese, salt, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, and herbs, in a large bowl. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350. Cook pasta according to package directions for al dente. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a small saucepan or skillet. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in milk and continue to stir until combined. Slowly add 1.5 cups of asiago cheese, stirring constantly. Leave on low heat, stirring regularly until the pasta is cooked.

When pasta is cooked, drain and add to ricotta/vegetable mixture. Spread pasta in 8x8 baking dish and top with cheese sauce.* Sprinkle top with reserved asiago and parmesan. Bake until brown and bubbly, about 20-30 minutes.

*This is how I did it, but next time I'll layer so there's sauciness all the way through. If you want to try it out, here's how I intend to do it: Spread half of pasta mixture in an 8x8 baking dish. Top with half of cheese sauce, then repeat layers.

Mushroom turnovers

This week: cremini mushrooms, chanterelle mushrooms, onion

From weeks past: ricotta cheese

Staples: flour, spices, oil, butter, white wine vinegar, garlic

My kitchen is a mess.

My kitchen is a mess because I made a terrible meal.

My kitchen is a mess because I made a terrible meal, and I don't have any paper towels to clean it up.

My kitchen is a mess because I made a terrible meal, I don't have any paper towels to clean it up, and I'm watching Did you hear about the Morgans?

I feel lost.

It was a valiant effort, I suppose. I did it all in the name of "real" food. My mom used to make these low fat individual chicken pot pies when I was in high school, and they were great. But the recipe called for some diet-y substitutions, and, snooty eater that I am, I turned my nose up at the ingredients. Margarine? Low fat cottage cheese? Not for me. I was sure I could class up the recipe with a buttery crust and ricotta/mushroom filling.

Dry dry dryness was the punishment for my pretension. Pastry crust isn't the kind of thing you can fool around with unless you know what you're doing, and obviously, I don't know what I'm doing. That margarine crust, on the other hand, was damn good; whoever came up with that must be a pastry genius.

The good news is the flavors are right, so my next attempt will undoubtedly be better. The bad news is I have three leftover turnovers I have to eat this week.

Needless to say, no recipe today. I'm off to pout and whine... and maybe clean.

This week (12/6)

- chanterelle mushrooms

- cremini mushrooms

- carrots

- parsnips

- beets

- rutabaga

- french baguette

- mushroom broth

- bananas

- tomato paste

- black beans

- chickpeas

Restocking:

- veggie broth

- onions

- olive oil

- canola oil

Sweet potato latkes

This week: sour cream, apples, egg

From weeks past: sweet potatoes

Staples: whole wheat flour, salt, vegetable oil

So I know it's Hanukkah, not Yom Kippur, but I have a confession to make: I bought more groceries today. And I spent $20, on top of the $60 I spent on Sunday.

In my defense, I had to throw away the mushrooms I bought on Sunday because they were totally rotten. My grocery store sucks. Rotten mushrooms, collard greens labelled as kale, no Hanukkah candles. Major white girl problems.

Also, although I enjoy pushing the boundaries of spoiled, I didn't think it was a good idea to keep testing my stomach with over-a-month-past-its-expiration-date sour cream. And you can't have latkes without sour cream... and homemade applesauce.... and bubbly... and Hershey's kisses? Oy.

Anyway, these latkes are bangin'. My mom and I make regular potato latkes together every Hanukkah season, and sometimes I make them again without her just because I love them so much. I'm a huge sweet/savory fan, so sweet potato latkes make sense. Plus, I still had some sweet potatoes I bought a couple of weeks ago. It felt like fate (strange that I continue to be wowed by the way these things work out, considering that this is a blog about making use of the ingredients I already have, but just go with it). It was a true Hanukkah miracle.

Important note: These are very lacy because that's the way I like my latkes, but if you want them more pancake-y, you can probably double up on the egg and flour. Personally, I think there's nothing better than fried sweet potato, but hey, different strokes for different folks. If you do it my way, just make sure you tightly mash the strands into patties because there's not a lot holding them together. I like to press the patties against a slotted spoon (or any kind of holey spoon) until they feel like clumps rather than a bunch of individual strands.

Happy Hanukkah!

Sweet potato latkes

Makes about 15 2 inch latkes

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and grated (in a food processor or with a box grater)

1 small yellow onion, grated (same)

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/4 cup whole wheat flour (AP flour would work too)

1 tsp kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling

vegetable oil (I used about 1/2 cup total)

Preheat oven to 250. Line a cookie sheet with 2 layers of paper towels. Mix all ingredients except for oil together in a large bowl. Heat 1/4 inch of oil in a cast iron skillet over high heat until shimmering. Keep the bowl next to the stove, and form 2 inch patties one at a time, pressing them against a slotted spoon so they stick together (see above), then gently placing them into the oil. Be careful not to crowd the pan (I usually do 3 at a time). When the edges are lightly browned, after about 2 minutes, flip the latkes gently. Cook for 1-2 minutes more, until the other side is lightly browned. After a batch or two, you will get the hang of the timing. When the latkes are browned all over, remove to the paper towel-lined cookie sheet, sprinkle with salt, and place in the warm oven. Sweet potato bonus: the burnt parts don't taste bad! Serve with sour cream and/or applesauce.

Note: the oil will change temperature as you add and remove latkes, so keep adjusting the heat so that the latkes continue to sizzle, but not sputter and burn, when you place them in the pan. You will probably also need to add vegetable oil to keep 1/4 inch in the pan as you fry.