Chimichurri Turkey Burgers with Avocado

I have always been a sucker for condiments.  Ketchup, barbecue sauce, pickled jalapenos, tomato relish, pesto, creamed honey...if you can spread it, I can overindulge.  Where most would be happy with a tablespoon or so, it seems I always need about a quarter cup to satisfy my craving.  This is also the reason I hoard emptied food jars like a crazy person...it seems there are always more sauces like this delightful chimichurri that need to stored. 

Blanco Verde Enchiladas with Fish & White Beans

Have I mentioned my affinity for the color green?  To call it my favorite would be an understatement.  The main color for our wedding, the pattern on our china, the color of our first piece of Le Creuset cookware, even the color contacts I wore throughout college...all green.  But even I had to chuckle at my produce haul this past week:  broccoli, spring onions, zucchini, peppers, apples and avocados made the red cherry tomatoes seem somewhat flamboyant.  With all the budding blooms outdoors and fresh produce indoors, it is the perfect time of year for some very green (and very good) enchiladas.

Indian Spiced Lamb in Yogurt Sauce

You've all played the Forever food game, where you pick one type of cuisine to eat for the rest of your life because you love it just that much.  For the hubs that's Mexican...my man would eat chilaquiles, enchiladas and huevos rancheros every day and be completely satisfied until his dying day.  And honestly, I could too...as a runner up.  Without a doubt, my Forever food is (and always) will be Indian.  Tender basmati, chewy naan, sweet lassi, flavorful masala, rich yogurt, spicy chilies....I could go on forever.

Caesar Asparagus Toast with Poached Egg

There are three things I will never turn down:  artisan bread, high quality dark chocolate and a farm fresh egg.  Regardless of time, place or hunger level, I am powerless to turn away from their temptation.  Recently I've sworn off mass manufactured bread, opting to make my own whole wheat loaves at home (which I will share once the recipe is perfected) so artisan bread is currently in ample supply.  And as chance would have it, the hubs and I happened to get our hands on some hours old eggs last week.  Needless to say, I've been eating eggs and toast like it's going out of style.  And with all the gorgeous asparagus at the market, this Caesar Asparagus Toast has been replayed throughout the week like the theme song from Titanic at a 1997 prom.

Barbecue White Bean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

This past weekend the hubs and I ate our way through Savannah, Georgia...and what an scrumptious frenzy it was.  The abundance of assorted cornbreads, freshly caught seafood, buttery grits and local liquors was enough to make a gal think about calling off another week of work and just keep eating.  Needless to say, this is not that rich Southern food.  After an overabundance of bacon, butter and other animal bi-products, the hubs and I needed reprieve from their richness.  So this week we're enjoying some of our healthy basics - delicious, nutritious and in this instance meatless.

Mediterranean Chicken Phyllo Cups

There are two things that I love about being invited to a dinner party.  First, I don't have to clean the house.  Second, I don't have to worry about the main course.  Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore having people come over whom I get to feed.  But there's a delightful ease to being a guest...the host assigns you to appetizer/vegetable/dessert duty and all you have to do is take your assignment and run with it.  It's a great time to try new dishes, knowing the weight of the meal doesn't rest alone on your shoulders.  So when the hubs and I were assigned to appetizer duty for a dinner party last night, I was tickled Greek.  Literally.

Weeknight Coconut Masala

The other day I was having a long belated conversation with one of my favorite punxs (a.k.a. college girlfriends) regarding healthy weeknight eating.  She was trying to get off the fast food track and back onto the healthy homemade route.  A task that is often much easier said that done, especially when you're looking some delicious ethnic comfort food.  I don't know about you, but I have been having serious Indian cravings this winter.  The extended cold and overbearing piles of snow make me jones for the spice and heat of garam masala, cayenne pepper and golden turmeric.  Factor in that this is a make-ahead sauce that can be kept ready for action in the refrigerator and you've got a weeknight meal that can't be beat.

Sun-Dried Tomato Relish

No, there's nothing wrong with your eyes.  You're seeing red, and that red is a relish.  The pickle corporations do not have a copyright on this name, meaning it can still be applied to any spreadable and flavorful concoction regardless of color.  Any chopped vegetable or fruit can become a relish, including sun-dried tomatoes.  And this spread is so delicious, it's honestly borderline inappropriate.  So please allow me to expand your color horizons and introduce you to the relish we're smearing on pretty much everything coming out of our kitchen nowadays.

Roasted Sesame Stir Fry

There is nothing quite as disheartening as an atypical ingredient in a new recipe you're all jazzed to try.  Fenugreek?  Cardoon?  How about jaggery?  Definitely not your standard pantry dwellers.  Lemongrass is one that I struggle with in particular, always wanting that truly authentic flavor but never being able to find it at a local market (anyone in Ohio reading this, hook a foodie up).  Typically I steer clear of these oddballs, but here I embrace my favorite specialty oil - roasted sesame.  Trust me, this is an ingredient you need to try, especially in this deliciously healthy and easy little stir fry.

Roast Vegetable Gravy - a.k.a. The Last Gravy Recipe You'll Ever Need

For better or for worse, everyone has a signature dish for which they are known.  Gourmands may be recognized for something spectacular such as tartare, artisan bread or decadent chocolates.  Others are known for frozen pizza, refrigerated crescent rolls or the ever popular blue box mac & cheese.  Be they on the high or low end of the spectrum, the hubs and I enjoy all of these food items on occasion.  As for me....well, I'm not exactly sure of where I fall on this spectrum for I am known for a holiday condiment.

Papa's Little Pigs

Nothing sticks with you quite like a childhood favorite.  Perhaps that's why I've alluded to this recipe so many, many times before.  To me, there is nothing in the world quite like this breakfast.  As soon as that first bite passes my lips, I'm immediately transported back to a breakfast table containing the 5 year-old version of myself in feety pajamas, sitting across from my braces-clad brothers with my volleyball popple at my side.  And of course, my dad at the head of the table.  Because this was his signature breakfast - Little Pigs.  Aptly named, considering the squeals of delight that erupted from us kids whenever he donned an apron in the morning.

Fresh Tomato Salami Pizza

Pizza pizza.  Call me Little Caesar, cuz I love a good pie.  So surprise, I have yet another one to share with you.  Not too fancy shmancy, but darn good and extra sneaky.  Yes, a sneaky little pizza.  Why, might you ask?  Because of all the veggie goodness hiding inside.  Et tu, Brute?  Yes my friends, always and forever, for vegetables belong on pizza.  Especially zucchini, which is practically sprouting out of my ears at this point.  Remember that veggie box from a few weeks back? Welp, here is another meal inspired by the bounty inside.

Spicy Pomegranate Salmon

Sometimes there are things in life that just seem to good to be true.  A front row parking space any sporting event, an unexpected register discount at a blowout sale and double yolk eggs are just a few things that set my heart a flutter in ways that I cannot begin to express.  But for Northwestern natives, nothing beats an amazing deal on fresh salmon.  This week our local market is having a preposterously gargantuan sale on Sockeye.  Two days into the week, we've already gone through one pound and are going back for a second.  With so many ways to prepare this delicious fish, I am perfectly content to continue eating it until we have both grown gills.  Grilled, broiled, baked or breaded....any way you fix it, this fish is amazing.  But have you ever tried it in a spicy pomegranate sauce?  Oh, be still my heart.

Artichoke Avocado Pesto Mini-Pizza

With all the beautiful summer produce available, you'd never think that a foodie like me would be distracted by the pantry.  But alas, this is indeed the case.  I have been absolutely obsessing over canned artichoke hearts lately.  Munching them here, there and everywhere is my new favorite past time.  And it seems I'm not alone in this obsession.  Ever since I saw this delicious recipe for couscous where artichokes stood in for the typical cucumber, I have happily joined the subbing bandwagon.  But out of all the dishes I've tried and created, the best by far is this slamming Artichoke Avocado Pesto Pizza.  Beautiful to look at and even better to eat, this little pizza is green goddess perfection.

Grilled Chicken Cornbread with Peaches & Pepper Jack

So the hubs was out of town last week, which meant I really got to play in the kitchen.  Perhaps it's the fact that we're still pretty-newlyweds, but I usually try to stick with dishes that he will enjoy throughout the week.  Granted, he gives me a pretty wide berth with things like Watermelon Habanero Gazpacho and Pesto Pomegranate Pasta.  But when he goes out of town, I tend to get even wackier.  Why not have an artichoke white wine sauce with my turkey meatballs?  Sure I'll try a goat cheese, strawberry and asparagus breakfast burrito.  (For the record, both of those were delicious.)  But one of my little creations absolutely took the cake last week!  Or should I say cornbread?  This will be recreated for the hubs without a doubt.

Peachy Hazelnut Crusted Chicken

What's the first thing you crave when you see fresh peaches at the market?  You probably imagine sinking your teeth into that fuzzy exterior, the scent of freshly baked peach pie and crumbly dutch cobblers.  Thoughts of sweet and tender fruit dance like sugar plum fairies around in your head. Odds are you are not being swept away by thoughts of sriracha and a gas grill...unless you're me.  As soon as these pop up in the produce section, I pounce thinking of one thing:  barbecue sauce.  It's time to pull out the chicken and hazelnuts to make my all-time favorite chicken recipe - Peachy Hazelnut Crusted Chicken.  Oh yeah.

Croque Houmous

There are times in your life that call for comfort food.  Soup feeds a cold, flat coke settles and upset stomach and soft potatoes soothe a sore throat.  But when the hubs woke up this morning with a vicious inflamed lymph node, I was at an utter loss as to an appropriate comfort food.  All I knew what that it had to be  cheesy, hot and have some sort of sauce smeared on top.  Then it came to me....grilled cheese.  But not just any grilled cheese - his all time favorite grilled cheese.  Because sometimes cheese between two toasted slices of bread just isn't enough.  There are times when covering that deliciousness with a béchamel sauce is just what the doctor ordered.  That's me, the lower-case doctor....ya know, not in medical school to become a real Doctor.

Grilled Ricotta Cakes

I have a new favorite patty.  Ms. Mayonnaise from Doug was a long time favorite of my younger years, while adulthood has been mostly dedicated to quinoa and black bean.  But now there's a new little patty in town...my yummy little ricotta patty.  You know that delicious, creamy ricotta that typically fills lasagna?  Well that's exactly what these taste like.  All the delicious tenderness of lasagna filling, but with a crispy exterior....yum.  Plus you don't have to make an entire casserole.  Super versatile, these little patties are my new favorite side.

Mediterranean Avocado Spaghetti with Shrimp

Today was a very important day in our household.  It's the last day of April, and therefore our final day before launching into Meatless May.  Now you can either cheer or laugh at that last sentence, but we decided to go vegetarian for a month.  We're keeping eggs and dairy, but goodbye meat.  For me it's not a big deal...I went through that collegian-vegetarian phase that so many Portlandians experience.  But it's my hub's first attempt at a meat-free diet.  We're looking forward to 31 days of alternative protein sources....but only after enjoying one final day of meat.  Naturally, today was filled with our favorites.  In parting, we supped on one of our best easy meals - Mediterranean Avocado pasta.....with lots and lots of shrimp.

Grilled Vegetable Tzatziki Salad

Nothing says SUMMER quite like dinner from the grill.  After all that cold weather, it's nice to give your burners, oven and broiler a little break and get back to those glorious grill lines.  In our home, the hubs is King of the grill, capital K intended.  I may assist in the protein preparation, but I depend on his magical internal BBQ-clock to cook it to perfection.   While he reigns as King of the meat, I rule as Queen of the veggies.  From artichoke to zucchini, I grill them all.  Who says that your barbecue side has to be a fresh salad or coleslaw?  Grill while the grilling is good.  This recipe is one that I make over and over again....(and again, and again.)  Incredibly easy and tasty, this one is sure to wow the flip flops off your friends at a cookout.