Spring!

Okay, so maybe it's not totally spring yet. I mean, it's only the beginning of March. But whatever - it's 56 degrees out and I feel great!

So let's talk about food.

Yes, I know I haven't posted since November, and you all feel incredibly neglected. Rightfully so! I do have a tendency to take on more than I should, thinking that I can handle it all just fine. And, inevitably, something gets dropped. It's a sad state of affairs. But I've recently made some not-at-all-New-Year's-related resolutions, and one of them is to focus my attention and energy on doing the few things that I really LOVE doing, and doing them well. Like cooking. Like baking. Like... well, I can't say that I "really LOVE" all my schoolwork (though, thankfully, I do love most of it), but regardless, it's my final semester and I want to go out with a bang.

So really, let's talk about food.

Okay, so one of my projects this past winter - though I didn't actually know that it was going to be a project until it, uh, became the project... if that makes sense - was bread. I still don't have it perfect, but I'm getting there. And I've shared some of the products of my experiments with friends, to high praise (higher than I felt was warranted, but I am a bit of a perfectionist). I have to say though... making fresh butter is easier than bread, and wowwww... <3

Another project involved beets. I love beets, and have been, over the past couple of years, looking for new and creative things to do with them, besides cake (of course) and my mom's AMAZING chilled marinated beets. So I made some vegan Borscht, and shared it with some friends. It was not a cold soup; this was actually a nice, warming soup with shredded beets and carrots, garlic and onion, and since I didn't have any stock, I used veg bouillon. I'll post a recipe, but since I wasn't thinking "hey, recipe" at the time, there's going to be a bit of guesswork involved.

Awww.

And lastly, I must talk about blood oranges. I am OBSESSED. If oranges were wine, blood oranges would be the sultry, deep, dark red wine... and regular oranges would be the white zin. Don't get me wrong; it has its place. But I am a red-wine girl through and through. And who doesn't love a sexy, indulgent treat that is SUPER HEALTHY and that your EBT card will pay for?? (By the way, they've been on sale at PChop recently, and I believe they still are. 'Tis the season!! And while you're there, check out Meyer lemons too. Yummy.)

I mean really... why would you even WANT to try to say no?
Also, the recipe from the site this came from looks amazing...
http://wise-habits.com/blood-orange-vinaigrette

Also-also, I need to point out, in case I haven't yet, that the Troy Waterfront Farmers' Market takes EBT cards now (WOOOO TROY!!), and that the spicy mesclun mix from Slack Hollow Farms would pair beautifully with the above-linked recipe. Just sayin'.

On that note, I'm going to wrap up our time together once again. I will try to visit more often, promise!!

Ciao for now. ^_~