comfort food blog-003                                                                         

I am not happy in the kitchen. The relentless grind of meal planning, grocery shopping, food prep, kitchen clean up....ugh. When I begin to cook a planned meal I frequently find I have somehow come home from the grocery store without the key ingredient. Example: we are having hot dogs and grapes. What! What! No, no, no! Are you telling me I went grocery shopping and got everything but the hot dogs?!?!  And so it goes, week after week, month after month, even year after year.

When I am working in the kitchen the corners of my mouth tend to slide down dramatically and my chin is a bit rumpled.  I never use "language", but I can be heard mumbling and sighing to myself in unpleasant tones while a complicated and intricate pile of mess envelops every inch of counter space. 

Recently, I decided to photograph a meal. I came home from the grocery store with everything I needed except fennel for the salad (and only because I could not find any). I prepared the food and set up our empty nest meal in front of the fireplace, thus briefly escaping the intricate pile of mess. The fire felt wonderful with the outside temperature at only 10 degrees. 

The intricate pile of mess still awaits me as I type, but you can enjoy the cozy setting, food photos, and the recipes.

comfort food blog-1        Winter Salad

12  kale leaves

1/2  cup  fennel, sliced

1/4  cup  red onion, diced

1/2  cup  pomegranate arils

(I added crumbled feta cheese)

2  Tbsp  oil-based salad dressing (I used Marie's Balsamic Vinaigrette)

Wash and dry the kale. Remove the stems and chop the kale into a very fine texture.

Slice fennel and red onion and add arils to salad.

Pour in dressing and stir all ingredients together and serve.

comfort food blog-4              

       20-Minute White Chile                                                                                         

1 cup  chopped onion

1 clove  garlic, minced

1 Tbsp  vegetable oil

1 lbs  ground turkey

1 cup  chicken broth

1 (14 1/2-oz) can  stewed tomatoes (I use diced basil, garlic and oregano tomatoes)

1/3 cup  Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard

1 Tbsp  chili powder

1/8 tsp  ground red pepper

1 (15-oz) can  cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 (8-oz) can  corn, drained (I leave this out.)

Cook and stir onions and garlic in oil in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat until tender. Add turkey, cook until done, stirring occasionally to break up the meat. Drain. Stir in the chicken broth tomatoes, mustard, chili powder and pepper. Heat to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer for 10 minutes. Yields 6 servings.

Beverage of choice. I chose a glass of water iced with frozen grapes. 

Then cozy up to the fire, enjoy, and keep warm. comfort food blog-3