Greek Salads and Light Summer Sides

Have I ever told you about the time I walked into the dining room and found my daughter sitting at the table digging into a block of feta cheese like it was an apple?

Because that happened once- and she will never live it down.  :-)

That child, my far-less-than-before-but-nevertheless-picky eater, loves feta.

And I love it when either one of my kids expands their culinary comfort zone, so I'm all for it.

Which means that I often find myself making recipes that call for feta- and ensuring that there's a little left over in the fridge for her.

You know...maybe less than an apple-sized brick but enough to make her happy.

We've reached a point where she will eat tomatoes, peppers, and onions as long as they're cooked into something but we're still working on tolerating them in their natural state.  I decided to push her limits a little with My Big Fat Greek Salad.  Not only does it have her favorite cheese but two kinds of olives- and that child would eat an entire jar of olives if given the opportunity!

Incredible Sauces and Former Vegetarians

My freshman year of high school I announced to my mother that I was becoming a vegetarian.

This announcement triggered a years-long attempt on her part to care for my nutritional needs by sneaking tofu into food, pointing at the word "seitan" in a recipe for the clerk at the health food store to avoid mispronouncing the word, and making sure that beans and rice were always paired to create a complete protein (to be honest I don't even know what that means...should I have learned this in Biology?).

Tofu was in enchiladas.  Tofu was in lasagna.  Tofu was everywhere.

Despite the fact that I'm still not much of a meat-eater, I haven't been a vegetarian for 18 or-so years now- and I haven't bought tofu since I moved out on my own.  This isn't the kind of recipe I'd normally gravitate towards!

Thai Beef Curry and Unforgettable Meals

Cooking for my family can be a challenge.

My daughter and husband?

Meat and potatoes all the way.

My son?

Oh wow.  He's pretty much the pickiest eater on the face of the planet and there are almost no meals I can make for the rest of the family that he will eat along with us.

Then there's me.

I was a vegetarian for six or-so years.  I eat meat now...in very, very small quantities.

I like weird foods.  Or last least a variety of ethnic foods and more "new American" fare.

If it's different and full of flavor I'm drawn to it like a moth to a flame.

Easy Breakfasts, Delicious Ham, and Egg-Hating Children

Both of my kids liked eggs when they were little.  I still remember my daughter's little fingers plucking chunks of scrambled egg from her high chair tray and at one point in time her love of deviled eggs rivaled my own- even my picky son would eat them snuck into a grilled cheese sandwich as a toddler.

I have no idea what went wrong, but they've both been turning their noses up at eggs for years now.

Me?

I'll take them scrambled, fried, hard-boiled, frittata-d, omelette-fied, poached, and pretty much any other way they can be prepared short of over-easy or sunny side up.

I had the chance to work with Smithfield again (I love working with Smithfield!  Such a fabulous brand and quality product.  Remember those Spicy Smoked Back Ribs with Maple Glaze I made with them a few years ago?  That sauce is still my go-to BBQ sauce recipe!) for Allrecipes last month and this time the recipes focused on their yummy ham and were more breakfast-oriented.

Incredible Baked Chicken and Long-Awaited Returns

What a weird year.

What a weird life.

If you'd asked me at any point growing up where I envisioned myself at this point in my life there's a strong chance they involved a law degree from Harvard, 2 kids, the northeast, a luxury vehicle, a swimming pool in the backyard, and a picket fence around my perfectly manicured yard.

I had big, yuppie, dreams, guys.

Life tends to take a far more circuitous and unexpected route than we plan as kids, doesn't it?

I'm not going to lie: my life is fabulous.

Just not fabulous in the way I envisioned it as a child.

My family is fabulous, my needs are covered, I've had incredible experiences thanks to my love of cooking, and I get to spend my days learning incredible things at a school whose campus legitimately takes my breath away some days.