Lavender Lemon Thumbprint Cookies and a Return to Normalcy...ish

 I'm back...ish!

You know...in those years when I was blogging constantly, I used to come across other people's zombie blogs out there on the internet and wonder how they could just abandon something they had poured themselves into.

Then, you know...life happened.  And suddenly I understood.

First school, then the pandemic, then school again.  It's been an interesting few years to say the least.

That being said, this blog...it represents so many moments in my life.  It has continued to serve as my own personal recipe book over the years, regardless of what time or desire I have had to add to it.

It means a lot to me.  It has also been quite a while since I've felt the drive to contribute to it again.

Life Has Changed

 I'm in mourning.

Aren't we all?

It's not an anger at our situation, or a lack of understanding.

Just a pervading sense of loss.

Loss of contact.  Loss of connection.  Loss of life as we know it.

It makes me so sad.

Just...sad.

Sad at what we've lost, and sad that I can't image when- or if- life will get back to normal as we knew it.

Isn't it strange how quickly everything changed?

Just shockingly quickly.

Today I drove through my college campus, looking toward a semester in which only one of my classes will be 100% in person.  This is my senior year.  I am THIRTY-EIGHT years old.

I worked hard to be here.  I did it with kids needing love, a house needing cleaning, a husband needing attention.

I took freaking CALCULUS, folks.

BLAT Pizza and Healthier Crusts

There's something about a good flatbread or light pizza that's just so satisfying.
Flavorful and delicious without being heavy and greasy.

One of the things I love about the CAULIPOWER crusts (remember from the last post about Vietnamese Spring Roll Pizza?) is that they're the perfect, crispy base for toppings while staying light and not weighing me down.  Plus they're SUPER easy to pull out of the freezer and throw together a meal with- no prefacing of crust required!

I'm all about the easy meals at the moment.

I've got to say guys, this is my 5th semester of college and I'm just not digging this one as much as the others.  Maybe it's because I've been fighting a low-key cold and exhaustion for what seems like weeks now.  Maybe it's because I have other stuff on my mind.   Maybe it's just because I seem to have scheduled a semester that consists (almost) entirely of classes that- while in subjects that interest me- are kind of like the bottom level of that area of interest.

Spring Roll Pizza and New Uses for Cauliflower

I'm not sure when cauliflower became the duct tape of the culinary world, but these days it seems to be the cure-all, quick-fix du jour.

Want mashed potatoes?

Mash some cauliflower.

{Blech, btw}

Want rice?

Rice some cauliflower.

{Gotta say...tried it once and it just wasn't doing it for me}

Want a steak?

Grill some cauliflower.

{Tried it.  Good, but no substitute.}

Want pizza crust?

Use some cauliflower!

Ok, that last one...I've been mildly successful with.

I mean, not like "ohmygosh, I can't believe it's not bread!" successful, but tasty successful.

Totally passable on a low-carb diet successful.

{In fact, totally check out this recipe if you're low-carbing it, it's great!}

Lets just say, as a whole, I've not been super-impressed by the ways in which cauliflower has moved up in the world.

Grilled Pesto Marinated Chicken and The Joy of Swimming Alone

This year I discovered the joy of going to the pool by myself.

For the past 13 years I have rarely set foot in a swimming pool without constantly being on alert in order to make sure kids don't drown.

This week has been different.

It started the day after my kids returned to school- I'd spent several hours out in the heat working in the yard and I was hot and sore.

The pool sounded pretty fabulous, so I suited up and headed for the water.

Oh my word.

Relaxing in the water, eyes closed, carefree.

Lounging in a chair, soaking up the sun on my (very well coated with sunscreen) skin.

Sitting in a lounge chair!

Can you believe it‽

Those have always seemed like the realm of the child-free.

Yet I have enjoyed them every single day this week.

It's been pretty fabulous.

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!