"Spring"ing into the Kitchen, Weeks 11-12

Last Sunday’s snowstorm was absolute bullcrap. M and I made and decorated cut out snowmen cookies because that’s the only way I knew how to cope. Thankfully, spring has apparently sprung this week, and because we Chicagoans never know how long we have til the next cold snap, we took full advantage by working in as many springy recipes as we could find. We have the May issues of the Food Network and Rachael Ray magazines to thank for our peas and carrots-filled dishes.

Sidebar: I love peas and carrots. As “starchy, sugary vegetables,” they are not allowed on a lot of diets. Probably part of the reason why I love them. Additionally, though, I have very fond memories of being an elementary/middle school performer under the tutelage of my favorite teacher and now friend, Jayne Wilkins. Ms. Wilkins used to tell us that when we’re on stage and supposed to be “talking” (without making any sound), we should mouth the words “peas and carrots” because it resembles real talking. This is a tip I passed down to my own performers during the ten years I choreographed my school’s musical productions.

So, peas and carrots hold a special place in my heart and in my kitchen. Enjoy!

Carrot Tart - This was supposed to be M’s recipe, but a squirrel ran past the house or something and she was out the door and gone for the next hour. I made this meal, instead, and boy, was it a doozy. Definitely not worth the time and effort that went into it, but I will say the buttery, flaky puff pastry crust was to die for. I think I’m just gonna start throwing a slab of that covered with cinnamon and sugar in the oven every weekend to eat (all by myself). I had to buy tahini, which was expensive, so I was thankful we could repurpose it with another recipe later that week.

Shrimp and Sugar Snap Pea Pasta - Now that we’re multiple weeks into this noble experiment, I deemed it acceptable when N asked if he could make a dish he had already made. He threw it back to week one, and I’m happy to report we’ve learned a few things since then, the best of which is that frozen, raw shrimp is the bomb-diggity. It’s way cheaper than shrimp from the seafood case and just as tasty! What a rookie I was to purchase pre-cooked shrimp for $13.99 a pound nine weeks ago! And peeling it isn’t even that gross.

This was the first time N made the dish literally all by himself. We were all out when it was time to start dinner, and I could tell he was a little uneasy about it. “Can I have you on call?” he texted right before he had to peel the shrimp. So I called, reminded him he’s got this, and walked him through a couple steps.

In the end, we all agreed it didn’t taste as amazing as we had remembered it. Perhaps because we’re eleven weeks into this and the novelty has worn off, or perhaps because we simply didn’t add enough lemon. Either way, we were happy for a hot meal and N was happy he didn’t have to do the dishes. “That’s my favorite part of this whole thing,” he quipped as he walked away from a pile of pots and pans after his last bite was taken. :)

Buddha Bowl - Because I had made the carrot tart for M on Sunday, she was in charge of my chosen meal. I’ve been trying to be sensitive to her vegetarian needs these days, so I chose this recipe, which looked delicious. The fried egg threw her for a loop. “I don’t think I’m gonna like this,” she remarked, as I taught her how to make a sunny side up egg. But being the brave second-born child that she is, she took a bite of the finished product and marveled, “Oh my gosh, this is amazing!”

The next day, I received this text:

My heart just about burst.

Tahini Peanut Noodles - There was a lot of excitement around this meal because GRAMMY WAS FINALLY COMING HOME FROM ARIZONA! M was so proud to assemble this dish (we had prepped it all before heading to the airport). I had grilled a few chicken breasts for those of us without morals and ethics to dine on, and it made for a delicious meal.

Spring snuck back in over the weekend and because I had a taste for carrot cake, I finagled that into breakfast by making Carrot Cake Pancakes with Maple Cream Cheese Drizzle. On Sunday, I stayed on the vegetarian kick by making Vegetarian Enchiladas. I typically buy canned enchilada sauce, but this was so easy and delicious, and I felt good about feeding the family something free of a bunch of unknown ingredients. I topped off the weekend by making PB&J Bars. Did you know that hardly any desserts have meat?! ;) As you know, we are peanut butter obsessed, so these were a good, new take on a favorite flavor. Two of them were gone from the pan before I could tell anyone NOT TO EAT THEM because I was packaging them up to give to each of my coworkers who helped me plan and chaperone a field trip to the IL Holocaust Museum on Monday. So yeah, they were that good.

I’m losing interest in this post, so with this message in my head (that Mark texted me last week), I’ll wrap it up quickly:

N made Pimiento Cheeseburgers, subbing ground turkey for the beef. He cranked up AJR music as he prepped and had an easy cook. They were good!

M finished off the week of dinners with Cavatelli with Peas and Ricotta. She must be a real chef now because when I offered her a certain knife she uttered, “No, this is my favorite knife.” I was super hungry that night, so my patience with her was waning fast. But after about thirty minutes, my hunger was certainly a”peas”ed by this dish, which was creamy and delicious, likely thanks to the pasta water and ricotta.

M’s birthday is on Monday, so I wrapped up that evening by baking a lemon cake from the Baked by Melissa cookbook my friend Sherri gifted me a couple months back after I started doing quite a bit of baking for Made by Mary. What an awesome cookbook! I typically get my recipes online, but it was nice to throw it back to an actual book and admire the variety of cakes and frostings. It was the most delicious batter I think I’ve ever tasted, and M certainly loved the finished product.

I’m going to be MIA for a couple weeks, as this week will be crazy with N’s musical (dress rehearsals every night from 5:30-9:30!) so we’ll likely be doing a lot of dining out. I’m hoping to get back to it the week of April 30.

‘Til then, I wish you and yours a Happy Easter and a spring full of carrot and “peas”ing meals!