Vegetarian Loaded Nachos

One of the most common questions people ask about this blog is how I decide what to make. The answer is as simple as "whatever I feel like eating at the moment (and is within my capabilities to cook)". The execution of those whimsies is another story. A lot of posts sit perpetually unpublished because I'm unhappy with one thing or another, sometimes I try to make a more creative variation on a classic dish and by the time the recipe is perfected, I don't want to eat it anymore. But there's always some success among the many attempts and this post is a great example of when the process works!

I've been having some really strange food obsessions lately, with special emphasis on nachos, banana shakes, and red meat, none of which are foods that I have ever in my life craved or sought out with such fervor until the last few weeks, separately of course (although...steak nachos with a side of banana shake? Sign me up). Today's recipe is a manifestation of the nacho obsession, which started on super bowl sunday and has yet to show signs of diminishing. They're loaded with cheese and all the best veggie toppings for a fun snack or meal. I decided to go sans meat to give them a fresher, lighter vibe, but you can alter them to your heart's content since nachos don't really need a recipe. They're just so goshdang colorful and delicious that I had to share. Hope you guys enjoy.

Fresh Fig, Blue Cheese, and Caramelized Onion Salad

Fig season is almost over and this post has been sitting in my draft folder for almost two months. The reason being that every time I sit down to write, I'm at a loss for words. I have no stories, nothing interesting to tell. Thankfully I have blog friends who have been encouraging me to just publish the dang thing.

So for today's post I want to tell you about my typical week. It's pretty mundane, but perhaps it will help us connect as something more than voices over the internet. Okay. Here goes:

Monday through Friday, during the day, I work on the dev team at a tech company in midtown Manhattan where I spend most of my time writing code. Almost daily I get lunch with my work friends, we sit around and shoot the shit. We usually eat in the cafeteria of our building but sometimes go out for lunch, which entails weaving through the bajillion people walking around time's square. Midtown is terrible. Phillip always complains that I'm a slow walker, but he's never seen me power walk down 40th street in a desperate attempt to get back to the office and away from the throngs of tourists.

Wednesday afternoons we have a half hour guided meditation (we get a lot of perks at work). The meditation is different every week, but always focuses on similar themes, my favorite being "mindfulness." We learn to slow down and be mindful of even the most mundane task such as washing your hands or making a sandwich.

Thursday nights after work I go to pottery class from 7 to 10 pm. I'm trying to make my own props! It's actually very difficult to make good looking bowls and plates that don't look like they were clobbered together by a 5 year old, hence why you have yet to see these props in any of my photos, but I still love it and look forward to it every week.

Spanish Tortilla

First post of 2016, let's do this. When the big 2-0-1-5 came around a year ago, I remember not being in a good place and wanting more out of life. Those feelings forever preserved in a time capsule through this blog post filled with anticipation and expectation. That entire year came and went and it blew through every single desire I had in my heart of hearts. It was a damn good year. Here's hoping the next one will be just as amazing.

It certainly is off to a good start. January has been keeping me busy with the usual stuff: work, recipe testing, friends, drinks, and laughs. There's barely been enough time to despair about winter weather. When February rolls around, we're heading across the ocean to China for the month before coming back in time for leap day. Many noodles and "stinky" eats will be had.

Since there is a lot of colorful food to look forward to soon, I decided to start the new year off with something simple and tasty. Something that can be eaten for any meal of the day, made with four easily found ingredients. As was described to me the first time I had it, spanish tortilla is like a frittata but better: soft eggs wrapping tender potatoes and onions, delicious at any temperature and endlessly versatile.

After Thanksgiving Turkey Noodle Casserole

Did you guys have a wonderful Thanksgiving? We started cooking wednesday night, and besides eight hours of much needed sleep, it was non-stop until thursday night; a constant flow of pies, casseroles, and rolls from our oven. When people started arriving, I was still in the middle of frying onion strings for the green bean casserole. It made its way into our bellies soon enough. We ate too much food, drank a few too many drinks, and had a jolly old time.

Though turkey is usually the star of the show, to be completely honest, it's the sides I look forward to most each year. But despite my lukewarm feelings, the big bird always makes its way onto our menu partly because of tradition, but mostly because I love repurposing the carcass to make turkey noodle casserole after we've grown tired of eating the standard leftovers.

The friday after every Thanksgiving, I place whatever is left of the turkey into a large stockpot, cover it completely with water and let it simmer for hours while we camp out in front of the tv until dark. When the stock has finished and cooled, I take the carcass out, pull off whatever meat is left on the backbone, and store everything in the fridge until we feel like making the noodle casserole (usually sometime during the weekend). It's a wonderfully therapeutic end to a frantic few days.