Weekend Things

I went through a phase where I put a lot of stock into having a “perfect” weekend and it felt like something that needed to carefully crafted, but I think I’ve relaxed about it a bit and spend a lot less time thinking about it even.  Turns out, it’s a lot easier to do it this way.  Who knew?! 😛

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Friday started with that pretty sky and ended with the Oscar-Nominated Documentary Shorts (it was our first time seeing them!!) and in between was that time when we decided to squeeze in going out to dinner and rushing into the movie theater just as the shorts started.  Also, we didn’t have time to finish our pizza so we maybe ate the rest when we got home at 10 PM.

Those documentaries could have their own post, but I’ll just shout out a few.  “Lifeboat” showed the rescue of refugees off the coast of Libya and it was so moving to see volunteers embrace these boats of people.  “Period. End of Sentence.” was such a eye-opening but also empowering and fun documentary about a rural village in India, who received a machine to make sanitary pads for the women there.  The best and hardest and most heart-ripping was “End Game” about end of life care.  Realizing mid-documentary that all of the subjects had since passed away was so sobering.  It’s a tough but beautiful watch.

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On Saturday, I was bad a taking pictures, apparently!  But there were pancakes and then once our groceries were delivered, I made white bean chili and coffee cake to take to Betsy and Jory because… THEY HAD THEIR BABY GIRL!!!!  We got to go see her last Wednesday and gosh, she is PRECIOUS ♥  Got to see my mama for a massage later that afternoon, then we took my sister and Wayne to Q House for dinner because I’d been talking up that mouth-numbing chicken for weeks.  I think it was less mouth-numbing than the first time but still very very good.  We all watched Boy Erased afterward and I felt like it was just okay.  Lucas Hedges was good though!

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It’s Sunday and we’re all sleepy, or so those first two pictures make it seem 🙂  We started with waffles and I knocked out lunches for the week, while Joey did some cleaning and though we were thisclose to going to see the Oscar-Nominated Animated Shorts, we decided staying at home would be easier/better, plus we ran through Father of the Bride Part II, My Best Friend’s Wedding and part of The Notebook while we got stuff done.  It was somewhere between me saying “your memories, George” in Mr. Habib’s voice, singing note for note with Cameron Diaz during the karaoke scene and making the same fist punch as Ryan Gosling when his dad outs him for stammering when he was younger that I realized I’ve seen all of these movies too many times.

We took that coffee cake and chili over to Jory and Betsy mid-afternoon and got to hold a sleeping Elliott for a good long time ♥  Back at home, we ate some of that chili ourselves, watched a few episodes of The Assassination of Gianni Versace (not going to lie, I’m finding it way more disturbing than I had expected) and ate popcorn in front of a jealous pup.  Oh and while we didn’t watch the Grammys, we did see Brandi Carlile’s performance and DANG, she was so good!

How was your weekend?

Make This Now

I go through phases where I love every recipe we make and phases where everything is “meh” and most of January felt like the latter, but things turned around at the end of the month and I was back in that “this is all delicious!” mindset.  I like it better here 😛

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Warm Chickpea Bowls with Lemony Yogurt

I made this for Joey one night but didn’t eat it myself until the following day and when I dug in, I was wowed!  I’m also a sucker for chickpeas, roasted cauliflower, full fat Greek yogurt and fennel, so I guess this recipe was made just for me.  It might have a lot going on, but it all works so beautifully together.  Swiping a bite of roasted cauliflower through that creamy yogurt was truly a wonderful moment in my life.

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Oven-Roasted Salmon with Feta, Asparagus & Cranberry Farro

We pan-seared this salmon because, in my opinon, it’s the best method but if you make this and you want to oven-roast, you do you.  The farro mixture was SO GOOD!  Cooking the grains in broth means they are really flavorful and then all the mix-in just make it even better.  Our grocery deliverer accidentally brought us two extra pieces of salmon, so I got to eat this meal twice and was NOT mad about it.

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Southwestern Tempeh Taco Salad with Chipotle-Tahini

Wow, this was good!  And made for one of those healthy filling lunches that gives you a burst of energy and happiness.  As I write this, this salad is waiting for me in the fridge for lunch and I feel very very excited about that.  I love how tempeh is much more permeable than tofu so the chipotle sauce you cook it in, really transforms it.  Plus everything topped with avocado is fine more than fine by me!

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Black Bean Plantain Enchilada Bake

It’s probably not recommended to have your groceries delivered if you need perfectly ripe plantains, but even though a couple of them were not quite there, this meal still turned out so so good.  This is the second time we’ve made this enchilada bake and we’ve loved it both times!  It’s saucy and hearty and doused in a “cheesy” sauce that makes use of Joey’s favorite ingredient: nutritional yeast.  It does take some time, but the result is more than worth it.  I highly recommend topping it with avocado and maybe eating some tortilla chips on the side.

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Ricotta Gnocchi with Zucchini & Pesto

It’s probably cruel to share this meal with you, without linking the recipe but it’s from a cookbook, so I guess you can’t really “make this now”… SORRY!  One Thursday night, I whipped myself up a dinner for one and not only was this gnocchi easy and quick (key when you’re cooking solo) but it tasted so dang good.  One slipped out of the pan as I crisped them up and I was all too happy to eat it off the stove.  Special mention to freezer pesto, making this extra easy to cook and bursting with good basil flavor.

Please tell me what you’ve been cooking and loving lately!