West African Peanut Soup

As a kid, snow days meant a lot of thing. My parents would come downstairs to wake me up and let me know I could sleep in. I'd turn over, snuggle closer to my cat and dog, and smile.

A bit later, when I got up, we'd share breakfast in our pajamas.

We lived on a steep, dirt driveway that was difficult to traverse , so snow days always meant stay at home days for us. I'd curl up on the couch and read for hours or challenge my family to a serious game of Scrabble or rummy.

Then, it was out into the woods. We lived in the country, and there was a huge sandhill just a short hike from our house. We'd suit up with layer after layer of snow gear and make our way toward Mount Baldy.

Mount Baldy was long, and each swift trip down the hill meant a long hike back up. By the time we returned to the house, we were starving.

I remember always having soup on snow days, made from whatever pasta and veggies we had in the pantry, with homemade biscuits on the side. The soup warmed us up from the inside out, and we'd eagerly eat it up.

It snowed a bit today, nowhere near enough to require a snow day, but it did make me crave soup. I don't think I could have handled this soup as a kid, but I love it now.

Like the soups my mom whipped together on those snow days, this West African peanut stew was almost entirely (with the exception of the collards) made from ingredients I had on hand.

Red pepper flakes add a suggestion of heat, and the sweet potato cubes melt in your mouth, bringing a bit of sweetness to the dish. The soup is loaded with collard greens, which add some heft and texture to the dish. Sprinkling some chopped peanuts over the top of the soup add a bit of crunch to the finished dish.

Simple Kale Salad with Avocado and Chickpeas

Lists of food trends have been showing up everywhere. Of course, not all publications are in agreement. Bon Appetit sees a movement away from brownies to blondies and bread getting so dressed up it gets its own course on menus. The Sterling-Rice Group predicts we'll see more pickling and curing. Mercury News predicts we'll see more vegetables taking center stage, with dishes like cauliflower steaks. Cooking Light predicts sexy vegetables will prevail, a movement away from kale toward lighter, newer greens such as komatsuna.

Threats about the end of the kale trend showed up too often for my liking, with inquires about what the new quinoa, kale and cupcakes would be.

Luckily for me, the Huffington Post is holding onto kale, just encouraging me to use it in lighter preparations.

And this preparation would certainly count as lighter. This kale salad couldn't be simpler. It's lightly dressed with a bit of olive oil and lime juice. Red chili flakes give it a suggestion of heat. The addition of avocado, red onion and chickpeas ensure you get something interesting in each bite.

Make it more of a dinner salad by boosting the protein with more chickpeas, sauteed tempeh or oven-roasted tofu.

Take a big bite, smile, and think about all the new food trends we have to explore this year!

Panzanella from the Garden

Farmers' markets are incredible. I am a huge self-proclaimed fan. I drag myself out of bed as early as I can manage on Saturday mornings and make the short trek to a farmers' market at the top of Prospect Park. I wander slowly through stands, contemplating all the delicious dishes I could make and marveling at the new fruits and vegetables that pop up each week. I take my time picking the perfect piece of produce, and I carry each one home carefully so there's no bruising.

But, despite the allure of the farmers' market, there's something different about going out into the garden and picking, straight off the vine, the ingredients you need for dinner.

I took the official garden tour while visiting my family this past week. I learned how to train strawberry plants to grow where you want them to and how to trim the leaves off basil and parsley so your plants produce a higher yield. I learned that tiny red and green onions do a lot to ward off predators. I learned how to keep a tomato plant growing. I even learned how to dig out and dry fresh garlic so you can enjoy it all winter long.

Mostly during the tour, I was just in awe at all the fresh vegetables surrounding me. We could just pluck a cherry tomato off the vine and nibble on it while we walked. My mind started spinning immediately, contemplating what we could eat.

My parents' garden was the real inspiration for this panzanella. I used what we had handy and fresh, instead of taking a long shopping list to the grocery store. Cucumbers. Tomatoes. Fresh basil. All fresh from the garden. All raw. All flavorful.

This salad will play a pivotal role in my summer eating experience.

Red Onion, Tomato and Mint Salad

Whenever I look at an Ethiopian sampler plate at a restaurant, I'm always initially amazed at the small servings of the dishes the restaurant provides. They look like little quarter-cup dollops on the injera plate. If you order meat dishes, they look even smaller. I immediately start to panic. Will there be enough food for everyone? 

And then, I remember that Ethiopian food fills you up quick. With each bite of food, you're getting legumes and other proteins. You're using injera to pick up each bite, which means you're eating even more.

It's times like this that I start to crave a nice cool salad. In the Ethiopian cooking class I took, instructor Myra Kornfeld provided us with a red onion, tomato and mint salad to break apart the meal. Even though it isn't technically Ethiopian, I'll definitely include it in every Ethiopian dinner I cook from now on. The flavors complement the cooked dishes perfectly, and they provided a perfect crunch that was missing from some of the other dishes.

See the gorgeous pop of color the salad provides on the plate!

I think this dish would also be delightful for a picnic in the park.