Chickpea Salad with Parmesan & Parsley

Sometimes, simple is better, no? I like to think I'm a pretty un-complicated gal myself. Especially when it comes to recipes. Some of my most favorite recipes, are also the easiest, but what they all must have in common is that their results taste amazing. Maybe simple means just a few high-quality ingredients with little fussing or fixing to let their flavors shine. Or maybe a simple recipe means a one pot meal, with not a lot of dishes to clean up. Or perhaps a simple dish, is one that takes all of five minutes to put together, with ingredients you already have laying around in your fridge and pantry.

Lentils with Shiitake Mushrooms and Mustard Vinaigrette

When it comes to cooking, I am more likely to turn to a recipe rather than trying to create one on my own. Sometimes though, inspiration strikes and I attempt to go off in my own direction. Those directions can lead to dishes that are not always exactly awe inspiring, but occasionally I head down a path that takes me to something new and delicious. Which is exactly what happened with this lentil and mushroom dish.

Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad

I have a tendency to get into a little bit of a funk in January. The holidays are long gone, the weather is rainy and dreary, and it makes me want to hibernate in my little shack with a warm fire until February comes along. During this month I definitely need a bit of inspiration to get me off the couch and get my creative juices flowing again. Luckily, I received some new cookbooks for Christmas, and inspiration is not so hard to find in this stack of loveliness:
Oh how I love me some new cookbooks. I can't wait to read them all the way through when I first get them, and mentally pick out dishes that I'm dying to try. I even like to read the recipes in bed before I go to sleep, thumbing through the pages until I can no longer keep my eyes open. Unfortunately as much as I love reading and gathering ideas from cookbooks, I am horrible at actually going back to those books on a regular basis and making new recipes out of them. I think it has something to do with the onslaught of cooking magazines I receive each month, when I tear out the glossy pages and place them in a folder that is always overflowing and easily accessible. Instead of reaching for a cookbook, I tend to reach for that folder instead. Not to mention the recipes I get inspired from off of other blogs and cooking websites. With all those other forms of cooking inspiration, I forget about the books that are tucked away in my cupboard, begging to be opened and used.

So I made a pact with myself after obtaining the most recent additions of cookbooks, that I would cook at least one recipe out of each book in the next couple of weeks, and make sure that they don't get put away before that happens. Which is how this delicious bowl of shaved Brussels sprouts with egg, almonds, and a citrus vinaigrette appeared in my kitchen.

Grilled Stuffed Bell Peppers

I have a confession I need to make. You see, I have been doing a lot of cooking over the past month or so, and not a whole lot of blogging about it. And I feel bad, because there has been a lot of good food happening. There have been BBQ's with kebabs, coleslaws, and bacon wrapped jalapenos. There was a party for 30 or so people which involved lots and lots of massive amounts of tri tip and chicken and salads. Then there have been desserts, from massive hummingbird cakes, to blackberry bars topped with a delicious crumble, to one of my most favorite cupcake recipes ever (I'll give you a hint, it's one of the cupcakes mentioned in this post). There has also been my new found obsession/hobby with canning, which has so far resulted in 3 types of jam, brandied vanilla peaches, and spicy dill pickles.
All this food has been made and consumed and here I have barely said a peep about it. There are all the typical excuses: my job has been busy, photos either are forgotten to be taken, or turn out awful, writer's block, and the fact that even though the sun is out late, summer days have a nasty habit of slipping by faster than you can catch them. I also have a tendency to cram as many activities as possible into each day, which means I'm not actually getting to relax and enjoy the magic that is summer. I need to chill out a bit, read some books, lay in a hammock and drink iced tea, take a nap or two, and spend some quality time in my vegetable garden, which is where these beauties came from.