The Hungry Squid

As we get busier with work, and the winter weather makes remaining indoors more and more appealing, M and I have gotten infinitely better at meal planning and shopping for the week. The initial input of energy that comes with deciding what to eat ahead of time is more than compensated for by how economical the whole outing ends up being. Buying the week's groceries, and planning meals around them, also gives you the liberty to experiment in the kitchen and to cook recipes that require small amounts of ingredients with particular flavors. Enter dill. Dill isn't an herb that M or I have ever cooked much with. Its strong, sharp, bright flavor gives it limited versatility, and the sheer size of the bunches sold at the grocery store mean that we always, always , end up wasting more than we'd like to admit. Tonight's delightful main attractions, which put to good use the oodles of dill we had left in the fridge, were made extra-economical by the u...

A one pot meal that has 3 types of greens, tons of tomatoes, carrots, white beans and...bacon? Sign me up. I love soup. It's such a versatile and forgiving dish; my mother has been known to throw apples, cucumbers, and various back-of-the-fridge foodstuffs into hers. These days I am particularly fond of broth-y soups with lots of sustenance and depth without being too heavy, perfect for the cold, post-holiday-eating winter months.  Soups are also a great way to save a bit of money, which is something M and I have been trying to do in anticipation of our trip to Vietnam. We came across this gem in a great little cookbook from the editors of Gourmet , a selection of 'weekday gourmet' recipes that are fast and fresh. It played double duty this week, fulfilling our craving for something wholesome and fresh while yielding enough to last a few days plus a couple of servings stored in the freezer.  It is savory without being rich, flavorful an...

M and I returned home to Hfx after a lovely Christmas break filled with food, family, and friends...and food. Did I mention food? Because there was a lot of food. Food is one thing that our families have in common; they both wholly appreciate all types of cuisines and love to share long and languid meals. M and I definitely inherited our love of eating from our families, and it's something that we've brought with us to the coast, a piece of our own homes that we share in our new apartment by the sea. It was fitting that our first maritime meal of 2014 was from a cookbook that my (not so little) brother A gave me for Christmas, another in Yotam Ottolenghi's superb series. Simply titled 'Ottolenghi', this book is breathtaking, both in the diversity of the dishes he includes as well as in the photographs that color the stories he tells.  The magic in the recipe that we chose to try is in the olives; pungent, fresh, and juicy, they s...