My grandmother used to have a house dress, house hair, and house shoes.  She made no apologies for boiling her fresh vegetables half way to kingdom come.  She sat with her Bible at every spare moment.

I… well, I have a house sweater.  It’s big and grey with floppy sleeves and giant buttons.  It’s just a house sweater, unless of course I decide that it can handle a quick trip to the store or a quick meet with a friend.  It really should stay in the house, as beat up and unattractive as it is… but sometimes it’s just too warm and cozy to part with.  I don’t even want to talk about introducing the house sweater to someone that you’re dating.  That’s a whole other beast to tackle.

My grandmother would support my house sweater.  She’d nod in quiet understanding.  She’d also love that I have her Bible on my nightstand, and I read and reread all the bits she underlined in red pen.  This salad?  She would not understand.  It’s entirely too fresh and crisp and… unboiled.  I suppose that’s the difference between her Tennessee blood and my California living.

Blood oranges are here and I couldn’t be happier.  Every orange is different.  The red tinting can be subtle or totally bonkers.  Beauty fruit.  I’m so into it!

I combined sweet blood oranges with creamy avocado, salty feta cheese, and crunchy sunflower seeds.

Spinach too.  Fully of flavor and health.  On the real.

This is the sort of salad that you can eat and feel like you’re indulging in a good life.  Not like you’re on a diet.  Not like you’re depriving yourself of peanut butter cups.  This salad is a treat in itself… and totally justify peanut butter cups for dessert.

This salad was inspired by a really lovely book.  Tender by Nigel Slater.  It’s like an encyclopedia for vegetables with gorgeous, simple, indulgent recipes for each vegetable.  I love the photographs and recipe lay outs.  Very laid back and personal, but beautifully intentional.  The man knows has a gorgeous respect for food.

Thanks sister!  Major gift!

This recipe is in paragraph form… that means take it easy and enjoy the process.  Just go with it.  Don’t have feta cheese?  Try goat cheese crumbles.  No sunflower seeds?  Toasted walnuts would be lovely.  No blood oranges?  Grapefruit is the way to go!

My produce dude at Whole Foods might know me just as well as some of my closest friends.  We’ve built quite the relationship.

Yea.. he’s MY produce dude.  Miguel gets to work at 4am.

He’s in the produce restocking business… and he has to get his ducks in a row before 7am rolls around, and the store opens.

I saunter in around 7:30am.  I generally have ridiculous bedhead, sunglasses on indoors, a scarf wrapped around my head, and lip gloss… always lip gloss.  Miguel has seen some truly unfortunate morning fashion choices.  Maybe he judges.  If so, at least he does so with kind eyes.

Maybe I look like one of those dishevelled,  incognito super famous people… except that I’m not at all.

Miguel always greets me.  We talk about what I’m about to cook.  He picks up an apple and slices it for me to sample.  He tells me about how many beers he is going to drink when he gets off of work, and what he’s going to do with his family over the weekend.  That’s about as much conversation as I can muster at such an early hour.

I think he and I have high-fived once.  I initiated it… surely it was awkward.

He gave me a smushed avocado once, and I acted like he was giving me a brick of gold.  Also awkward.

I wonder what Miguel is doing right now.

Probably stacking potatoes and chatting up the girl that does her produce shopping everyday at 10:30am.  She probably likes apple slices too.

Hm… she’s probably more chatty and less awkward.  But I’m probably cuter.

And yes… I’m totally comparing myself to a fictional girl I just made up in my head.  Whatevs.  I’m over it.

I’ll tell you what.

Tomorrow morning I’d like you to saute some peppers, onions, and a bit of garlic.  If nothing else… just do this.  If you’re single, your neighbor will probably knock on your door and ask you to marry him/her.  It smells good… that’s why.

In this hash you’ll find sauteed peppers, onions, and garlic.

There’s also roasted potatoes, sauteed sausage (I used veggie sausage), and fennel seeds.

So delicious!  So fragrant.  Big, yummy breakfast food.

Once all of the hash ingredients are pan fried and roasted, I tossed the warm hash with a few handfuls of fresh spinach.  The warm hash will slightly wilt the greens.  Topped with fried eggs… I mean, come on!  Share this breakfast with someone.

Take the scarf off your head… and be a normal person for once.

Ok.  That last sentence was totally just for me.

Enjoy with coffee.  Eat a second helping.  Take your vitamins.

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Truth be told… I’ve been a bit distracted lately.  I thought I could distract you with that Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread and disappear for a few days.

I’m had a friend visiting from out of town.  My little orange cat is either trying to run away, or climb the screen door.  I’m obsessed with bright pink Spring blush and this amazing Gin that’s been aged in a Whiskey barrel.  I’ve spent a lot of time with my bike and the beach.

It’s been a nice break from the camera, and the kitchen, and the dishes, and the dishes, and the dishes.

A girl has got to eat…. and lately I’ve been eating Spicy Chickpea Salad.  I’ve also been drinking far too much coffee and far too much gin.  That’s a different story for a different time.

Hello and I love you.

Did you know that if you fancy slice potatoes and roast them with butter and oil they’re called Hasselback Potatoes?

Holy heck.  How did I not know this was a life option?

Did you know you could pulverize all this stuff with a machine and turn it into pesto?

Did you know that if you drink three Irish Coffees with dinner you’ll feel like a maniac?

Did you know that if it’s freezing cold and you’re riding your bike by the beach you can totally just stop at the mall and buy a jacket… and a scarf… and a cute new pair of underwear… and a few new tops?

True… all of these things.

This is a super classy way to enjoy potatoes.  It’s so easy too!

Slice into potatoes and shove fresh garlic in em.

Cover them in butter, oil and salt.

After an hour of roasting and basting, the potatoes are tender and buttery with a crisp, crunchy skin.

So delicious!!

I would like to suggest enjoying one yourself and forcing your boyfriend to eat one as well.  Doesn’t matter if he’s hungry or not.  Garlic breath needs to be shared.

I’m obsessed with green things right now.

Spinach and lemon and roasted cashew nuts make up this pesto.  It’s fresh and bright and… I’ve run out of food words… just enjoy this.

Lunch.  Dinner.  Healthy and delushious.

Clearly I’ve lost my mind.

For the life of me… I just can’t make a batch of cookies come out of my oven.

That’s not a euphemism .  If it were… it would be a gross one.

I hope you can bear with me through this savory time.

I dunno.  I just need spinach…. and tuna is pretty nice… and while we’re sitting around talking about nice things, I’d also really like a beer, nap and a fashionable pantsuit.

I’ve been such a regular in the grocery store  produce section this week that the produce dude has started to flirt with me.

At least… I think that’s what he’s trying to do.  I usually flash a shy smile and rush off to the butter section where I can be left alone.

Except… wait!  Just two days ago some dude was trying to chat me up about butter (yea, right) while I was standing there spacing out.  I space out a lot in the grocery store.

Maybe the egg section is safer for me.  Maybe I should stop wearing lip gloss at the grocery store.  Maybe I should wear more pantsuits.

I’m not sure exactly how to say this, so I’m just going to go ahead and put it out there.

For the first time in…. ever… I had fun at a baby shower.   Real time, legitimate good times at a baby shower.  I wasn’t even faking it, not even a little bit.

I’m going to stand by what may be an unpopular position.  In the past I’ve found most baby showers I’ve had to attend, a troubling combination of boring and humiliating.  Between standing around listening to various labor horror stories and playing disgusting baby games that involve Tootsie Rolls and diapers, I typically just barely manage a fake smile.

This weekend’s baby shower was different.  My friends Mitch and Lara got together, got married, and made another human that Lara is currently growing in her belly.  These people are filled with hilarity, and an uncommon and humble goodness.  Watching them open their baby gifts with grace and a downright speedy efficiency (thanks!), I couldn’t help but imagine their little girl filling the onesies, hats and socks they received.  While it may sound silly, the reality of this impending life became more lovely and amazing as each gift was opened.

That I may or may not have been able to cheat at one of the baby team relay games has very little to do with me having a great time at the shower.  Don’t press me on this.  Please.

Now, without a well-crafted transition, I bring you Crustless But Still Dang Good Quiche.

Yes, I think the best part of a slice of quiche is the crust.  Yes, I still made this quiche without crust.  Sometimes crust, with all of its cutting butter and dusting and rolling pins, seem just a little too daunting for my late morning weekend breakfast.  It turns out, if you slather the pie plate with butter, the quiche will bake up beautifully and when sliced, jump out of the dish with no problem.

I used a combination of spinach, mushroom, walnuts and blue cheese in this quiche.  Feel free to play around with any ingredients you might have on hand.  Next time I make this, I’m going to stay away from blue cheese.  The flavor almost took over the whole quiche.  I think a nice cheddar or gruyere would work better.