Meatless Monday: my weekend with Ina

Hey all! Happy Monday:)

After some careful research, all three of my comp. sections and several of my colleagues all agree that we have the February blues. Let's face it: in the Mitten, it is now officially, really winter. (I know, with all this 50-degree nonsense, we've turned into such babies!) And, it is also that time of the semester when everyone starts to get sick. Ugh. So, it's no surprise that everyone showed up to campus today feeling like they were wearing plaster boots.

Good thing I broke up my grading marathon this weekend by making ridiculously large batches of two of my favorite Ina Garten comfort recipes!!! (yay, leftovers!)

Pasta Aglio e Olio. (Ina calls for spaghetti in particular, but I've been known to use all pasta shapes).One of the easiest dinners to make. EVER. You basically cook the pasta, and while it boils you saute a bunch of garlic in olive oil. Add a dash of red-pepper flakes, some herbs (Ina uses parsley) and Parmesan cheese. Bam. (This weekend, I threw in a couple tablespoons of sun-dried tomatoes and capers--yum!)

But, what's that, you say? You have a sweet tooth? Say no more.

My go-to sweet munchy (at least, this past weekend): peanut butter frosting. Deb makes one with cream cheese (!) which looks just scrumptious. I use my trusty Ina tome to create the classic, and then I've been injecting the situation with some healthiness--sliced Pink Lady apples to dip in the creamy, peanut-buttery clouds.

Hope these meatless treats inspire you to conquer any Monday/February blues you might have!

Meatless Monday: feeling autumnal

Hey friends. Happy Monday! (ugh.)

I can just tell that this week is going to be a doosy. This past weekend was really, really nice--complete with friends, family and rest. And then, the week sort of hit me in the face.

So,  I'm craving comfort food, big time. Yesterday, I made my mom's apple cake, which I managed to slightly burn, but it still tastes good. Actually, over at smitten kitchen there is an apple cake recipe almost identical to my mom's--just leave out the walnuts, and layer the apples with the batter, so they're inside the cake rather than on top.

The funniest part is that Deb mentions that it is "her mom's apple cake," also. I see. Well, mom's of the world, unite with your delicious apple-cake recipes!!!

Tonight, I think I'm going to make a now-classic in our house: spaghetti with kale and parmesan. But, I did not invent this dish. Oh no, I was inspired by Molly Wizenberg's story about how she learned to love kale...

...now, at the time (our first year of marriage), I had never tried this mysterious ingredient, kale, before. This article made it seem so accessible. I've been obsessed with it ever since.

If I can make it by the store on my way home, though, I might pick up some black beans to try this meatless chili recipe that caught my eye instead:

It just looks super-easy and comforting. A win-win.

What about you? What are some of your chilly-weather, feeling *schmeh* comfort food recipes?