As much as I love creamy pasta dishes like bechamel-rich lasagna, macaroni and cheese, and baked pastas, that combination of ultra-rich dairy and pasta is a ticking tummy time bomb, so I try to avoid it unless it’s really, truly worth it. Instead, I typically get my creamy noodle fix by tossing al dente strands with sauces made from non-dairy alternatives like cashew cream, almond butter, or, in this case avocado. It might sound a bit odd, but when blended up with miso, garlic, a touch of lime juice, and olive oil, avocado transforms into a rich vegan sauce. Paired with nutty soba noodles, ribbons of kale, and crunchy sesame seeds, it makes for a guilt-free, totally-craveable dinner option.
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avocados
Spicy Breakfast Tacos
Breakfast tacos aren’t anything new, but they’re new to me, and a supremely-comforting breakfast to boot (two solid reasons to celebrate them here, I’d say).
This is a case of inspiration coming from an unexpected place; my first taste of this Tex-Mex staple was at an airport. If you’re scratching your head, let me rewind a bit. This past August I was in Austin for my dear friend Maggie’s bachelorette party. Because I booked my ticket late in the game, I ended up on the early flight back home Sunday AM. Combine an early wake-up with a night of drinking, and it’s hardly a shocker that I needed some solid sustenance before boarding the plane. Thankfully, I was on the same flight as Maggie’s lovely friend Kayla, who steered us to Maudie’s, where we sunk our teeth into some A-plus, hangover-killing breakfast tacos.
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Black Bean, Tomato, and Avocado Bowl
Larger tomatoes like beefsteak, plum, and brandywine may not have hit their stride yet, but I can’t wait any longer to share this simple application of cherry tomatoes. Petite cherry and grape tomatoes like these Sungold and Sweet 100s ripen earlier, making them a great pick for those of us who can’t wait for tomato season any longer. A touch of heat amplifies their sweetness and softens their texture, making them an ideal compliment to a Mexican-inspired combination of seasoned black beans and buttery avocado.
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Fried Eggs With Roasted Tomatoes and Mushrooms
Inspiration for what I cook, and ultimately write about here, comes in many forms: cookbooks, blogs, meals out, farmers market visits, and glossy magazines all play an important role. Hotel breakfast buffets, not so much. One exception: this simple but much-loved-as-of-late breakfast. Last year, my boyfriend Andrew and I spent a stretch of our trip to Japan at Tokyo’s Park Hyatt. Best known as the backdrop of Lost in Translation, the Park Hyatt also serves up a truly-superlative breakfast buffet. Each morning, I’d find myself piling my plate high with a variety of pristine tropical fruit and a bite-size pastry or two, but the real draw came from the spread of roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, potatoes, sausages, and eggs. Typical components of a full English breakfast, this combination is nothing new, but the Park Hyatt’s version was spot-on, and made a critical swap: Japanese beech mushrooms for the standard sliced button.
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Shrimp and Quinoa With Mango-Avocado Salsa
After years of living in San Francisco, where beautiful farm-fresh produce is practically a given year-round, the adjustment to New York’s seasons has been a bit of a shock. The snow and cold hardly phased me (granted, the past winter was freakishly-mild); grocery shopping was a different matter. I’m not particularly proud of it, but I basically gave up on the farmers market after a couple depressing mid-January trips where I came home with naught but a couple sad, wrinkly onions and a few pounds of storage apples. On the flip-side, this seasonality makes the first peeps of spring produce all the more exciting. Absence makes the heart grow fonder?
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