Chipotle Provides a Warming Twist to This Corn Chowder

I’m in a recipe rut.

Well, that’s not entirely true, or at least it’s open to interpretation. It’s not that I haven’t been trying new recipes. I’ve experimented with one or two each week from the multitude I’ve pinned on Pinterest. It’s just that none of them have made me very excited.

But then there was this.

A Light Cranberry Orange Bread Is Perfect on or After Thanksgiving

Have a few spare fresh or frozen cranberries from your Thanksgiving meal? This light bread is the perfect way to put them to use, plus it won’t weigh you down after a rich holiday meal—the entire recipe has just two tablespoons of butter.

Does Your Dinner Need a New Kick? Try This Sweet and Spicy Salad

Earlier this summer, one of the Bon Appetit men* I follow on Twitter tweeted that one of his favorite summer dishes was mango seasoned with a bit of lime juice and a sprinkle of cayenne. I happened to have mango in the fridge that day, so I instantly tried it.

Whoever it was, he didn’t steer me wrong—those three basic ingredients made for a simple but amazing snack or light dessert. The tart acid from the lime juice offset the sweet mango and actually seemed to thicken the mango’s own juice to make a nice little sauce. I’m not exactly sure what science was involved in that, but there was probably some kind of interaction between the acid in the lime and the pectin in the mango. The heat from the cayenne rounded everything out, taking it from basic sliced fruit to a complex, sophisticated dish.

What I’m Eating Now: Avocado, Tomato, and Egg Sandwiches

I get on kicks—when I find a quick and easy meal I love, I make it a lot. Lunch, a light dinner, a snack—it seems I can’t get tired of it. (At least for now.)

It’s happened again, this time with a simple, open-faced sandwich. All I do is take slices of summer-ripe tomato, avocado, and hard-boiled egg, layer them on a toasted baguette (adding sea salt and a few red pepper flakes to each layer), then drizzle everything with some fruity extra-virgin olive oil.

I like to make these open-faced so there are two, but they can get a little messy to eat that way. If you prefer yours a little neater, stack them like a traditional sandwich so the upper portion of the baguette can help keep things in place.

Beets and Chocolate Are Starting to Be a Classic Combination

I’ve made beet cake. I’ve made chocolate lava cakes (but I have yet to share that recipe on this blog). What I haven’t done is combine them together. But one blogger has. I found the recipe on Pinterest, I think through my friend Diane, but it’s been so long since I’ve pinned it that I honestly don’t remember.

Unlike the beet cake I tried before, I couldn’t taste the beets at all in this recipe, probably because the ratio of beet to chocolate was pretty small. For some this would be an advantage, but I found it a little disappointing.

You see, I’m not a fan of hiding vegetables or other healthy things (black beans, anyone?) in foods in order to trick yourself or your family into eating them. I know I’ve blogged about a few recipes that may have given the wrong impression, but my intention has always been to see how an unexpected food combination, like beets and ice cream, can result in a new and unusual yet delicious flavor.