a night by myself (weekday version)

Come home from work, fight with Alexa to turn Brandi Carlile on
Leisurely wash kale, leaf by leaf
Spend a while perfectly julienning a red bell pepper
Hover by the stove while the water comes to a boil for gnocchi
No rushing, all peaceful, purposeful knife work
No measuring, just glugs and sprinkles and dashes
My kind of meditation.

Watch an episode of chef’s table or something else food porn-y.
Ravish a bowl of salty buttery carbs AND a big old green salad.
Balance.

Force Daniel to eat leftovers when he comes home at 10pm because I really don’t think this will reheat well the next day.
(He obliged, but we still had leftovers)
(They were fine, but coulda used some additional brightness on Day 2)

~~~
Here’s the recipe for that bowl of salty buttery carbs. In a rare move, I made the cauliflower too salty (and couldn’t blame Daniel). Be aware that each part of this dish is salted, so don’t go too heavy handed on any one part. I’m really excited about this easy, filling, quick dinner. A good one to keep in your back pocket.

some good kale salads from the archives: kale, sumac, and crispy rice salad, honey mustardy goat cheese kale salad, miso ginger kale salad, kale caesar salad, mustardy kale, potato, and green bean salad. Wow, I’ve posted a lot of kale salads. The version I made myself this particular evening had massaged leaves, julienned sugar snap peas, blistered red peppers, and scallions with a basic vinaigrette.

Buttery Gnocchi with Roasted Cauliflower

thanks to Aunt Ingrid for this one, who can always be depended on for a yummy recipe

Olive oil
Coarse salt
1 big head cauliflower, in medium florets
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 scant cup panko
1 pound gnocchi
1-2 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 425F.

Combine cauliflower, a couple glugs of olive oil, and some pinches of coarse salt. Place on a single layer on a tray (or two). Roast until brown, flipping occasionally. For me this took 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat up another tablespoon or so of olive oil in a big saucepan. Add garlic cloves on low heat. Cook until you can smell them, about 1 minute. Add panko and a sprinkle of salt and turn heat up to medium-high. Cook until panko is evenly browned and toasty, stirring frequently. Remove from pan.

When cauliflower has about 15 minutes left, start heating up a big pot of water. When it’s boiling, add a big pinch of salt and your gnocchi and cook according to package. (I cooked mine til they floated to the top of the pot, about 4 minutes.) Drain.

Melt butter in the saucepan you used for panko. Add gnocchi and cook til browned, stirring frequently. This will take a couple minutes tops.

Serve with gnocchi on the bottom of your bowl, followed by cauliflower, followed by a shower of garlicky panko crumbs. A green salad is a great accompaniment.