Thanksgiving Update

Hi everyone,

I hope you had lovely Thanksgivings with your family/friends/coworkers/self. For the first time in seven years, I did not host a meal for my friends. Mainly because I don't have any friends here yet, but really because I am in driving distance of my family now. Over the years, my Thanksgivings have morphed into a gluten-free smorgasbord of delicious turkey, vegetarian entree, and sides. However, re-entering the regular world meant that there were fewer options this year. Instead of quinoa-based alternative stuffings and crustless pumpkin pies, I was back in the land of traditional stuffing, dinner rolls, and regular pies. This meant less food, but that is probably better in the long run anyway. Gobs of research suggest that caloric restriction may improve longevity. I did team up with my cousin, a recent culinary school graduate, to make some really tasty roasted asparagus with lemon and dill. The original idea came from here, but I didn't look at the recipe after deciding that this was a good idea. The asparagus was so tasty that it will probably become a more frequent visitor to my plate.  

Roasted Asparagus with Lemon and Dill (another half-baked recipe from your Goddess)
Fresh asparagus, or frozen*
Olive oil
Half of a Lemon, juiced and zested
Dill, chopped finely, or dried*
Salt

Trim asparagus. Lightly coat with olive oil and salt and roast in oven at 350 for about 10 min. Make a sauce by combining olive oil, juice of lemon, zest of lemon, and dill until it tastes good to you. Chef Cousin was pretty adamant that the zest go in, since it would make the flavor stronger and richer. Chef Cousin also shook his head in quiet disgust when he noticed how old my dried dill was. Clearly, Chef Cousin was the brains of this operation. After 10 min, turn asparagus and add sauce, then roast for another 10 min. I think our asparagus took about 20-25 min total to roast. 

This dish is best enjoyed eating straight from the scalding hot baking sheet and pretending you're my uncles. 

*same sh*t, different pile :P

Fancy Chickpeas

I miss stuffed grape leaves. I miss how the lemon, dill, mint, and olive oil came together to make something fatty and savory, yet bright. Using only local grocery store ingredients, I got really close to mimicking that taste. Here's how I made my 'fancy chickpeas' tonight*:

Fancy Chickpeas

1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 roma tomato, coursely diced (I tossed this in to add texture and color)
A little bit of red onion, coursely chopped
Crumbled feta 
Lemon juice (a little)
Olive oil (more)
Dill weed
Salt

I don't really have proportions to share... I was really hungry, so I just dumped and stirred until I had a nice ratio of olive oil, lemon, and dill. I'd have added mint, too, but the local grocery store was out. 

*I assure you that there was nothing fancy about the disposable lunchmeat container I mixed it in.