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Browsing Tag: Hearty Meals

Creamy (Dairy-Free) Sweet Potato, Kale, and Cannellini Bean Soup

Two crocks of Creamy (Dairy-Free) Sweet Potato, Kale, and Cannellini Bean Soup

Soul-soothing vegan goodness – that’s Creamy (Dairy-Free) Sweet Potato, Kale, and Cannellini Bean Soup!

It’s March, and here in Michigan, March means mega wax-and-wane weather. We’re in the midst of a warm spell bringing temperatures in the mid-60s, which feels downright Floridian after winter’s ice and chill. Four days from now, the high is projected to be 38 degrees. Basically, the weather is ever-changing, its progression nonlinear, unpredictable. And unpredictability can feel disconcerting, especially for me of the Type A personality and lover of planning and order and checklists – and especially in these wholly unpredictable COVID times. But you know what soothes a soul in the midst of uncertainty? Soup. And Creamy (Dairy-Free) Sweet Potato, Kale, and Cannellini Bean Soup is a soup soul-soother (try saying that three times fast) of the utmost order!

Chicken, Sweet Potato, and Wild Rice Soup

A bowl of Chicken, Sweet Potato, and Wild Rice Soup

I’m crushing hard on this Chicken, Sweet Potato, and Wild Rice Soup! It’s healthful; it’s hearty; it was born of a happy accident (and I’m a sucker for happy accidents).

Spring Salad with Asparagus, Artichokes, Pancetta, Pecorino, and Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette

Spring Salad with Asparagus, Artichokes, Pancetta, Pecorino, and Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette - individual portion

Hello, Spring! Hello, Spring Salad with Asparagus, Artichokes, Pancetta, Pecorino, and Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette!

I know the spring season has officially being in swing for over a month now here in the Northern Hemisphere, but where I live, much of spring is what I’ve dubbed Winter Lite. And Winter Lite the last two weeks has meant snow swirling around outside my window every other day.

Blessedly, this snow has not been sticking, but still. It’s almost May – where’s that spring thaw at, Mother Nature???

Finally, warmer temps are on the horizon here in Metro-Detroit (we’re predicted to hit 60 degrees tomorrow!), and it’s time to break out the celebratory foods – foods like this Spring Salad with Asparagus, Artichokes, Pancetta, Pecorino, and Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette!

Prosciutto, Pear, and Fontina Arugula Salad with Roasted Squash and Spicy Pecans

Prosciutto, Pear, and Fontina Arugula Salad with Spicy Toasted Pecans 1

Prosciutto, Pear, and Fontina Arugula Salad with Roasted Squash and Spicy Pecans is LIFE, people!

This is one of those recipes where I had to include pretty much every ingredient in the title because I liked them all so much. I’m OBSESSED with this salad with its chunks of ripe, juicy pear, savory acorn squash, salty prosciutto, creamy fontina, cayenne-kissed toasted pecans, and sweet maple vinaigrette dressing. And arugula! Arugula is my soulmate, true-love green. I’m enamored with its peppery, delicate fronds and how it seems to go well with everything.

This rich, flavorful, filling, very fall-ish salad was inspired by a dish that has lingered in my memory since I had it earlier this year at a Detroit restaurant called Dime Store (I did a post on my brunch visit to that establishment on my other blog, 100 Places in the D).

Creamy Potato Soup with Bacon and Fresh Thyme

Creamy Potato Soup with Bacon and Fresh Thyme 1

It’s time for another cozy, yummy comfort food that will make your tummy feel like it’s wrapped in a warm blanket of love and deliciousness! Say hello to Creamy Potato Soup with Bacon and Fresh Thyme!

I’ll never turn down a bowl of hearty soup. It’s one of my favorite food categories ever, right up there with nachos, caprese salads, and anything containing unsweetened raw cacao. So even though the weather here in Metro-Detroit has been absolutely stunning the past week, with multiple blue-skied, sunny days, temperatures in the upper 50s and 60s(!), and spring feels despite it being February, I’m still digging this filling, traditionally cold-weather soup. It’s hard not to with its rich cream base, savory bacon bits, plentiful potato chunks, and plethora of spices including fresh thyme, which is pretty much one of my favorite things right now on account of it’s so lovely.

Creamy Sausage, Potato, and Kale Soup

Creamy Sausage, Potato, and Kale Soup 1

Hello, all! How are you surviving the increasingly shorter days – you doing OK? I’m speaking to my friends in the Northern Hemisphere, of course. To our friends in the Southern Hemisphere: I hope you are enjoying your summer and all of that gorgeous, brilliant, abundant sunlight! Wave hello to the beach for me.

I, for one, am NOT a fan of the darkness that rules this time of year. If I let it, it will bum me out. Because of this, I’ve been determined since the end of Daylight Savings time to embrace any positive aspects of the longer and longer nights that I can find.

Darkness is . . . cozy. It gives me an excuse to burn candles for hours on end. It gets me to bed earlier, because it feels like stark midnight at six p.m. Looking on the bright side!

And during days when I can’t summon a rosy sentiment about the weakening sunlight, I am hell-bent on wholly distracting myself from it. One majorly reliable way I do that? Making and eating good food, of course! And this Creamy Sausage, Potato, and Kale Soup is pretty darn good, I must say.

Easy Spicy Sausage and Sweet Potato Chili

Easy Spicy Sausage and Sweet Potato Chili 1

It’s getting warmer, you guys! Spring has arrived to the Northern Hemisphere! Huzzah!

Here in Southeast Michigan, the early days of spring can often feel like what I’ve termed “Winter Lite.” Consistently warmer weather can take a while to get here; snow – at least a few whimpering, amount-to-nothing flakes – can be expected as far into spring as the end of April. So hearty meals such as this spicy sausage and sweet potato chili are still on the agenda for me.

Quick and Dirty Beef and Black Bean Chili

Quick and Dirty Beef and Black Bean Chili

I pride myself on being someone who is passionate about clean eating. But I’m far from perfect; standing before the stove, it’s a nightly struggle between clean and convenient – which, as I hope I am illustrating with this blog, are certainly not mutually exclusive! But sometimes even I give in to the corporate food giants’ mythical siren song extolling the virtues of prepared food convenience – aka sometimes I’m short-sighted and forget to plan!

Spring-Clean my Pantry! Polenta with Sweet-Potato White-Bean Bacon Ragout

 

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Spring has sprung, allegedly. I woke up to the shock of several inches of out-of-the-blue snowfall yesterday. But that’s spring in Michigan! All in all, the daily temperatures are on the general upswing, and it’s time to start eating lighter (green peas and asparagus and mint and fresh greens, yum . . .).