You should know that I consider starting a new blog daily. I love OALP. I’ve been writing in this space for two years, and I love it. But, I still feel off about it. Is my blog officially a Pittsburgh blog now simply because I live here? Do I need to write about my new city often in order to make it a Pittsburgh blog? Or do I need to network and meet with other Pittsburgh bloggers so I can be part of the group?

I probably need to do a combination of those things. But for the meantime, I decided to change the appearance of my blog. It needed a facelift. It doesn’t look exactly how I want it, but I think it has a more crafty, albeit girly feel. I can dig that for now. So check it out, and let me know what you think. I’d love your thoughts.

I have been doing some cooking, though not a lot. We bought a ton of kale, and I decided to put it to good use. I know you have seen this kale + carrots + other things recipe more than once, but it just goes to show that I know what I like, and I like what I know.

Fun fact about this combination: it tastes delicious cold. And I have no qualms about admitting that I ate this in my bed one afternoon for lunch. I don’t make a practice out of eating in my bedroom, but I was having a lazy day. And hey, I work from home. What can I say?

I think the big kicker to this recipe was the fresh parm I added to the top. I still can’t believe how long I went without eating cheese. It automatically makes a recipe better.

Tell me what you’ve been eating lately.

Tonight I transported myself to 2006. I spent that year working as a waitress at a small hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant in Pennsylvania, earning tips that were considered high at the time. The only cooking my job involved was making salad, but I spent time watching my boss make pasta from scratch day after day.

So tonight I embarked on a journey: making sweet potato gnocchi. I’d never done it before and had no clue what I was doing. But there comes a time when you just need to get your hands doughy.

I skimmed a few recipes online and constructed my own. I started by peeling and chopping two large sweet potatoes, placing them in a glass bowl and microwaving them for nearly 10 minutes until they were mashable.

While those were cooking, I got my other ingredients ready. I decided I would add mushrooms, kale and swiss chard to my pasta dish while incorporating a garlicky-sage sauce.

I like to mash my potatoes with a meat pounder. I do not recommend this. It is annoying, taxing and your neighbors will hate you. I eventually gave up and threw everything into my Vita-Mix blender, which did the job in under one minute.

Then it was time to roll the dough. Make sure your surface has plenty of all purpose flour.

This can get pretty sticky. My entire body was covered in flour by the end of this process.

Next, shape the dough into two long “snakes.” Then cut to whatever size you prefer. Mine ended up being a bit too large, so I’d recommend cutting them into smaller pieces. For a little design, I pressed the top with a fork.

Place in boiling water and watch and see which one floats first. That’s how you know they’re done.

Meanwhile, I got my vegetables cooking. I added a little bit of butter, tons of vegetable broth, garlic, sage, pepper and some parmesan cheese. Don’t worry – I’ll post a recipe at the end with more accurate measurements!

The end result? Not only pleasing to the eye – but the stomach. I was amazed at how good my gnocchi came out, especially because it was only a combination of flour + sweet potatoes. I meant to add salt and pepper but forget during the annoying mashing incident.

I sort of like the way my gnocchi still looks like a sweet potato.

A beautiful meal. I must admit I’m pretty proud that I tried something new – and on a Monday!

Sweet Potato Gnocchi in a Garlicky-Sage Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 1.5 cups flour
• salt, pepper
• kale
• swiss chard
• mushrooms
• garlic (fresh)
• olive oil (enough to coat pan – not too much)
• sage
• 1/8 tablespoon butter (could use less or omit, if you want)
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese (I used reduced fat, it was good)
• 1 cup vegetable broth

Gnocchi Instructions

1. Peel and cut two large sweet potatoes. Microwave until tender (about 10 minutes, depending).

2. While those are cooking, boil some water in a pot.

3. Mash with a fork or use a blender, mixer. Add some salt and pepper to taste.

4. Add 1/2 cup flour at a time, mixing with a spoon. Repeat until all the flour has been added. You may need more or less, depending on the size of your potatoes.

5. Transfer the dough to a flat surface that is well-floured. Roll into a ball.

6. Divide the dough into two logs. Cut evenly; I’d recommend about an inch wide or less.

7. Press the tops with a fork.

8. Drop the gnocchi into your pot one at a time. Be sure that none touch. You will have to do this in stages because your pot won’t be large enough.

9. Wait until it floats, and then you know they’re done!

The Sauce

1. Sautee the olive oil, garlic, butter, sage, salt and pepper for a minute or so.

2. Add the vegetables and broth.

3. Let it cook until wilted and then add the parmesan cheese. You may need to add more broth depending on how thick or thin you’d like the sauce.

4. Serve over your gnocchi!

Phew! What a fun dinner!

Oh, Mondays. I used to hate you and sometimes I still do. But today, you were good to me. Especially in terms of food and fun. And lovely little people.

Lunch

There was a balanced meal at noon. Salad + Amy’s Indian burrito.

My salad had a secret ingredient – some roasted chickpeas! I made these last week using only olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic salt. My newest love? Just maybe.

I still love me these burritos. Have been hooked ever since I had one at a friend’s house.

After work, there was step class at a new place – my work gym! I’m debating if I should cancel my Washington Sports Club membership. I rarely use the gym anymore, and it’s costing me each month. The classes at work are 1) free 2) offered at better times. The downside? Step class was great but not as complex of a class as WSC. It was a little basic and not that advanced. But I think I’m going to stick with it and see how it goes. Basic moves at high intensity works for me – so I might try it.

When I came home, someone lovely was waiting for me.

Oh, and another lovely someone. Who was cooking. For me. Yes, I am lucky.

Unfortunately, the first lovely someone went crazy on cat nip and ignored me while I lounged on the couch.

The second lovely made us this. Teriyaki Tofu + Kale + Chickpeas.

It looked so pretty on the table.

But I couldn’t get a great shot of it up close. This will have to do.

Bill used the teriyaki recipe from The Vegan Planet – one of my cookbook bibles.

Who’s the lovely someone or something in your life today?

Someone is obsessed with Christmas.

Now if he’d just stop eating the tree in the morning. Seriously.

Dinner was just what I needed after a mental financial freakout + one hour and fifteen minutes of commute time. Bill cooked up this pasta dish – “Neptune’s Medley” pasta from the co-op with chicken, kale and chickpeas in a white wine garlic sauce and topped with shredded mozz. Hello, goodness.

Dinner was eaten directly after listing nearly 10 books for sale on half.com. I’m also selling my first generation iPod for $30 on ebay. Can you tell I’m getting desperate? Christmas always does this to me. I should budget throughout the year and not just in the month of December!

Don’t let that fat wallet fool you. It’s chocked full of credit cards and other unnecessary junk. Eek.

Today was a busy day at work, so I didn’t blog. I had this nice Turkish lentil and carrots dish.

Gotta get my lentil love in. Plus those orange, orange carrots. I made this yesterday while talking to my mom on the phone. Talk about multi-tasking.

Now it’s time to hit the books I’m not selling for $5 on the internet. And hopefully some creative time spent with my saying board.

Do you sell things on the internet? Any tips?

Tips on budgeting are also helpful

Back to normal blogging! Hooray!

It was a tough day back at work today after having the week off. But I pulled through it. Probably because I had an idea brewing for dinner all day. The most ultimate comfort food:

MAC AND CHEESE

I’ve seen other people jazz up their  macaroni and cheese with broccoli, so I decided to give it a spin with some kale and chickpeas. The result? Pretty magical.

Take another look at all its beauty right here and now.

My friends, I wholeheartedly recommend this.

You know what else I recommend? Napping. Oh – and reading.

Here’s to a beautiful Monday night!

One of my goals in life is to have good experiences at the grocery store (a.k.a co-op, for me). I prefer to shop at the co-op because 1) the produce  is the best around 2) the store is small and therefore less crowded – most of the time. Tonight’s experience started off very pleasantly, and I was even able to snag a few photos to show you what I fall in love with while shopping.

This is my absolute favorite aisle in the co-op. I am a sucker for buying anything in bulk. Plus they always have these gems and goodies hiding in plastic containers. It’s all about label reading.

Normally this aisle is insanely packed, so I took advantage of my aloneness with the granola, nuts and chocolate-covered almonds (yes, swoon.)

I bought two special ingredients for dinner tonight that I knew I had to use: Annie’s Tuscany Dressing and beautiful red kale.

I chopped up two carrots and one giant sweet potato and threw them in a pan with some kale, salt, pepper, olive oil and tons of garlic. I added the dressing later. This is my new favorite way to cook sweet potatoes. So easy and simple.

The result? Orange and Green Pasta. Or, for the more descriptive, Kale and Sweet Potato Pasta.

Close-up shots of this dish were very, very necessary. This is the best thing I’ve eaten in a good two weeks. I needed a veggie belly hug, for sure.

The lobster placemat says: yes! you did it, Rose! you cooked something magical and delicious!

Now it’s time to get my writing self in gear. I have a 10-page story due in a few days, and it needs my utmost attention.

Do you have pleasant grocery trips?

Tonight’s dinner was a mouthful (couldn’t resist the pun). I was in the mood for tofu, and we have had leeks in the refrigerator for a while now. No better time than the present! Plus, Bill and I are having bad days (despite my being on Spring Break both from work and school) and we had a feeling some fresh veggies and tofu would cheer us up.

Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch fresh kale
• 3 whole carrots
• 1 leek
• 3/4 cup orzo
• 1 package of extra firm tofu
• Sesame oil (to taste)
• Soy sauce (to taste)
• Salt, pepper (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon garlic

Directions:

1) Begin by preparing tofu first. I drained and pressed my tofu for one hour using paper towels, a cutting board and several books.

Grill in a pan using salt, pepper, soy sauce and sesame oil.

2) While that is grilling, de-stem the kale, peel and chop the carrots and leeks.

3) Heat olive oil and garlic in a pan. Add the vegetables and simmer until wilted, tossing often.

4) Cook orzo as directed and add to vegetable mixture. Add soy sauce and toss.

5) Top with tofu and serve on a lobster placemat.

Hands down, this is the best tofu dish I’ve ever made, which is why I wanted to share it in recipe form on the blog. If you don’t like orzo, you could substitute with brown rice or whole wheat pasta. However, I’d highly recommend the orzo. It gives the dish such a nice texture, and I don’t think rice or pasta would have the same effect. Also, FYI: I cook most things to taste. You may want to use less soy sauce, and that’s fine. Or maybe add more pepper. This is a throw-together type of meal, so I say: Trust your gut.