The Best of BGSK

As a homemade hummus lover, I’m not often swayed by other dip offerings, especially unhealthful ones (apart from on the Super Bowl).

Fortunately, over the years I’ve amassed an archive of tasty dips based around nuts, herbs, non-chickpea beans, and even bread, and I thought it would be fun to share them with you. I like to have a dip out when friends come over, and most dips make incredible potluck contributions too. And, don’t forget that any dip can double as a spread. I love having leftover muhammara and black bean in particular, since they can really bring a cheese or egg or turkey sandwiches to the next level.

**9 Chipworthy Dips**

1. Cheesy White Bean Dip. Inspired by a restaurant standout I ate in Philadelphia, this hot dip combines creamy white beans with gooey cheese for an enigmatic dip best served with smoked paprika-dusted toasts.

2. Guacamole. Obvious, maybe, but every self-confident cook should be able to whip up some guac for friends in a pinch. Our recipe’s just a starting point – add your special touch, whether it’s dried cumin, fresh corn, or pomegranate seeds.

3. Muhammara. A rich, spicy-sweet Middle Eastern dip that piques the tastebuds and leaves you craving more. Serve with pita chips or toasted fresh pitas, or spread on a sandwich for an unusual twist on grilled cheese.

4. Romesco Sauce. Bread thickens and enriches this dip made with red peppers and almonds. For a change, dip roasted fingerling potatoes into the sauce instead of pita or chips.

The morning countdown to lunch finally ends, and you and your colleagues head out to lunch for burgers, sandwiches, burritos, falafel, or loaded rice bowls. They’re delicious, and it’s a glorious break from the morning’s work.

But then back at your desk a stupor sets in. The afternoon stretches long ahead of you, and your eyelids threaten to collapse onto your cheeks. Coffee, green tea, or strong willpower may help, but sometimes the best way to avoid afternoon snoozes is to skip the heavy, carb-centric lunches to begin with. For just that reason, I’ve pulled together brown bag favorites that’ll inspire you to keep lunch light and afternoons productive.

**11 Low-Carb Brown Bag Lunches**

1. Herby Avocado Hummus. Scoop this nutrient- and protein-packed dip onto carrots, crackers, cucumbers, celery, or whichever crunchy dipper is your fave.

2. Arugula & Radicchio Salad with Pomegranate, Pecans, and Pecorino. Cheese and pecans add protein to my favorite mix of lettuces–arugula plus radicchio. Pretty pomegranate makes the salad exciting. Pack the dressing separately.

3. Creamy Habanero and Tomato Soup. A splash of cream cools down a classic tomato soup punched up with spicy habaneros and smoky chipotle in adobo.

4. Baked Tofu with White Wine, Mustard, and Dill. This tofu gets its flavor from a mustard-y mix of olive oil, lemon, and dill. Pack a few slices of tofu on top of fresh greens or beside cut-up carrots and celery sticks.

What makes dinner in a bowl so satisfying? By “bowl dinner,” I mean everything from the deconstructed burrito bowl to the hodgepodge grain salad shielded strategically by a fried egg. I mean stews and chilis, I mean comforting soft polenta, and I mean a little bit of steak heaped on top of a whole lot of vegetable-studded rice.

Bowl dinners are freeing. You can pile in ingredients you love without worrying about how they’ll look arranged more traditionally on a plate. You can center your meal around inexpensive and healthful whole grains, and then use richer ingredients as toppings, a key way to lighten up a meal, eliminate wheat, or eat more vegetables. Bowl dinners are ensemble casts: every ingredient contributes to the taste but no one element is a diva.

Rather than go on in an attempt to define the enigmatic bowl dinner, I’ll to leave you to ponder its perks with a dozen of my all-time favorite examples, from healthful chicken chili to zucchini-tomato curry.

**12 Great Meals-in-a-Bowl**

 1. Lentils and Sausage, Braised in Red Wine. All the flavor of the sausage imbues the earthiness of my favorite legume–lentils. Fill your bowl part way with mashed potatoes before topping with the savory beans.

2. Healthy Chicken Chili with Barley. This vegetable- and grain-filled chicken chili hits a mark somewhere between chili con carne and vegetarian black bean chili. Just as you eat it out of one bowl, this stew comes together in just one pot!

3. Polenta with Red Peppers, Fried Capers, and an Egg. The result of a pretty empty pantry, this bowl of soft polenta features crispy fried capers, pungent roasted red peppers, and a rich egg. Comfort food in a bowl for sure.

4. Vegetarian African Peanut Stew. Peanut butter headlines a handful of slightly strange ingredients in this hearty, sophisticated, and exotic vegetarian bowl.

Kitchen experiments enliven my brain like not much else. But when I’m reading through a new recipe or about a new technique, the suggestion of deep frying immediately causes me to turn the page. It’s not so much the difficulty – Food52 has a new post that walks you through the frying process – as the a) mess, b) after-smell, and c) waste of that whole bottle of oil (I know, I can use it again…but only if I want to deep fry more things!).

In the end, not deep frying at home serves me perfectly well, health-wise. I only eat fried chicken, fried clams, croquettes, and fish ‘n chips when I’m out, as treats.

Still, I crave French fries far more than any other fried food food–at least once a week. When I’m not in the vicinity of a burger joint, I’ll find a way to satisfy my need for crispy and salty at home without heating up lots of hot oil. Here are a few non-fried alternatives that are pretty damn good.

**Homemade Fixes for French Fry Cravings**

1. Shakin’ Hash Browns. An extra special technique that involves boiling, draining, shaking, and roasting, these potatoes acquire a rough-hewn texture that serves them well in the crispiness department. They might be baked but they don’t look or taste it. (Pictured at top.)

2. Herb and Lemon Buttered Popcorn with Almonds.  I think it’s the saltiness that makes popcorn as satisfying as French fries, but popcorn has a serious advantage on fries: you can eat way more of of it before you begin to feel full. This version has great savory additions: herbs, Parmesan, and butter.
3. Roasted Pimenton Chickpeas. These addictive chickpeas make for great party food and even better snacking. By drying the chickpeas well, then tossing them with oil, salt, and spices, you create a crunchy, high-fiber, and satisfying delicacy.

4. Almost-Charred String Beans. I don’t know how many nutrients these string beans retain after you practically scald them in the oven for 20 minutes, but at least they’re less starchy than fries. To make, wash, dry, and trim the beans. Toss with a generous glug of olive oil and a few pinches of salt. Place in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake the string beans at 400°F for 20 to 25 minutes, flipping once, until shrunken and brown. Sprinkle with a little more salt.

5. Baked Sweet Potato Fries. Because sweet potato fries feel more healthful than regular fries to begin with, I think I’m more accepting of their baked version. I especially love to dip these in chipotle mayo.

I love how in January I get to indulge the desire I hold all year round, the desire to stay in instead of go out. In January, the short days and bitter cold weather make everyone as much of a hermit as I long to be pretty much all the time. No matter that this year and last year, I’ve spent January eating my way around various continents. If I weren’t in Thailand, I can guarantee I’d be in the kitchen, sautéing onions to turn into soup. Then I’d be on the couch, eating.

We’ve got a massively delicious archive of soup recipes on Big Girls, Small Kitchen, even though I have been known to claim that I don’t like soup. That’s not really true. Give me a piece of crusty bread and some olive oil to dip it in, and I’ll happily spoon a bowl of soup alongside.

So, January, I put together an array of soup pairs, bowls of Cauliflower Soup beside bowls of Split Pea and bowls of Alphabet Soup with Red Curry Carrot. If your imagination likes my pairings, you might want to check out TheKitchn’s tips for being social with soup and hosting a party.

**12 Fantastic Soups**

1. Slow-Cooker Tomato Basil Soup. Though this soup doesn’t require a slow-cooker, using one makes the preparation completely hassle-free. Plus, the taste of tangy tomatoes and fresh basil will revive any slow winter appetite.

2. Really Good Vegetable Soup. Inspired by the flavorful veggie soups of the Peruvian countryside, this vegetable soup starts with a homemade veggie broth, then moves on to throwing in tons of cut veggies. In the end, what makes the soup really sing are handfuls of oregano.

3. Cauliflower Soup with Sharp Cheddar and Thyme. Just a smidgeon of good grated cheddar transforms this healthful, vegetarian soup from a mere puree of cauliflower (though nothing’s really wrong with that) to a decadent-feeling first course.

4. Alphabet Soup. You might consider alphabet pasta an unnecessary childhood throwback, in which case you’re welcome to use orzo in this splendid little vegetable soup, a simplified minestrone I know I’m always happy to find in my lunchbox.

5. Pork Ramen Soup. Real Simple lent me this recipe as part of a month-long relay of quick suppers, and I came to love all the little tricks that make this hearty, satisfying bowl of ramen a cinch to put together, even though the noodles and sliced pork look like food you’d order in a restaurant.

6. Vegetarian Tortilla Soup. Pureed salsa gives this shortcut tortilla soup a delightful zing. Rice and beans add heft, and the best part of the whole soup is found in the wondrously crunchy strips of tortilla that decorate the top.

This time of year, all I can think about is turkey skin.

But clearly, even a generous picking of paprika-flavored crispy turkey skin does not make a Thanksgiving feast. To round out the meal, not only do we have turkey meat, and stuffing, and sweet potatoes, and mashed potatoes, but also a smattering of other vegetables, all of which I adore.

Which brings me to a question.

Are you more interested in seeing great vegetable-centric sides on BGSK during the weeks leading up to Turkey Day? They would be along the lines of what you see below, plus desserts, giving you tons of tons of options if you’re contributing to a potluck party or helping round out your family’s meal.

Or. Or. Or. Do you want to know how to host your own Thanksgiving? Are you in a different city from your family and hosting for friends — or are family coming to you, and you want to do it all (simply!) in a little apartment?

Let me know! I’d love to help you plan your party, so if you’d rather see fall-like Thanksgiving favorites, I’ll go that route. And if you want a start-to-finish party, that’d be really fun too.

For now, read on for gooey gratins, tasty roasted vegetables, and slightly spicy glazed carrots to tide you over in the autumnal weeks between now and November 22.

I’ve never been one to challenge people about their dietary choices (I was a vegan for a year post-college, after all). I try to avoid saying, “that must be so hard” in a super serious voice when I hear that a new friend doesn’t eat dairy, avoids meat, or is gluten free. I pretty much figure that they’ve figured it out. And they hardly need my sympathy if they’re eating gluten-free quinoa salads or vegan roasted hash browns.

Still, dessert is hard. Sure, there’s always plain fruit. But if you’re gluten-free and craving a flour-filled cookie or cupcake, you might wind up disappointed. Fortunately, over the years, I’ve accumulated an archive of mostly accidentally gluten-free cookies, cakes, and other desserts, and I’m so happy to collect them all here today. You’ll see from reading through that a great technique for making gluten-free (and butter-free) sweets is using nuts. Whether they’re ground, as in the Walnut Cake, or in butter form, as in the Peanut Butter Meringues, they can turn flour-free treats into little masterpieces. Another important ingredient here is egg whites, which help the nutty desserts rise up and conquer your sweets craving.

P.S. Dairy-free desserts and everything gluten free.

P.P.S. Interview with me up over at Cupcakes for Breakfast!