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Latest discovery of awesomeness: pretzels dipped in Nutella. NOM NOM NOM.

I know I haven’t posted in awhile. Life has been crazy, and I haven’t really cooked much. Nothing terribly interesting, at least. But the dinner I’m working on right now will be very tasty, so I thought I’d share. Costco didn’t have tuna steaks today, so I got some boneless pork chops. This is for two, but there’s going to be a lot of gratin left over.

For the gratin… (based on a fabulous Nigella Lawson recipe)

• 1.5 lbs baking potatoes (or Yukon Golds), thinly sliced
• 1.5 cups milk
• 3 tbsp white wine
• salt/pepper
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced OR 1/2 tsp garlic powder (to taste)
• 8 oz crimini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 very small onion
• 0.5 bag of baby spinach
• salt to taste
• about 0.5 tsp dried thyme
• big handful of grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and butter a baking dish.

In a large pot, combine potatoes, milk, wine, and a bit of salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Let this go while doing the rest of the recipe.

In a skillet, heat the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, season with a bit of salt, and saute for about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and a heavy pinch of dried thyme and saute for about 5 minutes. After this has gotten nice and happy, add garlic and spinach. Saute until the spinach is wilted and most of the water from the mushrooms and spinach has evaporated. Taste a little and adjust the seasoning.

Dump the mushroom and spinach mixture into the potatoes, stir well, and dump into the baking dish. Cover with a generous amount of Parmesan cheese. (I like to use a large grate for this.) Bake for 45 minutes.

For the pork…

• two boneless pork chops
• sprinkling of kosher salt
• generous sprinkling of Savory’s Mt. Eolus seasoning

Let the seasoning sit on the pork for awhile. Before grilling, drizzle with a bare amount of olive oil. Grill until just done. Remember: don’t overcook pork! You can cook the pork after the gratin comes out of the oven if you’ve let it come to room temperature. Pork doesn’t take long.

In a bowl, combine the following in whatever quantities you desire:

• romaine lettuce
• red/orange/yellow bell pepper
• canned black beans, rinsed
• grape tomatoes
• green onions

Use a tasty jarred salsa for dressing. Tasty and super healthy!

I’m a fruit salad connoisseur. Most of the time, I just toss some fruit together. But last night, as I was dicing some pineapple, an idea from the heavens hit me. And here it is…

• 1/2 pineapple - peeled, cored, and diced
• 3 Cara Cara oranges - peeled, cut in half, then sliced
• 2 big handfuls of blueberries
• a good amount of sliced strawberries, as many as you like

Toss all of the fruit into a bowl. Now for the dressing…

• juice of one big lime
• 1 heaping tsp of Volcano Island honey
• 1/4 tsp of good vanilla extract

Put the juice, honey, and vanilla into a small, microwave-safe bowl. Nuke for about 15 seconds. Stir well, pour over fruit, and toss well. Let’s see if you can avoid eating the whole bowl.

Seriously, order some honey from Volcano Island. It’s spreadable crack. It’s unbelievable on biscuits, crumpets, or whole-wheat english muffins. Richard, the proprietor, is amazing. We met him when we went to Hawaii with Kat and Sean. Andy calls him “the Bee Whisperer.” Seriously, though, order some now. You will not regret it!

How did I not know about this????

Get this book. It’s great if you’re a workaholic and want to eat something healthy, and it’s great if you aren’t up for cooking for hours. Many dinners this week will come from this - between work and school, the last thing I want to do when I get home is cook something complicated.