your goose is probably only half-baked at this point

Once upon a time, my dear partner went fishing in Alaska with his grandfather, dad, brother, uncles, and cousins.  This was all well and good, save for the fact that my partner a) doesn't fish, b) doesn't like  fishing, and c) hates traveling. He had a surprisingly good time and came home with a wealth of amazing photos, stories, and memories. ... and 70lb of fish.  35lb salmon, 35lb halibut. Which is awesome!  Save for the fact that I don't   didn't  know how to cook salmon.  I actually made myself seasick (har har) watching YouTube videos on how to cook salmon ahead of my partner's victorious return so I'd have some recipes ready to try. This was the second recipe I tried, and it was so good that we stopped trying other recipes just so we could eat this one again and again and again.  And it should be noted here that the first night we had it, I got the fish into the marinade, then passed out from exhaustion (it's been a looooooong few ...

I love puns. They're the perfect joke -- groan-worthy, too quick for the unsuspecting to dodge them, delightfully cheesy.  And puns that go along with food are even better!  No one can complain all that  much about them without running the risk of not getting any food, and no one in their right mind is going to run that risk, so. I bring this up because this particular recipe was the final course of a meal that consisted of: Potato soup Roasted carrots and parsnips (& other veggies) Root beer bread Ginger ale (the good stuff from Trader Joe's, mmm) Sweet potato pie puffs for dessert Each dish involves a root vegetable, so I called the meal " Root Access ."  So far, I've gotten two groans and a good handful of "oh god that's so good I hate it" responses from the peanut gallery, which I'm counting as a complete win. You don't have  to make these as part of a Root Access meal, but they're super good with it.  Highly re...

Squishy, warm, tasty, and easy -- this is comfort food at its finest.  (It's also good for you, but don't tell it I told you so, it doesn't need to know that.) Inspired by this lovely recipe and made on a day I got some stupidly superfluous bad news and needed some comfort.  Hoping it sends some love your way when you need it most. Comfy Quesadilla Ingredients 1 medium sweet potato 1 Tbsp butter or coconut oil 1/2 tsp cinnamon A few shakes of cayenne pepper 1 15.5 oz can black beans 1 tsp dry cilantro Dash salt 1 cup shredded cheese of your choice, divided into 1/4 cup servings 4 tortillas Olive oil for cooking Instructions - Scrub the sweet potato, then slice it into 3/4" slices and dice those slices.  Don't peel it, the peel is good for you. - Put the sweet potato into a medium mixing bowl with ~1 Tbsp water.  Cover the bowl with a plate and microwave for 3 minutes.  Stir and microwave for another 3 minutes.  Leave the plate on t...

An argument could be made that Mark Bittman taught me how to cook. First there's his cookbook How to Cook Everything,  which doesn't just have recipes in it, it has methods in it. For like, normal stuff -- the first thing I learnt to cook using this book was French toast. "Who would need a recipe for making French toast?" you might say, and the answer would be me. ME. I didn't know how to do it, Mark Bittman taught me how to do it, and everyone was a little bit happier because of it. Then there was his Youtube series "The Minimalist." In it, he taught me how to make really fancy-tasting meals without fancy ingredients or methods that could go awry in the blink of an eye, and that  played a large part in my confidence in my cooking skills increasing and my knowledge of cooking methods and flavor pairings increasing. I was sad when he retired until I found out that he was retiring to work in his garden, grill out, and play with his grandkids full-time....

Fun facts about Chewbacca: 1) He's 200 years old when we first meet him in A New Hope ; 2) He'll live to be 400 years old, so he knew he was going to out-live Han Solo when he adopted the guy; 3) I'm pretty sure he'd adopt Leia and keep her as his cub if he had half a chance; 4) He's awesome and his actor, Peter Mayhew, is one of the most understated and loveable celebrities on the planet. This dish has literally nothing to do with him, otherwise, save that ... um. Yeah, nope, nothing to do with him. Doesn't matter. It's a great recipe, and you're a laser-brain if you don't give it a go. #nailedit Laugh It Up Fuzzball Sweet Potato Chili   Ingredients 1 tbsp olive oil 2 medium yellow onions, diced 2 tbsp chili powder 2 tsp cumin 1 tsp black pepper (I never measure, honestly) 4-10 shakes cayenne pepper (I don't measure this, either) 2 cups frozen diced green peppers (use fresh if you have that much free time on your hands) 4 1/2 ...

The first time I had curry udon, I was teaching fencing to fourth-graders in Japan. This dish is a lot less weird than that sentence. Tofu Curry Udon't Ingredients 1 lb extra firm tofu 1 medium sweet potato 1 medium onion 2 tbsp olive oil 1 zucchini (large) 3 cups water 3 1/2 oz curry block Instructions - Preheat your oven/toaster oven to 400*F. - Slice up your tofu into three slabs, then cube those slabs. Relatively small cubes - 1/2", perhaps? - Bake it 25 minutes. - While the tofu is baking, peel your sweet potato and slice it into 1/2" slices. Cut those into 1/2 to 1" pieces. - Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. - Toss the sweet potatoes in, toss 'em around some with a spatula. - Dice up your onion and add it to the sweet potatoes. - Toss that around and let it cook, stirring only every few minutes, so that the veggies have a chance to soften and brown some. - While that's happening, spiralize your zucch...

It took me way longer to realize that "taste the rainbow" is a reference to Skittles, not Lucky Charms, than I care to admit. I  am not a smart man. But lunch was delicious, so I've got that going for me, at least. Taste the Rainbow (Healthy Edition) Ingredients 1 large sweet potato 1 lb frozen Brussels sprouts 1 zucchini 1 yellow/summer squash 1 1/2 tsp olive oil 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp black pepper 2 tbsp butter/coconut oil 1 1/2 tsp cajun seasoning (see below) 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce 4 oz fresh blueberries (1/4 of the pint carton, for me) 5 or so fresh strawberries Instructions - Preheat oven to 450*F. I use my toaster oven and it works beautifully. - Peel and wash the sweet potato. Cut it up into pieces 1/2" thick and no more than 1" in any  other direction. They do not need to be even; you will be mashing them later. - Dump the sweet potatoes and frozen Brussels sprouts into your steam...

I honestly don't recall what led me to  this recipe , originally, though I suspect it was either a) Buzzfeed or b) "I want chickpeas and sweet potatoes, let's see what recipes the internet has to offer me in that arena." Either way, I made this dish for the first time on a night I was too tired to cook, and it was terribly good to me, taking only about 10 minutes of effort and providing a really, really tasty meal. ... one which just needed a few little edits to make it purely awesome. Layered awesome. Layered roasted awesome. Made of veggies. (I'm tired and uncreative tonight, lemme alone.) PS If I have to scroll past like 50 photos and a bunch of rambling to get to your recipe, you're probably doing it wrong. I'm here for the food, not for your blogging. Ugh. Anyway. Roasted Layered Veggie Awesome Ingredients 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/2" chunks 1 tbsp olive oil 1/4 tsp red chili flakes 15 oz...

I love rosemary fries (thanks to Clover Foodlabs in Cambridge ) almost as much as I love sweet potato fries, and with a little help of this recipe , I've got a way to combine the two right here in the comfort of my own home, where pants are optional and bras hang on the wall instead of squeezing the life out of me. Ahh, such is luxury. These are quick, they're tasty, and they're wicked good for you. Highly recommended. Rosemary Sweet Potato Wedges Ingredients 1 good-size sweet potato, peeled 2 tsp olive oil 1 1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning (Mrs. Dash would probably work great as well - lemon herb, perhaps?) 1/2 tsp dried rosemary Instructions - Preheat oven (I use my toaster oven) to 450*F. - Cut the sweet potato into 1" slices, then cut those slices into 1/2-3/4" pieces. - Put the sweet potato pieces into a small mixing bowl with the olive oil, Old Bay, and rosemary. - Toss carefully with a spatula until everything's all evenly coated on the c...

No, it's not made from souls. It feeds souls. And it is delicious . Shamelessly based off of this recipe , edited to make it more mollyawesome. Just one problem with it: could someone PLEASE explain to me why it tastes like it's got ham and cheese in it? This thing is vegan. It shouldn't taste ham-and-cheese-y. Does it anyway. Red Lentil & Barley Soul Stew Ingredients 1ish tbsp olive oil 1 medium onion, diced 3 ribs celery, chopped 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-3/4"ish cubes 1 tbsp minced garlic (or however many cloves that is, if you mince your own) 6 1/2 cups vegetable broth (I use 6 1/2 cups water + 2 tbsp vegetable bouillon 1 cup red lentils, raw but rinsed 1/2 cup barley, raw but rinsed 1 tbsp dry basil 1 tbsp dry dill (that sounds like a lot, it's just right) 1/4 tsp dry thyme 1 lb frozen spinach (that's probably like 2 or 3 bags of it fresh, idk) Instructions - Get the frozen spinach out of the freezer so...

Kale is one of those vegetables that you can tell  is good for you because it tastes awful if you cook it wrong. It taunts me because I want  to like it, but it's chewy and bitter and makes fun of me when I make it, then have to choke it down out of a mix of guilt and obligation. Today, I have overcome kale's reign of terror. I adapted this recipe  into something a little bit healthier, a little bit more carb-friendly, and a LOT easier. This recipe takes about 15 minutes from start to finish, and it's legitimately good. Like tasty. Like something you'll actively want  to eat, not feel like you should  eat. Victory! Greens Eggs and Hash Ingredients 1/2 medium sweet potato 1 cup frozen kale 10 frozen Brussels sprouts Olive oil for pan-frying (about 1 tbsp) Salt & pepper to taste 2 eggs Frank's Redhot Sauce (optional, but recommended) Instructions - Place the kale into the steamer. Start steaming it right away so that it doesn't get all upp...

I learned how to make a really stupidly outstanding orange-glaze tofu  yesterday, but didn't have anything good to serve it on (the quinoa mix I initially tried was an utter, devastating FAILURE). Tonight, I made the tofu again (and by the way, it's so good, I'd totally make it by itself and eat it straight from the pan) and made some veggies to go with because, hey, veggies! I expected it to be good. I mean, how could it not be? Tofu prepared  in a way I knew  I liked, served atop foods prepared in a way I know I like - that sounds like a recipe for success, doesn't it? I wasn't expecting it to be this  good, though. The flavors and textures all combine into something that really just ... I don't know. I usually try to be funny in my blog-posts, but this meal is so straight-up unbearably good - and good for  you, when does THAT ever happen - that I'm all out of jokes and really just want to share the recipe with the world. Here it is. Try it. You'll...

I'd heard rumors that tofu was an actual edible thing, but I hadn't entirely believed them because, holy shit, it's apparently really  easy to cook bad tofu. I say this because I've eaten really bad tofu. Many times. Tonight was not one of those times. This meal takes some forethought and prep-work to make, but I 100% swear it is 105% worth it. That's +5% value, son. EDIT: Three meals is dumb. I've changed some things to make this recipe stretch to four meals. Will update if leftovers are disastrous, 'cause around my henhouse, four meals means two servings for dinner, two servings for the sequel. Tofu-ckin' Fabulous Meal for Three  Four Ingredients 1 lb (16 oz) extra firm tofu, which you are going to press like it's a heretic 1 tbsp sugar 2 tbsp rice vinegar 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 tsp ginger 1 tsp chili/garlic sauce (I used Sriracha/Rooster Sauce) 2 3/4 cups water, boiling 1 1/4 cup quinoa, rinsed 1 small sweet potato, c...

Many thanks to the imgurian who posted  this recipe , which served as the inspiration for a lunch recipe  that my dear partner was heartbroken to learn was for his lunch, not his dinner (despite the fact that I was cooking it at dinner time). Curried Chicken and Broccoli with Quinoa Ingredients 3.5 cups water 1.5 cups quinoa, rinsed 1 medium onion, coarse-diced 1 medium sweet potato, chopped into pieces ~1"x1/2" in size 2 heads broccoli, cut into bite-size florets 1 heaping tsp minced ginger 2 tbsp minced garlic 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup water 2 tbsp curry powder 1 tbsp chili powder 1 tsp black pepper (I so eyeballed this it's not even funny) Instructions 1. Put your water on to boil in a medium saucepan. Rinse your quinoa and set it aside. 2. Cut up the onion, sweet potato, and broccoli. Put the onion with the garlic and ginger. 3. Cut up the chicken into little bite-size pieces. 4...

I've always liked the idea of making fish for dinner, but since my experience with cooking fish has primarily involved fish of the frozen variety, I've never really liked the reality of fish for dinner. Took me two and a half years to realize that, hey, living in the Greater Boston area probably means fresh fish at the market, and now that I've had that realization, I'm, uh, kind of obsessed with cooking fish. (Read: we've had fish every night for the past four nights and will totally have it tomorrow and all the days after unless the promised snowstorm materializes and subjects us to leftover pizza, breakfast sausages, and gumbo.) (... there are far, far worse fates than that, don't get me wrong) This is my third variety of fish-dish, but it's my own creation, kind of, a Frankenstein's recipe if you will, and it is so ridiculously  good that everyone should try it. Right now. Shoo. Haddock & Tintin Dinner Special Ingredie...