White Bean Chili Fries

White Bean Chili Fries
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French fries are beach food. At least, that’s how I see them. You might think of them as diner food or drive-through food or carnival food. But to me, they’re beach food. I used to get them, doused in vinegar of course, from beachside canteens in my youth. To this day, I can’t set foot on a patch of sand without craving fries. The craving only intensifies post-swim. These days, I’m not clocking much beach time. I’ve mostly been working on my snow shoveling technique. But I can’t help but fantasize about the warmer seasons to come. And it was during one of these daydreams that these White Bean Chili Fries wandered into my head.

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Apple Cheddar Lasagna with Spinach & Ricotta

Apple Cheddar Lasagna with Spinach and Ricotta
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Lasagna is one of those universally loved comfort foods. The classic Bolognese and bechamel pasta tower is a culinary force to be reckoned with. But I chose to reckon, I chose to play, and I chose to put apples in this classic. Some would call today’s Apple Cheddar Lasagna quirky, others would call it blasphemy, but I just call it a salty/sweet delight. So what are you looking at? Well, this lasagna features a mushroom and cheddar bechamel, shingles of Ontario-grown Honeycrisp apples, spinach mixed with ricotta, and a gooey melted mozzarella top. This lasagna is as delicious as it is offbeat. So let’s dig in.

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Oven-Fried Tofu Bowls with Gochujang Sauce

Oven-Fried Tofu Bowls
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After the decadence of my previous post, I felt like we could do with a big bowl of veggies and some faux-fried bit of protein. After all, one cannot subsist on fried burrata alone. But although my brain is happy to load up on some vitamin D and C via bright and fresh produce, my palette is not always down with this plan. I’ve been craving fried food hard. And it’s not that surprising. It’s a well-established pattern. Once I reach the middle of February, my mind turns to chocolate, candy, and fried foods. I think it’s all Valentine’s Day’s doing, personally. But I consider today’s Oven-Fried Tofu Bowls to be an antidote to these less-than-virtuous cravings. It’s a compromise in a bowl, but I promise it tastes a lot better than that sounds.

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Butter Bean Bucatini with Swiss Chard & Poached Eggs

Butter Bean Bucatini with Swiss Chard and Poached Eggs
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Sometimes a simple plate of pasta is all you need. And while I wish I could say, I only need pasta when the chips are down, that’s not remotely true. I’m pretty much in a perpetual state of wanting pasta. I use it to celebrate, commiserate, and lately, hibernate. Today’s recipe is a good piece of pantry worship. I originally created this dish because I didn’t want to put on “real” pants and haul my butt to the grocery store. I also didn’t want to surrender to takeout for the second time in a week. So I scoured my cupboards and emerged with beans, pasta, and a tin of tomatoes. And well, today’s Butter Bean Bucatini was more or less willed into existence.

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