Brightening Up a Rainy Day

This past Monday's potluck was a welcome one. Not only was Monday a chilly, wet, gray day, but it was one where I was on my own with my son for it's entirety. A couple days every week see my husband off on 12-hour shifts, leaving just as we're settling in for breakfast and returning about a half hour after our son goes to sleep. These days can get long...fast. Monday potlucks definitely help ease that.

We gathered at Seth and Angie's home, and were welcomed in from the pouring rain with a glass of wine and the yummy smell of cheesy mashed potatoes with kale. Everyone seemed to have been on the same wavelength, because the menu consisted of a harmonious balance of celebrating the last few summer favorites and warm comfort foods to stave off the dreary weather.

In addition to my corn soup and the mashed potatoes, we dined on a Thai curried squash soup that was warm, flavorful with a perfectly spiced touch of curry, and had a burst of lemongrass. I tried moth beans for the first time as they were served in a curried cauliflower dish. They had the consistency of lentils with a slightly nutty flavor, and paired well with the spices used in the recipe.

I admit to never having heard of them before, and when Hannah had emailed, saying she'd be making them, I ran directly to google to see what they looked like.

Moth Beans

Having really enjoyed their flavor, I will definitely be on the look out for some the next time I am at the store.

In addition to the warm, savory dishes that heated us up, there was one of my all time favorite potato salads...ever. This potato salad combines soft potatoes, crunchy, slightly pickled cucumbers and onions into a satisfying dish that leaves you wanting more with each bite.

It wasn't until we were driving home that I realized we didn't have dessert at this potluck, which is a bit unusual for us. I felt perfectly satiated despite the fact...yet that didn't prevent me from snagging a cookie later on in the evening.

You may be wondering why there are no actual pictures of potluck... There are a few reasons for that:

First, while I am excited to document potluck, I don't want to feel (or want others to feel) like they're missing out of the experience by snapping photos the whole time. My hope is that when somebody feels moved to do so, they'll take a picture that I can then use.

Second, I'm not the world's best photographer. I'm learning as I go, but have found that taking pictures of food is way harder than I thought. My camera is also somewhat of an older one, so I'll be hopefully looking into getting a new one soon (any suggestions?).

Corn Chowder

Woke up this morning to a rainy day and a fridge full of extra corn. The next step was obvious: Corn Chowder!

It's hard to motivate on a Monday morning, and even harder when it's gray, chilly and wet outside. The only thing that makes it easier is knowing that in a few short hours I'll be hanging out with good friends, sharing delicious food.

I already knew that whatever I decided to make for tonight would include corn, since I had extra that I had purchased from our Tuesday farmer's market last week. I just wasn't 100% sure what that dish would be...simple grilled corn rolled in herb butter? A fresh raw corn, bean and tomato salad? Corn salsa?

As usually happens in our household, the weather dictated the dish. Dreary New England fall days require a good hearty soup, even one that is still holding on to the vestiges of summer. So I shucked, chopped, sauteed and boiled, and currently have a wonderfully smelling chowder simmering on the stove top, just waiting for tonight.

I've made this recipe often, ever since we stumbled into an abundance of summer corn one year and needed new ways to prepare it. I start with this basic recipe from Eating Well magazine and tailor it to my needs or wants on that particular day.

For instance, today I omitted the turkey bacon, but only because I didn't have any on hand, and I didn't want that to prevent me from making this delicious soup. I've made it both with and without the turkey bacon, and while it certainly brings a punch of smokiness to the soup, it's still quite flavorful without it. I also swapped out the green bell pepper for a beautiful orange one that I had in the fridge. Everything else  was done according to the recipe.

The soup should be done in a bit and then we're off to potluck. Can't wait to see what else is in store... Update to follow!

A Bit of Background...

I've never been much of a cook. It's not because I don't want to. In my head I think up all these wonderful recipes and meals. I watch enough cooking shows that you'd think I'd at least absorb some sort of skill through the television. But the reality of the matter is that when it comes to whipping stuff up in the kitchen, it is not an effortless, easy task for me. Sometimes, it's not even (dare I say it) enjoyable.

During my post-college years, when I was teaching high school and my husband was a full time student, you would have been more apt to find take-out menus and old pizza boxes scattered around, than you would dirty dish pans and recipes.

When I got pregnant, I had all these hopes of harnessing the innate cooking skills that my mother, grandmother and mother-in-law posses and somehow, overnight, would turn into a goddess in the kitchen. I thought that maybe it was some gene that only kicked in once you pushed out a baby.

Sadly, it wasn't the case. Food still burned, wasn't flavorful enough or was just too tedious to make. It wasn't for lack of trying, however. I attempted a variety of recipes, and while we had some successes, most were big flops. My heart just wasn't into it.

Fast forward almost four years and I now cook with vegetables and herbs from my own garden, am a member of a local meat CSA and prepare (on occasion delicious!) meals on a regular basis. One of my goals with this blog is to take a look at how I went from being a master of ordering in to somebody who strives to cook on a daily basis...and might actually be enjoying it.

Monday night potluck was one of the most influential reasons behind this change, and so while I document and reflect on these current weekly dinners, I hope to also investigate the other reasons for my culinary switch. So, be on the look out for recipes, pictures of tantalizing dishes and musings on food, community and my journey to being an almost-chef. 

The Beginning

It all started innocently enough: a group of friends who wanted to come together as something more. We decided that sharing a weekly meal together would be one place to start. And so...Monday Night Dinners began. We specifically chose Monday because we wanted to start the week off right - without the blahs that can sometimes accompany the beginning of the week.

We didn't have much of a plan at first, just...get together, and...eat! Over the first few weeks and then months, we evolved, finding our rhythm and figuring out what worked best. We rotated homes so each family would have a chance to host. We set up a Gmail listserve, so we could easily touch base to let the rest of the group know what we were bringing.

It started off tentatively...an outside dinner shared at a local park, and then grew to a steady 6-8 regular families sharing their home, their food and their friendship with one another. Sometimes meals would be worthy of Michelin quality restaurants...

sage & cherry butternut squash

zucchini-feta patties

french toast with apples and bananas

pasta with garlic scape pesto

honey sweetened roasted peaches with ricotta cheese

...and other times, too tired to cook but hungry for friendship, we would still gather on Monday and share some take out.

My Monday night group has been many things...a comfort, a boost of energy, an inspiration, but most importantly...they've been a community. Three years ago, I started off as somebody who loved to eat, but rarely cooked. I had the desire to do more, excited by the possibilities that the local food and farm scene had to offer. Cooking for my family helped, but I needed something more.

Monday night potlucks became that something. Each Monday I strived to go a bit out of my comfort zone and cook something that I'd be proud to serve my newly formed circle of friends. Sure, there have been a few flops here and there(and more burnt pans than I'd like to remember), but there have also been some hidden gems as well. Sometimes, I've even surprised myself.

After one completely satisfying potluck - both in stomach and soul - I wondered why I have't been documenting our time together.

So, here we are.

My intent is to not only chronicle our weekly dinners, including pictures, recipes and stories, but to share my own journey as an "Almost Chef."