Side Dish – In Good Taste

Strawberry and Spinach Salad with Candied Pecans

Maris Callahan — Sun, 06 May 2018 23:15:04 +0000

In case you weren’t already aware, Chicago had a winter problem this year. The problem was that winter would not seem to end. The groundhog did his thing in February, and we all dealt with the resulting news like reasonable, responsible citizens. We waited until spring officially arrived on Tuesday, March 20. We waited patiently as the first day of spring passed, bringing with it about two days of reasonable spring weather before the skies turned gray and stayed that way for the next three weeks. Easter came and went and April showers arrived in full force. Finally, we thought, the weather is doing what it’s supposed to do. April showers bring May flowers, right? Well it turns out that this year, April showers brought snow showers and it freaking snowed three times in April. Now that the weather has finally turned a corner, the road to recovery has been rough for the Chicagoans who have been popping Vitamin D and using the happy lamp at work since October. It’s hard to climb out of that funk after what felt like 297 of days straight of weather misery. The best place to go to inspire the spring spirit this year […]

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Asian Style Cabbage Slaw

Maris Callahan — Tue, 30 Jun 2015 05:29:28 +0000

One might say I have a thing for Martha Stewart. Fun fact? I used to write for a Martha Stewart fan blog and her team still sends me monthly copies of Martha Stewart Living magazine, one of my first and undoubtedly most exciting perks of food blogging. When people try to compare me to Martha Stewart though, I have to remind them that I hate to clean and organize, I can’t hang a picture on my own, I need professional help buying end tables and I’ve manage to kill both chrysanthemums and my mint plant. No one kills mint. All of the Martha Stewart-ness I have is channeled into cooking, and even then, my food tastes good, but it doesn’t always look pretty. If you’re also afflicted with lack of presentation skills when it comes to your cooking, then your best bet is to skip the rainbow cakes, filo dough and tightly rolled spring rolls. Opt for dishes that you can customize and change so that if they differ from what you desired, you can only be pleasantly surprised. This particular recipe was derived after I ordered something very similar from a local vegetarian tapas restaurant that I absolutely love. They have small plate dishes […]

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Creamy Mashed Potatoes with Goat Cheese and Chives

Maris Callahan — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 13:00:00 +0000

I know. You had a weekend full of carb-eating, face-stuffing fun and the last thing you want to see here is mashed potatoes. I should be posting a nice salad or something low in fat, calories, carbs, sugar blah blah blah.Well, instead, you’re getting mashed potatoes. And it’s not to remind you of your holiday sins, no not at all, nothing like that. It’s to remind you that the holiday season has only just begun and we have, in fact, several weeks remaining ahead of us of that include big dinners, carbs, sugar, calories and yes, mashed potatoes. And you know what I say to that, right? Everything in moderation. ….Right? ….Right? Well, regardless. Homemade mashed potatoes are just about the easiest thing you can make from scratch regardless of your cooking talents. The directions pretty much go: boil potatoes. Mash potatoes. Add milk or cream, chives and chevre. Eat potatoes. Repeat the last step, if desired. Save Print Creamy Mashed Potatoes with Goat Cheese & Chives Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 30 mins Serves: 6-8 Ingredients 2 lbs Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered lengthwise ½ cup whole milk (or heavy cream, if you […]

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Roasted Butternut Squash

Maris Callahan — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 03:00:00 +0000

My gym celebrated its “34th birthday” this week with raffles, free bring-a-friend-day and loads and loads of junk food. Now, I’m just as guilty as the next person of running five miles and then going home to inhale a plate of spaghetti and meatballs washed down with a vanilla ice cream chaser, but that doesn’t mean I want to do it AT the gym. We’re talking bakery cookies, a large layer cake and I think I even spotted Hawaiian Punch. Since I go to a large, chain fitness club, I understand the need to celebrate and thus, self-promote. But to me, the number 34 is odd in itself. Why not wait until the club turns 35 and REALLY go all out? Maybe employ cocktail waiters to deliver mini-quiches to runners on the ellipticals? An ice luge in the Pilates studio? It wouldn’t have been so hard to spring for a few cases of Luna Bars and Gatorade or Vitamin Water. And hanging streamers from the gym ceiling? Just not needed. It would have been nice to instead see those funds turned over to something useful, like yoga mats or properly working air conditioning in the cycling studio. Anyway. On to […]

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