Today’s post is inspired by the lovely city of Toronto. Or, more specifically, a heavenly milkshake I had there. I just visited the city for the first time, and I’ve spent every night since I’ve been back trying to craft a “Toronto Eats” post for you—but I’ve just been stuck. So instead, I made some ice cream to further fuel my denial that I’m not still on vacation. Maybe I’ll get around to that post eventually, but I’m pretty sure we’d all rather talk about ice cream anyway. I usually save this kind of decadence for Sunday Sweets, but I couldn’t wait until next Sunday to share this. I’m sure you understand. Summer, schmummer—I’m more excited that it’s finally ice-cream-making season.

And this was an outstanding first batch of the season. This flavor is so light and fresh, but still creamy and indulgent. It’s truly the perfect way to welcome warm weather. The ice cream is sweet, creamy, and slightly tangy—just like good cheesecake should be. The hint of lemon and the zing of the fresh raspberries cut the richness of the ice cream and provide that bright, refreshing flavor. And of course, I couldn’t forget the crust—the graham cracker crumbs add a bit of texture and toasty deliciousness.

The ice cream base starts as a standard custard, but then we add the magic: cream cheese, vanilla bean paste, and lemon juice. The lemon juice is key—it doesn’t impart an extremely strong lemon flavor, but it provides an extra little tang that really gives the ice cream that distinct cheesecake flavor. Then, as the custard base chills, we whip up a super-quick homemade raspberry jam. Just throw some fresh raspberries, sugar, and some lemon in a pot, and about 20 minutes later…BAM! Jam! Then the base goes into the ice cream maker to churn away. When it’s ready, we layer the ice cream with our jam and graham cracker crumbs and freeze for a few hours before digging in.

I hadn’t been feeling super inspired to blog for the past few weeks. Maybe it was the fact that it’s been cold and rainy and generally gloomtastic around here, maybe it was the fact that my mind was focused on other thoughts and my hands were busy doing other things. I had recipes and photos queued up to post, but no desire to talk about them. And maybe it’s the fact that spring has finally sprung, but I’m feeling excited to telling you about delicious food again. I’m also feeling really pumped about warm weather dishes. While I’m a soup-and-stew lady through and through, the cold and grey lasted a little too long this year, and I’m so ready to bust out the salads and sandwiches.

This is a great transition dish for that weird in-between period. With the bright, green, fresh broccoli “pesto” and baby spinach, it looks and feels super springy and light. But it’s still got that creamy, comforting, pasta thang going on. I think you could easily (and deliciously) serve this cold or at room temperature instead of warm, and it would be a refreshing dish even on the hottest of days. And despite a dubious April, it’s clear now that those days are comin’!

I made this a few weeks ago and absolutely loved it. I’m a broccoli freak, so it was no surprise to me. I threw in some spinach leaves at the end for extra green goodness, but you could also add them to the pesto itself. You could pretty much throw any other leftover greens into the pesto to add some extra flavor—arugula would be great, and you could even use basil to give it more of a traditional pesto flavor. The beauty of pesto is that you can really have fun with it—just play around and enjoy!

It’s been a rainy week here in Chicago. Several times, I’ve woken up in the wee hours of the morning to the sound of rain absolutely pounding on our windows and skylights. I slowly fall back asleep only to wake up a mere few hours later to the sound of my alarm…and rain still pounding on the roof. And not only is it rainy, but it goes from being semi-warm and spring-like to being puffy down coat weather within a day. ENOUGH! I am so ready for it to be consistently warm and sunny, and this is coming from a person that prefers to wear sweaters even in 90º weather, so you know it’s bad.

My number one rainy day meal is tomato soup. Usually with grilled cheese. I won’t lie, I have a weakness for Campbell’s condensed, but sometimes I class it up a little with the homemade stuff. I’ve been wanting to make this creamless tomato soup from America’s Test Kitchen for a while—it uses bread to thicken it instead of cream!—but tomato soup isn’t hearty enough for me by itself. It needs something (hence the classic grilled cheese combo). And then it became clear: tomato soup and grilled cheese is a classic. Tomato sauce and pasta with cheese is a classic. Thus, cheese tortellini in tomato soup should be a classic. Obviously.

Why hadn’t I thought of this before? I realize I’m not the first one to think of it, but it’s a new and groundbreaking thought for my little brain. Bear with me. It’s delicious. Thick, tangy, sweet tomato soup with chewy, carby, cheesy tortellini. I can’t think of a more perfect rainy day meal. And just in the interest of encouraging my laziness, this soup is an incredibly simple and quick meal that you can throw together even when you don’t feel like cooking anything. Plus, it’s a great vegetarian meal too (just use veggie stock). Bring on the rain…as long as I can bring soup.

You guys. Can you even believe the title of this post? I know, it’s nuts. I made a mental note of these cookies when I saw them on Smitten Kitchen, and then the other day Joy posted them…but with the genius addition of chocolate. And like a siren song, they just called to me. You know I’m a fan of the sweet-and-salty, but these cookies take it to a whole ‘nother level. The cookie base is not unlike a chocolate chip cookie, with dark brown sugar and butter. Then, a whole slew of buttery popcorn is folded in—it crumbles and crunches until it’s fully incorporated into the dough, and then we amplify that deliciousness with bittersweet chocolate chips. And then, after we scoop out the dough, we sprinkle each ball of dough with a smidge of Maldon sea salt just before baking. Can you handle it?!

The best part is, I simplified the heck out of these by using microwave popcorn. You know those single-serve 100-calorie popcorn packs they sell? I picked up some of the butter-flavored 94% fat-free ones at the store, and I popped two packs to use in this recipe. It took approximately 2 seconds of my time and effort to make them, and I liked that a whooole lot. However, you can certainly pop some on the stove top. Basically, you just need about 7 to 8 cups of your favorite buttery popcorn. Make it your way, but make it delicious, and these cookies will follow suit. And as a bonus, these cookies are only 74 calories a pop. Amazing. Get on it!

I’m on kind of an Indian food kick, in case you couldn’t tell. It all started with this pizza, and now I’m just throwing curry powder and garam masala in everything! I’m also on kind of a lentil kick. They’re just so healthy and filling and delicious, and I want everything to be made of lentils. So when I saw a link to a recipe in my Twitter feed that included the words “lentil” and “curry,” I was sold. Plus, it was slow-cooked, which is another one of my obsessions. I immediately went into the kitchen to start cooking. This may not be the sexiest-looking bowl of food ever, but it’s good and good for you.

This recipe is super simple, but extremely hearty. With just a few minutes of prep work and an afternoon of slow cooking, you’ll have 8 substantial servings that will stick to your dang ribs. I love taking a lunch to work that won’t leave my stomach growling by 3 p.m., and this stuff consistently keeps me full for the entire afternoon. I mean, it’s packed with lentils, sweet potatoes, and chicken, so it’s just full of protein and fiber goodness. The slow cooking causes the sweet potatoes and cooking liquid to just melt together and create a thick but smooth base for the lentils and chicken, which are incredibly tender, moist, and flavorful. And it’s a good thing this recipe makes a lot, because this stuff is even better leftover!

Serve with a wedge or two of naan for dipping and you’ve got yourself an incredibly satisfying and healthful meal. And as a bonus, this is a really economical dish—you get a lot of food from a minimal investment in cheap ingredients. Gotta love that.

We have homemade pizza all the time. My boyfriend whips up the whole wheat dough in the bread machine, and when I get home from work, I toss it and top it and throw it in the oven. So easy. And so easy to love. But sometimes, the old standbys of pepperoni or turkey sausage get a little old. That’s when it’s time to get a little crazy. Sometimes there’s white pizza, but sometimes it gets a little crazier. Like…putting Indian food on pizza and topping it with cheese. Guess what? It totally works. We loved this pizza! Arrivederci, pepperoni—this is our new favorite.

There’s a lot happening on top of this crust. It starts with chicken breasts coated in yogurt and spices: garam masala and curry powder. The chicken goes under the broiler while you start the sauce on the stove. With a mixture of tomatoes, ginger, spicy cayenne pepper, garlic, more garam masala, and a splash of cream for silkiness, this sauce is absolutely packed with flavor. Standard tomato sauce ain’t got nothin’ on this stuff: savory and spicy with so much depth of flavor. Then, the chicken is added back into the sauce and spread on the crust before being topped with mozzarella, red onion, and cilantro. Deliciousness awaits.

I know, I know, I’m super behind the times. All the food bloggers were posting their Guinness recipes and Bailey’s recipes weeks before St. Patrick’s Day, and here I am—posting one the week after. But listen: I like making holiday-themed food on holidays, not weeks before. And I’m sure as heck not waiting a whole year to share this recipe with you. It’s too good! So yes, I made this for our St. Paddy’s Day dinner. Yes, it’s March 20th as of this posting. Deal with it. Good mac n’ cheese is a year-round experience in this little corner of the internet.

I’m not a big drinker, especially of beer—but alcohol in food is something I can get behind. This tasty, light mac n’ cheese is infused with stout, and it’s a very prominent flavor. It doesn’t shrink and hide behind the sharp cheddar and melty American cheeses. There are layers to this dish; more so than most other mac recipes that are just cheese on top of cheese (which is also perfectly delicious, don’t get me wrong). With every bite, the cheese hits first. Gooey, cheesy goodness. Then, the rich, bitter stout hits on the finish. It’s a stellar combination. The Guinness cuts through the richness of the cheese and the cheese lessens the bitterness of the stout. A match made in heaven!

And that’s not all. There’s some spicy Italian turkey sausage in there too. I wasn’t sure about this particular addition, but the spiciness is totally welcome at this party. Necessary, even. The cheese and the Guinness are both very rich flavors, though in very different ways, so the slight kick the Italian sausage provides is the perfect counterpoint. You could, of course, eliminate the sausage for a vegetarian take on this dish—but I’d suggest adding a generous pinch of red pepper flakes for a similar effect. Try it next St. Paddy’s Day…or tomorrow. Or in July. No judgment.

There’s a great restaurant around the corner from my apartment that used to have a miso-glazed tofu dish on their menu, and I was obsessed with it. Until it disappeared. NOT OKAY. I’m not even a big tofu person, but this dish spoke to me and made me fall in love with it. It toyed with my emotions. When I find something a like at a restaurant, I order it every. Single. Time. I get attached. And then, as is the trend nowadays, restaurants are all “seasonal” and “farm-to-table” and all that crap, and dishes don’t stay on the menu very long. What’s a creature of habit to do?

Make it at home, of course! All I had to go on was that there was a big block of tofu, it had some kind of miso glaze, and it was served over brown rice with a carrot-ginger sauce. So I whipped up a simple miso marinade and went to town. I must say that I got pretty darn close to the original. I cooked the carrots in a mixture of vegetable broth and rice wine and puréed them with grated ginger and a splash of half-and-half to make a thick, silky sauce. The tofu’s miso marinade has that very distinct miso flavor, with all the other components of the marinade creating salty and savory and sweet notes all at once. That, combined with the sweet and spicy carrot-ginger sauce and the nutty brown rice, makes a perfectly composed bite.

You may have noticed that it was a little quiet around here last week. That’s because I was on a much-needed vacation! After a very busy stretch at work, I was so relieved to be able to get away for a long weekend with my sister. We planned a sisters’ weekend in Nashville because it was a good travel distance between both of our home bases and we’d never been there as adults. We had a blast! It was four days full of fun and, of course, food. Obviously.

I know I usually only post recipes here, but I thought it’d be fun to share some of the gastronomic highlights of my trip. I’ve often thought about doing this after traveling before as a way to remember my favorite restaurants and dishes—plus I always appreciate food recommendations when I’m planning a trip, so maybe this will help some of you out there. Or maybe it’ll inspire you to start planning a trip! Those of you who follow me on Instagram already saw a couple of these, but there are a few new ones in store for you too.

First up are some sweet treats from Bang Candy Company. I first heard about this purveyor of unique and delicious handmade marshmallows on Unique Sweets on the Cooking Channel (one of my favorite shows). As soon as I found out we were going to Nashville, I immediately put this place on my list! My sister and I sampled a few different marshmallows: toasted coconut, chocolate chili, and chocolate espresso marshmallows—all dipped in chocolate. Umm…amazing. My favorite was the toasted coconut since I’m a coconut fiend, but my sister was a big fan of the espresso. She couldn’t taste the cayenne in the chocolate chili, but I’m much more sensitive to spice and I still had a tingle in my throat an hour later. I never knew marshmallows could be so delicious!

We stopped at Burger Up in Nashville’s 12South neighborhood for lunch one day. Stupid-delicious burgers and fries galore, with locally-sourced and high quality ingredients. I got the Woodstock burger, which was topped with Tennessee white cheddar, bacon, and house-made Jack Daniels ketchup. The burger was too done for my tastes, but the quality of the beef and the toppings compensated for that. And, of course, the sweet potato fries were perfectly cooked and seasoned. I love a good sweet potato fry.

When I found out there was a Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams location in Nashville, I was beyond stoked. My boyfriend gave me Jeni’s ice cream cookbook as a Christmas gift and I’ve been a fan ever since—but have never gotten a chance to visit one of their stores. My sister and I both got a trio (three half-scoops): mine included brown butter almond brittle, double toasted coconut, and pistachio honey. They were all outstanding—so intensely flavorful and creamy—but I think my favorite was the brown butter almond brittle. My sister got whiskey and pecans, Savannah buttermint, and also the pistachio flavor. The whiskey and pecans was super boozy and delicious. Whiskey is kind of a big deal in Tennessee, can you tell? It was present in some form on every menu and in many of our meals.

One of my other favorite meals was a simple but terrifically satisfying lunch at Merchant’s downtown. I got the “Soup and Sammy,” which was a buttery grilled cheese with bacon, smoked gouda, and white cheddar, served alongside an über-tomatoey bisque. Just a perfect combination. And the house-made potato chips didn’t hurt, either. To this day, one of my favorite comfort food meals is grilled cheese and tomato soup, and this meal took it to another level. Totally bonkers.

Las Paletas, right by Burger Up in 12South, was another sweet spot I heard about on Unique Sweets. My long-suffering sister can attest to the fact that I was obsessing about this place until I finally dragged her there on day 3. Gourmet ice pops in creamy and fruity varieties—how could you not obsess?! I picked their “cookies” ice pop, which is a creamy vanilla base with chunks of chocolate chip cookies in it. Yes, actual chunks of cookies. Insanity. My sister got the Thin Mint flavor, which also had legit Thin Mints in it. Too good. They also give you the option to get your pop dipped in Olive & Sinclair chocolate, which we’ll get to in a bit! For just $3 a pop (literally), this was a delightful and cheap afternoon treat.

And last but not least in the savory category: my favorite meal of the trip. I had heard wonderful things about the Capitol Grille in the über-swanky Hermitage Hotel, but it was a bit out of our price range for dinner. Luckily, their brunch is super reasonable—and I was sold once I saw the Hatch Show Print-designed menu. It’s a shame the lighting was so bad, because the photo really does not do this meal any justice. This was the “Tennessee Jack” egg sandwich, which was a fried egg sandwich topped with jowl bacon and tomato gravy on Jack-Daniels-infused toast. Yes, whiskey-infused toast. Um, WHAT. Amazing. It came with a side of only the best grits I’ve ever had, no big deal. This was the last meal we had in Nashville and it was the perfect way to cap off the trip. Just outstanding food and service in a beautiful setting.

Before heading out of town, we grabbed a few Olive & Sinclair chocolate bars to take home as gifts. This chocolate has absolutely taken over the city—we saw it everywhere! We noticed bars being sold everywhere, and Olive & Sinclair chocolate desserts on menus all around town. And rightfully so! Olive & Sinclair makes their artisan chocolate straight from the cocoa bean, so its quality is absolutely top-notch. They have a host of unique flavors, but I limited myself to two: sea salt and coffee bean. They were gifts for my boyfriend, but luckily he gave me a taste! I haven’t tried the coffee bean flavor yet, but the sea salt bar is so right up my alley. I love the sweet-and-salty combo, especially with this rich, bittersweet chocolate. And I have to give a special mention to their gorgeous packaging, which I will be saving long after the chocolate has been eaten.

Other photo-less shout outs go to the melt-in-your-mouth pulled pork at Puckett’s, a mind-blowing pralines and cream milkshake at Mike’s, and the spicy Chai at the Frothy Monkey.

As you can see, we love good food, and there’s plenty of it in Nashville. I’m in detox mode now! So worth it for such a great weekend. If you’re ever in Nashville, I highly recommend all the places I mentioned (as well as the city itself) and I hope this post will give you some ideas. I’ll be back later this week with a recipe for some lighter fare!

My weeks start with the best of intentions. I make meal plans, get groceries, and optimistically think that I’ll have the time and energy to make a home-cooked meal every night of the week. But then real life happens. Work happens, exhaustion happens, time is crunched and excuses are made. Planned meals get pushed in favor of a quick sandwich or take-out, and my good intentions turn to twinges of guilt. One thing I always think I’m going to do to solve this—but never actually do—is roast a chicken on Sunday nights. That way, we can have chicken for Sunday dinner and then have leftover meat to use in meals during the rest of the week—not to mention plenty of homemade stock to freeze and use in recipes. Since I’m in an especially busy period right now, I roasted a dang chicken. And now I’m wondering why I waited so long to make this a regular practice.

There are a thousand ways to roast a chicken and even more recipes for it, but this one is my favorite that I’ve tried so far. It’s particularly wonderful because it’s a minimum effort, maximum results situation. It’s nothing fancy—common ingredients, simple and fast preparation—but the flavor and texture is exceptional. Just stuff the cavity with some fresh herbs, a few whole cloves of garlic, and half an onion; then coat the chicken in olive oil and pat on a simple rub. Throw it in the oven and you have a beautiful, moist, golden brown chicken with perfectly crispy skin in no time. Roast some vegetables alongside it and you have a whole meal, just like that! We were amazed by how tender and flavorful this chicken was. We each had a breast for dinner, saved the rest of the meat, and made a ton of homemade stock with the carcass. See? Roast chicken is one of the most economical meals you can make—it just keeps giving! Plus, it’s one of the best ways to eat chicken and a great weekly ritual to have. Start this week!