Brown Rice Salad with Dates & Cashews

One of my favorite food websites has a series of articles called Not Sad Desk Lunches. If I were ever asked to contribute to the column (which my own lazily assembled desk lunches would surely prevent from ever happening), this rice salad is definitely what I would share.

Eggnog + Chocolate Variation

I once believed that eggnog had to be one of two varieties: either the sickeningly sweet, slightly bubblegum flavored concoction that lives safely on grocery shelves for the entire duration of the holiday season or the nostalgic salmonella slurry made at home with raw eggs and an entire dairy herd’s worth of cream. Granted, I happily drank the store bought variety for many years, but I began to wonder if there was something better out there.

Disclaimer: this eggnog is much more attractive in real life. Perhaps my new year’s goal will be to learn how to photograph beverages…during the darkest part of the year…

Orange-Scented Brownies

I’m a sucker for orange and chocolate together, from the chocolate oranges my mom would put in the toe of our stockings every year to the Barefoot Contessa’s orange chocolate chunk cake to the chocolate covered “orange sticks” you see everywhere around the holidays. It was really only a matter of time before these brownies happened.

Garlic and Dijon Brussels Sprouts

These sprouts and I go way back. In fact, they were my very first post on Em Hungry 1.0 more than 5 years ago, and they were the second most viewed recipe on the site! (Due to one loyal reader and cook, haha. Moms are the best.) At any rate, I figured it was time to share them here, and with pictures this time.

Honey Oat Quick Bread

Several weeks ago, I promised you this quick bread recipe, and now seems like the perfect time to share it. The hubbub of Halloween is over, and the thralls of Thanksgiving have yet to begin. My mind is turning from sugary treats to wholesome, tasty food that takes little effort. And speaking in terms of effort, I view this recipe as the cozy pajamas of the bread world: it’s very easy and very forgiving.

Lentil Stew with Sausage

(For stove or Instant Pot!) There are very few foods that I find as simultaneously delicious, wholesome, and satisfying as beans and lentils. When my husband and I were dating, he was starting to cook for himself more, but he expressed frustration at the difficulty of finding good recipes. My mind quickly jumped to this lentil stew, which I have been making and enjoying for years, so I shared the recipe with him. When he later told me that it was his new favorite food, I knew we had a shining future of culinary compatibility ahead of us.