My friend Raffaella comes from a huge family and fondly recalls making dumplings with her sisters growing up. (Her brothers just ate them.) Dumplings are a great way to use up veggies that don’t look fresh anymore. Minced inside a dumpling, they come back to life! I’ve provided a couple of ideas here, but as with so many recipes, the filling is up to you. If you mess up and it comes out bland, just dip the dumpling in soy sauce or chile sauce and you’ll still be happy. Or if you’ve made peanut sauce or spice oil lately dip in those.
If budget allows and you want to save time, see whether your grocery store has pre-made dumpling wrappers, usually in the freezer section or Asian aisle. They come round or square and might be called gyoza or wonton wrappers, but any will work.
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Poutine isn’t an everyday meal, but it’s a favorite. Since I don’t like deep-frying at home, I bake the fries; they still get crispy without the fuss of frying. Montreal-style poutine is made with vegetable gravy, as in this recipe, but you can also make your favorite beef or turkey gravy. Of course, proper poutine uses cheese curds, and if you can find them do use those, but fresh mozzarella works for me. It has the same spongy quality, just maybe with a little less squeak. This recipe does come out a little more expensive than you would think because of the fresh mozzarella. If you use less or skip the cheese entirely, you can cut the price in half.
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Sometimes I really crave complex baking projects. I love dreaming up a new combination of flavors or textures and spending tons of time researching. I often don’t share the results of these little journeys because they are too complicated and specific to my weird taste to bother you guys with. But sometimes I end up with something worth sharing and that’s even more exciting. This chocolate coconut swirl pie is just that. If you make this beauty you’ll definitely want to display it with pride, it’s quite a looker.
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I must admit I don’t particularly care for Valentine’s day and I rarely even acknowledge it’s existence. In theory it’s a great idea. Celebrating love! Yes, I am so in! There isn’t anything more important to celebrate. But Valentine’s day is about romantic love and that means missing out on so much other love worthy of celebration. What about love in a family or between friends? Or the love we have for our communities and our fellow human beings? I want to celebrate all those kinds of love! But all that said, this year I also really wanted to celebrate my awesome partner Dan, just because he is the best, you know? So this year Valentine’s day is all about carrot-pineapple cake.
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