Time To Cook

Isn't it splendid when you try your darndest to remember where you found an amazing recipe, or article, or video, and then, voila, google helps you get there almost immediately? I've had a beautiful fresh bunch of dandelion greens sitting in the fridge for a few days, and in the back of my mind I knew that not too long ago I had stumbled upon an amazing recipe for greens and potatoes, googled as much, and sure enough it was a Minimalist recipe. I should have known. While not entirely Irish (it is an Italian recipe), it does amounts to green potatoes, so I'll argue that it's completely appropriate for St. Patrick's day, especially for this lil' mutt.

And so with the dandelion greens, some potatoes sitting in the back of the pantry that were starting to grow eyes, copious amounts of extra virgin olive oil, hearty homemade breadcrumbs, and gobs of garlic (this was my own addition, as my own Italian grandmother always makes delicious bitter greens in this fashion-- diced, cooked briefly in oil, and then threw the blanched greens in quickly before adding them to the potatoes), I whipped it all up in a jiffy. Needless to say they were delicious. And addictive. This will certainly become a new staple meal. Creamy potatoes, bitter greens, sweet oil, crunchy bread-- yum, yum, yum!

And, in case you're wondering, why yes, this was my first casserole as a newly married lady! (I know, quite a milestone.) It's worth noting that since leaving work about two weeks ago I've been cooking a lot more, and it's been such a wonderful thing. I adore cooking when I have the time to really enjoy the process and then linger over the finished product with good company. I often think of my mum when cooking, and when making this dish today I thought of her own mother, my Grammy Emily, who, when I would speak about or even vaguely reference doing anything a little outside of the box as far as career choices go, would worry, and say, "How will you feed yourself? How will you cook? How will you eat three good meals a day?" And so I couldn't help but think about how, even in these last few weeks, just a short while after having stepped away from a 9-5 desk job to try and focus on doing creative work that I care for, it's now that I find myself pouring over recipe books, standing over a stove in the early evening, and cooking delicious meals for myself and my husband. It's funny how things work out. But I think she would be happy. And I'm happy.

Aaand the casserole made a perfect meal before gearing up to see fairy sprite Joanna Newsom play her harp on campus tonight. Eeeee! Can't wait!