“Pantry Pull” Vegan Chickpea Puttanesca

This recipe is the very first vegan recipe that I made.

Well, it was the first recipe that I remember making as an on-purpose vegan dish. Of course, I would have made accidentally vegan recipes many times before (i.e. every time I dipped carrots in hummus), but this is the recipe that sticks out in my mind as my first venture into cooking vegan.

Ep. 2 – Northern Italy – Aperol Spritz + Parmesan Crisps

For Episode 2 of Cocktails Under Quarantine, we’re traveling to northern Italy!

So far, we’ve already traveled to France in Episode 1, so go check out last Friday’s post if you haven’t checked it out yet. In case you’re not sure what I’m talking about, each Friday I’m making a different cocktail + appetizer, each week having a different theme – all part of my Cocktails Under Quarantine series.

I have a trip planned to Italy later this summer, and right now it is at a high risk of being cancelled due to COVID-19, which — to be honest — is something I’ve been worrying about a lot lately. So since I might not be able to go to Italy when planned, the closest I might get to Italy this year is by virtually visiting via Cocktails Under Quarantine. So let’s head to northern Italy!

Tomato Basil Spaghetti Squash Bake

It’s spaghetti squash season! I’ve actually been wanting to make this recipe for months now, but I had to wait for spaghetti squash to show up in my local grocery store. This recipe has very few ingredients, but features both the spaghetti squash (a fall fruit) and the tomato (a late summer fruit). So now is the perfect time where the ‘in-season’ timeline for both fruits overlaps! So there’s no better time to make this dish.

Mozzarella-stuffed Italian meatballs

Homemade meatballs are such a treat. There’s something about them that makes them special. For me, I think it’s because the act of rolling and frying them individually makes them a bit of a labor of love, and it’s not something I’ll do on an average week.

I was talking to my mom on the phone a few weeks ago and asked her what she was going to make for dinner and she mentioned making Asian-flavored meatballs. I thought about my fridge ingredients and determined that I had the perfect ingredients to make meatballs myself! So I got to work that night, but I decided to go Italian instead.

Shrimp scampi and cheddar biscuits

I have so many fond memories of visiting the Olive Garden when I was young. My mom was (and is) such a good cook, that we didn’t go out to eat very often, but when we did, it was often to The Olive Garden. As a little kid, it was such a treat to go out and eat at a “fancy” restaurant. It was at The Olive Garden that I first had shrimp scampi. I love all seafood now, but shrimp scampi still holds a special place in my heart as the dish that introduced me to seafood.

The cheddar biscuits that you get at Red Lobster also give me a bit of nostalgia. Have you ever had them? They’re warm, flaky, and a bit gooey with cheese. Years ago I found a copycat recipe for them and have been making them ever since to serve with my shrimp scampi. So I thought I’d share how I make them both.

Bruschetta

I’ve been making this recipe for years. It comes from one of my favorite TV chefs to watch, Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman.

This recipe is so perfectly balanced – the crispy, buttery bread, soaking up the juices from the ripe tomatoes marinated in a beautiful mixture of garlic-infused olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and fresh basil. It’s the perfect fresh appetizer recipe for spring and summer.