On a cold, snowy day, there is nothing better than curling up with a good book, a cup of hot tea, and a warm muffin or scone. I would love to do that today, but alas have to head off to work. If you are luckier than I though, consider raspberry white chocolate muffins or blueberry streusel muffins. Both are delicious.

I am borrowing an idea from Kalyn’s Kitchen, who borrowed the idea from The Amateur Gourmet. See, when an idea is really good, it gets used again and again. And Adam from The Amateur Gourmet had a really good one: who’s reading?

So I am asking, as nicely as can be, that you fill out the little survey below . . . so I might have an idea who’s reading and who likes me. Who really, really likes me . . .

So there I was, sitting at my desk at work. Idly clicking through Cooking Light‘s recipe archive when I found it: a broccoli recipe that I had to try. And when I say “had to” I mean right away, walk don’t run, need to do this now. Broccoli and Three-Cheese Casserole was calling me.

So I did what any sane food loving person would do: I printed the recipe, starting my adaptations on it and headed home to try it out. One of the things that had really attracted me to the recipe was that it called for fontina, which I have a huge unused chuck of in my fridge. That was reason enough for me to try it out.

I definitely changed things up a bit from the original recipe to suit my needs and tastes such as deleting the onions and changing up portions. This isn’t Cooking Light’s dish anymore. But the result was pretty good – it’s a filling dish, and lighter in flavor than some that I make. It’s nice to have a lighter tasting dish once in a while. I think next time I would add in a little cayenne pepper to the rice mixture to give it a kick. That is noted in the recipe as optional.

Don’t be deterred by the long ingredient list or the process. It really doesn’t take that long to make.

2 cups cooked white rice
1/4 cup Romano cheese, plus 2 tbsp
3/4 tsp salt, divided
1/2 tsp herbes de province
3 eggs, separated
1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 cup shredded fontina cheese
4 cups chopped broccoli
1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 tbsp skim milk
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs (I used stale French bread)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a large oval baking dish by spraying with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, combine the rice, 1/4 cup of the Romano, 1/4 tsp of the salt, herbes de province, and three egg whites. Stir in cayenne pepper, if desired. Spread mixture in the bottom of the prepared pan, pressing down. Sprinkle evenly with the shredded fontina.

Meanwhile, heat a pot of water to boiling and cook the broccoli until just tender (about 4 minutes). Drain. Spread the broccoli over the rice mixture. Top with the cheddar cheese.

In a small bowl, combine the egg yolks, milk, 1/2 tsp of salt, and pepper. Pour this over evenly over the broccoli.

Finally, combine your breadcrumbs and 2 tbsp of Romano and sprinkle over the broccoli.

Place the dish in the preheated oven and cook for 20-25 minutes until the top is slightly browned. Serve warm.

Lunch. It was a lot simpler before – if I had time I would throw together a quick salad of lettuce, meat and cheese. But I am trying to lose weight and also not eating meat for Lent so the majority of my salad just went down the drain.

And besides, I need more vitamins than I am getting. Lunch today is a simple salad of romaine hearts (2 cups), one small ripe tomato, one small carrot and about 1/3 cup of garbanzo beans. That will be served with a sesame soy dressing, 1/3 cup of blueberries and half of an organic dark chocolate bar. It looks like a lot but all in all, it’s about 330 calories. Not bad.

1/3 cup rice vinegar
3 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp minced ginger root
2 tsp sesame seed
3 tsp sugar

Combine all ingredients in a bowl or dressing craft, whisking or shaking until well combined.

This can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week in an airtight container.

For those of us who are Christian, Lent began today (Ash Wednesday). And for some of us, that means giving up something. This year, I have decided to part ways with meat for the 40 days of Lent.

Though I was a vegetarian as a teen and young adult, it is a much harder thing to give up meat as a married adult with a child. My husband and son aren’t doing the same so I will be doing double duty in the kitchen so that we can all eat. And I am far more cognizant of health now than I used to be so a bag of chips isn’t going to pass as dinner.

More cooking, more contemplating . . . geez, have I lost my mind? Hardly. I think it will be good for me in many ways – physically and spiritually – to sacrifice just a bit.

Fortunately, for dinner tonight I was able to make something we could enjoy together: manicotti. If only it could be this simple every night.

Thank you to all the well wishers who commented on Will being under the weather. Thankfully, he is feeling better now – though his stomach is still sensitive and milk is not his friend. Being that milk is his favorite drink, it stinks for him because that’s what he wants most. But I am doing my best to be a good mommy and not give in, no matter how cute he is when he asks for it. Anyway, it’s just nice to see him up and about again, poor baby.After the good results I had with my Brussels sprouts with basil and pancetta the other day, I decided to make something for Shawn and Will that would be soothing for their tummies too. I had already starting making a pot of chicken soup when I had the brainstorm to throw a TON of basil into it and see what happened.

Ta-da! Basil chicken soup with carrots. It’s healthy, fragrant and has great healing properties. Basil has anti-inflammatory properties as well as being packed with vitamins and minerals like vitamin K, iron and calcium. And both the basil and carrots are rich in beta-carotene to boot. (Sounds like a great entry for Sweetnicks’ ARF/5-A-Day, if you ask me.)

Now, a few notes on preparation. This soup was super easy. I used a leftover roasted chicken carcass from the other day to make the stock. And meat from that leftover chicken went into the soup. To cut the carrots, a mandolin works great for quick and even cuts. The pasta is optional – my husband likes a lot so this is a pasta heavy dish, but you can use more or less.

And yes, it’s easy on the stomach.

5 1/2 cups chicken stock (preferably homemade)
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock (preferably homemade)
3 large carrots, sliced
1 cup packed fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tsp fresh thyme
2 cups diced chicken (cooked, from a roasted chicken)
1/2 cup small pasta such as dinatali (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine stocks and carrots in large pot and bring to a boil lower heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes. Stir in herbs, chicken, salt and pepper and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30-45 minutes, until carrots are soft.

Raise heat and bring to a boil. Stir in pasta and cook according to package directions. Serve immediately.

Well, Will’s ailment has infected our whole household. For Shawn, it started on Valentine’s Day, one day after Will first became sick. And while I did make an abbreviated dinner like Virtual Frolic suggested (I did the chicken, potatoes and mini cakes and skipped the rest), it wasn’t a pleasurable meal. The only really good thing was that Will ate most of mine dinner(which was the only thing he ate all day – blessing in disguise, if you ask me). Meanwhile, my husband grew increasingly ill through the night.

Grrreeeeaaaaatttt. Just what I wanted. So much for the fun and fancy free night I’d planned with fondue on the cool new plates I bought, a delicious dinner and a cute dessert. And so much for any of the other fun things we adults do . . . sigh.

Anyway, Will is finally getting better (thank goodness). Shawn is still in the throws of the ailment. And me? Well, it comes and goes, but I am fighting my way through it. I do not want to be sick and through sheer willpower am keeping my head just above the water level.

Last night I was making myself some Brussels sprouts for dinner, using a recipe from The Wiseguy Cookbook, when Shawn suggested I throw in some basil so it would help settle my stomach. I did and the result was excellent. Not only am I feeling a lot better, but it also tasted fantastic.

This certainly isn’t the most healthy recipe I’ve made. That’s for sure. But it is very tasty and isn’t too bad if you remain within the portion recommendations and don’t eat half of the recipe yourself (like I did). This is modified from The Wiseguy Cookbook rendition.

1 lb Brussels sprouts
2 tbsp olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
4 oz diced pancetta
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
sea salt, to taste

Chop the ends of the stems of the Brussels sprouts off and remove any loose leaves. Wash sprouts off in cold water and shake to remove excess water. Quarter the Brussels sprouts (lengthwise) and set aside.

In a medium to large skillet, heat the olive oil and garlic over medium heat. Cook for 5-7 minutes, until garlic softens. Remove garlic from the pan and set aside. Pour in the diced pancetta and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently (until it’s cooked). While the pancetta is cooking, mince the softened garlic.

Stir in the Brussels sprouts and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the minced garlic and basil and cook for an additional 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Sprinkle with sea salt just prior to serving.

Dinner tonight is up in the air. I had planned three courses: cheese fondue to start us off, followed by a lovely lemon rosemary roasted chicken with fingerling potatoes and green beans, and finished off with individual heart shaped chocolate cakes.

But Will is ill. VERY ill. I won’t mar the blog with the gory details, but suffice it to say HE won’t be enjoying dinner tonight. Poor baby. At present, he is laying on the living room floor, on my fluffy robe, using his stuffed turtle as a pillow, while The Care Bears Movie plays in the background (see above). I’ve been doing my best to pump him with fluids and bland crackers today . . . though the crackers and he didn’t get along. I just want my baby to feel better.

And to top it off, Shawn isn’t feeling too well either.

But I might just forge ahead anyway, since it’s still Valentine’s Day and I would like a reprieve from the sick bay, if only for a meal. What would you do?

Fingerling potatoes are small, sweet tubers that vaguely look like deformed and fat fingers. I was lucky enough to pick up a giant bag of them at Costco not long ago (yay!) and finally got to sample their deliciousness. Man, are they ever good.

I am a big fan of roasting great potatoes, so that’s what I have done with these. Will gobbles them down too, as does my husband (always making sure that I have used the fresh rosemary . . . a few years ago he’d never even seen a fresh herb).

4 cups fingerling potatoes
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup shredded Romano cheese
1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil.

Slice the fingerling potatoes in half lengthwise and place in a large Ziploc bag.

In a small bowl, mix together the rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper and Romano. Pour into Ziploc bag.

Add the olive oil to the Ziploc and seal. Shake vigorously until the potatoes are evenly coated.

Pour the potatoes out onto the baking sheet in a single layer.

Place in the oven and cook for 35-45 minutes, until cooked through. Stir once or twice to prevent sticking.

If desired, finish with a touch of sea salt.