Looking for something to do with that homemade ricotta?

Who am I kidding? None of you have made any ricotta since Monday. (If you have, I salute you and we are destined to be BFFs.) I must be the only crazy person with a fridge full of raw milk and an interest in cheese making.

But maybe you have some store-bought ricotta in your fridge that needs to be used?

Time to bust it out, people! We can work with that.

This dip is.. gah. So good.

This is basically a cannoli in a bowl. Tastes exactly the same. Dip anything you want into it- fruit, crackers/cookies/carbs of your choice, heck- spread it on a vegetable and just try not to eat it.

The cute little crackers pictured are actually made with some spent grain from Mr. Nick’s homebrewing adventures. They are dark and lovely and perfect vessels for dipping. Grahams or waffle cookies would be lovely, too.

If you’d prefer a smoother dip, keep adding cream until it’s as thin as you like. I like it thicker, with an almost cookie-dough-consistency- you could probably roll it up and make it into truffles if you wanted to. Umm, yeah- let’s definitely do that.

(I just realized that this looks eerily similar to my white bean cookie dough– there are no beans in this, I promise! And tastes better, if you ask me. Probably because there are no beans in it?)

Put this one on your list.

Have you ever tried to type something with one hand (like a blog post, for instance) while nursing a baby, hoping that you can clear your mind and get some thoughts down before your toddler wakes up? This is probably my fifth attempt in three days to do so and I’m almost positive I’ll be interrupted by something in the next few minutes. How do you mamas of 3, 4, 5+ babies do it all?

But I will soldier on- you guys deserve some attention, too!

Say hello to my second round of mini galettes this week. To follow up my savory breakfast galettes, I present something a little sweeter- but not too sweet.  These galettes are made with a layer of ricotta, a drizzle of honey and topped with beautiful fresh strawberries. I know I’ve lived in the South for a few years, but I still can’t believe strawberries are in season this early down here. I’m a lucky lady.

If you are a person who doesn’t like overly sweet treats, this one’s for you. You can eat it for breakfast or dessert, depending on your mood. I like it served hot with an extra drizzle of honey on top- I’m sure I would have added some ice cream or whipped cream, though, if we had any on hand. This is another great choice for brunch as well- perhaps Easter brunch?

If you don’t like the idea of the ricotta cheese, you can substitute mascarpone cheese or cream cheese as well- just make sure the cream cheese is very soft and spreadable so you don’t tear the pie dough.

I hope this recipe gets you excited for spring. Spring is my second favorite season, ya’ll (after Fall, which is the best of the best)! Spring means strawberry picking, birds chirping, playground equipment that isn’t burning hot, slightly fewer annoying bugs, sidewalk chalk, fruit in my water when I feel fancy, toenail polish, asparagus and green, green grass. Spring for the win!

Eat one of these before spring is over.

Oh, good morning, HEAVEN. How did you end up on my breakfast plate?

Ya’ll know I love me some breakfast and brunch. They’re the meals best known for being awesome. I have whipped up some tasty breakfasts and brunches in the past, but I think I hit the jackpot on this one, people. Picture it with me:

Flaky, buttery pie crust. Creamy Fontina and Ricotta cheese. Salty prosciutto. Drippy egg yolk. Roasted asparagus. And you can have them all in one bite. Droolfest 2012, my friends.

After reading this post a few months ago, I could not get the idea of a breakfast galette out of my head. I decided to make it my own by creating a single serving version- that way each person is guaranteed a good amount of crust and a whole egg yolk to themselves. I cannot get enough of drippy egg yolks, especially when they come from my own happy chickens. (Yes, all of the beautiful eggs pictured are from our fine, feathered gals in the backyard.)

I’m somewhat obsessed with the egg yolks in this recipe; but I love the asparagus, as well (it reminds me of one of my favorite spring dishes, this Asparagus and Gruyere Tart).  I can think of nothing better on a spring morning than eating one of these galettes, fresh out of the oven. I downed one just minutes after I took these photos. It’s a good thing I only made two of them. It is a bit decadent, but worth every bite.

You could go vegetarian with these, but I beg you- don’t leave the prosciutto out! It adds the perfect, salty undertone to the egg yolk. It’s like bacon and eggs, only 1,000 times better. How’s that for an endorsement?

 I also experimented with some sweet galettes which I’ll be showing you soon. I love galettes- they are impossible to mess up and always find a way to look fancy. Try serving them up at your next breakfast or brunch gathering- you can make them ahead, then reheat in the oven and add the egg yolks before serving. Or how sweet would it be to make these for breakfast-in-bed? You will definitely get extra points when your hubby takes a bite.

And just so you know..

This post was sponsored by Frigidaire. When you check out Suzanne Goin’s springtime recipes at www.maketimeforchange.com, Frigidaire will donate $1 to Save the Children’s U.S. programs. Plus, you’ll be entered for a chance to win the new Frigidaire Range with Symmetry^TM Double Ovens – featuring two large ovens (that can each fit up to a 28 pound turkey!), providing the flexibility to cook multiple dishes at the same time at different temperatures, so you can get more on the table at the same time.

Let’s start this with a .. YUM.

Reasons to try this recipe: It’s full of healthy greens. 
Dark, beautiful, curly kale and a little family-friendly broccoli. I like greens on their own, but when you add pasta and cheese? That’s a win.

It’s freezable.
I made the full recipe; baking up half of it for our meal and freezing half of it for a future dinner. I love that I only had to cook once, but I get to eat it twice (and not as leftovers).
 
It’s tasty.

Big bites of pasta, creamy ricotta cheese, perfectly moist chicken and dark, flavorful greens.  Pair it with a salad and you can feel great about what you’re feeding your family.This is a solid weeknight meal- try it soon.
(And do not fear the kale! It’s your body’s best friend, I swear.)

It’s been quite a month over here.  Lots of vegan and vegetarian recipes, some personal, vegan-related drama and some probably not veganize-able (what?) Nutella cookies.  I’m closing out all of this nonsense today with a recipe that can work for all diets; carnivores, vegetarians and vegans alike.

I’ve made this recipe twice in the recent past.  If you asked, my husband would tell you that’s pretty rare around here.  I like to experiment.. almost too much, sometimes.  These dumplings were so good and such an excellent use of our garden chard that I had to do a repeat.  They’re also very popular with the little guy.

The directions look horrendous and long, but I think it’s worth the effort.  This would be a good weekend meal, or something to make when you have extra hands to help in the kitchen.  When you bite into the dumplings, what you taste most is the bacon/pancetta.  You’ll never know you’re getting all of those vitamins and minerals from the chard.  I haven’t tried making them vegetarian or vegan, but I believe they’d still taste excellent that way.  Please let me know if you try it and how it works out.

This dish has a garden/fresh feel to it that I think you’ll enjoy during the warmer temperatures.

And if you don’t remember, May is all about pies in the Great Food Adventure!  I can’t wait to dig in, find the perfect crust, and share all of those luscious summer pie recipes with you.  If you have any favorites from around the web, feel free to link to them in the comment section!