Grill season is here again, and I wanted to share some recipes for caramelized onions. They make any grilled food special, whether it’s a steak, burger, or Portobello mushroom. The key to these is patience, and that’s something I generally lack. So when I am going to make caramelized onions, I make sure to multitask and do things that require me to leave the kitchen. Then when I come back to check on them I can really see the progress.

My original intent was to make these Green Beans with Orange and Hazelnut, but I changed plans and went with an even simpler preparation. It was 70F outside, and about 100F in my kitchen! I boiled about a pound of green beans in salted water for 5 minutes and drained them. Then, I tossed the beans with the juice of one orange and chopped pieces of orange rind, along with a dash of salt and pepper. The orange flavor was subtle, but the green beans were still great. When vegetables are really fresh, you don’t need to do much to enjoy them.

Spaghetti squash is fairly versatile vegetable. Last year, I featured it in a casserole with tomato sauce and made pancakes. This recipe though is my new favorite, and it’s very simple with only 4 ingredients. It does take some time to bake the squash initially, and while you can’t really leave the house with the oven on, you don’t have to pay much attention either. If you’re completely bored with your usual vegetable rotation, give this a try.

I’d like to remake this recipe into a main dish casserole, and maybe give it some color. Any ideas?

St. Patrick’s Day is approaching quickly, and while cabbage and potatoes are standard holiday sides, my family wanted to try colcannon which means they asked me to make it “for the blog”. There are many recipes out there, but I used this one which called for simmering milk with garlic and spices, which was then used to mash the potatoes. However, I had to take several shortcuts since the smallish kitchen was crowded trying to cook a full corned beef dinner for 7! So here’s the simplified version, but it was still delicious and also made great leftovers.

I tried this version of roasted brussels sprouts last year, but this time I added two new colorful ingredients – feta and sun dried tomatoes. First, I tossed about a dozen brussels sprouts, halved, with some olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roasted them for about 20 minutes at 375F. Then, I added a handful of chopped sun dried tomatoes and a quarter cup of feta cheese, and baked them for another 10-15 minutes.

I ate the first half of them hot from the oven, and they were great. I ate the second half of them the following day, chilled, and they were good that way too. This winter’s rule is “When in doubt, roast your vegetables!”

Most of the produce offered at the winter farmer’s market consisted of root vegetables, like turnip, carrots, and beets. Are you sitting down, Mom? Because yes, I bought beets, that vegetable that I always hated as a kid! They were organic beets from Wintermoon Farm in Hadley, MA. The farm does not have a website, but there is a neat article about the farm and their efforts to be carbon neutral.

My friend Lee asked if I had tried to make kale chips, a recipe which has been featured on popular food blogs such as KERF, as well as the Today Show. I did make these last year one time but wasn’t totally impressed. With Lee’s encouragement, I decided to give the recipe another try. The process is simple enough; you place pieces of torn kale on a baking sheet, coat them with cooking spray or oil and some salt, and then bake them in the oven at a high temperature until crispy. Ketchup is optional, but highly recommended.

I admit I liked them enough to eat the whole batch over the holiday weekend, and yet I don’t think they’ll make it into my usual rotation. They are good, but there are a lot of great recipes which use kale that I like better, including this salad and this sweet and savory kale dish. But if this recipe will bring kale into your house for the first time, go for it!

I know, I was supposed to work on perfecting sweet potato fries, but then I saw this recipe and remembered that I had put fresh thyme in the freezer. I substituted cayenne pepper for the red pepper flakes, and they certainly had a little kick. The sweet potato rounds looked quite elegant on my dish but they tasted great as well. Fresh (or, frozen when fresh) herbs really make a difference; if only I had a green thumb and more natural light, I’d try an indoor herb garden!

I had about half a head of escarole remaining after I made this soup, and a splash of red wine remaining after I made this chicken. To be honest, there wasn’t much else in my refrigerator, so I made this quick escarole side dish.

I tore the escarole into smaller pieces, gave them a quick rinse, and then tossed them in a big frying pan with a bit of olive oil and garlic powder. After cooking the escarole on high heat for a few minutes, I added in the red wine and left the pan on the stove for another minute. This isn’t a recipe, but sometimes you need to just let the contents of your refrigerator inspire you.