Chicken tacos with kale and salsa verde (from Tacos: Recipes and Provocations). My second taco adventure from this book did not disappoint. These were less labor intensive than the chorizo ones I made last week, but with almost comparable flavor (it’s just that I love chorizo far more than chicken). I recommend enlisting a dinner guest to help roll out the tortillas and having them bring a salad to balance the indulgent tacos (Thanks, Betsy!).

Smoky tomato and potato soup (from Flour, Too) with grilled cheese. I didn’t have smoked pepper, but I added in smoked paprika for another smoky layer and was still disappointed from the lack of smokiness. That aside, this is a good standard tomato soup with some added heft from the potatoes.

This may have not been the most warming meal for a ski day, but it is certainly good, nutritious energy (photo at top). The chickpea salad was from Bowl + Spoon and was essentially like chicken or egg salad but with chickpeas for the protein. The quinoa salad has roasted cauliflower, scallions, and a light vinaigrette made with lemon and olive oil. The green salad is kale, shredded Brussels, celery slivers, and a Dijon lemon vinaigrette. Each solid on their own, but I really preferred them all rolled into one as a giant super salad.

Refried bean burritos (from How to Cook Everything: The Basics). I followed the recipe for the refried beans from the book, but everything else was dictated by my pantry. The leftover chicken and kale, queso freshco, and crema from tacos, plus avocado and some additional sauteed kale made up the filling. They made a reappearance the next morning as breakfast burrifos sans avocado and dairy products, plus scrambled eggs.

Scrambled eggs, kale sauteed in bacon fat, crisped Portuguese chourico, and toasted whole wheat sourdough.

Making good on my resolution to stop fearing fermenting with whole wheat sourdough.

Not something I cooked, but I loved this post on Lady and Pups about her visit to Madrid. It perfectly captures the feeling when you go to a place you deeply connect with, and also when you have the greatest love for your first of something, even though it may not be the best (and that is ok).

“It is widely circulated that La Ardosa – which was just a mere 10 min walk from our apartment if I should mention – makes one of the best tortilla de patatas in town.  But with the many others we had in Madrid, including Ardosa, the very first we ran into from Maricastana still remained as the best one in our perception.  Possibly a bias, but isn’t that true for everything else powered by nostalgia?  Mother’s pancakes, Grandma’s fried chicken.  Are they really the best?  Or does it matter?  In a lot of ways, being attached to an opinion of where “the best” something is, is an important emotional bond in that particular relationship.” – Lady and Pups