Valentines Day

I'm being spoiled tonight. Jimmy is making dinner for me tonight and he is a great cook. The menu is a surprise so I'm looking forward to finding out what he's planning. He knows me very well so I know the food will be well tailored. But mostly of all, I'm just looking forward to having an evening together.

Some pretty unforgettable valentines gifts he given me have included a message encrypted poem and yellow roses hand delivered from San Antonio.

Gnocchi Scramble

Creamy gnocchi with scrambled eggs and scallions, I could eat this every day. I love this meal, it's a creamy and very flavourful dish that takes less than 10 mins to make. I almost always have gnocchi and eggs in the pantry so I can make this whenever I need to. It goes perfectly at any meal, with toast at breakfast, on a bed of romaine at lunch and as a side dish at dinner. Jim was the first one to makes this dish one night when I was laying on the couch sick and watching Jacques Pepin's cooking show Fast Food My Way with no strength or ambition to make dinner. This was the recipe that Jacque was making in that particular episode and Jim said, "Do you want that? I could make that." Mmmm, it tasted mighty fine.

Creamy Gnocchi Scramble

(adapted from Jacques Pepin's Fast Food My Way)

1 small pkg potato gnocchi

1C water

2 tsp olive oil

5 eggs

salt and pepper

2 tbsp chopped scallions (optional)

2 tsp butter

1/3 C cottage cheese or sour cream

Place gnocchi in a large frying pan over med-high heat. Pour in water and oil. Cover and cook 4 mins or until gnocchi is tender and rehydrated.

Meanwhile, whisk together eggs, salt and pepper.

When gnocchi is cooked, remove lid and cook 1 more minute. Add butter and scallions cook 1 more minute.

Stir in eggs and continue stirring until egg is cooked. Finish by removing pan from heat and stirring in the cottage cheese or sour cream.

Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a grating of Parmesan cheese if you like.

What I {almost} ate for : Breakfast

Having a very hungry boy around me all the time means I share all my meals. Jibs usually finishes his breakfast and then finishes my breakfast. This morning (after being inspired, yet again, by Everyday Food) I toasted myself a piece of bread, sliced some white cheddar on top and spread the cheddar with marmalade, popped it in the toaster oven again and melted everything together. If you don't have a toaster oven, I would stick the dressed toast under the broiler for a minute or so.

I love marmalade and what I actually of this toast was delicious...Jibs ate most of it and made "mmm, yum" sounds the whole time. This is sure to become a morning favourite.

Now excuse me as I go make myself another toast.

What we ate for : Lunch

Lunch can be a challenging meal at times, so I'm thankful for things like grilled cheese and soup. One of my long-time favourite lunches has to be this salad. I think I modified this from a Michael Smith recipe about 6 years ago or something. (I ate it a lot when I was pregnant and after Clara was born).

Stir together a mixture of beans, tuna, olive oil, and lemon with a sprinkle of kosher salt and some pepper then eat it on some lettuce or pasta and even serve it up in a soft tortilla. Lunch is served.

Today I ate it on a bed of arugala, parsley, cucumber and spinach. The kids ate it beside some sliced cucumber, red peppers, grapes and cheese.

Lemon Chickpea Salad

1 can chickpeas (or white beans)

1/2 lemon, zested and juiced

1 can tuna, drained and chunked

1Tbsp Olive oil

1/4 tsp Kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.

Serve atop lettuce or pasta, fill a tortilla or eat it alone.

Sprinkle with freshly grated parm if you want.