I don't typically think of myself as a baker. I'm much more comfortable chopping and dicing than I am scooping and measuring. This focaccia, however, is easy enough that anybody can make a beautiful loaf of flavorful, fluffy bread in just about no time flat.

The only required equipment, other than the ingredients of course, is a stand mixer. The dough really needs to take a beating while mixing and hand mixers just aren't going to be able to muster enough power to get the job done properly. My Kitchen Aid, affectionately named Trogdor the Mixinator, makes quick work of it and makes me look like a damn good baker.

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I knew this soup was going to be good, but I was unprepared for how incredibly delicious it actually was. For being so simple to make it had a surprising depth of flavor.

It's thick and creamy, slightly sweet with just enough heat from the curry to add a lovely complexity. It's topped with a drizzle of cilantro oil (just cilantro and olive oil blended together with a pinch of kosher salt) for a little bit of additional freshness. The key is using fresh ingredients and a high quality curry paste - not a powder, a paste. I like Mae Ploy's pastes and I used the yellow curry paste in this soup. They're often available in Asian supermarkets. I order mine in bulk off Amazon.

I've been seeing how I can model my meals around main ingredients from Carolina Grown (see this post for more details). Mostly because I enjoy eating locally grown, fresh ingredients and I absolutely love the idea of being able to support local farmers as much as I possibly can - but also because planning a menu and sticking with it is a great way to save money.

I already allocate more money to food that most people I know, but I'm still interested in spending as little as possible for the highest quality ingredients I can get my hands on.

Because it's still winter the produce options at CG are limited, but they've got some lovely root vegetables available - including these Carolina Ruby sweet potatoes.

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This has definitely become one of my favorite preparations for duck breast. I first tried it in DC over the holidays at my MiL's house, but both of us had difficulties with the prescribed cooking time. I botched it twice, and with the price of boneless duck breasts I was about to give up on the recipe entirely.

I gave it a couple more shots and I've come away from it very pleased. Turns out if you use a duck breast twice the size of the one the recipe calls for it's going to take a little longer to cook.

The five spice combination of star anise, clove, cinnamon, anise seed, and Sichuan peppercorn is the perfect accompaniment to the richness of the duck breast. The sesame noodles are flavored just enough to please, but simply enough to complement the rich, aggressive flavor of the duck.

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I wasn't sure if I was going to be too crazy about this recipe as I was making it - I needn't have worried. The combination of flavors presented was amazing. Lime, honey, soy, cilantro - all baked on a bed of rice.

For the first time in my life I'm living more than ten minutes from the ocean - or the Puget Sound - as such I've been buying very little fish. There's just something that skeezes me out about buying fish when I'm several hours away from the water. I know it's perfectly safe, but it just doesn't taste the same after it's been frozen and stored for a while then purchased and brought home and frozen again.

It loses all of that fresh, oceany-ness.

Thankfully I have a Whole Foods fairy that visited me a little while ago with a lovely cooler full of delightful treats. Included was some beautiful Coho salmon that I've been dying to try.

I saw this recipe in October's Bon Appetit. I didn't want to use the same vegetable, but the idea of a one pot baked salmon ready in under an hour was heartily appealing.

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