March flew by, as has every month so far this year. I’ve noticed a pattern where at the beginning of the month I’ll shoot a bunch of food pictures, and then I’ll get busy or lose interest in the middle, only to realize I need more photos at the end of the month. Then, once I’m putting my post together I realize I’ve somehow created a collection that has more substance than I initially thought.

1. Ground Beef Chili

I was excited to try this as part of my one-chili-per-month challenge. This is the original New Years Day Party chili recipe that was replaced by the one we currently use. The recipe is pretty straightforward, and it got me thinking a lot about how I’ve been taught to develop flavor. After browning the meat, most of the ingredients are dropped in fresh, so they retain more of their raw flavor, especially the bell peppers and tomatoes. Rather than using dried chilis like Kenji’s recipe, I cooked in January or the chipotles in adobo from the America’s Test Kitchen recipe, this uses a heavy dose of dried chili powder. I was surprised at how much I liked the simple smoky flavor it brought out. This dish also calls for a large amount of butter and it came through in the final product, but in a much more subtle way than I was expecting. Compared to the other bowls, this one came out more like a hearty meat sauce with its buttery vegetable forwardness. That said, when served as the author of the recipe intended – with green salad, crusty bread, and foamy beer – it was quite enjoyable.

2. Broccolini with Oyster Sauce

This really should have been gai lan, but I didn’t make it over to the Korean grocery store to look for it in time. The recipe was quite simple, but I enjoyed the thinned oyster sauce and thought it complemented the broccolini well. The little bits of fried garlic were a welcome touch both in terms of flavor and visual. I do love a minimal plate with vegetables.

3. Stracciatella alla Romana with Focaccia

As a big-time lover of egg drop soup, when stracciatella alla romana was sold to me as the Italian equivalent, I knew I had to try it. This was also my first time making focaccia, and it was so easy. I’m definitely going to do this pairing as well. The stracciatella alla romana has a nice, light lemony flavor and it goes so well with the salty focaccia crunch.

4. Tortilla Soup

This was one of the first dishes I made this month and I was worried for a minute that it was too similar to the ATK Chili I had made the month before. The flavor is similarly heavy on the chiptole in adobo and the toppings are quite similar. I have to admit, I had never considered using a pickle as a soup garnish before, but it went quite well.

5. Arroz con pollo

Plain, simple, hearty. I feel like I could have this every day.

6. Braised tofu

I’m still not happy with my tofu frying technique. It sticks to the pan half the time. Maybe I’m not waiting enough, maybe I’m not drying the tofu enough, or maybe I just need more oil? The gingery sauce saved everything on this, though.