I’m an amateur cook. I know that there are healthier ways to prepare and eat foods. And I like the challenge of making them myself.

I decided to start with this base recipe from Lauren’s Latest. I like crackers, and I like cheese. What could go wrong?

I used different ingredients to make the recipe clean (and because I had to use what I had in my pantry).

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[Summary about recipe and explanation that my photos will be Instagram and iPhone fabulous, if included]

Yield: 8-10 small patties

1 lb. ground chicken (preferably cage-free, vegetarian fed)
1 apple, chopped 
2 tbsp. maple syrup (Grade B, if possible)
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. coarse black pepper
1/2 tsp. coarse kosher salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
Pinch of cayenne
Extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil for frying (opt.)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Form into 8 to 10 small patties.

Frying: Add oil to a medium sized saucepan and cook for 6-8 minutes on each side.

Baking: Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place patties on pan and bake for about 30-35 minutes.

“I wanna taste it!” 

Since I’ve started navigating the dangerous and engrossing world of Pinterest recipes and food blogging, this phrase is my mom’s weapon. She’s old school and she has a very picky palate. She knows this; I know this. Some things she won’t try out of fear of the unknown.

For a while, the weirder I could make the dish sound, the more leftovers and dishes from dining out I could hoard like a dragon keeps its gold keep and eat responsibly. 

Other times I would let her “taste it” with full knowledge she would hate it, resulting in (again) more leftovers for me. 

“What’s that, M?”

“It’s drunken noodles.” 

“What’s in it?” 

Snakes, snails, puppy dog tails… “It’s a Thai dish with ground spicy chicken and noodles, served over rice. It’s really hot. You wouldn’t like it.”

“Let me taste it!” 

Ten seconds later, I’m being scolded about how people who like hot peppers have evil in them. I think she’s being playful when she says that.

Despite all that, since I’ve been developing a cleaner and healthier food relationship, I’ve wanted her picky palate involved.* If I make something and she genuinely likes it, I know that 1) my palate hasn’t entered the flavorless badlands, 2) I can prepare something delicious, and 3) when I do make dinners for the two of us, I have a dependable healthy option we can share together.

So imagine my surprise when I made this spinach salad from Recipe Girl and she gushed about it for the next two hours about enjoying it. She especially loved the avocado because it tasted nothing like she imagined it would. 

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Welcome to What a Tasty Dish! This space is my repository for delicious foods, clean eating, healthy purposeful living, and positive thinking. But first, let’s get into the nitty gritty of who I am. 

I’m a 27-year-old lawyer in Baltimore City. I am a Black woman. I am fat. I am a spoiled only child. Scorpio sun, Sagittarius rising, Leo moon. Ox. Whatever. There’s more and less to me than all of that. For example:

• I am a Christian. You wouldn’t know it from my day to day interactions, and when you devote yourself to a spiritual practice, that failure to live by faith feels especially disappointing. 
• I am an amateur cook. Not even a chef yet, I know. But as I work to get fitter (happier, more productive), I want to develop my own clean and tasty recipes, learn techniques, and increase my skills as a baby foodie.
• I am a writer. I miss the written word. I miss composition. The absence of writing in my life has been felt, and reading reminds me I don’t write. So here’s to putting my shit on the paper, as Gloria Anzaldúa eloquently said, among other poignant things about the power of writing and sharing with others.

Now, let’s get to why I created this space.

Preparing food (among other things) is a practice I am passionate about pursuing and refining. So when I post entries that seem like common sense (e.g., whoa, did you know that citrus fruits have a lot of Vitamin C?!), don’t laugh at me terribly much. I’m working on it. I have been an emotional eater most of my life. If it was less than five dollars, had frosting on it, or (God help me) cream filling? Your girl would eat it. I distinctly remember a summer where I ate a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia ice cream upon returning home from my summer job.

Five days a week.

A whole pint.

Every work day. 

But I digress.

I am committed to converting foods that typically have a lot of processed components into cleaner dishes. Partially because I miss those dishes, and I have learned over the past few months that clean, healthy food can still be fun and delicious to eat. 

I also will share updates from my participation in all sorts of challenges, both voluntary and involuntary. I may fall down sometimes. But I’ll try my hardest to get back up. And if I ever see you’re down, I’ll help you up as best I can. 

If you would like to get in contact with me, you can follow me on Twitter. I am working on creating other contact methods; so stay tuned. You can also see my recipe hoarding collections on Pinterest.