I made our first meal at our new apartment the other night. I can’t explain the zeal I got from cooking in a new place with a gas stove. Plus, I finally used my new Global paring knife which cuts through things like butter. Delicious, delicious butter.

I picked up some cheese from a shop called Stinky on Smith Street for a roasted beet and goat cheese salad. The frommagier recommended a goat cheese from upstate New York called Lively Run. I got the rose peppercorn flavored one. (You can see the specks in the photo above.) It was fantastic. Some of the best goat cheese I’ve ever had. It tasted fresh and green. And only $3.50 for a log!

The greens I used are watercress, which is totally different than the watercress I am used to eating: Long Island supermarket watercress has smaller, darker leaves and a thicker stalks - which makes it amazing in soups, but awkward in salads. I dressed the salad with fresh lemon juice and olive oil using my new Misto olive oil spritzer (basically a reusable Pam bottle, sans the chemicals).

I also picked up a baguette at a cute bakery on Union called Mazzola. I was disappointed with the bread. It tasted like generic, school lunch baguette. I’ll go back to sample their other wares, though.

Anyway, I baked some chicken thighs with my Secret Hobo Spice Rub. And I sauteed some zucchini with onions, garlic and turmeric.

So I thought I grabbed the quinoa, but it turned out to be millet. (Uncooked, it looks just like quinoa except a little more yellow.) Millet is a hippy grain that’s gluten free. I had bought some because it’s recommended by Carol Vorderman (Britain’s Vanna White, except smart) in her detox books. Now, I’ve never cooked with millet before and it was soon obvious to me that you don’t cook it the same way as you would quinoa. I didn’t know how the eff to cook it and I was without internet, so I kept adding water because it was hard and dry. After a long time on the stove, instead of nice little individual grains, I ended up with a gross, dry paste - like lumpy mashed potatoes. I tasted it and it was like soft cardboard. It had no flavor. Rices, quinoa and cous cous all have a natural taste. Millet, no. I thought I could save it by seasoning it a la risotto. Except I had no wine and no butter. I put some chicken stock in, some lemon zest, some chopped parsley, some freshly grated nutmeg and pecorino. I thought it was edible, but Matt said that after a few bites, it didn’t taste like anything. Pokey liked it, though and he’s a discerning eater - for a dog, that is. Anyway, it just goes to show that you can’t polish a turd.

Roasted Beet Salad
Serves two
Inactive cooking time: one hour
Active cooking time: five minutes

• 2 medium beets
• one bunch watercress or baby spinach or arugula or mixed greens
• 2 slices of good goat cheese (appx. two tablespoons)
• juice of half a lemon
• olive oil

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400 degrees. Trim, wash and dry beets. Rub with olive oil and wrap in tin foil. Bake for about an hour. Unwrap and let cool. Once cool, peel. You should wear plastic or latex gloves (powder free), though I don’t mind ending up with stained hands. Dice beets.Wash and dry greens. Dress with lemon juice and a little olive oil right before serving. Plate. Arrange diced beets and goat cheese in a purdy way. Serve. Eat. Enjoy.

Tips ‘n’ tricks:

• If you don’t have the time or patience to roast beets, you can get larger ones, peel them and use a mandolin to finely slice them. Eat raw in salad. (This is from Jamie Oliver)
• If you want to be Rachel Ray about it, I guess you could use canned or jarred beets. I don’t know what those things taste like, though. I do not endorse them.

Health: Awesome. Beets and dark greens are super good for you. (Plus beets do really cool things to the color of your feces.) Goat cheese is one of the better cheeses for you because it’s higher in moisture, thus less in fat.

Cost: Cheap for a fancy-ish salad that will impress a date - $3.20 or $1.60 per serving (this salad goes for like $6-7 in restaurants)

Cost breakdown:
Watercress $1.99
Two beets $.70 (at $1.99 a pound without the tops)
Goat cheese $.50 (at $3.50 a log)

Uncle Moe’s Secret Hobo Spices
This can be used to rub on chicken or pork chops. Use it to “bam” up a butternut squash soup or to flavor cous cous. This is something fun you can prepare when you are bored, but not hungry.

Makes half a cup.

• 2 tablespoons fennel seeds
• 1/2 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 1/2 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 3/4 teaspoon chili flakes
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt

Heat the first three spices over medium heat in a small skillet. Constantly keep the pan moving to prevent burning. Toast for about five minutes or until the fennel seeds start browning. Add chili flakes and toast until they start browning (keep tossing). Do NOT put your face over the spice mix. Do NOT get a good whiff of it while it’s cooking. Turn on your exhaust fan if you have one. Transfer to a plate to cool for a few minutes. Put the spice mix into a blender with the remaining ingredients (I use my trusty Braun Multiquick). You can put the first three ingredients in a spice grinder and mix in the rest afterwards. Put in airtight container like a mini Ziplock or Glad Tupperware dealie. I think it can save for at least three months in a cool, dark place.

Cost: Here’s where I fail you. I don’t know the costs of my spices because I bought them a few months ago. It’s not crazy expensive, but it does costs a little more than pre-made spice rubs like Essence of Emeril or that fat Louisana guy’s (the one that gar-own-tees), but it tastes like twenty times better and you can interchange the spice used, like cumin or smoked paprika or ginger. Or dirt if you want to be more hobo like.