Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Hot Honey Yogurt Ranch

& why timelines can be detrimental

Hi! Welcome to “good mood food” from Kale Me Maybe’s Carina Wolff. If you’ve made it here and aren’t yet a subscriber, come join! You can expect recipes, musings, and faves in your inbox every Wednesday! Paid subscribers get even more! Learn more about the paid tier of my newsletter here. You can also try a week for free!

CATCH UP!

I had my birthday over the weekend, and I mentioned last week that I wasn’t super excited about celebrating it. I think part of it is just getting older and caring less about doing something grand, but I also realized it was a bit of a bittersweet age to turn because of arbitrary timelines I had imposed on myself.

Years ago, before Grant and I were even engaged, I told him I would like to be a mom by the time I was 32. We had been sticking to that timeline, starting to try towards the end of my 31st year. That’s a dangerous game to play, as obviously, this timeline did not work out for me (I just turned 33). In the end, it doesn’t really matter, because that was my own made-up limit I put on myself. But it was disappointing to realize I’m not where I thought I would be. But I have to let it go.

What makes me feel better is thinking about the timelines I had set for myself when I was younger and more naive. I used to tell everyone when I was 18 or 19 that I was going to get married at 25 and have a baby at 27. Now I read that and CRACK up. When I turned 25, I had zero interest in getting married or having a child. Past me was not great at predicting future me. And guess what, my life turned out great! I met my husband at 28 and would not have wanted to marry anyone else.

Timelines can feel like goals, but there are often factors out of our control that can affect these goals. So don’t be too hard on yourself. Often life’s detours can be happy surprises.

THINGS I’M LOVING

I am sooo hooked on this season of Love Is Blind. Last season was so bad that I almost didn’t watch this season, but lord, are they hooking me in. So much to discuss. The Jimmy, Jessica, Chelsea love triangle? Perfect television. I cannot wait to watch tonight — feel free to send me all your thoughts.

Almost all the sweatshirts I own are branded because they come to me in PR boxes. It’s nice to have free sweatshirts, but I also don’t always want to be a walking advertisement. I’ve been on the hunt for a good, basic sweatshirt, and I love this one from Abercrombie. I got it in light grey, and now I think I need the matching sweatpants.

I’ve been cooking out of so many cookbooks recently, and for my birthday, Grant got me a beautiful wooden cookbook stand. I love the walnut color, and it has already proven to be useful when I cook dinner. Good job, Grant!

RECIPE!

I saw @ryanmichaelcarter make a hot honey ranch on Instagram, and I saved it immediately. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and I knew I had to make it in a recipe.

I made some modifications to his hot honey ranch (cut down on the oil and red chili flakes, added more yogurt, and used my own seasonings for the ranch), but it came out delicious! The color of my ranch didn’t turn out as red as his, which was a bummer, but the flavor was there. I actually used the leftover from this recipe in a tuna salad wrap the next day, and now I feel like I need to release that recipe as well.

I knew I wanted to enjoy this ranch with some sort of roasted vegetable, and I eventually landed on fingerling potatoes, although I feel like it would be SO good with roasted carrots also!

You will have extra hot honey ranch in this recipe, so definitely save it for later!

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Hot Honey Yogurt Ranch

Potatoes

• 1 lb fingerling potatoes

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp onion powder

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• Salt & pepper

• Optional: grated Parmesan, to top

Hot Honey Ranch

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 1/4 cup red chili flakes

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 tbsp onion powder

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp dried parsley

• 1 tbsp dried dill

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 cup Greek yogurt

• 3 tbsp honey

• 3 tbsp fresh dill, roughly chopped

1. Preheat oven to 425 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise. Add potatoes to a medium bowl. Toss with 1 tbsp olive oil, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the potatoes face down on the baking sheet, and transfer to the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes until potatoes are golden and crispy.

2. While potatoes are roasting, prepare the hot honey ranch. Heat up olive oil in a small pot on medium heat until very hot. Add red chili flakes and garlic to a medium bowl, and pour the hot oil over the chili flakes and garlic. Mix together, and set aside for a few minutes.

3. In a small bowl, combine the onion powder, garlic powder, dried parsley, dried dill, and salt. Mix that into the oil mixture along with Greek yogurt, honey, and 2 tbsp fresh dill. Taste, and season with more salt, if desired.

4. Spread some of the hot honey ranch onto a plate (I used a little less than half) and top with the potatoes. Finish off with grated Parmesan cheese and the remaining fresh dill. Serve immediately.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!

My “30-Minute Budget Meal” series continues! Last week, paid subscribers received a recipe for Baked Black Bean Tacos/Quesadillas. When I say this recipe is fast, I mean it’s fast. This upcoming Friday’s is also going to be KILLER, so join in on the fun to get this week’s recipe and access to all the archives!