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I had a lot of work today, but I was hankering for some real food after eating (dare I admit it?) cereal for dinner last night.

So I decided to turn a hunk of local grass-fed, grass-finished beef into a meatloaf. I am not famous for my meatloaf. I rarely make it, as in once every few years. When I do, it has an unfortunate tendency to be on the bland side. Today, I vowed to do better. I think I succeeded, at least part way.

I took a few pointers from the meatloaf in the Gourmet Cookbookand applied my own let’s-make-it-easier point of view, my available ingredients and assorted adjustments such that the Gourmet editors would never claim it. Then, I threw it in the oven with a sweet potato, steamed some broccoli, and put together the salad I’ve been waiting to prepare—waiting, that is, for pears to ripen. And, voila! A delicious, easy, comforting meal on yet another cold night. (Hello, Spring? You’re always welcome at my house. Tomorrow would be delightful.)

So, here’s the recipe. It sounds a little weird, I imagine. The only things I might do differently would be to add more black pepper and just a little garlic, which I intended to add and forgot till I saw it still sitting on the counter. You might want to add a little salt, too, although it was quite fine without it.

OK. It was still a little bland. I nevertheless am looking forward to leftovers—hot, on sandwiches and pretending to be meatballs in a nice marinara sauce with spaghetti.

Winter meatloaf

• 1 small onion
• 1 small carrot
• 2 mild peppers (I’m guessing on quantity; I had some diced Anaheims from last summer’s CSA in the freezer)
• 1/2 rib celery
• 1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar (hey—the recipes always call for ketchup, which I didn’t have, and ketchup’s mostly sugar, so I thought the loaf needed a little sweetness)
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 pounds ground beef

1. Finely chop onion, carrot, peppers and celery (and a clove or two of garlic if you think of it) in a food processor. Scrape into medium bowl.
2. Add bread crumbs, black pepper, Worcestershire, sugar, egg and beef. Mix with hands until blended. (Gourmet warns against the evils of overmixing, but it didn’t define the term. I was in no danger of overmixing, however, because the meat was barely thawed despite almost four days in the fridge. My hands were freezing!)
3. Shape into loaf about 10 inches by 5 inches (about 1 1/2 to 2 inches high) on a baking pan with a lip. Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees, or until internal temperature is 160 degrees. Remove from oven and let sit a few minutes before serving.

Makes 4-6 servings.

The loaf, before baking

Winter pear salad

• 1 ripe pear for each person
• Mesclun
• 1 ounce (give or take) Maytag blue cheese
• Toasted pecans or walnuts
• White wine vinegar
• Extra virgin olive oil

1. Wash, halve and core pears. Place cut side up on bed of mesclun.
2. Crumble cheese over top, and sprinkle with nuts, chopped if desired.
3. Sprinkle with a little vinegar and oil.

Could it be any easier? I don’t think so! And it’s delicious, and I say that as someone who’s pretty indifferent to raw pears.