Rice and Beans

My sister made a rice and beans dish the other night inspired by her friend Sneha's recipe, and because she wanted to attempt a tex-mex-ish dish. It was so delicious and, she claims, really easy to make! The good thing about this dish, and most other dishes that I make, is that you can put in whatever veggies you want (or meat if you swing that way, lol!)

Part A: THE RICE

Heat veggie oil in a pot at medium heat. Add 2 tbsps chopped garlic. Once the garlic has cooked, add veggies. My sister used 1/2 cup of chopped red bell peppers, 1/2 cup chopped green peppers, 1/2 cup chopped white onions, and 1 cup chopped plum tomatoes. After the veggies softened, she added 2 cups of uncooked basmati rice. Stir for a couple of minutes. Add 1 cup canned diced tomatoes (with juice), 2 tbsps Ortega taco seasoning, and salt to taste. Cover pot and lower heat. Allow the rice to cook in the juice, until it fluffs to your liking. It should take about 10 minutes. You can add water or veggie broth to the rice if you like the rice fluffier, which is what my sister did.

Part B: THE BEANS

Buy frijoles negros (black beans, I know, but I like to pretend I'm cultured and a polyglot), wash them. Serve with rice!

Serve with shredded Monterey Jack, salsa (we use Taco Bell sauce!!), and finely sliced scallions. We love Taco Bell sauce in our family, so I strongly suggest using it- buuuuuuuut, I suppose you could use another type of sauce or salsa! : )

Holiday Cookies!

My sister, our friend Saylea, and I decided to watch all three Lord of the Rings movies and bake holiday cookies today! My sister and I love the LOTR movies, and Saylea had never seen them, so we felt the need to share the joy with her (we are in the spirit of the holidays, of course!) We ended up making three types of cookies and rice krispie treats, cause that's how long it took us to watch the trilogy of movies....
: ) On the left, there's a picture of all three kinds of cookies we made, aren't they pretty??


Cookie 1: Russian tea cakes

My sister made these cookies, and they are super good and super pretty. We actually picked this recipe in honor of my parents, because they love nuts!

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups finely chopped pecans
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup powdered sugar
serving size: 3 dozen cookies

Heat oven to 325F. Grind the pecans in a food processor or mini prep grinder. Mix ground nuts with flour, sugar, butter, and vanilla. Make 1 inch diameter balls from the dough. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes, or until they are golden colored. There isn't a huge color change between the cooked and uncooked cookies, but there is a slight change, if you look carefully. I definitely think it is easier to look for slight cracks in the balls. Also, the cookies feel drier to touch when they were done. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes and then roll the cookies in powdered sugar two times (while the cookies are still warm.)

Note: You can also make these cookies with walnuts.

Cookie 2: Turtle Thumbprints

I absolutely love these cookies, and they are pretty easy to make. I would say, on a scale of easy to hard, that these cookies are between easy and medium difficult to make. They kinda take a long time to make because the recipe requires a refrigeration step in the middle. Also, the ingredients are sticky and messy, so it requires some patience, but it's definitely worth it!

Cookie:
2/3 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Filling:
15 caramels, unwrapped
3 tbsp heavy cream
24 pecans halves

Topping:
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp heavy cream
serving size: 2 dozen cookies

The first step is making the dough. Mix all the cookie ingredients, cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate for 1 hour. After refrigerating the cookie batter, mold the batter into 1 inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes in an oven preheated to 375F. When you remove the cookies from the oven, make a small indent in the center of the cookies with a spoon. I tried making an indent in the cookies before baking them, but the indent filled itself in while it baked. I made an indent afterwards, which worked well too!

While the cookies are baking, prepare the filling and topping. Microwave the caramel and heavy cream for 30 seconds, and microwave the chocolate and heavy cream for 30 seconds in a separate bowl. Stir each bowl until they are smooth.

Assemble the cookies by spooning 1/2 tsp caramel on to the top of the cookie, add a pecan half on top of the caramel, and then drizzle chocolate on top. I didn't put a pecan on top of the cookies because I ran out of pecans, but I added a layer of chopped pecans under the chocolate layer instead of the whole pecan.

Cookie 3: Chocolate Snowcaps

These are the last cookies I made, and the recipe is based on a Martha Stewart recipe. The Martha version is called Chocolate Espresso Snowcaps, but I realized that we didn't have espress powder in our kitchen halfway through making the recipe... sooooooo, I changed the recipe, lol.


3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
4 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp skim milk
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Mix all the ingredients, except the powdered sugar. The dough should stick together prettty easily. If it is too liquidy, add a little all purpose flour. Roll into a big ball. Wrap in plastic wrap. Freeze for 45 minutes.

After the dough has hardened, remove from freezer. Roll into 1 inch bowls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Roll each ball in powdered sugar 2 times and then bake for 13 minutes in an oven preheated to 350F. SO PRETTY!

IN CONCLUSION...
Ashu, Saylea, and I took a vote on the cookies to see which ones we liked best....
Saylea: tie between the Russian tea cakes and the turtles
Ashu: tie between turtles and chocolate snow caps
Me: Russian tea cakes (I was in the mood for nuts)

But, as Saylea said, the cookie preferences really depend on your mood at the moment, because at the end of the night, she decided to vote for a 3-way tie between the cookies. I love cookies!

The Breakfast Club Part II

The other breakfast club post described a lot of the sweet things my kids and I made in class. I ended up making more savory dishes as the semester progressed, because I thought it would be fun to introduce the kids to different veggies' tastes and flavors.

My two favorite classes were when we made mini-frittatas and breakfast quesadillas. For both recipes, I bought lots of different veggies, including green, red, orange and yellow bell peppers; and red and yellow onions. I always think it's really interesting that kids have certain ideas about foods that are really inflexible, but they actually like the tastes of those same foods once they try it. For example, one of my girls said she hated onions, and she refused to try them. I convinced her to put some onions in some of her frittatas, and she ended up loving them after they were cooked, because they were sweet and delicious after being cooked! Of course, three classes later, she refused to admit she likes onions, but hey, baby steps!

Here are the recipes:

Mini Frittatas (40 mini frittatas)

8 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped orange bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped white onion

Preheat oven to 375 F. Mix eggs, milk, pepper, salt with a metal whisk or a fork. Add the parmesan cheese to the mixture. Spray mini-muffin tins with non-stick oil spray, or use oil if you prefer. Fill each tin with the egg mixture until they are 1/2 full. Fill the remaining space with veggies. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the eggs puff up and turn slightly brown.

Note: The best thing about this recipe is that the kids can customize every frittata! They can have themes, or color code, or do whatever their little hearts desire!

Breakfast Quesadillas

So, these are the easiest things to make, EVER! Basically, it's the same recipe as above, except without eggs, and with flour tortilla shells! So, here's what we did: I cut 8 inch flour tortilla shells into half, which made it easier to deal with after filling them. On one half, we layered the veggies (bell peppers, onions, grated zucchini), Monterey Jack cheese, a pinch of salt and pepper, and fresh lime juice. The fresh lime is the secret ingredient that really makes the quesadilla taste special, so don't skip it! If adults are eating these, add jalapeno peppers or banana peppers! Then, cover with the other half of the tortilla shell, and bake at 375F for 5 minutes, until the top is brown and the insides have melted/cooked.

We also made sweet breakfast quesadillas, which I thought were really cool! We layered one half of the tortilla shell with a few tablespoons of chunky applesauce, 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp brown sugar, 1/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese. Cover with the other half of the tortilla shell and bake at 375F for 5 minutes. So tasty! It's kind of like a really easy apple pie!

Ode to Cupcakes!

I love cupcakes! They're cute, they're tasty, they're amazing. What's not to like? And, I think it is time for me to admit that I love cupcakes made from a box. The lovely, delightful cupcakes pictured above are made from a supermarket brand lemon cake mix. Yum! I can appreciate gourmet masterpieces, as the cupcakes from Washington DC-based CakeLove are. But, at the end of the day, these cupcakes, with a little bit of vanilla frosting and a shake of round sprinkles make me happier than anything else in the world! YUM! As my big sister likes to say, "Don't hate, appreciate."

: )

Saag and Onion Rice

My sister made this fantastic dish for dinner tonight, so I thought I would blog it for her! She made saag, which translates to spinach, and a simple rice stir-fry to accompany it. You will find this dish at every North Indian restaurant, and it will be super heavy, since they typically use a large amount of heavy cream. My sister made a lighter version of the dish that tastes just as good, and won't require you to buy new pants every time you eat it! The saag dish is typically made with paneer, which is a type of Indian cheese. We decided not to use paneer in our dish because we weren't in the mood, but paneer would definitely add to the flavor of the dish, and make it fancier or more appropriate to serve to company.

Saag (Spinach)
2 boxes frozen spinach, chopped
1 red or white onion, chopped
1/4 cup light cream
2 tsp vegetable oil (or corn oil)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tomato, chopped
2-3 green chilies, chopped finely
1/2 red chili, chopped finely
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp tumeric
salt to taste
1/4 cup coriander, chopped
1 tbsp fresh lime juice

Add oil to a large pan at medium heat. When the oil gets hot, add the cumin seeds. When the cumin seeds begin to sizzle and brown, add the onions, tomatoes, and garlic. Once the onions gets translucent and the tomatoes soften a bit, add the spinach. At this point, try to burn off some of the liquid, so the dish gets a little dry. This should take a few minutes at medium heat. Remove half the mixture from the pan and place in the food processor. Pulse 3 times, and then return it to the pan. The purpose of doing this is to create a smooth texture for the dish. Next, add the garam masala, tumeric, ground coriander, and salt. Mix. Turn the heat to low and add the cream. Mix. Add lime juice. Turn off heat. Add coriander leaves as the final ingredient.

Note: This recipe can also be made with fresh spinach. We used frozen spinach because my sister wanted to try her friend's recipe, but fresh spinach will obviously work wonderfully as well! To do so, chopped the spinach roughly, blanch in hot water, and then proceed with the recipe as you would with frozen spinach.

Also, if you want to use paneer, you can either buy paneer at an Indian grocery store, or make it from scratch, which requires more effort. I've never made it, so I won't attempt to explain how it is done!

Rice with onion
2 cups cooked Basmati rice
1 white onion, chopped
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Heat the oil in a frying pan, add cumin seeds when oil gets hot. Add the white onion and cook until they soften and brown slightly. Add the rice and stir on medium low heat for a few minutes.

So, the good thing about rice is that you can stir-fry it with almost anything and it will taste fantastic. The trick to making this dish is to avoid using the rice until it has cooled. If you try to make this dish with rice that has just been made, it will crumble in your frying pan. BUT, by waiting until the rice cools or by using leftover rice from the refrigerator, the dish cooks perfectly. If you use refrigerated rice to cook this dish, which I did, add a few tbsp of water to the pan to soften the rice while it is cooking! You could also add carrots, peas, etc.

Thanksgiving Vacation Cookies!

I made 2 kinds of cookies during Thanksgiving vacation this year. The first kind of cookie I made was called "Thumbprint cookies," which I decided to make for my Mom, because they are egg-less. The other kind of cookie I made was based on a recipe I got from one of my graduate school interviewers! They're based on a recipe published by Neiman Marcus, and they are a variation of chocolate chip cookies! It's an urban legend that a woman accidentally paid $250 for the cookie recipe from Neiman Marcus, and after paying such a large sum of money for a cookie recipe, decided to spread the recipe to everyone she knew! I dont know if the story is true, but I do know that my friends and family loved them!

Cookie #1: Thumbprint cookies


¼ cup butter, room temperature
½ cup sugar
pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp milk
¼ cup cornstarch
1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
Jam (I used raspberry jam with seeds from Trader Joe's)

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cream together butter, sugar and salt. Beat in vanilla, milk and cornstarch. Stir in flour until just combined.
Roll into 1 inch balls and roll in coarse sugar. Place on baking sheet and make a shallow indentation with your thumb. Fill indentation with a bit of lime curd or jam.
Bake tarts for 12-13 minutes, until cookies just start to brown.
Cool on a wire rack.

Note: I also used a tablespoon of apple sauce because the dough felt dry to me

Cookie #2: Neiman Marcus cookies

1 cups butter
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups blended oatmeal (Measure oatmeal and blend in a blender to a fine powder)
12 oz. chocolate chips
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 - 4 oz. Hershey Bar (grated)
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

1. Cream the butter and both sugars.
2. Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add chocolate chips, Hershey Bar and nuts.
3. Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 48 cookies.

Thanks for the recipe, April! (This is where I got the recipe- http://community.livejournal.com/cooking/265929.html)

cakelove

I went to Washington DC to visit my friend, Kate, and I visited cakelove bakery while I was there! I have been dying to go there since I first heard about its owner, Warren Brown, and his baking journey. To read the full story, go to http://cakelove.com! So, in honor of the bakery, and because I'm a huge dork, here are some pictures!!!!

I tried a slice of the New German chocolate cake, which was absolutely divine! It's a chocolate cream cake with coconut-vanilla buttercream frosting. Amaaaaazing. I gobbled it up before I had a chance to take a picture of it! Kate had the vanilla cupcake with strawberry frosting, and she liked it (pic below!) My friend Nisha tried the chocolate cupcake with amaretto frosting and nuts, which she also liked!


My sister tried the crunchy feet, which was really good too! I think they were lemon flavored, which reminded me of these really tasty lemon cookies my sister and I used to buy in the Italian bakeries in the North End of Boston.

I also tried a few really good restaurants in DC and Baltimore. The first night I was in DC, Kate and I went to Neyla, this really good Lebanese place near Georgetown. The restaurant was really tasty- we got a dish with grape leaves and a lovely salad with bread. The starters were also really good! I would def recommend this place! We also went to a really good Mexican place called Lauriol Plaza in Dupont Circle. I got a really good vegetable fajita, which had plaintains (yum!) and asparagus, which I thought was unusual and fantastic! Nisha and I went to Helmand, an Afghan restaurant in Baltimore, which is actually the "brother" restaurant of the Helmand restaurant in Boston that I love! Apparently, the Helmand restaurants are owned by Hamid Karzai's 2 brothers! We also went to a hookah bar, where the owner proceeded to call me "New York" all night, lol!

PS Thank you Kate and Nisha for taking such good care of me in Washington DC and Baltimore!

PPS My first picture is of the t-shirt that I bought at CakeLove! I am such a groupie!

Mini break

I will be traveling to Washington DC, Baltimore, Cleveland, CT in the next two weeks, so I might not have any new posts until I return to NYC. But I'll be back with my mini-frittata recipe, and restaurant reviews from DC!

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

We ordered fresh groceries today, so I wanted to finish some of our older produce before our new stuff arrived. I realized that I had one banana left over and a lot of butter in the freezer, so I decided to make cookies! I had just made 2 batches of zucchini bread, so I definitely wasn't in the mood for banana bread. And there is something so comforting about cookies and milk on a cold day! I found this recipe online, and I modified it to my liking:

Banana chocolate chip cookies

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsps vanilla extract
1 mashed ripened banana
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup chocolate

Mix everything together. Bake golf-ball sized morsels of cookie dough on an ungreased cookie sheet for 15 minutes at 350 F.

Note: I think these cookies would taste great with coconut flakes, pecans, and/or walnuts. It could have a tropical twist with macadamia nuts and coconut flakes. Or, almond extract instead of vanilla extract would taste good too. I say, the more stuff inside the cookie, the better! : )

Lisa, I used the vanilla extract you gave me- it smells amazing! Thank you!

The Breakfast Club

I teach a cooking class for kids, and we make fun breakfast foods every Saturday! I decided to compile a list of recipes, because we make really yummy stuff! I generally make baked foods with the kids, because they're the best kinds of foods for younger children (my kids are ages 3-5) to get involved with. It's harder for them to cook on the stovetop, partially because it's too high (!), and partially because they don't have proper motor function to be around really hot surfaces! People go on and on about how baking is an exact science.... well, that's not exactly true. There's no way to be really precise when you cook with children. So, I don't suggest you make souffle with really young kids, but regular muffins, cupcakes, etc, are pretty easy to do! It's ok for the measurements to be a little off!

Blueberry Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup white sugar
2 1/2 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup milk
1/2 cup melted butter
2 eggs
1 cup blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Mix the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl: milk, melted butter, eggs. Mix dry and wet together. Add blueberries.
3. Bake for 15-20 mins.

Coffee Cake Cupcakes

Coffee Cake:
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsps baking powder
2/3 cup milk

Topping:
2 tbsps all purpose flour
2 tbsps butter
5 tbsps white sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Mix cupcake ingredients. Fill cupcake tin.
2. Mix topping ingredients. Add a little bit to each cupcake.
3. Bake for 25 minutes at 375 F.

Banana Crumb Muffins

Muffins:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 mashed bananas
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup melted butter

Crumbly Top:
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbsps all purpose flour
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp butter

1. Mix all the dry ingredients listed under "muffin." Mix all wet ingredients under "muffin." Mix wet and dry.
2. Mix everything listed under "crumbly top" in a separate bowl.
3. Line muffin tin with cupcake liners. Distribute "muffin" mix evenly among the cups. Add a small amount of "crumbly top" mixture to each muffin. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 375 F.

Baked French Toast Homestyle

Toast:
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
6 slices French bread
3/4 cup crushed cornflakes (the cereal)
1 1/2 tsps butter

Syrup:
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 can (5 oz) evaporated milk
1/4 tsp almond extract

1. Mix eggs, milk, vanilla, and salt to make the "breading mix." Pour breading mix into a large ziploc bag, or a large breading dish with shallow edges. Add bread. Coat both sides for 5 minutes. Place each piece of bread on a foil covered cookie sheet. Add crushed cornflakes to one side of each piece of bread. Sprinkle butter on each piece of bread, because it will help the toast brown in the oven. Bake at 450 F for 10-12 minutes.

2. Make the syrup while the toast is baking. Bring the sugar, corn syrup, water, and cinnamon to a boil, until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add evaporated milk and almond extract. Drizzle on top of toast immediately before serving.

Note: Add some powdered sugar for pretty presentation! To crush the cornflakes, place cornflakes in a ziploc bag, seal it, and allow the kids to crush it with their fingers. : )

Cranberry scones

1 cup sour cream
1 tsp baking soda
4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
2 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp cream of tarter
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter
1 egg
1 cup dried cranberries (or raisins)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix sour cream and baking soda. It will fluff up while you do the next step!
2. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tarter, salt, and butter. Add sour cream and baking soda.
3. Knead bread until it is a smooth lump. Break into 3/4 inch pieces. Bake for 12-15 minutes on a greased cookie sheet.

Notes: If you're cooking this with kids, try covering a table with wax paper, so the kids can knead the dough without making a huge mess. They'll love it!

Banana Smoothies (2 servings)

2 bananas
1 cup soy milk
1/4 cup honey

1. Blend all ingredients together.

Note: This recipe can also include peanut butter to make PB and Banana Smoothies. But, a lot of children don't like peanut butter or they're allergic, so watch out!

So, in summary, cooking with kids is really fun! I like to let them be messy, but being the slightly Type A person that I am, I also try to keep the messes contained a bit. Here are suggestions: put stuff into ziploc bags so kids can mix the ingredients without flinging flour all over the place; cover surfaces with wax paper to make clean up easier. Other thoughts: encourages kids to try everything (except eggs) because it makes them familiar with ingredients; wait until the very end to add eggs so they can try the mixture at every point; explain different ingredients (baking powder, baking soda, etc.)

help?

to my loyal readers (aka, my patient friends/family who i force to read this):

i need ideas for new dishes to try making. any suggestions? please please please! i only have 2 more months before i go off to india for 6 months, where i will be forced to relinquish my kitchen and only be able to consume foods prepared for me! gasp!

My Birthday = "The Day I Officially Became Old"

My friends, Divya, Liz, Kate, and Lisa took me out for my birthday this past Saturday. And, as always, the most memorable moments of the night took place while we were eating! We went to Brick Lane Curry House for dinner and Max Brenner for dessert- I love BLCH, which is pretty surprising, since I generally don't rave about Indian food, aside from my Mom's fabulous cooking. But, BLCH, which prides itself on British Indian-style food, is really good Indian good. The service is AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL, but the food makes up for it. My friends and I were originally going to go to Dos Caminos on Park Ave, but an hour before dinner, I changed my mind and decided I wanted to take my friends to this Indian place. I'm always talking about how much I like their food, and I felt the need to share the joy with my friends! We ended up sharing 3 entrees, which was just enough to comfortably fill the stomachs of 5 girls who know how to really eat food! I, for one, have been known to out-eat boys (does anyone remember a particular potluck dinner where we dubbed the phrase, "Double spoon! Double spoon!"?)

Anyway, here's what we ate for dinner:
Entrees: Bombay Aloo, Goan Curry with Vegetables, Dakshini Korma
Breads: Plain naan without butter, garlic naan
Drinks: Salty Lassi, Berry Lassi, Mango Lassi

We all agreed that the entrees were excellent! I have also tried the Chana Masala and Aloo Gobi. I looooooved the Chana Masala, which is pretty remarkable, since I generally hate anything made with chana (chickpeas)! Just a note: the salty lassi was a bit too salty. So, watch out for that!

After dinner, we went to Max Brenner, where we had dessert and drinks. We split the Chocolate Mess with Strawberries and Cream, and also the Tutti-Frutti Waffle. We drank a frappuchino, Mexican Hot Chocolate, and Toffee Hot Chocolate. I've also had the Chocolate Mess with Toffee Banana, Italian Hot Chocolate, Melting Marshmallow Hot Chocolate, and Dark Chocolate Hot Chocolate. All of them were excellent! I know Max Brenner has gotten some unfavorable reviews, including some comments that compared the restaurant to a "chocolate version of Cheesecake Factory," but I still recommend it! It has great ambiance and the decorating scheme is really put together. I have some pictures of our desserts below:

Tutti-Frutti Waffle

Chocolate Mess (with and without the toppings)
















All in all, it was a fantastic night for my taste buds- Thank you girls for a great night!

Zucchini Bread

I noticed zucchini in my sister's refrigerator and I thought it would be fun to try to make zucchini bread. My friend from college, Kate, makes this amazing zucchini bread, which I find myself craving all the time. I thought it might be a good idea to learn how to make it myself! I ended up using Food Network Chef Paula Deen's recipe, with a slight adjustment, in which I added 4 tbsps brown sugar.


Zucchini Bread (enough for 2 loaves)

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups sugar
4 tbsps brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup water
2 cups grated zucchini
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Mix dry ingredients together. Mix wet ingredients together. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Bake for 1 hour at 350 F.

Note: One of my friends likes to eat his bread with cream cheese!

My first Indian curry!

I have only eaten curries in Indian restaurants, where they have been laden with butter and cream, and they are served swimming in oil. But I have always liked the essential flavor of these curries, so I thought it would be fun to try making one. Here is my recipe for curry, and as always, these measurements are approximations, since there are no fixed quantities when cooking Indian food! Sorry for the lack of pictures, my camera battery wasn't charged and I got hungry!

Simple Indian Curry

1 head cauliflower chopped into medium pieces (about 5 cups)
2 carrots cut into cylinders (about 2 cups)
1 cup frozen peas
1 white onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 green chili peppers, minced
1 tsp minced fresh ginger root
2 tbsp minced fresh garlic
1/2 cup canned tomato puree
1/2 cup lite unsweetened coconut milk
1/3 cup low-fat or non-fat plain yogurt
1 tsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp coriander (the spice, not the leaf)
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly ground cardamom
olive oil or vegetable oil
salt to taste

1. The first step is to make a ginger/garlic/pepper paste. To do this, put these ingredients in a mortar and pestle with a little water. Grind the ingredients until they are mashed together. To this mixture, add the ground cardamom to this puree. (If you have full cardamom pods instead of ground cardamom, as I did, remove the insides of the pods and then grind those black seeds to a coarse consistency, and then add that to the ginger/garlic/pepper puree).

2. Heat a large pot and add a few tbsp oil. Let the oil get hot at medium-high heat and add the cumin seeds. When the seeds beginning to sizzle and visibly pop, lower the heat to medium. Add the cinnamon, coriander, onions, and ginger/garlic/pepper paste. Stir for a minute. Add the tomato and coconut milk. Stir for 3-4 minutes, until the sauce thickens visibly. Add cauliflower and carrots. Cover pot. Allow veggies to simmer for 4 minutes on medium-low heat. The cauliflower should be cooked through, but not mushy. Be careful of overcooking the carrots, because they become really sweet after being heated for too long. The carrot breaks down its carbs, and releases sugars, which isn't conducive to the flavor of this curry.

3. Uncover pot, add peas. Mix. Add lime and salt. Mix. Turn off heat. Mix in yogurt. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro leaves.

4. Serve hot with basmati rice.

Note: There are many different ways to modify this recipe. I think this dish would taste fantastic by adding green beans, while using corn might also be an interesting variation. It would also taste great with naan, or other Indian breads. In general, I would be weary of over-seasoning this dish. The tomato and coconut milk do a great job in flavoring the dish. Also, adjust the spice level according to your spice pref. I like my food spicy, so to describe the spicyness of this dish- putting in 2 peppers made the dish mildly spicy for me.

Just a shout-out to Miss B- I will get the eggplant recipe soon! I'm getting back into cooking Indian food... enjoy this recipe in the meantime!

Pumpkin Pie!

I know this is an easy pie to make, but I love it, so I am including it on my blog!

Pumpkin Pie

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
  
• 2 eggs
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

1. Mix both sugars, salt, cinnamon, eggs, pumpkin, and milk together.

2. Pour batter into pie crust. There will probably be extra batter- that's ok! Freeze is for future pies or use it to make pumpkin pancakes. I will post a recipe on those this week when I make them!

3. Bake pie in an oven preheated to 350 F for 1 hour, or until the toothpick comes out clean.

I like to serve my pumpkin pie with ice cream, but I also serve it with whipped cream, since my friends like it with whipped cream better than with ice cream. I also like to sprinkle some chocolate shavings over the top!

Japchae (chapchae)

My friend, Debbi, made really good japchae for one of our potluck dinners senior year. I absolutely loved it, partially because it was tasty, and partially because it was one of the few vegetarian Korean dishes I can eat! I made this dish using Debbi's recipe and a couple of online recipes.

Korean japchae

4 cups Korean vermicelli (also known as potato noodles)
1 box frozen spinach (whole leaves) or 3 cups fresh spinach leaves
2 carrots, chopped into small matchstick pieces
2 tbsp garlic, minced
1 white onion, thin slices
soy sauce
sugar
salt
sesame oil
olive oil
sesame seeds

1. Prepare the noodles (Korean noodles, glass noodles)- boil a large pot of water (be sure to salt the water). Turn the heat off when the water boils and add the noodles. Cover the pot, and let the noodles cook for about 15 minutes. Be sure to watch the noodles because you want them to retain their elasticity. Otherwise, they don't taste right! Strain the noodles and rinse in cold water to stop them from cooking anymore. Using a sharp knife, cut the noodles while they are in the pot, so they are easier to eat!

2. Prepare the veggies in 2 pots:

Pot 1: Spinach: Boil the spinach in a pot of water with salt and half a teaspoon of garlic. If you're feeling lazy, just throw a clove of garlic into the water. The idea is to give the spinach a nice light garlic flavor. This should take about 3-4 minutes.

Pot 2: In another pot, add 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp sesame oil to a hot pot. Add the garlic and cook until they sizzle. Watch the garlic to make sure it doesn't brown. Add the onions and allow them to cook until they have just a little crunch left in them. It should take about 3 minutes on medium heat. Add carrots and cook another 3 minutes on medium heat.

3. Add the veggies to the pot of noodles. Add about 2 teaspoons of white sugar, 3/4 cups low-sodium soy sauce, and 1 tsp sesame oil. Add salt to taste and about 1 tbsp fresh lime juice. Mix everything together.

4. To garnish this dish, use toasted sesame seeds and slivers of chili peppers. To toast the sesame seeds, heat a small frying pan at low heat, and toast the sesame seeds for about 5 minutes until golden-brown. Watch the seeds, because they burn easily!

Notes: The quantities of soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and salt are all approximations. It varies depending on the person and the flavor you prefer. Also, this dish typically has shittake mushrooms, but I am going through a phase where I don't like mushrooms. So, if you are using mushrooms, just add them to Pot 2 (the pot with onions and carrots) at the very end.

Soup!

I LOVE SOUP! I am sad to report that I had have a persistent cough for the past few days. On a happy note, my cold gave me the incentive to experiment with making soups. I made a Chinese-inspired soup today for dinner, based on the soup I had for lunch yesterday in NY's Ctown. This soup was a great discovery for me, because I love soup, but I'm always afraid the soup in Ctowns across America have meat in it or meat broth. It's hard to tell, you know?

Recipe for Chinese-inspired soup:

1. Boil 6 cups water in a large wok. A big pot works too, but I was too lazy to clean one!

2. Add 1 tbsp minced garlic, 1 tbsp minced ginger root, and 2 finely diced green chili peppers to the boiling water.

3. Add 4 tsp low sodium soy sauce, 4 tsp seasoned rice vinegar, 2 tsp sesame oil to the wok. Let it continue simmering for a few minutes.

4. Add 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms.

5. Add 2 cups baby bok choy and 2 cups cooked rice noodles to the wok. The rice noodles should be cooked by boiling water in a pot, removing from heat, adding noodles, and covering the pot. Strain and then add to the soup. Also, the bok choy can be prepared by cutting off the ends, separating the leaves, and washing the veggies. Let simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat or the bok choy leaves will turn yellow. If you won't be serving the soup for awhile, wait until just before serving to add any leafy veggies or any veggies you want to keep the crunch in.

6. Right before serving the soup, add 1/8 cup chopped cilantro and 1 tsp fresh lime juice. Salt and pepper to taste.

This soup cleared my nose and throat AND tasted delicious at the same time! The best thing about this soup is that you can use many types of veggies. I think it would taste good with different types of mushrooms or fresh spinach (not the bagged kind with E. coli O157:H7!) or broccoli. Also, you can make this more or less spicy by changing the quantity of chili peppers!

Chocolate Bar at Cafe Fleuri

Frank and I went to the Chocolate Bar at Cafe Fleuri on its Opening Day last Saturday. I would recommend this Saturday chocolate buffet to anyone who loves chocolate, because it is so decadent and yummy! There were cookies, chocolate crepes, ice cream, chocolate fondue, chocolate bread pudding, and 2 tables covered with various chocolate desserts (primarily made with some form of chocolate mousse). The lavishness of the spread was just so unbelievably overwelming- I didn't even know where to start!

My favorite things to try are show below in pictures. I can't remember all the names, so I hope my descriptions and pictures are enough!

1. This dessert tastes like a grown-up Twix bar. It has a pear inside, which I didn't eat, but the rest of the dessert was just so good. I mean, a Twix bar made tastier- can you ask for anything more out of a dessert?



2. Chocolate Bread Pudding- I don't know what they call it at Cafe Fleuri, but this dessert is a chocolate bread pudding, simple as that. It is delicious. They serve it with the option of adding caramel sauce and/or chocolate sauce. We added caramel sauce only, because we tried it towards the end of our buffet experience, and we just couldn't deal with eating any more chocolate! This bread pudding reminded me of the English Sticky Toffee Pudding at Croma, the gourmet pizza place on Newbury Street in Boston.



3. Chocolate Fondue- They had milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate fondue sauces, as well as a lovely 3-tiered chocolate fountain! We also had a bowl of caramel sauce, which we mix and matched with the chocolate sauces (we were serious about trying EVERYTHING!) We started "healthy" by dipping fruit and pretezels in the sauces. We ended up dipping these mini-churro-looking things into the chocolate sauces. They were little mini churros that were filled with liquidy chocolate. Amazing.




4. White chocolate citrus ice cream- surprisingly light and refreshing.


I wouldn't recommend the chocolate crepes. Nor would I recommend the various flavored creme brulees. Besides that, SO GOOD! Thanks for taking me there, Frank!

South Indian Cabbage

I have this great vegetarian cookbook by Madhur Jaffrey- I absolutely love it because I can make any recipe in the book! My sister and I decided that we are going to work our way through the book, cooking all the recipes that sound appetizing to us. We each picked a recipe to make for our parents this past weekend. We cook well together when we have our own projects! I, of course, picked a cabbage dish to make!

South Indian Cabbage
1. Chop cabbage into long, thin pieces (coleslaw-esque). Wash.
2. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil in a pan, I prefer a wok.
3. Add 1 tbsp brown mustard seeds. Once they start popping, add 1 tbsp urad dal, 1/2 tsp fenugreek powder (or 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds), 1/2 tsp asafetida.
4. Add 10-12 curry leaves. Stir.
5. Add cabbage. Stir until cabbage is cooked through (around 5 minutes).
6. Add 1 tbsp coconut milk. Mix.

I love this dish because it's quick, easy, really tasty, AND according to my South Indian taste-testers, the cabbage actually tastes like real South Indian food! woohoo!

ps pictures to come soon!

Saravanaas Restaurant Review

My parents, sister, cousin and I went to Saravanaas, a South Indian restaurant, in Murray Hill (popularly known as Curry Hill) in NYC. I was hoping it would be really tasty since my sister loved it, but I have to say, it was not so great. To be fair, I feel like the quality of the food and the poor service was the product of a really busy Friday night. But no excuses! The food should have been better, regardless of how busy it was! Here's what we tried and my opinions on them:

Drinks:
1. Salty Lassi- somewhat flavorless, I've definitely had better
2. Sweet Lassi- pretty good, but heavy

Appetizers:
1. Plain Idli- The green coconut chutney was really great, and the idli was perfect. I've had a lot of versions of this steamed rice and lentil patty, and I really thought this one was good. The other three chutneys were pretty average.

2. Sambar Vada- This was AMAZING! Vada is a lentil "donut" that is made by soaking and grinding lentils (urad dal), adding spice, and then deep frying in oil. Usually it ends up being heavy and oily, but Saravanaas' vada was soft and light and flavorful. It was served in a plate of sambar, covered with red onions and green beans. I thought the green beans were a really nice touch, definitely not something I would think of. So, this was the first dish we tried, and I was really hopeful for the rest of our dishes. Unfortunately, they weren't so great.

3. Rasam- This dish had potential.

Dosa
1. Paper Dosa- This was served to us cold, which ruins the taste of dosa, as anyone who has eaten dosa knows.

2. Rava Masala Dosa- Ok, but again, cold.

3. Tomato Onion Utthappam- I love utthappam normally, but this one was in dire need of seasoning. My mom thought it was soggy on the inside and crispy on the outside, but only because they doused it with oil.

4. Adai Avail- I was so disappointed in this dish, because I was hoping for something interesting and new, but it ended up tasting like chilla, a North Indian "crepe" type dish.

Rice
1. Bagalabath- yogurt rice was made with this bizarre short grain rice that reminded me of couscous. I did not like it. Definitely not.

So, I apologize to any lovers of this restaurant, but this restaurant just didn't work for me tonight. My sister is protesting as a I write this post, so I suppose I might give it another try. After all, the sambhar vada was fantastic, so maybe there's still hope for Saravanaas!

Fresh Cabbage Salad

Normally my mom does all the cooking in my house, but I have to admit, my daddy makes this one really good dish. He was the first person to make this cabbage salad for me, so even if it was originally my mom's recipe, I always associated it with my dad (sorry mom! hi dad!) I love this stuff. It sounds a bit too simple to be tasty, but it really is. And what's great is that the flavors are better the next day after the citrus has had some time to marinate the cabbage, so you can store the salad and eat it over a few days!

Fresh Cabbage Salad

2 cups chopped cabbage- use only the inside part of the cabbage, the whitish part. This part has the "sweetest" leaves on the head and will make the best tasting dish. Cut the cabbage into longer strands, rather than squares. For some reason, I'm uncomfortable with the idea of eating square cabbage pieces in this dish!

1 cup chopped tomatoes (any kind is fine, but keep in mind, they're going to be eaten raw, so they should be the freshest, juiciest tomatoes you can get. I like to use vine-ripened tomatoes; grape or cherry tomatoes would also be yummy)

Mix cabbage and tomatoes. Add lots of black pepper and salt to taste.

P.S. This is going to be the first of many posts on cabbage, because I absolutely love cabbage. It can be prepared in so many different ways, and it can sit in the fridge for weeks without going bad!!

Indian Eggplant Chips

I'm at home in CT right now with my parents, and I'm trying to pick up as many cooking tips from my mom as I can! She made one of my favorite Indian snack foods tonight, which I thought I would share. She used eggplant, or aubergine, as my British friend would say, or brinjal, as Indian restaurants like to use on their menus. I've always thought eggplant is a really hard vegetable to cook, but this dish isn't pretty foolproof. I have to say, somehow, my mom always makes all her eggplant dishes so well! She used the regular plump Italian eggplant, but this same dish could easily be made with the longer eggplant or the cute little heirloom eggplants.

Indian Eggplant Chips

I like to make them so they are crispy on the outside skin, but with a tender inner layer, just barely cooked through.

1. Wash eggplant. Cut into 1/8 inch slices. They don't have to be perfect, but the slices should be a medium width- if they're too fat, they won't cook through the inside; if they're too thin, they will stick to the pan or get too crispy all over.

2. Heat a non-stick pan (the big flat base ones) on medium heat and spread 2 tbsps olive oil over the bottom. I'm trying to stop using those non-stick pans, because I feel like cooking food on Teflon probably isn't the healthiest thing to do. But they're just so perfect for cooking this chips! I'm sure I could make the same chips on a regular pan just by using more oil.

3. Place eggplant slices on the hot pan. Don't overlap or touch the slices.

4. Cook the first side for about 4 min on medium heat, or until they are lightly browned. Flip and cook the other side for another 4 min.

5. Remove from pan and sprinkle each piece with salt, black pepper, and kala namak, a black salt commonly used in India. Kala namak is definitely one of my favorite seasonings, and it is commonly overlooked by Indian restaurants or Western-produced Indian recipes. The salt is actually pink, but it turns blackish when it gets wet, which I think is really cool! If you can't find kala namak, don't worry, the eggplant chips will taste great with just the salt and pepper. You can also try dipping it in cilantro or mint chutney, for an interesting flavor.

CHAI!

I make good chai. That's all there is to it. I've made lots of variations, including elaborate 12-ingredient masala mixes or using tea leaves straight from the motherland. But really, making a good cup of chai is so easy and so simple. Everyone likes this chai, Indians, non-Indians, etc. It's just such a comforting flavor on a cold, gloomy day. Or when you're stressed. Or excited. Or tired. Basically, it's good for any and every occasion! Here's the recipe I use, step by step:

For 1 cup of chai:

1. Using the mug that you are going to be drinking the chai out of, pour half a mug of milk (I use 1%) into a pot with one mug of water into a pot.

2. Add 1 cardamom pod (crack open and use the entire pod) to the pot.

3. Add a pinch of fresh ginger.

4. Bring to a boil at medium heat. Be REALLY careful and watch the pot or the milk will boil over, guaranteed. Watch your milk! I wouldn't recommend using high heat, because the milk will probably end up burning and sticking to the bottom, which will change the flavor of the entire pot of chai. boo to that!

5. After the milk/water comes to a boil, add 1 teabag if you like the tea light, use 2 teabags if you like it stronger, as I do. Typically, tea experts say you should "give a teabag or a spoon of tea leaves to the pot," but I would only use one teabag if you know you don't like strong tea. I use regular Lipton tea bags, but you can definitely use fancier blends- Darjeeling tea leaves, if you like.

6. Let your tea simmer for 15- 20 minutes on low heat, until the chai is a nice tannish/brown color. Strain into mug. Add sugar to taste.

So a couple things- first off, before my sister says anything, I admit she makes really good chai too. But, I introduced good chai to my family, so there! Also, this recipe is not cut and dry since everyone likes to drink their chai a little differently. Definitely increase cardamom ratios, or include cinnamon or more ginger or whatever. This is just my favorite basic recipe for chai. Try it, it's great! Let me know how your chai turns out (esp you, Kimbop!)

Sisters' Blog!

I forgot to mention that my big sister is now the New York correspondent for this blog! Welcome to my blog, didi!

Fermentation?

I have to admit, I have always been a bit weary of anything that is fermented. Somehow I can't shake the image of mold or that musty smell that organisms secrete when they anaerobically metabolise. So, when Frank told me he was cooking dinner for me and he was going to use fermented bean curd, I got a little nervous. Luckily, he made this really good dish with on choy, a green Chinese vegetable that kind of looks like watercress with longer stems, and fermented bean curd. Here's what he did:


1. Heat olive oil in a frying pan or wok (a wok is probably better to use since the veggies will fall back into the center of the wok by themselves) and add 3 cloves of garlic to the hot oil. I prefer my garlic minced, but if you like to bite down on pieces of garlic, definitely feel free to slice it or throw it in whole.

2. Add on choy to the oil. (Before adding the veggie, make sure it is washed and cut into thirds lengthwise.) If there is a lot of veggie and a little pan, cook the stuff in batches.

3. Stir the on choy, it will shrink down a lot. Like, a lot a lot. Add a little water or veggie broth to create a "sauce."

4. Add a few tablespoons of fermented bean curd. This measurement is so imprecise, because it really depends on how much you like the taste of the bean curd. I liked it, but definitely err on the side of caution in the first batch. It's easy to add and hard to remove a flavor! Also, don't be scared by the smell of the bean curd- it tastes better than it smells, i promise!

Note: We used veggie broth when we cooked this dish, but the sauce ended up looking kind of gray after we added the bean curd. So, I think it might be a better idea to add water, instead of broth, to keep the broth a nice tan color. If the sauce seems too water, just mix the water with 1/2 tbsp of corn starch, and then add to the pan. Also, I feel like chicken broth could be substituted too, if you like that flavor.

P.S. Thanks for dinner, Frank!

My Favorite Boston Restaurants (Taiwan Cafe, Shawarma King, Figs, Cafe Mami, Helmand)

TAIWAN CAFE (Taiwanese)

I love this restaurant, I absolutely love it... my best friend and I have spent so many lunch hours at this place enjoying their lunch specials. My favorite dishes are below:

1. mustard green with edame & fresh bean curd
2. sauteed chinese watercress with garlic
3. home style braised eggplant with basil- I don't like the texture of the eggplant, but the dish is still really good
4. sauteed spinach with garlic
5. sauteed napa cabbage with silky bean curd- my sister and bff don't like this dish very much; my sister thinks the cabbage is really hard and feels waxy, but I think it's an interesting (in a good way!) flavor and texture
6. vegetarian steamed ravioli- be warned, these look like dumplings, but they don't taste like them. they have a light spinach filling which i absolutely love!

As for meat, my friends recommend the braised tilapia with soy & scallion!

After dozens of visits to this restaurant, I've only disliked one dish: sauteed chinese mushroom over green. Kinda tasted like feet. We're going to go to Taiwan Cafe this Friday, so I'm sure I'll have the remaining vegetarian dishes I haven't tried to include on this list!

SHAWARMA KING (Middle Eastern)
I've been here a few times and there are 2 meals I really like- the fool moudammas roll-up (i'm sure the dinner plate is great too) and the halloumi white cheese roll-up (the cheese is really light and tasty.) Also, this place has good falafel, if you like falafel. I'm not the biggest fan, but my falafel-loving friend gave me 2 thumbs up when he was eating it! I wouldn't recommend the shawarma king salad though, because it was somewhat bland and the veggies were limp.

For drinks, I recommend the lemonade which is made fresh with a hint of rose water and the gowava juice (guava juice??).

FIGS (Pizza)
I think I've tried every vegetarian pizza at this restaurant. I've also been to all 3 locations in MA, which are Charles Street near MGH, Charlestown, and Wellesley! As a general description, the upscale pizzas made at Figs, Todd English's restaurants, have a thin, crispy crust, and simple, fresh gourmet toppings. My favorite pizzas are, in order:

1. Bianco- the arugula is always very crisp and well-dressed; it's kind of a strange idea to put a "salad" on a pizza but it actually works really well
2. Golden Tomato- this pizza is especially good in the fall, because the tomatoes are at their peak

I wouldn't recommend the portobello pizza, because the mushroom puree tastes a bit bizarre, nor would my carnivorous friends recommend the fig & prosciutto pizza, which is sad since it has the signature ingredient!

CAFE MAMI (Japanese/Pan-Asian)
I can only eat 2 dishes here, but I LOOOOOOOVE the teriyaki don rice bowl. It just hits the spot. And I think any of my friends can vouch for the appeal of this restaurant- it just hits a spot for eeeeveryone! so good!

HELMAND (Afghan)
The cool thing about this place was that it pleasantly reminded me of Indian food, but with a nice twist, since the food included different vegetables and some different seasonings than my brown people use. I would definitely recommend the pumpkin kibby; it's at the top of my list for Helmand. But my favorite thing is, without a doubt, the "bread bowl" and chutney appetizer they serve before the meal. Yum!

SALSA!

I love this salsa. It is so fresh and tasty. The cool thing about this recipe is that it's so easy to adjust the spicyness of the salsa and it uses 4 items off of my essential ingredients list!

Salsa (spice level: medium)

Ingredients:
2 ripe tomatoes (I like to use vine-ripened tomatoes because they are the juicest and tastiest, in my opinion)
1 white or red onion
1 jalapeno (adjust according to your heat preference)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
salt to taste
handful of cilantro leaves

This will probably make about 2 cups of salsa, but I guarantee it will be consumed in minutes, so be ready to double or triple the recipe!

Cut tomatoes, onions, and peppers into small pieces. Mix. Add lime juice. Add finely chopped cilantro leaves as a garnish if you have some, but this isn't absolutely necessary. I don't like biting into large pieces of cilantro, so I like to cut the leaves really small so I can appreciate the fragrance without feeling like I'm eating grass. Finally, add salt to taste (keep in mind, if you're eating this salsa with a salted item, like chips, don't put too much salt in the salsa.)

Note: If there are going to be children eating this, try eliminating the pepper altogether for them. It will still be a really tasty snack for everyone. Also, just a warning: I once tried a version of this salsa that had minced garlic in it, and it was awful. aaaaaaaawful. It tasted like it was trying to be salsa and bruschetta at the same time, which doesn't work at all (how could it possibly please the italian and mexican palates at the same time?!) So if someone says to you, hey, let's add garlic- JUST SAY NO! Ok, now that I've gotten that little PSA out of my system...

The next logical question is: What can this be eaten with??? Regular tortilla chips or pita chips work well. But that's the other really amazing thing about this stuff, you can use it on EVERYTHING! In my parents' house, we eat toast with hummus and salsa; I add the salsa to scrambled eggs; the salsa can also be a lovely garnish for tofu burgers.

Requests?

If anyone wants me to make something for them or to try out a recipe, let me know! I am happy to entertain requests!

The Essentials

Having lived with friends and my sister for the past few years/summers, I've realized the importance of always keeping basic ingredients in my kitchen. When the urge to eat kicks in (when hunger strikes, when the going gets tough... etc etc :~) lol!), it's so great to have these supplies in the house. Here's what I think is important to keep stocked in the refrigerator and some reasons:

To keep stocked in the refrigerator:
1. Tomatoes
I LOVE tomatoes! Best fruit/vegetable EVER!

2. Limes
Limes are great for cooking because they can be used to liven up the flavor of a dish. A lot of Thai dishes use them, as do Indian dishes. There was an interesting article in the NYTimes ("When the sour note is just right," July 20, 2006) about the use of limes and oranges- definitely check it out!

3. Onions (I think yellow onions are more useful to have than red, but my sister loves them red, so I keep both)

4. Jalapeno peppers (some people use them from a jar, but I think they taste so much better fresh and they last for a long time in the refrigerator, so why not keep them fresh?!)

5. Hummus
Good for dipping veggies, spreading on high quality bread, making sandwiches. My favorite spread!

To keep stocked in the pantry:
1. Chocolate chips
Perfect for any baking emergency. Also good for impromptu microwave s'mores or a quick dip for fruit when sweetened with powdered sugar.

2. Bisquick/a generic brand pancake/waffle mix
For the most part, I argue for the importance of using fresh ingredients and making food from scratch. However, I was raised in a house where eggs were not purchased very often (my family is Hindu.) But I also loved pancakes for breakfast, so my mom would always keep the mix in the pantry. Therefore, for me, this is definitely a staple for my kitchen. Last weekend, a friend visited and we made banana pancakes and chocolate chip pancakes. I remember throwing together pumpkin pancakes last fall and raspberry pancakes in the spring. Pancakes are a great breakfast, brunch, and snack item! I suppose I should also mention that I love breakfast foods and would eat them at every meal if my friends and family let me!

3. Black bean sauce
I stir-fry everything with this sauce- mushrooms, cabbage, bok choy, onions.... so tasty!

4. Tortilla chips
Munch on by themselves, dip in salsa, or make into a place of nachos.

5. Jar of banana peppers
Use on sandwiches, on nachos, etc.

6. Good quality bread

7. Potatoes
I don't think I really need to explain this one!

Tribute to the A310 Suiteys!

Here are some of the fabulous birthday goodies and yummy meals the lovely ladies of suite A310 made in the past year:

Don't lisp when asking for the Apple Crisp

This is my friend Divya's favorite dessert that I make. It's so easy to make and it's great for large gatherings of people. The recipe below will serve up to 10 people, with generous helpings!

Apple Crisp

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups oats
1 1/2 cups brown sugar (I like to use light)
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
4 lbs apples ( I like Granny Smith or sometimes I mix a couple types together!)
3 tbsps fresh lemon juice
1 tsbp cinnamon (I like to grate mine fresh, but it shouldn't make a big difference)

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Combine oats, 1 cup sugar, flour, butter to make the topping.
3. Combine apples, lemon juice, cinnamon, remaining sugar for the apple filling.
4. Cover apples with topping. Bake for an hour or until apples are soft (they shouldn't be crumbly).
5. Serve hot with ice cream.

Note: This also works with pears.

Mmmm, Ice Cream Cake

My mom bought me an ice cream cake for every birthday when I was growing up; my sister got me a Coldstone Creamery ice cream cake for my surprise 20th birthday; my friends got me a JP Licks ice cream cake for my 21st birthday... clearly, I love ice cream cake! So what better than to learn how to make the perfect ice cream cake! I finally made an ice cream cake for my best friend's 22nd birthday party, and I have to say, it was damn good.

Frozen Chocolate Cookie Cake (doesn't the name alone make your mouth water?!)

Ingredients:
Cake:
1 box package of Devil's food cake and listed ingredients (usually eggs, oil, and water)

Cake Filling:
1/2 gallon cookies 'n' cream ice cream

Chocolate Ganache:
1 cup heavy cream
12 oz chocolate chips

Garnish (optional, well, not really):
crushed oreo cookies

1. Freeze ice cream into a 9 inch round cake pan for several hours. (tip: line the pan with plastic wrap/saran wrap before adding ice cream. This will make it easier to remove the ice cream later on).
2. Bake 2 9-inch Devil's food cakes. Refrigerate cakes until cold.
3. Prepare the ganache: Heat cream until it bubbles. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and stir until it melts into the cream. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until it has thickened enough that it can be spread with a butterknife.
4. Building the cake: When cakes have cooled, cover 1 cake's top and sides with ganache. Unwrap ice cream and place on top of this layer. Place the second cake on top of the ice cream layer. Cover the sides and top of that cake with ganache. For the garnish, cover the sides of the ice cream layer and the top of the cake with crushed oreos.
*Another option would be to cover the cakes with ganache and then cool them in the refrigerator. Then put the three cooled pieces together.

Notes: Crush oreos by placing a plastic bag and hitting with a hammer or the back of a knife. Also, remember to even out the sides of the ice cream layer so it is more in line with the cake layer. This will make the cake prettier!

Chocolate Molten Cake

Warning: This dessert should only be made by serious chocolate lovers. this is serious chocolate business! I made the mistake of making this for a non-serious chocolate fan, and it just wasn't the same (for said person: it's not your fault! i still like you!.) Only chocolate fanatics need apply!

Chocolate Molten Cake

Ingredients (6 souffles):

Cakes:
12 oz bittersweet chocolate
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
6 eggs


Raspberry Sauce:
2 cups frozen raspberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp fresh lemon juice

To make cakes:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour ramekins.
2. Melt chocolate and butter over double broiler. Cool.
3. In separate bowl, beat sugar, flour, and eggs until fluffy. Add to chocolate.
4. Fill ramekins 2/3s full and bake about 15 minutes.

To make sauce:
Heat fruit and sugar until sugar dissolves. Add lemon juice. Puree 1/2 mix. Chill. Drizzle over cakes.

Garnish cakes with powdered sugar and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Note: Strawberry sauce would also be so yummy!! I also recommend a caramel sauce for people with a really big sweet tooth.

Wait, is that a fruit dessert?

So, I don't believe in fruit desserts. Now I know there are people out there getting all up in arms about this, but let me explain myself before you all get worked up. I really just feel like fruit needs a certain texture. When fruit is cooked it gets soggy and gross and mushy. ew. Obviously there are exceptions to this- I like strawberries in a syrup or covered in chocolate and I like bananas baked into breads and muffins. I like smoothies (everything is blenderized until it is the same texture!) and I like fruit sauces for my waffles (we made strawberry-pear sauce and pineapple sauce last weekend!). However, I despise fruit layered cakes. I remember eating cake at birthday parties when I was a kid and I would dig into the cake and take a big bite, only to find out the middle layer was a jelly fruit spread. . I just think that's a waste of fruit and a waste of cake!

Ok, having said that, I made a pear almond tart last week. Wait, what? I totally broke my fruit rule! But wait, here's the thing, I made it for my boy's birthday as a surprise. And I'm so proud of it because it came out really pretty. I thought it looked like one of those tarts they feature in the magazines! I'm still so excited about it!

Pear Almond Tart

Ingredients:

Cupcake Frosting

Last week, my best friend accepted a job in Boston, so we decided to celebrate the best way we know how- with champagne and dessert! I made chocolate cupcakes for my choc-oholic friend, but after making them, I realized that I didn't have any frosting in the kitchen. So, I read a couple of recipes on my favorite recipe sites (foodtv.com and epicurious.com) and came up with the following frosting recipe:

Chocolate-Coffee Frosting

Ingredients:
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/8 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup powdered sugar (Confectioners' sugar)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/8 cup hot coffee (I used French Roast)

1. Mix butter, sugar and chocolate chips in a small saucepan on low heat. Stir to make sure the sugar doesn't burn or stick to the bottom. If the butter boils, the heat is too high.

2. Add almond extract.

3. Add heavy cream to give the frosting a glossy texture.

4. Add hot coffee until the frosting is the thickness of whole milk.

5. Refrigerate for thirty minutes to allow the frosting to solidify.

If the frosting tastes too sweet, add more heavy cream to lighten the flavor (isn't it ironic that HEAVY cream can lighten a flavor?!)

Also, I would like to mention that this frosting is really versatile. I have used it as a topping for waffles and as a topping for ice cream. All you need to do is heat it for a few seconds to make it more liquidy.

Why?

I was inspired to start my own food blog after I read a notice on foodnetwork.com telling me that the Barefoot Contessa, also known as my idol and personal goddess, will not invite anyone over for dinner who is not already her friend. After having that dream shattered, pardon the drama, I decided to catalog my recipes and cooking adventures for friends, family, and fellow foodies to enjoy. Feel free to send me questions and comments!