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!