Cranberry pecan biscotti

Based on this almond biscotti recipe:
http://www.italian-dessert-recipes.com/almond_biscotti_recipe.html

I consider this relatively healthy because it's only 2/3 cup a sugar spread over 16 slices and contains no butter. I read somewhere that real Italian biscotti should not contain butter; that butter is an American modification. Correct me if I'm wrong. I had XL instead of just large eggs at home, so I substituted a flaxseed egg for the other egg, which adds another healthier substitution without seriously compromising taste or texture. Also, if you use walnuts instead of pecans, you add omega-3 fatty acids to make it even healthier.

Cranberry Pecan Biscotti (makes ~12-16 biscotti)

Ingredients:
1 large egg
just under 2/3 cup sugar
1 Tbs ground flaxseed + 3 Tbs water
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup toasted, chopped pecans (and walnuts, opt)
1/4 cup dried cranberries (make sure they are still dried yet moist, not hard and dry)

Directions:

1. If pecans are not yet toasted: toast pecans on skillet over medium heat for 8-10 minutes. Let cool then chop.
2. Mix flaxseed and water in a small bowl and let sit for a 3-5 minutes to thicken.
3. Mix the all-purpose flour, pastry flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.
4. Beat egg and sugar till turns lighter in color. Beat in flaxseed water. Beat till light colored and thick.
5. Fold the wet into the dry ingredients until incorporated.
6. Fold in the nuts and cranberries.
7. Preheat oven to 350 deg Fahrenheit. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet or lightly grease the cookie sheet.
8. Gather the dough (it will be sticky!) and place in a log-shape on the center of the parchment paper. Use a spoon to smooth out the dough into a longer log with even sides. You may use the parchment paper to help shape the log.
9. Based on the recipe, you can bake a log that is about 12 inches long by 3.5 inches wide for 25 minutes.
10. Remove and let cool for 8-10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 deg Fahrenheit.
11. Slice into about 16 slices. Place slices cut-side down on the cookie sheet and bake for another 10 minutes. Flip over and bake another 10 minutes.
12. Remove, cool at least 5 minutes and enjoy!

Ideas:

• Ice with a simple vanilla, milk or lemon icing 
• Melt dark chocolate chips and dip half of the biscotti or the top side of the biscotti in the dark chocolate and let harden
• Eat with coffee or milk

New Apartment and Turkey Meatballs Barley and Garlic Sauce Dish

I just moved from my parents' place to an apartment closer to work and I am so happy! I've been commuting since January and the commute can be anywhere from 1-2 hours, depending on traffic. It's about 60 miles each way. My dad has been doing this commute for over 10 years now. It's very taxing and you lose 3-4 hours of your day every weekday. I gained weight because I did not exercise as much, plus I would typically get sucked into my work and end up sitting for several hours. I try to walk periodically, and take a 15-20 minute walk after lunch, but it's not enough to combat a 9-10 hour sitting session. Finally, I got a place that is steps from the beach! It is such a great deal. Pretty good price for LA, though the room is small, but can't beat being close to the beach and in this nice area. Plus, my commute is only 30 minutes each way! It's only been 1 week since moving in but I am so much happier. :)

Another reason I wanted to move out and closer to work was to get back into cooking! My mom cooks a lot at home, and she is a FANTASTIC cook, but at times I really enjoy the process of cooking and getting the chance to experiment. Now that I'm in my own place and with more time (come home at 7 instead of 9!), I can get back to cooking!

Tonight I made a turkey meatball and veggie dish over barley. We had a pint of this great garlic sauce leftover from a work lunch, and I knew it would be great on nearly anything. I finished cooking around 9:30 and was very pleased. I did not take a picture of this because I still need to figure out how to plate it best, but the dish was very delicious despite its simplicity. I am proud because the turkey meatballs turned out very juicy! Earlier in the year, I had attempted to make Swedish meatballs, followed a recipe, and it came out very dry. I brought it to work too and feel like I forever shamed myself "-_-

The garlic sauce is this delicious thick creamy white sauce from Chicken Maison, which is famous for this sauce. It's delicious. It's probably based on this Lebanese garlic sauce ("toum") recipe, but is thicker and creamier, maybe closer to this garlic recipe here. Here's what I did:

Turkey meatballs:
1/2 lb of ground lean turkey (95% lean)
1/2 large yellow onion, minced
1/2 tsp of Texas barbecue seasoning (salt, black pepper, dried garlic, dried onion, paprika, oregano)
1 large egg
4-6 crumbled Saltine crackers

Mix together and let sit 15 minutes while you prepare the vegetables. I used mushrooms and broccoli here, cooked with caramelized minced onion in avocado oil. Once cooked to a crisp tender and caramelized state, remove contents to a bowl.

Meanwhile, cook pearled barley according to packet directions. I used 1 3/4 cup of water to 1/2 cup of barley, and probably cooked it for 45-60 minutes, but it was too much water and I had to drain the excess.

Using a mini cookie scoop, shape meat mixture into tight little balls. I got 11 out of the 1/2 lb meat mix.

In the same pan that the vegetables cooked in, heat another tsp of oil. Place the meatballs gently in the pan and cook over medium until browned. Turn meatballs and cook until browned on all sides. Make sure to cover the pan at some point to allow the meatballs to cook through without losing moisture. Once browned on all sides, turn off heat and remove pan from heat.

To serve:
Scoop barley into a wide bowl. Top with meatballs and vegetables, then drizzle garlic sauce over. You can garnish with paprika and parsley, a squeeze of lemon. Enjoy!

Here's another Mediterranean garlic sauce (copied from this link)

"GARLIC SAUCE:
- 4 cloves garlic minced with
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 egg white

In a food processor add garlic minced with salt, begin processor and slowly add oil and lemon juice alternating them until gone, scape down sides intermittently. Add one to two egg whites while the processor is blending until you reach mayonnaise consistency. Serve with chicken or meat and cover and refrigerate remainder. Lasts about a week refrigerated"

 

Till next time!

Banana Oatmeal Bread with Nutella Smile

Hello!

It is officially autumn but it sure is still hot in Southern California. Yesterday it was mid-80 degrees Fahrenheit and the news says that it will be hotter these next few days. It will be nice when the cool fall weather kicks in.

Southern California Sunset

In its fourth year of drought, California has been cutting back on water, making various efforts to reduce water loss and waste, and has successfully reduced water use by more than 30%, which is about 5% above what the government was hoping for. Despite almonds getting a bad rap for water use in California, California still manages to churn out a good deal of produce.

Luckily, just last week, there was some torrential downpour which broke the drought but caused some damaging flooding in various areas. There was some hope that there was going to be rainfall earlier this week, but the clouds ended up just passing by my area with no rainfall.

Although it's been hot lately, I still want to bake and that requires turning on the oven. It's a small price to pay, though, when the reward is something scrumptious! My mom and I have been buying lots of bananas because my sister and her boyfriend take so many when they go surfing. We buy a bushel and then half are gone by the end of the week! This time, we bought too many, and boy-oh-boy was I happy. Because you know what brown bananas mean?

Banana bread!

I had this recipe I used before that merged America's Test Kitchen's banana bread recipe with Giada's recipe. I made it twice but they were too moist and lacked structure. Although adding more bananas increases sweetness and moistness of the final product, too much made it mushy. Therefore, I sought to make a better banana bread. Serious Eats has become one of my top go-to sites for food recipes. I trust their recipes because of the expertise and creativity of its contributors. When I found this Banana Oatmeal Bread recipe on their site and read that a pastry chef, Anna Markow, created it, I knew it must be a good recipe. As a healthy baker, I could tell that although this was a dessert, the ingredients were not so bad for you and I could feel good making and eating a lot of this.

In place of the rolled oats, I used Coach's Oats Steel-Cut Oats that I pulverized in my spice/coffee grinder. Also, I had some Nutella leftover and I wanted to use it up because it has been in my pantry for so long, so I mixed it with a small portion of batter and added that to the middle of the pan. On top, I put sliced bananas and some mini chocolate chips for presentation value. The final result was spectacular. My sister and her boyfriend really enjoyed it. I had to stop myself from eating too many slices myself so that I could share with my family!

Hope you try this recipe as it is a slight change on the classic banana bread recipe with a few improvements that make it nearly irresistible.

Banana Oatmeal Bread with Nutella Smile (adapted from Serious Eats)
makes 1 9" by 5" loaf 
Ingredients
1 cup white whole wheat flour (recommend Ultragrain(R))
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup granulated (white) sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar, slightly packed into the cup
1/2 cup rolled oats (or steel cut oats pulverized into almost flour texture)
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 medium, ripe bananas
2 eggs
1/3 cup of buttermilk (or a little less than 1/3 cup of whole milk with 1-2 Tbs fresh lime or lemon juice, set aside to curdle for 5 minutes)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbs Nutella
For topping (optional):
1/2 banana sliced in thin rounds
A few chocolate chips

Directions
1) Sift the white whole wheat flour, the whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon into a large bowl. Stir in the white sugar, brown sugar, and rolled oats.
2) In a blender, blend the bananas, eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla until well-mixed, but do not over-blend or you will incorporate too much air.
3) Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Fold/mix together until just combined.
4) Prepare a 9x5" loaf pan by lightly greasing and flouring. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (if you oven tends to output higher temperature or tends to brown things too quickly, try reducing the temperature to 325-340 degrees Fahrenheit).
5) In a small bow, mix 2 Tbs Nutella with about 1/2 cup of the batter.
6) Pour half of the original batter into the pan, then spread the Nutella batter in the center. Pour the remaining original batter and spread evenly in the pan.
7) Place the banana slices and chocolate chips as desired on top of the bread.
8) Bake in the preheated oven for 28 minutes, then turn the pan 180 degrees and bake for another 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Make sure to watch it in the last 10 minutes because mine browned quick a bit and I had to remove it after about 46-48 minutes of baking.
9) Immediately remove from the pan and let cool on a wire rack for about 30-60 minutes before slicing and serving.

Note: Loaf lasts at least 4 days without refrigeration in Southern California summer weather. If you live in a humid, hot area, I suggest refrigerating by the 3rd or 4th day.

Smile! Happiness can come from food! :D

Oatmeal Cranberry Walnut Bread

I've been sooo lazy to post. Honest, I have been cooking and baking a lot, but nothing too spectacular to warrant a blog post. Well, I guess, one thing that I enjoyed was that, earlier this week, I made some homemade black bean veggie enchiladas with homemade roasted tomato serrano sauce. It was good and fed me throughout the week. The recipe for the roasted tomato salsa is from Once Upon a Chef (found here). I am now amazed at how easy it is to make roasted salsas at home. By simply broiling tomatoes, onions, garlic, and serranos for 10-20 minutes, then blending them with oregano, cumin, salt, and fresh lime juice, you come out with this tasty sauce you can add to various Mexican dishes to perk up the flavor. Alas, I had no cilantro, which really would have given the sauce the extra fresh flavor it needed. This will be a go-to recipe for a different salsa than the normal pico de gallo.

Today, I was shuttered up in the house for most of the day because it was raining all day here in Houston. Houston is like that. One day will be bright and sunny and beautiful (i.e., yesterday, the first day of spring), and the next is freezing and it's raining cats and dogs! Okay, so the rain was not so terrible. It let up now and then, but still put a damper on my usual morning walk with my dog. Being stuck in the house, all I could do was cook or bake. So after fixing myself a nice breakfast taco (I have learned to make scrambled eggs by cooking over low heat rather than medium high. My breakfasts have been transformed with soft silky eggs now instead of dry crunchy eggs!), I set to making a bread that has wow'ed me since I first tried it out.

Red Star Yeast posted this recipe for Oatmeal Walnut Bread and I made it some months ago. It was so fantastic I had to write a note on the recipe that it was really good so I would remember. Now, this is my go-to bread. But I must admit I never seem to make it the same. First time, I used just honey and maple syrup instead of molasses and pecans instead of walnuts, because that is what I had. This time, I used 2 Tbs of molasses and 1 Tbs of honey and added walnuts and cranberries. This bread gets better each time I think.

The reason I added walnuts AND cranberries is because the HEB (huge Texas grocery chain) bakeries make this fantastic cranberry pistachio bread. It is one of their best. They also do a cranberry walnut bread. These are baked in artisan-looking loaves and run about $4.99. HEB knows these breads are good and generally never put them on sale. I wanted to replicate that delicious bread but with a recipe I was familiar with. Additionally, I wanted a healthy spin. This Oatmeal Walnut Bread lends naturally to those requirements.

I was pleased with the result. I admit I am still uncertain about my hand-kneading technique but I think the crumb came out well. The crumb was a bit dense from the whole wheat and mix-ins, but you can still see the airy micro-structure and the gluten development, which allowed for a sturdy loaf that doesn't fall apart too easily when you cut or tear it. The instructions listed below are for how I made it this time around (rainy day, humid Houston, 65-75 degree outside temperature).

Oatmeal Cranberry Walnut Bread
One 9x5" loaf
Ingredients
1+1/4 cup of bread flour + more for kneading
1 sachet (2+1/4 tsp) of Platinum Red Star Yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
2 Tbs molasses
1 Tbs honey
2 Tbs vegetable/canola oil
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup instant plain rolled oats
1/2 cup walnuts, crushed or chopped
1/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries
Half an egg and some more plain rolled oats for topping

Special equipment
Thermometer that reads up to 130 deg Fahrenheit
9x5" loaf pan

Direction

1. Mix the 1+1/4 cup of bread flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl.
2. In a medium sized microwaveable bowl, add 1 cup water, 2 Tbs molasses, 1 Tbs honey, and 2 Tbs. Microwave for over 1 minute 30 seconds until a thermometer, when inserted, reads 120 to 130 deg Fahrenheit. 
3. Pour the still warm liquid mixture into the dry mixture. Stir until dry bits are incorporated.
4. Add in the 1 cup whole wheat flour slowly until you reach a dough ball that pulls away from the sides, stays together, but don't make it too dry.
5. Mix in the crushed walnuts and cranberries.
6. Now turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5-8 minutes until the dough is supple and elastic. Add extra bread flour a tablespoon at a time if needed to work the dough. The dough may still be a little sticky but do not add more just to prevent all stickiness. Adding too much dough will make your bread dense and taste like cardboard wheat.
7. Lightly grease a large bowl. Roll the dough into a ball, brush a little oil on top, and then place into the greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a towel and leave for 30 minutes. 
8. The dough will have almost doubled in size. Lightly punch down the dough, expelling excess air and redistributing the yeast. Knead and stretch the dough into about a 7" x 14" rectangle. Roll the rectangle up along the long end so you end up with a log about the size of the loaf pan. Pinch the seals closed.
9. Lightly grease the bottom and lower sides of the loaf pan. Sprinkle with flour or cornmeal. Place the rolled dough seam-side down into the pan, cover, and let rise for another 30 minutes.
10. Before the last 10 minutes of rising, preheat the oven to 375 degree Fahrenheit. Place a pan filled partway with water inside to create steam. Mix half an egg with water and brush the top of the loaf with the egg wash. Sprinkle the remaining rolled oats on top and press lightly to make them stick.
11. Once the oven has finished preheating, put the loaf in the middle rack of the oven (keep the water pan inside) and bake for 30-40 minutes until the top is lightly browned and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. If the top is browning too quickly near the end, remove the loaf, cover the top with foil and return to the oven to finish baking.
12. When finished baking, remove the loaf and let cool for about 20 minutes. Remove the loaf from the pan and let cool on a rack.

The bread was so good eaten fresh out of the oven. It was even better when it cooled down further and even better better when I made a roast turkey sandwich with it. I really should have taken a picture of my sandwich. Fresh avocado, smoked gouda, cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce, and turkey deli slices that I heated in the toaster. It was a fantastic sandwich. 

Hope you enjoy this bread as much as I did! Oh, and if you have tips on kneading bread dough, I would love to hear your advice. Thanks for stopping by!

Coffee Muffins with Mocha Glaze

I have been craving coffee flavored sweets lately. Now, I am not one to go buy a frappuccino and I am also not one to make some coffee and put more than 2 teaspoons of sugar into it, but I really felt that some coffee-flavored cake or bread or muffin would be fantastic. The idea is not prominent in the baking world. Search "coffee cake" or even "coffee-flavored cake" and you mostly end up with coffee cake. Coffee cake to me does not deserve to be called that unless it's coffee-flavored! Also, I think coffee cake is way too sweet for breakfast, maybe even more oily and sweet than donuts. But I suppose that is why you eat it with coffee, because the bitter coffee will become palatable due to the lingering sweetness of the coffee cake (and vice versa).

After searching for a while and evaluating the various recipes available to me online, I came across this coffee cake muffin recipe at therecipecritic.com. The ingredients in the muffin base sounded like an easy thing to put together and didn't have too much oil, sugar, or eggs (I'm stingy with my eggs and try to be healthy by baking with less fats and sugar). But, the recipe was filled with jam and had that same sugary topping seen on coffee cakes. I wanted just a pure coffee-flavored muffin, no other flavors or sugars to mask it. So, I borrowed her muffin base, excluded the filling and topping, and put my own mocha glaze on top. I have to say the results came out very well.

The batter only produced 10 muffins in my case, but they were soft, moist, spongy. They have a crumb that stays together relatively well, but still is tender and breaks away when you bite into it. I added 1/2 teaspoon of ground coffee (Cafe du Monde) to boost the coffee flavor, but I will have to add more next time. I also used leftover coffee from the morning, which was made just regular , not strong. Due to this and the predominant sugar and flour base, the coffee flavor was not as strong as I wanted it to be. So, next time, I will brew extra strong coffee (probably do Vietnamese drip coffee using my phin and Cafe du Monde coffee), and add a full teaspoon to the batter to boost the flavor.

In making the icing. I had too small an amount of powdered sugar and added too much coffee. It was runny and definitely not suitable for icing. So I melted some bits of a dark chocolate baking bar in the microwave and stirred it in until I achieved a consistency I thought would be good.

After the muffins cooled down, I iced them. First, I tried covering the tops, but that did not look that nice. So next I went with zigzags. Much better. Still, displeased with the ugly muffins, I sprinkles some of the Cafe du Monde coffee on top, and voila! I was finally pleased.

Hope you enjoyed my journey to achieve a good-lookin' coffee muffin. Now, to the spoils! The recipe!

Coffee Muffins with Mocha Glaze (makes 10 muffins)
Muffin Ingredients
1.5 cups of flour (I use Ultra-Grain Flour)
1/4 cups of brown sugar
1/4 cup of granulated (white) sugar
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
less than 1/4 tsp of salt
1 tsp of good quality, finely ground coffee (Cafe du Monde, Starbucks, Illy, etc.)
1/2 cup of brewed coffee, cooled to room temperaure (next time, I'll brew it extra strong)
1/4 cup of milk
1 egg
1/3 cup of vegetable oil

Glaze Ingredients
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 to 2 Tbs brewed coffee
1/2 oz to 1 oz dark baking chocolate
Extra coffee grounds for decoration (optional)

Directions

1. Sift the flour, brown sugar, white sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
2. Beat the coffee, milk, egg, and oil in a small bowl or large glass measuring cup.
3. Make a well in center of your dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir just until combined. Do not overmix. Set aside.
4. Pre-heat oven to 350 deg Fahrenheit.
5. Line a muffin tin symmetrically with 10 muffin liners. 
6. Pour the batter evenly into the muffin liners (if you have enough to fill 12 muffin cups about 2/3 full, go ahead)
7. Fill the remaining 2 unlined muffin cups with water about 1/3 full.
8. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 18-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the middle-most muffin comes out clean. Let cool in the pan or 5 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.
9. While the muffins are cooling, prepare the glaze: In a small cup, beat the powdered sugar and brewed coffee until the powdered sugar has dissolved. Heat the baking chocolate in 15 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. Mix into the powdered sugar mix. Continue to melt and add chocolate until you achieve the desired frosting consistency.
10. Once the muffins have cooled to room temperature, ice/glaze/frost/decorate. If desired, sprinkle coffee grounds on top of the glaze.

Multigrain Walnut Banana Muffins

You all probably know: I LOOOVVEEE baking. It is a truly active activity with results that you can both eat and share with others. How awesome is that? What I don't like about baking is that the results can be bad for you, with all the sugar and butter. My family is generally really healthy, my mom especially. She eats loads of fruit and nuts, has cut out pastries and chips except for very rare occasions when she'll eat a few, and is always active. My mom is one of my strongest motivators to be healthy, strong, active, and more.

Balancing healthy and my love for baking is challenging. Most of my friends know I bake relatively low-sugar and low-fat desserts, with occasional splurges when attempting to impress others. For myself, I can't stand desserts that are too sweet. I seek out a wholesome balance of sweet and salty. Grains have a natural nuttiness and subtle sweetness that I have come to love. Nuts have a lot of fat, but these are healthy fats and good for you if eaten in moderation. Sugar is now emerging as the main culprit in rising rates of obesity, diabetes, and other health problems. It may seem like all sugar is bad, except for natural sources like stevia, agave, and erythriol. Those sources sound great and natural and all, but they are still added sugars. Maybe they don't cause spikes in your insulin but they are not an excuse to eat as much of these sugar sources as you want. Sugar from fruits, eaten naturally and not removed and processed, is the best way to take in your sugar.

Taking what I've learned from a variety of health resources, I attempted to make a banana nut muffin that would appeal to my mom and me: healthy yet tasty, without added sugars, full of grains and omega-3 walnuts. This muffin would be something you could eat and feel good about. Definitely not a dessert muffin, but something to enjoy in the morning with milk or an afternoon or after dinner snack.

Multigrain Walnut Banana Muffins
Ingredients
1 cup white whole wheat flour (or unbleached all purpose flour)
1 cup multigrain hot cereal (I used 7-grain hot cereal from Bob's Red Mill, or you can use 1 cup oats that have been processed in a food processor)
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 egg
1/4 cup oil (olive or vegetable oil both work fine)
3/4 cup 2% organic milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 mashed over-ripe bananas (~1.5 cups)
1/2-3/4 cup cinnamon chips or dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Mix the flour, hot cereal (uncooked), rolled oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl.
2. In a medium sized bowl, beat the egg, oil, milk, and vanilla.
3. Make a well in the dry mixture and pour in the wet mixture. Mix just until combined.
4. Add the mashed bananas. Mix just until combined.
5. Add the cinnamon chips and chopped walnuts. Mix just until combined.
6. Preheat the oven to 400 deg F and line 12-16 muffin cups.
7. Fill the muffin cups 2/3 of the way up with the batter. (optional) Top each with a full walnut piece.
8. Bake 12-15 minutes until a toothpick inserted the center of a muffin comes out clean. 
9. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then finish cooling on a rack.

A caution is that this is healthy and you know it while eating it. To make it more appealing for the general public without adding spoons of sugar, I added in some mini cinnamon chips. Yes, this is processed sugar and I just lectured against it above, but you can't persuade others to eat healthy if it's unappetizing. Therefore, I added 1/2 cup of cinnamon chips. Next time, though, I'll add 3/4 cup of cinnamon chips to bring out the cinnamon and sweetness just a tad bit more. I also think the dark chocolate would be better than the cinnamon chips.

Giant California Rolls

My senior year of undergrad at Berkeley, my best friend there taught me how to roll sushi. It was a really fun experience and tasty. I also tried this raspberry beer called Framboise and I was genuinely surprised that there was a beer out there that I liked. Sometime after that, I invited a bunch of my Vietnamese Student Association friends over to my apartment for a sushi rolling party. We made a lot of different rolls, but primarily imitation crab meat filling if I remember correctly. Every time, we made maki rolls, which are sushi rolls with the nori seaweed sheet on the outside. Recently I wanted to try my hand at making California rolls, where the rice is on the outside, then the nori, and then the fillings on the inside.

Maki sushi on left. California-style sushi on right. source

I prepared the crab filling using canned crab meat this time instead of imitation crab sticks. I simply drained the water from the can of (sustainably caught!) crabmeat, and added 2 Tbs of mayo and about 1/2 to 1 Tbs of Sriracha. I also sprinkled in some lemon pepper seasoning and ground black pepper. Seeing as it was still too moist (I did not drain it that well) and my eyes thought it was not enough meat, I sprinkled in vegetarian pork floss (something like this).

source

For vegetable fillings, I sliced some avocado, cucumber, and carrots into thin strips. I also washed fresh alfafa sprouts. I just looked up the health benefits of alfafa sprouts. One cup of alfafa sprouts contain about 10% women's DV of vitamin K. It also contains vitamin C and phytoestrogens, which can help reduce risks of heart disease, cancer, and osteoporosis. Alfafa sprouts also contain saponins, compounds linked to reducing LDL cholesterol and raising HDL cholesterol - although the site did not say how much saponin a cup of alfafa sprouts contain nor how much saponin is needed to be effective. Nevertheless, alfafa is a green vegetable and is definitely healthier for you than filling up on fatty, meaty fillings!

Ingredients all prepped.

I made the sushi rice using Kokuho Rose brand sushi rice. I washed a cup of rice under water for a while (they recommend doing it till the washing water is clear, but this brand says "No washing necessary", so I only did it briefly), then spread it out to dry for ~30 min along the walls of a colander. After cooking the rice, I mixed 1-1/2 Tbs rice vinegar, 1 Tbs sugar, and 1/2 Tbs salt. I poured the vinegar mixture over the rice and mixed it in with chopsticks. To add something a little extra, I toasted white sesame seeds in my toaster oven and mixed some in as well.

To assemble, you spread the rice in a thin layer on top of a sheet of nori, completely covering the nori. Sprinkle more sesame seeds if desired. Place a plastic sheet on top then flip it over. Place it on a sushi rolling mat and then put the fillings inside. I spooned on 1/4 of the crabmeat, then generously added all the vegetables. I tried rolling it over, but my rolls were not tight and I had forgotten how to correctly roll these, since I had done it so long ago. My rolls ended up looking like sushi burritos! HUGE! I ate two that night, because my friend and I made 3 altogether. I know sushi is not good the next day and did not want to waste those last 4 slices of my sushi.

HUGGGEEE sushi roll

After slicing into 8 pieces.

The nori I got is not that good. I will have to buy a better brand next time. Do any of you have suggestions on good nori for sushi?

Next time, I will definitely read up on the proper sushi rolling technique and also cut my avocados thicker.

In all, after not cooking for a month because of being on winter break at my mom's fully stocked house, it was good to get back into preparing my own meals. And sushi is a great first meal back at school!

Oh, and Happy New Year, everyone!

Turkey Veggie Chili

Fall is setting in and I've been in quite the soup and stew phase. Since last week, I have made bo kho (Vietnamese beef stew), turkey veggie chili, and potato parsley soup! With the rain and colder weather setting in here in Texas (which, granted, is still rather warm), I need to battle the looming potential for colds and flus by eating lots of soup.

First, the turkey veggie chili.

This is a simple, quick, and tasty recipe that goes well on its own, with tortilla chips, or maybe even cornbread if you want that. I typically like eating chili with cornbread, but that is truthfully because I want a reason to make cornbread and eat a lot of my sweet cornbread. This time, though, I ate my chili with tortilla chips and I liked it a lot better than with cornbread. The salty crunch from the chips really gave an extra texture and salty slightly sweet corn flavor profile to the chili.

Now, I will describe what veggies I used, because that is what I had on hand, but feel free to use other good stew vegetables you have on hand. For example, zucchini/courgettes, carrots, onion, celery, broccoli stalks, green bell pepper, etc.

Turkey Veggie (Vegetable) Chili
Ingredients:
1 lb (16 oz) lean ground turkey (15% fat)
1/2 diced onion
3 minced garlic cloves
2 chopped carrots
1 chopped zucchini
2-3 cups chicken broth
2 medium-large fresh tomatoes, diced
1 (15-oz) can of beans (I used Simple Truth organic tri-color), undrained
Chili powder
Paprika, dried oregano
Salt and black pepper
(Arby's sauce, *see Personal touch)
Green onion, cilantro, parsley, for garnish

Directions
1)  In a large pan or pot, saute the onion in olive oil over medium heat until light golden brown. Add in the minced garlic and saute until lightly browned. Add in the turkey and cook over medium-high, breaking up the pieces with a wooden spoon until the turkey is cooked. Remove the turkey from the pan into a bowl and set aside.
2) Add the carrots too the pan and add some water just enough to slightly steam the carrots and just enough so that the water will evaporate quickly (< 1/4 cup). Once the carrots have quickly steamed but are still firm and the water has evaporated, add some oil and saute the carrots till somewhat softer but with a little bit of firmness. Add in the chopped zucchini and saute briefly to undercook. The vegetables will cook further when simmering.
3) Return the turkey and all the juices from the bowl back into the pan. Mix together of medium heat, then pour in the chopped tomatoes and all their juices. Let cook over medium-high for a couple of minutes. Add in the chicken broth, mix. Add in the can of beans, mix.
4) Season with 2-3 Tbs chili powder, some dashes of paprika and dried oregano.  Season with some salt and black pepper. Adjust with more chili powder if desired.
*Personal touch: I wanted to give a little extra flavor to my chili, so I went through my fridge for random sauces or condiments I could add. I found a packet of Arby's sauce, which is like a ketchup or BBQ sauce but not. You can omit this or use ketchup or BBQ sauce instead
5) Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer, with a slightly open cap, for 20 minutes. Give a stir occasionally and add more broth or water if necessary.
6) To serve, ladle into bowls, add a dash of black pepper, and sprinkle freshly chopped green onion, cilantro, and/or parsley. Serve with restaurant-style tortilla chips.

Serves 4-6

This is a relatively healthy chili. It uses turkey but not the 90% lean because that would be too dry and too healthy. There is a good mix of vegetables and beans without overwhelming the meat portion. I hope you try this out, or use it as inspiration for your own chili! Thanks for reading!

Recipe: Mushroom Mataar

Mushroom Mataar - Oct 7, 2012
(from my "Catching Up" post on Jan 19)

In College Station, there is only one Indian restaurant (although I've heard about many Indian mini-marts inside gas stations and convenience stores). Coming from Berkeley, and even Southern California, I had many options for Indian food (although, sadly, I did not indulge in enough while I was there). Every now and then I get a craving for Indian food. Tikka masala, samosas, korma, jalfrezi, curry, mango lassi...

I also really like peas, and Indians know how to make peas taste awesome. I looked online for an Indian pea recipe, and I had mushrooms on hand. I came across this recipe and made this!

The flavors were good. There was a warm complexity, thanks to the melding of the mushroom umami and the spices. I served it on whole wheat couscous, which is what I had on hand, but it would be much better with naan or rice (brown or basmati). Whole wheat couscous has such a strong flavor that I would not recommend eating it with anything really. Sorry, Bob's Red Mill, even your awesome brand cannot make whole wheat couscous better. It tastes like play-doh to me...bleh.

Anyways, I really liked this. Probably not authentic and lacks some degrees of flavor depth key to Indian food, but tasty enough for me.

(Because I made this so long ago and because I did it based on the ingredients I had on hand, I can only estimate the amounts that I used, based on the recipe I referenced)
 
Matar Mushroom (4 servings)
Adapted from Khana Khazana
Ingredients
1 container of mushrooms (1/2 lb, I think), halved
1/2 bag of frozen peas (small bag)
3-4 fresh tomatoes, chopped and pureed
3-5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 onion chopped
1/2" ginger finely chopped
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp or more of garam masala
Some chopped green chili or red pepper chili paste if you want spicy

Directions
1. Heat oil in a pan. Saute the cumin seeds and garam masala till fragrant, then add in the onion. Saute till light brown. Add ginger, and garlic and saute till light brown.
2. Add in the mushrooms, green peas, and tomato puree and saute until mushrooms have released their juices and green peas are no longer frozen.
3. Add salt and adjust spices to your liking (I think I add to add more garam masala because I could barely taste it)
4. Serve with rice or naan (avoid the whole wheat couscous!!! D: D: D: )

Silk: Non-dairy Yogurt

Just had to post this while I'm eating it...

I've tried some different non-dairy yogurts before and have not had too great an experience until now. I have tried the soymilk ones from Whole Soy & Co. The texture was slightly grainy and not thick and creamy like regular yogurt. I have also tried almond milk yogurt from Amande. This was like eating flavored almond milk agar jello (if you know Vietnamese "tat", a firm white jello made with coconut milk and (I think) agar). The texture was not creamy but too light and gel-like.

I have recently bought the Silk "fruity & creamy" soymilk yogurts and these really hit the spot. The first was Black Cherry, which I thought was pretty tasty. But the flavor that prompted me to write this is the peach mango flavor. It's just so good! It is not as creamy as 2% or whole milk yogurt, but has a light creaminess and the right consistency.

http://silk.com/products/peach-mango-soy-fruity-creamy

It's made with soymilk, cane sugar, maltodextrin, peaches, mangoes  natural flavor, tricalcium phosphate (calcium source), pectin, sodium citrate, citric acid, vegetable juice (color), sea salt, locust bean gum, malic acid, Vitamin D2, and Live & Active Cultures

The sugar content, 19g, is lower than most milk-based flavored yogurts (often topping 20-30g of sugar per serving). It also has 6 g of protein, which much be from the soymilk, because no other source of isolated protein is listed in the ingredients. I think this is great because Americans are getting too much chemically-isolated proteins in their diet. We do eat enough meat, nuts, and legumes to give us enough protein. We do not need soy or milk protein isolates. They are usually derived through strenuous chemical and physical separation processes that wastes the rest of the original material and puts the final product through too many chemicals and treatments. If you want more protein, people, don't suffer those chalky powders! Just eat a handful of almonds or a chicken thigh. I assure you that you'll enjoy that better.

This was not endorsed or sponsored  by Silk. I just really liked this yogurt and wanted to share my experience.

Question of the day: Have you tried alternative yogurts/ice creams? What is your favorite brand and flavor?

Happy Springtime!

Cooking with Love: Steamed Flounder and Pumpkin Cheese Pie

My boyfriend is a sweet guy. He is willing to try new things (to an extent) and willing to help out when I ask him. I believe that what makes our relationship work so well is that we communicate to each other when something is problematic. He keeps me modest with his honesty and pointing out awkward or inconsiderate mannerisms of mine. Things I cook, bake, and other things I do, he points out what is good but also what I could improve on. Truth be told, it irks me sometimes because I may not be looking for perfection right then, just somethibg passable so I can move on. Nevertheless, I give consideration to his comments, even if I respond defensively at first.

I have been trying to teach him how to be more self-sufficient and proactive lately. As we are both becoming independent adults, I believe it is necessary to learn how to take care of oneself. Cooking and household chores are basic skills every person should be able to do when they become an adult, regardless of sex/gender. Eventually, our parents will not be there to take care of us all the time, and we have to rely on ourselves for food, comfort, and care. Furthermore, one cannot subsist on eating out for nearly every meal. You would go broke before you even pay rent. 

This is why I have been teaching my boyfriend how to cook, wash and dry clothes, and some minor cleaning.  Also, he had to learn how to take care of my dog - that's a life skill too! But, I have to admit that I have alternate motivation for teaching him these skills. As a graduate student, volunteer, and dancer, I don't have that much time to take total care of two dependent boys (bf and dog). So I wanted my boyfriend to learn how to cook and do some simple household chores. Then, I could come home from my usual 8-9 hour workday and not have to cook, clean up, and study before attempting to get a decent amount of sleep before another long workday. A woman's dream: to have dinner prepared when she gets home and not have to bother with cleaning everything.

I talked with my bf about this and he was understanding. So wonderful, to have a bf who listens and tries to improve. After our talk, the rest of the day was splendid. What unfolded was a scene I had always fantasized about in my future settled life. My bf and I cooked dinner together and he helped with baking my pie. We had dinner together, no TV (although small distractions intermittently from his cellphone game) and the food was spectacular.

I guess that food just tastes better when you take time to prepare it with someone you love.

The dish that we created together was a soy steamed flounder with sauteed zucchini and steamed rice. My bf is learning how to cook perfect rice on the stovetop through trial and error. Eventually,  he'll finally remember the process. Nevertheless, the rice he made was not too bad. A tad mushier than "perfect" white rice but still I enjoyed the creaminess of the moist rice. I dont make perfect rice yet either, nothing like my mom's. So, as you can see, we are both still learning.

The flounder recipe was prompted by a sale of wild-caught flounder fillets at a local grocery store. My bf always comments how his Cantonese family generally steams food. It is healthier, simple, and focuses on the freshness and flavor of the food itself, instead of the taste of oil or sauces. So I decided to do a steamed flounder, which was also recommended by the butcher at the fish counter. He suggested steaming because flounder falls apart if pan fried.

I used a recipe online as inspiration and ended up sauteeing zucchini, garlic,  ginger, and some sweet pickled carrots and daikons my mom made for Tet (Vietnamese New Year). I seasoned the fillets with hot shot black & red pepper blend (McCormick) and lemon pepper seasoning, placed it on top of the vegetables with soy sauce and let that steam until cooked. 

I started making the pie earlier, finishing the graham cracker crust, when he came over and asked to help. We proceeded to make the filling together and I put it in the oven. As I had hip hop dance class for the next hour, I entrusted him with taking out the pie when done. When I came back, the pie was on the counter, beautifully browned and set.

We set the table with the pots of rice and main course, alongside the pie we made together. It was a proud and happy and loving moment for me and for us. This is a memory that will live on in my tastebuds and my mind, to remind me of how much I love my bf and how lucky we are to have one another.

-----------------------------------

 

Steamed Flounder and Vegetables (serves 2)
Ingredients
1 12 oz flounder fillet (preferably wild caught), cut into two pieces
Lemon pepper seasoning
Hot shot black & red pepper blend (McCormick) (can just use black pepper)
1 large zucchini (any squash works fine), cut into 1/4" thick slices then into fourths to sixths
(Carrots and radish, sliced thinly and marinated in a sweet vinegar brine, optional. Add other veggies if you want)
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 Tbs minced fresh ginger
3 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
3 sprigs of cilantro, chopped
1 green onion, green parts only, thinly sliced
Sesame seeds for garnish
Rice and soy sauce to serve

Directions
1. Heat large skillet (one that has a cap) over medium. Add olive and sesame oils. Add zucchini, garlic, ginger, and other veggies if using. Saute until veggies just start to soften. Add soy sauce and 3 Tbs water.
2. Season both sides of fish fillets with lemon pepper and hot black pepper seasoning. Make a bed of the vegetables in the bottom of the pan. Top with fish fillets. Cover pan and let steam till fish is cooked through and flakes easily (about 6 mins).
3. Remove pan from heat, top fish with cilantro, green onion, and sesame seeds (optional).
4. Serve with rice and soy sauce.

 

Pumpkin Cheese Pie (8-10 slices)
(Recipe adapted from southernplate.com. Crust adapted from Dessertswithbenefits, a superb blog with nutritious, cute, easy, and innovative sweets)
Crust Ingredients
1.5 cups (cinnamon or honey) graham cracker crumbs
1 Tbs coconut oil
1.5 Tbs Smart balance butter (or softened butter)
1.5 Tbs Biscoff spread (cookie butter)
*(alternatively, just use 3-4 Tbs softened butter in place of the above three fats)

Filling Ingredients
1 cup pumpkin
2 eggs
1/2 cup (unsweetened vanilla almond) milk
1/4 cup brown and/or cane sugar
1/4 cup apricot jam (no sugar added, not Splenda-sweetened)
2-3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 oz (1/2 bar) plain cream cheese
1/4 cup honey

Directions
1. Prepare the crust: preheat oven to 350 deg F. In a food processor, grind down crust ingredients to a coarse powder. Press into a 9" pie plate (don't have to press all the way up the sides). Blind bake for 10 minutes till lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool. Change oven temperature to 325 deg F.
2. Make filling: beat all filling ingredients till smooth and creamy. Pour into par-baked graham crust.
3. Bake for 40-50 minutes in the oven at 325 deg F till filling is set (edges not too browned, knife inserted into center comes out clean). Remove from oven and let cool at least 45 minutes before cutting and serving.

 

Both creations turned out very tasty. The fish was creamy, although next time I would saute my zucchini for a short time to preserve some of that nice crisp veggie texture. Also, I will reduce the sugar in the pie by removing the 1/4 cup of sugar and just relying on the jam and honey to sweeten the pie.

I hope you try these easy recipes out and make long-lasting memories with someone you love in your life too.

~Pauline

Recipe: Raisin Oat Scones

Continuing from my "Catching Up" post, where I put images and brief descriptions of my recent cooking and baking experiments...

Raisin Oat Scones- Sept 29, 2012

I love scones. Not the crazy sweet ones you get from grocery stores or chain coffee stores. I like homemade or artisan bakery scones, where the emphasis is on the good butter or cream and the simple combination of flavors. I love to see oats or seeds top my scones instead of icing. I believe, as a breakfast food, it need not have icing.

These are healthy scones made with oats, whole wheat flour, flaxseed, and raisins. These rose gorgeously in the oven. Coming straight from the oven, they are warm and tasty and delicious. A couple days later, they get dry, but that's why they are wonderful accompanied by tea!

I made about 8 wedges, which came out very large. You can see how big they look! It is not a trick of the camera. They are actually that huge! Like Starbucks or Panera Bread huge, but not overly sweet that you feel comatose after eating one. They are satisfying, wholesome, and sweet enough, especially great with some vanilla almond milk.

Unfortunately, I did not write where I got this recipe from. I just wrote "Blueberry Oat Scones" in my recipe booklet and forgot to write the site. So, if this is your recipe, please call me out so I can cite you! Thanks! As you can tell, I used raisins instead of blueberries, because that's what I had on hand.

Raisin Oat Scones (8 servings)
Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oats, ground
2-1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbs cold butter, cubed
2 Tbs maple syrup (I used honey)
1 egg, separated
1/4 cup buttermilk (or 1/4 cup milk soured with 1 tsp fresh lemon juice)
1/2 cup raisins (or blueberries or cranberries or dried apricots...)
1 Tbs flour
1 Tbs lemon zest (I didn't use this)
1 Tbs water
(I added some brown flaxseed for texture)

Directions
1. Mix flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt (and flaxseed). Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
2. In a small bowl, beat the egg white, syrup/honey, and buttermilk. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and pour the wet mixture in. Stir to combine.
3. Toss the dried or fresh blueberries with the 1 Tbs flour and lemon zest. Fold into the batter.
4. Pat the dough out into a circle on a floured surface. Cut into 8 triangles.
5. Preheat oven to 425 deg F. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper. Place the triangles 1-2" apart.
6. Lightly beat the egg yolk and 1 Tbs water. Brush over scones. Sprinkle with oats (and flaxseed).
7. Bake int he oven for 15-18 minutes till golden.
8. Cool on a wire rack. Eat slightly warm, fresh from the oven for yumminess!

Notes:
1. The egg yolk wash gives it that nice golden color and sheen. Love it!
2. The texture and taste of this scone is more for the health-appreciating. It still is sweet, but just enough to satisfy. If you like sweeter scones, feel free to drizzle with icing or add more syrup/honey.
3. To up the creaminess or moistness next time, I my add another Tbs of syrup/honey or up the buttermilk just a tad (maybe from 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup).

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The next scone recipe I want to try is this pumpkin "farl", or a slim scone originally made of butter, flour, and mashed potato and cooked on a skillet. I snapped a photo of the recipe from this cookbook on display at the local Pecan Farm.

Next recipe: Mushroom Mataar

Catching Up

Wow, that last post was really depressing. But I had to put it up. Other bloggers have to see that other bloggers have real-life problems too and it's not all just pretty food pictures and baking heaven. Also, I needed to get a load off my chest. Since then, things have been going much better. I feel more confident, but that is also because some things in lab are working now. It's a slow process, but it's something I have to learn and persevere through. I understand that graduate school and research is not easy, but the difficulties seem to overwhelm me at times. I will learn to handle stress and anxiety better, but it will take time. First, I have to get a hold on my emotions and allow my self-perception to change. I think I am happier and mentally healthier now. :-)

Now, to food-related things!

As usual, I have been cooking lots and taking pictures of food lots, but being too lazy to pull out my computer and type up something entertaining about it. I will create individual posts for each of these with recipes next time. Until then, enjoy these quick bites of my last semester!

Cinnamon (raisin) rolls (with yeast!) - Sept 9, 2012

 

I once made cinnamon rolls before, but those didn't rise well and were overbaked. This time around, I tried the recipe at Two Peas and a Pod. I switched out half of the all-purpose flour for white whole wheat flour. I also added apple juice-soaked raisins to half of the dough.

These were better texture-wise, but my addition of whole wheat flour and minimal cinnamon-sugar-butter filling made it not as decadent as I hoped. It rose better than my very first batch, but was still not as fluffy as I wanted. Nevertheless, it was tasty and would serve as a good breakfast without the sugar-rush and super-unhealthiness of Cinnabon and the like.

I iced them with a lemon vanilla frosting, simply made from fresh lemon juice, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar.

Homemade Spring Rolls (Goi Cuon) - Sept 26, 2012

Rice paper is soaked in water briefly to soften, then wrapped around fresh Vietnamese herbs, roasted shredded chicken, surimi (imitation crabmeat), and fresh roasted peanuts, and served with peanut sauce. Typical Vietnamese herbs wrapped inside include Vietnamese mint, Vietnamese coriander, fish mint, chives, and lettuce. Homemade, pan-roasted peanuts are a must. The flavor of freshly roasted peanuts surpasses that of storebought.

Honey Buttermilk Cornbread - Sept 21, 2012

 I have been trying to perfect my cornbread recipe. This one comes pretty close, but I can never achieve the pure heaven that is Smart Alec's cornbread (in Berkeley). Theirs is a huge golden square served up with their salads or soups. The top is slightly sticky and the texture is slightly crumbly but still maintains shape. It is sweet and moist, not dry like cornbread mixes. I have not replicated that but I found a recipe that really delighted me. The use of buttermilk is a must for achieving a really creamy and more flavorful cornbread.
 

I sprinkled the top with my organic cane sugar. This sugar is less refined and therefore composed of larger crystals than regular granulated sugar. It adds a slight sweet crunch to the top.

I really like this recipe but believe it still needs some adjustment before it can be anywhere close to Smart Alec's. Next time, I may add more honey to increase the moistness and sweetness more.


Raisin Oat Scones- Sept 29, 2012

I love scones. Not the crazy sweet ones you get from grocery stores or chain coffee stores. I like homemade or artisan bakery scones, where the emphasis is on the good butter or cream and the simple combination of flavors. I love to see oats or seeds top my scones instead of icing. I believe, as a breakfast food, it need not have icing.

These are healthy scones made with oats, whole wheat flour, flaxseed, and raisins. Coming straight from the oven, they are warm and tasty and delicious. A couple days later, they get dry, but that's why they are wonderful accompanied by tea!

I made about 8 wedges, which came out very large. They are satisfying, wholesome, and sweet enough, especially great with some vanilla almond milk.

Mushroom Mataar - Oct 7, 2012

In College Station, there is only one Indian restaurant (although I've heard about many Indian mini-marts inside gas stations and convenience stores). Coming from Berkeley, and even Southern California, I had many options for Indian food (although, sadly, I did not indulge in enough while I was there). Every now and then I get a craving for Indian food. Tikka masala, samosas, korma, jalfrezi, curry, mango lassi...

I also really like peas, and Indians know how to make peas taste awesome. I looked online for an Indian pea recipe, and I had mushrooms on hand. I came across this recipe and made this!

The flavors were good. There was a warm complexity, thanks to the melding of the mushroom umami and the spices. I served it on whole wheat couscous, which is what I had on hand, but it would be much better with naan or rice (brown or basmati). Whole wheat couscous has such a strong flavor that I would not recommend eating it with anything really. Sorry, Bob's Red Mill, even your awesome brand cannot make whole wheat couscous better. It tastes like play-doh to me...bleh.

Anyways, I really liked this. Probably not authentic and lacks some degrees of flavor depth key to Indian food, but tasty enough for me.

Gingerbread Donuts - Dec. 13, 2012

I finally remembered to buy molasses, so to celebrate its induction into my household, I made gingerbread donuts. They were very tasty. I was really pleased with this batch of donuts. I often have trouble pulling the donuts out of the mini donut pan, even after greasing it up. These came out so beautifully, without breaking the top halves! I was ecstatic!

I iced these with a lime cream cheese frosting (lime+vanilla+powdered sugar+cream cheese). Lemon typically goes with ginger pastries, but I had bought too many key limes and needed to use them. The flavors actually went well together. One of my favorite donuts yet!

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I have more, but I don't want to unveil everything now, lest I blow all my secrets! Or, in other words, it's late and I don't want to type anymore. You can see my other adventures...probably not soon. When I feel like posting again. Ok, toodles!