Guacamole Breakfast Burrito

Today is the first day post Cinco de Mayo, so what better way to celebrate than with leftover Guacamole... in a breakfast burrito! I fantasized about such a creation the night before, wondering what to do with all the leftover Guac from Lindsey's (of Hungry Eyes fame) Cinco de Mayo (ie, Cinco de Drinko) dinner party. I thought that just scrambled eggs and guac might be a smooth and creamy option by themselves, but I couldn't resist the urge to add my favorite breakfast potatoes into the spinach tortilla wrap as well. And, as a big cheese head, I added a slice of pepper jack over the steaming eggs.

It was delicious! The spicy onion-cilantro-ness of the guacamole complemented the smooth scrambled eggs in both texture and taste. The cheese added some saltiness and some bite with the pepper-jack and the spinach tortilla contributed with a subtle veggie flavor.. and the potatoes. Oh. Just when you thought, hey this is pretty good, BAM! you bite in to a crispy-on-the-outside-but-soft-on-the-inside breakfast potato. Bliss for breakfast.

Basil Turbot Fillet with Roasted Mixed Veggies and Rice

My mom has been in town recently; hence my.. ahem.. complete lack of posts for April. I have been eating to my hearts content every night without breaking a sweat..

So now that she is back home again :( I am going to have to familiarize myself with the kitchen...again..

Today's meal is a simple fix, with lots of vegetables, a pre-marinated fish fillet for protein, and a small amount of rice to provide fuel for the day. The fish (frozen, Trader Joes) was baked at 375 degrees for 34 mins, but was overcooked, so if I had a do-over, I would have taken it out of the oven about 5 minutes earlier.

The mixed vegetables are essentially the only thing I prepared, with sliced baby portobello mushrooms, sliced zucchini and summer squash, onions and a diced tomato. I roasted all of these together in a small amount of olive oil and added a dash of freshly ground peppercorns and salt. The key to this is to set the stove to high, add the mushrooms and onions and let them brown (if youve prepared portobello mushrooms before you will know this alone will smell amazing) then turn the heat to medium and add the squash and tomato. Simple summer flavor!

Peeps Cake!!

This 4-storey cake is strawberry and vanilla checkerboard cake with whipped vanilla icing and 38 peeps decorating the outer surface. Lindsey of hungry eyes fame hosted an amazing Easter dinner party and this was my contribution...

The cake is leaning slightly.. mostly because of my inaccurate top-cutting technique to flatten each layer before adding the next. I hacked at it with a bread knife, eyeballing how straight the cut was. The cake was finished by 1PM, and the party was at 4. By 2, the cake was leaning dangerously.. so much so that I devised a plan to insert a chopstick or skewer through it to hold it steady. I didn't have any of either on hand.. but I had a straight plastic straw from subway. The unwrapped straw was a bit flimsy.. but I poked it straight through the center of the cake, and I credit the brave little subway straw for maintaining the cake integrity until after dinner...at which time the great peeps cake massacre began.. and my oh my, what a glorious massacre it was!

Parathas, Peas Panneer, and Okra

A much needed trip to the local Indian store fueled my desire for this favorite of mine. I bought frozen parathas (delicious and completely hassel free.. but Im pretty sure nutritionally its the "big mac" of Indian food), premade paneer, and a large frozen bag of okra.

The peas paneer recipe comes from The "Ultimate Vegetarian" Cookbook. With premade paneer, the recipe is complete in about 20 minutes. 1 med onion is fried in vegetable oil or ghee. The dry spices and ginger garlic mix are added to the lightly browned onions, then peas and 1 can of diced tomatoes and 1/2 c broth is added to the mix. The whole deal is simmered for 10 mins, then add the lightly toasted paneer and youre all set! Note-- if you dont have paneer, well fried tofu can substitute. The flavor is definately not the same (the paneer is a rich cheese with a distinct flavor, whereas tofu has more of a distinct texture but lacks much flavor), but it is a healthier and more locally available alternative and will work in this recipe.

Okra, commonly called lady's fingers or in Tamil vendaikkai is my favorite vegetable. Fresh okra is identifyable by breaking the tip, if the tip breaks cleanly with a snap, the okra is fresh. Frozen okra.. well.. you take what you can get. Generally it is cut into 1/4 inch pieces, which works out well for a plain okra fry.

To make plain okra, fry mustard seeds and urad dhal in a small amount of oil until the mustard seeds pop and the urad dhal turns light brown (careful-- burning the spice mix means you have to start over) Add cut onions and fry a few mins, till lightly brown. Then, add the frozen okra. Cook over medium heat for a while, stirring to thaw the okra. Once thawed, add about 1/4 cup water and let simmer. Add salt and a small pinch of chili pepper, and youre ready to enjoy the simple okra fry. This part of the meal is actually good for you.. but the effects are negated with the paneer and paratha...and especially negated if you opt (as I did) for the rasmalai dessert.

Japanese Fried Tofu and Vegetarian Sushi

Last weekend I tried a new recipe from one my all time favorite recipe books: "Easy Vegetarian Dinners"

The recipe looked so sophisticated- for the longest time I thought it was too complicated for me. But, it did come from "Easy" vegetarian recipes..so how hard could it be?

It was great! The recipe involves thinly slicing snow peas, red and orange sweet peppers and frying them in sesame oil. I just barely toasted the vegetables so they maintained their crispness, and I used a very small amount of sesame oil so that the flavor of the vegetables was preserved.


The tofu was also very easy to prepare. I took a regular package of extra firm tofu and cut it into 8 large slices. These were soaked in soy sauce for about 1 hour. Then, I coated each slice in an ample amount of cornmeal before pan frying it in a small amount of olive oil.



The tofu fried easily to a golden brown color in just a few minutes. This did not take long.. so I was looking for something else to prepare. According to the cookbook, the tofu is Japanese style, so I thought-- why not sushi? I had all of the ingredients handy from my last sushi experience. For sushi filling I had cucumber, carrot (I only had baby carrots, so I thinly sliced a few of those and called it good) and some avocado.

The sushi rice cooked quickly, since I only prepared 1/2 cup. I quickly added rice vinegar, following the recipe on the vinegar bottle. Once mixed, I spread the rice on the nori and rolled (as best I could.. I am no sushi expert) the rice together with a spread of toppings. Served with pickled ginger and wasabi, it wasn't bad at all! I topped the rolls with sesame seeds, and topped the fried tofu with sesame seeds as well. I had two problems with the meal: first- the fried tofu was missing some salt. The one hour soak in soy sauce wasn't enough for the hunk of tofu. Next time I will add salt to the cornmeal batter as well. Second-- I was missing saki! I was very pleased to find out that Trader Joes sells saki in its drink section.. be sure to pick some up while getting supplies for a meal like this! Happy Cooking!

New York City and the Giants Game!

OMG the Giants won the superbowl! Ok, so I confess, I am not much of a football person. BUT- I did watch the Giants v. Packers game, and that got me a little excited..since the game went into OT and all... It doesnt hurt that I was watching it with die-hard fans. Plus the thought of football themed food is delightful!! (Ok Ok, I'll admit it, I was a little more excited about the thought of food than the game)

After that game, my die-hard Giants fan Gavin called me up and invited me to watch the game at his superbowl party: in Hoboken NJ. We drove up, and of course, made a weekend of it. Saturday, we went into the city to eat in Little Italy. We walked into La Nonna, after strolling down Mulberry Street and being enticed by the menu. I ordered the special: a fettucini dish with crab meat. We also ordered two bottles of wine for the table. Halfway through my glass, the chef comes out with a cart that has the fettucini cooking in a pan on a burner. Next to the pan is a giant cheese wheel- similar to the display cheeses sold at Whole Foods. The rest is a bit hazy.. I think he coated the cheese top with oil... but then he LIT THE CHEESE WHEEL ON FIRE. The HUGE cheese wheel.

It was flaming pretty good now, and we were joking about the fire hazard when I genuinely started to worry. The flames were pretty big, after all, and this was a small little restaurant. Full of people. Without a second thought, the chef picked up the pan and dumped the crab and noodles into the flaming melted cheese wheel. He tossed the pasta and coated it with the freshly melted cheese.

A++ for presentation-- and I swear that it would be equally impressive to someone who hadnt had any wine! The food was deliciously cheesy (plus I got extra fresh parmesan grated on top) and the portion size was gigantic. Coupled with the soft but crusty bread and my trusty glass of red, I was in a state of food bliss.

The next day was spent lounging around and prepping for the Superbowl party. Breakfast was at the Bagel Smashery-- a wonderful concept of smooshing your bagel sandwiches to mix all the goodness together. Another bonus: they add ketchup into the egg and cheese sandwiches, pre-smashery. Add a cup of butterscotch coffee (my first cup ever.. it was delicious) and I was good to go. So sad though-- it appears the business is being sold. Who knows if it will retain its quality in the future :(

Later, I went to a drive-through beer pickup place with Gavin. No, that was not a typo. You DRIVE into the beer storage area and the workers will load whatever you want into your trunk. Kegs. 30-Packs. Soda. Whatever you want. Cool.

My dish for the superbowl party was simple, since we were travelling and I didnt feel like spending the whole day in the kitchen (though that is usually just my cup of tea..), I made cake. from a box. with store bought frosting. but hey-- at least I got creative with the icing.

And we all know how the game ended. Yay Giants!

Trader Joes Corn Bread

So the same day I made the candied yams (see previous post) I sat around with the oven preheating wondering if there was anyhing else I could possibly add to the oven without a lot of effort on my part. A quick scan of my bread and cake recipes was disappointing; I didnt have time for yeast and I was missing quite a few ingredients for quick breads.

So I turned to my pantry and lo and behold, a box of Trader Joes cornbread mix. Simple enough: add 1 egg, 1/2 c oil and some milk to the box. Wow was it delicious. The cornbread has pieces of corn in it and is subtly sweet and soft yet grainy, the way any good corn bread is. I cooked for slightly less time than the box called for, since my yams finished cooking and the a fork in the cornbread came out clean. I highly recommend this box mix! Yay cornbread fans!

Candied Yams

Candied Yams! Delicious! Definately not the most healthy food in the world-- although yams are very good for you-- this traditional rendition involves marshmallows and brown sugar. Still, as an alternative to say cheesecake, or a pint of ben and jerrys, I guess you can call this "healthy"

1 Yam, cubed and boiled

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1/2-1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

enough mini marshmallows to cover surface

Mash the boiled yam pieces and add the brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Press mashed mixture into an oven save dish (I used an approx 9 x 5 oval). Press mallows gently into surface, bake at 350F until mallows are golden brown. Let cool and serve!

Great all by itself as a dessert, yams remind me of the holiday season. Except that I can enjoy this dish year round :)

Breakfast Potatoes

2 small red potatoes
olive oil
salt and pepper

I spilled the olive oil over these potatoes on accident. Being particularly (and perhaps peculiarly) obsessed with healthy eating, I never use extra oil/butter/ghee/shortening in any recipe. I also have never successfully made good breakfast potatoes. This, however, was a success. I guess for some foods, you just cant cut out the fat.

Peanut Raisin Slaw

This recipe comes from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook:

16 oz shredded cabbage
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup peanuts
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup light mayonnaise
1 tsp curry powder

Mix together and chill until ready to serve.

I first tried this unique recipe in a cooking class-- it was one of a few great surprises; I would have never made this slaw on my own. I do have to say that it was better in cooking class, but that might be due to the use of real mayo instead of light mayo. Also I shredded a small head of cabbage using my food processor, the recipe calls for shredded cabbage you would find bagged at a store, which is not as finely shredded as my home-shredded cabbage. This probably affects the flavor of the slaw, and may also attribute to my preference for the class-made slaw.