I’ve been craving for a simple vegetarian dinner that I could just whip up in the matter of 30 minutes, and so this very easy chickpea vegetable curry recipe with quinoa was born. Let not the simplicity of this dish fool you, though: it is still a very filling veggie dish, and it rightfully deserves to be called a main course. You won’t go hungry after enjoying curry flavors, chickpeas, mushrooms, and spinach in a creamy coconut broth, on top of protein-rich quinoa. Continue reading
While I think pear and prosciutto go together so well as an appetizer that you don’t really need to add anything else, in this recipe I did add pomegranate seeds and spinach to create an actual salad. This salad could be served before dinner; it could be one of the appetizers on your table; or you could have it for lunch.
I am still recovering from my 10 days of travel, so this post will be brief and about fresh and healthy ingredients – exactly what I need after eating out for 10 days. Continue reading
Creamy mushroom pasta sauce sounded really good on my first night at home, after I have traveled for business through 3 different states last week and have gone out to restaurants for dinner almost every single night for the last 10 days. Homemade pasta dishes are something I always crave after lots of traveling and eating out. While I really enjoyed the social interaction that comes from having restaurant dinners with co-workers and friends, I realized once again what a home-buddy I have become and how I longed to be back in my kitchen.
Long time ago, however, there were times when I did enjoy eating out a lot and it was the norm to have dinners out at least 3 times a week. The norm of the recent years for me, though, is to eat out maybe once a month – I wonder if that’s normal or have I become home-bound too much? So not having dinner (or breakfast, or lunch) at home 10 days in a row sort of threw me out of my routine. Continue reading
Asian recipes with salmon are often hit or miss, because salmon could be so fickle: you don’t want to overcook it and end up with a dry salmon that does not taste good. I am also a big fan of savory flavors, so I was looking for an Asian fish recipe that would not be overly sweet. This recipe uses a little bit of honey but only for glazing purposes, to caramelize salmon on top, – you can’t really taste the sweetness, which is what I wanted. Continue reading
I love pomegranate seeds and eat them pretty much as is, as a mid-day snack, but I also started looking for good recipes that call for actual pomegranate seeds. I just found and tested this one from Epicurious.com, and it is a keeper! Everybody who tried this salad so far has been in awe. And because it’s so colorful and festive and has lots of seasonal fruit (apples and pears) plus pomegranates and hazelnuts, I will be serving it this Christmas!
This salad is good on so many levels. First of all, the combination of flavors is out of this world! It’s fruity, tarty, crunchy, sweet and sour – all at the same time! It’s like a fruit salad, but with a big savory side coming from spinach and Gorgonzola cheese. Pomegranates with their unusual sweet-tart flavor add their own amazing dimension. Definitely serve it with the cheese – the Gorgonzola cheese to this salad is akin the icing to the cake. Continue reading
This is my third post for November NaBloPoMo – a recipe for baked egg breakfast tarts. Just like my other baked egg cups from a couple of weeks ago, these are very easy to make, provided you prepare the dough for tart shells in advance, because, although tart shells are super easy to make, the tart dough has to sit in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to be flaky. So you have to plan for those couple of hours (or overnight if it’s more convenient – I personally like to prepare tart dough a day in advance and keep it covered and refrigerated overnight). The super flaky tart crust is well worth it. Eggs baked in mini tart shells definitely make an impression. The individual serving size also makes it convenient to serve. Continue reading
On weekends, for breakfast I often crave for a warm savory tart, filled with eggs, vegetables, and cheese. I love the taste of the flaky, crumbly, a little salty tart crust that melts in your mouth. So, I made mini baked egg cups with spinach and Gouda cheese this past weekend – smaller versions of this egg tart with Gruyere cheese I made about a month ago . My family loves them, and they also look great! Whether you live alone, or have guests knocking on your doors early in the morning, or people staying over at your house from the night before, this is a perfect breakfast! All you have to do is mix milk, cream, cheese, and spinach together, bake for 20-30 minutes – and it’s done! Continue reading
I was originally planning to post a light-hearted and easy recipe about how to make a yummy plum drink, but Photograzing Community at SeriousEats.com was hosting an event this weekend, and I promised to post a recipe there. So I changed my mind and instead of making a simple plum drink, I took an endeavor of making fresh pasta ravioli from scratch. Here is my recipe featured on SeriousEats Weekend Cook and Tell: Fresh Pasta. Very exciting! Continue reading
Small amounts of beets go great with green salads. In fact, seems like almost all fine dining restaurants these days have a green salad with beets on the menu.
This salad combines different flavors which play off one another: tart and sweet, earthy and peppery, fresh and cooked. Continue reading
