Mighty Muffins

I've always loved to cook.
I read recipes while I should be paying attention in class,
I fantasize about my upcoming meals,
Cooking makes me feel sunny-
Allowing me to explore my creativity and express myself-not to mention making people (namely, myself) happy thru my food  is highly gratifying-

Baking, on the other hand, never held my interest so much-
I crave more salty than sweet, and 
Following strict instructions never appealed to me, when in the kitchen that is-

Yet, I find myself doing it these days-
Because,
I was wrong.
You can have fun with baking!
True, the oven makes the apartment 20 degrees too hot, but the product is worth the sweat (and even Adam's grouchy over-heated attitude)

So when I came home from school today, and was not prepared to start studying (eek!)
I took out a silver mixing bowl and a wooden spoon and took a look around:
Not much in the fridge, nor the pantry.
But we did have eggs, and almond milk, and greek yogurt-and don't you know it says so right on the label-replace butter with the Chobani! Happily! I mean, this is supposed to be a healthy food blog right?

Some pecans and chopped up dates later-we had a batter-
Oh mother flour-
I need flour.

So mostly wheat flour, and when that ran out: corn meal (i do enjoy that bit of gritty texture corn meal provides)...
And a few spoonfuls of Flax Meal.
Flax is an excellent source of Health-Let's discuss.
A) Lignans. Flax literally has 75-800 times as much lignans than any other plant food! Just think about all those antioxidants! think about if you ate flax with blueberries: you'd live forever.
B) Fiber-both insoluble and soluble. We all know how insoluble fiber is real effective for the digestive system-but soluble fiber?  I just learned how soluble fiber is effective in maintaining blood glucose levels-which is perfect for me because my blood sugar drops rapidly and unexpectedly and I get cranky-so any day I can maintain my blood sugar is a good one ;)
C) Omega 3s-the good fat-no, not an oxymoron, silly! 

Baked at 350 'till i could stick a tooth pick in the center and have it come out dry-
And Bam!

But it just wasn't quite right...

So I sliced 'em open, layered some reduced fat cream cheese (the kind that comes nearly solidified in a brick-the texture is far superior to that in a tub)
And Bam!

I'll be eating and enjoying these for days to come-

Bucatini Breakfast

While I have now talked a ton about noodles and my deep love for them, my boyfriend is obsessed with Bucatini. 
I don't know the circumstances or what about it made him fall in lust-
But he's been on the search every since.
This elusive pasta feels rare because every Italian restaurant we go to or order in from, he longingly looks for Bucatini on the menu-and after a few minutes, usually sighs with disappointment.
Just like the hole for which this tubular pasta is named, Bucatini left a gaping void in his heart.

So when we were spending some quality time in DiBruno brothers, you can only imagine how his face lit up when he found a sealed plastic bag of raw Bucatini.

He happily boiled salted water and gingerly handled the thin-spagetti like pasta-cooking it to Al Dente perfection.

We were short on time, so he folded the Bucatini into a container of Rao's tomato basil sauce and tucked it into the picnic basket he had made for me to celebrate our anniversary last summer.

There we sat, on a blanket in Independence Mall Park, surrounded by hungry and jealous Opera fans.
Yes, we did have the most romantic evening-watching Nabucco outside-filling our hearts with culture and our bellies with sweet and salty Bucatini.

But this post is not about our marvelous night-it's about the Morning After:
The idea came to me after watching TV slash flipping thru channels-and I saw a girl making a delicious crepe-and somehow I jumped to Bucactini stuffed omelette!

We somewhat dangerously laid a baking sheet, the only baking sheet we own mind you, on top of the stove top and lit 2 burners,
Whipped up some scrambled eggs-
And let it just-
Go!
And it did!
Perfectly!
Laid some Bucatini in the center-Adam flawlessly flipped the omelette together and presto:
Bucatini Breakfast!

Pasta so nice, we ate it twice
In a row
And it was awesome.

Won-Ton-A-Mera!

Before

After

After, after

Last Friday I saw "My Week With Marilyn," a good movie with great acting that made me feel just, melancholy 

:(

(sigh)

So I was craving some comfort food, and yes, this usually includes massive amounts of pasta, But I went for the biggest bowl of won ton soup from PF Changs instead.
And while this is a fine establishment, I was quite dissapointed-the won tons were not fully cooked and the broth was tasteless.

And so, I decided this week to make some seriously satisfying Won Ton Soup.
I had planned on spending the evening in the kitchen Monday, but when I opened the package of ground veal for the won tons, a rank odor filled the kitchen and I quickly dumped the whole rotten thing.


And so, Tuesday was my day to create!

I started to make a bubbling broth of chicken bouillon, onion bouillon, and bay leaves.
Then I grated ginger and garlic

While the flavors came together, I mixed ground beef with soy sauce, lemon juice, rice vinegar, garlic powder, ground ginger, and an egg

And started making triangular parcels of meat with won ton wrappers


Every once in a while I added more ingredients to the soup-
Oyster mushrooms,
Baby Bok Choy (courtesy of the asian market in upper darby, H Mart, thanks for the introduction, Beardface) 


Then I added about 25 won tons to the soup and some scallions too


I seasoned the broth a bit with soy sauce


And it became a gorgeous, rich soup with tons of flavor and fulfilling components.


And then...I realized I had made far too many won tons!
I took the remaining 20 and greased 'em up too good with oil and threw them in the oven, baking them to a near burnt crisp!
Luckily, for the photo's sake, only one side was charred-
I made a dipping sauce of rice vinegar, soy sauce, olive oil, sriracha, garlic and ginger powder.

Despite some of the "burnies," it was still a quality side dish!
Mostly because the sauce was tangy and spicy and suited my palate perfectly.


Excellent meal for a rainy, gloomy Tuesday!

Okey Dokey Gnocchi

What a disaster experience
The dish nearly became "no-cchi"

When I first came home from India, I found myself a little lost in the culinary arts
I was so excited to finally be able to freely enjoy the kitchen after 2 months of being shooed away by Aachie, my Indian Grannie
(I did manage to get an ingredient list for her famous banana pancakes and also pongal, more to come on that at a later date...)

My first real attempt was a spicy indian eggplant parm-i forgot stewed tomatoes and I by accidently poured half the bottle of tumeric in there and then it was so thin so I added flour and my goodness-I somehow managed to save it, and it turned out pretty excellent actually-but i didnt take my new tolerance for spice into account-and my mama could barely eat it unless there was a huge glob of cheese along with each bite!


I found my stride however with a spicy roasted tomato soup with sharp chedder grilled cheese-
I finally felt at home


So when we had a Fakesgiving the Sunday before Thanksgiving, I was so excited to spend the whole day in the kitchen-

(and of course spend quality time with my fam, shout out to the bocks/madieros/robbins!)


I made carmelized onions and a bernaise sauce to go with the filet my padj brilliantly grilled on the Big Green Egg
Madj made crisp green beans with persimmon and green onion (sauteed in the oil from the carmelized onions, so sweet and light)


But my main project was Wheat, Sweet Potato Gnocchi 


It started out smooth and enjoyable-
Peeled the sweet potatoes, boiled them 'till tender
Then mixed together with whole milk ricotta cheese and a dash of cinnamon, salt, and pepper
1/2 cup by 1/2 cup I added the wheat flour until the consistency was manageable


Made many small, palm-full, balls of dough
Then rolled out each ball
sliced the dough into 1 inch pillows 
then rolled a fork over them to complete the process


This portion: the rolling, slicing, and forking-took forever
FOREVERR
I mean, it took Michelangelo quicker to complete the Sistine Chapel 
(Not a true statement, but I'm getting my point across here)


When I had done this whole business, I placed them in a big blue bowl to be transferred to a boiling pot of salted water to cook for 5 ish minutes-


And when I went to place my first batch inside, Tragedy Struck!


All the little dumplings had melded together into one!


SO MUCH TIME WASTED


And if you know me at all, I am efficient with my time.


UHHH


So I started over


But not before I managed to pluck a few lucky gnocchis to start cooking, maybe a third of the whole batch


I took a break from the whole rolling and slicing, for the second time, after about 5 minutes to taste a gnocchi
It was horrendous
Slimy
Definately not ready


10 minutes passed-but it was even slimier! Gross!


But after 15 and there was no change, I took out this first batch and put 'em in a strainer because they were gushy and weird
And then all them stuck together into one big blob!

Tragedy Number Two!

It was repulsive, I wanted to dump them immediately
But I cant stand wasting food, 
So I kept them out, no real goal in mind-
Other than mourning all the time and ingredients I had wasted

(sad face)


But then from there, and with the addition of more flour
The rest turned out well

(very happy face)


And then I made a brown butter sage sauce
(butter and sage, then I added a bit of cinnamon, salt and pepper)


And WOW


How did I manage to salvage this meal? I will never understand


But it was a hit

And I'm being modest-


I can't wait to wake up tomorrow and eat the leftovers for a nutricious and filling breakfast.

Top of the Mornin' India

Shepherd's pie is a traditional dish that has been made for over 2 hundred years by cooking chopped lamb or mutton with gravy and topped with mashed potatoes


The family took a trip when I was 11 to England and rented a van to travel up to Scotland.
In London, I was dazzled by Sherlock Holmes' house, the wax figures at Madame Toussaud's, the expansiveness of Big Ben, the feeling of history in the Globe Theatre
I remember we so lavishly dined at Johnny Rockets before seeing Mama Mia-I sang/listened Abba and only Abba for months-
On our UK roadtrip- Mimi taught me how to knit-

One night between London and Edinburgh, in a small, dark, greenish restaurant, I ordered Shepherd's Pie.  I remember mom first being worried i wouldn't like it-then she quickly remembered who i was.


it was soft and heavy-but felt good in my belly.
but unfortunately, i dont remember it being all that flavorful

This shepherd's pie is rather unlike the above description.

For-its vegetarian, uses Indian spices, and there are no mashed potatoes.

You ask, "Is this really a Shepherd's pie then?"

I still say, yes.

I've actually been making this dish in my head for a long while-
A rather unusual process for me-
But I have been pondering combining these two very traditional cultures in 1 pyrex, trying to make it something spectacular
I've been looking forward to it
I waited till I had several hours to prepare it, enjoy it, ect.
This opportunity rarely arises-
But one Sunday afternoon when I finally had a little time to do nothing-i realized i couldn't just do nothing! I would finally make my Shephard's Pie!  

it was rather simple-
I slowly roasted my vegetables-eggplant, italian baby squash, sweet onion, brown button mushrooms-with turmeric, sweet/hot paprika, cumin, coriander, mustard
I cooked garbanzos with just a pinch of salt-and since the food processor died :( i mashed them by hand with a ton of mint and just a bit of greek yogurt


Veg first, Mashed beans on top-
And into the oven


It was a perfect combination-
the spicy, almost over seasoned vegetables exploding with indian flavor-
mashed with the cool, refreshing minty beans 


What a Balance
How zen 


I tried to eat only half and leave some for my roommate or someone to try and revel in my genius skills-
I really tried!
But i couldn't help myself-
I ate it all up :)

I Do Like Green Eggs (No Ham)

So there was nothing particularly special about this day's lunch.
But I wanted to share this meal with you because 
1) It tasted spectacularly
2) I found a use for edamame hummus!

I bought a container of edamame hummus 
I was intrigued 
Would it have the same bite that a garbanzo bean possesses?
Would it have that acidic tang?
Would it be weird to eat edamame with edamame hummus?
All these questions, I needed answers.


I was excited when I first came home from class the following day, needing a little snack-
I cut up some cucumber slices and took out some sliced turkey-and sat down in front of the TV with my dipping utensils and the edamame hummus.
I slowly removed the plastic from the container-
this strange smell erupted in my nose
I tasted it...
And it tasted disgusting.
It did not agree with my tastebuds...

So I put it back in the fridge because I couldnt manage to trash it-there's nothing I dislike more than wasting food


And then this day for lunch.
I had a pretty basic egg scramble

1) Collard greens (I have never bought fresh collard greens before, what attractive, big, green leaves-and ive noticed how vivid green the leaf remains even after heat has been applied for some time)


2) Italian baby squash (I admit-when I bought this package of vegetables, i immediately thought it was okra and went on my way...it wasnt till i made this scramble that i realized what an illiterate fool i am) (a note on baby squash: they're adorable! and taste just like normal zucchini except they dont get as mushy)


3) Oyster mushrooms- a graceful and delicate Pleurotus ostreatus

But i needed something-and so...


4) edamame hummus!


It raised the dish up to a new level entirely!


The scramble was so creamy

Like velvet

and wildly healthy

Sunny Side Up Salad

I have come into the habit of buying a sammie from the coffee cart at school.  
Now, these are actually pretty tasty-
But I've decided I need to start utilizing my groceries before dinner again


I didn't have a whole heck of a lot of time-less than an hour to make lunch, eat lunch, and drive to my DAT session-
So nothing too complex here


The apartment building gave us breakfast on the go that morning, and so I grabbed an orange for later, not knowing it would be a integral ingredient in my lunch...


A Simple Orange, Asparagus, Egg, Spinach Salad:


I made the asparagus nice and tender on the stove with a little salt and some white wine-the asparagus was this beautiful hunky veg-i was so pleased with it


I laid the asparagus on the bed of spinach along with orange pieces-

I sprinkled the salad with ChiaLife-
A friend (KB!) introduced me to ChiaLife in the fall when I was having way too much fun with my new juicer to add a bit more protein to my beverages
They're these little seeds, lookin like a poppy, that are a great source of fiber, Omega-3, antioxidants, are gluten-free without preservatives, and claim to be a higher quality of protein than soy.
It is also known to promote neurological and cardiovascular function-
I am in GOOD shape here

I also fried some eggs sunny side up to brighten the partly-cloudy day

and made a dressing out of the remaining orange: 
Sour cream (STILL had some left over, had to use it up), dijon mustard, orange juice, salt, pepper, oil 

and YUMM
SO refreshing and gave me the energy to pack a years worth of organic chemistry in 1 DAT session :)