Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce

For some crazy reason on Friday afternoon, after a morning of editing lots of photos, I decided that I wanted to make something fun for dinner that evening. I had gotten a new cookbook a month or two ago with a random giftcard I had, and I'd been meaning to make something from it. This cookbook is quite the hefty tome, so while I'd paged through it and read good reviews before I made the purchase, I hadn't really gotten into any of the recipes.

Over lunch I decided pasta sounded good, and this recipe looked perfect. I've been wanting to make my own pasta since forever, but have never gotten around to it, so I figured what the heck?

You guys. OMG. This was THE. BEST. DINNER. I have made ever. in my life. Both Alex and I agreed this was fantastic. I was thoroughly proud of myself after making all the pasta from scratch as well! Other then Christmas Ostrich, and I suppose orchestrating an entire Thanksgiving feast in a square foot Brooklyn kitchen, it's certainly one of fanciest dinners I've crafted. This is not an easy weeknight meal, but if you're looking to impress, or just spend some loving time in the kitchen, this dish is for you. It took me a good couple hours to pull this off, but the reward was well worth it. :-)



Butternut Squash Ravioli with Pecans  and Sage Brown Butter Sauce
Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, Deborah Madison 
(Serves 2-3, about 14 large raviolis. However, I had lots of leftover filling. If you made more pasta and this could go way farther) 

Filling:
1 butternut squash
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbs butter, softened 
salt/pepper

Pasta:
2 cups flour
2 eggs
pinch salt
2 tsp olive oil 

Sauce:
6-8 TBS butter (I went for the full stick. Butter makes everything better. :-) )
2 TBS freshly chopped parsley
3 TBS freshly chopped sage leaves
1 TBS chopped fresh thyme 
1 shallot, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced 
1/3 cup roughly chopped pecans (you can toast them if you like, I didn't)

Start by roasting the squash. Slice it half, scoop out the seeds, brush with olive oil, then roast cut side down on a parchment lined cookie sheet at 375 until tender, about 45 minutes.

While the squash is roasting, prep the pasta. I don't own a pasta maker, or a large enough food processor, so I made this stuff the old fashioned way, completely by hand with lots of muscle. :-) If you have the technology, go for it. But, if you're like me... On a clean counter or cutting board, place flour in a mound and then make a bowl in the center. Add the eggs and olive oil and a pinch of salt. Then using a fork and then gradually hands, gently fold things together and work in the flour. Keep kneading until all the flour is combined. Work the dough into a ball and then place in a plastic bag to rest in the fridge 10-15 minutes at least. After the dough has rested, roll it out as thin as you can get it. I did mine in sections so it would stay cool. Once it's rolled out, I used a small juice glass to cut out the ravioli circles.

 To make the filling:
Once the squash is roasted and cooled, scoop out two cups worth of squash. Beat together ( I used an immersion blender to get it nice and smooth) with 2 TBS butter and season with salt and pepper, then add in the cheese and bread crumbs.

To fill the ravioli, add a spoonful to a pasta circle, top with another, then seal with your fingers and a bit of water.

Cooking:

Sauce: Add the butter, herbs, and shallot and garlic to a deep sauce pan. Cook over medium heat, continuously stirring while the butter cooks. Continue to heat until it lightly browns. Once the butter browns, add the pecans and continue to cook another minute or two.

While the sauce cooks up, cook the raviolis in a pot of gently boiling salted water about 4-5 minutes. Drain carefully.

Add the raviolis to the sauce, cook another 30 seconds or two. Serve topped with freshly chopped parsley, a few extra pecans, and fresh grated cheese.

Enjoy with some tasty wine! Happy dining! :-)

Savory Herb Bread

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! We hosted a couple friends again this year, though it was a lot tighter fit then in our previous apartment in Bushwick! I made a pretty good spread, including turkey and gravy, garlic mashed potatoes, corn bread stuffing, some other assorted veggies and a salad, and a pumpkin pie. I think this may be the first year I've managed everything without stressing out and getting everything done at the same time on schedule! So for that, I was proud. 4 times is the charm apparently. And considering the size of my tiny Brooklyn kitchen now, that is no small feat! :-)

In any case, the new thing I added to the menu this year was bread from scratch! I've been wanting to make homemade yeasted bread for awhile now, but have never gotten around to it. I've done pita bread and pizza dough, but not actual loaves of bread. I spotted this recipe in my Cafe Brenda cookbook and it sounded lovely for a Thanksgiving meal, so I went for it. This was probably the last time of the season to get fresh herbs at the farmers market, so it was especially great for that!

Though bread making takes awhile, it's not active cooking for the whole time, mostly you just have to wait for things to rise. So, for a Thanksgiving cooking day, this was perfect to throw together, leave it alone for a few hours, and then pop in the oven.

And, it was DELICIOUS!



Savory Herb Bread
Cafe Brenda Cookbook

Makes two loaves

1.5 Cups warm water
1.5 TBS active dry yeast (about 1.5 packets)
1/4 cup honey
4 - 4.5 cups flour
2 tsp chopped fresh chives
2 tsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
up to 2 TBS other chopped herbs such as marjoram, basil, or oregano (or slightly less dried)
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBS oil

Add the warm water and yeast to a large bowl and mix together until the yeast dissolves. Add in the honey and stir well. Add in 2 cups of flour and mix together. Set aside the mixture while you chop all the herbs. Then add in herbs, salt and oil and stir. Then add the remaining flour 1 cup at a time. Once the dough has come together, turn onto a floured work surface and knead well for a few minutes. Place in an oiled bowl and cover. Let rise in a warm place for an hour. Punch the dough down and knead a couple times for air bubbles, then separate into two loaves. I did one circle flat loaf and one regular bread loaf, as we only have one rather decrepit loaf pan. (Santa! Hint: we could use a new loaf pan! :-) ) Place the loaves either on a buttered cookie sheet or in a loaf pan. Cover and let rise for another 45 minutes to an hour.

Bake at 350 for 50 minutes. (Note: Our oven runs quite hot, and I peeked in at about 20 minutes and the dough was already starting to brown. I turned the heat down to about 325-300 and it turned out well. So be sure to keep an eye on things once you start to bake.)

Curried Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup

So the past two days were pretty grey and drizzly here in the city so I figured it'd be the perfect excuse to make some warm, delicious soup. I positively love soup on a cold day, and this hit the spot. This soup also makes a TON! So, lots of leftovers for lunch! Alex said this is one of his new favorite soups ever. (And since we now both work right next to the most awesome soup place ever, that's a mighty big compliment!)

Curried Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup
Cafe Brenda Cookbook

1 large onion, diced
6-7 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup peeled and finely minced ginger root
olive oil
1.5 TBS curry powder
1 chile pepper (or jalapeno) minced
1 cup diced carrots (which I think I forgot, opps!)
1 bell pepper, diced
5 cups (about 3-4) sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 14oz can coconut milk
2 cup dried lentils
8 cups veggie stock
juice of 1 lime
1 bunch cilantro, minced

Add onion, garlic and ginger to a large pot with a bit of oil. Saute until softened. Add the sweet potato, peppers, carrots, and curry powder. Saute about 5-10 minutes. Add lentils, coconut milk, and stock. Simmer covered about 30-40 minutes until lentils and potatoes are cooked. Add lime juice and cilantro just before serving.

Enjoy!

Pasta with Broccoli, Walnuts and Edamame!

In need of an easy, healthy, tasty dinner? This totally hit the spot and was great to throw together for a weeknight meal!

Hurray for Moosewood Cookbooks from the library!

Also, I promise hopefully soon once I finally finish plowing through my mountain of photo editing I will have more exciting posts for you besides just recipes!

Pasta with Broccoli and Edamame
Adapted from Moosewood Simple Suppers: Easy Meals for the Weeknight Table

3/4 bag of whole wheat rotini pasta
3 cups-ish broccoli chopped into smaller pieces
1 cup frozen shelled edamame
1 shallot, finely chopped
4-5 cloves, minced
2 tsp mix of dried herbs (basil, oregano, thyme)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
olive oil
sea salt
parm or romano cheese for serving

Cook pasta to al dente per package instructions. While the pasta is cooking, add the garlic and shallot to a deep skillet and sautee with olive oil. Add the brocolli and a half cup of water. Cook over high heat for about 2 minutes, then add edamame and herbs and salt to taste. Stir to combine, add a bit more water as needed. Cook about 5-7 minutes until the brocolli is bright green and steamed crisp.

Combine pasta in a serving bowl with veggies, nuts and a few tsp of olive oil. Toss to combine. Serve topped with shredded cheese is desired.

YUM!


(Hopefully my flash will be out of the shop soon and I can take more normal photos again!)

Sweet Potato Crockpot Chili!

It's starting to get a little cooler in the city these days and apparently we're expecting SNOW tomorrow! It's not even November yet! Anyhow, one of the best parts of a cool evening is a piping hot bowl of soup, better yet when it's been cooking all day in the crockpot! I love coming home to house smelling wonderful and just having to dish it up and enjoy!

I first saw this recipe over on Erin and Ben's cooking blog, We Got Fed. I had been debating between this chili and the veggie chili over on Ezra Pound Cake, but because of the ingredients we had and the appeal of using the crock, this won out!
If you chop all the ingredients the night before and just dump them in in the morning, it's super easy!

Sweet Potato Crockpot Chili
Based on the recipe from We Got Fed

1 onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
1 medium-large sweet potato, peeled and diced
2 bell peppers, 1 red. 1 green. Finely chopped
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2-3/4 cup frozen corn kernals
2 tomatoes, diced
1 15oz can of diced tomatoes
3 cups water (We cooked our chili for like 11 hours, so I added more water, if you're only cooking it for 6-8 you can probably add less)
1 - 1.5 tsp chili powder
1 -1.5 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 heaping tsp oregano
dash of parsley
dash of salt
Optional for garnish: Avocado, sour cream, grated cheese, cilantro

Add all the ingredients to the crockpot, cook on low until you return! (At least 6-8 hours, up to however long you'll be gone!)

We served this over rice with some cornbread muffins, avocado and sour cream. YUM!

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tacos!

So we've been experimenting with various taco recipes lately, most notably the delicious Lentil Tacos over at A Couple Cooks.

In search of something veggie to make for dinner last night, I came across this recipe for Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tacos on Joy the Baker and was intrigued. It looked pretty simple and we had all the ingredients on hand, so I decided to give it a go.

YUM! I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out, but they were awesome! And insanely healthy to boot. Excellent. The lime flavor really made the dish, and I didn't realize how many limes were required, it cleaned out my drawer! So make sure you have lots on hand!

I altered the recipe slightly from the original as I can't eat raw onions without getting a stomach ache, but otherwise, followed it for the most part.



Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tacos
Adapted from Joy the Baker

Ingredients:
2 normal size sweet potatoes (or one ginormous one like we had), chopped into small cubes
olive oil
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
1 carrot
1 small head of red cabbage
a few TBS of chopped cilantro
4 limes
salt and crushed red pepper flakes
ground cumin
small flour tortillas

Preheat your oven to about 400 degrees. Start with the potatoes, diced into small cubes. Toss in a small bowl with a few tablespoons of olive oil, a bit of salt, and a few good shakes of crushed red pepper flakes (probably about 1/2 - 1 tsp?), and the juice of one lime. Once coated, turn the potatoes onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 30-40 minutes until fork tender and slightly browned. Take out and toss about half way through.

Once you get the potatoes started, chop up the cabbage and add to a bowl (the same one you mixed the potatoes in is great). Grate the carrot and add to bowl along with a few TBS of chopped fresh cilantro and salt/red pepper flakes to taste. Toss with the juice of 2 limes and set aside.

Finally, add your chopped onion and garlic to a skillet with a bit of olive oil. Saute until the onions have softened. Add the beans, juice of half or a whole lime (we had half, so that's all I added), and 1 tsp of ground cumin and a bit of salt. Cook another couple minutes over medium heat until warmed through.

Once your potatoes are done, top up your taco with beans, sweet potatoes, and the cabbage slaw with a bit more cilantro and you're good to go!

YUM!

Hot & Sour Stir Fry with Baked Tofu

So I'm about half-way through reading the book that started this vegetarian kick, The China Study. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend giving it a shot. He has some pretty convincing arguments backed up by a crap-ton of actual scientific research. I'm still a fan of all good things in moderation, and will probably always eat some animal protein, so long as I know where it came from. I mean, I had some pretty awesome bacon chocolate chip (yes, seriously) pancakes this weekend. However, if I can make our kitchen mostly meatless during the week, I'm keen on that idea.

In any case, this stir fry is super delicious, and super quick to whip up. We used fresh green beans from the farmers market which were awesome. I also used to not be much for tofu, however, baking it with the marinade makes it mighty tasty.

Hot & Sour Stir Fry with Baked Tofu
Adapted fromMoosewood Restaurant, Simple Suppers for the Weeknight Table

For the Tofu:
1 package firm tofu (about 16 oz)
1 TBS canola oil
1 TBS sesame oil
3 TBS soy sauce
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grate
1 garlic clove, finely minced

Slice the tofu into thin rectangles and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Whisk the other ingredients together and then brush over the tofu. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

Stir Fry:
1/2 pound green beans (use fresh green beans!)
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes (I used cherry tomatoes as that's what I had)
4 cups grated cabbage
1 grated carrot
1/2 bell pepper sliced thinly
1 TBS grated ginger root
1.5 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp Chinese chile paste
1/2 tsp spicy chile sauce
2 TBS soy sauce
1 TBS white vinegar
1 tsp corn starch
canola oil for frying

Have everything prepped and ready to go before you start to stir fry. In a small bowl combine the ginger, sugar, chile sauce and paste, soy sauce and vinegar, then stir in the corn starch and a 1 TBS of water.

Heat a TBS or 2 of oil in a wok over high heat. Through in the cabbage, carrots and green beans. Fry for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and pepper, stir fry a few more minutes. Pour in the sauce and stir fry another minute or so to coat the veggies.

Serve over rice or noodles. Top with baked tofu.

Enjoy!

Curried Rentil Lentil Burgers

I picked up a bunch of cookbooks at the library last week to get some new recipe ideas and this was one I knew I wanted to make right off the bat!

These turned out awesome, though were a bit time consuming in the prep. They sort of work better with a fork then on a bun, but taste delicious either way. This also made a TON. (Which worked out for the best as alex ate THREE!)



Curried Red Lentil Burgers with Spicy Mango Slaw
Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health

Burgers:

1 Cup dried red lentils
2 Cups water
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 tsp salt
1 onion, chopped (about 1.5 cups)
3 garlic cloves, minced
a few tbs of olive oil
1/2 cup diced celery
1 cup diced red pepper
1 TBS peeled, grated ginger root
1 TBS curry powder
1.2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups cooked brown rice
3/4 cup finely chopped cashews
juice of half a lemon
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1. Prepare the rice if you don't have any cooked rice on hand. Usually 1 cup rice to 2 cups water. Boil and simmer covered

2. For the lentils, place in a sauce pan with the water and bring to a boil, stirring often. Add the tumeric and 1/2 tsp salt, reduce heat to low and cover and simmer until the water has been absorbed, about 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a skillet, add the onion and garlic with a bit of oil and saute until soft. Add the celery, bell peppers, and ginger and saute a few minutes more. Add the curry powder and cinnamon and saute another minute or two. Remove from heat and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the two cups of rice, lentils, nuts, lemon juice and cilantro. Mix with a large spoon.

4. When the mixture is cool enough to handle, use your hands to shape it into burger patties, we got 9 patties! Place them on a lightly oiled parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

Spicy Mango Slaw:

1 Mango
1.5 cups grated or shredded green or red cabbage
1 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup mint leaves (I totally forgot to buy mint, so left this out, it was fine)

Dressing:
1/4 cup lime juice (1.5 limes)
2 TBS good maple syrup
1/4 tsp salt
2 garlic cloves
a bit of oil
1 small chile, minced
1 TBS grated peeled ginger root

1. Peel the mango and cut into thin slices. Put in a serving bowl along with the cabbage and carrots.
2. In a small pan saute the garlic, ginger, and chile with a bit of oil until fragrant. About a minute or two.
3. Whisk together the lime juice, salt and syrup. Add the garlic, ginger and chile. Whisk together.
4. Pour over the slaw and combine.

Serve the burgers topped with mango slaw. We served these with a side of baked sweet potato fries as well. YUM! Enjoy!

Roasted Cauliflower Sandwich

So Alex has been reading this book called The China Study. The book basically preaches the health benefits of vegetarianism, occasionally bordering on veganism. Once I assured that this was still in fact my husband, and while I don't plan on going full on veggie any time soon (let's be serious here), Alex and I agreed it'd be fun to try and eat completely vegetarian for a full week. (Also way cheaper!)

I usually cook 2-3 veggie meals a week, but we both have a tendency to take deli meat sandwiches to work. So we thought it'd be a good experiment in being more creative in lunches as well.

So far this whole week has gone very well!

These sandwiches were dinner tonight and they were SO tasty!

There is a little tiny sandwich shop by where I work that has AMAZING Cambodian sandwiches. If you're ever in Union Square, Num Pang is the place to go! Anyhow, Alex ordered the cauliflower sandwich a few weeks ago and I've been dying to try and make it again.

These turned out SO well and were super easy. So, if you're looking for a tasty new sandwich, give these a try!

Roasted Cauliflower Sandwich:

Ingredients:
Cauliflower
Olive Oil
Salt, Garlic Powder, dash of cayenne
Cucumber
Carrot
Cilantro
French Baguette
Mayo
Sriacha Sauce

Cut up the cauliflower into thin pieces. Toss with olive oil and salt, a bit of garlic powder and a dash of cayenne. Spread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in the oven at about 350 for about 10 minutes.

Slice cucumber into thin rounds.

Grate carrots.

To make the spicy mayo, mix with sriacha sauce to taste. I probably used about 1 tsp sriacha per 2-3 TBS mayo.

Slice the bread and toast lightly if desired, then spread spicy mayo. Layer with roasted cauliflower, carrots, cilantro and sliced cucumber. We also added a bit of Montreal red pepper sauce. :-)


(I clearly was not paying attention to my white balance, opps!)

Enjoy!

Around the World in 80 Dates: Malaysia

A few weeks ago Alex and I decided we were due for a fun day in the city (aka Manhattan). We so rarely venture out of Brooklyn on the weekend, but Alex was between classes, and I was magically caught up on photo editing, so we had some amazing free time to take advantage of.

Since we don't have AC in our apartment, summers in NYC can be brutal, thus, we decided the perfect outing for a hot summer day would be the cool confines of one of the fabulous museums Manhattan has to offer. Alex and I usually are not very good museum buddies, as he tends to want to look at EVERYTHING and I usually just glance, but I actually had been wanting to see the natural history museum, since I've never been, so we decided to give it a shot. On the way there, we figured we might as well knock off another country on our list.

The Upper West Side has pretty slim pickings for affordable and meeting our 80 dates criteria, but we eventually found a winner in Penang, a Malaysian place. Since we were there for lunch on a Sunday, it was pretty empty, but the food was super tasty. I had a mango chicken and Alex had the Mee Curry, a traditional curry soup.


The Petronas Towers in KL.

Though Alex and I both ended up in Malaysia for a few days during our honeymoon in 2008, we never had this curry while we were there. I mainly remember being fascinated that everything there was flavored with CORN! Corn in a cup was everywhere, even corn flavored ice cream! Though we only spent a time in the capital of Kuala Lumpur on our visit, I would LOVE to go back and explore the rest of the country side.

The Brooklyn Version!

I googled around for lots of recipes for Mee Curry, but as with the past South African Curry, they called for lots of crazy ingredients... I don't normally stock cubed pig's blood in my cupboards. Apologies. So, I just went for it!

I'm becoming more confident in my ability to make due with what I've got and craft something pretty tasty. This wasn't an exact match to the restaurant, but pretty close! And if all else fails, it was easy and quite delicious!

Mee Curry with Chicken and Vegetables

For the curry paste:
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled
3-4 garlic cloves
1 shallot
1/4 - 1/2 jalepeno, seeded
5-8 shishito peppers (These are fun peppers that are sold at our local farmers market)
2 TBS brown sugar
1 TBS fish sauce
1/4 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2-3/4 tsp curry powder

For the soup:
half bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 zuchinni, thinly sliced
handful shisito peppers, diced
1/2 package udon noodles
chicken stock, about 2-3 cups
1.5 cups shredded chicken (we had leftovers from a whole roasted chicken, so this worked great!)
1 can coconut milk
salt to taste
bit of oil
1 tsp red curry paste
juice of half a lime

Add all the ingredients for the paste into a food processor and spin until smoothly blended. Add to a large stock pot or wok with a bit of oil. Sautee over high heat a minute or two until sizzling. Add in the curry paste and stir and cook another minute or so. Add in the chicken and vegetables and blend together. Squeeze in the lime juice. Add the can of coconut milk and chicken stock to your desired consistency. Stir and let simmer covered.

While the soup is simmering, drop your udon noodles in boiling water for about 3 minutes until softened. Once the noodles have softened, drain the water and add them to the soup. Let simmer about 5 more minutes. Serve topped with a handful of chopped cilantro.

Enjoy!

Salmon Peanut Sauce Stir Fry

About a month ago, after seeing the recipe on A Couple Cooks for fresh spring rolls and accompanying peanut sauce, I knew I had dinner made for sure that night. However, after thoroughly enjoying the recipe, I thought I could make even more delicious-ness out of the sauce they came up with.

Thus came the salmon stir fry. You could certainly make this with chicken or steak or shrimp or whatever you please, but it works particularly well with the flavor of salmon. It is also great this time of year when all the veggies are in season. Feel free to mix and match with whatever vegetables your farmer has available!

Ingredients:

For the fish:
A few salmon fillets (we generally buy ours frozen from TJ's)
2-3 cloves of garlic
olive oil
juice of 1 lime, 1/2 a lemon
spices: Moroccan 35 spice, salt, parsley, and a dash of cayenne

For the stir fry:
1 green pepper thinly sliced (or 1/2 green, 1/2 red or yellow if you like things more colorful)
2 carrots grated
1/2 large zucchini, grated
large handful of snap peas, chopped or whole
a small handful of basil
several cloves of garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
oil

For the sauce:
1/3 Cup hoisin sauce (I used just slightly less)
2TBS natural peanut butter
1 tsp or so sriacha sauce (pending desired heat)
2 TBS water

Cook the salmon with a bit of oil, garlic. Sprinkle with spices and juice of citrus fruits.

Stir fry the garlic and ginger in oil a minute or two, add the veggies, stir fry over high heat about 2 minutes.

Mix the sauce ingredients, blend with a fork, then pour over the veggies and stir fry another minute or two.

Serve salmon over rice and top with veggie stir fry.

Enjoy!

Rhubarb Muffins!

One of my favorite finds in the spring harvest is rhubarb. So many delicious things to bake!

I'd been looking for some new ideas when I saw the post for Rhubarb Streusel Muffins go up on Smitten Kitchen. Done! Alex and I were taking a road trip up to Montreal (photos and trip report still to come, I promise!) and needed some tasty breakfast food for the road, so these seemed to fit the bill perfectly.




I realized once I started that I didn't have the right flour that she called for, but made things with just plain all purpose flour and it worked out perfectly. These are so tasty! We gobbled up the whole pan on the way up and I just made another batch this week!

Enjoy your rhubarb while it's still around!

Rhubarb Muffins
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Streusel
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Muffins
1 large egg
1/4 cup light brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup diced rhubarb
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 12 muffin cups or use muffin liners.

Make streusel: In a small dish, stir together flours, sugars, spices. Stir in butter until crumbly. Set aside.

Make muffins: Whisk egg in the bottom of a large bowl with both sugars. Whisk in butter, then sour cream. In a separate bowl, mix together flours, baking powder and baking soda and stir them into the sour cream mixture, mixing until just combined and still a bit lumpy. Fold in rhubarb and nuts and roughly 1/3 to half of the streusel mixture. (I made a bit extra streusel and added more in)

Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle each muffin with remaining streusel. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until tops are golden and a tester inserted into the center of muffins comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Around the World in 80 Dates: South Africa

Usually for birthdays Alex and I are big on surprises. We usually pick someplace fun for the other to go out. However, this year, Alex requested something different and wanted to try South African. Mandiba had been recommended to him by one of his co-workers and he asked to give it a try.

This worked out great for knocking off another country from our 80 dates list and gave us an excuse to get out of the neighborhood. (We're notoriously bad for just sticking to our little part of Brooklyn) However, if you're going to pick someplace, Fort Greene is probably my most favorite part of Brooklyn outside of our little slice of Cobble Hill. If we moved anywhere, it'd for sure be here.

Mandiba came highly recommended and didn't disappoint. It was also great that it was a lovely evening and we get to sit outside and enjoy the weather and people watching that makes Fort Greene great.

We started things off with an order of samosas, which were so very tasty! I've tried to make these in the past, and just ended up with heavy doughy lumps, these were flaky and flavorful and delicious.

For dinner I had the Lorenzo Marques Prawns, which were freaking enormous. I don't think I've ever seen shrimp so big! The were butterflied and grilled in a piripiri sauce which was incredibly delicious. They were served with yellow rice, which for me always brings back fond memories of childhood in south florida. :-)

I managed to convince Alex to get the curry. Their curry menu is fun in that you pick your meat (or vegetable) then what kind of curry you'd like. Alex opted for the Duban Bunny Chow style, because really, how can you not get it with a name like that??

After doing some research the bunny chow has a fairly interesting history, dating back to apartheid in South Africa as a way to serve take-out to excluded populations and as a way for migrant workers to carry their meal into the fields.

Basically, bunny chow is a curry served in a hollowed out loaf of bread. It can be served with a variety of meats or veggies, or even seafood as Alex got his at the restaurant.

After enjoying things so much at Mandiba, we decided that the bunny chow would be the best thing to try and cook up at home!

I googled for recipes and consulted my cookbooks, but didn't find all that many different kinds. Most of them also called for spices we didn't have or pricey things I didn't feel up to buying.

So, in the end, I completely made something up. I can't say how authentic this recipe is, but, it is a very tasty curry made with almost all local ingredients served up in a loaf of bread! We both thoroughly enjoyed it and will be making it again for sure!

So, behold, our own special version of Durban Bunny Chow, Brooklyn style.

Vegetarian Durban Bunny Chow:
*The spice amounts listed are all pretty approximate, I sprinkled and added and tasted and added more, so, use your best judgment and feel free to be creative! Remember, you can always add more but you can't take it out! :-)

Ingredients:
1 yellow onion
1 bulb of green garlic or a few cloves of garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
olive oil
2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped (next time I'd use 3 or 4 to make it a bit saucier)
1 can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
3 smallish red potatoes cubed (probably about 1.5 cups)
3-4 small carrots (about a half - 3/4 cup)
1/2 yellow pepper diced
1/4-1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/2-3/4 tsp garam masala
1/2-3/4 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
1 loaf bread

Add chopped onions, garlic and ginger to a large skillet with oil and saute with cinnamon and tumeric and the cayenne until onions are softened. Add the chopped tomatoes and let simmer until the tomatoes breakdown. Add the potatoes, the carrots, beans, and the rest of the spices along with a bit of water. Stir and cover and let simmer 10-15 minutes so the vegetables can cook. Add the bell pepper, and cook a few minutes more. Stir in cilantro just before serving.

While everything is cooking, slice the bread into quarters or halves, and scoop out the middle.

When the vegetables are cooked, scoop out the curry into your bread bowl and serve!

Enjoy!

Fiddlehead Pasta!

It officially feels like summer (well almost) here in NYC! All of the vendors are back at the greenmarket and two weeks ago we had our first sightings of ramps and asparagus!

Wednesdays are the best days with the most vendors and the least amount of craziness, so I was excited to see what I would find as I went out for my lunch break. I had heard that strawberries were out, but clearly missed those by a few hours. (Which really is ok as the first day of strawberries are always SUPER expensive, and irresistible.)

What I did find though were fiddleheads! Funnily enough, there were more people taking photos of the pile of them then actually buying them. I don't think too many people actually know what to do with them.



I tried these for the first time last year, and was super excited to see them again. These little guys are SO tasty and are a treat as they're only available a few weeks a year. I thought for a minute and then also grabbed a bunch of fresh green garlic and some turkey sausage from the turkey stand and knew I had a tasty dinner in the making.


Baby green garlic.

This pasta dish was super easy to prepare and the results were delicious! Enjoy the harvest while it lasts!

Fiddlehead Linguine with Turkey Sausage
Serves 2-3

1 pint of fiddleheads
1/2 pound of linguine
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
1/2 lb loose mild turkey sausage
1 small bunch green garlic, finely chopped
1-2 large shallots, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
unsalted butter
healthy pinch of truffle salt (or regular sea salt)
1/4 cup (approx) dry white wine

Cook pasta to package directions. Drain and save just a bit of pasta water.

Brown the sausage with onion and 4 cloves minced garlic.

In a large frying pan, add chopped shallots and a pat of butter and sautee until softened. Add in the chopped green garlic and a splash of wine. Add in the fiddleheads, a splash of olive oil, another bit of wine and sautee 1-2 minutes.



The fiddleheads should be bright green, be careful not to overcook them. Add a dash of salt. Add in the sausage, mix well. Add in the cooked pasta and toss with olive oil. Serve topped with fresh grated parmigiana.

ENJOY!

Mexican Red Lentil Stew

A year or so ago I saw this post on my dear friend Kate's blog and I remember thinking, ooh! that looks tasty! I'm going to make that. And I bought a bag of red lentils. I had the greatest of intentions, but never actually followed through.

Fast forward to this year, yesterday to the most gloomy Monday ever and me thinking, I need to make soup. Yummy, hearty, maybe kindy spicy flavorful soup. And then I remembered the red lentils, conveniently stashed in the back of my cupboard and an idea for dinner was born!

I looked over the links to the soup, recipes here and here, and then kinda went from that. And oh man, this stuff was delicious! The most beautiful mix of flavorful but not too spicy but delicious wonderful soup. And, with lentils being a superfood, it's ridiculously healthy as well.

So, make this tonight. It's the perfect cure for winter trying to edge its way back into spring.

Mexican Red Lentil Stew

1 Cup red lentils
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 yellow carrot, finely chopped (regular carrots are fine, they just had pretty yellow ones at the green market)
1/2 bell pepper, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 15 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
2 limes
handful of cilantro, chopped (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup quinoa
2-3 cups vegetable stock
1/4 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp chile powder
3/4 tsp cumin

1. Place the lentils in a medium sauce pan with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and let the lentils sit in the hot water about 20-30 minutes to soften.

2. While the lentils prepare, chop all your vegetables. Place the onion, carrot, celery and garlic in a large stock pot with a bit of olive oil and saute until softened. Add the spices and bell pepper, sautee another minute or two. Add the tomatoes, stock, quinoa and bring to a simmer.

3. Once the lentils have softened up and absorbed most of the water, you can pour off the rest of the water and add them to the soup. Blend together, possibly adding more stock. Simmer covered 20 minutes or so.

4. Stir in the juice of 1.5 limes (or so) and the chopped cilantro. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and another wedge of lime.

Enjoy!


(And yes I like my fresh bread from the baker at the greenmarket, don't judge. :-) )

Ostrich on Christmas?

When I found out my in-laws were going to be visiting over the Christmas holiday and were requesting something "non-traditional" for Christmas dinner I had no idea what to make. Traditional, not a problem, I can whip up a turkey dinner in a jiffy. But the request for something more "exotic" threw me for a loop.

Since Alex and I are taking a trip to Morocco over New Years, I decided to peruse the cookbook Alex got me for my birthday, Moroccan Modern.



This cookbook has some really tasty dishes, but also really beautiful food photography (a must for any cookbook!). One of the dishes looked particularly interesting, Ostrich Filets with Triple Mash.

This one piqued my interest for a few reasons, but the main one being that I had seen the ostrich vendor at the farmer's market for months now and had always been curious. The other being that this dish suddenly seemed perfect in that, aside from the sauce, everything was in season and local, score!

On Wednesday I headed out to the greenmarket to pick up supplies and the awesome ostrich guy was super friendly, making sure I knew how to cook things and answering all my questions. I also scored a bonus in that I got beautiful filets for the price of plain steaks since he'd had a restaurant change their order last minute. For those curious, ostrich is a red meat like beef. So I basically got filet mignon.

I ended up changing the recipe a bit to meet what I had in the kitchen and my own tastes, but have to say I was SO proud at how pretty this turned out.



And it was DELICIOUS! It was almost exactly like a fine steak, and the sweet parsnips with the mash and the berry wine sauce went together perfectly. One of the more fine dine dishes I've ever crafted, this was an amazing holiday meal!


Ostrich Filet with Triple Mash and Caramelized Parsnip
Based on Moroccan Modern by Hassan M'Souli

(I made 4 filets, so increased everything slightly. We did have leftover sauce. This recipe is for 2 steaks)

2 Ostrich Filets (Ours were 4 oz, since the meat has no fat, these were plenty big)

Marinade
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp lemon juice
2 TBS olive oil
pinch saffron threads
1 tsp dried thyme

Mix all the ingredients in a shallow baking dish. Add ostrich filets and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Parsnips
2 medium parsnips quartered length-wise. (Peeled and washed)
3 TBS butter
3 TBS brown sugar
1 TBS lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine the butter, sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan and stir gently over medium heat. Once the sugar is dissolved, pour the mixture over the parsnips in a shallow baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes at 400. Turn every 10 minutes or so to coat in the sugar mixture.


Triple Mash
I made Garlic Mash, Sweet Potato Mash, and Broccoli Mash. The original recipe called for a green mash with frozen peas and artichokes, frozen peas gross me out, I thought Broccoli sounded MUCH better, and it was really good!

Garlic Mash: peel potatoes, boil until soft. Mash with butter, cream, milk, and a few pressed cloves of garlic and salt.

Sweet Potato Mash: The same as above, but minus the garlic and add a few herbs like thyme and a bit of rosemary.

Broccoli Mash: Steam a few florets of broccoli. Once steamed, add a scoop of garlic mash to the broccoli and then blend either with an immersion blender or food processor with a bit of stock and some salt.


Ostrich Filets and Sauce

Sauce
1/2 Cup red wine
1 Cup chicken stock
1/2 Cup pomegranate seeds
1/2 Cup blackberries (the original recipe called for raspberries)
1 TBS butter

Take the filets out of the marinade and set them aside. Pour the rest of the marinade into a sauce pan over high heat. Bring to a sizzle then add the merlot and the stock. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes until reduced. Lower the heat and add the pomegranate seeds and berries. Cook for 5 minutes and then take off the heat and cool slightly. Process with a blender (I tried a food processor, note: hot liquids in a food processor will explode in your kitchen opps!), I ended up using my immersion blender, until smooth-ish. Drain through a sieve back into a sauce pan. Place over medium heat and add the butter, reduce a further 5 minutes. Cover and keep warm.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan for the filets. Toss them in the pan over high heat and cook only 2-3 minutes a side. Ostrich should be eaten rare to medium rare.

To serve:

Place the filets in the center of the plate. Top with a layer of each mash. Stand parsnips around the side. Finish by pouring the sauce around the filet.

Enjoy!

Vegetable Latkes

With the coming of Hanukkah there's been lots of latke recipes around the interwebs lately. I've been wanting to make some of my own for awhile, and tonight seemed as good a night as any!

These are from The Cafe Brenda Cookbook, and were super tasty!

Vegetable Latkes
From Cafe Brenda

1 large potato, grated (about 1.5 cups)
3 medium carrots, grated
1 zucchini, grated
3-4 scallions (the recipe calls for a whole bunch, but I cut back)
1 large parsnip
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
pepper to taste
3/4 Cup flour
canola oil for frying



Grate potato and rinse with cold water, squeeze excess juice. (I totally forgot to do this, they worked out fine) Mix all grated veggies, scallions and salt. Separate eggs. Add the 3 yolks, pepper, and flour to the veggie mixture and stir well. Beat egg whites until stiff and gently fold into the batter. Pour batter into 3-4 inch pancakes onto a skillet or griddle and fry in hot oil.



Serve with a nice green salad. I had mine with sour cream, Alex enjoyed his with gujuchang sauce. I think any sort of hot sauce or even soy sauce would be good.



Yum!

The Best Pumpkin Pie Ever

Making a pumpkin pie for the Thanksgiving table has been my job for as long as I can remember. It's a tradition I always enjoy and generally has had very tasty results, minus the year I made the pie for my in-laws and forgot to add the sugar. Opps, sorry Chris and Bill... :-(

Growing up I usually followed the recipe on the back of the can of Libby's pumpkin puree. Though I have a distinct memory of my grandmother and Aunt telling me you can be creative with pie recipes! My grandmother was the one who taught me to add molasses or maple syrup and taste as you go with the spices.




When I was working at the MLC, we hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for our students each year. One year one of the volunteers also happened to be the head baker at Zelo in downtown Minneapolis. To say she knew her sweets would be an understatement. She graciously offered up her recipe and I haven't looked at the canned recipe since! I've tinkered with this one, and it doesn't get much better then this for a delicious autumn treat!

Last year when I finally started using a real pumpkin, the recipe was complete! I made a homemade crust this year, and it was fabulous!



Most Awesome Pumpkin Pie

2 cups pumpkin puree
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
1 2/3 cup milk (I use skim milk)
1/8-1/4 cup maple syrup

If you're starting from a pumpkin: Carefully cut the pumpkin in half. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Lightly drizzle the flesh with olive oil. Place cut side down on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for about an hour at 350 degrees. When the pumpkin is finished, the flesh should be easily pierced with a fork and the skin should be soft.

Let the pumpkin cool until it's easy to handle. Scoop out the flesh and place in a bowl. Once all the flesh has been removed, you can smooth it out a number of ways, blender, food processor, or immersion blender. I suppose you could hand mash it as well. Once the pumpkin is smooth and pureed, place a few layers of cheesecloth in a colander over a pot. Add the puree on top of the cheese cloth and let it sit covered for a few hours or overnight to drain the excess water. (You could probably use it right away, but your recipe might have a bit extra moisture.)

If you're making your own crust: I used Brown Eyed Baker's method for a butter crust and it was so easy and delicious!

She has directions for making a pie crust both with a food processor and by hand. The recipe calls for basically just butter and flour. So easy! (But rolling pins are helpful.)

For the pie:
Mix all the ingredients together. Pour into a 9 inch pie crust. Bake at 350 until the pie is set, around 40-45 minutes.


Enjoy with a dollop of homemade whip cream. So delicious!

Happy Holidays!

Fun with New Food: Spaghetti Squash

I had heard of this mysterious vegetable called spaghetti squash but have never actually tried it before. When I saw it pop up at the farmers market last week, I was curious enough to give it a try.

All the recipes I had read seemed to treat it exactly like pasta. I found this a little suspicious. I mean, it was squash right?

However, I forged ahead, and Alex promised to eat whatever I came up with. He's an exceptional husband that way for building confidence in the kitchen. :-)

Spaghetti Squash with the last of Summer Veggies and Shrimp

1 spaghetti squash
1 bell pepper
1 small-medium zucchini
1 small yellow onion
4-6 cloves of garlic
3/4 pint of cherry tomatoes
1 shallot
1/2 lb medium shrimp, tails off
olive oil
1 lime
crushed red pepper
parsley
basil
feta cheese
salt to taste

Hack the squash in half with your biggest knife. Please use caution. Drizzle the flesh of the squash with olive oil then place cut side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.



When the squash has a few minutes left in the oven, fry up the shrimp with olive oil, 1 chopped shallot, a few cloves of minced garlic, the juice of one lime and crushed red pepper flakes and parsley. Strain and set aside.

In a large skillet saute the chopped onion and a few garlic cloves with olive oil until the onions are softened. Add chopped bell pepper, zucchini and halved cherry tomatoes. Saute 2-3 minutes, the vegetables should still be nice and crisp. Add the shrimp back in remove from heat and cover until the squash is complete.

When the squash is done you should be able to insert a fork with little resistance. Let it cool a few minutes until it is easier to handle. Once it's cooled slightly, remove the seeds and use a fork to scrape out the insides into a pot or large bowl.

It should come out just like spaghetti! This was one of the coolest things ever!



When all the squash has been removed, add the vegetables and shrimp and toss with a handful of fresh chopped parsley, basil, salt to taste, crumbled feta cheese and a swirl of olive oil.



Delicious!

Alex and I were both amazed and a little weirded out at how tasty this was! We both really enjoyed it. The spaghetti squash really was almost like al dente pasta and is really easy to cook. I am super excited to try more fun recipes with this crazy vegetable!

Around The World in 80 Dates: South Korea and Bibimbap!

So we haven't been keeping quite as on top of this as we'd hoped, but slow and steady wins the race right? For more on the original challenge, click here.

A few weeks ago Alex and I decided we were going to make Korea our next stop on the adventure. Many people may know that NYC has a fantastic Chinatown. Not as many people are aware there is also a strip around 32nd Street and 6th Ave known as Korea-town. K-town, as it's known around here, is one of the many reasons I love NYC. Wander down one of these blocks, and you may well have wandered into Seoul. All of the restaurants, grocers, businesses, everything is in Korean. It's fantastic.

I'd been there many years ago with my friend Diane, but Alex had never been through, so we decided to hit it up one Friday after work since we're both in Manhattan then. I'd googled for a few reviews, but ultimately we just ended up walking around and finding a place that a. fit our budget, b. looked tasty and pleasantly busy, and c. looked authentic/not completely all tourists.

The place we picked out had the option of entrees downstairs and then Korean BBQ upstairs. Since Alex had never had the BBQ, we went for it. If you've never done Korean BBQ, I highly recommend it!

*I promise to bring my camera next time for the restaurant part!

There is a mini grill in the middle of your table, and then you order a selection of meats to grill yourself table side. You are also served a huge assortment of mini bowls of all kinds of fun vegetables, kimchi, greens, etc. Tons of food and loads of deliciousness.

The at home version!

So the problem came with part two of the challenge. It turns out our tiny apartment kitchen doesn't really come with a ready made grill for BBQ. So, I'm cheating a little, but decided just to make something traditionally Korean rather then imitating the restaurant.

Enter, Bibimbap! First off, if that isn't the most fun food to say, I don't know what is!

Bibimbap was super duper easy, and is seriously my new favorite dish. This was SO good. Make it tonight. The name literally means (according to wikipedia) "mixed rice" and my understanding is you can pretty much toss together whatever you like and it'll work! There's even a comic about how easy it is!

Here is the recipe I came up with after googling around and combining a few:

Bibimbap

Serves two

1/2 pound of grass fed strip steak
Assorted Veggies: Green Pepper, Two Carrots, Zucchini, handful of fresh spinach
2 eggs
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 TBS sesame oil
3 TBS soy sauce
1/2 tsp honey
1.5 tsp brown sugar
fresh ground pepper
red pepper flakes
1 C rice

Gujuchang (Korean red pepper sauce) for serving

Combine the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, sugar, a few grinds of black pepper, and a shake of red pepper flakes in a bowl. Slice the steak thinly and add to the marinade, turn to cover and refrigerate for an hour or two.


As a side note, this steak was AWESOME. It's from a vendor at the farmers market who I've seen lots, but never bought from. I will be getting more for sure. If you don't know why you need grass fed beef, watch Food Inc.

Slice your veggies thinly. I actually used a mandolin to get them into nice shoe strings, which worked really well!



Cook the rice to package directions. Usually 2 cups water, 1 cup rice, boil, turn down the heat and simmer until the water is gone.

In a wok or large skillet heat a few tablespoons of oil. When the pan is nice and hot, toss in the steak. Since it's thinly sliced, you really only need to stir fry it for a couple minutes at most. It should cook really quick.

Some people leave the veggies raw, but I decided to throw them in with the steak to mix in the flavor and cook them for just a bit nice and fast.

While the steak is cooking or as it finishes, drop two eggs in another skillet and cook to over easy.

To serve, traditionally this should be in a big stone bowl. However, in our house, we piled the rice on a plate, topped with the steak and veggie and capped it off with the egg.

Serve with gujucahng sauce, which you can find at a korean grocer or your local Whole Foods. Spicy, but not overly so, it adds a great flavor to the dish.



DELICIOUS!