Category Archives: food

obsession or hobby?

low carb tofu pad thai

After Felicite and I signed our lease on our new place in Crown Heights, I invited her over to my rental room for an experimental lunch. After all, broker’s fees make me ravenous. I was really concerned about how lunch would taste. I even prepped her, “I’ve never made this before… It might not be good… There’s always pizza if it doesn’t work out.”

So, clearly, I’m a nervous wreck about cooking something new for someone. But this pad thai turned out great. And it only has 13 carbs per serving! The secret? I substituted cabbage for noodles. The carbs were not missed. It was still oily and peanut buttery, which is all I ask for in my pad thai.

pad thai

low carb tofu pad thai
 

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Author:
Recipe type: dinner
Cuisine: thai
Yields: 5

Ingredients
  • 4 Tbsp. canola oil, plus more for frying
  • 1 16 oz. block of extra firm tofu, pressed
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 6 cups, or ¼ head of large cabbage, shredded
  • 5 Tbsp. soy sauce
  • 2 cloves of garlic, diced
  • 2 Tbsp. Peanut Butter
  • 2 green onions, chopped
Extra Delicious Options
  • Scrambled Egg
  • Sriracha

Instructions
Fry the Tofu
  1. Press the tofu for about 15 minutes to drain all water
  2. Cut the tofu into triangles or cubes
  3. Pour oil into frying pan, until it covers the whole pan and is about ¼ inch deep
  4. Warm oil over medium-high heat
  5. Add the tofu to the oil and cook on each side for about five minutes, until all sides are a nice tan color, appx. 25 minutes.
  6. Place on a paper towel to drain excess oil
Pad Thai
  1. Chop the cabbage into long, thin pieces
  2. Pour 4 Tbsp. oil into pan and warm it over medium heat
  3. Once the oil is hot, add in the chopped onion and sautee for five minutes, or until soft.
  4. Sautee in the cabbage and top with the soy sauce
  5. Continue to cook the cabbage, stirring occasionally, until it reaches a noodle-like consistency
  6. After about 10 minutes, toss in the garlic and peanut butter and give it a stir.
  7. Once the cabbage is completely cooked down, add in the tofu and green onions and let it simmer for a few minutes.
  8. If you want, now is a good time to crack an egg in the mixture and scramble it.

Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 cup Calories: 320 Fat: 27 Carbohydrates: 13 Protein: 12

Felicite was in charge of the photo taking that day. Here’s are some shots of the the cooking.

There’s nothing more satisfying than eating tofu in a triangle shape.

This is the light, golden color you want your tofu to be. On the left, you can see the long strips of cabbage.

Adding the soy sauce. 

This is about mid-way through the cooking process. I would normally cook something like this in my wok, but it’s in storage.

The waiting. This is really an excuse to show off that apron. P.s. That is my entire kitchen. It’s why I haven’t been cooking much since I moved.

Here’s a better view of the kitchen. Things get crowded fast.

And finally adding in the tofu.

Some other, non-food related pics. Kevin, the house cat. The king. I will miss him so much when I move out. 

Felicite took a selfie on our dirty mirror. And I am playing with Kevin in the background.

And this sweet guy. I love him.

the big cheesy: grilled cheese tasting

The highlight of last week was certainly The Big Cheesy. It’s a grilled cheese competition where some of the best NYC sandwich makers face-off and stand judged by foodie New Yorkers’ critical pallets.

We were greeted with some local Sixpoint beers to accompany our sampling. I had the Crisp, Ryan had the Sweetaction.

Here’s a sample of what was on some of the menus.

Say Cheese took second place with their French Onion grilled cheese and their S’more sandwich. They told us to “squeeze and bite” into it.

Murray’s Cheese Bar had a pretty good sandwich, especially paired with the smoky tomato soup. They also serve Sweetgrass Dairy’s Greenhill cheese! It was my favorite local cheese from Tallahassee, and perhaps, all time.

Melt Shop (bottom left) won the competition with their bacon, cheddar, and cranberry-onion chutney sandwich. Since I don’t eat meat, I wasn’t able to try this one. Lucy’s Whey (right) served up a cheddar, apple, and ham grilled cheese. I had one without the ham.

The Sons of Essex won third place with their truffle grilled cheese with arugula.

big cheesy

My favorite was ‘wichcraft’s fontina and mushroom grilled cheese. It was a great cheese and they had the best bread. Their non-vegetarian option was fontina and pulled pork. They won my vote. They also gave me a free sandwich for signing up for their mailing list. So, they’re great.

I was so inspired by all of the different combinations of grilled cheese. It never got boring. Each sandwich was completely unique and they were all incredible. We left feeling totally stuffed. Who knew sampling grilled cheeses for an hour could be so filling? 

perfect blueberry muffins

perfect muffins

Hi folks. I’m taking the week off to spend some time in the Florida Sunshine. I’ll be back next week. In the meantime, you can follow me on twitter or instagram.

I was featured on the Instructables homepage for my perfect blueberry muffin recipe. Seriously, these are great. They’re the perfect texture and flavor. Please check it out.

I try to submit d.i.y.s to the Instrucables community every once in a while. I think it’s a wonderful forum of sharing knowledge and how-to.

sweet & savory plantains

Plantains Sweet & Savory

Ryan and I have had plantains on a weekly basis since moving to NY. They’re kind of a big deal here, at least for us. I don’t think I ate plantains even annually back in Florida.

And they were a labor of love, which are my favorite things to cook. A few weeks ago I tried and disastrously failed at cooking plantain chips from green plantains that never turned yellow. I tried again and decided to wait longer. The riper the plantain is the sweeter it gets. It took about three or four weeks for these to turn black.

black plantains

I moved twice and took these guys with me. That’s commitment.

On a side note, I was also the new girl who brought rotted fruit into the apartment. The concern was, “maybe you shouldn’t leave them on top of the toaster oven.”

But the embarrassment and the patience paid off. These were incredibly delicious and way cheaper than purchasing them at a restaurant.

How to:

Pour a thin layer of oil in a skillet over medium heat.

Slice the plantains about one inch thick. Place them in the skillet, making sure not to crowd them. Cook them until they’re brown on one side (2 or 3 minutes) and then flip.

To drain the excess oil, place the plantains on a plate covered with a paper towel. Begin eating them as you wait for the others to cook.

plantains on plate

I also got a little fancy and decided to batter some.

plantain batter

Sweet Battered Plantains

ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1/4 cup water 

Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the egg and water. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until they’re well combined.

Dip the raw plantains in the the batter. Place them in the oiled skillet and cook until the batter is golden and puffy, about 5 minutes. You may need a bit more oil for the battered plantains. When they’re done you can roll them in regular or powdered sugar for an extra sweet treat!

Yep, gooey and delicious. I was tempted to dip them in maple syrup. Will you try for me?

how to save your dough when you forget to proof yeast

This post could affectionately be called “what happens when you get too cocky in the kitchen” or “one of my biggest kitchen blunders.”

When I was making my goat cheese and pear pizza the other day, I actually had the foresight to make dough ahead of time, which never happens. And I felt like a champ. No store-bought dough for me. Leisurely, I went about making my pizza dough, confident that I had allowed plenty of time for the dough to rise.

Apparently, somewhere between stroking my epicurean ego and applying for jobs, I just threw the yeast right into the mix without proofing them. A few hours later, I came back and saw the ball of dough in the same shape it was in when I left it.

When there really is no chance of hope, you have to get creative. I really didn’t think this would work. 

I  pulled out my clothing steamer (a.k.a. one-click impulse buy) and gave my pizza dough a steam bath. Cover the bowl with a cloth and feed in some steam. This would probably work well with a tea kettle too.

Steamer

(How cute is the elephant logo?)

I used about a liter of water and let it steam for about 5 minutes. Half-way through, I took the dough out and gave it a few kneads to mix the yeast around.

You can hear the yeast begin to gurgle. I used that as a gauge for how long to leave the steam on. If you’re trying to rescue a bread loaf, it probably could use more steam, but I was impatient. Then I gave it some final kneading and let it sit.

dough

I only let it rest for 40 minutes. What can I say? I was hungry. But it did get bigger in size. Hopefully, you will catch your mistake faster than I did and give it a few hours to rest.

The pizza crust turned out fine and the crisis was avoided.

What about you? Do you know any tricks to fix dough when you forget to proof your yeast?

goat cheese & pear mini-pizza with balsamic glaze

New York is a foodie’s paradise, which has proved dangerous for my wallet and my waistline. This weekend a few of my friends and I went to Bogota Bistro, where I ate the best empanadas, plantain chips and spent $12 on a girly mixed drink.

Then, the next day, I started my first boot camp class and was doing push ups in the snow. ugh.

I am trying to eat in as much as possible, which is challenging since our Brooklyn kitchen is one-person wide and there seems to be only one working stove top. I’ve been relying on the oven heavily.

Pear & Goat Cheese Pizza

I’m also doing without many of my favorite cooking tools. I appreciate the challenge, it feels oddly rustic and comforting, bringing me back to my cooking roots. We rolled these pizza crusts out with a wine bottle and our hands.

Pear

Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the gadgetry of life, especially with cooking. My food processor is in storage, which means I’m spending more time actually handling the food. There is something very therapeutic about the ritual of preparing food. It’s nice to have habit and purpose during such a hectic time in my life.

goat cheese & pear mini-pizza with balsamic glaze
 

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Make one large pizza or mini pizzas with goat cheese, pear and red onion. This recipe made 7 mini-pizzas that were about 4-5 inches in diameter. This recipe works best with a thin-crust pizza.
Author:
Recipe type: Main
Yields: 3-4

Ingredients
Pizza Dough
Toppings
  • 1 cup Balsamic Vinegar
  • Olive oil
  • Italian herbs: dried basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme
  • 1 Pear
  • ¼ large red onion
  • 4 oz. goat cheese, softened

Instructions
Preheat Oven
  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Prepare the Pizza Dough
  1. If you are making the dough from scratch, you’ll want to be sure to prepare it several hours ahead of time and give it enough time to rise.
Balsamic Reduction
  1. Warm 1 cup balsamic vinegar over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Wait until the reduction is about ½ the original amount, or about 20 minutes. It will be thicker and more syrup-y.
Prep the Pizza
  1. Thinly slice the pear and red onion.
  2. Cover a baking sheet with a layer of aluminum foil.
  3. Roll out the pizza dough to make one large pizza or several mini pizzas. Place the dough on the baking sheet.
  4. Cover the dough in a thin layer of olive oil and rub in the dried Italian herbs.
  5. Spread a lavish layer of goat cheese on the dough.
  6. Top with a few slices of pear and red onion.
  7. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
  8. Once it’s finished, drizzle with the balsamic reduction.


Goat cheese and pear pizza with balsamic reduction

blueberry dutch baby pancakes

Blueberry Dutch Baby Pancakes

I have nothing original to contribute here. I copied this recipe exactly. Actually, that’s not true. I didn’t have a real lemon, so I used lemon juice. Classy, I know.

Dutch Baby Pancake

But, good god these things were amazing. And they photographed so well.

Make this breakfast to impress people. The effort was minimal and the result astounding.

And my roommates and I were all happy and full. Best brunch ever. The End.

P.S. NY sucks. I spent $7 (!) on a pint of fresh blueberries. I couldn’t bring myself to buy frozen.

celebrate no-shave november with mustache lollipops

We’re already at the end of November, can you believe it? Ryan and I finished up the last of the tofurkey today. I thought a great way to celebrate was with these rad chocolate mustache lollipops.

No-shave November is a awesome concept, all the boys walk around with beards and they all look cute. For those of us who can’t quite grow the facial hair to make your momma proud, there’s always this chocolate substitute.

I used two of these mustache lollipop molds and this craft took like, five minutes. Bonus.

Here are the supplies: candy melts, lollipop molds, and decorating bags. You’ll also need lollipop sticks (not pictured).SuppliesFill a decorating bag about 3/4 full of chocolates.

Bag of Chocolate

Melt the chocolates in a microwave on medium heat for 15 – 30 seconds at a time. Pull the bag out of the microwave and give it a nice knead each time it’s done warming. It will only need to go in the microwave a few times at this temperature. These things get hot really fast, so be sure not to over-heat them.

Melt in Microwave

Once the bag is thoroughly melted, cut the tip off of the bag to begin fill the molds. Place a lollipop stick in each of the molds. Slowly squeeze the melted chocolate into the molds, making sure to fill in all of the crevices. I found pumping the bag up and down in the mold helped remove air bubbles.

Fill Molds

Be sure to cover all around the lollipop stick. Once you’ve filled the molds, smooth out the backs with a flat surface.

Smooth Backs

Also, clear away any chocolate that may have spilled over to the edge.

Backs of lollipops

I popped them in the fridge for 10 minutes to let them harden. Then I took them out and wrapped them in little baggies.

Lollipops

These lollipops were such a hit with my friends and co-workers. Everyone loved making funny faces with them, like these:

The one in which I look like my dad.

Me with Mustache

The one in which I’ve lost my monocle.

Me with Mustaches

The one in which I try not to take myself too seriously.

Me with Mustaches

Happy No-Shave November, Friends!

 

butternut squash muffins

butternut squash muffins

My day before Thanksgiving carb fest has already started. Ok, so it really started on Saturday, but who’s keeping track?

Remember when I made the butternut squash mac & cheese? Well, it only used half a butternut squash. I knew I wanted to use the rest of the puree on a muffin.

butternut squash muffins
 

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These muffins are made with pureed butternut squash, which makes them moist and delicious.
Author:
Recipe type: Breakfast
Yields: 6 large muffins

Ingredients
  • ½ small butternut squash (or 1 cup pureed butternut squash)
  • 1 tsp. butter
  • 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp. baking powder
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. ground ginger
  • ½ cup (one stick) butter, softened
  • ½ cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • ¾ cup milk

Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
  2. Cut the squash in half, keeping the other half for another time.
  3. Scoop out the seeds and pulp.
  4. Add a teaspoon of butter to the inside.
  5. Place in roasting dish, flat-side up.
  6. Roast for 45 minutes, or until soft and easily punctured with a fork.
Pureeing the Squash
  1. Once the squash is done roasting,cut it into manageable chunks.
  2. Place the chunks in a food processor and process until smooth.
Muffin Assembly
  1. Turn the oven down to 375 degrees.
  2. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and ginger.
  3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth.
  4. With a low speed, mix in the vanilla and then the eggs, one at a time, blending thoroughly.
  5. Add the butternut squash puree.
  6. Alternate adding the dry ingredients with the milk, until all ingredients are smoothly incorporated.
  7. Fill a muffin pan ⅔rds the way full.
  8. Bake for 20 minutes.*

Notes
*Note: I used an extra-large sized muffin tin. If you’re using a regular sized muffin tin, you may need to adjust the baking time to less time.

Giant muffins are the best muffins. Slather with butter and indulge.

butternut squash muffins

This post is linked up here and here.

butternut squash mac and cheese

butternut squash mac and cheese

You have to make this for Thanksgiving. Or, you know, for dinner. Ryan and I ate two bowls each last night for dinner. Because we’re adults. and that’s totally an acceptable dinner, right?

Don’t be afraid to mix up an old favorite with some vegetables. The flavor of the squash is delicate and adds a nice level of creaminess to the dish.

Can a food be too good to be true? We also used unsweetened vanilla almond milk, which gave this a touch of sweetness to cut the sharp cheddar taste. You can use any type of milk you like, though.

butternut squash mac and cheese
 

Prep time

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Creamy mac and cheese with a subtle hint of butternut squash. Perfect for Thanksgiving.
Author:
Recipe type: Side Dish
Cuisine: Vegetarian
Yields: 6

Ingredients
  • ½ small butternut squash
  • 3 Tablespoons of butter plus 1 teaspoon
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (you can use any kind)
  • 1 lb. rotini pasta or macaroni
  • 3 cups aged white cheddar, shredded

Instructions
Roasting the Squash
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
  2. Cut the squash in half, keeping the other half for another time.
  3. Scoop out the seeds and pulp.
  4. Add a teaspoon of butter to the inside
  5. Place in roasting dish, flat-side up
  6. Roast for 45 minutes, or until soft and easily punctured with a fork
Pureeing the Squash
  1. Once the squash is done roasting,cut it into manageable chunks
  2. Place the chunks in a food processor and process until smooth
Prepare the macaroni
  1. Boil water in a stove top pot
  2. Add 1 lb. of rotini or pasta
  3. Boil until soft, or about 7-8 minutes.
Prepare the cheese mixture
  1. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter over medium-low heat in a small pot on the stove top, whisking often
  2. Wait until the butter begins to brown
  3. Slowly whisk in the flour
  4. Whisk until you get a thicker mixture
  5. Whisk in your butternut squash puree until combined
  6. Whisk in the milk
  7. Whisk most of your shredded cheese (about 2½ cups), save some to top off the casserole
  8. Whisk until the mixture is thick and well combined
Assembly
  1. Turn the stove down to 375 degrees
  2. Drain the water from the pasta and place in a large casserole dish
  3. Stir in the cheese mixture, coating well
  4. Top the dish off with the leftover shredded cheese
  5. Bake for 20 minutes.

Also, if you don’t puree your squash until smooth, it will leave some nice chunks of butternut squash that you can bite into. You can see them in the photo below.

This post is linked up here, here and here.