Posts from the ‘Meatless/Vegetarian’ Category

Jan 26

Guest Post-Curried Eggplant Steaks With Chickpeas From Simply Vegetarian777

A picture is worth a thousand words…. it really is and all you have to do is look at the pictures for these incredible recipes and words become insignificant. My very dear friend and fellow blogger Sonal from Simply Vegetarian777 graciously agreed to do a guest post and I was thrilled that she said yes. I admire her so much, her skill in cooking, writing and photographing and her kindness. I have mentioned before how she has sent me spices. I follow her on Facebook, Pinterest Twitter @simplyveg777 and on Instagram ( simplyvegetarian777). I am constantly amazed at her talent. I also have to note that she does a series of posts with Diabetes friendly meals every Thursday, I have sent some to my Mom and it inspired her to change her diet. Sonal you are amazing thank you so much and take it away my dear….

Curried Eggplant Steaks with Chickpeas

It’s a great honor for me to do a guest post for Suzanne. She is such a great support system to me and to many others who are connected to her via blog. Her approach and enthusiasm towards food is unmatchable.

I think I first met her through fiesta Friday, over an year ago, and since then I have been spoiled by her through her ever encouraging comments and constant presence. Thank you Suzanne for being there. I really appreciate it :).

I was very confused as to what to bring for a guest post for her blog. I wanted to create a dish which was Indian origin but at the same time, something which has an international appeal and an easy to implement recipe.

Curried Eggplant Steaks with Chickpeas

Curried Eggplants

Kitchen Equipments Required

A non stick or hard anodized pan, chopping board, knife, flat spatula, small bowl

Ingredients

Eggplant – 1 large
Oil – 1 tbsp
Turmeric – 2 fat pinches
Red chili powder – 2 fat pinches
Cumin powder – 2 fat pinches
Dry mint – 2 fat pinches (optional)
Salt – 2 fat pinches

Method

1. Mix turmeric, red chili powder and salt together in a small bowl.
2. Wash and cut the eggplant in 4-5 thick and long slices.
3. Sprinkle and rub the spice mixture on both sides of the eggplant slices.
4. Heat oil in the pan. Place the slices in the hot oil. Reduce the flame to medium. Cook from both the sides for approximately 2&1/2 to 3 minutes each till tender and slightly crispy.
5. The Curried Eggplant Steaks are ready.

Serve these with the Quick and Easy Chickpeas Curry.

Chickpeas Curry

Kitchen Equipments Required
A sauce pan with lid, stirring spoon, chopping board, knife, blender.

Ingredients

Chickpeas, boiled – 1&1/2 cups. I used 1 can.
Onion – 2 tbsp, chopped
Tomato – 2 medium
Ginger – 1 small piece
Garlic – 1 big pod
Oil – 1 tsp
Coriander powder – 1/2 tbsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Red chili powder – 1/8 tsp
Cumin powder – 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala – 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Cilantro leaves for garnish
Water – 1 cup

Method

1. Add tomato, onion, ginger and garlic to the blender. Purée it fine.
2. Heat oil in the pan. Add the purée and all the spices to the pan. Reduce the flame to the medium low.
3. Cover with lid and let the purée cook till all the water is evaporated and it thickens.
4. Add the boiled chickpeas to the sauce along with 1 cup of water. Mix them well. Cover with lid again and cook till it thickens again.
5. Garnish with cilantro leaves.

Serving Suggestion

1. Curried Eggplant Steaks can be served as is and taste great as snack.
2. The chickpeas curry can be served with rice or naan.
3. The eggplant steaks and chickpeas curry can be served as a complete meal along with some warm basmati rice.

I hope you had a good time reading the recipe. I had a great time creating it for all of you :).

Cheers,
Sonal

Dec 3

69 Comments

Bread Poha

This is the recipe for Bread Poha that I saw on Sonal’s site Simply Vegetarian777 and fell in love with. Bread, spices, pea’s, simple comfort food and a delicious Indian dish. I saw the photo’s and immediately saved the recipe and then sweet Sonal sent me the spice packet so I have everything I need to put this dish together quickly. I decided to serve it with a 5 minute egg, a little runny, that golden yolk flowing on that delicious bread, well my friends it doesn’t get much better than this. Make this dish, you will be glad you did, really you have to try it, the recipe is linked above!

Step by step instructions and spice mix

Bread Poha literally takes minutes to make and is the very definition of Indian comfort food it can be used as a side dish, snack or main dish. I did a little research and saw many variations one showed the Poha with paneer (that looked delicious) among other things. Sonal masterfully mixes the spices, she sent me a packet that contained everything you need to properly spice the dish, It could not have been easier and I feel totally spoiled.

The Poha was breakfast with a medium soft egg (5 minute egg), I had some leftover cubed brioche that I had used in my Thanksgiving dressing the bread was oven dried and held up nicely during the cooking process but you can use any stale bread torn into bite size pieces. Thank you Sonal for sending me the spices you are so sweet and it opened up a new breakfast avenue for me, I think I could eat this every day!

I have had several people ask about the egg, how to do it. It is in between soft and hard boiled. I call it a medium soft egg. It is boiled for exactly 5 minutes. The egg has to be warmed first, not straight from the refrigerator, a room temperature egg is perfect. Bring lightly salted water to a rolling boil, gently lower the egg into the water and time it, at 5 minutes remove the egg and place in a pot or bowl of cold water. Let sit for 1 minute in the cold water then gently peel. The yolk will still be runny but the white of the egg will be firmly set. It works every time and yields a perfectly cooked medium soft egg.

Oct 26

105 Comments

Fall Harvest Salad And Meeting A Friend

I honestly didn’t know what to call this salad. The name is sort of an accurate description. I saw this amazing Fall Panzanella salad on Susan Pridmore’s blog The Wimpy Vegetarian. I immediately knew I had to make it it just sounded so good, kale, butternut squash, bread, apples, onions. I fell in love, then I had lunch at Speedy Romeo’s, a fantastic restaurant in my neighborhood that makes the most amazing brick oven pizza in incrediblely creative ways. They also have some awesome salads, I ordered a kale, apple, pomegranate, goat cheese salad that rocked my world. I have to add that I went there with Patty Nguyen, she is an very talented photographer and has a beautiful blog of the same name that I have been following for several years now. This is not the first time we met, whenever Patty comes to NYC we get together. I had the pleasure of meeting her family this time and we had a wonderful time.

Pizza with Patty and family at Speedy Romeo’s Brooklyn photo by Patty Nguyen

Back to the salad as I explained Susan’s Fall Panzanella grabbed me and then the salad at the restaurant was incredible, they have similar flavor profiles. I need to eat more salad, but for me it has to be super flavorful and very interesting. Lettuce and tomato are great (on a BLT) but not that interesting. I decided to take both salads and take a little from each, add my own touch and see how it comes out. It had to have kale that was a must, I wanted it to be seasonal so I added butternut squash that was roasted in the oven, apples, some toasted pumpkin seeds and pine nuts and grated aged Asiago cheese. I used Susan salad dressing which is made with apple cider vinegar, maple syrup and apple. I massaged the kale for a long time, a good 15 minutes I wanted it to be really relaxed, 10 minutes with a little olive oil and another 5 minutes with dressing, added chopped apple, butternut squash,nuts, seeds and grated cheese, another splash of dressing, season and voila, a delicious, nutritious fresh salad, bursting with flavor.

Fall Harvest Salad

1 head green curly kale cleaned, leaves torn from stems and chopped chiffonade

2 apples cleaned, cut into bite size pieces

2 cups cubed butternut squash

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds toasted

1/2 cup pine nuts toasted

approximately 1/2 cup grated Asiago cheese

Pre heat oven to 375 degree’s. Place butternut squash pieces on sheet pan lined with parchment, drizzle with olive oil and toss to make sure every piece is covered in oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for approximately 30 minutes or unti squash is tender and lightly browned.

Remove the squash and set aside, place the pumpkin seeds and pine nuts on the same piece of parchment and toast in the oven for about 15 minutes watching carefully so they do not burn. Remove nuts and set aside.

Grate cheese and set aside.

Place chiffonade kale in large salad bowl, drizzle on a little olive oil and massage the kale really well, I worked on it for about 10 minutes. Add some of the dressing and massage another 5 minutes. Cut the apple into bite size pieces and toss into the kale, add the squash, nuts and seeds, toss to combine, add the grated cheese, season with salt and pepper, add more dressing if you like (I did). You can serve immediately but this salad keeps really well in the refrigerator for hours so it can be made ahead of time.

Dressing- Apple Vinaigrette

Recipe by Susan Pridmore- The Wimpy Vegetarian

1/2 apple peeled, seeded and diced

3 tbs apple cider vinegar

1 tbs maple syrup

3-4 tbs olive oil

1/4 tsp kosher salt

Mash the apple in a small food processor, if you don’t have a small processor heat in the microwave for about a minute and mash using a mortar and pestle. Whisk mashed apple into the vinegar, salt, maple syrup and olive oil.

Oct 9

98 Comments

Roasted Vegetable And Manchego Tart For Fiesta Friday #89 And A Sad Anniversary

Roasted vegetable and Manchego tart

I made breakfast this morning for my Air BNB guests, a breakfast tart, actually 2 of them. One was the Roasted Tomato and Herbed Ricotta Tart and a tart filled with roasted vegetables and topped with a medium soft egg. I thought a nice savory tart filled with roasted vegetables and manchego cheese would be a lovely addition to the party this week. It has been a while since I partied. After Nando passed I was not really in a party mood and am just now getting back to blogging regularly. I hope I am still welcome. This weeks co hosts are no strangers to Fiesta Friday and I am sure to all of you, Mila and Kaila! Thanks to Angie again for hosting this party I am excited to be back. You can of course join in too, it is always fun and the company and food is spectacular.

On a sad note, today is the one year anniversary of the death of my sweet little Izzy. I still miss her every single day and she is in my thoughts constantly, I love my sweet little cupcake.

Izzy with her cupcake leash

Roasted Vegetable And Manchego Tart

Makes one 9 inch round or rectangular tart

Vegetables (Note: Use whatever vegetables you like, it’s all good)

1 Italian eggplant cut into bite size pieces (I partially peeled it)

1 large shallot or 2 small peeled and cut into rounds

10 white button mushrooms cleaned and sliced thick

12 cherry tomatoes

6-8 brussels sprouts cleaned and cut in half

1/2 zucchini cleaned and cut into bite size pieces

Olive oil, salt and pepper

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees. Place vegetables on parchment lined baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, season lightly with salt and pepper and roast until vegetables are tender, the tomatoes should be slightly caramelized.

Tart:

Your favorite pie crust recipe, I used my go to Julia Child recipe, it never fails.

Roasted vegetables

approximately 1 cup manchego cheese grated

Blind bake your tart shell at 400 degree’s for approximately 20 minutes, should be a light golden brown. Let cool.

Sprinkle half of the grated manchego on the bottom of the tart shell. Spoon in the vegetables and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on the top.

Place tart on baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, vegetables and cheese will be bubbling and the tart will be a lovely golden brown.

Serve with a medium boiled egg, what I mean by that is that it’s between soft and hard. To get this degree of doneness boil the egg for 5 minutes, remove from heat and run under cold water to stop the cooking process, peel and place on a piece of the tart. It’s delicious.

Tart with medium egg

Jul 10

89 Comments

Roasted Tomato, Ricotta And Herb Tart For Fiesta Friday #76

My favorite of all the summer produce is vine ripened tomatoes, they are starting to pop up at farmers markets now. There is nothing like a fresh tomato and this was my inspiration for this summer tart. I found some home made ricotta at the market and thought it would go very nicely with oven roasted plum tomatoes and herbs from my garden. I used basil, parsley, chives and oregano, you can use whatever you have on hand or like. It makes a great meal with a simple salad. The filling is so light and although similar to a quiche it has a different texture and flavor. Don’t skimp on the cheese or herbs!

I am bringing this savory tart to the party this week! Angie@The Novice Gardener and Fiesta Friday are doing something a little different this week, the party is a quiet one, yes usually we are a raucous bunch but not this week. There are no designated co hosts, we are all the co hosts this time and there will be no features. I hope everyone enjoys this tart!

Makes a 9 inch round or rectangular tart or approximately 6 individual tarts

Blind baking the tart:

Blind baked

Pre heat oven to 375 degree’s. Place pie dough (recipe here) in your tart pan, prick the bottom with a fork and place in the freezer for 15 minutes. Place a piece of parchment or foil in the tart pan and fill with pie weights or beans. Bake for 25 minutes the crust will be light blonde you don’t want it to be browned, remove from the oven, and take the pie weights and parchment out. Let cool on a rack. Keep the oven on you will need it for the tomatoes.

Roasting the tomatoes:

8-10 roma or plum tomatoes cut in half

2 shallot sliced

olive oil

Place the tomatoes skin side down and shallots on a sheet pan drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven turning the tomatoes over after 20 minutes, continue roasting for another 15 or 20 minutes until the tomatoes and onions are caramelized. Note: If the tomatoes give off too much juice pour excess off and don’t throw it away it can be used in another dish. My tomatoes were very juicy, I saved almost 1/4 cup of juice. When the tomatoes and onions are done remove from sheet pan and set aside.

The filling

Make the filling and bake the tart:

10 oz whole milk ricotta (I recommend draining in cheesecloth)

2 large eggs lightly beaten

1/2 cup grated parmesan or whatever cheese you want to use (I used a mix of parmigiana, romano and asiago)

handful of parsley chopped

8 basil leaves chopped

1 tbs fresh oregano chopped

1 tbs chives, chopped or snipped

salt and pepper

Place the ricotta, eggs, grated cheese and herbs, season with salt and pepper and mix until combined. Add the ricotta mixture to the cooled pie crust, arrange the tomatoes and onions on top and bake in the 375 degree oven for 30-35 minutes. Let cool on rack and serve room temperature. I like to drizzle a little olive oil on the tomatoes and sprinkle with some of the chopped herbs. NOTE: I recommend draining the rictotta for at least an hour before making the filling, you don’t want any water seeping out to make the crust soggy.

ready for the oven

I had a little ricotta that I didn’t use in a rectangular tart so you could use a about 1 1/2 cups if you don’t want leftovers. I used the leftover ricotta mixture with pasta, it was delicious.

So good

Apr 10

77 Comments

Vegetarian Bahn Mi – A Challenge And I’m Bringing To Fiesta Friday #63

The Wynn Resort in Las Vegas teamed up with famous vegan chef Tal Ronnen to create exquisite menus of vegan and vegetarian cuisine for every restaurant at the Wynn.

The challenge was to pick an item off the the amazing menu and make it my own, in other words I could pick any item and change it, putting our own spin on the dish. I am always up for a challenge and looking at the menu it was hard to decide from all the amazing dishes that Chef Ronnen created for Wynn.

I chose the Gardein “Vegan” Meatballs with Tomato Sauce and Creamy Polenta. So you wonder what Bahn Mi has to do with this right, well I took creative license and took the meatballs and created an entirely new dish, Vietnamese not Italian. I appreciate and love vegetarian food but am not vegetarian, I have never cooked with a “meat substitute” before, therein lies the challenge. I wanted to make meatballs and to stay somewhat true to the dish I found Gardein “Meatless” meat. I was happy to see that Gardein is non GMO and has very few ingredients, I can pronounce all of them. My dish is Vegetarian not Vegan, I needed egg to hold the patties together and wanted to use Mayonaise on the sandwich. This could easily be veganized I am sure by using flax seed egg substitute and a vegan mayo.

I’m bringing a bunch of these Vegetarian sandwiches with me to the party today. Our host, Angie@The Novice Gardener is making good use of our new digs throwing a great party with our wonderful co hosts, you can party with Julianna @Foodie On Board and Hilda @Along The Grapevine.

I thought I could take this product and form it into meatballs, it didn’t work very well. I added some corn starch and egg along with some ginger, soy sauce and chili paste. They would not form a ball so I made a patty and fried them. Honestly, they were very tasty.

Gardein Patties

I pickled some vegetables, whats Bahn Mi without pickled veggies. I used cucumber, carrot, and watermelon radish which I made into thin strips by using my vegetable peeler, then you simply mix rice wine vinegar, sugar, sesame oil and salt and pepper together and pour it onto the vegetables. Let it sit for a little while, about 30 minutes.

Pickled vegetables

Next you clean your cilantro, make spicy mayo. I used garlic chili paste and mayo, cut a piece of a baguette approximately 6 inches long, slice it in half and hollow out the middle. Slather with the spicy mayo, place some cilantro, then the patties and top with the pickled vegetables, drizzle some of the vinegar onto the top inside half of the bread and put your sandwich together.

Vegetarian Bahn Mi

Makes 4-6 sandwiches

The patties

2 cups meatless meat (I used Gardein brand)

2 eggs lightly beaten

2 tbs corn starch

1 tsp minced fresh ginger

2 spring onion the light colored part chopped finely

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tbs chili paste

salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything together and let sit for about 15 minutes. Heat skillet with some oil, place a spoonful of the mixture into the hot pan, flatten a little with your spoon and fry until nicely browned. Flip over and fry the other side. Set aside.

Pickled Vegetables

1 watermelon radish

1 large carrot

1 cucumber peeled

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp sesame oil

Juice of 1 small lime

handfull of cilantro

1 jalapeno pepper seeds removed and thinly sliced

Using a vegetable peeler peel off thin slices of the vegetables and place in a bowl, Mix the vinegar, sugar, oil and lime juice and pour over vegetables and let it sit while you prepare the bread and mayo.

Putting the sandwich together.

Hollow out both halves of the baguette, mix some mayo with chili sauce and spread on the bottom half, place some cilantro and jalapeño pepper on the bread, lay seveeral patties on and top with some of the pickled vegetables. Drizzle some of the vinegar from the veggies on the other half of bread and put it together. Enjoy!

Bahn Mi

Mar 28

130 Comments

Pappardelle Con Funghi With Truffles For Fiesta Friday #61

Pappardelle Con Funghi

I had a dinner party last weekend and a very good friend brought me some truffle oil, good finishing olive oil and 2 black truffles. Quite a gift right, I am very grateful it is quite extravagent and wonderful. There is an Italian restaurant near me that I frequent and my favorite dish on the their menu is Fettucine con funghi. It’s rich and delicious and a staple whenever I eat there. I thought I would try to recreate this dish at home with some homemade (not by me) pappardelle, some shitake mushrooms from my CSA and finish with a grating of black truffles.

Truffle

Since Fiesta Friday is in it’s new home, a site dedicated only to this party, and a fine home it is, I thought I would break out the truffles and celebrate. So for Fiesta Friday #61 I am bringing Pappardelle Con Funghi with black truffles. Angie@The Novice Gardener has been working hard getting our new place ready and thank goodness she has help this week from the wonderful co hosts Selma @Selma’s Table and Margy @La Petite Casserole

I will make a confession, this is not really a recipe, I didn’t measure anything. For that reason I will list the ingredients and the approximate amounts. I have been cooking long enough that I can guesstimate. Honestly though, you really don’t need a recipe just eye ball the ingredients it will work out.

Waiting for the pasta

Pappardelle Con Funghi

Serves 3 generously 4 more modestly

1 small onion peeled and diced

mushrooms ( I used shiitake) approximate 2 cups of cleaned and sliced mushrooms

2 cloves garlic thinly sliced

white wine (approximately 1/3 cup)

Stock – I used homemade mushroom stock you can use whatever you have- approximately 1/2 cup

2 sprigs of fresh thyme

heavy cream approx 1/4 cup

1 tbs butter

splash of olive oil for the pan

salt and pepper to taste

parmigiano

black truffle (optional)

parsley to garnish

Heat the olive oil in a skillet, add the butter and the diced onion, saute until soft and transluscent. Add the garlic and continue to saute until the garlic softens. Add your mushrooms and saute until the mushrooms are soft and lightly browned. Now add the wine, cook down for approximately 3-4 minutes and then add the stock and the thyme. Cook until reduced by about half, now add the cream and continue to cook until the sauce thickens. Adjust seasoning and keep on low/simmer.

Bring large pot of generously salted water to a boil when the water comes to a rolling (vigorous)boil cook the pasta. Turn up the heat on the mushroom sauce and add the al dente pasta, cook for about 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl, garnish with parsley, sprinkle with cheese and serve.

YUM!

Mar 13

121 Comments

Leek, Asparagus,Chanterelle And Gruyere Mini Quiche For Fiesta Friday #59

Mini quiche

I am not re-inventing the wheel here, quiche in all it’s forms with varied and myriad ingredients has been made over and over but no matter how many times you see, eat or make it’s always delicious. I decided to make individual quiche, no cutting just grab and go.

I like to blind bake my crust so it doesn’t get soggy, use half and half in the custard, I’m generous with the cheese and vegetables making this a substantial and satisfying meal. I used fresh asparagus, chanterelle mushrooms, a young leek, and some lovely gruyere. One of my favorite meals is a fresh salad with quiche and look at this salad that Margi@La petite casserole made.

Angie@The Novice Gardener and her cohosts this week Jhuls@The Not So Creative Cook and for the first time Mila@Milk And A Bun are ensuring that a good time is had by all, the drinks are flowing and the food is plentiful. Thank you all!!

Quiche With leek, asparagus, chanterelle, gruyere

Makes approximately 8 mini tarts(4 inch)

Recipe for double crust flaky pastry I used my go to Julia Child recipe

Approximately 1/2 lb gruyere grated

4 large or extra large eggs

1 1/2 cup half and half

asparagus (enough for 3 stalks on each quiche)

mushrooms (I used chanterelle) about 1 cup chopped

1 spring or young leek cut into rounds and cleaned thoroughly

pinch nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

Blind baking your pie crust:

1. Press your pie dough into tart pans and refrigerate (I like to make the night before and refrigerate covered overnight. Preheat oven to 400 degree’s

2. Place parchment in each tart pan and add beans or pie weights

3. Bake for 15 minutes, remove parchment and pie weights and bake for another 15 minutes or until just lightly browned.

Making the quiche:

Place mushrooms and asparagus on baking sheet lined with parchment, brush with olive oil and bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Remove from oven to cool and keep the oven temp at 375 degrees.

Heat a tbs of butter in saute pan and saute the leeks after they have been cleaned and dried.

Grate the cheese and set aside.

Beat the eggs and half and half, salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Assembling:

Place some cheese at the bottom of each tart pan, add leek and mushroom filling to the top of each pan, pour enough egg custard to fill each, lay the asparagus on top and add a little more of the grated cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the egg is set.

Enjoy with a fresh salad.

Mar 12

68 Comments

Pureed Vegetable Soup-Spring Cleaning My Refrigerator And Cupcakes

Vegetable soup

This is an incredibly delicious soup, I’m not reinventing the wheel here but this particular combination is wonderful and I wanted to share, I was spring cleaning my refrigerator and found some vegetables I needed to use and thats how this soup was born. The combination is wonderful, honestly, I didn’t know how it would come out, I just started adding things. After boiling the vegetables and pureeing and seasoning with salt and pepper it tasted a bit blah, not very exciting, it’s amazing really what a touch of this and that can do to the flavor of a dish, first I added the pinch of nutmeg, that was good, then added the butter and some cream, ok even better then a teaspoon of honey. It was the perfect combination to bring that soup from blah to wow. The soup looks dark and brooding but it couldn’t be further from how it tastes. It’s fresh and slightly complex and undeniably vegetable. Here we go:

Soup

Broccoli tough part of the stem removed and cut into pieces

Green Curly Kale – 1 head tough stems removed

1 potato peeled and cut into quarters

carrots peeled and cut into chunks

onion peeled and cut into quarters

1 clove garlic – smashed

1 stalk celery- cut into chunks

broth (chicken, vegetable or just use water) 6 cups approximately I used chicken

pinch of nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

2 tbs butter

2-3 tbs heavy cream (you can also use cashew cream, soy or almond milk or do without)

1 tsp honey (yes honey)

Add a little olive oil to your soup pot, sauté the onion until soft, now add the garlic and don’t let it brown just soften it a little. Add the vegetables and give them a good stir. Pour in the broth or water just enough to cover the vegetables. Cover the pot and boil until everything is tender.

Let cool and puree either with your blender or immersion blender If using an immersion blender take out some of the broth, you can always add it back to thin. you take a chance on your soup being too thin if you blend with all the liquid in the pot. I found that I had about 2 cups of broth left which I froze to use later. Season with salt and pepper, add the nutmeg (very important), the butter, cream and honey and heat through. Is even better the next day.

monster and dirt cupcakes

Sweet Maia celebrates her 10th birthday today and she asked me to make cupcakes for her class at school, I think it’s great that they celebrate the kids birthdays with a party. She saw these cupcakes on Pinterest and this is what she wanted to take to class. The monster cupcakes are chocolate cake with a cream cheese buttercream piped on with Ateco tip #133, I wish I had #234 the holes are a little larger. It was hard piping that buttercream, the frosting was thick and it took every ounce of strength to get that on the cupcakes which is why they look somewhat different, but variety is the spice of life and no two monsters are alike, made pink, blue and green. The finishing touch are googely eyes. Gotta love that. The last 4 cupcakes were not piped as you can see, I couldn’t press on that bag one more time so just spiked the frosting and added multiple googely eyes.

The second cupcake is a dirt cupcake. sounds appetizing right? Again used the chocolate cake, I used the recipe for Hershey’s Perfectly “chocolate” chocolate frosting, it’s quick and easy and very smooth. Thought that would make a good base wherewith to hold the dirt. The dirt is chocolate Teddy Grahams whizzed in the processor. The cupcakes are filled with chocolate pudding. The piece du resistance is the gummy worm sticking out of the icing. They are fun and really delicious and the Birthday Girl and her class loved them. What fun it was to make them!!

monster cupcakes

Feb 27

162 Comments

Edamame Gyoza With Dipping Sauce For Fiesta Friday #57

Ready to eat

One of my favorite things to eat besides sushi in a Japanese restaurant is Gyoza. Traditional Gyoza has a minced pork filling, they are succulent and delicious and loaded with umami especially when dipped in the very flavorful dipping sauce. I made these vegetarian combining my love of edamame and gyoza. The edamame are steamed, then sautéed then mashed and used as filling for these lovely little dumplings. The dipping sauce is my version of the typical gyoza dipping sauce. I added some chili paste to give it a little kick, traditional dipping sauce contains something called Rayu, I don’t have it and it’s too cold to venture out looking for it so I adapted and made my own version using soy, mirin, a little sweetness and chili paste. It tastes wonderful with the gyoza.

I thought these little beauties would make a nice addition to the hottest party in town, Fiesta Friday #57. Angie@The Novice Gardener is hosting as always and this week her co hosts are everyone, as in all of us, how about that. We are all tasked with voting for the feature recipes.

Makes 18
Making the edamame filling and gyoza:
1 cup shelled edamame cooked
1 garlic clove minced
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger minced
1 heaping teaspoon light miso paste (It’s actually closer to 2 tsp)
splash of sriracha
season with salt and pepper to taste
18 wonton or gyoza wrappers
water to seal the edges
sesame oil and vegetable oil to fry the gyoza
Steam the edamame, I used the microwave following package directions, cooking for 3 minutes on high. Heat a small amount of vegetable oil in a skillet, add a splash of sesame oil add the garlic and saute until soft, add the edamame and continue to saute for approximately 1 minute, add 4 oz of water and cover, let cook until all the water evaporates. Remove from heat. Add all the ingredients to the food processor and pulse a few times to break up the soy bean and mix everything together. Test to make sure it will hold together, should be a rough paste. Note: I did not need to add salt, the miso paste added more than enough for me and the dipping sauce is salty from the soy sauce. So use salt gingerly if so desired.

Making the gyoza

Place the wrappers on your work surface. Have a cup of water and the filling ready. Place a tsp of the filling in the middle of the wrapper. Wet the edges of the wrapper all the way around and fold over, press on the edge using your thumb and index finger until you know that it’s bonded. Heat a skillet ( I used a 12 inch skillet) on high with a little sesame oil (Note: I used the same skillet I used for the edamame so it was already oiled a splash of sesame oil was all I needed), place the gyoza seam side standing up in the skillet. Brown them, it takes only about a minute or two. Now add about 2/3 cup water to the skillet and cover. Let cook for 4-5 minutes or until the water completely evaporates. Serve immediately.
Dipping sauce:
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar or honey
1 teaspoon chili paste (or more if you want it spicier)
1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
Whisk all ingredients together and serve with the gyoza