Mango & Tomato

5/1/23

Meatless Monday: Israeli Cous Cous Salad

Cous Cous salad with feta, pistachios, arugula

If you are looking for a fun side dish to bring to a potluck, I think you'll like my Israeli Cous Cous Salad. Quick shout out to my friend Lara for suggesting Israeli cous cous: I took it from there.

This salad is great not only for a potluck, but also for a picnic because it doesn't have any mayonnaise (I know... you are shocked that something I make doesn't have mayonnaise).

I brought this salad to my friend Jazmin's party with each ingredient packed into a separate container and mixed them all in a large bowl right before the party.

Israeli Cous Cous Salad

Ingredients (use whichever proportions you like)

Israeli cous cous, cooked

feta, crumbled

arugula

cucumber, diced

pistachios, chopped

dill, chopped

lemony dressing with a bit of wholegrained mustard (fresh lemon juice, olive oil, microplane'd garlic, wholegrained mustard, salt & pepper)

Directions

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl (but reserve a bit of feta, pistachios, and dill to sprinkle on top).

4/26/23

Lemon Yogurt Cake with Hibiscus Glaze

Are you looking for a super fast dessert recipe that doesn't require any complicated ingredients or equipment? Well, let me tell you that this yogurt cake from Mon Petit Four fits the bill!

To make it a bit more special, I found an incredibly gorgeous hibiscus glaze from Butter Be Ready that only requires two ingredients.

I shared this cake with a few friends (and froze a few slices), and everyone is a fan. I seriously want to make more of the hibiscus glaze and dip everything into it. I am not clearly going to do that.

3/30/23

Birthday Dessert: No Bake Mango Cheesecake

This year for my birthday I decided to make a dessert with mangoes (shocking) and pistachios (double shocking)!

Lucky for me, I found a great looking (and easy to make) dessert on Every Little Crumb blog.

I followed the recipe pretty closely, but did not (again, shockingly!) add cinnamon.

What's not to like about graham cracker crust topped with a mixture of cream cheese, heavy cream, sugar, a splash of vanilla, and pureed mangoes?

I do wish I used fresh mangoes instead of frozen ones to make the puree.

I made the desserts in individual little jars for better portion control and to share with friends.

For the topping I made candied pistachios with cayenne! SPICY.

The texture of these cheesecakes is quite a bit lighter than the regular baked cheesecake: I loved that!

3/2/23

Vegetarian Three Beans Chili

Vegetarian Three Beans Chili

Saute 1 chopped onion, 1 chopped green pepper, and 1/2 minced jalapeño until the vegetables have softened.

Add 2 minced garlic cloves, salt, cumin, and chili powder to taste. Saute until you can smell the spices.

Add 2 cups [each] of black beans, chickpeas, and navy beans, and 2 cans of diced tomatoes.

Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 15 to 30 minutes.

Serve with chopped white onion, feta, avocado, cilantro, a squeeze of lime juice, and a drizzle of chili oil.

Below is chili oil I made by following a recipe I found online that turned out way too spicy so I had to dilute it with regular oil.

The next time I would do it, I would heat 1 cup oil on medium heat for about 5 minutes, then add 1/4 cup red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt. Mix to combine. Take off the heat and let stand until it cools down. Strain and pour into a pretty bottle.

2/9/23

No Fake Meat: 2 Easy Meatless Ideas

Let me start by saying that I hate fake things (plants/flowers) and fake people. I also hate fake meat: I would rather eat something plant based that's not pretending to be beef or chicken. Ok, phew, I feel better. (I hear my friend Laura say 'hate is a strong word' in my head...)

This past week I made two meals using plant based ingredients as the base.

The photo above is a double 'burger' with Trader Joe's black bean/roasted corn patties (in the freezer section) on top of a bun slathered in mayonnaise, beet horseradish, with red onion, pickled jalapeno, and arugula! How pretty does it look? It did not stay this pretty when I took a few bites: the sandwich fell apart, but the flavor was awesome.

The photo below is BBQ tofu on top of a baked potato. I used a recipe from Doesn't Taste Like Chicken, and it turned out great. You can use this tofu mixture in a Sloppy Joe or on top of rice (hola Marnely), or even on top of polenta! Thanks to Emily for letting me know about this idea.

What plant based meal have you made lately?

2/2/23

Cooking with Friends: Arepas Feast

Two of my favorite people to cook (and eat with) are Sylvie and Jazmin. This past weekend Jazmin and I had an impromptu sleepover at Sylvie's *there were no pillow fights,* and in the morning had an Arepas Feast!

I think this all started after Sylvie asked about the difference between arepas and pupusas. Because Jazmin is half Venezuelan, she offered to make us arepas (patties made from corn meal with water, salt, and a bit of butter).

Of course we could not just have the arepas on their own. We made shredded beef in a pressure cooker with fresh tomatoes and peppers; a pot of black beans with onions, garlic, and an orange; guacamole with tomatoes; and a side of feta or queso fresco.

This was such fun! The leftovers were awesome too.

Do you like cooking with others?

1/26/23

Let there be CAKE: Flourless Chocolate Cake with Cayenne

You know what kinds of things I love in life? Those that are low effort and high reward! This Flourless Chocolate Cake with Cayenne is exactly that!

Last weekend I went to visit my friend Laura and her family and was encouraged (ha!) to bring dessert. I asked if Laura wanted tres leches (I've never made one) or something chocolate'y, and she said definitely chocolate.

Anna (my twin for those of you who are new to this blog) suggested flourless chocolate cake.

Genius! I've made several versions of flourless chocolate cake in the past, and they are seriously one of the most ridiculously easy desserts to make (not counting fudge or boxed brownies). Most of the recipes are very similar: chocolate, butter, sugar, eggs. This time I used this one from Epicurious, but added a bit of cayenne and baked it in a springform pan. Home made whipped cream (unsweetened) was the perfect topping!

The cake was such a success, I made it again the next day to share with my friends Emily and Olivia.

1/12/23

Russian Recipes Revisited: Pirozhki (Piroshki)

Every cuisine has a dish of a filling stuffed into dough. Dumplings, pelmeni, empanadas, and then there are pirozhki or piroshki. The latest ones are these wonderful baked Russian pockets of thin dough stuffed with a variety of fillings.

This past weekend my friend Jazmin and I got together to make them! This was the first time I made pirozhki, and the first time Jazmin made and tried them!

For the dough and the filling/baking process we used a recipe from Sonya. It was pretty easy to follow, but I did have to add quite a bit more flour. The dough puffed up beautifully and smelled so deliciously yeasty.

For the fillings, we made two:

1) sauteed onions, cabbage, and scallions seasoned with salt and pepper and mixed with chopped hard boiled eggs

2) sauteed ground beef seasoned with salt, pepper, and adjika and mixed with little cubes of a cooked potato

Definitely have a friend when making these because it'll halve your job ;)

I give us a B- for the crimping job, but an A for the taste!

It took longer to bake these than the recipe called for in order to get a golden brown top, and we ended up putting them under a broiler for a bit.

I served these with pickled okra and peppers, and adjika. This is definitely not authentic. My mom said she normally likes them with a bowl of broth or a cup of tea with sugar and lemon.

Other fillings: rice and chicken, potatoes with sauteed onions, or you can even do something sweet like farmers cheese with cherries.

You do you!

1/3/23

New Year, New Recipe: Layered Pistachio Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting & Mango Jam

Happy 2023! Can you believe we are in a new year!? Here's to it being sweeter, more fun, and healthier than 2022, with many new opportunities and possibilities!

Anna, my twin, suggested I start a tradition of making a new recipe for a new year and sent me a recipe for a pistachio cake she had at one of the restaurants in Chicago. That recipe was too complicated for me, so I asked Google to find me a 6" layered pistachio cake recipe, and it did: Broma Bakery!

Layered Pistachio Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting & Mango Jam

I followed the original recipe pretty closely but made a few changes:

1) I used salted butter and so did not add salt to the batter or the cream cheese frosting

2) I strongly dislike almond extract (especially when the flavor I want is pistachio): no thanks

3) I added a layer of homemade (not by me) mango jam!

Hard lesson to learn: regardless of what the recipe says, always layer your cake pans with buttered (on both sides) parchment paper to avoid the headache of removing the cake layers from the pans. I ended up putting the cake pans in the freezer for about an hour, then dunking them in very hot water before banging out the cake from the pans. OOOF

Layered Pistachio Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting & Mango Jam

I love the texture of the cake but think I slightly overbaked it. The frosting was smooth and quite easy to make...I still have some leftovers in the fridge.

I shared the cake with four friends, a few buy nothing fb group friends, and had 3 (!!!) slices myself: I call it a success. There's one slice in my freezer!

Going forward, I will try my best to post more photos and links to recipes I've made or the ones I've created.

Happy 2023!

12/13/22

In Praise of Braised Lamb Shanks with Butternut Squash

Oh let me count the reasons I absolutely loved this Red Wine Braised Lamb Shanks with Butternut Squash from Cooking With Cocktail Rings blog.

There were hardly any hands on tasks in this recipe! You brown the lamb shanks, then brown butternut squash and carrots (I left out zucchini and celery), add in the wine, the broth (I used chicken instead of beef), and nest the lamb shanks in the mixture before letting the oven do the rest of the job.

Two and a half hours later, your kitchen will smell divine, and the meat will be beyond tender! I served the lamb shanks on top of chunky mashed potatoes with a side of salad, baguette, and a glass of red wine.

My friend Jazmin and I had a fabulous dinner with plenty of leftovers for a few more meals.

Why don't I braise meat more often?

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