Mango & Tomato: sandwich

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?

11/9/21

The Best Japanese Milk Bread Recipe

My discovery of The Best Japanese Milk Recipe** all started with me wanting to make Japanese egg salad sandwich with Japanese mayonnaise and a fun way of presenting the sandwich (when cut in half, you see a cross-section of an egg). Why not also bake Japanese Milk Bread then, I thought!?

Never having even tried Japanese Milk Bread, but hearing quite a bit of praise for it, I googled for a recipe and found Caroline's Cooking blog. I followed Caroline's recipe exactly and was stunned at the results. My friends were too. The bread was so pillowy and slightly sweet and smelled divine. The sandwich did not disappoint either.

**This is The Best recipe because it's the only one I've baked and have no need for another one.

I don't know if anyone is even reading this, but if you are, please leave a comment and tell me the latest new recipe you tried!

8/8/21

Meatless Monday: Ricotta Toasts With Mango & Honeyed Pistachios

Ricotta Toasts With Mango & Honeyed Pistachios are perfect for breakfast, dessert, or a snack, and are especially great for Meatless Monday.

I was inspired by an instagram post from Adeena Sussman, but changed a few things (as is pretty typical of me).

Ricotta Toasts With Mango & Honeyed Pistachios

Serves 1

Ingredients

1/4 cup smoked honey (use 3 tablespoons for pistachios and the rest as a drizzle)

2 tablespoons salted roasted pistachios, chopped

red pepper flakes to taste

2 slices of bread, toasted

1/4-1/3 cup ricotta, drained slightly

1 mango, peeled, "cheeks" cut off and thinly sliced

Directions

1. In a small pan heat the honey. Add pistachios and sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Bring the mixture to a bubble and cook for about 5 minutes. Carefully transfer to parchment paper and allow to cool. Break into pieces.

2. Slather toasts with ricotta, add a layer of sliced mango, top with honeyed pistachios, and drizzle with a bit more honey. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes for extra heat.

VERY

GOOD

6/14/21

How To Make Ricotta At Home: Naan & Ricotta

Flatbread with ricotta, tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, and cilantro on a board

This weekend I decided to bake a lemon cake with chocolate frosting and had about 3 cups of milk left. I stopped drinking coffee, and even when I did, I used half & half. I rarely drink milk, and wasn't inclined to drink whole milk the recipe called for. What to do....?

Ricotta! That's what I should make with the milk, I decided. And so I did. And then I spread it on leftover toasted naan and added cucumbers, tomatoes, white onion, salt, olive oil, cilantro and sambar.

Homemade Ricotta

Approximate Ingredients for about 2 portions

3 cups whole milk

1 teaspoon salt

juice of 1/2 lemon

Directions

1. Heat the milk with salt to 185 degrees.

2. Pour in lemon juice and gently stir for 15 seconds.

3. Let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes, then carefully strain through a fine sieve lined with cheesecloth.

4. Tie the cheesecloth and hang it on a spoon to drain some of the liquid.

Naan & Ricotta Flatbread

1. Spread homemade ricotta on toasted naan

2. Add diced cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions

3. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, sambar powder, and cilantro.

11/16/20

Garlicky Lemon Shrimp Roll With Roasted Broccoli

shrimp, broccoli, sandwich, roll, seafood, easy dinner,

Garlicky Lemon Shrimp Roll With Roasted Broccoli is a meal that comes together in less than 30 minutes and can be served for lunch or dinner. You can eat this as a roll or mix the shrimp and broccoli into spaghetti, rice, or orzo.

Over the weekend I saw and liked Lisa Is Cooking's instagram post featuring a sheet pan of roasted broccoli and lemony garlicky shrimp. Remembering that I had a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer (duh) and fresh broccoli in the refrigerator, I decided to recreate Lisa's dish.

By the time you've preheated the oven, you'd have the time to prep everything. Then you just need to wait 15 minutes to have dinner on the table.

Garlicky Lemon Shrimp Roll With Roasted Broccoli

Ingredients

shrimp, defrosted or fresh

olive oil

lemon juice

garlic, microplaned, or finely minced

salt

red pepper flakes

broccoli, cut into individual florets

French roll, toasted

mayonnaise

Directions

1. Start preheating the oven to 425F.

2. As the oven preheats, in a bowl combine the shrimp with a drizzle of olive oil, lemon juice (about 1/2 of a lemon), garlic, a pinch or 2 of salt and a few pinches of red pepper flakes. Set aside.

3. On a cookie sheet, drizzle broccoli with olive oil, season with salt, and mix to combine.

4. Roast broccoli for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, toss it around on the cookie sheet, and add marinated shrimp (sans any leftover marinade). Roast for 5 more minutes.

5. Make a slit in the toasted French roll and slather it with mayonnaise. Add shrimp and broccoli.

shrimp, lemon, garlic, seafood, marinade, red pepper flakes

shrimp, garlic, lemon, broccoli, oxo, sheet, one pan dinner

8/6/20

CRAVINGS: Homemade Buns for a Burger

Burger, bun, homemade bun, pickle, lunch, green beans

If you are craving a burger, may I highly recommend you bake your own burger buns? Trust me, it's really not that hard.

After my friend Jazmin brought burger buns for our social distance picnic last month, I thought I should try baking them too.

The recipe from Love & Lemons is ridiculously easy. I used all white flour and was so happy I did not freak out when the dough did not come together immediately. Have faith!

Jazmin told me to only glaze a few buns at a time with the egg wash so that the egg wash doesn't dry out on the piping hot buns, which will stop the toppings from sticking.

Speaking of toppings, why use 1 when you can use 4? From top to bottom: black and white sesame seeds, everything but the bagel, togarashi, and za'atar.

I had two of these and froze the rest sliced in half. Next time I'll do a better job at making the buns more uniform.

And what about that burger above? I used ground beef, raw red onion, salt, pepper, and a bit of cumin. Mayo on both sides of the bun, plus thinly sliced red onions, and Dubliner cheese. A side of green beans and pickles.

7/8/20

No-Knead Sandwich Bread & Ricotta Toasts

I've been baking no-knead bread for years, but this is the first time I baked it in a loaf pan instead of a large Dutch oven. This happened because my twin sister told me she found a recipe for no-knead sandwich bread and was going to bake it. After she did so successfully, I decided to make a loaf as well.

This recipe was even easier than the one I typically use. AND it comes from my friend Carey!

First, I combined all the ingredients (I halved the recipe) in a bowl with a wooden spoon: no need for a stand mixer.

Second, although the recipe requires the dough to rise for 5 hours, that's not really a negative. I have plenty of time. The dough bubbled up amazingly well.

Third, you can then put the dough into the refrigerator for days!!! This develops the flavors and gives you a bit of a breather.

The final product was lovely: salty, slightly yeasty, with soft texture. I liked the bread both as is dipped in olive oil, and also toasted.

It's also awesome as toast! I slathered both slices with home made ricotta from my friend Sylvie, and topped one with tomatoes, basil, and salt, and the other with grapes and chocolate halva.

This recipe will definitely go into rotation.

1/2/20

Open Face Turkey Meatloaf Sandwich With Pineapple & Sriracha

Happy 2020! I'm excited to share with you a recipe for Open Face Turkey Meatloaf Sandwich With Pineapple & Sriracha, but first, I need to tell you about the turkey meatloaf.

Back in 2019, lol, I bought a pound of ground turkey and decided to make Gina's, aka Skinnytaste meatloaf. Alas, I was out of Worcestershire sauce, did not have marjoram, and had only 1 pound instead of 1.3 pounds of ground turkey.

I added celery and chiles in adobo sauce, and used low sodium soy sauce in the glaze. The results were great!

Turkey Meatloaf

Ingredients
for the meatloaf
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 white onion, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup ketchup
2 chiles in adobo, minced
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

for the glaze
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce

for the topping
black sesame seeds
chopped fresh cilantro

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. In a skillet, heat olive oil, then add onion and celery and saute for 5 minutes. Allow to cool.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine cooled sauteed onions and celery with the rest of the meatloaf ingredients.
4. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and form a loaf on top of it.
5. In a small bowl, mix ketchup with soy sauce and brush on top of the meatloaf. Bake for 55 minutes.
6. Allow the meatloaf to rest and sprinkle with black sesame seeds and fresh cilantro.

This was such an easy recipe!!! I divided the meatloaf into 4 portions. The first 3 I had with roasted cauliflower and chickpeas.

The last one, I turned into an Open Face Turkey Meatloaf Sandwich With Pineapple & Sriracha.

1) Slice pineapple and meatloaf and saute in olive oil until golden brown. You may sprinkle a bit of sugar onto pineapple to help it caramelize.
2) Toast a slice of whole wheat bread. Spread the toast with mayonnaise and top with thinly sliced white onion.
3) Top with meatloaf, pineapples, sriracha, and cilantro.
4) Serve with a few pickles.

This sandwich requires a fork and a knife and a napkin!

12/9/19

Breakfast For Dinner: Baby Bella Toast With A Fried Egg

Sunday morning, after not being able to sleep in once again, I decided to treat myself to something other than an overnight oatmeal for breakfast and created Baby Bella Toast With A Fried Egg.

There's really not a recipe for this toast: it's more of an idea, but I think you'll like it, and it'll be perfect for a light Meatless Monday dinner.

My friends at Seasonal Roots send me a produce basket once a month and in return, I create a fun recipe and tell you all about it. If you've not tried them, you can use mangotomato code to receive a discount on your membership fee.

Last week's basket included baby bella mushrooms which inspired this dish.

1) Thinly slice bella mushrooms and onion.
2) Heat a swirl of olive oil in a large skillet. Add mushrooms and onions and saute slowly until they have browned. Don't overcrowd the pan. Don't rush. Don't burn the mushrooms.
3) Season with salt.
4) Meanwhile, fry an egg.
5) Toast a slice of olive oil and rosemary bread and smear it with hummus.
6) Top with sauteed mushrooms and onions, a fried egg, a bit more salt, and chopped parsley.
7) Drizzle with green chile hot sauce.

8/7/19

Heirloom Tomato Wasa Toasts

Summer on a plate:
1) Slice heirloom tomatoes
2) Spread mayonnaise on wasa crackers or toast
3) Top with tomatoes
4) Season with salt (I used truffle salt) and freshly ground black pepper

Enjoy

4/22/19

Vegan Spicy Smashed Chickpea Salad Recipe

This Vegan Spicy Smashed Chickpea Salad Recipe is adapted from and inspired by a post I saw on Cup of Jo earlier last week. Smitten Kitchen's recipe was inspired by a sandwich on 'wichcraft menu, and I further changed it by swiping the black olives for the green ones, adding the adobo sauce, and using chives instead of parsley.

Vegan Spicy Smashed Chickpea Salad Recipe
Serves 2

Ingredients
2 cups cooked chickpeas, lightly smashed with a fork
8 large green olives stuffed with sundried tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped chives
2 tablespoons chopped red onion
1-2 teaspoons adobo sauce from chiles in adobo can (use hot sauce or sriracha as an alternative)
olive oil
salt
radishes
wasa crackers

Directions
1. Combine the first 5 ingredients. Drizzle with olive oil and mix to combine. Season with salt.
2. Serve with radishes and wasa crackers.

7/17/18

Cajun Smoked Salmon Salad Recipe

Love smoked salmon? Looking for something more fun than plain cream cheese to schmear on your bagel? Then you need to try my Cajun Smoked Salmon Salad Recipe.

You want to buy Cajun Flavored Smoked Salmon that comes in one piece instead of sliced smoke salmon. If you can't find Cajun Flavored Smoked Salmon, get regular smoked salmon that comes in a large unsliced piece and add some of this spice mix.

Cajun Smoked Salmon Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Cajun Flavor Smoked Salmon, flaked
zest of a lemon
finely chopped Vidalia onion
chopped cilantro
lemon juice to taste
enough mayonnaise to combine

I know...there are no amounts listed. I wasn't planning on blogging about this, but my friend Laura said I should. Trust your gut and add as much or as little of each ingredient as you wish. Combine them all in a bowl.

This salad is incredibly flavorful and yet light. I had it with an everything bagel, tomatoes and cucumbers.

7/2/18

Meatless Monday: Tomato Sourdough Toast! Taste Of Summer

In the words of Oprah, I LOVE BREAD!!! During the Summer months, I love the simplicity of tomato sandwiches. Mine usually include toasted bread, mayonnaise, tomato, and salt.

When your recipe has only a few ingredients, you need to make sure to use the best ones. This Tomato Sourdough Toast comes from my visit to Penn Quarter Farmers Market last Thursday where I bought a gorgeous ripe tomato from Toigo Orchards and half a loaf of sourdough from Seylou. {Thank god I only bought half of the loaf: I've been eating it daily and my scale is not happy about it. My taste buds, however, are rather pleased by this crusty bread with tender inside!}

For the rest of the ingredients, I used mayonnaise, thinly sliced red onions, Kosher salt, and baby basil.

Tomato Sourdough Toast
1) Toast sliced bread and allow to cool
2) Smother the toast with mayonnaise
3) Add a layer of thinly sliced red onion and a layer of thick slices of tomatoes
4) Sprinkle with Kosher salt
5) Top with baby basil

PS What do you think of my new background? I took an old wood table I haven't used in ages and distressed it with a hammer, a few nails, and then stained it!

3/19/18

Dinosaur Kale & Ricotta Spread With Chickpeas & Tomatoes

Do you have too much kale? I have a quick recipe for you for Dinosaur Kale & Ricotta Spread inspired by Jamie Oliver.

Dinosaur Kale & Ricotta Spread
Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 bunch of dinosaur kale, stems removed and discarded, leaves thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, smashed
salt to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 tablespoons water
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup ricotta

Directions
1. Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a skillet. Add kale and garlic, season with salt, and saute until the kale has wilted.
2. Using an immersion blender, puree kale with garlic and the rest of the ingredients in a wide mouth jar.
3. Adjust the seasoning.

Idea #1: Serve the spread with home cooked chickpeas, halved cherry tomatoes and more ricotta.

Idea #2: spread this concoction on toasted challah, top with cold corned beef and sliced avocados. SO good!

What would you do with kale!?

3/16/18

Weekend Inspirations: Ricotta, Cucumber & Hard Boiled Egg Toast

If you, like me, are dreaming of the weekend and a big breakfast with a mug of coffee, and maybe a cactus (because why not?), I have just the idea for you!

Ricotta, Cucumber & Hard Boiled Egg Toast

1) Start with home baked bread
2) Toast the bread and slather it with ricotta
3) Season with truffle salt: why not be fancy?
4) Add sliced Persian cucumbers
5) Add 8 minute hard boiled egg (the center of the egg is not completely cooked)
6) More truffle salt
7) Add halved cherry tomatoes
8) Serve with coffee

2/8/18

Roasted Butternut Squash & Avocado Toast on Le Creuset Dutch Oven Bread

Think bread baking is hard!? Think again! Le Creuset Dutch Oven Bread is something you can easily make on a lazy Sunday with very little effort. In fact, that's exactly what I did last Sunday as most of you were getting ready for Superbowl.

I used this recipe from Le Creuset but added about a tablespoon of za'atar during the last rise and baked it for 10 extra minutes, and then finished it under the broiler to get the top crust really crispy.

Yes, that's my attempt at a football design ;)

Using a stand mixer made kneading this bread a breeze. The dough was super smooth, doubled in size in only 2 hours, and wasn't sticky to work with.

I'm still trying to figure out how to make the bread itself more flavorful: it needed a lot more salt in the dough itself, but that could have jeopardized the work of the yeast. I did love adding za'atar, but thought it would have gotten inside the bread itself and not just the crust.

Here's a slice of the bread toasted, drizzled with olive oil, and sprinkled with plenty of truffle salt: I'm fancy like that.

Roasted Butternut Squash & Avocado Toast on Le Creuset Dutch Oven Bread

Ingredients
thick slice of bread, toasted
avocado, sliced
roasted butternut squash cubes
sour cream mixed with sriracha to taste
fresh cilantro, chopped
salt to taste
za'atar

Directions
Assemble all ingredients.
Dig in with a knife and fork.

I had to slice and freeze most of this loaf so that I would not inhale all the calories at once.

Happy bread baking!

10/30/17

Meatless Monday: Pickled Beet & Egg Salad On Avocado Toast Recipe

Beet lovers, this Pickled Beet & Egg Salad On Avocado Toast will have your taste buds doing a happy dance.

I'm not sure why it took me so long to combine pickled beets in a salad with eggs since growing up in Russia, there were multiple dishes in which roasted beets were combined with hard boiled eggs and mayonnaise. The taste was great, the vibrant color was even better.

If you think beets taste like dirt, you need to reconsider. Roast a few beets or buy them pickled in a jar and give them another chance.

My twin has posted several photos of hard boiled eggs pickled in the liquid from pickled beets and turned them into a salad. I decided to go one step further and add pickled beets into the salad!

First, you cook the eggs as you normally do. For me, that means covering eggs with cold water in a small pot, bringing it to a boil, turning the heat off, and letting the eggs sit covered in the pot for 10 minutes. Cool, peel, and dunk into the liquid from pickled beets. Refrigerate.

I found the texture of the eggs change quite a bit and become firmer and almost unpleasant. The color was gorgeous, but even after several days in the pickling liquid, the flavor didn't really permeate the egg.

Instead, I suggest you use regular hard boiled eggs, and then add pickled beets. You'll get the same great color, but better texture.

Pickled Beet & Egg Salad On Avocado Toast Recipe

1 hard boiled egg, peeled, chopped
1-2 pickled beets, depending on size, chopped
mayonnaise, the more the better
whole wheat toast
avocado, sliced

1. Combine chopped eggs and beets with mayonnaise.
2. Top the toast with sliced avocado and beet/egg salad.
3. Serve with coffee.

By the way, the very first photograph in this post shows my avocado tree!! How pretty is it? Have you tried growing one? It's a super long process which has tested my patience several times. The tree will never produce actual fruit, but I love the green leaves!

10/26/17

The Tale Of Two Burgers in DC: Duke's Grocery and DBGB

Do you ever have a craving for a burger but don't want something that's a simple patty on a bun with ketchup and a few slices of pickles for $3 or some extravagant concoction that's served on a silver platter and will cost you $40? Well, I have two candidates that will satisfy your taste buds and not cost you an arm and a leg.

First, featured above, is Proper Burger from Duke's Grocery. It's made from Angus beef with melted Gouda, dill pickles, charred red onion, Thai sweet chili, rocket (arugula!), and garlic aioli on a ciabatta for $12. You can add a fried egg, but it's not necessarily.

I like my burgers medium rare. This was a juicy, delicious mess in the best way possible. The only negative thing was that it did not come with fries. AND I could not order fries because Duke's Grocery doesn't have a fryer. Why??? I ordered elote instead. My friend Emily shared her pickled vegetables with me which were a great counterpart to the rich burger.

The burger below is from DBGB. The Frenchie is made with a 7 ounce beef patty, pork belly, arugula, tomato-onion compote, and morbier cheese on a potato bun and comes with fries for $19. If you are ordering this burger for brunch, like I did, get the Bloody Mary on the side and then make sure you have time for a nap.

Where are some of your favorite places to get a burger? How do you like yours cooked?

9/18/17

Meatless Monday: Beefsteak Burger At Beefsteak In DC

Are you looking for a vegetarian burger that's light, has no beans or lentils, and is beyond satisfying? Well, then you either must go to Beefsteak, or make one at home.

Over the weekend I took myself to lunch at Jose Andres' Beefsteak and absolutely loved his tomato burger. This was my second time at this restaurant and each time I've ordered the same thing. Go before the tomato season is over.

Beefsteak Tomato Burger
thick slice of beefsteak tomato
pickled red onions
sprouts
caper herb mayonnaise
olive oil brioche bun
extras: avocado and fresh mozzarella

What's your favorite meatless burger?

7/17/17

Meatless Monday: Avocado Toast Meets Elote

Love avocado toast? Want to step up your breakfast? I have you covered with my Avocado Toast Meets Elote idea. This works great for a Meatless Monday meal!

This past Saturday night I was sitting on the couch, watching Moana and contemplating what to make for breakfast on Sunday.

I'm almost always thinking about food.

I mentally tried to picture the contents of my refrigerator and a few of the items stood out: avocado, fresh corn, and queso fresco. That's when I thought it'd be fun to combine a few of my favorite things: avocado toast and elote!

Avocado Toast Meets Elote
Ingredients
sourdough bread, sliced and toasted
avocado, mashed
corn kernels sauteed in olive oil seasoned lightly with salt
sriracha
queso fresco, crumbled
cilantro, chopped
tomato, sliced & salted
iced coffee
half & half

Directions
1. Top toasted slices of bread with mashed avocado, sauteed corn, sriracha, queso fresco and cilantro.
2. Serve with slices of tomatoes and iced coffee.

This was an awesome breakfast. Slightly messy. Satisfying. Pretty.

What's your latest avocado toast creation?

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