Peppermint Hot Chocolate...in a jar!

This holiday season, I decided to make some gifts that Vivek could take for his coworkers.  I came across this idea for peppermint hot chocolate in a jar on Pinterest, and I loved it!  It was so easy to prepare, and the results are so cute!

Recipe for Peppermint Hot Chocolate in a Jar

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup dry milk
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup white sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
3 candycanes, crushed
1/4 cup mini marshmallows

INSTRUCTIONS
In the order listed above, layer all the ingredients in a mason jar, pushing down on each layer as you go.  The instructions for making the hot chocolate is to mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, and the mix 1/3 of the mixture with 1 cup of boiling water.  There are 3 servings in one jar!

Thanksgiving Dinner!

This year, Shyam and Ami came over for Thanksgiving, and I cooked a traditional Thanksgiving dinner...vegetarian style!  I made my own tofu turkey from scratch with stuffing, baked macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, and homemade rolls!  We had mushroom gravy and cranberry sauce as well (not homemade) to add to the meal.  And we finished off with some homemade pumpkin pie!  I have tried to make a vegetarian version of Thanksgiving dinner in the past with little success, but this year, everything tasted delicious!  I will definitely be using these recipes again next year :)

Cross-section of the tofu turkey with stuffing in the middle!

Recipe for Tofu Turkey with stuffing

INGREDIENTS

2 packages of extra firm tofu

1/4 cup sesame oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

Stuffing made according to package instructions (I used celery, onions, and vegetable broth with the stuffing mix that I bought.  Make sure to read the ingredients to make sure it is vegetarian!)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Drain the water out of both packages of tofu and place the tofu into a blender or food processor.  Blend until it is a mushy texture.

2. Line a strainer with a cheese cloth and put the mashed tofu into the cheese cloth.  Wrap the top of the tofu with the cheese cloth and place a weight on top of it.  You can put the strainer in a large bowl to catch the liquid.  Allow the liquid to strain out for 2-3 hours.

3. Once the liquid has strained from the tofu, unwrap the top of the cheese cloth and scoop out the middle of the tofu to make a "bowl."  Use the tofu that you scooped out to spread on the bottom of a greased baking pan in a layer about 1/2 an inch thick.  Fill the tofu "bowl" with your pre-made stuffing.  Then carefully flip the whole tofu "bowl" using the cheese cloth onto the tofu in your baking pan so now it is like a dome.  Shape it with your hands.

4.  Mix together the sesame oil and soy sauce in a small bowl.  Used a brush to "baste" the tofu dome with about half of the bowl of oil and soy sauce.

5.  Surround the dome with more of your pre-made stuffing.  Then cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour.

6. Remove the baking pan from the oven and take off the foil.  Baste with the remainder of the oil and soy sauce mixture and then put back in the oven uncovered for an additional 15 minutes until browned on top.

7. Serve warm with gravy and cranberry sauce!

Mashed potatoes and gravy

Homemade rolls

Baked Mac and Cheese

Vegetarian Sushi!

Many people have asked me how to make vegetarian sushi, and while my brother Shyam is the master sushi chef that comes up with most of the different types of sushi, I have learned from him and am able to make it myself now!  I hope this helps inspire some of you to try and make this yourself!  It does take a lot of time and effort, but the results are amazing and SOOOO tasty!  You can't get vegetarian sushi like this in any restaurant :)

So the first step to making sushi is to make sure you have the right ingredients.  I have added links to the types/brands that I typically use.  I usually buy my seaweed from the regular grocery store, but it is usually way cheaper at an Asian grocery store.  Then you need sushi rice, which is basically medium-grain rice.  If you cook it to package instructions (usually one cup rice for 1.5 cups water), then you get a perfectly sticky rice that is best for making sushi.  Always add plenty of rice vinegar seasoning to the rice while it is warm so that the flavor pops!  I usually add about 1/2-3/4 cup of seasoned rice vinegar if I cooked 2 cups of rice.

To make a basic sushi roll, just follow these steps:

1. Spread rice onto the rough side of the seaweed.  You can put as much or as little rice as you want depending on the type of flavor you want.  Make sure to put rice all along the edges of the seaweed so that they will stick together after rolling.

2. Put your filling about 1/3 of the way from the bottom of the seaweed in a horizontal line.

3. Roll from the bottom.  Tuck the bottom part of the seaweed over the filling, and then keep rolling up from there.  Make sure the top end of the seaweed sticks to the outside with rice.  Make the roll tight, otherwise it will fall apart when you are cutting it!

4. Cut the sushi cross-sectionally into 1/2 inch pieces with a serrated knife.

Now the fun part is coming up with all the different fillings!  The tastes become so unique depending on what filling you put in, and it makes the whole experience of eating sushi so delightful!  Here are a few examples:

1. Avocado and honey-roasted peanuts

2. Green peppers, garlic and avocado

3. Avocado and tempura flakes

4. Cucumber, tempura asparagus, tempura broccoli, topped with avocado slices

5. Carrots, radish, cucumber and avocado

6. Cream cheese, sweet potato, topped with a spicy tofu explosion (grilled tofu mixed with mayo and sriracha)

7. Bell pepper and cream cheese
8. Tofu-holic: tofu and onions sauteed in soy sauce and sriracha on the inside, topped with more of the tofu/onion mixture

There are so many possibilities!  You can also always do the traditional cucumber roll or avocado roll.  In terms of the sauces, we usually have soy sauce to which we add a little bit of wasabi, and we also have pickled ginger on the side to put on top if you like.  Recently, we have been making spicy mayo (mayonnaise mixed with sriracha) as another sauce that you can use on top of the sushi.

Now go out there and try it!!  It will be worth all the work :)