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 :)

Pumpkin pie!

Well, it is October now, and fall has arrived!  While I love the beautiful colors of fall, I am dreading the fast approaching winter...but maybe this year it won't be so bad :)

In our CSA box last week, we got a pie pumpkin!  A pie pumpkin is sweeter than regular pumpkins, which is why it is great for cooking and for making pumpkin pie.  So that's exactly what I did!  It was the first real pie I've ever really made successfully, and it was delicious!  Vivek and I don't exactly like those store bought pie crusts because then we just taste too much bland crust and not enough filling.  So I made my own graham cracker crust that only covered the bottom of the pie pan.  We definitely liked it better that way!

Recipe for Pumpkin Pie

INGREDIENTS
3/4 pint vanilla ice cream, melted and warm
1 egg
1 cup pumpkin puree (I boiled the pumpkin until soft, scooped out the flesh, then pureed it)
1/4 cup white sugar
pinch salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 unbaked pie crust

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the egg.  Stir in the pumpkin puree, sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.  Mix in the melted ice cream until smooth.  Pour the filling into the pie crust.

3. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the filling is set.  Serve with whipped cream on top!

Soups!

We have been able to try some awesome new recipes with our veggies from our CSA including two amazing soups!  The first is a potato leek soup, and Vivek says that it is his favorite soup of all the ones I have ever made!  This is my first time cooking with leeks, which are like onions but have a milder flavor.  The soup is definitely hearty and delicious!

Recipe for Potato Leek Soup

INGREDIENTS
4 tbsp butter
4 leeks, diced
4 cups vegetable broth
4 cups potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups 2% milk
2 tbsp low fat cream cheese
salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS
1. In a large pot, heat the butter until melted.  Cook the leeks in the butter with some salt and pepper until tender, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes.

2. Pour the broth into the pot.  Add the potatoes and bring to a boil.  Season with salt and pepper.

3. Pour in the milk and add the cream cheese.  Reduce heat and simmer at least 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender.


The other soup that I made quickly became one of my favorites as it has a sweet and spicy element to it!  I made this soup using a delicata squash from the CSA box.  I had never heard of this type of squash before, but it is similar to a butternut squash or a pumpkin in that it has a sweetness to it when cooked.  I got this recipe from the Vitamix cook book, so it was relatively healthy as well :)

Recipe for Thai Squash Soup

INGREDIENTS
2 delicata squash, halved and baked until soft
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 can of tomato paste
1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger root
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 can coconut milk
1/2 tbsp chopped green chilies
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Use a peeler to peel off the skin of the cooked squash and cut squash into chunks.

2. In a large pot, saute onions in olive oil until soft.  Add tomato paste, squash, ginger, garlic, broth and coconut milk. Mix well and allow it to heat for about 10 minutes.

3. Place the contents of the pot along with the lemon juice, green chilies, and salt in the Vitamix and blend on high for about 2 1/2 minutes or until smooth.

You can serve this soup garnished with some chopped cilantro, peanuts, sour cream, or drizzled with sriracha sauce!  So yummy!

Italian feast!

When Shyam and Ami were visiting us last week, we decided to cook up an Italian feast!  Shyam made some incredible ravioli FROM SCRATCH!  He made the pasta dough, rolled it out in his pasta roller, made the creamy mushroom filling, and made the rich cream sauce!  I will have to get the recipe from him and try it myself (after I get a pasta roller!), but I did help out by making some bruschetta!  I used the delicious baby tomatoes that was in my CSA box to make the topping for the bruschetta, and it was so easy and tasty that I will definitely be making it again!  I made the bread that we used for the bruschetta from scratch in my bread machine.  It was so nice to have such a fresh meal!

Here are some pics of the incredible ravioli:

Perfection!

Sundried tomato and parsley on top!

And here is my side dish :)

Baguettes made from scratch!

Recipe for Bruschetta

INGREDIENTS
3 cups tomatoes, diced
1 tbsp dried basil
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 loaf French bread, sliced and toasted

INSTRUCTIONS
1. In a bowl, toss together all ingredients except the bread.

2. Serve on toasted bread slices.

Quinoa Masala Burgers

Now that we are back from our California trip, we are back in the swing of things and cooking with all of our amazing CSA veggies!  We were so lucky to have Shyam and Ami visiting us this past week, so we really got to try out some delicious recipes.  I made some yummy quinoa masala burgers, which I have made before and we all love!  I made the buns from scratch using my bread machine, and they turned out so soft and yummy!  I used the lettuce, cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes from the CSA box to accompany the patty in the burger, and with a little mustard, mayo, cheese and Sriracha sauce, it was an amazing meal!

Recipe for Quinoa Masala Burgers

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup dry quinoa-cooked with 3/4 cup water (bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and cook until quinoa is clear with a white rim around the edge)
1 baked sweet potato with skin removed
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 small onion, diced
2 inch piece of ginger, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp mustard seed
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 egg
melted coconut oil for brushing burger patties

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine all ingredients and mix in a large bowl

3. Form mixture into patties (makes about 4-6 patties)

4. Place patties on a large greased baking sheet

5. Brush top of burgers with small amount of coconut oil

6. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip the burgers and coat with coconut oil again.  Bake for another 15 minutes.