Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

Another healthy recipe that I tried and really enjoyed was a quinoa tabbouleh salad.  Vivek and I used to order tabbouleh salad from our favorite Mediterranean restaurant in Burlingame, CA called Taste In.  This dish originated in Lebanon and is traditionally made with tomatoes, finely chopped parsley, mint and onion and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and salt.  To increase the heartiness and protein content of this salad, I added quinoa and feta cheese.  It became a meal in itself!

Recipe for Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

INGREDIENTS
1 cup dry quinoa
1 large bunch parsley, finely chopped (remove long stems)
1/3 cup mint leaves, chopped
1 cup of grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 of a yellow or white onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
1/2 cup feta cheese

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Cook quinoa with 1.5 cups of water.  Allow the water to boil then reduce the heat, cover and let cook for about 10 minutes.

2. While the quinoa is cooking, mix all of the other ingredients except for the feta cheese in a large bowl.

3. When the quinoa is finished cooking, combine it with the other ingredients in the bowl.  Allow it to cool.

4. When the salad has cooled, mix in the feta cheese and serve!

Chickpea Curry Wraps

In 2015, I'm looking to eat healthier and exercise so that we all can be more fit (and I can lose some weight)!  So, I have been looking for quick and easy healthy recipes that taste good, and I found one that both Vivek and I enjoyed!  It is a wrap that is high in protein because of the chickpeas, and the tortilla I used was a sprouted grain tortilla (you can find it in the freezer section at the grocery store), which also increases the protein content of the dish.  It has a little bit of spice, citrus and sweet, which makes it a delicious and healthy lunch!

Recipe for Chickpea Curry Wraps

INGREDIENTS
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup raisins
Sprouted wheat tortillas
2 cups baby spinach
1 small lime, juiced
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS
1. In a large bowl, mix together chickpeas, red bell pepper, cilantro and raisins.

2. In a separate small bowl, whisk together lime juice, curry powder, honey, olive oil and salt and pepper.

3. Add the dressing to the chickpea mixture and stir well.  Let sit for 30 minutes to develop flavors or refrigerate to eat at a later time.

4. Add about 1/2 cup of the mixture to a tortilla and top with baby spinach.  Roll tightly and enjoy!

Vegetarian Muffuletta

I love making different types of sandwiches, and one of Vivek's favorites is a twist on the New Orleans special Muffuletta!  This type of sandwich originated among Italian immigrants in New Orleans and traditionally contains an olive salad, mortadella (an Italian sausage), salami, mozzarella, ham, and provolone cheese.  It was easy to modify this sandwich to make it vegetarian: I simply took out the sausage, salami and ham!  I also substituted cheddar cheese for the mozzarella to add some saltiness.  The flavor really comes from the olive salad, and it is so good grilled so the cheese is melted inside!

Recipe for Vegetarian Muffuletta

INGREDIENTS
Round french bread or hoagie buns
4 carrots, diced into small cubes
1 onion, diced into small cubes
10 oz jar of green pimento stuffed olives
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp creole seasoning (such as Tony Chachere's)
Sliced sharp cheddar cheese
Sliced provolone (not smoked)

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Scoop out some of the bread from the inside of the top bun to make a little "boat" to hold the olive salad.

2. To make the olive salad, mis the carrots, onions, olives, vinegar, olive oil, basil, oregano and creole seasoning in a large bowl.  For the best flavor, cover the bowl after mixing well and put it in the fridge for at least one hour.

3. To assemble the sandwich, scoop the olive salad into the bread "boats." Then layer with 1-2 slices of sharp cheddar and 1-2 slices of provolone (depending on how cheesy you like it).  Place the other bread on the cheese and flip over.  You can eat it cold or grilled to melt the cheese slightly.

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!