Green beans and coconut curry

This is possibly the best weeknight dinner we have cooked in a while. Vijay is the sambar master so he made a pot of that and I made green bean poriyal (aka green bean curry with coconut). I have no measurements but I'll give a basic breakdown of what to do. Listen up Iacopi:

Put a big splash of any kind of vegetable oil in a high walled pan and throw in a half a palm full of mustard seeds and wait for them to start spluttering. Then throw in a quarter palmful of urad dal, a teaspoon of asafoetida, 2 teaspoons of tumeric and some dried red chillies into the now seasoned oil. Thrown in a few pounds of thin green beans (harico vert if you want to be fancy and french) and a handful of dessicated coconut. At this point I also add a tablespoon or two of my favorite hot curry powder and some extra hot chilli powder to taste (i.e., LOTS). Add a 1/4 cup of water, stir every 5 minutes until cooked (about 20 minutes). Enjoy with sambar made by Vijjy Pijjy and rice. Mango pickle would have been great but we are currently out.

Amy, you should come over and eat this!!!

Birthday Fruit Tart

My staff had this fruit tart made for me this morning instead of birthday cake because they know what a health nut I am :) I love those ladies!!

Veggie Quesadillas

I went to the University Farmers markt this Saturday for a lovely walking lunch which included unpasturized milk fresh from the farm, vegetable quesadillas and a roasted garlic ciabatta. These cheese and vegetable quesadillas on sundried tomato tortillas were especially scrumptious. The University farmers market in Seattle (50th and University Ave) is year round and full of great places for a walking lunch!

Tofu and Broccoli (Spicy!!) Fried Rice

I'll admit it, I am a Martha Rose Schulman groupie. Who the F is that you ask? Well she writes a column in the NY Times and her recipes are always healthy and tasty and often vegetarian (Yay!). I used her Broccoli fried rice recipe as an inspiration for my dinner tonight. I think I may have actually converted my carnivorous brother to tofu by covering it in egg and soy sauce :)

I made this in a large wok which is a bad idea when cooking for one because you cook way too much. Suffice to say that I ate every last bite :)

Basically I stir fried 1/3rd an onion, an insane amount of chopped red chilli, 2 cloves of garlic and an inch of ginger (I made a paste of the garlic and ginger using our mortar and pestle). Then I added broccoli florets, mushrooms and thinly sliced tofu until they were cooked through. I then added left over brown rice and a splash of soy sauce and dark sesame oil. If you have hoisin in the pantry this would be a good time to use it. Unfortunately I'm all out of Hoisin today.

When the rice was moist I made a space in the middle of the rice and cracked an egg in it and stired it around until it was cooked then mixed it through the rest of the rice. I then finished it up with a few grinds of cracked pepper and a handful of scallions.

A one pot (wok) meal - Bliss :)

Butternut squash ravioli

So I know this is a baking blog but I made these butternut squash ravioli today and they are allowed to be included because they are totally bad ass and taste unbelievable!

Filling:

1 medium butternut squash (roasted and mashed)
2 medium yams (sweet potatoes and mashed)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste

Sage butter sauce:

4 Tbsp butter
6-8 sage leaves
1 Tbspn lemon juice

Super moist Date-raisin Cake

This cake is idiot proof. It is super tatsy and moist. It has lots of warm spices in it which makes it perfect for the holiday season. It is great warm from the oven but even better the day after with coffee for breakfast. A lot of people serve this cake with sticky toffee sauce and whipped cream but I think it is best enjoyed on it's own.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dates, pitted and chopped
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cardamom
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1/2 cup raisins
  

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan and place a small rectangle of parchment in the bottom of the pan.
  
• In a saucepan over medium heat, bring dates and water to a boil. Stir in 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup sugar until melted. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda. Let cool for 10 minutes.
• Place date mixture into a large bowl. Blend in flour, spices, eggs and vanilla.
  
• Stir in chopped walnuts. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
• Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
  
• Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
• Drool
  

Oatmeal-Cherry cookies

I made these cookies for some friends to take on a flight to Scotland. What says I love you more than freshly baked cookies? Also long haul flights can be intolerable without home baked treats. These are a take on the traditional oatmeal raisin cookies. I like them better because the tartness of the dried cherries combined with chocolate is awesome. And the oats make you feel like they are a healthy treat :)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cup pecans or chocolate chips (Note: Chocolate makes everything better!!!!)

Method:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Cream butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.
  
• Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; Do not over mix.
  
• Add oats and cherries; mix until combined.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto parchment or silpat lined cookie sheets.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Enjoy chewy goodness!