Grilled asparagus with a twist

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs asparagus
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 clove garlic
3-4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
Zest of 1 orange
Small handful of finely chopped almonds

Remove fibrous ends of the asparagus, and the cut stems in half. Heat olive oil in a stir fry pan. Keep at medium heat. Add in asparagus. Roll each stem around in the oil so it is coated. Sprinkle the salt and pepper. Once asparagus has been in for a couple minutes, add the garlic, and 3/4 of the lemon zest. Mix in. After another couple minutes, add the butter (in thin slices). Total cook time is 5-7 minutes, but keep taste checking to make sure the asparagus doesn't get over cooked. Once cooked, immediately transfer to a cool serving bowl. Pour the excess oil/butter from the stir fry pan over the asparagus. Top with the remaining orange zest and almonds.

Spinach and Mushroom Quiche

A friend's birthday just happens to fall on New Year's Eve, so every year he hosts a joint birthday and New Year's celebration. In the past several years, he's done a potluck dinner. This year I decided to make a quiche using vegetables I had on hand. My parents were having a dinner party the day after New Year's, so while they cooked up a storm for that, I made a second quiche for the family's New Year's Day dinner so they didn't have to worry about that. Both went over very well - my mom proclaimed the recipe a keeper.

Ingredients
1 9in premade pie crust
5oz frozen spinach, thawed
8oz mushrooms, thinly sliced (I prefer cremini, but whatever suits your taste)
1/2 small onion, diced
splash of dry white wine
1 cup milk
3 eggs
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1 cup cheese (I used monterey jack, but whatever suits your taste)

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Bake the pie shell for about 10min. Cool.
2. In batches, saute the mushrooms with a splash of wine for flavor until the liquid released from the mushrooms evaporates and it browns. Caramelize the onion. Lightly saute the spinach until just wilted; drain the liquid. Combine and set aside.
3. Combine the milk, olive oil, and flour. Whisk in the eggs. Add the spices and cheese and mix. Add in the vegetables and mix thoroughly. Pour into the quiche shell (sprinkle some cheese on top if desired). Bake for 40min or until the center is firm and no liquid comes out when a knife is inserted. Optional: Broil on low for 5min to brown the top. Serve warm.

Broccoli and Tomato Quiche

This is my go-to quiche recipe. The broccoli and tomato can be swapped out for other things (I actually adopted this from a recipe for broccoli & mushroom quiche) and it works great as a meal you can make ahead and eat through the week.

Ingredients:
1 9-inch pie shell
1 small head of broccoli, chopped and cooked
1 small tomato, chopped
1 cup milk
3 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup mozzarella cheese divided (the original recipe called for cheddar, I substituted mozzarella because I like it more)

Directions: Preheat oven to 375. Bake pie crust for about 10 minutes or until bottom is brown. Let cool. Chop broccoli and tomato, steam broccoli until tender. Combine milk, eggs, butter, flour, salt and 3/4 cup cheese. Whisk until well blended. Spread remaining 1/4 cup cheese over crust. Layer broccoli and tomato over cheese. Pour milk and egg mixture over all. Bake at 375 for 35 to 45 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 20-30 minutes before serving. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Farmer's Market Finds

I looove going to the farmer's markets around here (there are so many options! and they're open year round! it's amazing!), and I always bring my camera because I usually find some really funky fruits or vegetables there. Here are a few:

Kiwi of Looove <3
Cross section of a heart shaped kiwi! So cute...the whites look like smiling eyes or something adorable like that to me :)


Romanesco Broccoli
This stuff is amazing--it's got the consistency of cauliflower with the taste of broccoli. Or maybe it's the other way around. Or maybe a little bit of both. The taste and texture run together into yumminess, that's all I know. But the point of the picture is it looks crazyyyy...Like the Fibonacci sequence or fractals or something (yes, I know I should know which :P)


Nosy peaches
Here are some odd peaches I found...one with a pointy nose and the other with a baby bump and 2 seeds inside to boot.


Purple Bell Pepper
My first purple bell pepper. I was expecting purple inside (green, red, yellow, and orange bell peppers are all green, red, yellow, and orange inside, respectively, after all), but got white inside instead. Interesting...


White bitter gourds
I've seen these in green numerous times (and been force-fed them on multiple occasions--they're REALLY bitter, and of course, since they taste awful, they must be good for you...), but never white ones. They look kinda creepy, frankly. At the stand they told me that the white ones are more bitter than the green ones. Sooooo I politely declined to buy any, but still thought they were worth taking a picture of...

Easy Vegetable Tempura

Tempura is one of my favorite things to order in Japanese restaurants, so I decided to finally attempt to make it at home.
I found a very easy recipe on-line, the 1-1-1 recipe. Mix together one cup of flour, one cup of (very cold!) water, and one egg. Dip any vegetables you like in it (I used one of my faves, asparagus) and fry in a frying pan with about one inch of oil in it. A small pan works best for this, because you can use less oil to achieve the same depth.














I'm not sure how I feel about this recipe. It was very easy and quick, came out looking pretty decent, and tasted fine...but not great. There was just something missing. Oh well I guess I will just have to experiment with more recipes...

Cauliflower Soup

I like cauliflower best in or as soup; I don't really believe that there is another good way to have them. This is so easy to make, nutritious, pretty, and comforting - all in one!

Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower, cut into flowerets or cubed
2 cups chicken stock (I used water & chicken bouillon, same thing)
salt & white pepper to taste
1 medium onion, sliced or diced
sprinkle of chives for garnish if desired

1. Sauté the onions.
2. Bring the chicken stock to boil, and add the cauliflower & onions. Boil until mostly cooked, about 5min. A little at a time, blend cauliflower, onions, and liquid base in blender. Return to pot until all the cauliflower has been nicely puréed. Season to taste. I really recommend using white pepper powder for this. You can use black if you want, but white looks and tastes better, in my opinion. Garnish with chives if desired.

Variations: Use milk instead of chicken stock. Add a little flour to thicken if it's too liquidy, or simmer a bit longer. Use roasted garlic instead of sautéed onions.

Vegetarian (Tofu) Duck (素鸭)

My mom makes these anytime she entertains, because it's easy, looks nice, and can be made ahead of time (since it's primarily served as a cold dish). For my potluck with Chinese coworkers last week, I decided to make this. I had some leftover tofu skin, so I made some more for lunch this week. The ingredients can vary slightly based on what you have, but the basic process for making it is the same. The soy sauce/sugar is just an estimate; I make it and taste to determine whether to add more sugar or sauce, so I don't really have an exact recipe.

Time: 0:45
Serves: 10

Ingredients
2 large, dried tofu skins
1 cup soy sauce
3 Tbsp sugar
pinch of wu xiang (optional)
1 Tbsp oil of your choice
2 cups water

1. Mix the spices together (over low flame optional, else just mix them in a bowl).
2. Lay one piece of tofu skin flat on a smooth surface. With a pastry brush, cover the entire skin with the sauce. Place the second piece of tofu skin directly on top of the first. Brush the entire skin with the sauce as well.
3. Starting from the edge near you, roll the two skins upwards (so that it's a rectangle, not a cylinder). At about halfway, fold in thirds (so it's about as long as your pan), then continue rolling to the end.
4. Over medium-high flame, heat the oil. Lightly brown the roll of tofu skin on each side (start with the side where you last rolled so the seam gets seared close first).
5. Cover with water. With a fork, poke holes every two inches or so on top, then flip and poke holes on the other side. Let it simmer until the water boils off; flip every 10min or so to cook evenly. Place on a plate to cool, then slice into 1/2in wide pieces. Serve cold (not chilled - leave it out an hour or so before serving).

Quick Baked Sweet Potato

I love sweet potatoes, and I love quick easy recipes. This one, stolen from my grandpa, combines both and therefore makes me incredibly happy.

Time: 0:10 (I kid you not)
Serves: 1

Ingredients
1 sweet potato

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Microwave the sweet potato on high for 5 minutes.
3. Bake in oven for 5 minutes.
4. CHOMP.

Aloo Gobi

Aloo = potatoes and gobi = cauliflower. This dish and its variations are some of the most basic staples in my parents' house. By variations, I mean that the spices and the method of cooking stay the same, but the vegetables vary. You can use basically any vegetable you like (for example, the snow peas were a random addition because I had some leftover from another dish). The generic term for this kind of dish is "subzi", so if you want to use other vegetables but still sound exotic just say that :). The standard veggies I use are cauliflower, zucchini, yellow squash, romanesco broccoli (this stuff is amazing--the taste of broccoli, consistency of cauliflower, but better than either), okra, green beans, bell peppers, and--my personal favorite--tindola (it's sort of like a 2" cucumber, with the consistency of a squash. sort of. hard to explain, and hard to find in the US). If you add tomatoes, eggplant, onions, spinach, you can make it a little soupier and eat with rice (or kichdi, a mixture of rice and lentils--carbs and protein in one shot, yay!). But I'll save a post about that for another day...

Aloo Gobi
yield: ~ 2 small servings

1 small head of cauliflower (I use a head that's ~2-3: in diameter--something I've only ever seen at the farmers' mkt in Mt View--but feel free to scale up the recipe or only use ~1/3 of a normal-sized head)
1 large russett potato, peeled
10 snow peas (~a handful)
~1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp garlic paste
1/2 tsp ginger paste
1 Thai green chili (optional--if using this, be careful, it will be spicy! consider omitting the cayenne pepper)
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns (you can use ground pepper too, but it will make the whole dish look darker--personally I like it bright yellow)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cumin-corriendar powder
1/8 tsp gaharam masala
1 tsp salt

Cut the vegetables into cubes/small pieces. Any size is ok, smaller pieces cook faster, so the size will be a function of your personal preference and how much time you have. Keep the vegetables segretated. Since different vegetables require different cooking times, you'll want to put them into the pan separately.

Heat vegetable oil and mustard seeds in a skillet over medium-high heat. Use enough oil to coat the pan generously (but doesn't have to be TOO generous). Stay close by, because the mustard seeds will begin to pop as they heat up. Allow to pop for ~30 seconds, and then add the garlic and ginger pastes and the chili pepper if you're using it. Stir to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. After ~30 seconds, add the remaining spices and the potatoes (or whichever vegetable takes the longest to cook), and stir to evenly coat the potatoes with the spices. If the potatoes seem to be sticking (as they will if you're using a non-nonstick pan), add a few tablespoons of water. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and cover the pan. Stir the potatoes occasionally and if they seem to be sticking feel free to add more water (but just add a little at a time--if you add too much then you'll have to boil it off). Once the potatoes are about half done, add the remaining vegetables and stir thoroughly to get some of the spices onto the newly added veggies. Again, cover and allow to cook until the vegetables are done to your liking. Taste and add more salt if necessary. Garnish with cilantro (if you must--personally I can't stand cilantro haha) and serve with bread of some sort. My favorite is roti or paratha, but naan would be fine too. Serve it hot, but it will keep for a day or so.


My variations/recommendations:
-If I'm making this with okra or broccoli, I generally omit the cayenne pepper, turmeric, and cumin-coriendar powder and I do use a green chili.
- I like to use the combination of zucchini, yellow squash and a little bit of spinach.
- Potatoes are a standard addition to any other vegetable

Lunch 1B: Shanghai Rice Cakes

I love Shanghai food. I especially love rice cakes (年糕), which are traditionally had to ring in the new year, but now can also be had whenever the craving hits. :) This is one of the most easily scalable and variable recipes ever, so adjust away.

Time: 0:30
Serves: 8

Ingredients
* 1 head napa cabbage
* 1 package dried rice cakes (about 1.5-2 cups)
* 3/4 cup pork strips (or ground pork)
* 1 winter bamboo (optional)
* 2 teaspoon rice cooking wine
* vegetable oil
* water
* cornstarch
* salt to taste
* black rice vinegar to dip

1. Marinate the pork with a teaspoon of cornstarch, 2 teaspoons rice wine, and a pinch of salt. I add a dash of soy sauce, my mother doesn't - up to you.
2. Taking 3-5 leaves of the napa cabbage at a time, cut them into thirds lengthwise, then turn and slice them thinly.
3. Peel off the husks of the bamboo and scrap away the fuzz on whatever remains. Julienne.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large non-stick skillet (or saucepan if you don't have a skillet large enough). My mother would add more oil for the authentic taste. Sauté the pork on high heat until no more pink shows, constantly stirring to make sure the strips don't stick (or to make sure you get small clumps of ground pork instead of a huge patty). Set aside.
5. Pour enough water to immerse the bamboo and bring to a boil. Add the bamboo and boil until they've softened, then set aside. Reserve the leftover water.
6. Put the napa cabbage in the skillet. This part gets tricky. If you want, you can separate the napa cabbage into batches to cook. It will shrink as it cooks and the water escapes. Heat and keep flipping so that all parts of the cabbage are cooked. Add some of the water from cooking the bamboo if the pan gets too dry. Set aside when softened.
7. Put the dried rice cakes. I put some water in, my mom adds a lot of oil. Keep stirring to keep from sticking. If the water dries before the rice cakes are soft, add some more.
8. Now combine the pork, bamboo, napa cabbage, and rice cakes - this is why I said to use a large skillet. Add salt to taste. Mix 1-2 teaspoons cornstarch with some of the leftover water and add that too. Fold until everything's nicely combined, then serve with a bit of black rice vinegar for people to dip as desired.

Variations: Add a cup of shiitake mushrooms instead of the bamboo - just slice and cook with a bit of rice wine and water.
Julienne and boil/sauté two green peppers with half a cup of shelled edamame beans and add that instead of the bamboo.
Halve the recipe and keep half the ingredients for something else.
I've seen this dish cooked a different way in pretty much every restaurant I've been to that serves it.