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.

Breakfast, Desi Style: Akoori

Yield: 2-3 breakfast servings

6 green onions, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, grated

1 tsp ginger paste

3/4 tsp cayenne pepper or 1 green chili, sliced lengthwise

3/4 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp cumin-corriendar powder

2 small roma tomatoes, finely chopped

4 eggs

salt to taste

vegetable oil

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Sautee the onions for 1-2 min until slightly softened. Add the garlic, ginger paste, and green chili (if using), and sautee for another minute. Add the remaining spices and the tomatoes, and cook until the tomatoes have released their water and the water has evaporated. Add the eggs and scramble. Cook to desired done-ness. Add salt to taste. I love to eat this with toasted english muffins with a light layer of mayo, or fresh hot rotis. mmm

Salmon Cakes with Papaya Salsa

I was craving crab cakes (but I only had salmon), and I found an incredibly cheap papaya from the Milk Pail Market, so I came up with a tasty way to combine them!

For the salmon cakes:

1 pound salmon

2 cloves of garlic, grated

1 slice of bread, toasted and crumbled

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 tsp black pepper

5-10 stalks of parsley, minced

1 egg

1 carrot, peeled and grated

For the salsa:

1/2 papaya, cut into small cubes

1/2 small onion, finely chopped

10-15 stalks parsley, minced

Heat the salmon in the microwave until half cooked, until it is easy to flake (2 min or so). Place it into a large mixing bowl with the other ingredients for the salmon cakes and combine everything together. Heat a griddle or nonstick frying pan and lightly coat with olive oil. Take a small amount of the salmon and form a patty with your hands (as large or as small as you'd like). Place on the hot griddle and cook for a few minutes until golden brown (~4 min). Turn the patty over and cook on the other side for a similar amount of time. To make the salsa, combine all ingredients. Place the salsa on top of the cooked fish and enjoy!

Dosa: South Indian Crepes

Dosa is a thin crepe made from a paste made of soaked rice and beans. They're filled with all sorts of (savory) things, most often potatoes and peas. Sometimes, they are made really large (up to 18in). Here's a picture of a couple of smaller ones cooking on the griddle...you can tell how thin they are because you can see the griddle itself through them!

And here's a terrible-no-good picture of a typical potato and pea filling (I got too busy eating to remember to take another pic! oooops)

New Year's Cake

My mom made one of her signature cakes for new year's eve (oh right, that was months ago...oops!). Chocolate, with cream cheese buttercream frosting, and topped with homemade blueberry syrup. Scrumptious! I wanted to eat it allllll

The Cheesiest Pizza Ever

...so in other words, the most delicious food in the world (aside from burritos, perhaps, but that's a discussion for another day...)

Spinach-Pesto pizza from Paxti's in Palo Alto:

This place is fabulous! You have to wait just about 12 years for your pizza, but it's well worth it!

"Cannelloni"

The quotes are in the title because i'm sure this is far from authentic, but it's still amazing!

Yield: 3-4 full-meal servings

10 no-boil lasagna sheets (better if they're flat, but the frilly kind should work too)

2 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded

1 zucchini, julienned (is that the right verb form??)

3 gloves of garlic, grated

1 8oz package of cream cheese

1 egg

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 jar creamy marinara sauce

shredded mozarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine shredded chicken breasts, zucchini, garlic, cream cheese, and egg, plus a little salt and pepper, if desired.

Boil the lasagna sheets briefly, until they are just softened. Then place 1/10 of the chicken mixture onto the short side of one of the sheets, and roll the sheet into a tube. Place into an 8x8 pan greased lightly with olive oil. Roll up all of the lasagna sheets this way and arrange them in the baking pan. Pour the sauce over the tubes. Wriggle the tubes around a bit to make sure the sauce gets in between the tubes. Sprinkle as much cheese as desired on top, cover with foil, and bake until the cheese is melted, the noodles are softened, and the sauce is bubbling.