Tag: Fun!

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

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I hate letting food go to waste.  Yesterday’s zucchini was starting to mold and the bok choy was turning yellow but I still used them.

I have a sizable container of ricotta leftover from my Eggplant Parmesan.  I don’t want it to go bad, so I’m trying to figure out ways to incorporate it.  On Friday, I spread some on my sandwich… delicious.  Today, I thought… pancakes… It’s Sunday, why not?  Thus…

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

adapted from Bobby Flay’s Recipe

1/3 cup, heaping of whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cardamom powder, optional
pinch of salt
1/2 cup of ricotta
1/3 cup milk
zest + juice of half a lemon
1 tbsp agave
coconut oil

Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wet ingredients in another bowl.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix to combine.

Add some coconut oil to a skillet/griddle/pan, melt on low heat.  Add 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake, cover with a lid/foil.  Once you see the pancakes get “holey” on one side, flip them over and cook for a few more minutes (maybe 2).  These pancakes are pretty delicate so low heat is essential.  These are the varying degrees of heat I used… low is best 🙂

I got 8 pancakes out of this recipe.  I immediately froze 4 to be reheated in the toaster oven on a rainy day!

I topped my pancakes with some extra lemon zest, shredded coconut and a mixture of greek yogurt and maple syrup (1/4 cup yogurt + 1 tbsp real maple syrup).  DELICIOUS!

O.M.G.

Make these.  Now!

While I say the cardamom is optional on there (Bobby Flay used nutmeg but I thought lemon and cardamom sounded great together), it really makes the recipe that much better.  Cardamom is one of those underused spices in the US that is just amazing in my opinion.  Best ice cream I ever had was Cardamom Ice Cream at Ici in Berkeley. I might venture to say that cardamom is my favorite spice…

Now I’m stuffed and ready to conquer my pile of reading and methods problem set!

Any suggestions on what else to do with my ricotta?

See you next time for Sunday baking!  I’m making a vegan treat tonight!

Have a great Sunday!!

African Recipe Semi-Fail but Still Delicious

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Yesterday my schedule got all turned around!  I intended to go to class then work for an hour, go to an another class and stay on campus to study til 4 then come home a cook.  However, the second class that is usually at 12:20 got moved to 3:00 and went almost til 5:00!  I still managed to get a lot done in between but I was not prepared to stay on campus til past 5!

Anyway, when we last spoke, I was soaking black eyed peas…

Here’s why:  Rhoda, my friend who pops up around here all the time, is moving to Africa!  She threw a Rhoda is going to Africa party, where we all made recipes from her future home, Burkina Faso!

So I made Savory Bean Cakes! Not the healthiest but these could definitely be made healthier while still tasting delicious!

Burkinese Savory Bean Cakes

adapted from Savoury Beancakes

200g dried black eyed peas (I actually ended up using about 220g… not a big deal)
1 carrot, chopped
1/3 onion, chopped
salt to taste
1 egg, beaten
oil for frying

Cook and peel the black eyed peas.  Allow to cool.


Put all ingredients in the food processor and process until smooth.

At this point, I would allow your dough to cool.  I think this is where mine went wrong.  Form them into ball and flatten, essentially into patties.

Fry for about 10 minutes.

I guess I should also say that I’ve never fried anything before, so I don’t really know how to.  I think of myself as a pretty able cook for the most part but when it comes to frying… oh jeez!

Some were burn (oil too hot).  Some broke apart (should have let the dough cool… I think).

But they tasted great!  Beany and delicious!

Even though they weren’t fabulous looking, I took them to Rhoda’s for our Rhoda is going to Africa celebration.

There was a ton of tasty Burkinese food! Check out the spread:

Rhoda made this DELICIOUS Stew!

Served with cous cous

This stuff was dense!  I was full the entire night! (My two helping of dessert probably had something to do with that too!)

She also made a millet porridge for us to try!  I thought it was tasty!  Rhoda was apprehensive but she’s going to be eating it a lot in the next couple years apparently!

Julie made the same recipe as me!  Coincidence!  Guess there aren’t too many recipes from Burkina Faso out there.  She made hers with black beans.  They were delicious!  Amazing how two different beans can taste so different!

Liz made a tasty mango chutney to complement it all!  I believe she used this recipe.

My plate (definitely had seconds…)

Dessert were Sara’s brownies with fruit and hazelnuts!  Delicious! And Anna’s apple crisp (which I’m bummed I forgot to take a picture of!)

Sooo good! It was really fun to try out these new recipes!  Even if some of them didn’t turn out as expected… Are you a fan of trying to make things you’ve never heard of or do you prefer to have a point of reference (i.e. you’ve eaten it before) when you make something?

After dinner, we headed to a party at Sara’s house.  I danced it up a bit (Beyonce came on and you better believe I was all over it), but pooped out at about 12:30am.

Today is another sunny day!  Any fun weekend plans?

Have a great day!!!!

Moose It Up

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If I go to Moosewood enough will I turn into a moose?

Probably  not but the fella and I went again tonight.

We started with a salad.  I got the spinach-basil house dressing, while the lovely fella got the feta garlic dressing.   I still like the lemon tahini best.

He also got an Ithaca Apricot Wheat Ale.  I tried it, pretty tasty! Very fruity!  I don’t like beer too much but I would definitely order one of those sometime!

Apparently in 2008 it was voted the best brewery in New York state?  Hmm…

Before leaving the house, I looked at the menu (as it changes daily) so by the time I got there I already knew what I wanted.  Sadly, when we were seated the waiter let us know that the Eggplant, Red Pepper and Spinach Curry was already gone!  Sooo sad!  So instead I got the Mole de Olla (A traditional Cuernavacan “kettle” stew of potatoes, corn, green beans, zucchini and yellow squash simmered with a spicy red guajillo chile mole; served with vegan cornbread and topped with Monterey Jack cheese.”

Sounds and looks tasty right?  It wasn’t.  It was cold and bland.  I actually ended up eating about five bites before the lovely fella ate the rest.

His on the other hand (Red White and Green Lasagna: Layers of lasagna noodles, roasted zucchini, Italian cheeses and spinach  baked in a tomato-wine sauce) was delicious!  I probably ate more of his than he did.

I was really disappointed in my dish but didn’t send it back.  For some reason, I can never bring myself to do that. How you send things back at restaurants if you are not pleased? Is it rude to do so?  Do restaurants appreciate honesty?

Oh well.  I still ate plenty and had a nice time.

The evening wouldn’t have been complete without dessert: Vegan Apple-Blackberry Crumble

Delicious.

Enough said.

I’m dying to buy one of their cookbooks!  I think I’m going to buy one (or two so I can get free shipping) on Amazon.  Any suggestions from Moosewood Cookbook owners??

The lovely fella is leaving tomorrow, and I’m pretty bummed about that but what’s a girl to do?

Anyway, have a great night!

I’m Nutty!

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First, Happy March!

Second, Happy Birthday to my brother and my grandma!

On to food….

Naturally Nutty Cinnamon Vanilla Sunflower Butter arrived today!

I got 2 HUGE jars for $7.00 + free shipping through Kath’s Open Sky deal!

So far I’ve tried it on an apple and on my finger.

Can’t wait to try it tomorrow on my oats!

Have you tried this stuff?!?  Soooo good!  I really want to try the other flavors but I haven’t seen it in stores at all.

Ahh I’m a nut butter fiend!

Lastly, Don’t forget to vote my for olive penguins on Mara‘s blog (just on the side bar, click me and vote, no need to comment!) for the Cuteiversary Contest!

Lovely fella is leaving tomorrow 😦  Trying to enjoy the last bit of time we have together for a while… he wants to go to Moosewood… I’ll keep you posted!

Have a great night!

Maple Sandwich Cookies

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Time for Sunday baking!

After my faculty/student mixer where I made carrot cake cupcakes, I had a TON of maple cream cheese frosting left over.  Instead of throwing it away (or eating it straight with a spoon), I decided to incorporate it into my weekly baking.  I didn’t want to make cupcakes again since I’m low on cupcake liners.

Then inspiration came… hmm I could make maple homemade oreos… Sounds delicious right?  Since I don’t have enough cocoa powder to make chocolate cookies and digging out my cars seems like a terrible idea, I thought of another alternative: maple cookies!


Homemade Maple Cookies + Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Maple Sandwich Cookies

adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s Graham Crackers and Smitten Kitchen’s Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp sea salt
7 tbsp of butter
1/3 cup maple syrup
5 tbsp milk
2 tbsp vanilla extract
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

In a food processor pulse together dry ingredients.  Add butter, maple syrup, milk and vanilla and process until it’s a smooth ball.  Wrap in saran wrap or wax paper and chill for a few hours or overnight.

Once chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees, roll out the dough and cut into circles.  No need for fancy tools.

You could pretty much do this in any shape you’d like.

Bake for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned on the bottom.  Let the cookies cool completely.  If you’re in a hurry throw them in the freezer for a few minutes.

Put your maple cream cheese frosting in a plastic bag and cut off a corner.

This will make it easier to fill the cookies, no need for a knife!

Pipe a dollop of frosting on one side of the cookie

Press the other cookie onto the frosting.

Makes about 30 deliciously sweet cookies.

Enjoy!  Watch out for maple drippings!

I googled maple cookies after I made these and a lot of the recipes use maple flavoring!  That’s nonsense!  Use the real thing!

What’s your favorite type of sandwich cookie?

P.S. Don’t forget to go vote for my penguin olives over at Mara’s blog for the Cute Food Saturday, The Cuteiversary Contest!

P.P.S.  You can win some maple syrup to make this at Jessica’s VERMONSTER giveaway!!!

Just a Taste

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Happy Saturday all!

On Wednesday when I picked the fella up from the airport, he mentioned he really wanted tapas.  So tonight, we went to a wonderful tapas restaurant here in Ithaca called Just a Taste.

We started with a wine flight.  I got the light red flight and he got the Spanish flight.

His was better than mine 🙂

We ordered 5 tapas (well really 6 but one never arrived)

Tortilla Espanola

Garlicky greens with blue cheese and walnuts

Goat cheese flatbread

Potatoes with Chipotle Aioli

Grilled Mahi Mahi

Everything was amazing!  The exception was the Mahi Mahi, which I didn’t care for.  The lovely fella ended up eating all of it!  It was too fishy for my taste!

If you’re in the Ithaca area, I highly recommend this place!  It was very tasty!  The lovely fella gives it an 8.6/10.  Pretty high rating!

Now we’re off to my neighbor’s birthday party!  I see more wine in my future.  Have a great night!!

Snowy Dinner Party

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Yesterday, when I went to class, I stepped out of my apartment building and was basically knee deep in snow!

None of the sidewalks had been plowed or shoveled!  Getting to class was nuts!  But in the end I made it!  After two classes and a mixer, I headed home to start making dinner for a few friends.  I had two dishes planned.

One I saw on the Food Network while working out at the gym a few months ago.  The second from the NY Times.

First Dish: Veronica’s Vegetarian Meatloaf with Checca Sauce:

This was a hit!  It’s actually supposed to be made in a loaf pan but I made it in a 9×13 baking dish because I would have had to make multiple loaves.  It was very tasty!  I think it was a favorite here last night! As usual I made a few changes, instead of spinach I used beet green from the beets in the next recipe.  It was a great way to make use of something that usually gets thrown away!  And it tasted delicious!  I will definitely be making this again!  Maybe for Christmas this year?

Second dish: Marinated Giant White Beans and Beets

I thought this was really good!  As usual I made some changes.  I only had half a pound of lima beans since I used the other half to make Ginormous beans earlier this week so instead I added half a pound of chickpeas.  According to the lovely fella and another guest, it mixed very well with the vegetarian meat loaf.  This wasn’t hard to make but it was sort of time intensive.

All this goodness was enjoyed with Rhoda‘s homemade bread!

Sooooo good!  Soft and delicious!

Here’s my plate:

After dinner, we trudged through the snow to see an improv show, which was pretty funny.  Very entertaining.  Then the lovely fella and I watched The Hangover, which I thought was REALLY funny.  I feel like everyone in the world had seen The Hangover except me.  Have you seen it?

This morning, it’s still snowing 😦  Not sure what the plan is but either way it should be fun!

Have a beautiful day!

Also… Go over to Mara’s Blog and vote for my olive penguins to win the Cute Food Saturday contest!

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

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Holey Moley!  We got a full blown snow storm!  I’m guessing we got around 2-3 ft? More than I’ve ever seen!  It’s still going strong!

So as I mentioned before, I am baking for a faculty/student mixer today.

I carefully chose a recipe I had made in the past…

Enter carrots:

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 tsp cinnamon
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup canola oil
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup walnuts (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.  Combine went ingredients in a larger bowl (mix in one egg at a time).  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.  Mix together.  Stir in the grated carrots and walnuts.

Line your cupcake pan.  Fill about half way.  DO NOT over fill!  This is what happens:

I overfiled my first dozen and they got terribly messed up!  I ended up having to make another half batch to make up for the mess ups.  I just knew these cupcakes were jinxed!! Oh well.  Turned out fine in the end!

Bake for about 20-22 minutes depending on the strength of your oven.

For the frosting….

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

16oz of cream cheese (I used reduced fat)
1 stick of butter, softened (I left it out over night, it’ll be fine)
1/4 cup maple syrup
4 cups of powdered sugar

With a hand mixer, cream together the cream cheese and butter, add the maple syrup and mix some more.  Gradually add the powdered sugar.  Chill in the fridge for about half an hour.  Spread on cooled cupcakes for carroty/mapley deliciousness!!

Off to class!  Have a wonderful day!!

Surprise!!

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The lovely fella is here!  No exciting food today!  We had Ginormous Bean Extravaganza for dinner!  He approved!

And guess what…

Photobooth photoshoot…

Hair cut like woah! So relieved to not have that terrible mop anymore!

Have a beautiful night!!

Food Fight

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Yesterday was the longest day ever!  After we last “spoke,” I went to class, prepared for my discussion section, had discussion section (went really well for the first time yesterday woo!), went to class again, met with a professor, worked on the demographic forecast from hell and went to see Food Fight!

Ok, let me tell you a bit about Food Fight.

It was an interesting documentary about local/slow food.  The documentary centered largely around the local food movement started by Alice Waters in Berkeley.  Watching the documentary was sort of exciting since a lot of it took place in Berkeley and a lot of the interviews were done in Chez Panisse (remember when I went in January?).

Basically, the documentary critiqued the federal government for promoting industrialized agriculture through the use of agricultural subsidies for specific products and consequently degrading the quality of our produce.

I thought this was really interesting.  It really got me thinking about who to “blame.”  I know some people don’t agree with this, but I have a hard time blaming the federal government or specific people for things.  I think things need to be looked at in the context of a larger system.  While this film promoted local farming, which I agree is great, I was torn because I understand the rationale for industrial agriculture.

In economic terms, I understand that industrial agriculture creates economies of scale which are more efficient.  However, there is a disregard for quality.

I guess what I took from this documentary was nothing particularly new: our food production system needs to change.

For me, the larger understanding I gained is that it’s easy to assign blame to the federal government or particular people (yesterday in my discussion section, a girl said she “hates Earl Butz,” which I think is a little crazy), but I think it’s important to understand the underlying assumptions and motivations to what people do.  I understand that lobbyists are an important part of this mix, and I’m not saying that this is okay.

Local food is a little elitist and expensive.  A lot of chefs in the documentary admitted it, which I thought was quite refreshing.  While they talked a bit about poverty and accessibility, I would like to see an entire documentary on access to good food by the poor.  Local and organic isn’t cheap, I’d be interested to know how we can change that.  Is “voting with your fork” enough?

Anyway, I recommend the documentary.  Unlike, Food Inc. and other documentaries on local/sustainable food, this documentary is centered on the idea of good tasting food, as in eat local/organic because it tastes good.  I thought this was an interesting approach.

Have you heard of Food Fight?  Any interests or thoughts?

Have a fantastic day!!