Carrot fudge, or Gajar Ka Halwa rolls

This is an Indian dessert made with carrots, milk, sugar, ghee, cardamom and nuts. It is usually eaten warm with ice cream, but I basically made it into chilled sweet “sushi”-like rolls covered with sesame seeds, coconut, and in one case – wrapped with soy paper. Either way, it has always been addictive to me, regardless of form.

Recipe here: http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/gajar-halwa-recipe-gajar-ka-halwa/

If you can, grind the cardamom yourself, rather than using store-bought powder. The difference in the aroma isn’t negligible.

Edamame & Green Olive Tabouli

Plain old tabouli can be boring, so I commit sacrilegious acts by adding edamame, green olives, pine nuts, and … chimichurri sauce to it.

Cashew brown sugar cake

Documenting a happy accident here. These were supposed to be the butterscotch bars from this very tempting recipe: http://www.pinoyrecipe.net/butterscotch-bars-recipe/, but with some extra coconut flour, a smaller brownie tin and 10 minutes extra in the oven, the result is a moist cake that lends itself nicely to spreads such as this espresso almond peanut butter.

Rosehip yogurt smoothie

When I was little, I made myself this afterschool snack, because these ingredients were always at hand – plain yogurt and rosehip marmalade. Right now this thing sounds like it comes straight out of some hipster cafe menu.

You blend a tub of yogurt with 3-4 tablespoons rosehip marmalade or jam, and voila – a very unique smoothie. I added some rosehip tea to it just to add a spike of rose fragrance, but that is entirely optional.

Saffron pistachio falafel with white bean hummus and tzatziki

This wonderful made from scratch falafel is based on Nutrizonia’s recipe:  http://www.nutrizonia.com/baked-saffron-falafel-with-orange-tahini-sauce/ (just substituted the sunflower seeds with pistachios because of a shopping oversight). The tzatziki is really the Bulgarian version of the famous-in-the-US-dip (we call it Snow White salad), and it is thicker (made by draining yogurt overnight), has chunkier cucumbers, more dill, garlic, and walnuts too.

The white bean hummus and lavash bread are store-bought.

Got tired of the same ol’ Cuban pork, rice and beans. Instead – here’s this combo – cilantro couscous, black bean mash, roasted sweet potatoes, avocados, and pork & onions. Muy satisfactory.

Collard green, sausage, corn mini-pies with whole wheat crust

Just trying out the Nostalgia Electrics mini-pie maker which I found (brand new!) at a thrift shop for 5 bucks.

The filling has sauteed collard greens, sausage, corn, onions and garlic (added some grated cheddar and panko breadcrumbs after it cooled).

The pies were ready in 5 minutes!

Baklava rolls with rosewater syrup

Each is approximately 3 ” long. The nut mixture inside includes almonds, pecans and hazelnuts.

I am honestly not too happy with the way my baklava comes out  – in general homemade is always softer than the really crunchy and somewhat dry store-bought stuff, which I prefer. I know one of the tricks is to use pure honey rather than a water based syrup, but trust me that doesn’t help. I vow to find out.

O Niflrog – took me long enough.

Quinoa Cauliflower Biryani

This will be repeated, ’cause it’s the perfect summer dinner. There is something in the way crispy onions, cilantro, cashews and cranberries chase down the heat of the spicy cauliflower.

The vegan version recipe is here:

http://www.veganricha.com/2013/10/quinoa-cauliflower-biryani-vegan.html