Red cabbage & Brussels sprout Thai salad

Shaved red cabbage, thinly sliced Brussels sprouts, couple of slices of Jalapenos, chopped snow peas braised with coconut oil, mint leaves and scallions; this mixed with a dressing made of lime juice, a teaspoon of sugar, sesame oil, a teaspoon of chili sauce, a teaspoon of fish sauce and some salt and pepper, and topped with peanuts. It’s fresh, and exciting. It’s so inviting to me…

French toast stuffed with “mascarpone” and carrot jam

So, I have been eyeing all of these French toast recipes (most posted by Cara Evangelista in her Waffles collection), and I decided to try one that combines the elements of a carrot cake (because I have carrot jam available). Loosely followed this recipe:

 http://www.afamilyfeast.com/mascarpone-strawberry-stuffed-french-toast/ – but instead of strawberries used the carrot jam from Vava, mixed with sweetened cream cheese, and for the bread I got raisin challah. Bottom line, it doesn’t really taste like carrot cake, no, but it’s its own good thing. Also works drizzled with honey.

Tomatillo, black bean and pork stew over quinoa

Stews are generally a yummy, hearty and cozy thing, but this one is serious “wow” material. Made with tomatillos, fresh plum tomatoes, dark beer, fresh squeezed oranges and a gazillion cloves of garlic, and slow cooked for two hours. I had never craved a pork stew until now.

Once again, found it in “The Week” (these guys know how to choose their recipes).

This wonderful person (“leisure guy”)  here wrote it online, so I don’t have to retype from my print copy 🙂 –>

https://leisureguy.wordpress.com/2015/11/01/pork-and-tomatillo-stew/

Baked Alaska Experiment

Playing around with the coveted Baked Alaska. Even though the merengue isn’t perfectly shaped – the taste was perfect indeed. I used a slice of vanilla pound cake as the base, a scoop of Ben and Jerry’s Half Baked ice cream, covered with Swiss Merengue, and torched it. The next phase of the experiment involves making my own base, and piping the merengue more carefully – i.e. not stream-of-consciousness-like 😉

Shortbread Maraschino & Chocolate Chip Cookies

Just what Doctor Love ordered for V-Day. This is a repeat recipe from Kevin Lynch​ and his glorious Closet Cooking site. Of course, my cookies come out a bit rough around the edges, but I dig the rustic look! Used maraschinos that didn’t have artificial red dye, and given that the cookie dough has only half a cup of sugar, I can conclude safely that these cookies are not only yummy but healthy.

http://www.closetcooking.com/2012/12/chocolate-and-maraschino-cherry.html?m=1

Pea, Edamame & Mint Falafels -> Pealafels

I promise, this beats regular falafel hands down! These patties are tender, flavorful, and the pan roasted spices (fennel & coriander) surely make a difference. Loads of garlic and shallots help the cause too.

Load your pita pockets with pealafels, red onion slices, fresh mint and lebneh, and rejoice (see what I did there? ’cause it is an Aarti Sequeira recipe).

Recipe from Food Network:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aarti-sequeira/fried-pea-and-mint-patty-sandwiches-pea-lafels-recipe.html

Samoa No-Bake Eclair

Yes, I admit, I love Samoa Girl Scout cookies. And I think this is a great spin-off. Tweaking the original recipe a bit and with good results – made my middle layer with Biscoff cookies (this was just because I didn’t have enough graham crackers), and used hazelnut chocolate spread as the topping, because I really didn’t like the idea of an icing with soooo  much powdered sugar, as the recipe suggested. Also, if you have time, making the pudding from scratch is totally worth it.

In Bulgaria we have a similar very popular cake – we call it “biscuit cake”, which is basically milk pudding over layers of biscuits, so this is the “kick it up a notch” version of that.

Here is the recipe from Chef In Training:

http://www.chef-in-training.com/2015/06/no-bake-samoa-eclair-cake/

Squash, Harissa & Feta Galette

Squash roasted with harissa is a mighty combination, except that it is insanely spicy. So I had to tame down the harissa I had with extra lemon juice, tomato paste, chopped red onions and garlic (and it still is a scorcher!)

This recipe for galette which calls for rye flour, is very hearty, so overall this experiment turned out quite well. If you are tempted to replace cilantro with thyme, like I was – it does work, but cilantro further cuts down the heat, so it is not a whimsical addition to the recipe.

http://www.wvgazettemail.com/article/20160128/GZ05/160129671

Originally found the recipe in The Week

Phyllo Dough Quiche with Asparagus, Bacon and Asiago Cheese

The only difference between this quiche and a classic one is the phyllo dough shell. It is made by pre-baking a crust consisting of buttered layered (and scrunched up) phyllo dough sheets. The filling has chopped asparagus, bacon bits, chopped onions, grated Asiago, 5 eggs, half a cup of milk, half of cup of heavy cream.

Goes well with creamy horseradish sauce, by the way.

Edamame, Shrimp, Rice Noodle Salad

Been going through an Asian theme in the kitchen. This salad is just a matter of assembly: edamame, steamed or sauteed shrimp, grated carrots, chopped cilantro, chopped green onion, sesame seeds, flash boiled and then cut cellophane noodles, and finally – a dressing of sesame oil, soy sauce, lime juice, rice vinegar, Agave syrup. Best consumed chilled.