Love the ingredients, not the food.

A Taste Of London

Written on June 16, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Restaurant Review

For the last 5 days I’ve been on vacation in London. I’ve wanted to go to London for years now and it was everything I hoped it would be; the sights were incredible. The food, however, was very hit or miss. To be fair, I wasn’t going to London for the food, and most of the meals my group ate were in between famous landmarks. Food just wasn’t our priority.

Some of the meals were impressively bad; those ones I didn’t bother taking a picture of. English food doesn’t have the best reputation and when you’re limited to gluten-free, vegetarian(ish) options it’s even harder to find something edible and delicious. Salt was missing from practically every meal; and if I never see a plate of french fries again in my life I’ll be OK with that. So instead I’ll just point out the highlight meals.

My favorite restaurant experience was at Manna on Primrose Hill. This was actually the only restaurant that I knew I wanted to eat at before going to it. It’s a small vegan restaurant with lots of gluten-free options. I immediately went for the enchiladas, made with corn tortillas, beans, sweet potatoes, pumpkin seed puree and baked in a tomato sauce. It wasn’t outstanding, but I liked it and would definitely order it again.

I just had to order their onion rings as a side, because how often do you see vegan, gluten-free onion rings? I’m guessing the batter is rice flour and soy milk. It was impressively crispy and not oily at all. The only problem I had was that it lacked season; a little more salt would have gone a long way.

Another night we had Indian food near Swiss Cottage. Indian food is all over London; it’s practically the cuisine London is known for. Since so much of English food is only lightly seasoned, it’s easy to understand why the spicy punch of Indian food is so popular.

I ordered the house’s chana masala and a dish called veggie veggie 5 with 5 different vegetables sautéed in spices. The masala was good but again not outstanding. The vegetable dish had a great heat to it and was refreshing. I could have eaten Indian every day in London since this is the sort of food I’m naturally drawn to.

I have to give honorable mention to the food court at London Tower, which surprisingly had a great menu. Their sesame carrot salad had just the right amount of dressing and was one of the few times a restaurant made a meal out of vegetables. The bean salad was also very delicious. The restaurant even had a gluten-free brownie which looked dense and gooey but I was so excited to have a plate full of vegetables that dessert wasn’t even on my mind at that meal—weird, I know.

I would recommend London for the culture, the friendly people, the historical sites and terrific museums. I would not recommend it for a foodie vacation. Tomorrow I’ll post about London’s redeeming quality: Their desserts.

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Simple Fruit Sauce For Pancakes

Written on June 15, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Breakfast, Miscellaneous

Have you tried these pancakes yet? I eat them probably 3 times a week for breakfast. If that’s wrong I don’t want to be right.

The thing is, they’re healthy, too. On account of the garbanzo bean flour and egg they have 10g of fiber and 18g of protein. Add a little something sweet and that’s a breakfast.

This fruit syrup is simple—no fuss—and only has a touch of honey for sweetness making it plenty healthy, too. So go ahead, pour it on, and pass it over.

Simple Fruit Syrup

Ingredients:

8oz fresh or frozen fruit(try strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, even mango!)
1 Tablespoon honey
1/8 teaspoon salt

Cook the fruit in a small pot over a low heat until tender enough that a fork easily glides through.

Mash the fruit until smooth and jelly-like. Alternatively, you could puree the fruit in a food processor or blender for an even smoother puree.

Stir in the honey and salt.

Pour into a serving container and serve. Refrigerate leftover sauce for 2-3 days.

You could eat this on pancakes, ice cream, toast—anything! I like the sauce thicker so you get whole chunks of fruit in every bite. It thickens up as it cools to be more like jelly, so you might want to heat it up depending on how you’re using it. It would taste great warm on ice cream, though I think that goes without saying.

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Grilled Eggs

Written on June 14, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

Stop the presses. Two of my favorite things have come together for something amazing this Summer, and I’m not talking about NKOTBSB.

I was thinking about these for a while—how I’d cook them, how’d they come out, would it actually work, etc. They took a lot longer to cook than I anticipated(about 30 minutes, definitely not the most efficient way to cook eggs), but flavorwise tasted delicious with the charred pepper. It’s definitely a novelty dish; serve “grilled eggs” at your next outdoor party and expect a great reaction.

Grilled Eggs

Ingredients:

2 large bell peppers, top halves removed
4 medium eggs
1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Brush the bottom of the peppers with olive oil.

Crack 2 eggs into each pepper half.

Heat a grill up to 400 degrees. Carefully place the peppers on the grill and close the lid.

Cook the eggs for about 25-30 minutes until the white on top has completely cooked. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm.

A little salt and pepper on the eggs brings out all the right flavors. The yolks are fully cooked and not runny, yet even though I don’t like hardboiled eggs these I didn’t mind. These would be perfect slathered in barbeque sauce.

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Thick Tomato Sauce With A Secret

Written on June 13, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Miscellaneous

“Secret secrets are no fun, secret secrets hurt someone”

Secrets are never good. Someone always ends up crying alone on the swing set during recess. But enough about my childhood. This sauce has a secret: It’s actually healthy for you, and it’s healthy because there’s an extra serving of vegetables in it. You’d never guess from tasting it, but cauliflower—not cream—is what makes this sauce so thick. I won’t tell if you won’t tell.

Cauliflower Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup steamed cauliflower OR 1 cup raw cauliflower, steamed
3 Tablespoons white vinegar
2 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons fresh chopped basil

If you’re working with raw cauliflower to begin with, chop it up and steam it until it’s soft and reduced to about half of its size.

Combine the tomato sauce, cauliflower, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar in a food processor and process until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the processor as needed to make sure no clumps remain.

Fold in the fresh basil. Toss with pasta and season to taste.

Another secret: I don’t like pasta, so I took one taste and gave this away before making myself another dinner. But I could have drank the sauce, and pasta is nothing without sauce.

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MyPlate: One Plate Does Not Fit All

Written on June 11, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Miscellaneous

Last week the USDA updated their old, out of date food pyramid with a new plate. I don’t remember what the old pyramid looked like to be honest except for that it had pictures of bread and pasta at the bottom and chocolate and candy and everything good in the world at the top. I wasn’t a fan of the old one, so I was happy they changed the look. I wasn’t sure what I thought about it at first, but then I saw this:

That’s just sad.

I’m not saying I don’t have meals at times that look disgusting, like a child just threw things together in his plate and started playing with his food. And I’m definitely not saying I haven’t eaten meals standing up in front of an open refrigerator door. But there’s no way that that’s MyPlate.

Let’s pick apart what’s wrong with that image from a foodie and a food blogger’s perspective, shall we?

The light is only coming from one angle which creates unwanted dramatic shadows.
Food always looks better on white, neutral plates, or at least plates that aren’t segmented and multicolor.
Fresh food photographs better.
I’m not even sure what that pink thing is; it could be a giant Band-Aid for all I can tell.
I don’t think that dairy or grains are absolutely essential to any diets. While most people can digest them perfectly fine, there’s no reason they need to be there as opposed to other food groups such as beans and nuts.

So, since one plate clearly doesn’t fit all, I made my own that’s more accurately suited for me:

At first I made this as a joke.

And then I realized I’m actually just a parody of myself for eating things like this,

June 2nd 009

and this,

and definitely this

January 30th 047

all. the. time.

But that’s OK, because those are my plates and they work for me.

What are your thoughts on the new plate system? What would your plate look like?

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How To Grill Onions

Written on June 10, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in How To

People are like onions: They taste great when they’re peeled and cooked.

Or maybe it’s something about both having layers? I forget. It doesn’t matter.

Onions are one of life’s little pleasures. They make you cry and taste awful when they’re raw, but when they’re cooked—Oh, it’s another story. During the colder months I’ll always caramelize onions to give them flavor but when the sun’s out and the grill’s hot it’s a shame not to grill them. Grilled onions have a sweet flavor and a crunchy texture that goes great with just about anything.

How To Grill Onions

Ingredients:

Onions, preferably short and stout ones like Vidalia
A grill
Spray oil

On a cutting board, start by cutting off the ends of the onions and peeling the outer flaky layers.

Turn the onions on their sides and with a sharp knife slice rings about 1/2 an inch thick.

Spray a grill with oil and turn it on to preheat. Once heated, lay the onions out and cook for 4-6 minutes on each side until there are noticeable grill marks. Remove from the grill and serve hot as a side or burger topping.

I ~~could~~ do eat these plain on salads with broccoli, chickpeas, and tomato-tahini dressing. A little coarse sea salt really brings out the sweet onion flavor.

Grilling anything fun this weekend?

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Tomato-Tahini Dressing

Written on June 9, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Miscellaneous

I think something’s wrong. I’ve virtually stopped wanting all kinds of potatoes and instead I’m craving fresh produce and vibrant flavors. What has gotten into me? This Summer thing has got to stop. My favorite “foods” right now are tomatoes and fresh herbs, if you can even call things you don’t have to cook for an hour food. They just taste so good when they’re this fresh. This dressing is thick and hearty and brings a Summer salad together.

Tomato-Tahini Dressing

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons tahini
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
2 Tablespoons white vinegar
1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon fresh chopped basil

This recipe uses tahini for the body which is a paste made out of sesame seeds. It can be found at most grocery stores either near the peanut butter or in the ethnic section along with other Middle-Eastern ingredients.

Add all of the ingredients together.

Mix all of the ingredients together until smooth and silky. If the dressing is too thick, add water by the teaspoon until reaching the right consistency.

The fresh basil makes a huge difference in flavor and helps to brighten the greens up. You can adjust the sugar and salt for how much of the tahini you want to taste. It’s strong bitter flavor can be a bit much for me on its own but tastes great paired with these other flavors.

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Eggs Poached In Tomato Sauce

Written on June 8, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

Apparently I get my love of cooking from my great grandmother. I say apparently because I never really knew her when she was active; I only ever heard stories of her cooking from my mother. And my grandmother never cooked; she comes over to my house and asks for freshly baked cookies. Is it just me or is there something wrong there?

From what I hear, my great grandmother was a great cook. She made her pasta, tomato sauce, and everything else by hand. A few nights ago my mom mentioned how she poached eggs in tomato sauce, and as soon as I heard that I knew I had to try it. Turns out it’s not so difficult and makes for some of the best tasting eggs I’ve ever had. I’ve already made this twice because I didn’t bother taking photos the first time. How could I mind having to eat this again?

Eggs Poached In Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

2/3 cup your favorite marinara sauce
2 eggs

For this recipe, I used Trader Joe’s marinara sauce. You can make your own if you’re feeling ambitious, but this is a great tasting brand that’s cheap, too.

Bring the tomato sauce to a slight boil in a pan. Adjust the heat so that it’s boiling but not spattering over the sides.

Carefully crack the eggs into the sauce, making sure not to break the yolks.

Cover the pan with a fitted lid. Poaching the eggs this way takes slightly longer than normally. Leave them undisturbed keeping an eye on them.

The eggs will be done as soon as the albumen over the yolk turns white. Take the pan off the heat and plate and serve hot.

I served mine over a stack of savory Italian socca pancakes which soaked up the sauce and the yolks perfectly. Cooking the eggs this way added all the flavors of the sauce into them; regular poached eggs just can’t compare.

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Peach-Almond Yogurt Dip

Written on June 7, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Snack

I love recipes that lend themselves to endless variations. Example: Fruity Peanut Yogurt Dip. Even though it’s just 3 ingredients, with those you can make countless combinations that taste completely different.

Peach and almond is one of my favorite flavor combination, so this was a no-brainer. I used an almond milk yogurt for my base but you can use any peach yogurt and it will come out just as delicious. Try Greek yogurt for a protein-packed punch.

Peach-Almond Yogurt Dip

Ingredients:

1/2 cup smooth almond butter(preferably unsalted)
1/2 cup peach yogurt(Greek, non-fat, soy, almond—any will do)
1/4 cup powdered sugar

In a small bowl, mix together the yogurt and almond butter. If you’re using a fruit on the bottom yogurt, make sure to stir it first so that the fruit is all through the yogurt.

Sift in the powdered sugar and beat until no lumps remain. Scoop the dip into a serving bowl.

Cut up fruits and vegetables for dipping and serve. Keep leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

I was really happy with how this tasted. Neither the peach nor the almond stood out over the other; instead it was a perfect blend of flavors. Can you really get better than peaches and almond butter in the Summer time?

Peaches: Healthy. Almonds: Healthy. Yogurt: Healthy. Peach-almond yogurt dip: Triple healthy, so dip away.

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Black Bean And Kale Tacos

Written on June 6, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

If cooking has taught me anything, it’s how to cover up mistakes. That’s my favorite part of cooking as opposed to baking: It’s never too late to fix things. I wanted to make a black bean and tempeh taco filling until I realized the tempeh I bought had barley and rye in it which I’m severely allergic to, so that was a no-go.

The second mistake that day was the chickpea flour “grits” you see in the top left of that plate. That’s what you get when you mean to make a tortilla but the batter’s too thin and never comes together. It actually wasn’t bad with a little seasoning and would have been even better with some shredded cheese or Daiya. See? Never too late to fix things.

So even if this wasn’t what I intended to make at all when I started cooking that day, it still tasted incredible. And isn’t that what matters? Oh, that and looks. Looks always matter.

Spicy Cocoa Black Beans With Kale

Ingredients(Makes 2 servings):

1 can black beans, drained
1 cup kale, chopped
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons taco seasoning
1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine the black beans and kale in a pan over medium heat with the oil already heated. Cover the pan for 2 minutes until the kale has steamed and changed into a deeper green color.

Remove the cover and season with the taco seasoning, cocoa powder, and cinnamon.

Serve hot into a tortilla wrap, taco shell, with rice or all by itself. Use a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt to mellow the spice if necessary.

I really like this, mistake or not. And that grits I could eat again and again with enough cheese on top. So don’t be afraid to make mistakes because you just might knock one out of the park anyway.

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