This school year I’m doing something different. For the first time, I’m completely off of meal plan. That means I’m making every meal for myself, 3(who am I kidding? 5) times a day.

I did enjoy dropping into the cafeteria and piling up options from the salad bar from time to time, or bumping into friends to have dinner with. But this undoubtedly feels better for me. I feel comfortable grocery shopping and making meals for myself, even if half of those meals are made in a microwave and completely unphotogenic. And it’s still easy to eat meals with friends, just at different places.

There are times, however, when it’s inconvenient. Tuesday and Thursdays I have class all day. There’s simply no time to cook. Because of that, I usually make meals like this frittata the day before to heat up and serve when I’m in a rush—a much better option than fast food. While a traditional frittata is baked, this one is made entirely on the stovetop; it’s for no reason other than I hate moving things around, and this is easy enough that anyone can do it. . 

Stovetop Kale And Mushroom Frittata

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 3 or 4 servings):

• 12 medium eggs
• 3/4 cup mushrooms
• 1/2 an onion, diced
• 2 Tablespoons oil
• 1 cup chopped kale
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. In a large bowl, crack and beat the eggs. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a 9 or 10-inch frying pan with a lid over medium heat. Sauté the onions and mushrooms until both are cooked. Remove these from the pan briefly.
3. Put the pan back on the stove and pour in the beaten eggs. After 10 seconds or so, evenly distribute the mushrooms and onions throughout the batter.
4. Gently press the kale on top into the raw egg and put the lid on the pan.
5. Leave the frittata on the stove for 10 or 15 minutes undisturbed as it cooks. It will be ready when the egg in the center of the pan has set.
6. When cooked, remove the pan from the stove and gently jiggle it to unstick the frittata from the bottom. Move to a plate to cut and serve.

I get about 3 meals out of one pan. Frittatas are great because they work for any meal of the day. I’d happily eat this for all 3.

I didn’t learn to eat with chopsticks until 10th grade. I ate plenty of Asian food before then, but it was usually takeout eaten at home with forks and spoons. If I did use the chopsticks, it was to poke a dumpling from the side and cautiously try to dip it into duck sauce without it falling off.

But then, in 10th grade, a magical thing happened: A Panda Express opened up in the Comm. Ave cafeteria where I ate lunch. I could have Panda Express Every. Day. Let’s ignore how unhealthy that must have been for me—their orange chicken was sensational. It was great enough to motivate me to learn to use chopsticks. 

This is one skill I hold dear to my heart. While I don’t always post it, I love working with Asian ingredients to make flavorful, often unphotogenic meals. You can’t go wrong if you keep adding soy sauce, vinegar, and honey with a little spice. My favorite dish is Pad Thai, but like orange chicken, the original is probably not something you should eat every day. But now you can.

This recipe uses vegetables in place of the noodles to cut down on refined grains and carbs and boost the vegetable servings. Trust me when I say you won’t miss them. The sauce has an extra protein punch from peanut flour, which is higher in protein and lower in fat than peanut butter, which also works well in this recipe in a pinch. I use eggs which are my favorite protein to make this a filling meal but you can swap in cubed tofu to make this a vegan dish. The result is filling and just as delicious as the original. If you don’t know how to use chopsticks yet, let this be a reason to learn.

Protein-Packed Mock Thai

Ingredients(Makes 2 small portions or 1 large):

• 1 zucchini, peeled into shreds
• 1 carrot, peeled into shreds
• 1/2 cup bean sprouts
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup partially defatted peanut flour*
• 2 Tablespoons tamarind paste**
• 1/2 Tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce(or wheat-free tamari)
• 1/2 Tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• ~2 Tablespoons water to thin

*If unavailable, swap for 2 tablespoons peanut butter and omit the water.

**This is the signature flavor of Pad Thai. The best substitute is brown sugar, though the flavor won’t be as complex.

Heat a pan to medium and add in the zucchini and carrot noodles and bean sprouts. Sauté for a few minutes until cooked and softened.

Crack in the eggs and toss the vegetables with them. Continue sautéing until the eggs have completely cooked.

Turn off the heat, pour in the sauce, and toss it together with the noodles until completely mixed. Scoop into bowls for serving.

Garnish with salted peanuts and Thai basil leaves.

Dig in.

What’s your favorite dish to order at a Chinese/Japanese/Thai restaurant?

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.

I’ve had an unopened bag of chickpea flour in my pantry for 4 months.

That’s 4 months too long.

After seeing socca on Anna and Serena’s blogs recently, it was about time that I try out socca pancakes. These were so flavorful, and so easy, too. It really was just like making any old pancakes. I might have burned myself trying to pick the fried batter off the bottom of the pan; it was worth it. When(not if) I make this again, I’d use a jarred marinara sauce, but since I didn’t have any I threw that together, too, and threw in the recipe. Top with a fried egg for something truly amazing. 

Savory Italian-Style Socca Pancakes

Ingredients(Makes 1 serving):

For the pancakes,

• 1/2 cup chickpea flour
• 1/2 cup water
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
• olive oil for cooking

For the sauce*,

• 1/2 cup diced tomatoes, mostly drained of water
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

*You could also just use 1/2 cup of your favorite store-bought marinara sauce.

To make the pancakes, whisk together the flour, water, salt, and herb seasoning until there are no clumps in the batter.

Heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add half of the batter to the pan to cook. Once the sides have darkened and the bottom has cooked, flip the pancake once to cook the top batter. Move to a plate and cook the other half of the batter.

To make the sauce, mix together all of the ingredients.

Assemble by spreading half of the sauce over the first pancake and layering it with the second. Scoop remaining sauce generously over the top and season to taste.

Socca to me.

I’ve said that about 60 times by now. I still think it’s funny.