I tried to just take this as a compliment

Here are five recipes from around the internet that I’ve been making. Check them out!

1. Simple Asparagus Soup – The two things that I love about this soup are that it is truly simple to make and that the curry paste gives it a gently kick of heat which makes it light but also belly warming. And it’s very simple to make.
2. Rigatoni with Easy Vodka Sauce – We love a saucy rigatoni in vodka sauce, but I had never tried to make it at home before. True to its name, this recipe is easy. It’s also finger licking good. The double concentrated tomato paste is a must.
3. Crispy Shallot Spring Rolls with Seared Tofu – The light, rice paper wrapped rolls are a perfect appetizer or side for a dinner of red curry and rice, which is what we had. The crunch from the crispy shallots makes them that much more delightful.
4. Instant Pot Butter Chickpeas – This easy Indian recipe from one of my favorite Indian Instapot bloggers has been appearing on our dinner table at least once every two weeks. I opt for canned chickpeas instead of dried chickpeas (less planning required) which means you only need to pressure cook for 5 minutes instead of 35 minutes and can reduce the water by about half. I’ve also substituted paneer for the chickpeas and would try potatoes as well.
5. Spinach Lasagna – I made a vegetarian version of this Spinach and Beef Lasagna (I substituted crumbles for the beef). The layering instructions in this recipe result in light, thin layers of cheese, sauce and filling. The butter cubes on the top are a bit decadent but they did give it a really nice golden crusty top.

As a kid, I remember being really fascinated with how my Dad could take a big, sturdy purple eggplant and turn it into a silky, sweet yet savory and nutty vegetable. Sometimes this transformation involved roasting the eggplant in the oven and peeling off the purple skin. This revealed the eggplant’s slowly roasted, silky tendons.

I have to confess that to this day, when I go to the grocery store, if I see a good looking eggplant, I cannot resist putting it into my cart. And forget about it if it is Chinese Eggplant. Then I’m hauling way more of those home than we can eat (because they shrink when you cook them…so I need a lot).

I came home with two big sturdy Italian eggplants – one for a soup (cubed and crisped up and dunked into tomato soup) and one that I was going to roast for something Indian.

And then I read this Hungry Desi post from March 2010 about Eggplant Barbeque. Eggplant Barbeque was a frequent eggplant dish in our house and favorite of my Dad’s. When he told me the recipe by phone back in 2010, he also mentioned that it had been his dad’s favorite dish.

I never knew it was one of his father’s favorite foods until now.  Certain foods remind me of a place, a trip, a special occasion…but I’ve never had a food associated with such a significant memory – that of a loved one who is no longer with me.  It makes me wonder what my dad thought of each time he made Eggplant Barbeque for us.  Was he thinking about his father?  If so, he never let on.

I remembered a roasted eggplant yogurt that my Dad also used to make often. It’s simple – creamy, sweet, savory with little nuggets of crispy urad daal and mustard seeds. This was one of those eggplant dishes that my Dad made which mystified me. I mean how does a big, solid purple eggplant turn into this silky, smooth yogurt dip?

And so, of course, I used my haul of eggplant that day to make my Dad’s Roasted Eggplant Yogurt. I don’t remember him teaching me how to make it, but fortunately my Mom gave me a quick recipe.

This Roasted Eggplant Yogurt is mild, sweet and savory. It is served cool and pairs well with any other Indian curries or just mixed with rice and a side of Indian pickle.

I’d also serve it in a heartbeat with toasted crostini or pita as an appetizer. 
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I’m not sure if there’s a rule against re-posting old recipes. But I decided that in service of sharing delicious things to eat with you, I should repost my recipe for Skillet Potatoes in Mojo De Ajo (Garlic Oil) from 2009.

Mojo De Ajo means Garlic Oil but it also translates into Garlicky Tangy Oil That You Will Want to Lick From Your Fingers.

In case it’s still unclear, the magic of this recipe is in the Mojo De Ajo. Essentially, you cook a few cloves of minced garlic just until soft – not browned – in a 1/4 cup of olive oil. Then stir in lime juice and salt.

Then, you drizzle it on everything. Potatoes are a great start but broccoli works just as well. I could see putting it on tofu or even serving up some extra (This is crazy. There’s not going to be any extra. That is the whole point.) with a loaf of crusty bread to dip into it.

Find a vehicle for it. I have faith in you.

Skip straight to the recipe

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This combined with discovering the texture of roasted, cooked quinoa (spoiler alert: crunchy bits, soft fluffy bits, same nutty flavor) borders parent cooking nirvana.

Skip straight to the recipe

One reason I love folding quinoa into foods is that quinoa is a high source of protein, fiber and vitamins. Is it just me or does everyone find rice to be completely satisfying while it’s being shoveled it into your mouth but then afterwards you are left feeling bloat-y and slightly ashamed at having eaten too much rice? Well, quinoa leaves you feeling fuller than rice but in a good, not bloated kind of way. Not feeling bloated is an awesome way to feel. And no food shame either.

Surya’s response when she saw this coming out of the oven was “Wow. So cheesy and yummy looking.” She loves broccoli but if your little eaters don’t love it, this is a great way to make it more attractive. And if they do love broccoli, even better because this also gives them a serving of a superfood.

This recipe makes for great leftovers. I enjoyed it the next day topped with a fried egg over medium and of course a little dollop of harissa (aka chili paste for putting on everything).

I loosely modified this recipe from Cooking Classy’s One Pan Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Quinoa and Mark Bittman’s Roasted Quinoa with Potatoes and Cheese which is where I first learned about roasting quinoa.

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If you’re in need of a vegetarian Thanksgiving side, this is quick to make and can be made ahead and reheated in the oven. Quinoa is gluten-free so to make this fully gluten-free, substitute the cheese for nutritional yeast or vegan cheese. I’ve made a few different types of casseroles with vegan cheese before with really tasty results.

And of course, if you want to go in the other direction and make this even cheesier (no judgment), try a coarser shredded cheddar or full fat cheddar cheese.

We first had Spinach Chaat at Rasika Roi in Washington, DC. The first time we ate there, we were both dying to understand how you could batter and fry something as delicate as a spinach leaf. Spoiler alert – not only is it possible but it is also amazing.

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Rasika just came out with this cookbook, and while I haven’t bought it yet (but probably will soon!), I heard it has the recipe for their Spinach Chaat, which is their most popular dish.

I had already well established that stuffing puff pastry with delicious fillings only leads to more deliciousness when I started making puff pastry samosas. Then one Tuesday this past summer at about 4 p.m. I had a seismic realization. My daughter’s pre-school teachers were coming for a home visit. I would be expected to serve snacks. Of course I was expected to serve snacks. Helloooo. It’s like rule number 3 in Being a Gracious Host (Especially to your Child’s Future Teachers).

So at 4 p.m I established I was expected to serve snacks. For a 5:30 p.m. visit. I was still in Manhattan trying to leave work. Did I mention it was 4 p.m.? What to do? Option one was stop and buy something. I’m still not entirely sure why this option didn’t win. Option two was whip up something easy and yummy with Indian flavorings which highlighted my culinary abilities and our cultural background.

Why do I like to make life hard? I called my nanny who helps me keep it altogether and asked her to boil peas and potatoes and take the puff pastry out of the fridge. By the time I got home, the wheels were in motion for puff pasty samosas. Except that I had no time to roll out the triangles, pinching together the edges and painting each individual triangle with egg white wash.

So here’s what I did. I opened up the rectangle of puff pastry dough. I spooned a generous quantity of the potato and pea mixture slightly off center of the rectangle and then I rolled the left side over the mixture followed by the right. Then I brushed a little egg white on top and baked the whole thing. When it was finished, I sliced the whole loaf into 2-inch thick slices.

Success.

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I stood in my kitchen thinly slicing a bunch of radishes feeling slightly awestruck by their beauty. The hot pink skins and unblemished, creamy white interior. The way they sliced so thinly with little effort on my part. A pile of them collecting on my cutting board looking like little pieces of pretty paper. Like Chinese cherry lanterns. It’s thoughts like that and my mesmerization with the beauty of food that make me realize my relationship with food is a little off. But if you’re reading this blog, you’re probably in the same boat.

My cooking with pink radishes has been remarkably un-inspired until now. I’ve only either halved them and sprinkled with salt, pepper and chat masala as an Indian appetizer salad. Or I serve them whole with good butter and kosher salt. Both delicious ways to eat radishes but kind of boring. Then I saw this recipe for radish crostini from Erin at Fresh365.

You can find the recipe on Fresh365 but its basically rounds of bread topped with cream cheese, thinly sliced radishes, a sprinkle of chives, salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. After 2-3 minutes under the broiler, the cream cheese gets toasty and warm but the radishes remain crisp and spicy. And they are beautiful!

After years of (good natured) knocking on Jerz, I’ve been spending the last few weeks biking up and down the Jersey side of the Hudson River marveling at how beautiful it is here. Plus, Hoboken has a small town feel where people remember your name and you go to one store for fresh bread and another for a still warm twist of mutz. Our neighbors all know each other – in a nice, not creepy way – and some evenings, I take the ferry home from work leaving behind the busy city with wind in my hair and the wafting smell of the water around me.

In short, I love Jersey. What – was that my out loud voice? Yes, it’s true. I love Jersey – well, at least my little corner of it in Hoboken that I’ve been busy exploring.

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This past week had a first for me – I signed up for a CSA. I resisted for a long time because I had visions of seasonal vegetables languishing in my fridge. But we’ve been pretty good for the last few months about not letting our fresh veggies see too much of the inside of the crisper. This is largely because our wonderful nanny agreed to chop vegetables for me. It doesn’t sound like it would save much time but it really does. Once or twice a week, I ask her to wash and chop a variety of vegetables and when I get home from work it makes throwing together dinner in thirty minutes much easier.

Kale is one of those vegetables that never goes to waste in our house. Either I toss it into a pasta, crisp it into chips (which then get tossed on top of noodles) or mix it into a pot of lentils or soup. But until recently I had never had it raw. I thought it would be rubbery and bland – a stuck in my throat kind of experience. Then I had a raw kale salad at ABC Kitchen. Their kale salad was spicy and zingy and quite the opposite of a rubbery, bland, stuck in my throat kind of experience.

The amazing thing about the salad is that it was really simple but stuck clearly in my mind for the last few months begging to be re-created. The tender kale leaves are earthy and get a jolt from fresh mint and cilantro along with lemon and then a real kick from thin jalapeño matchsticks hiding in the leaves. Even Surya joined in on the raw kale noshing, which is a feat because recently she’s been outright rejecting anything green and leafy. I suspect it had a lot to do with the lemon.

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If you’re looking for dinner party menu inspiration, I served the kale salad with this savory, cheesy eggplant parmesan and creamy lemon spaghetti.

Puff pastry is an ingredient where no matter what you stuff in it will lead to delicious-ness. So go figure if you stuff it with spiced potatoes and peas, you end up with flaky, buttery, spicy delicious-ness. For Super Bowl Sunday, my friend Jason came over and we formed a samosa stuffing assembly line. Then we tried really hard to resist eating them all. Then Jason left to go home, and Rajat, Surya and I tried really hard to resist eating them all. We knocked back three or four, but no one was the wiser.

Puff Pastry Samosas (makes about 30)

I looked at a few different recipes and then winged this, tasting the potato and pea mixture before we spooned it onto the rolled out puff pastry. Here’s a no recipe, recipe – I ended up with lots of extra filling which we used in a few different ways and I also did a lot of tasting and adjusting before stuffing the samosas. The chat masala at the end is optional, but if you have it, it adds a little tang which will have people licking their fingers after they eat the samosas. Always a nice outcome.

Ingredients:
2 packs of frozen puff pastry
4 potatoes, boiled and cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
Coriander Mint Chutney
1 egg
Chat masala (0ptional)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Set the puff pastry on the counter so it can thaw.

2. In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon of oil. Add cumin seeds and cook until they sizzle. Add peas and cook covered for about 8-10 minutes until peas are softened. Stir in the potatoes and cook another 5-10 minutes. Stir in ~2 tablespoons of coriander/mint chutney. Add salt to taste. Taste the mixture for spice and salt.

3. Whisk an egg with a pinch of salt.

4. Cut the puff pastry along the seams into 4 rectangles. Place one rectangle on a floured surface and roll out slightly with a rolling pin. Cut into equal sized squares. Spoon about a teaspoon of the filling into the center of each square.  Rub two sides with the egg mixture and fold over to form a triangle. Use a fork to score the edges. Brush a little egg on top before baking.

5. Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until golden on a greased cookie tray. Sprinkle with chat masala as soon as they come out of the oven. Serve with the coriander/mint chutney and ketchup.

We made these ahead of time, layered them unbaked in tupperware separating the layers with parchment paper and froze them. The first batch reheated okay, but we thought the fresh from the oven batches were better.