curried cauliflower, quinoa, and arugula salad

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Vicky

i am so looking forward to this weekend! first of all, it’s a four day weekend for us. i don’t think i’ve taken a long weekend since the holidays in december. second of all, we’re going to new york, which is always a good time. third of all, i get to see some friends that i haven’t seen in a long time and some that i got to see just last weekend. and last but not least, we get to celebrate the wedding of my friends eric and maylien! oh how much i love weddings, especially the ones right before mine, because at each one i’m reminded of something i’ve forgotten.

anyways, you know what i wish i ate more of? cauliflower. no real wishing involved tonight, just cooking and eating. this salad is a full meal if you want it to be, or you can serve it as a first course. you can make it warm or totally cooled and it works. i prefer the warm version but i’m sure i’ll be eating the leftovers cold since the arugula is already mixed in, and i like the contrast in texture from the bitter crunchy arugula to the smooth cauliflower. nothing fancy, just tasty.

adapted from naturally ella.

makes 4-5 main dish servings, about 6-8 salad servings

1 cup quinoa, dry
2 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 head cauliflower, chopped
4 tablespoons curry powder
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup coconut milk
6-8 cups arugula

rinse quinoa under water for a couple of minutes. bring water to a boil in medium pot, add quinoa, and cover. cook for 15-20 minutes, until fully cooked through.

meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large pan or dutch oven. add onion and cook until translucent. add cauliflower and curry powder. mix well, then stir in broth and coconut milk. cook for 15-20 minutes, until cauliflower is soft and sauce has thickened. let cool for 10-15 minutes.

place arugula leaves on large platter. top with quinoa and then with cauliflower with sauce.

spaghetti squash with chicken, sun dried tomatoes, and basil

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Vicky

as you are all aware if you read my blog, i am a total amateur when it comes to photography with my new DSLR camera. i graduated from automatic mode just a week or so into having the camera by reading lots of websites and blogs about how to use the manual functions, but i was doing a lot of teaching myself. and while i’m sure my older sister can testify that i love being my own teacher (she used to try to play school with me, but i would not play the student), sometimes you need a little lesson from a professional. the camera company, the store i bought my camera from offers courses quite frequently, and it was about time to take advantage of them.

i had that total “ahhhh” moment during the class, and two of the issues i’ve been struggling with most with the DSLR now make perfect sense. i’m pretty pumped to be able to move past some of the beginner issues, and into more intermediate flaws. i hope you are too.

anyways, here we have another spaghetti squash dinner, which turned out exactly as i wanted it. i used chicken thighs with skin on, because i think the skin gives the right extra kick of flavor and texture, but if you want to cut some calories out of this meal, you can use skinless. i will not openly scoff at you.

note that some of these pictures were taken before the class. i can now explain to you how i would have taken them differently, but that’s neither here nor there.

recipe adapted from slim palate.

makes 2-3 servings

1 large spaghetti squash, seeded and quartered
2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
2 chicken thighs, skin on, sliced into 1 inch cubes
salt and pepper to taste
6-10 kalamata olives, chopped
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
6-8 large basil leaves, chopped

preheat oven to 400. rub 1 tablespoon olive oil on the quartered spaghetti squash. bake for 25 minutes. let cool for 5-10 minutes, then shred with a fork.

next, heat remaining olive oil in a large pan or dutch oven. add chicken, salt and pepper. saute until cooked through. add spaghetti squash, olives, and sun dried tomatoes. mix well, then remove from heat.

in a small bowl mix together mayonnaise and mustard. mix mayo into spaghetti squash mixture and top with basil.

eggplant wraps with sun dried tomatoes and pine nuts

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Vicky

i’ve made different versions of eggplant wraps before, usually treating the eggplant like manicotti, stuffing with ricotta and parmesan and herbs. when i found this recipe in the new york times i thought it was a really different use for eggplant wraps.

i originally was going to sub out the cheddar for goat cheese, but then figured i’d give the original recipe a try.

and i’m happy i did. the combination of the salty-sweet sun dried tomatoes, the crunchy pine nuts, and the smooth cheddar is really quite good.

this makes for a good light dinner, about 4-6 wraps per person, or for an appetizer for a large group.

adapted from the new york times.

makes 3-4 servings, about 18 wraps

1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large eggplants, halved lengthwise and cut into 8-10 long strips each
1 lb spinach, stems removed
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
5 tablespoons pine nuts
5 ounces aged irish cheddar, cut into thin slices
salt and pepper to taste

combine dried herbs and olive oil. heat olive oil, 1 tablespoon at a time, in a large pan. place eggplant slices, one layer at a time, in pan. cook for 1-2 minutes on each side. transfer to a plate. repeat with remaining eggplant slices. let cool.

next, steam spinach. pour about an inch of water into a large pot and set a colander on top so the bottom is just off the water. bring the water to a boil and fill colander with spinach, cover with lid and steam for 5-6 minutes, until spinach is wilted but has not lost its color.

preheat oven to 350. place eggplant slices, 1-2 at a time, on a baking dish. scoop a tablespoon of spinach on the fatter end. top with 1/2 a teaspoon of sun dried tomatoes, a couple pine nuts, and a slice or two or cheddar. fold eggplant over so filling is covered. repeat with remaining eggplant slices. bake for 15 minutes, until cheese is melted.

pork tenderloin with tomatillo sauce

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Vicky

our typical sunday tradition is to make dinner with our friends marty and anne and watch game of thrones. this weekend, since many man friends were in town for jason’s bachelor party, we had the honor of a guest as well – our friend sean.

and to top it all off, marty and anne moved to a new apartment this weekend, now only a five minute walk from us, as opposed to the previous place which was 35 minutes, so we’re pretty happy. i made the walk between our places six times this weekend. i believe this will be a trend.

for dinner last night, anne and i made pork tenderloin with a tomatillo sauce. we threw some rice, beans, greens and salsa on the table and let everyone choose their own adventure.

and after dinner and a five minute scare that the internet was not yet working at the new place, we were able to get the roku hard-wired to the internets, and game of thrones viewing began. sean hasn’t seen the show or read the books, so last night’s episode was particularly weird. i was trying to interject and give him some context, but man, it all sounds so crazy when you don’t know the full picture…

recipe adapted from the kitchen.

makes 4-6 servings

2 lbs tomatillos, husks removed
2 large jalapeños
1 large onion, cut into large wedges
6 garlic cloves
1/4 cup cilantro
juice from 1 lime
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt plus more to taste
1 teaspoon cumin
2 lbs pork tenderloin, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup light beer (Mexican beer preferably)
for serving: rice, beans, kale or other greens, flour or corn tortillas, cilantro, salsa, guacamole, or queso fresco

place tomatillos, jalapeños, onion wedges, and garlic on large baking dish. turn the broiler on high and broil until vegetables start to crisp, about 5-6 minutes. flip vegetables and repeat on other side. watch garlic and jalapeños as they will likely be done first. remove from oven and let cool.

once cooled, cut stems from jalapeños and seed if you want to reduce the heat. place broiled vegetables in a food processor and pulse until chunky. add cilantro, lime juice, and salt to taste. pulse a few more times.

next, mix together flour, 1 tablespoon salt, and cumin. and pork to bowl and mix well. heat vegetable oil in a dutch oven and place pork, one layer at a time, into dutch oven. brown on both sides, about 1-2 minutes a side, and transfer to a plate. add beer to dutch oven and deglaze. add pork back, pour tomatillo sauce over pork, and let simmer over medium heat for 15-20 minutes.

quinoa, red pepper, avocado, and cucumber salad

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Vicky

i love food like this, because looking at the ingredient list you know you cannot go wrong. there is zero chance. i made this for lunch today after spending the entire morning running errands. i was so hungry, i was worried i was going to pass out before the quinoa cooled off.

needless to say i crumbled and gave in before it was entirely cold, which was just fine.

now i realize quinoa is a carb (and i’m trying to avoid). but it’s not a naughty carb. so i make an exception. girls gotta eat, right?

recipe adapted from yoga journal.

makes 4-6 servings.

1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups water
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large shallot, chopped
1 jalapeño, cored and chopped
juice form 1/2 a lime
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium red pepper, coarsely chopped
1 cucumber, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 avocados, sliced into large chunks

rinse quinoa under running water for 2-3 minutes. in a medium pot, boil water. add quinoa and cover. cook for 10-15 minutes until quinoa is fully cooked. remove from heat, spread quinoa onto a large plate and let cool.

meanwhile, combine garlic, shallot, jalapeño, lime juice and olive oil in a small bowl. mix well and let it meld.

in a large bowl, combine red pepper, cucumber, and cilantro. once quinoa has cooled, add it to the bowl. add shallot mixture to quinoa and mix well. add in avocados. enjoy your fresh, delicious, and filling salad.

venison loin roast with horseradish cream and asparagus

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Vicky

it’s so lovely outside, we just went on an hour long walk through the neighborhood. it’s a funny thing, we almost always go towards downtown on our walks. take a walk around the capitol or down state street to the terrace. today we decided to go east, towards the tenney park neighborhood. and i think it’s the first time i’ve truly paid attention to the houses and shops and flowers in the area. there are so many old and wonderful houses here, i can’t believe i’ve never noticed. and the trees right now are in full bloom. just to really top it all off. it was a pleasant walk, can you tell?

a year ago today we were taking a very different walk, down the beach in ko phi phi, thailand, after a long dinner of grilled seafood and champagne and jason proposed to me. how’s that for a sentimental moment?

i’d take that view over anything, but i’ll settle for today in madison as well.

and while i probably should have made grilled seafood tonight to celebrate our one year ‘engagement’ anniversary, we had venison loin roast with a horseradish cream sauce and some asparagus on the side.

it was perfect, which i didn’t exactly expect, because cooking meat is not my specialty. especially such lean and gamey meat, but it didn’t turn out that way at all. it was the most tender cut of venison i’ve eaten to date, and i’ve eaten my fair share of venison (i think we’re 60% through the deer from this year).

horseradish cream recipe adapted from leite’s culinaria.

makes 2-3 servings.

3/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 lb venison loin
1 tablespoon meat tenderizer
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 lb asparagus, trimmed
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons grated horseradish
juice from 1/2 a lemon
3 tablespoons parsley, minced

combine soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, and garlic in a bowl that will fit the meat snuggly. add venison and marinade overnight.

half an hour before you start cooking, remove venison from fridge and bring to room temperature. preheat oven to 375. heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a cast iron pan. add venison and sear both sides, about 3-5 minutes a side. move cast iron pan into oven and bake for 20 minutes. if your venison loin is bigger, you will need more time, it’s about 20 minutes per pound in the oven.

meanwhile, make your asparagus. heat remaining olive oil in large pan. add asparagus, cook for about 6-8 minutes and then flip, cooking an addition 6-8 minutes. season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

remove venison from oven and let sit for at least 10 minutes. during this time, make the horseradish cream. combine sour cream, horseradish, lemon juice, and parsley in a small bowl. serve meat with sauce on top and asparagus on the side.

lemon artichoke chicken in a white wine sauce

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Vicky

it’s exactly one month until our wedding! and you want to know what that means? no carbs for a month! okay, not no carbs, but very little carbs.

i’m loving it, jason is cheating (well he’s not technically cheating because he never fully agreed to participate, but one of my gifts form this weekend was a loaf of white bread, so he is enjoying that). today’s meal unfortunately looked more exciting than it tasted. it tasted good, but not magnificent. i had higher expectations.

if i were to make it again i think i would cut the vegetables in large strips rather than chopping, and probably double the vegetable amounts, so make note.

adapted from cast iron skillet cookbook.

makes 3-4 servings

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb chicken thighs and legs
1 cup red pepper, chopped*
1 cup red onion, chopped*
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons lemon juice
12 green olives
2 cups cooked small artichoke hearts, halved
1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped

preheat oven to 375. heat olive oil in a large dutch oven. add chicken, browning on both sides for 4-5 minutes, until they have a nice color. remove from pot. add red pepper and onion with some salt and pepper. let cook for 5-6 minutes, then add white wine and lemon juice. scrape vegetables and remaining chicken bits form the bottom of the pan. add olives and artichoke hearts, mixing well. cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, then add chicken back in.

place entire pot in oven for 15 minutes. remove, make sure chicken is covered in the white wine sauce, and add in cheese and parsley. cook for an additional 10 minutes.

*as i mentioned, if i were to make this again, i’d cut the onion into wedges and the red pepper into strips, and double both.

sweet potato soup with za’atar oil and feta

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Vicky

i have the most amazing lady friends in the world. they threw me a pretty good party this weekend, usually known as a bachlorette party, but i refuse to use the term. they know me, and they know i love mimosas, so naturally we had a brunch crawl.

we started at sardine, one of my all time favorite madison brunch spots. they all brought me gifts that told a story from some point in our friendship, and i had to guess whose gift was whose. it was quite entertaining, and they really managed to dig up some old memories. i couldn’t stop laughing.

then we headed to the farmers market to get some hot spicy cheese bread form stella’s, one of my favorite bakeries. unfortunately we’d taken our sweet time and they had run out of the good stuff, but that’s okay, because DLUX had bottomless mimosas. and they weren’t messing around.

finally a stop at graze to enjoy the view and have some more serious story telling. all this before dinner at el dorado and a little (and i mean little, we were dead) dancing at merchant.

man, we really did it up (my style, i realize this isn’t everyone’s jam). but i loved it, and had so much fun, and was so thrilled to have my closest friends all together…it doesn’t happen often.

as you can imagine, i did not move off the couch for most of yesterday, with the exception of heating up some soup which i had the good foresight to make on friday, knowing there would be no way i’d want to cook on sunday. the soup itself, the sweet potato part, is mild and filling. but the za’atar oil and feta give it a really unique kick. i love it. and it lasts forever, so we’ll be snaking on it for the next couple of days.

recipe from food52.

makes 8 servings.

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 tablespoons za’atar
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion, chopped
1 leek, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
3 – 4 large sweet potatoes (about 2 1/2 to 3 lbs), peeled and chopped
6 cups water
2 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1/4 cup feta, crumbled

in a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and butter. add onion, leek, and carrot. cook for 4-5 minutes. add sweet potatoes and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. add water, chicken stock, bay leaf, and salt. bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. simmer for 30 minutes, until potatoes are soft.

meanwhile, make the za’atar oil. heat 1/4 cup olive oil and za’atar in a small pan. cook until sesame seeds start to pop, about 5 minutes. remove from heat and let infuse for remainder of cooking time.

once sweet potatoes are soft, remove bay leaf. use food processor or immersion blender to puree into a smooth consistency. adjust salt as needed, remembering that the feta will add some saltiness.

serve soup with a drizzle of the za’atar oil and a good hunk of feta on top.

moonstruck, an ode to my mother

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Vicky

i wasn’t able to celebrate mother’s day with my mom today, so instead, i decided to write a public ode to her. that’s how you do things in 2013, no?

i’ve written before how my mom is a fantastic cook and dinner party host. most of my culinary influence and desire to cook comes from her. that’s simple. but what other characteristics can i pull from my mother that have influenced me? well, let’s start with my deep rooted need for all things fancy. do you know there is a brand of dried peaches that’s called “extra fancy”? she buys it. and she deserves it. do you know she will not step on hotel room carpet barefooted? no, fancy women cannot walk on the same carpet as strangers. to torture her, we used to move her sandals just far enough from the bed that she couldn’t reach them with her toes. until she made us move them back. and as much as i like to laugh and tease her about this, i’m slowly developing many similar tastes. and by slowly i mean i’m mainly there (no dumpy hotels for me anymore).

my mom almost exclusively wears skirts and high heels, no matter the situation. i remember when she used to come to my dance team competitions in high school – the other mom’s would be decked out in bison poms t-shirts and ribbons, cheering loudly and giving us big smiles. my mom, sitting in the upper row, with knee length skirt and pumps would watch intently and clap when we were done. then when she met us afterwards would give an accurate critique of our performance, often citing that the team before or after us had a little tighter choreography. but when she was impressed and we really were the best, the compliment and praise was there, and i knew it had to be true.

my friend whitney’s favorite story about my mom was when she first met her at our college graduation party. she asked her “aren’t you so proud of vicky?” and my mom said “you see, russian parents have really high standards.” that’s my mother in one sentence. also, can you believe how little she has changed in 30 years:

on the less fortunate side, i’ve also inherited my mother’s irrational fears. you see, if she doesn’t see a facebook status from me for 24 hours, she assumes i’m dead, naturally. back in college it was the same with AIM statuses, so at least she keeps up with the times. i still call my mom every time i get off a plane so she knows i’ve landed. i’m almost 30, and i travel a lot. i judge her for this, but my sister and i have both admitted to each other that we’re on the same irrational path, so i’m trying to stop rolling my eyes and just give in to the constant check ins to make sure we’re all still breathing.

and then there are the things that you pick up from your mother that was never taught, never instilled in you, never consciously discussed. it’s the way she puts on cream or lotion on her face. it’s a three step process that i do exactly in the same methodical order: dip finger in cream, make dot on forehead then nose then chin then right cheek then left cheek, rub cream in a clockwise fashion from top to bottom. step four: stretch out neck and examine pores.

so that’s my ode to my mother, but let’s not forget about the breakfast. it’s something we call moonstruck but is more commonly known as ‘eggs in a basket.’ you see, we watched the 1987 film called moonstruck as a family sometime in the 90s and saw cher cut a hole in bread and fry an egg in it. what a novel idea. so we called it moonstruck and my mom made it frequently for breakfast, usually in a bagel rather than a piece of bread. and i still love it.

makes 1 serving

1/2 tablespoon butter
1 bagel
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste

melt butter on pan over medium heat. cut a thin layer off the top and bottom of the bagel. make the hole in the center of the bagel a little bigger, so a yolk can fit inside. place bagel in pan and coat with butter on both sides. crack egg directly in the middle of bagel. cook on one side for 2-3 minutes, flip carefully, and cook on the other side for an additional 2 minutes. salt and pepper to taste.

indian stir fried cabbage and shrimp

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Vicky

there is something so satisfying about a meal that comes together in 20 minutes, is really healthy, and has tons of spices meaning tons of flavor in it. i think i have a new found love for garam masala, which is a good thing, considering i bought a 1/2 pound bag of it (in the ethnic section of the grocery store they have spices in bulk which are double or triple the size and half or a third of the price of the spices in jars in the other part of the same grocery store…does that make any sense?).

last night, we made this meal with friends and then went and saw oblivion. for a sci-fi movie, which is not usually my favorite, i have to say it was alright. it was a little slow at times but they wrapped it up in the end, which i was worried about because it was all over the place at times. if you have nothing to do on a weekend night, it’s not a total waste of time. but it is by no means a cinematic masterpiece.

adapted from madhur jaffrey.

makes 4-5 servings

1 tablespoon butter
1 cup brown rice
1/4 vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
1 teaspoon sesame seed
1 large onion, sliced thinly
1 1/2 lb cabbage (about 1/2 a large head), shredded
1 teaspoon salt
1 lb raw shrimp, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
juice from 1/4 of a lemon
1/2 teaspoon garam masala

in a medium pot, melt butter. add rice and stir until coated. add 2 cups water and cook for 30-45 minutes, until tender.

meanwhile, heat vegetable oil in a large dutch oven. add in cumin, fennel, and sesame seeds. cook until sesame seeds start to pop. add in onion and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently. add in cabbage and mix well for 4-5 more minutes. add in salt, shrimp, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and garam masala and cook until shrimp is pink.

to plate, place cabbage and shrimp mixture over rice.