Tostadas

This is the recipe I make most often when Kiran's friends come over for dinner. It's easy, and very customizable so everyone can make their plates how they like. 

Tostadas

 

Ingredients:

-- 1 package tostadas (I get mine from the mexican store Fresh is Best on Broadway)

-- 1 can black beans or pinto beans

-- 1/2 clove garlic

-- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

-- 1/4 teaspoon cumin

-- shredded extra old cheddar cheese, or other cheese of choice

Toppings: 

-- diced tomato

-- shredded lettuce

-- sour cream

-- extra cheese 

-- salt and pepper

-- Any other toppings you like? But kids generally only like the above toppings, I have found. Adults like salsa or other spicy sauce. Meat eaters typically enjoy adding shredded chicken but it's not absolutely necessary.

Instructions:

-- Preheat oven to 400 degrees

-- Make your "refried" beans by blending the beans together with the garlic, oregano, and cumin. Taste and make sure they taste good, add salt if necessary. 

-- Sometimes I microwave the beans to make sure they will be hot before the next step. I'm not really sure if that is necessary.

-- Put 4-5 tostadas on a baking sheet. Ask everyone if they want beans and cheese, or just beans, or just cheese. Add a thin layer of beans and a regular layer of shredded cheese on each tostada, as desired. You would add the shredded chicken at this point if you are having that.

-- Bake the tostadas in the oven for a few minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. 

-- Put each tostada on a plate and have each person add the toppings they like, including salt and pepper for the vegetables. 

-- Enjoy!

Vegetarian tofu rice paper dumplings

 These are really good and not as difficult to make as they seem. 

Vegetarian tofu rice paper dumplings

(makes 9 dumplings, not quite a dinner amount for 4) 

From Tiktok:

Ingredients:

 SAUCE:

- 4 T. soy sauce

- 1.5 T. rice vinegar

- 1 t. sesame oil

- 1 clove garlic, grated

- 1 t. ginger, grated 

- 2 scallions or green onions, sliced

- sesame seeds

- add sirraccha or chili flakes if you want it spicy

 

DUMPLINGS

- 1/2 block firm tofu, shredded

- 1 large carrot, peeled and shredded

- 1/4 head cabbage, sliced thin and chopped into lengths or shredded (these measures approx -- try to get roughly even amounts of tofu, carrot and cabbage)

- 1 garlic clove, minced

- 18 rice papers 

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Mix  sauce ingredients together in a bowl

2. fry veggies up in a pan with a little oil until cooked down. Near the end, add in some of the sauce to taste and cook it down -- I think I ended up adding 5 teaspoons or so? 

3. dip rice paper wrappers in warm water, put 1 heaping tablespoon of filling in the center of each one and fold over the edges: bottom, top, left, right. Then dip one more rice paper wrapper and wrap it again, making sure the folds are on the opposite side. 

4. In your frying pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add your dumplings and fry until crisp. serve with more of the dipping sauce to dip into.

vegetarian bolognese

This turned out really well! I like that it used lots of vegetables and had a similar texture to it as real bolognese. Mincing them using the mini food processor saves a lot of time and helps the texture turn out so nicely. IMO This is better than the other veggie bolognese recipe on here. Serve with garlic bread, of course

Best Vegetarian Bolognese Sauce

adapted from Build Your Bite

Ingredients:

• 7 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms, rinsed and patted dry
• 2 celery stalks, ends cut off and cut into 3 pieces each
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 3 sections each
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1 medium onion, quartered
• 1 28 oz can of tomatoes, any kind you like
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon sugar (if desired)
  
• 1 lb Spaghetti, for serving

Instructions: 

1. Add baby bella mushrooms to a food processor and either pulse or shred, until minced
2. Transfer mushrooms to a large skillet or dutch oven
3. Add celery chunks, carrot chunks, garlic cloves, and onion pieces to the food processor and pulse/shred
4. Add the celery/carrot/garlic/onion mixture to the mushrooms in the pan
5. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper to the vegetables
6. Turn the burner on medium high heat and sautee vegetables for 25-30 minutes, stirring often, until vegetables cook down and most of the liquid evaporates
7. Puree canned tomatoes in the food processor until smooth
8. Add the pureed tomatoes to the vegetables along with the basil, oregano, and sugar
9. simmer sauce 10 minutes or so until it seems done.
   
10. Taste and add any seasonings if necessary (if it tastes too acidic, add a little more sugar as necessary)
11. Heat until hot throughout, then serve
12. Serve over spaghetti and topped with parmesan cheese, if desired

 I got this recipe from Stephanie and it is the best I have ever made! So I am saving it here. 

Kittencal's Buttery Cut-Out Sugar Cookies W/ Icing That Hardens

from food.com

 
 

Ingredients

COOKIES

• 1 cup butter, softened (no substitutes)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon vanilla
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon almond extract
• 3 ¹⁄₄ cups all-purpose flour
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon baking soda
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon baking powder
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt 

   

  FROSTING
•  2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (the sugar must be sifted)
• 1 tablespoon milk (adding in more if needed for proper spreading consistency)
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• ¹⁄₄ teaspoon almond extract (can use 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in place of the almond)
• food coloring (use your choice of colours)

   

   

  DIRECTIONS

  
  

  1. For cookies; in a large bowl combine butter with sugar, eggs, vanilla and almond extract; beat using an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy.
  2. In another bowl combine the flour with baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually stir into the butter mixture until well blended.
  3. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.
  4. Set oven to 400°F.
  5. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper (do not grease cookie sheets use parchment paper only).
  6. On a very lightly floured surface roll out the dough into about 1/4-inch thickness.
  7. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters.
  8. Place cookies 2-inches apart on cookie sheet.
  9. Bake 4-6 minutes.
  10. Remove cookies to wire racks to cool completely before icing.
  11. For the frosting; in a small bowl mix the confectioners sugar with milk (start with 1-2 tablespoons, you will likely need more milk for the perfect spreading consistency).
  12. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until the icing is smooth and glossy (if the icing is too thick add in a small amount more of corn syrup).
  13. Divide into as many separate bowls as you wish for different colours.
  14. Add in food coloring until desired intensity is achieved.
  15. Paint the icing over the cookies using a brush, or dip edges of cookies into icing.
  16. Allow to set on waxed paper.

   

   

   

   

   
  

 

Homemade chocolate pudding

I love chocolate pudding but I didn't realize it was so easy to make and made out of stuff I always have. Like homemade brownies, this recipe is dangerous!!

Chocolate Pudding

From Spend with Pennies

Ingredients

• 1 ⅓ cup sugar
• ⅔ cup cocoa
• ⅓ cup cornstarch
• pinch of salt
• 4 ½ cups milk
• 3-4 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

• In a saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and cornstarch. Mix well. Add in cold milk, whisk until combined. 
• Increase heat to medium, stirring constantly until mixture reaches a boil.
• Allow mixture to boil for 1 minute while stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.
• Allow mixture to cool completely, stirring occasionally to avoid a skin forming on the pudding. 
• Serve chilled or warm.

Notes

Note: Place a plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding while it cools to avoid a skin from forming.

Birthday Cake

 I have made this cake several times and each time I make the frosting as written, which is WAY TOO SWEET. I am blogging it here so I can try something different next time. OR it would be even better to try a different kind of buttercream entirely.

Classic Birthday Cake

from livforcake

Ingredients

Yellow Cake:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs room temperature
• 2 tsp clear vanilla extract (apparently this makes the cake taste more like box mix, I use regular vanilla and it is fine)
  
• 1 cup whole milk room temperature

Chocolate Frosting:

• 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar sifted
• 1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder sifted
• 3oz good quality semi-sweet chocolate chopped, melted, cooled

Instructions

Vanilla Cake:

• Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour two 8" cake rounds and line with parchment.
• In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
• Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on med-high until pale and fluffy (approx 3mins). Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time fully incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla.
• Alternate adding flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with flour (3 additions of flour and 2 of milk). Fully incorporating after each addition.
• Bake for 35-40mins or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. (for 9 inch rounds, it took approx. 25-30 mins to bake)
  
• Place cakes on wire rack to cool for 10mins then turn out onto wire rack.

Chocolate Frosting

• In a large bowl, whisk sifted powdered sugar and cocoa powder to combine. Set aside.
• Beat butter until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating well between each addition. Beat until smooth (approx 5mins).
• Add in cooled melted chocolate and beat until combined.

Assembly:

• Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Top with approximately 1 cup of buttercream. Repeat with remaining layer and crumb coat the cake. Chill for 20mins.
• Frost the top and sides of the cake in a rustic manner using an offset spatula.
• Decorate the top with sprinkles and decorative flags if desired.

Overnight cinnamon buns

Making homemade cinnamon buns from scratch is way easier than I thought it would be, although it does take a lot of passive time for the dough to rise, etc. Prepping these buns the night before so you can have them in the morning is genius.

Here is the recipe:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/overnight-cinnamon-rolls-recipe-2014250

A few notes:

-- Make sure to dissolve the yeast in a little water before adding to the dough.
-- I didn't use the final 3/4 cup of flour at all.
-- I added 1/2 cup (maybe 3/4 cup?) of chopped walnuts to the brown sugar mixture and it was great! 
-- Don't dump all the frosting on the buns, just drizzle a little and serve the rest on the side since they are quite sweet!
-- Make sure the buns are in the middle of the oven when you cook them, mine were too close to the top and the top of the buns got a little too brown

Alton Brown's Blueberry Buckle

I saw a post that said this recipe was Alton Brown's best recipe ever. As a lover of superlatives, I had to try it. Everyone here raved about it! I might even try buying cake flour to try that with it next time! This time I used 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour and 1/4 cornstarch mixed together as a substitute and it came out well.

Blueberry Buckle

From Alton Brown

FOR THE TOPPING

• 3 1/2 ounces sugar
• 1 1/2 ounces cake flour
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (cubed and chilled)

FOR THE CAKE

• 9 ounces cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (left at room temperature for 30 minutes (or until instant-read thermometer stuck into the middle reads about 60 degrees F))
• 5 1/4 ounces sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 15 ounces fresh blueberries

MAKE THE TOPPING

1. Combine the sugar, flour and nutmeg in a small bowl then work in the butter, using a fork to combine. Keep “forking” until the mixture has a crumb-like texture. Set aside. (Note: If you have a pastry cutter, now’s the time to use it.)

MAKE THE CAKE

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch square GLASS baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and ginger together in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. Beat together the butter and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until light and fluffy, approximately 1 minute. Reduce the speed a bit and thoroughly incorporate the egg. Reduce the speed to low (or “stir” on a Kitchenaid) and add one-third of the flour mixture. Once incorporated, add one-third of the milk then repeat alternating until all ingredients are combined.
4. Gently stir in the blueberries and pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle on the topping mixture.
5. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes, or until golden. Cool for 30 minutes before serving.

Makes: 1 (9-inch) Cake

Vegan Pad Kee Mao

We all really liked this recipe including the kids!! So I don't want to lose it.

Pad Kee Mao 'Drunken noodles'⁣⁣ adapted from an Instagram recipe by @woon.heng 🧡 
Ingredients (yields 2-3 servings)⁣⁣ ⁣(NOTE: DOUBLE this recipe for 5 of us including Zoey)
  
~ 1lb fresh flat rice noodles (separate noodles to loosen them up)⁣⁣⁣
~ 1/2 package sliced fried tofu or pan-fried firm tofu⁣⁣⁣~ 4 cups mixed vegetables, thinly sliced, such as: bell peppers, onions, carrots, Chinese broccoli, regular broccoli, etc. 
~ 3 shallots⁣⁣, minced
~ 3 cloves garlic⁣⁣
~ 2 cups packed Thai basil⁣⁣ (1/2 bunch)
~ 3 chopped chili⁣⁣⁣ (I left this out for kids)
~ 1 teaspoon chili flakes plus more for garnish⁣⁣ (I left this out for kids)
~ oil & salt to taste⁣⁣⁣
~ lime juice⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
🍃Sauce (whisk all in a bowl):⁣⁣⁣
~ 2 tablespoons soy sauce/tamari⁣⁣
~ 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce⁣⁣
~ 4 tablespoons sweet & sour sauce⁣ (I found this in a Chinese grocery store, it said it was a japanese dipping sauce)
~ dash of white pepper⁣⁣⁣

1. In a heated pan on high heat with 3 teaspoons of oil, saute vegetables until cooked through. Remove vegetables and set aside with the sliced tofu.

2. Add 3 more teaspoons oil to pan, sauté shallots & garlic until fragrant. Then, add in tofu and vegetables, rice noodles & sauce. Stir-fry continuously so noodles are all coated with sauce.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
3. Stir in Thai basil, chili, chili flakes (if using) and toss until well combined. Season to your preference & add splashes of water, if needed. Serve warm with some lime juice. ⁣⁣⁣

*If your rice noodles appear hard to separate: place noodles in a microwaveable bowl covered with damp paper towel & heat for 2 mins. This will help soften noodles.

the best banana bread

This one is it

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/banana_bread/

Vegetarian Calzones

Makes 3 calzones (enough for our family of 2 adults and 2 kids with some leftovers). We always use the same veggie toppings but you can change the toppings to whatever you like.

Ingredients

For dough:

-- 1 1/2 c. warm water
-- 1.5 t. instant yeast
-- 1.5 t. sugar
-- 3 cups all-purpose flour
-- 1.5 t. salt

Toppings:

-- 3/4 large green pepper, diced
-- 3/4 red onion, diced
-- 1 med tomato, diced
-- 1.5 small can pizza sauce
-- 1.5 package pizza cheese from the store (we maybe could get away with 1 package here as we don't use that much cheese)



Preparation:

1. Sometime in the afternoon before you are going to make calzones, make the dough. 
2. In a bowl, combine the water, yeast and sugar. Let stand until the mixture foams on top, about 5 minutes.
3. In another bowl, mix together flour and salt. Add water/yeast mixture to flour and stir into a dough.
4. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead for a few minutes on a floured surface to prevent sticking.
5. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean cloth. Let the dough rise for about 30 minutes in warm and draft-free area. Cut the dough in thirds, each third will make 1 calzone
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
7. Take the dough and roll it out with a rolling pin to be thin and roughly 12 inches to 18 inches in diameter. I try for the biggest circle I can fit in a sheet pan. 
8. Cover sheet pan with silpat (or oil) and transfer dough circle to sheet pan. 
9. Add one large handful of cheese onto half of the dough (or 2/3), leaving a clear edge all around so the dough will stick when you fold it over. 
10. Sprinkle 1/3 of veggies on the cheese
11. Sprinkle 1/3 of sauce on the veggies
12. Add on another 2 large handfuls of cheese on the top. If you cover the veggies so you can't see them it will be a LOT of cheese. 
13. Pull the uncovered dough over the toppings and push to seal all around the edges. Then, fold the edge up all around the seal to make a nice pattern and really seal it in. 
14. Brush top of calzone with milk or egg wash and cut a slit into the top. 
15. Bake in oven 30 - 35 minutes.

Vegetarian hand pies

I had the idea to make a savory hand pie for Kiran's lunches, I wanted to make one as close to classic chicken pot pie as I could, but without the chicken. This came out so good, both Kiran and Mahesh loved it. You can also use the same filling and crusts to make a full-size veggie pot pie. This would be great for a really nice vegetarian main dish at a celebration like Thanksgiving as well. I love chicken pot pie and I'd bet most meat eaters wouldn't even notice no meat chunks, especially if you make a really good crust.

Vegetarian Hand Pies

makes 22 hand pies

For crust:

-- 1 cup butter (2 sticks) plus more for pie plate
-- 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough (I usually use 1 1/2 cups white and 1 cup whole wheat flour)
-- 1/2 t. salt

For filling:

-- 1/2 potato, peeled and cubed (maybe 1/2 cup)
-- 1/2 cup peas, frozen
-- 2 T. butter
-- 1 cup carrots, chopped (1 medium)
-- 1 onion, chopped
-- 1/2 cup celery, chopped (1 rib)
-- 2 T. flour
-- 1/2 tsp. salt
-- 1/4 tsp. pepper
-- 1/4 tsp. celery seed
-- 2 cups milk
-- 1 heaping T veggie bullion

-- 3 T. milk or 1 egg, beaten with 1 t. water (to seal and wash pies)

Instructions

First, make your pie crust.

1.   The trick with pie crusts is 1) keep everything cold and 2) try not to work the dough any more than you absolutely need to. Cut each stick of butter into 8 pieces, refrigerate until needed

2.   Place the flour, and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix to combine

3.   Add the chilled butter. Using a pastry blender, chop the butter into the flour mix - the mixture should resemble coarse meal with small pieces of butter, the size of peas, visible.

4.   Drizzle 1/4 cup ice water over flour-butter mix, blend, repeat with another 1/4 cup of ice water. Keep adding 1/4 cup of ice water until the dough mostly sticks together. Squeeze a little bit if you must but don't touch it too much with your hands at this point. The dough will get a bit stickier as it rests.

5.   Divide dough into 2 pieces, flatten into disks, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.

Make the filling

6.   Prep all your ingredients for the filling.

7.   Preheat your oven to 425 F (220 C).

8.   Boil a pot of water and add chopped potato and boil gently for about 15 minutes. When there are 2 minutes left on the timer, add frozen peas to the mix. Drain and set aside.

9.   In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter and cook onions, celery, and carrots for about 15 minutes or until onion is translucent.

10. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper and celery seed and cook for at least 60 seconds to cook out the raw taste of the flour. 

11. Slowly whisk in milk and veggie bulllion. Whisk for about 5 minutes until thickened.

12. Stir in the potatoes and peas. Boil until it reaches the right consistency, you want it saucy but not to run all over the place. Some runniness is OK because it gets thicker as it cools. 

13. Remove from heat and set aside.

Make the pies

14. Take one pie crust out of fridge and roll out a bit thinner than regular pie crust. 

15. Cut 4.5 inch circles (I used a blue plastic bowl) and move the circles to a greased baking sheet (or one covered with a silpat).

16. Refrigerate circles until fully chilled. (the crust is easier to work with when cold)

17. To make a pie, wet the entire edge of the circle with milk or egg wash. Add about 2 heaping Tablespoons of filling, then fold dough in half, press around the edge, and crimp with a fork. Wash top with egg wash or milk, then poke with fork on top to let vent.

18. Bake the pies 17 minutes, or until brownish on top and the crust is baked through. 

19.  Remove your pie from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes before serving. 

Maple Pudding

Kiran wanted to invent a new dessert dish (he really wanted to sift some flour!) but we didn't really have time for a huge production in the kitchen. SO I found this recipe for Vanilla Pudding and we switched it to Maple! Kiran sifted the cornstarch instead. It was easy and excellent, a little on the sweet side, would have been better with whip cream on top. We gobbled up the whole thing for dessert.

Ingredients

• ¹⁄2 cup maple syrup
• ¹⁄₄ cup sugar
• ¹⁄₄ cup cornstarch
• 2 ¹⁄₂ cups milk
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
• 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. In medium double boiler, cook maple syrup, sugar, cornstarch, milk and salt. When mixture begins to thicken, add part of mixture to egg yolks; mix well, then pour egg mixture back into mixture in double boiler.
2. Cook until thick; take off stove, then add butter and vanilla.

Javanese Roasted Tofu with Pepper Rainbow

I inherited the Whole Foods Market Cookbook from my cousin Debbie after she passed away 2 years ago. I think of her every time we open this book. We have made quite a few recipes from this cookbook but this one is our favorite. The sauce tastes a little bit like satay sauce. Even Kiran loves it. "I will eat brocolli with this sauce!" He once proclaimed. That is quite an endorsement. Here it is, with our changes.

Javanese Roasted Tofu with Pepper Rainbow

Ingredients

1 pound extra-firm tofu (or firm, or med firm) -- if you want lots of tofu, can use 2 pounds in this recipe, it will just be a little less saucy

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup tamari or soy sauce
3 T. honey
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 cup canola oil
1 cup thinly sliced green pepper
1 cup thinly sliced red pepper
1 cup thinly sliced yellow pepper
1.5 cups thinly sliced additional vegetables, can be more peppers, or carrots, or brocolli

Instructions: 

-- Preheat oven to 350 F
-- Cut the tofu into 1 inch thick slices across the short side of the tofu block. You will have 6 slices. Place the slices in a baking dish (I use a 9x13 pan) and bake in the oven for 25 minutes. The tofu should not be crispy - you want it to simply dry up.
-- While the tofu is baking, in a medium bowl blend the peanut butter, tamari, honey, water, lemon juice, garlic, and salt.
-- Pour the peanut butter sauce over the cooked tofu, cover the pan with aluminum foil, and continue to bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the tofu from the oven, and place on a serving dish.
-- Just before the tofu is done, heat the canola oil in a large saute pan, and saute the red, green, and yellow peppers and additional vegetables for 5 minutes or until softened.
-- Top the tofu with the vegetable mixture and serve on rice.

Roasted Cabbage

This is so good! A quick and easy vegetable side. Anyone who thinks they don't like cabbage should try this first.

From eatingwell

Ingredients:

• ½ medium green cabbage (1-1½ pounds), outer leaves removed
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

 Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. To prepare cabbage: Cut cabbage half into four wedges and cut out any thick core, leaving the wedges as intact as possible. Drizzle the cut sides with 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Place the wedges flat-side down on the prepared baking sheet.
3. Roast the cabbage for 12 minutes. Carefully flip over (it's OK if it falls apart a little) and roast until browned on both sides, about 8 minutes more.

Pouding Chomeur (Poor Man's Pudding)

This is a French-Canadian treat I remember having on rare occasion as a child. My mom made this recipe the other day, it was so delicious I couldn't stop eating it and I had to have the recipe. 

Ingredients 

⦁ 1/2 cup softened butter or 1/2 cup margarine

⦁ 1 cup sugar

⦁ 2 eggs

⦁ 1 teaspoon vanilla

⦁ 2 cups flour

⦁ 1 teaspoon baking powder

⦁ 1 1/3 cups milk

⦁ 1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup

⦁ 1 1/2 cups brown sugar

⦁ 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

⦁ 1/3 cup butter

Directions

CAKE.

1. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugar till the mix is light.

2. Add eggs and vanilla and mix.

3. In another bowl, mix flour and baking powder.

4. Alternate flour mix and milk to the butter mix.

5. Pour into a 13 inch by 9 inch greased pan.

MAPLE SAUCE.

1. In a large casserole, bring to boil the syrup, brown sugar, cream and butter and constantly stir.

2. Reduce heat and gently cook 2 minutes or till sauce has reduced a little bit.

3. Pour sauce gently over cake.

4. Bake at 325°F about 40 - 45 minutes or till cake is light brown and when toothpick inserted comes ou

Whoopie Pies

This is the kind of dessert that I like the best. These Whoopie Pies are like Whoopie Pies on crack, I think it's because the recipe uses butter instead of shortening. I ate so many of these I should probably never make this again, but just in case I do, here is the recipe I used:

https://www.kcet.org/food/weekend-recipe-whoopie-pies

Making (and eating) the full-size pie is quite extravagant, but next time I would probably make them half the size, so 12 small pies instead of 6 huge ones. 

And since you can't find Marshmallow Fluff in this backwards place:

https://www.chowhound.com/recipes/homemade-marshmallow-creme-30296

p.s. Who knew that you can make your own marshmallow fluff?

Chilaquiles Casserole

Eatingwell magazine often features inventive, healthy vegetarian main dishes that are easy enough to make on a weeknight, so when one is good, it ends up being a real keeper. This is a dish we tried recently, Kiran helped me make it and we all agreed it was good. I changed the recipe a bit, this is what I made:

from Eatingwell

Ingredients

• • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 medium zucchini, grated 
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 19-ounce can black beans, rinsed
  • 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
  • 1½ cups corn, frozen (thawed) or fresh  
• • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 12 corn tortillas, quartered
  • 1 10-ounce can mild red or green enchilada sauce-- it is excellent with this homemade enchilada sauce
  • 1¼ cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly coat a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. 

 

2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and red pepper and cook, stirring often, until starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in zucchini, beans, tomatoes, corn, cumin and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are heated through, about 3 minutes.  

 

3. Scatter half the tortilla pieces in the pan. Top with half the vegetable mixture, half the enchilada sauce and half the cheese. Repeat with one more layer of tortillas, vegetables, sauce and cheese. Cover with foil.

 

4. Bake the casserole for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the casserole is bubbling around the edges and the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes more.

• Make Ahead Tip: Prepare through Step 3 and refrigerate for up to 1 day.

The Foundation's Sesamum Salad

The Foundation is a vegetarian restaurant in Vancouver that I always think of as a place for large inexpensive nachos, indifferent service, and this salad. When I heard the restaurant was closing, I thought I would try and re-create the recipe so we can enjoy it at home. I think I came pretty close, what do you think?

The Foundation's Sesamum Salad

Ingredients:

For Sauce:

-- 1/4 c. vegetable broth
-- 1/2 c. peanut butter
-- 1/2 c. coconut milk
-- 2 T. soy sauce
-- 1 heaping T. honey

Salad:

-- 1 can garbanzo beans, drained
-- 1 package medium-firm tofu
-- 1/2 cup quinoa
-- oil for pan
-- spring mix
-- 6 (?) cups broccoli florets (can use some cauliflower if you have a child who refuses to eat broccoli) 
-- 2 T. sesame seeds, toasted

Directions:

1. Drain tofu, then cut into 12 pieces, I like to make them triangle-shaped like foundation does, and let dry for awhile while you do the other steps.

2. Get a large pot of water, set it to boil, and cut up broccoli into florets. Add broccoli to water and boil until cooked to your liking. When it is cooked, drain broccoli.

3. Get a medium pot and cook quinoa according to package directions. Mine says to add in 2x as much water as quinoa, boil for 15 minutes, then let sit.

4. Put some oil in a large fry pan, then fry tofu over medium-high heat on each side for about 5 minutes, until slightly brown.

5. Add sauce ingredients to a glass mixing cup or bowl, microwave 1 minute to warm up, then mix with a small whisk or fork until smooth.

6. Drain any excess oil from pan, then add the garbanzo beans and cooked broccoli to the tofu. Pour the peanut sauce over and heat over med-low heat until hot. Try not to boil the sauce, it may separate.

7. Fill your serving plates or bowls with spring mix, then add maybe 1/4 cup of quinoa, then scoops of the tofu/broccoli/peanut sauce mixture, then sprinkle with sesame seeds. If your kid refuses to eat spring mix, you can serve the tofu mixture on rice or quinoa instead.

Enjoy!

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

I must have seen a pineapple upside-down cake on Facebook, because somehow the image has been stuck in my head all day. I decided to make us one for dessert tonight in my cast iron fry pan. I don't know if I've ever even had pineapple upside-down cake before, I've certainly never made it. What a loss! This cake is so easy and fast to make, and so delicious! The brown sticky crust on the outside reminds me of delicious grand peres my french-canadian grandmothers made for us growing up (that I've never been able to replicate as an adult), but the pineapple and cherries make it even better! I suggest you stop whatever you are doing and make this right now.

From Food. com

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 4 slices pineapple, from a can of sliced pineapples
• 9 maraschino cherrys (plus more for cake batter, if desired)
• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup melted butter (I used a little less and topped up with pineapple juice)
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 large egg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Melt butter in iron skillet.
3. Sprinkle brown sugar over butter. Mix together a little bit.
4. Arrange pineapple slices on top brown sugar/butter.
5. Place cherries in center of slices. and then 1 between each slice, and 1 in the middle.
6. Mix dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in one bowl
7. Mix wet ingredients: melted butter, milk, egg in another bowl.
8. Combine dry and wet ingredients, mix to combine but only as little as possible. 
9. I also chopped up extra maraschino cherries and added them in to this cake batter because I like maraschino cherries. 
10. Pour batter over pineapple in skillet and bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until tooth pick inserted comes out clean. (35 minutes worked great for me)
11. Remove from oven, let cool about 5 minutes or so, turn onto heat-proof plate while still warm.