Happiness Project: Money

Yikes, summer is nearly over! I dawdled, but I finally finished my Happiness Project goal of reviewing all of my finances.  I've been meaning to set up budgeting on Mint.com and I'm loving it. It let's me set budget items for all of our expenditures (including monthly date nights and individual discretionary spending). It took me an evening to get it all set up, but the learning curve is minimal and I love seeing exactly where the money goes each month. It brings me peace of mind which is so important to my overall happiness.  I also set up a few investments so that I can track them with Mint, which is great because I mostly ignored them before. They are long term investments (like my Roth IRA) but I do at least look at them more than once a year now. Mint also encourages you set goals for paying off debt, increasing emergency savings, and putting money away for travel (honeymoon fund!).  It's nice to know that money will be there when we want it.

Secondly, I reduced AT&T cell phone bill by adding the "Fan Number" for my work.  Penn State had one as well, so I recommend asking your cell phone carrier about it.  It can't hurt and it might save a few bucks a month.  We save enough to offset our roadside assistance.  I also finally set up autopay through my bank to mail my rent check for me every month - my last bill that wasn't on autopay - and met with my insurance agent to review my policy.  Each of these took a bit of time, but I'm glad they are done, I've been putting them off for much longer than the inconvenience warranted.  It's given me a huge boost to have this taken care of and I'm feeling inspired for my next goal!

For the rest of August and September, I'll be focusing on clearing out physical and mental clutter. While I'm not a hoarder, I do have a problem with saving things for a special occasion, holding on to supplies I bought for projects that were never finished, and letting work projects languish as I focus on new and exciting projects. So for the next two months, I'm focusing on identifying all that clutter and using it up or throwing it out! First up, the bag of Penn State pasta I was given at graduation two and a half years ago - it made a frighteningly colored, but tasty Greek-influenced pasta salad.

Seven Sad Samurai

(Geoff takes a bite.)
"This is the best Japanese curry I've ever had."
(Second bite.  Puts down fork.)
"It might be the best dinner you made since we moved to Texas."
(Picks fork up again.)
"People would pay for this."
(Doesn't say anything else until his plate is clean.)

I tried my first Japanese curry in May at a second-floor restaurant in LA over the karaoke room we were about to occupy for five straight hours.  If you haven't had it, this curry shares very little with its Indian cousin.  The basis is a nice, dark roux that gets sweetness from a grated apple and spice from garam masala.  I started with this basic recipe from serious eats and added edamame and more carrots for some vegetables.  This would certainly be a satisfying vegetarian meal, but I have a serious weakness for pork tonkatsu.  It's just boneless pork cutlets dredged in flour, egg, and panko bread crumbs before lightly pan frying.  It's fantastic with this sauce, but just about anything would be.

The meal was served alongside Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, just the sort of cultural touchstone that I've felt left out on.  And I'll continue to.  I didn't want to admit this, but I turned it off less than an hour in.  It was just a bunch of people being mean to old Japanese men and I wasn't in the mood for three hours of crying.  I would be a terrible movie critic, but life is too short!  So my recommendation?  Make this curry, pull up some youtube videos, and karaoke at home.  You may even want to start with the Bare Naked Ladies, who probably didn't really watch Seven Samurai either.

Summer's Bounty Salad

I love grilling vegetables in the summertime.  The intense heat of the grill intensifies the flavor and caramelizes the edges to bring out the sweetness.  This composed salad can be made with any combination of summer vegetables you may have on hand or find at the market that week.  I used slabs of eggplant and zucchini cut 1/2" thick, sweet onions, and red bell pepper.  Once grilled over medium heat until tender all the way through, the vegetables were tossed immediately in a red wine vinaigrette.
The warm vegetables are contrast with a cold salad of pear tomatoes, mozzarella pearls, and fresh basil plus salty kalamata olives and caperberries.  Any type of cheese would be nice, especially a fresh goat cheese, and you could substitute whatever types of olives, pickles, or maybe giardiniera you may have on hand.  I included caperberries after seeing them at the deli counter.  The only time I had tried them before was a few years ago at a small Italian restaurant and I remembered really enjoying them.  Caperberries are the fruit that results from the caper bud being allowed to develop; they are bright and briny with a nice crisp texture.  The ones available at Central Market were a little too salty, but a brief soak in water will reduce the saltiness.  If you are a fan of olives, capers, and other briny goodness, they are worth tracking down.

The variety of flavors and textures keeps the salad plenty interesting, but some bread finishes out the meal nicely.  Any type of bread would be good - in fact, this reminds me a lot of plate of assorted breads, cheeses, and marinated vegetables I frequently had for lunch at Wheatfield's bakery in Lawrence.  I made my standard pizza dough and rolled it out into approximately 8 inch rounds which I lightly oiled and grilled.  Once off the heat, I rubbed the flatbread with a cut garlic clove.  Leftover, veggies, and mozzarella make a great panini the next day.  

Red Wine Vinaigrette


2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 teaspoon minced fresh oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste


Mix all ingredients together.  Great on salad, vegetables, or even as a marinade.

Zakuski: Or How I Learned to Quit Worrying and Love Russian Food

This is the first of a many-part series that I like to think of as "Educating Ellen."  It seems that there are a number of cultural touchstones that I somehow completely missed.  In an effort to catch up on the movies that everyone has seen but me, I added "watch classic movies" to my 30 by 30 list.  I thought it would be fun to make dinner to go along with the movie, which is made difficult by the fact that, of course, I haven't seen any of these movies.  So, free association will sometimes come into play.  For example, this meal was decided as follows: Dr. Strangelove -> Cold War -> Soviet Union -> Russian Food.

Unfortunately,my knowledge of Russian food is caviar and borscht.  Luckily, one of my favorite food bloggers, Deb at Smitten Kitchen, has some great Russian small plates (zakuski) recipes including Russian Brownbread, spicy bean salad, and eggplant caviar.  I love small plates, and these are simple and can all be made a day or so in advance.  I also cooked some mushrooms with dill and kasha (buckwheat) and, to balance out the peasant food, a tsarist dessert - Strawberries Romanov.

Having come into the world of Russian food expecting borscht and potatoes, the assertive flavors of these dishes was an awesome surprise.  The savory dishes all have an earthy undertone, frequently cut through with vinegar, pungent raw garlic and onions, or intense spice.  All of the dishes were great, but I definitely recommend ending your meal with a breath mint as my breath was so bad I was offending myself.  Strawberries are at peak ripeness is Texas, so I added only a tiny amount of sugar and the juice of an orange to the strawberries and just a splash of vanilla extract to the cream as I was whipping it.  If you are ever looking for a lighter alternative to biscuits for strawberry shortcake, I think those Romanov's really knew what they were doing with the meringues.

This is my first Kubrick film  other than Sparticus (I have never been able to sit all the way through 2001: A Space Odyssey) and everything I knew about the movie is summed up in that screen shot at the top of the post..  For me, Dr. Strangelove was intensely, laugh-out loud funny and I'm sure that aspect of the dark comedy was there in 1964 but it took me until the final scenes to realize how incredibly frightening this would have been when the movie come out two years after the Cuban Missile Crisis. I suppose one of the most interesting aspects of movies that become cultural icons is how much their meaning has changed over time.  While I certainly appreciate the message that military one-upsmanship is a losing proposition (see also, War Games, a movie I DID see in my childhood), the urgency is lost on me as someone who barely remembers the Berlin Wall coming down.

I've got a pretty full list, but I'm always open to recommendations.  What do you think are the movies that absolutely everyone should see?  Name anything you like, I probably haven't seen it.

Feeding Friendship: Tex-Mex Lentil Sloppy Joe's

As a child, I loved the taco burger at Taco Tico.  I'm not sure why since it was just lightly seasoned ground beef on a bun.  But love it I did.  That taco burger was certainly not what I was thinking about when I picked lentils as the ingredient for this round.  I think that thought process was something like "huh, I have four bags of different types of lentils in my pantry."

But back to taco burgers.  The taco burger, is really just a sauceless (and therefore sadder) version of the sloppy joe, so I was excited to see Homesick Texan's Tex-Mex Sloppy Joe which takes the oddly sweet sauce of a traditional joe and turns it into a spicy, smoky very adult meal.  I pretty much never buy ground beef, and, while I'm sure that ground bison or turkey would be great here, I decided to take a vegetarian route and replace the ground meat with a combo of brown and red lentils that I had on hand.  This is a brilliant substitution in my mind because it cuts meat out of a meal where really what you care about is the sauce so you don't miss the meat a bit and you get an extra boost of fiber.  These are fork and knife sandwiches, or even open-faced ones.  Don't try to pick these up unless you are looking to ruin your shirt.

Tex-Mex Lentil Sloppy Joe's
serves 4-6
Adapted, broadly from Homesick Texan


1 1/2 cups lentils, any type
1 T canola oil
1 small onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c sliced, pickled jalapenos
15 oz. tomato sauce

2 T ketchup
2 T BBQ sauce
1 T Worchestershire sauce

1 T cumin
1 T hot chili powder
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp salt
2 avocados
1 lime, juice of
1/4 cup cilantro, minced

Hamburger buns

1. Simmer lentils in 4 cups of water until al dente, about 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, saute onions in canola oil over medium heat until translucent, add garlic and jalapenos and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
3. Add tomato sauce, ketchup, BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, chili powder, oregano, and salt.
4. Simmer 10 minutes to thicken.
5. Add lentils and simmer an additional 10 minutes until lentils are tender.
6. While the lentils are simmering in sauce, mash avocados with lime juice, cilantro, and salt to taste.
7. Smear the avocado on the split buns and top with big spoonfuls of the lentils.

Feeding Friendship: Chard, Sweet Potato and Black Bean Pizza

I was so very excited to see that Veronica's pick for this round of Feeding Friendship was pizza.  We've always made homemade pizza fairly frequently (In fact, I made Pizza Bianca with Balsamic Caramelized Onions for a previous round of Feeding Friendship and have shared pictures of my Kale, Pancetta, and Grape Pizza and  Turkey Pepperoni and Black Olive Pizza as part of my Photo365 project) and over the past several months we have settled into a Friday night pizza and Netflix routine.  I am not a cook who has a go-to list of recipes that I make week in and week out.  In fact, the vast majority of recipes I make - even ones I like - never get made again.  Yet, Geoff and I are both happy to have pizza every week - with unlimited topping options, we never get board.

I've tried a number of different crust recipes, sticking with one until I find something better or easier.  I prefer a thinnish crust - not paper thin, mind you - but I still want it to have some flavor.  The best (in my opinion) way to get flavor into pizza dough is a nice long ferment.  You can get your dough to rise quickly with more yeast and a warm environment, but the flavor just isn't as good.  This long rising time seems like a drawback, but actually it means that you can make your dough in the morning before you leave for work, or even the night before.

This recipe is super quick because it is no-knead - just stir, cover, and leave it for 12 hours or so.  It's been my experience that the wetter the the dough, the more of those great bubbles you get in the crust, so I tend to make sure that this dough is on the wet side when mixed together because as the flour absorbs the water, it will tighten up a bit.  It is still pretty loose when I start to work with it, but I just put down a good amount of flour and it's fine.  I like to work directly on a sheet of parchment so that if the dough sticks, it's not a problem - the whole thing goes in the oven and the bottom browns nicely.

The inspiration for this pizza started with a pizza I liked from the local pizza place in State College.  It was a simple combination of just mashed spice black beans and mozzarella cheese that was served with salsa and sour cream on the side for dipping or smearing.  I decided to pile some more stuff on top, because I can.  I like black beans with sweet potatoes and chard as an enchilada filling and I came across a similar combo at Foodie Bride with the addition of goat cheese.  It was a winner!  The dough recipe makes enough for two pizzas and the extra crust can be rolled out, cooked for about 2 minutes and then frozen.  It should be thawed before being topped and cooked.

If you are in the mood for something different, Holly and I made this Easter Egg pizza last weekend featuring garlic oil, cheese, mushroom walls and eggs cooked right on the pizza for the last 3 minutes.  Let me hear your favorite pizza combos in the comments - I'm always looking for new toppings.

Kale, Sweet Potato, and Black Bean Pizza
Serves 4

For the Dough:
2 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups water

For the Pizza:
1 sweet potato, cubed and roasted
1 bunch swiss chard, sliced
4 oz goat cheese
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 can Goya black beans in sauce
1 tbsp. olive oil

1.  Ten to 12 hours before dinner, combine all bread dough ingredients in a large bowl.  The dough will be very loose, this is good. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rise at room temperature.
2. Preheat oven to 500 with pizza stone on lowest rack for about 30 minutes before cooking pizza.
3. Cook down and mash black beans until they form a thick paste.
4. Saute onion in olive oil until translucent, then add chard and cook just until slightly wilted.
5. Split the dough in two and roll out with plenty of flour.  Cook each crust about 2 minutes before topping one with the black beans (otherwise you can't spread them easily on the soft dough).
6. Top with chard, sweet potato, and goat cheese.  Bake an additional 8-10 minutes or until bottom crust is brown.  Enjoy!

Bibimbap (or the best fried rice you'll ever have)

I had never heard of bibimbap until a friend mentioned it on Facebook.  A few days later, I came across a version in my Cooking Light magazine.  It seemed like the universe was telling me to make it.  My internet research revealed that bibimbap is literally "mixed rice" in Korean and the ingredients vary.  It's essentially a deconstructed fried rice.  What really set this apart was the last of my pickled carrots and daikon from when I made banh mi and the runny yolk of the sunny-side up eggs, otherwise, use whatever you have left over in your fridge.  

If you don't have pickled vegetables (and really, why would you), you can pickle them quickly while you cook the rest of the ingredients.  Cooking each ingredient separately is a bit tedious, but can easily be done in the time it takes for the rice to cook.  I've never had bibimbap in a restaurant, but evidently you can get it in a heated rock bowl that makes the bottom layer of rice crispy and the whole thing hot enough that the raw egg can simply be cooked right on top.  I don't have a bowl carved from the very earth itself, so I simulated the results by frying the rice in a bit of oil and cooking the eggs sunny-side up.  It was the best fried rice I've ever had!

Bibimbap
Serves 2


1 cup long grain rice
8 oz firm tofu
2 tbsp. ginger, minced
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
1/3 cup pickled vegetables
1/4 cup green onions
8 oz crimini mushrooms, sliced
6 cups kale, roughly chopped
4 eggs
3 tbsp. sesame oil
Sriracha, to taste 

1. Cook rice according to package directions.
2. Cook tofu, mushrooms, and kale individually with 2 tsp. of oil and 2 tsp each garlic and ginger. Season with soy sauce.
3. Fry cooked rice in 1 tbsp. of sesame oil and divide between serving dishes.  Assemble all toppings.
4. Cook four eggs sunny-side up until whites are just barely set and set on top of the rice.  Serve immediately.

Dosas and Sambar (after a six month wait)

This recipe has been a very long time coming.  About 6 months ago, my friend Geetha took me to Pavani Express and introduced me to dosas - crispy rice and lentil based crepes filled with various curries.  I was in love and we went back several times before Geetha mentioned that she could teach me to make them.  Yes, please!  It took many attempts to find a weekend that we were free to meet and then when we finally made the dosas, I forgot my camera.  No loss, though, it just meant that I "had" to make them again at home.

The biggest challenge with dosas are remembering to start the batter a day before to give it a chance to ferment (think of it like sourdough bread).  The end result has an oddly grassy smell that I found to be quite nice.  The dosa batter does require a somewhat unusual ingredient - urad gota - which seems to be a type of lentil, but it was cheap and easy to find at our local Indian market.  While there, you may want to pick up some dried or fresh curry leaves (Geetha shared some of her special stash with me!).  Everything else you will need should be available at a well-stocked grocery store.

Along with the dosas, it's nice to serve some sambar (lentil soup) which is quick to make - especially if you add in frozen, mixed veggies.  Start the lentils simmering while you make the filling for the dosas.  I had some sweet potatoes and cauliflower on hand so I substituted those in for the potatoes that are commonly found in the filling.  Lastly, you should make the peanut and spicy tomato chutnies.  I know this seems like a lot, but they are completely worth it and everything except cooking the dosas can be made the night before and reheated.  Once the filling and lentil soup are ready, it's time to make the dosas.  

It may take a few tries to get the dosas right, but we had lots of extra batter, so don't sweat it. My favorite tip from Geetha was to use the end of a potato to lightly oil the nonstick pan.  Get the pan over medium-high heat and pour on about 1/3 of a cup of batter.  Use the back of a measuring cup to make it as thin as possible without creating large holes.  You only cook the pancake on one side, so once it starts to get brown along the edges, smear on spicy tomato chutney.  Place a dollop of filling in the middle and fold over the edges.  Straight out of the pan, the dosas are amazingly crispy, but they start to get soft within minutes so go ahead and eat them right away as you are cooking more.  And you will want a lot of them.

These recipes are my adaptation of the notes that I took from Geetha.  I hope they work for you, but if they don't, it's totally my fault, not hers.  Her dosas are crazy-good.

Lentil Soup (Sambar)
Serves 4-6

1 c. dried lentils
14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1.5 c. mixed frozen vegetables
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
5 curry leaves
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1 tsp. cumin seeds
2 tbsp. sambar powder OR a combination of cayenne, coriander, and garam masala
1 tbsp. oil

1. Cook all spices in oil.
2. Add lentils, tomatoes, and 3 cups of water until lentils are tender (30-60 minutes).
3. Add veggies and salt, simmer until veggies are tender.

Peanut Chutney
Serves 4-6


1 cup peanuts
2-3 dried red chiles
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 bunch cilantro
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp coconut (optional)
heavy pinch of salt (if peanuts aren't salted)

1. Toast peanuts in a dry skillet until browned.
2. Combine all ingredients in a blender with enough water to form a thick paste.
3. I include a bit of coconut in my version because it tastes to me like that is how Pavani Express does it.  Geetha doesn't include it in her dip.


Spicy Chutney
Serves 4-6

1 tbsp oil
2 onions, chopped
1/2 tomato
2 cloves garlic
3 red chiles
cayenne pepper, to taste
salt, to taste

1. Cook onions, garlic, and chiles in oil until onions are translucent.
2. Blend all ingredients with just enough water to form a thin paste.  Add cayenne pepper until it is as hot as you can stand.  Remember that this is a condiment and will be distributed thinly on the dosa.

Dosas
Serves 10+


3 cups long grain rice
1 cup urad daal
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/2 cup cooked rice
1 tsp. salt

1. At least 24 hours before making dosas: Soak rice and urad daal for 12 hours in cold water.
2. That evening, grind soaked rice, daal, cooked rice, and fenugreek seeds with enough water to make a pancake-like batter.  Let sit 12 hours at room temperature before adding salt and making dosas.  If you aren't making them right away, the batter can sit in the refrigerator for a few days, but be aware it will become slightly more sour as it continues to (slowly) ferment.


Dosa Filling
Serves 8-10

1/2 head of cauliflower
2 small sweet potatoes
1 onion, diced
4 dried hot peppers, chopped
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp. garlic, minced
2 tbsp. ginger, minced
5 curry leaves
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp. cayenne
4 tsp. corriander
1 tbsp. garam masala
1/2 bunch cilantro, minced
salt, to taste

All of these amounts should be adjusted to your taste.  Geetha just eyeballs it, so I did too.

1. Steam cauliflower and sweet potatoes, cut into small bite-sized pieces.
2. Fry mustard and cumin seeds in about 2 tbsp. oil.  Add onion, garlic, and ginger.  Cook about 3 minutes or until onion is translucent.
3. Add curry leaves, cauliflower, and sweet potatoes.
4. .Add remaining spices and 1/2 cup of water.  Cook until water evaporates.
5. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.


This was an epic post, but well worth it.  I'm so in love with dosas.  Discovering new foods makes me feel like a kid again!

Caldo Tlalpeno

This really isn't much a a recipe, but rather a suggestion to add more avocado and cheese to your soups.  These are pretty much two of my favorite things, so it took very little convincing for me to do so.  I made my version of  caldo tlalpeno based on this recipe but you can find many variation online.

Essentially, this a chicken and vegetable soup with chickpeas (I left out the chicken and added extra chickpeas).  Sounds a bit dull, right?  It's not.  The soul of this soup are the spicy and smoky chipotles blended into the broth and the chunks of cool avocado and panela cheese.  If you aren't familiar with it, this cheese tastes a lot like mozarella, but softens without melting when dropped into the soup.  It's easy to find here in San Antonio, but you might try substituting those cute little mozzarella balls you can find at the olive bar at your fancy grocery store.  Feel free to substitute in whatever vegetables you may have on hand; this is a very forgiving soup.  Buen provecho!

Badal Jaam-ing

One of my favorite things about cooking is when simple ingredients combine to become something infinitely more than the sum of their parts.  I came across this easy recipe for Kashmiri eggplant cooked in tomato sauce and thought it would be good, but the result was super silky eggplant in a very spicy sauce with the cooling yogurt and mint to keep it in check.  It was far better than I hoped.

I followed the recipe from weird combinations except that I baked the eggplant slices at 400 for about 30 minutes instead of frying them.  To add some protein and cabs to the meal, I sauteed a tablespoon of mustard seeds, 1/2 cup of basmati rice and 1/2 cup urad gota.  I cooked it with about three cups of water until tender to make a sort of pilaf with a lot of texture.  With the roasting and finishing, the dish takes a bit of time, but it simple, healthy, and filling.

Feeding Friendship: Beet and Goat Cheese Manicotti

My googling suggests that this may be the first ever beet manicotti and I think the world has been missing out.  I was nervous that these weren't going to turn out.  When I put Geoff's plate in front of him, I promised him the frozen (homemade) pizza in the freezer if it was terrible.  But it wasn't.  It was amazing.

As with all beet recipes I enjoy, you have to start with roasting them in their skin.  We got a good number of beets when we belonged to a CSA and I learned that raw beets just don't do it for me.  To be honest, I don't bother to clean them that much or salt, pepper, or oil them before roasting.  Just rinse them a bit and then slip off the skins once they are fully cooked.  While the beets were roasting, I sauteed the beet greens to add to the sauce (which I forgot to do).  Then, I grated the cooled beets and combined them with the goat cheese and parsley to make the filling.

The great thing about using these fresh pasta sheets instead of manicotti shells is that you can just roll the filling up burrito-style instead of trying to stuff those darn tubes.  Feel free to do as I did and fill the pasta and make the sauce the night before so it just takes a few minutes to assemble the pasta the night you want to eat it.  I think the walnuts and panko on top are absolutely essential to add some texture to the dish.  I used pine nuts this time because I realized this week that I have three separate bags of pine nuts in the freezer.  How can you resist hot pink filled pasta?

Beet and Goat Cheese Manicotti
serves 4

3 medium beets, green attached
4 oz. soft goat cheese (chèvre)
1/4 c. parsley, minced
9 oz. fresh lasagna sheets
1/4 c. chopped walnuts or pine nuts
1/4 c. panko bread crumbs
1 c. grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp. flour
2 c. skim milk

1. Wrap beets in foil and roast for an hour at 400 degrees or until a paring knife can be inserted without resistance.

2. Meanwhile, remove stems and wash beet greens thoroughly.  Slice and simmer in a few tablespoons of water for approximately 15 minutes.  Reserve.

3. Sip off skins and cool before grating coarsely.

4. Mix grated beets with goat cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper.  Roll 2 heaping tablespoons of the beet mixture into each sheet of lasagna and place in a lightly oiled 9x13 inch pan.

5. Make béchamel: Melt butter and stir in flour, cooking for 3-4 minutes before slowly whisking in milk.  Bring to a simmer and stir in parmesan cheese, a small pinch of salt, and pepper to taste.  Mix in beet greens.

6. Pour sauce over manicotti and top with panko and nuts.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Galette Breton with Fresh Cheese and Asparagus

When I was in Montreal, I had a delicious asparagus crepe so I decided to make it when I got home.  Those crepes had a thick white cheese in them, but I made my own Boursin-like cheese from Greek yogurt.  I just improvised this version as I went so if you make it yourelf (and you should - it would be a great appetizer) play around with whatever herbs or other flavorings you would like.  Even if you don't make the crepes, you really should consider making this cheese, it is so delicious.  Eat it the first day you make it when it tastes perfectly fresh.  By the second day, it tastes just like store bought - good, but not spectacular.

My crepe was going to be a galette (buckwheat crepe) except that I didn't have buckwheat flour so I decided to substitute rye.  The substitution was, to be honest, unnoticeable.  So feel free to go ahead and use David Lebovitz' recipe as is - but note that it makes fewer than 18 crepes.

Fresh Cheese:
1 1/2 cups 2% Greek yogurt
zest of 1/2 a lemon
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp granulated garlic

To make the cheese, beat the yogurt thoroughly to release the whey.  Blend in remaining ingredients and transfer to a large sieve lined with cheesecloth or multiple coffee filters.  Place sieve in bowl and cover with additional cheesecloth or coffee filters and weight with a small plate and two cans.  About every 15 minutes, dump out whey that collects in the bowl (you can save it for baking bread).

While the crepes are cooking, steam one bunch of asparagus for about 15 minutes.  To assemble, spread cheese on half a crepe and top with four asparagus spears.  Roll up like a burrito.  A salad with a mustard vinaigrette pairs nicely with the crepes.

Feeding Friendship: Sweet Potato

Sweet potatoes hold a very special place in my heart.  The first meal I ever cooked for Geoff was pork chops and sweet and spicy glazed sweet potatoes.  My mom, grandma and I made a comically large mess (I ended up with sweet potato and coconut webbing between my fingers) trying to craft Paula Dean's marshmallow-stuffed sweet potato balls.  And my contribution to the last several thanksgivings has been mashed sweet potatoes with orange and chipotle.  My latest favorite is sweet potato falafel from 101cookbooks.

I've made these a couple of times, and they are delicious!  You need to plan a bit ahead to allow enough time to bake the sweet potatoes until they are very soft.  You want the sweet potatoes to be completely smooth before you incorporate the other ingredients.  I have made this with both regular flour and chickpea flour and I prefer it with the regular flour (if you can handle the gluten).  This, along with stirring them gently and spooning  blobs onto the pan without compacting them, will result in light and delicious falafel.  I served it with a simple tzatziki and a Greek chopped salad for a light winter meal.  Enjoy!

Samosas

A few weeks ago, an unexpected package arrived on our front porch. When my grandma came to visit us in August, we ate at a wonderful little empanada restaurant near us which inspired her to send me this adorable set of empanada makers and a cookbook full of delicious-looking recipes for pocket pies from all over the world.  I'd been thinking about making samosas for a while, but the filling and crimping was deterring me.  Problem solved. I was a little skeptical about them staying closed, but it was no problem at all.

How cute is that little tiny one? The opening is about the size of a quarter.

 I diverged in many, many ways from a proper samosa, but the root - veggies flavored with ginger, garam masala, and cilantro - was still intact.  Rather than making the thinner wrapper common for samosas, I used a naan-inspired dough recipe from the book which resulted in a chewy and crispy crust.  So good!

For the filling, I decided to skip the potatoes (I was already frying them, after all) in favor of cauliflower.  Since I only wanted a small amount each of cauliflower, carrots, and peas, I found a frozen mix.  Thawing and chopping took less time that softening the onions, garlic, ginger, and garam masala in just a bit of oil.  I tossed in the vegetables and when everything was tender-crisp, I pulled it off the heat and stirred in a dollop of yogurt to add some body to the filling.  I think the starch from the potato would have served that purpose.

The back of the cutters can be used to cut out the perfect-sized disk of dough.  A bit of egg wash around the edge made sure that the seal was solid before the samosa was dropped into 350 degree oil until golden brown.  You could certainly bake these, I just happened to have a pot of oil from the doughnuts I made earlier in the day.  Once drained and cooled slightly (seriously, resist, they are lava inside) they were delicious with mango chutney and a salad.

Feeding Friendship: Pumpkin Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Balsamic Vinegar

I've been meaning to make pumpkin gnocchi for several autumns but my last gnocchi experience left something to be desired.  The end result was pretty tasty but I found the process so arduous that I have never tried it again.  It is one of the few things (ravioli also tops the list) that I would rather leave to the pros.

This recipe from steamy kitchen, however, is quick and easy enough for a weeknight.  Weeknight gnocchi instantly deifies you as a certified domestic goddess.  The key is that this recipe is for a ricotta-based gnocchi so the boiling, mashing, and cooling potatoes steps are completely skipped in favor of a base of pumpkin puree, ricotta cheese, and Parmesan.

When adding the flour, I was as gentle as humanly possible.  This is definitely the time to get in there with your hands to minimize over-mixing.  The less you can possibly mix it, the lighter your gnocchi will end up.  Roll out gently and on a well-floured board and you have gnocchi in less than fifteen minutes.

The other key to this recipe is that the gnocchi are pan-fried instead of boiled.  Cooked in a very hot pan, the gnocchi get crispy on the outside while remaining soft inside and the textural contrast brings a lot to the dish (according to my inner Tom Colicchio).  After the gnocchi were cooked, I fried up some sage leaves which I crumbled over the finished dish.

Whenever possible, I like to make one dish meals so I cooked some thinly sliced crimini mushrooms in the finishing butter because, like gnocchi, mushrooms love butter and sage.  Some spinach would be nice too.  The splash (I used a glug) of balsamic vinegar added at the end makes a great sweet and sour glaze on the gnocchi.  Although the pumpkin flavor gets lost, these pretty orange gnocchi are worth the (modest) effort.

This recipe only used about a quarter of a can of pumpkin so I made this pumpkin bread with the remainder.  A very fall-appropriate breakfast in some very un-fall south Texas weather.

Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki is a dish I've tried before with mediocre results.  Previous versions have been heavy with lots of moisture-laden vegetables and a thick batter that resulted in dense pancake.  This version from Midge at Food 52 won the "Best Street Food" competition and  I couldn't agree more.  You could certainly add some more veggies - pretty much whatever is in your fridge.  We had it straight up with just cabbage and green onion, a lot more like a potato latke than a zucchini fritter.  The best part was the Sriracha mayo that I made with homemade mayo because I had some leftover egg yolks floating around my fridge.  Even if you think you don't like cabbage, give this a try.  It stays a bit crunchy in the middle while the cabbage on the edges become tender and sweet.  Not to mention, it takes about 20 minutes from fridge to table.