Asparagus-Mushroom Bread Pudding

The Vegetarian Times magazine just came out with a Farmer’s Market Cookbook edition filled with all kinds of summer recipes for the different months of the summer. Francisco was nice enough to buy a copy for us to share! It was just in time because we were on our way to the Chicago Farmer’s Market at the Daley Plaza. Since it’s still the start of the summer despite what the weather leads us to believe, the vegetable selection was fairly limited, but there were loads and loads of asparagus!

Thanks to Vegetarian Times, I had just the recipe for my green and purple asparagus!

Asparagus – Mushroom Bread Pudding

1 Leek, finely chopped
3 cloves Garlic, minced
25-30 medium spears Asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
10 oz. White Mushrooms, sliced
4 cups Skim Milk
4 large Eggs
2 tsp. Chipotle Mustard – The recipe originally called for Dijon, either would be great!
2 Tbs. chopped Fresh Basil
1 1-lb. loaf Crusty Bread, cut into cubes
8 oz. soft Goat Cheese log, sliced
Salt and Pepper to taste

Coat skillet with nonstick cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Add leek and garlic, and sauté until soft. Add asparagus and mushrooms, and cook until asparagus is tender. Try to use uniform-sized asparagus to make this process a bit easier. Season the vegetables to taste. Set aside.

Whisk together milk, eggs, mustard, and basil in bowl. Set aside.

Coat a baking dish with cooking spray. Spread half of bread cubes in single layer in baking dish. Spoon asparagus mixture over top, and cover with remaining bread cubes.

Arrange goat cheese rounds over top. Pour egg mixture over all, pressing down with spoon to submerge bread. Cover, and chill overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake bread pudding 45-50 minutes, or until center is set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. 

Here’s some things to keep in mind:

- Make sure to season the vegetables to your liking
- Could use a little more flavor in the creamy mixture – maybe add additional mustard
- Try to use a deep and wide baking dish to avoid any overflow with the milk mixture
-  Feel free to crumble your goat cheese instead of making rounds — makes the cheese more evenly spread

This savory bread pudding was very creamy and hearty. I loved the crunchy top mixed with the gooey center. Plus the tangy goat cheese balanced the cream filled center. This first trial run definitely had its mistakes, but it made for a delicious side dish for our dinner and could definitely make for a wonderful entrée! I can’t wait to make it again!

Love,

Mimi

Shrimp & Tofu Fried Rice

Tags

chinese, fried rice, international, pescatarian, rice, seafood, tofu

When I was young, we used to have fried rice fridays. My ngin-ngin’s “cho-fan” is one of my favorite things to eat, however, once I became a vegetarian, I had to say good bye to her meaty, veggie-filled fried rice.

This summer, I decided to expand my palette and try being a pescatarian. My ngin-ngin is absolutely thrilled! While she can’t make everything like she used to for me, she is making a lot of shrimp dishes like shrimp eggrolls, shrimp egg-foo-young, and now shrimp cho-fan!

This week, we worked together and made some shrimp & tofu fried rice together! I’m glad that even though I’m not a meat eater anymore, we can still bond when we cook!

Shrimp & Tofu Fried Rice

1 c. uncooked Shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1 small Carrot, diced
1 stalk of Celery, diced
1/2 of a Kohlrabi, diced
1-2 cloves of Garlic, minced
3-4 c. cooked White Rice
1/2 package of pre-pressed Tofu, marinated for a couple of hours
1 egg
Oil
Soy Sauce
2 tsp. Sugar
Couple of dashes of White Pepper

We did this part in advance: 

First, I diced my tofu and marinated it for a couple of hours/overnight.
Tofu Marinade: Soy sauce, 1 T. Corn starch, 1-2 T. Water, 1-2 tsp. Sugar

In a deep skillet or a wok on medium-high heat, I poured in some oil and the minced garlic for about 1-2 minutes then added my uncooked shrimp and cooked it for about 1-2 minutes until pink and placed in a separate bowl.

Then in the remaining oil, I threw in my diced carrots, celery and kohlrabi until they are tender and then added them to the shrimp.

We did this the day of:

I added some oil to the wok on medium-high heat. I scrambled the egg and cooked it in the wok then placed it in a small bowl.

Next, I cooked the marinated tofu in the remaining oil for about 3-4 minutes. Then I added in the pre-cooked vegetables and shrimp for a couple of minutes.

Ngin-ngin threw in the cooked white rice plus about a tablespoon of soy sauce, a couple of dashes of white pepper, and 1-2 tsp. of sugar. And finally, I folded in the scrambled eggs.

This was an absolutely fantastic dinner! While, it was not exactly the same as my ngin-ngin’s usual beef, pork, and shrimp filled fried rice (clearly, they don’t like meat at all), this was the perfect pescatarian replacement on a classic.

Love,

Mimi

Ps. I’ve also made a version with veggie crumbles on my personal food blog.
Click here to check it out

Quinoa Monster Burgers

Tags

"Meat"

What happens when you have a buttload of quinoa in your cabinet and some vegetables leftover when you’re about to leave town?

This.

Alright, I’ll admit. The final product kinda looks like garbage. But man, is it good. Here’s what you need.

2 c. cooked quinoa
3 eggs
1 diced onion
1 diced tomato
1 c. sliced spinach
1 c. diced carrots
3 cloves garlic
1/2 c. hummus or chickpeas
1 T. hot mustard
1 T. garlic salt
1 t. pepper
1 t. paprika
1/2 t. chili powder
1/2 t. oregano
1 t. red pepper
1 t. cumin
1/2 t. nutmeg
2-3 t. olive oil
1 c. cornmeal

First, you have to cook all your vegetables. Above are the ones I used, but I recommend improvising. If you’re using the above vegetables, start with carrots until they’re soft, then add onions  and garlic. Add a dash of salt, pepper, and paprika. Throw in spinach and chickpeas at the tail end. If you’re using hummus, hold onto it.

Once all your veggies are cooked, throw them into a food processor with a sliced tomato and pulse for a little bit. Until you have small, but chunky pieces. Not a puree.

In a separate bowl, combine quinoa, egg, hummus, cornmeal, and hot mustard until it’s burger consistency. Add in all spices at your discretion. Mine are guesstimates, so feel free to improvise here. Add olive oil to help it mix, but if it’s already too mushy, don’t bother.

Fold all the chunky vegetables into the quinoa mixture.

You can refrigerate it for later, or make ‘em now! To make the patties, roll them into your desired portion and place on a heated & oiled grill, saute pan, skillet, whatever. Flatten to patty to get a burger shape, the thinner the better, if you want everything cooked through. Get each side golden brown and serve on a bun, sliced in a salad, or just on a plate with some ketchup!

Enjoy, you monster!

Fran

Goat Cheese Pasta with Butternut Squash

Tags

butternut squash, fusilli, giada, goat cheese, lunch, pasta, quick, squash, yummy

This is one of my favorite afternoon lunch recipes. I originally spotted it on Giada one evening and I was dying to make it. It was everything that I wanted and more!

It’s straight forward, delicious, and has squash and goat cheese. With all of these qualities in a recipe, I simply cannot resist. Good luck trying to resist making this every day. If you want to make this especially quick, try roasting the squash the night before.

Goat Cheese Pasta with Butternut Squash

2 c. Fusilli Pasta
1/2 c. Goat cheese
Bit of Pasta Water
1 c. Butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1/2 Onion
1-2 T.  Grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 T. Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a small bowl mix together the sliced onion and butternut squash in the olive oil, salt and pepper, then place on a small baking sheet topped with foil. Roast at 425°F until the squash becomes tender and slightly brown.

Then boil the pasta of your choice, I chose fusilli, in a pot of salted water. Drain the pasta, but reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.

In a serving bowl, place the goat cheese. Then, pour in the pasta and the remaining pasta water. The pasta water and the goat cheese will soon form into a delicious sauce. Fold in the parmesan cheese, roasted squash, and onion and serve.

This is just the right kind of big kid macaroni and cheese for a summer picnic!

Love,

Mimi

Southwestern Spicy Sweet Potatoes

Tags

beans, chipotle, corn, cowboys, double baked, rustic, side dish, southwestern, spicy, sweet potatoes, vegetarian

Southwestern cuisine is known to be a rustic style of cooking that feature a fusion of recipes for things that might have been eaten by Spanish colonial settlers, cowboys, Native Americans, and Mexicans. Whenever summer rolls around, I always think of being out west and living a rustic cowboy style life. But instead of wrangling horses and branding cattle much like Francisco’s family, I spend my time in the kitchen.

I came across this delicious looking recipe on elly says opa and I thought to myself, double baked sweet potatoes mixed with some spicy ingredients? YUM. I had to try this recipe immediately and it was totally worth it!

Southwestern Spicy Sweet Potatoes

2 medium Sweet Potatoes
1 can Whole Kernel Corn, drained
1 can Black beans, drained
1-2 T. Diced Tomatoes
1/2 Red Onion, diced
1 clove Garlic, minced
1-3 Chipotles in Adobo Sauce, minced
1 T. Sour Cream
1 T. Cream Cheese (I used Philly Santa Fe Cooking Cream)
1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
2 tsp. Oregano
2 tsp. Cumin
Salt and Pepper to taste

Bake the sweet potatoes at 350°F until tender with a fork.

In a skillet, cook the corn for 8-10 minutes until blackened. Season with cumin, salt, pepper, oregano. Then put the corn in a mixing bowl. In the same skillet, in a little oil, cook the black beans with diced tomatoes and red pepper flakes. Put the beans in the bowl with the corn.

Next cook the onions in the skillet with the garlic until the onions are translucent.  Place in the bowl with the vegetables. In the vegetable mix, add in some sliced chipotle peppers with adobo sauce. Taste them before you put them in. Try not to overdo it with the chipotle — they are definitely hot!

Once the potatoes are tender, cut them in half and scoop out the insides. Mix the insides in with the vegetables along with the sour cream as well as the cream cheese.

Place the mixture into the potato skins along with a sprinkle of the shredded cheese and bake for another 10-15 minutes until browned a little bit on top!

Once it is done being baked, serve with fresh cilantro and/or small dollop of sour cream.

I had some leftover of the mashed sweet potato mixture so I baked some separately as well out of the potato skins. And you know what? It’s just as delicious!

These delicious spicy sweet potatoes are great as a side dish and less than 200 calories! I made them to be a little too spicy for some of my family members, but they’re perfect for me and absolutely delicious! These potatoes are super flavorful and are ready to be paired with an awesome southwestern cowboy meal!

Love,

Mimi

Ratatouille’s Ratatouille

Tags

cooking fiends, eggplant, favorite night, goat cheese, ratatouille, red pepper, squash, vegetarian, wheat berries, zucchini

Ratatouille, from the Occitan, ratatolha, and the French verb touiller which means “to toss” is thought of as a peasant’s dish because of its simplicity–a bunch of cheap veggies stewed together as a side dish. It has since then been complexed in several variations: baking the vegetables in a casserole, each one cooked separately (insisted on by many chefs, Julia Child being one of them), recombining them in a simmering pot, or used as a filling for crepes! It was made into a luxuriously gourmet meal in its appearance in the Pixar film of the same name — one of our favorites (duh).

In one of our most productive cooking evenings of the semester, we decided to tackle this delicious looking dish using the recipe from Smitten Kitchen found here.

Here’s how it turned out: 

Ratatouille’s Ratatouille
Served on top of a bed of wheat berries and topped with soft goat cheese.
Paired with a glass of shiraz.  

1/2 Eggplant
1 Zucchini
1 Yellow Squash
1 Red Pepper
1/2 Red onion, diced, rough chop
1-2 c. Tomato Purée or pre-made Tomato sauce
2-3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 T. Thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 T. Olive Oil, divided

This dish is actually not as difficult as it may seem. First, we thinly sliced our vegetables. If we had one, we would’ve definitely used a mandoline, but instead we relied on our knife skills.

In a casserole dish, we poured in our tomato purée. Then, we mixed in our diced onions and minced garlic into the sauce. We poured the first T. of olive oil into the sauce.

We carefully placed our vegetables in order onto the dish starting with the larger eggplant rounds then yellow squash, zucchini, and the red pepper.

As the zucchini and squash rounds became smaller, we doubled them up to match the large eggplant rounds.

Then we topped the vegetables with some dried thyme, salt, and black pepper. Then, we evenly poured the olive oil on top. We baked the ratatouille in the oven at 375°F for about 40-50 minutes until all of the vegetables were tender.

We served our ratatouille hot on a bed of cooked wheat berries topped with soft goat cheese and some fresh rosemary. The wine-o tendencies and messy flour countertop are, of course, optional. The flour was from our ravioli, coming soon!

This summer recipe can be made as a wonderful vegetarian entrée or as a delightful side dish! Enjoy!

Love,

Mimi & Francisco

Ps. This dish was also featured on Mimi’s food blog here!

Peach and Blueberry Crumble

Tags

baking, crumble, dessert, easy, fruits, mothers day, quick, simple, sweet

While abroad in Rennes, my host mom, Blandine, always loved throwing little dinner parties for the family. Whether for a special occasion like a birthday or simply to celebrate the much-needed weekend, it was always exciting to have an extravagant homemade 4-course meal!

I have never been much of a baker, but Blandine assured me that if there is one dessert that she always loves to make because of its simplicity, it was the Crumble. The recipe always stays about the same, but the fillings can change! She had an entire cookbook filled with all different crumble combinations!

For Mother’s Day, I decided to make a Peach and Blueberry Crumble inspired by Smitten Kitchen’s Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumble. And it was absolutely divine!

While it’s not exactly peach season quite yet, I couldn’t resist and found myself purchasing some frozen peach slices and blueberries.

Peach and Blueberry Crumble

Crumble Topping
1 1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons sugar
Zest of Orange
1/4 pound (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

Ooey Gooey Filling
2-3 c. of Peaches, slice into bite size pieces
1-2 c. of Blueberries
Juice of 1 Orange
1/4 cup sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch or two of salt

Set your oven to 375°F.

For the crumble topping, first melt the butter and then mix together all of the ingredients until it begins to form into little clumps of dough. Then pop that in the fridge while you make your filling!

I actually prepared my filling in the pan! I threw in my fruits and then carefully folded in the remaining ingredients. Since both peaches and blueberries are particularly sweet, I cut down the sugar a bit!

Next, I pulled out my topping and evenly distributed all of the crumble bits over the gooey filling.

I let the crumble bake for about 30 – 45 minutes. Then I decided to up the temperature of the oven to 400°F until the top began to brown and the fruity filling started to bubble into the topping.

Serve hot and preferably topped with some creamy French vanilla ice cream.

The dessert turned out to be super juicy and delicious with an awesome crust-like sugary topping. I am so excited to have crumbles become a staple at my future dinner parties.

Happy Mother’s Day Everybody! Here’s to all of the wonderful mothers out there who inspire us and support us in every single way!

Filled with love,

Mimi

Ps. This recipe has also been successful using only strawberries. I made the strawberry crumble for a senior dinner with my Auditorium pals last month! 

My Strawberry Crumble

The only issue that I faced with this crumble was the pan size. I highly recommend a wide and deep pan to help spread out the crumble topping better.

Garlic Potato Soup with Apples

Tags

apple, can be vegetarian, comfort food, garlic, potato, smooth soup, soup, yum

After a trip to the dentist, people can be confined to a liquid diet until everything is all healed up and a whole lot less numb. While this can seem like a really horrible thing, it can be wonderful when paired with the perfect soup.

As a special treat for Francisco’s mom, we made it our mission to make her a delicious soup using an assortment of ingredients that we found lying around his house. Here’s what we came up with:

Garlic Potato Soup with Apples

1 T. Oil
3 Russet Potatoes, peeled and diced
1 Onion, diced
2 Apples, peeled and diced
2-3 T. Garlic, minced
1-2 c. Broth (we used Chicken broth, but Vegetable broth would be great!)
1 c. Milk
1 c. Water
2 t. Rosemary
1 t. Chives
1 t. Nutmeg
Dashes of Paprika and Chili powder
Salt and Pepper to taste

First, we boiled the potatoes and strained them. Then with a little bit of oil, threw them into a sauce pan and added the milk so that they became somewhat like mashed potatoes.

In a separate pan, we sautéed the garlic, onions, and apples together in oil and seasoned them to taste with the nutmeg as well as salt and pepper. We waited for the ingredients to all become tender and then popped out our blender.

We blended the soup in two different batches. Taking half of each mixture as well as adding in some broth.

Once the soup was all blended, we put the mixture into a medium sized soup pot and gave it a taste. Then we threw in some dried rosemary, chives, chili powder, and paprika for a nice flavor. We brought the soup to a boil and then let it simmer to help all of the flavors marry.

Finally, we added some water to keep the mixture nice and smooth. And it was ready to serve!

Next time, we’ll have to try adding some more apple to help bring out that flavor some more, but besides that, this soup was absolutely excellent. It was a nice and warm soup that is perfect for curling up and getting well.

We can’t get enough of soups! Enjoy!

Love,

Mimi & Francisco

Chewy Cranberry Orange Granola (for Mother’s Day)

Tags

breakfast, cranberry, granola, mothers day, orange, sweet

Mother’s Day is a time for showing your mamacita just how much you care about her. I don’t admire very many moms. I tend to find that my own is superior. Some that fall into her ranks, however, are the following:

Michelle Obama
Molly Weasley
the mom from The Parent Trap
that polar bear that swam for 9 days straight across the Beaufort Sea with two cubs on its back
Roseanne
Mimi Yong

Anywho, if you’re going to honor a mom, in any way, honor her with food. I made her breakfast in bed, waking up at 7:30 in the morning to throw this granola in the oven. True dedication.

Here’s what you need.

2 c. rolled oats
1/3 c. walnuts
1/3 c. almonds
1/3 c. sunflower seeds
3 T. canola oil
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 T. sea salt
6 T. molasses
1 T. orange zest
2 T. orange juice
1 c. dried cranberries
copious amounts of honey

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Start by combining oats, all nuts, oil, brown sugar, salt, and molasses until everything is evenly coated. You may need to drizzle honey to your own best judgement, and it may not be exactly 6 T. Once it’s all darkened, drizzle on the honey.

Now, I cannot and will not restrict the amount of honey you put into this granola, but I drizzled til the sun went down (not literally). I’d say at least 6 T. to match the molasses, if you’re into measuring, but more honey will make it chewier, more wet. Less honey will make it crunchier, more piecey.

Once you are satisfied with your honey level, add orange zest and juice, mix well, and then spread on an oiled baking sheet so that it’s all evenly spread out.

Place in the oven for 45 minutes, or until it’s browned and changed texture. Taste test, please.

When you take the pan out, empty the contents on a ripped paper bag and spread out with dried cranberries, mixing it and mooshing it with your hands so that it’s all clumpy. Leave it to set for 15 minutes or so.

Serve it warm with pancakes or room temp with fruit and yogurt!

Happy Mamma’s Day,
Francisco

Carrot & Ginger Soup

Tags

carrots, easy, ginger, immersion blender, quick, soup, spicy, vegan, veggies

Last night, one of my friends mentioned carrot and ginger soup and I immediately knew what I was going to be making for lunch this afternoon. I had all of the ingredients in my fridge!

It was kind of thrown together on a whim, but I think it turned out pretty delicious! If you’re interested in a deliciously spicy soup with a sweet tangy flavor, this is exactly what you have been searching for! This recipe serves 2 for a nice light lunch to be paired with a delicious sandwich or salad of your choice!

Carrot & Ginger Soup

2 medium Carrots, sliced
1/2 Onion, diced
2 cloves of Garlic, minced
2 small Jalapeños, sliced
1/2 Orange Pepper, diced
Green Onion (to garnish)
2 c. Vegetable Broth
1 T. Olive oil
1 T. Ginger powder
2 tsp. Coriander
2 tsp. Basil
Pinch or two of Cayenne (I like things spicy, what can I say?)
Salt and Pepper to taste

First, place the onions and the garlic into a pot with the olive oil set on medium to high heat. Cook until the onions are translucent.

Then add the jalapeños as well as the ginger powder. Throw in the sliced carrots and the diced orange pepper and cook for 3-5 minutes. Add the vegetable broth and bring the entire mixture to a boil. Season with basil, coriander, cayenne, salt and pepper.

Next, I used my immersion blender and blended the soup. I like my soups to be a blend of chunky and smooth, but feel free to blend it to your choice!

Serve immediately with sliced green onion as a garnish on top!

This spicy, yet simple carrot soup is a perfect recipe for a quick lunch or a nice appetizer to a dinner. It was rich and creamy, but not super filling! I loved the fresh green onion on top and I’d definitely throw more on if I had any leftover!

4 Days until Graduation! Happy Finals Week!

Love,
Mimi