Secret Ingredient

His and hers pasta salad lunch...

2010-06-03T07:11:00.000-07:00

I love to eat food, my boyfriend loves to eat food. I'm trying to lose weight; my boyfriend is trying to gain weight. Boyfriend eats many meals a day, I [want to] eat many meals a day. It's a struggle for me not to eat pasta when it's right there in front of me. I'm starting to figure out and learn how to adjust our meals and not create 2 completely different meals for the both of us.

His pasta salad

Her shiritaki noodle salad

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
1 red pepper, sliced into strips
1 zucchini, halved and sliced
1 bunch sugar snap peas
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 handful of basil, chopped
champagne vinaigrette
1/2 box of bow tie pasta (for him)
1 package of shiritaki noodles (for her)

Directions:
1. Chop the chicken breasts into bite size pieces, and saute on a skillet, using the champagne vinaigrette as the oil source (and marinade).
2. Place the sliced red pepper, zucchini, and sugar snap peas on a tray and bake at 350 for about 10 min, flipping once, (or saute on a skillet if you prefer)
3. Cook the bow tie pasta per the directions on the box.
4. Wash the shiritaki noodles and place in a bow.
5. Split each of the following items and place half in the pasta bowl, and half in the shiritaki bowl: chicken, veggies, chopped basil, and feta cheese.
6. Add about a tablespoon of champagne vinaigrette to each bowl and toss.
7. Enjoy his and hers.

Buckwheat Pancakes

2010-06-01T12:45:00.000-07:00

Buckwheat Pancakes

Weekends are special, and because of that I always have a breakfast that I wouldn't normally have during the work week (aka loaded with carbs mmmmmm). I bought some buckwheat flour that's a lot healthier than regular white flour, added some blueberries and bananas, and my regular pancake treat was off the charts delicious!

I wasn't sure what to expect with the buckwheat...the pancakes were grainy, which is a texture I wasn't used to or expecting...but they were still really good.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 large egg
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 really ripe banana chopped up into little chunks
1/2 cup blueberries

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a bowl. Combine the milk and vinegar and let stand for 5 min (my pho buttermilk). Add the egg and vanilla extract to the liquids, mix it up and pour all the liquids into the dry ingredients, stirring till the batter doesn't have any chunks. Stir in the banana and blueberries to the batter.

Heat a skillet on medium to low heat so the pancakes have time to cook and not be soggy on the inside. Spray with PAM and once the skillet is warm enough pour the pancake batter into the skillet. Pour out as much or as little batter as you want the pancake to be. Give it about 2 min before the first flip. You can judge if it's ready to flip when the pancake starts bubbling. Once you flip, should be about another 2 min.

I always make at least one signature heart. :)

Enjoy!

Shi-wwwhhaaattttt???

2010-03-08T08:57:00.000-08:00

Fettuccine Alfredo with Shrimp...or so you thought

My co-worker discovered this tofu "pasta" called Shiritaki. It's tofu that's supposed to replicate the shape, texture and taste of pasta without the guilt of consuming millions of calories and carbs. We were going to order it online, but it turns out Whole Foods carries it. Yahoo!!! I figured I'd give it a try...a true foodie tries everything!

The best part about this was it was SUPER easy. It probably took a total of 5 minutes from start to finish. The taste, while not exactly pasta, is different, but good. Needless to say, I'm sold! I bought a half dozen more packages since they taste good, they're easy to make, and last a while in the fridge.

Ingridients:

1 package of tofu shirataki fettuccine
2 teaspoons of sour cream (I used low-fat)
2 teaspoons of grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shrimp
salt/pepper to taste

* the recipe on the package called for 2 teaspoons of cream cheese, but I didn't have that and it still tasted good without it.

Directions:

Drain and rinse the whole package of shirataki fettuccine. Pat dry with paper towels as much as you can and microwave for 1-2 min. Meanwhile, start sauteing the shrimp in a pan. Once the shrimp is cooked add the shirataki fettuccine, sour cream, Parmesan cheese heat all the way through. Add salt and pepper. Enjoy!

There's an apple in my apple!

2010-03-05T08:39:00.000-08:00

Mmmmm double apple was yummy! :)

Udon stir-fry with beef and veggies

2010-02-22T08:48:00.000-08:00

Udon stiry-fry with beef, baby corn, baby bok choy and nappa cabbage. So easy and tastes like it was made in an asian restaurant!

Ingredients:
1 package of cooked Udon noodles
2 baby bok choy,chopped
1 can baby corn, cut in half
few leaves of nappa cabbage, chopped
1/2 lb flank steak, sliced into thin strips
1 teaspoon sugar
seasoned oil (includes: sesame, ginger, garlic and canola)
rice cooking wine
ground ginger
soy sauce
flour

Directions:

Since I tend to make big portions and overcrowd the ingredients I decided to cook each thing separately and combine everything at the end. This works well if you don't have a huge skillet or wok as well.

1. Marinade the steak in equal parts: soy sauce and rice wine, a dash of seasoned oil, dash of ground ginger and sugar for at least an hour

2. Heat skillet with seasoned oil and saute baby corn, nappa cabbage and bock choy. Once sauteed, put to the side

3. Using the same skillet add just a bit more seasoned oil and saute the steak. Cook till its almost ready (since it will be resting and will be going back into the skillet at the end) and combine with the veggies. If you cook it all the way it will most likely dry out

4. Saute the cooked Udon noodles till they are heated all the way and have a nice crispy color to them (add oil if needed).

5. Keep the noodles in the skillet and combine the meat and veggies into it. Add a little bit of rice wine, soy sauce and ginger per preferred taste.

6. Serve and enjoy!

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage and Scallions

2009-11-17T12:59:00.000-08:00

Mmmmmm, I just can't get enough of butternut squash. Here's a recipe I created after having some awesome raviolis at OM Restaurant and Lounge in Cambridge, MA about a year ago and creating my butternut squash quesadillas.

Butternut Squash Ravioli

Ingredients:
1 package of circular wanton wrappers
1 egg
1 peeled butternut squash cut the long way in half
1 medium onion, chopped
4 scallions chopped (divided into 2)
1 minced clove of garlic
handful of chopped parsley
1 tablespoon brown sugar
handful of chopped sage
butter

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 475. Put butternut squash on a cookie sheet and bake for 45-55 min or until its tender and you can pierce a fork through it. While the squash is cooking, in a skillet saute onions till tender, add half the scallions, garlic, parsley and brown sugar. Saute till tender.
Once the squash is out of the oven mash it up and combine with the other mixture. In a small bowl whisk the egg, this will be used to bind the raviolis.

Take two wanton wrappers; place a teaspoon of filling in the center of one wanton wrapper, use your finger to spread the egg around the edges and place the second wanton wrapper on top, pleat the edges all the way around. Repeat till all the filling is gone. (I had about 10 wanton wrappers left over by the time I was done).

Heat up butter in a skillet; saute the leftover scallions and sage. Add enough water to the skillet to halfway cover the ravioli. Bring to a boil and place the raviolis in the skillet, turn the heat down to medium. Since the wanton wrappers are thin I always move the raviolis around to make sure they are not stuck to the bottom. After about 1-2 min flip the raviolis and again make sure they don't stick to the bottom. You will know when they are done when the water has evaporated, the ravioli dough looks cooked and is crisping up on the bottoms.

Enjoy!

Moroccan Slow-Cooked Lamb

2009-10-27T06:29:00.000-07:00

Moroccan Slow-Cooked Lamb

I wanted to cook with Lamb because I've never done it before, and I read an article in Cooks Illustrated that made it seem difficult to get the meat tender and taste good. I was a little hesitant to try it, but I've had enough of chicken, pork and beef...it's lamb time. I used a recipe from epicurious.com (Moroccan Slow- Cooked Lamb). It was super easy and sooooooo tasty. The lamb just melts in your mouth.

I made a few minor adjustments:
-nixed the fennel seeds
-use two cans of chickpeas instead of one
-simmered the lamb for two hours instead of one

Stuffed Grape Leaves

2009-10-23T06:36:00.000-07:00

An old friend of mine had made these killer stuffed grape leaves. I had never tasted anything so delicious. This is my best (and pretty damn good) re-creation of the amazing stuffed grape leaves.

Stuffed Grape Leaves
1 jar grape leaves
1 teaspoon of oil
1 chopped large onion
2 cloves garlic
2 lbs of ground beef
1 cup of rice (Jasmine rice will be mushier; brown rice will be crunchier; I've done both, i like the brown rice better because of the crunch)
1/2 cup tomato puree
3/4 cups feta- crumbled
2 lemons (zest)
2 bunch of green onions chopped
1/2 cup dill chopped
1/2 cup mint chipped
2 cups chicken stock
4 eggs
2 lemon (juice)
salt/pepper

Soak the grape leaves in boiling water while preparing the stuffing (to get rid of the juices from the jar and soften the leaves). Heat oil in a skillet and saute onions until tender (about 5-7 min), add the garlic and saute for an additional minute or two.
In a bowl mix onions, garlic, ground beef, rice, tomato puree, feta, lemon zest, green onions, dill, mint, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl.
Drain the grape leaves and rinse the leaves a few times. Place the leaves on a flat surface, cut off the little stems. Place a filling in the middle of the leaf and fold the sides in and roll it up. Place stuffed grape leaves in a big pan that you will be using to cook them in. Repeat this step till you're either out of filling or out of leaves (I usually end up having a few extra leaves). Pour chicken stock into the pan so it covers the grape leaves. Bring them to a boil and then lower the heat to simmering for about 40 minutes.
Whisk the eggs in a bowl over a small pan of simmering water. Do this until the eggs are frothy. Slowly add the lemon juice while whisking. Add the liquid from the grape leave baking pan and continue whisking until the sauce thickens. Pour the completed sauce back into the grape leaves dish.

Serve and enjoy!

Butternut squash quesadilla surprise

2009-10-16T12:10:00.000-07:00

I've recently started liking all things squash and pumpkin. The latest and greatest discovery is butternut squash. Mmmmmm, delicious and so good for you. I had a whole cup full of butternut squash puree left over from my butternut squash turkey chili left over....and I just couldn't resist not doing something fun with it. So here it is...my mish-mesh of leftovers, random ingredients and a boat load of deliciousness:

Butternut squash quesadilla surprise

(for 1 quesadilla)

*the amount of ingredients is an approximation; I just eyeballed the whole thing

2 tortillas

~ 1/4 cup blended shredded cheese

~ 1/2 cup butternut squash puree

~ 1/4 cup chopped parsley

~ 2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon of butter

In a skillet melt 1/4 teaspoon of butter; once the skillet is hot place one tortilla in the skillet and wait till it warms up (about 2 minutes). Flip the tortilla and spread out the cheese, butternut squash puree, parsley, secret ingredient, and brown sugar in layers:

Place the second tortilla on top and flip the whole thing. Let it heat up for about 2 min and take off the skillet. Cut it up and enjoy.

My first frittata-ta-ta!

2009-10-13T10:35:00.000-07:00

I learned about frittatas only a few weeks ago! Who knew that omelets had such a fancy name, could be baked in the oven and could be soooooooooooooooo tasty.

Frittata-ta-ta

1 dozen eggs

1/4 cup milk 

1 red pepper chopped

1 bunch scallions chopped

1 ham steak chopped

1 tomato sliced

2 cups shredded cheese (any type will do)

salt and pepper 

Pre-heat oven to 400.  Saute the pepper, scallions and ham steak in a skillet for a few minutes until tender.  Get a 9x13 baking pan, grease the bottom and layer with one cup of cheese, and then make another layer with the sauteed veggies and ham.  Mix one dozen eggs and 1/4 cup of milk until blended; add the remaining cup of cheese; add salt and pepper if desired.  Pour the egg mixture into the baking pan (there is no need to mix all of the ingridients as the layers will rise by themselves a little bit.  Put the sliced tomatoes on top of the egg mixture and bake in the over for about 35-40 min (or until the eggs aren't runny).

 Enjoy!

2009-10-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

Beet salad with feta

Mmmmmm beeeeets. So delicious and so healthy.

Welcome

2009-10-02T13:19:00.000-07:00

My name is Irina, and I have a food addiction.

I suppose the first step is realizing the problem, and the second is starting a blog about it. I really think about eating and cooking all the time. I love to cook and I love to go out to eat. I think everything you make should be filled with love (hint hint blog name) because it makes the food taste just that much better!