Green chile bagel

Bagels are definitely a comfort food for me. I can't explain it, but I also can't explain why I still love bagels after I subsisted on them for about 300 miles of a bike trip. We ate bagels for breakfast and lunch, and snacks along the way. I'd shove a half-eaten bagel into my handlebar bag and snack on it through the wheat fields of Ohio. But when the bagels were finally gone, we celebrated. As sick as I was of bagels, I still love them. Even after the second bagel-powered bike trip.

This is a slightly more gourmet take on bagels. When I saw green chile bagels at Fry's, I knew exactly what I wanted. I wanted them warm and toasty with plain cream cheese and sun-dried tomatoes. And it was delicious.

Asparagus + tofu + brown rice

This recipe is once again adapted from my Martha Stewart Living cookbook. The asparagus and tofu is good on its own, but definitely needs more substance to make it a full meal. Today I tried brown rice on the side because I was feeling all healthy-like.

First I got some brown rice cooking. I always mess up rice, but I recently read/heard that you can cook the rice in excess liquid (so about 3x the volume of rice you're cooking) and then drain it off. It worked well for this.

Then I fried up some strips of tofu... wait, first I drained the tofu by wrapping the block in paper towel and letting it sit with something heavy on top. Then I cut it into about 1/2 inch strips and drizzled on some soy sauce, them dipped the whole thing in sesame seeds and then finally fried it up. Ok, it's not so hard. Once the tofu was brown on both sides (gotta resist the urge to flip it too often), I set it aside on some paper towels. I cut the tofu into smaller pieces when it was cooled.

Meanwhile, I rinsed and trimmed the asparagus and got a big pot of water boiling. I love parboiled asparagus, it's way better than steamed. So I did this in 2 batches, boiling the asparagus for just a few minutes and then scooping it out into an ice bath.

Then in a large bowl, I mixed up a dressing of about 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp mustard, 1 tsp toasted sesame oil, 1 tsp rice vinegar (red wine vinegar is also good), and 1/2 tsp lemon juice. I combined the asparagus and tofu with the dressing, and added more of the previous ingredients to taste. I bet this would also be good with tahini, for a slightly richer dressing. It's also great with some freshly shaved ginger. Let the whole thing sit for about a half hour so that the asparagus can absorb the flavors.

The asparagus mixture plays well with the rice, so this would make a great boxed lunch.

Pizza and carrot salad

For Valentine's Day, I cooked dinner for my b/f. This happens about once a week anyway, but this week I splurged a little on organic vegetables and fancy cheese from Whole Foods.

First I made a carrot salad, based on a recipe in my Martha Stewart Living Cookbook. I washed, peeled, then chopped up about a pound of carrots in a food processor. I then mixed the carrots with lemon juice, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, and salt to taste. It usually ends up pretty sweet once the carrots soak for a while, but I wanted a bit of savory which is why I used soy sauce, and also added some sesame seeds. I then mixed in about 2/3 cup of sliced mint leaves and about 1/3 cup dried currants (raisins work too). This is an easy, vegan side dish!

I love pizza, and I especially love fresh mozzarella and tomatoes. So I started with a standard pizza crust (with white flour). After stretching it out on the pan, I crushed a clove of garlic and smeared it around the entire crust. On top of that, I spread on some basil-in-a-tube, which I hadn't tried before but turned out great. Since cheese isn't the healthiest thing, I really tried to cut back on my usual smearing olive oil over everything, and using fresh basil paste instead of pesto was a good, healthy option.

Once the sauce layer was finished, I sliced about 4 oz. of mozzarella (seriously, this stuff was amazing) into about 1/2 inch slices, as well as 2 small tomatoes, and laid them out on the pizza. Then I sprinkled on some capers, which are so good on pizza!

I baked the pizza for about 20 minutes at 400F, although next time I might broil it for a minute at the end. While it was still hot, I shredded on some Pecorina Romano (which adds a bit of saltiness too). I would say it turned out pretty wonderfully.

Finally for dessert I made this favorite pie of mine, except that instead of plums I used a peach and blackberries. The pie did not make it to the pictures, but it did make a delicious breakfast.

Breakfast eggs and kale

This year in particular I've been switching up my breakfast foods. I think that in high school and most of college I ate the same thing every day for breakfast: 2 pieces of toast, one with Nutella and one with peanut butter (and maybe honey or jam on top of that), and a cup of tea. Now I find that especially when I'm exercising, that doesn't provide enough protein and I quickly get hungry. So my second favorite breakfast is Kashi Go-Lean mixed with plain yogurt, a bit of honey, and cinnamon. But eggs are an easy and delicious breakfast food.

This week I sauteed a bunch of kale at once, then used it throughout the week. I usually ate some variation of the photo above: 2 eggs (sometimes 1 whole egg plus one egg white), toast, and kale (plus a cookie—or a few—as a treat). I love putting Sriracha on eggs and toast, or adding curry powder and a bit of salt to the eggs before frying them.

Roasted root veggies, bean salad

Every year I get a craving for warm, roasted root vegetables. And then I overdose on beets, although how can you resist this colorful dish? I was inspired by this dish, but hesitant to add tahini to the sweet, roasted veggies. So I decided to balance the carb-laden veggies with a bean salad in a lemon-tahini dressing. The flavors could mix if they wanted to (they did, it was delicious), but I could enjoy them on their own.

I started by cleaning and cutting about 6 lbs of beets, carrots, and parsnips into 1-in pieces. I tossed them in olive oil and salt, and split the batch between 2 pans (the photo above is the end result). I learned recently that if you put the vegetables too close together (in baking and in cooking), they will just steam and not caramelize. I believe I cooked it at 375 or 400 degrees for about a half hour, then I added some garlic cloves and cooked 20-30 more minutes. After the vegetables were done and slightly cool, I drizzled balsamic vinegar and chives on top.

The bean salad was also pretty easy. Like the recipe linked to earlier, the dressing is like Annie's "Goddess" dressing, which is like cocaine for hippie salads. But it's pretty easy to make with some tahini, lemon juice, garlic, red wine vinegar, and soy sauce (adjusting the amount until delicious). After mixing together the dressing, I used 1 can each of chickpeas and red kidney beans, then added chopped chives and mint leaves as well.

This meal is really high in fiber, so tread carefully... but I enjoyed it, and it wasn't too much work.

Pasta with peppers

This recipe is adapted from my Vegetarian cookbook. Pasta and bell peppers is delicious on its own, but this recipe has a tangy, slightly sweet, and light sauce. I was slightly suspicious because this recipe calls for parboiled bell peppers. I know that vegetables lose nutrients when you boil them, but hopefully the large-ish amount of peppers here makes up for that. The main benefit of parboiling here is that you don't have to use any oil to saute the peppers, and you can use the same pot and water (one pot meal! hooray!) for the pasta. Maybe next time I would roast the peppers for a slightly better flavor.

After parboiling three peppers, I cooked 8 oz. of pasta in the same water. Meanwhile, I made a sauce from about 1 Tbsp mustard, 1 Tbsp lime juice, 1 tsp honey, 2 Tbsp golden raisins, and 2 Tbsp capers. When the pasta was al dente and drained, I mixed everything together in the pot, and when it was a bit cooler, I added about 4 oz. (half a ball) of fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into pieces. I drizzled a bit of olive oil, sprinkled some red pepper flakes, and mixed again. I also shredded some Pecorino Romano cheese on top right before serving (thank you, Whole Foods—although I feel the rest of your food is overpriced and your staff was rude). The recipe makes 4 servings.

I have a similar recipe in my Martha Stewart Living Cookbook (aka the Bible). It starts with sauteing some garlic, then adding 1 cup stock (or dry white wine) along with capers, golden raisins, crushed red pepper flakes, and cauliflower. When the pasta is done cooking, add it to the stock/cauliflower reduction, and garnish with fresh basil. (The actual recipe calls for more fancy things—saffron, anchovies, and pine nuts—but I made this and it was good.)

Thai yellow curry with vegetables

This recipe is one to keep. I've never made my own Thai curry, but I had most of the ingredients on-hand and it was easy and delicious. However, I chose to use about a billion different vegetables, so it took me a while to chop and cook all of them. Here is the basic breakdown:

Pre-chop potatoes, carrots, and a red pepper into small cubes.

Chop onion and saute for about 5 minutes at medium heat in a large stock pot/dutch oven. Reduce heat and add chopped garlic, zucchini, and mushrooms.

Meanwhile, make the curry paste in a food processor. Add to the vegetables and cook for 2 minutes, then add the can of coconut sauce.

Add the pre-chopped vegetables and enough water to cover them. I cooked this for about 30 minutes, until the potatoes were soft, and uncovered so the sauce would cook down. Near the end, I added the cubed tofu and at the very end, a chopped up tomato and cilantro.

Served in a large bowl, topped with jasmine rice.