I am tired- break

I am behind, in life. There is a lot going on with my day time job, volunteering, once a month cooking club, house decorating, and trying to live. I enjoy all of the above but since I am also a busy body or try to be, I forget that I can't handle all of it at once, mentally and physically. And if that wasn't enough, I am part timing at a small restaurant in the evening hours. This was to pursue my dream to own my little restaurant or coffee shop. I've never worked at a restaurant, besides Subway, and decided I must start now. The corporate slaving is alright but cooking and owning a business is where my heart belongs. I try to eat out on days when I’m too tired to do anything but I think that’s made it worse. Because I am doing everything all at once and don't give myself time to cook, I am more cranky. I hope all that goes away now that the weather is nicer. *keeping my fingers crossed*

Has anyone been in this situation before? What is one to do? How do you prioritize?

I am taking a blogging break for few days. This weekend will be used to recoup. Though I won’t blog for few days, I'll definitely browse my favorite blogs so keep posting!

Presto Pasta Night

The husband and I have craved homemade lasagna for months. And every time we go to Italian restaurant lasagna is either their best/top dish or a special on the menu. Unfortunately since we don't eat beef or pork, we couldn't have the all around favorite Italian pasta dish. After the last time that happened, we agreed to make it at home. When we were younger my mom made lasagna couple times. I know she fiddled with variety of recipes to make her own. I liked hers a lot but couldn't remember how she made it. Really, all it took was a phone call to ask but I was determined to make my own lasagna.

I can proudly say I made lasagna from scratch for the first time. (I didn't make the pasta though that'd be great) I followed directions on the back of the Barilla box. I won't post the recipe because Barilla sells pasta almost everywhere and the recipe is probably on their website. If you desperately want a recipe, email me and I'll send it over. However I don't think it's worth the time and effort to follow their recipe. (No offense to any of you that follow the recipe and enjoy it.)

It was too bland for my taste. Maybe I'm used to eating my mom's that included all kinds of spices and ingredients or maybe I am not used to having salt and pepper as the only seasonings in my food. I like my dishes to have oomph and this one didn't have it.

Also, I didn't think it was as fabulous as I had hoped because of the amount of time and energy it required for an okay result. I don't mind slaving over in the kitchen for hours (I grew up watching my mom make Indian food daily) using lots of ingredients but only if their is payoff.

Overall, the lasagna was edible but certainly not exceptional. This means I am on a lookout for a great turkey lasagna recipe. If any of you have suggestions or recipes, please feel free to share.

Regardless of the outcome, I'm submitting this for Presto Pasta Night hosted by Ruth. I am making myself feel better by saying, it obviously wasn't that bad since I put in the effort to assemble, eat, and freeze it all. In couple weeks, I'm hoping to defrost it, add some seasonings and herbs for my kicked up version.

This coming fall I am hoping to try again, thoroughly researching recipes and blogs before round due (two in italian).

I made Gnocchi?

Couple days ago I had a "I must try to make this dish" moment. A strong inkling for me usually means revamping a favorite recipe or trying something new. This time it was the latter. I read blogs, cookbooks, websites about gnocchi but never tried making it. With the precise steps and very few ingredients, the thought of making it was terrifying. On several occasions I thought, if I make a mistake, there's no turning back and I couldn't just add ingredients to cover up the mess. It was scary. I was intimidated to make gnocchi at home. However I knew I had a large bowl full of left over mashed potatoes. I made mashed potatoes to go with scallops and caramelized onions. That dish was good but not a favorite. Since gnocchi consists of boiled or baked potatoes, mashed, I found this and this recipe. As nervous as I was, I convinced myself to make it for dinner. And that is how gnocchi with sage butter emerged in our house for the first time.

Gnocchi

1 1/2 cups left over mashed potatoes
1/2 - 3/4 cups Flour, divided
1 Egg
pinch of salt

Sauce:
3 tablespoons Butter
10 sage leaves
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan
ground white pepper

Put the mashed potatoes through a sieve. From my research the best product for this is a potato ricer but since I don't plan on investing in one, sieve with bigger net holes works fine. Don't use a fine sieve, because the potatoes won't pass. Dust countertop with some flour and spread potatoes on the counter top. Make a well in the potatoes. Then add 1 egg, 1/2 cup of flour and salt. Knead the dough. Add additional flour to the dough or countertop, if necessary. Dough should be soft but not sticky. Divide the ball of dough in quarters.

Lightly flour hands and counter. Take each quarter and roll out with hands to make a rope. The rope should be 1/2 inch in diameter. Cut the ropes in 1/2- 3/4 inch pieces. Using a fork and your thumb, gently press each piece into the back of the fork with your thumb. It will have fork marks on one side and slight indentation on the other. As the pieces are formed, lay them on a dusted or parchment papered cookie sheet.

I froze half of mine for another special night. I smell tomato and basil sauce in the air...

To cook the gnocchi bring a pot of water to boil. Add salt to the water when it comes to a bubble. Then add some gnocchi to the boiling water. (Do not over crowd or they will stick to each other or the bottom of the pot). As they rise to the top, remove with a slotted spoon. Repeat until all are cooked.

To make the sauce; melt butter on medium heat in a medium saute pan. When it bubbles, add sage and let it cook and crisp for 1 minute. Add cooked gnocchi to the pan. Cook the gnocchi with the sauce for 1 - 1 1/2 minutes on each side. This will brown the gnocchi. Serve hot.



Thanks to epicurious, Elise and few other googled recipes, I made gnocchi for the first time with great success! Though intimidating at first it's really simple and worth the time and effort. I'll definitely add it to my repertoire.



Because of the great flavor combination of sage and butter for the sauce, this is my contribution to the Weekend Herb Blogging cooking event hosted by Sher at What did you eat.

Weekend Herb Blogging was invented by Kalyn to increase herb usage in the our daily cooking. It has been a huge success because bloggers all around the world contribute to the event.

what happens when a blogger browses 10+ blogs a day?

You get hooked, or at least I do. Hooked on the feeling to read more, learn more and cook more. This morning I came to the realization that I am very thankful for the birth of internet, especially blogging. Since I sat down on the PC this morning until just a few minutes ago, I've read 5 familiar blogs and 6 new ones. The familiar ones are on my favorite lists as I stop in and read their updates and the new ones are a discovery. It happens everyday. I find more new blogs daily that I am fascinated by and have the desire to visit regularly. For instance, I found this exceptionally written blog by Cookiecrumb and this one about Quick Indian Cooking. Until I started reading the latter, I didn't think such a thing was possible. Indian cooking fast? No way... However after reading that particular blog, I can imagine it can work. If I get all my ducks in a row, prepare all my ingredients beforehand, I can cook Indian food in a short time.

I am appreciative to those discovered and waiting to be discovered for the insight on such great things.

Notably, these familiar and newly discovered blogs inspire me to try cooking a variety of dishes. I've made gnocchi, lasagna, and fig & goat cheese tapenade in the last few days (pictures, recipes and success rate will soon to be posted), all because the blogs that I've stumbled upon have made me want to try my hand at gnocchi, for the first time, or make an old time favorite, lasagna.

Familiar or not, some recipes and pictures have really made my mouth water. I’ve made a list of recipes I want to try in the upcoming weeks. To name a few, I am planning to make scalloped potatoes, spaghetti and meatballs, and khaman.

The pictures on this blog even made me want to visit Morocco as soon as possible. Though the travel may not happen now, I can certainly dream. And most importantly I can continue to cook and cherish great foods, tastes and cultures of the world which is at my fingertips.

Jihva for Tomatoes, or Tomatillos

Tomatoes, tomater, taameta, tomate; whatever word you use to call these fruits, you know when I say they're the most delightful things for any kind of cooking. They're so versatile, they can be added to any recipe for an enhanced taste. When I read that RP was hosting JFI blogging event and tomatoes were her pick for the month; I jumped at the opportunity to make a tomato-based dish. I went to a favorite grocer that sells a variety of vegetables and fruits including bittermelon, Indian eggplant, Japanese eggplant, lemongrass, fresh okra, plantains and a billion types of hot sauces. Products that would otherwise be oust from a typical store because they're international. boohoo. I bought fresh tomatillos to make a mexican favorite, enchilada verde. I made enchilada sauce using tomatillo salsa and the filling with spinach, black bean and cheese.
I came across a filling recipe by Sher at What did you eat She made a delicious spinach & kale enchilada filling that inspired me to try my hand at vegetarian enchiladas. I used black beans in place of mushrooms and kale and it still turned out great. Next time I'll even go as far as making the tequila sauce, if time permits.

Enchilada Verde

For the sauce:
4 tomatillos
2 garlic cloves
2 serrano peppers (2 made it spicy, just the way I like it; add according to your taste)
1 medium onion
teaspoon of cumin seeds
water

Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Roast the vegetables and whole cumin in a baking dish for 14 minutes. When finished, let cool. Add some water to the blender along with the roasted ingredients and blend into a smooth sauce. Add salt and blend again.

For the filling:
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 16 oz can of black beans, washed and drained
16 oz frozen spinach (defrosted and squeezed dry) or 1.5 lbs of fresh spinach, washed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teapsoon of red chile powder
1 tablespoon of flour
1/2 cup milk1 cup Cheese- Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Smoked Cheddar, Queso Fresco (anything that tickles your fancy
Salt & Pepper

Heat oil in a non stick pan. Add garlic and onions and saute until onions are translucent and garlic is cooked. Sprinkle some salt & pepper. Add black beans and cook for 4-6 minutes. Then add spinach and cook until wilted. Add ground cumin, coriander, red chile powder and more salt & pepper to flavor the beans and the greens. Add flour and stir until thoroughly mixed. Cook the flour for 3- 5 minutes or until it starts to smell nutty. Whisk in the milk slowly to keep from lumping. Add 1/4 cup of tomatillo salsa and cook until liquid is evaporated. Remove from heat, add the cheese, and stir. Let the filling cool.

To make the Enchiladas:
8 corn, flour or wheat tortillas
Spinach and Black bean filling
Tomatillo salsa
Cheese
Fill each tortilla with the filling, roll and lay in a rectangular baking dish. Repeat this with the other 7 tortillas.

Pour tomatillo salsa over the enchiladas and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Sprinkle rest of the cheese over the enchiladas and bake for 5 more minutes. When ready, the cheese should be bubbling on top.

The tomatillo salsa was unusual from the typical red enchilada sauce and added great flavor to the enchiladas. I made this when MG & EB were over for dinner; it was a big hit with the vegetarian guest. I'll certainly make it again.