Recipe #9

Sushi? At first it may seem like something unattainable, unsanitary, and impossible to do at home. Raw fish on my cutting board? I don't think so. Hi, salmonella. But now those worries can be forgotten with a new discovery (maybe not so new for those who are far more adept than I at navigating H-mart). I found fresh and really awesome sashimi at H-mart, better than even some sushi I've had. Goodbye eating out. Hello homemade sushi!

Sushi (the real thing.)

- 2 c. sushi rice (really, really short grain white rice), cooked

- 24-25 pcs. sashimi (I used salmon and tuna)

- 2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

- sriracha (optional)

First, deal with the rice. Confession: I messed up. Always follow the directions on the bag of whatever brand rice you get, don't go by what you think it is. So I put 4 cups of water for 2 cups rice (the bag said 2.5 cups water for 2 cups rice) and ended up with a slightly thick rice pudding. But it worked out anyway. After the rice is cooked correctly, add the rice wine vinegar and mix (this should make the rice sticky). I didn't have rice wine vinegar so I just used what was in the cabinet which ended up being apple cider vinegar. Slightly apple flavored rice, you learn new things every day. Next, get a big bowl of ice water and a towel to shape the rice into little oval cakes. Try molding the rice without the ice water and towel. See, it sticks to your hands and gets messy, now you see why I said to get the water. Dip your hands into the water before handling the rice and in between molding. This trick works every time. After the rice is all shaped, the hard part is over. All that's left to do is lay the sashimi on top of each one and it's done. Sriracha if you like spicy things and are weird like me. Or stick with the classic soy and wasabi. 

(Makes 25 sushis. (Sushis? Is that the plural? No idea.))

Recipe #8

You know those really cold and really snowy days where all you feel like doing is raiding the refrigerator or just sleeping all day? Problem solved. This recipe isn't your typical heavy winter food item but it's warm enough to keep the cold out and extremely easy to make. I had been trying to find a way to make tofu a little less bland (but yes, I'll admit, eating it raw is very tempting. I am one of those people who is a sucker for raw tofu.) and eventually I added enough other ingredients till it became this. Noodles? Optional. Why have noodles when you have tofu. The sweet and spicy works so well together. The prettiness aspect of the dish isn't too bad either ;)

Chili Tofu with Soy and Avocado

-  half teaspoon chili paste

- garlic (a clove, chopped)

- hoisin sauce (in any asian supermarket but a sweeter bbq sauce might work too if isn't too strong)

- soy sauce

- one avocado

- salt & pepper

- a tablespoon sesame oil

- firm tofu (one container)

Ok, so the best method that worked to overcome the bland tofu-yness of the tofu was putting a little soy sauce in a plate and having the sliced tofu (about 1' squares, I did mine like half an inch thick) sit for maybe 5 to 7 minutes. The tofu should be stained that deeper brown color when it's sat for enough time. Sprinkle on the salt and pepper. Since there aren't many ingredients, the ones we do use need to have a strong amount of flavor content, so I used sesame oil. Harder to burn, stronger flavor, and better for you. When enough gets hot add the chili paste and garlic. When the oil starts to get reddish from the chili add the tofu. Brush a little hoisin sauce (or bbq if that's what you're using) onto the top. Don't flip it too early! You want it to get pretty dark on one side. After you flip it, leave the hoisin side down for a little while until it gets very sticky and more solid looking. Peel and slice your avocado and serve once it's done. (Serves 3, but in our house only 2!)

Recipe #7

Finally, another recipe after the summer vacation hiatus. This one, inspired by my healthy, no-oil/fried-loving sister, a form of non-fried doughnuts! Well, almost. Fun to make and even more fun to watch them pop in the oven while they bake. (We ate these for breakfast.) Probably the simplest recipe you'll ever make, really pretty hard to mess up. If you want a savory version, just hold the cinnamon sugar and add in herbs and seasoned salt instead.

Cinnamon Sugar Popovers
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- a few Tbs sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- dash of cinnamon
- 1 Tbs oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Drizzle a teaspoon of butter/oil into each muffin tin (without cupcake liners!) and stick the greased pan in the oven while you make the batter. Beat together the eggs, milk, oil, sugar, cinnamon, and flour until smooth. If needed, use an electric mixer for two minutes. Then, take the muffin tin out of the oven and add in the batter, filling each tin less than halfway. (The batter should sizzle a little since your pan is hot.) If you want, you can sprinkle more cinnamon sugar on top for a crunchy outside. Bake for around 15-20 minutes, then reduce the temp to 350 degrees and bake for another 15-20 min. Best served hot right out of the oven! Dust with powdered sugar if you want ;)

(Makes 1 dozen popovers)

Recipe #6

I had been wanting to make this for a while, but when I was requested to make vegan cheesecake, the idea of finally doing avocado cheesecake came. I know putting avocado in a cheesecake wouldn't be the first thing many people think of when they think avocado, but this recipe is seriously good and is completely vegan (dairy free). Limes turn this green cheesecake into more of a key lime pie sort of dessert but I had to make a few little substitutes along the way since I realized I didn't have limes at home, (I juiced oranges instead, so I made a green cheesecake that tasted orange ;) but regardless it was so yum. Now I hand you the glory that is the recipe to this deliciousness.

Vegan Avocado Cheesecake

Crust

- 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

- 1/4 cup chopped pecans

- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup dates

- lime zest 

- pinch of salt

Filling

- 2 avocados (about 1 1/2 cups)

- 1/4 cup lime juice 

- 1/2 cup agave nectar or honey

- a few Tbs coconut oil

Procedure is really easy. Put all the crust ingredients in the food processor. Combine until it comes together. Press into a springform pan and stick in the freezer. Step 2. Put all the filling ingredients in the food processor. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust. Pour on top of the crust. Freeze overnight and enjoy. 

(Serves 4)

Recipe #5

So, hope everyone had a great fourth of July, did something fun and all, maybe got accidentally burned by some illegal sparklers you set off. Anyhow, burnt or not, macaroni and cheese is still a staple here. Whether you're the type to go out and get the gooey orange stuff that takes less time to to make than look for a fork in the dishwasher to eat it with, I won't judge. There are times when that has solved my problems, I won't deny it. But this 4th of July, I think we hit the arguably best version on mac and cheese from scratch that we ever made. I'll try to estimate the amounts of ingredients we used as best I can, but it was pretty much throwing a lot of stuff in a pot and covering it for a while.

Mac and Cheese from Scratch

- 2 boxes (16 oz) elbow macaroni
- 1 onion
- 1 pkg cheddar cheese (8 oz) shredded
- 1 pkg monterey jack cheese (8 oz) shredded
- a little over 2 c milk
- 6 Tbs flour
- 1 tsp mustard powder
- salt/pepper to taste
- 1/2 pkg crackers
- (optional) herbs
- shortening (oil, butter, margarine, whatever you normally use) about 2 Tbs

Take the packages of cheese, and if you haven't already, go ahead and shred them. We did it by hand since they were in huge blocks to begin with.

Cheddar cheese is the classic go-to cheese for this recipe, and it's important, at least for this, to get good cheddar cheese. (Something like Velveeta or american singles will not do the same job.) If you like sharper cheddar, go for sharper, if less sharp, stay on the mild side. 

What lots of people don't realize about mac and cheese is that it's not only cheddar cheese. Trust me, I've tried just cheddar before and it tastes really strong and not at all what you're idea of mac and cheese is. An equal amount of a mellower cheese is also important to balance out the cheddar. We used monterey jack, but any less strong cheese should work. 

Then just fill a pot with water to boil on the stove. Once that's boiling, you'll add the pasta. Get another pot to start your sauce. The base for bechamels and also the sauce for this recipe is what's called a roux, which is just a fancy french name for what you're about to do. Chop the onion and add it to your shortening, sauteeing until the onions are soft and sort of colored. 

There should be extra shortening even after the onions are done. If not just add a bit more, you'll need it for the next part. Add in the mustard powder and flour to the onions. After the flour is added, it'll look like a big bunch of dry, lumpy flour, but don't freak out cuz that's what you want it to look like. Slowly, a little bit at a time, start adding the milk into the mixture, smoothing out the flour with it until it comes together. Once you've added all the milk, keep stirring until it gets to a rolling boil. (Don't leave the stove though, or it'll boil over! Happened once to me, and the idea of me in the kitchen was never the same to anyone again.) If the water's boiling, it might be a good time to add in the pasta to the other pot. Cook the pasta for a minute or two less than directed, it'll cook more with the sauce. Once the milk reaches a boil, turn off the stove and dump in all of the shredded cheese. Keep mixing until it sort of melts in to form a sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. Guess what? The sauce is done. Not kidding. I told you it was easy. Pasta should be done by this point, so drain and add to the sauce. That can sit for a while. I made breadcrumbs to put on mine since I have a thing with breadcrumbs. I used whatever salty-ish crackers were around, ground them up (food processor or mortar/pestle), chopped some herbs (thyme, oregano) and toasted them in olive oil before adding them on top of everything. 

(Serves 6+)

Recipe #4

Melt-in-your-mouth, so in season, and dessert... Scone-ish, crumbled toasted sugar, and pops of blueberry. What's not to love? Looking for something in between the more rustic and lowly muffin and the refined elegance of a cupcake? You've found your haven. (I didn't invent this recipe, but it's been an amazing hit all the same.) We picked the blueberries just today then went home and made this amazing piece of heaven. (Fresh organic, and affordable PYO blueberries in New Egypt, NJ, see website: http://www.emerysfarm.com/) That's about as fresh as you can get. Now without further ado, the recipe.

Blueberry Crumble Coffee Cake

- 2 cups unbleached, all purpose flour

- 2 1/4 tsp baking powder

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1/2 stick butter, soft not melted

- 1 tsp cinnamon

- 3/4 cups sugar

- 1 egg

- 1/4 tsp vanilla

- 3/4 cup milk

- 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. First combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl: flour, baking powder, and salt. Then, in a large bowl: Cream butter and sugar by beating with an electric mixer. Add cinnamon. Still using mixer, add the egg and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated. Measure the milk and set aside. Then alternately pour the milk and flour mixture into the butter-sugar. (Do not beat with the mixer this time. That'll cause the gluten to chunk up in the batter, causing the cake to become tough and chewy.) Stir in the blueberries. Pour the batter into a greased 9x13 pan and add crumble topping (recipe below).

- 3/4 stick butter, soft not melted

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- 1/2 cup flour

Combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon. Chop the butter into about 1/4 inch cubes and mash into flour mixture. Doesn't matter if it isn't fully mixed, chunks are okay. Crumble on top of the raw batter before sticking the pan in the oven. (There should be a relatively thick layer of crumble topping.) Bake for about 40 minutes, checking halfway. 

(Serves 6+)

the finished product

Recipe #3

Very southern and a pretty successful invention. My dad insisted on the more vulgar term of 'chicken nuggets' but these little things are far from the cholesterol-battered bits you find in the frozen section of the grocery store. Ok, fine. I won't take creds for how good the cornmeal was since we were out of flour. The combination isn't exactly classic but as a novelty, it's soon to become one. A more mainstream aioli would consist of a mayo base with garlic, but I added avocado because that's just what I do: put avocados in everything. Lemon or lime as an acid instead of vinegar acted well to combat the spicier bite of the dijon mustard.

Crispy Mustard Chicken with Avocado Aioli 

- 1 lb diced chicken breast

- 1/2 c whole milk yogurt

- 5 Tbs dijon mustard

- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced

- salt/pepper to taste

- hot sauce to taste

- 2 limes 

- about 2 c cornmeal

- chili powder

After the chicken is washed, add in the yogurt, mustard, garlic, salt/pepper, hot sauce, and juice from the limes. Let the mixture marinate in the fridge for about 2 hours, or until most of the yogurt is absorbed into the chicken. Then, mix salt and chili powder to taste into the cornmeal and bread the diced chicken until it's nicely coated. In a pan, add oil (just covering the surface, panfrying is different from deep frying!). When the oil heats up, add in the chicken, turning halfway until it becomes firm and gets a good crust. Drain on a paper towel and serve with the aioli (recipe below). 

- 3-4 Tbs mayo

- 2 limes

- 1/2 avocado

Juice the limes and add to the mayo, mixing until fully incorporated. The result should be smooth, not lumpy, and a little on the the thinner side. Mash the avocados until very smooth and add in to the mayo. Mix until smooth.

(Serves 5)