The blog of a vegetarian who happens to LOVE food

Monday: salmon and tofu, long grain rice, spinach goat cheese salad Tuesday: Tacos: kidney beans and beef, Spanish rice, corn salad Wednesday: dal, chaval, sabzi: cauliflower potato, roti Thursday: lasagna: spinach, mushroom, green beans, onion, garlic; farro salad Friday: dal (leftover), chaval, sabzi: green bean potato or mushroom matar, roti, raita

I was bummed because I was unable to attend the cookie bake at my aunt's this year and was talking to some people at lab about it, and we decided to do one at lab. It was a huge success! My contribution: dulce de leche cookies, or alfajores. I made butter shortbread cookies and sandwiched them with dulce de leche a friend had brought me back from Argentina. Some other cookies we had: chocolate chip, shortbread filled with hazelnuts and chocolate, chocolate macaroons, lime balls, lemon bars, Turkish shakerpare, lemon cookies, Russian tea cookies, Turtle bars, and sugar cookies with nuts. This cookie bake is gong to make me chunky, but soooo worth it! The recipe I used for the shortbread was one from Epicurious , but modified a little: INGREDIENTS 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature 1 1/3 cups sugar 3 egg yolks 2 tablespoons vanilla extract 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons cream 1. In the bowl of a mixer, combine butter, sugar, and cream and mix on medi...

The Diwali dinner was a huge success, thanks in no short part to the many wonderful friends that were present. The menu became greatly reduced since I was unable to prepare anything a day early. But I think a good time was had by all.

frozen "kachori"/samosa - same day masi's ghugra - no prep chutneys: tamarind, green - previous day palak paneer - previous day chicken curry - marinate O/N, make same day tadka daal - previous day naan - same day jeera rice - same day kheer - previous day

I tried this excellent recipe from Food and Wine for eggplant parmesan. I served it with some crusty bread and a spinach and goat cheese salad. I didn't change the recipe at all and it was a huge hit with my guests. Here it is: Ingredients 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus about 2 cups for frying 1 onion, finely chopped 3 garlic cloves, very finely chopped Two 28-ounce cans whole, peeled Italian tomatoes, drained Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 8 small eggplants ( 1/2 pound each), cut lengthwise 1/2 inch thick 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped basil 1 pound lightly salted fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced and torn into small pieces 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 3 tablespoons dry bread crumbs Directions In a large skillet, heat the 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Using your hands, crush the whole tomatoes into the skillet. Bring to a simmer and cook over moderately low heat, ...

I tried this cookie recipe from Gourmet last week and they are amazing! I don't have pictures of them up yet, but I will very shortly. When I make cookies, I usually make as much dough as the recipe calls for, and then freeze the dough I don't use immediately for later consumption. I didn't follow the recipe exactly. My version is below. oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip cookies Ingredients 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar 1 tablespoon vanilla 3/4 cup peanut butter 2 large eggs a 12-ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips In a food processor pulse oats until ground fine. In a large bowl stir together ground oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy and beat in vanilla and p...

So S and I were getting our ritual cup of Sunday cappuccino today at Caffe Luxxe when we had a food celebrity sighting. We ran into Anthony Bourdain of No Reservations fame. Well, maybe it was him. S swears it was, and I am not too certain. He seemed a little too short to be the guy that eats the still beating heart of a cobra . If it was him, it's good to know his stellar food tastes (well maybe not the cobra heart, or warthog, or...) also extrapolates to coffee. Luxxe has one of the best cups of espresso you can get in Los Angeles. For being such a big city, this place has surprisingly few really good cafes that serve a very good espresso drink. And I mean an espresso with a solid head of crema and a distinctive taste to boot. And a cappuccino not drowning in milk (a short one with a double shot pull). A place that serves their customers in ceramic or porcelain cups if they're planning on staying for a few minutes to enjoy their drink, not paper cups. I have really scoured...