Artichoke dipping sauce

We made this sauce to go with a steamed artichoke dish, which is here:  http://piglettedc.tumblr.com/post/119235552216/artichoke-steamed-in-flavored-broth-this-was-my  Here is the sauce recipe, except that we omitted the 2 Tbsp of water and added about ¼ tsp sugar:    http://www.drsinatra.com/healthy-heart-recipe-eating-artichokes  This was enough sauce for 2 artichokes. (May 2015)

Artichoke steamed in flavored broth

This was my first time making artichokes at home, and we tried this recipe by Tyler Florence:   http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/steamed-whole-artichokes-recipe.html.  This recipe calls for chicken broth, but you can make it vegetarian by using water or vegetable broth instead.  We made a dipping sauce from a separate recipe, which I write about here:  http://piglettedc.tumblr.com/post/119235761636/artichoke-dipping-sauce-we-made-this-sauce-to-go

Oven-baked plantains

I got inspiration for this lighter alternative to fried plaintains from http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/healthily-cook-plantains-3827.html, except I coated the baking pan with some canola oil spray.  Preheat oven to 450, then lightly spray a cookie sheet with canola oil.  Place two plantains, cut on a ½ inch diagonal, on the cookie sheet, then lightly spray with canola oil. … Continue reading Oven-baked plantains

Magic-7 bar

This is an upscale version of a childhood favorite. Recipe by Andrea Nguyen available here: http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2015/05/updated-magic-7-layer-cookie-bar-recipe.html#more Our modifications (not pictured): first, instead of a quarter sheet, we use a 9x13" glass baking dish, the inside of which we brush with a neutral vegetable oil. After baking, we do not place this in the freezer (there… Continue reading Magic-7 bar

Rice with green peas (rice cooker version)

This is a simple twist on a staple inspired by a recipe I saw in Harumi’s Japanese Home Cooking.  Cook 2 cups (using a rice cooker measuring cup) dry short-grain rice as usual in the rice cooker.  When the cooker switches to “warm" and steam stops pouring out of the rice cooker’s steam release hole,… Continue reading Rice with green peas (rice cooker version)