I first heard about cottage cheese pancakes from a NYT interview of renowned food editor Dawn Davis. We decided to try this recipe: https://www.acouplecooks.com/cottage-cheese-pancakes/ This was delicious. We cooked the pancakes in ghee (instead of standard butter). We served this with a simple fruit salad (summer fruit tossed with honey and lime juice). (July 2023)… Continue reading Cottage cheese pancakes
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Moroccan chick pea and lentil soup (harira)
We have made harira before, but we were intrigued by this recipe's use of two different types of lentils (red and green) plus chick peas: https://www.feastingathome.com/harira-soup/ We followed the recipe pretty closely, and it turned out well. Our minor modifications: first, instead of cayenne pepper, we used 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chili, a lower heat ground… Continue reading Moroccan chick pea and lentil soup (harira)
Simple vegetable rice soup with chicken broth
We had a craving for a plant-forward chicken rice soup, so we tried this recipe: https://theschmidtywife.com/simple-vegetable-rice-soup/ This was satisfying and easy to make. Our modifications: first, we halved the recipe, but also added 1 extra cup chicken broth and slightly increased the rice to a mounded 1/4 cup uncooked white jasmine rice. Second, for the… Continue reading Simple vegetable rice soup with chicken broth
White sangria
For our first outdoor grilling event this sunmer, we decided to make white sangria. We discovered a wide range of recipes, and we loosely followed this one: https://www.thespruceeats.com/simple-white-wine-sangria-recipe-3511043 We combined the following: 1 standard bottle (750 ml) Spanish white wine, 1/4 cup brandy, 1/4 cup orange juice, 1/4 cup superfine sugar, and 3.5 cups fresh… Continue reading White sangria
Grilled salmon filet with Dijon mustard, soy, and herb marinade
We tried this recipe for 1.9 lb salmon filet: https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/grilled-salmon/ We followed the recipe verbatim in terms of ingredient proportions, but we purposely left the herbs intact instead of mincing them (see Outdoor grilling notes below). We also cut our filet in half to make it easier to flip on the grill (and to create… Continue reading Grilled salmon filet with Dijon mustard, soy, and herb marinade
Egyptian fava beans, version 3 (ful mudammes)
We tried this recipe for a quick lunch: https://moribyan.com/ful-medames-vegetarian-fava-bean-stew/ We followed the instructions, except we used 1 tsp smoked paprika instead of regular paprika. This was a mistake because the smokiness overpowered the dish. The next time we will use regular paprika and may reduce to 1/2 tsp. (June 2023)
Burmese bottleneck gourd clear soup (boothee hinga)
We made this recipe from Hsaba Burmese cookbook, except we tripled the proportions and used US measurements. Combine the following in a medium Dutch oven: 3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced; 1 bottle gourd (medium-small) - peeled, seeds removed, and sliced into 1/2" thick bite sized pieces; 1 Tbsp dried shrimp; 6 cups water; 3… Continue reading Burmese bottleneck gourd clear soup (boothee hinga)
South Indian vegetable lentil tamarind soup (sambhar)
I love masala dosa, and this weekend I had a craving for sambhar (the soup that accompanies the crispy dosa). We used MTR sambhar mix as a shortcut, but this recipe ended up still being quite involved and multistep. https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/andhra-sambar-recipe-how-to-make-south-indian-sambar/ Our modifications: First, we made the mistake of buying tamarind concentrate and tamarind powder instead… Continue reading South Indian vegetable lentil tamarind soup (sambhar)
South Indian hot lentil rice mixture (bisi bele bhath or bisi bele huli ana)
This is one of my favorite dishes from Nirvana, a local vegetarian Indian restaurant that closed many years ago. At Nirvana, they called it bisi bele huli ana. After consulting a few online recipes, we tried this recipe: https://hebbarskitchen.com/bisi-bele-bath-recipe-bisibelabath-rice/ Our modifications: first, based on tips from https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/bisi-bele-bath/, as a shortcut we used MTR brand bisibele… Continue reading South Indian hot lentil rice mixture (bisi bele bhath or bisi bele huli ana)
Padma Lakshmi’s Indian red lentil stew (dal tadka)
We love Padma Lakshmi, and we will miss seeing her as host of Top Chef. We decided to try her dal recipe: https://www.padmalakshmi.com/dal-recipe It was delicious and comforting. In her video demonstration of this recipe on Instagram, she mentioned adding amchoor (green mango) powder for tartness at the end. We substituted with about 1 tsp… Continue reading Padma Lakshmi’s Indian red lentil stew (dal tadka)
Cooking Adventures 