Category: dietary

Recipe: Tofu-Bean Meatballs

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I don’t eat most meat (just birds and fish) so I’ve never been one of those people who is trying to make exact replicas of meat but I just wanted to find a recipe that made sturdier “meat” balls because they’re just such a useful food and these fit the bill. Just make sure that your tofu and beans are both really wrung out and that everything is mixed well together and these will come out with a texture that is only slightly more delicate than a regular meatball. They also taste pretty much like meatloaf which is a great plus in my book too!

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Recipe: Chickpea Soup

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This really hearty and delicious stew is great for a cold day or any occasion. You can make this ahead of time without the noodles and just add them as you’re warming it up (if you’re using thin vermicelli style noodles). This is basically minestrone but with slightly different flavors and chickpeas instead of beans in case you need a little variety in your life.

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Recipe: Cranberry Brie Bites

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This is barely a recipe but it works so well together that I want to post it to encourage people to put these together and have a really delicious day. These come together in just a few minutes and they are something that would really look impressive on a holiday or party table but it’s basically very low effort so I suggest it for your next gathering or any day you want to feel fancy with very little effort.

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Recipe: Bacalhau à Brás

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We had Bacalhau à Brás a few years ago when we were in Portugal and I was just kind of craving it lately (who doesn’t love a good salty fish and potato combination?). It uses salted cod which you can make yourself or you can usually find it in specialty stores since it stores very well. It’s a great treat for a weekend meal but it is important to plan ahead because the salted cod has to soak for a day to get some of that salt out before cooking but then it comes together pretty easily after that.

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Recipe: Bagels

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I’m not the sort of person to tell you that you have to make bagels. Commercially available bagels aren’t particularly good but if you live near a bakery that makes fresh bagels the odds are that they’re going to be cheap and fairly good but if you can’t get bagels or happen to live in a place where they’re not particularly available this is an easy recipe which produces really good results for a home kitchen. You can rest these overnight but I’ve found that I personally like the sweet spot of about 4-6 hours in the refrigerator (at 12 hours these start to deflate for me, your results may vary). Luckily the recipe doubles easily and already made bagels last for up to 4 days without any taste or texture difference. If you can’t find molasses most sweet stuff will suffice: honey, brown sugar, and even dark corn syrup will all produce a crisp outside texture with a chewy inside – just how I like my bagels!

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Recipe: Fesenjān

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This is a delicious Iranian stew with the flavors of pomegranates, walnuts, saffron, and other spices that takes about 3-4 hours to come together but it is well worth it thanks to the richness and depth of flavor that it produces. This is a show stopper for a dinner party or other get togethers and it’ll definitely be something that your friends and family talk about for years to come. This recipe has you make your own pomegranate molasses and walnut paste because they’re not available where I live but feel free to use commercially available shortcuts if you can!

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Recipe: Chicken Adobo

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A set it and forget recipe this takes time but practically no effort to produce delicious and flavorful chicken that is perfect with a nice pile of rice. I always store the leftover sauce and use it to make stir fry. I used only drumsticks the first time but I would actually recommend bone in thighs or a mixture of pieces in the future and to just adjust the cooking time slightly depending on the size of the pieces.

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Recipe: English Muffins

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These aren’t too much work and will produce muffins with pretty good nooks and crannies for a great side dish with breakfast or a nice base for a sandwich. The only downside is that the batter needs to be made at least 3 hours ahead of time but that also means you can make the dough the night before and simply bake them in the morning. I baked mine on the stove in a cast iron pan but you can bake them only in the oven if you do not have a good heavy bottomed pan.

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Recipe: Crispy Potato Burger

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The secret to this potato burger is actually two secrets: It uses poha (flattened rice) as a binder and also it uses crushed corn flakes as a coating this makes it the burger stick together extremely well while remaining soft in the center but gives it a good crunch on the outside. Since these are made of potato I found that they don’t freeze particularly well but you can do the prep work of making the burger patty inside ahead of time and letting it sit in the fridge to just coat with batter and cornflakes and fry at the last minute. Probably not great for every day eating but it’s a nice weekend or holiday recipe that isn’t TOO time consuming.

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Recipe: Panzanella

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This is a great recipe for the summer because it’s not really cooking, it can be served cold, and it takes very minimal effort to make. Basically a dressed up bread salad and while I feel like it’s usually an appetizer dish, in the summer paired some fruit it could easily be a whole meal especially if you use really hearty bread (I used a thick seed-filled sourdough), this would pair really well with a nice piece of grilled fish or meat for a BBQ or cookout also.

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