Showing posts with label Easy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Easy. Show all posts

(Vegan) Crock-Pot Curried Red Lentils

May 12, 2021

(Vegan) Crock-Pot Curried Red Lentils


There are (almost) countless recipes for lentils on this blog: made in the Crock-Pot, on the stovetop, with green lentils, red lentils, spicy, less spicy, creamy, etc. You name it.
Still, in my book, there are never enough recipes for lentils.

Baked Feta Pasta Sauce

March 16, 2021

Baked Feta Pasta Sauce


I haven’t fallen into the TikTok rabbit hole, just yet.
I feel I’m almost too old for Instagram, TikTok seems really far fetched.
I mean, if 14-year old Niece is really into it — as the majority of teenagers are — I’m not sure it’s something apt to her uncle.
In addition, let’s be honest, I don’t have any particular good dance moves nor I’m skilled in telling jokes or doing sketch comedy: How am I supposed to contribute to the TikTok community? You get my point.
Let’s say that my feelings towards TikTok are similar to those brilliantly expressed by Amy Poehler in her very funny interview with Willie Geist on the Sunday Sitdown podcast “If TikTok was a window, I would be a weird person standing outside of it.” Ha!

Easy Tomato Chicken Curry

February 25, 2021

Easy Tomato Chicken Curry


I should have named this recipe “Penny’s Tomato Chicken Curry” because it comes from aunt Julia’s friend Penny who thankfully passed along her recipe to me.
I couldn’t name it after Penny though, because as it usually happens I tweaked and streamlined the original recipe to make it more compatible with my cooking style — it was a bit time consuming and to be honest some steps seemed avoidable. You know me, I'm all about ease when it comes to cooking these days.
In other words, this is Penny’s Easy Tomato Chicken Curry tweaked by yours truly.

(Vegan) Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes

January 29, 2021

(Vegan) Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes
Life is definitely too short to eat second-class mashed potatoes.
I like mine with a shameless amount of butter and milk (or cream) and it’s been hard to make them any other way. That was until I tried these uh-mazing Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes.

(Vegan) Double Chocolate Pudding

January 25, 2021

(Vegan) Double Chocolate Pudding
Children and adults alike love chocolate pudding and have done so for years. Usually eaten as a snack, pudding can be also a refined dessert.
Though it’s easier to buy ready-made pudding (or instant pudding) sold in grocery stores, convenience stores, pharmacies, and even gas stations I urge you to try making it at home at least once.
It’s a hundred times better, way cheaper, and you can tweak to make it suit your tastes — more sweet, less sweet, more thick, less thick, and so on.

Semolina Gnocchi (Gnocchi alla Romana)

January 19, 2021

Semolina Gnocchi (Gnocchi alla Romana)


Laura, my cousin-in-law, is sort of obsessed with my Semolina Gnocchi (aka gnocchi alla romana.) I made them for her, her husband (i.e., my cousin Mark), and their children once they came over for dinner like two years ago and apparently they’ve been on her mind ever since.
I gave her the recipe (THIS recipe, word for word) but she swears that the gnocchi she makes are good but do not come even close to mine.
I’m quite confident that it has only to do with the fact that memories are always better than reality — this recipe is so simple and easy that it’s almost impossible to mess up. It’s actually so straightforward that after making it a few times, you won't need the recipe at all.
Just seven ingredients — each one a common staple, except perhaps for the semolina flour — are all you need to whip up this classic Italian main dish.

Creamy Garlic Broccoli Rice

January 14, 2021

Creamy Garlic Broccoli Rice
Finish your broccoli!” "Eat your broccoli or you can't have dessert!" "If you feed your broccoli to the dog one more time, you're grounded!"
I'm sure we've all been threatened in a similar way with broccoli by our moms.
They wanted us to grow up healthy, so they made us consume spoonfuls of the cruciferous vegetable despite our disapproval.
Chances are that, growing up, we didn’t like it that much, even if it was referred to as “tiny trees” or other cutesy names. Maybe that happened because it was mostly served kind of mushy or slathered in cheese. Maybe it was just one of those vegetables that you had to eat — like some sort of punishment.

Mushroom Ragout

December 17, 2020

Mushroom Ragout
Staying home for the holidays amid pandemic restrictions made me realize that for the first time in years (read this as ever) I will be home to water a fresh-cut tree and not let it die.
Since almost all the holiday festivities have been canceled (or restricted) having the smell of a real tree in the house might be a way to keep some of the holiday spirit going and help me get through with what I’ve heard has been called the “Covid blues.”
After all the holidays haven’t been cancelled this year, we have to celebrate in a meaningful, albeit different, way.

(Vegan) Pumpkin Chickpea Curry

December 3, 2020

(Vegan) Pumpkin Chickpea Curry

Here’s a great little recipe in case you have some (or a lot) leftover pumpkin puree from your Thanksgiving baking — a nice way to use it up before it’s forgotten in the back of your fridge.
And if you don’t have leftovers, don’t worry, you can always open up a can of pumpkin puree like I did.

Lemon Spice Pound Cake

October 30, 2020

Lemon Spice Pound Cake

With the cold closing in and the holidays just around the corner, I feel it’s about time to fire up the oven and bake like there’s no tomorrow. Am I right?
Today I’m sharing with you guys one of my favorite recipes for pound cake: Lemon Spice Pound Cake.

Eggplant Bacon (aka Smoked Eggplant Slices)

October 8, 2020


Eggplant lovers rejoice and say hello to your new best friend: eggplant bacon.
Slices of our favorite purple-skinned vegetable are seasoned to smoky perfection with liquid smoke, paprika, soy sauce, maple syrup, and a few other ingredients to make the ideal companion to any sandwich, burger, wrap, tartine, crostini, flatbread, bruschetta, et cetera et cetera et cetera...

No-Cook Tomato CousCous Salad

July 10, 2020

No-Cook Tomato CousCous Salad


I can say without a hint of doubt that this is going to be THE recipe for what will probably be remembered as one of the most awkward summers of our life (sigh!)
I used the adjective “awkward” instead of more bitter ones just because — being ever the optimist — I know (more like I hope) that sooner or later we’ll find a way out of this ditch.
Anyways, I found this recipe while perusing a French cooking website. I was skeptical at first but intrigued nonetheless. The non-cooking part was what sold me on it. With the heat and humidity rising the very last thing I feel like doing is turning on the stove.

(Vegan) Lemony Olive Oil Banana Bread

January 29, 2019

(Vegan) Lemony Olive Oli Banana Bread


This is the time of the year when one of my least favourite word, “diet”, becomes all the rage once more. It’s the beginning of a New Year and and most of us are feeling inspired and motivated by the resolutions we have made in the last few weeks. When it comes to food, this usually means starting a new diet or eating plan.
All of a sudden we can’t get enough herbal teas, juice cleanses, hot water with lemon, and all the green stuff available (kale, broccoli, spinach, chard, etc.)
So I’m not sure this is the right time to post a recipe for a banana bread dotted with chocolate chunks, and covered in a delicious lemon glaze.
But you see, as soon as I perfected this recipe (last week) I couldn’t possibly wait to share it with you all.

Broccoli and Potato Patties

January 16, 2019

Broccoli and Potato Patties


Broccoli is a tough one because it’s one of those greens that not too many people like the taste of. I know a lot of people that eat it largely because they know it’s one of the healthiest food on the planet, but enjoying it as a food? Not really.
Personally I love broccoli. Pasta with broccoli is one of my fave ways to have pasta, and what about my Crock-Pot Broccoli and Beef? So delicious. Not to mention this casserole with broccoli and mushroom or this creamy soup that I make every so often.
Today I’m gonna show you that you can also make delicious veggie patties with broccoli.

Gnocchi alla Sorrentina

December 7, 2018

Gnocchi alla Sorrentina


This is Italian comfort food at its best. No joke, at its best.
If you’re not familiar with it, Gnocchi alla Sorrentina (which means gnocchi Sorrento style) is a crowd-pleasing dish that comes from the town of Sorrento on the Amalfi coast, near Naples (Italy).
A classic Italian staple you can easily make in your own kitchen.

Curried Chickpeas

November 23, 2018

Curried Chickpeas


This recipe come from Joan’s on Third, a specialty food store and restaurant located in West Hollywood, Los Angeles. A great little place with a refreshing yet comfortable atmosphere and a great menu selection.
I am obsessed with the curried chickpeas at Joan's on Third. They are the best curried chickpeas ever. I’ve been there three times and every single time I’ve ordered them as part of the salad trio (a selection of three salads from their daily specials on the marketplace menu). But truth to be told I should order just the chickpeas because they're all I ever want to eat (well, that and the carrot cake.)
Luckily for me, I found the recipe on the LATimes and I was able to recreate it home — meaning that I don’t have to fly to LA if I get a curried chickpeas craving.

Crock-Pot Chicken Teriyaki

November 8, 2018

Crock-Pot Chicken Teriyaki


Chicken teriyaki is probably one of the most well known and liked Japanese dishes in the US and for sure one of the classic takeout recipes we all love.
Most people don’t think about making it at home because they either have a restaurant they love or because they buy teriyaki sauce like they buy ketchup.
But I do love making it from scratch.
In fact I have not one, not two, not three, but four different recipes for chicken teriyaki on this blog: Baked Honey-Teriyaki Chicken, Teriyaki Glazed Chicken Kebabs, Beer-Flavored Chicken Teriyaki, and Pineapple Teriyaki Glazed Chicken Skillet
And today I have a fifth.
*drumroll please*
Crock-Pot Chicken Teriyaki -> one word: uh-mazing.

Mom’s Baked Turkey Meatballs

October 18, 2018

Mom’s Baked Turkey Meatballs


Growing up, my mom made the best meatballs in my opinion. I don’t know/remember if she took the recipe somewhere, tweaked an existing recipe or invented it from scratch (most likely is the former), and I’m not going to pretend these are super authentic Italian meatballs. But I grew up eating them and for that reason alone they hold a special place in my heart.
Mom would make these using either ground beef or ground turkey. I always preferred the turkey version — because I could actually taste the other ingredients in the meatball, not just the meat. But the beef version was also pretty spectacular.

Curried Cauliflower Fritters

September 19, 2018

Curried Cauliflower Fritters


If you follow this blog you know that I always had a soft spot for cauliflower. It ranks up there as one of my favorite veggies to cook with - it lends well to so many different flavours, and is similar to rice in that it is a blank canvas for any meal.
As an avid cauliflower lover, I have cooked it a million different ways but cauliflower fritters hold a special place in my heart. Especially my Parmesan Cauliflower Fritters. I used to make ‘em as a side dish, but they are so delicious and satisfying that nowadays I serve them as a main. Vegetarians and non-vegetarians love them equally.

Italian Farro Salad

July 26, 2018

Italian Farro Salad


If you’re not familiar with it, farro is a grain similar to pearl barley, but it’s dried in such a way that instead of being fluffy and spongy, it becomes a bit chewy and has an incredible nutty flavor.
Farro is a pure form of wheat with the husk intact.
It’s been a staple in the Mediterranean diet for centuries, in fact it was a major food for the ancient Romans, who used it to make bread and soups before shifting to wheat.
It’s incredibly versatile and pretty healthy too. It contains a lot of fiber which proves to be very good when it comes to digestion and cardiovascular health. It’s also exceptionally high in protein for a grain and supplies more than 10 different vitamins and minerals.
It used to be pretty hard to find, but nowadays almost all grocery stores carry it. From Trader Joe’s to Whole Foods to Walmart, look for it in the natural-food or special selection sections.