Matcha Soy Chia Seed Pudding

For those of you who have never tried chia seeds before...yes they are the seeds used to grow Chia pets. When chia seeds absorb liquid, they swell and gelatinize. They are great for making chia seed pudding, which kind of resembles tapioca pudding. Chia seeds are pretty flavorless, which allows to you to play with lots of flavors. Here's a recipe for a matcha pudding.

Matcha Soy Chia Seed Pudding
makes 2 cups of pudding

4 teaspoons matcha powder
6-8 tablespoons sugar, depending on taste
8 teaspoons hot water
1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch salt
1 1/2 cups unsweetened soy milk
1/4 cup chia seeds


1. In a small bowl, mix the matcha powder with the sugar. Add a small amount of hot water and work the powder into a paste. Matcha clumps easily, so don't worry too much if you can't whisk it completely.

Super fast Chickpea soup and summer squash pizza

Both this soup and pizza are spectacular. First, the soup is hearty enough that Chris doesn't mind it as a main course, he hates how most soups are mostly liquid and he is hungry again an hour after dinner. Second, the pizza has summer squash on it, making it healthier, and a great way for me, the ever Squeamish of squishy foods, to eat another seasonal veggie without the employment of roasting or a grill.

Ingredients for soup:

3/4-1 cup of hummus (I add the cup cuz we love hummus)

1 12oz jar of flame roasted red bell peppers cut into 1/4 inch strips (preferably piquillo peppers for a bit more zing)

2 cups of chicken broth

1 cup of leftover rice (or fresh doesn't matter)

1 cup shredded rotisserie chicken

2 tablespoons of chopped flat-leaf parsley (Lien not the kind you get on your plate at a restaurant)

Salt and pepper

Greek yogurt and hot sauce for serving

Ingredients for pizza:

2 oz of thinly sliced summer squash (about half of a summer squash)

1 pre-baked pizza crust

3/4 cup shredded fontina cheese

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (we all know I added more cheese than called for)

Crushed red chile flakes

Few handfuls of Arugula (1/3 a bag)

1. Preheat the oven to 450 for the pizza. Meanwhile combine the hummus, roasted peppers, and broth in a pot and purée with an immersion blender (or do this in a blender). Then add the rice and the chicken and heat over medium heat until hot through. Once heated through you'll add the parsley.

2. Make the pizza. Sprinkle the cheese over the pizza crust and then layer the summer squash. Sprinkle the crushed red chili flakes over the pizza for desired heat. The bake for 10-20 minutes, on the top rack, until the crust is starting the brown and the squash is getting crisp. Technically the recipe says to broil the pizza, but eh it still worked this way and kept the apartment cooler. The time will depend largely on the pizza crust you use. 

3. Once pizza is done spread the arugula over the top, slice and serve alongside bowls of the soup with Greek yogurt and hot sauce on top.

Bahn mi

Okay this is the egg version of banh mi since we all know I'm secretly Asian on the inside. This gem has been in my rotation for about 2 years or so, and even those it's supposed to be grilled Chris and I still love it. The best place to get your pork tenderloin is trader joes. It will set you back about 10$ but its got two strips in there and usually lasts Chris and I at least 6-8 full meal sandwiches. And everything else is cheap. Adi, I'm looking at you. Lien, everything's super fast too! Truth be told this recipe has some what ruined me for real banh mi too. So lets get down to business.

Ingredients:

1 pack of port tenderloin, very thinly slices. 

1/4 cup Asian fish sauce (is there any other kind?!)

1 tbs honey

2 tbs sugar

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

6 (or more if you like sautéd onions) green onions [scallions]

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 baguettes (if you aren't eating it all tonight cut the other baguette into sandwich size portions, freeze, reheat in the oven/toaster and slice in half)

Hoisin sauce and Sriracha chili sauce

1/2 seedless cucumber cut into matchstick pieces or thinly sliced width wise

1-2 grated carrots

1 cup chopped kale leaves, torn and massaged with a little salt

Cilantro for serving

1. Mix together the fish sauce, honey, sugar, pepper, scallions, and garlic. Transfer to a bowl with the pork and mix till the pork is coated. Refrigerate for 2-4 hrs.

2. Heat a skillet on high, and add the pork cooking until heated through and opinions are soft. There should still be some sauce. About 3-5 minutes.

3. Assemble your sandwiches. Drizzle hoisin and Sriracha on wag half of your bread. Put carrots, cucumber, and kale on the bottom half. Load up with pork, and top with cilantro. Then eat!

Andalusian Chickpea and Spinach Soup

Thanks to my father and his quest to always be healthy, as well as his professed love of the NYTimes, Chris and I have now added this fantastic recipe to our evening line up. It's ridiculously easy, and a great soup to make in under an hour. It's also very easy to modify. What follows is my slightly adapted more twenty-something version of the NYTimes actual recipe

Ingredients:
1 can of chickpeas (The real recipe wants dried and soaked chickpeas, which no one ever remembers to do in the middle of the week)
2 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced (or just get the good old store bought minced ones)
1 14 oz. can of chopped tomatoes, or 1 lb fresh chopped tomatoes. (I used TJs fire roasted tomatoes this time, which added great flavor)
2 tsp sweet paprika (really whatever paprika you can find. I go back and forth between smoked and sweet)
1 lb potatoes, diced (multicolored for me this time)
1/4 cup dry white wine (like a Pinot Grigio)
Salt to taste
Pinch of Saffron (adds good flavor but you could get away without it, TJs also has it for very cheap)
1 pound spinach, well washed (This is where Costco comes to the rescue!!)

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a soup pot. Add the onions and cook until tender about 5 minutes. You will need to stir these from time to time, but its a great thing to do while cutting your tomatoes and/or potatoes. Add 2 of your garlic cloves and cook until fragrant, roughly 30 seconds. Add your tomatoes, paprika, a big pinch of salt (a.k.a. 1/8 a teaspoon), and cook for 10-15 minutes. Stir it often so nothing sticks to the bottom. You want it to cook down to a really fragrant sauce.

2. Add the chickpeas and their liquid. Now remember with canned chickpeas you can drain them and rinse to get rid of some of the gas, or just add them with all their liquid. Also add your diced potatoes (the smaller the faster they cook!), wine, salt and pepper to taste, and 2 cups of water. Bring it all to a boil and cook until your potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

3. Stir in the remaining garlic, the saffron, and all your spinach. The spinach is easiest to do in batches as they cook down in size. Otherwise you'll have it flying all over the stove. Cook for another 5 minutes or until the spinach is tender. Season to taste with pepper and salt.

(Btw look at that beeeeeeautiful hard boiled egg!!)

Optional: Add some sausage or meatballs when you put the potatoes in, so they cook through. Serve with boiled eggs and toasted bread, as well as white wine vinegar for those who would like.

Enjoy!

Braised pork belly

Hello everybody! It's been a long time since Rachel and I have updated this cooking website. You thought it was dead, huh? Well now that I have fewer distractions in life, what with wedding planning being done and all, I hope to update the site more often. 

...Starting with pork belly. Delicious, luscious pork belly. While this recipe does take a while to make, it it worth it in the end. It also makes lots of leftovers, leaving you with many no-cooking days ahead.

Braised pork belly:

2 to 2 1/2 pounds pork belly

1 cup water
6 tablespoons fish sauce
6 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 cinnamon stick (or substitute 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder)
1/2 tablespoon whole peppercorns
1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
1 inch piece of ginger, sliced
8 cloves garlic, peeled
2  large chili peppers
4 pieces star anise
3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 bunches green onions, thinly sliced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped