Pumpkin Curry Frittata with a side of Apple

I wanted to go for a run today after work. It has been awhile and I was feeling rather antsy. The second I walked in the door,  a friend I haven’t spoken to in ages (for no reason other than the busyness of life)  sent me a text message and we ended up talking for an hour! It was wonderful but made me sad that I haven’t stayed it touch over the past few years. It’s one of my biggest flaws. When I got off the phone it was nearing dinner time. One thing lead to another and I found myself smashing a pumpkin.I literally had no idea why I was roasting a pumpkin. I saw it on my shelf and just thought it would be a good idea. If your going to roast a pumpkin with out rhyme or reason, you should probably roast the seeds to snack on while you figure out what the heck you are going to make with it! As I crunched away my thought process went something like this, “I have ricotta…ricotta rhymes with frittata. Okay!” I find pie pumpkins to be extremely bitter, so I sauteed a small onion with curry powder, cinnamon, a pinch of crushed red pepper, cracked black pepper, mushrooms and Swiss chard and topped it with creamy ricotta and nutty freshly grated Parmesan. It was a wonderful blend of flavors! I love the sweet, savory combination with the heat of the red pepper flakes and creamy cool ricotta. Yum.I think I’m all chocolate cream pie-d out! It is so rich, I couldn’t eat it for a third day in a row! That never happens. I did want something cold and sweet for dessert so I took 2 of the Nabisco ginger snap cookies I used to make the crust for my pie and crumbled them into vanilla ice cream. The crunch of the cookie with the ice cream was sensational. Hit the spot, and now I am very full.

Good Eats,

Nora

How do you keep in touch with old friends?

Sweet Potato, Spinach and Chickpea Curry. Whole Wheat Pita Bread. 2% Greek Yogurt. Cilantro. Cayuga Ridge Cayuga Cuvee.

“It’s just another manic Monday”.

I can COMPLETELY relate to this song. Monday is often a crazy/busy day for me and at the end of it, all I want is good wine and good food with minimal effort. I try to plan ahead and make dinner the day before so that I don’t feel rushed and can relax when I get home.

Indian food is perfect for “make ahead meals”. The flavor is SO much better the next day after the ingredients have had time to marry. I have only recently started experimenting with a Indian dishes. Chana Masala and Dhal were my first attempts! I love Indian food but was always too timid to make it on my own. I was surprised by how easy it was and immediately became infatuated with the flavors.

I have been on quite ginger and cilantro kick . This dish had it all. A little sweet, a little heat and some cool, creamy 2% plain Greek yogurt to balance it all out. I paired my meal with Cayuga Cuvee (a lightly acidic/sweet table wine) because it was the last sweet wine in my supply. I wish I had a dry Gewurztraminer to pair with this meal. The Hermann J. Wiemer Gewurztraminer with Chana Masala was the most incredible food experience. The balance was perfect.

Flavor Heaven,

Nora

What are your favorite spices?

Coconut Curry Shrimp. Cilantro-Ginger Brown Basmati/Wild Rice. Sesame Snap Peas. Hermann J. Wiemer 2008 Dry Gewurztraminer.

At the end of the day I want three things: sweat pants, a glass of wine and a good meal. Typically I am cooking for one. All the more reason to be fancy and treat myself to some good cookin’!

So what is the key to cooking for one? I have three tips:

1) Use fresh ingredients. Fresh ingredients and flavors make meals exciting! A healthy and fresh meal is the best gift you can give to yourself. It’s worth the splurge!

2) Be fearless. Try new dishes! If you find a lasagna recipe meant for 6 servings, MAKE IT! Life is too short to pass up on your cravings.

3) Have fun. Cooking is a release. An opportunity to relax and be creative. Even if you set the fire alarm off and create a disastrous dish no one has to know . Live and learn.

In other news: I am obsessed with sesame seed oil and ginger. I thought of a million new things I HAVE to make while eating dinner tonight. I also had a brief moment when I contemplated making coconut-curry encrusted French toast. The coating on my shrimp was composed of coconut, panko, egg and curry. The “crust” reminded me of French toast. Maybe for dinner one night…I’m seriously debating the French toast idea, it was really good.

I’m off to search for a dessert to eat while watching Glee.

Planning New Meals,

Nora

Do you make fancy meals if it’s just for you?

For dinner tonight I made Pan-seared Tilapia in a Lemon-Dill Butter Sauce and  Crunchy Broccoli Salad with Orange-Curry Yogurt Dressing.

When pan-searing, it is important to have everything together before you cook the protein: “mise en place”. Before heating the pan for my fish I assembled the broccoli salad, prepared the fish and set out the lemon-dill butter and herbed olive oil for the finishing sauce.

For crunchy broccoli salad I combined about 3 TBS- 1/4 cup of plain low fat yogurt, the juice and a few segments of 1/4 of a navel orange, curry and cinnamon to taste. I added a large bunch of chopped broccoli, celery, dried cranberries and roasted almonds to the the sauce and placed the mixture in the fridge to chill while I cooked the Tilapia.

To prepare the Tilapia, I lightly dusted both sides of the fish with a pan-searing flour and cracked black pepper. I added about 1-2 tsp of olive oil to a sautee pan over a medium heat until a faint smoke appeared around the edges of the pan (You want to maintain a light smoke around the edges of the pan. If it becomes too smokey, adjust heat!). I placed the Tilapia in the pan for about 3-4 minutes per side until it was slightly golden and crispy. When the fish was finished I turned the heat off and added 1 tsp of an herbed oil and 1 tps of a lemon-dill finishing butter to deglaze the pan and create a butter sauce to spoon over the fish. This method generates a moist fish with tons of flavor!

It was a simple, elegant and refreshing dinner to have at the end of a long (and hot!) day. It was exactly what I was craving. Speaking of cravings, on the way back from my from my work trip we stopped off for soft serve!! Ice cream is my all time favorite food, and in the summer my ice cream of choice is soft serve chocolate-vanilla twist. Naturally, I always have to add rainbow sprinkles to make it a true summer treat! I was a very happy girl. Loving Summer,

Nora

What are your favorite Summer foods?

My Boyfriend.

Dinner tonight was met with indecision. Did I want something hot? Cold? Cheesy? Fish? Vegetarian? Grains? Pasta? Too many options! I haven’t made my simple Honey-Dijon Baked Salmon since summer, and my current beet/hazelnut obsession is still holding strong (I NEED A JUICER!!!). I decided to make a dish to incorporate both. Hmmm…beets and salmon what to make, what to make. A million ideas were flying through my head. I could make a beet sauce for the salmon, make a roasted beet and lentil salad and top it with salmon etc. I decided that the flavors I wanted to use for the salmon and for the elements of the lentil salad didn’t really work together. I ended up baking the Salmon with a Honey-Dijon Glaze, and made a side of Steamed Spinach topped with Warm Lentil Salad, Shredded Carrots, Roasted Beets in an Orange/Cranberry Sauce and Chopped Hazelnuts.

I loved the beets! After roasting, I diced them and added them to a small sauce pan with Orange Juice, Cinnamon and ~2 TBS Crofters North America Superfruit Spread. It was sweet and earthy; a perfect contrast to my spicy warm lentil salad, which was composed of: 1/4 Spanish Onion, 1/3 of a Large Carrot Diced, 1/2 Celery Stalk Diced, 1/4 Red Pepper Diced, chopped White Button Mushrooms, Green Lentils, Cumin, Curry, Red Pepper Flakes and Cracked Black Pepper (cooked in chicken broth). I ended up flaking the salmon on top of the side dish because the dijon/honey elements went so well with the flavors. It was a big success, but I have a few ideas in my head for next time ! I love experimenting in the kitchen; I never know what I will come up with.

Dessert was met with more indecision. Did I want chocolate? Fruit? Ice cream? YES!  Recently I have been loving natural chunky apple sauce (why do I never buy this?), and decided on that with some vanilla frozen yogurt and Maranatha Dark Chocolate Almond Spread (aka my boyfriend). I’d be lying if I said I didn’t go back for seconds of the apple sauce and dark chocolate almond, it was fantastic!

Dreaming of Food,

Nora

Do you ever “rediscover” foods that you love when you haven’t had them in a while?

I started the day off with a variation of yesterdays breakfast: 1/2 cup Plain Chobani Greek Yogurt, 1/2 cup vanilla soy milk, 1/2 TBS Chia, 1/2 frozen mashed banana combined and let to sit for ~10 minutes and topped with handful of blueberries, 1/2 ripe banana, cinnamon and 1/4 cup Emmy’s Organics Raw Granola.This granola is made of buckwheat, dates, almonds, agave, flax, cinnamon, vanilla bean and Himalayan crystal salt, all organic and raw. I liked the crunch and earthy flavor, it definitely had a “raw” taste to it. Not bad, but when I think of granola I need the real deal. After this I snacked on a handful of  Galaxy Vanilla Almond and a big Jonagold. On my way out the door I noticed my phone had a blank screen. Great, this meant that I had to reorganize my plans and make a trip to get it fixed.

My raw breakfast inspired me to “be one with nature”, and I decided that it was the perfect day for a run. Prepare to get sentimental with me for a moment. There is something so freeing about running outside when it is just you, nature and some good music. There are no expectations, or distance/speed requirements, just instincts and scenery. The path I run on is along side of a river. The trees are still bear, but hold the prospect of sprouting leaves soon. I heard the songs of the seagulls, and saw a few tulips beginning to poke there way through the ground; true signs of Spring! I paused for a moment at the midway point to absorb the rushing waterfall glistening in the sun. It was beautiful and made me feel ALIVE! Okay, enough of that, I just think it is so serene and it is hard to describe the beauty that was around me and how refreshing it make me feel.

I ended up running for a leisurely 40 minutes and came home to prepare some lunch. I was really thirsty and craving some fresh vegetables. I decided on a Big Salad topped with a Boca Burger and Hummus, and a side of Green Grapes and Kabocha.I’m not sure what makes these burgers so appealing to me but mashed with hummus and spinach, they are divine! I was going to make a boca+hummus+veggie sandwich, but when I opened my fridge, I knew that all of the things I wanted could not fit between two pieces of bread. Shortly after I wanted something chocolate and carby. I found the perfect little bite when I opened my pantry:A Quaker’s True Delight Raspberry Mocha Cafe Square. I love these things! They are delightful. The mocha/raspberry flavors are bold, and the oats are dense.

After lunch I headed out on a three hour expedition to get my phone fixed. I felt so lost without the use of my phone for nearly an entire day. (What can I say, we are a technology dependent society) The phone store I go to had moved and I spent about 30 minutes searching for their new location, which was BEHIND another building with no sign. This was a little frustrating but at least the weather was nice, and I wasn’t in a rush to get anywhere. When I explained my problem,  I was referred to the Apple Store a half hour away. I came at the worst possible time, and the store was packed! I had to wait a while but was thankful to have someone look at my lifeline phone. The “geniuses” at the Apple store are always so friendly and helpful, I really appreciate their work (I would be so frustrated). My phone was finally fixed, but all of the contacts had to be deleted…I still feel a bit lost.

Dinner was a winner: Lemon-Ginger and Spinach Couscous with Mango Curry Tempeh

Look 1

Look 2

The couscous: ginger, lemon, 1/4 cup whole wheat couscous, handful of torn spinach, ~1 TBS raisins.

The Tempeh: Spanish onion, garlic, curry powder, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, mango, red bell pepper and tempeh.

Since cooking with tempeh is my “new food venture” this week, I will divulge the details in my Sunday “new venture” post, but I’ll just let you know that it was GOOD!

Dessert is another raspberry+chocolate fix: frozen raspberries, Chobani and Maranatha Dark Chocolate Almond (melted with vanilla soy milk). The Dark Chocolate Almond Spread essentially became fudge, it was delicious! A perfect way to cozy up with the THE SYRACUSE ORANGE BASKETBALL GAME!!!!! GO CUSE!

Happy Weekend!

Nora

Do you ever feel lost when you are technology free?