Arroz Verde and Strawberry Sorbet

Green rice! Weird, right? I found the recipe from NY Time's recipes for health - I had a huge bag of baby spinach that was about to go bad. It tasted like rice with onions and garlic, not spinach-y, but maybe that's the point. I don't know why my rice looks so wet compared to the NY Times' one- I'm just not very good at making fluffy rice in a pan, that's what rice cookers are for! I'm sure this would be a hit with kids and it's a good way to use up some extra produce.

Sorry this is the only photo I took of the strawberry sorbet! The recipe is once again from David Lebovitz. It's a very strawberry-y sorbet because the only ingredients are strawberries, sugar and salt (and kirsch if you want). I used the full amount of sugar because my strawberries didn't taste very sweet, but it came out to be too sweet- I added lemon juice to balance it out again.

Chocolate Ice Cream and Salted Chocolate Dipped Caramels

Another ice cream recipe by David Lebovitz- this one is for chocolate ice cream. When choosing between vanilla and chocolate I always go for vanilla. Chocolate isn't as refreshing to me and I rarely eat chocolate ice cream, but for some reason I was craving it. There was a false start- I was stupidly trying to do dishes at the same time and my custard turned into scrambled eggs. Always make sure you pay attention! I need to relearn how to uni-task. The final product? It's good. Like crazy good. It's smooth, creamy and not overly sweet.

I made a smore of sorts- chocolate ice cream, crushed graham crackers and a toasted marshmallow.



I have a big list of things I want to make and one of the things on the list is caramels. I found this recipe for Salted, chocolate dipped caramels from the NY Times. I'm very scared of heating sugar- I've read and heard a lot of stories about sugar burns and I'm already much aware of hot oil and pan burns. I was extra careful- aprons, glasses and oven mitts at all times! In the end, I was probably overprepared. Just make sure to use a very large pan- much bigger than you think you'll need because it bubbles and grows. And a candy thermometer is indispensable for this recipe.


Also, unless you are making wedding favors or plan on eating 10 caramels every day for a month, make half or even a quarter of the recipe. I made this a month ago and I STILL have a tupperware container full of caramels in my fridge (not complaining that much actually...). Just be aware it makes a LOT and caramel is not a stagnant object. My thermometer says I hit all the right temps, but that caramel oozes. I had to refrigerate portions at a time and work at a crazy speed to dip and salt them and then get it back into the fridge. It didn't help that it was a very hot day. In the end it was worth it. I had dozens and dozens of small (and large and oddly shaped) caramels. They taste exactly like the caramel bar from Huckleberry (minus the cookie crust), which is what started my obsession in the first place. They are salty/sweet/chewy/buttery and oh so melty.

No-knead Pizza and Egg Salad

Oh yes, it's pizza again. I will never tire of pizza. Lately it's become a necessity, I eat it probably once a week because it's so cheap to make and if I plan ahead, it can be a relatively quick meal. A few entries ago I wrote about no-knead bread- this is no-knead pizza. I bought King Arthur Bread flour just for this recipe- I don't know exactly how bread flour + no kneading = good pizza, but it works. Not sure if this is my favorite yet- I still have about 4 more dough recipes to go through!


Egg salad- a summer must. Sad to say, but I couldn't remember exactly what goes into an egg salad! All I could remember was eggs + mayonnaise. I like mayonnaise in moderation so I was thankful for the reminder of mustard and the new-to-me idea of curry powder! Yum! I also used Veganniase because with all the butter/eggs/diary I eat, my heart could use some help. I love Vegannaise! I also added some celery because I like the crunch and some very thinly sliced red onion because I wanted some bite.

Double Tree Cookie and a Brussel Sprout Pizza

I had no idea Double Tree gave out cookies when you check in until Joanne told me and she says they're good, like one of the best (I don't remember their exact ranking...). I haven't had the chance to stay at a Double Tree yet, but I found this recipe online which is supposed to be the real thing. They were.... okay. I think I had too much stuff for the amount of dough- they were bit crumb-ly and dry. I really like the shredded oats though, I haven't seen/tasted that in a cookie before. Next time, I'm using 3/4 of the "stuff" and keeping the same amount of dough.





And another pizza- I am slightly obsessed with pizza right now (pizzas are the new burgers) and I really really want a brick oven in my backyard when I (if I ever) own my own home. This time it is a brussel sprout pizza. The original recipe is brussel sprouts and pancetta, but I substituted peas since this was on a veggie night. I really like brussel sprouts on pizza- the leaves are crisp and charred and soft when stuck half in, half out of the cheese.

Broccoli Garlic Quiche and Matcha Mochi Cupcakes

perfectly done.

slightly overdone.

I still had mochiko leftover from making daifuku so I found this great recipe for Matcha Mochi Cupcakes. Maybe it should be called a bread or muffin since there isn't a frosting for it. The mochiko flour makes the bread squishy, but it's still crisp on the outside. They were really good right out of the oven, by the next day they were already getting stale despite being saran wrapped.

I love making pastry dough, it's so much easier with a dough blender! The all-butter pastry dough for the Broccoli Garlic Quiche is pretty good. I love quiche, everything about them. I had a stockpile of Trader Joe's quiches, but I thought it'd be fun to try and make one too. They're pretty easy to make and are good at room temperature too so they make great leftovers. Sorry no photos!

Black Bean Chorizo Subs and Roasted Pepitas

I found this recipe for Black Bean Chorizo Subs around the time that Rick Bayless cooked a state dinner. The recipe sounded strange, but I trusted the POTUS and FLOTUS' taste in chefs. I really liked the sandwiches, but Ilya thought they were disgusting because of the texture so if you're not a fan of smashed beans + meat, you might want to skip this one. It was a great idea to hollow out the bread so the beans/meat would have a place to fill instead of squishing out the sides- I might use that more often.



I've also been experimenting with nuts because I'm trying to eat more of them. Right now I have a big bag of pepitas from Trader Joes and while they're tasty on their own, they are also boring. This recipe for sugar and spice roasted pepitas makes a super flavorful nut mix? bar? I don't know what to call these, but they are super tasty. I would use a ltitle less cumin and chili because it was a bit too much. I really liked the sugar + salt + chile combination though. I might try this with some other nuts.