Whizzed Coffee slush

Brew about 8 oz. coffee at double strength. Place it in a mug and freeze it. Then put it into the blender until it turns to slush. You might need to try various blender functions, such as Ice Breaker and Liquify. Or you might like to put it into a plastic bag and pound it. Technique perhaps a function of how frozen it is. Then add about 6 oz cold milk (and perhaps some melted chocolate) and blend it. Adding milk earlier will help the blender make the slush. Then use the Whizzy to get a really fine foam.

Tres Leches Cake!

Tres Leches Cake was one of my favorite dishes made at Terrace. For those unlucky few who have not tasted this delectable concoction, Tres Leches Cake is a moist, sweet, milky Mexican dessert. Terrace's mostly Hispanic kitchen staff made it on a regular basis and, whenever I saw it set out in the dining room, I would get almost as excited as I did on lasagna night (almost.) I made my first attempt at it tonight for dinner with my roommates, which was quite the feast. Tash made peanut noodles, Alisa a spicy catfish stew, and Jenny vegetarian lasagna. I googled the recipe and got this one off of about.com:

http://mexicanfood.about.com/od/sweetsanddesserts/r/treslechescake.htm

It turned out really well! I topped it with whipped cream and cinnamon. I bet strawberries would be amazing.

Basic Curry?

So, I really like eating curry but often find myself frustrated in trying to cook it. Most of the recipes I have/can find call for ingredients that I don't keep on hand or that look expensive. I'm trying to get at the essence of a basic veggie curry that I can make with only a few extra purchased items. This time, I didn't need to buy anything new since I had ginger & coconut milk left over from the curried sweet potato soup and tofu from the tahini noodles. This is a first attempt--I think it turned out alright, but I'd like to keep trying. Unfortunately, I didn't really measure things out, so all these values are approximate:
heat 1T oil
sautee 1 sm onion & 2 carrots, chopt, until soft
add 2t curry, 2t cumin, .5t cayenne, 2 clove minced garlic, 2T minced ginger, .5c coconut milk
heat
add handfuls of frozen peas & spinach & ½ block chopt tofu
add 1c veggie stock
heat
reduce a little
Serve over rice

Anybody have any curry tips or good curry recipes?

Easier (but probably less amazing) tahini noodles

Sorry for the lack of posts! I've been rather lazy lately - not doing tons of exciting cooking. Indeed, I have not cooked since Monday night! Wow. Oliver and I spent last week dogsitting in Emoryville, which made things a bit hectic. I was going to cook last night, but decided to get sushi and a movie instead.
Well, I am really jealous of Suzanne's noodle recipe. I saw that same recipe but was too lazy to procure miso. I also haven't had any asparagus yet this spring because I have been too lazy to go the Farmer's market. I've been going on long runs on Saturday mornings, and then I'm too tired to go the Farmer's market, but I'm also really hungry, quite the conundrum which usually ends in me eating peanut M&Ms out of the vending machine. Ah well.
Without further ado, my humble offering:

Tahini Sauce:
1/2 C tahini
juice of two lemons
1/3 (plus more as needed) C warm water
1 garlic glove
salt

Noodles:
tofu
~8 oz brown rice noodles
several cups (about a bag) of baby spinach
green onions
cumin

For the tahini sauce: Mash the garlic with a good pinch of salt and set aside. Whisk the tahini, water, and lemon juice together. The tahini undergo some kind of reaction and turn white. I think its pretty cool. Add more warm water if you would like the dressing for the noodles thinner. Stir in the garlic. If your boyfriend doesn't have cilantrophobia, adding some chopped cilantro at this point would probably be a nice touch.
For the noodles: Cook the noodles according to the package. If you use brown rice noodles I find it helpful to stir frequently as they are prone to clumping. Meanwhile, press the water out of the tofu. Cube it and toss it with some cumin. Sautee it and the chopped green onions in some olive oil for about 7 minutes. The tofu should be golden on the edges. Add the spinach and cook until just wilted. Dress the noodles with as much of the tahini mixture as you'd like, and then toss in the tofu mixture.
The leftover tahini mix is not a problem, as it can be eaten on carrots, chicken, a spoon, just about anything.

Sesame Miso Noodles

Hello Friends!

I just made delicious noodles inspired by this recipe at 101 cookbooks:
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/walnut-miso-noodles-recipe.html
A very satisfying, filling, one-bowl vegetarian dish with a somewhat Asian flavor and a very Bay Area aesthetic. It's good for you, too--apparently kale is one of the healthiest veggies you can eat. Mom, can you believe I've almost finished that whole thing of tahini you gave me just 1.5 wks ago? I thought I didn't like tahini, but then I made the hummus, and these noodles, and now I'm bemoaning the fact that I only have about 1/4 cup left.

RECIPE:
Cook 2-3 servings of whole wheat spaghetti
About 1 min before it is done, throw in thinly sliced (~.5") asparagus
Stir in diced tofu and kale sauteed in a little bit of olive oil
Top with the following sauce, whisked together:
1/4 c tahini
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2T miso paste (I used a dark brown kind... not that I know the difference between the different types. This was a reject from mom's fridge!)
2T vinegar (I used 1T white wine vin and 1T balsamic, but this was more by mistake than by design)
1t honey
salt to taste
1/4c warm water

Ginger Sweet Potato Soup

Heat 1T oil
Cook 1 small chopt onion, 2T grated ginger, 2T minced garlic, and 1T curry powder until soft
add 1.5 lb sweet potato, diced (cook~3min)
add 2 quarts veg stock, 3/4c coconut milk
cook 20 min or so (until sweet taters soft)
add 1/4c honey and juice of 1 lime
puree
Serve!
The recipe I got this from (from some grocery store promotional leaflet I"ve been carrying around forever) suggests serving it with curried whipped cream. Didn't have any whipped cream, but I think that'd be marvelous.

Warming and full of exotic flavors. I'm enjoying it with my new hummus recipe on the side at the moment.

Hummus

I've been consuming hummus at an alarmingly fast rate and decided that I should save myself some money and just figure out how to make it. It's pretty easy and very tasty! This version has a very interesting flavor--very sesame heavy. I actually thought it tasted fresher than the store version. It probably would taste nice with some Cumin, too.

2c. cooked chickpeas (3/4c. dried)
1/3c. tahini
1.5t salt
1/4t cayenne pepper
2T olive oil
juice from 1 lemon

Mash with a whisk. For a finer texture, whiz in a food processor or blender.
Adapted from the Barefoot Contessa cookbook.

Fruit Salad

WARNING: this recipe contains a hefty helping of demon sugar! (she says while taking a break from doing a problem set about diabetes). This one is really simple, but I was proud of myself for thinking it up on the fly: a friend asked if I wanted to come to dinner at her house in 1hr and I couldn't think of anything to bring. So, I made up this easy fruit salad with all the fruit I had on hand. I think it was a hit. You could make it with whatever fruit you have around, I'm sure:

1/2 container strawberries, chopt
1 banana, sliced
handful raisins
handful dried apricots, sliced
juice of 1/2 lemon
~1/8 c. sugar

Toss and enjoy!