Appetizer, Beer pairing, Eggless, Gluten Free, Healthy, Make ahead, No Cook, Pot Luck, Sake pairing, Side Dish, Snack, Vegetarian

Quick Scallion Kimchee

No personal anecdotes to share this time. Just One Really Good Recipe, from One Good Dish.

You know that the cookbook is good when you frantically bookmark recipe after recipe until you cover most of the pages (or run out of post-it’s.) So, I am temporarily putting all of my other cookbooks on hold until I go through at least some of my bookmarks from One Good Dish.

Quick Scallion Kimchee was one of the first recipes I tried and it is definitely a keeper! This simple-to-make condiment compliments just about anything that is not granola, however, it feels most natural in the company of the following delicacies:

Roasted teriyaki salmon
Grilled vegetables (inside a sandwich or on their own)
A bowl of cooked quinoa
A fish taco
An avocado toast
A breakfast omelette
Roasted potatoes, smoked salmon and creme fraiche
A Reuben sandwich

Quick Scallion Kimchee (Kimchi)

Adapted from One Good Dish

Ingredients

4 bunches organic scallions
2 tsp kosher salt
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tbsp raw (or dark brown) sugar
1 tbsp ginger, grated
¼ cup Korean chile pepper flakes
1 tbps toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar

Directions

Trim the scallions and cut into 3-inch lengths. Put them in a glass or ceramic bowl, sprinkle with the salt, and let stand for 10 minutes.
Mix together the garlic, sugar, ginger, red pepper flakes, sesame oil, sesame seeds, fish sauce, and rice vinegar. Add to the scallions and toss well to coat.
Lay a plate over the bowl and leave in a warm place for 24 hours. Or, for a stronger-tasting kimchee, let ripen for up to 72 hours. It will keep for a month, refrigerated.

Wine Pairing

I balked at the very idea of finding a perfect alcohol pairing for this condiment. Then I began researching. I tried a couple of things on my own, like my most favorite brand of Sake. I also went to the local wine shop and asked for suggestions. And I googled my way around the internet as well. Through a number of tastings, I finally came across a stellar match – a spicy E. Guigal 2010 Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

If you want to try your hand at a more traditional Kimchi, go back to the recipe I posted a few months back, from the ever-so-popular The Kimchi Cookbook.

Appetizer, Gluten Free, Healthy, Kid-approved, Red Wine Pairing, Side Dish, Vegetarian

White on White: Cauliflower Soufflé

Happy 2014! May this year bring you a lot of cauliflower, wheat berries, and chocolate!

Cooking is an art form. And as with any art, it takes time to master.

First, you learn the skill by copying someone else’s perfection. Recipe after recipe. You learn to broil, cream, and season. You practice until, finally, you close all cookbooks, reach into the pantry/fridge/veggie basket and create your own masterpiece. And then YOU KNOW; you’ve mastered the art of cooking! You are an artist.

After years of practice and experimentation, humbly yet with confidence, I can call myself a culinary artist!

And now that I can so easily express myself through cooking, I feel a need for a different form of self-expression. So, secretly, behind my kitchen’s back, I’ve taken up sketching…. I feel bad, as if I am cheating on my pots and pans with the new and shiny pencils and erasers… yet I continue listening to the voice inside me, and I keep on drawing.

My sketching is at its very early stages of evolution. I mainly draw inspiration from photographs. I sketch in black and white, following one very distinct style. I pick one simple subject: a meaningful facial expression, a gnarly smile, a telling silhouette… I turn my paper upside down; stroke by stroke, until finally a picture emerges. The act of sketching itself is therapeutic and meditating; while seeing the final result is completely intoxicating… Just like with cooking….

This new recipe was inspired by a master of simplicity, the one and only Malevich. I saw a picture of the dish in The Art Of Eating Well and it reminded me of White on White. Light, graceful, and delicate. Healthy, comforty, and clean. This souffle will tickle your senses and inspire you to start cooking again… and perhaps even drawing.

White on White: Cauliflower Soufflé

Adapted from The Art of Eating Well: An Italian Cookbook and The Iron You

Ingredients

1 cup (250 ml) milk
1 medium cauliflower head, washed, trimmed and cut into florets
1 clove of garlic, peeled
1 tsp fine grain sea salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
3 large eggs, divided
1 cup (80 gr) grated sharp cheddar cheese
3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese (Optional, in my opinion. I have done both with and without it)
1 tbsp butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°F. Brush the sides of 2-quart soufflé dish (or 6 ramekins) with butter and coat the bottom and sides with grated Parmesan cheese, knocking out excess. Set aside.
In a large saucepan add cauliflower florets, milk, garlic clove, salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, partially cover with a lid and cook for 15 minutes.
When the cauliflower is cooked, remove from the heat and with an immersion blender, blend until smooth and creamy (be careful not to splatter yourself). You can pre-cook the cauliflower days in advance and store in the fridge. This really makes this dish easy to whip up last minute.
In the meantime, in a large bowl with an electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment (or in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer), whip egg whites with a pinch of salt, starting on low, increasing incrementally to medium speed until soft peaks forms, about to 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside.
Add egg yolks, one at a time, working quickly to make sure that they don’t poach. Stir in cheese.
With the help of a spatula gently fold egg whites into cauliflower mixture and pour into the prepared baking dish.
Transfer to oven and reduce temperature to 375°F. Bake until top has lightly browned and soufflé has risen about 25 to 30 minutes if you’re using the soufflé dish or 15 to 20 minutes for the ramekins.
Serve immediately (before the soufflé starts collapsing).

Wine pairing

Once upon a time I was blown away by a food and wine pairing. A simple, creamy cauliflower dish with a bottle of vintage Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes. To share :( This is probably the only French wine I will ever reference on Cucee (only because I am a supporter of local and talented wine makers).

Appetizer, Breakfast, Eggless, No Cook, Pot Luck, Quick & Easy, Red Wine Pairing, Snack, Tea Pairing, Vegetarian

Chocolate and Brie Panini

I am in love. And he is gorgeous! Long soft curly blonde locks. Kind eyes. Unwavering loyalty. He never speaks back. Always by my side. And never leaves his plate dirty.

His name is Toby Gennadich Shpiler but you can simply call him Toby.

I’ve only been around two pets when growing up, and for a short period of time too. Cherusha was my pet turtle, that would spend most of her life behind a piano. She would come out a few times a year and I’d take her outside, where she’d slowly fill up on yellow dandelions. One day, she crawled onto the balcony, fell through the cracks down four stories, did a couple of somersaults, landed on her back, flipped over, and walked away in a search of a new owner.

My second pet, a porcupine, kept me company for only a few days. My mom threw him out of the house (together with my grandpa, who rescued him off the streets) when the rodent pricked me head to toes.

So, yes, I have not been around pets much in my life and, thus, never really developed an affinity or a desire for any four legged pals. Or kids. Then I changed my mind about kids. And they changed my mind about pets.

We started with a cat. Skeeter. An adorable creature with the cutest overbite and the sweetest purrr. We all fell in love with him the moment he brushed his fur against our faces. But Skeeter didn’t stay long with us, as I suddenly developed cat allergies. We had to find Skeeter a new home. That was really hard on everyone.

Our next pet was Neptune – the fish. We killed him fairly soon when we oversaturated his water with cleaning chemicals. His followers, Pluto and Galaxy are a part of our pet success story!

Then came Toby. And the little monster changed our lives forever. Mainly because we now need to hide dark chocolate on the highest shelf in order not to kill our furry friend :) And also because he has filled our house with lots and lots of pure and unconditional love….

And, while I am on the subject of chocolate and love, I have a perfect panini sandwich recipe to share with you.

Love,
Cucee Sprouts

Chocolate and Brie Panini

Slightly adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

A loaf of sourdough bread, sliced lengthwise in half
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup honey
12 ounces Brie cheese
1 (12-ounce) bag semisweet chocolate wafers, chips or chunks
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, julienned
Berries (optional)

Directions

Preheat the panini grill (or a regular old Foreman)
Brush both sides of the bread with olive oil. Grill the bread slices until they begin to turn golden, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Remove from the panini grill. Cover both slices with honey. Follow which cheese.
Add the chocolate, berries (optional) and a sprinkle of basil to the bottom slice. Cover with the top slice.
Return the sandwiches to the panini grill until the chocolate begins to melt, about another 2 minutes.
Cut the sandwiches and transfer to a serving platter.

Wine Pairing

If you’ve ever done wine tasting, you probably know that Cabs and Zins go really well with chocolate. Well, my favorite wine to sip on with this sweet, bitter and fruity panini is the rich and berrylicious 2011 Castoro Cellars Paso Robles Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.

Breakfast, Dairy-free, Dessert, Eggless, Gluten Free, Healthy, Kid-approved, Low Sodium, Make ahead, No Cook, Pot Luck, Vegan, Vegetarian, Vodka pairing

Homemade Vanilla Extract

The following recipe is a no-brainer and only consists of three simple ingredients

Vanilla beans
Vodka
Patience

But it produces

One very potent vanilla extract and
Lots of sweetness and laughter

My little girl, an older child, a dreamer, a Taylor Swift fan, came home from school, dropped her bag by the door, gave me a big warm hug and said 5 words that changed our relationship forever, “Mom, can we cook together?”

I’ve been cooking with my son for years now. He is a scientist, a math whiz, a troublemaker. He loves to measure, stir, whip, and make a lot of mess. All while his sister is reading, humming, trying on my makeup or playing with her stuffed animals. Homemade vanilla extract was my very first cooking project with HER!

We made a great team! She split the beans, I scraped them. She dropped them into the vodka bottle, I mixed. She babbled about her hair and soccer, I listened. And at the end, we ended up with a bottle of deliciously sweet, lovingly strong vanilla extract… and a very positive mother/daughter cooking collaboration.

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Adapted from Food in Jars

Ingredients

1 (750 ml) bottle vodka
24 vanilla beans

Directions

Remove about ½ cup of vodka from the bottle (but don’t drink it! save for later)
Split the beans
Scrape the seeds from the beans
Drop both the seeds and the pods into the vodka bottle
Pour the reserved spirit back into the bottle
Cap it and shake
Let the extract infuse and mellow for 4 to 6 months in a cool, dark place. It’s done when the vodka is dark, syrupy, and very vanilla.

To use it, decant some into a smaller bottle and then top the bottle off with more vodka and vanilla beans once again to create a new batch of extract.

Serve in

Back to School, Breakfast, Dairy-free, Eggless, Healthy, Kid-approved, Low Sodium, Make ahead, Pot Luck, Snack, Tea Pairing

New York-Style Bagel

This was my second time visiting Seattle. The design conference was over. The weather was dry. My friend was in town. And I had enough of the city. A trip to Mt. Reiner was overdue.

We rented a car for a day, picked up a bag of gourmet bagels and drove through the snowy landscapes for hours. My friend quizzed me on the winter sports (that I knew nothing about) and chuckled as she taught me about an activity called snowshoeing.

Suddenly we came to a stop. Dead end. Our navigation system kept insisting we had another hour to go. Puzzled, we made a sharp turn into a ski resort. We parked. We walked around. It looked creepily abandoned. We knocked on the doors. Finally one opened.

“What brought you two here in the late April? The resort is already shut down; yet the entrance to the mountaintop has not been re-opened.”

Snowy mountain. The two of us in our t-shirts and gym shoes. Stunned.. Disappointed. Looking utterly amusing to the ski resort guy. “I can offer you snowshoes to explore my mountain!”

Abandoned resort. Snowshoe contraptions attached to our feet. My friend rolling on her belly, laughing, “Here you go – learning about snowshoeing – LIVE!”

Not a soul around, sun on our faces, bagels in our backpack, crunch under our feet, crisp fresh air, blindingly white surroundings in every direction you look. A new experience forever etched into my memory!

These bagels are so easy to make! I will never buy bagels again :)

Serve smeared with

Mashed avocado + sliced peach
Laughing Cow + broccoli sprouts + smoked salmon
Cream cheese + honey
Hummus + marinated bell peppers

20 New York-Style Bagels

Adapted from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Ingredients

The Dough

3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tbsp granulated yeast (2 packets)
1 1/2 tbsp Kosher salt
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
6 1/4 cups bread flour

The Bagel

the boiling-pot
8 quarts boiling water
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
chia, poppy, sesame, sunflower, or pumpkin seeds
extra flour for dusting towel
whole wheat flour for pizza peel
baking stone
broiler tray

Directions

Mixing and storing the bagel dough

Mix the yeast, salt, and sugar with the water in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.
Mix in the flour without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup capacity food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with dough hook). If you’re not using a machine, you may need to use wet hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.
Cover (not airtight), and allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.
The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 14 days.

Forming, Boiling, and Baking the Bagels

20 minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 450 F, with a baking stone placed near the middle. Place an empty broiler tray on any other shelf that won’t interfere with the rising bagels.
Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 3-ounce piece of dough (about the size of a small peach). Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around the bottom of all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.
Repeat to form the rest of the bagels. Cover the balls loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Bring a large saucepan or stockpot full of water to a boil. Reduce to simmer and add the sugar and baking soda.
Punch your thumb through the dough to form the hole. Ease it open with your fingers until the hole’s diameter is about triple the width of the bagel wall.
Drop the bagels into the simmering water one at a time, making sure they are not crowding one another. They need enough room to float without touching or they will be misshapen. Let them simmer for 2 minutes and then flip them over with a slotted spoon to cook the other side. Simmer for another minute.
Remove them from the water, using the slotted spoon, and place on a clean kitchen towel that has been lightly dusted with flour. This will absorb some of the excess water from the bagels. Then place them on a peel covered with whole wheat flour. Sprinkle the bagels with poppy or sesame seeds.
Slide the bagels directly onto the hot stone. Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray, and quickly close the oven door. Bake with steam for about 20 minutes, until deeply browned and firm.

Dairy-free, Eggless, Gluten Free, Healthy, Make ahead, No Cook, Pot Luck, Side Dish, Vegan, Vegetarian

Kimchi

Sometimes I get so frustrated.

Just the other day, I was feeling a need for comfort food and decided to make a pot of hearty Korean Kimchi Stew. I drove to Whole Foods, grabbed a pound of beef, a couple of onions and a package of red pepper paste. I reached for a jar of kimchi, quickly scanned the ingredients for nuts (something I always do with new products) and almost threw it into my cart when, to my surprise, I saw shrimp in the lineup. A shrimp in the fermented vegetable product?!

I put the jar back and scanned the shelf for an alternate brand with no shrimp. No such luck. Frustrated, I drove to an Asian supermarket, sure that I would find vegan kimchi there! Nope. Three different brands, all non-kosher. I went from one store to the next until, finally, I located one with no seafood in-sight. I grabbed 3 jars, paid 3 times as much and went home to cook, 3 hours later than originally planned to.

That was frustrating!

Since then, I have been on a hunt for a kimchi recipe, vegan style. My prayers have been answered by Olga Massov, the author of The Kimchi Cookbook and the blogger behind sassyradish.com. Olga discovered a really cool vegan seafood substitute – the juice of soaked shiitake mushrooms. As surprising as that is, the smokey deep flavor of the liquid really matches the flavor of, um, shrimp!

So, here is how you make kimchi at home. Trust me, this will be fun and absolutely painless. Just make sure that you have these two items before starting your fermentation project:

A large plastic or glass container
Korean pepper flakes (kochukaru.) You can get those at an Asian market or on Amazon. Do not substitute with crushed red pepper – the two are pretty different! Korean pepper is much sweeter and smokier in flavor. And don’t get hung up on the word “flakes” – what you are actually looking for is pepper in a form of a coarse powder.

Ok, ready, set, ferment!

Square-Cut Napa Cabbage Kimchi (Mak Kimchi)

Adapted from The Kimchi Cookbook

Ingredients

Brine

2 medium heads (about 4 to 6 pounds total) napa cabbage, cut into 2-inch squares
1/2 cup kosher salt

Seasoning paste

1/2 cup thinly sliced yellow onion
4 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons peeled, finely grated fresh ginger
3 tablespoons Mushroom Broth (see below)
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup Korean chile pepper flakes
4 green onions, green parts only, cut into 2-inch pieces
1/4 cup water

Mushroom Broth

1/4 cup dried shiitake or porcini mushrooms
1 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon kosher salt

Directions

Mushroom Broth

Place the mushrooms in a medium bowl
Pour boiling water over the mushrooms
Stir in the salt
Cover and let sit for 20 minutes
Squeeze the water out of the mushrooms and allow the broth to cool to room temperature or refrigerate before using
Discard the mushrooms or store them in the broth to further infuse their flavor

Brine

In a large bowl, combine the cabbage with the salt and set aside for about 1 hour. Drain the liquid and rinse the cabbage to remove any traces of salt. Let the cabbage drain in a colander for 20 minutes, or use a salad spinner to remove most of the water

Seasoning paste

In a mini food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse together the onion, garlic, ginger, mushroom broth and sugar until a paste forms
Transfer to a bowl and mix in the chile pepper flakes
Set aside for 15 minutes to let the flavors combine

Kimchi

In a large bowl, mix together the green onions, seasoning paste and drained cabbage until combined thoroughly, making sure the seasoning paste is distributed evenly among the leaves
Pack the mixture tightly into a large container
Add 1/4 cup water to the mixing bowl, and swirl the water around to collect the remaining seasoning paste. Add the water to the container, cover tightly and set aside for 3 days at room temperature
The cabbage will expand as it ferments, so be sure to place the jar on a plate or in a bowl to catch the overflow

Appetizer, Dairy-free, Eggless, Gluten Free, Healthy, Low Sodium, Make ahead, No Cook, Pot Luck, Quick & Easy, Salad, Side Dish, Vegan, Vegetarian, White Wine Pairing

Sweet Corn Ceviche

I get so excited when I stumble upon a new culinary discovery. I walk around feeling all proud, with a huge smile on my face and a strong urge to share! My latest discovery is corn. No, I’m not talking about having made a brand new grain discovery (that was done for me a long time ago by the indigenous people of Mesoamerica.) I’m talking about discovering a new form of it – UNCOOKED!

It is daunting to me that I haven’t tried it in its purest form until just recently. Crispy, juicy, sweet… Raw! Texture unreplicable.

I am certainly not new to corn. I grew up next to a luscious golden cornfield. I remember warm summer nights in the field, hiding from my parents behind the tall leafy stalks, as they joyfully filled their buckets with fresh ears for tonight’s dinner.

As an adult, misinformed about its nutritional qualities, I learned to avoid the beloved grain… until I discovered that it is actually pretty good for you – a freshly picked ear of organic corn has as much fiber and much less sugar than an apple. And it is jam-packed with good-for-you nutrients such as thiamin, vitamin B5, folate, vitamin C, phosphorus and manganese.

Ever since sweet corn made its way back into my kitchen, I’ve been serving it often and in various forms: cooked, raw, even popped. The quick-to-put-together ceviche is now in my weekly side-dish rotation (if you don’t believe me, check my instagram as evidence.) I just strip the kernels off the cob, toss with Serrano pepper, green onion, and lime vinaigrette and leave it be in a fridge for at least a couple hours.

A friendly advice: triple the recipe – you will thank me when you still have a cup of ceviche left for the next day.

Another friendly advice: serve alongside fish tacos, grilled chicken or tofu, breakfast burritos or on a buttered toast.

Last advice: Make it days in advance and watch the flavors intensify like crazy!

Sweet Corn Ceviche

Inspired by Sprouted Kitchen whose cookbook I adore
Nutritional info

Ingredients

2 Farmstand Corn Cobs
Zest and Juice of one Lime
1 Generous Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (use the good stuff)
1 Green Onion, finely chopped
1 Serrano Chile, seeded and minced
1/4 Cup Chopped Cilantro*
1/4 tsp. Sea Salt

Directions

Shuck the corn and use a sharp knife to cut off the corn kernels from all sides. Put them in a mixing bowl.
Add the zest and juice of the lime, good olive oil, green onion, Serrano and stir to coat. Add the cilantro and sea salt and give it another stir. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes before eating for the flavors to blend. Taste for salt. Keep in a covered container in the fridge, it gets slightly more spicy with age.

Wine Pairing

Cool, crisp, clean and refreshing, Paul Dolan Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc is a perfect mate for this ceviche.

Dairy-free, Eggless, Healthy, Kid-approved, Main Dish, Pot Luck, Salad, Side Dish, Vegan, Vegetarian, White Wine Pairing

Soba Noodles with Eggplant and Mango

As a child, I did not really like geography. I liked poetry and art… Photography… Even math… But not geography. And geography didn’t like me!

From cartography and paleogeography to geomorphology and physiography, they all treated me with a contemptuous superiority complex. But it was the political geography, with its locations on the map, names of capitals, and bordering countries – the biggest bully of them all – that never missed a chance to make fun of my “geo-ambivalence.”

(Confession: Only second to geography, my least favorite childhood activity was learning to cook. But there was a good reason for that – my mom was very good in the kitchen, where she spent most of her daylight hours.)

It was only after I began to travel the world that our aversion towards each other began to dissipate. Not only can I now approximate the distance (in flight hours, of course) between Tokyo and San Francisco, but I can also make some mean Soba at home.

And, speaking of Soba, I recently whipped up a delicious bowl of this buckwheat spaghetti — the Mediterranean style. Earthy-tasting noodles tossed with sweet smokey peppers, fresh succulent mango, meaty eggplant, fiery chiles, aromatic herbs, and a light sweet & sour dressing.

Happy cooking and traveling, everyone :)

Soba Noodles with Eggplant and Mango

Adapted from Plenty

Ingredients

1/2 cup brown rice vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 fresh red chile, finely chopped
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Grated zest and juice of 1 lime
1 cup sunflower oil
2 eggplants, cut into 3/4-inch dice
1 red bell pepper
8 to 9 ounces soba noodles (make sure you get the regular “salty” noodles – or your soba will lack flavor)
1 large ripe mango, cut into 3/8-inch dice or into 1/4-inch-thick strips
1 2/3 cup basil leaves (if you can get some Thai basil, but much less of it)
2 1/2 cups cilantro leaves, chopped
1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced

Directions

In a small saucepan gently warm the vinegar, sugar and salt for up to 1 minute, just until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and add the garlic, chile, and sesame oil. Allow to cool, then add the lime zest and juice.
Heat up the sunflower oil in a large pan and shallow-fry the eggplant in three or four batches. Once golden brown remove to a colander, sprinkle liberally with salt and leave there to drain.
Turn your gas stovetop flame to medium. Roast the pepper over the top of the gas flame for 10-20 minutes, turning every 4-5 minutes. Remove from the stovetop, cover with foil and let it rest for 15 mins. Remove the peel, the stem and the seeds. Cut in quarters.
Cook the noodles in plenty of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally. They should take 5 to 8 minutes to become tender but still al dente. Drain and rinse well under running cold water. Shake off as much of the excess water as possible, then leave to dry on a dish towel.
In a mixing bowl toss the noodles with the dressing, mango, eggplant, bell, half of the herbs and the onion. You can now leave this aside for 1 to 2 hours. When ready to serve add the rest of the herbs and mix well, then pile on a plate or in a bowl.

P.S. You can grill the eggplant instead of pan-frying it. As for the pepper, you can also grill it or roast it in the oven. I use the stovetop method when I only have to prep 1-2 bells

Wine Pairing

The dressing in this dish is quite tangy. I would not go near this dish with anything less tart than a Sauvignon Blanc or Dry Riesling, both of which I know will stand up to the sharp vinaigrette. I recommend a glass (or a bottle) of Paul Dolan Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc

Dessert, Kid-approved, Pot Luck, Vegetarian

The Best (though not the healthiest) Chocolate Chip Cookie

If you were a cookie what kind would you be?

I would be a maple chocolate chip cookie. Crispy on the edges, soft and chewy in the middle – with pockets of soft chocolate in every bite. A sweet cookie, with just enough saltiness for contrast. An aesthetically pleasing cookie. A creative cookie – with unexpected surprises. Cookie that is complex in flavor yet simple to make.

I know, I know – this isn’t really a Cucee-healthy dessert BUT I have found a way to healthify it – I only eat one cookie at a time!

A trick in getting the right texture is under-baking it just a tiny bit and then leaving it on a cookie sheet to rest for 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. This creates a crispy cookie with a heavenly soft interior.

Don’t forget to eat just one!

The Best (though not the healthiest) Chocolate Chip Cookie

Adapted from Not Without Salt

Ingredients

2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup Turbinado sugar
1¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. maple extract
3½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
12 oz. chocolate chips (use the best quality chocolate you can find)
Coarse sea salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 360ºF. Set rack in the middle of the oven.
Cream the butter and the sugars on medium-high speed until light, 4-5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times during this process. Continue mixing while adding the eggs one at a time. Make sure each egg is incorporated before adding the next. Add the vanilla. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Combine the flour, soda and salt in another bowl. Mix with a whisk. With the machine on low, slowly add almost all the flour. Reserve just a bit of the mixture. Remove the bowl from the mixer and add the last bit of flour along with the chocolate. Stir with a spatula until just combined.
Using a large ice cream scoop, scoop out mounds of dough making sure there is about 2 inches between each cookie. Do not crowd them and there is no need to press the dough down. Sprinkle each mound with a bit of sea salt.
Bake sheets, one at time, until the cookies are lightly golden on the edges and a bit gooey in the center, about 12 minutes. Do not overbake! Remove sheet from oven and allow to sit undisturbed for two minutes. Then carefully transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining sheets.

Drink pairing

Definitely a glass of cold milk or iced coffee

Breakfast, Gluten Free, Healthy, Kid-approved, Quick & Easy, Tea Pairing, Vegetarian

Grilled Cheese Egg

Ah, the beauty of camping: simplicity, tranquility, nature. Having all the devices turned off, cookbooks stashed away. The smell of fresh summer air and grilled meat, fire-roasted potatoes, s’mores. No disturbances from the outside world, no interruptions, just you being one with nature.

This is what I’ve known camping to be. My last camping trip was nothing like that.

It first started with a power outlet on a tree. Then park-wide Wi-Fi. Caviar on a buttered toast. Cabbage-stuffed piroshki. Pickled delicacies. Turkish coffee with a splash of Cognac. French toast. Crepes. Kefir with homemade granola. A Yoga class. A concert stage.

This is camping, the Russian style.

Grilled Cheese Egg

Recipe inspired by a dish served at the Russian Banya in New York City

This dish comes together in no time. I cooked it on a camping stove, 5 times. What makes this egg-fast so special is the order of ingredients. First goes the cheese (no oil – double score), then the eggs (whole, scrambled, any way you like them,) then bread. The result: perfectly set egg with a crispy crunchy bottom.

Ingredients

2-3 slices of cheese (cheddar is best, havarti is second best. I forbid you to use any low fat cheeses – they will ruin both the egg and the pan)
3-5 large eggs
1-2 slices of bread, cut into 1inch pieces (optional)
Parmesan cheese, grated (mandatory)
Salt and pepper

Directions

Layer the bottom of the non-stick frying pan (make sure you only use a non-stick pan here) with the cheese slices. The more cheese, the tastier the crust
Crack just enough eggs to cover the cheese
Press the bread pieces into the egg-white (you can omit the carbs – the egg tastes just great on its own)
Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste
Fry on med-high until the eggs are the right consistency for your taste

Drink pairing

It is morning, so no alcohol, unless it’s an emergency, in which case I would recommend a touch of Hennessy in your fresh cup of coffee! If you are coffee drinker, like myself, try Lavazza. But if coffee is not your cup-o-tea, then go for my other favorite, Winter White Earl Gray tea.