Lemon Tomato Penne Pasta

If you have ever lived with me, you know I love making pasta and trying to conquer every type of Italian cuisine out there. I've experimented and tried so many pasta combinations that I've lost track of what I have done and not done. Also, freshmen year of college I decided to try northern Italy and attempt a risotto, which to my surprise came out quite nicely! Pasta is very versatile and comes in different shapes and forms. There's linguine, capellini, fusili, macaroni, penne, ziti, rotelle, rotini, and sooo many more. My favorites to work with are penne and capellini, especially the latter because it cooks so fast. My sister, Saadia, absolutely hated pasta no thanks to the crap quality of food that Kinsolving serves. She swore it off until I made a lemon-herb chicken capellini and made her eat it. Bam. I changed her tastebuds. Obviously you're gonna hate pasta if all you've ever had was starchy, cold, tasteless, rubbery not-fit-for-dogs-to-eat shiat. Anyhow, if you're a carb watcher, then I pity you. Seriously, you're missing out on such lovely deliciousness. Just portion your amounts and you'll be fiiiine. This specific one I made is very light on your stomach but bold in flavor, and can be enjoyed at the family table or during a dinner for two.

What's in it:
-penne pasta (amber durum), tomato paste, tomatoes, olive oil, oregano, red chili powder, garlic powder, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, black pepper, cumin seeds, grated parmesan

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Banana Nutella Stuffed French Toast

As you can probably tell, I have a thing for nutella. It's just so dang delicious! For you breakfast lovers out there, this is something you'll like. I had it for brunch today (since I woke up at 11:30). Last night I had a massive craving for one, so I had already decided then I'd make it this morning. French toast is quite simple to make, but also quite easy to mess up. If you're not stuffing it, then it's hard to mess up...unless you forget to flip it and end up burning it. However, when stuffing it, you have to make sure you dip it in the egg properly. Here's a tip: dip it far enough to where the surface of the egg mixture just barely skims the top of the bread, then flip it to get the other side soaked too. Aka, don't let the egg run into the middle of the two pieces of bread. Also, one egg is enough for 2 pieces of bread. Make sure the pan is on medium heat, or you'll end up scorching the toast too quickly. The bread only needs to be flipped once. You literally keep it on the heat for about a minute total, just enough to cook the egg and warm the nutella. So the secret ingredient I use in this is pure raw honey. I add it to the egg mixture and it brings out this wonderful taste to the final product. I ate this with a glass of OJ, and it totally jump-started my morning the right way.

What's in it:
-egg, sugar, honey, bread, bananas, nutella, powdered sugar (for garnish)

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Bhindi (Fried Okra)

Two posts in one day! W00t!
My mom made me make [alliteration!] dinner tonight. She was cutting up the okra and I wandered into the kitchen, and she put the knife down and said, "aaj tu banao kaana" (you make food today). Umm...okay? Sooo I finished cutting up the rest and made bhindi. Indian food is not an easy task to master. It takes years of constant learning and cooking to get that "homemade motherland taste". I've only been exposed to making Indian food for a couple years now. It's definitely not something I'll master anytime soon, or ever for that matter. However, one thing I can make with confidence is this. Sabzi (vegetables) are the simplest dish to make, I think. They all require the same base and cook without much supervision. My good friend, Umar, can tell you how it's made (did you absorb anything I taught you mister?). Mother said I make "hotel wala bhindi"...I'm not sure what that means...but okay!

What's in it:
-okra, oil, onion, tomato, green chili, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper, turmeric, red chili powder, cumin (seeds & powder), paprika

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

Peanut butter and chocolate are soulmates, lovers, best friends. Jelly was just an affair peanut butter had, but he came to his senses finally. These are inspired by Reeses cups, which are by far the most delicious things ever (after Twix of course). I love anything that is remotely related to Reeses: pieces, cereal, mini cups, big cups, and now, these bars. They are quite fun to make and easy too, except there's a process to it that cannot be cut short. The total time it took from start to clean up (including washing the dishes) was approx. 45 minutes. I kind of guesstimated with this recipe. Since there's no baking involved, everything can be eaten the way it is, which makes it easier to taste along the way. I used honey graham crackers instead of original for a little more flavor to the base. The peanut butter to chocolate ratio, in my opinion, is near perfect. I think I'll up the chocolate next time by using a darker, richer chocolate. I used 50% Lindt cacao on this one. This may seem pretty dark to many of you, but I added Nutella to it, so the hazelnut took away from the bitterness a bit, but may have toned it down too much. I used the Nutella not for flavor, but for texture purposes. It makes the final melted product much more creamy and smooth. Anyhow, the key is to melt the chocolate with Nutella in a double boiler and not in the microwave bootleg style. (science alert!: The microwave gives it too much direct heat, which causes the milk to separate from the chocolate, making it much less smoother.) Anyhow, use a double boiler and you'll be much happier in the end. And by double boiler I mean, don't go buy one, that's dumb...use the bowl over the pot method. Take a saucepan and fill it with about 1/2 an inch of water. Turn the heat to low and simmer the water. Put a steel bowl on top, making sure the bottom doesn't touch the water. Voila! Double boiler. Overall, I am happy with the way these turned out.

What's in it:
-honey graham crackers, peanut butter, unsalted butter, powdered sugar, chocolate, Nutella

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Turkey Sandwich

Woman, make me a sandwich. Sure, no problem. I don't find the whole male "make me a sandwich" ideology offensive. I love making sandwiches! The women who do feel like it's a chauvinistic, sexist thing to make one can't make sandwiches...it's as simple as that. Of course, if I don't feel like making you a sandwich, then tough luck, you shall go hungry. However, 9.9/10 times I am in the sandwich-making mood. Anyhow, I'm off topic. I didn't know what to eat for lunch today, sooo I noticed we had some turkey. Awesome. Turkey is the single best protein out there. It's so light and delicious and can be smoked or glazed, or flavored with honey or mesquite (the one I used is smoked). We have a holiday dedicated to it. We dress it up. We put it on a giant plate in the center of the table and then devour it until our brains are numb and we become comatose. Ross from Friends went ballistic over the loss of a turkey sandwich. That's how amazing they are. I would have probably made this sandwich with ciabatta bread, but didn't have any on hand...so 12 grain had to do. The thing about this sandwich is the special mayo I made. It has a slight kick of cayenne spice that complements the subtle bite of the thinly julienned green bell peppers that I stacked on top of the turkey. As you bite down you can taste the flavors and textures of each layer, from the mayo to the crisp lettuce to the tangy pepper to the rich turkey. It all binds together with the softness of the bread and dances a dance of pomp and circumstance along your tongue and does a conga line down to your stomach. Deliciousness indeed.

What's in it:
-12 grain bread, turkey, lettuce, green bell pepper, special mayo

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Mini Nutella Cupcakes

I'm a bad person, I know. I've fallen behind on making things and posting them. Well, that's not entirely true. I've been making stuff, but just not photographing it because it's been in a hurry. I made these lovely delights earlier this evening. I always try to make things during the day so I have optimal lighting for photographing the final product, but I got busy then finished these right as the sun was setting, hence the subtle yellows in the pictures. Anyhow, this idea came to me yesterday, and so I played around with it for a bit. I kind of made the recipe up and experimented to see how they'd turn out. Not bad. I'll probably add more cream cheese to make them a bit more moist. Otherwise, the balance of the hazelnut chocolate is perfect. My sister kept saying it needs more chocolate flavor, but that's not what I was going for. (She's also a sugar addict...). They are light in flavor and texture, and can be enjoyed by my dad as well (who thinks brownies are too sweet). The best thing is that it uses minimal ingredients...so anyone who has an arm or can borrow an arm to mix a couple things has the ability to make this. UT folks, you'll probably be seeing a lot of these in the future (because they're soooo easy to make, and cheap too).

What's in it:
-flour, Nutella, egg, cream cheese, powdered sugar

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