Author: Amanda

Quick Vegetable Fried Brown Rice

- Amanda

This Quick Vegetable Fried Brown Rice is such an easy dinner to throw together and the perfect way to give leftover rice new life. We generally eat brown rice at home, so that’s what I like to use for this, but if you have cooked white rice on hand, that will work just fine too. And whatever vegetables you have can be subbed in as well. The point with this dish is to have a fast, easy, delicious and nutritious meal on the table in no time. And yes, I think this can be classified as healthy. Much healthier at least than take-out variety fried rice but tastes just as good. And even more so if you’re using brown rice. If you have cooked quinoa or cauliflower rice on hand, those would definitely kick up the health factor (I’ve got a great cauli-fried rice recipe coming soon.)

And to add another good-for-you element, I like to serve this on top of shredded purple cabbage. It gives great crunch and turns this into a nice salad. Add a dash of Sriracha, a bit more scallions, maybe even a little cilantro and instant gourmet perfection. And if you want it to be a little more filling, it tastes delicious with chicken, beef, sauteed tofu, or any other protein you want to add on top.

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Homemade Turkish Simit (Street Style)

- Amanda

Have you ever heard of or tried Turkish Simit? If not, then I’m excited to enlighten you to something new today. And if you have and are a fan, then perhaps this post will inspire you to take a little trip abroad and try your hand at making your own at home. Simit are a popular, if not the most popular, Turkish street food. It’s a circular shaped bread that’s encrusted with lots and lots of sesame seeds. It’s often compared to a bagel, but is pretty different, only being slightly reminiscent in appearance. The simit is crisp on the outside, but much lighter on the inside than a bagel. And they have a slight sweetness that comes from a dunk in pekmez, or grape molasses, before getting coated with sesame seeds and baked. They don’t get that classic boiling water bath that a bagel gets.

This tasty Turkish specialty, said to have originated in Istanbul some time in the 1500’s (during the Ottoman Empire,) is typically enjoyed over breakfast (kavhaltı) with some cheese, olives, tomatoes and cucumbers but as it is sold on almost every street corner from these cute little red trolleys, it really makes for a perfect grab-and-go-anytime-snack for most. In fact, I have come to look forward to enjoying one almost every time I have been out and about on the streets of Istanbul. A tradition I have missed while in quarantine.

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Our Favorite Hummus Recipe

- Amanda

I’ve noticed when it comes to hummus, there are typically two camps of people. Those who like it super light and creamy and those who prefer it a little thicker, and more dense. I am definitely a fan of the former. Maybe that’s a result of being lucky to have had so many store bought varieties available at grocery stores in the states, which are usually more on the creamy side. Also, I find the softer and fluffier it is, the easier it is to scoop up with a nice piece of pita bread or cucumber round. Which is pretty much the point, right? Unless you are so in love with it, you just eat it by the spoonful like the youngest hummus fan in our house. She can’t get enough.

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Delicious Sourdough Discard Crackers

- Amanda 2 Comments

Like so many others around the world right now, I have been drawn into making my own sourdough starter. And I’ll admit, for the first few days I was excited, but then that excitement turned to being annoyed that I had taken on another “living” thing that I needed to remember to feed at a certain time twice a day, every day. I’ve already got two hungry little mouths asking for a snack every five minutes, sometimes even while still in the high chair not having finished a meal. The last thing I needed was one more. After all, the other less high maintenance breads I have been making have been really good. But, I love a good loaf of sourdough, so here we are.

Well, I’m happy to report, that without even making said loaf yet (my starter is ready,) I already feel the “extra work” was so worth it. I have been using the tossed starter to make the most Delicious Sourdough Discard Crackers, as well as other yummy recipes, like amazing sourdough pancakes. That recipe is coming next.

These crackers are exactly what I was looking for in a recipe using the starter discard. So many other recipes I came across, and tried, called for more flour. And they weren’t that great. I wanted a recipe that only used the discard and maybe a few other ingredients like nuts or seeds for texture and herbs for flavor. This one fits that bill perfectly. A little butter is added but it goes a long way into making the crackers extra crispy and delicious. (I recommend butter over olive oil for the flavor and texture.)

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Homemade Churros with Mexican Chocolate Sauce

- Amanda

Is there any particular place or memory that comes up when you think of churros? For me there’s two. The first being that I will always associate churros with my elementary school’s annual carnival. The booth my mom ran every year, the most popular one indeed, sold two of my now favorite treats, warm chocolate chip cookies straight from the school’s oven and churros. (This just might have something to do with my obsession with all things treats, particularly the fact that my all-time fav dessert is none other than the classic chocolate chip cookie.) But back to the churros. They were delicious. And I ate a lot.

The second memory connected to churros for me is from my days in the professional restaurant kitchen. I use to have churros on my dessert menu. They were paired with a mexican chocolate dipping sauce, a spicy dulce de leche and a handmade cinnamon ice cream. My mouth is watering just thinking about that combo. They were a favorite for sure but I’ll never forget how many customers either couldn’t pronouce them (no big deal) or more importantly, had never tried one. And I loved being able to open up their world to a whole new fried goodness obsession and watch the clients dining in fancy suits and dresses enjoying this fun childhood favorite. Some days we couldn’t make them fast enough, as they were fried to order, and we often ran out of the dough and had to “86” them (a term used when there’s no more of an item on a menu.)

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