Friday Favorites: Pastis Brunch

Featuring: Pastis

If there is one ritual that defined the twenty-something generation in the city, it's the weekend brunch. So it's no surprise that I have been to my fair share of brunch places in the bay area. That doesn't stop me from trying new places and finding the next best place though! This little gem was actually discovered by one of my friends and it did not disappoint! We were seated right away (always a huge plus), the food was beyond delicious, and it was a great way to sit outside and enjoy a leisurely meal with the last of the California sunshine. I would definitely go back before it gets discovered by more people and become the "it" brunch place of Palo Alto!

Sunday Recipes: Veggie Enchiladas

I was in charge of family dinner night, so I took a stab at whipping up some enchiladas. Here's the recipe for roughly 8 enchiladas.

Ingredients (makes 8 enchiladas):

- 1 onion chopped

- 1 bell pepper chopped

- 2 garlic cloves minced

- 1 can black beans rinsed and drained

- 2 small green chili peppers minced

- 1/2 cup of roasted corn

- 3 Tbsp olive oil

- 1/2 cup minced cilantro

- 2 Tbsp taco seasoning

- 1/2 cup enchilada sauce

- salt to taste

- 3/4 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend

- 8 6" tortillas warm

Preparation:

1) Heat olive oil in a pan and saute the onions and bell peppers for 3 mins.

2) Add in the garlic, black beans, corn, chili peppers, and cilantro to the onion and bell pepper mixture and let them cook.

3) Season the mixture with taco seasoning and set on low heat to cook for 2 mins. Add some salt if needed (optional based on the taco seasoning).

4) Take a warm tortilla and spoon the seasoned vegetable mixture in the middle. Roll the tortilla and place it seam side down in an oven-safe casserole dish. Repeat this step with the rest of the tortillas.

5) Top the rolled and stuffed tortillas with enchilada sauce and cheese.

6) Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until thoroughly cooked and serve.

We enjoyed ours with a side of fresh avocado and tomato slices.

Sunday Night Dinner: Quinoa Stir-Fry with Kale

Qunioa? Kale? Talk about a meeting of the power foods! I also finally got to pan fry tofu so that it has the crispy on the outside texture. As a vegetarian, this is a huge coup! Here's the recipe:

Ingredients (serves 2 really hungry people or 3 lightly hungry people):

- 1 cup uncooked quinoa

- 2 cups of water

- 1.5 cups of tofu cut into cubes

- 1 cup of frozen peas and carrots thawed

- 2 cups chopped kale

- 4 Tbsp vegetable oil

- 3 Tbsp soy sauce

- salt to taste

- 2 tsp red pepper flakes 

Preparation:

1) Rinse quinoa thoroughly. In a pot, lightly roast the quinoa in a drizzle of olive oil. Add 2 cups of water to the lightly roasted quinoa and cook for 15 mins. Set aside once cooked.

2) While quinoa is cooking, place the tofu cubes on 2 sheets of paper towels, drizzle all sides lightly with salt, and let blot for 15 mins. The point of this is to remove the water from tofu, so use additional paper towels if necessary to blot the water.

3) In a sauce pan, heat 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil.

4) Add the blotted tofu cubes to the sauce pan and fry until golden brown.

5) Add the quinoa mixture to the tofu cubes and lightly sauté for 3 minutes on medium heat and set aside.

6) Add 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil to a Wok and heat. Add kale, peas and carrot mixture, and cook for 2 - 3 mins or until kale is wilted but still dark green.

7) Add in the quinoa and tofu mixture to the veggies and stir fry for another 3 mins on low heat

8) Add in the soy sauce and toss lightly on low heat.

9) Add salt and pepper flakes to taste.

10) Serve topped with a little bit of Sriracha sauce for some extra kick and done!

Sunday Recipe: Breakfast for Dinner

Some weekends are a whirlwind of activity and when those weekends are combined with 90 degree weather, it leads to a very tired me. Tired, happy, and fully of heavy foods that make me want to crawl into bed, turn on the fan, and just read. So when Sunday night rolled around and I made my breakfast smoothie for Monday morning, I just decided it was going to be my dinner too because cooking something on a stove was so not an option at that point. So here's an ultra light dinner to make up for a rich weekend:

Ingredients:
- 6 fresh raspberries
- 1/4 cup frozen blueberries
- 1/2 a nectarine pitted and sliced
- 1.5 cups almond milk
- 1/2 a scoop of Berry Vega One protein powder
- a squirt of agave nectar

Preparation:
Blend together and serve over ice!

I paired mine with a nice piece of whole wheat toast and had 1/2 of the nectarine not used for the smoothie as my dessert. It was surprisingly just what I needed on a hot Sunday night. I also finally invested in a Magic Bullet and so far, I am not regretting the decision at all!

Sunday Night Dinner

In an effort to cook more and stop using my kitchen as storage for all the IKEA items I accumulated over the years, I am forcing myself to cook at least one meal at home on weekends. We are talking a full-on meal; not just microwaving some Lean Cuisine.Trust me when I say it's easier said than done. To start myself off, I went with the easiest meal I know - salad and pasta:

Roasted Red Pepper and Spinach Salad

 Ingredients:

- handful of spinach leaves

- 8 cherry tomatoes halved

- 4 bell peppers drizzled with EVOO and roasted on stove top (set aside to cool down after done)

- mozzarella balls (Trader Joe's has some good ones)

Method: 

1) Grab a big ol' bowl

2) Throw in all of the above

3) Toss a couple of times to get all the ingredients to mingle and get to know each other

4) Drizzle with EVOO and balsamic vinegar (again, TJ's is my best friend here)

5) Top off with some fresh ground pepper

Creamy Avocado Pasta:

Adapted from this recipe: http://ohsheglows.com/2011/01/31/15-minute-creamy-avocado-pasta/

Ingredients (serves 2):

- 2 servings of spaghetti or pasta of choice

- 1 large ripe avocado pitted and sliced

- 2 clove of garlic

- 3 Tbsp lemon juice

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

- 1 tsp red pepper flakes

- grated Parmesan and ground black pepper to top-off

Method:

1) Add pasta to boiling water and cook until al dente (noodles are firm, cooked, but not too soft and squishy). It took about 10 mins for my pasta to reach this consistency

2) Strain and set aside the pasta in a large bowl once it's done

3) In a food processor, crush together the garlic, lemon juice, and salt until it's smooth. Now, add in the avocado slices and blend together until it's almost smooth. If the avocado isn't ripe enough, add a little bit of water to help get that smooth texture. I like a little bit of avocado chunks in mine, so I didn't make it completely smooth

3) Add the avocado mixture to pasta

4) Top off with pepper flakes, ground black pepper, and grated Parmesan 

Took only 30 mins to make both and it made a delicious meal!