Sunday Recipes: Sweetheart Cookies

Since every store is kindly reminding us that it's Valentine's Day (seriously CVS almost blinded me with the red and the pink), I decided to embrace the Hallmark holiday and send a little love to my dear ones.

Cookies made using Sally's Baking Addiction's Funfetti Cookies recipe. Instead of regular sprinkles, I used the hearts-and-kisses ones from Target. When the cookies are out of the oven, allow them to cool for two minutes. After the two minutes, gently press a candy heart into the center of each cookie and let them cool completely.

A glass of milk pairs perfectly with the sweet and chewy texture of these little valentine's treats. Now excuse me while I go mail this little bag of love to my best friend.

Comfort Food: Creamy Polenta with Eggplant Marinara

 I have been a polenta fan for a while now but this is the first time I actually tried cooking it. I always thought it was a little finicky since you have to get the right consistency to get the texture right. However, it was surprisingly easy to make! Since I was craving comfort food tonight, I made creamy polenta as the base and topped it off with some veggies cooked in marinara sauce. Recipe was inspired by this version.


Recipe for 3 servings

Ingredients:
1 cup dry polenta
3 cups water
1 Tbsp butter
1 clove of garlic crushed
1 cup low-fat Mozzarella cheese (can use parmesan for a richer taste)
1/2 large eggplant cubed
1.5 cups of marinara sauce (I used Trader Joe's brand)
1/2 Tbsp salt
1 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
1 Tbsp olive oil

Preparation:
1) In a large saucepan, pour the water and salt and bring to a boil
2) Add in the cornmeal while stirring to make sure no lumps are formed.
3) Add in the crushed garlic and let the polenta simmer on low heat for 20 minutes while stirring occasionally to make sure the mixture doesn't get lumpy.
4) Add in the butter and cheese and mix together until both are completely dissolved in the cooked polenta. Set aside polenta mixture to cool.
5) In a separate sauce pan, sauté the eggplants in olive oil until they are tender
6) Add the marinara sauce, pepper flakes, and a half-cup of water to the eggplants and let simmer for five minutes.
7) Spoon the polenta into a bowl and top it off the eggplant-marinara mixture and a little bit of cheese

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!