Banana Cream Pie

bcpIf you’re looking for a quick, fairly-healthy fix for your banana cream pie craving, give this recipe a try!

Ingredients for 2 servings:

¼ c Almonds – finely ground

6 oz greek yogurt (I used vanilla flavored)

1 ripe banana – sliced

Using two jam jars, layer the above ingredients as you wish. A lidded jar will keep for about 2 days.

Fennel & Preserved Lemons

While in Decatur at Paper Plane, I had a great accompaniment on my cheese plate, pickled fennel. I was so obsessed that I decided to make a batch of my own. Here’s a great starter recipe from Food52. I made a couple of changes as usual and took advantage of the preserved lemons sitting in my fridge:

1 Fennel bulb (stalks removed)

1 c apple cider vinegar

1/2 c water

3 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

a pinch of peppercorns

1 quarter of a preserved lemon

Then you pretty much follow Food52’s recipe. I waited 24hrs before sampling.

What to do with the stalks and fronds? The Kitchn already has the answer! I was inspired to craft up a salad:

Quinoa and Amaranth Salad with Fennel Fronds, Chickpeas, Egg, and Preserved Lemon

Salad:

2/3 c quinoa (cooked)

1/4 c amaranth (popped and then thrown in with quinoa while boiling)

1/4 c onion, chopped

1 zucchini, chopped

2 eggs, hardboiled then chopped

1/2 c chickpeas (I used canned)

Dressing:

Equal parts vinegar and oil (I used apple cider viegar and olive oil, maybe 1/8 c of each)

1 clove garlic, minced

fennel fronds, as many or as little as you like

1/4 of a preserved lemon (rinsed well and then chopped)

1 T mustard

salt and pepper to taste

Cook quinoa and amaranth together. While that’s cooking, sautee onions with zucchini. Gather the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl and whisk until combined. Let the quinoa and amaranth cool a bit and then combine with the other ingredients. Pour the dressing over and allow to sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

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French Toast – the secret ingredient

frenchtoastI make french toast all the time, sometimes before work if I’m really craving it. French toast doesn’t have to be time consuming; milk, egg, vanilla, cinnamon and bread, pretty simple. Sure, you could get fancy with an overnight french toast or a combo of cream and milk, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Recently, I was making french toast and looking through my cabinets to see if I had anything that might add a special touch and there it was, instant vanilla pudding mix. Don’t ask me why it was there, the important part is that if you add a teaspoon or two to your milk/egg mixture, it will taste at least 20% more awesome (that’s a conservative estimate).

Sweet Potato Chickpea Curry

IMG_1586After many nights of eating red meat, I was craving a nice vegetarian meal. I heard that sweet potatoes were great to eat as a pick-me-up during winter months (lack of sunshine, seasonal depression, Boston in the winter) so I decided on this Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew. Totally delicious and warming! As per usual I made some tweaks, added a bay leaf, served with bread instead of rice, and omitted the jalapeno. In my opinion, the recipe calls for too much water and I think the flavor is best when cooked for about an hour. Enjoy!