Salad
Chickpea and Tomato Salad
I was completely struck by the simplicity and deliciousness of this salad when I saw it at an event about a month or so ago. Of course, it was also one of those “why didn’t I think of that” moments. I mean, it’s tomatoes and chickpeas, both of which I love. But perhaps my experimenting with food stopped the moment it started when I decided to put salt in my tea when I in kindergarten. Quite traumatized by that still. LOL. Anyway, this salad is incredibly easy, especially if you use cherry tomatoes, which is how this salad was made when I first saw it. But I didn’t have cherry tomatoes and I didn’t see anything wrong with...
Read MoreRoasted Bell Pepper and Green Bean Salad
I got a few too many peppers at the store the other day and needed a way to use them up. They looked too good to pass up! Ingredients: 2 red bell peppers 1 yellow bell pepper 1 orange bell pepper 1/2 red onion sliced into half moons a couple handfuls of green beans, blanched Olive oil, balsamic vinegar, equal parts Salt, pepper to taste Steps: 1. Roast the peppers and clean the skin off once they’re cool enough to handle. Slice into 1/4 inch long slices. 2. Slice the onion into half moons. 3. Blanche green beans (dunk them into boiling salted water for about a minute and then dunk them into ice-cold water to stop the cooking). 4. Combine all ingredients in a...
Read MoreFather’s Day
I love that there is such a holiday as Father’s Day. I think the good men in our lives don’t get enough recognition and a day dedicated just for them is a great way to reflect on all the good things they do and to tell them how much we love and treasure them. Today, we celebrate the fathers in our lives, and I’m celebrating mine. And so, for this special occasion, we’re getting together at my place for some feasting. (Is it selfish to relish the idea of cooking for people who enjoy your food, especially if you’ve been away from your kitchen for a while?) Nibbles/Appetizers/Salads: Egg Salad — This time, I added one...
Read MoreVika’s Pepper Salad
This is one of my absolute favorite salads! It’s great warm or cold, as a salad, a side to a meat or fish dish, or piled hungrily on a piece of toasted baguette as bruschetta. In addition to its versatility, this salad is very healthy and easy to prepare. You really can’t beat that. You can also switch things up by adding other veggies, eggplant being my favorite add-in. But this time I went “traditional” since this is the first time I’ve ever made it (I’ve been after the recipe for a loooong time and finally got it). Ingredients: 1 medium-large onion (diced) 2 medium-large bell peppers (sliced the long way; I used red and yellow,...
Read MoreEgg “Salad”
I call this egg “salad” because I don’t know what else to call it, and calling it egg “spread” just doesn’t sound appetizing, even though it’s great spread on bread as a snack or an appetizer. But this recipe is just so simple and the results are disproportionately delicious. The most time-consuming part of this recipe is boiling eggs. Really. Just try it and you’ll see what I mean. Use your favorite sharper cheese, but any cheese would probably work. Ingredients: 6 eggs 1-1.5 TB of mayo 3 cloves of garlic (finely minced, less if you’re not a garlic enthusiast) 1/3 cup of grated cheese (any sharper cheese...
Read MoreA Healthier Thanksgiving
I absolutely love Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite holiday. Not only do I get to cook up a feast, but people come and eat it and take food home too! But I also like the idea of having a day to get together with the family and count our blessings and all the positive and good things in our lives, no matter how small, for attitude is frequently half the battle. And this year, I wanted to keep the dishes on the healthier side so we wouldn’t feel quite so guilty for indulging. Come to think of it, it was quite a vitamin C and veggie feast. I had lots of red bell peppers and other veggies, used mostly healthy fats (olive oil) and banished soda from the table. Though...
Read MoreTabouleh
One of my currently favorite places has great Tabouleh. I like how fresh and flavorful it is, not to mention how healthy it is. So, I decided to try making it myself. I looked online and all recipes were a little different; some had onions and some didn’t, some had more bulghur (cracked wheat) some less, some some had mint, some didn’t. But overall, a few things are consistent: bulgur, tomatoes, and cucumbers. And my goal was to try to replicate the tabouleh of the restaurant where I usually get it. That version doesn’t have mint or onions, so I omitted those ingredients. Most versions have the cracked wheat soaking for a while (1-2...
Read MoreSummer…
This summer has been incredibly hot and humid, to the point that I don’t really want to cook. Most of the time, my dinner during the week has been the tomato and onion salad, which I sometimes eat with a hot-dog. I love hot-dogs and I found a brand I like that uses good ingredients and I tend to boil the tar out of them (try it, see how much salt and fat floats to the top) and they are still tasty. But I have cooked some things: Fruit and Cheese Bars from Lola Mansurov — Mine didn’t turn out so pretty and I’ll make this again and post the results of the second attempt. Blueberry Muffins — from Lola Mansurov – These turned out pretty...
Read MoreIndependence Day cook-in
I usually try to have a cook-out of some sort for Independence Day. This year I actually managed to have people over and serve them food. The original plan was to cook out on my balcony, enjoy the lovely day, grill some food, have fun. But, things rarely go according to plan. When I was cleaning my little electric grill (we’re not allowed to have real grills on balconies where I live), the non-stick coating came off in huge chunks. Not wanting to take any risks, I decided to chuck it. Which was fine because it gave me a chance to really clean up my balcony (I was planting plants earlier and haven’t cleaned up all the stuff yet) and it looks pretty good...
Read MoreChaihana
With my all-encompassing love of Uzbek food, I try to find every opportunity to sample it. But sometimes, I have to make these opportunities. So, a while back, the folks and I drove to the Botanical Gardens in Chicago and for lunch/dinner went to the Uzbek restaurant not too far from there. The restaurant is called Chaihana (19 West Dundee Road Buffalo Grove, IL; 847-215-5044) and is in a strip-mall next to Rogan Shoes. Don’t let the location fool you, it’s an oasis where your hunger for scrumptious food and delicious drink will be fulfilled. There were several articles written about it, and this one is probably one of the better ones. This was my...
Read MoreRoasted Salad
I am so thrilled that it’s finally summer, but it seems I can’t give up my oven. Though I do have a grill, it’s an electric one. My local fire department does not allow grilling on balconies. But I still love summer veggies and have a tendency to buy too much. So, today, I decided to put some of those veggies to good use and make a salad. Since roasting is so easy and brings out the flavor so much, I decided to sacrifice personal comfort in my caricature-worthy tiny kitchen for the benefit of the salad. Ingredients: 3 bell peppers (I used red, orange, and yellow) 1 bunch of asparagus 1/2 red onion diced 1 tb basil Salt, pepper, olive oil,...
Read MoreOrzo with Roasted Shrimp
This dinner is completely inspired by Ina Garten of Barefoot Contessa. I love her style of cooking and many of her recipes and have tried quite a few. But I had a couple pounds of shrimp sitting around and I wanted to use up some of it. I also had a ton of veggies sitting around and I didn’t want to waste those either. So, I thought that orzo would be a perfect canvas to combine all these great ingredients. I tried to stick to her recipe for the most part, but of course, I had to make things “mine” by switching a few things. Ingredients: Shrimp 1/2 cup (dry) orzo 2 bell peppers (I used yellow and orange) 1/4 large hothouse cucumber 1/4 cup feta...
Read MoreBirthday Celebration
I know that it looks like I haven’t cooked anything in months. And it’s almost true. I have cooked things I already wrote about and have a few more recipes I haven’t posted. But let me start with the birthday celebration which was in early March. I made two roasted chickens, just to be sure I had enough. But one was enough. Everyone seemed to love it. I hope they weren’t just polite but actually liked it. I also made: Seafood salad Salmon “pizza” that was inspired by Emeril’s Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese Pizza Bites. Mine had regular cream cheese instead of goat cheese and using store-bought dough made it extra...
Read MoreNora’s Salad
Nora and I got together and cooked again today. And boy did we cook! We made shurpa (a lamb soup), damlyama (a lamb and vegetable dish) and a new salad. Since I don’t know the name for that salad and since she introduced us to it, I’ll just call this “Nora’s Salad”. She said that she’s been making it for ages. It’s absolutely delicious. Ingredients: 2-3 eggplants (cut up like fries) 4 tomatoes thinly sliced (we used Roma tomatoes) 1 medium onion (thinly sliced in half moons and soaked in a water/vinegar solution) 1/2 cup total of dill and flat leaf (Italian) parsley finely chopped 2 garlic cloves finely minced Salt to taste Oil...
Read MoreMemories of Summer (tomato salads)
On days like today and those like last week, I need to remember summer. Since tomatoes are my favorite food, it’s hard to replicate the feeling of summer in the dead of winter. But somehow, I was able to spot good tomatoes at Costco (yes, I know, but they were great). These little beauties were so sweet (they were intended for soup or sauce, but I tasted one and decided that they’re good enough for salad). So here’s my new take on salad. Ingredients: Tomatoes Onions Feta Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar Salt, pepper (to taste) Steps: 1. Quarter the tomatoes 2. Slice the onions into thin moons 3. Add salt, pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and feta. ...
Read MoreRoasted Tomatoes
I found this recipe on The Perfect Pantry and decided to give it a try. I followed the recipe closely, but not exactly. Since ovens vary, I actually roasted my tomatoes for around 14 hours (started late in the evening and turned it off in the morning). Also, I didn’t add the thyme. To me, it makes everything taste moldy. Yeah, I know, it’s odd. But just to recap, here is what happened. Ingredients: Several pounds of Roma tomatoes Olive oil (if you have garlic olive oil, it would be PERFECT! here) Garlic (a lot/to taste) Salt Black pepper, freshly ground Steps: 1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. 2. Cut the tomatoes lengthwise. Salt and pepper...
Read MoreThanksgiving
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, in large part because I love all the cooking. Most people dread all the cooking, but I even take Wednesday off so I can make a few “spares”, just in case something doesn’t turn out and people still leave with overstuffed bellies. I still love the holiday, despite the mandatory family squabbling. But without further delay, here is the menu I’m planning (and yes, I take help where I can): Appetizers: Chicken wings (not a Thanksgiving staple, but I love them and they seem to go over pretty well with the family). See above Seafood puffs (puff pastry stuffed with seafood, store bought, and I hope...
Read MoreSeafood Salad
I love this salad. It’s easy, quick, and healthy, despite the mayo. I used the mayo that’s made with olive oil, a good fat that we need. As for the crab meat, I use the imitation kind because it’s cheaper. I’m sure the real thing would be better, but if made in the proportion below can serve as a nice addition to any appetizer table and server about 10. Ingredients: 2 packets of Imitation crab meat, cut into bite-sized pieces 2 packets of tiny shrimp 6 scallions, finely cut 4-6 TBSP of mayo, just enough to coat everything, but not to drown it. 2 hard boiled eggs, grated Steps: 1. Mix everything in a bowl 2. Serve Share this:
Read MoreIndependence Day get-together
My family calls it Independence Day, not “4th of July” because it’s not just another calendar date. We do commemorate this holiday in our own way, which does not include flag-looking cakes and themed paper plates. We commemorate this holiday by remembering where we came from, what we had and what we left behind for a chance of a life in this country. There is at least 1 toast that celebrates our good fortune of being in this country, and at least 1 toast that celebrates our good fortune of being able to leave our old country. But as most celebrations, this one is on exception when it comes to food. So, without further ado, here is the menu for this...
Read MoreSalad (Achichuk)
In my family, there is really only one Salad. Yes, with a capital “S”. Certainly we eat other salads, but none of them would resemble anything an American would recognize. None of our salads have lettuce. This salad is also known as “achichuk” and is a fairly popular Uzbek salad. Ingredients: 1 small onion 2-3 medium tomatoes Salt, to taste Steps: Cut the onion into thin half-moons. If you want to reduce the bite of the onion, soak it in cold, salty water for a little while (in my case, as long as it takes me to cut the tomatoes). Cut the tomatoes in half and cut out the woody stem. Cut the tomato halves into somewhat thin slices....
