Zucchini Tofu Wraps

It lies in wait. The hunger, the ferocity.  Burrowing further into my core, sinking but a flashing beacon, only growing, only stronger, the longer it must abide the passage of time.

Thaaaaaat’s how I feel.  The hunger to create. To write. To read. To share.  Pulsating, chiming stringent chords, repeated reminders that the best is yet to come. Yet to come. Yet to come…

I went to California this weekend, and my reasons were three fold.  First, tremendous huzzahs to my dear friend Waheeda and her newly wedded bliss! Second, how does one venture to the motherland without visiting… her mother… and the rest of the family? if only for a day.  Three, to acquaint myself with the general hubbub, surroundings, goings on and climate (both physical and theoretical) of the San Diego region, a locality only once ever equated with “Sea World” and “Wild Animal Park” and even “Raving Seals ans the loonies who swim with them in La Jolla”.  Whilst these are brilliant facets which make the soul of SD glow like a Columbian summer firefly, I need to delve further because I can’t really live with animals.

Sundried Tomato Hummus

The mission: empty out the pantry.  The challenge: don’t buy anything else to fuel the possible recipes gallivanting through your head. The struggle: but what the hecks do I do with cream of wheat, curry leaves, and light brown sugar? (answer: nothing… yet).

While certain combinations won’t see the light of existence, some other medleys worked out far better. Although every minute that I spend inside my apartment is overlaid with the mantra, I need to pack I need to pack I MUST NEEDS PACK, I find myself cooking instead.  Call it stress relief. Or denial.  Whatever. I need to get rid of my groceries too, okay? (technically it’s not that big of a deal, as we are moving into his sister’s place close by first, and then the ALL IMPORTANT MYSTERIOUS SHIFT SHALL OCCUR IN THE MIDST OF RAMADAN AND FASTING. Nevertheless, would rather clear it all out now.)

Rosemary Pepper Stuffed Mushrooms

Upon commencing my sojourn into the flourishing bazaar of greens, grains, and goods (hitherto known as a grocery to you folk, I may presume), my eyes befell a peculiar astounding specimen nestled amid leafy herbs and potent peppers. Neither small as a button nor rotund as a ‘bello. Nay, this lay in the abyss ‘tween two extremes, a perfectly sized cap for stuffing. And so it can bear no surprise to all and sundry that such a commodity would build its fame upon the title “Stuffing Mushroom”. Oh to resist would be a great treachery upon my taste buds indeed! And I hardly could turn away from the opportunities that glistened within the eyes reflected in the glass above (who pray tell mandated the arrangement of such mirrored artifacts atop the edible greens by the by?). Thus it came to pass that this simple cook packed along with her the promise of a delicacy only as yet experienced within the confines of fine eateries: the stuffed mushroom. Oh but what a miracle to discover the truth, eons held beneath the surface of my simpleton knowledge, that this fine treat is no more difficult than brewing a decadent mango cream chiffon cake! (Ahh this slip of my tongue portends the contents of a future post! Zounds!)

Versatile Cauliflower Roast

Another quick and easy for you. I decided to experiment with my venture to do as little in the kitchen as possible and still procure a decent if not delectable dish. What’s the easiest way? The oven. What’s the easiest no hassle food? A vegetable that doesn’t require any chopping, peeling, burning. Hmmmm… How about a whole cauliflower head? Yeah I know I’ve been on a vegetarian kick lately, and I promise to bring something sweet and decadent and super unhealthy soon! But I had to share my laziness simple trick with you.

Simply take a whole cauliflower, rub it generously with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt, pepper and dried basil. Lastly, take your favorite hot sauce (I used Nandos garlic sauce) and drizzle all over. Then just wrap in foil and place in a preheated oven at 375 degrees.

I left it in for about 35-40 minutes… And then removed it and voila! A delicious appetizer for sure. Are you wondering how to eat it? Well, some options:

1. Chop in quarters, serve as a soft side with a squeeze of lemon
2. Serve whole and let friends dig in with a fork, with a dip on the side
3. Dice it up and toss with some light pasta…
4. Or stir fry with other veggies and/or chicken or shrimp for a nice contrast of succulent and crunchy

Or do your own thing! As for me, next time I’m marinating it for a long while in some intense spices just to see what happens.

Baked Broccoli Crisps

Another quick treat for you, for those days you want to pretend you are cooking and still come out with something exquisite. This recipe is part of my unofficial series of ‘no work, just bake’ recipes, wherein I literally toss random spices together to zest up a vegetable and let the oven do the work. What? Have I never shared my fall back recipes with you? Sumptuous cauliflower? Melty garlic? Succulent brussel sprouts? Yes indeed, brussel sprouts are actually in my top 5 list here folks, completely eradicating years of conditioning hearing young ignorant children harp on their fear and loathing of the cute little cabbage thingies.

Anyway, for today’s special, we are offering baked broccoli to a crisp, utterly divine and un-broccoli-ish by the end of it all. I had to do something as my sister in law gave us a beautiful bunch of fresh broccoli, but the challenge fell on the fact that the husband more or less can’t stand it most times. Great. Baked it is then!

Ingredients

• one large bunch of broccoli florets, stemmed and chopped in half if needed (don’t want them to be too large)
• Olive oil
• 1 tbsp Amazing curry powder husband made (Roasted coriander, curry leaves, a little cumin and lord knows what else)
• Salt
• 1 tsp Red chili powder if desired

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly grease it with olive oil. Rinse the broccoli (goes without saying, right?) and drizzle some olive oil until the are fairly coated. Then add the curry powder. Now I used some crazy concoction the husband made, and once I know what it is I will share with you. But you can use a standard curry powder, or just some coriander and cumin powders. Better yet, experiment with flavors. I didn’t use any garlic for example, but you might.

Anyhoo, lightly sprinkle with salt and add the chili powder if you like. Spread on the baking sheet (i sprinkled a little more salt for good measure because I’m notorious for never putting enough to be honest, although I like it that way. Its a touchy subject in this household. Some people tend to overdo it. Just sayin’.

Loosely cover the pan with foil and bake for about 20 min. Once the broccoli have darkened considerably and have a lovely crisp, you’re done. Remove and eat quickly before the husband nabs it and eats the whole bowl. Fatty, Yeesh.