You-Can't-Believe-It's-This-Good-Kale-Salad

I hate kale. Or, at least I thought I did until my husband made me this salad. I also thought that I'd never be able to eat salad without salad dressing, but his simplified tossing with lemon juice and olive oil really allows you to fall in love with all the veggie flavors. The key to this salad is having homegrown - or close to it - veggies. Marginal produce is going to result in a marginal salad.

Hubby's Kale Salad

4-6 leaves of kale, cut into strips.
1 artisan carrot, cut into narrow rounds
10-12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/5 of a red onion, cut into fine/thin smiles
1/4 cup walnuts
juice of 1/2 a lemon (fresh!)
3-4 Tablespoons quality olive oil
1/4 teaspoon fine salt (more if you're a salt lover)
pinch of finishing salt to garnish

1.) Mix all together in a big bowl!

Double Dipped Breaded Chicken Parmesan and Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Sometimes I just can't resist it: There's nothing as delicious as juicy chicken covered in a coating of fried breadcrumbs. As a kid, my sister and I used to request 'crumby' chicken all. the. time. It's just so satisfying. The first time I tried to re-create the dish myself, though, was in college, and right as I started to gather all the ingredients, I realized I lacked breadcrumbs! How can you make breaded chicken without breadcrumbs?! Well, in a pinch, I decided to substitute crushed Ritz crackers, and I never went back - that is until I met panko bread crumbs recently, an excellent alternative. The buttery crackers were so flavorful and locked the moisture right in the chicken. The other tip to get the best coating on the chicken is to double dip it. Otherwise, all of the breading - the best part! - just falls off the chicken once it gets cooking. Then, you're left scraping the tasty bits out of the pan instead of slicing through them on the way to the tender meat. Plus, if the breadcrumbs fall off, the chicken is more at risk of drying while baking.



A note about the panko bread crumbs, I find them to be an excellent alternative. They are finer than crushed Ritz crackers, which allows them to coat the chicken more evenly and gives it a better look, but I think that I still prefer the taste of the buttery-salty crackers coating the chicken. They both work excellently to lock the moisture in and create a super juicy chicken Parmesan or breaded chicken entree!

Double Dipped Chicken Parmesan
My own version of a BBC recipe years ago and Food52

2 chicken breasts - organic preferably - cut to the size you like for serving
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
2 whole sleeves of Ritz crackers finely crushed (as fine as you can get them) or 2 cups Panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon garlic powder
3 Tablespoons Italian seasonings
1/3 cup Parmesean cheese (if you like, I don't always use it)
1/2 teaspoon salt (omit if using Ritz crackers as they are salty)
pepper if you like
3 Tablespoons canola oil
1 Tablespoon butter

1.) Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2.) Pound down the chicken breasts, if you're into that.
3.) In a shallow bowl, mix together the eggs and milk. Place the flour in a different shallow dish/plate, and in yet another bowl, mix the crackers or breadcrumbs, garlic, Italian seasonings, (cheese), and salt.
4.) Take take a chicken breast and dip both sides in the flour. Then, dip both sides in the egg mixture. Then, dip it into the seasoned crackers/breadcrumbs, pressing the crumbs into the chicken as best you can. This is the first dip. Now, do the double dip: Place the breaded chicken breast into the egg mixture again quickly, then back into the flour, back into the egg, and then lastly, back into the breadcrumbs. Pack on as many breadcrumbs as possible. Set aside on a plate. Repeat step 4 with the rest of the chicken breasts.
5.) In a flat bottomed, fairly large pan or wok, start to heat the olive oil and butter together over medium-high heat. Once the butter starts to get golden and froth a little bit, place in as many chicken breasts as will comfortably fit. Fry on one side for 2-3 minutes, then flip and fry on the other side. The bread crumbs should be nice and golden but not burnt. If burning, turn down the heat.
6.) Once the breading is fried and golden, remove the chicken breasts from the oil and place on a baking sheet and then immediately into the oven. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the center of the chicken breast is white and no longer pink.
7.) Serve with tomato sauce and pasta or with a side of potatoes and greens.



Creamy Mashed Potatoes

4 golden potatoes, medium sized (don't buy crappy potatoes and expect to have excelled mashed potatoes)
1/2 cup milk (whole preferably)
1-2 Tablespoons butter
salt to taste

1.) Peel - or don't peel - the potatoes and then cut them into 1/2 to 1 inch chunks. Once cut, place them in a saucepan and cover with water. Put them on the stove and turn the heat to medium-high. Once water comes to a boil, turn it to low and place the cover on the pot. Boil the potatoes for 20-30 minutes until a fork can be inserted easily and the potato starts to fall apart some. Strain the potatoes in a colander and then place the potatoes back in the pot.
2.) Pour in 1/4 cup of the milk and use a masher to grossly mash the potatoes. Then, pour in the other 1/4 cup of milk and whip the potatoes with a whisk until they are just smooth. Don't over whip. If the potatoes seem dry, add more milk and whip some more. Once done whipping, put in the butter and salt and gently stir to incorporate.
3.) Serve warm.

Zucchini Fritters

Hello blogging world! I know that I've been terrible about putting up my recipes recently. Life's been pretty hectic, but that's no real excuse. Plus, it's not like I haven't been trying new recipes and tweaking them to my liking. I should be sharing all of my creations with you! For all of you prolific gardeners out there, I have a great recipe here to help you use up all that zucchini! Keep reading!

My hubby came to visit me in New York this weekend - where I'm living for the year during my internship - and brought me two huge (!) zucchini from his (our) garden. (I hesitantly put our as a descriptor for the garden as I generally have zero interest in gardening, despise weeding, and would much rather just spend the day at the farmers' market than manually harvesting anything. However, I did let those little plants sit in my guest bedroom as they grew from seeds in pots, and I did do a teeny bit of weeding before I left for New York. So, I feel that I am almost justified in qualifying the garden as ours, despite the fact that my husband does 99% of the work.)

While I have a great recipe for zucchini bread and definitely enjoy zucchini curry, I just wanted o try something different with these zucchinis. I saw a picture for delicious looking zucchini fritters, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to give them a try. The result was definitely worth it: Crispy outsides with warm more meaty insides filled with veggie goodness! The only negative to this recipe is that you have to let the grated zucchini drain in a colander for an hour for the vegetable's natural water to drain so that the batter is not overly moist/watery. Otherwise, they are very easy to make - even if you don't have a food processor. I thought grating a whole HUGE zucchini would take forever, but in fact, they're quite easy to grate, which was a relief to both my busy schedule and my arms. The results are delicious, especially when paired with your favorite toppings, which for me was surprisingly a mango-tomato salsa. Delish! This recipe makes enough to feed 2-4.



Zucchini Fritters
My version of a recipe found in Organic Kitchen: Making the most of fresh and seasonal produce

1 huge zucchini or a few smaller ones (1.5-2 lbs), grated
2 scant cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 eggs, separated
1/3 cup water
2 Tablespoons olive oil
salt

canola oil for frying

1.) Grate the zucchini either in a food processor or by hand with a grater. Place the zucchini in a colander over a bowl and sprinkle with 1 Tablespoon of salt. Allow the zucchini to sit in the colander for an hour and drain away their water. Mix/press on the grated zucchini to help the water out if you'd like. After an hour, pat the zucchini dry to the best of your ability with paper towels and set it aside.
2.) Put the flour in a separate clear large bowl and make a well in the center of the flour. In the well place the egg yolks, olive oil, water, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Start to mix the egg yolks, water, and olive oil together, slowly incorporating the flour into the mix until a softish ball has formed of 'dough'. Don't overmix.
3.) Add the zucchini and mix all together. You should have a fairly thick batter.
4.) In cast iron pan or another type of flat bottomed pan with steep sides, place 1/2 inch of canola oil over medium-high heat. You want the oil to heat up so you can fry the zucchini fritters, but not so hot that it's smoking. Smoking oil is baaaad. So, don't ever let the oil get that hot. You can know the oil is at approximately the right temperature when a.) it's not smoking, b.) when you put a little water on your fingers and flick the water off your fingers into the oil, that the oil sizzles, c.) the oil doesn't sound crazy mad sizzling when you flick in the water (if this happens, turn the heat down).
5.) Once the oil is at the right temperature, take 3/4 cup of the batter and pour it into the oil. Pat the batter into a fritter shape with a fork. Fry it up for about 2-3 minutes, until it's golden brown but not burnt.
6.) Remove the cooked fritter from the pan with a slotted spoon/spatula and place it on a plate covered in papertowels (which will soak up any extra oil). Continue frying the rest of the batter as described starting in step 5.
7.) Enjoy the fritters with a topping of your choice!

Homemade Corn Tortillas

Yay! The first post in a long while!! It's sad how long it's been since my last post, but life has been busy and I've been basically away from my own kitchen since August. That's not to say that I haven't been cooking delicious things, but I didn't quite have the time to photo (even though I know my photo skills are lacking) and then write up a proper post. No more of that, though!! Time to get back into discovering new foods and cooking skills and putting them up on the web!

The hubby and I have been working hard to make as many things from scratch. We're having fun exploring new techniques and foods, and finding that in general our homemade goods taste better than the store bought versions. They do take a little more time, but the results are definitely worth it!

A few months ago we started making homemade flour tortillas (will post recipe soon). We had thought about making corn tortillas, but learned that you really need a proper tortilla press for that. I did a little searching and learned that there's a few different kinds of tortilla presses: Cast iron, aluminum coated cast iron, wooden, and high tech. I decided to go with the cast iron since it had good reviews, and I thought the weight of it would help press out the tortillas. I bought it for Valentine's Day for the hubby, and he was very excited to try it. It worked like a charm, and I definitely have no complaints. Just make sure that you line it with parchment paper so that the tortillas are easy to remove once they've been pressed.

These tortillas go great with my Beer Braised Turkey Tacos, guacamole, a little yellow onion, and a dollop of sour cream. Mmm.


Homemade Corn Tortillas
Based on cookingmexicanrecipes.com - great pictures here!

2 cups masa harina (corn flour NOT corn meal)
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups boiling water plus a few Tablespoons
1 teaspoon coconut oil

In a large bowl, combine the masa and salt. In a smaller bowl, mix the coconut oil and boiling water, stirring until the coconut oil is dissolved. Then, pour the water mixture into the flour mixture, stirring with a fork until combined. When it's cool enough to handle, knead the dough until to comes together. It should be moist but not sticky or wet.

Take a golf ball sized amount, roll it into a ball in your hands, and place the ball between two sheets of parchment paper lining the tortilla press. Press the tortilla in a tortilla press or, alternatively, roll out the tortilla between two sheets of parchment with a rolling pin.

Heat a cast iron skillet and lightly oil it (just a teaspoon or so of oil). Place the tortilla on the skillet and cook each side for about 45 seconds or until it becomes slightly golden in spots and the edges seem dry. I didn't not re-oil the pan between tortillas. I just oiled it a little in the beginning.

Keep the tortillas covered so they'll stay warm until serving.

It's important to keep the pre-cooked dough moist between the pressing, so make sure you wrap the dough bowl with plastic so it doesn't dry out.

Brushetta - by my sister!

It's been forever since I've been able to post!! I've been travelling a ton and for the most part not cooking anything exciting. Although, I'm back in y hometown for a few weeks and have been experimenting on my parents. So, I'll have a few exciting recipes soon to share.

This is my sister's recipe for brushetta, which she has mastered. It's got the right balance of onion, basil, vinegar, and garlic. We inhaled this and I had to beg them to stop eating so I could take a few pictures of it for the blog. Seriously, this is so good.

As with all things, using the freshest, ripest, tastiest ingredients is key. Any 'substitutions' will give an inferior result. This is a healthy, raw alternative to classic chips and dip, and really doesn't take much time to whip together. Think about it as an appetizer for your next dinner party. You could also serve it over roasted chicken, put it in paninis, toss it on some pasta

Bruschetta

By my sister, Lynnie

6 small-medium sized tomatoes (she used on the vine tomatoes since those are generally fresher out-of-season)

1 thick slice of a large yellow onion

2 - 2.5 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped (must be fresh)

1/2 teaspoon of dried basil

1 teaspoon garlic infused oil (alternatively you could use 3 large cloves of fresh garlic)

1 1/2 Tablespoons quality olive oil

3 Tablespoons balsalmic vinegar (buy the good stuff)

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper, feshly ground

1.) Chop the tomatoes up as small as possible. Place them in a medium sized bowl.

2.) Take the onion slice and place it in a small chopper or food processer and pulse until the pieces are milimeters in size. Add the fresh basil and pulse a few more times. (If you're using fresh garlic, add that in now).

3.) Add the onion/basil mixture and all the other ingredients to the tomatoes. Mix well. Adjust the flavors as necessary. Serve with baguette slices or crackers.

Green Beans with Shallots and Homemade Breadcrumbs

Life is plugging along here in Minnesota. The summer weather has been perfect: warm temperatures without being too hot, light breezes, and sunshine. There have been so many thunderstorms at night, though. I'm slowly getting used to the Midwest thunderstorms; they are very different from the Northeast. Firstly, they seem to be much more dangerous with really damaging winds (blowing away all sorts of outdoor furniture and bringing down tree branches), un-ending dramatic lightening, and more frequently than I'm comfortable with, tornadoes. I'm starting to not go into panic mode every time the radio breaks to say that there is a tornado warning for a part of Minnesota, but I still do close a lot of the doors to keep the cat near me in case I hear that the warning has spread to our county. That way, I figure I can grab the cat and head down to the basement. Thunderstorms in the Northeast were much louder, though. I miss the thunder that makes the windows shake. Here, there seems to be more lightening, less thunder.

Since coming back from vacation, the hubby and I have been trying to eat as many vegetables from our garden as possible. This week the green beans and shallots were ready. I found this recipe online almost a year ago on Martha Stewart for green beans, shallots, and bread crumbs. I had wanted to make it for Thanksgiving, but ended up not and opting instead for the classic Campbell's green bean casserole. The Martha Stewart recipe has many of the fabulous flavors of the Campbell's recipe, but without the creaminess (and calories) from the cream of mushroom soup. The Martha recipe is overall nicer because it's healthier, hightling olive oil instead of cream, and easier to make. Plus, you don't have to turn on your oven - which, if you're like me and don't own an air conditioner, is a big plus in the summertime.


So, we'll continue to enjoy this recipe until our green beans stop producing, which will all this nice daytime sunshine and nighttime rain, will hopefully be months away!



Green Beans with Shallots and Homemade Breadcrumbs
Adapted from Martha Stewart

2 pounds green beans
1/4 cup olive oil
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1/2 cup homemade or store-bought breadcrumbs (see below for homemade ingredients)
salt and pepper to taste

For homemade breadcrumbs
3 medium slices of homemade bread (your recipe of choice - I use a bread machine)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning (combination of oregano, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, and sweet basil)

1.) To make breadcrumbs, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In the meantime, take the 3 slices of bread and toast them in a toaster or toaster oven until golden (medium). Then, cut them into 1/2 inch squares. Place the breadcrumbs on a baking sheet. Drizzle lightly the olive oil and add the garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Once the oven is heated, place the breadcrumbs in the oven for about 5 minutes (to dry them out further). Avoid letting them burn in the oven.
2.) Blanch the beans: Rinse the beans well. Fill a medium-sized pot halfway with water, place it on the stove over medium-high heat. Once the water is boiling, toss in the beans and cook for 2 minutes (no more than 2.5 minutes). The beans should be bright green. Immediately, drain the beans and run them under cold water. The cold water stops the beans from cooking and prevents them from becoming mushy. (Alternatively, you could prepare an ice bath and then place the drained beans in that instead of running them under cold water). Drain again and pat the beans dry.
3.) Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occassionally, until they are golden (about 5 minutes). Add in the green beans and breadcrumbs. Stir. Cook a couple minutes more just to heat the green beans a little.
4.) Season with salt and pepper to your liking. Serve.

Pita Puffs

Yesterday was a lazy Sunday morning, but busy baking/cooking Sunday afternoon. The morning was spent lounging, playing with our cat, Chuck, chatting with friends online who live far away. The afternoon picked up, though, and while the hubby was at work, I whipped up some homemade falafel, tried a recipe for chocolate pots de creme, baked blueberry muffins, and made these pita puffs. Plus, I managed to get in a 3-mile run (pretty good for me). Whew!

These pita puffs are really fun in that they truly do puff up, almost magically, revealing a beautiful (and durable) pocket in which you can stuff just about anything. I've been making them more and more since they're quite easy, and pita from the store can be expensive. The only disadvantage is that you have to heat your oven to 500, which in the summer may be insufferable. They're great for us, too, because again, we know what's going into our food, which is important with the hubby being vegan. Try them out and let me know how it goes!

Pita Puffs

Recipe given to me by Annie, originally from King Arthur Baking Companion

Yield: 8 pita puffs

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons instant yeast

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup water (room-temperature)

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1.) Knead all the ingredients by hand for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth. Let the dough rest for an hour.

2.) Turn dough onto a lightly oiled (or floured) work surface (dough will be somewhat sticky). Divide it into 8 pieces. Roll out the pieces into 6 inch circles. Allow the circles to rest for 20 minutes while you preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

3.) Place dough in oven on the lowest rack and bake for 5 minutes; they should puff up. (If they haven't wait a minute or so longer and raise the heat for the next batch). Transfer baking sheet to the oven's middle-to-top rack and bake for an additional 1 to 2 minutes, or until pitas have bronwed.

4.) Remove pitas from oven. (Can optionally wrap them in a dishtowl to keep them warm).

5.) Store in airtight container or plastic bag.

Orzo Salad with Pine Nuts and Sundried Tomatoes

It was delightfully hot today in Minnesota - reaching 90 degrees! These are the days I miss living in the country and being able to easily transition between indoors and outdoors. Living in an apartment complex just seems to make getting outdoors harder. There's just nothing like being able to lounge in the comfort of your own yard... Anyway, the hubby and I did get a lot of sunlight today watering and weeding our community garden plots. This originally was supposed to be his little hobby for the summer,but now I find myself assuming greater responsibilities. It is kind of fun to see the little plants grow and excel with sunshine and water. Plus, I'm excited to find ways to use the crops in the kitchen come harvest time.

With all the heat of the day, I really started craving my husband's orzo salad. It's a pasta dish filled with veggies, and unlike traditional macaroni salad which has a mayonnaise dressing, this dish uses olive oil, which is much lighter. That lightness is so nice when it's extremely hot. So, I decided to whip up a batch for us to enjoy when we returned from gardening. It totally hit the spot.

Orzo Salad

From my hubby

1 1/2 cup orzo pasta

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup high quality balsamic vinegar

1 cucumber, diced

1 medium tomato, diced

1/2 red onion, sliced thinly

2-3 sundried tomatoes, finely chopped

5 basil leaves, finely chopped

1/4 cup pine nuts

Other options: artichoke hearts, olives, fresh mozzarella, dill

Salt and Pepper to taste

1.) Cook orzo pasta in boiling, salted water until it is cooked through. Strain and rinse with cold water.

2.) While the pasta is cooking, toast the pine nuts by placing them in a dry pan and turning the heat to medium. Allow them to cook on the stove, stirring occasionally, until they become fragrant or start to slightly darken/become golden (usually about 5 minutes). Remove the pine nuts from the heat.

3.) Place pasta, pine-nuts, and veggies in a salad bowl. Toss with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

4.) Refrigerate the salad until ready to serve.

Homemade Sandwich Rolls, BBQ Beef, and Cabbage Salad

It's hot in Minnesota, and I love it! It's light out until 9 PM at night. I can walk outside without adorning a parka (literally). Summer is here - and early! yay! In honor of the lovely weather, I made one of my favorite dishes: Barbeque Beef Sandwiches. I love this recipe because it takes about five minutes to start in the morning as you put everything into the slow cooker/crock pot, then a few more minutes at the end to shred the beef, and then done and delicious! When I lived in New York, I always used Dinosaur Barbeque Sauce in my BBQ Beef, but now I don't have immediate access to it. : ( I plan on trying to come up with my own personal BBQ sauce, but in the meantime, I'm experimenting with the types sold in the local grocery.

I decided to make my own rolls since I didn't have any laying around the house. Bread products are generally tricky for our household with the hubby being vegan. Often there can be milk or an egg wash that might sneak its way into the recipe, so I've been making more bread at home so I know what goes into it. I found this recipe for No Knead Sandwich Rolls. The advantage to these rolls are that you can start them at the same time as the beef, and then let them sit all day, and them work on them an hour or so before you want to eat, and you're done! The hubby liked the rolls so much he requested them when he went away for a conference this last weekend. The rolls have a nice crunchy crust and are nice and soft in the middle. Mmmm.

The cabbage salad recipe is my mother's. You can add more or less mayo depending on how creamy you like yours. I prefer mine a little lighter. I'm also a purist when it comes to mayonnaise and always use the real stuff. I'd rather eat less food with more taste than more food with less taste, but that's me.

I hope that you'll enjoy these delicious and refreshingly easy recipes soon!

Barbeque Beef

2.5 - 3 pounds beef chuck roast

1 cup (roughly) of BBQ sauce of your choice

1 chopped onion

1.) Trim fat off the beef and place it into the crock-pot.

2.) Add onions and BBQ sauce.

3.) Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours until beef is tender.

4.) Shred meat using two forks.

5.) Serve either alone or with buns for a sandwich.

No Knead Sandwich Rolls

From About.com

1 1/2 cups warm (but not hot) water

1/4 teaspoon dry active yeast

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar (I used raw sugar)

3 cups flour

cornmeal for the baking pans

1.) Add all ingredients (except the cornmeal) to a bowl and mix with a spoon until the ingredients are decently mixed. The dough is going to be very sticky. Once mixed, cover the bowl with a towel or saran wrap and let the dough sit for 12 hours. (I've done as little as 8 hours with success.) After the dough has sat for at least 8 hours (ideally 12), it will be bubbly and at least doubled in size.

2.) Place a 'generous' amount of cornmeal on a baking sheet - this prevents the rolls from sticking while baking. (Note: The first time I did this, I practically covered the bottom of the baking sheet with cornmeal, and then while the rolls were cooking, my whole place smelled like toasted cornmeal. The second time I made the recipe, I just put cornmeal in the areas where the rolls would be, and it worked just fine and smelled less toasty).

3.) To prepare the rolls, place a 1/4-1/2 cup of flour on a plate or counter top. Separate the dough into 8 pieces; since the dough is very sticky, I found it easiest to take a piece of the dough and roll/dust the outside with the flour on my plate so that the outside wasn't so sticky. Then, I could mold the piece of dough into a round shape and place it on my cornmeal-covered baking sheet.

4.) Once all the rolls are made and placed on the baking sheet, let them sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour so they may rise some more.

5.) Place a pie pan half filled with water on the bottom rack of the oven and heat the oven to 425 degrees. Bake the rolls on the middle / top rack for 25-30 minutes or until they are golden on the outside and sound hollow when tapped on top. Remove from the oven, and let them cool some before using.

Mom's Cabbage Salad

1 small cabbage finely chopped or shredded

1 apple sliced thinly

1/2 red onion sliced thinly

1-2 carrots cut into fine matchsticks or coarsely grated

Sauce:

1 cup mayonnaise

1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon salt

3 Tablespoons celery seeds

1.) Place all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together.

2.) In a large bowl, place veggies. Pour in dressing and toss thoroughly.

3.) If you like a crunchier salad/slaw, serve immediately. If you'd like it to soften, cover the salad and refrigerate it for 1-2 hours before serving.

Curried Spinach Side or Snack

The hubs and I treated ourselves to delicious sushi at Origami a few weekends ago up in the Twin Cities. It was so yummy and made me miss living in a bigger town where I can get sushi regularly. One of the appetizers we had, Spinach Goma Ae, was a surprisingly sweet cooked spinach dish with sesame and soy flavors. It was absolutely delicious. Chris and I bought some spinach in order to try to recreate the dish ourselves, but when he decided to attempt it, he became inspired with more Indian curry flavorings. The result is a mild dish with subtle but deep flavors that is super healthy! I definitely enjoyed it, and hope you will, too!

Recipe here!