• "Best Blueberry Muffins" 

• (with frozen wild blueberries)

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• This recipe was from Mom's Big Book of Baking by Lauren Chattman. The original recipe of these muffins calls for buttermilk, but I substituted with leftover whey (liquid) from making paneer (Indian cheese). I used oil in place of butter, as well. I've found that frozen wild blueberries tend to color muffin batter even more than regular frozen blueberries, but I really like wild blueberries, and when I'm tired I'd rather not bother with defrosting and draining the frozen ones. The taste isn't affected. These muffins are a little sweet, as I added some extra sugar; I figured, it couldn't hurt! The recipe calls for a generous amount of blueberries (= why I like this recipe). There ended up being extra batter, so I made a small blueberry cake in a cereal bowl, in addition to the muffins. These are nice for breakfast, or as a late-evening snack. 

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Veggie Lasagna 

(with no-boil noodles)

Ingredients for this veggie lasagna were: no-boil noodles; paneer (Indian cheese) seasoned with salt and dried Italian herbs and basil; frozen "spring blend" veggies (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, and yellow squash), defrosted and par-cooked in the microwave; mozzarella cheese; and jarred pasta sauce from the store. After I bought the jar of sauce, I found myself thinking about making lasagna. Once I had made the paneer, it was a done deal! 

I made this similar to the style of my mom's lasagna, but vegetarian, and with the kind of no-boil noodles I discovered several years ago, as well as paneer in place of cottage cheese. It's very simple: oil the pan, place a layer of sauce so nothing sticks/burns, place noodles to cover the pan, then a layer of paneer and some veggies, more noodles and sauce, and continue layering until it's as you like. Finish off with a layer of noodles, more sauce, and then some cheese. Cover with foil -- I like to put the dish on a baking sheet -- and bake in a preheated 350 F oven for about an hour or until bubbly. Remove from oven, and let sit for 15 minutes. Then enjoy!

You can use cottage cheese or ricotta or paneer (or maybe even tofu?), any kind of veggies and sauce, and more mozzarella cheese than I did.

Open-faced Pita Pie

This throwback to October was from a recipe in Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. Here, pita bread dough is stuffed with leftover soup from the deli -- a thick yellow-split-pea soup to which I added some tomato paste -- and baked. One of these pies made for a very hearty meal.

Mark Bittman Facebook

Shell Pasta

 with (Store-bought) Veggie Marinara Sauce 

& Homemade Paneer (Indian cheese)

I made paneer with the last of the milk (before it spoiled). I decided on pasta for supper, as I hadn't had any in a while, and added a little whey (liquid from the paneer) to the cooking water. Once the pasta was cooked, I added sauce (which has extra veggies = why I bought it), continued to cook it, and then mixed in fresh paneer. The next day, I added a little extra paneer. It was a mild and creamy pasta, that felt nourishing.

Kolokithokeftedes 

(Greek Zucchini & Kale Baked Fritters)

These were from the recipe of Feel Good Foodie. This is a baked version of a traditional family recipe, and I think the long, slow baking really brought out the flavor and sweetness of the zucchini. I've really been enjoying these fritters! Yum. 

I didn't want to waste the water squeezed out of the salted zucchini (which there was a lot of!), so I heated it up and added some potato flour. I thought it would make a good sauce for the fritters, or a soup (with added water). (When I boil zucchini, I save the water to use for rice or soup, but sometimes I just drink it, because I really like it.)

I didn't have the spring onions or feta mentioned in the recipe, and I forgot the frozen homemade paneer (Indian cheese) that I was going to use as a substitute for the feta. And although I did squeeze out the water from the salted zucchini, as instructed, I didn't do quite enough; I added some breadcrumbs to dry it up a little. After I set out spoonfuls of fritter batter on a baking sheet, I sprayed them with oil. The cooking time in the recipe was good, but I added a few minutes on each side, as the fritter batter was a bit wet (due to my fault). The fritters were nicely browned, and even a little crispy. Mmmm... 

Feel Good Foodie Facebook

Feel Good Foodie Website, Zucchini & Kale Baked Fritters

Fries (Store-bought), 

with added Herbes de Provence

The frozen fries came preservative-free, with only a modest amount of oil and salt (or else I couldn't eat them). Before baking them, I sprinkled on a little oil, a bit of the dried herbs, and some salt, and mixed everything together. Before this, I'd never used such an herb mix. However, once I got some from Kouzouna's Kitchen recently, I knew I wanted to try it right away. I was too tired to make anything with it from scratch the other day, but the herbes de Provence really jazzed up these frozen fries. Hopefully, next time, I can try it with some fresh potatoes and/or veggies. 

Basbüssa aka Basbousa/Namoura 

(Semolina Cake Soaked in Sugar Syrup)

Here is a daytime photo of Basbüssa (Semolina Cake), aka Basbousa/Namoura, made from the recipe of Anissa Helou in Mediterranean Street Food. (The previous post photo was taken with my phone, at night.) I wanted to take a nice picture, because this recipe is so awesome! The cake by itself is yummy, and with the syrup, it's sweet yet light.

Basbüssa aka Basbousa/Namoura 

(Semolina Cake Soaked in Sugar Syrup)

This recipe is from Mediterranean Street Food by Anissa Helou. As I mentioned a few days ago, it's only recently (in the last few months) that I've been successful with any recipe of this sweet. Before that, it somehow always ended up like a brick. However, now I feel I can try different recipes with some confidence.

I made a basbousa last week, with a coconut-sugar syrup that I improvised, and it was too heavy and rich for me. (I have to be careful what I eat, but it's possible nobody else would've had a problem.) So, I decided to make this recipe, but to be careful following all the directions, and to use a sugar syrup with plain sugar (and to use less syrup than suggested). That result was much lighter and the cake itself tasted good. Once soaked in sugar syrup, the cake was sweet enough but not weighed down (like the one with the coconut-sugar syrup). I'm very glad, as this is my favorite Arabic sweet.

Anissa Helou Facebook

Uttappam (Savory Pancake)

This is a South Indian savory pancake, made from leftover idli or dosa batter. In this case, it was made from leftover Kanchipuram Idli batter of the other day. Actually, I don't know if uttappam are ever made from rava idli batter like this ("instant idli" made from sooji/rava/like Cream of Wheat, or here, Cream of Rice), or only from the traditional idli/dosa batter. Well, anyway, I did make it like this, and it was nice with sambhar (a soupy legume and veggie dish). This was my first time ever making uttappam.

• Pesarattu Upma 

• (Whole Green Mung Bean Dosa with Cream of Rice)

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• The Pesarattu/Moong Dal Dosa here, based on the recent recipe on YouTube by Easy Cooking with Ekta, is a South Indian "crepe" made of soaked and ground-up whole green mung beans. It is very hearty, and so, it could be good for someone who likes meat, but has to cut back. Here, it is filled with Upma, made from Cream of Rice (but usually made with sooji/rava/like Cream of Wheat), as well as tomatoes, yogurt, and spices. I understand, from what I've seen online recently, that this combination of Pesarattu and Upma is traditional. I think the two together, provide a successful balance, and am glad I tried the combination!

• The Upma recipe is from Julie Sahni's Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cooking.

Easy Cooking with Ekta YouTube, Moong Dal Dosa / Pesarattu Recipe

Kanchipuram Idli 

(South Indian steamed dumpling)

This Kanchipuram Idli (made from Cream of Rice) is the same as below. This is an "instant idli," as the batter can be used immediately after mixing, to make idlis. (No fermentation is required.) Accompanying it is some chutney, made from store-bought chutney powder mixed with a bit of coconut oil.

The previous photo was from my phone, right after making the idli, in the evening light. This one is with my camera, in the early afternoon.

• Kanchipuram Idli 

• (steamed South Indian dumplings)

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• The recipe called for Cream of Wheat (sooji/rava), but as I didn't have enough, I used Cream of Rice, instead. These also contain channa and urad dals, ground cashews, green peas, a little oil, whole-milk yogurt, cilantro, water, and salt. I hadn't made idlis in a long, long time, as I don't have the steamer. However, for this time, I improvised one, from a Nordic Ware egg poacher and a covered pan. To my surprise, it worked! Yay, Idlis! The recipe is from Classic Indian Vegetarian & Grain Cooking, by Julie Sahni.

Basbousa/Namoura

Throwback to: Basbousa/Namoura, a Middle Eastern cake-like sweet, soaked in syrup. This was based on the Coconut Basbousa (Semolina Cake) YouTube video of Mariam the Cook, and was my first successful basbousa/namoura. Before that, I'd made several versions from other recipes, and many of them could be compared to bricks.

Some of it was my error, not realizing that "semolina" in some cases meant semolina flour, vs the semolina/farina/sooji/rava used in India. Well, the happy ending is that with this version, I achieved my goal: a great basbousa/namoura, similar enough to the very first namoura I once had at an Arabic bakery.

Mariam the Cook YouTube, Coconut Basbousa

Iraqi Chickpea Sambousek, 

Manga Pachadi (Mango Chutney), 

& Bread Gulab Jamun

This is another late-evening snack-meal, consisting of: leftover Iraqi Chickpea Sambousek (like baked samosas), Manga Pachadi (Mango Chutney), and Bread Gulab Jamun (upper right).

The gulab jamun recipe is from Kabita's Kitchen, and features dumplings made of bread and milk. I added too much milk, so then I had to add flour, but it was still a very sticky dough. That's why the dumpling doesn't look like the usual. Also, as I can't eat deep-fried food, I decided to bake them, instead. Several recipes online suggested baking at 325 F, and then putting them under the broiler. I don't like the broiler, so I just increased the temperature to 425 F. After it was baked, I soaked the gulab jamun in sugar-syrup, which contained rosewater as well as some coconut-sugar syrup.

It was close enough to real gulab jamun for me, for now. I'm sure I'll try it again, some time soon. The last time (actually the first time) I made gulab jamun, long ago, it came out exactly as it was supposed to, and I'd like to try to achieve that again.

Kabita's Kitchen Website, Bread Gulab Jamun Recipe

Kabita's Kitchen YouTube, Bread Gulab Jamun Recipe

Mango-Raspberry Sorbet

This was made from the rest of the mango nectar frozen a few days ago, along with the last of some frozen raspberries, a little salt, and some sugar syrup. (The salt and syrup are to bring out the flavors and hopefully keep the sorbet from turning into a block of ice.) The taste reminds me of fruit punch, and I enjoy the cheerful color. 

Traditional Rizogalo (Greek Rice Pudding)

This is another Greek Rice Pudding recipe from Kouzouna's Kitchen . I'd only made a small batch of the other one from a few days ago, so I decided to make a complete batch of this one. I couldn't get it as thick as the other one, but it was soft and creamy. I really liked the flavor that a cinnamon stick gave, when cooked in the pudding, as well as some vanilla extract.

Kouzouna's Kitchen Website, Traditional Rizogalo Recipe (Greek Rice Pudding)

Kouzouna's Kitchen Facebook

Creamy Mango Sorbet

Creamy Mango Sorbet . . . Or maybe, Mango "Ice Cream" . . . Or could I even call it, Mango Kulfi? (Indian ice cream) I took some mango nectar from the store, and froze it in 4 cups. I also froze a cup of whole milk. A couple days ago, I took half the mango nectar and all the milk, and put them both together through a mini-Cuisinart, along with a pinch of salt and some homemade sugar syrup (to add some flavor and keep the end result from turning into a block of ice). I put this back in the freezer, and decided to try it today. It was mango-y, and a little creamy, and really good. I was pleased with the result of my experiment! 

Snack-Plate Dinner 

(Egg, Indian Spiced Potato Canapes, 

Papdi Gathiya, & Papad)

My late light dinner last night, consisting of leftovers and snacks: Puffy Microwave Egg Omelet, Indian Spiced Potato Canapes, Papdi Gathiya (store-bought, chickpea-flour chips), Papad (store-bought, of urad-dal, puffed in microwave), and whole-milk yogurt.

I didn't think I'd post anything today, as I didn't make anything new. Not to mention, it was also evening when I took the photo, and I don't like the way my nighttime shots look. However, when I saw my snacks/late dinner plate on the counter, I wondered how it would look from my phone. To my surprise, it looked better than my usual night photos, so I decided to share it here.