It’s almost time for Thanksgiving!!! As soon as I decided to cook this year (about 2 months ago) I have been fine-tuning the menu and trying new takes on old favorites. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it’s pretty much the best excuse to cook all day long. So on top of the traditional Roast Turkey, Stuffing, Roasted Garlic Potatoes and Gravy, I am making my Jalapeño Cornbread, a variety of salads, and my alternative to candied yams or sweet potato…. sweet and savory sweet potato hasselbacks!
I love yams and I love sweet potatoes. I’ll eat them mashed, baked whole, french fried, in risottos and pretty much any other way to cook them. Except with marshmallows on top. I think it’s just a little too sweet for me. Hasselback Potatoes are baked potatoes with slots cut in and stuffed with garlic or breadcrumbs. It’s a Swedish dish… gotta love Swedish design, even in food! So I’ve tried a few variations of this recipe but this is the perfect balance of sweet and savory. You can use both yams and sweet potatoes for this recipe. Yams are generally a little more narrow than the sweet potato so make sure you don’t over cook, they will tend to mush together.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: food, mmmm, recipes
Tags: baking, cooking, food, recipe, recipes, savory, sweet, sweet potatoes, thanksgiving, vegetables, vegetarian
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I’ve been meaning to post this dish for a really long time. It is quite possibly my favorite go-to pasta dish. I would say it’s the pasta dish of all time but Mac n Cheese will always win that fight. But since Mac n Cheese, to me, means making a béchamel, using 4-5 cheeses, and patiently waiting for the baking part to be done…. this simple orecchiette dish wins for being quick, easy and so delicious!
I absolutely love Broccoli Rabe, aka Rapini. I love it’s nutty bitterness and vibrant green color. It’s also jam packed with good for your vitamins. As a side dish, I like to sauté with a little olive oil, so you really keep the flavor of broccoli rabe. Maybe a little grated Pecorino on top. Mmm. Okay so say you don’t love Broccoli Rabe as much as I do, you can easily substitute with other hearty greens like broccolini, spinach, or kale. I’ve tried the variations, nothing beats the rabe with this recipe! The provolone is a perfect sweet balace to the bite of the rabe. You’ll have to just trust me and try it. Bon appétit!
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: food, mmmm, recipes
Tags: cheese, cooking, food, Italian, pasta, recipe, recipes, vegetables, vegetarian
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Summer is most definitely upon us. It’s been excruciatingly hot in NY the last few days. When it’s super hot out I can only think of cool refreshing dishes… like gazpacho soup and cucumber salads with drinks like lemonade, ice teas, mint juleps and mimosas! It’s so hot, I’d be happy with just a bucket of ice!
Today I made a quick snack that I just had to share, a very refreshing (and super simple) tomato salad with fresh basil. It’s so simple, you can’t mess it up. It’s a caprese without mozzarella. The key ingredient is really delicious tomatoes. When buying tomatoes, buy the ones on the vine still. And always store them room temp and not in the fridge. You can put them in the fridge if you know you’re going to eat them immediately, like a few hours before this salad!
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: food, mmmm, recipes, salads
Tags: cooking, food, recipe, recipes, salad, snacks, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian
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It’s a pretty chilly Winter this year. I feel like I could stay inside for about 3 months until the sun comes out, snow melts and we can all wear regular clothes again. Winter automatically means soups for me. Noodle soups, instant soups, creamy soups, or just your typical tomato soup. It’s the best time for soups! I made a giant batch of my roasted red pepper tomato soup that lasted me a couple days. It’s not your typical tomato soup. The roasted red pepper adds the perfect amount of smokiness to the tomato’s acidity. Mmm, I kind of want to make another batch now. I had the best grilled cheese with this soup – smoked gouda on crusty rosemary bread! Also goes well with a dollop of guacamole or a drizzle of pesto. The possibilities are endless, almost makes me enjoy Winter…almost.
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: food, mmmm, soups
Tags: american, cooking, food, recipe, recipes, soup, vegetables, winter
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I love potatoes. I think I could eat potatoes at every meal. Hash browns, mashed, roasted, baked, fries, home style, soup, endless possibilities really. My favorite combination is garlic and potatoes, mashed or pan fried. Today I bring you, roasted! Roasted garlic with seasoned roasted potatoes, a perfect marriage of flavors. Roasted garlic doesn’t have that harsh don’t kiss me kick and actually adds a nice sweetness. So good just squeezed on top of a slice of crusty bread too!
You could really pair this as a side dish with any meal but I had it as my main dish for dinner. What can I say, I really love potatoes! And it’s technically Winter still, I’m allowed to have an entirely starchy dinner! I usually love a huge dollop of sour cream with potatoes, but this dish is so flavorful, you really won’t need anything else but a fork! Hope you like it!
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: baking, food, mmmm, recipes
Tags: baking, cooking, food, potatoes, recipe, recipes, vegetables, vegetarian
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I’ve been meaning to make a Japanese dish for a while. After my visit to Japan last year, I feel like I wouldn’t do the cuisine justice… food in Japan was simply amazing! How could I even try to imitate? I keep thinking, what would Blake like? Blake is a good friend of mine who lives in Japan… he has some of the best eateries at his doorstep so I have to make sure if I’m gonna do something Japanese, it better be good and he better like it!
I’m no sushi chef, so slicing raw fish a certain way with specific knives for different types of fish and cuts wasn’t exactly going to be my first attempt. I wanted to stay far away from ramen because if I’m going to do it right, I’d have to cook the pork broth for days. I don’t quite have the tools needed for takoyaki. I was starting to think it was a lost cause, but I’ve finally got a Japanese dish worthy of a post! Miso orange glaze cod with shiitake pea brown rice.
Ok so technically, it’s Japanese inspired. I’m a little iffy about the rice being anything Japanese but oh well! It looks pretty and taste great! The glaze itself is delicious with any protein that doesn’t require long cooking… fish is perfect, soy patties are great too. We had this served with some Japanese pickled vegetables and cucumber and of course miso soup. I mean, I tried to make it authentic! Hope you like it!
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: food, mmmm, recipes
Tags: asian, baking, cooking, food, Japanese, recipe, recipes, seafood, vegetables
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That’s right everyone, homemade wontons! I always thought they were incredibly difficult to make, especially as a vegetarian option, but it wasn’t difficult at all. I think what put me off from making these is that my mom always used to say what a treat it was to find vegetarian wontons at a restaurant. She made it seem like they were so difficult to make and it was special occasion to have them. Now I realized she was just lazy. They are incredibly time consuming but not difficult at all. I’ve been craving veggie wontons ever since we went to Hong Kong 4 months ago. So I decided, it’s about time I called mom and asked her how to make her wontons!
I made two versions, a vegetarian version for me and a traditional pork & shrimp version for Vini. That meant, double work for dumpling fillings, double work to make stocks, and a very strategic way of cooking everything. I made a vegetarian stock for my soup and made a traditional chicken stock for the meat option. And when it came down to cooking everything, I had pots everywhere! One for the veggie stock, one for the chicken stock, a big pot of boiling water to blanch the greens and the noodles. Ladles and spoons and chopsticks everywhere… okay, I can see why my mom doesn’t do this often.
Everything said and done, it was well worth it, DELICIOUS! You don’t see vegetarian versions of this often so it’s nice to know you with a little patience, you can just make it at home! Hope you like it!
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: food, mmmm, recipes, soups
Tags: asian, chinese, cooking, food, noodles, recipe, recipes, soup, vegetables, vegetarian
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The name of the dish should really be “Meaty Roasted Squash Moroccan Stew on Roasted Portobello Mushrooms with Green Onion Garlic Couscous” but it’s a bit long so I shortened it. 
It’s got heaps of veggies and spices, a very hearty dish and perfect for winter dinners. Hmmm might even go nicely as a pie filling!
Now when I said “meaty” I mean whatever choice of meat you want to put in it. I used a delicious soy meat, but you can use steak, chicken, lamb, whatever you want! Just make sure it’s cut into cubes around the same size and the rest of your veggies. I made this dish vegan but you can of course add meat to your liking for a carnivorous version. Season up the “meat” with salt and pepper and then brown before adding to the stew at the end. If you can find some flavored sausages, it would go really nicely as well!
The recipe looks long and complicated but it really isn’t that bad, definitely worth the extra effort! This dish is incredibly flavorful and jam packed with veggies. The roasted mushroom adds a great texture and taste to the whole dish. Top with some cilantro and there you have it, a delicious hearty meal! You know, a dollop of Greek yogurt on top would be great as well….next time! Hope you like it!
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: food, mmmm, recipes
Tags: cooking, food, recipe, recipes, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian
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Cauliflower cannelloni doesn’t exactly sound very exciting, but believe me, it’s delicious. Great way to squeeze in your veggies as well! I saw this dish on one of Jamie Oliver’s shows… I cannot seem to find the recipe online so I’m not quite sure how accurate I am. I got the main parts of it down but I may have added a bit more here and a little less there. It all came out great anyway!
The shredded Parmesan cheese on the top with the mozzarella made the entire house smell like pizza. I loved the added crunchy texture the toasted cheese adds to the ooey gooey sauce. You almost forget that you’re eating cauliflower! The filling is actually cauliflower, broccoli and broccoflower boiled and then cooked down with olive oil, chilies and anchovies. You can make it without anchovies for a vegetarian option.
I have another cannelloni recipe that’s a bit more low fat but hey we’ve got visitors in town and Vini’s been begging me to make this for a while. Low fat will have to wait! I’ll post that recipe at a later date. In the meantime, hope you like this one!
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: baking, food, mmmm, recipes
Tags: baking, cheese, cooking, food, Italian, pasta, recipe, recipes, vegetables
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I wasn’t quite sure what to name this dish. It’s a little Asian, a little tangy, a little crunchy, but most of all a whole lot of YUMMY! I love red cabbage slaws. My favorite would be the Szechuan slaw that comes with the Vegetarian Focaccia Sandwich at CPK. YUM. I guess you can say this was inspired by it, it’s not quite exactly the same but close!
I’m still very much on my health kick, so this dish is good for you AND vegan! I need to make sure I keep posting all my vegan recipes before I forget them! I’ve got another vegan red cabbage slaw recipe that I’ll post at a later date. For now enjoy this yummy one!
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Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: food, mmmm, recipes, salads
Tags: asian, cooking, diet, food, recipe, recipes, salad, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian
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