This sauce is really good over chicken, veggies, rice, etc. It makes enough for a family of 4 to cover at least one good-sized bowl of food. I add the sauce over everything at the end, but you could also sauté your meat/veggies in the sauce after mixing the main ingredients together for a while.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chicken or veggie broth
1 can unsweetened coconut milk
1 tablespoon Thai Red Curry Paste
1/4 cup peanut butter or peanut butter powder (I like the powder for cooking, as it dissolves smoothly)
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tablespoon lime or lemon juice, or more to taste

Add coconut milk and broth to a saucepan and heat. Add curry paste, peanut butter, fish sauce, and lime/lemon juice, and stir until all ingredients are mixed in smoothly. Cook for about 10 minutes on low heat and add salt to taste.

These chocolate chip banana muffins are a huge hit in our home. We always make the full batch because we work through them quickly. They stay really tasty for several days, which some GF muffins can’t do. Enjoy and let me know if you end up making them.

Ingredients:
6 mashed bananas
3 eggs
3/4 cup melted butter
2 3/4 cup flour (use regular flour or GF 1:1 blend of your choice)
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Note: This recipe makes 3 dozen muffins, so plan accordingly. You can freeze them to eat later, or you could look below for an ingredient list that only makes 1 dozen.

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Line muffin tin with baking cups. I’m very happy with my silicone baking cups – they’re reusable, dishwasher safe, and the muffins pop out easily.
3. In a large bowl: combine all ingredients and mix.
4. Add chocolate chips and walnuts last to the batter.
5. Spoon into muffin cups. I filled them almost all the way, as they don’t rise significantly.
6. Bake for 22 minutes, until cooked all the way through.

Ingredients for ONE DOZEN muffins:
1 egg
1 1/3 cup flour (use regular flour or GF 1:1 blend of your choice)
2 mashed bananas
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

I recently made ground beef kabob and chicken kabob, as well as Persian rice with tahdig (the crispy potato at the bottom). There are lots of recipes online so I don’t have the energy to put the whole process here, but at least you can see how pretty it all turned out!

It looks a little strange in the photo (and I took it before adding the cheese on top), but this is a great meal to prep for the week. It’s also possible to make it vegetarian by removing the sausage/bacon.

Ingredients:
-Package of frozen hash browns (I like Ore Ida because they’re gluten-free) OR grate 2 large, peeled potatoes.
-1 large tomato, diced
-1 small onion, diced
-5 eggs, beaten in a bowl
-Shredded cheese (any flavor you like!)
-Tube of sausage or package of bacon
-Optional: 1/4 cup gluten free flour
-Salt, pepper, hot sauce, ketchup, sour cream…whatever you use

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 F. On stove in a large pan, cook the sausage/bacon (or make the bacon in the oven until mostly cooked), ensuring that it’s broken up into small pieces.

While it is cooking, dice/chop the rest of your ingredients and combine in a large bowl and ensure it is thoroughly mixed. Spray a pyrex cooking dish (9×11 is a good size) with vegetable oil.

Once the meat is cooked, chop into small pieces and mix into the bowl with all ingredients. Then pour the whole mixture and place in the oven for 45 minutes.

When it is finished baking, top with your favorite toppings and eat. You can store in the fridge and warm it up as needed.

A while back I wanted to make carrot cake and found this awesome recipe from Williams Sonoma. However, I needed to make some changes to it and after a certain point it stopped being the same recipe. So I’m putting it here on my blog for those of you who have tried this delicious cake and wanted to replicate it at home. I made these in mini Bundt pans but you can really use any pan you like.

A few helpful notes:
-Use a food processor to chop up the raw carrots or apples after peeling them. It is WAY easier. With apples, be careful to do only a few slices at a time, as they can get mushy and make the cake too soft at the bottom.
-If you don’t have buttermilk, you can add a teaspoon of vinegar or just use regular milk. I’ve not seen a huge difference either way!
-I add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts to the carrot cake only.
-This recipe makes a pretty big cake. If you want, you can cut it in half pretty easily.
-You may not need frosting for this cake. When just making it for myself, I didn’t use it. Especially for the apple cake.
-Sometimes I’m too lazy to bring out my mixer. You don’t need one, but it does make it a little easier.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 2 cups gluten free flour (King Arthur/Bob’s Red Mill/Pillsbury – whatever you have!)
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 3 cups lightly packed peeled, shredded carrots (or apples)

For the cream cheese frosting:

• 1 lb. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at
   room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Position a rack in the middle of an oven and preheat to 350°F. Spray 2 round cake pans each 9 inches in diameter and 2 inches deep with vegetable oil. (Or any pan you want to use)

In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, vegetable oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar and buttermilk until blended.

Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture just until combined. Fold in the carrots/apples. Add walnuts if using them. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Transfer to racks and let cool in the pans for 15 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the racks and let cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the cream cheese frosting: In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese and butter. Using an electric mixer set on medium-high speed, beat until smooth. Reduce the speed to low, add the confectioners’ sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract until well blended.

Place 1 cake layer on a plate. Spread 1 1/2 cups of the frosting over the top. Place the second cake layer on top. Spread the remaining frosting decoratively over the top and sides of the cake.

Serve immediately, or cover with a cake dome and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

½ recipe (one 9” round pan)

• 1 cup gluten free flour 
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cups lightly packed peeled, shredded carrots (or apples)

½ recipe for the cream cheese frosting:

• 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup confectioners sugar
• 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Last night I looked in my fridge to see what I could make with the ingredients I had. I whipped up some mashed potatoes and carrots, then realized I had some ground turkey meat defrosted in the fridge. So, using the recipe from New Food of Life (my Persian cooking resource), I changed it a bit to make it gluten free and easier to make.

I wish I had taken photos, but it is so easy, you should be able to make it with no problem. The best thing about this: you don’t have to form any meat patties with your hands. Yay!

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey or beef
2 eggs
1/2 small onion
1 tablespoon tumeric
1/2 tsp salt
Dash of pepper
3 tablespoons flour (I used 2 tablespoons of potato starch and 1 tablespoon of sorghum, but you could use anything)

1. Put all ingredients in a food processor. Blend until smooth and there are no large lumps. Mixture will be slightly liquid.
2. Heat coconut oil or vegetable oil in a large, non-stick pan.
3. Use spatula to scoop out the mixture and put it in the pan, spreading it so that it is about the size and thickness of your hand, or a little smaller. You should be able to fit several at a time.
4. Flip over when the kotlet is fully cooked and starting to brown, make sure both sides are browned evenly. Place on plate covered in paper towels to drain the oil.

Can be served with yogurt, hot or cold. This is great for picnics, especially!

On Friday night we had one of those moments where we had no interest in going to the grocery store after work, so we considered the options in the fridge and decided to make do with what we had. I threw this together in about 20 minutes and it was delicious. Please excuse the terrible cell phone picture, I was too hungry to bother with fancy photography.

You will need at least 2 pots, a pan, and a small saucepan. Be prepared to use all four burners at the same time!

1. Peel & cube a sweet potato, boil until soft.
2. Boil penne pasta (ours was Schar’s gluten free pasta) and drain, set aside in large bowl.
3. Simultaneously, chop up an onion and a zucchini and fry it with the kale, add a little water, put the lid on, and steam.
4. In a small saucepan, fry chopped garlic for a few minutes, then add 6 tablespoons of butter and the juice of one lemon. Sprinkle some salt and pepper in as well. Cook long enough for the flavors to mix but don’t let it burn.
5. As each ingredient is done, put it in the large bowl with the pasta.
6. Toss everything together, pour the butter lemon sauce on top, and sprinkle Parmesan on top. Sriracha sauce optional.

A few weekends ago I visited my parents, and my mother had purchased several varieties of figs. This has become my favorite fruit, & the seasonal window is so short that I eat a lot of them when they’re available.

I decided to make a dish that I had pinned a few months back. I gathered the ingredients: figs, Brie, & honey. I cut the figs into small sections, and placed them in an oven safe dish. I put them and the cheese in the oven at 350 F for about 15 minutes.

Then I drizzled honey over the whole thing, though I didn’t drown it. The figs are sweet enough! I finished off most of this creation by myself, with gluten-free crackers.

The simplest thing when you need a quick dessert that looks fancy, or when the pears on your table are starting to go a little brown.

Ingredients:
1 pear
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Pre-heat oven to 350 F (or 176 C). Slice up the pear and arrange in an oven-safe dish. Melt the butter, then mix in the honey, vanilla, and lemon juice. Pour mixture over the pears. Bake for about 20 minutes in uncovered dish, then serve. You can put vanilla ice cream on top, or eat them plain. This is one of my winter dessert obsessions.

After making a pumpkin cake for work, I had about half a can of pumpkin puree left over. I wanted to make something with the ingredients in my kitchen, so I threw a bunch of things in a bowl to see what would happen. It turned out pretty well! I’m calling it a souffle, although I suppose technically I didn’t make it quite like a souffle should be made.

8 oz pumpkin puree
8 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Blend all of the ingredients in a large bowl. The mixture will be quite thin. Pour into small pyrex dishes or ramekins, then bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Check on it to make sure it has fully cooked, it may need a little while longer to finish. It made about 4 servings, so if you want more, double the recipe.

Top with fresh whipped cream if you like!

I feel like I got cheated out of my summer. I don’t know where it went. Today was an especially crazy Monday, and I needed something to unwind after a long day, but I really don’t need to eat more cupcakes (I’ve eaten at least 1 per day for the last week). So I’ve been making these smoothies that take about 1 minute to make, and all of the ingredients are things that I keep in my kitchen.

1/4 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup apple juice (or orange juice)
3 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 banana

Blend. Be happy.

A few months ago we were invited over to our friends’ house for dinner. Dinner was excellent, because Jade is a fantastic cook. But when we got to dessert, I nearly died and went to heaven. Everything was made from scratch.

First she started with triple chocolate mousse:

Melting pieces of cooled sugar

Until it is melted and bubbling

Take off the heat when it starts getting sticky

Then waving the sugar around on top of the mousse until it creates a little nest.

It was SO good. Thanks Jade and Tom!

Many of my cooking adventures begin because I am hungry, not because I carefully planned it. I look in the fridge, see what I have, and start cooking. The other night I got creative and got lucky. This recipe makes enough food for about 5 people.

Ingredients
2 lbs chicken breast, sliced thin
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
4 oz (1/2 pkg) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
salt, pepper, garlic to taste

In a bowl, combine spinach, cream cheese, mozzarella, and spices.

Place the sliced chicken in a casserole dish.

Spread the mix on top of the chicken evenly.

Cook at 350 F for 20-30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked and the cheese is browned. I didn’t cover it, but if it looks like it is getting dry, put some foil on top.

I also made some mashed potatoes (salt, pepper, garlic, milk, butter, parsley), and cranberry sauce from scratch, which is very easy to make. 1 package of fresh cranberries, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup water, boil.

Delicious!

Let me know if you try this recipe! It was super easy to make.

When I was little, I loved bleu cheese salad dressing.  If ever given a choice, I would choose that.  I don’t know why, especially because I find it rather revolting now (especially since it usually contains gluten).

Most salad dressings are too thick, contain ingredients that make me sick, or are just unhealthy.  I have never been a “salad for a meal” type of person.  I’ll throw down some steak and potatoes with no hesitation.  But in the summer I often have a craving for something lighter. What to do?

The other day I noticed that my glass bottle of olive oil had about 1 cup of oil left in it.  I removed the plastic insert at the opening of the bottle, and added:

1/2 cup of lemon juice
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

Then I shook it up. I now have homemade dressing that I keep in my fridge, and I love it.
———————-
Over the last few years, I’ve just picked up whatever Persian tea was easily accessible. My mother tends to mix her own tea, but I don’t have the skills for that. Recently I received some Anisa Tea as a gift, and was stunned to taste something like the tea that is served in Haifa.  The one I like is the “Persian Tradition” blend, of course.

Do you have a particular kind of tea or flavor of tea that you really love?

For the Chicago Naw-Ruz celebration I made Persian dolmeh.  I had lent my favorite cookbook to a coworker, and realized that I needed to take another look at the recipe.  A quick Google search confirmed my fear: there were no recipes that matched what I remembered, and certainly no tutorials.  My mother’s mother taught me at a young age how to make dolmeh, and it is one of my favorite foods.  It can be an appetizer or a main dish, and is remarkably easy to make.  I took photos as I went!

Ingredients:

1 can grape leaves
2/3 cup rice
1/2 cup yellow split peas
1 tsp salt
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 lb ground beef or lamb
1 cup chopped scallions
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill or 2 Tbs dried
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint or 1 Tbs dried
3 1/2 cups chopped fresh parsley or 1 cup dried
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp lemon juice

1. Wash and boil yellow split peas until soft, about 1 hour.  Stir occasionally.

2. Make 2 cups of white rice, either in a pot or rice cooker.

3. (for meat eaters) Fry ground meat on the stove with onions, salt, and pepper. Drain.

4. Wash all of the greens thoroughly:

5. Then put them all in a food processor and grind until very small.

6. In a large mixing bowl, mix rice, split peas, greens, lemon juice, and meat.

6. Open jar of grape leaves, carefully rinse and untangle them.  I like to drape them around a mixing bowl or colander.

7. Place leaf on a plate, with the veins of the leaf face-up.

8. Put a spoonful of the mixture on the leaf.

9. Fold one side over.

And another side.

Until it is all wrapped and secure, and none of the mix will spill out.

10. Place in a pot on the stove.  I like to put 1 leaf on the bottom of the pot to make sure that none of the dolmeh sticks to the pot, with a little water.

11. Simmer on low with top on for about 1 hour.  The leaves will soften a bit, and there will be steam.  Serve with yogurt for dipping.

I looked at the ingredients in my kitchen last week and realized I had the ingredients for a full meal (shocking, these days, since I’m rarely home!).  So why not?

Ingredients
1 lb chicken breast, diced into cubes
1 package pre-cooked risotto
1/2 diced onion
1 bunch chopped fresh parsley
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup chicken broth
pepper, salt, garlic to taste
Parmesan cheese

-In deep pan or shallow pot, fry Chicken, onion, parsley, pepper, salt, garlic in a tablespoon of butter.
-As soon as the chicken is nearly done, add the broth, lemon, & risotto.  Simmer for 5 minutes on low.
-When the risotto is cooked, add the heavy cream and simmer for another 5 minutes. At the very end, add Parmesan cheese.

I think I ate too much.

But all in all, it was very successful.
A nice balance of family, friends, every meal imaginable,
parties, & even some dancing!

“SAY, by reason of your remembering Him Whom God shall make manifest and by extolling
His name, God will cause your hearts to be dilated with joy,
and do ye not wish your hearts to be in such a blissful state?” -The Báb

My wild rice stuffing recipe, which I made up in Israel and perfected back home:

1 cup wild rice medley
1/8 cup raisins
1/8 cup dried cranberries
1/8 cup diced dried apricots
a few tablespoons diced onions
1 teaspoon tumeric
2 tablespoons butter
salt & pepper

Cook rice in pot according to directions on package. In a pan, fry the butter, onions, tumeric, and dried fruit. When the rice is done, mix the fruit into the rice. Add salt & pepper to taste. SUPER easy!

What did you do for Thanksgiving?  Do you have any strange traditions?

I realized recently that my meals have been consisting of a lot of Thai take-out and Mexican food. While this is delicious, it is not always healthy and I missed cooking. Last night I picked out a few ingredients from my fridge and started cooking. I also created a recipe for gluten-free chocolate chip banana bread, which was delicious, but am still trying to remember what I put in it…

Ingredients
1 steak, thinly cut
1/4 chopped onion
1/2 bunch chopped mustard greens
1 sweet potato, cooked and diced
olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 clove garlic

Cook the steak as you normally would. I fried it on the stove in olive oil and spices on low heat, then took the steak out and used the same pan to cook the vegetables.

Fry the onions in olive oil, and the spices, then add the sweet potato and cook for 5 minutes. Add mustard greens, cook until they are soft and turn a darker green. Sprinkle lemon juice on top while they are cooking.

I had some feta cheese on the side. It took me maybe 20 minutes to make everything, including preparation.  I microwaved the sweet potato in its skin at the very beginning.  This dish could probably feed two people, especially if you have a large sweet potato.

Ingredients:
onion, chopped
a few slices of ginger, diced
a few cloves garlic, diced
salt
pepper
sesame oil
soy sauce
chicken breast, cut into small pieces
peas
chopped mustard greens

1. Fry onion, garlic, ginger, salt, and pepper in sesame oil and soy sauce.
2. Add chicken, with a 1/8 cup water if needed. Saute on medium until nearly cooked.
3. Add peas, and as soon as they are nearly cooked, add the mustard greens. Only fry for a few minutes longer, then take off the heat.
4. Serve over rice.

My mother got this cool stretchy netting from the deli counter at our grocery store, and told me that this is how they keep the stuffing inside the chickens and such things. I have no idea where to buy such material, though. You can use twine to tie the chicken. Anyway, I made up the recipe with the ingredients we had in the kitchen, and it turned out pretty well. The process of getting the chicken into the netting was hilarious, I must say. You can click on the pictures below to see a larger version.

Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, diced
dried apricots
dried prunes
dried raspberry cranberries
slivered almonds
several boneless, skinless split chicken breasts
tumeric
salt
pepper
butter or olive oil

1. Cut apricots and prunes into quarters, set aside with cranberries and almonds.

2. Fry onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and tumeric in butter or olive oil until soft.

3. Add dried fruit and almonds, simmer for a little while.

4. Place mixture into middle of chicken breast. Fold over and stuff into netting, or tie with twine. Place in roasting pan with a little bit of water at the bottom to prevent it from burning. If you have extra mix, you can just throw it into the pan.

5. Cook on 375 F for about 1 hour, checking occasionally.

This afternoon I experimented with apple cake. I had to make something for a Thanksgiving party, and we had a lot of apples. So I found a recipe in a very old cookbook, and modified it because it was completely boring. It is not gluten-free, unfortunately, but I might try to do that in the future.

4 cooking apples, cored
lemon juice
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Confectioner’s sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

1. Place butter in the bottom of a bundt pan, put the pan in the oven to melt the butter. Slice 2 of the apples very thin, lengthwise. Sprinkle lemon juice on the apples to keep them from turning brown.
2. Chop the other 2 apples into little pieces. Put in a small pot with 1/4 cup water, cinnamon, and 2 tablespoons sugar, boil until apples are soft, take off heat.
3. When the butter in the pan has melted, take it out of the oven. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the butter. Make sure that the pan is greased so that the cake does not stick. Overlap the apple slices evenly around the pan, making two layers.
4. In a mixing bowl, mix the egg and sugar with an electric mixer, adding vanilla and milk. Add the baking powder and flour. Pour the apple mixture from the pot into the batter, stir well.
5. Pour batter into pan over the apples. Place the pan in the oven at 325 F, cook for 35 minutes or until cake is done. Let cool, then turn upside down. Sift Confectioner’s sugar over the finished product before serving.

Ingredients:
1 small onion, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
a few leaves of fresh basil, chopped
salt
pepper
1 tsp tumeric
1 clove garlic, diced
1 tsp chili powder (optional)
1 pint heavy cream
2 tablespoons of tomato paste

Fry the onion and garlic in a few tablespoons of olive oil until the onions are clear, then add basil, tomatoes, salt, pepper, tumeric, and chili powder. Fry on medium heat for a few minutes, then add tomato paste and ½ cup water. Turn to low and simmer for 5 minutes, then add heavy cream. Simmer for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve over pasta. (Other ingredients to add are mushrooms, bell peppers, and chicken, depending on what you like!)

I’ve been cooking a lot, since I’m not working. In between the bouts of kitchen experimentation, I put in job applications and cross my fingers. There are two dishes that I thought I would share with you. We ate the soup on a rainy day, and it was perfect. Of course, there are lots of recipes on the internet…but this one was my creation.  🙂

Butternut Squash Soup

1 butternut squash
3 medium potatoes
3 large carrots
1 onion
2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter
salt, pepper
honey
cinnamon

Cut the butternut squash in half, place 1/4 cup butter, a few tablespoons of honey, and a few teaspoons of cinnamon on top. Bake in oven for 2 hours at 350 F.

While the squash is cooking, boil the potatoes, carrots, and onion in a pot of water. Drain. Put in food processor, blend well. When the squash is done, blend it in the food processor as well. Mix all of the ingredients well.

Place the milk and butter in a pot, and heat until butter is completely melted. Add all of the ingredients, including the salt and pepper, and heat until the soup is smooth and completely mixed.

A great side dish, especially with Persian food, is beets and yogurt. Ok, so a lot of people have a negative reaction to beets…but they have a lot of great qualities! Don’t judge them.

Peel a beet, and cut off the ends. Place in a pyrex dish with a few inches of water, and bake on 350 F until the beet is completely cooked. Let cool, then cut into cubes. Mix with plain white yogurt.

I got hungry when we came home from Baha’i Feast tonight at 11 pm. Being the slightly ridiculous person that I am when it comes to food, I decided to get creative.

Ingredients:
chopped onions & ginger
ground beef
quinoa
shredded mozzarella
tomatoes
cilantro

Fry the onions, ginger, and beef.  At the same time, cook the quinoa in a separate pot according to the instructions on the package.  Combine the beef and quinoa, and sprinkle the mozzarella over it.  Chop the tomatoes and cilantro and put it on the side.