Tea Biscuits

My parents, like many Indian people, make tea every day, and we have nasta (nah-s-thah) which are Indian snacks, and invariably some kind of biscuit or what other people call cookies. They weren't very fancy, but they were delicious with the tea -- particularly Parle-G glucose biscuits. Sounds odd, tastes delicious. Tyler would go through packets of these when my dad first introduced him to them. Needless to say, I don't keep them in the house much.

But I recently had some tea from a pre-mixed indian tea-tea spice that I use, and had a hankering for some biscuits. So I went back to the basics, equal weight butter and flour with a pinch of salt, and any flavoring you want.

So far I've done parmesan cheese and black peppers, chipotle pepper with habañero cheese, and vanilla scented-vanilla glazed. They are simple, and go really well with your cup of tea. Make them, keep them around.

The parmesan and black pepper dough that I rolled out between two pieces of parchment paper

Chipotle Habanero Cheese biscuits (and one parm/black pepper bunny biscuit!)

Vanilla glazed, vanilla scented biscuits (these were awesome)

Basic Biscuit
from Paul Hollywood's recipe

75 g (0.75 cup flour)
75 g butter
pinch of salt
A little cold water
Whatever flavoring you want to add (vanilla bean seeds, almond, some sugar, parmesan, fennel seeds, poppy seeds, go crazy!)

With your hand, or more easily in the bowl of a food processor, mix together the butter and flour and salt until it resembles coarse sand. Then add in your flavoring choice, start the food processor, and slowly add a little water until the whole thing just comes together. Dump the contents onto cling wrap, flatten it into a disc, and place in the fridge for 30 min - 1 hr.

Turn on oven to 375F

Then roll it out on a floured surface or my favorite, in between two pieces of parchment paper so your counter doesn't get messy. You don't want to handle the dough too much or the butter will melt, and you'll get mediocre biscuits. After you roll it out, if it feels too warm, just pop the whole thing back into the fridge for another 10 minutes, then you can either cut it into squares, use shape cutters, etc. to make your biscuits. Put them on a tray lined with parchment paper or silpat. Put them in the oven for ~10-18 minutes (check to make sure they are not getting too brown based on the size you cut them). Pull them out, and allow them to cool before icing or just eating! 

Frozen Banana Bites

So third year is over. That happened. I'm taking some time to process, but I'll probably write about it. Let's be real actually, I'm not taking time to process, I'm studying for the Step 2 Boards and shoving my eyeballs into Bob's Burgers. And looking at desserts. Buuut I don't have eggs.

Let's ignore that Whole Foods is a two minute walk away, and that Trader Joes is a 10 minute walk away. Let's ignore that and talk about Banana Bites instead. I bought these Gone Bananas bites from Trader Joes a while ago...and they are so delicious. I feel quite adorable eating them. I forgot to buy them on this latest run...sadly, but I had 3 bananas that were getting a little too mushy for me to want to eat. So I figured...why not make my own?

Well if I was going to do that, I might as well put peanut butter on them. And oh wait, I had leftover homemade butterscotch sauce...so why not put this on top?

And so this delicious monstrosity was created...two frozen bananas with peanut butter in the middle, topped with butterscotch sauce, covered in chocolate and frozen again. They. are. so. good.

They'd be amazing even without the butterscotch sauce, but it definitely adds to the flavor. Make these. They are amazing and don't take long.

Frozen Banana Bites

3-4 bananas, sliced a quarter inch thick (or really how thick or thin you want, I wouldn't go more than 1/2 an inch thick though)
Peanut Butter (I used Skippy)
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate pieces
1 tsp canola oil or coconut oil
Optional: Butterscotch sauce (see above link for recipe from smitten kitchen!)

Slice up your bananas, put them on a baking sheet that's covered in parchment paper, and freeze them for about an hour. Then put down a layer of peanut butter, and put down another banana piece (so it's banana, peanut butter layer, banana...or you can keep it banana and peanut butter alone) and re-freeze for about an 1-1.5 hrs.  Then put a thin layer of butterscotch sauce on top (again, optional...but oh so delicious). Re-freeze for an hour. Right before you pull them out, melt the chocolate in a double boiler here's how. The short of it is that you put on a pot of water to boil, put a heatproof bowl over it, put the chocolate in, and stir around as the steam melts the chocolate. When the chocolate is full and melted, add the oil...why? It's a shorthand trick to 'temper' the chocolate, so that when you dip stuff in it, instead of being soft in texture and dull looking, it gets that chocolate 'crunch' and shine.

Pull out the banana bites, cover them in chocolate, re-freeze for about an hour, and enjoy! You can store them in a plastic back for up 2 weeks in the freezer. 

Mint and Pea Crostini with Pickled Radishes and Burrata

Spring has finally laid its gentle hand on the winter-weary backs of Bostonians. That's my fancy way of saying -- it's SPRING! I classify that temperatures above 32F. The icebergs have melted (mostly), the sun is out (sometimes), and I don't have to wear multiple layers to brave the wintry winds (usually).

Celebration wouldn't be celebration without spring-type foods. Food with the colors, and the pretty, and the pop of spring. With herbs, green, and tart, and SPRING.

Can you tell I'm happy about spring? Sunshine for all!

Anyways, make this one night. It's simple, beautiful, and delicious. It may seem tricky to pickle something, but honestly, it's really not. The most complicated part of the process is slicing the radishes -- which is super easy if you have a food processor. The pickling process takes 10 minutes, and you can store the radishes in your fridge for about 1-2 weeks.

Mint and Pea Crostini with Pickled Radishes and Burrata
Slightly modified from Salt and Wind

Bread
Thinly slice a baguette and toast it at 375 with a little olive oil drizzled on top.

Pickled Radishes
This I learned from Cookie and Kate

Thinly slice 1 bunch radishes
3/4 cup vinegar (white wine or apple cider)
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons salt
Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
Mustard Seeds (optional)
Fennel (optional)

Slice the radishes thinly using a knife, mandolin, or food processor. Stuff them into a jar (I used a mason jar). Top with red pepper flakes and mustard seeds, or whatever other accoutrements (garlic cloves, fennel, etc.) Bring the vinegar, water, maple syrup, and salt to a boil. Turn it off, let it cool for about 30 seconds and then gingerly pour it over the radishes, close the container loosely, and let it sit for 10 minutes, and it should be good to go! Keep it stored in the fridge, closed, for 1-2 weeks.

Smashed Mint Peas
2 cups frozen peas
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons mint
1 tablespoon cilantro
1 lemon, juiced and zested
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Siracha to taste
Red pepper flakes to taste

Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to boil, and cook the peas until tender, which should take 3-4 minutes. Make sure not to overcook them. Drain the water out of the saucepan, and add to the still warm peas the butter, garlic, and lemon juice. Smash the peas together. When you're almost done smashing them, add in the mint, cilantro, siracha, salt, and pepper, and then finish smashing. Adjust seasoning to your preferences.

Assembly

Burrata or Mozarella, sliced


Lay the slices of bread out on a tray. Top generously with the smashed pea mixture, then on one half side of the bread lay out some of the burrata, and on the other half side of the bread lay out the radishes. Drizzle with olive oil and pepper and serve.


 

Easy Snack: Corn Pizza-tillas, Gluten Free!

Yesterday was our 2 year anniversary, and it was amazing. Great food, great company, pretty wine glasses :-) I'll be posting later what we had for sure...it was quite surprising for me.

But today, snack time! Want something quick, something tasty, something not so bad for you? Done! Corn Pizza-tillas. Gluten free and done in 10.

What you need: 

Corn Tortilla
Pizza Sauce (homemade or otherwise)
Veggies
Cheese
Any protein you want, I used tofurkey slices, but you could easily use something else.

Heat up a saute pan over medium heat, put the corn tortilla on it, layer sauce, then veggies, then protein, then cheese. Cover so the convection heat melts the cheese, and it's done and crispy on the bottom in ~5 minutes.

Enjoy! 

Green Eggs

Let me tell you about my allergies. I have never really had them before. In Arizona, allergies aren't crazy because it's too hot, and in Boston...well, I don't know why I didn't have bad allergies in Boston. But good heavens, in San Antonio...it's a whole new world! 


I didn't have allergies last year, but then again 2011 was the hottest year on record for Texas, as we went through a severe drought. This year, rain galore! And the flowers are out in full force showing off their pretty little petals. Me, thinking I'm immune, have taken no precaution against allergies. I drove with the windows down, kept the doors open, walk amongst flowers, etc. 

Key example: Tyler and I at the botanical gardens eating a picnic lunch (hence why his mouth is full of food), and inhaling all the demon pollen. But the flowers were pretty!

PSC, poor stupid child, that's what Tyler calls me. I came home earlier this week and proclaimed that I was getting sick...my nose was stuffy, my head hurt, and my eyes were all watery. He patiently informed me that I was suffering from allergies...and boy does it suck. 

The week was...hell-ish to go through, with me frequently telling my students that I needed them to whisper because my head hurt that much...but the weekend was great. I literally spent all of Saturday in bed with Tyler reading books, relaxing, using a Neti Pot (they work!), and drinking lots of water. Brilliant! On such days, it's quite important to have a easy go-to snack that is healthy and filling...ergo, green eggs! 

Basically, it' a hardboiled egg with cilantro pesto on top. Quite tasty, quite easy to make all the stuff ahead of time, and just keep it in your fridge as a go-to. 


Green Eggs


Cilantro Pesto


If you're not a fan of cilantro, feel free to replace any hearty green. I've done this with baby spinach, dandelion green, etc.


2 bunches of cilantro 
3 cloves of garlic 
0.25-0.5 cups of grated parmesan cheese (honestly, you can either grate your own, or if you're short on time, use the Krafts pre-grated kind of fake parmesan) 
2 tsp. lemon juice or white vinegar
0.25 cup olive oil 
salt and pepper to taste


Wash the bunches of cilantro and trim off the ends, so you have mostly the green leaves. Place them in a food processor and pulse a few times. Then add in the garlic cloves and turn it on to full-blast. Then add in all the rest of the ingredients. Taste and adjust as desired. This keeps in the fridge for about a week and a half, and in the fridge for month. I make it in large batches and just unfreeze it when I need it. 


Assembly


Just take a hard boiled egg or a soft-boiled egg, peel the shell, cut it in half, and spoon out a little bit of the pesto on top. This also make a really good party finger food. 


Other Ideas


The pesto makes a good pasta sauce, pizza sauce, spread on sandwiches, salad dressing when thinned out with more olive oil and a little water, or even a good dip for veggies when mixed with some greek yogurt or sour cream.