Veggie Momos! (aka Nepali Pot Stickers)

The mixture in the bowl is cabbage, carrots, onions, ginger, garlic, and any kind of spices you like.  Chop finely, and mix. Take regular ol' won ton wrappers you find at the local "Asian" market...or the one we go to- Pacific Ocean Market.

Stuff the won ton wrappers, fold into triangles, and tightly press the sides together with little folds to seal.

If you do not have a steamer, no worries, use a makeshift steamer, with a metal pie tin.  Simply poke holes all over the bottom of the pie tin, place over a large pot filled half way with water, cover, and let steam until won ton wrappers are cooked through.

I am not sure how to make this sauce, all I know is it was tasty, but is some kind of Nepali red sauce that is spicy.  I suppose you could use any sauce you like, such as a pot sticker sauce, or a gyoza sauce.  Eat Momos after dipping in whatever sauce you like. 

Potato Pea Curry

This is the first dish I have ever made in a pressure cooker! Yup, my first pressure cooker...thank you Justin for the gift. 

I am not sure how the pressure cooker works exactly (e.g. the technical details or the physics of it all), but gee, it does amazing things.  In layman’s terms, you stick shit in it, and shit comes out cooked in a matter of minutes. 

This simple dish includes purple, red, and russet potatoes with peas, and green onions.  Oh yeah, and did I mention the overcooked broccoli?  Yes, I learned very quickly that you cannot put items with cooking times that are not equivalent in the pot at the same time, or else they turn into mush, or pesto-like coloring as in this dish.  Aside from that minor problem, this dish actually tasted pretty good, and is quite pretty if I do say so myself. 

The spices include curry powder, salt, pepper, cumin seeds, and garam masala.  All I did was chop up the ingredients, throw them in the pressure cooker, with a 1/2 cup of water, and the spices.  Place the pressure cooker on the stove on high until it is a "whistle blower" hehehe, turn the heat to low and cook for 2 1/2 minutes.  Turn the stove off, and allow for all the pressure to release.  Out pops some yummy goodness as this picture obviously depicts!

(Time: 5-10  minutes to mise-en-place and cook)

Sautéed Kale

So Simple, clean the kale very well under some cold water to get off all the sand.  Chop.  sauté in a pan with garlic, salt, minced onions, and lemon juice.

DONE and DONE!

(Time: 3-5 minutes to cook.) 

Beet Dyed Zucchini

Watermelon? Nope, it's beets and zucchini.  Sauteed with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and salt.  The beets are so potent that they turn the zucchini a beautiful, bright burgundy. 

Note: This dish will turn your pee red, so do not worry, you do not have an infection (wink wink!)

(Time: 10 minutes to make)

Veggie Tofu Curry

Similar to the other curry dishes I have made, I used curry powder, garam masala, cumin seeds, garlic, a splash of lemon juice, and salt.  I tried coriander seeds this time, but I probably won't do that again...(left a funny taste in my mouth).  And no, please do not insert a "that's was she said" comment after my parenthetical.   

The ingredients in this dish include: tofu, peas, spinach, zucchini, one large tomato, half a white onion, and the spices mentioned above.

(Time: 20 minutes to make, but you can let simmer for as long as you want, the flavor develops the longer you let simmmer.)

Ethiopian Platter

At a local Boulder, CO restaurant, Ras Kassa, we ordered 4 dished that came on this family style platter.  Two different veggie combos, one spicy veggie combo, and a yellow split pea dish.

The rolls you see are the injera fermented sponge-like bread that you hold to pick up the different foods.

The dishes include spicy red lentils, green lentils, beets, potatoes, green beans, yellow split peas, collard greens, carrots, and more.

I am not sure I could make any of this at home...there are just too many yummy spices involved.

Coconut Cake

Ingredients:
1 pound unsalted butter
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 1/2 cups heavy cream or coconut milk
1 1/2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups shredded coconut









Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Spray two 10-inch round cake pans with cooking spray
Mix cream or coconut milk with the butter, vanilla extract, and sugar until fluffy
Add in the eggs one at a time and beat until creamy
Slowly add in the flour, baking powder, shredded coconut, and lemon zest
Pour batter into cake pans and bake about 40 to 45 minutes


Icing:
Let cake cool before attempting to ice
Using store-bought white icing
Spread icing all over the sides of the cake
Place shredded coconut all over the icing

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Simply followed the recipe on the back of the Ghirardelli premium milk chocolate chip package. These cookies are tasty, but I still prefer the Nesle Toll House chocolate chip cookies. Note: be careful with the oven temperature, 375 degrees might be too high. Go down to 350 degrees, and bake cookies for 10-11 minutes.