Cooking with Erica

Actually, I never left the kitchen. I’ve still been creating new things in my kitchen and making some old favorites. Just have been atrocious at updating this blog. My bad.

Me caught in my natural environment by Jason

Anyway to get your mouth watering for some delicious food, here’s some upcoming recipes: savory pies; updated photos on eggplant enchiladas; bread, bread, and more bread; baked leeks; and more chickpeas than you can count. Not to mention, I’ve gotten myself some new gadgetry.

I really want to find a good dinner roll. This one looks beautiful. However, I found it to be way too salty. If I made it again, I’d cut the salt and perhaps look into a higher quality Parmesan cheese.

Parmesan Pull-Apart Rolls

Parmesan Pull-Apart Rolls
Read the rest of this entry »

As a vegetarian, lentils are one of my favorite non-soy sources of protein. They are incredibly flexible; however, the staples, like this Lentil Soup, are still wonderful classics. Almost every culture has a version of lentil soup. Serve it up with a good piece of bread and you’ve got a good meal.

Lentil Soup

Lentil Soup
Read the rest of this entry »

I love this dish because it’s both sweet and spicy at the same time. Plus, really easy to make. Did I mention, delicious? The texture is really similar to mash potatoes, but so much better.

Savory Indian Sweet Potatoes

Savory Indian Sweet Potatoes
Read the rest of this entry »

I highly recommend a rice cooker; I love mine. Plus, it makes this really easy to make. You basically throw it all in the cooker. This recipe is originally from the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites.

Golden Basmati Rice.

Golden Basmati Rice
Read the rest of this entry »

I love naan, but I never thought I’d be able to make it at home. Naan is traditionally made in a clay oven called a tandor, which would never fit in my condo’s kitchen. Plus, it would be a rather expensive investment.

Then I saw this recipe by Chef Henry. Instead of a tandor oven, it uses a pizza stone, and a pizza stone fits much better with both my kitchen and my wallet. Plus, this recipe is really tasty too.

Naan fresh off the pizza stone

Homemade Naan
Read the rest of this entry »

I went a little nuts making pies. I blame two things: 1) my love of it and 2) Twin Peaks. Jason and I had a little bit of a marathon, which included a lot of baking.

Twin Peaks and David Lynch loves pie

For the pie crust, I used my grandma’s flour crust recipe. Which is great as it makes 4 to 5 pie crusts and is easy to refrigerate or freeze if you need to use the rest another day. And if you have some extra, as I did, you can make flaky cookies.
Read the rest of this entry »

Jason and I went on a little pie loving streak as we were watching Twin Peaks, and this Cauliflower-Cheese Pie was one of the many I made. This yummy pie isn’t the most healthy vegetable pie, but it is delicious and not too hard to make. Recipe is originally from the Moosewood Cookbook and calls for a grated potato crust, but I rebelled and just used my grandma’s flour pie crust.

Cauliflower-Cheese Pie
Read the rest of this entry »

I was asked by a reader to post some of my favorite quick recipes. The ones that I make when I don’t have the time, energy, or the willingness to really cook a meal. The times that I don’t make Jason cook, which always ends up with some variation of Kraft Mac’n'Cheese and hot dogs (vegetarian ones for me) on his George Foreman Grill.

My spinach quesadillas were an invention and necessity when I was in college. A combination of inspiration from my childhood — my mother was a big fan of the “cheese melts in the microwave” mantra — and crepes from a little restaurant that used to be in my hometown. In college, I distracted an entire senior creative writing class, who were extremely tired of school food, with their delicious aroma.

Spinach Quesadillas
Read the rest of this entry »

I love red potatoes. They are by far my favorite. I love them boiled and roasted. I’ll even eat them cooked with nothing on them. This recipe, originally from Foodnetwork’s Paula Deen, is simply and delicious. The original one calls for garlic, which due to my food allergies, I substituted thyme.

Oven Roasted Red Potatoes with Rosemary and Thyme
Read the rest of this entry »