pineapple fried rice

even though it seems like we've been back at school forever, its really only been 2 weeks, so we're still posting some recipes made over winter break. like...
leftover rice, fried with an egg, cabbage, chopped onion and caramelized pineapple (saute pineapple cubes in butter/butter substitute for about 5 minutes, until golden brown).
even if you don't want fried rice, try the pineapple, its ridiculously good.
alright, i'm tired after a fun weekend...time to get ready for bed. goodnight everyone!

check out kailey's awesome giveaway!

-Lola

pressed cuban sandwiches with garlic dijon butter

have i ever mentioned how much i love sandwiches? i consider sandwich making one of my (few) talents. unfortunately, being a poor (and lazy) college student, i am usually forced to stick to the simple, yet delicious, pb&j. so when rita and i decided on a cuba/florida theme for our dad's b-day dinner over winter break, cuban sandwiches were a given.
the recipe, from cooking light, is super simple and delicious. we didn't really pay attention to the exact quantities of this recipe, except for making the garlic-dijon spread. we used 2 slices of french bread (instead of rolls), one slice of each meat, and 2 or 3 slices of cheese (the recipe calls for low fat, but rita, being a diehard fan of cheese, doesn't believe in low or nonfat cheese. unless it is feta, which is acceptable) per sandwich. enjoy!
-Lola

roasted brussel sprouts with polenta and tomato sauce

aka this recipe, but omit the bread and serve over some creamy polenta (cooked according to package directions)...

and with prettier pictures than last time.
i promise, new recipes posted very soon!
-Lola

Key Lime Pie

for the past few years we've made a birthday dinner as a present to our dad. This year, we were about to go to Ft. Lauderdale, so we made it Florida theme, with Cuban food for dinner and a key lime pie for dessert. The pie took a while, but it was pretty easy, and turned out delicious with a very strong lime flavor. Also it was pie. And you really can't go wrong with pie, especially when it is topped with homemade whipped cream.


the pie about to be attacked by a mysterious hand

with home made whipped cream on top
the recipe, from Southern Living
-Rita

pasta with spinach pesto sauce and scallops

after a long journey, we finally made it back to new york city. classes start tomorrow, so we'll be back to our more "in the dorm" style of eats, but we've still got some awesome stuff we cooked over break to show you. anyhoo, we dug some scallops out of the freezer back at home and came up with this simple and delicious recipe:
pasta with spinach pesto sauce and scallops (someday i will learn to measure when i'm making things that i intend to post recipes for. today is not that day. sorry! but, like most recipes on our blog, this recipe is very forgiving and except for the sauce recipe the amount of ingredients really doesn't matter)
spinach pesto sauce...i honestly don't remember how we made this, but it was very similar to this recipe.
pasta
scallops (3-5 per person, depending on how big they are...the scallops, that is, not the people)
artichoke hearts
sun-dried tomatoes, cut into strips (you can buy them this way or just cut 'em up yourself. if you get the dried ones that come in a bag, you want to soak them in warm water for about 20 minutes before using).
put pasta in boiling water and cook according to package directions. meanwhile, get out your blender and food processor and make your spinach pesto. cook scallops in pan with non-stick cooking spray or small amount of olive oil until just opaque, about 3 minutes each side. once pasta is done and drained, mix all ingredients together and stir well.
-Lola
giveaway time!

chai spice granola

so we're in fort lauderdale now, which is sadly nothing at all like this (happy birthday, elvis!), before heading back to school next week. before we left we made some of our famous homemade granola...this time it was chai flavored and delicious!
*5 cups oats (quick cooking or old fashioned)
*1 cup slivered almonds
*1 cup applesauce
*1/3 cup brown rice syrup or agave
*1/3 cup honey
*cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom, and ginger
preheat oven to 350 degrees F. mix oats and almonds in a large bowl. mix remaining ingredients in a smaller bowl (we didn't measure the spices...you used mostly cinnamon and cloves and less of the other spices. about 2 T of c + c, and about 1 T of the others...more or less of everything if you like a lessor more spicy flavor). add wet mix to dry mix and stir until evenly mixed. spread on a baking pan and bake 30-45 minutes, until starting to brown (the bottom can be almost burnt...its good that way).
-Lola

no esta mal, porque es tamal

"i got some ingredients, so you can make tamales!" my dad told me, "it'll be fun!" little did we know, making tamales is actually a 4 hour long ordeal...not really a quick week night dinner. nonetheless, i got to work and single handedly turned our kitchen into a tamale factory.
Pork Tamales makes about 20 (serving size =2 per person)
*2 lbs pork (or chicken)
* 1 teaspoon each garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, and paprika
* salt and pepper
*4 tablespoons flour (actually i used 2 T of whole wheat flour and 2 T of cornmeal...it was all we had and it worked fine)
*1 bag corn husks (my bag was 8 oz, but i had a ton leftover)
*4 lb package prepared masa
1. put the meat in a large pot and cover with water. bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 2 hours, until meat easily shreds. remove from pot, reserving cooking liquid, and shred the meat with forks, like so:



2. meanwhile, turn up the heat on your pot of water. bring to boil and cook until liquid is reduced to about 2 cups. turn heat down and stir in spices, a dash each of salt and pepper, and flour. stir for about 3 minutes, adding more flour or water if necessary until mixture is like a medium thick gravy.
3. soak corn husks in water for at least 10 minutes. spread masa evenly over each corn husk, then top with a spoonful of meat and a spoonful of gravy (see top photo above, although you can put more meat and gravy than that in your tamal). leave about 1/2 inch of corn husk un-masa-ed on each side.
4. fold bottom of corn husk (the small side...looks like the bottom of the "v") over filling, then repeat with the two sides, leaving top open. repeat until you've used up all your masa and/or all your meat.
5. place tamales in a steamer basket over boiling water in a large pot. tamales should be standing straight, with the open parts on top. cover and steam for about 45 minutes, until corn husks peel off easily.
the final product, served with beans, rice, greens and avocado.
-Lola
check out this giveaway!

italian inspired lentil stew

to tell you the truth, i made this a while ago and i'm not sure exactly what was in it. i do remember it was quite tasty though. the thing is, i love "recipes" like this because you don't really have to measure...i tend to just pick a theme (hence "italian inspired") and just throw in whatever veggies and protein look good and fit that theme. let's see...we've clearly got onions, carrots, and lentils. the onion was about half a red onion, chopped then sauteed in olive oil until soft and a bit translucent. there may have been a clove or two of minced garlic in with that too (and if not, there should have been because garlic is almost always a welcome addition). i also added a handful of carrot chips after a few minutes of sauteing. when my veggies were satisfactorily cooked, i added a small can of tomato sauce (1/2 cups perhaps?) and a generous sprinkle of italian seasoning, before finally adding about a cup of cooked lentils, stirring, topping with a dollop of pesto sauce (of course, you can skip this and make the recipe vegan), and enjoying with a warm slice of sourdough bread.
-Lola

homemade peanut butter cups

happy 2010 everyone!
my dad loves reese's peanut butter cups. i send him emails whenever i spot a new variety, and he sends me back a review (there are more types of reese's than you might think. i believe his favorites are original and peanut butter lovers'). so when rita and i spotted averie's homemade pb cups, we knew we had to make some for our dad's christmas present.
they were delicious! my dad kept asking how we made them and said they were "even better than reese's". high praise indeed.
they're also super easy. just melt some chocolate chips (use a microwave or a double boiler). spread some of the chocolate on the bottom and sides of paper muffin liners. let harden for about 10 minutes, then add a small spoonful of peanut butter to each cup. top with more chocolate (we added sprinkles too, because sprinkles make everything better. it's a fact), then freeze until hardened. (averie has better instructions than we do...with pictures too! click the link above. also, we used semi sweet chocolate chips and natural crunchy peanut butter).
-Lola