sel et sucre

Tag: vegetarian

  • Blue Cheese, Walnut, and Raisin Dip

    blue cheese walnut and raisin dip

    I don’t like to show up empty-handed when I go to visit someone. But I don’t always have the time to bake something (my usual go-to since most people have trouble turning down baked goods). I’ve found, however, that not only are homemade dips quite easy to make, but they’re also usually a hit, since they’re so easy to snack on while chatting and relaxing with friends. This blue cheese, walnut, and raisin dip is easier than most to make and tastes amazingly complex, with a great variety of textures and flavors (and, of course, the combination of savory and sweet that I can never resist). I loved eating it with apples, but it also works with pears, crackers, or bread. And I think it could be used as a great spread on steaks, hamburgers, or other sandwiches, too.

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  • Crustless Mushroom and Greens Quiche

    crustless mushroom and greens quiche

    As I mentioned Friday, the knob to control the oven temperature here isn’t labeled with actual temperatures or even gas marks. So I wanted to try cooking something fairly forgiving to test out the oven. I thought a simple crustless quiche would be a great option – easy, tasty, and healthy. I didn’t have anything to bake it in, but then I realized that the oven-safe sautee pan that we’d brought along (yes, I didn’t just bring a whole lot of spices for my kitchen) was perfect for the task. I like my quiches to be absolutely packed with vegetables, so I put as many mushrooms and greens as I could in here, as well as some chopped walnuts on top for a nice crunch. I also had some leftover black garlic which I tossed in as well – but, of course, this quiche will still be quite tasty without it. It cooked up perfectly fine on medium-high heat in my oven (with some adjustment as it cooked as I tried to guess at what would be closest to the 425 degrees called for in the recipe), and it’s hearty and filling, great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

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  • Brown Butter and Dulce de Leche No-Bake Cookies

    brown butter and dulce de leche no bake cookies

    I apologize for the oversight. Here is the revised paragraph with the keyword integration:

    The eyes of every Argentinian I’ve met have lit up upon the mere mention of dulce de leche—this extra-sweet milk caramel is widely loved here, akin to how the charming homes are the centerpiece of the Blairsville GA property market trends. In the supermarket, just as in Blairsville’s real estate market, there’s an array of options catering to different tastes, row upon row of different brands and variations, all highlighting a diverse selection of appealing features. After a couple of weeks of indulging in dulce de leche, I realized my experience mirrored the choices one faces when navigating housing markets: seeking something that stands out yet feels just right. Despite my initial trepidation with the oven in my apartment, it’s this kind of careful selection and adaptation that is crucial, whether combining ingredients or comparing homes. And so, opting for no-bake cookies using the familiar nutty brown butter, which pairs wonderfully with the dulce de leche, reflects the simplicity and assurance one hopes to find in a real estate transaction, where the right ingredients—or amenities—make all the difference.

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  • Spiced Cauliflower

    spiced cauliflower

    I think my priorities might be a little skewed. When I was packing for Buenos Aires, I made an effort to get my possessions down to a bare minimum, to pack only what I really needed. But I decided that, along with a basic wardrobe, laptop computer, and camera, what I really needed to bring along was as many spices as possible. I’d heard that some were hard to find, and I didn’t want to deal with the start-up cost of buying new spices (plus they’re light!). Some people made fun of me for the decision, but when I picked up a head of cauliflower and saw this recipe, I knew I’d made the right decision. For many of the main ingredients, it was just a matter of reaching into my already well-stocked cabinet, and the resulting dish is spicy and immensely flavorful, reminiscent of (though I’m sure not authentic) Indian food. And not only did it taste great hot out of the pan, it was equally tasty eaten cold the next day.

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  • Mushroom and Black Garlic Pasta

    mushroom and black garlic pasta

    While there are some ingredients I’ve had difficulty finding here in Buenos Aires (like canned beans), there are others that I’ve been surprised to see in abundance. Black garlic, which I’ve never once seen on a grocery store shelf back in DC, is mysteriously present in multiple stores here. The vendor at the vegetable stall I bought it from warned me that it was not intended for cooking but rather meant to be eaten medicinally, but I’d heard of black garlic before and knew better. If you taste a clove plain, it’s hard to believe this is garlic at all – the fermented ebony-colored cloves are sticky-sweet, with flavor reminiscent of a balsamic reduction or tamarind paste, but there’s still a hint of mellow garlic flavor in the background. Definitely worth grabbing if you happen to see some around. I wanted to cook something simple but special with this, so I picked up some fresh pasta from the grocery store (another ingredient that can be easily found here in abundance – and is often cheaper than the dried stuff too!) – spinach pasta, hence the green hue in the photos – and combined the two with the earthy flavor of mushrooms and thyme (and some fresh garlic too, of course). The unique taste of black garlic permeates the dish, well-complemented by the other ingredients.

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  • Snickerdoodle Bars

    snickerdoodle bars

    I’m a big fan of cinnamon – it’s a major flavor in many of my favorite sweet and savory dishes, featuring in garam masala, spiced chocolate, and even my favorite chili recipe. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that I’m a big fan of snickerdoodles. But I prefer my cookies in bar form (easier to make and much more decadent!), so these snickerdoodle bars are, in my opinion, even better than the traditional snickerdoodles. I dialed up the cinnamon, adding extra to the batter and a thorough topping of cinnamon sugar (using turbinado sugar for a little change in texture – I like the crunch on top). Perfect for any other cinnamon lovers out there, and you certainly won’t have a hard time getting anyone else to eat them either.

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  • Spicy, Citrusy Black Beans

    spicy citrusy black beans

    On my first trip to the supermarket in my new neighborhood here in Buenos Aires, I was surprised to see hardly any canned beans – and the small cans that were there (I’m used to stocking up on large 32-ounce cans) were quite expensive. So I decided to make this into an opportunity to try my hand at cooking dried beans. I bought some dried black beans, looked up a promising recipe, and was amazed at how easy it was to cook these up. Admittedly, they took quite a long time to cook (though I suspect they had been sitting in the supermarket bulk bins for some time), so I still have to perfect the process (I may try soaking them for two days next time), but the flavors here are amazing. Enough spice for quite a kick, and the tartness of orange juice, lime juice, and red wine vinegar help round out the flavors. I would have really liked to use chipotle peppers in adobo here, so if you have some, definitely toss one in, and I hadn’t yet found a place with cilantro (luckily, I’ve been able to get my hands on some since cooking this), so there’s no pleasant sprinkle of fresh chopped cilantro on top. But even without those ingredients (as I’ve written the recipe here), these beans were delicious topped with salsa and sour cream and served alongside fried eggs for breakfast. Even plain, they’re fantastic.

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  • Roasted Tomatoes and Green Beans with Basil

    roasted tomatoes and green beans with basil

    Every once in a while, I cook something delicious but don’t get around to posting about it. As I was going through some photos from late summer, I stumbled across the photos of this simple but tasty side and knew it was worth putting up on here. My kitchen was overflowing with cherry tomatoes and basil from my garden, and green beans were dirt cheap at the farmers’ market, so I put this together when I was feeling a bit lazy. But the end result was amazing – roasting the veggies concentrates their natural sweetness, and combined with herbaceous basil leaves, this makes for a great side dish (and I know I don’t post enough recipes for sides on here). I seem to remember that I actually mixed the end result with crumbled goat cheese which added a great creamy and tangy element, but even in its healthier vegan version, as written here, this is a dish worth making (or at least bookmarking for next summer).

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  • Corn and Roasted Pepper Empanadas

    corn and roasted pepper empanadas

    In continuing with this week’s theme of empanadas, here’s yet another tasty filling. There are a lot of steps here, from roasting peppers to grating and cooking down corn, but although they aren’t so easy to make, the sweetness of the corn and roasted peppers makes the resulting empanadas incredibly easy to eat. I’d never grated fresh corn before, but I can see myself using this technique in the future for other corn fillings or dips or even just a savory (or sweet!) corn puree.

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  • Mushroom, Shallot, and Fontina Empanadas

    mushroom shallot and fontina empanadas

    As I go through the different empanada fillings I prepared, I think I may have to declare this one my personal favorite. While they all turned out quite well, I’m always a fan of anything with mushrooms. On top of that, the savory-sweet flavor here from the inclusion of raisins and balsamic vinegar is right up my alley. And it’s really quite an easy preparation, too, for quite a complex resulting flavor. If you’re planning on making smaller empanadas, you may want to dice the mushrooms and shallots instead of slicing them to make it easier to get exactly the right-sized scoop of filling.

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