Missing New York

I really wanted to enjoy a fall walk through Central Park today.

Sometimes It's Hard to Plan

Courtesy of Shirin!

Sometimes it's hard to plan for the unforeseen things that can go wrong when you create something. At least there's always some element of humor that can be found in poor planning.

Pear & Walnut Ricotta Cake

I've been complaining for the last two weeks about the lack of homemade baked goods around the office. Actually there's been plenty, but just not enough to satisfy the over grown sweet tooth I've recently developed. Usually I am not such a sugar addict but I am experiencing some sort of holiday sugar habits. To satisfy my sweet tooth I baked a recipe from Chocolate & Zucchini one of my favorite cookbooks. I went for the Pear & Walnut Ricotta Cake because it looked like a pizza. Anything pizza cannot taste bad. Unfortunately, I didn't do my prep work and didn't have all the ingredients in the original recipe. Despite the improvisation, the cake turned out really delicious.

What to gather:

• 1 stick of unsalted butter (I ended up using salted because I didn't have unsalted)
• 1 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar ( I never figured out what the 1 extra tablespoon was for but its in the original recipe)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup whole-milk ricotta
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I ran out of vanilla (ooops!) so I used 1 tablespoon of honey instead)
• 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt (since my butter was salted, I didn't add extra salt)
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon (loosely packed) finely grated organic orange zest (my orange wasn't organic and it tasted fine)
• 2/3 cups chopped walnuts (you can use pistachio or almonds too)
• 3 fresh pears, sliced thinly (if you're not a fan of pears, use figs, apples, apricots)

How to make it:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease a round pan with the butter.
2. In a food processor (or if you feel like mixing by hand just use a big bowl), combine the butter, 1 cup sugar and process til creamy. Then, add the eggs one by one while mixing. Add the ricotta, and vanilla extract (or honey if u forgot to go shopping)
3. In a medium bowl, sift the flour, salt (optional), and baking powder. Add the orange zest to it and then slowly mix it all into the egg mixture. Mix until just combined (batter should be thick). Fold in half your nuts.
4. Pour batter in the pan and spend some time smoothing the top.
5. Add the pears & the rest of the nuts evenly on top. The fruit shrink so arrange them like sardines.
6. Bake for 1 hour and then check with a knife. If the knife cut comes out clear then its cooked. Leave it out on your kitchen counter for 10 minutes before serving.

Add some vanilla ice cream for extra sugar and serve!

Keen for Quinoa

The first time I heard of quinoa was a few years ago at a dinner party. It was served with a Cuban beef stew. At first bite I found the fluffy, crunchy grain delicious even though I had no clue how to pronounce it. After the dinner party, I wanted to learn all about it, especially how do you pronounce it? I found out that it’s pronounced Keen-wah and it is not only delicious but it is really healthy. Quinoa is an amino acid-rich (protein) seed. In addition to being a good source of protein, it is also a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus. Since my discovery, I am always looking for new recipes with quinoa. Today, I tried to make the Quinoa, Bacon and Mushroom cake from Chocolate & Zucchini, one of my favorite cook books by Clotilde Dusoulier. I liked the recipe but since I wasn't in the mood for bacon I slightly changed it. Instead of bacon, I used some canned diced tomatoes. I also added some saffron for extra flavor.

What to gather: 2 cups uncooked quinoa, 6 oz canned, diced tomatoes, 1 medium yellow onion chopped, 8oz mushrooms sliced, 3 large eggs, ¼ cup heavy cream, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, ½ cup flat lead parleys chopped, and ½ teaspoon saffron water (optional).

How to make it: First, preheat your oven - 400 degrees. Start cooking the quinoa according to the package instructions. I cooked mine in chicken broth for some extra flavor. Cook it til’ its brown and crisp. Make sure all the water is gone.

While the quinoa is cooking, you can cook your chopped onions in a skillet on medium heat for 8 minutes. Once the onions are translucent, add the sliced mushrooms and cover the skillet for 5 mins. Then let the mixture cook for another 2mins without the cover so that the juices evaporate. Set it aside while you mix the eggs and cream.

Grab a large bowl and whisk the eggs, cream, tomatoes salt and pepper. Add the parsley and a dash of saffron water. Then, spray your cooking pan with some Pam or grease it with butter. I baked mine in a cupcake pan because I like the smaller portions. If I cook it in a bread pan, I'll eat the whole thing in one seating. Once you filled your pan to the rim, then bake it for 35 mins or until top is golden.

Let it cook for 5mins when you take it out of the oven and be careful not to burn your finger like I did. Once it's cooled a bit serve with a salad!