It is summer. And summer calls for barbeques, gatherings, and above all ice cream. This recipe combines two of my favorite summer flavors: tart and tangy. The goat’s milk is creamy, with a bit of funk. The rhubarb is sweet and tangy. To be honest, the combination is refreshing and satisfying without the heavy feeling that usually follows eating ice cream.

The beauty of this recipe is that you can use different berries as they start appearing though the summer. Cherries, strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries, would all pair beautifully with the ice cream. 

Rhubarb Compote

• 8 rhubarb stalks
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• dash cinnamon
• pinch of salt

Slice rhubarb stalks into ½ inch pieces. Add to a saucepan with sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, and salt. Cook over low for 10-15 minutes. Remove the rhubarb from the pan using a slotted spoon. Place in a clean bowl. Continue cooking the syrup for another five minutes, or until it thickens in consistency. Remove from heat and incorporate with rhubarb.

Keep at least ½ a cup of the rhubarb compote to drizzle over ice cream. This compote is also delicious on toast, yogurt, and oatmeal. 

Goats Milk Rhubarb Ice cream

Makes about three cups of ice cream

•  ¾ cup of dark brown sugar
• 1 cups of milk
•  4 eggs yolks
• 1 egg
•  2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1 cup rhubarb compote

Pour milk and sugar into a saucepan over medium-low heat, and cook for about 5-10 minutes until the sugar is dissolved. Once this happens, remove from heat. In a different container, whisk eggs. Pour a quarter of the milk sugar mixture into the eggs, and whisk for a couple of minutes. This will temper the eggs, and prevent them from scrambling. Turn the burner back to medium-low heat.  While whisking continuously, pour the eggs into the saucepan with the remaining milk-sugar mixture, then the heavy cream. Cook until the mixture is thick enough to cover the back of a metal spoon. This usually takes less than 5 minutes. But if it does not happen, be patient. If you crank the heat up, the eggs will scramble! Remove from heat. 

Up to know you have successfully made basic custard. Add the vanilla and rhubarb compote. In order to cool the custard faster, set up a cold bath for the warm custard. Set up a bowl with ice and a little bit of cold water. I put the custard into another bowl that fits in the bowl with ice. Whisk the mixture until it cools completely. Otherwise, you can cover the custard with plastic wrap and leave in the fridge until it is cool and/or you are ready to freeze it in the ice cream maker.

Once cool place in ice cream maker, turn on at the lowest speed and leave running for 20-30 minutes, depending on how cold or hot your kitchen is. Once it looks like a thick milk shake, remove and freeze in a container until hardened.

To serve, spoon a scoop of ice cream into a bowl and drizzle with remaining compote.

Enjoy!

The origin of this recipe is quite funny. While eating breakfast on a Saturday morning, Day jokingly suggested making sugar cinnamon French toast. Not only would it be a decadent breakfast recipe, but a combination of his two favorite breakfast items: cinnamon sugar toast bagel and French toast. Five days later one of my all time favorite bloggers posted about none other that Cinnamon Toast French Toast. Could you imagine? She snatched it from right under my feet. I felt defeated. Upon further research Day and I thought about what was imperfect about her recipe, and brainstormed on how to improve it.  

Our recipe proposes a different technique. Make the French toast first, then butter and a sprinkle sugar-cinnamon, followed by a quick broil.  The result: a perfectly moist, fluffy French toast with a crunchy topping. No syrup needed.

What I like about this recipe is that it is perfect for brunch entertaining as you can make the French toast part ahead, then reheat, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar, and broil, right her ready to serve.

Cinnamon Sugar French Toast

Serves 3

Cook Time: 20-25 minutes

• 3 slices  pain de mie (or regular sandwich bread)
• 3 eggs
• ¾ cups milk
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp butter

In a large skillet, melt 1 tbsp. butter over medium heat. In a large bowl whisk eggs, milk, salt, and vanilla extract until smooth. Soak slices of bread in custard for 3-5 minutes. Transfer soaked bread into skillet and cook for 5 minutes on each side. Toast should develop a nice golden color. Transfer to a baking sheet.

Spread remaining butter on toast. Sprinkle sugar, then cinnamon and broil at 500F for 5 minutes, or until sugar starts to bubble. Remove from oven and serve hot!

Miso is delicious. Its perfect match: the humble, sweet pea.

I came to know miso through and article on the NYT by Mark Bittman. Ever since, I have been using it regularly. I like miso because, when mixed to other food, it adds complexity and texture without much fat.  Because it miso is fermented, it has a complex flavor profile that can be simultaneously sweet and salty, earthy and fruity. It pairs beautifully with vegetables, especially spring vegetables.

The recipe I am sharing with you today is a simple one, perfect for a weekend lunch accompanied with a big handful of greens. It could also serve as appetizer to a special dinner. The combination of meaty eggplant, which can be either roasted or grilled, goat cheese, and miso & pea puree is sublime. A must try.

Miso & Peas Puree

• 1 ½ cup sweet peas
• 1 tbsp good mustard
• 1 tbsp light miso paste
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste

Puree all ingredients until smooth in a food processor. Easy.

Eggplant Stacks

Serves 2

Cooking time: 30 MInutes

• 3-4 Baby Eggplant
• 1 tbsp oliv oil
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• 2 oz fresh goat cheese
• Miso & Peas Puree

Slice eggplant into ½” sliced. Evenly spread on a baking sheet, coat with olive oil, sprinkle salt and pepper. In a preheated 450 F degree oven, roast eggplant for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for couple of minutes. To assemble, place a slice of eggplant. Spread a spoonful of the Miso and Peas Puree. Place another slice of eggplant, followed by the goat cheese. Repeat until you complete the eggplant. Devour!

Spring has barely sprung, and I am already dreaming of summer produce. The thing is, spring is like the hors d’oeuvre to seasonal harvest, just a teaser that prepares you for what follows. Fresh, crisps, sweet greens can only anticipate more complex flavors, right?

I had a version of this dish several months ago, while still in Miami, at Michelle Bernstein’s Sra. Martinez. I can only respect restaurants that treat vegetarians with love and care (hear that David Chang!). Michelle has more than a handful of beautiful vegetables dishes that are decadent and delicious (shaved kale salad, crispy eggplant, cauliflower steak, etc). These don’t drown the vegetable in creamy heavy sauces, or  bury them in pasta. Sra. MArtinez’s vegetable dishes are about the vegetable, and how to enhance their texture and taste with simple ingredients. Now that’s what I call good cooking!

Most of the food that comes out of her kitchen is delicious, but I was especially drawn to what appeared to be a simple corn dish. Surprisingly, the combination of lime, chile, and corn was everything but simple. Each bite takes you through an incredible journey though smoky aromatics, sweet juicy corn, and a mild spicy heat, sprinkled with an occasional tang from lime juice. Sublime!

You can make this recipe in minutes. It is perfect for outings, picnics, or BBQs. But to be honest I like it smack in the middle of the week, as a light dinner accompanied with lightly dressed greens.

Just this time I am going to allow myself to make an exception and use the frozen kind, but I will be ready to use fresh as soon as it arrives at the Green Market.

Spicy Corn

Serves: 2-3

Cook time: 7 minutes (max)

• 2 cups fresh (or froxen) corn kernels
• 2 tbsp. good olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• ½ tsp. chile powder
• ½ tsp. smoked paprika
• pinch of salt
• dash fresh ground pepper
• juice of 1/4 of a lime
• good Parmegiano Reggiano  shaved
• handful cilantro

In a saucepan over medium heat 1 tbsp. olive oil. Add garlic to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes. Add corn, spices, salt and pepper. Cook for 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat. Add remaining olive oil, lime juice, cilantro and shaven Parmegiano. Serve hot. And like Ina Garten would say: How simple was that?!

I’m not usually the type to celebrate anniversaries, but I found this occasion to be worthy of both a cake and a candle. Tasty Plan turns 1 year old today. Can you believe it? It has been an amazing eighty something recipes, stories, states of mind, and significant moments. I have moved several times, and lived in three different cities (Cambridge, Miami, Brooklyn). Started and ended several jobs. Travelled to Rio de Janeiro, Las Vegas, the Gran Canyon, and Belize. I got engaged, and then married.  

When I finished graduate school, I new life would change, but my expectations underestimated what this year would take me through. I’ve gone through highs and lows, extreme happiness and extreme anger. I’ve passed though several crises related to my career. I am still at loss about the meaning of my education in a changing society that no longer sees the architect as a significant figure in shaping daily life. But now I know that will have to figure things out as I go.

Frequent cooking, tireless experimentation, writing and sharing snippets of my life satisfied my need to create. And even though I know that my audience is small, I feel great when a friend tells me that they’ve made a recipe from the blog. Blogging has become and extremely personal, relaxing second job, which I do with passion and conviction. I have learned to cook with ingredients I’ve never used before, and experimented with new techniques. I can’t wait to show you what I’ve been doing with miso paste, or my new interest in gluten free baking (I still need to experiment more before I can write about it).

I hope you enjoy this Lemon Poppy-seed cupcake. It is sweet, tangy, and earthy. Because this cake is egg-based, it is extremely moist and fluffy. The honey-lemon frosting only adds to its decadence.  

And lets only hope for an equally interesting second year of cooking, for you!

To more meals together.

Lemon Poppy Anniversary Cupcakes

Makes 8 cupcakes

Adapted from Smitten kitchen

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 whole egg
• Zest of 1 lemon
• ¼ cup all purpose flour
• ¼ cup corn meal
• pinch of salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter (melt and let come back to room temperature)
• ¼ cup poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line a cupcake pan with liners. Set aside.

In a clean, dry bowl combine flour, cornmeal and salt. Set aside.

In a stand mixer, using a paddle attachment beat eggs and sugar until pale yellow and fluffy. Mix in lemon zest to the batter. Using a rubber spatula, fold in flour mixture. Once incorporated, add butter and poppy seeds. Mix, until everything is well mixed.

Pour into cupcake liners until ¾ full. Bake for 15 minutes, or until firm. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Lemon-Honey Frosting

• 1 cup butter (room temperature)
• 4 tbsp. powdered sugar
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1 tbsp. honey

In a stand mixer, using the whisk attachment beat all ingredients together until fluffy. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To assemble, spoon frosting onto cooled cakes and sprinkle poppy seeds. Devour!

I love the weird texture of rice paper in fresh summer rolls. It feels like skin, like plastic, but isn’t. And since most of the stuff I eat is not artificial in texture or flavor, this ingredient fascinates me. Rice paper has no “artificial” ingredients (unless you consider flour artificial), which makes it all more fascinating. Rice paper is made from rice flour, tapioca flour, salt, and water (simple!). The tapioca starch gives the dough a gelatinous, stretchy, texture. It is amazingly thin, and malleable when hydrated. Yes! Rice paper is sold dry, and it magically transforms in your hands when submerged in warm water (!).

My fascination with this ingredient, and fresh summer rolls in general, came via the Vietnamese restaurant in Collegetown, Ithaca. This small, family run establishment delighted me with its simple summer roll every time I went. Its partner in crime, the peanut-hoisin-sriracha dipping sauce, is so addictive. Nate and I would battle over it every time. Sure I also loved the tofu salad I would always get, but the summer roll was by far, the object of my affection. While the summer roll is fresh, but mostly bland, the peanut sauce is decadent; super creamy, spicy, and sweet.

Currently, I’ve been buying summer rolls from a hole-in-the-wall type of restaurant for three bucks. While delicious, there was something missing. I decided that this restaurant did not produce the mystique of the exotic for me to truly enjoy the roll; hence I decided time had come to try at home.

For this experiment to work, I had to make both the peanut sauce and the summer roll. I picked a combination of the ingredients I like to eat to substitute the traditional summer roll fillers.  I used kale and alfalfa sprouts instead of lettuce (duh!), asparagus for cucumber, and roasted tofu for the vermicelli. The combination is sublime. The tofu adds chewiness to the mostly crunchy salad enveloped in the paper rice. The avocado adds smoothness and mouth feel.

To make the sauce, I only used ingredients I had at hand. The traditional dipping sauce calls for garlic, chili paste (sriracha), tomato paste, peanut butter, oil, and hoisin sauce. Since I did not have hoisin, I used a combination of balsamic and maple syrup for acidity and sweetness. I quickly cooked some tomatoes with oil and garlic. Pureed everything in the food processor and, voila! A fresher, more delicious, peanut dipping sauce.

Peanut Dipping Sauce

Makes about ½ cup 

• 1 small tomato diced
• 2 garlic cloves
• ½ tsp. sriracha
• 1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp. maple syrup
• 1 tbsp. oil (peanut would work best)
• 2  tbsp. smooth peanut butter
• cilantro for garnish
• toasted peanuts for garnish

 In a food processor puree garlic and tomato until smooth. Place tomato puree in a pan with oil and cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, or until fragrant. Transfer back to the food processor. Add remaining ingredients and puree until very smooth. If the sauce seems too thick add more oil or water until it reaches desired consistency. This is totally up to you and what you like! Transfer to a serving bowl.

Chop some garlic and toasted peanuts and arrange over sauce as garnish. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Cumin Roasted Tofu

• 1/5 firm  tofu block, sliced into ¼ slices
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. sunflower oil
• pinch of salt
• fresh ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degreed Fahrenheit. Slice tofu, and toss with oil, cumin, salt and pepper until evenly coated.  Place in a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, flipping halfway in order for it to get crispy on both sides. Remove from oven and set aside until ready to use.

Tofu & Kale Fresh Roll

• Makes 2 (but you can double, triple, etc)
• 2 rice paper sheets
• 1 large bowl half-filled with warm water
• 1 kale leaf, de-stemmed, and sliced halfway
• ¼ avocado thinly sliced
• 2 asparagus spears thinly sliced
• 1 handful sprouts (whichever you prefer/have)
• 1 handfull of cilantro
• cumin roasted tofu

Mis en place. In order to assemble your summer rolls, make sure to have everything ready and easily accessible. Have two layers of paper towel right next to your bowl with water. You will use this to gently dry the rice paper from excess water. Your vegetables should be sliced, and your tofu cooked. Once the rice paper is rehydrated you need to move quickly, otherwise it can stick to itself or tear.

Submerge the rice paper in the water for about a minute. It should be malleable, but maintain some of its firmness. Once it achieves the right texture, transfer to paper towel for quick dry. Place the rice paper on your cutting board. Place kale, then alfalfa sprouts, asparagus, avocado, and tofu along a line down the middle of the circle, leaving and inch at each the bottom and top of the rice paper. Fold one of the bigger flaps of rice paper across the top of the vegetables, then the smaller top and bottom flaps towards the center. Roll the vegetables over, tightening and sealing as you move along. This might require some practice, but it will do its job, even if it isn’t perfect.

I haven’t tested how long the roll will last at this stage, but I recommend eating them immediately for them to keep fresh and delicious!

Enjoy. 

Over the past year, since the origins of this blog, I have made an effort to make more foods at home. I say make foods because I have always cooked at home, but not always been adventurous about making my own bread, for example, or trying to copy Day’s favorite cinnamon loaf.  We are avid farmers markets consumers, and quick learners in the produce department, nevertheless the desire for home crafted products is relatively new.

There is a lot of failing involved when testing new recipes at home, yet I love the challenge of the experiment. The beauty of making these kinds of foods at home is that you can control what goes in, and are more aware about what you are eating. You can use the best ingredients and be certain that what you are consuming is actually good.

Bread will always be my Everest, but I believe I am getting closer to “goodness” in the ice cream department. I say goodness because I’d like to think that I am still far from perfection.

A while back I shared with you my recipe for cinnamon ice cream. My interest in making it emerged from the desire to make a flavor that I loved and was not readily available in any of the nearby stores. Then I made the coriander honey ice cream as a flavor combination experiment. Both were delicious, but I still hadn’t succeeded at making good chocolate ice cream. Most of the recipes I tried ended up in icy products. That creamy texture was just not there.

Chocolate ice cream has always been my favorite dessert for all the obvious reasons. It is creamy, decadent, refreshing, and satisfying at the same time. I barely ever eat it (because I’m lactose intolerant), but and when I do, I make sure that it is the kind that makes me jump in joy.

This recipe is sublime. For it to turn out right, you have to let the custard cool completely and settle in with its new friends, letting every ingredient join in harmony with each another.

Decadent (Almond) Chocolate  Ice Cream

Adapted from Amanda’s Cooking

• 2 cups Heavy cream
• 5 tbsp cocoa powder
• 5 oz. 70% dark chocolate
• 1 cup milk
• ¾ cup sugar
• 5 egg yolks (save the whites for omelets)
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp almond extract

In a heavy saucepan over medium-low warm 1 cup heavy cream, whisking in the cocoa powder. While continuing to whisk bring heavy cream to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and stir until melted. Add remaining heavy cream and transfer into a large bowl, scraping the sides of the pan for residual chocolate. Place a mesh strainer on top of the bowl for later use.

In the same, cleaned, saucepan melt the sugar into the milk over low heat. In a separate bowl whisk the egg yolks. Once the sugar has melted, add half of the warm milk mixture into the eggs and whisk vigorously. Transfer the eggs into the saucepan with the remaining milk. Using a wooden spoon, mix the custard, while scraping the bottom of the pan, until it reaches desired consistency. You will use this spoon to test for texture. The custard should coat the back of the spoon without sliding out. Dip the spoon in the custard, run your finger down the middle of the back of the spoon. A clear line should form, and the custard should not run in. Once this happens remove from heat immediately. Making custard is a bit scary the first time, but once you get a hang of it, it will only become easier.  

Pour the custard through the mesh strainer and into the chocolate cream mixture. Add vanilla and almond and whisk until well incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap making sure to lay it on top of the custard so that a thick lining does not form; cool in fridge for 4-6 hours. Transfer to ice cream maker, following manufacturers instructions. Freeze ice cream over-night, devour next day!

Risotto is the king of all rice dishes. It is the marriage of “form and function”, filling and affordable, luscious and elegant. Traditional recipes call for constant stirring of rice and broth, which, when entertaining, can put a damper on your own enjoyment. Don’t get me wrong, I love the lonely job of preparing a meal for others, but sometimes, spending time with your friends is more important than spending time with your kitchen. Hence, I propose the baked risotto. This recipe produces and equally creamy risotto, without the constant stirring. So that you can enjoy your friends, while your Dutch oven produces the most decadent, satisfying meal.

As a celebration of this season’s produce, I added mizuna and green peas, a beautiful pairing of bitter and sweet. Adding cumin powder to the rice while toasting helped develop a deep aromatic flavor.

Invite friends over, make this risotto, and enjoy with wine, while breathing spring air in.

Bitter Greens Baked Risotto

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ¼ onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 handful almonds
• ½ tsp cumin powder
• pinch salt
• ¾ cup Arborio rice
• ½ cup white wine
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• ½ cup peas (fresh or frozen)
• ¼ pound mizuna, (spinach, mustard greens, or arugula)
• parmesan to taste
• 1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bring vegetable broth to a simmer in a small saucepan. In a Dutch oven over medium low burner, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil until fragrant. Add onions and cook until soft. Then add cumin, garlic, almonds, and Arborio rice, toast for a couple of minutes. Add white wine, and stir, until mostly evaporated. Pour vegetable broth over rice, and bring to a simmer. Cover Dutch oven, and place in oven. Bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven, add ½ cup of water, mizuna, and peas. Stir until well incorporated. Add butter, and continue to stir for another minute.  Serve with Parmesan, and a drizzle of olive oil.

I feel the most enlightened when in presence of grandiose environments. These landscapes are rare; usually sweep you off your feet, and transport you to another state of existence. They blur reality to understand, that which is true.

I don’t mean to be philosophical. But as an individual, it is oh so beautiful to enjoy the magnificence of the mind, when encountering nature.

This is the best granola recipe yet. It is the perfect combination of salty and sweet with a deep caramel flavor that develops from the slow cooking of maple syrup and brown sugar. While the oats are crunchy, the nuts are creamy and luscious, a perfect pair to the sweet moist dried cherries.  I believe this is an improvement on the previous granola recipe I posted a while back. It is crisper, more decadent, but equally nutritious. Perfect for the desert.

Best Granola Yet

Inspired by 3aweek

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup nuts, any combination*
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup dried sour cherries

*I used 1/4 cup cashews, 1/4 cup walnuts, 1/4 cup almonds, 1/4 cup hazelnuts

Preheat oven to 3oo degrees Fahrenheit (148C). In a large bowl, mix oats, nuts, and salt. Set aside.  In a saucepan, melt brown sugar, maple syrup, orange juice and honey. Remove from heat and add extracts and olive oil. Pout wet ingredients over dry, and mix until well coated. Transfer mixture into a large baking sheet, and evenly spread into a thin lager. Place in oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until oats are golden. Remove, and sprinkle cherries. Let cool completely before transferring to a jar. Make sure to try some immediately; or maybe not, you might eat it all. Enjoy!

The abundance of farm fresh leeks is overwhelming. Alongside onions, garlic, and shallots, they are the “it” item in farmers markets right now. Though favorites in everyday cooking, leeks seem too ordinary to make it the source of inspiration when making a dish.  Asides from vichyssoise, can you think of any other dish in which the leek takes the leading role?

The inspiration for this dish comes from the very humble, Tortilla Espanola. This potato omelet is one of the only Spanish recipes I actually enjoy. While beautiful in its simplicity, eggs, potatoes, onions, and olive oil, I wanted to play with the ingredients I had at hand. The leeks bring a mild sweetness to the traditional recipe, the potatoes, texture and body, and the rosemary, a sweet herbaceous fragrance. Though I will not compete with the traditional recipe, I think it is perfect for this weather, light, delicious, and fresh.

And while I will patiently continue to await springs delicacies (Asparagus, where are you?); I will leave you with this.

This Spring’s Spanish Omelet

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 leek, thinly sliced
• 3 eggs, whisked
• 4 small potatoes, thinly sliced
• ¼ teaspoon cumin
• rosemary leaves
• pinch of salt
• fresh ground pepper to taste

Thinly slice the potatoes and leeks. In a small-medium saucepan heat half the olive oil over very low heat. Add leeks and cumin.  Slowly cook until soft and caramelized. (Speeding the process up by cranking the heat will prevent the sweetness from developing. Relax, this is a spring dish!)

In another pan add half a cup of water with a pinch of salt. Add the potatoes to the water and boil until al dente. You do not want the too cook completely; otherwise they will disintegrate when making the omelet. Drain potatoes and transfer into the saucepan, and sauté into the leeks with rosemary. Add remaining olive oil and cook for another five minutes, until slightly golden. Add whisked eggs into the pan, keeping the temperature at low. Cover and cook for approximately ten minutes, or until eggs have completely cooked.

Transfer to a plate. You can either eat this omelet at room temperature or cold. It will taste best several hours after cooked. Perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.