Ghandi Bowl & Thai Stir Fry

After seeing Julie and Julia, I'll admit that I was tempted to buy Julia Child's cookbook and try out the daily cooking challenge myself. 

...then I remembered that I'm a vegetarian who hates cheese (who could barely eat anything in France) and reality overcame my lofty dream. 

Fortunately, there are now entirely vegan cookbooks--my favorite of which is the Native Foods Restaurant Cookbook. I bought my own copy last summer after discovering the Native Foods restaurants, and I am now challenging myself to make a new recipe from the book every couple weeks (sorry Julie & Julia fans, a recipe a day is just too much).

Last week I got started with an indian curry dish--deemed The Ghandi Bowl by Chef Tanya. My new blender had its inaugural use as I blended up a lime green curry consisting of everything from cilantro to maple syrup to soy sauce to curry powder. I had my doubts about this array of ingredients, but when poured atop a plate of biryani rice, grilled tempeh and sauteed veggies, this curry sauce is heavenly. Simply garnish the dish with some green onion and dried cranberries and you have yourself a vegan bowl Ghandi himself would devour. 

Those who know me know I'm quite the practical thinker, so it's not surprising that I scoured the cookbook for recipes that contained some of the same ingredients as the Ghandi Bowl so I could make two meals in one week and not waste ingredients. The Thai Stir Fry turned out to be a great match! Tuesday night I broke out the cutting board and got my cook on once again. This stir fry is similar to a pad thai--complete with peanuts and bean sprouts. I had the pleasure of sharing the meal with my fantastic roommate over a glass of wine. Based on our crumb-free plates and vow to make the dish again soon, I'd say this cooking adventure was a success. 

Two recipes down...many to go. Cheers! 

<3 Lyssa

Now Stop...Fiesta Time

What does one do with a produce drawer full of veggies and one perfectly ripe avocado in the fruit basket? Throw herself a little fiesta of course! 

So I chopped up some veggies for fajitas and diced ingredients for my guacamole. There's nothing quite like fresh guac...a perfectly ripe avacado, onion, tomato, sea salt, a good squeeze of lemon and you've got perfection in a bowl (at least in my opinion). 

A bowl of black beans and a couple grilled corn tortillas and my veggie fiesta fajitas were complete.

Through I admire the French for most things when it comes to cuisine, their take on "Mexi-Cannes" food left me pretty disappointed. So here's to growing up in Southern California with an appreciation for authentic mexican food. Nothing compares. 

Cooking therapy; that's my french lunch break.

<3 Lyssa 

Gnocchi Provencale for Supper

Today, one of my closest friends took off on a plane for Israel where she plans to work with an NGO and make the world a better place for Palestinians in Israel, namely women. Words cannot express how proud I am of her for making this big move to work for something she is so passionate about. She is truly an inspiration to me, and I am going to miss her like crazy.

While I know she will be amazing at her new job and will make friends instantly--the one thing I worry about is that she will eat nothing but chocolate while she is there. As her college roommate, I constantly had to remind her that one cannot live on sweets alone and make sure that she ate real meals now and then. Before leaving, she requested I keep up my blog and continue to share recipes so she has new meal ideas. So, here is my disclaimer: I don't pretend to be an accomplished chef or master cook, but I am happy to share some of my simple recipes for my friend and anyone else who's interested :)

Looks like my take on Gnocchi Provencale is the first...

Step 1: Put on the musical stylings of Michael Buble (I love his Pandora channel) to get you in the cooking mood. 

Step 2: Chop artichokes, onions, tomatoes and olives (kalamatas are the best but I was out) while heating a bit of olive oil on a large skillet.

Step 3: Cook the gnocchi in boiling, lightly salted water for about five to seven minutes. (and of course sing along to Michael with the wooden spoon as your mic while you stir) In the meantime, sautee the veggies, starting with just the onion and then adding the rest just before the gnocchi is ready.

Step 4: Strain the cooked gnocchi and add it to the skillet with the veggies. Then stir in a little bit of light marinara sauce and turn off the heat.

Step 5: Serve and enjoy!

PS-It goes great with a little white wine ;)

<3 Lyssa