Asparagus Quiche

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

asparagusquiche
Making quiche has been on my bucket list for a while now. Last night, I finally took the plunge.

The good news is, it isn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. The hardest part is making the crust, but even that comes together relatively quickly. You mix some whole wheat flour and regular, all-purpose flour together in a bowl with salt and sugar, and then add some butter.

You work the butter in with your fingers so the flour mixture coats the pieces. Eventually, you’ll get little flakes of butter covered in flour, and then you’ll be ready to add the water.

A key to making good quiche crust is having the water cold enough. I filled a measuring cup with water and put some ice cubes in it. Then, I added a tablespoon of water at a time to the dough to get it to come together into one shaggy clump (there’s no other good way to put this).

After you roll out the dough, you carefully put it in a pie pan. Then comes my favorite part: making it look pretty. You use your fingers and start pressing the crust around the edges until it starts looking like a wave. You can also grab pieces hanging off the edge of the pan and use them to make parts of the crust thicker.

Sauté some vegetables, throw them on top of the crust, add an egg mixture and you’ll be good to go. I went with a Gruyère, asparagus combo because I had leftover asparagus in the fridge and I was craving Gruyère.

I improvised off a bunch of different recipes to make this quiche but I’ll try to condense it down for you. This recipe makes a quiche that is light, fluffy, cheesy and delicious. The asparagus in it reminds me of spring.

I’ve been jamming out to this song this morning. It’s getting me through Monday.

Asparagus Quiche (mostly adapted from Kath Eats Real Food)

Ingredients

For the crust:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp granulated sugar
3/4 tsp salt
8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter
2-4 tbsp ice water

For the filling:
2 cups chopped asparagus, lightly sauteed and salted
1 cup grated Gruyère
6 eggs
1 and 1/4 cups 2% milk
pinch of kosher salt

Directions

Mix flour, sugar and salt together until fully incorporated. Add butter and squeeze together until butter bullets are formed.

Begin by adding 2 tbsp ice water and mixing, adding more if necessary. Mix until a shaggy mass is formed.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and roll out until slightly larger than the diameter of the pie pan. Spray pie pan and place crust inside.

Even crust out, and then shape and flute the edges with your fingers.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cook the chopped asparagus in some olive oil in a pan on a burner over medium high heat. Set aside.

Grate a cup of Gruyère cheese and set it aside.

Whisk together eggs, milk, and salt. Place asparagus and half the cheese into finished crust, and then pour egg mixture on top. Lightly stir to ensure incorporation.

Add the other half of the cheese on top.

Put the quiche in the oven and bake for 40-60 minutes, until liquid is springy and no longer jiggles when nudged, and crust and surface are nicely browned.

 

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Pomegranate Blueberry Smoothie Bowl

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

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I saw a smoothie bowl recipe on Pinterest a couple weeks ago and I kept buying everything to make it. Then, I’d use the ingredients for something else. I’m not sure why.

ANYWAY. The smoothie I saw had more of a violet hue and a pile of berries in the middle of the bowl. The person who made it also created a design in the smoothie itself, probably by dragging a toothpick through it.

I decided to go in a different direction, mostly because I ran out of strawberries but also because I had a smoothie bowl vision this morning when I woke up. Instead of piling the berries in the middle, I decided to line the outside of the bowl with blueberries and sprinkle the pomegranate seeds in the middle.

This smoothie bowl is one of the most delicious that I’ve tried in a while. I added some vanilla granola and shredded coconut and I’m happy with that decision.

This song came on my Spotify earlier and I did a listening double-take. Whoa, I thought. Is that really Anderson Paak? As it turns out, it was.

Pomegranate Blueberry Smoothie Bowl (from me, to you)

Ingredients

1/2 cup blueberries
1 cup frozen raspberries
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
1 frozen banana
1/3 cup almond milk
1/2 cup lowfat yogurt
granola, shredded coconut and more pomegranate seeds and blueberries for topping

Directions

Blend all the ingredients in a blender on high until smooth. Pour into a bowl and top with granola, shredded coconut and pomegranate seeds and blueberries. Enjoy!

Posted in Breakfast, Smoothie Bowls, Uncategorized, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Date Banana Tahini Smoothie Bowl

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

datebowl
My friend Carly just got back from Amsterdam and was telling me about this juice place that she went to, The Cold Pressed Juicery.

I decided to try to recreate one of the smoothies on their menu, “The SH*T,” at home. I can’t make it to the Amsterdam smoothie, I thought, so I’ll bring the Amsterdam smoothie to me.

I’m really glad that I decided to make it. I didn’t follow a recipe, but I used the description on the juicery’s menu as a guide. I threw some bananas, Brazil nuts, dates, coconut, tahini and cacao in a blender, mixed it with almond milk and topped the smoothie with coconut, bee pollen, cacao nibs and bananas. I also drizzled on a little tahini for good measure.

For some reason, everything I’ve been making this week calls for Brazil nuts. Maybe it’s the next food trend; I’m not sure what’s going on. But I will say that they’re delicious. I did a little research and apparently, they’re in the same family as blueberries. Go figure.

Here’s a good song to start your weekend. It makes me want to dance.

Date Banana Tahini Smoothie Bowl (inspired by The Cold Pressed Juicery)

Ingredients

1 banana
1 tbsp shredded coconut
4 dates, pitted
1 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp unsweetened cacao powder
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup almond milk
bee pollen, shredded coconut, tahini, cacao nibs, chia seeds and sliced banana for topping

Directions

Blend the ingredients in a blender on high until smooth. It will resemble more of a pudding than a smoothie, but that’s okay. If you want it thinner, add more almond milk.

Pour the mixture into a bowl and top with bee pollen, shredded coconut, tahini, cacao nibs, chia seeds and sliced banana. Enjoy!

Posted in Breakfast, Smoothie Bowls, Uncategorized, Vegan | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Spring Soba Noodle Salad

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

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This salad has spring written all over it. When I was tossing all the ingredients together before serving, I took a breath and it smelled the way it feels to be outside when everything starts to bloom. If that makes any sense.

Put another way, it’s fresh and vibrant. The texture is also great: I like the combination of crunchy green beans, soft avocado and noodles.

The original recipe calls the green beans “haricots verts,” which is the French word for them. When my younger brother was in high school French, I used to quiz him on his vocabulary and he’d answer every question with “haricots verts.” So now that’s what I think of when someone uses that word.

ANYWAY. I digress. You should probably try this salad soon. It comes together fast enough to make on a weeknight. And it makes so much that you can have it more a couple more meals.

Here’s a song I’ve been jamming out to lately. It’s a great accompaniment to chopping and food processing, both of which are involved in this recipe.

Spring Soba Noodle Salad (from Food & Wine)

Ingredients

6 Brazil nuts
1/4 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 small garlic cloves
pinch of crushed red pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
kosher salt
black pepper
12 ounces buckwheat noodles
1/2 pound haricots verts, halved crosswise
1 1/2 cups fresh young peas (8 ounces)
1 1/2 cups shelled and peeled fava beans or thawed frozen lima beans
8 ounces arugula, thick stems discarded and leaves chopped
1/2 cup lightly packed parsley, chopped
1/2 cup lightly packed basil leaves, torn
1 Hass avocado, peeled and cubed
finely grated lemon zest and shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375°. Spread the nuts in a pie plate and bake for about 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer to a food processor and let cool completely. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, lemon juice, garlic and crushed red pepper and pulse until a chunky paste forms. With the machine on, gradually add the oil until incorporated. Season the pesto with salt and black pepper.

In a large saucepan of salted boiling water, cook the noodles until just tender. Drain and cool under cold running water. Drain again. In a large bowl, toss the noodles with 2 tablespoons of the pesto.

In a large saucepan of salted boiling water, cook the haricots verts, peas and fava beans until crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain well and add to the noodles; toss well. Add the remaining pesto along with the arugula, parsley and basil; season with salt and black pepper and toss again. Transfer the noodles to shallow bowls and top with the avocado, lemon zest and cheese. Serve right away.

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Boston Food

Posted on April 21, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

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I just got back from a work trip to Boston, and let me tell you: it was a wild ride.

My friend Carly and I were going to a marketing conference in the city, but we decided to pack as many food-related activities into the breaks as we could. Sometimes, we even packed food-related activities into the actual conference.

We got to Boston early on Tuesday morning and decided to go on a food crawl before the conference started. We started at Forge Baking Company, a new bakery in Somerville, a neighborhood close to downtown.

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There was only one brown butter ginger scone left, so I took that as a sign. It was so moist and fluffy on the inside, and I loved the flaky sugar crust on top. Heaven.

We followed that up with a trip to Anna’s Tacqueria, a popular Mexican food chain in Boston. Carly told me to go last time I visited the city and I didn’t, and so this trip was a long time coming.

I set a high bar for burritos, especially after San Francisco. This one did not disappoint. I got my usual combo, chicken, avocado, salsa and rice. Carly also recommended the refried beans, so I threw those in for good measure.

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My only regret from the trip is not taking pictures of our Tuesday night dinner. We went to a place in Boston’s South End called Toro, and it was some of the best tapas I’ve ever had in my life. Actually, it was probably the best tapas I’ve ever had. I’m still thinking about the salt cod fritters and the steak.

On Wednesday night, I met my friend from grad school, Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn and I bonded over good food in school. So whenever we get together we try to cook or go to a new restaurant. Last night, there was a wait at the pizza place we wanted to try, Picco. So we decided to pre-game dinner with a doughnut from an artisan shop around the corner.

This wasn’t just any doughnut. Blackbird Doughnuts specializes in unique flavors, and a lot of them were already sold out by the time we got there at 6. But they still had the vanilla glaze, so we went for it.

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We finished off the night with two kinds of pizza: spring onion and mushroom and fennel and sausage. The spring onion and mushroom was my favorite. The crust was chewy and lightly charred, and the tomato aioli gave it just the right amount of spice.

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This trip taught me a lot of important lessons. One is that with a little planning and dedication, you can visit multiple food destinations in a two-hour window. Another is that you shouldn’t go somewhere with preconceived ideas about the food.

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from Boston’s food scene. But it really blew me away. I almost felt bad for thinking so poorly of it ahead of time. If you do your research and leave the rest up to fate (see: artisan vanilla doughnuts), you’ll be able to have exceptional food experiences in most cities you visit.

Here’s a song I heard in Boston that I really enjoyed. I think you’ll like it, too.

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Mango Turmeric Chia Pudding

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

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I wanted to switch up my breakfast this morning, so I made this mango turmeric chia pudding last night.

I think I’ve already talked about it before, but I’m a huge proponent of breakfast in jars. First, I love Mason jars. Second, I love the idea of taking off a lid, looking inside, and digging to the bottom of a jar with your spoon. It’s like a mini food adventure, and if it tastes good, you know you’ve done it right.

I also like letting things sit overnight and waking up to them in the morning, and breakfasts in jars are often that. I blended together some mango and coconut milk, like I would for a regular smoothie or smoothie bowl. I stirred in some chia seeds and let the mixture sit overnight in the fridge. In the morning, I unscrewed the lid, gave the mixture a stir and topped with some frozen raspberries.

Et voilà. Breakfast is served.

I started listening to this song as I was writing this post, and it seemed to fit the whole “change is in the air” motif. I like the hip hop vibe and the bubble sounds in the background.

Mango Turmeric Chia Pudding (slightly adapted from Will Frolic for Food)

Ingredients

1 large mango or 2 small mangos, peeled and pitted
1 1/2 cups light coconut milk
2 medjool dates, pitted
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons chia seeds
Optional additions: nut butter, freeze dried berries, fresh berries, chia seeds, mint or basil etc.

Directions

Add your fresh mango and coconut milk to the bowl of a high powered blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. Then add the dates, turmeric and vanilla extract. Blend until the dates are mostly emulsified into your mango cream.

Stir your chia seeds into the mango cream, pour into a Mason jar, give the mixture a stir and let it sit overnight in the fridge. The chia pudding is done when it’s thick and the chia seeds have plumped up and softened.

Top with frozen raspberries or another topping of your choice. Enjoy!

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Spring Vegetable Polenta

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

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I’m a sucker for impulse buys at the grocery store, especially in the checkout aisle. The other day, I was waiting in line and I saw a magazine, The Coastal Table. It was thick, heavy and cost more than most books I buy, but the cover sold me. It was a beautifully shot picture of a wooden bowl with sesame seeds and chopsticks.

Yes, that’s all.

But I knew from looking at that picture that the rest of the magazine would be a good lesson in food photography. And I guessed that there were probably some recipes worth checking out.

I was right. There was a whole section of the magazine devoted to asparagus, and every dish sounded better than the next. I’ve been on a polenta kick lately, so I decided to try the recipe for spring vegetable polenta with feta.

The original recipe calls for using vegetable stock, but I used a mix of chicken and vegetable stock to take the flavor profile up a notch. I also subbed in a shallot for the onion, because I was feeling in a shallot-y kind of mood.

The star in this dish is the leek. It’s soft, caramely and the perfect match for the rich, creamy polenta. The peas and asparagus add some crunch, and the feta keeps things fresh.

My boss, Aude, just told me about this French artist named Brigitte. At first, I thought she was talking about Brigitte Bardot, but it turns out that it’s two sisters. They kind of remind me of the French equivalent of HAIM. Here’s a good primer.

Spring Vegetable Polenta (slightly adapted from The Coastal Table)

Ingredients

4-5 cups low-sodium chicken and/or vegetable stock (I used 2 cups of each)
kosher salt, to taste
1 cup polenta
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 leek, white and light green parts, trimmed and chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving
2 shallots, finely diced
1/4 bunch fresh asparagus (about 6 stalks), trimmed and cut into 1-inch rounds
1/2 cup fresh peas
crumbled feta cheese, for serving

Directions

In a large saucepan, bring 4 cups stock and a pinch of salt to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and slowly stir in polenta, whisking as you go to prevent lumps. Continue to cook until mixture has thickened, about 15-20 minutes, whisking often to prevent lumps. Check polenta by rubbing a small amount of it between your fingers. If it’s not gritty, it’s done. If it’s too thick add a little more stock or water. Add butter and stir for another 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.

Place leeks in a sieve and rinse under cold water several times to remove dirt. Pat completely dry and set aside.

In a large sauté pan, heat butter and oil over medium heat. Add shallot and leek and cook until softened, 5-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add asparagus and peas and cook until bright green, about 5 minutes.

To serve, scoop a portion of polenta into a shallow bowl, and top with vegetables, followed by feta cheese. Serve immediately. Serves 4 (there’s a lot…trust me)

 

 

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Chocolate Raspberry Smoothie Bowl with Chocolate Granola

Posted on April 15, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

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It’s Friday, and you know what that means…chocolate raspberry smoothie bowl time.

Chocolate raspberry is one of my all-time favorite combos. It all started about 10 years ago, when I had chocolate raspberry ice cream for the first time. “Whoa,” I remember thinking. “Is this real?”

Lucky for me, it is. I was trying to decide what kind of smoothie bowl to make this morning, and originally I was going to go with chocolate peanut butter. But then I thought I would add some raspberries into the mix.

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I also decided to make some chocolate granola to go on top, because why not? I think that granola is one of those things that people shy away from making, because it seems really labor intensive. But it is actually one of the easiest things to make. You just need patience.

You throw some rolled oats on an ungreased pan, mix in some nuts, sweetener and spices, and then put it in the oven to bake for an hour. During that time, you can stare at your new haircut in the mirror, send snapchats, read a book…the options are nearly endless.

I let my granola sit and cool in the pan overnight, because I wanted the chocolate chips on top to harden up a little before I broke up the mixture and put it in a jar. But you can also put it in a plastic bag or jar after it bakes, as long as you let it cool for about an hour first.

This bowl was so good to wake up to. It’s hard to get out of bed on Fridays but this chocolate, raspberry, granola combo made it worth it. Oh, and the sea salt in the granola…that also took it up a notch.

Here’s one of my latest song obsessions. I listened to it as I was taking a long walk around D.C. the other night.

Chocolate Raspberry Smoothie Bowl with Chocolate Granola (bowl from me, and granola recipe slightly adapted from Pinch of Yum)

Ingredients

For the bowl:
1/2 cup raspberries
1/4 cup unsweetened cacao powder
1/4 cup almond butter
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup lowfat yogut
1 tbsp maple syrup
raspberries, flake coconut, granola for topping

For the granola:
3 cups rolled oats
1¼ cups sliced raw almonds
¾ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
½ cup cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup melted coconut oil (measured in liquid form)
⅓ cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1½ cups chocolate chips
sea salt for finishing

Directions

Make the granola the night before, or in advance of the bowl. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Toss the oats, almonds, coconut, cocoa, and salt in a large sheet cake pan. Whisk together the melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla. Pour the liquid over the dry ingredients and stir to combine.

Bake for 50 minutes total, stopping about halfway through to check the granola and shake or stir the pan if needed. After 50 minutes, sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top of the granola, return to the oven for 5-10 minutes until chocolate chips are very soft. Sprinkle with the remaining coarse sea salt to taste. The added salt should stick the outside of the chocolate chips. O.M.G.

Let the granola stand for 1-2 hours. Gently scoop the granola into jars or an airtight container, jar or plastic bag for storing. You can also leave the granola out overnight or for several hours until the chocolate chips are fully cooled and hardened if you want to preserve the shape of the individual chocolate chip pieces in the granola.

To make the bowl, blend the raspberries, unsweetened cacao powder, almond butter, almond milk, yogurt and maple syrup in a blender until smooth. Top with some granola, flake coconut and raspberries. Enjoy!

Posted in Breakfast, Chocolate, Uncategorized, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Mango Pineapple Banana Smoothie Bowl

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

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I usually look around online for inspiration for smoothie bowls. But sometimes, a good idea will just come to me. Especially when I’m trying to think of a way to use the 10 pounds of fruit I buy at the market each week to make them. Necessity is the mother of invention, and all that.

I made this smoothie bowl partly because I wanted to cut a kiwi into a flower again, and partly because I had stacks on stacks of raspberries and blackberries in my fridge. I also missed tropical fruit combos, so I decided to make a mango-pineapple-banana smoothie for the base.

The result looked pretty and it was delicious. I would recommend toasting the shaved coconut if you have time because it adds another layer to the flavor profile in the bowl.

On an unrelated note, I just discovered the musician Gallant yesterday and he’s really, really good. I knew it was fate when I saw that he had a song called “Bourbon.”

Mango Pineapple Banana Smoothie Bowl (from me, to you)

Ingredients

1 cup chopped frozen mango
1/2 cup chopped pineapple
1 banana
1 cup almond milk
1/2 cup lowfat yogurt
blackberries, raspberries, toasted shaved coconut, granola and kiwi for topping

Directions

Blend all the ingredients in a blender on high until smooth. Pour into a bowl and top with the blackberries, raspberries, toasted shaved coconut, granola and kiwi. Enjoy!

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Chocolate Banana Date Smoothie Bowl

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

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This recipe is long overdue. My friend Dori asked for it last week, but I kept putting off writing about it. I have a few excuses, including going out of town to Cleveland and wanting to write about a bunch of other recipes, first. But whatever.

ANYWAY. This recipe was inspired by my friend Carly, who makes a frequent appearance on this blog and told me about a delicious smoothie bowl that she made a week ago. It had banana, dates, coconut Icelandic yogurt, almond butter, cacao powder.

The timing worked out well because I just brought back some dates from San Francisco. I blended everything together, topped the bowl with shredded coconut, toasted almonds, sliced bananas and cacao nibs and called it a day.

And oh, what a great day it was.

Here’s a song that reminds me of this bowl.

Chocolate Banana Date Smoothie Bowl (from me, to you)

Ingredients

1 banana
1 handful of dates
1/2 cup coconut yogurt (I used Siggi’s 2%)
1 tbsp unsweetened cacao powder
1 tsp of honey or agave, or more to taste
1 tsp almond butter
sliced banana, toasted almonds, cacao nibs and shredded coconut for topping

Directions

Blend everything in a blender on high until smoothie. Pour into a bowl and top with sliced banana, toasted almonds, cacao nibs and shredded coconut. You can even drizzle some almond butter on top…I just didn’t think of it at the time.

Posted in Breakfast, Smoothie Bowls, Uncategorized, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment