Nutty Monkey

On my way to gift wrap 20 coffee table books for an interior decorating firm (just call me Odd Job Jane) I spotted a juice bar and went in for a breakfast smoothie. I ordered their “Mr. Almond” smoothie which I practically inhaled through a jumbo straw. Naturally, I went home and adapted the recipe for this here blog and gave it my own silly name, Nutty Monkey. I was anti-smoothie for most of my life, but this smoothie has changed my mind.
 

Pan-Seared Peaches with Tarragon Basil Syrup

Seared or grilled peaches is a dish that's been on my summer cooking wish list for years, but sadly I never get around to it. Since I'm writing recipes for a living now, I'm spending a lot more time in the kitchen, testing and experimenting. Last weekend, I finally seared a peach. I took it one step further by making a tarragon and basil infused simple syrup to drizzle on top of the sweet, warm stone fruit. I seared my peaches in a pan with some butter because I didn't feel like setting up the grill just for one lonely peach, but if you prefer to grill your peaches, just brush them with olive oil and sear them on both sides for a few minutes until they develop nice grill marks and are warmed through.

Asparagus, Kalamata and Bread Salad

This salad makes me sad that most people I know don't like olives. I made it the other night as an eat-whatever's-in-the-fridge dinner and loved it. It was unexpected and the ingredient amounts were undocumented. That's ok, because salads are quite easy to put together. Here's my "non-recipe" for Asparagus, Kalamata and Bread Salad.

Homemade Horchata

I finally attempted homemade Mexican horchata after weeks of guzzling my faux-horchata made with packaged rice milk. Mexican Horchata is a sweet, rice-based, cinnamon-y beverage. I love it over ice with tequila and a salty, limey Tajin rim. I whipped up this first batch for a New Year's Eve trip to a cabin in the Poconos with a bunch of friends. I'm happy to say that the whole jug was finished by the evening of January 1st. I enjoyed welcoming 2015 with a glass of cold horchata and tequila by the fire between rounds of karaoke, boardgames and feasts of pasta and tacos. Tall thin trees and a waterfall visible from the porch made an awesome backdrop.

Cold Ramen Salad with Egg

Noodles are one of the first foods on my mind once the weather reaches “Feels like 15 Degrees”. I love a hot bowl of thick, buttery ramen at Chucko Ramen in Prospect Heights or a pile of pad thai at Cheers Thai in Williamsburg. My brother’s been raving about Tasty Hand Pulled Noodles in Chinatown which I’m hoping to try soon. Here’s a cold noodle salad I made with some leftover ramen; it makes for an easy lunch. What's your favorite noodle shop?

Bibimbap

After eating my first bibimbap in Cambridge, Massachussets a few years ago,  I regretted that so much of my life had been bibimbap-less. Bibimbap is a Korean dish consisting of rice, assorted vegetables and a protein. It's typically served in a scalding hot stone bowl which cooks the bottom of the rice into golden brown crispiness. The bowl is usually topped with a raw egg that cooks when you push it against the hot stone. It's all eaten with gochujang paste or a gochujang-based sauce. Gochujang paste is a fermented Korean condiment made from red chili, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans and salt.

Lemon Spaghetti

When I worked at Wish Cafe, a fusion restaurant in Stamford, Connecticut years ago, my co-worker used to order the lemon papardelle whenever she was off duty. The dish sounded tempting to me, but I always opted for the truffled potato pillows and fried calamari watercress salad, menu items that I couldn't or wouldn't make at home. When Alan ordered spaghetti with lemon at our neighborhood restaurant a few weekends ago, I tried a bite and was surprised how something so simple could be so pleasing. However, making it at home wasn't as simple as I assumed it would be.

Pickled Grapes

I'm always looking for an unusual, yet simple recipe.  One food blogger that I follow writes a beautiful blog called Not Without Salt.  I like her pro-salt blog title as well as the feeling I get when I read her words and look at her photographs.  I picture her life being one big lush, misty Washington morning with a cup of coffee in a mason jar.  When she posted a recipe for pickled grapes, I flagged it and took the next opportunity to make them, which was a summer dinner party at home.

Chicken Pad Thai without Fish Sauce

I’ve always loved pad thai, but I never realized that fish sauce was a staple in Thai cooking until I met Alan.  He’s allergic to fish.  Actually my mom and one of my best friends is also allergic to fish.  I thought, how unfair that these folks have to miss out on such a thrilling noodle dish.  With that thought, I set out to find a recipe for pad thai that doesn’t involve fish sauce so that Alan and I could have a pad thai date night at home.  Enter Martha Stewart’s Vegetable and Tofu Pad Thai recipe, which I tweaked a bit.  On a weekend in Chattam, NY, I found some mushroom soy sauce at a market and thought it would add the depth of flavor that fish sauce usually provides, so I took a bottle home.

Basil Juleps

I write to you from upstate New York where Alan's super awesome band, Ten Minute Turns, is rehearsing for an upcoming recording session. Being secluded in a rural area is giving me time to make blog posts, read, write and learn about stock trading, my newest obsession. Last month's obsession was part-time veganism. A month before that, it was jewelry making. I like to dabble. No matter what you're getting into on the weekends, do it with a basil julep. Alan and I made juleps with herbs from our porch-garden. He made his with mint and I decided to go out on a limb and make one with basil. Here's how to do it (no fancy julep cups necessary, but highly encouraged)...

Almond Milk Margarita aka Lazy Man’s Horchata Margarita

We discovered a little bar a few blocks away from us called Dick and Jane’s.  It’s been there for three years but we never knew it as it’s tucked away on a side street behind thick, black wooden barn doors.  They serve a cocktail there called Tigre Blanco which is a horchata margarita.  Horchata is a sweet, rice-based Mexican drink.  The bartender lines the rim of the glass with a smoky, limey salt similar to my favorite cabinet dweller, Tajin, a lime and chili infused salt.  I used and raved about Tajin in this corn salad last summer.  

Thai-ish Turkey Mushroom Lettuce Wraps

You’re growing tired of the taste of pasta and pizza.  You need something fresh, something to awaken your taste buds, and something that doesn’t have carbs.  It’s summer after all and you wanna shed those winter pounds.  Enter the lettuce wrap.  I crave the flavors of soy sauce, rice vinegar, cilantro and sriracha all thrown together inside a crunchy iceberg shell.  Lean ground turkey adds protein.  Mushrooms add some umami.  This is your new after-work, warm weather dinner. Who knew Monday nights could be so exciting...

Hotel Chopped Salad

I stopped liking blue cheese about ten years ago.  I've always been slightly grossed out by eggs in salads and I typically don't go for salads with corn in them even though I like corn.  And I can take or leave walnuts.  When Alan and I went on vacation to St. Martin last week, our first meal was at the beachfront C Le Restaurant at the Radisson Blu where we stayed for four sun-filled days.

Date and Almond Oatmeal

It feels like winter has been here forever.  I'm so ready to stop wearing snow boots and hats and gloves and coats.  At this point I have white sandy beach wallpaper on all my devices and I'm browsing resort wear online.  It's no use, because Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow before shooting out of De Blasio's hands.  There are six more weeks of this meat locker.  Here's a good hot breakfast idea for your cold mornings...

Two Ingredient Banana Pancakes

Did you know that you can make pancakes out of just a banana and a few eggs?  I was shocked too.  I’ve been sticking to my fitness routine thanks to all the free exercise videos on Blogilates.com.  Pilates instructor, Cassie Ho has been keeping me motivated and also turning me on to really cool, diet-friendly recipes like this one.  I’ve been making these pancakes before work, because that’s how quick they are to make from start to finish (about 20 minutes from start to clean plate).  They have a slightly sweet banana flavor and they’re super moist on the inside.  With no white flour, you’re getting great protein and potassium that’ll fuel you all morning long.  I was bad today because I had some wine and didn’t do my pilates, but I was busy pulling this post together because I want you to make these two-ingredient pancakes right away.

Faux Pho

I crave pho all winter long.  I've probably never had truly authentic pho, but I just love a nice big bowl of broth with rice noodles and the exploding flavors of cilantro, jalapeno, lime and ginger...whatever you wanna call that.  I call it "faux pho".  Top that off with the crunch of bean sprouts and the heat from a squirt of sriracha and I’m in love.  I tried this soup using some boxed chicken stock but many of them are bitter tasting.  My parents turned me on to Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base many years ago and it never fails me, so I decided to use it for this soup and I got a nice clean, sea-salty broth.  I highly suggest you go grab some at your local grocery store, or order some online.  I stock up on it in the colder months.  However, don’t go for the organic or the kosher variety because they’re just not as tasty in my opinion.

Peanut Miso Kale and Kelp Noodles

I am not a health nut.  I like my bacon cheeseburgers as much as I like my vegetables.  And a chia seed or a goji berry has never passed my lips.  But recently I started a home fitness routine using Blogilates.com and I came across instructor Cassie Ho's version of a salad she gets at Cafe Gratitude in LA.  Kale, kelp and avocado in a peanut dressing just sounded so appealing.  I think anything you put peanut butter on tastes good.  So as soon as I finished my bodega salad ingredients, I quickly moved on to this.
 

Candied Cranberries

I heard about candied cranberries last week and I was like, are those just dried cranberries? So I looked them up and found out that they’re totally not.  They’re gorgeous little round, sugar-coated cranberries that look like frosty Christmas ornaments.  Below the crunchy sugar coating is a firm cranberry that pops in your mouth and unleashes a burst of tart juice.  I image them at a party in a decorative bowl or champagne coupe on the cocktail table or side bar as a refreshingly tart accompaniment to cocktails or as an after dinner palate zinger.

Broccoli Rabe and Kalamata Olive Pesto

When I’m craving bitter greens, I turn to broccoli rabe, one of my favorite vegetables.  I think kalamata olives and broccoli rabe are such a great pairing.  One of my go-to meals to eat on a weeknight is Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe and Kalamata Olives.   A little while back I made Kale Pesto which was a unique way to eat kale, so I did the same with my favorite bitter green.

Green Tomato Salad

This tomato salad is so good.  I’m currently on the hunt for some green tomatoes so I can make more of it.  I never knew that anything else could be done with green tomatoes besides frying them, but this is a crisp, refreshing way to use these underripe tomatoes in the fall, right after the warmth of summer has died off and the chill of winter is approaching, but it’s not quite cold enough for soups and stews.