Tag Archives: recipe

February 9, 2012 · 1:38 am

Baked Avocado and Egg

Ok, it’s time for something I’m pretty proud of. If I ever release a cookbook, this recipe will be on the first page. Behold the Baked Avocado and Egg!

Breakfast of Champions

Fact: Sriracha sauce makes everything better.

I don't know if the best part was the avocado or The Clash of Kings.

I was so excited about this creation, if only because it opens up a whole new world of avocado consumption. Anyways, had to share the recipe as soon as possible, so here it goes!


Baked Avocado and Egg
Serves 2

Two medium avocados

Four eggs

Dill

Salt and pepper

Sriracha sauce


Directions

  1. Heat oven to 425° F.
  2. Cut each avocado in half, removing the pit and making sure that each half has a hole in which to place an egg.
  3. Place the halves in a baking dish and fill each with one egg. (See note below.)
  4. Sprinkle dill, salt, and pepper on each.
  5. Bake for 20-25 minutes. This will really depend on how you like your eggs. I don’t like runny yolk, so I baked mine for about 25 minutes, maybe a bit more.
  6. After you’ve removed them from the oven and let them cool a bit, squirt some sriracha sauce on those bad boys and go to town.

Notes

  1. There are a couple of ways you can prepare the egg before you put it in the avocado. You can leave each egg whole and put them into the avocado halves with the yolk still intact (an especially good option if you like runny yolk), or you can mix up the eggs beforehand and pour it in (less messy option, will end up more like scrambled eggs).
  2. Don’t freak out about making a mess or getting the eggs perfect in the avocado. One suggestion would be to fill the avocados in a separate bowl to catch any egg spillage, and then put them in the baking dish.
  3. I also made a vegan option for my friend using a quick tofu scramble. Drain some tofu, mush it up with some diced onions/peppers/same seasonings (maybe some soy sauce?), and bake it the same way.

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January 30, 2012 · 12:14 am

Easy Lentil Tomato Soup

I originally titled this post “The Bay Leaf Incident of 2012,” but “Easy Lentil Tomato Soup” seemed a little more blog-friendly and less ominous. I shall begin with a photo:


Despite the Bay Leaf Incident of 2012, I did not die upon consuming this soup.


Looks harmless enough, right? WRONG. Lurking within that blurry bowl of Lentil-Tomato Soup is something that until this weekend I assumed would cause immediate death – blended bay leaf. That’s right. I slaved over a hot stove creating a lovely soup, only to forget the crucial step of removing the whole bay leaves before using my immersion blender. I was certain I would kill myself and my unassuming dinner partner, who had placed blind faith in my ability to make a non-lethal soup.

After much hand-wringing and brow-furrowing, I did what any functional adult would do: I texted my mother.


“Am I going to kill us both if I serve soup in which I accidentally blended a bay leaf?’

Mom responded with the sanity that I was lacking.

“Not unless either of you are allergic to bay leaves.”

Oh. Thanks Mom.


So long story short, I learned a valuable lesson. Accidentally blending bay leaves into your soup, while not recommended, will not lead to paralysis, stroke, nerve damage, or sudden death. Mostly it will just result in a strong bay flavor and tiny floating pieces of leaf in your soup. If you’ve learned nothing else from this blog, please retain that.

I still want to share the recipe with you all, as it was actually quite tasty. I was inspired by an Alton Brown recipe I came across awhile ago. By the way, leave it to Alton Brown to publish a recipe calling for “Grains of Paradise.” I’m almost certain that is not a spice at all, but the title of an obscure John Steinbeck novel.


Easy Lentil Tomato Soup

Serves 2-3 people


2 tbsp olive oil

2-3 minced garlic cloves

1 small-medium sweet onion, chopped

1/2 cup chopped carrot

1/2 cup chopped celery

A few pinches of salt

1 can cooked lentils, drained

1 cup peeled, ground tomatoes (canned)

1 32-oz box vegetable stock

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

2 whole bay leaves … do not blend


Directions

  1. Heat up the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pot. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and salt and saute for about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for another 2-3 minutes. The onions should be soft and starting to brown.
  2. Add everything else and stir it up.
  3. Up the heat until the soup starts to boil. Then reduce to a simmer and let it do its thing for 10 minutes.
  4. Remove from heat. REMOVE BAY LEAVES. Blend using an immersion blender, regular blender, whatever.

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January 14, 2012 · 11:50 pm

Sweet Potato Pizza Time

When I was a kid, I hated pizza. I thought tomatoes were gross and vegetable toppings were not for me and the cheese couldn’t compare to the completely natural, unprocessed glory of Kraft singles.  How times have changed. Now pizza is one of my favorite things to make from scratch, and I love the opportunity to get creative with it.

Enter my latest endeavor: Sweet Potato/Onion/Rosemary/Ricotta Pizza! Oh man you guys, this was good. I got the recipe from Real Simple and added my own twists, substituting the Parmesan cheese with Ricotta and making my own honey wheat dough. You too can make pizza magic – follow me on this epic journey.


Sweet Potato/Onion/Rosemary Pizza

Definitely makes enough for 3-4 people, depending on how hungry you all are.


Step One: The Dough

Make it or buy it, my friends. I can tell you that making your own dough gives you a great sense of satisfaction and a healthy dose of smugness. As I mentioned, I made honey wheat dough. Recipe at Crunchy Domestic Goddess. I used three cups of flour all together, half whole wheat and half all purpose. I just ended up adding a little more oil to get a good consistency.

The honey wheat dough is great for this pizza – it balances out the flavor of the onions and rosemary really well.


Step Two: The Pizza

Ingredients

  • Pizza dough, obviously
  • About 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, thinly sliced – I used a sweet onion
  • 1 large sweet potato, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1ish tablespoon fresh rosemary
  • As many dollops of ricotta cheese as your heart desires
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Heat the oven to 475° F.
  2. Heat 2 tablespoons or so of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until translucent, just a few minutes.
  3. Using a baking sheet is fine if you’re like me and have yet to invest in a fancy pizza stone. Roll out the dough onto a lightly greased baking sheet. You’ll want a nice, even crust.
  4. Assemble that pizza! Spread your sauteed onions out over the dough. Layer the sweet potato slices however you want them and then evenly sprinkle the rosemary. Dollop ricotta cheese all over the place. Drizzle the pizza with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and generously season with your salt and pepper.
  5. Bake 16-18 minutes – the edges should be crispy and brown and your kitchen should smell heavenly.

It’s as easy as that! The end result:

I am pretty and delicious.

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