Tag: recipes

Cu-Tea Boba Baby Shower

Cu-Tea Boba Baby Shower

Baby Fujitaki # 3 is on his way! My brother, Kyle, and my sister-in-law, Viet-Linh, are having their third child and…drum roll, please…it’s a boy! Needless to say, his arrival is much anticipated, especially since Kyle already has two daughters, Adelyn and Quinn, and my older sister, 

Roasted Cauliflower with Crispy Cavolo Nero

Roasted Cauliflower with Crispy Cavolo Nero

We’re all looking for new and interesting ways to eat vegetables, right? Well, we should be, even if we currently aren’t. Being on a quest for healthy living, we sometimes come across a dish that just appears so often on the table that it’s second 

Polenta Pie with Ground Beef, Sweet Potatoes, Spinach and Red Beans

Polenta Pie with Ground Beef, Sweet Potatoes, Spinach and Red Beans

Something about the versatility of polenta makes for crossing cultures and pops up in my dishes all the time. I love polenta. Its creamy nature of substantial delicious flavor always speaks to me, plus it’s very simple. This polenta was just hanging out in my pantry and one afternoon, I found it and decided that savory polenta pie sounded like a good idea for dinner with the family. You can do this with any base: vegetarian chile recipes, tamale pies, meaty cheesy Tex-Mex ideas, etc. It all works. Put it in a simple casserole dish, then cover it with polenta, and broil; it makes for a delicious substitute for pasta or rice. In this polenta pie, I used a combination of flavors that would satisfy for a meal that could be made ahead of time and then just heated up when needed. I hope you think about using polenta in one of your next meals.

Polenta Pie with Ground Beef, Sweet Potatoes, Spinach and Red beans
1 lb ground beef (or omit for vegetarian option and add extra vegetables)
2 large sweet potatoes, diced small
2 stalks celery, minced
½ large onion, minced
1 cup frozen spinach or 2 cups fresh spinach, cleaned
1 can unsalted red beans, drained and rinsed
1 ½ cups vegetables broth or beef broth
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
Salt
Pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ large can diced tomatoes
1 tube polenta, cut into slices
½ cup parmesan cheese
Optional garnish (arugula on top for freshness)

In a large skillet, place 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and heat over medium-high. Add onion, sweet potatoes and celery and sauté for about 5-8 minutes.
Add the ground beef to the pot and cook till meat has become completely browned, about 7-10 minutes. If there is excess grease in the pot, drain it over the sink carefully.
Add tomatoes and spinach, then cook 5 minutes.
Add salt, pepper, garlic, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes and broth and simmer for 20-25 minutes over low heat. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. At the last 10 minutes, add rinsed and drained red beans.
Once the sweet potatoes are soft and you’ve tasted for seasoning adjustments, place mixture in a 9×9 baking pan and cover the top of the mixture with the slices of polenta. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and broil in the broiler for about 5-7 minutes till warmed and cheese is melted. This may be longer or shorter depending on your broiler power. If you don’t have a broiler, then use the oven at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes.

Scoop and enjoy

YBR February

YBR February

Nancy from Spiciefoodie.com has been doing this amazing event each month called Your Best Recipe. She has a wonderful heart to host this very special food event for all of us foodies to come together with our best recipes for the month. I thought that it 

Why Write Recipes When You Can Just Cook?

Why Write Recipes When You Can Just Cook?

I cook often. If I could blog as easily as it seems for me to whip something up to eat in the kitchen, I’m sure I could fill another four blogs with my recipes. But as most of you know, I cook with more intuition 

Snowy Trip to the Eastern Sierras; Mammoth Mountain and Hawaiian Bread French Toast

Snowy Trip to the Eastern Sierras; Mammoth Mountain and Hawaiian Bread French Toast

I recently took a four day trip to the beautiful Eastern Sierras, wherein lies Mammoth Mountain.  Normally my family and I have a traditional summer vacation to this area around my birthday; we enjoy eachother’s company in the breathtaking surroundings of fresh clean air, high altitude, and fishing in the sunshine. This trip was exceptionally different. I’m not much of a snow person–growing up my whole life in the sunshine makes the snow a very unusual experience for me. As we found ourselves in the biggest storm of the season so far, I found myself taken aback with interesting  incidents such as digging the car out of a couple feet of snow, putting chains on tires, layering clothes until the point of suffocation and also, just being too warm and comfy inside to even want to venture outside.  I enjoyed the beautiful snow escape wonderland for the time that we were there: cooking, laughing, and enjoying company with my brother and sister-in-law.
Hawaiian Bread French Toast
4 large eggs, beaten
½ cup milk
2 teaspoons water
1 tablespoon brown sugar
10-15 Hawaiian Sweet Rolls cut in half
Butter for cooking
Crack eggs in one bowl and beat together well.
Combine water and milk together in separate bowl. Then dissolve brown sugar in mixture until there are no large clumps.
Combine water/milk mixture to eggs and incorporate well.
In a medium-sized non-stick pan, heat 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat, making sure not to scorch the butter.
Dip bread into mixture, coating on both sides. Do not let the bread sit in the egg wash, otherwise they will be too soggy.
Place bread in one by one and into warmed pan and cook about 3-4 minutes per side until golden.
Repeat with the rest of the rolls.
Keep French toast in the oven at 350 degrees to keep warm until all are ready to serve.
Sprinkle powdered sugar over the top and serve.
 
Sometimes the simplest things are the ones we remember best. Stay tuned for more Mammoth snow adventures.
Cheers
-Unrivaledkitch
Tuna Salad Sandwich with Fuji Apple, Cucumber, Red Onion and Hummus Greek Yogurt Sauce

Tuna Salad Sandwich with Fuji Apple, Cucumber, Red Onion and Hummus Greek Yogurt Sauce

Sometimes we just need something to eat on the go, but with our crazy lives it gets a little tough. I understand–it happens to me too–the days when I can’t get four hours in the kitchen for all the insane ideas I’d love to commit to, but just can’t. 

Homemade Sauce and Wheat pita Balsamic BBQ Chicken Pizza

Homemade Sauce and Wheat pita Balsamic BBQ Chicken Pizza

For holiday presents this year, I decided to take on some jarring adventures. I made homemade tapenade with rosemary, tomatoes and black olives; marinara with mirepoix, fresh basil and parsley; spicy marinara with roasted garlic and red pepper flakes (Arrabbiata sauce); and balsamic barbecue sauce with 

Cyrus’s 2nd Birthday… The Candyshop and Red Velvet Cupcakes

Cyrus’s 2nd Birthday… The Candyshop and Red Velvet Cupcakes

Today is one of my favorite little boys very special day. I remember the day my friend Katie called me to tell me she was expecting and thereafter, all the midnight to 2 a.m. phone calls and text messages with horrible stories of pregnancy woes, the countless boxes of Little Debbies, and the joyous call and messages on the day he was born. I was over the top involved with work at that time, but I knew, as soon as I saw this little man, I was in love. His name is Cyrus and he is one of the most precious boys I’ve ever met. He stole my heart and made his mom and I retire our dancing shoes and exchange them for baby clothes. We wouldn’t change it for anything. I love this family and I’m so glad I can be a part of their lives.
Best friends! 🙂
Happy 2nd birthday my sweet little (or, rather, not so little anymore) Cyrus! I love you so much.
We had a sugar coma inducing party, with all things rich and delicious. A full range of soda pops, lollipops, candy and Elmo cupcakes adorned the table, along with other fun foods for all the kids to enjoy. Our theme was a candy shop with tons of fun balloons and little lollipop crazy straws for the sodas.  I have no idea how these kids slept that night, but a little extreme spoiling is what Katie always wanted for her son.
Here are some of the pictures of the festivities.




The cupcakes I made were a red velvet recipe that is a mixture of vegan red velvet and a southern style red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. I love vegan cupcakes because they stay moist for a long time and travel well.
I made red and blue velvet cupcakes and topped these with lollipops and little Elmo faces because he’s one of Cy’s favorite characters.


 

Red Velvet Cupcakes

4 teaspoons cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 cup soy milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Makes 16 cupcakes
Pour soy milk in large bowl with lemon juice and apple cider vinegar and stir until incorporated.  Let stand for at least 8 minutes.
In a separate bowl sift together cocoa, AP flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Mix together till incorporated with whisk.
After the mixture of soy milk has incorporated, add sugar and oil to mixture and beat on high with hand mixer for 5 minutes until sugar is dissolved.
Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat on medium until incorporated, about 4-6 minutes.
Fill cupcake cups 2/3 of the way full and cook for 16-18 minutes on the middle oven rack. The cupcakes are done cooking when a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool and then frost with cream cheese frosting or vegan frosting for full vegan cupcakes or any other desired frosting.
Be a kid at heart.
Cheers
-Unrivaledkitch
Saffron Rice, Corn and Goat cheese Stuffed Peppers

Saffron Rice, Corn and Goat cheese Stuffed Peppers

Sometimes great ideas just come to us. There we are, faced with a fridge full, or maybe not so full, of food and we decide there’s something that has to be done about it. Like the culinary super minds we all can be, sometimes things