Chopped Mint

Sweet and spicy tempeh and cauliflower is placed on top of a bright and tart plate of noodles.

This was one of those times where you open your fridge and try and put together a meal with lots of ingredients leftover from other recipes. I had tons of different herbs, half a cabbage, some sharp cheese, olives, and pizza dough. Normally when I make a clean-out-the-fridge meal, I don’t take pictures, but this ‘zone came out fantastic, and much different than any calzone I have ever had, so I decided you guys might be interested. It was almost more of an intensely flavored empanada filling in a pizza crust.

If I was running a diner a couple decades ago, I would probably call these “salmon croquettes”. If I was running a fancy modern american place I might call them “salmon-potato dice” cause they have the fun square shape. I think salmon gnocchi is a good name for them though. This recipe is inspired by the old school salmon and pea pasta, and also by the upcoming spring when fresh peas will soon be available.

Last week I went to see Cayucas with some friends, and before we headed out to the show, I made this tasty ceviche as a light pre-concert meal. It was inspired by their song “Deep Sea Diver”, and it was summery, fresh, and reminiscent of the ocean, just like the band’s music!

I decided while I was away that when I came back I would make sure to stick to a more regular posting schedule. Instead of sometimes posting 4 or 5 times a week, then only posting twice some weeks, I would just always post 3 times, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I am going to try and stick to this for the time being, with Wednesdays usually featuring my most recent Tablespoon post, and see how it goes. Of course, there will still be theme weeks from time to time, where I post every day so I think the frequency will be pretty much the same as in the past.

Seems kinda weird to tell you all that info on a Tuesday post. But since I’ve been away so long, I figured I would give you guys a bonus recipe this week. It’s a good one too! I had some marinaded meat leftover from these burgers, and decided to cook it loose in a pan and serve it with a cous cous salad that was based on one of my favorite dishes, Vietnamese Bun Vermicelli. I ate this for lunch one day while getting some serious writing done and it really got me through the day! In fact I went back for more every hour or so…

When I was frying some tofu one day, I noticed that it sticks together really easily. As the tofu cooks, it basically binds to any other tofu cooking nearby. This gave me the idea to one day stuff cubes of tofu, considering that whatever the stuffing may be, the tofu would hold it in nicely. When “one day” finally came, I made a vaguely Asian turkey meatball mixture to stuff into the little cubes.

These chicken tacos are inspired by the Brazilian Cocktail Caipirinha

Chicken Jalfrezi gets mashed up with a sausage peppers and onion sandwich for this perfect blend of Indian and American street food.