Hummus Quinoa Cake

Hummus Quinoa Cakes

I wanted to use hummus to make something that was falafel-like and very easy to make. I knew I would have trouble achieving that toothsome crunchiness of a true falafel, so I thought of using cooked quinoa as the main ingredient to get that desired texture. It actually worked even better than I thought! The quinoa on the edges that got browned up were perfectly crunchy, and the insides of these patties were creamy and juicy with just enough bite. I served these falafel style in a fresh pita with cucumber salsa, lettuce, and tzatziki.

Bacon Noodle Soup

Bacon Noodle Soup

I wouldn’t exactly say that I was snowed in, but after being out all day in the gross snow/rain mixture, when it was time to finally be home I didn’t want to leave. I decided to try and make a soup based off things I only had in the house. The soup came out amazing and really warming on such a cold night, and I think it was mainly because of a slab of delicious bacon I was able to grab on a recent trip to the Culinary Institute of America with Jones Dairy Farm. The smokey bacon really gave the soup a deep warming flavor. Homemade stock, a can of tomatoes, and noodles from a package of ramen (without the flavor packet) rounded things out. Honestly there was nothing I would have rather eaten that night.

Veggie Meatloaf

Veggie Loaded Meatloaf

I was craving meatloaf. This is a sentence I have said as many as never times in my life, but it was the case the other night. If you are following along, you probably noticed the trend of healthy, mostly meatless, and pretty inexpensive dishes recently, because that is how I try to cook this time of year. Plus I keep having to make mac and cheese stuffed burgers for the cookbook publicity so I am trying to counteract some of that. That all being said, I wanted to make a vegetarian or mostly vegetarian “loaf”. I did some research, but most veggie loafs were loaded with grains and tofu, and not actual veggies like I wanted. I decided to just wing it and do mostly veg with a little beef and some cheese, sort of like a veggie heavy lightened version of a regular meatloaf.

Breakfast Mac and Cheese

Breakfast Mac and Cheese

Mac and cheese for breakfast inspired by the flavors in eggs benedict with buttery toast, tater tots, ham, eggs, and hollandaise.

Individual Breakfast Pizzas

Taleggio Asparagus Mini Breakfast Pizza

Breakfast pizza is always fun, but this spin on it is especially great to wake up to in the morning, because you get your own little egg nested in the extra thick crust. I wanted to make some like a normal breakfast pizza, and some like a tasty pizza I once ate that had egg with asparagus and taleggio cheese.

Hummus Cake

Savory Carrot Hummus Cake with Hummus Icing

What the what??? This came about because Mandi noticed the texture of sabra reminded her of cake frosting. She asked me to make her a carrot cake that we could frost with the hummus. It obviously had to be a savory cake to work with the super savory hummus. It actually came out pretty tasty! The cake was really flavorful and was almost the texture of a dense pancake. The carrot and curry really came through, and melded well with the hummus. I initially imagined this as a brunch dish, but it’s more of a cool and unique app for hummus lovers.