Have I mentioned that I’m going vegan for January? I have about two and a half more weeks to eat all of the cheese…

Ingredients

– 2/3 cup Shiitake Mushrooms, chopped
– 1 cup Dinosaur Kale, stems removed, greens chopped
– 2/3 Cup Fontina Cheese, shredded
– 2 sliced Bread
– 1-2 Tbls Extra Virgin Olive Oil
– Butter
– Salt to taste

Heat olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add shiitake mushrooms and season with salt. Toss as the mushrooms begin to brown. Add kale and continue to saute until the kale wilts and starts to crisp. Set aside. Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread. Add half of the cheese to an unbuttered sides of one of the slices. Add the mushroom and kale mixture and top with the remainder of the cheese. Top with other slice of bread, butter-side up. Heat a pan over low/medium heat and add sandwich to the pan. Grill until golden brown on one side. Flip and grill the other side as well. Let rest for a minute or two and then cut and serve immediately.

Ingredients

– 2 Eggs
– 1 cup Kale, stems removed, chopped small
– 1/4 cup Oil-Cured Olives, pitted and chopped
– 1/4 cup Walnuts, chopped
– 1/4 cup Roasted Red Peppers, chopped
– 1 Tbsp Mayonaise
– 1/2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus more for frying
– 2 Tsp Butter
– 2 Tbsp Milk
– 1 soft Roll
– Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread walnuts in a single layer in a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 8-10 minutes. In a food processor or blender, combine walnuts, olives and red peppers and pulse until loosely combined. Add olive oil as needed to bring the ingredients together. Set aside until you’re ready to assemble.

In a frying pan, add a thin layer of olive oil and heat over medium, being careful not to smoke the oil. Add kale and let it crisp up, tossing if needed. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a bowl, beat eggs and milk with a fork and season with salt and pepper. Melt butter in a pan over medium/low heat until it starts to bubble. Add eggs and allow to set for a minute. Use a spatula, push the egg from the sides of the pan towards the center slowly, pausing between each push. Be careful not to overcook! At this point you can slice and toast your roll if you’d like.

To assemble, spread mayo on the bottom of the roll, then pile on kale and eggs. Spread the tapenade on the top part of the bun and place on top to make a sandwich.

Ingredients

– 2 slices of bread (I used a baguette that was leftover from Thanksgiving)
– 3-4 slices of Brie
– 2 Tbsp Grained Dijon Mustard
– 3/4 cup Apple, cut into matchsticks
– 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

Directions

In a bowl, whisk together mustard and apple cider. Add apples and toss together with the dijon vinegar mixture. Layer bottom piece of bread with brie. Pile with a generous amount of slaw. If there’s any leftover liquid, pour on to other piece of bread and make a sandwich with the brie side. Grill in a pan, flipping once one side is brown and cheese begins to melt.
Serve hot.

– 2 Eggs
– 2 Tbsp Whole Milk
– 1/4 cup Vegan Kimchi (like Firefly or Sunja’s) (thanks kitormaybeplato )
1 Tbsp Mayonnaise (optionnel)
– 1/4 cup Arugula
– 1 Roll, sliced (I used a deli roll, but brioche would be preferable…)
– 1/2 Tbsp Butter
– Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 and toast roll slightly. Crack eggs into a small bowl and whisk until a pale yellow. Add milk and whisk until incorporated. While you’re doing this, melt butter in a saute pan on low/medium heat. Once melted, add eggs to pan. Allow to set slightly before stirring with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Continue to turn until eggs are cooked but not overdone. Spread mayo onto each side of the rolls. Pile eggs on the bottom half of the roll, followed by the kimchi, arugula and top half of the roll. Serve hot.

Hurricane Sandy was a bit gentler on the area of Greenpoint that I live in than other parts of the neighborhood. I took a long walk along the waterfront this morning where thankfully things didn’t look too bad, though I’m sure there are businesses and apartments that are in worse shape nearby. While standing at the end of India looking out towards Manhattan, staring at thousands of apartments without water or power and a car-less FDR, a stranger remarked that it was “sort of anti-climatic.” Wanted to slap him. Sandy wreaked havoc on so many people and communities up and down the coast, I feel very fortunate that last night I was able to tell my worried family and friends that I was safe and going to sleep in a warm bed. I’m still wrapping my head around the impact this has had/will have. Hope you’re all safe too, you’re on my mind. xo

(serves 6-7)
In the midst of wedding season, it’s good to have a few ideas on hand for any bridal shower brunches you’ll be attending. I made this for my friend Emma’s party. It’s all bagels, salads and Brooklyn-inspired cocktails today.

1 dozen Eggs, boiled, peeled and chopped 2/3 cup of Mayonnaise 4 teaspoons Whole Grain Mustard 2 Radishes, chopped small2/3 cup of Mayonnaise 1 Tbsp Capers1 1/2 Tbsp Lemon Juice1 Tbsp Scallions, sliced thin (whites and light green) 1 Tbsp fresh Tarragon, chopped Fresh Pepper to taste
Sliced Bread or Bagels (I managed to have neither of these at my house, so my picture is sans bread)In a bowl, toss all ingredients together. Spread on bread and serve.

Last week I was back in my home state of Washington for the 4th of July. It was a crazy week but I managed to get in family time, friend time and time in the woods. Though I consider myself a East Coast lady at the core, once I was back in the dirt in the fresh air, I was like a fish to water. Speaking of water, my mom and I took a day hike along the Skokomish River at Staircase. I remember camping there as a kid and spending lots of time in the river moving rocks around to create mini rapids. I probably would have done the same again if I’d had the time.

I also saw my little lady niece, who is so cute it’s frightening. She said my name for the first time! Well she said something like “Bee-ee-ny” but close enough.

I’ll admit that I cheated a little and bought canned jam, but I was hungry and was daydreaming of the guava paste I’d had with a cheese plate at Dumont last week… The Goya guava jam I used is vegetarian – pectin is the thickening agent.

Ingredients

– 2 slices of good Bread
– 1/4 cup Guava Jam
– Cayenne Pepper (to taste)
– Sliced Havarti Cheese (I used a little less than 1/4 of a pound)
– 1-2 Tbsp Butter 

Directions

In a bowl, combine guava jam and cayenne pepper. Taste as you add cayenne until it reaches the desired level of spiciness. Spread a generous amount of jam on one side of both pieces of bread. Layer with havarti cheese. Put sandwich together and spread outside sides of bread with butter. Grill each side to golden brown on medium/high heat in a saute or griddle. Remove from heat, cool slightly and cut. Some summer pics.

And we’re back! On the East Coast that is.  Between work, the flight to Atlanta, pool lounging, seeing Tiffany and Clarence get hitched, attending a fish fry (I resisted a taste test,) and eating a vegetarian soul food brunch at Soul Vegetarian, I haven’t had a chance to sit down and rehash a meal I made way back in Washington. 
I hadn’t cooked for my mom before, so I was definitely a bit intimidated.  My dear mother used to spend days digging through old Bon Apetit magazines for the right cookie recipe and routinely throws epic parties at her house for friends and family.  She has always had a flair for food and entertaining, and is one of the reasons I love it too. Luckily, I had a few ideas of how to win her over.  1. Blueberries – I often tell friends about how mom would drag along my brother and I to the blueberry field in town to help her pick pounds of berries to freeze for future use.  At the time I felt enslaved (don’t get me started on having to pick blackberries from the sticker bushes on our street,) but perhaps those hours in the hot sun had a positive effect on me!  I nearly fainted when I saw a recipe for Blueberry Avocado Salsa and I knew she’d feel the same. 


Blueberry Avocado Salsa (via Manifest Vegan)
1 1/2 cups fresh tomatoes, quartered2 cups fresh blueberries2 tbsp lime juice + extra for drizzling onto avocados1/4 cup green onions, chopped1/2 cup fresh cilantro1 tsp sea salt1 tbsp chopped jalepeno pepper1 ripe avocado, cut into small chunks (I recommend two)1/2 cup chopped red onion (I wished the salsa had a bit more bite to it, so I would add this in for next time)
Directions:
Pulse all ingredients (except for avocado) a few times in a food processor. Cut up your avocado and drizzle with lime juice. Stir in chopped avocado with the rest of your salsa ingredients. Add a touch more salt if desired. Serve immediately. (no joke with the serve immediately part.  It was beautiful the day I made it, but lost some of its glorious color by the next day.)
2. Brie – My family loves cheese.  My brother and I would often always snack on slices of Tillamoock when we got home from school.  We were not a fruit snacks family, we were a cheese family.  Our tastes have since evolved (though I still find Tillamoock at both my brother and mom’s houses whenever I am in town) and now I always find a round of brie when I visit.  This time I used it in a grilled flatbread sandwich.


Brie & Apple Flatbread Sandwich for one sandwich
1 piece of flatbread (you could make this with a variety of breads, but this is what was in the cupbaord at the time)4 slices of good brie1/4 of an apple, sliced thin (green apple is best for its tartness)1/2 red onion, chopped1/4 cup chopped walnuts2 tbls olive oilsalt & pepper to tasteOther things that might be good that I didn’t have:Handful of arugula  (for its pepper flavor)Whole grain mustard Honey (for a bit of sweetness)Candy the walnuts with a bit of brown sugarHeat oven to 350 degrees and toast walnuts in a pan until brown.  In a small sauce pan saute red onion, olive oil and salt over medium heat until onions caramelize, stirring frequently.  Layer brie and apple one half of the bread and pile with onion and walnuts (you can add in optional ingredients at this time.)  Fold in half.Heat up pan on medium heat (or panini maker if you’re fancy) and toast each side of the sandwich until cheese begins to melt.  Serve immediately. 
While I love the taste of apple and brie together, next time I make this sandwich, I will likely tweak a few things (namely the items listed under “other.)  I love creating combinations as I go, but sometimes they require some adjustments.  If you make this and have new ideas, please share!  I’m looking forward to this week of downtime before things take off again.  Montreal is in the air until my passport arrives, but Philly is on for next weekend and I’ll be going up to Boston for work at the end of the month.  Perhaps it’s time to start looking at some fall recipes.