Tiny Kitchen Blog

London Eats

Above: Definitely a “London tourist” kind of photo. Too bad there are no fish and chips pictured.

A few weeks ago my mom and I went to England to visit family. It was a lovely trip, despite it being quite chilly outside for most of our stay. So we had all the more reason to stay inside, drink lots of instant coffee, and eat! Everyone in my family is an excellent cook, so I ate more than my share of roast lamb, new potatoes, risotto, creamy leeks, and chocolate biscuits throughout the week (though not all in one sitting).

Above: Poppy Cottage’s front gate. Poppy Cottage is my aunt’s new house in Shrewsbury — it’s a converted piggery! Now home to people and terriers, but no pigs.

Above: Poppy Cottage’s back garden. Barren now, I’m sure it will be beautiful come spring. My aunt Deborah is a great gardener, and the previous tenant had been growing a whole range of flora. Look past the green fence to the sheep grazing in the far field!

Above: Potatoes in cream at Poppy Cottage. Part of a supremely delicious roast lamb dinner.

My mom and I also spent two nights and a day in London, which was a great mini-adventure. It was exciting to see more of the city than I ever have before — sadly I don’t have many memories from my London toddler days. We managed to visit four museums (the British Library, the British Museum, the Royal Academy of Art, and the Tate Britain), eat at two great restaurants (more on that below), and did a short walking tour past several iconic London buildings (Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament). We also walked through St. James’s Park and were lucky enough to witness a changing of the guards ceremony! Did you know you that the London guards must be men, and the horses must be black? Looks like Blaze and I are out of the running.

Above: Can you believe that my mom used to LIVE in one of these apartments? Back in the day her share of the rent was only £80 a month or some similarly depressing amount of money. My sad vinyl-sided three-story building just does not compare!

I didn’t know much about London cuisine, but I knew there had to be great Indian food around, so dining at an Indian restaurant was high on my list. There’s a pretty large Indian population in London, and while we didn’t go to the more Indian-centric neighborhood (Hounslow, pretty far outside of central London), my mom found a two-block mecca chock full of Indian restaurants not too far from Euston Station.

Based on its online reviews, we chose the vegetarian buffet at Ravi Shankar. And it was incredible. I have never seen such a wide range of vegetarian Indian dishes, even at some of the very authentically Indian restaurants in Jackson Heights in New York. Check out my plate below — we feasted on mini dosas, channa masala, saag paneer, naan, papadums, roast potatoes and peppers, couscous with kidney beans, vegetable pakoras, various crisp salads, and a delicious mango chutney. This meal was unforgettable — aside from one spicy dish, everything was more aromatic than hot. I highly, highly recommend this restaurant if you find yourself in London with a craving for Indian food! The buffet had a great lunchtime deal of only £6.75 per person.

As anticipated, the desserts at Ravi Shankar were decidedly weird, but still enjoyable. The little square is a carrot halva, and the circle is some sort of gulab jamun relative.

For dinner we headed to a very cute neighborhood called Covent Garden. It was nice to be in a neighborhood that I could visualize myself living in — the amount of cute little bars and restaurants definitely reminded me of trendy Brooklyn ‘hoods. There was also a theatre district that had lots of lights and neon signs…sort of the Times Square of London, but 100% classier.

We ate at a wonderful Tapas restaurant, La Tasca, that was very busy but still had a great atmosphere. They had giant paella pans hanging on the walls, and offered a great selection of gluten-free fare. My mom and I shared several small plates, some wine, and a fantastic chocolate cake for dessert. The menu very clearly indicated which tapas options were gluten-free (many of them!), and none of them were more expensive than the other choices. Together we had a spanish tortilla with red pepper tapenade, roasted pork belly with rosemary and white beans, paella of the day (chicken and chorizo), and salted grilled shrimp with lemon.

Our meal at La Tasca was delicious — every dish was perfectly prepared, and the portions were ample yet tapas-appropriate. La Tasca was also very well-priced for its quality of food and the part of London we were in.

So, as you can see, it was quite a wonderful trip. I’m sad not to be able to visit these restaurants on a regular basis — so I guess it’s time to start cooking Indian food again at home, and seeking out a good tapas restaurant in NYC!

Grilled Eggplant with Harissa Paste

Have you ever heard of Harissa? I hadn’t until last week, when I was browsing through one of my Grandma’s magazines and stumbled upon a few recipes that featured this spicy red paste. Since I am a fan of all things spicy (and things that require me to use my lovely food processor), I resolved to try making Harissa paste as soon as I returned to my Tiny Kitchen.

For those not in the know — Harissa is a spicy North African condiment made with red chillies and various aromatic spices. Apparently North Africans use Harissa for everything — a base for your soup or stew, a spread for your sandwich, a marinade for your lamb — it’s akin to Americans and their ketchup (and perhaps me with Sriarcha). NPR has more to say about Harissa here.

Harissa Paste is:

♥  1 red pepper
♥  2 red chilies*
♥  1 tbsp coriander seeds
♥  1 tbsp cumin seeds
♥  3 tbsp olive oil
♥  1 tbsp red wine vinegar
♥  1 tsp salt
♥  juice of 1 lemon

♥  Step One: Roughly chop up red pepper and red chilies. Place in food processor.

♥  Step Two: Toast coriander and cumin seeds in a skillet over a low flame for about three minutes. Watch the pan closely; these can burn easily.

♥  Step Three: Add these toasted seeds to the food processor, along with the olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, and lemon juice.

♥  Step Four: Puree until a paste forms. 

As you can see in the photos above, I slathered some of the paste on sliced eggplant, then grilled in a George Foreman for about 2 minutes each side. Stuffed in a whole wheat pita with arugula and greek yoghurt, it made for a very tasty dinner.

*Notes on spice: using two fresh red chilies from my local Asian market made the Harissa paste pretty spicy — as in, medium-to-hot spicy. Not unbearable. For less spice, maybe use less of these chilies, or use jalapenos instead. De-seeding would also be a way to reduce spice.

Harissa paste is a very versatile condiment or base for many dishes — check out all these recipes I found that feature the paste! 

♥  Harissa-spiced Lamb Burgers from BBC Good Food

♥  Harissa Spaghettini from 101 Cookbooks

♥  Spicy Sausages with Harissa and Couscous from Time For A Little Something

♥  Lentil & Veggie Burger from Akshayapaatram
♥  Zucchini, Harissa & Herb Pizza from Om Nom Ally

Salmon Success!

Well, I am pleased to report that Round 2 of salmon-cooking was much more successful than Round 1. This time was much more thought-out: we followed Mark Bittman’s simple four-spice salmon recipe, and I had Asher do the actual cooking of the fish, while I focused on the kale & brussel sprout salad.

If you’re not familiar with Mark Bittman, then you really need to be. He is a great chef and author of several cookbooks (“How to Cook Everything” and so on), as well as a New York Times Dining section writer. His video series, The Minimalist, is not to be ignored. His recipes are very simple, often feature seasonal fare, and focus on the true flavor of the food rather than adding a bunch of add-ins to disguise it.

We watched the Minimalist video for four-spice salmon, and followed it pretty much to the tee. The only way we differed was the cooking time — Marky B suggests 2-3 minutes per side, but we needed more like 5-7 minutes per side. We also cut each fish chunk in half to facilitate faster cooking. The added cooking time was definitely necessary for me, since I prefer my fish to be fully-cooked — the original recipe is for salmon that is partially raw in the middle. Fine, but not for me.

See? So perfectly flaky and fully-cooked!

We paired this salmon with a great Kale and Brussel Sprout Salad:

♥  juice of half a lemon
♥  1 tbsp dijon mustard
♥  1 tbsp minced shallot or onion
♥  1 garlic clove, minced or grated
♥  1/4 tsp salt
♥  1/4 tsp pepper
♥  6 oz brussel sprouts (one large package of fresh brussel sprouts)
♥  1 bunch of kale (or 3-4 cups of pre-shredded kale)
♥  1/4 cup olive oil
♥  handful slivered almonds
♥  1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1. Combine lemon juice, mustard, shallot/onion, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk. 

2. Cook brussel sprouts in microwave — about six minutes in a covered pyrex dish.

3. Combine brussel sprouts with kale in large mixing bowl. Toss with lemon juice etc dressing. Add parmesan and almonds. Toss again and serve!

(If you can’t tell from the quantities above — this makes a LOT of kale and brussel sprout salad! Cut this recipe in half if you don’t want it go very far, or be prepared to eat it for the next few days. I’ve been eating it for lunch every day this week with a veggie burger!)

Sesame Cabbage Salad & Crispy Baked Tofu

When I was younger, I would religiously order Sesame Chicken at Chinese restaurants. Something about the crispy chicken and sickly sticky sauce really resonated with my uber-picky palate. Since then I’ve branched out a bit, and will try (albeit not like) just about any food. For those of you laughing about this statement, please note that I have tried shredded Beef Tendon and cold Jellyfish in the past few months!

Anyway, I still enjoy food that has a crispy crust and a sticky sweet sauce…and I’ve found that it’s pretty easy to make at home (and is much better for you than restaurant fare). I paired my crispy baked tofu with a fresh and crunchy cabbage salad — far healthier than a blob of white rice. The Tofu Glaze brings tanginess to the dish, and adds the flavor that tofu often lacks.

There are three parts to this dish. Don’t be overwhelmed by the somewhat lengthy ingredient list! The Cabbage Salad’s dressing and Tofu Glaze ingredients are virtually the same:

PART ONE: Cabbage Salad
♥  1/2 head red cabbage, sliced into thin (1/4” strips)
♥  1/2 head green cabbage, sliced into thin (1/4” strips)
♥  1 cucumber, chopped
♥  handful cilantro, chopped
♥  sesame dressing:
    - 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
    - 2 tbsp honey or agave sweetener
    - 2 tbsp sesame or peanut oil
    - 1/2 cup rice vinegar
    - salt & pepper
    - 1 tbsp (about 1”) grated ginger
    - 1 tsp (about half a clove) grated garlic

Toss cabbage, cucumber, and cilantro with sesame dressing. 

——————

PART TWO: Crispy Baked Tofu
Press, marinade, slice, and bake tofu according to directions here or here.

——————

PART THREE: Tofu Glaze
♥  1/2 cup mirin
♥  1 tbsp soy sauce
♥  1 tbsp sesame or peanut oil
♥  1 tsp rice vinegar
♥  1 tbsp honey
♥  1 tbsp grated ginger
♥  1 tbsp grated garlic
♥  1 tbsp sesame seeds
♥  1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water

Combine all ingredients, except for cornstarch goo, in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat until sauce begins to boil. Immediately turn off heat, add cornstarch goo, and whisk to combine. Drizzle over tofu.

Weekend Breakfast

After hosting a mini-bachelorette party for my lovely coworker on Friday night, I woke up on Saturday morning needing a good filling breakfast. I was inspired by a post my friend Maggie had pinned earlier this week — a Sweet Potato, Caramelized Onion, and Eggy dish. This meal was super easy to pull together: I caramelized the onions in a skillet on the stove in the time it took to microwave chopped up sweet potatoes in a covered Pyrex dish (about 8 minutes). I then scrambled two eggs, threw it all together, and seasoned with salt, pepper, and paprika. It needed a healthy dose of Sriracha (but what meal doesn’t?), and I wish I had had some greens in the mix, but overall I very much enjoyed this quick, filling, healthy breakfast.

Speaking of weekend breakfasts — Graphic Designer Liz Fabry has a wonderful series of weekend breakfast photography on her blog. Her photos are beautiful, and the food she prepares are always looks delicious and inventive!

“Crispy” Salmon

Well, Curry Paste Meal #2 sadly did not turn out as well as Curry Paste Meal #1 did. As you can see above, the curry paste burned into quite the crispy crust on the salmon. I will say that it tasted better than it looked, and I know I’ll be reading up on how to properly cook fish for next time.

I “enjoyed” this fish with a side salad of arugula + a sprinkling of parmesan + lemon juice, plus some sliced zucchini sauteed in soy sauce.

Weekend Prep: Curry Paste

Sunday is officially my new day of rest and food prep for the week. I’ve been devoting the last few Sundays to an enjoyable routine of exercising, grocery shopping, lunching, and prepping food for the week. This includes anything from making a full meal for my Mon-Wed’s work lunches, to chopping/roasting/par-boiling food for future meals, to making a big batch of cookies.

This past Sunday I decided to make some Curry Paste for the week. Some weeks I really enjoy planning out every meal, while other weeks I like just buying food that can be prepared in different ways dependent on what I feel like on a particular night. I figured this Curry Paste would be a good base for any meal — veggies, meat, or fish. And I was right! It didn’t take long to make this Curry Paste on Sunday, and having it on hand certainly diminished the cooking time of the veggie dish you see above.

To make the Curry Paste (adapted from one of Jamie Oliver’s cookbooks), I combined the ingredients below, and pulsed in my food processor until they made a puree:

♥  1/2 onion, chopped
♥  heaping handful chopped tomatoes, or 2 tbsp tomato paste/puree
♥  1 tsp ginger powder, or freshly grated ginger
♥  1 tsp chili or cayenne powder
♥  3 tsp garam masala
♥  1/2 tsp salt
♥  2 tbsp peanut oil
♥  1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted
♥  1 tbsp coriander seeds, toasted

(makes a little over one cup of Curry Paste)

And to make the dish above, I first sauteed the other half of the onion (chopped) until soft and golden, then added pre-cooked cauliflower, green beans, and chick peas from a can. I let those guys warm up in the skillet (over medium heat), then added about half a cup of the Curry Paste. Be careful not to over-cook your veggies (especially green beans!) if they’re already cooked. I then added some chopped cilantro, a small pot of plain greek yoghurt, the juice of half a lemon, and some salt to taste. This cooking time was about 15 minutes — pretty good for a Monday night!

I’m excited to try the rest of the Curry Paste on some fish or chicken later this week. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

Philly Eats

This post is long, long overdue, and I don’t have much of an excuse. Rather, my excuses are pretty pathetic — just your standard “work is busy, it’s freezing outside, and all I want to do is snuggle down with three blankets, my imaginary cat, and a laptop full of Friends re-runs.” 

This post has been planned for some time — Asher and I visited Philadelphia for a few days after Christmas, and we’re popping back down for a day trip the first Saturday in March. It was my first time in Philly, and I liked it a lot — a great art and culture scene, cool and affordable restaurants, a bustling Chinatown, cute shops, lots of history, and a more relaxed vibe than NYC (of course). If I weren’t so enamored with (and employed in) New York, Philadelphia would definitely be a city I’d like to live in. 

Our main point of the trip was to visit the Barnes Foundation. This museum is the result of a recent transplant of Dr. Albert Barnes’ incredible art collection from his estate in Merion, PA, to an impressive modern gallery in the heart of Philadelphia. The building itself is magnificent, and the art on display is like none other — HUNDREDS of paintings by Cezanne, Degas, Gauguin, van Gogh, Goya, Manet, Matisse, and the like are hung in intimate gallery spaces in the same layouts that Dr. Barnes first envisioned for his estate galleries. 

But I digress. This is a food blog, so here are some photos of what we ate over those two days (yes, we ate in Chinatown twice — totally normal for us). Philadelphia has a diverse array of restaurants, and we enjoyed every meal we had there.

Philly Eats 1: Sang Kee Peking Duck House
Sang Kee Peking Duck House is very highly-rated on Yelp — the reason we went — and the reviews are spot on. We stopped in on a snowy afternoon for a late lunch, and were not disappointed. We enjoyed hot tea, wonton soup, steamed veggie dumplings, and the peking duck two ways: first in light pancakes with hoisin sauce, then in a stir fry with lots of green pepper and bean sprouts. This was my first taste of peking duck, and it was delicious. This duck was markedly less greasy and salty than our regular NYC Chinese joints. 

Philly Eats 2: Reading Terminal Market
If you’re in Philadelphia and want to sample various local, authentic Philly fare on the cheap, Reading Terminal Market is the place to be. This bustling (crowded at peak hours) market is packed with specialty vendors — Philly cheesesteaks, Greek food, pizza, seafood, meat, and LOTS of baked goods and candies from the Pennsylvania Dutch folk. We split a Philly cheesesteak with mushrooms and hot peppers from Carmen’s, which we were told had the best cheesesteaks around. Apparently the title of “best cheesesteak” is quite the hot topic, and very much disputed, but I thought this one from Carmen’s was delicious. We also shared a fried fish sammie from Beck’s Cajun Food. A bit heavy on the mayo, it didn’t surpass the cheesesteak, but was still pretty yummy. And lots of fun to sample so many different kinds of food in one place. The cannoli and chocolate pretzels we got were sadly consumed before they could be photographed.

Philly Eats 3: Nan Zhou Hand Drawn Noodle House
Our last meal in Philly was at Nan Zhou Hand Drawn Noodle House. After a full day of walking around in the freezing cold looking at historical landmarks, this huge bowl of pork noodle soup was just what I needed. Asher ordered the Shredded Beef Tendon as an appetizer — I had one bite and enjoyed the spicy marinade, but was a little repulsed by the texture. Anyway, this Noodle House has top-notch noodles (as you may expect), some oddities on the menu, and really great prices. Definitely worth a visit.

Not pictured:
We also got food to go from HipCityVeg. HipCityVeg is “fast food” that is all organic and wholesome foods. Many of the options are vegan. I had a great Fajita Wrap with Chik’n and a chipotle sauce, while Asher had the Udon Noodle Salad. We shared the sweet potato fries with a cilantro - black bean dipping sauce. The girl that worked there (plus another customer) recommended that we stop by Food And Friends for some craft beer to go. Then we enjoyed our HipCityVeg meal with our Food And Friends beverages back in our fancy hotel room (and watched some trashy TV). This is a meal I would recreate on a regular basis if I lived in Philly!

Whole Wheat Hamantaschen

This weekend is Purim, a Jewish holiday celebrating how the Jews avoided persecution under a mean ruler, Haman. Purim is a very festive Jewish holiday (many of the other holidays are more about reflecting than having fun); there is even a mandatory decree to imbibe a lot of alcohol! One of the commonly eaten foods during Purim (see others here) is Hamantaschen, cookies shaped like the villain Haman’s three cornered hat (or ear, some believe). 

Since I am not Jewish, Purim is just a fun excuse to make some sweet treats. Though these Hamantaschen are not even all that sweet — there’s only three tablespoons of sugar in the whole recipe. But the apricot jam helps, so you end up with a dense, rich cookie with a burst of flavor in the middle.

I followed Smitten Kitchen’s recipe for Hamantaschen pretty closely, only deviating in a few ways (marked in bold below). My folding technique, however, was pretty distinct from hers — due to the all the folding recommendations in the comments.

Hamantaschen are:
♥  8 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
♥  3 oz cream cheese
♥  3 tbsp sugar
♥  1 egg
♥  1 tsp vanilla
♥  1/2 tsp orange zest
♥  1 1/3 cup plus 4 tsp whole wheat flour
♥  1/4 tsp salt
♥  apricot jam — I used 1 tsp (NOT tbsp) per Hamantaschen

You will need: a rolling pin (or beer bottle), a cup/glass with 2-3” rim diameter, a cookie tray lined with foil or parchment paper, a large mixing bowl

♥  Step One: Combine cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl. I used a hand mixer to make this happen. 

♥  Step Two: Add sugar, mix for another minute. Add vanilla, egg, orange zest, and salt — at this point you can probably just stir to combine.

♥  Step Three: Add flour. Stir. A lump of dough should form; it will be quite sticky. If too wet, add more flour. I found mine was a bit too dry, and left some flour crumbles in the bowl.

♥  Step Four: Wrap dough ball tightly in plastic wrap. Chill in refrigerator for one hour.

♥  Step Five: Divide dough ball into two parts. Take Ball #1 out of the fridge and roll out on a floured surface. Roll to about 1/4” thin. I never really know how thick my dough ends up being, so I would suggest rolling it pretty thin, just barely thick enough to be substantial and not look like it’s going to break.

♥  Step Six: Find a cup that has a rim with a diameter of 2-3”. My cup’s rim was 2 1/2” in diameter. Use this cup to cut out discs of dough. Follow the folding directions below to form your Hamantaschen. Instead of pinching up to make “walls,” fold the dough over the jam. Almost as if you are tucking the jam into bed. It will get easier as you go along. I found it most efficient to transfer the flat disc to your (lined) cookie sheet, then plop on the 1 tsp of jam, then fold it up. Pinch those corners tight to avoid jammy leaks!

♥  Step Seven: Repeat Steps Five and Six with your second ball of dough. Once all Hamantaschen are formed, bake for about 20 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown. Be aware — the corners brown much faster than the rest of the cookie!

♥  Step Eight: Cool and enjoy!

Sesame Tofu & Broccoli Stir Fry

This stir-fry would be a pretty easy weeknight dinner — the only step that takes time is making the sauce for the tofu, and it’s well worth it. I made it this weekend for my lunch for the week…and it’s 10am and I’m already looking forward to eating it.

Sesame Tofu & Broccoli Stir Fry is:
♥  1 carton of tofu, drained and pressed
♥  1 large head/2 small heads broccoli, with the head chopped into florets and the stalks diced into half-inch/bite-size cubes
♥  1 spring onion, chopped, whites and greens divided
♥  1 cup brown rice, prepared
♥  Sesame seeds, to garnish

Sesame Tofu sauce is:
♥  1/3 cup honey
♥  4 tbsp soy sauce
♥  4 tbsp rice wine vinegar
♥  2 tbsp hoisin (plum) sauce
♥  1 tbsp ginger powder
♥  2 tbsp oil (sesame, peanut, or regular olive)
♥  2 garlic cloves, minced
♥  1 tsp red pepper flakes

Whisk to combine above ingredients to make sauce.

♥  Step One: Press the moisture out of your tofu — after draining it, place tofu on a plate, cover with paper towels, then rest several books or other plates on top. Let sit for 20-30 minutes. This will squish the water out of your tofu, meaning it will crisp up more easily. The Kitchn has good tips here.

♥  Step Two: Cook brown rice (1 cup rice + 2.5 cups water, bring to boil, then simmer for 40 mins). If you start cooking the brown rice at the beginning of this meal prep, it’ll be done by the time you need it.

♥  Step Three: Cook broccoli. I steamed mine in the microwave (place florets in glass/ceramic bowl with lid, fill bowl halfway with water, microwave for 3-6 minutes).

♥  Step Four: Once your tofu is pressed, slice into strips 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick. Toss strips in about half of the sauce. Be gentle; tofu is floppy and will break!

♥  Step Five: Line a baking tray with tin foil, and scatter the sauced tofu strips on the tray. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 425F for 30 minutes, flipping the tofu at the halfway mark. Bake for longer if your tofu doesn’t get crispy.

♥  Step Six: Combine rice, cooked broccoli, spring onion whites, and baked tofu strips in a large frying pan or wok. Add remaining sauce, and cook over low heat for 5 mins or so. Scatter spring onion greens. Stir to combine all elements. 

♥  Step Seven: Enjoy!I added sesame seeds and some bean sprouts before serving.