This is barely a recipe but it works so well together that I want to post it to encourage people to put these together and have a really delicious day. These come together in just a few minutes and they are something that would really look impressive on a holiday or party table but it’s basically very low effort so I suggest it for your next gathering or any day you want to feel fancy with very little effort.
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Recipe: Bagels
I’m not the sort of person to tell you that you have to make bagels. Commercially available bagels aren’t particularly good but if you live near a bakery that makes fresh bagels the odds are that they’re going to be cheap and fairly good but if you can’t get bagels or happen to live in a place where they’re not particularly available this is an easy recipe which produces really good results for a home kitchen. You can rest these overnight but I’ve found that I personally like the sweet spot of about 4-6 hours in the refrigerator (at 12 hours these start to deflate for me, your results may vary). Luckily the recipe doubles easily and already made bagels last for up to 4 days without any taste or texture difference. If you can’t find molasses most sweet stuff will suffice: honey, brown sugar, and even dark corn syrup will all produce a crisp outside texture with a chewy inside – just how I like my bagels!
Continue readingRecipe: English Muffins
These aren’t too much work and will produce muffins with pretty good nooks and crannies for a great side dish with breakfast or a nice base for a sandwich. The only downside is that the batter needs to be made at least 3 hours ahead of time but that also means you can make the dough the night before and simply bake them in the morning. I baked mine on the stove in a cast iron pan but you can bake them only in the oven if you do not have a good heavy bottomed pan.
Continue readingRecipe: Crispy Potato Burger
The secret to this potato burger is actually two secrets: It uses poha (flattened rice) as a binder and also it uses crushed corn flakes as a coating this makes it the burger stick together extremely well while remaining soft in the center but gives it a good crunch on the outside. Since these are made of potato I found that they don’t freeze particularly well but you can do the prep work of making the burger patty inside ahead of time and letting it sit in the fridge to just coat with batter and cornflakes and fry at the last minute. Probably not great for every day eating but it’s a nice weekend or holiday recipe that isn’t TOO time consuming.
Continue readingRecipe: Panzanella
This is a great recipe for the summer because it’s not really cooking, it can be served cold, and it takes very minimal effort to make. Basically a dressed up bread salad and while I feel like it’s usually an appetizer dish, in the summer paired some fruit it could easily be a whole meal especially if you use really hearty bread (I used a thick seed-filled sourdough), this would pair really well with a nice piece of grilled fish or meat for a BBQ or cookout also.
Continue readingRecipe: Sweet and Sour Tofu
I was finally able to find reasonably priced firm tofu in the store so I’ve been trying out more tofu recipes lately and this is the winner by a large mile. It’s super easy to make, you can customize the sauce in a lot of ways, and it comes together with only one bowl and one pan. You can use fresh vegetables if you prefer but I love recipes where you don’t have to chop anything because some days you just don’t have the energy. I don’t love tofu but in this recipe it’s pretty tasty and it’s a nice change of pace every now and then.
Continue readingRecipe: Beet Pasta
This pasta is delightful in color and actually does not taste like beets at all so it’s basically a way to eat pink pasta. You can make the beet puree ahead of time or even make a big batch of it and freeze it (which is what I did) meaning that once you have the puree it’ll be the same 45 minutes from start to finish that regular homemade pasta is. This is honestly one of the best and easiest ways to make sensational pasta if you want to wow a friend or family.
Continue readingRecipe: Cake Salé
This is a great breakfast recipe or even a lazy hot summer afternoon. It’s basically a savory cake (as the name implies) that you can customize any way you want. I put cheese and vegetables in mine but you could easily add any type of meat or nuts or anything else your imagination wants as long as it is chopped thinly and not watery. It rises but not much so if you want bread-like slices you’ll need a narrow pan not a loaf pan. This is good plain or with a bit of butter or cream cheese and would be really nice at a tea party too.
Continue readingRecipe: Spicy Tomato Dal
This is one of those absolutely great recipes for when you have a bit of time but no time energy. You probably have everything you need on hand to make a tasty, healthy, filling, cheap, vegan, and exceptionally low effort food. The only thing you have to do is chop an onion and then sometimes check on the pot and stir it a little. This can be eaten on its own or with naan or pretty much any other bread product or even over rice. You can add in whatever you like to finish the dish: cream, nuts, cilantro, even fried onions. Also I like my dal thick but feel free to make it any consistency you like.
Continue readingRecipe: Kartoffelknödel
I’m a fan of potato recipes and I find these Kartoffelknödel (literally “potato balls”) to be both really fun to eat and extremely easy to make. They’re kind of bland on their own but they go exceptionally well with any type of cream sauce (in the picture it is a mushroom cream sauce) or alongside a very gravy-laden meat meal and they might even be fun to put in a thick cheese soup for some texture and chew.
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