Thai Green Curry

Saturday morning has become the time when I scour my favorite food blogs for recipes to try.  My recipe bookmarks folder definitely has up to hundreds of entries.  Sometime (and sometime might not come until the summer) I want to sort through those bookmarks and organize them.

Today, I decided to try making Thai green curry.  Two years ago, I had previously tried (but failed) in making Thai red curry.  That time, no matter what I tried, I couldn't get it to taste just right.  And so, when I decided that I would try making a Thai curry again, it was a decision made with some apprehension.

Italian Sausage and Onions

My Sunday dinners are usually extremely simple, if I happen to eat dinner.  For some reason, it is a common occurrence that I stuff myself at lunch with friends after church; today was no exception.  Today, dreary and drizzling as it was, was the perfect day for pho.  After finishing lunch at 2, I wasn't hungry again until 8 (and even then, I really only made dinner so that I would have food to bring to work tomorrow).

So, I settled for something simple.  The recipe I loosely followed can be found here:  Italian Sausage and Onions Recipe

I modified it by drizzling the onions and the sausage with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, freshly ground pepper, in addition to the rosemary and the kosher salt.  The whole meal took me about 30 minutes.  While the sausage was in the oven, I just cooked up some yu choy with dried shrimp and heated up some leftover rice.  And of course, I made extra so that I would have lunch for tomorrow.  I love days at work when I am excited to eat my lunch.  

I liked it.  Simple and easy and it hit the spot.

Caprese Salad

As someone who has not been especially fond of cheese, I was as surprised as anyone when I realized that I enjoy eating fresh mozzarella.  I think it's the light flavor and soft texture.  I was eating it as I was cutting it.  It was marvelous.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I love roasted vegetables.  I especially love the simplicity of them.  Just toss them with some ingredients, pop them in the oven and they're good to go.

Previously, I've made roasted cauliflower on multiple occasions as a complement to meat dishes.  (The recipe I use can be found here: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/roasted_cauliflower/)

My roommate and I decided to venture into the world of Brussels sprouts since we both had not been exposed to them as children.  For a good portion of my life, I had Brussels sprouts confused with alfalfa sprouts.  After we cooked them, the consensus was that we would add Brussels sprouts to our rotation of vegetables we consume.

Chicken Pesto Pizza

I wish I had posted this earlier, because I can't quite remember everything that I did.  The crust of the pizza is  a whole wheat pita.  I brushed both sides with olive oil and heated it on a pan for about 45 seconds on each side.  For the chicken, I boiled it, cut it into small pieces and tossed it with pesto.  The cheese on top is cheddar cheese.  (Ideally, it would have been fresh mozzarella, but I didn't have any on hand.)  Then I put the pizza in a toaster oven and broiled it for about 2 minutes, or until the cheese was melted.

With the leftover chicken, I stir-fried kale with chopped onions and then tossed the kale and the chicken together.

Low-Fat Banana Bread

One of the oldest recipes I've been using is this recipe for low-fat banana bread:  http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,184,140180-237203,00.html

I found this recipe almost 4 years ago when I first really started cooking and baking.  The compliments I've received on this banana bread are especially satisfying since no butter is used.  And I don't especially enjoy using butter while cooking or baking, so when it comes to making different types of breads, I'm all for using alternatives.

I never seem to have nuts on hand, so I didn't use any chopped nuts.  It does seem like it would be a great addition to it though.  Also, in an effort to be less wasteful, I use the whole egg, not just the whites.

I made this last week after a 3 year hiatus.  Though I didn't get a chance to taste any, people said they really liked it.  No pictures though.

Ja Jang Myun

Today I was especially excited to make dinner for a few reasons:

• I didn't eat dinner yesterday.
• I had time to make dinner.
• The last time I made Ja Jang Myun was about a year ago.