Sprout & Pea

There’s a first time for everything and this week was both my first bike accident and my first time making lentils. My weekend started off great with friends and family in town- birthday celebrations, brunches, dinners, a whole lot of cake and a whole lot of love. On Sunday, we decided to make the most of my guests’ last day in town and also take advantage of the fleeting 80 degree weather. So, my friends rented some bikes and we set out for the tour de Brooklyn (not to be confused with the Tour de Taco- an actual annual and awesome event). Things started out great and it was shaping up to be a beautiful afternoon. Then it happened- my tire and the sidewalk got into a little quarrel that resulted in my face meeting the ground. Continue reading “Warm Lentils With Leeks, Tomatoes & Avocado” »

For my last day at my old job my amazing intern Eli gave me one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen – a mini le creuset! It even matches the color of my large one. I had been thinking of purchasing some ramekins to make some baked eggs in, but this special little gift was oing to work even better. My downtime for cooking has been a bit limited recently with friends in town and starting a new job and lots of other exciting events and trips happening, but each day this adorable mini le creuset has been starting me in the face, waiting for me to cook with it. Finally, I had an evening to myself and so I stopped at the market on my way home from work, got all of the ingredients that I had been salivating over for the past month and got to work. Continue reading “Baked Eggs With Shallots, Tomatoes & Cheese” »

When I traveled to Israel last April, I experienced my own little food heaven, which included, amongst other tasty delights, a plethora of humus dishes, an introduction to Labneh and one of my favorite breakfasts, Shakshuka, or eggs baked with a tomato sauce. Upon my return to the states, I had long forgotten about this incredible breakfast dish, that is until some very special eggs were gifted to me. My friend and co-worker Corey just so happens to raise (along with bees) some beautiful chickens in his backyard in Brooklyn. I’ve been begging him for some fresh eggs for over a year now, and the other day, a beautiful little box of them arrived on my desk. Continue reading “Baked Egg In A Tomato With Parmesan” »

After a long relaxing weekend (special related shout out below), I wanted to start my Monday off right, so I challenged myself to make a dish that I had once failed at preparing properly: white bean burgers. The first time around, I was convinced that I could make these without any kind of starchy binding, and that an egg would be enough to hold the ingredients together- but alas, as the nicely formed patties broke apart in my pan, I knew I had to give this another go. Enter one of my favorite ingredients for cookie making, quinoa flakes.
Continue reading “White Bean Burger With Scallion & Greek Yogurt Sauce” »

My roommate was nice enough to meet me after work to run some errands this week. Not so surprisingly, after a cold walk home, we were both craving warm Mexican food. Instead of shelling out money at our favorite local spot, I decided to make a big steaming bowl of improvisational layer dip.  We had some Cannellini beans and extra sharp cheddar cheese at home, so we just picked up some ingredients to make some guacamole and I tossed it all into a Pyrex layer by layer and baked it in the oven.

Continue reading “White Bean & Guacamole Layer Dip” »

Lately, it’s become known that if you’re coming to my house for dinner, you should not make any plans to go out and socialize after. This is due to my affinity for cooking with garlic. So, in proper Mardi form, I invited some friends over for dinner last night and served them some garlicky pesto pasta.
Continue reading “Quinoa Pasta With Pesto & Fresh Tomatoes” »