Pear Tart

Soo we had a lot of pears in the house and I'm really starting to like this baking thing.

I was tempted to buy a crust, but I decided to make it instead and it was definitely worth it. Flaky, buttery, and delicious.


I actually prefer apples to pears, but I have no complaints about this tart. Here's the recipe.

Key Lime Pie Part II

With kiwi slices to disguise the edges, and lime zest to disguise the middle, no one was the wiser.

An Unfortunate First for the Nom Blog

Today I decided to make a key lime pie. Everything was going well until the last minute, when I impulsively decided that I wanted to tint it light green. I poured the filling into the pie shell and mixed in the food coloring afterward, resulting in awkward green streaks around the edges of the pie. When I poked at the streaks with a fork, the graham-cracker crust caved in, and large chunks of it broke off into the pie. I tried to fish the little devils out, but they crumbled and dispersed.

It is with a heavy heart that I present this unappealing photograph!

Fruit-related Morsels

Fruit! Taking advantage of summer with strawberry lemonade:

And watermelon:

And Nana made peach pie, which we had with French vanilla ice cream:

Nom nom nom.
I shall post San Francisco food pictures when I get back!

In-N-Out Burger

The well-loved In-N-Out Burger is a Californian creation. It's family-owned and boasts about its great quality: they grind their own meat and make their own patties, bake their own spongy buns, cut their own potatoes into strips, and cook everything fresh-to-order.

It is tasty. I wasn't sure that I wanted a burger beforehand, but once I took a bite...yum.

Brandon and I shared a double-double burger with fries and light lemonade.

Some items can be ordered off-menu, too: grilled cheese, 'animal-style' burgers or fries, and more (a list can be found here). But I like the classic, uncluttered sign.

Now off to dinner at a wonderful restaurant! I don't know if it'll be polite to take pictures...

Chekodilu (చకోడీలు)

Today is my sister's birthday so we made her favorite Indian snack, Chekodilu.
Here's the girl herself:
Chekodilu are made from rice flour and are seasoned with ajwain, cumin, red chili, salt, and sesame seeds and are fried in oil. Spicy, crunchy, and addictive. Here's a recipe.

Frosted Sugar Cookies

I love frosting! (Both the verb and the noun.)

Fresh Strawberries

Straight from the Farmer's Market in Anaheim. I love summer fruit!

Yumm!

I went to Cafe Yumm! today, and luckily had remembered my camera so I could take pictures. For those of you not in the know/not from Eugene, Cafe Yumm! is a locally owned restaurant. They're famous for their Yumm! Bowls, which is what I always get. They're vegan, and while vegan desserts creep me out (Sweet Life's top shelf, I'm talking to you), it's pretty tasty anyways. And all organic. Hello, Essence of Eugene. The bowl I get has brown rice, black beans, Yumm! sauce (which is impossible to describe, because it's unlike anything else I've ever had. Just think really tasty), tomato, avocado, olives, sour cream, cheese, and salsa. I replace the normal salsa with really spicy Jalapeno-sesame salsa, which is so delicious and adds a nice kick. When you come to visit Eugene (WHEN, not IF, and I'm talking to all of you!), you can try it yourself!
Before I mixed it all together:

And after:

Now when I talk about Yumm, you'll have a picture!

Classic Hummus

During finals week I was craving hummus like a madwoman. I caved in and bought some at the Swarthmore Co-Op, which overcharged me for a very delicious but also very small package of hummus. That's what I get for buying something with no preservatives in it.

After I read this classic recipe for hummus by the lovely Ree Drummond, I decided to make my own damn hummus. It's much cheaper, and you can customize it to your own tastes. Sometimes I don't like my hummus to be swimming in olive oil. Sometimes I want tons of garlic. Sometimes I don't. You get the idea.

It's a very easy recipe. You'll need: chickpeas, tahini (sesame paste), garlic, lemon juice, salt,and water. You can also add cumin, parsley, or basil to taste. Stick it in a blender until everything is smooth and tasty. Add olive oil at the end.

P.S. Sorry for the blurry / out-of-focus pictures. I'll try to do better.

Yum! One 15 oz. can of chickpeas (89 cents) made a lot more hummus than I expected. Definitely cost-effective. And delicious.

Carmelitas

This the easiest recipe ever - a cookie base (oatmeal, flour, butter, sugar) with caramel and melted chocolate chips on top. Ideally, you're supposed to swirl the caramel and chocolate into a pretty pattern, but these taste just as good!

Chai Bars with Honey Ginger Icing

Lebkuchen are my favorite cookies and I wanted to make some today. Never mind that they are supposed to be Christmas cookies...
But since I don't have (or feel like buying) hazelnuts or cocoa powder, I decided to go with another spiced cookie recipe: chai bars with honey ginger icing. All the ingredients are staples in the Boppana kitchen.


I like them, though they're definitely more like cake than cookies.

There are certain spices and flavors that I love: cinnamon, cardamom, honey, cloves and ginger. This recipe managed to incorporate all of them. I've already eaten quite a bit... :-)

Chocolate chip scones are good for the heart

I was feeling blue this evening, so I decided to bake scones! Chocolate chip scones, to be specific. Recipe taken from epicurious, another glorious food site. I just ate two:

Fat and happy!

Cake, Gelato, and Cheese Fries: Healthiest Meal Ever

So, I have been to Sweet Life 3 times in the past 3 days. But I only took pictures once (*hangs head in shame*). And I wasn't even eating cake! Instead, I finally tried their gelato (because it was 85 degrees out, and I figured I should get something different for my 326th trip there). Lemoncello, yummy:



My friend Sarah got their Orange Chocolate Mousse Torte:


And last night, I went to dinner with my brother and we got cheese fries. We're not going to think about how many calories they were:


That is all I have to offer right now, alas. I went to Yumm yesterday, but unfortunately forgot to take a picture. So I have to go back soon! What a tragedy. Further posts as food events warrant!

Almond Biscotti

Eee. First Post.

Yesterday my mom had a craving for biscotti, so I found this recipe for almond biscotti from Tastespotting.

I think they turned out pretty well!



They had a satisfying amount of almonds and crunchiness. And, of course, covering them in dark chocolate added a lot :-)


It was surprisingly easy and I think I'll make some this summer when I'm back at Swat!


Mmm. Especially good with coffee or tea.