quick – zezoo cooks

Blistered Garlicky Green Beans

appetizer, asian, chinese, chinese new year, dairy free, dinner, eggless, gluten free, grain free, lunch, main, savory, sides, themed, vegan, vegetarian, weeknight

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Growing up, my sister and I ate all our veggies. With my mom, there was no other option – the rule was to finish everything served on the plate whether or not we like it; if we didn’t like something, the only available option was to not have seconds. As a grown up, I haven’t necessarily been “eating all my veggies”. It’s not like I will let them go to waste (there are always stews and gratins and quesadillas to make the boring veggies disappear), but I can admit that I sometimes conveniently “forget” to buy those vegetables when I’m shopping.

My husband frequently bugs me about having “favorites” when it comes to vegetables (hello, potatoes! goodbye, spinach), and now that we have a baby, he warns me that I may not have the necessary moral high ground to make our kid eat all his veggies. Reminds me of an episode of The Big Bang Theory I recently watched where Howard (Simon Helberg) finds out they are expecting a baby, and he is totally freaking out, and tells the guys “I shouldn’t be raising a kid. I don’t even eat my own vegetables.”. Green beans were probably near the top of the list of vegetables I didn’t really care for, until I made these.

These blistered green beans from the Bon Appetit magazine are the best green beans I’ve ever had, and I don’t say such things lightly. Granted I picked this recipe only to get through the mountain of green beans we had languishing in the fridge, because someone (me) didn’t want to eat them (forget about cooking them), but I’m so very glad I did!

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[for young chefs] Kheer in a jiffy

celebration, dessert, dinner, indian, kids, kids who bake, kids who cook, lunch, maharashtrian, sweet, vegetarian, weeknight

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Kheer is a classic Indian sweet pudding, made with all sorts of things, from vermicelli to rice, to wheat berries, to tapioca pearls – the flavors are as diverse as the different states of India that make it!

Vermicelli Kheer (shevai or semiya kheer) is one of those quick desserts that we make to celebrate things big and small: the traditional recipe involves cooking vermicelli (previously sautéed low and slow in ghee, or clarified butter) in warm milk, perfumed with cardamom, until the milk reduces to about half its original volume. Raisins are plumped up in more ghee, cashews fried in some more, and finally the entire saga of it all is topped with saffron (bloomed in a teaspoon or so of warm milk).

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[for young chefs] Jam Tartlets

american, baking, dessert, kids, kids who bake, snack, sweet, vegetarian, weeknight

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Super easy and fun Jam Tartlets that come together with just 2 ingredients – 1 puff pastry sheet and half a cup of jam. Easy and fun to make for tiny hands (with a bit of help from mom or dad, of course!)

Just roll out a sheet of thawed puff pastry, cut into 9 or 16 squares (you could also use a round cookie cutter or a glass to make circles instead of squares!), add a dollop of your favorite jam (you could mix and match with different jams!), and bake!

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Garlic Whipped Parsnips

american, california, convenience, dairy free, dinner, fall, grain free, lunch, main, make ahead, savory, seasonal, sides, thanksgiving, vegan, vegetarian, weeknight, winter

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As someone who routinely dreams of sleeping on a pillow made of mashed potatoes, the carbs add up. I think they add up even if I’m innocently thinking about potatoes; one doesn’t even need consume them.

So one must look for alternatives that are lower in carbohydrates, still good with respect to fiber, and yet don’t taste like pressed sawdust. Parsnips happen to live in just that precise neighborhood, and in the winter months, are just begging to be enlisted to be whipped into perfection. Lower in calories, higher in fiber, a slightly sweet taste – if I wasn’t a potato-head I would switch to them permanently. Just kidding!

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Raw Mango and Avocado Salad

california, dairy free, dinner, grain free, lunch, salad, savory, seasonal, spring, summer, vegan, vegetarian, weeknight

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I almost didn’t write this post. I was planning to just cop out and post a few pictures on Instagram about this truly simple yet delicious salad and be done with it (terribly long week!), but there is so much to be said about the star ingredients of this salad – I decided to properly introduce them to ya’ll.

This salad features the seasonal Raw Mango (technically it’s “Unripe Mango”, although it sounds far less glamorous), known as “Kairi” in India and is on the farm stands a lot longer than its more celebrated incarnation, the Mango (riper, sweet version). Sure, the Mango is eaten many different ways (mostly as dessert) but the Raw (Unripe) Mango is extremely versatile and used in a lot of savory preparations in India. More on the subject to come your way on this blog, as we make our way through summer.

In North America, Raw Mangoes are available in regular grocery stores periodically in the spring and summer. I picked some up at the Indian grocery store few weeks ago to snack on (cut into thin wedges, with some salt and red chilli powder sprinkled on top), and figured that their tartness would pair really well with the richness of avocados! When picking these, be sure to choose Mangoes that are slightly pale green and softer to the touch (the harder ones can be bitter sometimes).

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Leftover Antipasti Pasta (Spaghetti Puttanesca)

cheese, dinner, italian, lunch, main, savory, weeknight

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Few years ago I stumbled upon the French concept of “Fromage Fort”. It literally means “strong cheese” and is basically when leftover odds and ends of cheese boards go to wine-scented cheese heaven, all dressed up for the next party as a convenient dip/spread. What a delightful and economical way to use expensive and delicious leftover cheeses and annoying 1/8th and 1/16th cups of white wines! If only all leftovers could be transformed this way.

A few weekends ago I put together my very first cheese board for a party and it was super fun! If I ate cheese (and I could eat cheese), I’d probably make a light dinner of it once a week with a big salad. But a cheese board is more about the arrangement and less about actually eating it, at least for me!

Spreads (Artichoke-Lemon, Piquillo Pepper), Crackers (Plain, Rosemary, Sourdough with Asiago), Cheeses (Aged Gouda, Ricotta Salata, Triple Creme Brie), Fig Jam, Gigante Beans, Roasted Garlic

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