Savory Muffin Recipe: Mushroom Cream Cheese Muffins

This morning, I prepared a batch of savory cake batter. I flavored it with fresh herbs from the garden, goat cheese, cream cheese, garlic and shiitake mushrooms. I baked them later in the day and had already prepared a garlic herb goat cheese spread to go along with the savory treats. It was "un délicieux en-cas", which literally means in French a "delicious in case of [I get hungry]"!

Indian Style Black Eyed Pea Rice (Pulao Recipe)

Feeding a vegetarian crowd isn't as difficult as it may seem. I usually pair a legume with rice, which is the perfect balance for a vegetarian diet. I've been getting fresh black-eyed peas (also known as "cow peas") at the local stand, and instead of serving them as a boring bean salad, I incorporated them in a rice dish, flavored with Indian spices. I've made this dish in the past; it's called "pulao". Our family loves the burnt rice at the bottom of the pot, called "kurchan".

First, I sautéed black-eyed peas in onions, garlic, cider vinegar and red chili powder. They're very firm, so they take slightly longer to cook then the parboiled dried variety. I let them simmer until tender, then finished cooking them with steamed basmati rice and baby spinach.

Korean BBQ Beef Ribs

Even though the weather wasn't as sunny as I would have expected, we still used our barbeque grill this weekend. Specifically, we grilled 3 pounds of Korean-style beef ribs. We devoured and licked every piece until there were only bones left. I buy beef ribs at a local Korean store; you'll notice there are 3 types of ribs. I always choose the most tender one, which is the most expensive. In addition to the finest quality of meat, I always marinate the meat with a sweet tenderizer: Asian pear. I've used papaya paste in the past as well as buttermilk, but I find that the fruit purée adds a pleasant sweetness to the grilled meat dish.

I usually serve these with a bowl of steamed jasmine rice and pickled cabbage on the side. However, I would recommend eating them in moderation because of they're high in cholesterol.

Vegetarian Nihari (Spicy Tofu Recipe)

One of my most favorite Indian dishes is nihari. It's a goat (or any other meat) stew dish. It's spicy, flavorful and the meat is extremely tender. I love dipping naans (flat Indian bread) in the sauce. But I always end up feeling so bad when I see my husband Lulu, who is a vegetarian, staring at me. So this time, I also made a tofu version using the same gravy sauce.

I chose medium-firm tofu and Japanese eggplants and deep-fried them. The texture is perfect once they are soaked in the spicy sauce. I also added broccoli for a balanced meal. The advantage of the veggie version is it's just as tasty, much healthier (I omitted the bhaghar, a typical final layer of red oil in a lot of Indian dishes) and it cooks a lot faster than the meat version.

Cheddar Cheese Muffins (Savory Cake Recipe)

Cheddar cheese muffins are one easy appetizer. I followed a usual cake batter recipe but instead of making it sweet, I flavored it with both jalapeño Cheddar cheese and smoked cheddar cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and chopped walnuts. As a reminder of the flavors, I topped each muffin with sun-dried tomato pesto.

Today, the girls were in charge of the barbeque lunch. They grilled several vegetables, sausages for hot dogs and finally placed a few sweet potatoes in the ashes. I didn't want to interfere with their menu, so all I did was a few of these easy, cheesy appetizers. I'm sure they didn't mind!