Baked Tuna Cakes

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Anita!
Dear people in your 20’s,
Have you noticed that we’re all pretty much the same?  Sure, some of us go to college and some don’t, some of us make babies, some of us get jobs, some of us undergo a ridiculous amount of school.  We make different choices and build identities.  But on average we all have fair eyesight and hearing, our hearts pump and our lungs exchange air.  Our skin is intact, our digestion is blissfully uneventful.  The 20-something body is a vehicle still under warranty with good insurance.
With 9 month’s-worth of patients in my head, I’ve been trying to decide at what age all of life’s choices make an impact on the age of the body.  And I think that age is 50.  There are 50-year-olds who can think and interact like a 20-year-old, 50-year-olds that play soccer and can touch their toes.  And there are 50-year-olds who come into the hospital on the cloak of the reaper.  Their patient chart says 50, but they look and act like they’re 80.
When I see these people I think about the way I choose to treat my body each day, and wonder which choices will accumulate to dictate the quality of my middle-age.  Will 50-year-old Anita despise 25-year-old Anita for her addiction to Presti’s bakery items?  Will she wonder how 25-year-old Anita could be so selfish that she decided to watch Mean Girls for the 10th time instead of go for a walk outside?
It’s difficult to live with 50-year-old Anita in mind, but she gets closer every day.  And man, does she ever scold me like a parent.
Recipe (adapted from some issue of Martha Steward Living, the magazine wherein the drudgeries of cooking, cleaning, and folding laundry are re-spun into domestic bliss).  For this recipe you need a small bowl and a large bowl, a spoon, a baking sheet, spray lube, and about 30 to 45 minutes.
  • 3 5oz cans tuna in water, drained
  • 1/2 can black beans, drained and washed
  • 1 large carrot, grated
  • 1/2 to 3/4 red onion, chopped

Mix these together in a large bowl.

  • 2 whole eggs and 2 egg whites, mixed
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 Tbsp chili powder
  • 1/4 cup dijon or deli mustard
  • A creative spirit
If you want, add more flavorings such as spices, cilantro/parsley, hot sauce.  Mix all of these ingredients together in a small bowl until homogeneous, then add to the large bowl and mix thoroughly.
  • 1/4 cup bread crumbs
Add the bread crumbs and mix thoroughly.  Using clean hands shape these into patties about the diameter of the palm of my hand (standard measurement).  At this point you can either lay them onto a plate sprayed with spray lube and pop them into the fridge for later cooking. Or:
  • 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
Preheat the oven to 450F.  Put the breadcrumbs in a shallow layer on a plate, and coat the patties in the breadcrumbs.  Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.  At 15 minutes you might consider opening one to assess for dryness — you’re trying to let it cook long enough that the eggs are cooked but not too long so that the patties turn out dry.  Serve with ketchup, ranch, or whatever condiment you like.
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Posted in Non-Vegetarian, Seafood, Snacks | 3 Comments

Lemon and Raspberry Cheesecake

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Ari

Everyone needs their “go to” dessert for potlucks/dinner parties/lazy sunday afternoons, and this is mine.

What you need (makes 2 cheesecakes):

  • 2 graham cracker crusts (I’m lazy so I just buy them from the store, but you can also make them yourself)
  • 4 packages of cream cheese, warmed to room temperature
  • juice from 2 lemons
  • 1/2 cup of sugar
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 3 eggs
  • 4 cups of frozen raspberries
  • 1 tbs sugar
  • 1 tbs corn starch (dissolved in water)
What you need to do:
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Combine the cream cheese, lemon juice, sugar, vanilla, and eggs into a large bowl, and mix with a hand mixer until smooth (about 4-5 minutes).
  3. Divide the filling between the two crusts and bake for 40 minutes.
  4. While the cakes are in the oven, add the raspberries and sugar to a sauce pan and heat on medium.
  5. Once the raspberries have broken down (about 5 minutes) add the corn starch (don’t forget to dissolve it first in water!), stir and continue heating for 1 minute. Set aside to cool until the cakes are done.
  6. Once the cheesecakes are done, add the raspberry topping and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

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Posted in Dessert | 3 Comments

Matzah Pizza

Posted on April 15, 2012 by Ari
Sorry I’ve been gone for a little while…I’ve been delivering babies(!!!!). 

Now I realize I’m exactly one week late with this recipe, but I’m going to make the argument that I’m right one time…For those of you who are familiar with this dry, tasteless piece of food masquerading as a holiday treat (aka matzah), you are also familiar with the all-to-common issue of being left with a large supply of this stuff once the holiday is over. Every year you promise yourself that you’ll eat all of it during the holiday, yet every year you finish off the week only to find that mischievous final box (that you swear you already ate) hiding behind the toaster or in the cabinet or under the sink, and you think to yourself, “great…as much as I loathe you, I know I’m going to eat you.” While I definitely recommend certain recipes like Matzah Brei as one option to help you get rid of those final sheets of paper-flavored cracker, this recipe is also a tasty option and you’ll hardly realize recognize the starting ingredient by the time you sit down for dinner.

What you need:

  • 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
  • 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
  • dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • grated mozzarella
  • grated parmesan
  • toppings (I used banana peppers, fresh basil and sun dried tomatoes)
What you need to do:
  1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
  2. In a sauce pan, sauté the garlic in olive oil until it becomes fragrant (no more than 1 minute).
  3. Add your crushed tomatoes, salt and sugar, then sprinkle dried oregano on top of the sauce until it’s covered with a fine layer (see image about). Stir until combined. (I know that sounds really unspecific, but trust me with this one. This is the best pizza sauce you’ve ever tried.)
  4. Heat on medium until it begins to bubble then turn down to low heat. Once it begins to simmer again, turn off the heat.
  5. Place your matzah on a cooking sheet, cover with tomato sauce, cheese and the toppings of your choice.
  6. Bake for 15 minutes, until the cheese has melted. Cut into wedges and enjoy!
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Falafel Salad

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Anita!
Apologies to the faithful Sunday readers; I told Ari I would take her Sunday and then promptly procrastinated.
Falafel Salad: the best way since croutons to get fried food into your bowl of vegetables.



Recipe: I needed a food processor, a large bowl, a spoon, a fry thermometer, a large pot to fry stuff, a cooling rack, a cookie sheet lined with newspaper, tongs, and time — it takes 16-24 hrs to soak the chickpeas.

  • 2.25 cups dried chickpeas
Put the chickpeas into a large container and cover with twice the depth’s worth of water.  Cover and let sit for 16-24 hours (I did mine for ~20).  Add more water and stir if you check on them and find that they’ve expanded above the water level.  After that, drain the chickpeas well and put it in your food processor — run the processor, redistributing during pauses, until you have something like a cous cous texture.
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 1 bundle of parsley, stems trimmed, washed
  • 1 bundle of cilantro, stems trimmed, washed
  • 2 slices of toasted bread

Clean your food processor, and then put all of these ingredients in and process until smooth but not a mushy paste.  

  • 1 Tbsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 Tbsp dill seeds
  • 1 tsp red chili flakes
  • Salt/Pepper for seasoning
  • 1 Tbsp sesame seeds

Put these spices, the cilantro/parsley mixture, and the ground chickpeas into a bowl and mix thoroughly.  At this point you can put into a bag and freeze or…

  •  1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • vegetable oil for frying (depends on the size of your pot.  I think I used 1-2 cups)
 Mix in the baking powder and soda and form the falafel mixture into walnut-sized balls with your hands.  It might take a little squeezing.  Heat the oil to between 310F and 340F, and keep the temperature in this range.  Slowly lower the falafel 4 at a time into the oil (these did not splatter me but arm yourself with a lid just in case).  Use tongs to move the falafel gently; when they float and look browned, quickly fish them out and put them on a cooling rack that has been placed upside-down on a newspaper-lined baking sheet.
  • Salad
Add to salad.  fin
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Posted in Freezer, Salads, Snacks, Vegetarian | Leave a comment