Link Alert!

So, there are tons of more amazing food blogs and blogs that write about food than mine, and when I stumble upon a recipe that I find delicious looking or just written in a fun and interesting way, I like to share.

Here's a recipe to a Blueberry Crostata that I think you will all enjoy-- reading and making.

Spanish Tortilla My Way

OR Omelet with Sweet Potatoes, Red Pepper, Artichoke hearts & Farmer's Cheese

I saw a recipe for a Spanish Tortilla with fancy ingredients on Smitten Kitchen and thought I'd try my own version. "Tortilla" in spain is basically an omelet type dish that is chock full of potatoes. Mine has Sweet potatoes, roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts and farmer's cheese for good measure (was going to make pierogies and bailed so needed to use the soft creamy cheese in something else).

To make this, peel one sweet potato and cube (small cubes). In a pot of boiling water, parboil these potatoes so they are tender to the fork but not mushy. Then, throw them into a small, single serving frying/sautee pan with oil. Let them brown up so they are cooked through and season with salt and pepper. Then, add the artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers (these I got from the olives and antipasto bar at WholeFoods, but you could get them jarred). Stir those up so they are warm. Then, sprinkle the farmers cheese (or any cheese or choice or no cheese) over the top.

Whisk 1 egg and 1/2 cup of egg beaters/egg white. Season with salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture over potatoes. As it cooks, roll the pan and lift the sides so the uncooked egg flows underneath and then press down. You want this to be packed up pretty tight. Once it solidifies, flip the omelet over and press down some more. Keep flipping and pressing until you have a heavy egg and potato omelete. Invert the pan and slice into pie pieces. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with a side of salad or top with a pepper and onion salsa.

"Flat Bread Pizzas"

Unfortunately for you, my camera didn't do the best job capturing these lovely pizza-type concoctions. However, I will still share the recipe here. The title is in quotes because if you are in the mood for ooey gooey cheesy pizza, this is not for you. But, if you are in the mood for a piece of flatbread topped with anything and everything, then get cooking.

At the place I currently work, there is a cafe, and they serve up individual flatbread pizzas daily. I adjusted this recipe by using store-bought lavash wraps (you can experiment with other unleavened bread of your choice) and whatever was in my fridge.

To start, take one lavash wrap and cut it in half so you have two long strips. In an oven pre-heated to 375 degrees (don't you hate when I tell you to pre-heat during the recipe. Ha ha.), bake the un-topped lavash for 5-10 minutes so they get brown and crisp (but not crispy).

Remove from oven and top with anything you like. For this recipe, I used tomatoes, corn, black beans, and cheddar jack cheese. Put the topped flat breads back in the oven and bake until cheese is melty and bubbly and brown on top.

Since I love avocados and this was definitely a very southwest dish... I topped my pizza with fresh avocado. Enjoy.

Thai-style Mango Curry

So.... I have been having computer memory issues that prevented me from blogging. Normally when that happens, I would use my work computer after hours to post and upload photos. My schedule these past few months was a little busy so I just never got around it. My apologies.

Moving on, I have become a vegetarian for the past few months and have some recipes to prove it. I am going to keep these short and simple so I can post them rapid fire while I have a second.

This first recipe is one of my favorite things to make. For starters, it is incredibly easy. Anyone can make this if you have the right ingredients and the ingrediants vary depending on what you like and what you don't like. For those of you who eat meat, you can easily add cooked chicken to this dish.

This is a Thai-style curry because it uses coconut milk and fresh veggies, however I used Indian Red Curry paste for the flavoring. When making curries, you can use curry powders or pastes. I prefer the ready-made paste you can buy in the international aisle of your grocery store. If you opt for the powder, you might need to put a few tablespoons extra in, as well as other spices. Play around with it.

The prep for this dish is really easy. Slice up onions and the red/yellow/orange peppers (your choice which colors you use). In a shallow saucepan or sautee pan, add some veggie oil and cook the onions. I like to leave the onions in big pieces for this dish, that way if your friends don't like onions they can pick them out. While the onions are cooking, cut up your mango (or if you are using frozen mango cubes, remove from freezer), and get the rest of your veggies ready to go (cut up broccoli, rinse snow or snap peas, half the cherry tomatoes).

Once the onions are starting to get translucent, add in the peppers and a tablespoon or two of the curry paste. Mix it all up so the curry paste is coating all of the peppers and onions and cooks. Add more curry paste if your veggies aren't coated. .

Then, pour in a 14oz can of coconut milk (lite coconut milk works fine, too). If you are going to add chicken, now would be the time to add cubed, browned chicken (it doesn't need to be fully cooked because it will cook up the rest of the way in the curry sauce) .

Let the coconut milk come to a boil and then add in the rest of your veggies and the mango (if frozen). If using fresh mango, wait a minute or two before adding it in. Let the veggies cook up so they are tender, but the green veggies should still be green. Serve over rice.