cook's profile


Meli
 
Living In: Austin, Texas, USA
Member Since: Dec. 2008
Cooking Level: Intermediate
Cooking Interests: Baking, Stir Frying, Slow Cooking, Asian, Mexican, Indian, Italian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Healthy, Quick & Easy
Hobbies: Knitting, Hiking/Camping, Walking, Reading Books, Music, Painting/Drawing
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About this Cook
27, engaged and work as a Physical Therapist.
My favorite things to cook
Indian food, Thai food, Japanese food, any comfort food (soups, stews, curries, etc). I also make a lot of Italian food, and love Mexican. I like spicy food best, and generally try to sub in healthy alternatives where possible. I add onions and garlic to most things (aside from desserts!). I'm fairly budget conscious when cooking (and in general!).
My favorite family cooking traditions
West-indian cuisine... Curries, pelau, pepper-pot, etc.
My cooking triumphs
My Fiance and I were having a quiet Christmas with just the two of us, and had spent too much on presents for people so decided not to do a big "Christmas dinner". Christmas day arrived and we still didn't know what we were going to do! We didn't have a lot of food in the apartment, but we did receive an Italian basket (a few different cheeses, some pasta and some prosciutto) for Christmas, and happened to have some marinated tilapia in the fridge, along with a couple sweet potatoes and some ricotta cheese. At the last minute ingenuity struck and we ended up wrapping the fish in the prosciutto, then grating some cheese over the top and baking it covered. For a side-dish I made twice-baked sweet-potatoes with ricotta, and had some of the wine-infused pasta we got in the basket with some Parmesan and butter. Certainly not a traditional Christmas dinner, but it was delicious, and quite different from the cereal we thought we'd be eating!
My cooking tragedies
Trying to make chili in the pressure cooker for the first time I made it beautifully, but cooked for only 40 mins at high pressure. When I opened it the Kidney beans weren't quite done so I put it back on the stove... unfortunately at too high of a heat! I should have let the pressure build gradually on a lower heat. Instead I burnt the bottom and the flavour infused through the whole pot. Ended up eating cereal for dinner. So sad!!
Recipe Reviews 14 reviews
Super Moist Pumpkin Bread
Yum! This was as moist and dense as advertised. I didn't even realise it was a vegan recipe until I had made the dough/batter and checked and double-checked that there were no eggs! It turned out very nicely regardless! I used Splenda instead of the white sugar and applesauce instead of the oil and was very happy I did. Not only was it a super tasty bread, but I felt pretty good about eating it too! All of the party-goers at our Halloween pumpkin-themed party also really enjoyed it!

1 user found this review helpful
Reviewed On: Nov. 8, 2009
Iced Pumpkin Cookies
I wasn't sure how I would like these, but they were very good!! The batter have a very doughy consistency and wasn't the easiest to get into "pretty" looking cookies, but they tasted amazing! I used 1/4 tsp Allspice instead of the cloves, since I can't even stand the smell of cloves for some reason... no one seemed to notice! The icing/glaze was a really nice touch!

0 users found this review helpful
Reviewed On: Nov. 8, 2009
Zuppa Toscana
I have never had this at Olive Garden but this was very good! Four stars only because I had to make some changes to make it a little healthier for me... I used Turkey Kielbasa sausage, a 3 bacon slices and no-fat half and half (I will forever be indebted to the reviewer who suggested that -- I had no idea no-fat half and half existed!!). I also threw in 1/2c of orzo when I added the potatoes (I actually used sweet potatoes since I like them better and their nutritional content is higher than normal ones) just because I wanted something a little extra in there. I found it a little bit too salty with the bouillon but I may just have to buy reduced fat bouillon. I also added a little pepper and cayenne pepper before eating, since I like things with a bit of a kick!

0 users found this review helpful
Reviewed On: Nov. 8, 2009
 
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