Matt Cooking Stuff, Recipes

Japanese Pumpkin Cake

2013_09_28

I love all of the fall pumpkin treats. Cakes, cupcakes, pies, cookies, pancakes, donuts, and breads. But they are all mostly flavored with the blend of pumpkin pie spices (which I love). But what I like about Japanese pumpkin flavored things is that there are no spices. It’s straight up pumpkin. Actually, a Japanese pumpkin (kabocha) is similar to a buttercup squash. So you really taste the natural sweetness of the squash in this bread.

I doubled the recipe and filled two small loaf pans. I did measure all of the ingredients exactly as the recipe said. This bread is light, moist, and mildly sweet. Not the typical fall pumpkin spice flavors you might be used to, but a delicious sweet bread.

RECIPES:

Recipe from is Elinluv’s Sweet Delights Blog at the following link:

Japanese Pumpkin Bread

Matt Cooking Stuff, Recipes

Salmon with Lentils

2013_09_17I kind of stumbled upon this recipe. I was looking for a simple salmon recipe that didn’t require a cedar plank, mustard sauce, or soy sauce. This one seemed easy enough and I had all the ingredients. So easy too that I’ve made it three times already! Ellie loves this one, and now Chloe gobbled this one up too! This is definitely in the rotation.

RECIPES:

Salmon with Lentils

It calls for two cups of leeks, which I never have and always forget to buy. I always leave them out and it tastes great. One of these days I’ll give it a try with them.

Matt Cooking Stuff, Recipes

Indian Samosa Casserole

2013_08_16aThis was really good and surprisingly fairly quick too. However, as a main dish, it seemed like it was lacking something. It just didn’t have that extra zip to stand alone as the main event. It felt more like appetizer material, or a lunch. It was really filling, but I would pair it with something else next time to round things out a bit.

I added a smiley face on the crust which definitely increased Ellie’s level of interest for it.

RECIPES:

Indian Samosa Casserole

2013_08_16b

 

Matt Cooking Stuff, Recipes

Soba Noodles with Miso-Glazed Tofu and Vegetables

2013_06_03

Noodles are always a welcome dish over here. Soba noodle are a nice break from the traditional pasta every now and then too. This was a nice simple dish. The miso-glaze wasn’t as intense as I thought, but it still had good flavor. I would let the tofu soak up more of the flavor next time.

RECIPES:

Soba Noodles with Miso-Glazed Tofu and Vegetables

Matt Cooking Stuff, Recipes

Spinach Feta Veggie Burger w/ Fried Onions and Roasted Tomatoes

2013_08_05b

This burger was similar to falafel patty because the base was pureed chick peas. Throw in some spinach and feta and it’s as simple as that. You didn’t need a sauce because the roasted tomato acted like a one. And while the roasted tomato was rich in flavor and provided moisture, I’m not a huge fan of roasted tomatoes. Next time I’ll do a roasted red pepper instead. And I will definitely make these again! These were great and very filling.

I served it with a hearty salad with a homemade mango salad dressing. This dressing is pretty much pureed mango with some lime so you can goober your salad up and not worry about oil. I added fresh thyme and an extra tbsp of apple cider vinegar. It was nice and very refreshing.

RECIPES:

Spinach Feta Veggie Burger with Fried Onions and Roasted Tomatoes

Mango Salad Dressing

2013_08_05a