Cabbage Rice Soup

IMG_4269

This is something I kind of threw together haphazardly and it actually came out pretty well (meaning this is not really a recipe). These are a lot of intense flavors so I would suggest tasting the broth as you go and adding or adjusting as you see fit. Cabbage, as I’ve noted in other blogs, is a beautiful thing because it is cheap, healthy, versatile, tasty AND it lasts a long time so if life happens and you don’t end up eating at home for 5 days (god forbid), your cabbage will still be there. This makes a lot, which is A-okay because it just gets better as the flavors develop through the week. It would be great served with a poached or soft boiled egg on top. It would also be great with some mushrooms or other sauteed veggies in there but it’s also kind of beautiful in its simplicity. Rock on, cabbage.

  • 1 medium sized green cabbage
  • 1 few squirts of sriracha plus more for serving
  • a couple handfuls of rice
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 2 tbsp ginger paste
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp furikake
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil (or other kind of oil if you don’t have it)
  1. quarter the cabbage then chop/slice it into bite sized pieces
  2. mince garlic
  3. heat oil over medium-high heat in a big shallow pan with a lid, and saute the garlic
  4. add in cabbage and cover with broth
  5. add soy sauce, ginger paste and sriracha and cover, turn down heat and let simmer for a while
  6. once cabbage starts to break down stir and add in rice and furikake and more liquid if need be (water or broth)
  7. continue stirring occasionally until rice is cooked through and you’ve got enough saucy cabbage to last a week!
  8. top with sriracha (optional, obviously) and a sprinkle of furikake

© 2016, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

Spring Pasta with Scallops, Asparagus and Blood Orange

IMG_2299

I went home for spring break last week but we were only in San Diego for 4 nights so my mom and I had to plan our menus strategically. Two nights were already taken care of because fish tacos and Cardiff Crack go without saying. Some of my favorite things that I am usually too cheap to buy while I’m at school are scallops and lamb. They both also happen to lend themselves well to spring-y dishes so those took care of our other two nights.

links to the other spring recipes: Slow Cooker Lamb with Chick Peas and Grilled Eggplant, Cabbage-Beet Tahini Slaw, Chard with Anchovy Tomato Dressing

  • 1 box fussili pasta
  • 1 bunch asparagus
  • 1 blood orange (for juice and zest)
  • bay scallops
  • 1 tbsp capers
  • 1 shallot
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • sprinkle truffle salt
  • 2 handfuls little yellow tomatoes
  • 4 pats butter
  • 1 handful baby kale
  • 3 sprigs basil
  • 2 cups peas (preferably fresh)
  • splash of dry white wine (plus another bottle for drinking while cooking)
  • Parmesan
  1. in a non-stick skillet melt butter over medium low heat with 1 tbsp olive oil
  2. slice shallot and add to pan, cook on medium low heat, stirring occasionally until opaque, then remove from pan
  3. line a pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper and put tomatoes on it, drizzle them with 1 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle with truffle salt, bake at 350°F until blistered (15 minutes-ish)
  4. slice asparagus in 1 inch pieces and remove peas from shells if necessary
  5. boil water and prepare an ice bath, cook them in the boiling water for 2 minutes, then transfer them to the ice bath as fast as possible
  6. drain those guys and put them in a large mixing bowl, zest and juice the blood orange into said bowl
  7. wash kale and basil and slice them, add to the bowl, add capers
  8. cook pasta according to isntructions
  9. add the remaining 2 pats butter and the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil to the shallot pan over medium high heat
  10. add the scallops carefully
  11. when they start turned brown on the cook-side flip them over, with tongs slide them along the bottom of the pan to absorb the toasted butter flavor
  12. continue cooking until opaque throughout then add them into the bowl with all the other items
  13. add a splash of white wine to the scallop pan to deglaze it and transfer that sauce to the bowl with all of the other items then add all that good stuff to the drained pasta

We had grilled shrimp on the side because grilled shrimp goes with everything.

© 2015, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

Cabbage-Beet Tahini Slaw

IMG_2336

This is my bastardized version of Mission Chinese Food’s beautiful cabbage salad. But hey, sometimes when you’re a college student on a budget you have to pick and choose which exotic pantry items you can afford and which are just going to have to wait. I used peanuts for a crunchy element, although I would love to try it with some sort of grain. I also cut out quite a few ingredients that I couldn’t find at the local market but still thought it came out pretty good.

note: This makes a BIG salad. I wanted to use the whole cabbage in one go so I upped the dressing, the good news is it makes for great leftovers. On the other hand you can always use half a cabbage and dial down the dressing measurements.

  • 1 head red cabbage
  • 1 large yellow beet
  • 1/2 cup peanuts
  • 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 4 tbsp tahini (you’ll definitely want a runnier tahini for this, the Whole Foods 365 one is my best friend)
  • 2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
  • 2 tsp rice vinegar
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 8 anchovy fillets (preferable ones packed in olive oil)
  • juice of one lemon
  • 2 sheets nori (like the big sushi ones)

IMG_2331

  1. slice cabbage and beets (I did matchstick cuts-see photo) and mince garlic
  2. in a bowl or jar add tahini, lemon juice, minced garlic, tamari (or soy sauce) and rice vinegar and shake well
  3. slice the anchovy fillets as finely as possible then add them to the dressing and continue shaking until combined
  4. heat a non stick skillet over medium high heat then add the sesame seeds, make sure to keep an eye on them and continue tossing them
  5. once they start to smell nice and turn a little brown remove them from the pan
  6. in the same pan add the peanuts and do the same thing
  7. rip the nori into little pieces and add it to your big bowl of cabbage and beets, add the nuts and seeds as well then pour dressing over
  8. mix thoroughly with tongs or your hands

© 2015, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

Use-Everthing-in-the-Fridge-Before-Spring-Break Quiche

IMG_2216

I embrace having perishables when I’m about to go out of town. It’s the ultimate motivator to use only things you have/things you have open.  This week is spring break and last weekend I realized we still had quite a bit of perishable items that needed to be attended too. Luckily they were all things that lent themselves swimmingly to a Mediterranean quiche. And it worked out quite well if I do say so myself.

  • 1 can garbanzo beans
  • 1/4 cup pesto
  • olive oil (optional if pesto is oily)
  • 2 medium sized tomatoes
  • 1/2 clove garlic
  • salt (truffle salt if you have it!)
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 handful spinach
  • 1/2 cup soft herb-garlic goat cheese
  • 1/2 cooked sausage (I used garlic-gruyere)
  1. line a baking dish with parchment and pre-heat oven to 350°F
  2. drain and rinse garbanzo beans
  3. dice tomatoes roughly and mince garlic
  4. pour garbanzo beans, tomatoes, garlic, salt, pesto and olive oil (if using) into the prepared dish, stir well then bake for 20 minutes, taking out and turning occasionally
  5. once garbanzo beans start browning, mash them with the back of a fork and add goat cheese in globs and mix in until incorporated
  6. in a separate bowl, whisk eggs
  7. slice spinach and add to eggs
  8. pour the egg mix over the garbanzo bean mix and return to oven
  9. bake for about 25 minutes or until it starts to separate from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean

© 2015, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

Cabbage Salad

  • 1 large head purple cabbage
  • 1/2 large red onion
  • 1 large grapefruit (juice)
  • 2 large lemons (juice)
  • 3 tsp salt
  • 3 limes (juice)
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  1. slice the cabbage and the onion, cutting around bitter white middle of the cabbage and add to a large mixing bowl
  2. juice grapefruit, lemons and limes into the cabbage/onion mixture
  3. add salt and fish sauce and mix well
  4. let sit for 6 hours to overnight or a couple days, it’ll just get better

© 2014 – 2015, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

Green Papaya Salad


My friend/roommate/platonic partner went on a South East Asian adventure this summer and brought back this recipe along with 10 pairs of those comfy Asian pants.

  • 1/2 large green papaya
  • 2 medium carrots
  • 1/2 cup each; fish sauce, raw sugar, lime juice
  • 1/4 cup each; garlic, red chili
  • 1/2 cup chopped peanuts
  • 1 tbsp chopped basil
  • 10 cherry tomatoes
  1. squeeze lime juice into a jar and add fish sauce, sugar, minced garlic and finely chopped and seeded red chili
  2. grate papaya and carrots and chop or grind peanuts
  3. pour lime sauce over the carrots and papaya
  4. slice basil and tomatoes and add to mix

© 2014 – 2015, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

Tuna Veggy Salad

I really love tuna. Not tuna soaked in mayo though, that takes the fun out of it. I like to chop up fruits and veggies and make a lighter, fresher salad, just like my mom’s. This was another recipe born out of bountiful produce and a mighty appetite.

  • 1 can tuna
  • 2 sticks celery
  • 1/2 large tomato
  • 2 tbsp mustard
  • 1/4 cup slivered almonds
  • 2 handfuls spinach
  • 1 lg carrot
  • 1/2 onion (red or white)
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 10 red grapes
  • healthy dose of capers
  1. drain tuna
  2. chop celery, peel carrot then slice along with the tomato, onion and spinach and halve the grapes
  3. add it all to a bowl and mix

© 2014, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...