Simple Yogurt Parfait

I am always humbled how at every turn in my life, I have been offered real friendships by amazing people. The kind who’ll call you on your silliness, who’ll listen patiently to your travails & offer you sanity when all around you, things fall apart. The best thing about these friends are that they offer you the chance to be yourself.

The last time I visited one such dear friend, her husband & she offered me the healthiest breakfast, which included an improvised yogurt parfait.

Here’s how I went about trying to recreate her lovely breakfast item using leftover strawberries & oats & bunch of other goodies.

What We Used (for 2):

Rolled Oats* – 1/2 cup

Almonds – 1/4 cup

Sweetened Shredded coconut – 1/4 cup

Cinnamon – 1 tsp

Chopped Strawberries – 1/4 cup

Honey – a little less than 1/4 cup

Water – as needed

Yogurt – 1 cup

Pure Vanilla extract – 1/2 tsp

Sugar – 1 tsp (optional)

Sliced Peaches* – as needed

Baking Sheet, small saucepan, small bowl – 1 each

How We Did It:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread oats, almonds, shredded coconut & cinnamon on a baking sheet. Toast for about 15-20 minutes or till the mixture turns golden brown.

• In a small saucepan over medium flame, stir together the strawberries, honey and a tiny bit of water for about five minutes.
• In a small bowl, stir well the yogurt, vanilla extract and sugar.
• In a bowl (I used an ice cream serving bowl), spoon the strawberry confection, smooth & spoon the oat mixture, smooth surface and spoon the yogurt combination on top. Top with sliced peaches.

Note:

*The best kind of oats to use are rolled oats. Cook’s Thesaurus has a clear little explanation of the difference between rolled oats & quick oats. If you have no rolled oats, I have seen others use cornflakes, which are sadly, less healthy than the oats. I am thinking you can skip the toasting if you are using cornflakes or any other kind of cereal.
*You can also use any kind of fruit you wish for the topping. And you can even add more sugar if you like your parfaits sweeter. I have also seen recipes where the layers are repeated, so you have a taller parfait. In the end, it all depends on you & your’s personal taste.

Galbi or Ribs, by way of Korea

I was first introduced to Korean food by the redhead’s Korean aunt, who came visiting with pots & pans & mortar & pestle and ground & marinated & fermented & spiced to produce the most divinely scrumptious array of food.

The graciousness with which her aunt fed poor starving college us is so characteristic of the redhead’s entire clan. They so irreverently welcomed me into into their fold with their unlimited conversations, teasing & poking that I felt instant comfortability. I think, as an expat, you don’t quite know a country till you’ve been invited into a native’s home. And for that & much more I thank the redhead & her zany family!

A little note about the recipe: As I understand it, Galbi is made with short ribs & is usually a braised dish. We were in the mood for grilling and had regular ribs, so used that instead. For a more traditional recipe, please see here. We made ours with the help of Deep Fried Kimchee & the good people at Chowhound.

What We Used:

Ribs – 3 lbs

Soy Sauce – 1.5 cups

Rice Wine – 1/2 cup

(I found several links when looking for rice wine substitutes, if it is unavailable in your part of the world)

Sesame oil – 1/4 cup

White rice vinegar – 1/4 cup

Water – 1/2 cup

Honey – 1 tbsp

Dark Brown Sugar – 1/4 cup

Chopped Scallions – 2 bunches

Grated Garlic – 2 tbsps

Grated Ginger – 1.5 tbsps

Black Pepper – 2 tsps

Bowl & Grill – 1 each

How We Did It:

• Combine all ingredients, save the ribs, in a large bowl.
• Add ribs. Check to see if marinade covers ribs. If not, add water & other ingredients proportionally to make it so.
• Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Place on hot grill for 2 minutes on each side. Serve with anything you like.

Note:

When I tasted the marinade pre-ribs addition, I was a bit apprehensive. The flavor of the marinade is different for my palate, since it has little to no heat in it. It’s more tangy, almost sharply sour and yet sweet. But, fear not – you won’t be disappointed in how the meat tastes when it is grilled after soaking in this marinade. The combination of the fat in the ribs & the marinade makes for a very succulent, albeit different, dish.

Spinach & spiced Mozzarella stuffed Tomatoes

Stuffed tomatoes are such an easy addition to any meal. We had ours with an assortment of lovely food for our lazy weekend breakfast.

This post is dedicated to my parents who came, shopped and equipped. They thought of everything our kitchen would possibly want from mandolin slicers to gigantic stock pots & so calmly organized the pantry that I didn’t need to do anything but use it after they were gone. Thanks to them, we have a whole array of spice jars, spices & other what nots that we use to create all sorts of flavor for our dishes.

What We Used (for two):

Roma Tomatoes – 4

Chopped shallots – 2 shallots

Chopped green chillies – 2 small ones

Chopped Spinach – 1/2 cup

Chopped bean sprouts – 1/8 cup

Garlic & Ginger paste – 1/4 tsp each

Salt & Pepper – to taste

Mozzarella Cheese – 1/4 cup

Curry Powder – 2 tsps

Dried basil – a pinch

Olive Oil

Frying pan, greased baking dish, small bowl – 1 each

Melon Baller – 1

How We Did It:

• Slice and keep aside the top of the stem end of the rinsed tomatoes. Core tomatoes using a melon baller. Chop and reserve the core.

• Heat oil in the frying pan. Saute the shallots. When they turn translucent, stir in the chopped tomato cores, green chillies, spinach, bean sprouts, ginger & garlic paste with salt & pepper.
• Once the spinach has wilted, take off heat and put aside.
• In a small bowl, mix the mozzarella cheese with curry powder and dried basil. I wanted a hint of spice in the cheese and stopped at little less than 2 tsps of curry powder. If you like more of spice taste, as always, adjust accordingly.
• Preheat oven to 375 °F.
• In a greased baking dish, add a little salt & pepper to the inside of the tomatoes and rub olive oil on the outside of the tomatoes. (If you wish for the tomatoes to stay upright, cut off a v. thin slice off the bottom of the tomatoes)
• Place reserved stuffing of spinach and veggies in to the tomatoes. Top with mozzarella cheese.

• Bake for 15 minutes or till the cheese on top has melted.

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