Curry-Fried Plantains

Plantains are the starchier, less sweet brothers of bananas.  They remind me of potatoes when I cook them, but more delicate.  This is a recipe for very spicy plantains-- if you find it to be too hot to eat as is, you can stir in a few spoonfuls of canned coconut milk upon taking off of the pan.  The addition of coconut milk will make the plantains more soft, less like a finger food.
Be careful!  You must be sure to add just enough coconut milk to coat the plantains, to avoid making a very unsavory soup

Ingredients:

♕15mL / 1 T coconut oil
♕Dash asafoetida/hing powder
♕5g / 2 t tumeric powder
♕5g / 2 t coriander powder
♕2g / 1 t cayenne pepper
♕5g / 2 t  cumin powder
♕2 plantains
♕12g / 1 T dark brown sugar
note: I refer here to the American brown sugar, which is white sugar mixed with molasses.  If you have none, you could either mix equal amounts of sugar and molasses together and add that, or simply use all white sugar.
♕Pinch salt

Procedure:

♕Melt oil in pan on medium-low heat.
♕Add all of the spices and stir until aromatic and a shade darker, from three to five minutes.
♕As the spices heat, peel and chop the plantain into circles 1cm / 0.5 inch thick.
♕Add the plantain to the oil in one layer, trying to avoid having the pieces touch.
♕Raise heat to medium-high.
♕Let sit uncovered for five minutes, until the bottoms have a crust.
♕Turn over the plantains and cook the other side for another three minutes.
♕Continue cooking and flipping until both sides of the plantain are nicely browned, and the plantain feels like an almost-ripe avocado to your spatula.
♕Sprinkle sugar and salt atop of the plantains and flip once more, turning off the heat.
♕Serve!

Grapefruit Greek Yoghurt Parfait

This is a tasty, protein-rich yoghurt recipe.  You could either make it for breakfast, or prepare it in a small jar-like container and have it for lunch.  Many elements in the recipe can be adjusted to suit what you have in your kitchen.  I will definitely be using this greek yoghurt-mascarpone base for more lunches, and look forward to trying out new ingredient combinations.

Ingredients:


♕1 cup / 250g Greek-style yoghurt, plain
note: I use nonfat, and the amount of mascarpone added masks the sour taste.
♕2 T / 32g mascarpone
♕1T / 21g honey, ideally one with a strong flavor such as buckwheat honey
♕3-6T / 30-60g oats, rolled or steel-cut
♕1 segment of grapefruit
♕Pinch of grapefruit, lemon, or orange zest
♕Splash quality vanilla extract
♕Handful blueberries

The greatest charm of a parfait in a clear container is that the
fruit, oatmeal, and yoghurt often fall into a face-like shape.

Procedure:

♕Combine the honey and mascarpone, mixing well
♕Add in Greek yoghurt and scrape the grapefruit segment's pulp into the mixture, do not get any of the fibrous walls into the mix
♕Add vanilla and zest.  Mix until homogenous.
♕Layer blueberries, oats, and yoghurt mixture into a container or bowl.
♕Let sit overnight, chilled, or at least for two hours.

Lunchboxing

These past days, I've decided that my stomach and campus food aren't ever getting back together.  So, I've taken to packing my own lunches!

The lessons I've learned while packing lunch feel rather valuable, and so I will share with the Internet my lunch ideas from time to time, as well as just some good lunch-packing tips to keep in mind if you want to take a home cooked meal to work.

The sample recipe I've included is Japanese inspired.  The main part of it is rice, fermented soybeans, and an egg.  The side dish is salad, and the snacks are nori and carrots.  The process takes about an hour and a half, but you will be actively working for 15 minutes at most.  The rest of the time is just for the rice to cook.

Rules of Thumb:

♕ If your lunchbox is solid, try to have it just filled completely.  This reduces how much your food jiggles around as you carry it.

♕ While preparing your food, think of meals that you enjoy cold.

♕ Also, think of foods that become better the longer they sit, like marinades or tiramisus which absorb cream.

♕ Try to increase your collection of small containers, a few centimeters tall.  These are excellent for holding garnishes like sauces, berries, nuts, and herbs separate from your meal until right before eating.

♕ Following that strain of thought, try to keep as many things as possible separate in your lunch.  Sandwiches are oft best fresh assembled, so keep the bread away from the soggy components if at all possible.

♕ Invest in reusable plastic eating utensils, plastic baggies, and plastic containers for maximum glass-shard prevention.  Tight screw on lids are nice too, lest your lunch gets leaky and freaky.

♕ Know how you respond to certain foods.  I get very drowsy after eating Greek yoghurt always, so when I want it for lunch I also pack some coffee.

♕ As always, try to keep things healthy.  A multicolored lunch filled with whole grains, good proteins you don't mind eating cold, and many fruits and vegetables will provide great satiety.

♕ If you are worried about having halitosis after finishing lunch, you can pack some foods which naturally cleanse the breath, such as a few cardamom pods or cilantro.

Sample Lunch Ingredients:

♕ 1 cup / 90g forbidden rice (a purple glutinous rice sold in many Asian supermarkets)

♕ 2 cups / 475mL water

♕ 1 pouch (60g) natto

♕ 1 egg

♕ 1T / 15g mustard

♕ .5T / 7mL soya sauce

♕ 1 cup / 50g torn lettuce

♕ 1t / 3g black sesame seeds

♕ 2T / 5mL salad dressing

♕ Handful carrots, sliced as you wish.

♕ 1-2 sheets toasted nori, cut into ~6cm by ~3cm rectangles

Under the egg, bottom left, sits the natto, while at the top
you can see the forbidden rice in all of its blackness.
I use a small, rinsed container from peanut butter for my
main dish.

Procedure

For the rice

♕ Boil the water, add rice, cover

♕ Simmer for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally

♕ Take off heat and let sit for 15 more minutes.

♕ Spoon about a fourth of the recipe into a small sealable plastic container.
note: as soon as you are done with the rice, refrigerate.  Forbidden rice gets its deep purple color from minerals and all sorts of healthy molecules the grains contain inside.  While this makes the food nutritious for you and me, it also makes it delicious for many bacteria.  I left the cooked rice on my stovetop overnight, and in the morning there was so much bacterial growth in it that it had to be disposed of.
If you cook brown or wild rice instead of forbidden, the same warning applies.  The risk is lessened with white rice.  You should still refrigerate it though.

♕ Top with natto.

♕ On a pan, break an egg and cook to desired doneness.

♕ Top natto and rice.

♕ Into separate container(s), pour mustard and soy sauce. 

note: they are added to the natto and rice.

For the salad

♕ Tear leaves, cover in sesame seeds.  Put into container.

♕ Pour dressing into separate container.

Assembly

♕ Into one plastic bag, place carrots.

♕ Into another, place nori.

♕ Arrange your salad and rice containers.

♕ Into remaining space, put dressing containers.

♕ Place plastic bags on top of containers.

♕ Insert eating utensil (chopsticks or fork)  

♕ Refrigerate until ready to go

♕ The morning of, I made some green tea to go with the meal.