recipes from carmel
One of the main skills that I gained while living away from home were cooking skills. I had never cooked so much before, and my confidence in the kitchen improved a lot. That’s not to say that I didn’t have a few accidents (anyone turn their curry into soup?), but by the end of the semester, my confidence in the kitchen increased immensely. It’s empowering to know that you can throw a meal together for yourself and others.
The foods that I ate also changed while I was in Carmel. As a group we were vegan (mostly), vegetarian, gluten-free, and nut-free. While you might be wondering if we could eat anything at all, I can assure you that we ate food that was both nourishing and delicious. I actually found myself feeling better when I reduced my dairy intake. And I also started eating some new foods that I can’t get enough of now. Avocados have become the new apple for me (I eat them all the time), I started using Sriracha sauce (something I’m proud of because I’ve always been a wimp when it comes to spice), I’m eating a lot more veggies, and I’ve started eating vegan cheese. I have to say, I actually like Daiya vegan cheese. I’ll always love real cheese the best, but Daiya vegan cheese is a good alternative. I got my friends hooked on chocolate chips too…we ate hand fulls of them almost every night as a dessert. But I kind of blame my dad for this because he’s the one who got me hooked on them, and then my chocolate chip indulgence influenced my friends. But at the same time, everyone needs some chocolate chips in their life ;)
Throughout our time together, we made a lot of recipes from the blog Pick Up Limes by Sadia Badiei. It’s a vegan food blog which Katia introduced me to. The vegan recipes are both simple and delicious, and I especially love the Pick Up Limes YouTube channel. Sadia makes such aesthetic videos, and her presence is so calming. When I watch her videos, they instantly make me feel cozier…like I’m holding a warm mug of hot chocolate 😌 She also has a degree in nutrition and sprinkles some valuable nutrition information throughout her videos. If you haven’t yet checked out her blog, I highly recommend! She’s amazing!
Here are some of the highlight recipes that we made in Carmel. I hope that you get some inspiration from them!
Recipes
(click on link for recipe)
My friends and I made this Pick Up Limes tofu recipe ALL THE TIME! It is my go-to tofu recipe. It’s also one of the main meals that helped me grow my spice tolerance ;) I love the combination of the spiciness and the garlic, and I really like the crispiness of the tofu. To make crispy tofu, I learned that it takes a combination of using extra-firm tofu, squeezing excess moisture out of the tofu, and coating it in oil and cornstarch before cooking. Although, you can still get the tofu crispy even without cornstarch. Now, I always want my tofu crispy.
Whenever we made tofu (or really anything), we usually made coconut rice. Thankfully we had an InstantPot which made the process of cooking rice simple and quick. Here’s a non-instant pot recipe which is also amazing.
White Bean and Kale Quesadillas
I blogged about this one before because I love it so much! We definitely made good use of this recipe in Carmel. We had quesadillas with homemade guacamole and salsa pretty much every week. So delicious!
Roasted Cauliflower and Lentil Curry
This is another great recipe from Pick Up Limes…Katia made this one a lot and it was always so comforting and nourishing.
Turmeric adds a nice aromatic flavor to rice, and the rice goes really well with the tofu and veggies. I like to use 3 cloves of garlic instead of scallions because I find that it adds a stronger flavor to the rice. And I also just really like garlic.
Our favorite Carmel dessert: Chickpea Brownies
Thank you to Katia for introducing us to this recipe and making it for us as a late-night treat to power us through studying and classes. Don’t be taken aback by the idea of chickpeas in your brownies. You can’t even taste them—the just add a nice texture! These brownies are just pure deliciousness…they’re best right out of the oven when they’re gooey and the chocolate chips are still melty. And they’re really easy to make too!
One night around 10pm after playing Code Names, Micaela said, “How do you guys feel about making chocolate pudding right now?” It didn’t take much time for all of us to say “YES!” For efficiency’s sake, we made the chocolate pudding in factory-line style. We designated Micaela as the director, and she read off instructions from a recipe while Meera, Katia, and I scrambled around grabbing the ingredients and pouring them into a pot. And the pudding was ready in about 12 minutes. I’d say that’s pretty speedy for making a homemade dessert.
Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes
Not only did these cupcakes cater to our dietary restrictions, but they also satisfied our chocolate cravings.
Recipes we created
For many meals, we decided to improvise with whatever we had in the fridge. I really enjoy cooking without a recipe because it leaves more room for creativity (and I also like not having to glance at a recipe every few seconds). I’m happy to say that our improvised meals turned out delicious! Here are some of the highlight meals.
Your Daily Dose of Avocado Toast
First and foremost, we gotta start with the toast. We ate avocado toast pretty much every day, to the point where we looked up if you could overdose on avocados. I rarely ate avocado toast back at home, but once I came to Carmel, it became my go-to breakfast. Micaela introduced us to Trader Joes Everything But the Bagel Sesame Seasoning Blend, and it transformed avocado toast for me. There’s something about the creaminess of the avocado which pairs so perfectly with the salty-oniony flavor of the seasoning mix. Add a sprinkle of red chili flakes, and you got yourself one good slice of avocado toast!
How to make it: You will need 2 slices of bread (we liked using whole grain), 1 avocado (sliced), Trader Joes Sesame Seasoning Blend (you could also substitute with onion/garlic powder, sea salt, and sesame), and red chili flakes or smoked paprika. Toast your bread, and then place slices of avocado on top. Sprinkle the sesame seasoning blend and red chili flakes/smoked paprika on top and enjoy!
Alternative (sweet) avocado toast: You will need 2 slices of bread (we liked using whole grain), 1 avocado (sliced), Trader Joes Sesame Seasoning Blend (you could also substitute with onion/garlic powder, sea salt, and sesame), and honey. Toast your bread, and then place slices of avocado on top. Sprinkle the sesame seasoning blend and drizzle honey on top and enjoy! I know this sweet and savory combo might sound a little weird, but it actually goes together really nicely!
Falafel Salad
We made a tomato, cucumber, onion salad and topped it with falafels made from a Trader Joe’s mix. We also made a yogurt, garlic, lemon dip to go with it.
Nori Wraps
We made these nori wraps with coconut rice, sweet potato, carrots, cabbage, avocado, and a tahini dressing (a peanut sauce would taste really good with this too).
Nourish Bowl
The great thing about nourish bowls are that you can customize them however you like. I like to top my nourish bowls with beans, corn, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, cooked spinach, lentils, sautéed onions, avocado and a fried egg.
Vegetable Stir-Fry
I’m happy to say that my friends got me eating more veggies while we were living together. We had veggies with almost every meal. We used the Kirkland Signature Frozen Stir-Fry Vegetable Special Blend from Costco which got veggies on our plates quickly.
A great way to prepare your veggies: Make a sauce out of soy sauce, maple syrup, sriracha, and chopped garlic (amount for each ingredient varies depending on preference; I like mine with a good balance of sweet, salty, and spicy). Pour a bit of olive oil in a pan, and start to sauté the veggies. After a few minutes, add the sauce and sauté until well coated. Voila!
Meera’s mom created this recipe, and it’s really fragrant and delicious. It’s great with a bowl of rice…(coconut rice, of course).
These are so snack-able…they’re like a healthy version of chips.
White Beans and Leeks
My sister introduced me to this recipe, and I’ve been making it lots ever since. I love the sweet, oniony flavor of the leeks and the beans add a bit of heartiness.
How to make it (Makes ~1.5 cups): Chop two large leeks so that they resemble long strips (kinda like celery). Coat them in a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, and paprika. Then bake on a pan at 350 degrees F for 14min. Add the white beans and bake for another 3min and enjoy!
Katia’s Delicious Banana Apricot Oatmeal
The secret that makes this oatmeal so delicious is that the banana melts into the oat milk as the oats cook in it. The banana adds creaminess and naturally sweetens the oatmeal. Katia emphasized that the chia seeds provide a nice source of Omega-3, which is good for brain health. It’s the best oatmeal I have ever had. It tastes like a creamy dessert even though it’s super healthy. Once you prepare your oatmeal like this, it will change the way you eat oatmeal.
Because we were in Carmel in the fall (a great time to visit Carmel, by the way), I was craving pumpkin treats. My go-to pumpkin treat are usually pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. This time, I made them into cake bar form. I loved the gooeyness of the cake, and the pumpkin spice flavor shined through.
Berry Smoothie
I had this berry smoothie all the time…it was so refreshing as a post-workout drink. I like using the Kirkland Signature Three Berry Blend from Costco, but feel free to use any frozen berries you’d like.
How to make it: You will need 1 ½ cups oat milk, 3/4 cup frozen berries, 1 banana, 1 tbsp. SunButter (or any nut butter), sprinkle of cinnamon. Blend together in a blender and enjoy!
And finally, our “Friendsgiving Meal”
This year was my first “Friendsgiving Meal.” A Friendsgiving meal is when you enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner with friends. For the meal, we chose some great recipes that had a Thanksgiving essence, and also catered to our various dietary restrictions. Thanksgiving day was spent mixing, chopping, and baking, all while jamming out to the Hamilton soundtrack together.
We were all so proud when we laid the finished dishes on the table. They all looked amazing, and tasted even better! I was grateful to enjoy such a special meal with my friends.
Kale and Farro Salad with Avocado-Orange Dressing
I really like how the citrusy orange pairs so well with the creamy avocado. And this salad is loaded with veggies, which makes it both nourishing and yummy.
This was the star of our Thanksgiving meal. It’s comforting, hearty, and delicious. The lentils and potato add some substance and are flavored nicely by the the spices and veggies. We decided to top the lentils with homemade mashed potatoes rather than polenta (what the recipe calls for), but both work well.
Apple Crumble
You can’t forget dessert! This apple crumble comes together in a pinch. We enjoyed it with some homemade coconut banana lime nice cream that Katia made for us. Great way to end a delicious meal!
More food pictures :)
Our Halloween cupcakes
