Mrs. Carla Monti

Mrs. Carla Monti

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Red Lentil Cauliflower Curry [Instant Pot]!

I saw this recipe come up on my absolute favorite food blog, Pinch of Yum, and thought - ok how can I get my hands on an Instant Pot to make this marvelous creation?

Luckily my best friend's mom has one, so I borrowed it for the sole purpose of making this fabulous curry recipe.

The ingredients are super simple: onion, garlic (I sauteed both on the stove top first), red lentils (dry), a can of diced tomatoes, a can of coconut milk, a bag of frozen diced butternut squash, a bag of frozen cauliflower florets, red curry paste (jar), tumeric, salt and water. As you can see in the photos below, I bought most of the ingredients at Whole Foods (love their 365 brand!) and this recipe can serve 4 people easily (and I believe I cut the recipe in half as I usually do).

I served this with lime wedges, over white rice. Next time I would add a spoonful of plain yogurt or sour cream on top. Would definitely make this again!

Recipe link here!

I was very impressed with the power of the Instant Pot, but found it a bit difficult to work with (it was my first time). The recipe called for dumping all the ingredients (frozen, dry, etc) into the Instant Pot and setting it to high pressure for 5 min, so I assumed there would be a high pressure button, and I didnt expect there to be 8 other buttons! I had to look in the user guide and set it to manual to get it to work, but it came together in the end.







Pumpkin Muffins (Gluten Free)!

At a recent visit to Trader Joe's I came across this pumpkin muffin baking mix, and my eyes somehow skipped reading the "gluten free" label, but oh well! By adding oil, water and eggs, these muffins were flavorful and definitely not overly sweet.




Monday, September 16, 2019

Strawberry Cookies!

Bakers, you know the drill. You open your fridge only to realize that gorgeous carton of berries is half full, and going downhill fast. What to do? Quickly google an easy cookie or muffin recipe and put those delicious berries to good use!

My quick Sunday morning Googling led me to a blog adorably titles, "An Italian In My Kitchen". You can find the recipe link here, and I highly recommend it. I used a cup of finely chopped fresh strawberries, and the cookies baked up soft and chewy, which was a great texture for the fruit.



Friday, September 13, 2019

Lemon Cookies!

Recipe link here!






Pistachio Cookies!

Recipe link here!







La Centrale: Miami - Review!

My best friend and I went to the Ariana Grande concert in Miami on a Friday night, but we decided to make a day of it and explore La Centrale - a huge Italian food hall with several different themed bars and restaurants. My opinion is that it is a fun experience, but definitely overpriced, and very typically Miami. You can find out more info here!


















Trader Joe's!

Some fun recent finds at Trader Joe's!

















Summer 2020: