Not so bitter anymore :)

Yet another tasty subji with karela (bitter-gourd) from Safron Trail. k took one whole serving - woohoo!

Groovy Gourd 'n Gravy!

Bookmarking the best recipe I have attempted successfully for dudhi (bottle-gourd) or podalangai (snake gourd)!

Nutrition and related information...

I recently started reading about nutrition and such and discovered quite a few shocking facts, some of which I summarized here.

*** *** ***

The information below is basically to help (or try to help) you decide if you really need to buy organic food:

1. Organic milk - a 1 gallon milk carton costs approximately double that of regular milk.

Is it worth the switch? Yes.

Why? You can look at the Horizon Organic website for starters...

Feel good factor - At least these cows get to see the light of the day and feed on grass as they are supposed to.

2. Organic vegetables - costs vary, organic peppers for example cost almost three times more than conventionally grown pepper.

Is it worth the switch? For some vegetables and most fruits, yes.

EWG has a list of vegetables/fruits that they have found to contain the highest pesticide content, the lower you go in the list, the safer it is to buy conventional vegetables/fruits.

3. If you are an ovo-vegetarian, what about organic eggs? Well, I don't really know the cost difference because I don't buy eggs.

Is it worth the switch? Absolutely, yes.

And this is why.

*** *** ***

And being a South-Indian, rice forms a major part of my diet, so recently convinced myself to switch to brown rice (so also for bread), I add turmeric and mix it with rice and water before cooking - the yellow color of the rice makes it look much more appetizing than the brown :)

*** *** ***

Some info about genetically modified food.

*** *** ***

Stainless-steel rocks! Think twice before you buy non-stick (Teflon) cookware and think even more before using it, if it has cracks etc.

*** *** ***

That's my nutrition update for today :)

Edited: Interestingly, Horizon organic itself seems to be in trouble for not maintaining standards. Time to search for another organic dairy provider, I guess...Organic Valley maybe?

Organized!

This is how organized I would like to be every weekend, but it happens only once in a while!

Linguini with tomato sauce

This is a mish-mash of various pasta recipes I've been reading on food blogs and seeing on food network (I highly recommend it for wholesome, family entertainment :)

Ingredients:
Linguine pasta (I added as much as I could hold in my hand :p)
finely chopped tomatoes - 2
finely chopped onion - 1
red chili flakes - 1/2 a palmful
mustard - 1 teaspoon
garlic - 3/4 cloves
1/2 a cup shitake mushrooms (I used frozen)
1/2 cup any store-bought marinara/pasta sauce (I used a combination of salsa and a few teaspoons of peanut sauce)
olive oil - 3/4 teaspoons
cheese - 4-5 teaspoons shredded parmesan, a spoonful of cream cheese
lemon juice - 2 teaspoons
salt - as needed
handful of sunflower seeds and dried cranberries

Recipe:
Boil water (enough to cover the pasta), add salt to the boiling water and add the linguini to it (takes 8-10 minutes to cook). Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, garlic, onion and saute for a few minutes, add the sunflower seeds, red chili flakes, tomatoes, frozen mushroom, the pasta sauce, 1/4 cup of water and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add salt, cranberries and lemon juice. Drain the pasta and add the sauce to it. Toss well and sprinkle the cheeses on it.

Panagam

Copying this recipe here so I can consult it for the next SriRamaNavami :)

Ingredients
6 tablespoon gur, jaggery, or brown sugar.
2 pinches cardamom (elaiche) powder
1 small piece dried ginger
1 teaspoon lime or lemon juice
pinch of salt
2 cups water

Powder the gur and the dried ginger well. Take water and add the above powders and the cardamom powder. Add salt, and the lime or lemon juice. Stir well and serve.

Source: http://www.beliefnet.com/story/165/story_16514_1.html

Ridge gourd (peerkangai)

This is the first time I ventured cooking with a vegetable that always scared me. After reading several food blogs featuring ridge-gourd, I decided it was time I stood up to it!



So, I tried Priya's recipe to make a peerkangai chutney and also managed to whip up a peerkangai subji with tomato gravy (I used coconut milk for a creamy gravy) - probably the first time I cooked two different dishes using the skin and pulp of the same vegetable!


I was very apprehensive of the chutney but it was even better than the subji! Am scared of ridge gourd no more!

Icecream medley!

Satish and I take credit for this entirely original icecream medley!

Ingredients:
Breyer's Coffee icecream (or any other icecream, as you can see, I am not very particular with the ingredients :p)
a couple of spoonfuls of Graeters butter-scotch topping
2 Chessmen cookies
1/2 a cup full of strawberries chopped into small pieces
couple of tablespoons of honey

The method in the madness:

Crush the chessmen cookies into powder. To one big scoop of icecream, add the powdered biscuits, then the butterscotch topping, add strawberries and a drizzle of honey. Ta da!

Sindhi dal.

Since k has the sniffles :) and specifically asked for dal bhath, I googled for a dal recipe that's familiar hence comforting but not too familiar and I found this interesting Sindhi-dal recipe. I upped the ginger a bit and skipped the tamarind and we had a nice dinner to drive away the sniffles :)

Beetroot, kale.

Today's menu - beetroot curry and kale dal (substituted spinach with kale - thought I would try out some seasonal vegetable before the season runs out!)

Source: Mahanandi

Puliinji and cabbage curry.

Cabbage curry - Never realized cabbage could taste so good (read healthy) with just five minutes of cooking.
Puliinji - I would put it in the vatha-kuzhambu category. Very tasty!

Couscous and banana/walnut pie!

Couscous upma and banana walnut pie (thanks to Nandyala), for dinner today!

A colorful feast!

Cooked up a storm today. Including left overs we had: squash in chili sauce, palak paneer, beetroot, pavakai and wild rice. All recipes from Mahanandi.

Salad with a tasty dressing!

Source: Romaine Lettuce Salad

I went overboard with the garlic (added two cloves instead of one) and had a pretty strong after taste that lasted even after chewing gum :p Other than that, worked out pretty good!

Cheese-brocolli casserole!

I tasted this really amazing casserole this Thanksgiving and asked my friend, Humeshkar for the recipe, here goes the recipe for one super-simple, super-tasty dish in the chef's own words:

Requirements

• A box of Ritz crackers
• Broccoli
• American Singles Cheese
• Butter

First lay out a layer of broccoli, then a layer of cheese,then a layer of ritz crackers,layer of broccoli,cheese and ritz crackers.Then pour a cup of butter(you might use more if you want a better flavour) all over,so that you wet the crackers. Set the oven for 350 degrees.Put in the tray and let it bake for 30 to 35 minutes.Pull out the tray and see if all the cheese has melted and the broccoli has been cooked.You may want to bake it for some more time if you want to do so. After baking the top surface might be uneven.I generally use a knife to make it look more even.

Enjoy!

Easy 3 bean soup recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 can of - black beans, red beans, pinto beans each

1/8 can of - fire-roasted tomatoes

1/4 cup of vegetable stock, milk each

garlic, ginger, oregano, turmeric, bay leaf, fresh parsley, cheese, salt and pepper



I came up with this really simple recipe on one of those days when I felt super-lazy to cook a big dinner. So, finely chop garlic and ginger, saute in 2 spoons of olive oil or butter on a hot pan, add turmeric (to give it an Indian touch :), bay leaf, oregano. Add the 3 beans and mix well on the pan for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes, mix well and let it all heat up for a few minutes. In goes the vegetable stock and then the milk. Mix well and let stand for 5 minutes. Finally add milk, salt and pepper as needed. Turn off heat after a few minutes and then add, finely chopped parsley and a bit of cheese and voila!

powered by performancing firefox

Broccoli...finally!

I finally prepared a broccoli dish that k can ingest!

Source: Google search!

Deviations: I added salt to the broccoli and potato. Also added fresh thyme leaves to the potato.

Results: Quite tasty (for people used to spicy food, feel free to add a lot of pepper/paprika, I went easy and it was a bit bland).

Asparagus!

Roasted Asparagus

Source: Rachael Ray 30 minute meals

Deviations: none

Results: Super healthy and pretty tasty, I was surprised!

Rice and Veggies!

• Eggplant, Zucchini and Tomato Fry!
  
  Source: Wild Oats
  
  Deviations: I broiled it in the oven for 7 seven minutes instead of using a grill.
  
  Results: Tasty!
  


• Rice salad!
  
  Source: Wild Oats
  
  Deviations: I used brown rice.
  
  Results: Definitely worth trying! Made the brown rice much more palatable and it has a mix of different flavors!
  

Vegetable stir-fry!

Ingredients: Onion -1, Squash -1, Grape Tomatoes -5, Apricots -3, Green Pepper -1, Lemon -1, Paprika, Olive oil, Balsamic Vinagarette, Rosemary, Oregano, Nutmeg, Italian Seasoning, Urad Dal - 2 spoons, Pepper and Salt.

Cut vegetables lengthwise (5 inch strips). I added a drizzle of lemon juice to the apricots but skip that if you don't like it too tangy :) Coat bottom of pan with olive oil, add spices, urad dal, vegetables, balsamic vinagarette, stir until golden brown/soft, add apricots, pepper and salt, give it all a toss and viola, you've a bowl of colorful healthy veggies!

Note: Unabashedly borrowed RR's lingo :p