Tag and Tagging

Thank you Nithu for tagging me! I finally found some time to actually sit and answer some of the questions.

Who inspired you to cook?

As a mother of discerning children, wife of a foodie husband, daughter of the most incredible cook for a mother and a sound critic for a father, inspiration comes naturally J.

If someone were to ask you to bring dessert to a party, what would you bring? Store bought, or homemade, and if you were to make homemade, what would you make?

Depending on how intimately I know the person who’s throwing the party, and depending on the crowd expected at the party, I plan and make my desserts accordingly.

Do you time your breakfast, lunch & dinner or eat when you are hungry?

I usually start my day off with a homemade fruit juice and a cup of coffee and something a little light to energize myself. Lunch is a grab bag in that I make myself something really simple if and when I’m hungry. Dinner is the one meal that we definitely have.

Name three things you have to use in most recipes.

I use olive oil, herbs and spices.

 How important is eating meals together as a family to you?

All of us live very hectic lives, parents and children alike, and the one sit down meal that we have together is dinner, so that becomes the most important time spent together when we catch up with each others’ day. So the answer is: VERY important.

Do you have a New Year's resolution-and will you be sticking to it?

I have made resolutions in the past, been able to stick with it for a while, but many people have fallen off the wagon. So I think about a few things that I want to do in the new-year, but follow it loosely as not to feel pressured. In fact, this loose arrangement actually helps me keep my resolve better than a firm one.

 How will you celebrate your next birthday?

Cruising in a yacht in the Mediterranean Sea. Well, I don’t know, but just wishful thinking J.

What is your take on organic food, is it a big deal for you?

Honestly, growing up in India, I ate only organic foods, but now, it’s become a very expensive proposition. However, I am a huge fan of Dr. Oz and I tend to use certain organic products that he recommends are safer and better for health, and not obsess about being too rigid about using organic products.

Here are some ladies I’d like to tag:

Savitha Ramesh (Savitha’s Kitchen)

Saraswati (Sara’s Corner)

Torview Toronto

Dr. Sameena (My Culinary Creations)

Priya (Priya’s Nice n’ Easy Recipes)

Harini (Tamalapaku)

Rupali (Recipe Grab Bag)

Kurinji (Kurinji Kadambam)

Please keep the tag going, so we get to know our fellow bloggers better J.

PS: Please send in you recipes for my first event. The New Year’s around the corner! Merry Christmas Eve to all!

A Tag and an Award

In Dubai now after a gruelling flight and 7 hour delay and hear of being stranded in Amsterdam! Baby is very stressed out by the journey and is recovering from it slowly! Sitting in the middle of the night,unable to sleep and bumming internet off an unsecured connection, all my worries and stress obliterated by the fact that I have some aweseom commnets of my last 2 recipes and the fact that I have been tagged by  Nithu of Nithu's kitchen
http://www.nithubala.com/2010/12/im-tagged.html
and what's more got a super awesome award from Rupali of http://www.recipegrabblag.blogspot.com/ .

Thank you Nithu and Rupali - You have made me forget the nightmarish journey to Dubai - once here it has been pure fun with family and sigthseeing - the Burj Khaleefa et al.....Off to India tonight!

Picking up some good recipes along the way and will blog when i get back home ...In the mean time, please keep checking in ...

Love ya!
Priya

Macaroni Verde

We all know about the torrid love affair between Mac& Cheese- I am the 'evil' fairy (paradoxical because evil and good are in the eye of the beholder) who has a scheme to break them up!What's more, it is my intention to bring Mac to her senses and make her a match made in heaven for the handsome and charming Signor Verde, a multi faceted, multi-talented bloke - mwahahaha or muahahahahaha (my evil laugh)

As a part of my event, I am putting out another favorite fast food that children and adults alike, like to indulge in.You know that this Mac&Cheese comes loaded with fatty, often processed cheese - We want to modify this and make it a dish, as interesting, but HEAPS healthier - Seriously, did you know that a bowl of mac and cheese at Panera is about 900 calories!! A BIG bowl of this is roughly 300-350 calories! Point to be noted.
We are leaving tomorrow on our big trip to India (please send up a prayer for good weather for me) and I had a few veggies in my fridge that I wanted to cook- hate buying as throwing as much as the next person - Now that my head is literally buzzing with ideas, I decided this will be a good one for my event and probably a couple of other events happening now.
Prep time - 30 minutes
Bake time - 25 -30 minutes

In Words
Ingredients
2 Zucchini Squashes, sliced round
1/2 head of broccoli cut into florets
1 green pepper (capsicum)
1 pack of Elbow Macaroni
3 dry red chillies (optional)
3 cloves of garlic

For the sauce
1/2 cup of milk
1/2cup of butter milk
NOTE If you have milk allergies, this step can be dispensed with altogether.
1 tbs of all purpose flour
1 sprig of fresh rosemary

Preparation of Sauce
Whip the above and keep

Preparation of Veggies
In about 2 tsps of olive oil, crush dry red pepper (cayenne) and curshed garlic
All to brown a bit.
Add the veggies, salt and let it cook until half tender
Add the sauce and stir in -
It will thicken
Shut off the stove and cool

In the meantime,
Bring a pot of water to boil, adding 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of olive oil.
Add the elbows and allow them to cook (takes about 10 minutes)
Once cooked, run through some cold water and allow it to drain.

In the meantime,
Put the veggie in a blender and make you final sauce

Oven ready:
Grease the pan you plan to bake in and start layering, starting with the elbows, then sauce, then elbows..you get the idea :)

In Pictures

 Veggies cut and ready to go

 In the pan with garlic and chillies

 whisk the sauce

 add to the veggies

 cook and drain mac in colander

 keep pan ready to go

 layer with mac first and top with sauce

decorate with tomatoes

Cook for about 30 minutes at 350 and serve HOT HOT HOT

Tip: You may decorate with diced tomatoes and bake, to infuse a little tangy flavor.
Secret tip: add a tbs of pine nuts to the sauce and grind for a nutty taste...option I exercised

Last Word - Infuse with a whole lot of love too.

Last Minute Lemon Rice

It's Tuesday night and my husband informs me about a potluck at his office -- ideas? quick ones? Out pops Lemon Rice - Truthfully, I am not a big fan of it, or wasn't until recently - People often think just yellow-rice= lemon rice - NOT. Although everyone makes it and thinks of it as a cinchy dish, it can be a really tricky one - too Dodh if not zesty, too turmericky, and blah bland - I've tasted them all - Let me tell you for some reason, lemon rice never quite made the cut in my home, growing up - On moonlit nights, we'd have kalanda saadhams and we hankered eagerly for Sambar Saadham, Pulikachal saadham or puliyodarai, thenga saadham or thayir saadham - in other words rice with sambar, tamarind, coconut or yogurt....
However, since moving to North America, this seems to be a big favorite of the Indians here, just like Satyanarayana poojai, which was never too popular in India, but is the poojai here...But over the years, we have adapted to all of it.

Lemon rice, my way.
Ingredients

To serve 8 people

2 cups of basmati rice cooked on stove top or in a rice cooker
The juice of 2 medium-sized lemons
2 carrots, peeled and grated
4-5 green chillies
Salt to taste
Thadka with
1 tsp of Turnemric
1 tsp of Urad Dal
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
A pinch of Hing (asafoetida)
Green Curry leaves
oil 2 tbs
Garnish - Cilantro and nuts

Preparation
Get the oil fired up
Pop the thadka, cumin, hing, curry leaves, urad dal and chillies and turmeric.
Add the rice and mix in well
Then filter the lemon juice of any seeds and pour 4 tsp of lemon juice
Mix in and transfer into a serving dish
Then take the grated carrots and turn it in the same pan that you thadkad for a couple of minutes to semi-cook it - NO oil reqd.
Mix into the rice
Garnizh with fresh chopped cilantro and nuts of your choice

Can be served at room temp .
Tip: Do NOT heat up

Last Word - Stir a goodly amount of love into the lime juice before adding it to the rice :) Enjoy.

Broiled Burgers with Beets,Oats and Acorn Squash

I was think healthy and I was thinking fast foods and I was thinking "I have that acorn sqaush sitting in my fridge for over 2 weeks and I must cook it today!" And I was thinking too that I must thank Farmville for introducing me to some incredible veggies - growing them on a virtual farm actually made me go out and buy some these and i realize what I've been missing out on - Acorn Squash is one of them - Hey, Farmville has amounted to something ;-))
Now that I've spilled all my thoughts to you, let me get on with this new recipe - Another no oil recipe, except to grease the pan - I feel a deep sense of achievement every time I don't need to use much oil :-)

In Words
Ingredients
1 small acorn squash (you can sub this with sweet potatoes or potatoes or any other veggie available. Even peas and carrots will work well
2 cans of red beets drained / or 2 fresh beets, peeled, boiled and drained
Oats
Bread Crumbs
Parmesan cheese
1 red onion
3-5 green chillies (not for the faint-hearted)
curry leaves
2 teaspoons curry powder
Oil for greasing the pan

Preparation
Cut and boil the squash so that it can be squishy
Drain the beets and keep
In a bowl mash the two veggies
Add some of the onions and the chillies and curry leaves
1 teaspoon of curry powder and salt mixed in with the veggies
Add 1 tbs of oats and mix in

In a plate, take a handful of instant oats and bread crumbs
Add a tbs of dry parmesan cheese
Some salt
1 tsp of curry powder

Grease the pan and keep ready

Now make some ball with the veggies and drop it into the plate with the oats mix roll it around to coat the ball and then gently flatten and transfer to greased pan
Repeat until all are ready

Broil for 15 minutes on high. Flip it over and broil for a couple of minutes.
You have yourself some fine veggie burgers, perfectly healthy, with 0 guilt - how about that?!!

Serving tip: These can be stand alone patties had with ketchup or mint/coriander chutney, lemon-squeezed onions OR
find yourself some Sara Lee 100 calorie flat buns, whole grain, toast them in the toaster - add Mayo (or not) some ketchup and some of onions and enjoy like burger.

In Pictures

                                                 Acorn Squash

                                            with beats and oats

                                            making the patties

                                           the oats and breadcrumb mix

                                          roll and cover over patties

                                          oven-ready

                                          and out, ready!

                                          daughter posing with a burger

 

                                           the 100 calorie flat rounds I use

                                           dress it up with ktechup, mayo or your good stuff

                                         Another one ready for biting into :)

I am kick-starting my event with this dish and also entering this also for Priya of Easy n Tasty recipes CWF event

Now Serving is Participating in...

December Guest Host: Priya of  http://mharorajasthanrecipes.blogspot.com
Host Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook http://thewellseasonedcook.blogspot.com/

Now Serving is sending the following recipes to this event
http://priyasnowserving.blogspot.com/2010/12/black-bean-cucumber-salad.html
http://priyasnowserving.blogspot.com/2010/10/bountiful-black-bean-soup.html
http://priyasnowserving.blogspot.com/2010/10/simply-sun-delicious-lima-beans.html
http://priyasnowserving.blogspot.com/2010/10/sugar-snap-peas-in-snap-please.html
http://priyasnowserving.blogspot.com/2010/12/kathirikai-rasavangi-eggplantbrinjal-in.html

Black Bean-Cucumber Salad

It is 1:30 pm, I haven't had a decent breakfast and now I am really hungry and I want something spicy, hot but healthy. I open the fridge - the veggie draw - 1 cucumber among other things I did not care for was making goggle eyes at me. Just plain cucumber salad - No! BORING! I open my pantry to see if there was some ready to eat packets - Cans of black beans were the first thing to strike me - Pulled one out... Good I had my cuke and I had a can of beans - how can i make this interesting? I open the fridge again and I see the beautiful remains of an orange and yellow bell pepper - The idea is becoming clearer - I am now back at the pantry swiping a can of dice tomatoes. The rest was instinctual! Exactly 10 minutes start to finish, since when you do decide to make this, you already have a plan :-)

Ingredients

I used 1 can of black beans (washed and drained)

1 cucumber

1/4 each of red and yellow bell pepper

1/4 can of diced tomatoes or 1 fresh tomato

2 green chillies

Some tortilla chips (optional)

Cheddar cheese and Cilantro to garnish

Preparation

Add the tomatoes, beans and chillies to a pan with a teaspoon of olive oil. 

Toss them around

Add some salt 

Put it in a bowl, 

Arrange peeled and diced cukes around

Add the peppers in a similar manner

dress it up with shredded cheddar and cilantro

OR crush some tortilla chip atop

There is a certain satisfaction to have the hot beans with the cold cucumbers and peppers...Satisfies the temperature needs as well.

Note: if you want more spice, you can add some salsa and mix it in to the beans

Last Word: Don't forget the key ingredient - LOVE 

Blog Event

Fast food not Fat food

Take a fast food, in fact your most favorite and make a healthy version of it – If it’s a non-veg item, kindly make a veggie, healthy version of it - Sides, main entrees, Salad Dressings, and desserts welcome 

Rules:
Only vegetarian entries

A healthy version does NOT mean a less appealing version

Only 2 entries allowed
The first entry should be a new one and the second can be an older post

Recipe can be your new innovative concoction or

It could be a recipe that you have been meaning to try out or have bookmarked to try
One sentence at least to explain how your recipe is healthier is a MUST

Linky too will be provided for you to link your entry to my blog

AND Please use the Logo on your blog and link back to http://priyasnowserving.blogspot.com/

I am off to India on Thursday for 3 weeks, but would love to come back to a whole host of incredible recipes – Please forward to your other blogger friends who may be interested in participating – Non bloggers welcome ….

 Looking forward to a FAT Volume of participation :-))))))

Cocktail Veggies and Paneer hor d'oeuvres

...Just in time for Christmas! Parties and potluck galore and this could dish will certainly stand out for its healthfulness amidst all the decadently yummy desserts that will crowd the tables.
It is a simple, laissez-faire recipe... You can concoct your own marinade and pick your own fav veggies to serve
Mine usually come about with the veggies in hand ...
Here's how I went about it  using NO oil except to spray the pan.

                                                          Brussel Sprouts
Prep time - about 1 hour, start to finish

In Words
Veggies:
10 Fresh Brussel Sprouts, halved
1/2 Red and Yellow Peppers cut in long strips
1/2 head of Broccoli
1 Nanak Paneer bag (can substitute with extra firm tofu)

Other options: Mushrooms, green peppers potatoes and Cauliflower...

Marinade
I was inspired by my niece's marinade, in that I made yogurt my base
2 tsp of Dhaniya powder
2 tsp of Sambar powder
A inch of ginger powder
Some fresh crushed rosemary and garlic chives
Salt

Keep Ready - a box of toothpicks

Preparation
Set your oven to broil
Dip each kind of veggie, separately (much like you would for bajjis)
Lay them on a greased oven pan
Broil in high heat for about 6-8 mins
To know if they are where you want them to be, look for the slight browning of the veggie skins

Stick a toothpick through each and serve with chutney of choice or as is - It is fully marinated, remember :-)

In Pictures

The veggies and paneer

the batter

                                           marinated paneer

                                           broccoli

                                            peppers and

                                            brussel srouts

                                            out of the oven, armed and ready to serve

Bon appetitte!

Last Word: Be sure to generously sprinkle, LOVE, the most important ingredient 

My 50th recipe is ....(And More Awards)

# 50 -Badam/Kaju Vadais or Almond-Cashew Falafals
Thanks to all of your support, I have hit a first milestone :-)
Two of my great blogger friends, Nithu and Priya won First and Second place in November contest of Manjula's kitchen and I am super happy for them. When I was at Manjula ben's website, I saw her Dec contest posted - Should I or should I not - try? I was racking my brain to come up with a badam or kaju recipe (since we don't normally cook much with pista or walnut for that matter-which is a salad/pie ingredient) I Googled and scoured some recipes online but they were all mostly sweet! I knew she was calling for desserts but I decided that this was not going to be one -I will come up with another for the event and save this recipe for another nutty event :-) -  And it is about 4pm by now, mind you and I had a salty snack on my mind! I decided to get innovative - or go rogue, Palin style (no-never- just kidding) We all know how deliciously tasty both almonds and cashews are and no matter what you do, you cannot go too wrong...

So I plunged headlong with the hope that I could turn out a bloggable recipe - When my son pronounced them "REEEALLLY good", I felt confident enough to go for it ... I did not want a run-of-the-mill recipe for the 50th - To come up with something somewhat unique was a thrill.

Ingredients

1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup of raw cashews
1/4 cup of besan/kadalamavu - chickpea flour
2 teaspoons of rice flour
1/2 med. onion
4 green chillies
1/2 teaspoon of ginger powder (grated ginger will work fine too)
Oil to fry

                                                powdered mix

                                              add the lightly fried onions and knead

                                               Get the vadais ready

                                                 Fried and served

                                                Another take :-)
Preparation

First, in a blender, powder the almonds and cashews to a gravel consistency
In a bowl, dry mix the nut powders and the flours -
(there will be a few nuts which are half ground - which is fine add to texture)
In a teaspoon of oil, lightly fry the onions
Add to the mix along with the green chillies
Add about 1 teaspoon of oil to the mix and knead
Last, add about 1 teaspoon of warm water and knead
Make balls and keep ready
Fry and serve HOT

Got this COOL Award from Akhila - Thanks a lot dear :-) Enjoyed participating!

Another AWESOME award, I did not realize I had got until today Thank ou Priya (BonAppetit)

Pad Thai

This is a dish we initially liked a lot when we went to our local restaurants. But sadly for us, the whole restaurant smelled kinda fishy and for those who love those smells, that would be heaven. But like I do mostly, I checked out the flavors of the dish and carried the memory of it on my tongue.
Usually when we buy cabbage we are thinking Chinese/Thai food
This again is an "oh so simple" recipe which from start to finish takes 45 minutes

Ingredients:
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 cup carrots - diced thin French-fry style
1 handful of peanuts
2-3 green chillies cut long
cilantro for garnish
1 tablespoon spicy Schezwan stir-fry sauce
1 Tbs Penang peanut sauce
1 teaspoon of white sesame seeds
2 cloved of crushed garlic
(Other options: mushrooms and tofu, spring onions) which i did not have handy that night :-(

1 pack of  no yolk eggnoodles / you can use egg-less or rice noodles

Preparation
Cook noodles in boiling water, strain and set aside
In a wok stir in the veggies and spices and cook in high heat.
In about a minute or 2, add the sauces and keep stirring
Add the noodles to the stir fry and let them soak up the sauce.
Garnish with peanut crumbles and cilantro - Enjoy :-)

                                             Veggies waiting to be cooked :-)

                                              the noodles cooking in the sauce