All in a day's work

Now much as I liked the movie Julie and Julia, like everything else that tends to get attention, it also fosters stereotypes. The stereotype that I do not like, is that everyone who loves their blog has/hates their dead end day job.

Why does that have to be the case, food - loving, creating and living (OK obsessing for food) can be an amazing hobby just like anything else. True, we food bloggers tend to be a little more accessible to the public.

Well, I do not want to wax poetic about the veggies of the week, I just want to share another quick and blissful success. This week it was a fresh tender eggplant paired with a mild and sweet yellow bell pepper, tomatoes and a light touch of garlic and spices. Bliss and tenderness all in one.

Eggplant with bell peppers and tomatoes

Prep Time: 3 minutes
Cook Time 15  minutes

Serves 3-4 people

Ingredients

1/4 cup oil (olive or grape seed)
1 teaspoon roughly bruised cumin seeds
1 teaspoon grated ginger
5 pods of garlic, finely chopped
1 medium eggplant, (about 2 cups) cut into 2 inch pieces
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 yellow bell peppers, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 ripe tomato, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon freshly chopped cilantro

Method of Preparation

1, Heat the oil and add the the cumin, ginger and garlic and cook lightly until the garlic is very pale golden.
2. Add the eggplant and shake the turmeric over the eggplant and cook for about 8-9 minutes, stirring well. The eggplant lightly browns, softens and finally turns soft and moist.
2. Add in the pepper and tomatoes and cook for another 3-4 minutes, until the pepper softens and the tomato tums, soft and clings to the eggplant.
3. Mix in the salt and red pepper flakes and stir well and cook for a minute.
4. Stir in the cilantro and serve.

BTW, my secret dream might not be to be Julia Child, but I have my own dream, where my children are civilized and I have an unlimited budget to remodel my house. I would start with a dinnette for my kitchen. Yes, even before the dining room, the kitchen is my priority.

Pasta Tonight!

Well, this week begins a new adventure - big city, new job. A little apprehensive as one might imagine, it takes a little time to get used to a new rountine. Normally, I would be savoring my lunchtimes, but for starters there is a lot to get used to. For obvious reasons, I do try to minimize the length of the work day. I have two eager people waiting for me at the end of the day.

The transition has been difficult for them, so like all good mothers I am trying to bribe my way out of it. They get to pick a treat, every weekend and this week on Friday it is going to be silly bandz.

Last evening I made a quick and easy pasta, baked and nice and comforting. While it might seem that baking is a bit of an odd thing to do when I am complaining about the heat, the other side of the game however is to get something done nice and quick.

Seasonal Pasta with 2 cheeses

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients

1/2 package medium shells
3/4 cup skim ricotta cheese
1.5 cups of chopped greens (I used fresh beet greens)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tomato diced
1/2 grated fontina cheese

Method of Preparation

1. Cook the shell according to the directions on the package.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
3. Place the ricotta cheese and the green in a food processor and process until smooth.
4. Mix in the salt, nutmeg, black pepper and tomatoes with the shells and place in a greased baking dish.
5. Mix in half the fontina cheese.
6. Top with the remaining fontina cheese and place in the oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes.
7. Serve hot.

Trying Spain - Tapas

I could truly truly, use a vacation! I realize that every working mother, ok every mother feels that way, particularly at this late hour when you truly wonder where the day disappeared. I have tried to call my mother several times this evening and have ended up with an international recording. I cannot absolutely cannot help feeling that that is a double whammy! Well, I shall have mom thinking I did not try calling her and frankly here I am hoping I could connect with her.

Anyhow, since I could not take a vacation, I did try to move a little further trying my hand at a cuisine a little further away. I have actually never, tried cooking tapas. I had for the longest time thought that tapas, was the Spanish version of appetizers. Well, I found out at least per this article, that the singular form is tapa and unlike say Dim Sum in the Chinese parlance, tapas could be small portions of anything.

Anyhow, I have been indulging on the wonderful book - Tapas - A taste of Spain in America (via an Indian kitchen?)

Given how much we love garlic and I love potatoes, we began our journey with two a few delectable classics. The first of which being Potato Bravas.

Well, the best surprise in preparing this one, was actually prepping the allioli sauce, the book actually offers two, options, on a very rare whim I actually prepared the traditional version.

Allioli a la Catalana
Traditional garlic and oil sauce

Makes about 1 cup
(Note: I halved the recipe for us)

Ingredients

1/2 teaspoon salt
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (I used a half lemon)
1 cup Spanish extra-virgin olive oil

Method of Preparation

1. Shake the salt on the bottom of a mortar bowl.
2. Place the garlic cloves and crush coarsely (the salt prevents the garlic from slipping).
3. Squeeze in the lemon juice and grind well.
4. Add in the oil, about 1 teaspoon at a time turning the pestle in a slow continuous motion, mixing the oil well each time. Continue doing this, until all the oil is used up and the mixture is a buttery yellow spread. This process takes about 15-20 minutes, but the dense, rich, flavorful sauce is worth the effort.

Potatoes Bravas
Fried Potatoes with allioli and spice sauce
Serves 4

For the Brava Sauce

4 ripe tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon Spanish paprika
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
Salt to taste

For the Potatoes

2 cups extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound Idaho potatoes
Salt to taste
4 teaspoons allioli
1 teaspoon finely chopped chives

Method of Preparation

1. Strain and create tomato puree
2. Cook till thick and brown.

We also enjoyed Gambas al ajillo, Traditional Garlic Shrimp (I threw in some thinly sliced garden zucchini that blended wonderfully into the basic recipe)

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves
1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
20 large shrimp (peeled and deviened, tail on)
1/4 teaspoon red chili powder (my addition)
1 teaspoon brandy
1 teaspoon chopped parsley (I used cilantro)
salt to taste
I added 1/2 a lime

Method of Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a medium sized pan and add the garlic and cook till pale brown (about 2 minutes)
2. Add in the zucchini and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add in the shrimp and cook for 1-2 minutes.
4. Pour in the brandy and cook for 1-2 minutes.
5. Squeeze in the lime juice, garnish with cilantro/parsley and enjoy!

Falafel and all the trimmings

I am waiting for the resolution of a few things next week, all of this waiting has been making me rather anxious. This of course, means that I end up cooking a lot more. Some of my forays have been rather good, in fact, I have cooked up so many things I need to make time to write about all my experiments.

Well, my first surprise was cooking falafel. Well, according to the link some experts feel that this addictive chickpea snack considered Israel's national food actually hails from India or Pakistan.

It would be the kind of food that would definitely fit in well with sub-continental cuisine.Actually I used this recipe of the Epicurious website.

Actually, either the pepper recommended in the recipe was a milder variation, or what I ended up with was a pretty spicy concoction.

Falafel

Adapted from Jean Nathan's
The foods of Israel today

Ingredients

1 cup dried chickpeas
1/2 large onion, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
1/3 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoons red chili powder
4 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
3-4 tablespoons whole wheat flour
Oil for frying

Method of Preparation

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight.
2. Place the chickpeas in the bowl of a food processor, add the onion, cilantro, salt, red chili powder and cumin and process till the texture resembles smooth most breadcrumbs.
3. Remove from the blender and mix in the flour.
4. Heat the oil and shape the patties into small balls (I like to flatten them a little) and gently lower into the oil.
5. Cook for about 6-7 minutes on each side till the the patties are nice and crisp and cooked through.

Note: I found the flavors of this variation really addictive, we had three to four of them left over that I shamelessly finished for breakfast.

To serve with the falafel, I actually made Pita bread, following this recipe. I used 50% whole wheat flour and about 50% while flour. I did not actually get the light fluffy looking loafs shown here, but they were nice and good for a change. I made a fresh green salad, chopping up fresh lettuce, tomatoes, and red onions and tossing them with sumac, olive oil and a little salt.

Lastly I tried this garlic sauce, I modified it a little and it ended up becoming a nice, garlic parley sauce, this really is a mayonnaise, made with whites rather than the yolk.

Parsley garlic mayonnaise (Arabic style)

Adapted from Ria's Collection

Ingredients:


4 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup parsley
Juice of 2 fresh lemons
1 egg white
3/4 cup olive oil

Method of Preparation

1. Place the garlic, salt and parsley in a food processor and pulse till very finely chopped.
2. Add the lemon juice and process again.
3. Add the oil in very small batches while the food processor is running, letting the mixture get completely mixed before adding more, until you get a nice creamy sauce.

Enjoy this with the falafels.

Beet greens with garlic and toasted almonds

The beets are out in the garden, and I am begining to see little peppers and tomatoes poking their way out of the plants.

This year, I have actually planted an entire host of herbs. I got the seeds and plants from, Rosedale Nurseries. I am too nervous to post pictures until the plants stabilize further. Unlike my other half, I kill plants just by looking at them. I do enjoy their beauty and try to capture them with my camera the best I can. It brings me great delight to capture an unexpected moment in nature.

The beets are usually best roasted. I did make an interesting salad with tofu and cashew nuts that I shall post when I get a second. I did however, love this simple creation we enjoyed mid week for our dinner. The pepper adds a very nice but intense heat to this recipe, you can leave it out if you wish.

Beet greens with garlic and toasted almonds

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients

1/3 cup whole almonds
1/2 cup hot water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
3 pods of garlic, slices
1.5 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 cup chopped garlic scapes (optional)
1/2 jalapeno chilie, minced
4 cups finely chopped beet greens
salt to taste

Method of Preparation

1. Place the almonds in hot water and let them soak for about 10 minutes.
2. Rinse in cold water and remove the skin.
3. Chop coarsely.
4. Lightly toast the almonds, until very lightly golden and set them aside.
5. Heat the oil and the butter and add in the garlic slices, cumin and cook for about half a minute.
6. Add in the garlic scapes and the chilie and continue cooking for about another minute until the mixture is a beautiful, fragrant bubbling mass, this takes about 3 minutes. You need to keep stirring constantly.
7. Add in the beet greens and the salt and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the greens are wilted.
8. Stir in the almonds and enjoy!

Food for a hot busy day - Another curried egg salad!

I think if you live in the east coast like me, today was certain a day to stay indoors and certain away from major cooking. Well, this is where it gets tricky. My daughter Deepta had a performance in school, which meant a lot of juggling in the evening to keep the routine intact and of course, meant having something that we could all eat. I think by now most people know, I love salads, egg salads in particular are high on my preference scale. Well, there was an egg salad that was sitting there on my kitchen bookshelf with my name on it - well actually it had Monica Bhide's name on it. It was a recipe from her cookbook Modern Spice.  This recipe had just the perfect overtones of flavor and would work wonderfully for all of us. The carmelized onions, that get folded into a nice assortment of egg and vegetables add an amazing amount of flavor to a very pretty recipe.

I actually made a double recipe, and tweaked the ingredients ever so slightly - I used a half cup of mayonaise for 12 eggs instead of the 6 that the original recipe had, I eliminated the chilies for the kids but added them back in for us and squeezed in a lime to balance the flavor and moisture. This recipe is definitely a keeper!

Curried Egg Salad with Carmelized Onion

Recipe from Modern Spice by Monice Bhide

Note (this is a double recipe)

Serves 8-10 people

Prep/Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used olive)

1 red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 dozen hard cooked eggs

1/4 medium red onion, diced

` 1 organic red or orange bell pepper (seeded and finely diced

1/3 cup mayonaise (using her recommendations this would be 1.5 cups)

4 tablespoons minced cilantro

2 small green serrano chilies, minced 

3 teaspoons hot Madras curry powder (1 used about 2 teaspoons)

2 tablespoons prepared mustard

1 lime, halved (my addition)

2 cups spinach leaves, loosely packed (I used garden lettuce)

Method of Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a medium skillet heat the oil and add the onion and carmelize for about 5 minutes, the onion softens, turns pale golden and then light brown. Mix in the salt, sugar and black pepper.

2. Chop the eggs and mix with the onions and bell peppers.

3. In a separate bowl, mix in the mayonaise, cilantro, chilies, curry powder and the mustard. I squeezed in the lime juice at this time.

4. Mix in the carmelized onions and the dressing and toss well.

5. Serve the salad in cups of crisp lettuce or spinach.

A blush of summer -Blueberry chocolate chip muffins

This week I have been really enjoying the complete onset of the farmers market season, possibly in my mind a complete herald of summer. I have been enjoying berries and of course all the bounty from our yard.A couple of weeks back I was really excited to see a lone blueberry on the tree - the first one at least on the few small bushes that we have. Well, I took a picture that came out blurry, by the time I realized it the blueberry had been eaten. The next few weeks I tried looking for the same effect and took a few more pictures and was please. Well, until I stepped out today, every little cluster had a single lone blueberry, for me a sight for sore eyes. It was just the effect that I had been looking for and I took some pictures that I think were just what I was looking for. Silently as I drank in their beauty I realized in quite pleasure, nature cannot be rushed. We cannot capture it on our terms but rather need to wait patiently and learn to enjoy and cherish its beauty on its own terms.

This morning, I made a brunch for father's day. A quite affair just the four of us. The kids were excited and I know, that is really how the father in this house likes it. On such a day, I always miss my own father. It is more than just the distance that separates up. Bapi is too sick these days to be very interactive. I cannot often speak to him spontaneously. It has to be a planned event.

Well, I made these little chocolate chip blueberry mini-muffins. I would actually call then mini-cupcakes, but I was adviced by the two cupcake experts in my house that cupcakes have to have frosting and anything without are just muffins. They tasted great, so what's in a name.

For the base, I actually used this recipe for an eggless cake. I made a couple of variations to it, used whole wheat pastry flour and melted butter instead of the oil and all purpose flour. Of course I added the blueberries and chocolate chips and most of these are already gone.

Blueberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup of yogurt (preferable 1-2 days old)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

11/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup melted salted butter

11/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup blueberries

Ground nutmeg

Cooking spray for greasing the muffin pan

Method of Preparation

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Place the yogurt in a bowl and add the sugar and beat well till the sugar is dissolved.

3. Stir in the baking soda and baking powder and let this rest for 3-4 minutes, the mixture should appear nice and frothy.

4. Gently stir in the butter.

5. Mix in the sifted flour in small amounts until well mixed.

6. Stir in the blueberries and chocolate chips.

7. Dust very lightly with ground nutmeg.

8. Grease the muffin pans and add 2-3 teaspoons of the batter and bake for 20 minutes.

9. Turn off the heat and let these muffins rest in the oven for 10 minutes.

10. Remove from the oven and serve when completely cool.