Thought that you would never like eggplant?

Have you ever found those little mini eggplants at the market and wonder what you can do with them? Probably not, but now if you ever see them in the grocery store, hopefully this post will entice you to pick up a few and make this stuffed eggplant recipe.

Instead of baking these eggplants in the oven, I steam them. Steaming the eggplants allows for quicker cooking and ensures that your eggplant stay soft, and come out almost creamy. This is a great side dish if you are making a dal and rice dinner, or even with some chapati/rotis and a really good, hot mango pickle, yum!

Ingredients

2 tbsp ghee or unsalted butter
1 cup of raw mixed nuts such as peanuts, cashews and walnuts, ground fine in a coffee grinder
1/2 cup chick pea flour (besan)
1 tbsp salt (add more or less to your taste)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cumin powder
8-10 small eggplants

Directions

1. Heat ghee/butter in a pan on medium heat.
2. Add ground nuts and chick pea flour.
3. Stir around constantly to prevent burning.
4. Once the mixture has lightly browned in color (probably takes about 10 minutes), turn off heat and add all spices. Mix well. Set aside to cool.
5. You have two choices for cutting the eggplants for stuffing. You can either make two cuts cross wise almost all the way through the eggplant's length, and stuff each eggplant, or cut each eggplant in half lengthwise and spoon as much filling on top as you can.
6. Fill a large pot so that the water comes up about 3/4 of an inch. Place your stainless steel steamer in the pot, and carefully place each eggplant in the steamer. Be careful not to spill any filling!
7. On high heat, cover the pan and steam for about 15 minutes, until the eggplants are cooked through.

Yum!

Little Asian Treasures....

These fantastic, guilt-free, savoury treats came about on accident. I was staying with a friend of mine in Toronto, and she had this 'moms in the area' meet n greet type event one Friday night. It was an appetizer potluck, so she wanted a suggestion for something simple and tasty. I recommended making bite sized tofu 'quiche'.

One of the ingredients to make the crust part is wonton wrappers, which the grocery store conveniently ran out of that day. So I bought phyllo pastry instead.

Okay, long story short, I was concerned with using phyllo as the crust in the mini muffin tin, in fear that it wouldn't crisp up. So instead I made little pocket type things, brushed with lots of butter. I can't remember why we changed up my standard spinach tofu filling, but we did and it turned out great! Now these are somewhat time intensive, but if you are looking to impress and have the extra time, they are well worth the effort.

Ingredients

Crust
8 sheets of phyllo pastry
melted butter

Filling
2 tbsp cooking oil
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 onion, finely diced
1/2 carrot, finely diced
1 bell pepper, finely diced
1 block of firm tofu, crumbled finely with your fingers
1/2 bag of spinach, washed well and finely chopped
3 tbsp soya sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp Vietnamese chilli sauce
2 tbsp good quality sesame oil

Directions:

1. Start the filling first. In a large pan or wok, heat the oil on high heat.
2. Add ginger and onion and reduce to medium heat.
3. When onions soften (about 3 minutes), add carrot and put on medium low heat covered for 5 minutes.
4. Uncover and add bell pepper and cook for another 3 minutes.
5. Increase heat to medium high and add tofu and spinach. Mix this up until the spinach has wilted.
6. Reduce heat to medium low and add all seasonings except sesame oil. Adjust the flavors to your liking.
7. Remove from heat and mix in the sesame oil. Set this mixture aside uncovered to allow the steam to release.
8. Generously brush 4 sheets of phyllo with butter and layer on top of one another. Cut into about 3-4 inch squares.
9. Add a tablespoon of the mixture in the middle of each square.
10. Now for each square, cover the filling by bringing up the corners of the square, and giving it a good solid pinch to create a little 'sack' of yumminess! Keep pinching until it stays. You may rip a few, don't worry - these are for you to enjoy!
11. Continue the filling process until you have created as many appetizers as you would like. Leftover filling can be eaten on its own, and leftover phyllo can be used by making baklava!
12. Bake the little appetizers in a 350 degree F oven for about 15 minutes, until they are crispy and golden. I would try to serve these fresh out of the oven if possible.

Restaurant Review #5 - Bloom Cafe - Toronto, Ontario

So an out of town friend of mine was visiting Toronto one weekend. Like me, she is vegetarian, so I thought I could take her to a vegetarian joint in town. I would normally take any Toronto newbie to King's Cafe, but they are renovating for a couple of months, so I thought I would try Vegetarian Haven, located on Baldwin Street. So we decide to meet at the restaurant on a Saturday at 1pm. No big deal. Until I get there and realize that they don't open until 2pm.

Now, what restaurant opens up on a Saturday afternoon at 2pm, and not for Saturday lunch? I was very annoyed. But, I think it worked out for the better, because I noticed price increases on their menu, and that did not make me happy either. If any Vegetarian Haven owners are reading this, please have some sense and open up your restaurant for lunch on Saturdays!

Anyhow, it wasn't that big of a deal since we were on a strip where there are at least a dozen or so restaurants. One small cafe caught my eye. I had never seen it before, so we decided to try it out. It is called the Bloom Cafe. Really nice, simple decor, but no music. Silence. Also, it was empty. That usually worries me, but I decided to give it a try anyways (mainly because I am not a major fan of most of the Baldwin Streets restaurants).

My friend and I ordered a FABULOUS tea called Quite Pink. Apparently this cafe is known for their blooming teas and using flowers like globe amaranth . They pre sweeten with tea with honey and some sort of pomegranate flavor that the lady would not tell me about.

For lunch, we had miso soup, onigiri and tofu pitas. The miso soup was good, but nothing spectacular. Tasted like the miso soup that I make at home from miso paste. Onigiri are these japanese rice triangles filled with various fillings. I picked avocado/cucumber and kimchi. It was alright, al little bland for my palate. Finally the tofu pita was fantastic. The sauce on the tofu made this whole pita. It tasted like a mix of miso paste, chili paste, ginger, soy, and something a little sour.

Overall, it was a good meal, not great. I would go back to try other things on their menu, in particular, the teas! One great thing about the food at Bloom, is that it is not heavy at all. We were definitely full, but we did not feel bloated or super, can't walk type of full.

This restaurant is not fully vegetarian, but very veg friendly!

Bloom Cafe
45 Baldwin St.
Toronto, Ontario
www.bloomtea.ca

The Magic called...Curry Leaves!

Many of you have probably never used or even seen a curry leaf before. Also known as kadi patta, and limbdo, if you can get fresh ones, they are very fragrant, lemony leaves that you can throw into curries and soups. I love them. But, they are ever so hard to find unless you know of a very well stocked Indian grocery store.

You do need to be careful with these leaves. Each leaf punches a lot of flavor, so you don't want to over do it. I particularly like them in dals (Indian lentil soup) and potato curry. I have not experimented with curry leaves in non-Indian foods, because I can rarely get my hands on them, but I am sure with the right combination, they would be fabulous.

Here's my all time favorite dal recipe, but even this lentil, called toor dal is somewhat difficult to find unless you can get to an Indian grocery store.

Ingredients

1 cup toor dal
3 cups water
2 medium sized tomatoes, diced
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
salt
1 tsp turmeric
6 curry leaves
2 tsp coriander powder
lemon
cilantro

Directions:
1. Boil dal in the water until very soft and mushy. Feel free to add more water if necessary. Should take about 40 minutes to cook through.
2. In a large heavy bottomed pot on high heat, add oil. Once oil is hot, add mustard and cumin seeds. When they start to pop, add the tomatoes and stir quickly to prevent splattering.
3. Reduce to medium heat, and add some salt, curry leaves,turmeric, coriander powder. IF you have cayenne pepper or a hot green chillie, throw 'er in if you want some spiciness to this dal.
4. Once tomatoes are mushy, add the cooked dal and increase the heat to high. Add some additional water if you feel it is too thick. The thickness of this dal all depends on your preference.
5. Let this boil for about 10 minutes. Turn heat off and add some more salt to your taste and lemon.
6. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy!

This dish goes really well with some basmati rice, and is perfect for a chilly winter's day!

Perfect Basmati Rice without the Rice Cooker

Some people swear by their rice cooker, but I have never had one and don't find the need for one. I would rather save precious kitchen cupboard space for a Vita-Mix or even a food dehydrator!

Basmati rice is of long grain type, and is the kind that I use most often. I use it mainly when I am making an Indian or Persian meal, and would use a jasmine rice for Thai or Chinese.

I have been cooking Basmati rice by this method for years, it is very difficult to mess up. The presoak cuts the cooking time of the rice, and also creates a nice, fluffy, distinct grain of cooked rice.

Ingredients

1 cup basmati rice, washed 3 times
1.5 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 bay leaf

Directions
1. Soak rice for at least 10 minutes. 1 hour is ideal.
2. Put all ingredients into a heavy bottomed pot on high heat until it begins to boil.
3. Lower the heat to super low (on a scale of 1-10, the heat should be on 1). Fully cover the pot with its lid.
4. Allow the rice to cook for about 12 minutes, then taste a few grains from the top of the rice. If it is cooked to your liking you are done! If not, check if there is any water left at the bottom of the pot by tilting it. If there is no water left, add a few tablespoons and cover the pot for another 5 minutes. It should be cooked by this point.

Hot, fluffy, fresh basmati - yum!

Roasted Tomato Garlic Bell Pepper Soup

Red, orange and yellow bell peppers become sweet, smooth, and soupalicious, once they are roasted in the oven. Their flavors concentrate into these sweet melt in your mouth morsels.

This particular soup also makes use of roasted tomatoes and garlic, the perfect combination with the roasted bell peppers. I dont even put any salt or pepper in this soup. I just roast, peel, blend and serve. Such simple ingredients, and so good!

Ingredients

4 tbsp olive oil
4 tomatoes, cut in half
3 bell peppers, cut into large chunks
1 head of garlic, with a slice off the top to expose the top of each garlic clove

Directions
1. Toss all ingredients with the olive oil and place in a large casserole dish, with the flesh side face down. Make sure the garlic head gets a decent drizzle of oil as well.
2. Roast at 375 degrees F for about 45 minutes, or until bell peppers are soft and the skin is starting to char.
3. Remove from oven. At this point, you can either throw the tomatoes and peppers into the blender, or you can remove the skins of the tomatoes and peppers and then into the blender.
4. Carefully pick out the softened cloves of garlic and put these in the blender too.
5. Blend away until super smooth, and serve while it is still hot! Otherwise, heat on low heat then serve.

Pakoras: Deep Fried Goodness

Sometimes, it's okay to treat yourself. Everything in moderation right?

Pakoras are a deep fried mix of vegetables, batter and various spices. If made properly, they turn out golden, crispy and deeeeeeeee lish! They can be eaten on their own, or with a dipping sauce such as cilantro chutney, ketchup, or date-tamarind chutney (recipe for this to come soon). They are typically eaten as an appetizer to a meal, but who's to say you can't have it for your whole meal? Just make sure you go for double the work out the next day.

You may need to hit the indian grocery store to find the special flour needed in this recipe: besan, or otherwise known as chick pea flour. I have also seen it at Bulk Barn.

To make really good pakoras, you need to get your hands a little dirty. Mixing with your hands is never the same as mixing with a spoon or fork. Smearing all the spices, batter and vegetables altogether with your hands ensures that the spices and the batter is distributed nice and even on every single peice of vegetable, making a very crispy pakora. This is key!

Pakoras are best when eaten right out of the fryer. If you are entertaining and serving these to your guests, it is best to have serve small batches at a time, right out of the oil.

Ingredients

1/2 head of cabbage, very finely chopped, into little strands of cabbage
1 package of spinash, finely chopped, into litle strands of spinach
1 onion, sliced into fine strands of onion
2 green chillies, finely chopped
2 tsp salt
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric
2 cups of besan

Directions:

1. Throw everything in a bowl and mix very well WITH YOUR HANDS. Rub and smear everything together, for a few minutes. You have to keep mixing until the salt forces some of the cabbage, spinach and onion to sweat out its liquid content. This will allow the mixture to become watery enough to create a batter out of the besan, and cover every little peice of vegetable.
2. Heat oil very hot. VERY CAREFULLY, take a tablespoon amount of the mixture in your hands and drop into the hot oil. The number of pakoras that you can fry at one time will depend on the size of your fryer. Make sure that they are not touching, and they all have enough space to cook. Do not overcrowd your pakoras. If there are too many being fried at one time, the temperature of the oil will reduce dramatically, and the lower temperature will make the pakoras soak up more oil which will not taste as good.
3. Mix them around and fry for about 5 minutes, or until golden brown.

yum!!!!

Comment on Knives and Seasonal Goodness #2 : Squash Potato Bake

This can be a very simple, easy, fast meal.....IF and only IF you have a really good knife and peeler. About 90% of the preparation for this recipe is peeling and chopping.

I can't stress the importance of a good, sharp knife. I would say, at least in my recipes, that 70% of the time spent is on chopping, dicing and slicing. If you can't do it efficiently, you could spend a whole lot of time in the kitchen, and it gets very tiring. I swear by my 3 knives - 8 inch chef's knife, 4 inch paring knife, and 6 inch cleaver. I have the Henckels Pro 'S' series, and they were worth every penny. I will cherish these knives forever and pass them onto my kids.

I probably use my chef's knife the most, for any dicing and chopping activity that is needed for vegetables and fruits. I use my paring knife for small jobs and coring, and my cleaver for any type of greens, such as spinach, cilantro, as well as for smearing fresh garlic into a paste.

I would recommend that you do not buy one of those knife sets. I don't think you need more than 3-4 really good knives, and it's a waste of money. Rather, invest that money into 3-4 knives, along with a sharpener and honing stick to keep them sharp.

Back to the recipe! This is a fantastic quick dish if you can prepare it efficiently. A good knife will allow you to also slice the potatoes and squash very thin. A simple lentil soup, or even some sour cream on the side would complete this meal. Crunchy topping, and a combination of nicely seasoned potatoes and squash, yum yum yum! The picture below shows what it looks like before baking, and the one below that is after baking.

Ingredients:

Topping:
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Filling:
3 white potatoes, sliced thin (keep the peel on)
2 sweet potoatoes, peeled and sliced thin
3 cups of any 2-3 types of squash, peeled and sliced thin
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup of any combination of fresh herbs, finely chopped (I used sage, thyme, green onion and basil)
salt to taste


Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients for the topping in a bowl. Set aside.
2. Combine all ingredients for the filling in a casserole dish.
3. Top with topping
4. Bake for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees F .

DONE!

Jerk! Fajitas....yum

So I had a craving one day for fajitas. I had never made them before but how hard could they be? Make some guacamole, buy some cheese, tortillas, salsa, sour cream and stir fry up some veggies! easy!

The hardest part of this dish was trying to figure out was how to flavor the tofu and vegetable stir fry. I looked in the fridge and saw some jerk seasoning. I bought this stuff a long time ago when I visited Jamaica. Tasted it, and it was still good. Ok. But it was really spicy. I needed something to cut the spice a little. Saw some orange juice. Hmmm. Mixed them together.......interesting taste! I like it! Sauce is done!

Fajitas are a great, quick dinner that is easy to keep around for more than one meal. Just make sure you have enough tortillas, salsa, sour cream and cheese. Making loads of stirfry is pretty easy. These fajitas definitely beat anything that I have ever had in the stores. I hope you like it!

Ingredients

2 tbsp oil
1 block of tofu, cut into long strips
1 onion, cut into slices
2 bell peppers, cut into long strips
1 carrot, cut into thin sticks
1 zucchini, cut into thin sticks
10 mushrooms, sliced thick
you can also add: broccoli, green beans, cauliflower, green pepper

1 tsp jerk seasoning (depends on how hot you like it)
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tsp corn starch

1 package whole wheat tortillas
1 bottle of salsa that you enjoy
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
guacamole from 1 avocado (to make guacamole, peel the avocado and chop up, then add lemon juice, salt and mash with a fork until it is at your desired consistency, then mix in finely chopped green onions and cilantro - that's it!)
1 tub sour cream (optional)

Directions:
1. Heat only 1 tbsp of the oil and fry the tofu in it until it is brown and crispy on medium heat = about 8-9 minutes. Make sure you toss this every minute to prevent burning. Put tofu in a bowl and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the jerk seasoning, orange juice and corn starch. Set aside.
2. Heat the other tbsp of oil and put in onions on medium heat.
3. Once translucent, throw in all vegetables except zucchini and mushrooms. Cook on medium high heat for about 4 minutes.
4. Put in the zucchini, mushrooms, crispy tofu and orange-jerk mixture. Cover for 2 minutes to cook on medium heat.
5. Turn off heat, mix around and enjoy!

Simple Lunch - Curried Spaghetti

This dish is inspired by one of my all time favorite vegetarian joints in Toronto, King's Cafe - located in Kensington Market on Augusta Ave. They make a fabulous Singaporean noodle dish, which must be ordered every time I eat there. It's fresh tasting, not excessively greasy, and has the perfect amount of spice.

This is a great lunch dish. I ended up making a huge pot of this two days in a row because me and my sister gobbled it all up! It's also perfect for work lunches. Easy to microwave, and doesn't stink up the entire office!

It's also a great because you can essentially throw in any leftover vegetable that is stir fryable. It's best to chop your veggies in long strips, so that they mix well with the spaghetti. Speaking of spaghetti, you can use any long, thin, noodle like pasta for this dish, capaletti, angel hair, spaghettini, spaghetti!

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil
1 onion, sliced into strips
1 tbsp ginger, grated (optional)
1 cup of vegetables, cut into strips (if possible)
salt to taste
2 tbsp curry powder
1/2 package of long noodle like pasta - cooked, but not over cooked!
salt to taste
freshly squeezed lemon juice
cilantro for garnish, chopped

Directions
1. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan or cast iron pan, on high heat.
2. Throw in onions, with a pinch of salt and lower heat to medium.
3. When onions are translucent, add all of your veggies. stir and cook on medium heat for 3 minutes.
4. Add curry powder and mix in well. Then add your noodles and make sure they are lightly covered with the curry powder (turning a slight yellow color). You may need to add a little more curry powder.
5. Add salt to your taste.
6. Turn off heat, add a generous squeeze of lemon juice and cilantro.
7. Serve with parmesan cheese (it just seems to go well with this dish!)

Restaurant Review #4 - Assah - Toronto, Ontario

I tasted Ethiopian food for the first time when I was quite young, in my early teens, and I hated it. The bread was really sour and seemed soggy, and it just didn't look nice. I swore I would never eat the stuff again.

In recent years, I have done a lot of reading and research on all these sacred 'ancient grains' that have exceptional nutritional benefit, one of those being teff - the grain used to make injera! So, for this reason, I decided to try it once again, and I fell in love with it!

Toronto has a great variety of Ethiopian restaurants. Some fancy, nice and more expensive, and some are tiny iddy biddy holes, but extremely cheap. So far, all that I have tried have been very tasty!

Tonight, I went to a pretty dingy Ethiopian restaurant, in a somewhat dingy part of town. But, it was some fantastic food!! The injera was super tangy, and very soft, just the way I like it. The standard cabbage curry, spinach curry, and red lentil curry were presented. The red lentil curry was FABULOUS. Hot, spicy, creamy, and a great combo of spices bursting with every bite. My two cousins and I cleaned up the whole dish in less than ten minutes.

I was not super crazy about the standard green salad that was in the middle. It had a dressing on it, but I couldn't taste it much. The green salad at Nazareth, which is just a few blocks west of Assah, is much better.

I also was not a fan of their spiced tea. I can't put my finger on why, but it just didn't have the same punch as other Ethiopian spiced teas that I have tasted. We were given a Tetley orange pekoe teabag to put in the spiced tea which I thought was a little odd.

But overall, look how well we cleaned up our plate!

This is not a vegetarian restaurant. The food is extremely affordable. Two people can fill their tummies for $10 plus tax and tip! It does not get better than that!

Assah Restaurant
814 Bloor St West
This is all I know about it!

One of my top five desserts: Baklava...

ONLY if it is made properly. If it is not sweet enough, too sweet, too soggy, not enough nuts, too many nuts - any of these lead to a not so great baklava. I also do not like the ones with all walnuts, they tend to taste a little bitter, and I don't like the rolled up, circular, super ground pistachio ones, that's not real baklava! I like the basic, simple diamond shape. It is functional, easy, and the texture is great.

I had some phyllo left over from the baked brie and phyllo recipe, so I decided to experiment with baklava. After reading a few recipes on the web, I went into the kitchen and concocted my own.

I used only very simple ingredients, I don't like to mess around with my baklava! If you have vegan margerine, this recipe can easily be veganified. I ate a whole tray of this stuff, in three days. Ooops.

Ingredients:

2 cups of mixed nuts, chopped into small bits
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
12 sheets of phyllo
1/4 cup margarine or butter, melted
1/2 cup water
3 tbsp honey (to veganify, try with maple syrup or omit this ingredient totally)
1/3 cup sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Mix the nuts, cinnamon and brown sugar in a bowl and set aside.
3. In a pot, boil the water, sugar and honey for 10 minutes. set aside.
4. Brush 6 sheets of phyllo with margerine, layered on top of one another in a casserole dish, or cookie sheet.
5. Take all of your nuts and spread evenly on top of the brushed margerine sheets.
6. Brush the other 6 sheets of phyllo with margerine and layer on top of the nuts.
7. With a sharp knife, score the top of the phyllo lengthwise, then width wise to either make rectangles or diamonds.
8. score each square or diamond with slits
9. bake for 30 minutes, or until super golden brown.
10. Take a large spoon, and pour the sugar syrup all over the phyllo. Try to get it evenly distributed.
11. Let it cool down and enjoy!!

Restaurant Review #3 - Temptation Tea Shop - Ottawa, Ontario

So I was on a mission today - walk past Chinatown to the Temptation Tea Shop to try their Vietnamese cold rolls and bubble tea. So, I walked, and walked and walked. Over an hour later, I arrive. It was worth the long walk. The decor is cute. Light green walls, with oversized, beautiful butterflies hanging from the ceiling, and these little flowery looking doodads also hanging from the ceiling. I ordered the almond milk bubble tea, with only half the bubbles (too many bubbles, i.e. taro balls make Reena's tummy go funny), and it was perfect. Not too much almond flavor, not too sweet, not too heavy on the milk, and not too much ice! Just the way I like it.

Now, this is not a vegetarian restaurant. They serve all the items that meatatarians love. But, the vegetarian salad rolls were to die for! Huge rolls, tightly wrapped with glass noodles, a little pineapple and green apple, purple and green cabbage, carrots, and some greasy, crispy, yummy tofu to give the whole roll a good crunch! The peanut sauce was great too. Lightly spicy, sweet, and not too heavy.

We also ordered the fried tofu in spicy lemongrass dish that was yum a licious! I'm sure it had a tonne of fat and calories, but I deserve to treat myself sometimes. Their tofu has clearly been frozen and rethawed, because it has that chewy, spongy texture, which I don't usually like, but I guess I do when it is deep fried! When the tofu has this spongy texture, it also absorbs flavors really well. When bit into, you can taste an exposion of flavors coming out at you - sweet, spicy, lemongrassy goodness. It was actually a little too flavor packed for me, so adding a little rice to each forkful helps to take off that bite.

Anyhow, if you are in the Ottawa area, check out Temptation Tea Shoppe for a nice lunch. Their website is currently not running for some reason, but here is a link to their menu, and another restaurant review from Ottawa Express.

Enjoy!

Temptation Tea Shoppe
324 Bank St
Ottawa, Ontario
613-237-1291

Learning from Mistakes

I hate to waste food. So whenever I experiment with food and it fails, it really upsets me because:

1. I made use of high quality ingredients and made it taste bad.
2. I feel like a failure.
3. I don't want to eat the leftovers, and may end up throwing them out.

But, you really do have to make a few mistakes to eventually make tasty, original meals. It is bound to happen, and as long as you learn, it was all worthwhile.

Today at lunch, i had this idea of a roasted garlic and potato soup. mmmm..sounds good doesn't it? We have this amazing organic garlic, so I roasted 2 heads, and 3 white potatoes. How could anything go wrong?

The roasting went fine. The garlic was actually phenomenal. They carmelized in the oven, turned light brown and mushy, it was perfect. I think I would only buy organic garlic now for this very reason!

So I threw everything in the blender - garlic, potatoes and some soymilk to thin it out....so I'm blending, blending, blending. Then I poured it into a pot to slowly re heat. It was nice and smooth, but it was ..... slimy...gooey....snotty! WHAT HAPPENED! the texture was horrible. I didn't know what to do. I tried adding more water...that helped a little, but I didn't want to overdo it. I searched on the Internet for solutions, but couldn't find anything. There was no way I was going to serve this to anyone.

So then I thought, maybe I could make a casserole out of it. Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, turnips, and some crumbled bread on top to sop up the potato soup and crisp. So that's what I did. It made the potato goop edible, but it definitely was nowhere near great, which is why I refuse to show you the end result.

Anyways, we finally had lunch at 2:30pm, and it so was not satisfying. Oh well. One of those days. I am still trying to accept this whole experience. I have made potato leek soup in the past and it never went all gooey, I don't get it? Anybody out there know?

I am thinking that it has to do with the type of potato I used - standard white. Maybe I should have used russet? I don't really know.

If you ever need snot or slime for a Hallowe'en costume, let me know. I'm an expert at snot making now.

Cabbage Curry - Super Quick, Easy, Tasty!

I have a love-hate relationship with cabbage. When I think about it, I don't like it. But when I see it, I either want to throw it in a salad if it is tender, or lightly sautee - indian style.

It is not easy to find really nice, tender cabbage, so I am going to explain the yummy quick sautee method here. The dish in the picture shows a leftover dinner I had - persian rice (leftover), a simple salad with bits of vegetables in the fridge, and cabbage sautee. It was actually a pretty good meal!

Ingredients

2 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black gram lentil (urad dal)
2 green chilies, sliced long
1/2 head of cabbage, very finely chopped
salt to taste
cilantro for garnish

Directions

1. Heat oil on high heat. Add cumin and mustard seeds. When they just start to pop, add the black gram lentil and green chillies.
2. Few seconds later, add the cabbage and salt. Reduce heat to medium and toss the cabbage around until it has slightly wilted, about 4 minutes.
3. Garnish and enjoy!

South Indian Meal - Part Four - Sambar

Well here it is! The final installment to the perfect, well balanced, impressive and very tasty South Indian meal! Sambar is a hot, spicy, very flavourful lentil soup. I would say that this part is probably the most time consuming, and has the most obscure ingredients (to some), but a good sambar really completes this meal. It's is perfect for dipping your dosa into, because as your dosa will very quickly cool down, the sambar will stay hot and will add warmth to your dosa. Also, the dosa and filling is relatively dry, so it's nice to have a hot liquid to sip on from time to time. You can also get creative with the vegetables that you add to your sambar, depending on what you like and what is in season.

This recipe uses a lentil called toor, which may be difficult for some of you to find. I have never tried any other lentils in this recipe, but I have a strong hunch that it just won't cut it. Make a trip to the indian grocery store and get this particular dal. Or ask your indian neighbour for some?

The best sambar I ever made was in a slow cooker. Start it up in the morning before work or school, and come home to the scents of clove and cinnamon simmering away! But I wont be talking about that method because I am not sure how many of you have a slow cooker.

Now, if you don't have a pressure cooker, you will have to cook the lentils in a pot separately beforehand. Boil them until they are soft, I am guessing this will take almost an hour, but not sure because I always pressure cook them!

Also, it is best to use a heavy bottomed pot for this so that the toor dal does not burn or stick!

Ingredients

2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 onion, diced
2 large tomatoes or equivalent, diced
1 tbsp grated ginger
2 cloves, pressed or grated garlic
10 curry leaves
1 cup toor dal, cooked until mushy - either boiled or in pressure cooker
3 cups water
2 tbsp sambar powder OR combo of 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp cumin powder and 1 tsp turmeric
3 whole cloves
3 pods of cardamom, crushed in a mortar and pestle
1 large stick of cinnamon
1 tbsp of tamarind paste OR wait until the end and add 2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 cups of chopped veggies such as - squash, green beans, carrot, potato, sweet potato, broccoli, cauliflower - any hearty veggie!
salt to taste
cilantro for garnish

Directions
1. Heat oil on high heat, add cumin and mustard seeds.
2. When they pop, lower heat to medium, add onions and a dash of salt.
3. When onions are translucent (about 3 minutes), add ginger and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes.
4. Increase heat to high and add tomatoes and curry leaves. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring pretty constantly.
5. When tomatoes are soft and mushy, add the toor dal, water and all spices, mix well and cover. Reduce heat to medium.
6. Allow flavors to meld together and cook for about 20-25 minutes. Stir every once in a while to prevent sticking.
7. Add vegetables, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until vegetables are softened.
8. Add salt to your taste. Try the dal at this point to see if you would like it a little more sour (add more tamarind or lemon juice), or more spicy (add more sambar powder or chilli powder).
9. garnish with cilantro and enjoy!!!

A Note on Tempering

A Note on Tempering

Why do many Indian recipes call for tempering? What does it mean? Why why why? I will agree that tempering is not fun. The seeds pop, spray oil everywhere, and hot scalding bits of water spray all over as the first vegetables get thrown in.  

As you may know, many well known Indian spice mixes, such as garam masala or sambar masala are traditionally made by first roasting the raw spices together and then grinding them in a mortar and pestle before using in a curry or dal.  The roasting releases the spices’ deep flavors, which it can then impart on the vegetables or lentil dish. The same goes for the cumin and mustard seeds.  As the seeds begin to pop in the hot oil, this is a sign that the seeds are ‘cooked’ and are at their peak of flavor.  Consider this taste experiment.  Temper a few mustard and cumin seeds, until they violently pop. Try these seeds, versus raw cumin and mustard seeds, and you will see exactly what I mean.  As scary and sometimes painful as it is, tempering makes a huge difference in taste of the dish.  Here is what I do in order to minimize hot oil and water splatter:

As the oil is heating and the seeds begin to splatter, make sure your first set of vegetables are chopped and ready to go.  Keep them chopped up on your cutting board, and use the cutting board as a cover for your pot as the seeds begin to splatter.  When you are ready to throw the vegetables in, slide the cutting board over so that just a crack of the pot is open, large enough to let you slide the vegetables into the pot.  When you have them all in, keeping the pot covered with the cutting board, give the pot a shake so that the vegetables can cover the whole bottom of the pot and cool down the oil.  Now you can reduce your heat, uncover the pot, and continue cooking pain and splatter free! 

South Indian Meal – Part Three – Coconut Chutney

The next portion to the perfect South Indian meal is making the chutney, which is essentially, a flavor-packed, spicy dipping sauce for your dosa and filling. One thing about this meal that I forgot to mention, is that it is best eaten with your hands. You can use one spoon for the sambar (spicy lentil soup), but that is all I would recommend. Rip off a piece of dosa, make sure there is at least a small chunk of the potato filling with it, and give it a dunk in the chutney and pop it in your mouth. Yum Yum Yum!

Cilantro Chutney

Do you recall the cilantro chutney I spoke of in the last post? Well, if you omit the coconut and the tempering in this chutney, that is exactly what you will have infront of you. A very versatile, fresh tasting cilantro chutney that goes great with any Indian meal. As I was growing up, my absolute favourite sandwich (and still is) was a cheddar cheese chutney sandwich. I know, sounds gross, but the flavors work really well together. You won’t regret it!

I also used to take a very fresh batch of this on picnics, with freshly sliced and buttered baguette and cucumbers, and that was always a hit. On that same note, you can also make some really nice, delicate finger sandwiches. De-crust some white bread, spread butter on both sides of the bread, cilantro chutney on one side on top of the butter, and layers of very thinly sliced cucumbers and tomatoes. Cut these into little finger sandwiches and serve. You can make these ahead of time, as the butter will protect the bread from sopping up cucumber and tomato juices, however, the fresher, the better.

Variations to Cilantro Chutney

Mint can also be added to this chutney, and makes a wonderful cilantro mint chutney, which can be used in all of the ways mentioned above. My parents grow lots of basil throughout the summer and use the same recipe but use only basil and surprisingly turns out quite tasty! Kind of like a oil free, vegan pesto I suppose.

Ingredients

1 large bunch of cilantro, washed and chopped roughly
½ cup fresh or dried, unsweetened, shredded coconut (if it is fresh, it just needs to be in chunks, fresh tastes better if you can crack the coconut!)
½ cup raw peanuts or raw cashews
2 tsp salt
2 tsp turmeric
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup water

For Tempering
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp black gram lentil (urad dal)
4-6 curry leaves

Directions
1. Blender everything together on high. Make sure you blender the nuts really really well! Transfer to a bowl.
2. Heat oil on high. Add cumin and mustard seeds.
3. When first seed pops, add urad dal and curry leaves.
4. Allow other seeds to pop for another 10-15 seconds, keep a close eye that the curry leaves and urad dal don’t burn. They can brown, but they shouldn’t turn black. Cover the pot if necessary.
5. Quickly pour the mixture into the chutney and mix it in. Voila! Homemade, coconut cilantro goodness!

South Indian Meal - Part Two - Potato Masala

Today, we are going to look at how to make the filling for the dosa.  Now, you can obviously get creative with this part of dish, but I like to stick to the basic onion potato filling.  It's tasty, and it works. 

To make this filling really flavorful, you need curry leaves, sometimes called curry patha. These leaves have a lemony aroma and really add depth to the potato curry if you can find fresh ones.  

If you have a Toastmaster, one of those plug-in contraptions that you put bread and filling into, and out comes a pizza pop, this is a fantastic filling for a quick lunch.  Cilantro-mint chutney for dipping on the side completes this meal (this recipe to come in the future!)

Feel free to add cauliflower, cabbage, peas, even broccoli to add some more nutritional value to this filling. 

Ingredients: 

2 tbsp oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp salt

1 onion, diced

2 green chillies, finely chopped

3 potatoes, diced into small cubes, the smaller, the better and no need to peel

6 curry leaves if you have them

2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp coriander powder

3 tbsp lemon juice

cilantro for garnish

Directions: 

1. Heat oil on high heat. Add cumin and mustard seeds.

2. Once the seeds begin to pop, add salt, onions and chillie peppers.

3. Lower to medium low heat, cover, and let cook for 3 minutes, until onions are soft.

4. add the potatoes, and cover - cook for about 15  minutes until potatoes are soft. You may intermittently need to add some water if are using a thin bottomed pot - use of a cast iron pot or pan is best for this dish.

5. Once potatoes are cooked, add all dry spices. Mix them in well and turn off heat.

6. Add salt to taste and then lemon juice and cilantro. 

South Indian Meal - Part One - Dosa

One of my favorite types of international food is South Indian. Super healthy, well balanced, extremely spicy and sooooooo tasty! South Indians traditionally roast their spices before grinding them so that the dried spices are at the peak of their flavors.

This particular post is part one of four posts to create the ultimate south indian meal - masala dosa with sambar and coconut chutney. South Indians traditionally eat this for breakfast, but I think it's fab for dinner! Plus, I usually don't have time in the mornings to whip up dosa!

Dosa is a savoury crepe, made of rice and lentil. Pouring out the dough on the pan, and getting it spread out very thin is the hardest part. It depends on a few things. First, the thickness of your batter. You need it the exact same consistency as pancake dough, no thinner otherwise you will just make it more difficult for yourself. Second, the heat of your pan. Your pan can't be too hot or too cold. I recommend putting your stove on medium heat, and giving it about 4 minutes to heat up nicely. I also recommend using cast iron over non stick for a really tasty dosa!Third, the spoon that you use to spread out the dough. You should use a large scoop spoon that has a nice rounded bottom, preferably something that is metal, not plastic. Finally, it's all about technique and confidence. If you spread it out too slowly, there are higher chances of it sticking all together and turning into a pile of mush. The faster you go, the higher the chances of a successful dosa. This takes practice on your technique, patience and confidence. good luck!!

Ingredients

3 cups white rice (either patna or basmati)
1 cup urad lentil (also know as black gram dal) - found in some grocery stores and most indian stores
salt

Directions

1. Wash the rice and lentil really well. Soak them in separate bowls overnight in water.
2. Blender the rice until it is very fine and pour into a large bowl.
3. Blender the lentil and mix into the rice blend.
4. Cover the mixture and store in a warm, humid place overnight. I recommend in the oven with the oven light turned on all night.
5. The next morning, you should have a fermented dough that has risen and is slightly puffy when mixed. If not, you can either try again for another 6-8 hours, or use the dough as is. It won't be the greatest texture, but it's not horrible.
6. Add salt to your taste in the dough and stir it in really well.
7. Add water until it is the consistency of pancake batter - your dough is now ready to make dosa!
8. Heat up the cast iron pan. Keep a small bowl of oil with a spoon nearby, as well as a paper towel with one small end dipped in oil.
9. As the pan heats up, take the oiled paper towel and rub it all over the surface of the pan. If the oil begins to burn, your pan is too hot. Remove from heat and let it cool down a little.
10. with a large scoop spoon, take a heaping spoon of the dough and pour to the centre of the pan. Starting from the center, spread the dough outwards, in the path of a spiral, until there is no dough left to spread out. Exert very little pressure on the dough.
11. Put a few drops of oil around the edge of the dosa and let it cook on medium high heat.
12. When you can see the other side has browned, and the top side has no moist parts of dosa dough, your dosa is done!

The next time I make dosa at home, I promise to post a video to show you how this is done.

An Emotional Wreck over Cast Iron

So, without delving deeply into my peronal life, it should be known that for the time being, I do happen to have some extra time on my hands. And it's great! I probably won't get time like this off anytime in the next few years, so I am trying to make the most of it. But sometimes, simple things tend to consume my mind, and I just begin to wonder....what if?

So I was surfing around two days ago, and stumbled across a Kitchenaid cast iron pot at Canadian Tire for $29.99 on sale, regular price is..get this $99.99! Oh my! I had been thinking about purchasing one of these, so that I can practice making my own artisan breads, and possibly think of other interesting ways to use it! I immediately became very excited, and searched for the nearest Canadian Tire. I found it, but at this point in the day, it was already getting dark outside, so decided to put off this purchase to the next day.

So the next day rolls along, I have no idea where my morning went, but by the time I checked in the afternoon, they were all sold out at almost every location, except for one...in Quebec! I was so upset. I don't have a car, so this was a major ordeal. I was actually very upset. I knew now that there was a chance I wouldnt get my hands on this cast iron pot, so i had to have it. I was obsessed with the thought of this pot. I could not stop thinking about this stupid pot! I knew that if I didn't get this pot, I would wonder what it would be like if I had the pot. (I know, I'm crazy) Luckily, the sister and bro in law saw how distraught I was over this pot, and booked a car for an hour with their AutoShare, and got me over there to get it.

But, I just thought I would share this moment with you. This is not the first time I have gone crazy over kitchen items.

One Pot of Warmth - Kitchdi

Yet another fall/winter dish, warms the insides, very balanced, and  makes you feel good about what you are putting inside of your body.  This technically is not a one pot meal. Well it depends, it could be a one pot meal, but it's so much better if you make it two. One big pot, and one little pot.  It's traditionally an Indian dish from the state of Gujarat, where my folks were born.  I used to hate it when I was young. It is not the most beautiful looking dish, actually looks like a large pile of baby food.  But, I have somehow grown to love it.  I have made a few changes to this dish to truly make it a one pot balanced meal.  It is usually made of only rice and split mung lentil, but I have added lots of vegetables to make it a little more nutritious.  There is also a huge dollop of ghee (clarified butter) that is added afterwards, and mashed into the rice and lentil by hand.  It really does add depth and an incredible rich flavor, but man, I don't need the extra fat and calories! If you do, please go right ahead! 

The best part of this dish is the sweet indian mango pickle that goes o

n the side.  Now, this may be diffic

ult to find.  So, you may need to substitute with some sort of sweet salsa, 

made of for example, apple or mango.  Perhaps one of those sweet and spicy high end jellies co

uld do well on the side of this. I have never tried it, but I could see it working.  

Another word about this dish. I have a pressure cooker. This dish is so quick if you have a

 pressure cooker, but it is just as good done on the stove, but you will need more cooking time.  Also, it is almost impossible to make a small amount of this dish.  I suggest sharing with a friend and ask them to bring a container to take some home, or plan on eating it for dinner for the rest of the week.  It does make a good lunch as well! Anyways, enjoy. 

Ingredients: 

2 cups basmati rice, washed

1 cup split mung lentil, either with out without the skin, washed

2 tsp turmeric

salt to taste

5 cups water

3 cups of chopped/diced veggies such as - potato, sweet potato, peas, corn, carrots, green beans, long peppers, eggplant, pumpkin

, squash

For tempering after kitchdi is cooked

2 tbsp oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp mustard seeds

salt

Directions: 

1. Mix all ingredients (not ingredients for tempering) in a large pot or pressure cooker. If using a pressure cooker, keep stove on high until steam starts to release out of the top of the cooker. Once this begins, time about 7 minutes, that is when you should turn off the stove and wait until the pressure naturally releases. 

If using the stove method, keep stove on high until water begins to boil. Then, cover the pot and put the stove on low. Cook on low for about 30-35 minutes, or until cooked and all water has been absorbed. 

2. Now, if you happy with results at this point, and do not want to make another pot to wash, by all means, stop at this point and enjoy. Otherwise, I highly recommend the next step. The onions are cooked until they are sweet, and really add another dimension of flavor to this dish, without all the fat of ghee! 

3. In a small pot, heat oil and add cumin and mustard seeds on high heat.

4. When the seeds begin to crackle, reduce heat to medium and add onions and a dash of salt. Mix around, and cook until onions are translucent and soft (about 7 minutes)

5. Mix well into the kitchdi. Enjoy! 

Easy - Peeezy and Carb free!

Now don't get me wrong, I DO NOT condone those carb free diets. I think they are ridiculous, I don't care what those nutso South Beach diet types say. But, I do understand the need to limit carbs later in the day, and the need to look for alternative snacks than reaching for a box of crackers or having some toast with honey (mmmmm.....toast and honey.....).

To combat my late afternoon nibblish itch, I whipped up a batch of roasted red pepper hummus, and somehow discovered how well they go with......baby spinach leaves! So, then I decided to make a plate of them. One dip with a butterknife into the hummus, slap it on all over a baby spinach leaf, and fold over. That's it! So simple. So yum. Lots of protein!

A note on cooking your own chickpeas: If you plan on using dried chickpeas for this recipe (which I HIGHLY recommend because they turn out creamier, and it's kind of gross thinking about how cooked chickpeas have been sitting in the same salty, gooey liquid for god knows how long, surrounded by dark, cold metal that has been lined with...BHP or something that is not good for you), then be sure to soak the chickpea over night, and boil or pressure cook WITHOUT salt. Salt tends to make the skins tougher, and then they will take longer to cook. Just add extra salt when pureeing to make it into hummus.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Ingredients:
1 cup of dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and either boiled or pressure cooked, OR, 2 cans of chickpeas
4 red peppers, cut into large chunks
3 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp tahini
5 tbsp lemon juice
salt to taste

Directions:
1. Toss red peppers and garlic in a little of the olive oil and salt and roast in a 375 degree F oven for about 20 minutes, or until soft
2. Throw all ingredients either into a high powered blender or food processor.

That's it!.

Three Ingredient Goodness....

Oh. I love this one. It was my first time making this and it is so dead simple, Nobody could mess this one up. It take no more than 8 minutes of prep time, and about 15 to bake. Brie in phyllo.....wow. Rich, smooth, gooey, savoury, crisp. Have it on its own, or with a fruit coulis or jam with simple crackers or crostini. You really can't go wrong with this one.

And then go to the gym and do double the workout the next day!

Ingredients

1 circle of brie cheese, of your desired size
melted butter, about 5 tbsp
phyllo dough


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. With a brush, take one sheet of phyloo and brush a thin layer of butter on it. Place the brie in the middle of the sheet
3. Wrap the phyllo sheet all around the brie.
4. Brush another sheet with butter and place your brie and first phyllo sheet on top of this second phyllo sheet and do the same thing.
5. Do this for about 5 sheets of phyllo.
6. For the last sheet, lightly brush the outside of the sheet with butter as well.
7. Place in the oven, but check on it often! make sure it doens't burn! Once the top is nicely browned, flip it over to let the other side brown.
8. You may need to poke some holes through the phyllo with a knife to let out some of the steam.
9. Serve on its own or with jam/coulis and crackers.


mmmmmmmmm!!!!

An Alternative to Tomato Sauce for Spaghetti

This particular sauce originates from my brother in law who discovered it while in Iqaluit for some research, hence the name Iqaluit spaghetti. I never used red masoor lentils until I was introduced to this. When cooked, they release a smoky smell and flavor that is not too overpowering, but just enough. You don't need many other herbs and spices to add flavour to this dish.

Again, this is a fast simple dish that is great for winter, because it can potentially be made from all canned/bottled ingredients, if you happen to not have any fresh vegetables on hand.

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

2 onion, diced

2 bay leaves

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

4 tomatoes, chopped, or can of diced tomatoes

2 carrots, diced

1 cup red lentils (masoor lentils)

3 cups water

1 small bottle of artichokes, chopped

10 mushrooms, sliced

healthy handful (or two) of spinach

salt and pepper to taste

feta cheese for sprinkling

cooked whole wheat pasta of your choice (I recommend spaghettini)

Directions:

1. In a hot, large pot, add oil, then onions and a dash of salt of medium high heat

2. When onions are soft, add bay leaf, garlic and tomatoes and increase the heat.

3. When the tomatoes are bubbling, reduce back to medium and add carrots. Cook for 5 minutes covered.

4. Add lentils and water. Stir and cook the lentil for about 20 minutes covered. Be sure to stir around every once in a while to prevent sticking/burning.

5. Once the lentils are soft, add artichokes and mushrooms. Cook for another 5 minutes. Cook even longer if you find the sauce is too runny.

6. Add salt to your taste. Add spinach. Cover pot until spinach has wilted.

7. Serve with freshly boiled pasta and a generous sprinkling of feta and fresh ground pepper!

Seasonal Goodness...

I love seasonal fruits and veggies. They are at the peak of their taste, and are usually locally grown. Why is locally grown better? Because it means that the fruit or vegetable has been picked at its peak, full of all of its nutritional goodness, and will stay that way by the time it gets to your home because it did not have to travel too far to get there!

My sister gets a locally grown, organic fruit and veggie box every week, and this week, there were some yummy orange cherry tomatoes, one massive red tomato, and two very pretty, green heirloom tomatoes. There were also some very pungent sprigs of basil in there too. Naturally, I had to make some bruschetta mix out of it. I find that if you make it at least a few hours in advance, the basil and tomato get a chance to get to know one another really well, and their flavors meld together really well. Many people put raw garlic into their bruschetta, I am not a fan of raw garlic flavor, and frankly, if you have really local, fresh ingredients, I don't think you need it.

There was also some swiss chard in the box, and my sister also has a tonne of swiss chard growing in her backyard, so we also decided to make some scrambled tofu with swiss chard. And voila! dinner is served.

Bruschetta: Ingredients

Tomatoes - any kind, diced

Lots of fresh basil, chopped up into bits

Parmesan cheese, grated

Olive oil, extra virgin cold pressed is best

Fresh squeezed lime juice

Salt

Fresh ground pepper

Fresh baguette, sliced, brushed with olive oil and toasted in the oven

Directions:

1. Mix together the tomatoes and basil.

2. Add enough olive oil, to lightly coat everything, shouldn't be more than a couple tablespoons

3. Add parm cheese, this is all dependent on how cheesy you like it. I would recommend not putting in too much, it'll take away from your fresh local goodness!

4. Add a squeeze of lime juice - just enough for a touch of tang

5. Add salt and pepper to your liking. You many not need a lot of salt because parm cheese is pretty salty.

6. Let this mixture meld for a few hours and serve on warm, crusty baguette slices.

Scrambled tofu with swiss chard

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 block of medium firm tofu

6-7 leaves of swiss chard, rougly chopped

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp turmeric

Salt to taste

Squeeze of lime juice

Directions:

1. In a hot pan, add oil, then sautee onions with a dash of salt.

2. When onions are soft, add tofu, toss around for a couple minutes

3. Add swiss chard, and cook on medium heat for 6-7 minutes, or until stalks are tender.

4. Add curry powder, turmeric and salt to taste

5. Serve on plate with a generous squeeze of lime juice. yumyum!!

Persian Delight!

I had the opportunity to stay with a Persian friend of mine in Toronto one weekend. It was at this point that my eyes opened up to Persian food! I never really took the time to think about their cuisine, making the assumption that it is full of meat, and very fewfor vegetarians. My friend made me the most sumptuous, well balanced meal for dinner, I had to make it for my friends!

A staple food in Persian cooking is rice. Their process of cooking rice involves creating a yummy crusty, crunchy bottom to enjoy with the rest of your meal. I loved it! My friend had this special bread that she covered with the bottom of her pan. I didn't have that special thin bread so I decided to crustify the rice itself.

My friend also made a yummy raita that was also very tasty. The rice dish can be a little bit dry, so the raita is a perfect accompaniment with this dish. I will warn you now, it is somewhat laborious, so you have to be in the mood for cooking if you want to make this dish. But it is so worth the effort!

I have slightly modified her recipe with a couple of additions that work very well with this dish.

Ingredients

The Rice
1.5 cups basmati rice
1 cup french green lentils (the round, flat ones)
salt to taste
2 tbsp cumin powder
2 tbsp olive oil
1 whole onion, cut in half and sliced thin to make long strips
2 tbsp margerine or butter

The Raita
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tomato, finely diced
1/3 English cucumber, finely diced
2 tbsp fresh mint, minced or 2 tsp dried mint
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Boil rice in 3 cups salted water. Once water starts to boil, reduce to low heat and keep covered.
2. Boil lentils in a different pot in 2 cups salted water. Once water starts to boil, reduce to medium low heat and keep half covered.
3. Sautee the onions in a shallow frying pan with olive oil and a dash of salt on medium heat. Mix around and once the onions have softened, reduce to low heat. Let them sit around until brown and crispy (about 45 minutes). You will need to toss them around every so often.
4. For the raita, mix all ingredients together and allow them to meld and the flavors to blend together. Keep the raita outside for about 1 hour for melding.
5. The rice should only cook until it is 3/4 of the way cooked through. You can tell by tasting a grain of rice, and it should be a little hard on the inside, but the outside should be cooked. This should take about 10-12 minutes of low heat cooking time.
6. The lentils need to fully cook and this should take about 20 minutes.
7. Once the rice is 3/4 cooked, drain any leftover water, empty into a bowl, and smear margerine all over the bottom of the rice pot.
8. Lightly press down some of the rice until the bottom of the pot is covered.
9. Mix together the cooked lentils and the rest of the rice. Mix in the cumin powder, then add back into the pot.
10. Cover the pot and simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes. Then, increase to medium heat for about 6-7 minutes until the rice at the bottom of the pot has browned.
11. Serve the rice with some of the crusty rice bottom, the shriveled, sweet, crispy onions on top, and the raita on the side, yum!!!!!

Hearty, seasonal, warm....

I just made a fantastic stew like coconut milk concoction out of various organic vegetables sitting in my sister's fridge, a can of coconut milk and leftover brown rice. It's a perfect meal for fall days.  It warms your insides, makes few pots to wash, and is very well balanced in terms of getting your veggies, carbs and protein. You can almost put any vegetable that you are in desperate need to use up in a hurry.  It also tastes better the next day, and is great for work lunches if you have leak free tupperware (I recommend Starfrit's Lock n Lock line).

Ingredients: 

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, diced

6 curry leaves (if you don't have these, then omit)

2 cloves garlic, sliced thin, or diced

1 tsp grated ginger (if you have it)

2 stalks celery, diced

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced into small cubes

1/3 head of cauliflower, chopped into small chunks

2 red peppers, diced

1/2 cup of chopped green beans

1 zucchini squash, diced (I think that's what it's called?)

1 green zucchini, diced

1 can of chick peas (or same amount of soaked and cooked chick peas)

1 can of coconut milk

2 tbsp milk curry powder

2 tsp sambar powder (if you have it, or add some more curry powder)

2 tsp turmeric

salt to your taste

cilantro for garnish

fresh squeezed lime juice

Directions

1. In a large pot, add oil. When heated, add onions, curry leaves and salt. 

2. Once onions are soft, add garlic, ginger, celery and sweet potato. Cook for 2-3 minutes on medium heat.

3. Add cauliflower, red peppers and green beans. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.

4. Add rest of vegetables and cook for another 2-3 minutes. 

5. Add chick peas, coconut milk and spices. Add some water if coconut milk is too thick. Stir well and simmer on low for abobu 10 minutes. 

6. Taste and add salt to your taste.

7. Squeeze lime on top and garnish with coriander and serve with brown rice! yum yum yum!!