Category Archives: Recipes

Super Bowl Tacos

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Even if you are not a football fanatic, you can’t deny the delicious junk food the Super Bowl parties offer. Nachos, pizzas, chips, wings and they taste good in their own right. Well, don’t think of Super Bowl as a sabotage to your health goals or new year’s resolutions. It’s just one day (as long as it really is just one day) and it’s okay to have a cheat meal every now and then. If you are truly worried about falling off track, follow these Healthier Social Eating Rules.

If you are hosting or  taking something to a party, consider these alternatives to the traditional taco. They are easy to assemble, easy to eat, and seriously delicious.

Garbanzo Bean Tacos
serves 8
Ingredients
– 15 oz Garbanzo Beans, from a can (drained and washed)
-1 medium onion, chopped
– 1/2 cup salsa
-1 teaspoon cumin (optional)
– salt and paprika, to taste
– 8 taco shells or soft mini tortillas
– 1/2 cup yogurt or sour cream
– 1 cup arugula

Method
1. Saute onions in heated oil until translucent on medium heat (5-8) minutes.
2. Add in the garbanzo beans, salt, cumin and paprika. Stir well and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Turn off the stove and stir in the salsa.
4. Immediately, spoon the mixture into each taco shell. Top with the fresh arugula and serve immediately.

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Farmer’s Market Find: Broccolini Love (recipe)

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It seems like I have rediscovered my love for broccoli all over again and they are just gorgeous right now at the market. Today, I stumbled upon broccolini, a cross between broccoli and Chinese broccoli (kailan). I picked up one bunch, not entirely sure what I would do with it (recipe below). I really was trying not to buy a lot, since we are leaving town for a week. Then, I saw the pretty green bunches of broccoli that Swank Farms was selling and I couldn’t resist. I really have no idea how we will eat it all by Wednesday night and I don’t love it that much!

There was a new hot food vendor, Happy Dumplings, today. I was curious and got two vegetarian dumplings, which were filled with squash and rice. They were good.

Happy Dumpling

vegetarian dumplings

I also bought a good amount of blood oranges. I am not sure how much longer they will be around and I haven’t had my fill yet. They are really beautiful and taste a little tart. Also, Ferry Farms was selling blood orange juice! The sample was so good, that I bought a pint. A recipe for Valentine’s was brewing in my mind.

Blood Orange Juice

Sesame Oiled Broccolini
serves 4
Ingredients
1 bunch broccolini, washed and fairly dried
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seed oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes

Method
Heat oven to 350F degrees. Toss all of the ingredients together and lay out on a baking tray. Bake for 12 minutes, until the stems are tender and easy to pierce through. Serve warm.

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Broccoli with Toasted Sesame Seeds

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Broccoli is not traditional in Indian cooking, but I used to love eating broccoli. Every Monday, I cooked my own meal of sauteed vegetables and broccoli was definitely part of the medley of vegetables. A few years ago, I stopped eating broccoli because it simply just didn’t agree with my body constitution. Satish, on the other hand, has almost the exact opposite of my body constitution and can digest most foods easily. His favorite snack is tortilla chips with salsa. In trying to eliminate all processed foods from our diet, I had to come up with fast, easy replacements for the chips. He also loves Chinese food, but we rarely ever eat it since high quality, inexpensive Chinese food is hard to find and I haven’t ventured into cooking it  for ourselves. This is a great recipe that combines salt (soy sauce), spice (red chili flakes), and crunch (sesame seeds).  I would hardly call this dish “Chinese”, but it has the flavor profile. The broccoli is full of vitamins and phytonutrients that will help your body fight free radicals and support your immune system. I sometimes  serve this over a bed of quinoa for a complete meal. Low quality broccoli can forever leave a nasty impression in your mind, so it’s very important to choose a good stalk. Organic, local, or pesticide-free varieties are your best choices. Broccoli are naturally in abundance during the winter and only last a few days in the fridge before it starts to loose color.

Sesame Seed Broccoli
serves 2

Ingredients
2 cups cut Broccoli florets
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
2-3 teaspoons soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon red chili flakes (more or less to your liking)

Method
1. Cut and wash the broccoli under cool running water. Meanwhile bring the water in your steamer to a boil. Place broccoli in your vegetable steamer and cover. Let steam for 3 minutes. Or just add them into the boiling water and drain really well after 3 minutes of boiling.

2. While the broccoli is steaming toast red chili flakes and sesame seeds in a pan over medium heat. Once the sesame seeds start turning brown, remove quickly from heat. Toss in the steamed broccoli and soy sauce. Mix well and serve immediately. Tastes great over a bed of rice or quinoa.

Who wants to take me Asian pantry shopping, because broccoli+sesame seeds+ 365 brand soy sauce is just not cutting it for me?!

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The Healthy Pantry

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Follow me on Twitter Keeping a well stocked pantry is the most important and basic part of cooking and maintaining a healthy eating lifestyle. I stock my pantry with food that naturally keeps for several months, so I have no … Continue reading →

Traditional Meatless Greek Dolma (Recipe)

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This gallery contains 41 photos.

Follow me on Twitter or Facebook. A friend, Carina Ost, made a new year’s resolution to learn how to make dolma and set up a learning session at Mezes Greek Kitchen. Carina invited a few other blogger friends, including myself, … Continue reading →

Patate Arrosti con Rosmarino- Potluck Party

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Join Club Dine In! and Slow Food SF at JAX Vineyard’s Loft for a potluck featuring recipes from the new book, Cooking with Italian Grandmothers by Jessica Theroux.  Choose your favorite recipe from the cookbook and join us for dinner. JAX Vineyard will pour wine and California Olives and Oils will  have olive oil for tasting. Theroux will be at the potluck and  show a screening from her time in Italy. Members can stay connected through an discussion board on Facebook to share ideas, experiences and suggestions with each other.

When: Janaury 16, 2011 5-8PM
Where: JAX Vineyards SF Loft 334 Brannan Street San Francisco, CA 94107
RSVP: Tickets are $15 per person and includes an olive oil tasting and 1 glass of JAX Vineyard wine with dinner.

Chana Chai Masala

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In my quest for eating mostly only seasonal and local produce, I have avoided making Indian food that requires a tomato based gravy this winter. Mainly because I have not seen any tomatoes at the Farmers Market in the last couple of months. Though, I was craving Indian food last week- in particular Chole Bathura. Chole Bathura is a dish that originates in the Northern Indian state  of Punjab. Punjab is known for their decadent dishes like Chicken Makhani, Saag Paneer, and Chole Bathura. Chole Bathura is an ultimate comfort food, perfect for a chilly, winter’s day. Chole are spicy chickpeas/garbanzo bean and bathura is deep fried bread. Since, I am not eating any fried food this month (Rule #3 of January Rules), I decided to make my own version of bread and garbanzo beans that would hit the spot. I also realized that I could make an exception and use canned tomatoes to substitute the fresh, ripe tomatoes. As long as the ingredient list of the canned tomatoes only reads tomatoes and no other processed ingredients.**

There were many firsts when I attempted to make this dish. It was my first time cooking with dried garbanzo beans and using canned tomatoes. After inquiring on Twitter and asking my mom on how to cook garbanzo beans, I decided that soaking and boiling them would probably produce the best results. This  cooking method is longer than opening a can of beans, but canned beans are slimy and often have added salt and preservatives. It also happens to be national tea month, so I added a little flavor of my own. I used a Masala Chai blend from Samovar, but you can easily make your own mix or use a Masala Chai tea bag. Carefully read the ingredients list on the tea bag, and avoid using tea that has added sugars or artificial flavors. Higher quality, fair-trade loose leaf tea will yield the best results.

Chana Chai Masala

Ingredients
Serves 4-6
1 cup dry Garbanzo beans
1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking soda
plenty of water to soak and boil the beans
1 tablespoon Masala Chai mixture or 1 Chai tea bag
3/4 cup boiling hot water
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
2 teaspoon cumin, ground
1 tsp coriander, ground
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder, more or less for your tolerance
2 tsp ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
12 ounces canned tomatoes**
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
One lemon, juiced and zested

Masala Chai Mixture
1 tablespoon black tea
1 stick cinnamon, broken into pieces
2-3 whole cloves
1-2 peppercorns, whole
2-3 cardamom pods, cracked open

1. Soak Garbanzo beans in plenty of water overnight (at least 8 hours). Rinse the soaked Garbanzo beans. Bring 3 cups of water in a large stock pot to a boil. Add the Garbanzo beans, baking soda, and let simmer for 20 minutes, until they are soft but not mushy.

2. Meanwhile, heat a large pan on medium heat. Once pan is heated add oil and let it heat up for 30 seconds. Add onions and saute them until translucent, about 7-10 minutes. Stir frequently. If the onions start to brown, add 1 tablespoon of water. Add spices and mix well. The spices will stick to the onion and become aromatic in about 45 seconds. Mix in the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute.

3. While the onions are cooking, steep tea mixture in 3/4 cup boiling hot water in a cup and cover. The tea should steep for about 20 minutes.

3. Slowly add in the tomatoes with their liquid to the pan. Stir well to incorporate spice mixture. Add the salt. After 2 minutes, reduce temperature to low, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Add in the Garbanzo beans. Strain tea leaves or remove tea bag from water, and pour the tea water into the pan. Mix well. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Taste and adjust seasoning. Turn off heat and mix in lemon juice and zest.

5. Garnish with cilantro or marigold petals. Serve with Basmati rice or roti.

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Finding Comfort In Indian Food- Roti and Bananas

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People think it’s strange that I don’t crave Indian food. I find it strange that I don’t crave Indian food. I don’t think of Indian food as comfort food, even though I ate it everyday for 18 years.Was it the whole trying to find balance between my Eastern and Western culture that ruined my desire for Indian food? It can’t be. Even stranger is that I love Indian food. I loved the food my grandmother made from scratch every single day. Mum split her time between praying and cooking. She took whole fragrant spices and ground them up, peeled and chopped sticky garlic, soaked and pressure cooked colorful lentils, made dough with her strength, rolled out hundreds of sweet cookies, and pickled pungent mangoes, chilies, and lemons.

Growing up in Mum’s embrace, I thought cooking from scratch was the only way. Though, I our freezer was full of things like Foster Farm chicken, hot pockets, Kellogg waffles, pizza, and other highly processed food. It left an impression that Americans don’t eat food made from scratch. My mom would pack our school lunch everyday of the usual stuff: deli meat sandwiches on whole wheat bread, Oreos, and Capri Sun juices. Occasionally, we were even  given school lunch money to splurge and eat what most of the other kids were eating. Now, I thank my parents for being a little more conscious and saving us from cafeteria school lunches. (Read Fed Up With School Lunch if you don’t know what I am talking about.)

My brother, cousins (who lived across the street), and I would find Mum in the kitchen when we came home from school, making late afternoon chai for Dada or a snack for us. When I was bit older, I learned my grandmother liked peanut butter (the smooth kind) as much as I do. She also loved jam over jelly (just like me). So when I think of comfort food, I think of peanut butter and jam sandwiches and roti smothered in butter and wrapped around a banana. My grandma and I loved eating bread slightly toasted and covered in melted butter, peanut butter and jam, and roti with butter and bananas.  Together.

Spelt Flour Roti with Cinnamon and Bananas

Traditional roti is made with Atta, whole grain wheat. I have started to experiment with different flours that are less processed and has inherent superior nutritional qualities. We eat buckwheat rotis more often now, but it’s a bit tougher and is not as fluffy and soft as traditional roti. This recipe uses 1/2 the amount of whole grain spelt flour and 1/2 the amount of milled whole wheat flour. The result is a much softer roti that balloons up on the stove, which is a good thing. This is a simple snack that you can have part of your breakfast, after school, or post dinner. Rotis can made a day ahead of time, but just cover well and store it in the fridge. Warm them up on a skillet or 10 seconds in the microwave.

Ingredients: Serves 2-3
1/2 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup milled whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp canola oil
1/4 cup warm water
1 tbsp flour – for rolling and dusting
1 large banana or 2 small bananas- Fair-Trade

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, mix flour, cinnamon and salt well. Add oil and mix until all lumps are gone. Add water a little at a time, while kneading the flour, to form a soft dough ball. The dough ball should not be sticky or wet. On a plate, place the 1 tablespoon flour for rolling and dusting.

2. Heat non-stick skillet or tava on medium heat. Divide into golf ball size balls. Take one ball and press lightly it between your palms, to create a flat disk. Dip the flattened ball into the coating flour and roll it out into a thin disc with a rolling pin on a flat surface. Keep dipping the roti into the dry flour to prevent it from sticking to the rolling surface.

3. Rub off excess flour from the roti and place it onto the hot skillet/tava. Flip to the other side once you see bubbles appear on the surface (about 40 seconds). Allow the second side  to cook for 10-15 seconds. Meanwhile, turn the next stove on high heat, gently pick up roti with tongs, and place on open flame. The roti should balloon up and remove quickly. Place the cooked roti into an insulated container and smear it with ghee/butter (optional). Repeat the process for the remaining dough.

4. Peel the banana(s). Cut the large banana in half. Place it on the edge of one roti and roll it up to eat like a burrito.

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A Meatless, Unprocessed Christmas (With Pumpkin Soup Recipe)

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Satish and I drove down to LA last Wednesday to spend the Christmas holiday with his sister and family. I had planned to make the Christmas Eve dinner as I really want to create tradition for Satish and I.  This entire  meal was going to be vegetarian, since my sister-in-law is a vegetarian and with all respect doesn’t like meat cooked in her kitchen. Therefore, I had packed up all of my key spices, herbs, oils, and favorite kitchen tools. I almost packed up my most versatile pan, zester, and spatula, but decided I could live without them. (Later, I learned I can’t live without the zester.) It’s tough cooking in an unfamiliar kitchen. I had plans to visit a farmer’s market in LA for the main ingredients.  LA has at least 120 farmer’s markets happening during the week, so there is hardly no excuse to not go.  I curiously went to the Westwood farmer’s market on Thursday, with high hopes of finding all of the ingredients I needed for the Christmas Eve dinner.  I was disappointed to find that it was a sparse market, but I still bought kale and parsley. Later, I met my dear friend for tea and hot soup. She suggested we stroll through the farmer’s market nearby, but time seemed to slip by at the Jewish bakery as we sipped our tea, flirted with the rows of baked goods, laughed, cried, shared, and reminisced. By the time we were ready to leave the bakery, it was dark and I needed to rush back to avoid being stuck in traffic. Of course, I didn’t listen to our GPS, made a couple of wrong turns, and missed the closest 10W onramp. Awhile ago, I stopped getting upset with myself for making wrong turns and getting lost and started enjoying the new route I created. Due to the wrong turns, I happened to drive by the La Cienega Farmers Market. Since, I was crawling in the local traffic, I got to look into the farmers market held at the parking lot of the La Cienega Plaza Shopping Center. It was beautiful. The sun was already gone, Christmas lights were bright, food trucks, fresh flowers, all amidst red break lights. Peering, I saw berries, popcorn, chestnuts, citrus, and greens. I was surprised by the berries…maybe it’s the mild, spring like weather in SoCal. I was tempted to pull into the driveway and finish shopping for the ingredients needed to make the next day’s dinner. Though, I knew that every minute I waited to get onto the highway would be to risk being stuck in major LA traffic. I sighed and kept driving.  The next morning, I woke up early and rushed to the nearest Whole Foods in hopes of avoiding the last minute mad dash for groceries. I had a simple grocery list: pumpkin, Delicata squash, arugula, eggplant, spinach, ricotta, feta, and Parmesan. The Whole Foods in Santa Monica has a very tiny fresh produce section so I drove to the one in Brentwood. Surprisingly, most of the Whole Foods in West LA are much smaller in general. I nearly had a panic attack when I couldn’t find half of the fresh ingredients that I needed. The problem was solved easily by asking the grocers, who went into the back to get what I needed. (I had not made a back-up dinner menu)…

After getting a great latte at Caffe Luxxe (which was recommended to me on twitter), I was ready to start cooking. The menu was simple but I wanted to give myself ample time and not rush to finish during the end. The starter was a rather easy pumpkin soup spiced with cumin and cinnamon. I had an incredible pumpkin soup at Garibaldi’s earlier this week, which was the main inspiration. I had even made it on Tuesday, using my beloved Fairy Tale Pumpkin. Next on the menu was the Squash and Pomegranate Salad, Kale and Quinoa, and Garlic + Bread (inspired by Little Star Pizza). The main course was a variation of my vegetable rich lasagna. My niece helped me make the pistachio cookies that I made for 18 Reasons’ cookie swap, which would be dessert along with rich, hot chocolate.

Cumin Scented Pumpkin Soup

1 medium Sugar or Fairy Tale pumpkin (4-6 lbs)
olive oil for coating pumpkin
4 large garlic cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
2 tablespoons cumin, fresh grounded
2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
1/2 stick of unsalted butter or 1/3 cup olive oil
6 cups water, approximately
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup Creme Fraiche (optional)

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Cut pumpkin in half, discard the stem, seeds and stringy pulp.  Rub oil over the pumpkin, coating well. Place the pumpkin cut side down on the prepared pan. Tuck 2 garlic cloves under the cavity of the pumpkin. Bake pumpkin until it is very tender. Remove from the oven and let cool. Once the pumpkin is cool enough to touch, remove the peel. Cut the pumpkin into smaller pieces so it’s easier to puree.

2. In a large stock pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add in the cinnamon sticks. Once the cinnamon sticks open up, add in the cumin and ground cinnamon. Cook for 30 seconds. Remove pot from heat.

3. Puree the pumpkin in batches by adding in 1 cup of the pumpkin pieces  with a 1/3 to 1/2 cup of water. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Add water to reach a consistency of your liking.

4. Put the pot back on the stove-top and heat on medium. Once the soup is heated thoroughly, add salt and pepper to your liking. Stir in the Creme Fraiche. Taste and adjust seasoning.

 

Pumpkin Soup garnished with Sage

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Farmer’s Market Find: Rose Germanium and Hot Chocolate

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I really had no desire to get out of bed early on Saturday morning. It was raining, cold, and dark. Though, I really wanted to get Recchiuti’s hot chocolate, farm fresh eggs, and a few other things that I would need for a holiday brunch potluck.  I am so glad I went to the Ferry Plaza Market because:

A little mistletoe action by the doorway to get the party started.

I have a good Aloe Vera story, but will save it for later. I was surprised to see it being sold at the Farmer's Market. It's grown locally but is native to dry, warm weather.

I bought this beautiful Acme bread to complete a cheese platter.

Rose Germanium. It's really special and good for tea and baths.-Eatwell Farms

Inside the Ferry Building

Pineapple Mint and Edible Flowers, a sweet holiday gift from Heirloom Organics.

Cinnamon Hot Chocolate Recipe

Ingredients Serves 2.
1/4 cup water
2 cinnamon sticks
2 cups whole, organic milk
2 teaspoon Madagascar vanilla
8 ounces semi-sweet cacao chocolate*, chopped
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Add water and cinnamon sticks to a stainless steel pot and place over medium heat. Once the cinnamon sticks open up, add the milk and vanilla.
2. When milk mixture is hot, add the chopped chocolate and salt. Stir constantly with a whisk or blend with an immersion blender until the chocolate is incorporated with the milk.
3. When mixture is starting to simmer, take off heat and serve.

*For the best results, use fairly traded, minimally processed chocolate. Otherwise, it’s not worth it.

Happy Holidays!

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