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Archive for the ‘food’ Category | |||||
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We’ll be doing Food Week on the Blog in 2 weeks and so I’ve been thinking alot about cooking and organizing my kitchen. My rule of thumb is to store in the kitchen only those items that we actually use at least twice a month (the rest go to the garage). But some things fester in the garage for so long that I have to just “call it.” Here are 5 that top my list of the most useless kitchen gadgets that I have owned: 1. The Mesh Quesadilla Grilling Basket (pictured above) takes the cake here. It looked so adorable in the Sur La Table catalog and so I had high hopes that it would make quesadilla-making on our grill effortless. Well, it helped with the making, but I wasn’t prepared for the cleaning: the cheese seeps out, gets stuck everywhere and it’s a supreme excerise in patience to remove the cheese from those tiny little squares. (Incidentally, I failed the patience test and promptly put it in the trash.) 2. A relative gifted me this Crepe Maker to use for dosa-making. This thing is huge and bulky and so it was just easier to grab an ordinary skillet for making dosas. However, I hosted a French-themed play date once and brought out the crepe maker (for making actual crepes), but neither I nor the other 6 moms could figure out how to use it. So we abandoned it and made the crepes on the (above-referenced) skillet. Another one for the garbage.
3. The Asparagus Steamer: a lesson in redundancy. Note to future cooks: asparagus is really not special enough to deserve this.
4. The Garlic Press: I think this thing actually makes the garlic taste bad – bitter, in fact. Not to mention it’s hard to clean. You could spend that time learning to mince with a chef’s knife.
5. The Smoothie Maker: My husband came home with this one day – in hopes of commencing a health kick. I told him he could just use a regular blender, but he said this is my baby and it was to stay in the kitchen. I gave him 2 weeks (and then it mysteriously disappeared). I told you so.
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I credit this idea to my friend Suma – who typed up a menu during the holidays last year and posted it on Facebook. Something about having it in writing that adds to the excitement – and, for sure, a keepsake memory. Thanks for a terrific idea Suma! Many of the recipes are adapted from The Chota Chef – so the kids will be helping me in the kitchen. The jalebi, laddoos and mithai are store-bought (no, I’m not that ambitious). We’ll be doing our Diwali Dinner tonight, as tomorrow we’ll be with our family and friends. So here’s our menu – nothing too fancy – just about all I can handle with 2 young kids. What’s on your menu? | |||||
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Be the best mom on the block this Halloween: treat your tricksters to wholesome, yummy candy. Natural Candy Store offers the largest selection of natural and organic candy (and vegetarian – check out their gelatin-free selection!) available anywhere. Their tag line is “All the fun stuff without the funny stuff.” As in candy without any artificial colors, dyes, flavors, sweeteners or preservatives – only the natural good stuff. Natural Candy Store will be giving away a $50 Gift Certificate as part of our Navratri Giveaway. A great way to get started for Diwali and Halloween. ENTER HERE for your chance to win. (or if you don’t have a Facebook account, Email us at blog{at}gnaana{dot}com and tell us: Who is your female role model?) WINNER for this prize will be announced at midnight EST on Friday, September 30th – so make sure to enter before then! Overwhelmed by all the sweetness? Check out some of our favorite picks:
2. Watermelon Butterfly Lollipops
3. Bug Bites Organic Milk Chocolate Squares (each square comes with an educational insect trading card – great for Halloween!)
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This post is authored by Sheena Patel – founder of wellness boutique Savsani. Sheena has taught classes in positive psychology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, yogic principals at Harvard Business School and stress management at Massachusetts General Hospital. Savsani offers comprehensive wellness programs for individual and corporate clients. As the final days of Summer approach, we thought we would share some of our favorite recipes for keeping cool in the heat! Watermelon Feta Salad with Raw Honey Dressing (pictured above) Ingredients: Mix together the juice of limes and the salt together. Citrus Salad
Ingredients: (Dressing): Take all the ingredients for the dressing and heat in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Virgin Mojitos, SavSani Style
Ingredients: In an 8 oz glass, mix the juice of three limes along with the simple syrup and the Thai Basil and muddle together. Add tonic water and enjoy!
© 2011 SavSani Images via Google Images | |||||
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Of course you have probably heard by now how Mumbai-born Floyd Cardoz won as Top Chef Master (and bagged $100,000 for his chosen cause) – with upma on the menu. It wasn’t the I-have-nothing-in-my-fridge-and-I-need-a-meal-in-10-minutes upma. It was Wild Mushroom Upma Polenta with Kokum and Coconut Milk (recipe here) – perhaps the most time-consuming upma ever made. And expensive: white port and king oyster mushrooms? Although, I like his idea of using chicken stock – I’ll have it try it with my Trader Joe’s vegetarian version. So all of a sudden it’s a rags-to-riches story for this beloved South Indian tiffin dish. And well deserved. The dish probably originated in some Tamil kitchen when someone decided to throw some uppu (salt) and maavu (flour) together with onions and spices. It’s fantastically easy, quick and tasty; however, ironically, I was taught that it’s not something you serve to house guests – it’s not “fancy” enough. Eating copius amounts of upma is synonymous with South Indian identity – and our family certainly eats its share. Every cook has his or her own recipe and there are hundreds of variations, but the version we eat in our house is from The Chota Chef Recipe Cards – with healthy peas, cashews and fresh ginger. The recipe is entitled Sa-Ri-Ga-upMa (after the first four notes in Carnatic music) and it’s a musical melody of spices indeed! I’ve made it so many times with my kids that they can practically make it themselves. One day, maybe they will serve me upma in bed…one day.
Top image via Bravo TV | |||||
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I remember when I took my friend Dana (one of my best friends from high school, who was visiting me in Bangalore on her first trip to India) to the MTR Restaurant. She’s a New York City girl in truth, who is used to dining in establishments where style and service often trump substance. So when we waited in line to be seated with other strangers and be served on simple steel plates (where food is ladeled onto your plate from buckets no less!), I was wondering if she’d agree with me that, when it comes to Indian food, there is usually an inverse relationship between price and tastiness. And how could she not - after savouring those delicious masalas in the sambar, rasam and dhals! I love the MTR masala powders – especially the Rasam Powder – which I sprinkle on just about everything: egg salad sandwiches, pulihora, crackers…you get the picture. I’ve even considered carrying a vial in my purse, just in case I hit a bland restaurant meal. The MTR Rasam Powder is also my (now-not-so-secret) ingredient in my guacamole. Sprinkle liberally (along witht the salt, lime and jalapenos) and you will notice it adds a certain “depth-of-flavour” like no other. Give it a try next time you entertain! Image via Google Images | |||||
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There are certain members of my family (yes, you know who you are) who are rather obsessed with Indian sweets. So obsessed in fact that they could author an Encyclopedia of Indian Sweets – an effort which I’m sure would be greatly appreciated by food historians. No surprise then that we recently resurrected an old family debate about the comparative tastiness of jalebi vs. jangiri – triggered in part by the kids’ recent epiphany that these delectable orange swirly things are, most definitively, better than even the junkiest of donuts.
Most people have heard of jalebi – this ancient Persian sweet is popular at celebrations and street corners all over India. But jangiri is a little more obscure. I thought it was a sweet special to South India, but I have come to learn that it also has a presence in North India – called imarti. Jalebi and jangiri both look like sugar-coated orange funnel cakes. What is the difference you say? First, they are made with different flours: jalebi is made with maida (all purpose) flour and jangiri with ground urad dhal. Jalebi batter is also supposed to be left to ferment (giving it a faint tangy flavour) while jangiri is not. There is also a difference in their appearance – the swirls of jalebi are more chaotic, while jangiri resembles a more organized flower pattern. Those with a trained palate will also notice the slight crunchiness of jalebi, distinguishing it from the chewy, gooiness of jangiri. In most sweet shops, jalebi also appears a little shinier and more on the brown side (and jangiri more orange). I am thinking it would be super fun at our next party to do a blindfolded taste test – to see who can distinguish between these two sweets. Or have a sporting match: Jalebis vs. Jangiris. Which team would you be on? Images via Google Images | |||||
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Almonds, or badam in many Indian languages, seem to be one of those superfoods. They are reportedly heart-healthy, a great source of protein and beneficial for good skin and hair. Ayurveda recommend eating 5-10 almonds every morning (without the skins) – as it is believed they provide important nutrients to the brain and nervous system. Almonds, along with salmon, eggs and blueberries, also made Gaiam’s list of Top 6 Foods that Boost Brain Power. I’m trying to incorporate more almonds into our diet. My mother makes a superb badam halwa, but it’s not something we eat every day. So I’m looking to that Indian comfort drink – badam milk – to add to our daily ritual. First is to make a badam powder – which can be stored and used when desired. The powder can be mixed with warm or cold milk. Badam Milk Powder Recipe 1 cup almonds Soak the almonds for 2-3 hours, after which the peels will come off easily. Pat dry and then dry roast them in a pan to remove all moisture. Let cool and then grind to a powder in a blender or coffee grinder, along with the remaining ingredients. | |||||
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Heart-shaped chapatis for my sweeties today. Happy Valentine’s Day! | |||||
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Or maybe your kids will grow taller with Complan? Obviously milk mixes should be a supplement to, and not a replacement for, an actual balanced diet – but if you had to choose, which would it be? We’ve compiled some nutrition facts about Bournvita, Horlicks, Complan and Ovaltine to help you sift through the marketing mystique.
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