strawberries in a champagne mustard viniagrette

My darling cousin, Jima, has recently started blogging at sugaRush.  I think she is mainly going to be focusing on salads and smoothies.... Yummmmmm! I am really looking forward to all her recipes!  Please do visit her.

In honor of her blog, I made this strawberry salad the other day for lunch.   No recipe, just tear up some mache and romaine in a bowl, add some nuts and crumbled feta if you like and some light dressing and you are ready to devour.

The dressing I used to top this luscious lunch is your basic viniagrette.  Just mix everything in a bottle and shake to eumulsify:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1-2 tbspns champagne vinegar
• 1 tbspn dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• whatever herbs you have on hand (mint and oregano are lovely)
• salt & black pepper

Quick sprouted bean stirfry

I was at my local market browsing through the salad area and found a small package of sprouted beans - adzuki, lentil and peas.  Wow, when did they start selling these?  All that protein in a ready made pack.   I brought them home and the poor things sat and sat in the veggie bin for over a week.  Finally one night, thinking they may not survive any longer, I decided to give them a go. 

I wanted to keep the nutrients intact as much as possible, so I decided to give them a quick stirfry.  This is what I did, it took about 15 minutes to get it on the table.  I would serve this as is, or for a more filling meal, serve it as the star course with some crusty naan, yogurt or rice.

• Heat up some olive oil in a saute pan on medium
• Do a tarka of mustard seeds, cumin seeds and asafeotida, let sizzle and pop
• Throw in some curry leaves and the package of sprouts... You can also add a tomato if you want at this point
• Add salt and spices:  turmeric powder, black pepper, cumin powder, coriander powder and some red chili powder
• Add a cup of water and stir and let cook on medium for 10 minutes
• Garnish with chopped coriander and a squeeze of lime

The results were absolutely superb!  This came out just amazing.  It was light and nutty, but at the same time kept me filled for a long time.  I will be looking for these all the time now!

10 minute pulao

Seems lately that I'm always in a rush.  Got a million things on my mind and anxious to hurry and do them all, lest I forget one.  I'm so forgetful!   So what's the easiest and most delectable thing to make in a few minutes that requires no attention or fumbling with a ton of chopping or ingredients?  

For me, this almost always involves my wondrous pressure cooker and rice. 

This amazing and easy pulao will feed 2 hungry people with some leftover for lunch the next day...
In your pressure cooker, heat some oil and:

• throw in a couple of cloves, whole black pepper and a cinnamon stick (this step is optional) 
• do a tarka (seasoning) by adding half a teaspoon of mustard and cumin seeds and a pinch of asafeotida... let the seeds pop and sizzle
• add 1 1/2 cups rice and saute for a few minutes on low-medium.  Add half a teaspoon of garam masala and saute again for 2 minutes
• add an optional diced potato and a handful of thawed peas and if you're like me - a huge chopped green chilli
• add salt and 2.5 cups of water and secure the pressure cooker lid
• let cook on medium for 2 whistles or 10 minutes