Chinese style sauteed snap peas

Here is a very quick Chinese style sauteed snap peas.  I picked up a package of these from an Asian store and all I had to do was give them a quick rinse, string them and break up the larger pieces in half.


I first blanched them for 2 minutes in boiling water and then rinsed them in cold water to preserve the springy green color.

Drain them in a colander, add a tablespoon of olive oil, add some chopped garlic, ginger, crushed red chili flakes and a slug of tamari or soy sauce and a few drops of toasted sesame oil.  Before you get ready to serve, add a splash of rice wine vinegar.   Serve this hot with rice or noodles as soon as it is prepared.  It doesn't really do well re-warmed.

french toast pudla

You all know how much I love pudla and how much I love breakfast.  One, because it's delicious and healthy, but secondly, it's low in carbs!   I love the idea of French Toast, so I thought why not use pudla batter in its place?  So much for the carbs lol.

The end result was so good!  I used a 7 Grain bread and dipped it in the pudla batter and then pan fried it on medium-low for about 4 minutes on each side.  The bread stayed quite crispy.  It was so comforting and filling.   I'll be making this all the time now!

Basic pudla batter used here:

• 1 cup besan (AKA gram flour/chickpea flour found at any Indian store)
• Add 3 spoons of plain yogurt and enough water to make a pancake batter consistency
• Add salt, pepper, 1/2 tspn of turmeric and chili powder
• Optional - Add a teaspoon of ajwain (carom seeds)
• Optional - Add in a diced tomato, onion, serrano and 1-2 cloves of garlic

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

easy tofu stirfry

First off, I must apologize for my food pics as of late.  They were taken on my phone.  I was waiting to get this Sony NEX5 after Thanksgiving, but alas, it was not on sale anywhere.  *sigh* Hopefully for Christmas!!  

This was a really quick tofu and red pepper stirfry I made the other day.  It was inspired by a bunch of Indo-Chinese recipes I had been reviewing.  Of course as always, reading recipes makes me hungry so I took to the kitchen and looked around to see what I had that could somehow fit into this category.   I had some tofu sitting in the fridge for a few days that I really didn't know what to do with.  I took it out and set it on the counter and then continued to dig around the veggie bin and came across a red pepper.  I usually almost always have onions and garlic on hand so a stirfry was born.



Basically, I just pan fried the tofu and then set it aside for a minute.  In a wok, add some groundnut oil and turn the heat to high.  Add a couple of broken red dried chilies and stir around for a few seconds.  Then add a chopped onion and stir that around for a minute.  Add a couple of chopped garlic cloves, ginger and one chopped green chilli and stir that around for 20 seconds, then add a chopped red bell pepper and let it char and blacken a bit.  Add the pan fried tofu and season with salt and pepper, light soy sauce, a pinch of Chinese Five Spice and of course, my favorite - SriRacha!   Serve over noodles or steamed brown rice. 

spicy pepper pasta

I was reading Cynthia's brilliant post on different types of chili peppers a few days back and I thought to myself what a completely underrated vegetable it is. No one gives props to peppers. It's such an everyday ingredient, that you don't even realize what life would be like without it. So, taking cue from Cynthia I've devised this new version of my quick pasta using jalapenos instead of crushed red pepper flakes that I normally use.

Try this for a dark wintry weeknight supper that you can get on the table in 20 minutes.


Spicy pepper pasta

Serves 4-6
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min

The VIPs:

• 2-3 tbspn olive oil
• 4 cloves chopped garlic or a tspn of garlic paste
• chopped red onion
• 2 large jalapenos
• 2 cups veggies of your choice - red bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, etc
• large can of San Marzano crushed tomatoes
• salt and italian seasoning
• handful of chopped cilantro (or parsley)
• 16 oz. box of pasta

The play:

1. boil water for pasta & cook per directions until al dente
2. heat up oil and add onions, garlic and peppers and saute till softened, about 5 min
3. add veggies and saute for 7 minutes
4. add crushed tomatoes, salt and italian seasoning
5. cover and let cook until pasta is finished
6. drain pasta and combine with sauce and chopped cilantro

*** Notes: Use frozen veggies if you are low on time. You can also use bottled pasta sauce, just saute the chili pepper in a bit of oil and then add the sauce. Using cilantro may seem weird but do try it if you like a little bit of an "indian" twist. I used organic whole wheat spaghetti, but feel free to use what you have in the pantry.

Breakfast tacos

We went to an all weekend wedding event. After eating Indian food for the last 3 days, we had enough. It was time for a Mexican inspired breakfast.

• saute chopped onion in olive oil until translucent
• add a chopped potato and a sliced red bell pepper
• season with salt, pepper, ground cumin and ancho chili powder or red cayenne to taste
• after potatoes are cooked through, add 1 1/2 cups refried beans or one can vegetarian refried or black beans
• heat through
• serve with warm tortillas, salsa, cheese and guacamole

Sauteed cauliflower with red bell peppers

Feels like fall is slowly arriving. This is how I know...





My neighbor has huge pine trees whose branches overlook my yard. I usually welcome the extra shade in the summer. In the winter, it's another story. I want to go over and chop the trees down. The needles fall all over the cars, the driveway, the roof. They completely blanket the entire pond so when the fish try to eat their food, they get pine needles instead. I had to grab my handy long wooden branch and wrangle pine needles from one of my fish's mouth. Ahhhhhh! Somebody loan me an axe!

Since it did feel like fall in any case, I talked myself into craving something warm and toasty. I had half a cauliflower and a gorgeous red bell pepper. I think the combination of these two vegetables is just perfect. They're both mild and take in all flavors readily.

The main thing to keep in mind about this dish is that you don't want to overcook the cauliflower. It's turns to mush and the texture will be blah.

Serves 2-3
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min

Here's what to do:

• heat up 2 tbspn oil in a wide saute pan
• add panch phoron or: 1/2 tspn each of the following seeds: mustard, cumin, fenugreek, nigella and fennel
• add chopped cauliflower, red bell pepper and salt
• stir and cover for 5-7 minutes
• add few slit green chilis and a tbspn each of garam masala and cumin powder
• cover and cook until cauliflower is cooked through about 5 more minutes
• squeeze lime and garnish with cilantro before serving

Notes: serve with roti or naan, rice and dal and find it in your hearts to forgive the Corelle :)

Panzanella nicoise

Ever wonder what to make when you're stuck with an extra loaf of Italian or french bread? I always buy more than I need when I have people over, so I try to use it up in a day or two with this salad. Panzanella is originally an Italian peasant dish. The peasants would take their bread and dip it in the jus from the leftover meat they were given once the rich families were finished eating. Thus, allowing to further extend the meat. Then they would throw in whatever they had on hand which may include onions, cheese and olives.

I have called my version nicoise because I use a variety of olives, green and black. It comes together easily and the prep time is chopping time and toasting the bread in the oven. It is a very refreshing and filling salad. You probably have all the ingredients at home in your pantry, so get cookin'! Even if you don't have all the ingredients, it's ok... use what you got and don't worry about the rest.

Serves 6
Prep time: 15-20 min
Bake time: 20 min

The VIP's:

• loaf of french or italian bread cut into cubes and place in a single layer on cookie sheet to toast at 350 deg for 20min, let cool
• red onion, sliced
• 2 large tomatoes or a pint of grape tomatoes, washed & chopped
• 1 large cucumber, peeled and chopped
• 2 avocados chopped
• handful of grated pecherino romano or parmigiano reggiano
• handful of olives, roughly chopped
• handful of capers
• italian dressing, to taste or make your own*
• crushed red pepper to taste
• salt & pepper to taste

The Play:

combine everything except bread. Add bread 10 min before serving.

Notes: *Make your own Italian dressing by combining: olive oil, red wine vinegar, mustard, one clove of smashed garlic, salt, pepper, italian seasoning, a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of sugar.

Eggplant Roll-ups

This dish was a play on lasagna roll ups I made awhile back, but since i'm always finding new ways to cut down on carbs, I made these using large globe eggplants instead. This will serve 4 if served with a salad and garlic bread on the side. It's a pantry friendly dish and not as time consuming or as labor intensive as eggplant parmigiana. Most of the time is just oven time, so this dish is great for weekday meals.

I make my own pasta sauce by sauteeing half a chopped onion with a couple of garlic cloves and a dash of chili flakes. Then add a can of San Marzano crushed tomatoes and let it simmer while the eggplant slices are baking in the oven.

The fastest way to go about making this dish is first to preheat the oven to 375˚, then slice the eggplant and get that going in the oven while you work on the sauce. It took me 30 min total.


Serves 4
Prep time: 10 min
Bake time: 25 min

The VIP's:

• 1 large eggplant
• 1 jar pasta sauce or make your own about 1 1/2-2 cups
• 7 bocconcini cut into thin slices or 1 cup grated mozzarella
• dried italian seasoning
• crushed red chili flakes
• olive oil
• salt

The play:

1. preheat oven to 375˚
2. wash, trim eggplant and slice it vertically - you should end up with about 8 long slices
3. place in a single layer on a baking tray and brush with olive oil on both sides
4. season to taste with salt, red pepper flakes and italian seasoning
5. place in oven for 10 min and then flip slices over and put in oven for another 10 min
6. spread a tablespoon of pasta sauce on each slice and roll up
7. place all the eggplant rolls seam side down in a greased casserole dish
8. cover with remaing pasta sauce, sprinkle with bocconcini and bake until heated through and the cheese is melted about 5-10 min