Mixed Berry Smoothie

I am what some people might call a 'morning person'. I swear I never thought I would ever say that about myself, but after seeing people like the husband, who basically wage an internal war every morning just to get out of bed, I feel like I can safely call myself a 'morning person'. I mean, lets be honest, I wouldn't go as far as actually getting up and going for a run or anything. That would be a 'VERY morning person'. I can just get up and go about my cooking or whatever else without having a why-does-life-do-this-to-me look on my face and that sure does make me a 'morning person'.

Being up and about early gives me a major appetite and I just have to eat breakfast everyday. Now this can get quite annoying just because there isn't always enough time to make yourself a happy-healthy breakfast every single morning -  key word being 'healthy' which kind of rules out upma, dosa etc.

This morning I decided to make myself the healthiest, easiest, most refreshing breakfast and it just gave me a great start for my day. Best part - it was ready in a quick minute.

All you need is your choice of fruit. I used mixed frozen berries (blueberry, raspberry and blackberry). I got these in a huge baggie at the supermarket. You can of course use fresh berries but I just find this more economical. If you are buying frozen ones, make sure there is no added sugar or that it isn't soaked in sugar syrup. The ingredients on the bag should just say fruit. No preservatives even (hopefully).

What makes this really healthy for me is that is that I don't have to add any additional sugar to this smoothie. The sweetness from the fruit is usually good enough for me. You can also add 1/2 an apple or 1/2 a banana if you like, for some added sweetness.This also gives me a good dose of protein with the Greek yogurt so yay!

Mixed Berry Smoothie

Ingredients:
1 cup frozen mixed berries
1 cup 1% or skimmed milk
1 tbsp plain non-fat Greek yogurt
1 blackberry - chopped (optional)

This recipe serves 1

1. Heat the cup of frozen berries in the microwave for about 30s just to thaw it slightly
2. Combine the berries, milk and yogurt in a blender. Blend until smooth and and thick. Adjust the consistency as needed with a bit of water.
3. Top up with the chopped blackberry if you like.

Garlic Butter Spaghettini with Oven Roasted Tomatoes

I know I know I have been going on about "eating right" and "low carb food" and "*other-nice-healthy-food-words*" but it isn't the worst thing to splurge once in a while.. is it? It is? Well, sue me, I did anyway!

Seriously though, when I do splurge, I try and make it worth my while by cooking something I really enjoy. This doesn't necessarily mean a decadent, gonna-carry-this-guilt-around-for-weeks kind of meal. It almost always more of a relatively light but carby meal with some fresh ingredients that leave me feeling good. Like Dosa with Onion+Tomato Chutney. Or Jeera Rice with some spicy Moong Dal +Applam. Heaven indeed. What can I say, I got a bad case of rice-lovin'!

A couple of weeks back again, I found myself craving something starchy and home-made. One of those days where it just HAD to be had! With no dosa batter and no rice whatsoever at my disposal (curse me for purging my house of carbs), I had to rummage through my pantry to piece together a meal from my secret stash. Boy, am I glad I did....

Garlic Butter Spaghettini with Oven Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients
3/4th of a box of spaghettini
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
4 pods of garlic, chopped
1 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup pecans or walnuts, Toasted in the oven for 10 minutes at 325F and roughly chopped
1 tbsp dried oregano
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) + more for drizzling
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste

This recipe serves 2

1. Prepare the pasta al dente as instructed on the box. Be sure to salt the boiling water generously before adding in the pasta.
2. Toss the halved cherry tomatoes in a bowl with 1 pod of chopped garlic and 2 tbsp EVOO. Mix well, spread out on a baking sheet, drizzle with the EVOO and roast in the oven for 30 minutes at 325F.
3. Melt the butter in a pan and throw in the 3 remaining pods of chopped garlic. Keep the heat relatively low so as to not burn the garlic. Saute until soft and fragrant. Add in the chopped basil and saute till it wilts. Finally add the toasted nuts, roasted cherry tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper. Mix everything well while still keeping the heat relatively low.
4. Finally, fold in the cooked spaghettini with tongs until all the the ingredients mix well and the pasta comes together.

Serve topped with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Quinoa stuffed Peppers with Basil Yogurt Sauce

Being a hard-core South-Indian, rice is a part of my everyday diet. I mean, despite all my culinary adventures, nothing would make me happier than a plate of steaming hot Onion Sambar Rice with Cabbage. But, the husband and I are trying to eat healthy and cut down on our daily carb intake, which means, rice is more of a weekend luxury for us. This, of course, includes dosas and idlis as well. What a tragedy!! But on the flip side, this has truly inspired me to cook some really fun, delicious healthy meals without which this blog wouldn't exist so yay!

I have always been into Food Network but since I started cooking I have begun to look at the shows in a different light - specially if the show features a vegetarian dish. A few days back I was watching a show called 'Giada at Home' in which Chef Giada de Laurentiis made a dish called 'Couscous-Stuffed Peppers with Basil Sauce'.. they looked SO delicious. This is Giada's dish here below.

As always there were several things in this dish that I couldn't use or didn't quite agree with so I attempted this recipe with a few modifications of my own. I have posted the original recipe below if you would like to try that out.

Quinoa stuffed Peppers with Basil Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients:


4 peppers : Red Yellow or Orange

Stuffing:
1/2 cup uncooked Quinoa or 1 Cup Cooked Quinoa (Subs: brown rice or Cous Cous)
1/2 cup canned garbanzo beans (chana), rinsed and drained
1/4 cup frozen corn
1/2 medium size onion - Chopped
3 pods garlic - chopped
1/4 cup dried raisins / cranberries
1 packed cup chopped baby spinach leaves - Chopped
1/4 cup Pecans or Walnuts (optional) (Toasted in the oven for 10 mins at 350F and roughly chopped)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling and sauteing
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp Cumin Powder
2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

Sauce:
1/2 packed cup fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup non-fat Greek Yogurt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon water
1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt, plus extra, as needed
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra, as needed

This recipe serves 2

1. Add some olive oil to a pan. When it is hot, saute the onions, garlic and corn with salt till the onions are transparent. Shut off the heat and toss in the spinach. Saute in residual heat till the spinach is wilted.
2. Cook the Quinoa in a pressure cooker using 1:1.5 quinoa : water ratio for 2 whistles. Alternatively, you can also just put 1/2 cup quinoa into a pan with 1 cup boiling water and stir occasionally till all the water is gone and the quinoa is fully cooked. Fluff it up with a fork. 
3. Pour this into a large bowl and combine with the garbanzo beans, sauteed veggies, feta cheese, raisins, chopped pecans, some olive oil, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt and fresh ground black pepper.
4. Cut off the tops of the peppers. Remove the stem and seeds. Make sure the peppers can stand upright without falling over. Stuff the peppers with the mixture from the bowl and place them upright in a baking dish with just 1/4 inch of water at the bottom of the dish so that the peppers can steam in the oven. Place the pan in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Sauce:
In a blender, combine the basil, greek yogurt, olive oil, water, garlic, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth.

Pour the sauce over the peppers and serve hot!

Shout out to chef Giada with many thanks: Click here for original recipe

Roasted Pepper and Corn Soup

Back home in Chennai, rainy days would give me a total craving for Chilli Bajji and a cup of hot coffee. Specially the chilli bajjis from Elliots Beach. Mmmm what could be better... How I bitterly miss my dear motherland!

Anyway, the absence of Elliots beach has forced me to look elsewhere for rainy-day-comfort food. So these days, my favorite thing to eat on a gloomy cold rainy evening is - Soup! I recently discovered this delicious soup recipe but it didn't really make a fan out of me until I modified the recipe to suit my palette. You can still try and make it the original way - I have included a link to it at the end of my recipe.

Oh and i learnt how to broil peppers in this recipe! Yay! Look at these beautiful broiled lovelies:

Ingredients:

2 bell peppers (red, yellow or orange, but not green)
1/2 cup Frozen Corn
4 tablespoons olive oil
I medium yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped basil leaves
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
2 cups water or Vegetable/Chicken stock
Salt and Pepper as needed
1/2 cup Croutons

This recipe serves 2

1. Broil the 2 peppers in a broiler or a gas stovetop. If you are using a stovetop just hold the peppers one at a time over the open flame till the skin starts to char and turn black. Keep rotating the pepper until its covered with the black soot. Place the charred peppers in a large bowl, cover it and let it cool until the peppers are OK to handle. Then remove blackened skin using your fingers, stem, and seeds by cutting into quarters.
2. Add olive oil to a large pot or pan. Once the oil is hot, sauté the onions and garlic until soft. Then add in the corn and sauté for a while until the corn is cooked. Add 2 cups of water/stock, as desired. I use water because i don't like the taste of stock and I am more than happy to kiss the sodium goodbye! Add the peeled red/orange/yellow pepper, basil leaves. crushed red pepper flakes, fresh ground black pepper and salt.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook, covered, for 15 minutes. If the mixture looks too dry, add another splash of water, but not too much, otherwise your soup will become very runny and not thick.
4. Turn off the heat and allow to cool just a bit. Pour the mixture into a blender and blend until smooth and thick. Top with a ground black pepper, a few croutons and enjoy!

Shout out to the original recipe, with many thanks :  Click Here

Spaghettini with Tomato Basil Sauce

Anyone who knows me knows I am an anglophile and that I had a total dream-come-true moment when I went to England last year. I just lost myself in the magic of London. I indulged in one of my all time obsessions by going all by myself to Hampton Court Palace and immersing myself in the history of King Henry the VIIIth. Oh man I get giddy thinking about it. Look at that beauty...!

Now that England has been crossed off my vacay locations, the thought of Italy is slowly causing me to have Liz Lemon-esque *I want to go to there* moments. And who doesn't LOVE Italian food..! Soon after our wedding, my then-Italian-food-novice husband took to it like no other cuisine and I have been in culinary heaven since.

Ever since the cooking bug bit me, I have been trying to recreate easy Italian dishes that we eat in restaurants. My absolute favorite pasta dish at the moment is California Pizza Kitchen's Tomato Basil Spaghettini. It is an amazing dish - its lovely basil flavour and the creamy goat cheese is beauty on a plate.

Good food makes me happy.

Sure enough I was soon tempted to try making it at home with my own little twists and I'm happy to say it came out quite well! Not to mention, SO easy!! Now i must confess that this doesn't taste exactly like the CPK version because I have made this a little spicier than the original, among other things.

Ingredients:

1 of a box of Spaghettini

5 Tomatoes on the vine (or just any juicy large tomato)

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

5-6 pods of Garlic

1 tbsp dried oregano

1/2 tbsp red pepper flakes

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tbsp crumbled Goat cheese

Salt and Pepper as needed

Olive Oil as needed

This recipe serves 2

1. Prepare the pasta al dente as instructed on the box. Be sure to salt the boiling water generously.
2. Blanch the 5 tomatoes. Click here for instructions on blanching. Chop up the blanched tomatoes into small cubes and mash them until it looks like a bowl of chunky tomato juice. Slice the garlic pods into thin slivers. Give the basil a rough chop as well.
3. Heat some olive oil in a big pan and lightly fry the garlic. Keep an eye on it as garlic burns very easily. Pour in the chunky mashed up tomatoes, half of the chopped basil, salt, fresh ground pepper and bring to a slight simmer. Keep stirring this occasionally and continue to simmer until the tomato cooks and loses its raw flavour. This could take about 10 minutes and really allows the basil flavour to seep into the sauce. 
4. Add in the oregano, red pepper flakes and  Parmesan cheese. Simmer for another 2 minutes then toss in the pasta. Fold the sauce well into the pasta. Turn the heat very low and keep folding until it is well combined. Add the remaining chopped basil and mix well.

Serve topped with crumbled goat cheese and a side of crusty garlic bread. Mmm Delizioso!

Skillet Frittata / Spanish Omelette

Ever since I've started watching Parks and Recreation, the dormant Ron Swanson in me wants to eat breakfast food all day.

I recently decided to take up that fantasy and make myself the most delicious dinner-worthy omelette. This would be no 2-minute dish. Seasoning would not be a measly salt-and-pepper. There would be no cracking-the-egg-over-the-pan. Not on my watch

After a lot of research, I decided to make my own version of a Spanish Omelette, slightly modifying the traditional version to suit my palette (i.e no gross raw tomatoes please). Not to mention, this has got to be one of the healthiest meals I have ever made myself!!

First, fry up some onions and garlic on a skillet with some olive oil. 

Add your veggies and cook until it is well done. Arrange them in an evenly-spread layer.

Pour the seasoned and beaten eggs over the veggie mixture. 

Cover with a glass lid and let it sit on very low heat so that the top portion of the eggs are cooked. When it is almost done, top with shredded cheese and cook for a little longer until the cheese melts. 

Use a spatula to gently detach the eggs from the skillet and slide it onto a plate, again - very gently. this dish is quite delicate and tears easy.

Ingredients:

3 Medium Size Eggs

1 small Onion

3 pods of Garlic

1/2 red/yellow pepper

1 Jalapeno

Spinach leaves ~1/2 cup

1/4 cup  any shredded cheese

Splash of Milk

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp red pepper flakes

Pinch of turmeric -- optional

Salt and Ground Pepper to taste

Olive Oil as needed

On the side: any sliced fruit - Apples, Pears, Kiwis, Watermelon, Peaches.. all good!

1. Finely chop the onion, garlic pods jalapenos, red pepper, spinach into small pieces. Heat up some olive oil in a skillet and fry the onions and garlic, until the onions are transparent. Add a bit of salt to these to keep the onions moist. After about 3 minutes toss in the red peppers, jalapenos and the spinach to the skillet. Turn the heat low and stir occasionally while the veggies just cook for about 5 minutes. 
2. While these are cooking away, break open the 3 eggs in a large bowl. You can probably use just one yolk and discard the other 2 if you wish. Beat the eggs just a bit until the yolk mixes in. Add the salt, pepper, oregano, red pepper flakes, turmeric and beat a bit more. Adjust the salt as needed since we have already added some salt to the veggies. Pour in the splash of milk, half the cheese the and beat until everything is well mixed and looks a bit frothy.
3. Keep an eye on your veggies. When they look like they are cooked, pour the egg batter into the skillet and just roll the batter around the pan so that all the veggies are covered. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the omelette. Turn up the heat just enough to cook the eggs. Take a glass lid and cover the skillet so that the top of the omelette cooks as well.  The glass lid just helps you see how things are coming along.  Again, please keep an eye on the heat so that the bottom of the omelette doesn't burn. 
4. Use a spatula to gently lift the edges of the omelette to see how far its cooked. Once the top of the eggs look like they are cooked through, gently run a spatula around the edges and center of the omelette to just unhinge it from the pan, taking a LOT of care to not tear it in places. Again, very gently slide it onto a large plate. Tuck in and enjoy with  a fruit or some tea!