Penne with Roasted Bell Pepper Sauce

As most of you in the East Coast know, we have had a particularly challenging week with a massive snow storm and extreme low temperatures. I particularly have found it really painful to go out in this weather. Just thinking about the socks - boots - jeans - jacket routine gives me a headache. So imagine my irritation when I found myself gaping into an abysmally empty refrigerator this weekend.

I decided to take on the challenge and make a meal with whatever could find AND make it interesting. Let's just say - yeah, I did good :-)

First I broiled some orange peppers and let it rest in a ziploc bag for about 30 minutes. While broiling, the pepper will spit and ooze and make some unholy sounds. Fret not, it is supposed to do that! Once you remove the peppers from the ziploc, you should just be able to peel off the charred bits with your fingers. Try and get it as clean as possible. Slightly rinse with water if needed.

Slice the broiled and peeled peppers, add garlic, pesto/ basil leaves, salt and blend with lots of extra virgin olive oil. This makes the sauce for your pasta.

I wanted to add some veggies to my meal so I roasted some cherry tomatoes in the oven for about 40 minutes with olive oil

Cook the pasta as directed on the box. Combine with the roasted bell pepper sauce, roasted cherry tomatoes, fried onions and roasted pecans. Top with Feta cheese and enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 box penne or rigatoni pasta - cooked to al dente as directed on the box
1.5 or 2 red or orange bell peppers - halved and cored
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2 onion - thinly sliced
1/2 cup pecans
1 tsp pesto or 3-4 basil leaves
1 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 tbsp crumbled feta
salt to taste

This recipe serves 2

1. Broil the peppers as shown in the images above. Make sure all of the outer skin is charred and blackened completely. Place these charred peppers in a ziploc bag and let it rest for about 30 minutes
2. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Place them on a baking sheet, drizzle olive oil and let it roast in the oven for about 40 minutes at 350F
3. Slightly toast the pecans in a skillet and set aside.
4. Remove the peppers from the bag and peel off the charred skin with your fingers. Make sure you remove all the blackened bits. Rinse under water if needed. Slice into large chunks. 
5. Place the sliced peppers in a food processor with 1 tsp basil pesto, 3 cloves of garlic, salt and evoo. Blend until smooth
6. Heat some oil in a pan and saute the sliced onions until translucent, for about 5 minutes. Add cooked pasta, bell pepper sauce, roasted tomatoes and pecans. Mix until all of these are well combined. Top it up with feta cheese and enjoy!

Vegetable Barley Soup

Baby, it's cold outside...!

It's that time of the year again with snow on the ground and chills in our bones.  Quite often, I feel too lazy too bundle up and go out, but let's be honest, I just use that excuse to supplement my perpetual laziness! However, I do spend a lot of that time in the kitchen whipping up something warm and hearty so it all kind of works out!

Soup makes for a very tasty and satisfying meal. I could eat soup seven days a week and not complain. I do have a problem using canned soup since they are usually quite high in sodium. But the good thing is - soups are very easy to make at home. You can get quite creative with them and usually whip up something simple just using whatever is in the pantry. It is a great way to load up on lots of veggies and makes for a very healthy, hearty meal.

I have been looking for something different to cook with and hit upon this goldmine: Barley, which looks suspiciously like Urad Dal!

It takes a little while to cook but becomes soft and chewy. The cooking water retains a lot of the earthy flavour which I usually just use a stock for my soup

This particular soup is very hearty with this beautiful barley and lots of veggies. I used red onions, carrots, peas, corn, jalapenos and tomatoes. Yeah, that many.

You can go ahead and add peppers, zucchini and mushrooms as well if you have them in hand. Put everything together with some spices, boil and done! Easy does it!

Ingredients :
1/4 cup uncooked barley
1/2 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 small tomato
a small bunch of cilantro
1 cup mixed vegetables
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garam masala/ curry powder
3 cups water
olive oil
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

This recipe serves 1

1. Boil 2 cups of water with some salt. Add barley and cook for about 45 minutes. Stir frequently as barley tends to burn easily. Taste and make sure it is soft and slightly chewy. Drain and set aside to cool. Do not throw the cooking water as you can use it as stock.
2. While the barley is cooking, heat some olive oil in a sauce pan and fry the onions till they are translucent. Add the chopped garlic and fry for a few seconds.
3. Add the tomato and cook till it is mushy and then add the rest of your veggies. Fry this for about a minute. 
4. Add 1 cup of water with salt, chili powder and curry powder. Bring the water to boil and simmer covered until the vegetables are cooked, for about 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Once they veggies are done, add in the barley. Add a small amount stock water, adjusted to your preferred consistency. Let this simmer for another 10 minutes for the flavours to combine.
6. Top with a pinch of crushed black pepper and garnish with chopped cilantro.

Grilled Veggie Sandwich

I have a confession to make. It isn't one that I am terribly proud of... not even one that I will admit to if you ask me about it in the real world. But, this is cyberspace. Anything goes, right? Having said that, here is my deep dark secret. I *bleeping* LOVE vegetable shopping. It's true. I do! I LOVE going on weekends, where I don't really have to worry about going home early to cook or think about any pending work that I might have on that day. It is bad, people. Ask me if I want to go out on a hike or do some kayaking and I will say 'Nope, just drop me off at your nearest Shoprite.' It is crazy, I have never admitted this to anyone before, not even to myself! Nonetheless, it is true. I have been thoroughly domesticated.

This week was a good one for me, produce-wise. I got a whole bunch of zucchinis, Japanese eggplant and some gorgeous peaches. I also lucked out and got my new FAVORITE green: Baby Arugula! I decided to put it all to good use today and made myself a delicious sandwich with a refreshing side salad.

Let's first start with the sandwich. First you need a few veggies. I used onions, peppers, eggplant and zucchini. You can also use sun-dried tomatoes or regular tomatoes.

Grill these veggies in a grill pan or even a skillet. Assemble the sandwich on a bread of your choice with some lettuce and feta cheese. That's that!

Ingredients:
4 slices of bread of your choice - toasted slightly
1 zucchini
1/2 onion
2 slices of Japanese Eggplant
2 leaves of butter lettuce
1 tbsp feta cheese
1/4th of orange peppers
1 tsp red chili pepper flakes
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

This recipe serves 2

1. Slice your vegetables as shows in the picture and place them in a bowl with about a tsp of olive oil. Add the salt, pepper, red chili pepper flakes and oregano. Mix until the vegetables are well coated with the seasoning.
2. Heat a tsp of olive oil on a skillet or the grill. Grill the veggies until they are well cooked and tender cooked on both sides. 
3. Separate the two slices of bread and start assembling the sandwich. On one slice, place the lettuce topped with the grilled veggies. On the other slice, place a generous amount of feta cheese.
4. Finally, press the two slices together and enjoy with a side of Arugula and Peach salad!

Quinoa and Black Bean Casserole

Quinoa is a staple in my house. I was initially introduced to quinoa  in a salad and I didn't think much of it. It gave a little texture to the dish but didn't add too much in terms of taste. So that was that for me. I put the little  bag of Quinoa at the back of my pantry and forgot all about it.

A few months later, I went to my cousin's house for Golu :). And dinner. Arvind and I had a lovely time catching up with them and eventually the conversation turned (as it so often does these days) to healthy food. They told us, to my utter shock and surprise, that they had replaced their daily rice consumption with Quinoa. As in Quinoa+Sambar, Quinoa+Rasam etc. I had a little taste at their house and I liked it. I came home, fished out the little baggy from the back of my pantry and set forth making Sambar and Quinoa for lunch the next day. Thus began my intense love affair with this beautiful grain.

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is grown primarily in Peru so we had some lovely local quinoa dishes when we were there. This is us looking proud as hell at Machu Pichu :) :)

Now, on to the dish. This is actually the first dish I ever made with my own recipe. I did this in an attempt to make something different with quinoa which seems to have so many possibilities. This has become such a staple in my house that it didn't ever occur to me to post it until recently :)

It basically needs some quinoa, cooked black beans, onions and some veggies to get it started. Saute the Onions, Veggies and cooked beans with some spices. Add the quinoa.

Assemble this mixture in a baking pan and top with some cheese.

Bake for about 15 minutes at 350F and serve topped with Greek yogurt.

Delicious! :D

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa

1 cup cooked black beans

1 onion - chopped

1/2 red pepper - seeded and chopped

1/2 green pepper - seeded and chopped

1 jalapeno - seeded and chopped

1/2 cup frozen corn
2 tsp cumin
4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
4 tsp oregano
1.5 tbsp lime juice
2.5 tbsp red chili sauce
1/2 cup shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

This recipe serves 2

1. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and saute the onion with some salt and pepper for about 2 minutes, until transparent. Add the chopped peppers, corn and jalapeno and saute for another 5 minutes, until slightly cooked.
2. Mash the cooked black beans with a little water and add to the veggies. Add the cumin, red pepper flakes, oregano lime juice and red chilli sauce. Adjust all the spices as needed according to your taste. Saute for about 3-5 minutes until the mixture combines,
3. Add the quinoa to the pan. Sprinkle a little water if this looks too dry. Mix well and taste to adjust the salt as needed. Add the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil and mix until well combined
4. Assemble the mixture in a baking pan. Top with shredded cheese and bake for about 15 minutes at 350F until the cheese melts
5. Top with a dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream and enjoy!

The Best Vegetarian Chili

I have never been a meat-eater.

By meat, I mean seafood and poultry as well .This is of course by virtue of being raised in a Tam-Brahm family. But that reasoning only holds good for a few years, if we are all being truly honest. At some point, every young vegetarian comes to a crossroad in their life where they consciously or sub-consciously decide to go or not go to the dark side :D To paraphrase the Bard himself, "To eat, or not to eat: that is the question". Or something like that.

For me, I have had several such opportunities when I was in college but something held me back. I cant explain or put a finger on it but I sub-consciously made that decision in my teens and it has stuck so far. For a lot of people, it is more straightforward than that, more of a conscious decision. If you ask Arvind, he insists that he will violently throw up of he eats meat. And he says this right in front of other meat eaters, which I find terribly rude but, hey, that's my dear husband for you!

I never questioned my decision to go meatless for the most part but there were a few times when I just wondered 'what if...'! The first was when I was working in good old Chennai. A colleague and good friend of mine used to bring mushroom masala to work. I never had really eaten mushrooms before so this was all new to me. Man, I just went nuts over it. The juicy, supple texture of the mushroom... that delicious chewyness, the spicy masala... I was in foodie heaven. My colleague was convinced that I would just love poultry and really tried to talk me into it! It makes me laugh to just think about it. Good times!

Anyway, here I am trying to make a hardcore non-vegetarian dish into a meatless meal. I believe Chili is traditionally made up of ground beef and sometimes ground turkey, the only veggies being onions and garlic. But if you ask me, you cant go wrong with beans and a whole bunch of veggies for some some real good flavour!

Look at that! Isn't that just gorgeous! Mmmmm veggies =P~

The Best Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients:
1 cup cooked black beans
1 cup cooked kidney beans
1 onion - chopped
4 pods of garlic - finely chopped
1 tomato - chopped
2 jalapeno - seeded and chopped
1 carrot - peeled and chopped
1/2 zucchini - peeled and chopped
1 cup mixed peppers (red, green, orange and yellow) - seeded and chopped
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels - thawed out
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup water or vegetable broth
A bit of Mexican blend shredded cheese
salt to taste
crushed black pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil

This recipe serves 2

1. Heat olive oil in a pan and saute the onions and garlic for 3-4 minutes, until soft and fragrant. Add the chopped tomato, jalapeno, carrot, zucchini, corn and mixed peppers. Add some salt to the veggies. Saute until slightly cooked, for about 5-7 minutes. 
2. While the veggies are cooking, mix the black beans and kidney beans in a large bowl. Add a little water to them and mash them slightly with a potato masher. This helps the chili get a nice ooey-gooey texture which I love.
3. Once the veggies are cooked, throw in the slightly mashed beans. Add the cumin powder, coriander powder, oregano, red pepper flakes, crushed black pepper and mix well. Adjust the seasoning as needed. Add in the water or vegetable and simmer for about 15 minutes with the lid on, stirring occasionally. Adjust the water/broth as well depending your preferred consistency. 
4. Remove the lid and give this a taste. Adjust the salt  and other seasoning as needed. Simmer for another 5 minutes stirring occasionally.

Serve hot with shredded cheese and a side of corn bread. Enjoy the BEST vegetarian chili :)