Over 22 years later, these memories still linger very fresh in my mind and often when I have dreams of the old house, Karthigai and this routine we had plays a part. Anyway, on to the food. Admittedly, I didn’t remember what food was made for Karthigai back then because the lighting of the lamps was more of a focus than the food (again, unlike Diwali) so I asked amma last weekend when I spoke to her....
It’s now my turn to host A Fruit A Month (AFAM) for January. It didn’t take me that long to zero in on a particular fruit. The only criteria was that it should be easily available and reasonably versatile. You can use it in a salad, in a dessert, as a garnish, even raw papaya is more than welcome! So here it is, the fruit for January, 2008 is PAPAYA....
What do you look for in an apple pie recipe? A few years ago, the first time I volunteered to make a homemade apple pie for my family’s Thanksgiving, I scoured the internet in search of the perfect one. I wanted the filling to be juicy, but not so juicy that the pie wouldn’t slice. I wanted it to be warmly spiced with cinnamon and spiked with lemon for bright, tart flavor....
This easy omelette is loaded with roasted asparagus and creamy goat cheese. As the omelet cooks, the goat cheese melts down into the egg. It’s absolutely delicious. I’ve made this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It’s also perfect with other veggies, so if you don’t have asparagus on hand, feel free to use what you have. For more of a family-style meal, try our vegetable frittata! Key Ingredients Asparagus: I love adding roasted asparagus to this omelette....
This baked apple recipe might be my ideal fall dessert. It’s simpler to make than apple pie, apple cake, or even apple crisp, but it checks all the same apple-y, cinnamon-y boxes. It also shows off the natural shape and color of the apples, which I really love. When I nestle a couple of these baked apples into a bowl with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, they look so fresh and festive…and they taste amazing, too....
Our family loves these super simple blueberry smoothies. It’s a perfect breakfast or snack that adults and kids will love (my toddler loves these smoothies). You can even make a big batch, freeze it, and enjoy these delicious smoothies another day (tips are below). Key Ingredients Frozen blueberries: For the best smoothies, use frozen blueberries. I especially love frozen wild blueberries, which give the smoothie in our photos that bright, vivid purple color....
It’s my birthday and I baked myself a cake. Actually, cupcakes… and technically I baked them last night so I could make this little b-day post today. I’m thirty-four today (ouch, that hurts to type). It’s the age that you start to forget what age you are… the age when you realize how silly you were when you felt old at 28. And it’s the age that you have to start taking really good notes because you just can’t keep “it all” in your head anymore....
So let me come out say first things first. Baking croissants is not easy, easy to me being mixing a bunch of ingredients in a bowl, transferring it to a baking tray and ending up with a gorgeous tasting cake. Croissants are special, they need longer preparation time and some precise techniques. I followed the recipe very thoroughly and yet a lot of things went wrong. I have added my trials and tribulations during the croissant making process at the end of this post....
Soup is my favorite thing to make regardless of the season – it’s comfy and cozy in the fall and winter, but just because it’s 100 degrees outside now doesn’t mean I don’t crave soup in the summer. Enter: gazpacho. This one is extra healthy (and bikini-season-friendly) because it’s made with green juice as the base. Since working on these recipes, with Evolution Fresh, I’ve been inspired to incorporate more green juices into my cooking....
We sold our house yesterday. In case you haven’t heard, Jack and I are moving(!?), and lately I’ve been feeling a really mixed bag of emotions about it. We left Austin a few weeks ago and are spending the summer temporarily in Chicago (living with my parents – so glamorous!) until we find a new place to call home. We’re excited for a new adventure, but of course, it’s always sad leaving homes and friends (and kitchens!...
I’m calling this blueberry mojito recipe the perfect summer cocktail! We already love classic mojitos, but in this recipe, we’ll add delicious blueberries to the mix to make it even more summer friendly! Summer cocktails don’t get much prettier than this one. Find the recipe below as well as an extra tip for making blueberry mojitos for a crowd. For more summery drinks, see our fruity red sangria, this rosemary gin fizz, and this bubbly Aperol spritz....
Pin Now, I don’t know about you but I am a firm believer that delicious things start with a can, or even half a can, of condensed milk. Yes, it’s sugary, yes it’s fattening, yes it may be considered unhealthy but I say let’s use Diwali to live a little, shall we? I am a fan of quick and easy Diwali sweets and I have proven this many times over in the past few years with my various Diwali sweet recipes....
I don’t make peanut noodles nearly enough. I forget how easy it is to make a peanut sauce, and that I usually already have all the ingredients on hand. I’ve made other peanut sauce variations before, but this time I wanted to simplify it down to just the necessary six ingredients. It takes about 5 minutes (tops) to stir it together… then toss it with noodles & veggies. Dinner is done....
I’ll never forget the first time I tried falafel. Stuffed into pita bread with fresh herbs, crisp veggies, and a big slather of hummus, it was crispy, rich, and bursting with earthy, aromatic flavor. I devoured the entire wrap in minutes, amazed at the medley of tastes and textures dancing across my tongue. Falafel has been one of my favorite foods ever since. I still order it out to eat whenever I get the chance, but these days, I more often make this homemade falafel recipe....
If you were to ask me, “What’s the best vegetarian pizza in Chicago?”, I’d have to ask a few followup questions before I answered. Like, what kind of veggie pizza are we talking here? Because for me, when it comes to pizza, there isn’t one best. Sometimes I’m in the mood for a Neapolitan-style pie with an airy crust and minimal toppings. And sometimes I want something inventive, like the vegan spinach & ranch pizza at Middlebrow in Logan Square....
The first time I made these garlic mashed potatoes, I didn’t know what my husband Jack would think of them. See, Jack grew up eating his Uncle Billy’s mashed potatoes, and he still reminisces about them. They were creamy, fluffy, and rich with (lots of) melted butter and (lots of) sour cream. These garlic mashed potatoes aren’t exactly like Uncle Billy’s. Instead of dairy, olive oil and starchy potato cooking water give them an amazing creamy texture, and roasted garlic fills them with rich, nutty depth of flavor....
Who doesn’t love a fish taco? Now that I’m a vegetarian, I love veggie-filled vegetarian tacos, but I miss ones filled with flaky fish. My solution? These delicious tofu tacos! To spice up my tofu, I made a chipotle/paprika/lime marinade, which lends a nice smoky balance to the other elements of these tofu tacos: tangy avocado sauce and crisp cabbage slaw. Yes, I know, I’m really into the nut sauces… cashew cream, pestos, romesco....
If you have a bag of stale tortillas hanging out on your counter, don’t toss them. Instead, make homemade tortilla chips! These homemade tortilla chips are crispy, flavorful, and light as air. Made with just 3 ingredients—corn tortillas, salt, and oil—they’re super simple to make, and they taste 10 times better than any store-bought tortilla chips I’ve tried. I can easily devour a handful plain, but the crunchy chips stand up nicely to dips like salsa and guacamole too....
I started making paneer at home more frequently when Mustafa Centre stopped stocking Amul paneer cubes intermittently. Although they were practically tasteless compared to homemade paneer, I always have a small bag in the freezer just in case the urgent need to make some paneer butter masala kicks in. When I make fresh paneer at home, I usually end up using it within the next day or two so the store-bought ones were good for storing away for a paneer emergency....
