Mushroom Bruschetta

For our anniversary this year, we went to Paesanos. After having wanted to go there for the last four years, we finally did - and boy was it good! We chanced upon mushroom bruschetta for our appetizer, and you know how I'm not fond of mushrooms, but after this - I've eaten SOOO much mushroom, it's not funny.
When done right, this is a healthy high protein finger-meal with such little effort.
(Pictures will come later, this is my version of the paesano's dish)

Ingredients:
- Crusty italian loaf or sourdough bread cut into slices (sometimes, I buy a half baguette and slice it up or if I'm near a Trader Joes, I buy their Sourdough presliced bread)
- Prepared Basil pesto sauce
- Mushrooms (do not use white button mushrooms - I used a mix of Portobella, Cremini, Inoki and Wild), sliced
- Garlic finely finely chopped (I used about 2 cups of slices mushrooms and about 4 cloves)
- Black pepper and salt
- Olive oil

1. Clean and wipe the mushrooms - slice them, and lay them out on a baking tray - drizzle with olive oil, salt and black pepper and chopped garlic. Use your hands to combine and mix this, so the mushrooms are evenly coated with all of the oil, garlic and salt/pepper.
2. Bake at 400 for about 10 minutes - the mushrooms will bleed water and cook in their own steam, and then they'll start browning really well. Let them stay in the oven on the bottom rack.
3. Brush the sliced bread with olive oil, and throw them into the oven - broil for 11/2 minutes or till the bread is toasted and brown.
4. Remove the bread, move the mushrooms to the top rack and broil the mushrooms for about a minute or till they crisp up on the ends.
5. Spread pesto on the toasted bread, heap up the mushrooms and eat!

Penne Al Arabiatta

This is an absolutely wonderful recipe stolen and adapted from a 4$ book called  "Mmm...pasta"- and no, I didn't buy it, but my roommate did after spending a little too long in the TJ Maxx checkout line. It has a nice little section for vegetarian pastas, and I'm trying them one by one. This particular recipe is an adaptation of the original, retaining the flavour profile but changing up the quantities to suit a 2 person meal.
Arabiatta is literally an angry red sauce - I find marinara too sweet and most tomato-basil sauces too bland. This is also a great pasta to make when you don't want to pay attention to your pot, and you just want something to simmer and you can come back and stir it once or twice, but focus on something else.

Ingredients:

-1 can of San Marzano tomatoes/Italian Plum Tomatoes (Do not use the regular diced or crushed tomatoes, you lose half the flavour by skipping this)
- Three big cloves of garlic, slit into quarters and slightly crushed
- Three or four dried red chillies or crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp of black whole peppercorns
- 2/3 cup of dry white wine (most white table wines will do, but the driest possible - use either Pinot Grigios, Chardonnays or Sauvignon Blancs - do not use Rieslings or Moscatos or anything sweet)
- Olive oil for flavour and to cook
- Flat leaf or curly parsley (whichever you prefer) for flavour and garnish
- Parmesan cheese
- Rigatoni or ridged penne (so it will absorb the saucy goodness)

1. Add the olive oil into a saucepan and heat it till it's almost ready to smoke and then turn the heat down to medium-low
2. Add the garlic cloves in, and let them brown - crush them down into the oil so the garlicky goodness oozes out, and remove the garlic cloves and throw them out.
3. Add the can of San Marzano tomatoes and allow to cook for 15 minutes, till the tomatoes cook down and the oil begins to separate (you only need to watch this two or three times and give it a quick stir)
4. When the tomatoes have cooked down, add salt, chillies, black peppercorns and the white wine and allow to reduce (this takes about 5 minutes - turn the heat up to medium-high at this point)
5. Cook the penne pasta for about 10-11 minutes in salted boiling water and set aside.
6. Add half the chopped parsley into the sauce, add a little more wine to liquefy the sauce.
7. Combine the pasta in the sauce, toss to coat - add the rest of the parsley and shave parmesan on top!

Pongal

When you can stuff yourself with rice and then sleep (!) This recipe approximately serves 3 people, but 2 if you eat like a pig.

Ingredients:1 cup rice (I sometimes use cooked rice from the day before that's leftover, or just combine leftover rice)
1/2 cup moong dal/payatham paruppu
Jeera - 1 1/2 tsps (or to taste)
Whole black peppers 1 tbs
Ginger (sliced)
Green chillies (slit open)
Asafoetida/perungayam/hing (two generous pinches)
Cashew nuts
Gheeeeeeeeee for frying and for the general taste and smell of things


1. Combine the rice and paruppu/dal and wash three times

2. Add 1 1/2 tsps of  oil into the pressure cooker, and fry the jeera, black pepper, ginger and green chillies for about 30s
3. Add the rice and dal and stir so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pressure cooker
4. Add salt to taste, hing, and water (to the ratio of 1:3 - so approximately 3 1/2 cups of water) - a pinch of turmeric if you like the yellow colour.
5. Cook up to five whistles and let the pressure subside
6. Fry the cashew nuts separately and add it to the cooked rice/dal
7. Combine and gobble!

"grilled" pineapples

In the summer and fall, barbecuing is as much a part of life in the south as snow shovelling is in the north during winters. The only difference being people actually look forward to it. Being a vegetarian, my options are generally restricted to grilled zucchini and peppers but last summer I was introduced to a super delicious version of grilled pineapples. Here is the recipe:

what you'll need-

1 pineapple- peeled and cut in slices or chunks big enough to grill
cayenne pepper (red chilli powder used for indian cooking)- 1/2 tea spoon or more depending on how spicy you want it to be
cinnamon powder- 1 teaspoon
brown sugar- 4 tablespoons
salt- 1/2 tea spoon

1. Mix the sugar, cinnamon, cayenne and salt.
2. Rub the mixture all over the pineapples and let the fruit marinate for 15-30 minutes.
3. You can grill the pieces over a normal grill or you can heat a non stick pan and roast them on it. I dont have a grill and I make it in a pan and it comes out awesome.

You can eat them as dessert, use them as a topping with ice-cream or chop them up and add them to a salad. I would recommend making them fresh but you could make them in advance and store in the fridge.

Rosemary and Feta.. one of my favorite combinations

2 cups of spinach- washed and chopped
1 cup washed and chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
salt and pepper
1 tea spoon oil

1. Heat the oil. When it is beginning to get hot but not fuming, add the rosemary.
2. Add the chopped mushrooms, spinach, salt and pepper. Let everything cook till all the water from the mushrooms and spinach has evaporated.
3. After everything is cooked, turn off the flame and add the feta cheese.

You can add penne or any other boiled pasta to this mix or stuff it in a savory crepe.

I would never make beet cake

But I LOVE this video. I feel like the music and the way the video is shot makes you feel peaceful, destressed, sexy, nostalgic and hungry! All the reasons why I (we?) love cooking.. :)


beet cake from tiger in a jar on Vimeo.

Lemon Rice and Peanut Chutney

There are both amma's simple recipes - I guess a normal family would have eaten lemon rice with something else, but because I hated it as a kid, my mom coupled it with peanut chutney so I would eat the easy meal.

Lemon rice (for 1 person):
1/3 cup of cooked rice, grains separated ( I usually cook it in the microwave, with rice to water 1:2, for about 9 minutes)
Urad dal/ulutham paruppu
1 tsp of chopped ginger
2 finely chopped green chillies
a pinch of turmeric
a pinch of hing/perungayam
mustard seeds
Heat the oil in a pan, combine all the ingredients: mustard, urad dal, ginger, green chillies, hing, turmeric (in that order so the turmeric doesn't burn). Add fried peanuts (optional).
Mix in with the cooked rice, add salt to taste and squeeze the juice of half a lemon, garnish with chopped coriander.

Peanut Chutney:
1/3 cup of peanuts - roasted dry with their skins on. Substitute with 1/3 cup of salted roasted canned peanuts

2 red chillies - dry roasted with the peanuts
1 little bit of tamarind (about a dime sized flat drop)
Salt
Roast all the ingredients except the tamarind, and grind with salt and 1/4 cup of water!

Ricotta Ravioli

For the pasta dough:

2 cups of AP flour (substitute with part whole wheat and multigrain if you feel like it)
3 medium eggs
2 table spoons of olive oil
Salt

Make a mound from the dough on the counter top, and make a well in the center - crack the three eggs, add the olive oil and salt and knead the dough (if you're doing this by hand, it takes about ten minutes to knead 2 cups) - the dough has to be completely smooth. Wrap it up in SaranWrap and put it in the fridge for about half an hour till the gluten rearranges, and the dough becomes nice and elastic.

For the filling:
1 cup of ricotta cheese
Chopped basil
Chopped thyme
Freshly cracked pepper
Salt
(Add chopped blanched spinach if you feel like it)
Combine all of these ingredients and set aside till you're ready for them.

Divide the pasta dough into four parts - two parts will make 12 medium sized raviolis.

Take each part and roll it out on a floured surface. While rolling, make sure it's really thin (this takes some effort - I started sweating doing this!) - the picture should give you a rough idea of how thin it should be rolled out .  Divide the quarter into 12 squares approximately of similar size and shape. These squares are elastic, so you might have to re-roll them out when you get to them, if they sit out too long.

Place 1/4 tablespoon or an appropriate amount of ricotta on one sheet, place another square over it and seat it shut with a fork. 

(It really is that easy!!)

Get a pot of water to boil, salt it - add 1 tsp of olive oil to pot, drop the raviolis one by one into the pot. Initially they will sink, and then they start floating once they're cooked. Strain them out and add them to your sauce of preference.

                                                    

brocolli in alfredo sauce

I'm sure you're wondering why I am posting such a "normal" recipe.. well.. I dunno how you make "white sauce" but i have always made it the way my mom makes it.. heat some butter, roast the flour, pour in milk, whisk and add cheese. Always made it that way until now. This recipe has no butter, needs no cheese and still tastes like a really rich meal.

these proportions make enough for 2-3 people

you'll need:

pasta of your choice, I used 100% whole wheat perciatelli.. depending on the kind of pasta you are using, you need enough to give about 2 cups of pasta when boiled
1.5 cups of fat free milk
1 tablespoon white flour
1 cup brocolli florets
1/2 cup grape tomoatoes sliced in half
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese for garnishing

p.s. I love garlic in my alfredo sauce, I really do. But with garlic comes either oil or butter and I didnt wanna use those. You could roast some garlic and add it to this recipe. But it tastes pretty good even without. I thought about using garlic salt but I didnt have any. Thats another idea.

1. Put the pasta to boil as you typically would. add some salt and a quick spray of olive oil to the boiling pasta.
2. heat the pan that you intend to use for the white sauce. Heat it on medium so that it is hot but not smoking.
3. whisk the milk, flour, salt and pepper together. add to the pan when the pan is medium hot.
4. stir the sauce as it begins to thicken
5. check the pasta. when it is just short of being done, add the brocolli to the boiling pasta. boil them for 3 minutes and drain. do not run under cold water or wash the pasta and brocolli.
6. add the pasta and brocolli to the sauce and mix. add salt and pepper if needed.
7. take out the pasta mixture in a serving dish. top with sliced grape tomatoes and parmesan cheese.

The warm pasta with the cold tomatoes and the saltyness of the parmesan go really well. From start to finish this meal took me ~15 minutes to make. I am trying to not eat bread or butter so I didnt do this but this pasta would go really well with some toasted buttered artisan bread sprinkled with parsley and garlic salt.

Summer Salad #2

Washed arugula
1 large shaved carrot (I peel the carrot, then I use the peeler to make thin shaves of the carrot)
1/4 Cucumber - sliced and quartered rounds
1 tomato - halved and diced into six pieces
1 tablespoon Walnuts
1/2 cup of sprouts if you like them

For the dressing:
1/2 tbs of extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp of Maggi tomato Ketchup (hot and spicy or one of those mixes)
1/4 tsp of honey
4 leaves of fresh mint just loosely cut up or smashed (skip if you don't feel like it)
Generous seasoning with cracked pepper
Salt to taste

Toss the salad with the dressing - this makes for a very bad side dressing - because there is very little dressing, it just barely even coats everything and you get a hint of the tang, spice and sweet.
Shave parmesan cheese on top if you feel up to it

Falafel whachamacallit

To make the "falafel":

1 cup falafel batter (follow the recipe here or you could also use boxed falafel mix)
2 cups boiled mashed veggetables (I used beans, carrots, broccoli and corn)
Red chilli powder to taste
salt to taste

Note: These proportions make A LOT of falafels (~12-15). You could alter it if you dont want to make as many or you could make the batter/falafels and freeze it. On reheating, they taste pretty much the same as freshly made ones.

1. mix all the above ingredients to form a dough to make the falafels. The dough should not be soft nor too hard. I retain the water from the boiled veggies for the dough. You could use that if you are using the boxed mix. Be careful to start with no water and then gradually add some if needed. Usually the batter and vegetables have enough moisture for the consistency you'll need.

2. After everything is evenly mixed, make golf ball sized balls of the dough. You could bake and broil these like meatballs if you plan to eat them in a pita sandwich. For a burger, you want to flatten them and either cook them in the oven or roast them in a pan like you would roast aloo tikkis. I havent tried baking them from scratch. I made one without a drop of oil and another one with olive oil spray and honestly, you cannot tell the difference when the falafel is inside your sandwich/burger. You may need to spray a little oil if you're cooking it in the oven.

Yogurt sauce (use this if you are making a pita sandwich. I didnt love the yogurt with bread but that could be my personal preference)

1 cup greek yogurt
1 cup finely chopped or grated cucumber (take out all the water before adding to the yogurt)
1 teaspoon dried mint leaves
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
salt and pepper to taste

mix all the ingredients and let the yogurt sit in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.

this sauce/dip tastes really good with crackers, carrots and plain jeera rice or peas pulav.

Green chutney (use this if you are making a "burger" using wheat bread, multi-grain bread etc. You could also use it with pita.)

1 bunch cilantro- washed and finely chopped
1 bunch fresh mint leaves- washed and finely chopped
2-3 green chillies- washed and chopped (unless you dont do well with spicy food, you want the chutney to be a lil spicy)
1 tea spoon ginger-garlic paste
1 tea spoon cumin powder
1 tea spoon coriander powder
1 tea spoon sugar
1/4 tea spoon black salt (optional)
lemon juice to taste
salt to taste

blend everything together.

this chutney goes well with practically everything- tikkis, poha, roti, bread, you name it.

Assemble the sandwich or burger using the above ingridients, pita or bread and fresh veggies. Unlike a lot of sandwiches, I feel that the "salad" in the sandwich really adds to the taste. Fresh iceburg lettuce adds an element of crunch. Radishes/tomatoes/turnips/onions add another layer of texture and "tangyness".

I havent tried the chutney and yogurt sauce together yet, but come to think of it, they should taste pretty good too.

Summer Salad #1

1. Arugula
2. Iceberg lettuce
3. 1 navel orange
4. Extra virgin olive oil
5. Red pepper flakes
6. Balsamic vinegar
7. Dark soy
8. A sliver of ginger
9. Almonds
10. Black olives
11. Carrots

For the dressing:
1. Zest 1 navel orange into a bowl
2. Mix with EVOO and red pepper flakes
3. Add a dash of balsamic vinegar
4. If you skip the balsamic vinegar, add the chopped sliver of ginger with a dash of dark soy instead

For the salad itself:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees, and set the almonds on a sheet for 3-5 minutes till they're toasted brown
2. Mix arugula and iceberg lettuce
3. Section out the navel orange and cut each section into three - so you have little diced pieces of orange
4. Add shaved carrots to the mix : I shave them using the same peeler I use to peel them (so I get nice thin slices)
5. Drain and add the olives (the salt makes the oranges pop!)
6. Add the dressing, mix, and salt very very lightly.
7. Top with the toasted almonds.

It's such an easy summer salad with an amazing mild orangey flavour to it!

Mango Thokku

If you know me, you know I destroy mango thokku (pickle) the second I see it. I've taken to moderation these days, however, because consumption of mangoes at that rate turned up as heat boils on my face. Yes, nasty, I know :-( The perfect solution to this hit me as I contemplated my daily serving of fruit, which happened to be granny smith apples staring at my face. So here's the original recipe (passed down from my great grandmother-in-law) for the mango thokku, and rest-assured you can substitute the mango for granny smith apples and it still tastes amah-zing!

1. Shred/Grate two raw mangoes and set on a spread out paper towel
2. In a heavy bottomed kadai, heat 4 tbs of sesame oil (this really brings the flavor pop and also preserves the pickle)
3. Add mustard seeds till they crackle, and add 2 tsps of hing/asafoetida (this is the primary heavy flavor) and 1tsp of methi powder
4. Add 5-8 tsps or probably even more of red chilli powder and wait till you can just begin to smell it (this happens really quick, so watch out for it not to burn)
5. Add the shredded/grated mango/granny smith apples to this concoction, toss it till the oil coats everything well and leave open for 2 minutes till the raw smell of the chilli powder completely goes away, add salt.
6. Cover the pan and let the mango absorb the flavor for a quick two minutes
7. Turn your heat to low-medium, and cook off the mangoes till all the water evaporates and the oil finally separates.
8. After the oil separates, combine the ingredients with a quick toss, and let the oil separate again.
When you're sure all the water is gone, transfer it to a container, and leave open overnight so the condensation doesn't get in. When it's at room temp, close it and leave it out - don't refrigerate, it stays good on your counter for months!
I did a quick google search right now, and saw that I wasn't the only one with the apple thokku idea - they all make it different ways, but if ever you have the misfortune of buying granny smith apples for something other than baking - this is great way to get rid of them!

Malai Kofta

One of my absolute favorite north indian things to eat is malai kofta and plain naan. Ofcourse, typically thats also one of the most unhealthy north indian things to eat. So after some trial and error, I came up with a healthier version that tastes pretty darn good. I dont have the exact proportions here cos I usually just eyeball it. Feel free to use your own judgement.


For the kofta:

1/2 packet extra firm tofu (you could also use paneer but tofu is way more healthy & guilt-free)
1 big boiled and mashed potato (The ratio of the crumbled tofu and mashed potato is ~ 1:1)
about 3 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon jeera powder
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1 teaspoon dhaniya powder
salt to taste
olive or vegetable oil spray

1. Press or hang the tofu to take out as much water as possible (similar to what you do for homemade paneer). You dont want it to be too dry but you dont want any visible water either. After it is dry, crumble it.

2. Thoroughly mix the tofu and all the above ingredients, except the oil. I usually dont put the masalas in any specific quantity so feel free to increase or decrease according to your taste. But, make sure that the kofta doesnt taste bland cos then the kofta will taste weird because of the tofu. I would say that its ok if the masalas are slightly on the higher side. You can reduce the red chilli powder if you dont want it to be too spicy.

3. Make round balls approximately the size of a ping-pong ball. Flatten it so that it looks kind of like an aloo tikki.

4. Heat a non-stick pan that has a wide flat bottom and isnt too deep. You could also use a non-stick tava. Make sure the pan isn't crazy hot, 4-5 minutes on medium heat should make it hot enough.

5. After the pan is hot enough, spray the entire pan with the oil and quickly place the koftas on it. For a 12" pan, I would say you could put 5-6 koftas at a time. Make sure it isn't too crowded and there is room to turn the koftas. After you put the koftas on the pan, make sure the heat isnt too high. The best thing to do is to let the kofta get done slowly, 6-8 minutes, so that the pan facing side gets nice and crisp. When the edges begin to look like almost a darker version of golden brown, spray the whole pan with oil and turn the kofta around so that the other side is now on the pan. Make sure that you let the first side get done properly before you turn it. You dont want to turn them around again and again. No harm if you do that but every time i turn it, im scared the kofta will break or crumble so I dont like to turn it too many times. Essentially, you pan roast the kofta the same way you would make the tikki for aloo tikki. You could spray/use more oil as you think is needed.

6. After the koftas are done, keep them aside on a paper-towel lined plate.


For the sauce:

1 big onion
2-3 green chillies or jalapenos (according to taste)
3-4 bay leaves
2 roma tomatoes
1 big yellow pepper (you could also use red peppers but im not sure if green would work)
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon elaichi powder (you could smash some elaichis in a mortar pestle if you dont have the powder)
2-3 mashed raisins
half and half (the quantity can vary according to how "rich" you want the sauce to be)
salt to taste
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil

1. Gring the onion, jalapenos and a little water

2. Heat the oil in a non stick pan. Add the bay leaves and after 15-20 seconds add the onion paste.

3. Grind tomato and yellow bell peppers. Add to the pan with onions etc and roast for a few minutes.

4. Add the garam masala and elaichi powder.

5. Add the mashed raisins

6. Add some half and half and cook the mixture for a few minutes. You could add as little as 2 tablespoons or as much as 1/2 a cup.

7. Add salt to taste.

8. Add some water to get the right consistency for the sauce.

9. Add the koftas. If you are not eating this right away, don't add the koftas right away. You can make everything in advance, as much as 2 days in advance, and add the koftas to the sauce just before serving.

Spinach Kootu

This is Amma's recipe for Keerai with thenga-seeram. Literally translated, it means spinach with coconut and jeera/cumin. I guess we just weren't an innovative lot when it comes to naming dishes :-)
This makes enough for 2-3 people, and only takes 20-25 minutes to make.
1. Moong dal/Payatham paruppu - washed and rinsed (1 cup)
2.Chopped spinach - 2 bunches
3.Coconut -grated/shredded/dessicated (take your pick) - 1 cup
4. Dried red chillies - 4
5. Jeera (1 teaspoon)

1. In a pressure cooker, add 1/2 spoon of ghee and fry the moong dal lightly, add 2.5 cups of water and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles and set aside
2. Microwave the chopped spinach for about 5 minutes (so it still maintains the leafy green colour)
3. In a blender: grind coconut, red chillies and jeera till it forms a smooth paste
4. Heat oil in a saucepot, add hing, mustard and 1/2 a teaspoon of channa dal and cook till it crackles and is brown
5. Add the coconut paste and fry for about 1 minute (not too long because the coconut will start smelling rancid soon)
6. Add the spinach and dal, cover and cook for about 10 minutes till everything is well incorporated.
7. Add salt to taste.

Paneer Butter Masala a la me

I say a' la me only because I do a few eclectic things to the ingredients, but the taste and masala profile is mostly derived from my favourite paneer butter masala recipe found here. I do a few things differently though, so pay attention!

Serves 4 people, takes about 30 minutes to make (if you're super efficient)

Vegetables:
1. 3 medium sized red onions (do not use the sweet yellow ones)
2. 6 finely diced roma tomatoes
3. 1 medium sized green pepper - diced into medium squares
4. Paneer - cubed
Spices:
1. Kasuri Methi (this is the integral part of the dish, where most of the flavour comes from, so don't skip)
2. Coarsely chopped ginger and garlic ( I prefer the latter myself)
3. Dhania powder, Chilli powder, Turmeric (normal masala proportions)
4. 1/2 tbs of honey (trust me!)
5. Cream

1. Fry off your paneer in a tava with just a slight drizzle of oil.
2. Fill a bowl with warm water + salt + turmeric and add the fried paneer to this water
3. The oil will separate out from the paneer, and the salt will seep in, and you'll have nice soft paneer to use in the end
4. Boil a pot of water, and add coarsely diced onions to this water - boil till the onion becomes translucent
5. Fish out the onions and paste with ginger, garlic and green chillies (for the extra spice kick) - puree without adding any water.
6. Heat oil/ghee/butter in a pan, add jeera till it cracklets just lightly - add the diced green peppers and fry for 1 minute (don't worry about it cooking, it has plenty of time to cook while the onion and tomato fries, etc.)
7. Add the pureed onion mixture. Saute till it becomes brown.
8. Add the chopped tomatoes - saute till the oil separates and the tomatoes are fully cooked.
9. Add the masala and a generous portion of kasuri methi to taste - don't add a cup, it might get bitter. Add the honey at this point as well, and salt. Be generous with the chilly powder if you intend to add a lot of cream in the end.
10. Add the paneer cubes, and cream to your satisfactory fat limit (I've added anywhere between two tablespoons of cream to an entire half pint depending on who I'm cooking for) - simmer covered for 5-6 minutes.
11. Top of with freshly chopped coriander - this really gives it a pop.

Sometimes, I've added a table spoon of ground cashewnut paste to this gravy while it was still simmering, but I found that it makes it too rich for me to eat when I do that - so I've avoided it ever since, and it seems to taste just fine.

Chickpeas Arugula Sandwiches

The first time I ate this sandwich was at the Jolly Pumpkin Brewery, and I've been aiming to recreate the flavours ever since. This recipe is a very close approximation.

Italian white or multigrain loaf (I usually buy the pre-cut ones from Trader Joes, but if you had to cut it yourself, i'd make 1/2" thick slices - avoid the sourdough loaf, because somehow the flavour interferes with all of the other ingredients)
1 can of chickpeas, or overnight soaked and cooked chickpeas (till they're soft and ready to mash)
1 long stick of English cucumbers or 1 fat deseeded cucumber - chopped fine
1 cup Greek yoghurt or just plain thick yoghurt
2 or 3 pods of garlic
White buttom mushrooms sliced or sliced eggplant pieces (for the extra fiber and protein)
1 bunch of washed arugula
Juice of 1 lemon
Olive oil
(Makes about three-four very generous-sized sandwiches)

For the dressing:
1.In a cup: combine yoghurt, olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, 1 pod of mashed garlic and half the finely chopped cucumber - add parsley for the smell and taste of it if you like it, and set aside/refrigerate

For the chickpeas filling:
1.Mash the chickpeas and combine with half of the finley chopped cucumber, salt and pepper to taste. (Add finely chopped green or red peppers if you feel like you want the pop of the flavour)
2. Heat a tawa, oil it lightly and pat down the chickpeas/cucumber on to the tava, till it lightly roasts and leave on the tawa till you're ready to transfer to the sandwich.

For the vegetables:
1.Salt and pepper the sliced mushrooms and/or eggplant pieces, brush them with oil and broil till they're soft and cooked (usually takes about 4 minutes)

For the bread:
1. Brush the bread with olive oil and rub a garlic pod on it, broil till toasted (usually takes about 2 minutes on a high broil)

Assembling the sandwiches:
1. Put down a layer of eggplant/grilled mushrooms
2. Add a generous amount of dressing or leave the dressing to the side for dipping if you please
3. Transfer a layer of chickpeas from the tava to the bread
4. Add a generous amount of arugula and top with the second bread slice

Strawberry Romanoff

I literally drool whenever I think of the Strawberry Romanoff at La Madeleine. Every time I go, I bring some back home and for the next week I eat the sauce with everything- salad, blueberries, apples, pineapples, oranges, and ofcourse strawberries. I haven't tried making the sauce myself yet but I'll be doing that soon. Will post the recipe once I do that.

Tiramisu

This is Lizzy's tiramisu recipe - and it comes out amazingly (even if the egg whites don't beat up to stiff peaks) :P

500g mascarpone cheese (Whole Foods has a good selection of these)

1 package lady finger cookies 

4 eggs

4 spoonfuls of sugar

1 small glass (like a shot) of brandy or rum (Either vanilla rum, or just plain Hennesey brandy)

2 cups espresso (or good strong Italian coffee)

Dark or bittersweet chocolate bar ( I use the 50% dark Ritter)

Electric hand mixer 

Dish (I usually use a 13X9 dish but you can use smaller, I wouldn't go larger)

Shallow dish for dipping lady fingers in coffee

1. Start by separating the eggs - leave the separated whites in the fridge till you're ready to work with them.

2. Beat egg yolks with the sugar, then add the mascarpone to form a cream. Flavor with 2 spoons of the brandy (or rum). 

3. Then with the hand mixer, beat the egg whites so they come to stiff peaks. They sometimes just don't want to beat up to stiff peaks, which is annoying, in which case just let them foam and froth and fold it in. 

4. Fold the egg whites into the mascarpone cream to gently incorporate (you don't want to lose a lot of air)

5. Pour the coffee into a wide, deep dish, add a spoonful of sugar or two (whatever you think you'd like) and a splash of the rum (hee hee). Dip the lady fingers one at a time in the coffee to coat and then put a layer in your baking dish (I use a 13X9 glass dish but you can do whatever you want, it will be thicker if you use a smaller dish, etc). 

Don't let the lady fingers sit in the coffee for any significant amount of time, because they soften and disintegrate really quick. So just dip and transfer to your dish.

6. After the first layer, spread half the mascarpone cream over them and level. Then do another layer of coffee dipped lady fingers. Continue this way, then finish with a layer of cream. 

7. Sift cocoa on top. If you want to be indulgent, use a microplane or cheese grater and grate bittersweet chocolate on top. 

8. Freeze the tiramisu overnight, and then put it in the fridge to thaw the next morning you want to eat it. It lets the flavors seep through the layer so you can taste the coffee everywhere.

almond cookies

This recipe makes makes about 8 generous sized cookies

-> 1/2 stick salted light butter (normal or vegan butter would also work).. 1/2 stick = 4 tablespoons.. you could use unsalted butter and add a pinch of salt. Or if you are using salted almonds, dont add any salt.

-> 4-5 tablespoons sugar.. I used 4 and it was just right for me. But if you like things on the sweeter side, you may want to do 5.

-> 9 tablespoons 50/50 (whole wheat+white) flour.. this is what i used, you could use all white flour as well. I dont know how all whole wheat will taste. If you generally dont like "fat free substitutes" I would not recommend all whole wheat.

-> 5 tablespoons finely chopped almonds or whatever nuts you want to use. to chop/powder my almonds, i put them in a ziplock bag and ran a rolling pin over them a few times. worked like a charm. you cannot be gentle and delicate about it, you'll need to use some force will rolling them.

-> 4 tablespoons club soda (can be substituted with eggs,baking soda, baking powder but im not sure what their proportions will be.)

note: 1 cup = 16 tablespoons for dry ingridients

1. mix butter and sugar for 5 minutes. the more you whisk the butter, the "lighter" the cookie will be. make sure the butter is at room temperature before you add the sugar.

2. preheat the oven to 350F.

3. add flour and almonds to the sugar butter batter. things may be a little dry. thats ok. make sure everything is evenly mixed.

4. open a fresh can/bottle of club soda and pour 4 tablespoons into the batter. be quick to avoid losing any carbonation. tip: open the bottle in the sink, dont learn the hard way ;)

5. mix the batter for 1 minute. it should become smoother as the soda does its magic. dont mix it too much. you dont want all the fizz to go away.

6. scoop the batter out on a cookie tray or a sheet of aluminium foil. most recipes ask you to grease the tray with butter but i didnt since the cookie batter has butter and mine came off the aluminium foil without the slightest fuss. if you are using foil, take out the rack from the oven and assemble everything on the rack and then put it all into the oven. Essentially, treat the rack like a cookie tray with aluminium foil.

7. bake at 350 for 12-20 minutes, depending on the oven, how well done you want your cookie and how long it was pre-heated. i would say that wait atleast until the edges are beginning to look brown. some cookies are nice when a bit chewie, but almond cookies taste better when nice and crisp. Also, put the rack approximately in the middle of the oven if you're using an electric oven so that the cookie is done evenly.

8. toothpick the cookie to check if its done. if it comes out clean it is done even though it may seem a bit soft. it hardens considerably on cooling.

enjoy! :)

Note: I didnt add any almond essence cos i try and avoid artificial flavors. you could add 1/2 a teaspoon if you want the flavor to be more intense.