Category: Winter

by Veggie Sutra

Warm Meditteranean-style Kabocha Squash Salad

When I first moved to California, I was so taken in by all the beautiful stone fruit that ripen in summer.  Peaches, apricots, nectarines, plums!   Oh what a bounty of drupes!   I couldn’t stop making jams and tarts and pies, especially when friends and neighbors freely shared their crop.  But that feeling jaded after a couple of summers and I discovered the exotic beauty of fall fruit like figs, persimmons and pomegranates.

 

 

Aren’t pomegranates the sexiest of all fruit?  Our little tree pomegranate tree had a healthy crop this year.  So, being the nice neighbors that we are, we offered some to our next door neighbors.  No, they said.  “We really don’t care for pomegranate”!   What???!!   That completely floored me.  How could someone not like the sweet, tart taste of this juicy, sexy glam fruit that appears in ancient myths and legends?

I finally figured it out!  They either didn’t know how to, or didn’t want to take the effort to peel the pomegranate to extract the seeds.  I must admit I find it a bit cumbersome myself.

Once my uncle cut open a pomegranate and said like a magician, “Now watch”. He then proceeded to whack the pomegranate over a bowl with a flat ladle.  Pretty soon he had gently extracted all the seeds in to the bowl.  I tried that technique myself and ended up with a pink shirt, a pink counter top and pink walls, like a carnage had just occurred at the scene.

So yeah, now I do it manually, one layer at a time.   It is worth it!

 

 

I saved some of the fruit from our fall crop in the refrigerator and fortunately it has kept well.  I love using pomegranate in salads like this Quinoa Salad.  Today, I used it in a Mediterranean-style Kabocha Squash Salad.

I call it Mediterranean style because of the ingredients and spices I used that came together very well.  I would have loved to use more herbs but this late in to winter, most of the herbs in my garden were gone.  I only managed to find a few sprigs of mint.    Feel free to generously use mint, parsley and other herbs you have on hand.

Here is the recipe.

Mediterranean-Style Kabocha Squash Salad with Chick Peas and Pomegranate

[Printable Recipe]

Serves 4 as a meal

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup dried chickpeas or garbanzo beans (or use 1 15oz can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed)
  • 1 medium kabocha squash, washed
  • Seeds extracted from 1 medium pomegranate
  • 1/2 cup + 4 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 medium lemon, squeezed, yielding about 6 Tbsp juice
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced fine
  • 1/4 tsp cumin powder
  • 1/2 tsp sumac
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • Salt to taste
  • Roasted walnuts and any herbs like mint for garnish

Method:

Prepare the Chickpeas (Skip this step if you are using canned chickpeas):

  • Soak the chickpeas in lukewarm water overnight or up to 2 days, changing water once or twice.  The chickpeas will double in size, so leave enough room and add enough water for soaking
  • Drain the soaked chickpeas
  • Boil 4-5 cups of water in a large saucepan, add the soaked chickpeas, and bring to a boil again.  Then lower the heat all the way down, add a pinch of salt if you like, then cover with a lid and cook for 60-90 mins until the chickpeas are soft.
  • Pro-tip:  Cooking the soaked chickpeas in a pressure cooker makes the process a lot faster.  I also hear from friends that the Instant Pot is awesome for this.
  • Once the chickpeas are cooked, drain any excess water and spread it out on a kitchen towel so it can dry a bit

Roast the Kabocha Squash:

  • Preheat over to 425F
  • Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil
  • Wash and scrub the kabocha squash.  You do not need to peel it.
  • With a steady hand, using a good chef knife, cut it in to halves and remove the seeds. Then cut it in to wedges and finally in to bite-sized pieces.
  • In a bowl, toss the kabocha squash with 2 Tbsp of olive oil, salt and black pepper
  • Spread evenly on the baking sheet and bake for around 20 mins until the squash is soft, and remove from oven

Roast the chickpeas:

  • Reduce the oven heat to 350F
  • Line another baking sheet with aluminum foil
  • In a bowl, toss the chickpeas with 2 Tbsp of olive oil, cumin powder and sumac.  Also add salt if the chickpeas were not cooked with salt.
  • Spread evenly on the baking sheet and bake for 10 mins
  • If you need to roast the walnuts, do it at the same time.  Spread the walnuts on another baking sheet, and roast at 350F for 10 mins on the top rack of the oven taking care to not let it burn as walnuts burn easily.

Prepare the dressing:

  • Whisk together 1/2 cup olive oil, 6 Tbsp lemon juice, pinch salt and crushed garlic

Prepare the salad:

  • Toss the kabocha squash, chickpeas, pomegranate seeds with as much dressing as you want per taste.  Garnish with toasted walnuts and mint leaves and serve.

 

 

This is a very satisfying salad for a meal but can also be served as a side.  It is also a very pretty dish to serve at parties.

by Veggie Sutra

Punjabi-style Turnip curry

Happy new year 2018, all!  Hope this year brings peace to all beings on earth.  Maybe it is just me, but things seemed a bit frenetic in 2017.   Well, hope we put all that behind us and live more mindfully in 2018.

As always, V and I sat down and wrote our new year goals and habits.  As far as food and health goes, the goal is to minimize sugar and processed foods, which is not very different from previous years.  Our goal this year is to be more mindful, and eat simple, healthy, and fresh meals for dinner every night before 8 pm.   I will try to post the pictures of our dinner as often as I can on Instagram and Facebook.

 

 

This year V and I did not travel far over the holidays but stayed local and visited our state capital, Sacramento.  Sacramento is given a step-sisterly treatment compared to San Francisco, but in reality, it’s an awesome laid back, small city to spend a few fun days.  There are good restaurants, great local theaters and dessert places that stay open till midnight!   What more could one want?

We thoroughly enjoyed it, and even though we have been there several times before, there were new places that we found, such as Preservation&Co in Midtown which sells preserved and fermented foods made on location.  My only complaint is that they changed the slogan of Sacramento from “City of Trees” to “America’s Farm to Fork Capital” last year, which seems very marketing-oriented to me, as opposed to the prior apt descriptor of the city.

 

Iconic Tower Bridge in Sacramento on a cloudy, cold winter day

 

Here are our top tips for visiting Sacramento:

  • Go in spring.  Sacramento is also called the Camelia Capital for good reason.  February and March are great times to visit and walk around the Capitol building and midtown and enjoy the gorgeous camelias and magnolias.  Bonus, there are stunning Victorians scattered all around midtown.
  • Walk everywhere.  Walk around the Capitol and take in the trees.  Walk from the Capitol to Old Sacramento and visit the Railroad Museum there.  From there, walk across the iconic Tower bridge and back and go on to the Crocker Art Museum.  In the evening, walk up and down J street in midtown to check out restaurants and other happening places.
  • Catch a play in a local theater like B street theater, where I have enjoyed innumerable locally written plays.  V and I caught the last play in the old cozy location on B street.  In 2018 this Sacramento jewel is moving to a midtown location for more space.
  • Grab lunch and dinner in midtown.  This is the hip restaurant area and there are a lot of cuisines to choose from.  Maybe grab brunch at Magpie Cafe where the Dalai Lama himself is said to have polished off a few yummy cookies!  If you like to stay at Airbnbs and cook your own meals, then go grocery shopping at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op which carries all the seasonal produce from the farm regions around Sacramento.
  • Sacramento also has great coffee places to rest your feet in the midst of all the walking – Temple Coffee, Insight Coffee Roasters and of course, Chocolate Fish, which we absolutely love.  We first tasted Chocolate Fish a couple of years back at the very same Magpie Cafe (where the Dalai Lama enjoyed the cookies), but this time we went to the Chocolate Fish coffee shop in East Sacramento.  They will be opening one soon in midtown as well, I believe.

Enough about Sacramento.

Here in the Bay Area, V and I try to visit the local Sunnyvale Farmers Market on Saturdays to get our hands on fresh produce.  Right now, the market is full of root vegetables like radishes, turnips, beets and so on.   Did you know that turnips are also from the brassica family?

 

 

Recipe for Punjabi-style Turnip Curry

[Printable Recipe]

Inspired by several online youtube videos by Indian bloggers

Serves around 5 as a side dish with rotis or chapatis

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp canola oil (or other cooking oil)
  • 2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 green chilies, chopped fine (optional, skip if you don’t want heat)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped fine
  • 1 inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp red chili powder (reduce if you don’t like too much heat)
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • 1/2 can of tomatoes (I had some stewed tomatoes that I had frozen from our summer crop, but you can use store-bought can in the winter or 2 large fresh juicy tomatoes in the summer)
  • Around 3 medium-sized turnips, washed, peeled and cut in to bite-sized pieces
  • Around 4 medium-sized potatoes, washed, peeled and cut in to bite-sized pieces
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Heat the oil in a saucepan and when the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and reduce heat to low
  • When the cumin seeds start changing color, and becoming fragrant, add the minced garlic and green chilies
  • After a minute or two, add the onions and saute until the onion is cooked (5-10 mins). Increase the heat to medium if needed
  • Add the grated ginger, saute for a minute
  • Then add the spices – turmeric, red chili powder, and garam masala and saute for a few minutes
  • Finally add the tomatoes, stir and cook for around 5 minutes on medium to low heat until the tomatoes are well assimilated
  • Now add the chopped potatoes and turnips, salt to taste and some water if needed, close with a lid and cook on low heat until the potatoes and turnips are soft, checking from time to time
  • Serve hot with rotis, chapatis or naan

 

 

Here wishing every one of you good food, good cooking adventures, great travel and meals with friends and family in 2018!

by Veggie Sutra

Poached Pears in Red Wine with Spices

Every year during the holiday season I get in to the baking-and-giving mood. I bake cookies, cakes, fruit breads and desserts and I share it with neighbors and friends.  V also relaxes his sugar rules and digs in to the desserts and sweets with gusto.   The whole house smells of vanilla and spices and everything is perfectly festive.

 

 

V and I also cooked a bunch of stews and curries this weekend to store for later in the week.  When amma is visiting, we get freshly cooked food every single day, but when we are alone, we simply do not have the energy.  So we cook big batches and freeze/refrigerate in airtight containers to consume later.  I recently had an argument with my cousin about this.  She simply could not understand how I could consume something that is not fresh off the stove.  To which my answer is, I would rather do this than eat processed foods or take out from restaurants.  She does have a point though.  Freezing and refrigerating foods is considered taboo in many cultures even today.  Pickling is perhaps the only accepted way of preserving foods.

I expect some research student badly wanting a PhD will soon do a study on the effects of eating precooked and refrigerated food pretty soon!   In the meantime, we will continue following our known health rules like being mindful of the Dirty Dozen.  Today’s featured produce on our Dirty Dozen series is pears.  Apples and pears are #4 and #6 respectively on EWG’s Dirty Dozen list.  Terribly unfortunate as both of them are such great fruits to snack on.

When I turned on the oven today for baking my holiday goodies, I also wanted to make a simple dessert for dinner.  What is simpler than a dessert that incorporates the natural sweetness of fruit.   Like the chia seed pudding with blueberry compote dessert, this dessert with pears is also easy to make and can be made a day ahead.

 

 

Recipe for Poached Pears in Red Wine with Spices

[Printable Recipe]

Serves 5 – one each

Ingredients:

  • 5 short squat organic pears like comice pears (you could use any pear you want but pick ones with stem attached)
  • 1 cup of full-bodied red wine
  • 1/2 cup orange juice from 2 large oranges
  • 2 Tbsp sugar + 1 Tbsp
  • 2 sticks cinnamon, broken
  • Around 5 whole cloves
  • 1-2 cardamom pods (optional)
  • 2-3 thick slices of lemon
  • Optional: Ice cream for serving

Method:

  • Preheat oven to 350F
  • Peel the pears with stems intact. Then slice the bottom off a bit so it can stand up
  • In a shallow casserole just large enough to hold 5 pears, place the red wine, orange juice, and 2 Tbsps of sugar and stir a bit to dissolve
  • Place the pears in the dish.  Add the cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamom (if using) and lemon slices and cover with aluminum foil
  • Bake for around 45 mins.  If the liquid does not completely cover the pears, open the oven once or twice to turn the pears on their sides to that the liquid evenly seeps through.  I had to do this twice
  • Once the pears are tender, but not falling apart, switch off the oven and remove the pears on to a serving dish and refrigerate
  • Now strain the liquid in to a sauce pan and throw away the spices and lemon slices.  Place it on low heat on the stove, add a tablespoon of sugar and simmer until the liquid has reduced to less than half its volume and takes on a syrupy consistency
  • Refrigerate the syrup separately from the pears
  • While serving, place one pear on each plate.  Spoon some of the red wine syrup on top.  Serve with a side of ice cream optionally.

 

 

This dessert is perfect for the holidays.  First, it is very festive looking and perfect for a small holiday dinner get-together.  Secondly, the process of making it makes the whole house smell of spiced cider and mulled wine which puts everyone in a holiday mood.  And finally, it is a very light, and not overly sugary dessert.  Don’t we get enough sugar during the holiday season anyway?  Of course, if you want more sweetness, like we did today, you could serve it with vanilla ice cream.

 

by Veggie Sutra

Roasted Potato and Brussels Sprouts with Wilted Spinach

Lo and behold, winter is upon us here in Northern California.  And with it, the hectic holiday season.  It is probably not very PC of me to say this, but I am not a big fan of this time of the year just because it gets so crazy.  There is a lot of shopping madness and social calendars get too jam packed to be enjoyable.   Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy some aspects of it….  like lighting up the porch and walking around the neighborhood to gaze at the lovely Christmas lighting.   I love turning on the oven to bake cookies….  in fact, bake anything.  I love the smell of pies and mulled cider and poached pears wafting through the house and all the great food.  Indeed the holiday season is the time of entertaining and I am always on the lookout for easy-to-make crowd-pleasers to serve at dinner parties.

 

 

Potatoes are certainly up there when it comes to being crowd pleasers.   They are very versatile, and ubiquitous throughout the year, served cold as potato salads at summer picnics and served warm as mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving tables.    I may not have met anyone so far who doesn’t like potatoes.  Alas, as discussed before in our Dirty Dozen series, the humble spud is up there when it comes to pesticide residue and is currently at #12 on EWG’s Dirty Dozen list.

In the Dirty Dozen roundup post, I talked about several measures one can take to avoid pesticides in the food we eat everyday.   One of them is to grow the offending produce ourselves.   Surprisingly, potatoes are really easy to grow even in a pot!   I learnt this while volunteering at a local community farm and the farmer taught me that if you cover the top of the soil with hay, the potatoes just appear in the hay and do not even need to be washed.  I haven’t been successful in growing it that way, but I can vouch that nothing is more satisfying than to plunge one’s hand in to the mud and pull out an enormous potato!   So go ahead and give it a try!   If not, try to buy organic or at least wash the potato and peel before cooking it.

 

 

Today’s recipe features a couple of my favorite ingredients to roast – potatoes and brussels sprouts.  As with all vegetables, brussels sprouts lose their bitterness when roasted and take on a super smooth caramelized flavor, as in this other Caramelized Brussels Sprouts recipe.   This super-simple side dish is a great hit on holiday tables.

 

Recipe for Roasted Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts with Wilted Spinach

[Printable Recipe]

Serves 6 as a side dish

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups brussels sprouts, washed and halved or quartered in to bite-sized cubes
  • 2 cups organic baby potatoes (red and white) washed and cut in to bite-sized cubes
  • 4 tablespoons white truffle flavored olive oil
  • A couple of generous pinches of salt
  • A couple of generous pinches of pepper
  • A couple of generous shakes of dried garlic or garlic powder (you can use freshly minced garlic if you wish)
  • 1 cup spinach leaves, washed and chopped
  • A squeeze of lemon juice

Method:

  • Pre-heat oven to 425F
  • You will need 2 cookie sheets, one for the sprouts and one for the potatoes
  • In a large bowl, combine the brussels sprouts with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a generous pinch of salt, pepper and a dash of garlic.  Spread on a cookie sheet and place it on the top shelf of the oven
  • In the same bowl, combine the potatoes with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a generous pinch of salt, pepper and a dash of garlic.  Spread on a cookie sheet and place it on the bottom shelf of the oven
  • Set the cook time to 45 mins
  • After 20 mins, check the potatoes by piercing with a knife.  If it pierces easily, remove from the oven and move the brussels sprouts to the bottom shelf.  If not wait another 10 mins and do the same
  • Check if the brussels sprouts have charred slightly and caramelized after 45 mins
  • Remove the potatoes and brussels sprouts to a serving bowl.  Add the spinach while warm so the spinach wilts immediately
  • Adjust salt and pepper, squeeze some lemon juice to taste
  • Serve warm

 

 

The holiday season should be about friends and family and of course good food and not about stress.  Keep your cooking as simple and hands off as possible by serving dishes like this!

by Veggie Sutra

Kale Tacos

Life is about the small, little decisions we make at every minute, every day, isn’t it?  That Sunday, late in the day, when V and I decided to go hiking after finishing all our weekend errands, we did not realize that darkness would fall upon us so soon.  After all, it had been a sunny, beautiful weekend after a very stormy week. Accidents happen, but I am glad it wasn’t bad. It bothers me a bit that I cannot walk, run or hike and am looking forward to getting back to it soon.

 

 

On the positive side, I have time in the evenings now to organize my music, try new recipes, or just chill with my legs up on the couch!   I have also picked up a new passion in the kitchen.   Brassicas!    V got this informative book of the same name for our recipe book collection and it is a keeper.   Almost all the recipes are vegetarian (and mostly vegan) and most of them are simple and delicious.

Brassicas, commonly known as cruciferous vegetables, or more commonly known as vegetables related to cabbage, include cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, and some interesting ones I did not know were part of the family, like radish, watercress, and arugula.

Because I am so engrossed in the book, I will posting brassica recipes for the next few weeks, some adapted from the book and some original.   Today’s brassica is curly kale.  It is in season now in mid-winter and is as fresh and bright as can be.

 

 

Recipe for Kale Tacos with Sweet Potato

[Printable Recipe]

Adapted from Brassicas: Cooking the World’s Healthiest Vegetables: Kale, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts and More

Serves 3 people with around 3 tacos each

Ingredients:

  • 2 medium sweet potatoes
  • 2 medium red or white potatoes
  • 1 medium bunch kale
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp black or white pepper
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • Salt to taste
  • Store-bought taco shells

Method:

  • Wash and scrub the skin of the sweet potatoes and potatoes. Peel (optionally) and cube them
  • Wash the kale thoroughly. Then remove the center stem and shred the kale leaves roughly with a chef knife
  • Smash, peel and mince the garlic
  • Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the sweet potatoes and potatoes.  Saute until they are cooked on medium heat with a lid, stirring every now and then.  It should take about 10 mins
  • Add the garlic and stir
  • Stir in the kale a little at a time.  Sprinkle some water, close with a lid when all the kale has been added and cook on low heat for about 5 mins
  • Open the lid and add the cumin powder, pepper, turmeric and salt to taste and stir well
  • Warm the taco shells in the oven, fill with kale sweet potato filling and serve

A simple, filling, and delicious lunch.  V called it “classy”.  That must have been the store bought tacos!!   I added the turmeric because I need its anti-inflammatory powers after my injury.  I always end up adding turmeric when I am cooking vegetables, as do most Indian cooks.

 

 

How lucky that kale grows right here in Northern California.  This has been a very wet winter, as if the rain god suddenly realized she has been ignoring us all these many years and wanted to wipe the drought of 5 years in just one year!  Despite all the damage across the state, it is a good thing for our farming communities.  Here’s hoping for more years with rain, not quite this much!

by Veggie Sutra

Roasted Cauliflower Slabs on a Bed of Cauliflower Puree with Truffle Oil

Welcome to 2017!  Yeah, it did feel like most of us got sucker-punched in the stomach towards the end of last year and it has taken a bit of time to recover from all that.   Well, we must put that behind us and soldier on, right?

So, in other news, V and I took a long-awaited trip to Italy towards the end of last year.  Rome and Florence are huge open-air museums, aren’t they?   While it tickled me to bits that I was walking on the same cobblestone pathways in Florence that Michelangelo and Da Vinci once stomped, V got quite a kick out of grand old Rome, being the history buff that he is.

And of course, the food (and drink) had quite a big role to play in rectifying our sour mood from 2016.   How could it not?  This is Italy we are talking about!  Food and wine are everything.  And then there is coffee – which is above everything!

 

 

 

Now, let me just say with all humility that it is not easy to impress a palate accustomed to the eclectic, fresh cuisine of California.  Also, the Mediterranean climate in CA yields approximately the same type of produce as the Tuscany region in Italy.   But food in Italy did reveal some secrets.

  • Ingredients in dishes are typically very few, but as fresh and seasonal as can be. Basic ingredients like olive oil and black pepper are good quality and fragrant.  Artichokes were in season when we were in Florence and the little purple beauties were different from the variety from coastal California.
  • Truffles are ugly little things with amazing flavor. Also, they are hugely pricey but totally worth it.  In fact, I have never seen V lap up a plate a pasta like he gobbled the truffle pasta in Florence.  The white truffle used for the sauce and shavings came from San Miniato in Tuscany, although different kinds of truffles grow all over Italy.
  • V and I are not in to wine, but gosh, we died for the espressos and macchiatos. You pay less than a buck to get a shot at a “bar”, you gulp it down standing at the bar (perhaps with a cantuccini to dunk) and go on your merry way.  You do not dawdle and nurse that cup until the cows come home as we do here in the States.  (Yep! Bars serve shots of coffee in Italy and cafes serve food and wine!)
  • However, you do dawdle and take your time at a meal. In fact, the check never came to our tables in restaurants until we asked for it.  We found small restaurants off the main tourist streets to grab quick, light and cheap meals.
  • And on a sweet note, the gelato, like the coffee, is to die for. In fact, my motto during our visit was not to let a day go by without a shot of espresso and a scoop of gelato!
  • And finally, we did not have any problems traveling as vegetarians.  The restaurants were willing to customize anything on their menu to accommodate us!

 

 

Back to 2017.  The year is off to a good start, weather-wise in California, yielding its fair share of winter rains and snow in the Sierras.   It has been cold unlike the past few winters which were rather temperate.   The ideal weather to turn on the oven!  So, armed with the bottle of truffle oil that we got from Florence, I switched on the oven!

 

 

Roasted Cauliflower Slabs on a Bed of Cauliflower Puree with Truffle Oil

[Printable Recipe]

Ingredients:

  • 1 head medium to large cauliflower, thoroughly rinsed under hot running water
  • 2 medium white potatoes, washed and scrubbed
  • 1½ to 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1½ to 2 Tbsp Truffle oil
  • 4-5 cloves garlic
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

  • Preheat the oven to 375F
  • Pull the extra leaves at the base of the cauliflower, and clean up the end by slicing off a sliver, while leaving it whole. Cut the cauliflower in to slabs, including the stem, starting from the center.  You will probably get 3-4 slabs, depending on the size of the cauliflower before it starts falling apart.   Cut the rest of the cauliflower in to small florets
  • Toss the cauliflower florets with 1½ to 2 Tbsp olive oil and a tiny pinch of salt and black pepper
  • Layer it on one cookie sheet and put it in the oven
  • On another cookie sheet, place the cauliflower slabs. Brush both sides well with the truffle oil, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and put it in the oven.  Throw the garlic cloves as well, skin and all, on this sheet
  • Bake for 25 to 30 mins, turning over the slabs once in the middle
  • Bring ¼ cup water to a boil in a saucepan.
  • Cut the potatoes into small pieces, throw them in the boiling water and cook on low heat with a lid until the potatoes are done
  • Remove the roasted cauliflower florets from the oven. Remove the garlic cloves and peel.
  • In a blender, puree the potato, cauliflower and garlic with a little water if needed. Adjust salt and pepper to taste
  • Spoon some of the cauliflower puree on a plate. Dot with a few drops of truffle oil.  Place one of the cauliflower slabs on top and serve.

 

 

A simple and elegant dish inspired by the minimalist ingredient concept we encountered on our trip to Italy!   The idea behind keeping the recipe simple, especially devoid of too many aromatics, is to make sure that the dish is all about the wonderful fragrance of the truffle oil!

I am glad 2016 is behind us.   I went back and reviewed some of the eating rules I had jotted down at the beginning of last year.  Those still look great for this year!

by Veggie Sutra

A Super Nutritious Snack for Super Bowl – Spinach Kale Bites

Every year V settles down to watch Super Bowl, with me at his side cheering on enthusiastically….. for the ads and the half-time show!  It bothered V to no end that I did not follow the game itself.  This year though, I was prepared!   I knew the rules of the game, I knew the teams playing, I was even rooting for one of them (the one that won of course)!   V, I think, was suitably impressed.

 

 

On the food front, there is an interesting tradition we follow every year on Super Bowl day.   We always cook a vegetable rice dish (which could be Thai fried rice or Chinese fried rice or Indian biryani or pulao) and eat it with kettle-fried potato chips with salt & pepper, and buttermilk.  I am not sure how this tradition came about but we follow it quite religiously. This year, as Amma is visiting us, we made biryani rice with green beans, carrots, red and green bell pepper and peas, seasoned with cardamom, cinnamon and cloves.  Yummy as always, when watching Super Bowl!

For a healthy snack before the meal, I decided to make a egg-free version of the Spinach & Kale Bites from Trader Joes as amma does not eat eggs.  I was surprised how easy it is to make this yummy finger food.

To replace the egg, I used a trick that I had read in a vegan cookbook a while back.  I had to look up the recipe again online.  To replace 1 egg, mix 1 Tbsp of powdered flax seed with 2.5 Tbsp of water and set aside for 10 mins to thicken.  Use for baking as you would use an egg.  I have not tried making muffins or cookies with this technique but do intend to give it a try soon.
Recipe for Spinach & Kale Bites
Inspired by the Trader Joes frozen snack
[Printable Recipe]Ingredients:

  • 1 bunch curly kale, stemmed and chopped (came to around 10 oz chopped)
  • 10 oz fresh spinach
  • 2 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed up
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese or Gruyere cheese
  • 1 1/2 cups Panko bread crumbs
  • 3 Tbsp powdered flax seed
  • Salt & pepper to taste

 

Method:

  • Preheat oven to 375C
  • Process the chopped kale in a food processor and add to a large bowl
  • Steam the spinach for 5 mins with about a tablespoon of water until wilted.  Cool.  Then process in a food processor and add to the bowl with the kale
  • Mix in the mashed potato, grated cheese and 1 cup of bread crumbs.  (Save the remaining bread crumbs to coat)
  • Mix the powdered flax seed with about 8 Tbsp of water.  Set aside for 10 mins to thicken.  Then add to the bowl.
  • Add salt and pepper to taste and mix all the ingredients in the bowl well.
  • Line 2 cookie sheets with foil or wax paper
  • Form small ping pong ball-sized balls with the mixture and roll well in the remaining panko bread crumbs to coat.  Flatten in to hockey puck shapes and place on the cookie sheet
  • Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown on both sides turning them over once in the middle
This recipe makes around 20 balls, enough for a party of around 6 people.  Serve warm and crisp with a hot sauce or ketchup.

The experiment to make an egg-free version of this super-nutritious snack for super bowl was quite successful.  Again, V, I think, was suitably impressed!Update: I made this recipe again the following weekend to take with us for a potluck.  I made some variations such as adding potatoes and omitting the onions.  I also flattened the balls out in to hockey pucks and turned them over once in the middle of baking.  It tasted much better than the first time!  So I have updated the recipe accordingly and included one picture I shot indoors in the dark.

by Veggie Sutra

Salad with winter vegetables and a spicy dressing

Winter’s finally here and I haven’t been talking much about the rains here in Northern California because I don’t want to jinx it.   Shhhh.. no more talk about that.   But,  I do want to mention again that I am really thankful that our local farmers market is open year-round, even when it is raining!   I went late this weekend, around closing time, and was disappointed that I had to scrounge for veggies, but I did not do so badly.   See my basket filled with cabbage, fennel, romanesco broccoli, daikon radish and a few others like onion.

My farmers market basket (January 2016)
I was looking through the Veggie Sutra archives and last year, around this time, I had posted a recipe for Warm Kale Salad with Pear inspired by Alice Waters’ book.  Maybe it is something about those beautiful cruciferous vegetables that makes me want to put together salads even in winter time!   
A Winter Salad with Harissa Dressing
While a light olive oil + lemon juice dressing is perfect for a summer salad, winter time calls for something more substantial and spicy.  So I flipped through a few of my books to find a suitable dressing.  The inspiration, finally, came from Mildreds, which has recipes from the eponymous restaurant in London.   I modified it quite a bit, but was intrigued about adding harissa in a salad dressing.  
A Winter Salad with Harissa Dressing
Recipe for a Winter Salad with Harissa Dressing
Ingredients:
Salad:

  • 1/2 cup of fennel, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup of radish, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup of greens like spinach, arugula, etc.
  • 1 cup of shredded cabbage, carrot, etc.
  • 1 avocado, sliced in to wedges
Dressing:
  • 2 tsp harissa (add more after tasting if desired)
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/4th cup olive oil
  • 1 pinch white pepper
  • 3 tsp brown sugar
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • 1/2 inch piece ginger, grated
Garnish:
  • 2 Tbsp hemp seeds
  • 2 Tbsp shelled and toasted pistachio nuts
Method:
  • Whisk or shake together all the dressing ingredients until it is blended well.  Add more harissa if desired after tasting
  • Mix all the salad vegetables except avocado in a salad bowl
  • Add the dressing and toss to combine well
  • Serve with avocado wedges on top, sprinkled with hemp seeds and pistachio nuts
A Winter Salad with Harissa Dressing
I love fennel and it’s available in our farmer’s market only around this time of the year.  The first time we tasted fennel was in a very fancy restaurant in Aswan in Egypt.  They served the whole bulb cooked with a curry sauce and it was absolutely divine.  I use up every part of the fennel, basking in the lovely aroma as I am cooking.  Last week, I made a fragrant pesto with the dill-like leaves and it was wonderful.   Good timing too, since the basil in my garden has dried up completely.  

Oh, and I know avocados are not a winter produce, but I could not resist getting some when I went in to Trader Joes especially because the produce guy was just stacking it up in a great big pyramid near the entrance as I was walking in!

The salad came together quite nicely for a great, quick lunch on a busy day.  I usually pack the salad in the lunch box minus the dressing and nuts.  I pack the dressing separately in a bottle so that it can be poured on and tossed right before eating.  This is a lunch that you don’t have to place in the refrigerator at work.  If you leave it at your desk, it will be the right temperature around lunch time!
Any one else crave salads in winter?
by Veggie Sutra

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Stone Ground Mustard and Lemon Wedges

The changing season and freezing nights has brought new produce to our markets here in Northern California.  I am really not sure if brussels sprouts are supposed to be in season now, but we definitely have been finding great brussels sprouts in our markets.   Today’s write up is about those tiny cabbage-like veggies which pack a huge nutritional punch!
V was not at all fond of brussels when I met him but over the years I have converted him to a lover with a variety of preparations.  The simplest dish I make is a quick South Indian stir fry with mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red chilies and salt.   Amma makes a killer fried rice that V loves as well.  But, in the winter, when I am looking for any excuse to turn on the oven, I typically end up roasting the brussels sprouts in the oven.
Brussels sprouts like cauliflower, cabbage, kale and the like belongs to the brassica family of vegetables that are known for their high nutritional value.   I have heard that some men (yes, only men curiously) find brussels to be slightly bitter.    Maybe that is why V did not like them!  But these days he gobbles up whole bowl-fulls of roasted brussels.
Recipe for Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Stone Ground Mustard and Lemon Wedges
[Printable Recipe]

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb of brussels sprouts, washed, outer leaves removed and sliced in to halves
  • 4 Tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp stone ground mustard
  • A pinch salt to taste
  • 2 medium lemons, sliced in to wedges
Method:
  • Pre-heat oven to 400F
  • In a large bowl toss the brussels sprouts with oil, mustard, and salt
  • Layer in a baking pan and distribute the lemon wedges on top
  • Bake for 45 mins to an hour until the sprouts have charred slightly and caramelized – the caramelizing helps remove the bitter taste
  • Serve warm
 The roasted lemon rind adds a slightly bitter contrasting flavor to the sweetness of the caramelized brussels sprouts and the spiciness of the mustard.   All in all, this recipe will prove to be a crowd pleaser and is a great side dish to serve for holiday dinners!