by Veggie Sutra

Mixed Fruit Chutney

Anthony Bourdain’s “Kitchen Confidential” was my very first book written by a chef that did not have recipes.  It was about restaurants and kitchens and all kinds of random culinary advice.  I have a soft spot for the book even though Bourdain comes across as a know-it-all.  He is also someone who harbored a deep disdain for vegetarian food and was very vocal about it, that is, until he traveled to Punjab in India.  Despite all that, I read his book when I did not even own a chef knife.  He taught me that the Japanese make awesome chef knives, although not as well known as the German knives.  I still have my Japanese-made Global chef knife and love it.

I was deeply saddened when I heard the news about his passing away.  I had to make one of his recipes as a tribute.  Needless to say, I struggled to find a vegetarian recipe (!) and finally settled on a mixed fruit chutney from “Appetites”.  This recipe, like its creator is versatile enough to go with any cuisine.

 

 

What I love about this fruit relish is that it has no added sugar.  It is naturally sweetened with dried fruits.  Unlike other holiday fruit chutneys which are heavily spiced, this is pretty light and goes with everything.  You could have it as a relish on the side with your main course or use it as a filling in sandwiches.  It took a very short time to make.  I am seriously considering making a huge batch during the holidays to give friends and family.

 

 

Recipe for Mixed Fruit Chutney (Adapted from Anthony Bourdain’s Appetites)

Makes 2 cups

[Printable Recipe]

Ingredients:

  • 6 dried figs, chopped in to small pieces
  • 8 dried apricots, chopped in to small pieces
  • 5 dates, deseeded and chopped in to small pieces
  • 2 tart apples, peeled, cored and grated
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp lemon zest
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder (skip if you don’t want it spicy)
  • 1/2 tsp paprika

Method:

  • Soak the chopped dried fruits for about an hour in hot water.  Then drain
  • Combine with all the other ingredients in a saucepan and cook on medium to low heat until it reaches a thick consistency, about 15 mins.  (Since there is no added sugar, you will not get a jam like consistency, but the mixture will come together)
  • Scoop in to clean bottles and refrigerate
  • Use as a relish or a topping

 

A man who had such a passion for travel and such curiosity about cultures around the world is no longer with us.  RIP Anthony Bourdain!

 

by Veggie Sutra

Summer recipe roundup – Tomatoes, Peppers and Herbs

Summer’s here and a heat wave is waiting on the wings here in Northern California!   Here’s a round up of recipes with our favorite summer ingredients – Juicy tomatoes, spicy bell peppers and fragrant herbs!

For the tomatoes & peppers, make sure they are organic (or grow them yourself) as both notoriously appear on the Dirty Dozen list every single year.  I must confess that I don’t have much luck growing peppers myself, but tomatoes grow well.   Mint and basil are pretty easy to grow as well, without even trying a whole lot, but again cilantro is another story!   It either bolts or stays unproductive.  In any case, it is easy to find huge bunches of herbs in the market for less than a dollar!  That’s what I love about this time of year!

Here are bunch of unique accompaniments – spreads, chutneys and salsa and a couple of thirst quenching beverages:

1. Spicy Fermented Tomato Salsa – You can use this salsa in a variety of ways – as a dip or a topping

2. Very Spicy Chili Relish – Use sparingly as a side, as this is really, really hot!   Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

3. Cilantro Hummus – A great way to get all the benefits of herbs, use as a spread for your sandwiches

4. Basil Pesto with Habanero Peppers – Skip the habanero for a milder version, but you cannot go wrong with pesto.

5. Mint Chutney  – This chutney bursts with the fresh taste of summer

6.  A cleansing juice with peppers and tomatoes – If you are like me, you get overenthusiastic in the markets and buy too much of that lovely summer produce. And if you are like me, you hate throwing food away.  So here’s the perfect way to use your produce in a cleansing juice. Throw in herbs as well or any other veggies you may have on hand.

7. Soda with Ginger Mint Shrub  – You can use fresh mint in pretty much any drink and it would brighten it up, but this shrub is special as it is fermented for added benefits.

by Veggie Sutra

South Indian Eggplant Chutney / Dip

I don’t understand eggplant haters and there seem to be a lot of them around!  What gives?  Also known as brinjal or aubergine, these purple beauties are one of the most versatile produce around.  Of course, eggplants are not just purple and round, they can be light green or white or sometimes even striated.  Also, they can be long and slim, or short and round, or big, fat globes.

 

 

And what’s more, there is a unique recipe for each eggplant variety.  Veggie Sutra has featured a number of eggplant recipes and when I look back, they are all from very different cuisines:

1. Stuffed Eggplant with Potatoes, Red Bell Pepper and Greens

Small baby eggplants are great for stuffing.  The recipe I had published earlier was from Mildreds, a very popular vegetarian restaurant in London which had a modern take on stuffed eggplant.   Traditionally in Indian cuisine, eggplant is stuffed with a mix of spices (and sometimes peanuts, coconut or tamarind) and cooked in oil.  Middle-eastern cuisines seem to have similar recipes for stuffed eggplant as well.

2. Chinese-style Spicy Eggplant Basil Stir-fry

The long thin-skinned Japanese eggplants are ideal for Asian stir-fries.   In the recipe above, I provide a nifty way to make sure the eggplant does not soak up too much oil.  Look it up, it’s a lifesaver technique!

3. Baba Ghanoush – Middle Eastern Eggplant Dip

This uses the large fat purple eggplants.  The roasting lends a smoky flavor to the eggplant which makes this one of my favorite dips!

In addition, there is eggplant lasagna and ratatouille from Italy, eggplant rice and eggplant curry from South India, sabich from the Middle East, and eggplant fritters from pretty much everywhere!   Hope to cover a few of these in Veggie Sutra eventually.

Today’s recipe from South India uses roasted eggplant a la Baba Ghanoush.  In fact, I used the same method as I used in the Baba Ghanoush recipe for roasting the eggplant in the oven.   Roasting directly over a flame or a grill lends an additional smokiness to the taste.

 

 

Recipe for South Indian Eggplant Chutney/Dip

[Printable Recipe]

Serves around 5 as a side dish

Usually served with white rice topped with a bit of ghee or raw sesame oil, with a side of crisps or pappadum

Ingredients:

  • 2 large round eggplants of medium size (around 3 lbs), washed and dried
  • 1 Tbsp Vegetable oil, plus some more to rub on the eggplant
  • 2 Tbsp split black lentils (known as split urad daal, can be found in ethnic Indian grocery stores)
  • 4-5 dried red chilies
  • 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
  • 2 tsp tamarind paste mixed with 1/4 cup hot water (or made from 2 small marble-sized pieces of tamarind soaked in 1/4 cup hot water and squeezed)
  • Pinch turmeric
  • Optional: 1/4 tsp asafoetida (known as hing, can be found in ethnic Indian grocery stores)
  • salt to taste

 

 

Method:

  • Roast the eggplant:
    • Pierce the washed and dried eggplant a few times with a fork (some cooks say this step can be skipped, but I am afraid the eggplant will explode)
    • Rub lightly with vegetable oil and place on an baking sheet covered with aluminum foil under a broiler.
    • Broil on high for around 45 mins or so, turning the eggplant around every 10-15 mins or so.  You know it is done when the skin shrivels and caves in.
    • Cover lightly and let sit until cooled
  • While the eggplant is cooling, heat the vegetable oil in a pan.  When the oil is hot, reduce the flame and add the mustard seeds.  When the mustard seeds pop, remove into a small cup, leaving the oil behind
  • Add the split black lentils and red chilies in to the same pan with the oil and saute until the lentils turn golden brown.  Switch off the heat and let cool.  When cool, grind the black lentils and red chilies in to a coarse powder and set aside
  • Uncover the cooled eggplant, place on a plate to catch the liquids and peel the skin. If there is flesh sticking to the skin, gently scrape it off on to the plate.   Coarsely mash the eggplant pulp with a spoon or fork.
  • Heat the tamarind water with a pinch of turmeric and asafoetida (if using) in the same pan until it boils well and reduces to half the amount and the smell of raw tamarind is gone.   Switch off the heat
  • Add the powdered lentils and red chilies, mashed eggplant, mustard seeds and salt to taste and mix well
  • Serve at room temperature with white rice

 

V and I have had a busy spring so far with two weddings in a row these past two weekends and other travel.  I hope to get more regular with posting.  Also am excited about the garden – waiting for the tomatoes, green beans, eggplant and bell pepper to start producing!  V wants me to do a salad series for the summer, and I am seriously considering it!

 

 

by Veggie Sutra

Potatoes with Greens Curry

Today is a backyard-to-table kind of day, that is, I harvested whatever I could from the garden and put it together as a simple dish.  With both of us traveling, we haven’t had a chance to visit the Farmer’s Market  of late.  I am sure with the recent high temps, summer produce has started to appear and I can’t wait to go next week.

 

 

Personally, I am not a fan of hot weather, but I hope my peppers are happy and do well.  I usually do not have much luck with growing peppers  in containers as I lack enough space to put them in the ground.   Yet, I desperately try every year, because peppers notoriously appear on the Dirty Dozen list almost every single year.

 

 

Today when I went out in to the backyard I was able to dig up quite a few potatoes that were hiding just below the surface and I also harvested a bunch of greens.  As a bonus, potatoes and spinach also appear on the Dirty Dozen list consistently.  Which means, growing them in the backyard sans any pesticides makes a whole lot of sense!

I have talked about the greens that I harvested in detail in an earlier post which contained a recipe for Leafy Greens with Lentils.  The greens are called sessile joyweed.  Having survived this past winter in a pot outdoors, beautiful new shoots with bright green leaves have appeared at the onset of warm weather.  Again, similar to the recipe for Leafy Greens with Lentils, spinach or chard can be substituted for joyweed in the below recipe as well.

Recipe for Potatoes with Greens Curry

[Printable Recipe]

Serves 3-4 as a side dish

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1/2 tsp carom seeds / ajwain (you can find this in an ethnic Indian grocery store.  If you don’t have carom seeds, feel free to use cumin seeds).
  • 5-6 medium potatoes, washed well and cut in to bite-sized pieces
  • 3 cups leafy greens, thoroughly washed, drained and chopped  (I used sessile joyweed but spinach or chard or amaranth leaves would work wonderfully as well)
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/4 to 1/2 tsp red chili powder (depending on whether you want it spicy or not)
  • 1/4 tsp coriander powder
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Heat oil in a pan.  When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds.  When the mustard seeds start to sputter, lower the heat and add the carom or cumin seeds.
  • Add the potatoes, turmeric and salt to taste.  Pan fry on low to medium heat until golden brown and cooked (pierce with a knife to check)
  • Add the washed leafy greens on top of the potatoes, close with a lid, lower the heat and let it cook.  The moisture from washing the greens should be sufficient and there is no need to add water.

 

 

  • After around 10 mins, check if the greens are cooked otherwise let it cook for 5-10 mins more
  • When the greens have wilted and cooked down, add the chili powder and coriander powder, and more salt if needed for taste and mix
  • Serve as a side dish with white rice or rotis

 

A simple homemade meal with produce from the backyard on a lazy Sunday morning was just what we needed after all the travel and erratic eating.

 

by Veggie Sutra

Chinese-style Mushroom Tofu Stir Fry

A rare occurrence happening so quickly in succession!  More Chinese cooking by V this weekend after the excellent Broccoli Tofu Stir Fry he made couple of weeks back.  And this time I made sure I set up my camera tripod properly and took my time to get properly focused photos.  It helped that the winds were not as bad this time.   Judge for yourselves, here you go:

 

 

The pictures turned out well, but the dish turned out even better!   V just nails Chinese cooking, and as I have mentioned before it is because he does not overcook the vegetables.   Also our wok makes Chinese cooking a breeze (you cannot not use a wok with acidic ingredients like vinegar and tomatoes, though)!

However, our favorite Chinese food is something that we don’t have to slave over.  Veggie Garden in the South Bay is our go-to Chinese Vegetarian place from where we regularly do takeaway.  V always gets the Kung Pao Tofu and I always get the broccoli in garlic sauce, with some brown rice on the side.  The owner knows our order so well now, that she always throws in the extra peanuts for V, even before he asks for it.  She knows that V likes it extra spicy and that I like it very basic. And of course we share with each other.  If that isn’t comfort food, what is?  Everyone needs a go-to takeaway place!

 

 

V says the trifecta of Chinese cooking is the three Gs – green onions, garlic, and ginger.  I do not fully agree with that, because sometimes you just need one of these 3 ingredients to shine. But when he used the trifecta in today’s dish, it certainly was delectable.

Recipe for Mushroom Tofu Stir Fry

Inspired by a recipe in Bon Appetit

Serves 4 as a main dish with rice

[Printable Recipe]

Ingredients:

  • 1 tub (~14 oz) extra firm organic tofu
  • About 1 lb mushrooms (button, shiitake, woodear, oyster), washed and chopped in to bite sized pieces
  • 6 stalks of green onions (scallions), washed, root trimmed and discarded, then white and green parts separately cut in to 1 inch pieces
  • 1 inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
  • 6 cloves ginger, peeled and minced
  • Vegetable oil for pan frying
  • 4 Tbsp corn starch
  • For the sauce:
    • 1 Tbsp soy sauce
    • 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
    • 3 Tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
    • 1 Tbsp sesame oil
  • Salt and crushed black pepper to taste

Method:

  • Squeeze extra water out of the tofu:  Place the tofu on a plate.  Place another plate on top and weigh it down with something heavy for 30 mins to an hour until the water is squeezed out.
  • While the tofu is being pressed, make the sauce: Whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce and keep aside
  • Remove the tofu that has been squeezed of water and cut it in to bite-sized cubes.  Dredge the cubed tofu in about 4 Tbsp of corn starch and a pinch of salt.
  • Heat a pan and add some vegetable oil.   Pan fry the tofu until browned on all sides.  Remove and set aside on a plate
  • Heat some more oil in the pan and add the white part of the green onions (scallions) and garlic and stir until fragrant on medium heat
  • Add the chopped mushrooms and ginger and stir until the mushrooms are cooked, about 10-15 mins on medium heat
  • Add the sauce, stir and then add green part of the green onions and switch off the heat
  • Remove in to a serving platter and serve with white rice

With the chewy mushrooms and crispy tofu and the freshness of the green onions, this dish was certainly a hit!

by Veggie Sutra

Chinese-style Broccoli Tofu Stir Fry with Sesame Seeds

Every once in a while, V enters the kitchen to make his sought-after (by me!) Chinese stir fry.  He does such a good job of it, that I generally do not attempt to make this dish.   Today was no exception, he made an amazing stir fry with crispy tofu and broccoli.

But I messed up the photos!  It has been a very warm and sunny winter with nary a cloud or a drop of rain and so I have not had any issues taking photos in the backyard.  However today turned out to be a cold and windy day, my favorite chopsticks and napkin kept flying off and I lost patience and took really out-of-focus pictures.  I feel very bad about that.  One of the pics even has the chopsticks mixed up which I guess is okay and maybe a fun thing to do once in a while!

Speaking of chopsticks, V and I love collecting different kinds of chopsticks from China, Korea, Japan and other places.  The Korean ones are the most sustainable as they are stainless steel, and come paired with a long spoon.  However V is  not a big fan of using the flattish stainless steel chopsticks, while I actually like it.  I also like the Japanese ones, pictured here, as they are lacquered and have very pretty designs.

 

 

Recipe for Chinese-style Broccoli Tofu Stir Fry with Sesame Seeds

[Printable Recipe]

Serves 4 as a main dish with white rice

Ingredients:

  • 1 tub (~14oz) extra-firm organic tofu
  • 1/2 cup raw cashews
  • 4 Tbsp sesame seeds
  • 1 small onion, cut length-wise
  • 4 Tbsp corn starch
  • 1 lb broccoli florets cut in to bite-sized pieces
  • For the sauce:
    • 1/4th cup organic tamari or soy sauce
    • 4 Tbsp water
    • 4 Tbsp rice vinegar
    • 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
    • 2 Tbsp brown sugar
    • 2 Tbsp grated ginger
    • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced fine
    • 2 Tbsp corn starch
  • Vegetable oil for pan frying
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Squeeze extra water out of the tofu:  Place the tofu on a plate.  Place another plate on top and weigh it down with something heavy for 30 mins to an hour until the water is squeezed out.
  • While the tofu is being pressed, make the sauce: Whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce and keep aside
  • Heat a wok or pan and dry toast the sesame seeds until golden brown on medium to low heat, taking care not to burn it.   Remove and set aside
  • Coat the pan with a little oil and roast the cashews until golden.  Remove and set aside
  • Remove the tofu that has been squeezed of water and cut it in to bite-sized cubes.  Dredge the cubed tofu in about 4 Tbsp of corn starch and a pinch of salt.
  • Add a little more oil to the pan and on low to medium heat, pan fry the tofu until golden brown on all sides.  Remove and set aside
  • Add the broccoli to the pan and stir on medium heat until the broccoli is bright green for about 10-15 mins
  • Add the sauce to the pan and when it starts bubbling, add the onion, tofu, sesame seeds and cashew nuts and switch off the heat and remove to a serving dish
  • Serve warm with white rice

 

 

I have never made tofu the way V made it today by dredging it in corn starch, but it turned out really crispy.  The broccoli was fresh and crunchy and flavorful, and the cashew added a bit of sweetness to the dish.   All in all, a perfect comfort meal for a lazy Sunday lunch!   We didn’t even have any leftovers for me to attempt another photo session!

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!