Lemons & Rinds

Firstly, all the good things about Barley http://vegetarian.about.com/od/glossary/g/barley.htm The only bad news...it has Gluten. Barley is my best food discovery of the year though since it is another addition of rich protein and fiber to our semi-veggie diet. Kids love them because of their texture. I was reading 2011 Spring's issue of Baby & Toddler. That featured a recipe of Barley with cooked Zucchini and Yellow Squash. It is among the best whole grains to add to our diet, esp kids. Since, I am a novice cook where this grain is concerned, I definitely did some research on recipes. Finally, I went the safe way. I made a simple Khichdi (Pongal for some, Porridge for the rest) with Moong Dal, vegetables, cumin and butter. How wrong could you go? Also, I had to keep it a bit bland since my son was accompanying me on this lunch menu. Here's what I did: I actually soaked 1/2 cup of Barley in the night. For cooking, took 1/3 cup of washed Moong Dal in a P

Nobody starts cooking curries right from day one. Today, when I see teenage girls/boys struggling to chop and cook or using readytocook masalas, I cannot help but go back in those days when at the age of 13-14, my mum/grandma would call me to help her with salads or peeling vegetables.  Though, I would honestly admit that, while growing up in Mumbai, India, I hardly helped my mum in the kitchen. Why? Studies, friends, cousins, shopping, cinema...plenty of reasons for being out of the kitchen. However, self-realization always takes its course. So, I started with the sides like chopping veggies for salads/"Koshimbir", grating coconut; again there were issues since our family used the traditional Indian tools and I had a hard time getting used to them, infact till date...now of course my knife skills have sharpened with different courses of life. So, anyways, the other day we picked some perfect looking corn on the husk at out favorite Farmer's Market. They come ver

Ciabata is a delight to have around in the house all the time, even more than slice whole wheat bread. I recently discovered how much our son loves it. So on our farmer's market visits, we have to pick up a few. They go extremely well for sandwiches with stir fried greens (spinach in particular), and cheese. I do use mint chutney typically since I always have it on hand. Sprinkle some Parmesan i desired for an added kick. I enjoy mine with some Sriracha. My son would have it without any accompaniments. Do we really need any 'Panera Bread' around???

I hate to throw away super ripe bananas, and I equally hate to eat them. So have to use it in baking. This is not my invented recipe. It is from Laura Vitale (I like to watch her videos). Here is her recipe.  http://www.laurainthekitchen.com/all/episode.php?episodenumber=131 However, I had to make certain changes as per the ingredients on hand which I do to almost any recipe I pick from the internet or a cook book. I am not among those who would take a list and go grocery shopping to make one particular recipe. So here's what I used from the pantry. 1 1/2 very ripe bananas 1 egg 1/3 cup oil 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 tsp vanilla essence 11/4 cup flour (I used all purpose) 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I had morsels) 1/4 cup shredded dry coconut (optional) 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt Preheat 400 deg oven. Mix wet ingredients first. For the chocolate chips, mix them with 3 tsps of flour and keep aside. Sift the dry ingredients excluding the coconut

Around 10 years ago, my dad and I bought a Samsung Convention Microwave oven for casual baking and roasting. I personally did try making a few pizzas and roasting chicken, but never a cake or cookie. The enthusiasm slowly died down. Than, my mum used it only for warming food (of course that too made her life easy, but that's it). I am talking about finding baking ingredients in Mumbai (India) 10 years ago. In fact, buying a whole cake was much cheaper than the resources to bake one, including electricity. However, that's not the case anymore. With a spurt of multinationals and supermarkets, its easy to find baking powder even at the local grocery store. We surely can afford melting cheese at 500 deg F too. The last time I heard, my mum had a guest who baked some delicious brownies in the same oven. Voila!!! I am appalled with the passion at which people are building designer kitchens especially those that hardly cook or bake anything in their own kitchens (oops, those that co

Its hard to digest when parents say their kids do not like vegetables or whole grain items. Something so delicious like fresh and seasonal produce is so satisfying to the palate, especially during warm days. Its simply a matter of how they are served. Each produce has its own unique taste and there are herbs to enhance its flavor.  Its spring time and our farmer's market is full of seasonal vegetables and fruits. We grabbed a bundle of tender asparagus stalks over the weekend and our little one is eager to find out what mum's going to do with it. So the first thing this morning, he got the asparagus out, and since than I have been wondering what to make. I browsed for a curry for dinner, and while chopping that, I made a quick pasta for lunch with asparagus and grape tomatoes. How convenient and healthy can that be! So here's what I did for the pasta: 1 cup whole wheat pasta few cut into half grape tomatoes 1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste 1/2 cup of diced a