Crispy Kale

Yes, you heard that right! Kale can be made into awesome crisps and if you have not tried them so far, you should right away and I swear, you will be addicted to it. I didn’t know that crispy Kale was all the rage, till K told me about it, after having tried it in his cafeteria. I tried it too and loved it.

In my head, I went – “Well, it is crispy which means in all probability it is fried and anything that is fried tastes good” and right then, as if he was reading my thoughts, K interjected with a “You know, they are actually baked” quip. I had not the least clue as to how to make this but figured as always, Google will be my partner in crime. When I read the many links and the recipes, to say that I was surprised will be an under-statement. I never imagined that this will be so simple to make. Believe me, it takes all of 10 mins from start to finish and that includes about 7 mins of baking time. Go figure!

Few handfuls of clean & dry Kale leaves
2 Tbsp of EVOO

Set the temperature in the oven to 350 F.
Toss the Kale leaves with EVOO (just make sure that leaves are fairly well-coated in oil. You can use more or less based how big or small your hands are 🙂 ).
Spread it on a baking tray and bake for about 5-7 mins till the leaves look crispy but have’t started to brown (they should remain bright green).

I didn’t season this with anything and we loved it as is. You can season it with salt and/or red chilli flakes, if you prefer. You can also add minced garlic to the Kale while baking. I am sure it will taste equally delicious, however you chose to flavor it.

A healthy dish that can’t get easier to make and tastier than this. Enjoy!

 

Basil Pesto

Pesto is one of the easiest sauces to make but I haven’t made it in over 3 years! I had planted Basil in the summer and after a big harvest just before fall, was left with cup-loads of the leaves. After using them in salads, soups and what not, I realized it was time to make pesto. I pretty much used the same recipe that I did last time using Basil instead of Coriander and the result was equally yummy.

This can be used not just as a pasta sauce, but also as a dip or even as a dressing for salad. Enjoy!

 

Open or closed?

How do you like your sandwiches? Having never heard or come across an open sandwich, I was quite surprised when the sandwich that I ordered @ Prolific Oven lay in front of me. Grilled and colorful vegetables with the gooey freshly melted cheese made it look very appetizing and to add, it is also low in carb as you lose a slice of bread – now tell me, what is not to like about this sandwich? After this first experience, I usually make the traditional closed sandwich for K and make an open one for me.

 

Pasta Prima who?

8, no! make it 7, years back after I had started working and driving in this new mad world where I had made my home, I wanted to take K for a nice surprise birthday dinner. Conferred with a friend of mine on the cuisine / place / what to wear and what not. That’s what girl friends are there for, aren’t they? Finally decided on an Italian choice, a safe choice if I think about it now, but sounded absolutely fascinating then, as I thought of pasta as an universal dish (still think) and there is a kind that everyone of us loves. Think of the variety – Spaghetti, Penne, Fusilli, Linguine – the list is almost endless.

As the weather is turning south and the air is getting a little nippy, I turn to my kitchen to remind me of summer. Pasta Primavera is one such dish and the fresher the ingredients are, the more refreshing it ends up being. This is such a colorful dish that can be served as one of the entree in your Italian themed dinner or just had as a simple one-pot meal.

Handful of these veggies, cut into 2″ pieces and boil, so that they are cooked but still retain a crunch:
Asparagus
Beans
Bell Pepper
Carrots

Whisk together the following ingredients to prepare the Vinagrette.
2 Tbsp – EVOO
1 Tbsp – White Wine Vinegar
1 tsp – Crushed Red Pepper
1 tsp – Salt
1 tsp – Black Pepper

Boil water and cook a cup of pasta (Penne, Bowtie or Fusilli works best) al-dente. Strain the pasta and mix in the boiled veggies and vinaigrette and give it a good toss. As simple as that!

 

Cream of Broccoli

All of us know what I do when life gives me tomatoes, so what do I do when life gives me Broccoli? To those of you who are wondering, how come miraculously life gives me first tomatoes and then broccoli, here is where I sheepishly admit, it is not life, it is me. I really do get greedy, when I see fresh vegetables and get more than the two of us normally eat. Then, I come up with “creative” ways to use these in every dish I make – regardless of the cuisine. So, you will see sweet bell peppers in my pulao, brussel sprouts in my korma, all varieties of squash in my kootu, radish / squash in my noodles, all varieties of spinach in my pasta. While I try and keep the base of the dish true to its origin, the add-ins of vegetables are decided based on my imagination and produce selection in my refrigerator.

 

Homemade pizza – no rocket science

I have mentioned before about making pizza at home and some of you had asked me to post it as well. And me being me, took only a little more than a year to post it. So without any further adieu or preamble, here goes.

 

Colorful Pasta Salad

When I got married and moved here, I didn’t think too much about having K’s sister and her family live in the same locality as well. Over time, we have grown to cherish each other’s presence in our lives, look up to each other for guidance / advice and forged a lovely relationship. Her husband likes to be called Nalan (of the famous Nala-Damayanthi story who is supposed to be a great cook), atleast in the blogosphere and not without reason. He is an awesome cook; his vegetable biryani is to die for and he makes one of the best (home-made from scratch) pizza, I have ever had.

K and I land up in their house almost every other weekend (if not every) under some pretext or the other; why would we not when we get awesome food every time we go there 🙂 He had made this pasta for a potluck family night dinner and when I tasted it, I knew I had to post this on my blog. It is such an easy, simple and healthy dish that is extremely kid-friendly; my nephew and niece will attest to that.

 

Chocolate Cherry Nut Cake

My dear friend Laksh and her husband K were visiting us last weekend and folks who read her blog would know that it was K’s bday last week. As it is more than 5 years since I met them in person, I decided to do something special when they were here, which coincided well with his b’day. I have been wanting to bake this cake from Indira, ever since I laid my eyes on it. What can be a better time to bake this cake than this?

 

Asparagus soup

First off, apologies for not posting regularly for a while – there are phases in your life, when the mundane everyday grind takes control of your life so much that you have little time for anything else – even for things that you enjoy doing. The last couple or may be even three weeks was such a period in my life. Hope this doesn’t happen again and thanks a ton for all those folks who dropped a note to check on me. I am really touched. I am back (and hopefully, with a bang 🙂 ).

 

Baked Veggie Pasta

Ever since I saw Giada making this on Food network, I have been meaning to try this. This is a dish that can make a super elegant presence on your dinner table when you have guests or for a simple weekday dinner.