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!

 

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.

 

Bisi Bele Bath Powder

I have already posted about Bisi Bele Bath as I learnt from my mom. Bisi Bele Bath is a Kannadiga dish, fairly obvious given the Kannada name (Bisi = hot, bele = dhal/lentils). This is a different take on the same recipe, given by a true-blood Kannadiga and gets as authentic as it can. This post is in response to Mag of MagCreations request for this recipe, and what better time to post it than the eve of Ugadi. Happy Ugadi to all of you!

 

Goan Pulao

Goa – I am not sure about you, but the mere name conjures up images of blue sea, clear sky, pristine beaches and everything exotic. When I heard about Goan Pulao from a dear friend of mine, needless to say, I was thinking of everything exotic – exotic spices, flavors, what not. Exotic, rich flavors in this dish makes it stand true to its name but surprisingly these flavors come together to make a very simple, satisfying dish.

 

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.

 

Swiss Chard

Swiss Chard, also known as chard is a leafy vegetable that belongs to the beet family. Both the leaves and stalk of this plant are edible. The stalk can vary in color ranging from deep red to white. It is also sold as Rainbow Chard sometimes, with red (or deep pink), white and gold colored stems contrasting beautifully. The range of colors in chard makes its addition to salads attractive for the eyes and the slightly bitter but salty taste innovative for the palette. Due to its inherent salty taste, go easy on the salt when you cook with chard. Chard along with Kale, mustard greens, collard greens are referred to as ‘Greens’. According to holistic approaches, greens are supposed to cleanse your body (and blood) and regulate elimination, and hence it is advisable to include greens atleast a couple of times in your meal every week. The nutritional profile and benefits of Chard are well-documented (see here).

 

Panini

I am ambivalent when it comes to sandwiches – will eat them, if I can’t find any other healthy options but they are not my favorite dish for sure. However, when it comes to Panini, it is totally different – I absolutely adore these hot sandwiches. Traditionally, Panini is prepared with Italian bread like Ciabatta or Focaccia. I prefer it with Focaccia as it is softer and more moist than the Ciabatta. However, there is no hard and fast rule about the bread and it can be prepared using any bread that you like, just that it has to be able to hold the fillings and has to be flat, so that it can be grilled evenly. I have used different kinds of bread like Focaccia or whole-wheat or multi-grain bread, with equally tasty and satisfying results.

 

Saattvic Chole (or Channa)

For a healthy living, good physical and mental health is pertinent and this is the basis for most of the holistic approach to health. Alternative medicinal systems like Ayurveda places a lot of emphasis on the what and how aspects of our food, while trying to treat any physical condition. Ayurveda explains the body-mind-soul connection and how eating the proper food that is suitable for you (no one-size fits all here) can lead you onto the path to attain the perfect harmony.

Saatvic diet is considered to aid a healthy living, clear the mind and be at peace. It is easy to understand the importance given to diet as every food is said to exihibit a primary quality (guna) and what we eat reflects on the kind of people that we are. The simplest and purest of food are supposed to enhance the spiritual consciousness and lead to a good healthy, wholesome life.