Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Mashed Potatoes with Peas and Beans

Ingredients:
(serves 3 )

1-2 onions chopped
dash of Ajwain Seeds or carom seeds
2- 3 cloves garlic minced or finely chopped (more or less acc to taste)
bit of garlic
1 tsp canola/olive oil
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 - 1 cup cooked black beans
4 medium mashed red potatoes
salt, pepper and chilli powder ( I use cayenne to make it spicy )

Directions:

Saute onions, garlic, ginger, peas and seeds in oil. Add beans and potatoes and you are done!

Monday, February 26, 2007

Italian Tofu Frittata

Optimal dish for breakfast but good for lunch and dinner too.

Ingredients:

(Serves 4)

1 cup onion, chopped fine

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup zucchini, diced

1 cup or 2 small red bell pepper, diced

2 cups finely chopped kale, (remove stems) or any greens like spinach

1 cup or 1 large or 2 small chopped fresh tomato

¼ .cup vegetable broth or water

2 TBS red wine vinegar

5 oz or 150 grams firm light tofu, drained

4 egg whites or ½ cup of egg whites

1 TBS dried Italian seasoning

¼ tsp turmeric

salt and white pepper to taste

2 TBS chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Prepare vegetables by chopping them and having them ready.
Pureé tofu with egg whites, Italian seasoning and turmeric in blender.
In 10 inch stainless steel pan, sauté onion, garlic, zucchini, bell pepper, kale, and tomato for about 1 minute over medium low heat, stirring often. Add broth and red wine vinegar. Pour tofu mixture over vegetables, cover and cook over low heat until mixture is completely firm and cooked, about 12 minutes. Top with chopped parsley.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Fettucine Alfredo


Ingredients

(serves 4 )

Fettuccine pasta 8 oz or ½ pound (about ½ Catelli box )


Alfredo Sauce

2 T butter

2 c heavy (whipping) cream

¼ c parmesan cheese, grated

1 t nutmeg

salt


Directions

Melt the butter over medium-high heat, add the cream, and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium.Add cheese, nutmeg, and a dash of salt and boil, whisking frequently, until reduced and thickened, about 10 minutes. Taste. If you don't notice a hint of sweetness, add another dash of nutmeg.
Pour sauce over cooked pasta, sprinkle with pepper and parsley, and serve hot.

The key to excellent Alfredo sauce is in the ingredients. Because this recipe is so simple, you need to use the very best cream and freshly-grated, high-quality parmesan cheese.

Variations

If you're worried about calories, you can use ½ and ½ or milk along with a T or two of flour instead of the cream, but the taste and consistency of the sauce will suffer for it.
You can also add peas and/or mushrooms.

Friday, February 23, 2007

Beautiful Borscht



Ingredients

From Total well being diet: by Noakes and Clifton (CSIRO)

(Serves 4)

4 beets, peeled and quartered

1 carrot, roughly chopped

1 parsnip , roughly chopped

1 leek , roughly chopped

1onion, roughly chopped

½ cup lemon juice

6 ¼ cups vegetable stock or water

3 bay leaves

½ tsp allspice

2 Tbsp low fat natural yogurt

1 handful flat leaf Italian parsley, roughly chopped


Directions

Bring vegetables, bay leaves, allspice, lemon juice and stock to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce and simmer for 45 minutes.Allow to cool and remove bay leaves and puree using blender or hand held processor. Season to taste. Reheat soup and serve with dollop of yogurt and sprinkle parsley on top. This soup can be served cold too.

Ginger Blueberry Mango Salad



This sounds really easy but is surprisingly really good.

Its soo yummy without any dressing. Otherwise mix some dressing (lemon juice and some minced or dry ginger). Add equal or whatever amounts of blueberries and mango pieces. If using dressinf refrigerate for 30 minutes or more before serving.

Some Spinach Salad Combinations

Common combinations which taste great together:

Spinach + Mandarin Oranges (or any seedless oranges) + Pine nuts



Spinach + Strawberries (or blood oranges) + Pecans or some blueberries




Spinach + Hard Boiled Eggs + some creamy dressing


Spinach + bosc pear + walnut + crumbled bleu cheese + tart vinaigrette
Spinach + red pear + walnuts + dressing of lemon juice and walnut oil (not shown in picture)

Spinach + roasted beets + red onions+ tangy tart vinaigrette

Spinach + cherry tomato + Avocado

Basic Vinaigrette

Ingredients

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar

1 clove small garlic, minced

1 teaspoon mustard, spicy brown or Dijon (optional)

salt (to taste)

ground black pepper (to taste)

This is classic version where oil to vinegar ratio is 4:1. One can increase the vinegar to same amount as oil. Other vinegars one can mix and match are lemon juice and seasoned rice vinegar. For flavor variation, add a bit of fresh or dried herbs, just about any kind will do.

Direction

Whisk together the vinegar and mustard. Slowly combine in oil until dressing is well mixed and smooth. Add a dash of salt and pepper to taste and other ingredients.

Hummus Without Tahini


Ingredients

( 2 to 2 1/2 cups )

1-16oz.(500ml) can Chick Peas (Garbanzo Beans), drained

or

1-1/2 Cups cooked Chick Peas, without liquid

2-Tbsp. Lemon Juice

1-Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2-tsp. Fresh Garlic ( or more if you want more garlicky taste)

1-tsp. Oregano Leaves (dried)

Salt to taste

Pepper and cayenne pepper to taste

Directions

Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor. Mix at medium speed until all the ingredients are thoroughly chopped and blended. Store any unused hummus in the refrigerator (will keep for a few days).

Asian Salad Dressing

This dressing goes best with cabbage (coleslaw) but can be used with spring salad too.

Ingredients

(For 4 cups of shredded cabbage mix )

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

2 medium cloves garlic, pressed

1 TBS rice vinegar, or lemon juice

1 tsp honey

2 TBS soy sauce

¼ tsp dry mustard

1 TBS extra virgin olive oil

salt and white pepper to taste

Direction

Mix all ingredients together and leave it in fridge for day or so. Longer it is kept better the ginger and garlic taste.