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Okay, this is another really easy, healthy and a yummy treat to make. I love coming up with such desserts- I don’t mind how often Sia eats it. I love having healthy breads and such desserts in the freezer. My daughter has a big sweet tooth- gee, I wonder where she got that trait from? 

Since my daughter is always looking for something sweet after a meal, I feel compelled to come up with healthy things for her to eat. She loves ice cream- and prefers to eat it outside. I made this at home and gave her a bite and her eyes lit up! I can’t say that she only eats ice cream at home now but it’s a good start. She loves raspberries and it has just enough sugar for her to think this is a real treat. 

Fresh raspberries are still available in the stores and farms right now, so it’s a great time to make this easy dessert. It’s delicious with a drizzle of chocolate sauce or just by itself. As the weather changes, frozen raspberries can be substituted- although the fresh ones give the gelato a more intense flavor. Strawberries or even apples can be used. Speaking of apples- I think I will try a gelato for the holidays. Maybe one with cinnamon and nutmeg- like an apple pie! I will keep you all posted…
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This dish is my attempt to come up with another cauliflower concoction. Since my husband absolutely loves this vegetable, and I write a blog, I try to come up with a variation every time.

Cauliflower is usually shredded when used as a filling for either a parantha or samosa. I used it to make this dish and decided to pair it with green peas. I also used mustard seeds and curry leaves because I just love the flavor of both the spices. I like anything cooked with this combination- rice, meat or any vegetable. I usually cook cauliflower in onions, cumin seeds and ginger- they typical way I grew up eating it- in the North of India. This is slightly different.

It was really easy and it didn’t take very long to cook. I cooked the shredded cauliflower with the all the spices and added the frozen peas. The combination of the cauliflower and peas is wonderful not just in terms of taste but also aesthetically. The bright, sweet, green peas look beautiful next to the white (okay pale yellow) cauliflower.  

It was delicious- a very simple dish with very few ingredients. The cauliflower and peas flavor comes through loud and clear. I served it with freshly made rotis and masoor dal. Everyone ate with a lot of pleasure.

• 1 small head of cauliflower, florets separated and shredded
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
• 7-8 curry leaves
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 2 teaspoons coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Juice of half a lemon
• ½ cup chopped cilantro for garnish

In a large wok-like pan heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Add the mustard seeds and curry leaves. Saute for a minute, or till the seeds begin to sizzle. Add the grated ginger and shredded cauliflower. Saute for at least 20 minutes on medium high heat, stirring constantly, or till the cauliflower begins to turn golden brown. Add coriander powder, turmeric, salt and cayenne pepper. Mix well and sauté for another 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the peas and sauté for another 10 minutes. Add the lemon juice and cilantro. Mix well and check for seasonings before serving.

It’s apple season. They are all over the place. We all love apples in our family and usually just eat them raw. I never really cook with them or make apple sauce- well maybe some apple pie- once in a while.

This year since I am doing this blog I felt I should come up with a cake or a bread recipe that will can use any kind  of apples. 

While I was mulling it over in my mind, my neighbor dropped off a bunch of apples from a farm they visited over the weekend. I felt even more pressure to come up with a recipe. I finally got time to work on it after a week or so..

While I was looking online for ideas, I came across many apple cakes with a sweet crumble topping. They were all good but I wanted to make something different. I then came across a cranberry apple bread. It reminded me of a cranberry orange bread I used to buy a few years ago. I decided to combine all the flavors and came up with this bread.

I made it on Friday right before my cousins were coming over for the weekend. Well, it was gone on Sunday! Everyone loved it including my daughter. The texture was soft due to the grated apples. The cranberries and orange zest are a match made in heaven- absolutely delicious. The nuttiness from the whole wheat flour came through loud and clear and complemented the apple flavor really well.

The bread has very little sugar and only half a cup of extra light olive oil- so very healthy. Overall, I am thrilled with this recipe, especially because any kind of apples can be used. So, please try this one- it is truly delicious!

• 1½ cups white whole-wheat flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ cup extra light olive oil
• ¾ cup turbinado sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups grated apples
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 2 teaspoons fresh orange zest

Heat oven at 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan and keep aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Keep aside. In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the oil and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add one egg at a time mixing in between. Add the grated apples, cranberries and orange zest and mix well. With a rubber spatula mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated.
Transfer the batter into the loaf pan and bake for about 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pan for 5 minutes before taking it out. Cool completely before serving.

Family was visiting from Austin and wanted to eat something delicious, different and gourmet- what the heck was I supposed to make??

Risotto was discussed briefly and so I started thinking about arborio rice. How should I cook it and what should I serve with it? When I am coming up with a menu- I try to include a vegetable and a protein with the starch. I am thrilled to include all the food groups on one plate. 

My husband reminded me of the zucchini pesto in the fridge- “maybe you can add that to the risotto”, he said. Wow, I thought – all this cooking is rubbing off on him as well. What a great idea- that is what I did. I made a simple risotto with chicken broth and folded in some velvety zucchini pesto. 

What about the protein? We were in Trader Joes and my idea was to buy the marinated, frozen rack of lamb. It is delicious and very easy- just roast in the oven and serve. Turns out that some of them didn’t care for lamb- so it was back to the drawing board. I was walking around Trader Joes and came across tip steak. I decided to marinate the steak and make a salad with the arugula and serve them on top of the hot risotto. 

Well, the combination was delicious. I love cold salad on top of anything hot. In this case the bitter arugula was fabulous with the garlicky steak and the creamy risotto. It was a big success and everyone loved it. We drank a wonderful merlot with the meal- it is great spending time with family!
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Okay, so this is a delicious concoction. While we were in Umbria at a very small yet great restaurant- we were served a variety bruschetta. One of them was green and tasted like heaven. We asked about it and found out it was made out of freshly picked zucchini. It was processed simply with extra virgin olive oil and salt. 

So, that is what I did. I bought some lovely looking zucchini from the farmer’s market. This pesto is so simple yet delicious. I made it and wasn’t sure what to do with it. My daughter had been complaining about me not making pizza at home. That is what gave me the idea to use the pesto for the pizza.

As usual I bought pizza dough from our local pizzeria and decided to make individual ones. I had leftover chicken which I decided to use for the topping. I spread the pesto on the rolled out dough and topped it with fresh mozzarella cheese and chicken pieces.

The pizzas were delicious! My neighbors were outside and I decided to give them a taste. Even the kids loved it! I told the parents that the pesto was made out of zucchini and that they should keep the main ingredient to themselves! All in all it was a great experiment. Try it, I bet your kids will love it too…
Click here for the recipe… »