Sharing Plate – Your Cooking Coach |

So the show came to an end last Friday and my daughter was quite upset knowing this was the last of Jamie Oliver for a while. I am not sure if the show is coming back at all- I didn’t tell her that.

What was the show about, you ask? Well, much of the same but also that Jamie returned to the elementary school where it all began. Turns out, since the school started serving fresh food, they had a surplus of frozen, processed food sitting in the warehouse. In order to use it up, they decided to introduce ‘junk food’ Fridays. Seriously? They couldn’t come up with any other solutions other than feeding the kids that crap food again??

Another problem was surfacing at the same time. A lot of kids not wanting to eat the healthy food at school, were now bringing their own lunch. Ordinarily home cooked lunches would be ideal- well, only if the parents are knowledgeable about healthy eating.

As Jamie walked in the cafeteria while the elementary kids ate, he looked through their brown bag lunches and you wouldn’t believe what he found. Jello, juice, candy and potato chips for lunch. I was horrified! Some kids had lunchables- which is a packaged lunch available at the super markets filled with salt, fat and God knows what. What happened to regular sandwiches for lunch??? There are so many ways to pack a healthy lunch for your child- a delicious sandwich made with whole-wheat bread, some fresh fruit and maybe a small cookie for dessert.

I don’t even know what to say about the potato chips and candy for lunch- I can’t believe someone would pack that for their kids. People are so busy these days and are always looking for fast and easy solutions for everything- including what we feed our kids- not realizing what it is doing to their bodies. As parents, it is up to us, to instill healthy eating habits in our kids so they can grow up to be healthy adults.

In a way I am happy the show has come to an end for now- I am not sure if I can handle the stress I feel after watching an hour of it…

Everyone loves these delicious and healthy treats. As we run out of them, my daughter immediately reminds me to make some more. She loves to have one after school with a glass of milk. I follow it with some fruit and it is a perfect, well-balanced snack.

I keep experimenting with different flavors every time I make them. This time I was making a batch for a friend who was having a spiritual discussion and wanted some snacks for the participants.

I was making the corn salad, the potato cakes and for dessert I decided to make duffins- especially since everyone seems to love them.

To change them up a bit, I decided to add some aromatic spices. I thought of a mixture of cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and nutmeg. Since the rest of the menu was Indian fusion, I decided to add an Indian component to these as well.

The duffins tasted delicious- they had a warm spice flavor to them and cardamom, my favorite spice, stood out – which was intentional. I love cardamom flavor in sweet and savory dishes, especially in cakes…

If you have already tried the regular duffins- try these ones as well, you will love them.
Click here for the recipe… »

I love Mexican cuisine, especially since it is full of very strong, bold flavors. I make all sorts of preparations including tacos, enchiladas, salsas, guacamole.. the list goes on. I especially love using tomatillos and all the different Mexican chilies out there. For this preparation I used a poblano pepper- which looks like a large jalapeno pepper closer to a regular green pepper. It sometimes has a bit of heat and once its roasted, the sweetness comes out.

I roasted tomatillos, garlic, green onions and the poblano chili with a drizzle of olive oil and salt. I then made a thick sauce by blending all the roasted vegetables and I had a fabulous start to my chili. I had a pork shoulder with bones cut into small flavors for the dish. Any stew meat can be used as long as it can stand up to 2 to 3 hours of cooking. The house smells wonderful while the delicious chili is on the stove. The result is tender, juicy, falling off the bone meat flavored with the most yummy sauce.

I served the chili with corn bread, guacamole and Spanish rice. It was a big hit with everyone, especially since it wasn’t too spicy.
Click here for the recipe… »

This is a delicious way to incorporate fish into your diet. Typically cooking a biryani can take all day and the results are unbelievably delicious with complex flavors- but in order to make this dish through the week- I needed to simplify it. I skipped a few steps and this version is definitely not as detailed but it is extremely delicious and full of flavor.

I think the key to use very bold flavors with extremely fresh ingredients. My daughter loves cod and so I decided to go with it for this preparation. Any white, sturdy fish can be used- tilapia or catfish are quite popular for Indian curries.

I sauteed the fish quickly to brown each side and then cooked the onion, garlic, cilantro and dill mixture. I didn’t cook the fish all the way in order not to overcook it in the oven later with the rice. The whole process took me less than an hour- of course I cooked the basmati rice in advance and cooled it off. Once the curry and the rice were layered, I covered the dish with a wet cheesecloth to provide moisture and baked it for half an hour.

The rice dish was extremely delicious and the fish came out soft and tender. My daughter loved it and so did my husband. I served the rice with a cucumber salad and raita.

Next time you are confused what to do with fish- try making a fish biryani.
Click here for the recipe… »

It was one of those rainy evenings we have had so many of and my initial plan was to go out for dinner but then as the day progressed and the rain lingered, I got more and more lazy. I changed into my pajamas and decided to open a bottle of wine and cook.

I had a chicken sausages in my fridge and I decided to pair them with cannellini beans to make a delicious stew. I used the usual suspects including shallots, garlic and of course some red wine. I also had rosemary in the fridge and as far as I am concerned, the white beans are made for rosemary.

To create a balanced meal, I added baby spinach at the very end and served the one pot meal with a parmesan garlic bread. I of course sprinkled some extra cheese on top of the stew.

The evening was relaxing and filled with good food and great wine. My daughter loved the stew but thought there was too much garlic on the garlic bread. She was right- I love garlic so much that I usually tend to go very heavy it. I loved it but both my husband and daughter thought it was too much- oh well, you can’t please everyone all the time.
Click here for the recipe… »