This very quick and easy quinoa pilaf has been one of my favorite go-to dishes when I want to make something fast. What makes this pilaf a breeze to make is the frozen quinoa and kale blend that I buy at Costco and keep in the freezer. The frozen quinoa has four individualy wrapped packets, each with cooked quinoa and super green such as kale. This way I can use one, two, or three packets depending on how many people I am serving. All this recipe requires is cutting an onion, a pepper and a few garlic cloves. Then just cook the veggies with spices and add them to the quinoa. That’s it. For a scrumptiously delicious quinoa pilaf in as little as 15 minutes give this quinoa blend a try. Continue reading Kale Quinoa Pilaf
Category Archives: Dairy free recipes
Persimmon Salad
This is a perfect make-ahead salad that is easy and delicious. Mix all the ingredients with a vinaigrette and keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve. The only question in this persimmon salad is “to arugula or not to arugula.” Meaning, the salad can be had with or without the greens, it will taste great either way. Here is the recipe. Continue reading Persimmon Salad
Oreccheitti Pasta with Dried Herbs & Vegetables
Pasta with fragrant dried herbs and a variety of vegetables is perfect comfort food on a cool fall-afternoon. Fresh herbs from my garden are what I reach for when making pasta but on this Sunday afternoon it was my daughter Sri who was making lunch and rather than take the few extra steps into the garden for fresh herbs she just reached into my pantry for my homegrown dried herbs. I have to say I was surprised how different dried herbs taste from fresh herbs. I would even say that dried herbs have a stronger flavor profile giving pasta a real kick of herb fragrance. In this oreccheitti pasta Sri used veggies that I had at hand which happened to be asparagus, mushrooms, and tomatoes. With a pinch of chili flakes and lots of garlic, this pasta tastes amazing with fragrant dried herbs and fresh vegetables 😋. Continue reading Oreccheitti Pasta with Dried Herbs & Vegetables
Apple Zucchini Salad
Apples are in abundance everywhere I look this fall season. I’ve already made an apple crisp, and apple ginger cake, and I’ve been eating an apple a day to keep the doctor away, yet I have lots of apples in my fruit basket. That’s why when I stopped by my friend Rose’s place for lunch to celebrate our mutual friend Devi’s birthday, I came up with a recipe that used lots of apples – an apple zucchini salad. Continue reading Apple Zucchini Salad
Bok Choy Fried Rice
Bok choy fried rice is a dish I had at a cute little Asian restaurant in San Francisco called Chubby Noodle. We got the recommendation for this eatery from one of my daughter’s friends who lives in SF and suggested we try their weekend bottomless brunch. With two locations in the city, the one we were told to head to was the Chubby Noodle in the Marina District on Lombard Street Chubby Noodle Marina. Folks, this is an awesome place for awesome food. The decor is eclectic, space intimate, and the wait staff super friendly. Sprinkle in family and friends and it’s absolutely perfect. Awesome food, awesome service, awesome decor – what more does one require for a great eating out experience? If you are looking for a fun place to grab a long 90-minute brunch with friends and family give this Asian restaurant a try – Chubby Noodle. Continue reading Bok Choy Fried Rice
Cauliflower & Brussels Sprouts Salad
Cauliflower & Brussels Sprouts Salad
Ingredients:
- 2 -3 cups sliced Brussels sprouts about 1/2-1lb
- 2-3 cups cauliflower florets – half of a head of cauliflower
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 1/2 cup pitted olives
- 2-3 bunches of romaine lettuce cut into chunks
- Dried cranberries or dried cherries (optional)
- A few pitted dates cut into long strips (optional)
- Parmesan shavings (optional)
- Salt and pepper
- honey vinaigrette.
Roasted Veggie Enchiladas
Can I just start off by saying I love, love, love roasted vegetables! I love the way how caramelized, sweet, and nutty vegetables become when roasted, adding a dimension of flavor that you can’t get any other way. What roasting does to vegetables is something magical and I can’t get enough of them. In fact so much veggie flavor is enhanced in this process that I like to keep the herbs and spices to a minimum when I cook with roasted veggies, which allows us to enjoy the rich complex delicious flavor of roasted veggies. I mean look at this photo? Isn’t it a beautiful assortment of roasted veggies? Roasted vegetables taste great in anything – in omelets, pasta, couscous, rice, quiche, curry, salads, soups, tacos and enchiladas. Continue reading Roasted Veggie Enchiladas
Cauliflower Curry with Peas, Potatoes & Peppers
Cauliflower Curry with Peas, Potatoes and Peppers
Ingredients:
- 1 large cauliflower cut into large florets
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 inch ginger shredded
- 2 medium tomatoes finely cut
- 2 cups frozen peas
- 1 large green bell pepper cut into chunks
- 4 Yukon gold potatoes cut into chunks
- 1 small bunch fresh cilantro chopped
- Spices:
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp Cumin Powder
- 2 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp asafetida powder (optional)
- 1/2 tsp paprika or chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Salt
- Oil
Continue reading Cauliflower Curry with Peas, Potatoes & Peppers
Chanterelle Wild Mushroom Risotto
Last week I went shopping for produce at Costco and came across these gorgeous looking wild mushrooms called chanterelles. Usually I find wild mushrooms to be pricey at the grocery stores and even at the Famer’s Market, but at Costco for a large carton of about 4-5 cups of chanterelle mushrooms it was just more affordable and they looked so fresh too. I picked up a carton and decided to make wild mushroom risotto that same night. Gorgeous golden colored chanterelles look and taste amazing in a creamy risotto. Continue reading Chanterelle Wild Mushroom Risotto
Broad Bean Salad
I can’t say enough great things about my friend Shalini and her culinary skills. She has to be the most creative cook I know. Any time I am at a party where Shalini is invited I always look forward to tasting her interesting new veggie dishes. Dinner at our mutual friends Swati and Tarak’s place was one of those occasions when Shalini once again brought a couple of her creative and delicious vegetarian dishes – a broad bean salad and a spicy roasted butternut squash. Both were exceptional. I will post the recipe for her spicy butternut squash soon, here I am sharing Shalini’s delicious broad bean salad recipe which is easy to make and requires minimal effort. Continue reading Broad Bean Salad
