Happy Tuesday! I hope you had a good weekend. Ours was busy, not busy – meaning we had a packed Saturday and a quiet Sunday. Packed Saturday because it was our twins back to school day and Hitesh and I had to split our parental duties so we could meet over fourteen teachers. These are amazing teachers who are teaching the subjects that our twins are taking this year. Subjects ranging from Economics, Statistics, Calculus, Spanish, History of Genocide, Madness in Literature, Poetry in Literature, Orchestra, Choir, Dance Productions, etc. As you can imagine it was a packed agenda. Then after we got home Hitesh had to take the twins back to school for auditions. I didn’t realize all this when I invited our very good friends Jo and Oliver for dinner on Saturday. Lucky for me Oliver loves to cook and had asked me earlier in the week if he could bring something and I took him up on his offer! Continue reading Mid-September Dinner with Friends Jo and Oliver
Category Archives: From the Kitchen
Light and Fluffy Blueberry Muffins
Looking to make a quick batch of cup cakes loaded with good for you blueberries? This recipe makes the most light and fluffy blueberry cup cakes ever! I picked up this recipe from my friend Nishma who asked me to stop by for a quick cup of tea and a light breakfast after my morning gym workout one day. These delicious blueberry muffins were on her menu. Light and fluffy and sweetened to perfection, these muffins tasted so good with a cup of tea in the morning, that I must admit I did feel a little guilty having it after my workout. But Nishma informed me that it was light on the sugar and made with almond flour. Somehow hearing this made me enjoy the muffin even more. Continue reading Light and Fluffy Blueberry Muffins
Fresh Fig and Ginger Lemon Jam
This recipe couldn’t have shown up in my in box at a better time, a recipe for a fig jam made with plump fresh figs and fresh ginger was just too tempting to ignore, especially as I had just received the biggest most plump figs I have ever seen from my friend Veena’s garden. I’m not kidding; these figs were HUGE and so gorgeous inside with dark burgundy color flesh that it was just a delight to see. Even my kids kept looking at these figs and oohing and aaahing at these beauties. Four of these giant figs were more than enough to make a jar of jam. Here’s the best part, to get a thick creamy jam I didn’t even have to use any pectin, preservatives or thickening ingredient. And let me tell you folks this jam is delicious!! Continue reading Fresh Fig and Ginger Lemon Jam
Zucchini Eggplant Stir Fry Curry
Zucchini Eggplant Stir Fry Curry
Ingredients:
- 1 large Japanese eggplant or 2 medium sized Japanese eggplants cut into small chunks
- 2-3 medium sized zucchini cut into small chunks
- 4 garlic cloves finely minced
- 1 medium onion finely cut
- 1 tbsp finely minced ginger
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp chili powder (optional)
- 1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
- Salt
- Oil
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Cilantro for garnish
Late Harvest Tomato and Onion Rustic Galette
A rustic galette made with juicy late summer tomatoes all cooked with butter and onions – Mmm Mmm good this simple savory tart is. Seriously folks, the kids and I couldn’t stop eating this tomato tart. To make this delicious tart all I did is take my Mom’s tomato and onion on toast recipe and added it to a pastry dough. And since this is a tomato tart after all, to keep the juicy tomatoes from sogging up the pastry crust, I lined the pastry crust with sharp cheddar cheese. That’s it. A delicious tart made with as few ingredients as possible to appreciate the pure simple flavors of tomatoes and onions. You have to give it a try! Continue reading Late Harvest Tomato and Onion Rustic Galette
Ginger Honey Saffron Ice Cream
I know! This combination of flavors sounds amazing doesn’t it? Ginger Honey Saffron ice cream is a flavor that my daughter Anjali gave me the idea for when she sent me a text with a photo of this ice cream she was having at a new ice cream parlor here in Los Gatos called Glazier Rolls. “You will love it Mom! They add saffron milk to the ice cream and then combine it with candied ginger pieces and honey and then top it with more ginger candy and drizzle of honey!” I asked Anjali how did it taste? To which she answered, “It was really good! You should try and make it at home.” Continue reading Ginger Honey Saffron Ice Cream
Shalini’s Coconut Chutney with Cilantro and Green Chili
Coconut chutney is such an ubiquitous side condiment in every South Indian home that at any given time there is almost always coconut chutney available and ready to be had with any food of one’s choice. Naturally with such a common dish every family has their own variation. I posted a recipe for a quick and easy coconut chutney a while back, in this new version I would like to share with you my friend Shalini’s coconut chutney recipe which has the added dimension of fresh cilantro and fresh ginger. Continue reading Shalini’s Coconut Chutney with Cilantro and Green Chili
Mushroom Zucchini Enchiladas
Summertime brings with it an abundance of beautiful veggies, and zucchini is one of those that grows prolific at this time of year with a large harvest from every plant. Here is a recipe that uses up at least 5-6 zucchinis in a delicious Mexican enchilada. Mildly spiced, veggie-packed, light and delicious these enchiladas are, making them the perfect summertime dish. These enchiladas are on the lighter side as I only stuffed them with zucchini and mushrooms and a light dusting of cheese. Since zucchini is mostly water one doesn’t feel weighed down after having these delectable enchiladas, so go ahead have two helpings if you like! Continue reading Mushroom Zucchini Enchiladas
Blackberry Port Pie
I love sweet dark burgundy port, especially with berries such as blackberries and blueberries. There is something about that dark sweet wine that goes so well with deep dark berries – they just seem to belong together. Port adds that extra bit of sophistication or as they say in French that certain “je ne sais quoi”. That’s why I love making my blackberry blueberry pies and tarts with a little bit of port. Without it, the tart will taste great, but with it, port just takes it over the top. A little splash goes a long way. Continue reading Blackberry Port Pie
Indian Summer Ratatouille
If you are looking for a great way to use up a large quantity of summertime tomatoes and veggies then this dish is the one! That’s the dilemma I faced that inspired this veggie-laden dish. I had loads of peppers, zucchini, carrots and tomatoes, and I knew it would take a few days to use all these up, but these veggies were ready to be had ASAP. I decided to make a giant pot of Indian stew/curry type of dish with all the veggies I could collect from the refrigerator. I also wanted this to be a saucy dish as I had soooo many tomatoes too. Indian Ratatouille, is the name the kids gave this stew. The name sounded pretty cool to me as this stew made with summer vegetables and Indian spices would have otherwise been called Carrot, Zucchini, Pepper Curry; but somehow the name Indian Ratatouille just sounds better. Continue reading Indian Summer Ratatouille
