I had an interesting arugula and watermelon salad at Italian restaurant Stella AlPina Osteria in Burlingame, California a few weeks ago. What was unusual with this salad was the presentation. The chef had tossed the arugula salad in apricot vinaigrette and served the salad with a side of thick watermelon wedges. Continue reading Watermelon Salad with Apricot Vinaigrette
Tag Archives: Cooking with greens
Sugar Snap Peas & Micorgreens Salad with Grapefruit Dressing
Thinly cut sugar snap peas combined with microgreens and tossed with grapefruit dressing makes this salad very light yet surprisingly filling at the same time. This is a crunchy, juicy, and refreshing salad that pairs really well with chilled white wine such as a Sauvignon blanc, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio & Pinot Gris. I buy microgreens from the Farmer’s Market but they can also be found at specialty grocery stores. If you cannot find microgreens you can use any firm greens such as arugula, mache, or baby kale. Here is the recipe. Continue reading Sugar Snap Peas & Micorgreens Salad with Grapefruit Dressing
Arugula and Strawberry Salad with Candied Walnuts and Goat Cheese
The ingredients for this simple and delicious salad can be bought ready to go at the grocery store. All you have to do is assemble the salad and just make a vinaigrette dressing. The recipe for this wonderful strawberry salad comes from my friend Rose who brought it to share when she came over for lunch. It can be enough for two people as a main salad or for four people as a side salad. Fresh creamy goat cheese tastes great in this salad but you can leave it out if you prefer. Continue reading Arugula and Strawberry Salad with Candied Walnuts and Goat Cheese
Super Easy Super Delicious Super Quick Vegetarian Tacos & Taco Salad
On warm summer days tacos piled high with fresh vegetables and packed with well-seasoned kidney beans is a positively satisfying meal for lunch or dinner. This is the easiest recipe to pull together with the most stupendously delicious results. These tacos are packed with good for you legumes such as kidney beans, chock full of leafy greens, fresh tomatoes, delicious salsa, sour cream, and a dash of shredded cheese.
These vegetarian tacos are so good that you will have not just one or two, but three or four. However if you are like me, you will find that this dish tastes even better without the taco shell, as a taco salad. Try it. Here is the recipe. Continue reading Super Easy Super Delicious Super Quick Vegetarian Tacos & Taco Salad
Simple Salad
When I’m in one of my lazy salad moods, even making a salad with a simple vinaigrette seems like a lot of work. At these times, I toss together a salad that requires just a drizzle of olive oil and vinegar, salt & pepper – and that’s it. Continue reading Simple Salad
Apples, Mixed Greens & Arugula Salad with Bleu Cheese Dressing
I tried a bleu cheese dressing salad at one of the tapas restaurants called Loquita in Santa Barbara, California last fall, and that salad tasted so good that I decided to try and make something similar at home. I chose to make my salad with apples and a blend of mixed greens and arugula. I used apples because I knew these sweet apples would compliment the bleu cheese dressing very nicely. Continue reading Apples, Mixed Greens & Arugula Salad with Bleu Cheese Dressing
Caramelized Shallots and Ricotta Frittata
I made a caramelized shallots, baby spinach, and ricotta stuffing for ravioli that Rani and her friends were making from scratch at her birthday party, and I ended up with some extra stuffing leftover. Caramelized Shallots, Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli
The stuffing was so delicious that I used it the next day to make a fluffy frittata. Continue reading Caramelized Shallots and Ricotta Frittata
Spring Risotto with Leeks, Peppers & Arugula
You will find this recipe is not your traditional way of making risotto. I’ve tried the authentic Italian way of making risotto, and let me tell you, it’s a time consuming recipe. Every time I have followed a risotto recipe I have had to stand over the stove and stir the risotto rice with broth in batches until the rice is cooked. This takes at least 30 – 45 minutes. 45 minutes of standing and stirring, sometimes even longer. I started to dread making risotto when the kids wanted it.
Then one day I decided to try an alternative way of making risotto. I wondered how is it that in restaurants risotto is at our table within minutes. It occurred to me that they must cook the Arborio rice in advance, and just add the veggies or seafood when we order. I thought let me give that a try.
The next time I made risotto, I cooked the Arborio rice in broth in a pressure cooker – no stirring involved. Then when I was ready to make my risotto, in a separate pot I sautéed vegetables and just added them to the already cooked Arborio rice and mixed it all together. The risotto turned out awesome. Because the rice is already cooked, the whole process of making risotto goes by much faster. Try my recipe for a quicker vegetable risotto and see if you like it as much as I do.
Continue reading Spring Risotto with Leeks, Peppers & Arugula
Saag Sabjee. Greens Curry
Hitesh’s big birthday was back in end of February, and he didn’t want any celebration of any kind for this milestone birthday. Which meant that I had to celebrate it 😀 We had a surprise party for him and as a few of you may know, pulling off a surprise party is tough. But somehow we managed it with the help of our dear friends Swati and Tarak who hosted the birthday celebration at their home.
To make this party a very personal and heartfelt celebration for Hitesh, I asked all our friends (the ladies in the bunch) to bring their favorite dish that they knew he liked. Continue reading Saag Sabjee. Greens Curry
Veggie Omelette
“A veggie omelette recipe? Seriously? Everyone knows how to make an omelette” is what you are probably thinking. But hear me out. This is my go-to omelette recipe that is easy, quick, and delicious. I receive the most compliments for these omelettes.
When I have a friend or two over for brunch, when I make veggie omelettes for the family, or when I have guests staying with us; I get asked the same question every time, “How do you make it?” I tell them the recipe is ridiculously simple, but still folks want the recipe. So here it is. Continue reading Veggie Omelette
