vegetarian Archives - Page 9 of 10

Tag: vegetarian

27
Jun
2013

Lemony Peas & Mushroom Pasta & My Random Thoughts

categories: Dinner, Life, Lunch, Quick Fix, Summer

“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
– Paulo Coelho in The Alchemist

And it really happened to me! Something really tiny, to prove it right. But it did happen and now I have altered perspective.. Of course you would have read about this in the book ‘The Secret’ but it is hard to believe anything till you experience it personally.

Let me come straight to the point and tell you what exactly happened. There is a place close to my house where my friend once saw a snake and after she told me about this incident when ever I used to pass from that place I used to think about a snake crossing my path. I am pretty scared of snakes and I mean who isn’t! So that anticipation, that fear was always there in the back of my mind. I used to imagine about snake coming out of nowhere and crossing my path every single time! It was and is crazy till now! So this thinking continued for around 4-5 months. And on one rainy evening finally my vision came to life! Instead of one I saw two snakes, intertwined with each other, dancing at tunes being played by rain gods. Oh yeah, there it was! In front of my eyes! I stared in bewilderment! I thanked my lucky stars fervently that I was not on foot and was protected by my car. And even till date, whenever I pass by I still think about the snakes crossing my path. You know how human mind works (or at least mine seem to!)… I try not to think about it but it’s there! So much that I have started skipping that area altogether!

So if you are still with me on my randomness (WOW, you are!) let me ask you something.. Is it only me or does it happen with you too? You would want to know why I am writing about it on my blog today?!! As mentioned in my last post I am turning 28 tomorrow and I was just reflecting on what all happened in last year and how I want my life to be in next year.. If our mind and thoughts have power to make it real, why not use it positively? I can constantly think about good things to happen and shape my life accordingly! Isn’t it just genius?!… Things to ponder!

So I’ll stop talking now about random stuff (Finally!!!). I sincerely thank you for being there in front of the screen and I love you for reading this post (longest till date!). I really do! 🙂

It’s my birthday week so I am cooking all of my favorite things and you all know how much I LOVE pasta! So I made this simple pasta dish with peas and mushroom.

I used Conchiglie pasta in this recipe but you can use any other short pastas you have like Fusilli, Orecchiette or Farfalle.

Peas have been mildly blanched so you get the crunchy texture. Tad bit of Cheddar is added to make it perfectly cheesy. Addition of lemon zest just takes it to another level! It is light, buttery and perfect for quick lunch/dinner.

Lemony Peas & Mushroom Pasta

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

2 cup Conchiglie
1 cup peas, fresh or frozen
1 cup button mushrooms, diced
1 Tbsp butter
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1/2 tsp onion powder
salt and pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp grated Cheddar
zest of 1 lemon
fresh parsley, chopped finely, optional

Directions:

Cook pasta as per the manufacturer’s instruction. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Pour the remaining pasta water over the peas in colander so that peas will get blanched and pasta will get drained. If you want more tender peas then add them to the pasta pot 1-2 minutes left of cooking time.
Heat the butter over medium heat in a large saucepan and add minced garlic. Saute it for about a minute, then add mushrooms and saute it for 4-5 minutes until tender.
Add onion powder, chili flakes, salt and pepper. Then add 1/4 cup of pasta water and cooked pasta and peas to the pan. Add little more pasta water if required. Turn off the heat.
Finish it off with grated Cheddar and lemon zest. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.

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25
Jun
2013

Skinny Basil Veggie Kebabs with Corn Salad

categories: Dinner, Quick Fix, Summer

This week is going to be fun, though I will have to wait for the weekend for really good stuff to begin. I am celebrating my 28th birthday this Friday! I think birthdays should be a month-long celebration but we are all time-pressed in life! Not that it’s any excuse to ignore the small joys life brings our way but sadly, that’s the cruel reality!

Still nothing can slow down the excitement which is coursing through me! Another year has passed by and this year I am feeling more grown-up than ever! It is true that at the moment I am amongst the mayhem in my life as career transition and so much more is happening. Life is a mess right now.. nonetheless a beautiful mess!

Let’s leave it at that and talk about our today’s recipe. It is a very simple yet delicious way to include so many veggies in your dinner. A light yet filling. I made this last week for dinner and it was so gratifying to get to eat it between the all-week ice-cream madness happening in the house!

It was kind of cleaning-my-refrigerator day so whatever I had on hand I put that under the marinade and I was glad I did! You can also throw in whatever you have at home. Button mushrooms would be a great addition! I prepared the marinade the night before so the flavors were super-intense. But you can do this at least 4 hours before grill time. It makes a super-quick week-night dinner!

I don’t own a grill so I used my convection oven which came with rotisserie. Veggies could not get charred at all in the oven but they cooked perfectly. Nice and juicy! But if you own one (needless to say in that case, I’m totally J), it will make a great recipe for a BBQ party and the veggies will char beautifully!

Skinny Basil Veggie Kebabs with Corn Salad

Serves: 2-3

Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients:

Marinade:

1 and 1/2 cup basil leaves
1/4 cup yogurt (I used home-made)
4-5 cloves of garlic
salt and freshly cracked pepper, as per taste
1 tsp garam masala powder
dash of lemon juice

Kebabs:

1 zucchini (medium sized)
1 bell pepper (I used yellow)
1 large red onion
1 large tomato (de~seeded)
200 gm cottage cheese

Corn Salad:

1 cup boiled sweet corn
1 small cucumber, diced
1 medium tomato, diced
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dry basil
salt and pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 Tbsp yogurt

Directions:

At least 4 hours before, blend all the ingredients for marinade to a smooth puree. Adjust the seasoning as per your taste. Cut veggies into 1″ cubes and toss with marinade in a bowl. Cover it and refrigerate until ready to cook.
When ready, light grill. Using the wood or skewers, insert the veggies. Place on grill and cook on each side for 3-4 minutes till the veggies are uniformly charred. *I don’t have grill so I used rotisserie function of my convection oven and cooked as per the instruction manual. Hence the char was missing but kebabs were cooked beautifully.
While veggies cook, mix the ingredients for corn salad in a bowl and toss thoroughly.
Serve skewers topped with remaining marinade (if any) alongside the corn salad.

*You can make this recipe vegan – by replacing yogurt with soy yogurt in marinade, replacing cottage cheese with tofu and in corn salad, omit mayonnaise and use soy yogurt instead.

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20
Jun
2013

Fresh Mint & mango Creamsicle Ice-cream

categories: Ice-creams, Summer

You do not think that ice-cream week on blog will go by without the addition of an ice-cream whipped with our fave seasonal fruit to my repertoire? Of course not… I wouldn’t let that happen! And yes.. You have guessed it right… You know how much I love my mango and they taste best chilled.. So while deciding on 7 flavors to be included in this week-long marathon I am participating alone in (!sigh!), mango unquestionably topped the list!

But just the plain mango ice-cream wouldn’t do the justice to the ‘ice-cream week’ as the idea is to create something really special in the comfort of your home and without the use of ice-cream maker. Plus, perhaps there are zillion versions of plain mango ice-cream already doing rounds on the internet. So why do another version just like what is already there!

The hunt for that perfect combination started… What do we know and what have we learnt? Mangoes are sweet, juicy and succulent fruit which goes really well with fresh mint. Remember this? Toasted coconut and mango chunks would add a bit of a texture to the otherwise perfectly creamy smooth ice-cream.. And a dash of lemon juice to cut that sweetness.. Done deal!

Bringing the flavor of fresh mint to the cream was an easy thing. I used the method which worked perfectly for me here. I added mint leaves to the cream and let it sit in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Trust me the flavor kick was there without adding even a drop of mint extract! I toasted the desiccated coconut using gas stove itself though you can use oven, I am more comfortable with this method as I am scared of getting burnt coconut in the oven. Let’s get started then!

Fresh Mint & Mango Creamsicle Ice-cream

Yields: around 8 scoops

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh medium fat cream (40% fat)
1 handful of fresh mint leaves
2 Tbsp sugar (more if mango used is not sweet enough)
1 mango, peeled, pureed
Juice from 1 lemon
1/4 cup toasted coconut
1 mango, peeled, finely diced

Directions:

For toasted coconut:

Toast the desiccated coconut in a pan over a medium heat on gas stove.

For oven: Preheat the oven to 350 F/ 170 C. Put the desiccated coconut in baking tray and bake for 3-5 minutes. Keep a close watch as you do not want burnt coconut.

For making ice-cream:

Mix cream and mint leaves in a bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 hours to extract the flavors from mint to cream. Use sieve to separate mint leaves from cream.

Add sugar to cream and whip till you get soft and fluffy consistency. Gently fold in pureed mango, lemon juice, toasted coconut and diced mangoes to the cream and spoon the mix in airtight container. Let it freeze for 4-5 hours and serve it.

*For any left-overs, let the ice-cream thaw for 15 minutes before serving. Run hot water on the ice-cream scoop before scooping the ice-cream out.

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15
Jun
2013

Cucumbertini ___ To spike it or not!

categories: Drinks, Summer

This is the ultimate summer drink!

This is THE summer drink!!!

I swear… This is the best cooler posted on my blog till now..

So simple yet so refreshing..

If you are sipping on this in the midst of a scorching noon heat or in a humid summer evening, I swear you will forget all about the weather and swim in the serenity of this concoction! It’s got a knack to calm your soul. Believe me… It is THAAAT GOOD!

Have it as it is or spike it with vodka to create a sophisticated cocktail.. Definitely a party-pleaser and ideal for girls’ night-in!

Both version will certainly make your Saturday evening stunning!

What are you waiting for??!! Mix it up & chillax! 🙂

Cucumbertini

Yields: 2 large glasses

Ingredients:

3 fresh petit English cucumbers, peeled and roughly chopped
2 Tbsp celery, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp Monin’s Cuaracao Triple Sec
Juice squeezed from 1 lemon
1 Tbsp caster sugar (optional, I did not use)
1/4 cup + 1 cup cold water
6-8 ice-cubes, a couple more to add to the glasses

Directions:

Take cucumber and celery in a blender. Pour 1/4 cup cold water and blend til it is pureed. Take a sieve and strain the puree.
Pour strained liquid back to the blender. Add triple sec, lemon juice, caster sugar, 1 cup cold water, ice-cubes and blitz it. Pass the potion through a sieve again. Your cucumbertini is ready to be served on the rocks! Garnish with a lemon wedge.

*Spoon the foam out from the cucumbertini before pouring in glasses if you prefer a clear concoction.

This recipe is my entry for Event by Archana’s Kitchen – Summer Fiesta

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11
Jun
2013

Farfalle with Fresh Coriander and Cashew Pesto

categories: Dinner, Lunch, Summer

As I have proclaimed here before…. I looovvveee pasta!

And my all time favorite pasta sauce is basil pesto.

But then I came across this creamy coriander pesto & now, I have a new favorite!

On a rainy evening, hubby & I were sipping coffee at our favorite cafe located down the street from our house. They have quite a versatile menu and I really love the place. One pasta sauce in there really caught my eye and I had to order it immediately. It was a spicy coriander and cashew sauce prepared in cream cheese and was served over Conchiglie (shell shaped) pasta.

The dish was so delectable that I had to replicate it at home with bit of a guesswork. Of course my version differed from theirs as I did not use cream cheese and did not add red chili flakes. But it was every bit as scrumptious if not better! Now would I lie to you? NO! So believe me 🙂

It is a pesto sauce so you have your usual suspects.. fresh herb, garlic and nuts!

The pesto has a fresh summery fragrance from fresh coriander and a rich texture from cashews. I used Farfalle pasta instead as that is what I had on hand.

You would be really surprised at how creamy it turned out and pretty low in calories too! Very delicate dish all in all! 🙂

So let’s get down to the recipe!

Farfalle with Fresh Coriander and Cashew Pesto

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

3 cups Farfalle pasta, cooked al dente as per the package direction
2 cups fresh coriander leaves (packed into measuring cup)
2-3 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup cashews, soaked in water for 2-3 hours
1/4 cup milk
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp all purpose flour
1 cup hot milk and 1 cup hot water, mixed together
3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 tsp red chili flakes (I omitted it)

Directions:

Cook 2 cups of Farfalle pasta in salted boiling water as per the direction mentioned on the package. Once pasta has cooked al dente, drain the water and start preparing the sauce.
Add coriander leaves, garlic cloves, soaked cashews, pinch of salt and 1/4 cup milk in a blender and blitz till you get a soft puree. Add little milk if required.
In a pan, melt the butter and add flour to it. Let the flour cook for about 3-4 minutes on a low heat.
Add hot milk and hot water mixture to the pan and whisk to make sure there are no lumps. Add grated cheese. Cheese will melt and mixture will thicken a bit in about 5 minutes.
Add pureed coriander mixture in a pan and whisk. Season with salt and pepper as per your taste. Add red chili flakes if you want a hint of spice. Add pasta to this and let it cook for another 2-3 minutes so that pasta has absorbed the sauce. Serve immediately.

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