Green Pea and Mint Soup

Ingredients:

Olive Oil - 1 Tbsp

Butter - 1 Tbsp

3 Shallots - chopped ( They look like onions, only much much smaller) 

Garlic - 2 cloves

Green Peas - 3 cups

Vegetable Broth - 3 cups

Water - 2 cups

Half & Half/ Cream or Milk - 1/4 cup

Fresh Mint Leaves - 1 cup

Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Method: 

In a soup pot, heat the oil and let the butter melt. Then sauté the chopped shallots until translucent. Add the chopped garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes. Now add in the peas, vegetable broth and let them all cook together for about 20 minutes on medium or medium low. Keeping the flame on high would just boil down the liquid and you will be left with dry cooked green peas. What we are trying to do here is let the peas, garlic, shallots cook together in the vegetable broth. So its important to NOT turn the heat very high. 

Once the peas have cooked well,  let it cool, put the broth mixture in a blender/food processor, and at this point add the fresh mint leaves. Blend the entire mixture into the consistency you prefer. 

Bring the blended mixture back to the soup pot, add the chili powder and let it come to a boil. You can add the water at this stage if you want. I seemed to want the 2 cups water after the peas mixture came out of the food processor. Feel free to leave the water out, if you think you don't want it.

Stir in the milk or half & half. Add the salt and pepper to your preference. 

Garnish with croutons. If you want to get fancy, you can garnish with some mascarpone cheese.This soup can be served both hot or cold. 

Extras:

1. I used frozen Peas for this recipe. It works out perfectly fine. But you still want to cook it in the vegetable broth because you want all the flavors of the shallots, garlic, broth to blend and come together.

2. I used low sodium broth, so I can control the amount of salt that goes in. If you don't have vegetable broth, you can most definitely use water. 

3. I used Fat free Half & Half. You can use milk or cream. I wouldn't use skim milk, because I don't think its going to make the soup creamier.

4. If you don't want to use butter, please use 2 Tbsp Olive Oil

5. Fresh Mint is important in this soup. Dried Mint does not give nearly the same flavor. 

 

Chili Verde

We all know finding a good recipe is like finding a needle in a haystack. The sheer number of recipes found on any one cooking website can make a head spin, not to mention the plethora of websites out there. 

Well, you can relax coz I did the sampling for you!! After trying a number of chili recipes out, I landed this one. Its easy and delicious to serve to your family or your guests. 

Try this vegetarian chili verde ( Verde means green in Spanish). Its yummy and all you really need is some bread and you can call it a night!! 

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Medium onion

1 Cup diced potato( red or white)

2 cups diced Sweet Potato

3 cloves garlic

4 large tomatillos ( remove the husk, rinse it and then chop it)

2 Poblano Peppers 

   --  Dice one pepper

   --  Cut the other in long thick strips ( you need to be able to fish them out from the pot with tongs)

1 TbspDried Oregano

1 Tbsp All Purpose Flour

2 Tsp Cumin powder

2 cups Corn( Frozen or Fresh)

2 Cups Low Sodium Veg Broth or you can also use water

1 small can of diced or crushed green chilies ( I use the mild one. You can use the spice level you prefer)

Method:

Heat the oil in a large pot and sauté the diced tomatillos. Then add the onions, potato, yam garlic and the poblano peppers. Don't let the onions turn brown. Simply sweat the vegetables in their own juices. Mix in the oregano, flour, cumin powder, salt and pepper. Also add the corn, 1 cup of vegetable broth/water. Bring the mixture to a simmer. At this stage put the can of green chilies in the blender. Transfer only the poblano pepper strips to the blender along with the green chilies. Once they're blended well into a smooth paste, transfer them back into the pot. 

Add the remaining 1 cup of vegetable broth/ water, cover and simmer until the potatoes are cooked through. You can stick a fork/toothpick in any of these root vegetables to check if they're tender. Taste it and season with salt and pepper as desired. 

Serve hot in bowls garnished with sour cream( I prefer good old yogurt)

• Sweating the vegetables means not letting any vegetable crisp up or turn brown in the pan. Turn the stove to medium or medium low, add a small pinch of salt and let the veggies cook in their own juices.
• Other garnishes that are good on this chili are diced avocados, cilantro, spring onions, minced chives
• A great accompaniment for this soup is corn bread. You can buy it at your local grocery store. If you don't like corn bread, try some garlic bread or quesadilla

 

Cranberry Sauce with pineapple and orange

Ingredients:
2 cups Cranberry ( fresh would be best for this one)
1/2 cup Sugar
2 Tbsp Orange zest
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 can of crushed pineapple in its own juice
1/8 tsp of vanilla extract
Toasted walnuts
1/8 tsp Salt

Method:
In a medium saucepan put the fresh cranberries in along with a 1/2 cup of water. Cook the berry on medium, until the fruit starts popping. Make sure you don't turn the stove on high. Add the sugar  and let the mixture cook further, until the mixture looks like a saucy compote. Then add the orange zest, orange juice, pineapple along with its juice and the vanilla extract and the salt. Cook for another 2 minutes if need be. Garnish with toasted walnuts as much as you want. You could also garnish with anything else you think would fit. But I wouldn't change the orange juice and pineapple.

       -- I've added crushed pineapple because I want to people to get the flavor without actually biting into a                 piece  of the fruit. But if you prefer feel free to add pineapple pieces. 

       -- The tiny pinch of salt is required to balance the flavors of the sweet and tart from the cranberry, pineapple and orange. 

Mixed Greens Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette

Feels good to be back after a brief  hiatus. So am making an equally feel good salad as part of dinner tonight. It's clean and fresh and can be a complement to any main course.
I like the Mixed Greens in this salad, and since you can get it all in one bag I decided to use it. My mixed greens is a combination of Romaine, Radicchio, Red Leaf Lettuce, Spinach. But if all you have is red leaf or Romaine, go ahead and use that. Don't let that stop you from trying this awesome recipe!!

Ingredients:

A bag of Mixed Greens 

¼ cup Cannelloni Beans  (white beans that look like kidney beans)

½ Onion Thinly sliced

¼ cup dried cranberries

2 Ripe tomatoes, seeded and either quartered or sliced

¼ cup toasted and chopped walnuts 

Some Parmesan cheese either grated or small peels to garnish

Dressing:

¼ cup Strawberries

1Tbsp white wine vinegar

½ tsp honey

¼ cup Olive Oil

Method:

Blend all the dressing ingredients in a blender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Meanwhile get all the salad ingredients altogether in a salad bowl, and drizzle the salad dressing on top of it. Toss the salad well to make sure the dressing gets into the nook and cranny of the lettuce. Serve immediately.

If you’re not serving the salad immediately, then keep the salad and dressing in separate bowls and toss them together before you serve. You could also put the dressing at the bottom of the salad bowl, and then throw the salad ingredients on top of it. Don’t mix it until you’re ready to serve.

• I use white wine vinegar, but you could use red wine vinegar or any other vinegar you may have in your pantry. I wouldn’t use any herb flavored vinegar (like Tarragon vinegar)
• To toast walnuts, simply put them in a small saucepan without any fat or grease for maybe 1 minute or two. Chop them after you toast them, coz otherwise they wont roast evenly.
• Store your nuts in the freezer. The nuts have a lot of fat/oils in them and they can go rancid pretty quick. 

Cilantro Hummus

Hummus is considered to be the healthier version of butter. I like it simply because its yummy. Its simple to make, stores well and can be used in so many ways. But plain hummus demands a variation every once in a while. That’s where the cilantro steps in. A simple addition of an herb brings such a different flavor that you think you’re eating an entirely new dish!

Ingredients:

1.5 cups Garbanzo beans (Channa)

2 Tbsp Tahini Paste

2 cloves garlic

3 Tbsp of Olive Oil

½ cup chopped Cilantro

* Toasted Pine Nuts (optional)

¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper/ Chili powder

                                                      Salt

                                                      Pepper

Method:

If you’re using canned beans, then drain the brine out and rinse the beans. If using dry beans, then soak them overnight and cook them in water for about 45 minutes to an hour until the garbanzo beans seem softened.

The next time is very simple. Just grind all the ingredients except the Pine Nuts and 1 Tbsp of Olive Oil in a food processor. I wouldn’t coarse grind for this dish just because there is raw garlic in it. You don’t want pieces of raw garlic in your hummus. So grind until the mixture is smooth.

Season to taste. Mix the cayenne Pepper in the ground mixture. Then drizzle the remaining Tbsp of oil as a garnish, while also sprinkling the toasted Pine Nuts.

Now enjoy it as a healthy dip for parties, or on a pita sandwich. It particularly pairs well with Parmesan or Feta cheese.

§         Tahini paste is sesame seed paste that you can get in any Mediterranean aisle of the grocery store. Stir it well before using it, as it tends to settle.

§         * To toast Nuts, just add the nuts to a dry pan and toast on the medium high until it starts turning brown. You can also add cashews or chopped toasted walnuts if you don’t prefer Pine Nuts. FYI…. Pine Nuts can also be found as Pignoli.

§         Not a fan of Cilantro…. try this recipe with mint or rosemary.

Something summery

They say spring has set in, and I thought this would be a great time to make a fresh, very spring like, but has “gotta to be delicious” dish. Soups are normally thought of during wintertime, to make you feel all warm inside. That may be true, but spring and summer beckon their own version of soup. This one is light, and very easy to prepare. Try it on a day that’s not too cold, combine it with a sandwich and you’ve got a great meal for either lunch or dinner. I know carrot and orange sounds like an unusual pairing, but the ingredients don’t overpower each other, and it’s very delicious. Wouldn’t you want delicious in your meal?

 Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Leeks chopped (White and light green parts)
1 shallot

Mint (few leaves to cook and few to garnish)

3 cups chopped carrots

6 cups vegetable stock or water

Rind and juice of 2 oranges

¾ cup low fat yogurt

2 tsp Cornstarch (Cornflour)

Salt

                                                      Pepper 

Method:

Heat the oil in a pan. Add the shallots, leeks and cook for a couple of minutes. Add a small pinch of salt at this point, will bring out the juices of the vegetables and help cook in its own juice. Once the leeks and shallots have turned translucent, add the carrots. Cook for about 5- 10 minutes until the carrots seem softened. Now pour in the stock, orange rind and juice, a few mint leaves, nutmeg and pepper. Let the vegetables cook for about 30 – 40 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Meanwhile, mix the yogurt and cornstarch in a separate bowl and set aside.

 Let the cooked carrots and vegetable mixture cool and then blend them all in a blender or food processor. Return the mixture back to a pan, stir in the yogurt-cornstarch mixture. Season it. You could reheat it if you wanted to, but do so very gently. If you reheat on high the yogurt might curdle on you. Serve hot garnished with few mint leaves, preferably with a warm Panini. 

§         You could buy the vegetable stock, or make your own at home. If you do buy it make sure it’s the low sodium one. So that way, you can control the salt in the soup

§         Would be really nice if the orange juice is fresh.

§         Shallots are the small onions that you can find in the onion/potato aisle

Okra with a twist

Okra alias Ladies finger is very common in traditional Indian Cooking. It’s normally sautéed until crisp or deep-fried all the way. The recipe today is okra with a slight twist, in that it has yogurt in it. I skeptically tried it once and ever since couldn't let go. I make this so very often for dinner now. This recipe is simple, requires not much time, and best of all turns out delicious. It’s also easy on the waistline, since it requires no deep- frying at all.

Ingredients:

1 pound of okra (Ladies finger)

1 tsp chopped ginger

1 cup chopped tomatoes

½ cup yogurt

¼ tsp turmeric powder

1 chili powder

2 tsp coriander powder

2 Tbsp oil

1 tsp dry methi leaves( Kasuri methi)

1 tbsp Fennel seeds

1 tsp mustard seeds

½ tsp fenugreek seeds ( methi seeds)

Pinch of Asafoetida

Salt

Pepper

  

Method:

Pat dry the ladies finger and sauté the vegetable in Tbsp of oil or even better with a no stick spray.

Meanwhile, heat the 2 Tbsp of oil and add the dry methi leaves, Fennel, mustard, fenugreek, Asafoetida. Once they crackle in the oil, add the ginger and tomatoes. At this point salt it a bit. In the meanwhile, mix the yogurt, coriander powder, chilli powder, turmeric powder and the salt (bearing in mind you’ve already salted the tomato mixture in the pan) in a bowl. When the ginger and tomatoes have sautéed enough (you will know this, if the tomato separates from the oil or if the tomatoes look mushy and cooked), add the yogurt mixture, and cook for a couple of minutes.

Remember to never keep the pot screaming hot. The yogurt will curdle on you. Add the sautéed ladies finger in the yogurt mixture and simmer on low for about 2 minutes. Serve hot with some Indian rotis or biriyani.

• Throughout the cooking of this recipe, keep the stove on medium high or below that. Never cook on high in this recipe, as the yogurt will curdle.
• You could use fresh or frozen ladies finger. If using the frozen one, buy the already chopped one and let it thaw before you cook it.