Quinoa greek salad

Today I made a super healthy salad with Quinoa.  I really love the nuttiness of this grain and paired with vegetable and lemon...its out of this world.

Ingredients

1/2 cup of Quinoa ( wash in a small strainer)
1  cup water

Let this come to a boil and slow down the heat to simmer.  Cover the lid and cook till all the water had evaporated and the grain has a white ring around it. Fluff it up and set aside.

Vegetable

Cucumber         - diced
Baby tomatoes  - cut in half
Bell pepper       - diced
Onion                - diced
Garlic                - chopped
Parsley              - chopped
Feta cheese        - crumbled

The dressing I used a pear and cranberry balsamic vinegar and squeezed half a lemon but you can actually use any kind of dressing preferred.

Let the flavors develop for at least 2 hours.

Crockpot Minestrone Soup

Yummmmy this is another favorite soup of mine and I can actually eat them for days.  Its super healthy with all the vegetable and just the right amount of pasta.  Have a bread on hand and its all you need.   Its been cold for a couple of days and I just cooked  in my every trusty crockpot and just freeze them individually and pop it in the microwave when I wanted to have some. 

You can totally make it vegetarian by using vegetable broth..

Coconut Chutney

Ingredients

Coconut - 3/4 cup (grated)

Green Chillies - 3-4

Fried Gram -1 tbsp (also known as pottukadalai)

Ginger - 1 small bit

Tamarind - small bit

Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp chopped (optional)

Salt to taste

Shallot

Peanut

For the seasoning

Mustard -1/2 tsp

Urad dal - 1/4 tsp

Onion

Dried Chili

Curry leaves - a little

Method 

• Grind coconut, green chillies, fried gram, ginger, tamarind and coriander leaves together with needed water and salt. Then you can rinse the mixie and add little more water.
• Heat a tsp of oil, add mustard seeds, when it splutters, add urad dal and dried chili.
• When dal turns golden brown, add onions and curry leaves and pour it over the chutney.
• Serve it with idly or dosa.

Masala Dosa with Potato Filling

Masala Dosa is usually made by stuffing it with fillings made with boiled mashed potato cooked in spices. The filling can be prepared ahead of time.  The dosa can also be accompanied by coconut chutney or dhal sambar.

Dosa Ingredients

Idly Rice    1 cup

Cooked Rice  2 tbsp

Whole urad dal (without skin) -1/2 cup

Fenugreek seeds -1/2 tsp

Salt needed

Method

• Soak Idly rice, urad dal, cooked rice and fenugreek seeds,  in enough water for 4-5 hours.
• Wash and grind everything together to a smooth texture adding water, a little at a time. Dont let the batter be too watery.
• Pour into a bowl, cover and set in a warm place. I placed it in my oven.  Let it ferment.  I blended the flour at night and left it to ferment overnight. Before making dosa, add little water and mix well to get the dosa batter consistency. It should be almost like a pancake batter.
• Now the dosa batter is ready.

This is after fermentation

On the tawa after cooking it for about 5 minutes or less

 Potato Masala for Filling

Potatoes - 500 grams

Onion -2 medium size

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Green chilli - 2-3 (finely chopped or slit)

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves - few tender ones

Salt needed

Oil -2 tbsp

Mustard seed - 1 tsp

Urad dal -3/4 tsp

Hing/Asafoetida - a pinch

Oil for making dosa (Gingerly oil preferred, optional)

Method

• Wash and cut potatoes into half and pressure cook  for 3 whistles. After it cools, peel the skin and mash it well.( not to a fine paste) Keep it aside.
• Cut onions lengthwise, slit green chilli and finely chop ginger.
• Heat oil, add mustard seeds, when it splutters, add hing, urad dal and channa dal.
• When dal turns golden brown, add thinly sliced onions, green chilli, ginger and curry leaves. Saute for a few minutes until onion turns pink. (do not brown the onions)
• Add turmeric powder, mashed potatoes and salt needed.
• Cook for few minutes (around 5-6 mins) until everything gets blended well. Switch off the flame. Filling for the masala dosa is ready. 
• Heat a non stick or iron tawa, add a drop of oil and rub half an onion on it. Once the tawa is heated, bring the flame to medium and pour a ladle of batter in the center.
• Using the back of the ladle, spread the batter in a circular motion as seen in the picture below. Drizzle a tsp of ghee or oil around the dosa and close it with a lid. (masala dosa should not be thick)
• Once the edges starts browning and the dosa is cooked, reduce the heat, add 2-3 tbsp of potato masala, a little butter (optional ) and fold the dosa. Remove from tawa and serve hot. Note - Since you are closing it with a lid, there is not need to cook the other side.
• The dosa is ready to be served and best eaten when its hot from the tawa.
• Serve with coconut chutney or sambar.

Eggless Orange Cake

This is my first try ever to make an eggless cake.  I always thought it was going to taste nasty or not moist or fluffy but I guess i was wrong all this while.  This is a basic eggless cake and can be done in many flavor. I used orange flavored oil and some orange color and my daughter who is my food tester even said that it was wonderful.

The only thing is that I notice is that this cake will be tastier with fresh whipped cream and would not do so good with buttercream because the cake itself is tad bit sweet.  I did not even have to use parchment paper but I did use crisco and flour on the cake pan.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup flour
1 cup yogurt
3/4 cup sugar ( I reduced a little)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup oil ( I used softened butter)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp orange emulco/oil

Method

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 6in cake pan. I used a 3 inch in height cake pan.
• Cream butter and sugar well. Add yogurt and beat till well mixed.
• Add baking powder and soda. Set aside for 3 min and yes it will fizz.
• Add vanilla and emulco. Slowly stir in sifted flour. Batter will be quite thick. Pour into the cake pan and level it.
• Bake for about 25 min or until tested with a skewer and comes out clean.  Take out and let cool in pan for about 15 minutes.  Turn it out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Brown Rice with Mushrooms and Celery

Once in awhile I like to jazz up my usuals.  Today I thought of adding mushrooms, celery and kale to brown rice.  The addition of vegetables gave this normall brown rice an extra kick.  I cooked the rice with chicken broth.

Ingredients


3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp thyme, either dry or fresh
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup brown rice
2 cups chicken broth
10 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced
3 oz. shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 cups fresh spinach or kale leaves

Optional : If you are short of time, you can definitely use instant brown rice, cook the onions, garlic, celery and then add the brown rice.  Follow the rest of the instructions as per on the packet.


Method

• Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion, celery, garlic, and thyme. Season with 1/2 salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.  Cook until the vegetables are soft and the onion is just starting to brown, 7 to 8 minutes.
• Add brown rice. Toast the rice for about 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Add in 2 cups of chicken broth. Stir and bring the mixture to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 60-70 minutes, or until all of the liquid is absorbed. Typically, brown rice takes about 45 minutes to cook. However, with the added vegetables, it will take a little longer in this recipe.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are cooked and slightly browned. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Avoid seasoning the mushrooms with salt earlier in the cooking process, or else the mushrooms will release their liquid.  Stir spinach / kale leaves and the mushroom mixture into the cooked rice.  Serve.

Vegetarian Noodle Soup

Everyday preparing two sets of meal is a hassle.  I prepare dishes with meat for the family and for me a vegetarian dish.  Today I made vegetarian style noodle soup.  I am telling you all the extra work was a payoff.

There is no hard or fast rules about this.  No measurement.  All is in your taste bud.

Here is the list of things I used to make this wonderfully delicious soup..

Ingredients

Taufu, cubed
Vegetarian Chicken strips
Mushroom
Yu choy or any green leafy vegetable, cut in big pieces
Rice Stick Noodles, soak in water till soft
Ginger, cut into thin strips
Garlic, minced
Shallot, minced
Vegetarian Bouillion
Onion leaf

I fried the taufu and set aside.  Add little bit of oil and stir fry the garlic, ginger, shallot.  Now add the chicken strips, mushroom and some water.
Season with vegetarian bouillion. Taste for seasoning.  Once the liquid comes to a boil, add the vegetable and noodle.
Taste and garnish with onion leaf.

Chapati

Ingredients

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup lukewarm water (Use more as needed)
2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 teaspoons ghee or butter
1/4 cup whole-wheat flour for rolling

Method

• Mix flour, salt, oil and water together to make a soft dough (add more water as needed).
• Knead the dough on a lightly greased surface to make the dough smooth and pliable.
• Set the dough aside and cover with a damp cloth. Let the dough rest for at least ten minutes or more.
• Divide the dough into 8 equal parts.
• Make smooth ball and press flat. Take 1 ball; press it in dry flour from both sides.
• Roll in to a 5-inch circle. If the dough sticks to the rolling pin or rolling syrface, lightly dust the roti with dry flour. Tip: Use the dry flour just enough you need to roll the roti, too much use of flour will make the roti dry.
• Heat the skillet on medium high heat. Note: An iron skillet works best. To know if the skillet is hot enough, sprinkle few drops of water on the skillet. If the water sizzles right away, the skillet is ready.
• Place the roti over skillet.
• After roti start changing color and start puffing in different places flip the roti over.
• Flip again after a few seconds. Take a flat spatula and press lightly on the puffed parts of the roti. This will help the roti puff.
• Flip the roti again. The roti should have light golden-brown spots on both sides.
• Butter the roti, the side that is facing the skillet.
• Keep the rotis in a container with a paper towel covering the bottom.
• Roti can be kept outside for up to 2 days wrapped in aluminum foil or in a closed container. For later use, roti can be refrigerated for 5-6 days.

These roti/chapati can be served with potato and pea curry, chicken curry or lentils. My little one loves to eat them with sugar.

Cheesy Quinoa Mushroom Casserole

This is sooo good. I made these for dinner yesterday and infact I baked it ahead of time and just reheated.  Used some leftover cooked quinoa and vegetarian meat crumbles.  This recipe is so easy but the flavor is so good. And one more thing..this casserole has no eggs...

Ingredients

Olive oil spray

3 cup cooked quinoa

8 ounces non-fat plain Greek Yogurt or sour cream

1/4 cup milk of choice

2 cups shredded cheddar or any vegan cheese

1 cup finely chopped onion

4 ounces chopped green chiles ( I used bell pepper)

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced, optional

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

* I added some meatless meat crumbles to give extra flavor.

Method

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8 inch baking dish with olive oil spray.
• In a large bowl combine yogurt and milk. Add all ingredients. Pour on to the prepared baking dish and top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.
• Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until heated through.

Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

Wow, its been a week now since I am on vegetarian meal.  I have been making soups lately and of course with the weather in Central here so unpredictable, I think soup is the woman's best friend.  I cook constantly for my family and I have always wanted to try wild rice because my kids dont always enjoy the rice other than the usual jasmine.  I purchased some wild rice from the health food store and I am so happy that I did it finally.  They were so so good especially with a bread on the side.  I also added some Gardein Soy Chicken cubes in it (vegetarian)....yummm.

The soup is super simple to make and it took me like about 30 minutes to complete a healthy meal.

Ingredients

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. white or cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 c. carrots, chopped
1 medium shallot, chopped
1/4 cup cubed zuchini and squash, optional
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
salt + pepper to taste
1/3 c. white wine (optional)
1 tsp. dried thyme or oregano
1 1/2 c. vegetable broth
1 c. instant or cooked wild rice ( I cooked my wild rice then used the water for the soup)
1/4 c. reduced-fat sour cream

Method

• Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add mushrooms, celery, carrots, and shallot and cook, stirring often, until softened (5-7 minutes). Stir in flour, salt, and pepper and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add white wine and thyme; increase heat to medium-high and cook 2 minutes more.
• Add broth to Dutch oven and bring to a boil. If you're using instant rice, add it now and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until rice is tender, 5-7 minutes, then stir in sour cream and parsley. If you're using cooked rice, once soup has come to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and stir in rice, sour cream, and parsley.

Quinoa, Kale, White Bean Soup

This is my first time trying Kale. I have heard a lot about it and how healthy it is.  Quinoa I have done quite a bit of cooking with it and I think its nice,  no taste to it but even after cooking it has a little bite.  For a cold winter or just as a comfort food..this is it.  The kale has some crisp to it even after cooking but paired with tomatoes, white bean and quinoa, they are so yummilicious.    I can be a vegetarian just by eating soup...

Ingredients


2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 cup carrots, diced
6 sprigs fresh thyme or dried thyme
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp oregano
1 – 14.5oz. can diced tomatoes
1/2 can tomato soup
4 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup dry rainbow quinoa, washed
1 – 14.5oz. can white beans, drained & rinsed
1 bunch kale, roughly 3 packed cups ( you can keep half if its too much in a ziplock)
Salt and pepper to taste

I love mushroom so I add mushrooms too :)

Method

• Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. When hot, but not smoking, add onion, carrots. Stir to coat and cook for about 8 minutes, until tender. Add thyme, crushed red pepper, garlic and oregano and cook for another minute.
• Add diced tomatoes, tomato soup and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, stir and reduce heat to simmer for 25 minutes.
• Add the uncooked quinoa, bring heat to a low boil again. Cook for 10-15 minutes, until quinoa is tender and transparent.  Now add the canned white bean.
• Add kale and stir to wilt. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Serve with a baguette or any toasted bread