Food lust is this!

So, I was pretending to be very busy in the past week. Between whipping up & delivering Gourmet Lunches around town and attending to the family...I believed I was consumed. But, now in hindsight, I feel like I could have stolen some moments to experience the luxurious joy of cooking for you and talking about it in here. 

And even though it's a little late in the day to bring you up to speed with my culinary musings...I have to..have to.. talk about these rockstar blog posts from around the Wonderful Wide Web that are going to be a delicious tease in my dreams tonight...Drama Queen Sighs!!!

So Uno, here Tofu Salad Dressing

Look at this creamy wonder..it's vegan...it's tofu-ey... it's herb-ey.... its love-ly <3

Dos, this disturbingly delish bowl Garlic Kale Cashew Rice! Courtesy: Howsweeteats

I mean Kale does cancel out just about any junk you consumed in the week, right!? 

Yummers alert these two. Can't wait to rustle them up in La Mia Cucina. 

Over Coffee and Cocoa!

I wasn't sure about this until last Sunday. But now I'm saying it with conviction, The next F#@%&ng world war will be fought for Coffee and Cocoa! 

My Sunday started off as any other day, but the afternoon of this perfectly normal & innocuous weekend presented the most delicious opportunity before me. I was extended an invitation to meet one of the meanest Barista's in the world & the most celebrated Pastry Chef in Asia. Fritz Storm(oh! you beauty) & Janice Wong were in town to take a masterclass. They were a delight, the two rustled up some fine coffees and the most delish desserts for a special audience comprising of Food bloggers/influencers in Mumbai. 

This masterclass was a food lover's dream come true. I trip over coffee and dessert. I'm kind of finicky about the two. I like my morning cuppa a certain way. It's my sacred pot. No one gets to touch it. Ditto for dessert! I despise the factory produced bakery fare. It's so not easy to please me with a slice of market dessert. 

Naturally, I expected these guys to be the Bomb Yo(I've kind of been saying this on loop since my last drunken escapade and I'm immensely taken in by the versatility of the term!) And they were all that and more(Bomb Yo! XXL)
Between the both of them, Janice & Fritz came up with an array of bitter sweet symphonies of Chocolate and Coffee. 
What took my fancy and my big Punjabi heart were the Chocolate Chili and the Espresso Sparkling Water Drink. 

 

Well, I'm itching to rustle up these beauties at home. But then patience isn't one of my strongest virtues. While I will prepare these yummers in La Mia Cucina one day ... for now I'm happy to bite into chocolate and Coffee(yes bite that) in a feisty bar of Magnum Choco-Cappuccino.

My Question: What do you get when you put Chocolate and Coffee together?
Universal Answer: Heaven on earth. YEAH! That's right. 

If  you are impatient like me, you might want to try this Bar that has a Crackling Belgian Chocolate exterior (dotted with caramelized crunchies mind you...slurp 1.0). On the inside it's all creamy and french vanilla-ey. And of course there are the coffee streaks that make wolfing down this devil worthwhile. 

Momma don't preach!

"Yeah, my momma she told me don't worry about your size

She says boys like a little more booty to hold at night"

                                                   Meghan Trainor All about that bass

Momma just got it wrong. The lady does care about her size and them boys can go take a hike.

Who's on a diet? Or let me rephrase that, Who's not on a diet?

Consciously, subconsciously we are all hooked to a meal plan or a diet. Don't we abstain from certain eating habits? Don't we end up endorsing some foods? & Don't we want to start a detox plan NOW? Don't we tell ourselves that today is the last day and tomorrow we'll be this whole new person who has zero cravings and amazing self control. Bah! How we cheat and bully ourselves!! 

Well, the trick is to try and eat healthy as far as possible. If you stick to a reasonable home cooked diet plan on the weekdays, party over the weekend will be so sweet. 

                                                                                                                                                                            Pic courtesy: Buro247

Here are some life-altering healthy decisions that I have endorsed and you can too. It's easy peasy things that you don't need to prepare for. You can start doing these things RIGHT NOW and you will forever Thank me for the same.

- Start your day with a cup of warm water. Squeeze in a lemon in the water, add a pinch of turmeric, some honey and a pinch of fresh ground pepper. 

How it helps?

The drink hydrates our body cells. It stimulates the liver, our body's primary detoxing organ. It gives a kickstart to our metabolic and digestive system. Lemon juice, turmeric and pepper have anti-fungal, immune boosting and detoxifying properties. 

                                                                                                                                                                           Pic courtesy: sheknows

- Include Flax Seeds in your diet. An easy trick is to roast these babies in the microwave for about 3 mins and churn them in a food processor to make a fine powder. Bottle this up and keep it next to salt and pepper in your kitchen. Every time you're cooking anything add a spoonful of powdered flax seeds to the meal. It'll ensure you end up making this wonder food an intrinsic part of your diet. 

How it helps?
These seeds contain Omega-3 essential fatty acids. They also contain Lignans, which have both plant estrogen and antioxidant qualities. Most importantly, flax seeds are one of the richest source of Fiber. 

  

- Snack time gluttony is the worse. Most of us eat responsible & healthy meals at Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner but it's the in-between snack scenes that destroy the diet plan. If you are at a loss when it comes to healthy snacking options, you need to start keeping a lot of healthy dips in your refrigerator. And rather than opting for store bought, factory produced dips invest a Sunday in Meal Prepping. Keep your refrigerator shelves teeming with Zero-Oil Hummus, Beetroot Dip, Tomato Salsa, Tzatziki, Wild Mushroom Dip.  You can indulge in these dips (best had with sliced tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, roasted beetroot, grilled cheese) guilt free. 

How it helps?

One small bowl of Hummus has a 100 calories. One small bowl of Tzatziki has 20 calories. One small bowl of Beetroot Dip has 40 calories. Savor these dips with raw sliced vegetables, a small bowl which has 50 calories. You cut down on 500-600 calories a day just by snacking on these babies. 

Oh! And yea. I make these dips at home and sell them under my brand VANILLA PODS KITCHEN. Write to me at vanillapodskitchen@gmail.com and I'll have a batch home delivered to you fellas. 

Massaged Kale Salad

An apple a day is good, but a salad a day is better. Make salads an intrinsic part of your lifestyle. Elevate them from the confines of a side dish to the main dish. Let them be the star recipe on your dinner table and your health will beam. 

I've been trying to include the new wonder food Kale in as many recipes as possible. I love Kale. I love eating it. I love cooking with it. From Smoothies to Stir fries to Salads, the rough bitter Kale leaf can bring a whole new dimension to a recipe. Kale is quite easily the King of Greens. It has antioxidants, anti-inflammatory benefits, cancer protective compounds, cholesterol lowering properties, flavonoids which ward off inflammation and detoxification properties. 

My star recipe of Massaged Kale Salad is a winner at my dinner table and at Farmers' Markets where I often sell my organic recipes. 

Here's the recipe of this wonderful salad

INGREDIENTS

100gms Kale leaves

100gms Lettuce

2tbs Organic honey

A handful of chopped walnuts 

1tbs Organic Apple Cider Vinegar

Juice of 1 Lemon

1tbs Organic Mustard

1/2 Red Bell Pepper Chopped

1 Onion chopped

1 Tomato chopped

1 Cucumber Chopped   

7-8 florets of steamed Broccoli

Salt and Fresh crushed White Pepper to taste

METHOD

Shred the Kale leaves to bite sized portions. Drop the juice of 1 lemon,  apple cider vinegar, honey, salt and pepper in it. Knead and massage the Kale well. The leaves will visually change before your eyes. They will start to wilt, become more vibrant green and softer in texture. It will also leave a green residue on being massaged, you can discard it if you don't relish it's taste. 

Because of it's tough nature, the Massaged Kale stays good in the refrigerator for 4-5 days, an unusual quality for a leafy green. 

Add rest of the ingredients to the massaged Kale Leaves and your Wonder Salad is all set to be devoured

Soup? 'Pho' sure!

When you are under the weather, there's nothing more comforting than a steaming hot pot of Ginger Honey Tea. My grandmother would add a pinch of Crushed Black Pepper to the drink. It would double the fun. With every sip, the pepper would beat against the throat, relaxing it. It would play the zumba in the nostrils, bringing instant relief from the common cold. She would have made it for me today.
And she would have cringed at the very thought of me making anything else instead, giving her simple time tested recipe a miss.
But, I guess, I needed a little more distraction and a lot more time in the kitchen, my therapy space, to fight the itch. So, I rustled up some delicious Pho.
I spent yesterday morning scouring through cookbooks and blogs looking for the perfect bowl of soup to soothe my sore throat and soul. And I didn't want Easy, I wanted to spend hours nursing the broth. The aromatic slow cooked Vietnamese Stew packed with Spices, Greens and Rice Noodles, said "Oh! Hello there, Phollow me" ... and "Pho Sure, I did".

Pho pronounced as Puh, kept me hooked to my little kitchen almost the entire day. It demanded attention and love. I submitted. I could just about manage to squeeze out time for my evening run. And as I was leaving home, the view from my living room, half fixed my ill health and spirit. Pho would tend to the other half at Dinner. It was a Date. I was looking forward to it.

Ingredients
For the broth
2tbs crushed ginger
2tbs crushed garlic
1 large onion chopped
2 crushed cloves
1 crushed cardamom
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
2 chopped carrots

For the dressing 
1 cup Steamed Vietnamese Rice Noodles
1 chopped bok choy
1 chopped broccoli (steamed)
1 teaspoon Sriracha Sauce
1 cup finely chopped coriander leaves
Juice of 1 lemon

Method

1. Put all the ingredients listed for the broth in a huge pot with around 4 litres of water. Cover it and let it simmer for 3-4 hours or until it reduces to around 1/4th of the original. The fresh spices and vegetables cook in copious water for hours...pumping the most delicious aroma into the kitchen, the kind you'd want to bottle up for a cold winter day.
You can prepare the broth before hand. It can be sieved and refrigerated and it won't go bad for atleast a week.

2. When serving the Pho, bring the already prepared broth to a boil. Pour it in a soup bowl, add the steamed Vietnamese Rice Noodles and Broccoli, Sriracha sauce, Lemon, Bok Choy and lots of Coriander.

God's own bowl

Yesterday on a whim, I scooped up the curtains, put them all to wash. Yesterday on a whim I wore my cleaning gloves and rubbed my oven squeaky clean. Yesterday on a whim, I made a Hummus bowl. And it's huge in my world right now. My reward for the day's labour.

Few things compare to the joy of a perfectly cooked and presented home-cooked meal. Also, rustling up a good meal, no matter how difficult or consuming it might be, never leaves you exhausted. Once the dish is plated and presented, the beauty of that moment engulfs your being. You want to make slow romance to it before you hungrily wolf it down. 

This Hummus Bowl with Roasted Vegetables tossed in Bhut Jolokia ain't for the faint hearted. Quite literally. Bhut Jolokia holds the notoriety of being one of the fieriest chillies in the world. Also known as Ghost Pepper, this Chilli grows in India's North Eastern states. It's a 1000 times hotter than your average Green Chilli. Interestingly, it finds use outside of the world of plates and palates. The Indian Military has used the Bhut Jolokia to produce a deadly grenade. Now, put that thought aside when you use it in your food. 

Ingredients

For the Hummus

- 100g cooked chickpea

- 1tbs Tahini

- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

- 2tbs Olive Oil

- 10 cloves of Garlic

For the Roasted Vegetables

- 1 diced carrot

- 1 chopped Red Pepper

- 1 chopped Yellow Pepper

- 7-10 small florets of Broccoli

- 1 diced Zucchini

- 1tbs EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 1 teaspoon garlic powder

- 1 teaspoon  

- 1/4th teaspoon of Bhut Jolokia paste (Available in supermarkets. I used this brand called PICO)

Method

1. Blitz all the ingredients for Hummus together in a blender for good 2 mins or till the time you get a smooth fluffy paste in. Spread the hummus in a bowl. 

2. Toss the Vegetables in Bhut Jolokia, EVOO and salt and roast in the Oven at 250C for 20 mins. Once out arrange on the Hummus Bowl. Devour and demolish. 

    

Waking up to the Green Beast

Wake-y! Wake-y! Look who's waiting for you!!?
Oh!! It's the giant green beast.

I might sound like I'm drunk but believe me I'm 50 shades of sober. And I didn't wake up from a bad dream either. Infact...I woke up to this. Like I have been on all sunshine mornings, the past few months.

Photosynthesis for the soul

It's my lovely green smoothie. I have endorsed it with all my might and love. It's green (yeah baby...burn with envy) And I can't even begin to count the benefits of this wonder potion. It has a tonne of veggies and leaves and it's a total heart happy drink. 

Find your best friend in this stunning green smoothie in 2015! And you will forever thank me for it. In this intensely chocolate covered..bacon wrapped..deep fried world...this be my saviour.

Recipe: 

My green smoothie packs in the punch of just about any leafy greens and veggies and fruits I can lay my hands on. This one has Kale, mint, coriander, Cucumber, Apple, Lemon, Spinach, Coconut Oil and Almonds(soaked in water overnight and peeled). 

Give it all a good spin in the juicer and pour it into a giant glass. Be greedy when being Green. 

Give yourself a week with this wonderful morning drink and I swear you'll feel the difference within. The happiness, glow and energy you'll derive from this plant based smoothie will keep you going strong through the day. 

Seriously Delish Sweet Potato Lasagna

I invest a lot of time, love and patience in developing recipes. I read a lot, I have conversations with self, I design concepts and then I execute them. But most importantly, I follow my gut instinct. Which means I might start off making a Hash but an hour later I could find myself with a curry.
Yesterday, for instance I told my husband I was rustling up a Sweet Potato Feta Salad for dinner, which he loves by the way. But when he got home, he found this on the dinner table instead

What does it look like? Not a salad. Thank You!

I did start off making my usual salad but as I roasted the Sweet Potatoes I realised I wanted to do something funky with them and I ended up with this lasagna instead. Of course I was mildly horrified that it didn't really LOOK like a lasagna. But, in trepidation, I had a bite and woaaah! It just burst on my tongue...like an explosion of silky, smooth, cheesy delightfulness. It tasted so darn good.

These are the times when I pull out a glass, pour myself some wine, turn on the music and do a little jig in the kitchen.

 I danced some more. With wine.

I'm going to share the recipe of this #Low Carb & #Vegan Seriously Delish Sweet Potato lasagna with you.

RECIPE:
Peel off 3 medium sized Sweet Potatoes and slice them into thin wafers using a Mandoline. If you don't have one, a sharp knife will do. Roast these wafers in a pre-heated oven set at 185 degrees for 30 mins. Pull them out and let them cool for 10 mins.
In a pan saute one large chopped onion, 3 cloves of garlic and a cup of cottage cheese. Though I didn't add any but you might add minced chicken in the mix if you wish. Season it with salt and pepper. Add 2 Spoons of fresh cream and 2 Spoons of Goat Cheese once the mix cools down. Voila! Your filling is ready.
In a baking dish meticulously layer the roasted sweet potatoes, then add dollops of the cottage and goat cheese filling. Repeat the layers till you fill up the baking dish. Right before dumping the dish in the oven, grate some mozzarella and cheddar on top. Bake at 200 degrees for 30 mins and you're good to go.
  

2015: 365 new culinary promises

Peace Out 2014! You were good. 2015 you better be awesome. So, I finally made the big switch towards the end of the year that was. I'd fallen victim to a 9-7 office job. I served my time for 10 years. But, I'm off the hook and loving it. The only thing I miss?? Last working day of the month. The SMS that told me I was rich.

It's been a month at home, in a new city and I have carefully invested every waking hour of every day... buying/cooking/baking/planting/plucking/eating/walking/running/
reading/thinking/sleeping/loving.

2015, I might have met you for only 2 days but nevermind, I officially declare you my favourite year!!

2015 is when I shall

- Cook more, eat less
- Feed people that I don't know
- Go Organic
- Crib less, Run more
- Love more, live more
- Reach out
- Take cheap holidays

My husband told me, "Stop looking for a Dream job, create your own." His words were inspiring and instantly appealed to me. I'll hang on to this dictum in 2015.

So, in the spirit of things..I have been spending my days scouring through Cookbooks, Blogs, Vlogs and Diaries to rustle up unique dishes that I intend to share with you on my blog.

My little Online bake studio #vanillapodskitchen is officially open for orders in Mumbai. We've been baking for the last 10 days and the response has been heartwarming.

We decided to do something funky for #FriMorning, after all Fridays are the start of the weekend. Berries are in season and I got myself a batch of the prettiest rarest deep red Strawberries. Made a No Bake Cheesecake and adorned it with these wonder berries.

Berry Nice to meet you!!! Believe me, this Cheesy is good Cheesy! #strawberrycheesecake