Fried Peppers

We were talking about peppers at work, right after the farmer’s market day. I mentioned something about fried peppers. Someone asked me, seriously, fried peppers?! I said why not. We have had raw, roasted, grilled peppers so why not fried peppers! And then I realize I might have made a mistake when I said fried peppers. I should have said shallow fried peppers. Either way, they are fried! I really love the crunchy sweet taste of the fried peppers. And don’t judge me as I always make every one believe I am a health nut and then talk about fried peppers. These babies are not deep fried as we would fritters. They are just shallow fried, until that light char achieved, that’s it. This is a very quick and easy side dish, enjoyable by any pepper fan!


There is no recipe for this. You want less or more oil, go for it. Your choice. Just heat up the oil on high heat, toss the pepper slices, cook for about 2-3 minutes, salt and pepper them. If you like it, hit them with a touch of balsamic vinegar and honey or leave them alone and enjoy. They are really good as wrapped sandwiches also.

Chili Paneer

Now this is not the traditionally made Hakka style chili paneer. It's made Pakistani style. This one Pakistani restaurant near my home, we go there often. I mean every other week! My son loves their food. They have really good butter chicken, chicken karahi, tikka masala etc dishes that are truly lip smacking. We tried their chili chicken once, and absolutely loved it. At first we thought that it might be Chinese style chili chicken. But to our surprise, it wasn't. It was red dry curry and OMG, it tasted simply delish! It was kind of spicy with lots of green chilies and right away I knew I've got to make this dish at home! Mark loves chicken but not paneer. I've got the chance when he went for a sleep over at a friend's. For the two of us, I made this chili paneer for supper and it warmed up the soul! Everything came together so quickly, I couldn't even believe my eyes when I checked the time! I was done under 30 minutes with parathas to go with my chili paneer.


Chili Paneer

Ingredients
1 lb. paneer, cut into cubes
1 tbsp oil + 2 tbsp for coating
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium green pepper, diced
3-4 green hot chillies(adjust per your taste)
1 tbsp Kashmiri chili powder
1 tbsp each coriander and cumin powder
2 tbsp freshly grated garlic
1/2 tomato, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Chat masala to taste
A few slivers of ginger for garnish

How to:

Coat the paneer pieces with oil, chat masala and bake at 400° F oven for about 10 minutes or till golden brown.
You need to flip them once the bottom is golden.
In a sauce pot, heat up the oil. Add onion and cook till translucent.
Now add the spices, hot green chili, tomato and green pepper cubes and saute on medium high heat till the pepper is tender.
Now add paneer pieces, salt and adjust the seasoning.
Toss everything and cover and cook for 5 more minutes till the spices get incorporated with paneer.
Serve hot.

Shrimp Crostini

This is one of my favorite lunch items. It’s very versatile, you can alter the veggies and meat per your need and it requires no time to assemble. This is an open faced sandwich with all the veggie and protein fixings you need for the day to keep you going. And I need it. I just got promoted. And every new job brings new responsibilities. I have no time at work unlike before. I used to write my posts at work before. Now I can only do it in my short lunch which is mainly eating at desk, working! At home, same old same old. Busy busy busy. So this is exactly what I need. Very less chopping and prepping and voila, a perfectly balanced lunch/snack is ready.

Shrimp Crostini
Ingredients
1 slice multi grain bread, toasted lightly
Slices of cucumber, avocado, bell pepper
Cooked shrimps(or cooked chicken)
Green onions, for garnish
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzle

How to:

Easy.
Build the layers of veggies and meat on top of the toasted slice.
Make sure you drizzle each layer with EVOO and salt and pepper each layer.
Enjoy.

Carrot Muffins

Carrot muffins have the look and flavor of a carrot cake only they are in muffin form. These 'Morning Glory Muffins' are cinnamon scented muffins,loaded with flavorful ingredients; things like toasted nuts, sweetened coconut, grated apple, and grated carrots. Although these muffins need no adornment, sometimes I can't resist smearing them with a little cream cheese icing. Not this time though.

The pitfall with all muffin batters is in over mixing the batter and ending up with a tough muffin. So make sure you only mix the batter until the ingredients are combined and moistened. A few flecks of flour are fine. To make the job easier, plus to give the baked muffins a nice domed shape, use an ice cream scoop to fill the muffin cups. Of course, if you do not have one, two spoons will do the job. As always, if you want standard sized muffins, only fill the muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. However, if you like your muffins with a crown, fill the cups almost to the top. Just make sure to grease the top of the muffin pan so that as the batter overflows it does not stick to the top of the pan. And don't forget to fill any unfilled muffin cups with a little water to ensure even baking as well as preventing the pan from warping.

My family enjoyed these nutrition packed, delicious treats on Sunday mornings. I hope yours does too!

Carrot Muffins

Ingredients:

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
2 cups grated raw carrot (about 2-3 peeled carrots)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups granulated white sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
3 large eggs
3/4 cup canola oil

How to:

Preheat oven to 350° F and place rack in center of oven.
Place paper liners in 18 muffin cups.
Toast the walnuts for about 8 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant.
 Let cool and then chop coarsely.
Peel and finely grate the carrots.
Set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground powders.
Stir in the nuts.
Set aside.
In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs and oil.
Fold the wet ingredients, along with the grated carrot, into the flour mixture, stirring just until moistened. Evenly divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.
After about 10 minutes remove the muffins from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Well, this was actually the first course of one of my fall dinners that I’ve been posting so far this month. I promise, no whining, only dining this time!

Fall is the season when the super markets and farmer’s markets show basketfuls of rainbow peppers. I just so want to grab one and bite into it just like I would an apple. They are seriously inviting to bite into them. I have jars full of roasted peppers to use for the whole year. I have roasted eggplants, sitting in sealed Ziploc baggies in my freezer to make caponata, eggplant dip or simply eggplant bhurta. So, back to roasted peppers. What is better than the hot n steamy soup on cold evenings? And if the soup is loaded with red peppers, which is so high in fiber and antioxidants, I am all for it. Here’s how I made it.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Ingredients

3-4 large red peppers
1 large red onion
3-4 garlic cloves
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp oil
1 litre broth or water( I used chicken broth)
Sour cream, basil for garnish, optional

How to:

Preheat the oven to 450° F.
Cut the peppers in two, place them on a baking tray and roast them. Alternately, you can grill them until they are charred.
Place the roasted peppers in a zip lock bag, seal the bag.
Once they cool down, skin them.
Heat up the oil on medium high heat.
Saute onion and garlic till translucent.
Add roasted peppers, salt and pepper and broth.
Bring to boil, cover and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes.
Puree with the hand blender or in a mixie.
Enjoy hot soup with garlic bread, garnished with sour cream and basil.

Thai Red Curry Noodles

Now this is another fall/winter comfort food, based on the degree of heat! I had never made this noodles before. It was always on the back of my mind to make it and have it instead of with rice. I have a big can of red curry paste sitting in my fridge and I happened to have all the necessary ingredients as well, minus the chicken. So I thought why not make it a vegetarian dish. My family absolutely loved it. To them, the flavor and the crunch were amazing. I came, I cooked and I conquered!

So, here is how I made it.

Thai Red Curry Noodles

Ingredients

½ lb. whole wheat spaghetti
3-4 cups of sliced vegetables of choice, I used onion, cabbage, pepper, broccoli
2-3 tbsp Thai Red Curry paste
2 tbsp peanut butter
Salt to taste
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp + a palmful of chopped cilantro for garnish
Chopped salted peanuts

How to:

Cook pasta per package directions. Keep them al dante.
In a food processor, mix curry paste, peanut butter, 2 tbsp cilantro and about 2 tbsp water to make thick sauce.
Heat oil in a wok on high heat.
Saute all vegetables until they are crisp tender.
Add noodles and sauce. Salt per taste.
Add more pasta water to your likeness and serve hot with cilantro and crushed peanuts.

Baked Kale Chips

Looks like there is a trend going on. Everyone seems to be making Kale Chips..I have never used Kale in my cooking until now. I’ve heard so many people bragging about the making and eating of Kale chips, I thought why not give it a try. Kale itself is kind of a daunting green for me! Those curly dark green leaves, thick thick stalks and the bitterness-have always put me off using it in my kitchen. But again I know that cooking or blanching will reduce the bitterness. So I thought to start with the chips. Wanted to see how it goes and then take a step further to cook with Kale on regular basis. Turned out, the chips themselves were great. nicely done and crispy. That bitterness was still there. but at the same time, the crunch from the sea salt made it tasty and bearable. It didn’t click with hubby and baby! They in fact didn’t even care to look at it! Phew, poor me! I think I have to stick with making these chips just for myself, 2-3 leaves at a time!


OK, this is totally up to you! Make it or leave it! Not kidding. This is not for everyone. It takes an acquired taste. The leaves are big, so try to make a couple of chips at a time and see if it is for you. Next time I think I will get rid of the stalk, make smaller pieces of the leaves so that it would be easy to handle the chips.

Baked Kale Chips

Ingredients
1 bunch of Kale, washed, thoroughly pat dried
2-3 tbsp olive oil
½ tbsp red pepper flake
1 tbsp sea salt

How to:

Heat oil on a small pot.
Stir in red pepper flakes, basically you are making chili oil.
Heat oven to 425° F.
Toss kale leaves with oil and salt and arrange them in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
Bake for about 7 minutes on one side.
Flip the sides and bake for another 6-7 minutes or until crisp.
Enjoy!