Bounty From The Garden

It is a little strange to consume the lovingly brought up green beauties but it is harvest time in the lan household. No, the beans and corn are not ready yet. Neither are the tomatoes, chili etc (I wish!) But the lettuce leaves are. I wouldn't have realized that they ready, had it not been for visiting HAunt asking what we are waiting for! So took a basket, collected leaves from the mixed variety and made a salad with a quick dressing recipe poached from PW's website. Here is the know-how:

In The Mix

Veggie patch in your backyard : 1
Basket to hoard the green goodies : 1
Green lettuce leaves ready for plucking - as many as you want
cherry tomatoes - a handful cut in two
herbs  - a sprig or two ( i used cilantro and spearmint ehem.. from my garden)

For the Dressing
( With slight changes from PW)
olive oil     - 2tbsp
lemon juice - from half a lemon
garlic - 1 clove
salt - 1/4 tsp
pepper - as much as you want
sugar - 1/4 tsp
paprika - a pinch
parmesan - didn't use this as i didn't have some at hand.


How To Do
Place all ingredients for the dressing in a jar. Shake well. Store in fridge for 24 hours and it is ready. I used a glass and covered it up with plastic wrap. Peel the garlic before adding but no need to crush or slice. Didn't have enough time to let sit the first time but still tasted pretty good. Sitting for a while obviously infuses more flavors and next time I might add the cheese to see how it differs.

Cut the aforementioned salad green as small or as big as you want. Throw in a sprig or two of the herbs of your choice torn to desired size. Add halved tomatoes and dressing and toss well in a bowl before serving. Good for the body, good for the mind:-)

Oh Glorious Spring!

The smoothie in the glass if you can see it is with water melon, banana and milk, generally following this recipe. Yes spring is here in all its beauty!

I am beginning to enjoy the changing seasons here. Spring, of course is the best as it heralds the end of winter and fun time outside the house. This year is special because we finally decided to start that vegetable patch. Yes, you heard it right. V-e-g-e-t-a-b-l-e patch! My family will be so overwhelmed by this turn of events. The I-don't-want-to-get-my-hands-dirty girl is doing what? My oldest brother however is quite the green thumb and was probably happy to see this picture of our humble patch that I texted him.

For all humility our intentions for the patch are quite lofty. The following members are thriving in it so far: beans, corn, lettuce, chili, okra, onion aaaaand tomatoes. Our carrots however were not happy to be transplanted and some of them are giving up despite tender and constant care. Good that at least a few are planning to stay. The kids were out in full force helping till the soil, adding plant mix, food, digging holes and what not. The best loved activity is of course watering! It is pleasant and very relaxing to be in the presence of these growing things. Leaves moving gently in the wind always do something to me and I can watch this activity for all eternity. So I love watching the little beauties braving the hot sun and living it up with the backyard wind! Now I get my Mom's fascination with growing things although I had always appreciated that in her. I surprised myself by this sudden passion to grow things! I certainly hope at least a few of them will bear fruit so the passion will live on. My husband had always loved working with roses and other flowering plants but had put things off for a while. Now that I am in the melee he is having fun too. He is seriously trying to grow a muscat grape vine and I hope it will thrive. Grapes are not easy but he is confident. My Mom had brought up this grape vine in our garden in India by her constant vigilance and I still remember the few white grape clusters that grew on it and the joy! My oldest brother had brought the seeds for her. He texted me this picture of his rose garden.

There is not a veggie or fruit tree that he has not grown successfully in their ample backyard. My sister-in-law often talks happily of their yearly harvest which is always so plentiful. They are visiting us along with my Hfamily for my girl's first communion and I hope these little guys will be thriving by then. The weather is so weird this year! Just last week we had a day of hot hot sun, two days of rain and a few regular days! I hope we are not over watering them which happened the one time I tried this before. This time we are faithfully following the garden store lady's advice to the letter. I even tried to draw a picture! I know, I know. It was a passing fancy and I won't repeat it.  But this beautiful flower in our garden begged to be drawn and here it is:

Yes, it was on the back of a picture bingo game paper and you can see some of it showing up. What is great is that I got a precious award from my girl for the picture. Proudly I bring it to you my fellow Moms:

Wait till she grows up and sees it for all its shortcomings. Untill then allow me to bask in it....

t

Cauliflower Soup by Chef Tyler Florence from House Beautiful

 My kids were having their regular dentist checkups and I was whiling time away by browsing the magazines. This recipe and accompanying pictures in House Beautiful caused me to pause and take a closer look. Being veggie heavy in ingredients seemed like a plus and I decided give Chef Tyler Florence's recipe a try. So took some snaps of the recipe and came home where I had some of the ingredients. Recipe and method follows with the little that I changed.

In The Mix

Olive Oil                 3 tbsp

brussel sprouts       6, separated into petals.

unsalted butter        3 tbsp

cauliflower              1 head, separated into florets and cut to medium sized pieces

yellow onion            1/2 sliced

fresh thyme             5 sprigs (recipe asks for lemon thyme and since i didn't have it used regular thyme hoping to offset by using lemon juice)

bay leaves              2 (recipe asks for fresh, had to use dry as i didn't have fresh)

whole milk              3 cups

lemon juice             2 tbsp (recipe asks for 1, added 1 more tbsp in place of lemon thyme)

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

salmon roe (2oz) is requested by the recipe which I didn't have.

extra virgin olive oil and finely sliced chives to garnish (had oil but no chives)

How To Do

Heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the brussel sprouts petals and saute for 2-3 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Set aside to drain on a paper towel. 

Add butter to the same sauce pan and lightly saute the cauliflower pieces and onion. Cook over medium heat until tender. (2 to 3 minutes) Season with salt and pepper.

Make a cheesecloth sachet with the thyme sprigs and bay leaves and add it to the saucepan. I loved this step. Felt I was doing some serious 'chef'ing'  Now add the milk and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook for 10-12 min until cauliflower is soft.

Remove the sachet and transfer mixture to a blender. Add 1 tbsp of lemon juice to the blender. Puree until smooth. Add more lemon juice, salt and pepper as needed. Remember, salt is not your friend:-))

Serve the soup in tea cups like I did if you don't have espresso cups suggested in the recipe. Garnish with extra virgin olive oil and a brussel leaf or two.Salmon roe and chives can be added if you have them.I am sure it will bring the taste to the next level as intended by Chef Florence.

The soup as it was, looked good and tasted good. As with all soups, remember to have it hot. Kids did not take to it much.I liked it enough to want to try it again with another vegetable and all required ingredients. How it looked was priceless!!

Ruthie's Bread & Butter Pudding - from Nora Ephron's 'I Remember Nothing'

When I finished reading Nora Ephron's book, the one thing that I wanted to do was to make that bread pudding. Ephron's love for her deceased friend Ruthie got eternalized when she added Ruthie's recipe into the book.

In the Mix

large eggs - 5

egg yolks  - 4

granulated sugar - 1 cup

salt - 1/4 tsp

whole milk - 1 quart (~960ml)

heavy whipped cream aka heavy cream - 2 cups

vanilla extract - 1 tsp

brioche bread - 12 half inch thick slices, crusts removed

butter - 1 stick or less, brought to room temp

confectioners sugar - 1/cup or as needed 

How To Do

 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a flat baking pan (2 quarts) with shortening or butter. Need an extra baking pan larger than this to place it in a water bath while baking. I used my turkey roasting pan which was big enough.

Gently beat/whisk the eggs, egg yolks, granulated sugar and salt until thoroughly blended. You can use home baked brioche bread if you have any. Butter one side of the bread slices and set aside.

Scald all the milk and 1 cup of heavy cream in a saucepan over high heat. Do not boil. When you tip the pan and it makes a sizzling noise, remove from heat.Add in the vanilla extract. Stir this gently into the egg mixture without beating until blended.

Overlap the bread, butter side up in the greased baking pan and pour the prepared mix over it. Not all pieces need to be submerged I guess but do make sure those pieces get poured over with some of the liquid. Set in the larger pan and add hot water to come halfway up the side of the baking dish. Bake for about 45 minutes or a sharp knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. The bread should be golden and the pudding puffed up. Can be done earlier in the day.

Before serving, sprinkle with confectioner's sugar and place under a broiler for a minute or so. Or use a crème brûlée torch to brown the sugar. Serve with heavy cream. I did not brown the confectioner’s sugar and it was still yum. Adding heavy cream is optional as the dish is loaded enough!

I loved it even more after refrigerating for a few hours. Do any browning before you refrigerate. If you can imagine our household (mainly the mom and dad) forgoing dinner and walking more than usual just to enjoy a measly joint of this heavenly dish, then you know how good it is! I have a nice crème brûlée recipe from the net that I make but this is way easier and as tasty!! I had meant to take it to the office for our group meeting but just couldn’t do it in the end. Why not have a fun whole week where everyday is filled with the anticipation of devouring a piece of this dessert and achieve Nirvana instead of giving it away? Not generous I know. So sue me:-))

One Of a Kind Veggie Patty!

My husband has devised this veggie patty for his lunch needs so he won't have to face the multitude of salty yet tempting lunch choices at work. This is especially since he figured that his 'go to' lunch of the Subway veggie patty has more sodium than needed. We wish for Subway to make an unsalted version soon. Until then this veggie patty will do more than just fine. It is so healthy and full of goodness that just looking at it should be enough:-) Recipe follows.

In The Mix

mixed lentils and beans (dal) - little less than 2 cups (we keep this pre mixed in a jar - about equal amounts of black eyed beans, kidney beans, toor dal and masoor dal)
potato - 1 large or 2 medium sized peeled

red onion - 1 medium sized, finely chopped
fresh frozen veggie mix - 1 bag (16oz) of corn, green peas, green beans, carrots
fresh carrot - 1 peeled and chopped
red bell pepper - 1/2 deseede, chopped
green bell pepper - 1/2 deseeded, chopped
porta bella mushroom  - 1 large (4" to 5") chopped
button mushrooms - 5 chopped
jalapeno pepper - 2 large deseeded, chopped

regular oatmeal - 3/4 cup (crushed into crumbs in the blender) or can use bread crumbs instead
egg - 1
salt - add ( if you must... veggies have their own natural sodium and you won't miss the salt. trust me)

How To Do

Preheat oven to 350 F (180C)

First cook the lentils and potato in separate pots. Mash together the lentils once cooked. Mash the potato coarsely in the pan after draining any water. Combine together gently and set aside.

Now cook all the veggies including the peppers without adding any water in a closed container on medium heat. Frozen veggies have extra water in them which is OK.

Add cooked veggie mix to the lentil potato mix. Add a beaten egg and oatmeal or bread crumbs. Add salt to your needs and gently mix all well together.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Spread the mix on to the tray and flatten to desired thickness. We needed 1 1/2 cookie sheet space for the whole mix. Use a dinner knife or spatula to split to patty size. Makes about 18 patties. Insert into oven and bake for 5 minutes. This is so everything gels together since most of the stuff is already cooked. Take out and set to cool.

Freeze and use as needed by heating in the microwave. Thawing is not necessary but if you take it out of the freezer in the morning and heat it up at lunch that will workout just fine. Yum when placed between 2 toasted pieces of your favorite bread. Can add sauces to increase flavor but be warned that they are salty by nature. Follow this recipe for your sandwich needs and your one way ticket to the health wagon is on to a good start!

Awards And Anniversaries!

Er.. There is only one award and one anniversary. I went for the plural because it sounded way better than 'an award and an anniversary':-))) The anniversary is of my blogs. Yes, they've been in existence now for four years! I am happy that I have them ready to oblige when the need hits me. Yet they are pliant and waiting when I run dry. Maybe I should get a dog. eh? My daughter and I have discussed this many times and we even got rejected in a puppy adoption interview because H and I work full time. So now we are thinking of a compromise and maybe thinking of getting a cat. They are such independent creatures yet so cuddly! It is still a big commitment and so we have not yet wet our feet on that one.

And...now for the award. Reflections in her kindness has given me the versatile blogger award. I am truly honored and am hoping to fulfill the tag that came with it though I am not very sure if I will succeed. Thanks Nance!

The rules of this tag:

 Add the Versatile Blogger Award picture to your Blog Post
 Thank the Blogger who nominated you
 Share 7 Random things about yourself
 Nominate 15 fellow Bloggers
 Inform the Bloggers of their nomination

Instead of 15 I bestow this award to all my readers who blog and urge them to put this up and follow the rules as necessary including the random tag.

As for 7 random things about myself, here we go in no particular order:

1. I am a woman.

2. I am a mother.

3. I am a sister.

4. I am a wife.

5. I am a daughter.

6. I am an aunt.

7. I am a niece.

Hey, I am getting the hang of this and loving it. I want to add more!

8. I am a granddaughter.

9. I am not a grandmother yet and hope it will stay that way for a reasonable time for all involved:-)

10. I am a grand niece.

11. I am a daughter-in-law.

12. I am a sister-in-law.

13. I am a niece-in-law.

14. I am an aunt-in-law.

15. Changing the tone a bit now: I am a friend.

16. I am a blogger.

17. I am an employee.

18. I am a citizen.

19. I used to be a student. Wish I could be again...

20. I love to read. Bet you couldn't have seen that coming!

21. I love to cook/experiment new things.

22. I am remodeling our kitchen.

OK. time to stop and take stock of what we have here. See number 22? Yup that is what is going on in our kitchen as we speak. Only, instead of the promised 4 days it is now into the 3rd week that we have been doing without a kitchen. So then how are we surviving? The kids subsist on butter chicken and naan lovingly cooked by the nearby Indian store cooks, I on brioche bread from Whole Foods topped with honey and H on the brown rice we had cooked before all this started but which is now finished. If the contractors won't get off their lovely bottoms and speed things up we might be heading towards marital disharmony with all the juggling that's been going on... It is not all that bad though. We steam/bake our way into most that we can and do cook some food outside. If only it wasn't winter though... I am having some fun on the side doing kitchen decor shopping. It is supposed to be all done by this Thursday and I have fingers crossed left and right so wish me luck.

Thanks nance, I guess I got a little carried away but I had fun doing the tag.

Yet Another Yellow Cake Recipe

As I have posted before, I am a total sucker for the holidays. Something in the air just gets to ya! Maybe it is the falling leaves sprinkled on the grass like stars of the sky, or a world in clear focus right after the October showers (if there is such a thing) or  it could be the rainbow of trees lining the streets in full boom with the myriad colors of fall. Er.. bear with me while I am trying to wax poetic  here. A body has to do what a body has to do! Now that it is out of the system I'll get down to business:-)

 

This is not a real recipe by the way. It does have some steps that are in addition to the standard box instructions and thus makes it worthwhile to post.  I get good reviews every time I remember to make it.  Came across this cake sometime back at my previous work place. From the admin (secretary) to our then CEO ."To be precise", said Thomson and Thompson:-) She was this fashionable old lady that took pride in doing things well. So when she baked the cake and brought it for us, I got the recipe from her right away. It is simple enough and when I made it after a long time  for my son's robotics team who used to meet at our home for a while, all of it was gone in no time!  This is almost like the Christmas Rum cake but with a subtler taste.

In The Mix

Any yellow cake mix - 1 Box (Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines will do)
Jello Vanilla - 1 box 3 oz. (cook & serve, not the instant
canola oil - 3/4 cup
dry sherry (white not dark) - 3/4 cup
eggs - 4

How To Do

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl blend all the ingredients together. The secret to this cake is to beat, beat and beat until the mixture becomes smooth. 5 to 6 minutes appear to do the work.

I love to use the bundt cake pan for everything these days because the cake fluffs up very nicely in it. Grease the pan with shortening. I find it easier to put a tsp of butter or shortening to the pan and place it in the preheating oven. Once shortening melts I take the pan out and coat everywhere with a paper napkin. Do take care not to burn your hand though if doing this.

Pour batter into the pan and place it in the oven. Bake for about 50 minutes or until a fork inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool down for 15 minutes and enjoy!

Here is the missing piece that I managed to capture before being driven into oblivion!

Have a wonderful Christmas and a Fabulous New Year. Happy Holidays!!