Roasted Garlic & Butternut Squash Soup

Having family over is a great thing!

But when your family comprises of amazing cooks – it can only mean one thing for the long-ignored unfit body. I won’t elaborate – but 3 weeks of elaborate treats and thanksgiving like meals calls for soup week!

S and I made this soup yesterday, and hope to continue to 'wing' it in the kitchen and create fun soups for dinner!

Achari Baingan

We went a whole week without cooking! Yes, that's right. No standing in the kitchen for 4 hours on a Sunday. Instead, we spent time with some of our good friends and got back home well past midnight. I had work M-F, and usually that means I go to bed worrying about what to have for dinner or lunch the following day. Not this time. We kept it simple with frozen parathas and curd for dinner, and something equally ready to eat for lunch.


Anyhow, 5 days is about how long I can last on frozen food and maggi. So, Saturday lunch deserved some effort in the kitchen :-) Here's Achari Baingan!

Turnip Kurma

Fell in love with Turnip since the first time I made it a few weeks ago. It's purple skin and white interior thats hard to cut, but crisp n juicy to bite into makes for some melodrama in your mouth!
I made a Kurma with it as a side for Rice and Rotis. S and I loved how the combination tasted, so I decided to put it down here.

Here's the recipe (and a picture, ofcourse!)

Spinach Cucumber Soup

Eating significantly smaller portions than what I am used to gives me a nagging headache. I usually last 4 meals before I give up and remind myself I should start eating normally n just exercise regularly.

Who am I kidding, Right? We all know how that one ends... And it's not even New Years yet.

Anyway, green has a calming effect on me. And it also makes for a pretty colorful bowl of soup.

So, Monday night I served Spinach Cucumber Soup !

Chayote Corn Soup (Pretty Spicy)

Soup week resurfaces every time our bathroom scale hits a never seen before high. Yes, it happened again this Sunday!

We started our Saturday with a cup of green tea with lemon n honey. (Don't laugh! There is no harm in believing that all those years of bad eating & lack of exercise can be nullified with a glass of tea!)

And, to intensify the regime - we slept through most of Sunday as someone once told us that lack of sleep makes you bloat.

Lastly, while doing our weekly groceries - we stayed clear of the chips, cheese and cake aisles.

Good so far? :)

We still ended up with a fairly fat bill buying just fruits & vegetables. A lot of first time buys this time - including Chayote (Chow Chow), Butternut Squash & Asparagus.

Sunday menu was Chayote Corn Soup. Don't judge me for thinking that the Chayote would be perfect to play the part of a grumpy mean vegetable villain in a children's cartoon. Doesn't it look like it would eat you up, if you don't bite into it first? :P

Scrambled Tofu Manchurian

By now, I am fairly certain that the regulars to my blog might have figured out that I am an Eggetarian, with special affection to Paneer.

As you can see, we use Paneer in everything from Pizzas to Tikkas and consume some form of Paneer at least once a week. And since, we are being health conscious n all - I tried to work with its low fat cousin last Sunday. Yes, 'Tofu'.

What came about was Scrambled Tofu Manchurian. It's the kind of dish that goes well with English muffins, bread, rotis and even curd rice!

Paneer Pizza

In my home, our work schedules don't allow too much time to hit the gym. So we try to do our best to eat home cooked meals made from fresh organic produce to stay healthy. I am tempted to call ourselves locovores, as we make it a point to buy veggies from our local farmer's market every summer. I also consider myself a kitchen hoarder for I seem to spend most of my shopping budget buying serveware, bakeware and kitchen electronics! My favorite amongst all my kitchen gadgets is the Cuisinart 14 Cup Elite Food Processor that helps me chop all my veggies within seconds.

 

Anyway, with Sandy keeping most of us indoors for a few days - I thought to take on Project Pizza. For some reason I had thought it to be a difficult dish to do from scratch and I managed to break that myth last Sunday. It was super simple to put together and made for a mess-free hearty meal that tasted even better with a glass of wine!

Beetroot Soup

Having made soups for a while, I noticed how some vegetables always fight the rest and take over the flavor n color of the resulting bowl. From pictures in my previous posts you'd have seen carrot and zucchini soup look almost the same. That got quite boring, honestly.

Being a vegetarian, I pride myself in making a colorful meal. Color is almost synonymous with deliciousness (in my mind atleast!). So I set out to make this brilliant purplish-deep-maroon-beetroot soup.

While making it, I couldn't help but think how AWESOME a saree in Beetroot color with a white n gold zari would look. Pair it with some awesome Kemp Temple Jewelry and you have a stunning outfit! I dressed my soup in all the colors I'd love to see in a saree :)
Now, off to the recipe....

Paneer Tikka

Did I tell you already that I love to host parties? It gives me such pleasure to be able to plan a party in my head and execute it exactly the way I planned. My closes friends and S (am sure) are convinced that its some form of OCD. They call me Monica, and I actually like that! 

I have to make elaborate plans.
I have to send out atleast a 100 mails in the process of preparation.
I have to be able to make as many things to eat as I possibly can, and in record time.
I have to photograph them before anyone digs into it. And it naturally ends up here and on facebook.

I tried to grill Paneer Tikkas for one such party recently, and here it is:

Veg Frittatas

Waking up and running right out the door is a regular in my home. What comes with it is a bad breakfast habit. So, in an attempt to not starve, and at the same time not wake up early just to make breakfast... I made some Veg Frittatas today (and hope they last me a couple of days) !

It's rather quick and easy to make. You can stick to the non spicy version, if you'd like.

Onions, Garlic & Shallot Muffins

Some more Indian twists !

Shallots, are chinna vengaiyam (for those of you from South India). It's a diminutive member of the onion family and grows in clusters like garlic with a papery skin. To prepare a shallot, cut the ends, remove the papery skin, slit length wise and mince like you would cut up a small onion.

Spiced Cake with Golden Raisins

Despite the multiple cuisines that I have access to, Indian is still the hands down favorite. Come Friday, our dinner choices default to Mylai Masala or Saravana Bhavan. So when it comes to cakes and baking, why not give it an Indian twist?

I baked this cake with a number of spices including Coriander, Cayenne Pepper & Cinnamon, and glazed with Honey on top. The combination was different and quite addictive. I'd urge you to try it. It tastes brilliant with a mug of Ginger chai!