This is a great vegan recipe for Jello! Jello is a simple easy snack that most kids love. Instead of adding gelatin, I am using Agar-Agar. It is an excellent vegetarian alternative for gelatin. It’s a good snack for kids and adults alike.

Recipe will serve 4.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup grape juice
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon agar-agar powder (available in Indian and Asian stores)

Method

1. Dissolve the agar-agar in water, in saucepan combine juice, sugar, and water with agar-agar.
2. Bring it to boil over medium heat. Stir occasionally making sure agar-agar is mixed well. Let it boil for about 2 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat pour into individual cups or molds, or in a small glass tray. Refrigerate for about 3-4 hours.
4. Jello is ready to serve.

Notes

1. Pour the juice in the dish while it is hot as Jello will start getting set as it cools.
2. I have experimented many times to give the right texture to the Jello and this combination comes out just right. Adding more agar-agar or not adding water with the juice will make jello very firm.
3. Store bought orange juice did not work well for this recipe, but fresh orange juice works great.

All you have to do is post your Mother’s Day story to the discussion forum on the Mother’s Day topic that I have created.

The winners will be selected randomly from all the forum post entries.

Below is my checklist:

• You will not have email me anything this time. You can simply leave a posting on the Mother’s day forum topic.
• If you are creating a new account for the forum, please enter your email address so that I can contact you after the contest is over. Don’t worry, your email address will not be public (only I will be able to see it).
• The deadline is May 31th.
• The winner will be featured on the homepage and a link to their website (if available).

1st Prize: $100 gift certificate from Amazon.com
2nd Prize: $25 gift certificate from Amazon.com

**Anyone can join this contest**

Cucumber cooler with mint makes a very refreshing drink. This has a nice and soothing taste. This drink can be prepared up to a day in advance and it is great for outdoor parties and picnics.

Ingredients:

• 1 cucumber peeled and cut in small cubes to make about 2 cups (I like to use English cucumber)
• About 8 mint leaves
• 3 cups water
• 1 tablespoon lime juice adjust to taste
• 3 tablespoons sugar adjust to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper adjust to taste
• Ice cubes to serve

Method

1. In a blender, puree the cucumber, mint, salt, pepper and sugar. Pour the puree through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. Use the spoon to press the solids to take out all the juice. There will be about 1-1/4 cups of cucumber juice.
2. Add the lime juice mix it well.
3. Fill the glasses with ice cubes and pour the cucumber drink.
4. Cucumber cooler is ready to be served. Enjoy!

Congratulations to both of you!!

Thank you to everyone else that also participated in the contest:

• Adelina Srinivasan
• Nishant Goyal
• Jugnu Verma
• Qurat ul Ain
• Rachel Nead
• Sumedha
• Deepti
• Thess
• Laryssa Wirstiuk
• Renee Hagens
• Bharti Sanjay Rathore
• Priyab
• Crystal Schmidt
• Asha Sunilc
• Prachi Deshpande
• Shruti
• Marisa Raponi

• Deepika Mohan
• Richa Bhatnagar
• Rutu
• Jamie Claire Wilson
• Lakshmi Priya
• Aparna Nayak
• Kalmi
• Sapna Mehta
• Pooja Joshi
• theheirloomessence
• Dipti Joshi
• Ritu sethi
• Kamlesh
• Vandana
• Sirisha
• Shilpa R

This is a healthy and delicious vibrant green color soup. Green pea soup can be served with slice of bread or with rice.

Recipe will serve 4.

 Ingredients:

• 2 cup frozen thawed green peas
• 1 teaspoon ginger paste ( easy to make shred ginger using zester or fine shredder)
• 1-1/2 tablespoon oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
•  2 cups water

For seasoning:

• 1/2 tablespoon oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi dana)
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric (haldi)
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon garam masala, available in Indian grocery stores
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

 For garnishing 2 tablespoons of heavy cream is optional

Method

1. Blend the green peas into coarse paste using little water or no water.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan and add the peas, salt and ginger paste stir fry the peas over medium heat by pressing and scrapping from the sides for about 5 minutes. Set aside.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a saucepan over medium high heat, Test the heat by adding one cumin seed to the oil; if seed cracks right away oil is ready.
4. Add the cumin seeds as they crack add fenugreek seeds and turmeric stir for a second and add water let it come to boil.
5. Add cooked green peas, and cream, mix it well. As it comes to boil lower the heat to low medium, cover the sauce pan and let it cook for about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat.
6. Add lemon juice, black pepper, garam masala mix and cover for few minutes.
7. Garnish with cream. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy this tasty Pea Soup!

I truly enjoy doing these recipes and sharing with you. I take a lot of pride in my work through Manjula’s Kitchen. I often spend many hours working on each recipe. Despite this, I must say I truly enjoy this process. You, the viewers, have given me so much love and encouragement over the years. Your feedback and enthusiasm for Manjula’s Kitchen is invaluable. Youtube has given me a wonderful platform to promote my passion and love for cooking.

Not many people are able to say that they are following their passion at my stage in life (being a grandmother of four and all!). You, the viewers, deserve credit for this. So I would like to say a heartfelt thank you.

At first, I thought I would use pureed cucumber and mint, strain it, and add salt, black pepper, and lemon juice and simply serve over ice. I liked the idea of garnishing with a cucumber slice on the rim of the glass. I then decided this recipe needed to be revamped. So I did some research and googled some different cucumber mint drink recipes. After some research, I decided I would add some ginger to my original recipe. I was not a fan of the ginger as I did not think the flavor combination was right. I then tried adding soda water, but the cucumber flavor was washed out. I then thought that maybe my drink needed to be sweetened with honey. Both my husband and younger son nixed that idea and told me to keep my drink simple. I decided they were right and that I should stick to my original recipe. Sometimes the simplest recipes are the best, wouldn’t you say?

The combination of cucumber, mint, salt, black pepper and lemon juice is the perfect drink for a hot day. I really did enjoy it. Both my husband and son approved it as well. The beautiful lime color is simply too tempting to resist. I will be posting this recipe soon!

https://www.google.com/moderator/#15/e=1fe067&t=1fe067.46

Here is more information about youtube’s “On The Rise” program:

http://youtubecreator.blogspot.com/2013/04/introducing-your-april-on-rise-nominees.html

Thank you for your continued support!

• It has to be a colorful salad
• It has to contain some kind of fruit
• You must also create a homemade salad dressing (make sure to provide recipe for this too)
• It must be vegetarian and also egg-less.
• Please submit only ONE recipe.

In general I will only consider recipes that I feel are complete in regards to ingredients, measurement, and instruction. From there I am looking for creativity and a recipe that my viewers would enjoy to prepare on their own. I will be judging on overall recipe and presentation also.

Below is my checklist:

• Be Creative!
• Ingredients should be listed with measurements.
• Method must be explained clearly, so it’s easy to follow.
• Please include your name along with the recipe (as you would like it to appear).
• Search the web for ideas. There are many resources available.
• Please send me a detailed recipe to contest@manjulaskitchen.com
• You must also send original picture(s) of the recipe – do not simply grab a photo from the web. Otherwise your recipe will not be considered for entry.
• The deadline is April 27th.
• The winner will be featured on the homepage with the new recipe and a link to their website (if available).

1st Prize: $100 gift certificate from Amazon.com
2nd Prize: $25 gift certificate from Amazon.com

**Anyone can join this contest**

Congratulations to both of you!!

• Adelina Srinivasan
• Prachi Deshpande Punecon
• Siminder
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• Shamshun Nisa
• Nay Sidhu
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