The Vegetarian Way

Crossroads Delicatessen

2012-01-27T08:56:00.000-08:00

http://crossroadsdelicatessen.com/These guys serve the best tomato soup this side of town! and free gourmet breads to go with. My favorite is their olive bread. On a cold, dreary, winter day..warm spoon fulls of tangy, creamy soup with hints of fresh herb ....yum.

Green gram daal dosas

2012-01-27T08:22:00.000-08:00

I took a cup of green gram whole beans, also called 'lilva' in Hindi and soaked them overnight. You can find them dry in the Indian store, or even in the frozen section. I used the dry ones. The following day I ground them with 2 garlic pods, 4 whole black pepper balls and salt to taste. I tried to use as little water as possible while grinding to keep the batter thick.Then I prepared the

Khichadi bread rolls

2011-11-29T09:06:00.001-08:00

Khichadi is a stew of lentils, rice and vegetables with spices. You can make it mild and simple if you are under the weather and have it hot with yogurt. Or get creative and make it spicy. After my daughter, I almost always have some type of khichadi in the fridge. Because its the easiest way to get her to eat everything in one meal.This time I took left over khichadi and worked it by hand, into

Navy beans ragda

2011-11-27T06:59:00.000-08:00

I was inspired to make this dish for 2 reasons - I was out of the dry peas to make the ragda and I happened to be reading about navy beans. Did you know why they are called so? They were fed (and probably still are) to the US Navy - because in short, they are the leanest beans - with the highest protein to fat ratio, so packed with tons of protein and has almost no fat.Ragda is a spicy pea soup

Black eye beans

2011-11-03T11:27:00.000-07:00

I know whole beans arent the best food for infants, given the flatulence they cause, but after researching the flatulence ratings of various beans, black eye beans seemed safe, of course, in small quantities. She must have had 6-8 in the day. Also its fun to change up their snacks, infants get bored too. She really enjoyed picking at them on her own.I really like these beans, they inherently

Eggplant basil focaccia

2011-10-27T10:20:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:-Rosemary focaccia thins (Costco find)-1/3" thick eggplant slices-Spices: Paprika, salt, pepper, "Chunky chat masala (Indian store)"-Olive oil-Vine ripe tomato slices-Fresh basil-MozzarellaIn a small bowl I mixed the paprika, salt, pepper and chat masala to taste with some olive oil. Then brushed this on both sides of the eggplant slices and grilled them.Then I layered the focaccia

Buckwheat breakfast bites

2011-10-20T07:44:00.000-07:00

I was first introduced to Buckwheat by my Russian friends, they made it like rice and served it with a dill/tomato/onion yogurt dish along with a vegetarian Borsht. Buckwheat is a highly nutritious grain, and ever since I have been tinkering around to include it in our meals. And now in my daughter's too. It has a nutty-sweet yet a hint of bitter flavor so I was skeptical of how she would receive

Guest dish: Kabuli Pulav

2011-10-18T08:46:00.000-07:00

I cant describe in words just how flavorful this rice dish is. Spoon fulls of warm delicious, with roasted onion aromas, hints of garlic, juicy raisins, soft yet crunchy almond slivers, sweet carrot relish... mmmm..Sauce: Chunks of red onion are deep fried to almost blacken, then pressure cooked with tomatoes and garlic and pureed to a smooth blend.Rice: Long grain Afghani rice simmers to cook in

Mediterranean Penne

2011-10-13T09:05:00.000-07:00

Get your ingredients ready: I sliced up some white onion, red peppers and pickled jalapeno, then took generous scoops of kalamata olives and capers.I set the pasta to boil with some salt and oil.While the pasta cooked, I sauteed the vegetables with paprika and some salt.As the vegetables got tender, I added peeled zucchini and paneer (from Costco) chunks.Folding all the vegetables gently, I

Postpartum do's and donts

2011-10-08T08:54:00.000-07:00

I am no physician or dietitian, I am just giving you what worked for me based on family advice - in order to regain my strength, my Hb, my Calcium, and keep baby free of colic. My Hb on this diet and mom's TLC was the highest its ever been: 14.5! The nurse doing the Hb test at my 6wk postpartum check was so surprised and asked if I was taking supplements? No :)And my daughter has been colic free

Snack on fresh fruits

2011-10-06T10:44:00.001-07:00

Ideas for snacks - berries, cherries, grapes.. I would encourage as much fruit or natural home made snack as you can instead of offering store bought processed snacks. You want to try to instill these habits early. Just stay away from plums and peaches, at least my one year old's bowel is still sensitive to those two.She loves to independently pick at berries and will gobble up so many at once.

Baby potato ricotta bites

2011-09-30T13:32:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:1/2 potato1 tbsp full fat ricottahandful frozen peassalt to tastepinch of turmeric pwdMethod:I boiled the potato and peas, mashed them, then added in the seasonings and ricotta and worked it all into an even paste. Then made small bite size balls and flattened them.I cooked them on a non stick pan with very little butter.Then waited for them to cool before serving.

Baby recipes

2011-09-30T13:30:00.001-07:00

Potato ricotta bitesSnack on fresh fruitsBuckwheat pancake bitesBlack eye beans as a snack

Guest Dishes

2011-09-24T13:03:00.001-07:00

I am going to use this section to blog about my favorite guest dishes. I have a general idea about how to make them but dont always have the exact recipe. Once I have tried them in my kitchen I'll post the proportions, ingredients and methods. Ashak (Afghani spinach ravioli)Kabuli Pulav

Guest dish: Ashak (Afghani ravioli)

2011-09-23T15:26:00.001-07:00

The best way to describe this Afghani dish is a type of ravioli. My friend fills it with a mildly spicy spinach/green onion/cilantro mixture. She uses pot sticker wrappers and folds them into semi circles. Then boils them and serves it with a home made thick and tart yogurt and home made red sauce (tomato, onion, garlic, red bell pepper, paprika, salt), garnished with dried mint. Mouthfuls of

Good day cafe

2011-09-20T13:47:00.001-07:00

A spacious yet cozy cafe across the highway from my home, this place has helped us celebrate many occasions with a hearty, fresh, flavorful start to the day. I couldnt find their website for you, but here's their address and number from yelp:5410 Wayzata BlvdGolden Valley, MN 55416(763) 544-0205Anyone that knows my tastes intimately knows I cant stand egg. But I can have the french toast at this

Winter spice, brown rice pudding

2011-09-19T12:59:00.001-07:00

As the weather gets cooler I love making different kinds of pudding. They are very simple. I call them the 3 step pudding.1. For starch I use one of the following - cooked - rice, brown rice, semolina noodles, or whole wheat grain.2. I always cook the starch in organic 2% milk with desired amount of sugar. 3. For spice - its a varied combination of the following - cardamom, nutmeg, raisins,

French beans (fansi)

2011-09-16T10:45:00.001-07:00

French beans sauteed Indian styleIngredients:Finely cut beans - 3 cups 1 tbsp your choice of cooking oilpinch of asafoetida (you can get this at the indian grocery store)1 tsp turmeric pwd1 tsp red chilly pwdsalt to taste1 tbsp lemon juice1 tsp black mustard seedschopped cilantro for garnishMethod:1. Wash and chop the beans2. Heat the oil, throw in the mustard seeds, wait for them to splatter,

T's place

2011-09-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

http://www.tsmpls.com/This is my favorite Ethiopian place in town so far. They are open late, serve till 11pm if I remember correctly, have a casual, comfy dining space with a bar in the center and a live band stage on weekend nights. I highly recommend calling them before driving over because they dont open on time [African standard time :) - If I may generalize] and are closed on days you

Calcium rich foods

2011-05-23T08:02:00.000-07:00

Recently my grandmother got her bone marrow density check and we learnt her Calcium was dangerously low. It immediately prompted me to find diet solutions to aid whatever the doctor has prescribed. I was surprised to learn of some of the foods in the list and wanted to share with all of you. Daily intake of Calicum should be around 1000mg for adults. It varies ofcourse with age and gender and if

Oatmeal walnut chocolate chip cookies

2011-03-19T22:26:00.001-07:00

This ones for my good friend Sarah Scott. I modified her orginal recipe, to reduce the sugar and fat, and added nuts and some whole oats. Sending lots of love from Minneapolis to KC my dear!Ingredients: (Makes 17-20)1.5 cup flour1 tsp soda1 tsp salt1/2 stick melted butter , 3 tbsp canola oil, 1 tbspn egg white3/4 brown sugar, 4 tbsp apple sauce1 tsp vanilla1/2 tsp water1/2 cup uncooked minute

Buckwheat cheddar potato pancakes with apricot compote

2011-03-16T07:37:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:1/2 cup buckwheat flour1/2 cup buttermilk pancake flour1/2 grated potato1/3 cup jalapeno cheddar gratedsalt, pepper to tasteMilk to bindMix in all the pancake ingredients, cook them with very little butter on one side.I like to serve them with fresh home made compotes, depending on whats in season. This time I served it with apricot compote.Basic compote recipe I follow:Blend fruit,

Pizza Luce

2011-01-16T07:35:00.000-08:00

Its been months since I posted something. Pregnancy, post delivery recovery and my new bundle of joy kept me super busy. Not that I havent been cooking, actually I have and my recipes are now even faster and my time management spectacular :)I always believed in pre prepping and freezing but now its my new golden rule!Recently we ordered a yummy mediterranean pizza from Pizza Luce. Was amazing

Savory semolina "grits" (Upma)

2010-08-25T18:13:00.000-07:00

Upma is a typical Indian breakfast dish. Its made with roasted semolina and mixed vegetables, served with chai or hot south Indian coffee. The texture is somewhat similar to a dry version of grits.Ingredients2 tbsp oil2 handfuls of peanuts1/3 tsp mustard seedsfew curry leaves1 green chilly pepperchunk of ginger1/2 a large onion1/2 carrot1/2 cup peas1/2 cup corn1 and 1/2 cup semolinasalt, lemon

Crema Cafe

2010-07-13T16:51:00.000-07:00

Crema is my new favorite breakfast/brunch place. They get 5 stars for ambiance, service, food and on top of it all - they have Sonny's ice cream!Everything here was made and served to perfection. The outdoor patio took me reeling back to an afternoon in Avignon, France. They had paid such attention to detail with the decor - the paint colors, contrasting blooms, gorgeous ceramics and the