"FOOD-ILLY" SPEAKING, "IN" FOODS FOR 2013

Citrus-based and peppery flavors are coming back for 2013, says who? Moi, ur's truely! “Anything hot—like habanero, green chile and ginger!

 

So lets do the THAI SOM TAM ON SALMON, CHICKEN, TOFU OR ANY PROTEIN OF YOUR CHOICE! Recipe? Look below :-)

• Ingredients:
• 2 cups any shredded or julienne'd raw vegetables.
• 1 fresh lime
• 2 green chilies
• 1 or 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/c cup chopped or quartered tomatoes.
• fish sauce 1 tsp. (Vegetarians can use salt to taste)
• 1 tsp. maple syrup for us Vermonters, u may use any sweetener u like :-)
• Make a kinda sorta paste with your motar/pestle with chillies, garlic, lime, tomatoes, fish sauce and maple syrup or sugar. 
• Mix with the juliened vegetables and voila!

There's your fusion som tam, now not all of us can get raw papayas in this part of the world, so I do som tam with any juliened veg.

Go ahead folks, give it a try and top it on your fish, meat, burgers, tofus or I just eat it like a local thai with sticky rice. Yummmmy!

Theres your healthy marries delcious cooking in minutes......

 

QUITEO PHAT BAI KAPHAO

RECIPE FOR QUITEO PHAT BAI KRAPHAO

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup rice noodle sticks
• 3 oz chicken breast.
• 1/4 cup shallots chopped lengthwise
• 1/4 cup red bell peppers chopped lengthwise
• 2 tablespoons veg oil
• 2 cloves garlic (fresh)
• 1 green chilli (fresh)
• 1/4 cup thai basil leaves (fresh)
• pinch of sugar
• 1//8 tsp fish sauce
• lime juice to taste

METHOD

• Soak rice noodles in a pot of hot water till "el dante".
• Chop garlic and green chilli and set aside.
• Slice shallots and bell peppers and set aside.
• Heat oil in a wok and add garlic and chicken and green chilli cook till done.
• Stir fry into it the bell peppers and shallots to a gentle crunch.
• Now add basil, sugar and fish sauce.
• Lastly, drain the rice noodles/Quiteo sen and genly mix into the chicken stirfry.

OH! DON'T FORGET TO SQUEEZE SOME LIME JUICE INTO THE PHAT!

Enjoy your Quiteo phat Bai Kraphao, nice and hot!

LEMONGRASS uses & benefits!

LEMONGRASS,  calming herb!

When life hands you lemongrass, make lemongrass tea & feel a whole lot better!
Lemongrass is said to help with anxiety, epilepsy, fungal & yeast infections.
It was used to scent baths in ancent Rome. In Southeast Asia, it's most commonly used as a paste in curries and the leaves are tied and dropped into hot soup and water to make tea. The leaves are discarded before eating.
Although the whole plant has a beautiful aroma, only the lower part is tender enough to eat. Cut to thin round pieces it is added to savory salads and stirfry dishes.
Lemongrass pairs well with : Corriander/Cillantro, Chili, Onion, Garlic, Galangal & Coconut !
These days you can find Lemongrass cosmetics, soaps, perfumes, lotions, candles as well.
It is very easy to grow, just buy a healthy stock even from a supermarket and plant it in good soil in a pot and when it seems to be rooting you can plant it outside.
HAPPY SPRING 2012 !

FEEL GOOD FOOD POST!

So I just read a friend's blog on how she coped with her caotic life the past 2 months. Loss of any kind is difficult, be it any age, gender, plant, animal, human, material things.
My 2 cents worth with food!
There is a reason why some food is called comfort / soul food.
The kind that reminds you of home, whatever home means for you.. Be it, where you were born or where you are now, the meals you enjoyed with friends, family or even by even by yourself sitting by the ocean waves in the sunset or early dawn... maybe with a book or with your pet and some music of choice.. For me, it has got to be the Indian Instruments with some piano in the background, ya, Sitar, Tabla, Flute & Piano....I'm in heaven!

Comfort food for some it is fried chicken and for some it is Tom Yum Kung/ Thai, hot n sour soup.

Some, plate of home made cookies with chai spice...

For others, a glass of cold milk and for some a rich smoothie.....for others a slice of chocolate Mangosteen Cake.

Whatever Works for You Dahlins!

Food is a great way to get our yaa yaa's out, our knoted muscles ease with a gentle massage of Almond or Olive oil with some turmeric and honey!

We connect & reconnect with our feelings, we communicate friendship, prayer, love, passion, culture, traditions,..... great satisfaction often comes from nourishing food and good company!

So folks... in this difficult love/venus wave..lets cope with all the available techniques and reach out to whoever/whatever works for us..

 Life .... has a lesson for all of us, I am trying to learn it, I slip, I fall, I get off of my butt and try again.
My life lesson: IS TO SERVE, WITH LOVE!

Thanks for reading... I welcome all comments.

TURMERIC / HALDI / TUMERIC

TURMERIC (Curcuma longa) is a perennial plant of the ginger family. It is a rhizome or an underground stem.

 A kitchen staple in Indian kitchens, it is found in just about any dish that crosses the dining table.
Research suggest that Curcumin, a compound that gives the turmeric it's yellow hue is rich in antioxidants and anti - inflammatory actions.
The Turmeric Spice is used in most curries, Indian or otherwise. It can be used to Stirfry vegetables and tofu, also commonly used in deserts like "kheer and laddus" .
Turmeric is a crusader against diseases like Alzheimers, Cancer, Asthama, Blood Pressure, Blemishes, Depression, Psoriasis and Eczema etc.
It is commonly used in anti aging face packs, and blemish reduction masks, in India.

 Curried Gobi/ Cauliflower

1 head of Cauliflower floweretts.

1 tbsp. chopped ginger

5 cherry Tomatoes

2 tbsp. Olive Oil

Salt to taste

Classic Masala

1/4 tsp or more of TURMERIC POWDER.

Add turmeric & ginger to heated oil in a pan for a few seconds, str fry your cauliflower and tomatoes untill it is 3/4ths cooked.

Enjoy with traditional Roti, in a Panini Sandwich or even as a side dish.

CLOVES

Cloves have a distinct aroma, woodsy and kind a pungent.
They are said to love all of U :-)
Here's why:
1. It fights Infections.
2. TLC for gums.
3. May help relieve Herpes Simplex
4. May help anti Hepatitis C
5. It acts as a decongestant
6. Banishes Blemisher
7. An eco cleaner as well.

 Cloves pair well with Allspicae, Cocoa, Cardamomm, Ginger, Chile, Cinnamo, Turmeric, Ginger, Cumin, Cillantro.
It compliments Meats, Pies, Cookies, Cakes, Curries, Ham, Mincemeat, Red Cabbage .....

CHOCOLATE SOUP FOR LOVERS

CHOCOLATE SOUP INGREDIENTS

1 cup Skim Milk

1 cup low fat 1/2 n 1/2

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup bittersweet choc. chips

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon cold water

Topping:

1 tablespoons marshmallow creme

METHOD:

On a medium flame in a saucepan, stir together the skim milk, half and half, condensed milk, vanilla & bring the mixture to a gentle boil.

Reduce heat & add the chocolate chips,whisk gently till the chocolate starts to melt.

Add cornstarch and water and then add it to the milk solution till the soup is thick and smooth.

Dollop the marshmallow creme on soup.

Enjoy with your loved ones on this beautiful Valentines Day!!

SAAG PANEER/ MUSTARD GREENS

 Sarso Ka Saag /Mustard greens!
** Add Chicken or Paneer to the saag to make it even more nutritious and yumritious!

1 lb mustard greens
1 lb spinach greens
1 lb broccoli florets
1/4 Cup tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped Onions
1/4 cup finely chopped ginger
1 big clove finely chopped garlic.
Salt to taste, Deva naturals Classic Indian Masala
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp red chili pepper powder.
3 Tbsp. veg oil of your choice, I use Mustard oil to make the "SAAG" more "MUSTARDY"
1 Tbsp.  all purpose flour or wheat flour. ( I use wheat to keep the taste robust)

Method:

• Wash and cook the greens thoroughly in its own juice, approximately 25 minutes on medium to low heat & Blend well, add the flour to the blended greens.
•  Heat oil in a pan and saute garlic, ginger and onions till they are transparent, add tomatoes and cook till tender. 
• Add Spices and the greens all in one pan and cook till the liquid almost dries up. 
• Now add the paneer / cheese and cover and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Serve with warm corn tortillas and homemade yogurt.

You've got yourselves an authentic "PUNJABI MEAL"

1-2-3 FAST & EASY THAI VEG PHAT

Thai food is yummy and oh so very easy to make. Our trick to ANY "Phat/Stirfry"

is garlic, agavae, soy sauce & hot chili peppers.
As you can see to make this Bean & Tofu Phat:

• Saute garlic and chili in olive oil, to a light golden brown.
• Add tofu & soy sauce, Agave or sugar or maple syrup.
• Mix & cook for 2 minutes.
• Add washed green beans and mix.
• Let it steam for about 3-4 minutes till the beans are cooked.
• Makes about 3 servings.
• Serve Hot n fresh with brown or white jasmine rice, Brown or white noodles.

You can substitute any meat for tofu and a lot of different vegetables for the ones I have used.

VOILA---------------------->>>>>>>>>>

SOM TUM (Thai, papaya salad)FIBER to Keep our pipes clean!!

Most of us have heard the saying, "AN APPLE A DAY, KEEPS THE DOC'S AWAY".

Hmm, I wonder why? It's the Fiber, with the vits n minerals and ofcourse the glucose for energy.

Fiber Facts: 2 kinds: Soluble (helps lower cholesterol & blood glucose) & Insoluble (keeps the food moving through our intestines). We need them both!

Listen up folks, Fiber regulates many functions in our body, some of which include :
Regulating bowel health. Keep those pipes Clean!!

Blood sugar balance.
Weight management.
Cardiovascular health.

SOM TUM: SOUR N SPICY,THAI PAPAYA SALAD
 DEVA NATURALS STYLE---------->

FLAX SHAKER!

Flax is good for us, we all know that. It has high fiber and rich in Omega 3's. Would be good if we got about a tablespoon a day. An easy way I found to encorporate it in my diet is to put ground flax in a salt shaker. It does spoil with hot temps, but in winter, hey, that's what I'm keeping on my dining table. Add it to yogurts, ice cream, cereal, jams, salads.......Eating healthy is EASY!

Duck Roast!

OVEN ROASTED DUCK

For all you Non Vegetarians, here's a simple way to make Roasted AABSOLLUUUTELY DELCIOUS DUCKin your very own ovens!

Indredients:
1 fresh duck
2Table spoons Deva Naturals Tandoori Spice blend.
1/3 Cup Vinegar.
Salt to taste.
Method:
Thaw your bird in the refrigerator over a couple of days or so.
Throw out all the excess thawed out liquid.
Mix Spices with salt and vinegar and marinate over night.
Bake in the oven for 45 minutes at 450 leg side up and another 350 degrees breast side up for 30 minutes.
Let it stand for 10 minutes or so before cutting.
Serves 4-5
I served it with Raajma (Read Bean curry) & Roasted Butternut Squash.
You could serve it with a nice warm Naan or French bread with Butter Nut squash soup or enjoy simply with a glass of wine or beer !!

DEVA NATURALS BEAUTIFUL "N" HEALTHY WINTER SALAD

Long time no see folks!

In winter some of us forget fresh salads in our diets, so thought I'd toast to the new year with a delicious Salad Recipe.

I have included local ingredients where possible and afcourse our DEVA NATURALS spices work beautifully in this salad as well.

So here you go:

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons vinegar of your choice. 
• 2 teaspoons VT Maple Syrup.
• 1 teaspoon Mustard of your choice.
• 1/2 teaspoon Deva Naturals Indian Classic Masala.
• 1/4 cup EVOO.
• 1 small Shallot, finely diced.
• 1/2 teaspoon salt to taste.
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 4 cups leafy salad greens, such as chopped endive, Arugula, spring mix or your own mix.
• 1/2 cup raw butternut squash, chopped.
• 1 Pear sliced
• 1/2 cup raw Walnuts
• 1/4 cup freeze dried, Cranberries.

Directions:
Whisk together the vinegar, maple syrup, spices and mustard in a large serving bowl. Whisk in the oil. Stir in shallots and add salt and pepper.

1. Add the greens, squash and pear and toss with the maple dressing.
2. Top with walnuts and Crispy Cranberries and serve.