Coconut Yogurt Rice

I keep showing up with this dish everywhere I go. Hey let's go on a picnic. What did you bring? Oh nothing, just this rice. Come over for lunch. What did you make? Oh just this rice dish and some salad. Hey it's lunch time, what do I have that I can eat quickly? Oh just this rice.

Years ago when I lived in Houston, my family and I would head out to the Sri Meenakshi Hindu temple in Pearland, TX, and then stay for lunch - eating just prepared homemade tamarind and yogurt rice. The kitchen staff would prepare fresh batches, and it was fun to watch them mix up the rice in these enormous stainless steel bowls. Half the family was split on yogurt/curd or dhai rice, and the other half were tamarind rice, so we'd get both, and sit on the temple grounds enjoying a sunny Sunday or Saturday. Then we'd get ladoos.

I've made this three times in the past two weeks. My mom has been sending me home with lots of delicious home cooked leftovers, and one day I had so much rice I made this. Making yogurt or dhai rice is really easy. Take leftover long grain rice, and then add plain yogurt, and some seasoned oil, and mix together, and then serve. Comes together in minutes if you have enough leftover rice. My yogurt rice is completely inauthentic, but it tastes good, and everyone that has tried it so far has asked for the recipe.

Coconut Yogurt Rice
Yield: 4 servings, split however you like

Ingredients:
4-5 cups cooked white rice, preferably Basmati rice

1/2 cup yogurt

1/3 cup unsweetened coconut, ground to a fine powder

salt and pepper

Ingredients for Vaghar:

1 tsp mustard seeds

pinch hing (asafoetida) can be omitted (ask for it at a South Asian grocery store)

4-6 mitto limbdo/curry leaves

2 tbsp peanut oil

Directions:
1. If using leftover rice that has been chilled in the fridge, heat it back up with a bit of water. It will make mixing everything easier. Add the rice to a large mixing bowl, such as large pyrex or other large stainless steel mixing bowl. Add the yogurt, coconut, and salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
Note: you can also use just cooked rice. It will be good too, but chilling the rice first keeps it more toothsome and less mushy. 

Next we are going to make a vaghar. Use an oil with a high smoke point like peanut oil. Add the oil to a small pot, like a small saucepan, and when hot add in spices and fresh herb leaves to infuse the oil with the aromatics. Usually the vaghar can be poured over something as a finish, or things can be added to it to such as done when cooking. Let's do the vaghar:

2. In a small saucepan with a lid, heat up the peanut oil. When hot add in mustard seeds and hing and cook until the mustard seeds pop. Add in the mitto limbdo leaves, and close the lid, turn the heat off and let cook for 1-2 minutes. Pour the vaghar over the rice. Stir everything together. Adjust salt if needed. Serve immediately. 

Yum. 

Khadi

Khadi a chickpea flour and buttermilk soup seasoned with curry leaves, cumin seeds, and turmeric.


Chickpea flour, or besan.

Khadi is a Gujarati soup made out of chickpea flour and buttermilk and seasoned with curry leaves, cumin seeds, and turmeric. It's often served with basmati rice in a thali, or it's served on top of kitchdi. Kitchdi is a rice and lentil dish, where they are both cooked together with minimal seasoning.

Kitchdi and khadi are Guju comfort food for me. Growing up, if we had come home from a trip or vacation, and the fridge needed restocking my parents would serve this; if there was nothing to cook, my parents would cook this; if we got sick, my parents would cook this. This is truly a dish you will not find at any restaurant. It is simple down-home Gujarati cooking, and one I'm sure that is passed on as tradition. Thus, the flavor varies widely, but that is half the fun. This is not a hard dish to make, but it does take a bit of pre-planning in that you need buttermilk, chickpea flour, and a few of the spices. Follow the directions as closely as possible.

Mitta limbda or mitto limdo (basically curry leaves), or cilantro are key in lending and infusing khadi with its distinctive flavor. If you can't find curry leaves, sub in generous amounts of cilantro - honestly as much as you think you'll like, I would go for 1/2 cup chopped. Although most Gujarati cuisine is sweetened with some sugar, my mom's version (and to a much larger extent all of her cooking) lacks unnecessary sugar. The basic flavors of buttermilk, cumin seeds, cilantro, and turmeric really carry this dish.

Khadi
Chickpea flour and buttermilk soup seasoned with curry leaves, cumin seeds, and turmeric. 
Serves: 2; recipe by my mom. 


Ingredients:
2 tbsp of chickpea flour (such as besan flour) plus 1/3 cup water
1 cup buttermilk (can substitute yogurt)
2 cups water
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds
1/8 tsp udad dhal (optional)
1/8 tsp fenugreek seeds (optional)
pinch asafoetida or hing (optional)
6 curry leaves
2 tbsp chopped cilantro; increase to 1/2 cup chopped cilantro if omitting curry leaves
1/2 - 1 tsp salt, add less if your buttermilk or yogurt is salty
1/4 tsp turmeric

Directions:
Dissolve the chickpea flour in a small amount (approx 1/3 cup) of water in a small mixing bowl large enough to hold 3 cups. Whisk it together (with a whisk) until it is smooth and there are no clumps. Then add the rest of the water and buttermilk. If you don't have buttermilk, yogurt is a fine substitute; in Belgium, I used plattekeis and it was delicious.

Next in a heavy bottom pan, heat up 1 tbsp olive oil (butter or ghee is much better) over medium heat. We're going to do a vaghar (and now you know a word in Guju too). A vaghar is like frying seeds and lentils, and infusing the oil with some of the aromatics from the seeds or lentils. To the oil add in 1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds, 1/8 tsp udad dhal, 1/8 tsp fenugreek, and a pinch of hing or asafoetida. Once the oil begins to get hot, the seeds and lentils will give off a nice fragrance. Don't let them brown too much.  If using curry leaves, add them now. They only need a bit of time and you don't want them to brown. Turn the heat to low.

Make sure you turn the heat to low. When everything is simmering, very carefully pour in the buttermilk/chickpea flour mixture. Stir it together well, and then add in cilantro, salt and turmeric. Stir together. Leave a stainless steel spoon in the khadi. This will prevent it from bubbling over. Stay with the khadi. It will overflow if ignored, and then you'll end up with a big mess. Keep an eye on it, stir it frequently. Adjust for salt. The khadi should be done in 20-25 minutes.

Serve, steaming hot, with some plain cooked rice, or kitchdi (recipe will be posted soon), ghee, and papad.

Banana oat muffins and nutrition ranting

The older I get the crankier I get with nutrition - especially because I think about how connected food and environment are to one another, and how regardless of the sheer outcome and breadth of many nutrition studies, there is no framework to pump the changes into, or rather that those changes seem excessively slow. When I learn about European (and here I mean country-specific) nutrition policies I can't help but think that the US is in the dark ages. Don't worry I will share those in another post.

I was especially disheartened to read about a study that was recently published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine which found students at half of US elementary schools could buy unhealthy foods outside of school meals. These are competitive foods such as cookies, cakes, and baked goods which are usually sold through vending machines, a la carte lines in the cafeteria, and in school stores. Researchers found that unhealthy snack foods were sold more in the south, where obesity rates are the highest - in fact 60% of public elementary schools in the south were found to be selling unhealthy foods; in the west this number drops to 24%, and in the midwest it is 30%. While the study found that fruits and vegetables were offered to be sold as well, they didn't sell as well as sugary salty foods (duh). If you follow Food Politics, or the Lunch Tray, you may have read about the recent changes, and the pushback, and then again the move forward with updated new federal nutrition guidelines for school nutrition (elementary through high school). Before these new regs were published,  competitive foods were exempt from federal regs, but now they are included in the report as being bound by the same criteria, and the report suggests that competitive foods follow the Institute of Medicine's report. I look forward to Bettina Elias Siegel's school nutrition FAQ. I hope that we can transition to real foods, move away from nutrient reductionism, and take back our food culture. Public schools, where most children learn fundamental basics about their world, have a place in changing food culture, and teaching students how to understand and apply nutrition.

Walmart recently announced their own front-of-package nutrition labeling system. Marion Nestle of Food Politics does an excellent write up on Walmart, presents research on labeling (e.g. a stoplight system works very well), and how Walmart should have waited to release guidelines so they could be in line with the FDA's front-of-package labeling guidelines. Should Walmart be providing their own nutrition labels on the front of packs? Probably not, but they are responding to increasing consumer demand that may help to alleviate the guilt that people probably feel when they feel overwhelmed by the nutrition label; or it's good for business, and it looks like they did something positive; or it will generate good PR and increase sales. Regardless, I still think it shows that businesses change their strategies to meet consumer demand. These changes coupled with concrete federal nutrition polices on advertising and labeling could make it very difficult for food and beverage companies to market and sell bad foods. And this just hot off my RSS: food companies using the First Amendment to market and sell any foods to kids. Marion Nestle why are you such a bad ass?

And finally some good nutrition news. When I was doing my catch-up reading on portion sizes for this month's month of meals, I came across an article from Harvard that revamped muffin recipes. Muffins are the poster child for portion distortion. Stacked on top of each other at coffeehouses, they are closer to processed cakes and cookies than healthy breakfast food. The average size of a muffin has probably quadrupled in size, and it's packed full of refined flour and sugar. Muffins can actually be quite healthy and reasonable. So as you become more enraged, or interested in the nutrition news out of the US, I find I actually enjoy writing about these things, I wanted to share some healthy banana oat muffins I baked up this morning:





nom nom nom nom

Banana oat muffins
Recipe from Deborah Madison's VCFE
Yield: 1 dozen

Ingredients:
2 large ripe bananas
3/4 cup buttermilk or 1/2 yogurt thinned with water
1/3 cup brown sugar (can use 1/4 cup with equally good results)
1 egg
2 tbsp canola or peanut oil
1 cup rolled oats
1 and 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1 tsp nutmeg or cinnamon
1 and 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup walnuts, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375º F/190º C.
2. Lightly grease muffin pan with oil.
3. In a large mixing bowl mix mash the bananas, and add an egg and the oil. Mix it together a bit. Then add the buttermilk, brown sugar, and oats. Mix it together stirring with a big spoon.
4. In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour with cinnamon and baking soda. Add this to the big mixing bowl. In swift strokes mix everything together until the batter just comes together. Spoon about 1/4 cup or more into the muffin pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden and fragrant. Once cool store leftovers in an airtight container. This makes an awesome breakfast with a bit of fruit and hot steaming coffee. 

I've made this recipe so many times that I've experimented with 1 banana (turns out just fine); I forgot to add the oil once (it was fine, but was a bit dry on day 2 and 3); I subbed cinnamon for nutmeg; I reduced the sugar from 1/3 cup to 1/4 cup and it was the same; I experimented with using milk instead of water (3/4 cup milk + 1 tsp vinegar = acceptable buttermilk substitute); I have used the following flour proportions which have all been excellent: 1) 1/2 all-purpose and 1/2 whole-wheat flour, 2) 100% whole-wheat flour,  and 3) half pastry flour and half whole wheat.

Royal tofu with king oyster mushrooms

I vegetarianized this recipe from royal chicken cooked in yogurt from Madhur Jaffrey's Quick and Easy Indian Cooking to royal tofu with king oyster mushrooms (royal theme, get it!). If the yogurt is simmered down, or cooked too long, it will separate. Lower fat yogurts separate a bit more than full fat yogurt. Add the yogurt sauce at the very end, almost as a finishing touch. Give it a quick stir to heat up, then turn the heat off and serve immediately. Serve with some red lentil dhal, rice, and papads. Lekker!

If you use chicken instead of tofu, it can be prepared almost the exact same way; cook the chicken first, and follow the directions here. Although I guarantee that prepping tofu is cleaner, and has much less of an ick factor when cutting and managing. Ew. Raw uncooked meats are *so* gross.

I'm following an online photography class that the hubs showed me from Reddit; I got a new camera, and I'm learning how to use it and become familiar with it. I know some of these pictures on the past few posts have been blurry, but you wouldn't believe me if I told you that I took over 107 images (of mushrooms! of this dish! insanity! of brownies!) and they all managed to be blurry. Boohoo. So, I'm learning.

The full album of the new First Aid Kit is now on the free version of Spotify. See I give you music recs, beer drinking recs (with this dish a cold, crisp, and bland pils - Stella - would be good), and good recipes.

Royal tofu with king oyster mushrooms
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1 package extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed.
2 tbsp peanut oil for pan frying tofu
4 king oyster mushrooms quartered, or 2 cups regular white button mushrooms, sliced
(Note: measure out whole mushrooms then slice)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 cup red onion slices, plus about ¼ cup more finely diced onion for garnish
1 bay leaf
4 whole cardamom pods (remove, when you serve)
2 cinnamon sticks (or ½ tsp cinnamon)
few cloves
¼ cup raisins
2 tbsp slivered almonds

For yogurt sauce:
1 cup yogurt
1 tbsp chopped ginger
2 cloves garlic slivered
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup chopped cilantro and chopped green onions
salt to taste

Directions:

1. Press the tofu and set aside. Meanwhile add about ½ tbsp of oil to a cast iron pan or non-stick skillet (medium-high heat) and saute the mushrooms. Remove from the pan once done.
2. Make the yogurt sauce by combining the yogurt with ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin, cayenne powder, cilantro, and green onions. Adjust for salt and spices.
3. Add enough peanut oil (2 tbsp or less) to the cast iron or non-stick pan and heat over medium-high. Cut the tofu into cubes, and lightly salt. Once the pan is hot, add the tofu to the pan being careful not to crowd the pan. Don’t touch the tofu for at least 5-7 minutes. Let it sit there until it begins to get golden on the brown. Even then, try not to touch it. Give the pan a few shakes, once the tofu becomes unstuck, it’s ready to flip. Be patient. Continue adding tofu to the pan, and cooking it the same way. You’ll end up with perfect pan-fried golden tofu. Remove from pan once done.
4. To the same pan, add in mustard seeds. They should pop fast. Then add in onion slices, bay leaf, a few cloves, whole cardamom pods, and cinnamon sticks.
5. Toss in a handful of raisins and almonds. Once the raisins begin to plump (it should be very fast), add in tofu and mushrooms, and follow it up with the yogurt sauce. Stir it around enough to heat everything through, then turn off and serve immediately. Garnish with extra cilantro and finely diced onion.

Picnic Potato Salad

A healthier tastier potato salad.

Now all you need is a nice picnic location, or an invite to a BBQ.

A nice picnic spot with an old abby.

Someone to carry the picnic supplies?

This is a healthy potato salad made out of a yogurt and mustard dressing. It's refreshing and tangy and nothing like the heavy mayonnaise bland potato salads. Start by bringing some water to boil in a large pot. While the water is warming up, scrub, peel, and quarter the potatoes. While the potatoes cook, prep the rest of the ingredients. 

Picnic Potato Salad

Serves: 4 or more

6-8 medium to large potatoes, washed, peeled and quartered into large chunks

salt, about 1 tsp

1/3 cup yogurt (half mayonnaise and half yogurt is fine too)

2-3 tbsp fine Dijon mustard (may want to add to your taste)

1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper (or any other color is fine)

2-3 tbsp parsley, chopped fine

2 spring green onions, chopped with about 4" of the greens chopped into chives

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Lightly salt the water with about 1 tsp of salt (I used coarse salt). Covering the pan will make it boil more quickly.

2. Once the water comes to a simmer, or light bubbles form from the bottom to the top in a steady stream, carefully add in quartered potato chunks and turn heat down to medium. Cook 15-20 minutes or until soft. Don't cook the potatoes so long that they fall apart, you don't want boiling water, a light simmer is fine. Turn the heat off once cooked. They can sit in the water until just ready to use.

3. In a small mixing bowl add yogurt through green onions. Stir to combine. Taste to adjust seasoning. Since the potatoes were cooked in salted water, you may not need to add in any extra salt.

4. Drain potatoes in a colander, but before draining, reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, such as in a coffee mug or teacup. Place the large pot on a heat-safe surface or on a pot holder.

5. Add the drained potatoes back to the large pot, and place the dressing on top.

6. Carefully mix the potatoes and dressing together. Take a big spatula, and gradually fold the potatoes from bottom to top. If too thick, thin with some of the reserved water. Serve immediately, or place in fridge until ready to serve. Some water may separate from the yogurt, just stir carefully before serving.

Seitan Tikka Masala

This dish is similar to the tofu tikka masala kebabs, but uses seitan instead. While it comes together very quickly, let the seitan marinade for at least 30 minutes. Use the time it's resting to prep the salads and papads. Serve the seitan tikka over a salad garnished with lemon wedges and papads. The seitan looks kind of funny, but has a chewy meaty taste. I would recommend trying it. 

Tikka marinade/sauce

Naked seitan (looks like brown sponge chunks without the sauce) 

Dressed up seitan 

For the marinade/sauce:

½" piece of ginger, chopped fine (optional)
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
¼ tsp red chili powder
½ tsp coriander seeds and 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds toasted and ground together (omit fenugreek if you can’t find it)
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp paprika (smoked paprika, if you have it)
3 tbsp yogurt (or heavy cream)

For the tikka:

1 package seitan rinsed and patted dry, cut into chunks

1 red bell pepper, cut into strips about 1" thick

1 green bell pepper, cut into strips about 1" thick

Olive oil or peanut oil for stir-frying

For the salad:

Any lettuce or salad mix greens will do. Can also serve with grated carrots, corn, tomatoes, onions, lettuce. Garnish with lemon wedges and papads.

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients for the marinade, taste, and adjust seasonings if necessary. Add in seitan to the marinade sauce, coat well, and let marinade for at least 30 minutes.

When ready to cook:

2. Cook bell peppers in 1 tsp of oil (e.g. olive oil or peanut oil) over high heat until they are sauteed and cooked. Stir frequently. Once done, remove from pan. Should take 4-5 minutes.

3. Turn heat down to medium and add 1 tsp of oil to the pan. Add in marinaded seitan along with the tikka sauce. Cook on each side 3-4 minutes. The bottom of the pan will start to dry up and will stick.

4. Add the peppers back into the pan along with ¼ cup of water. Stir together. The sauce will thicken up in less than a minute. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Tempeh Wings, Things, and Stumps

TEMPEH WINGS!

I like tempeh and I like wing sauce. After much searching, and trial and error, I have found the best combination of recipes for tempeh wings (or things, or stumps, or fingers, or whatever you want to call them). These are simply marvelous, fantastic, and finger-licking good.

To make the tempeh wings, I followed this recipe and post of The Ordinary Vegetarian's Tempeh Hot Wings.  I think the recipe has gone viral, as I have found it on many vegan blogs, but Sarah's directions are really easy to follow, and I kept getting distracted by all the other delicious recipes she has posted (which I hope to add to a future week of meals).

To make these really crunchy, put the steamed tempeh in the soy milk/rice milk, dredge in flour, re-dip in the soy milk/rice milk, and then dredge in the breadcrumbs. I used Panko breadcrumbs, soy milk instead of rice milk, and smoked paprika.  Honestly, I will put smoked paprika into anything. I had to increase the baking time by about 20 minutes, but I think you can put them in and take them out when browned enough.  Toss in wing sauce once they come out of the oven.

I liked the simplicity of Vegan Dad's wing sauce: half margarine and half wing sauce.  His post on making your own vegan wings was pretty impressive.  I utilized butter and Thai sriracha sauce with a splash of Tabasco to very appetizing results.  I have 3 kinds of hot sauce in the pantry, and I just couldn't justify buying another one.  I can't wait to try the BBQ sauce, and the number of other appetizing recipes.

I served up my tempeh "things" with some coleslaw:


This coleslaw utilizes the seasonings of a ranch-based dressing, in yogurt thinned with water.

Ranch-Yogurt Coleslaw:
Serves 4
1/2 of a medium head of green cabbage, shredded or sliced thin. I prefer slicing, because the shredding just destroys the cabbage
2 carrots, shredded
1 red bell pepper, chopped

For coleslaw dressing:
1/2 cup or more plain yogurt (the European yogurt I buy is runnier than US yogurts, so I think I used 3/4 cup of yogurt thinned with 3 T of water).
1/2 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp dried garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried mint
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried onion flakes
1/2 tsp salt
fresh black pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Mix together cabbage, carrots and bell pepper in a large bowl.
2. In a smaller bowl, combine yogurt through black pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings.
3. Thin the yogurt with approx. 3 T of water. If the dressing is too thick, thin with more water.
4. Stir into cabbage mixture and adjust seasonings if needed. 

Potato Pancakes with Mint Raitu

It's heading into fall in central NC, and the garden is still a growing. Cukes, carrots, and lots of mint and basil got used in this. A food processor makes shredding the potatoes easy, but if you don't have one, just shred them with a wide handle box grater. These cook up nicely on a cast-iron skillet. Serve fresh with some raitu.


Potato Pancakes

Ingredients:
yield: 8 cakes
3-4 medium potatoes (I had yukon on hand)
1 onion, quartered
2 T red opal basil (if you have, makes for nice color), chopped
2 T green basil, chopped
1 t salt
1/2 t lemon pepper
1/2 to 3/4 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs, mixed
1/4 cup oil, divided

(basically any herbs you want to add will probably taste good)

Directions:

1. Shred potatoes and onion together and place in a mixing bowl.
2. 
3. Add in basil through eggs and stir together well. Be liberal with the breadcrumbs.
4. 
5. Heat half of the vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Put a oven-safe plate in the oven, and turn to 200.
   
6. When skillet is hot, form patties with your hand and place in skillet. You should be able to cook 4 on a 12" skillet. Cook until golden, usually 8 minutes per side.
7. 
8. Meanwhile begin assembling raitu.
9. Cook until golden on both sides. Add in additional oil if needed for preparing the rest of the cakes. To keep warm, place on oven-safe dish, and cover until ready to serve.
10. 

Mint Raitu

Ingredients:
1 cup whole-milk yogurt (you can use the low-fat variety if that is your thing)
1/4 cup shredded cucumber
2 T shredded carrot (1/2 carrot)
1/2 t cumin
pinch cayenne
1/2 t salt
1/8 t lemon pepper
2 T mint, chiffoned

Directions

1. Mix together, taste, and adjust seasoning if needed.
2. Thin with water if necessary.
   

Rose Lassi

Rose Lassi

The essence of rose water brings this lassi to life. I stumbled upon this recipe from the book The Higher Taste: A Guide to Gourmet Vegetarian Cooking and a Karma-Free Diet. Regardless of your dietary choices, the recipes featured in this book are creative and international.

I bought the rose water from a Mediterranean Cafe called Neomonde's in Raleigh. Other ethnic grocery stores such as Arabic or South Asian markets should carry as well.

Serves 2
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup water, chilled
1/2 cup ice cubes
2 teaspoons rose water
1/4 cup or less sugar

1. Place yogurt, water, sugar and rose water in blender.
2. Top with ice cubes and blend on low setting. My blender as 2 settings, low and high, so if yours has many settings, blend on the lower settings, and as the ice gets crushed increase speed.
3. Adjust taste and add more sugar or rose water if necessary.

Smoothies

Smoothies.

I was at a health food store recently and noted how marvelously expensive the smoothie-drinks were: $4.95-$6.95 for a smoothie? The cost for one of their smoothies could fuel a week's worth of morning breakfast smoothies. If you have a good blender the household smoothie idea should be revisited. I mix yogurt with soymilk, and toss in about a cup of mixed fruits, and some cinnamon. Fruit juice could be added, but it really oversweetens things and is unnecessary if using real fruits. I opt out of adding protein powders because there is plenty of protein from the soymilk and yogurt. You can add peanut butter to increase the protein if you are in to that kind of thing, a banana-peanut butter chocolate smoothie is a divine breakfast food. Best of all homemade smoothies let you control what goes in them so you can experiment to come up with something you love. This is one of my favorite breakfasts. It is simply perfect. Plenty of fruit, some protein and calcium, and enough to carry you into mid-morning without feeling hungry.

One note about blenders. I truly believe they can make all the difference in the world. I have found the carafe style, 2-3 speed setting, counter-top blender to be excellent. Screw-off bottoms can make a mess if turned the other way. I've found that you don't need multiple speed settings. You need the appropriate liquid ratios in a blender to keep things moving around. When done using your blender, rinse with water, add a little dish soap and put back on the blender on the lowest setting. Rinse the carafe and cap off and set aside to dry. Never keep the blades immersed in water or extra smoothie to store because it will dull the blades. I have a Waring Pro throwback-style blender. My sister, Chokri, swears by them and has had hers for over 8 years and loves it.

I usually have yogurt, peanut butter, and soymilk in my house at all times so purchasing a few frozen fruit bags along with any other fruits should give you some fairly easy mixins without adding too much on your grocery bill. In late summer there are so many good fruits available you can buy in bulk and freeze for later use.

Serves 2 huge smoothies, or 4 for more moderate smoothies

The base:
1/2 c plain yogurt or more. Sweetened flavored yogurts make it too sweet.
OR
1/4 c peanut butter or more

The liquid:
1 cup soy milk or regular milk

The fruit:
1 cup any fresh or frozen mixed variety. Choose plain frozen fruits instead of sweetened frozen fruits (avoid in syrup, in lite syrup). Frozen fruits keep the smoothie cold. A few mixed frozen fruit bags will run you the cost of one smoothie.

Essentially mix in 1/2 cup of the base with 1 cup liquid and place frozen fruits on top. If adding cinnamon or cocoa powders place on top and set on low-speed. Adjust liquid as needed.

Here are my favorites, just add these to the yogurt/milk base:
Banana-berry smoothie
1 banana
1/4 cup mixed berries
dash cinnamon

Peach-blueberry banana smoothie
1 peach
1/2 banana
1/4 cup blueberries
dash cinnamon

Strawberry, pineapple, mango smoothie
1 cup mixed tropical fruit blend
dash cinnamon
sprinkle of shredded coconut

Banana-Peanut Butter Chocolate
1 banana
1 T cocoa powder (or more)
dash cinnamon
(I've also mixed in frozen pineapple, yum!)

Naan

Recipe from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone
Naan or Yogurt Flatbread

This was much harder than it seemed. Everything went according to plan except the final product was much more bread-like than naan flatbread like. It still tasted excellent in channa masala with some Indian-style salad. It was a visual treat to make.

Below: After the yeast has been proofed it is mixed in with yogurt, ghee and salt.

Below: Mixing in with flour. Trying to get it smooth, yet slightly tacky.

Below: pre-knead

Below: kneaded and ready for the rise.

Below: dough is patted out and slighly rolled out in a large circle. I attempted to make five or more short knife cuts resembling a sand dollar. I don't think I did very well.

Below: on a baking stone, and rising A LOT.

Below: Brushed with some butter and salt below.

Tandoori Tempeh Veggies

A Tandoor is basically a huge clay oven that can reach temperatures >600 F. I do not have a tandoor - but I have always loved the spices utilized in the foods that go in the tandoor. I suppose you could grill or broil as an acceptable substitute. This is my take on some tandoori vegetables (because you've probably noticed the lack of fish, fowl, and other land animals that I inevitably do not cook here on khavanu).

Half of my kitchen space is taken up by spices, so if you don't have some or all, just substitute what you do have. I often rely on the smell of foods to season or salt. I think spices are for the most part something that every kitchen should have (i say this b/c well spices are a great investment in your cooking future).

(from the red clockwise: red chili powder, black mustard seeds, ajwan seeds, channa dhal or split yellow peas, cumin seeds, udad dhal and fenugreek seed mixture, and turmeric)

(From top to bottom, left to right: kosher salt, Sriracha sauce, coriander, garam masala, cumin, paprika, cinnamon)

I think you could use any combination of vegetables that you have on hand. To increase the protein in this dish, I also used tempeh which holds up well to marinating. Extra-firm tofu would work well. If you were using meat, I would marinate separately. Serve with some cumin pilaf or raitu (recipes below).


Tandoori marinade:
1-1/2 cups yogurt
1 tsp salt
2 T paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 T coriander, ground
1-2 T ground cumin
2 T ginger, minced fine
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2 scallions, chopped fine
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 T sriracha sauce
1 T sugar
1-2 T garam masala
1/4 tsp turmeric
(adjust seasonings more or less to taste)

1. Place yogurt in a small mixing bowl and stir in seasonings. Set aside.



Tempeh and Veggies:
2 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/2" coins
1 package cremini mushrooms, wiped clean, stems removed and cut in half
1 cup bell pepper, chopped
1 package tempeh, cubed into 1" dice

1. Place cut up veggies and tempeh in a large mixing bowl, and stir in the marinade, coating well. Adjust for taste and seasoning. Cover bowl and set in fridge until ready to use. I would recommend marinating atleast 1 hour, but what the heck, if you can't wait...
2. Heat oven to 400 F. Line a jelly roll pan with foil and coat with non-stick spray. Cook 15-20 minutes or until cooked through.
3. While preheating or baking, you could prepare some raitu (a yogurt sauce like a chutney) and some cumin rice (jeera pulao)



Raitu:
1/2 - 1 cup yogurt
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1/2 tsp cumin or chat masala
1/4 tsp paprika
2-3 T shredded cucumber or carrot (or mixture of both)
1. Mix all together well, and set aside. This is like the ubiquitous yogurt "sauce" that gets served at Indian restaurants to offset the heat of foods.

Cumin rice:
1 T olive oil or butter
1 cup basmati rice, rinsed and drained
2 - 2 1/2 cups water
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
1 bay leaf
1/2 of 1 cinnamon stick

1. Heat olive oil in a wide shallow pan. Place cumin seeds and cook until they are aromatic.
2. Add in rice and wait until the sizzling goes away. Add in 2 cups water, and if needed add in extra water if the water level looks low. Sorry I've never learned how to cook rice by directions it has always been a look at the water deal. i said sorry.
3. Stir in bay leaf, cinnamon stick and some salt and pepper to taste
4. Cook uncovered, 15 minutes over medium-high heat. Stir twice in 15 minutes. Once the rice begins to look porous and most of the water is gone, cover rice, switch to low heat, and leave there 5-10 minutes

Serve tandoori vegetables alongside some cumin rice and raitu. Skewering these would make them look even more awesome.