STUFFED BELL PEPPERS WITH GARLIC BREAD

Serves 2

1.  2 nos. Green( or Red or Yellow) Bell Peppers
2.  1/2 Onion ( chopped finely )
3.  1/2 Tomato ( chopped finely )
4.  1/3rd cup of boiled rice
5.  1/3rd Cucumber ( chopped finely )
6.  1/3 rd block Firm Tofu
7.  1 medium Green Chilli ( chopped )
8.  Fat Free Crumbled Feta cheese ( for topping)
9.  2 tsp of garlic paste
10. 1/2 tsp Oregano
11.  1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
12.  Bread ( your choice, can be ciabatta, Italian, French or good ol whole wheat bread slices lying around at home)
13.  Spices of your choice ( I used coriander, cumin, red chilli powder)
14.  Olive Oil
15.  Salt

• Set a pot of water, big enough for the bell peppers, to boil. Sprinkle a pinch of salt in the water. Once the water starts boiling, soak the bell peppers and let cook for 3 minutes.
• Take the bell peppers out and set them on a kitchen towel to dry.
• Now heat 1 tsp of olive oil in a pan. Once the oil is hot, add the onions. Saute the onions till they are lightly charred. Now add the tomatoes and green chilli and let cook for a minute. Add the spices and salt to taste.( In the meanwhile, set your oven to preheat at 350 degrees.)
• Add the cucumber to the pan and cook for a minute. Now crush the tofu and add the tofu and rice to the mix. Let the mixture cook on medium heat for 5-6 minutes.
• Take the boiled bell peppers, remove their cores with a spoon and char them slightly on high heat. I placed the bell peppers on the stove-top sans any pots or pans.
• Take a baking pan and line it with aluminum foil. Spray it generously with PAM spray. Stuff your bell peppers with the now cooked rice and tofu mix. Sprinkle feta cheese on top and you are all set. Bake the bell peppers for 35 mins.
• On to the Garlic Bread now. In a small bowl, mix 1 tbsp of olive oil, oregano and italian seasoning. Add a touch of salt to the mix. Slice the bread and coat generously with the mix.
• When you are 25 minutes on your bell pepper timer, put your garlic bread in the oven. Let bake for 10 minutes. At the 35 minute mark , take the peppers and bread out and serve warm.

No more hoodwinking now, I promise you that. The real purpose of this post is to share with you the latest vegetarian recipe that I tried. It is an interfusion of the Indian staple, curry, and the good ol’ sandwich.

CURRIED TOFU SANDWICH

1. 2 slices of bread ( 90 cal if you use whole-wheat, low carb

Sara Lee. Feel free to substitute.)

2. 1 tbsp Light Mayo ( 15 cal)

3. 1 tsp Greek Yogurt ( 8-10 cal)

4. 1 tsp Curry Powder ( Substitute for curry powder is Cumin and

Coriander powder combined in equal proportions)

6.  1/2 tsp Red Chilli powder

7. 1 1/2 tsp sweet mango/ sweet onion pickle ( 15 cal)

8. 1 wedge of Firm Tofu (35 cal)

9. Crumbled Feta Cheese to taste  ( 15-30 cal)

10. Handful of Spinach ( 5 cal)

11. 2-3 nos. Grape (12 cal)

12. Salt & Pepper

In  a small cup, combine the mayo, yogurt, curry powder, red chilli powder, pickle and feta cheese. Mix well to break down the feta cheese. Slice the grapes in half and add to the spread. If you have the time, brown the tofu wedge on both sides in a hot pan with some salt and pepper. If not then stick to uncooked tofu. Spread the mix evenly on both the slices. On one of the slices line your greens (I used spinach for my sandwich). On the other slice place your tofu, then season lightly with salt and pepper. Press the slices together and voila! You are all set.

The recipe  that follows now is for all my doughnut dodging warriors who break a sweat in the gym and walk past the gorgeous palmiers, meringues and cream puffs that stare at them through the enormous display window of that favorite French bakery. You know you want it, but the science and mathematics of fats, carbohydrates, calories or whatever your enemy is, clouds your vision and muddies your brain. So you march on, winning over temptation but feeling defeated deep down.  No sweet victory that! A girl’s gotta have pancakes and so she shall.

BANANA PANCAKE WITH BLUEBERRY COMPOTE ( And without the crazy calories)

————————————————————————–

Yields 5 servings

1. Whole Wheat Flour – 3/4th cup ( 300 calories)

2. All Purpose Flour – 1/4th cup ( 100 calories)

3. Ripe Banana – 2 nos (200 calories)

4. Fat Free Milk – 2 cups ( 160 calories)

5. Egg Whites – 2 ( 34 calories)

6. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – 2 tsp ( 10 calories)

7. Vanilla Extract – 1 1/2 tsp

8. Sugar Substitute – 2 1/2 tbsp

9. Baking powder – 2 tsp

10. Cooking Spray ( e.g. PAM) < 10 calories

The first step is to mix all the dry ingredients together. So in a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar substitute and cocoa. Add a pinch of salt and mix well to avoid lumps. In another bowl, mash the ripe bananas to pulp. Then add vanilla extract, egg whites and milk and mix well. Combine the dry and wet mix together and your batter is ready. Heat up a pan and once its hot, spray it with PAM. Now pour some batter into the pan and let it cook on medium heat for a while. Once the bottom is a bit cooked ( you can check by shaking the pan to see if the pancake slides easily across the pan ), flip the pancake over and cook the other side. Cook well till both sides turn golden brown.

BLUEBERRY COMPOTE

———————————–

1. Blueberry – 3/4th cup ( 60 cal)

2. Sugar Substitute – 1 tbsp

3. Water – 2 tbsp

Combine all the ingredients and pour into a hot pan. Keep cooking till the berries pop open.

Serve your pan cakes hot with warm blueberry compote on top. At about 175 calories per serving,this recipe ranks high on taste, high on health and low on calories and saturated fat. Enjoy!

Today, I decided to kick start my morning with a green smoothie. As I took stock of my refrigerator, I discovered that the only green I had was celery. Now Mr. Celery is a tricky guy. While extremely crunchy, light and ridiculously low in calories, more than one stock of it in a single sitting is plain unpalatable. So I decided to go easy on the celery and stock up on fruits instead to mask the (for a lack of better word) celeriness of it. I believe the trick is to start out with a fruit heavy smoothie just to prepare the palette and gradually work one’s way up to primarily green smoothies.

APPLE BERRY (ALMOST ) GREEN SMOOTHIE

—————————————————-

1. 1/3 rd of a medium apple (25 cal)

2. 1/3rd cup of blueberries (25 cal)

3. 1 stock of celery ( 5 cal)

4. 10-12 seedless black grapes (45 cal)

5. 3 oz Fat Free Greek Yogurt ( 50 cal)

6. Splenda to taste

Throw them all in a blender, add 1/2 a cup of water and blend till the consistency is smooth. The advantage of a smoothie over juice is that a smoothie preserves the fibrous content of fruits and vegetables and so it is a lot more healthier and filling than juice. Also, Greek yogurt is a wonderful way for vegetarians to load up on protein and its gooooood stuff for your tummy! So take out your pretty wine glass, pour the smoothie in and take a sip – your good deed of the day is done! Next time, I promise to make a greener looking smoothie

]]> http://dyeah.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/going-the-vegeterian-way/feed/ 5 divyanka APPLE BERRY (ALMOST) GREEN SMOOTHIE BERRY APPLE (ALMOST) GREEN SMOOTHIE http://dyeah.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/change-is-a-good-thing/ http://dyeah.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/change-is-a-good-thing/#comments Mon, 14 Mar 2011 23:51:38 +0000 divyanka http://dyeah.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/change-is-a-good-thing/ Read more.]]> Tis’ was the season of changes. New city, new life, new marital status and more. So here are the lessons learnt:

1. Change isn’t always a bad thing. Yes Seattle has awful weather,what with the constant drizzle and perennial cloud cover. It is a far cry from the beautiful, sunny days of California but then there are friends here who work as well as the sun does,if not better.

2. Marriage is good,in fact its really good. Marry your partner in crime and life will be amazing. I did and boy was it the best decision of my life or what!

3. The third lesson is one that I learnt from my father and it only gets reinforced with time. Whatever happens, happens for the best. Turns out things, seemingly awful now, will eventually turn out to be in your favor.

Figures happiness is not difficult to achieve at all. I am happy most days except the ones when I am fat. Working on the fat days and I am pleased with what I have done so far

So I am sitting here thinking about those pockets. Trying to jot a few of them down so I can come back to them when the world seems a bit too dreary.

1. Baking a cake and sticking a knife into it…Voila!…the knife comes out clean and the Vanilla overpowers your senses.Heaven!

2. Checking the pockets of your dirty jeans before laundry and discovering an old forgotten 20 rupee note.

3. Getting a text/call when you are least expecting it only to be told that you are loved,cherished and you are awesome in some little way. Smiles,smiles smiles

4. Spending a fun evening with somebody when you were actually dreading a boring conversation.

5. Burning  50 extra calories, pushing yourself just a tad bit more and finding your tee drenched in sweat. Awesome!!!

6. Changing a fused bulb and switching it on to see the room fill up with light. Sheer genius!

7. Window shopping only to discover a super cute find for 15 bucks.What a wave of happiness!

8. Lying in bed thinking about happy times and smiling all to yourself like a fool.

9. Driving back home on a Friday evening…yipeeeeeee!

10. Having a long conversation with mom full of inconsequential details and useless garbage.

11. Predicting the lines of a character in a movie exactly 5 seconds before he speaks the exact same thing. Makes you feel like you can write blockbuster movies with the sleight of your hand!

The list is seemingly endless and isn’t that a really,really good thing?

It makes me wonder whether we are socially predisposed to stay away from physical activities because we would rather bond over food in large groups or are we just plain lazy?

She was young, brimming with youth and the energy that comes with it. Looking at life through rose tinted glasses, she flitted along like a butterfly.Men would gladly lay their hearts bare to the cruel ways of her beauty.And that she was well aware of. So she treated him like she would treat an old servant. To her, he had come of age, served her well and now it was time to go. She was a slave to novelty. Little did she realise that they may come young, but they don’t come as faithful as him. In his days of prime, he was her arm candy. She would flaunt him, flirt with him and they made quite the pair. He had served her long and served her well.

Age had finally caught up with him. There he was, sitting lonesome on the chair in the corner. The darkness and silence of the empty room were too much for him to bear tonight. He had a feeling, a strong one at that.She would walk in with him tonight, a strapping young fellow, with a gorgeous tan and everything else that would make women go crazy with desire. The door opened and she glided right in. She looked gorgeous in that red dress and her never ending lissome legs. He looked at her and soaked in as much as he could. And yes, just like he had expected, she was not alone. He was there, shining bright and with the letters LV stamped right on his head in brilliant gold. He was now reduced to the status of a dilapidated, old Guess bag. He lay there in the chair feeling sorry for himself, while she carefully placed the Louis Vuitton on her plush bed. Love, he sighed, is fleeting.

I am pretty much a white wine enthusiast. They say real wine lovers drink red but then I am a novice and the sweetness of white wine lends itself better to my fledgling palate. Among whites, my gastronomic affections are towards Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Gewurztraminer. The flavor profile of Riesling ranges from fruity( apple, pear,apricot) all the way to floral and down to musky. So it can be effortlessly paired with so many different kinds of food. Not a surprise then that it is gaining immense popularity in culinary circles around the world. Savignon Blanc, also called Fume’ Blanc finds its origins in the  Loire Valley and Bordeaux of France. These days, the grape is cultivated in California, New Zealand and Australia as well and is anything but ersatz given that some really splendid wine is known to come from these regions. Sauvignon Blanc is quite aromatic and quite like Riesling, it boasts of versatility too when it comes to food pairings. It goes well with salads, fish, poultry et al and you can never go wrong with it. Finally we come to the not so popular Gewurztraminer which is a rich wine, sweeter than Riesling and quite the dessert wine. It works great with spicy foods, so it is quite Asian and Indian cuisine friendly.

That was a quick synopsis of the basics. So in my opinion, if wine interests you and you are quite uninitiated, white is the way to go. As you train and tame your palate, hone your wine tasting skills and start appreciating the nuances that go into the drama that wine tasting is all about, you can graduate to red. We will then be ready to discuss Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet!

Lets talk about my other love interest now, chocolate!Its sinfully delightful in all forms,be it dark, milk,white, bitter or any other  type that you can fathom. Now wonder they say its the food of Gods. I mean what else could heaven be made of if not chocolate. I grew up on a staple diet of Dairy Milks, Five Stars and Milky Bars and I maintain that Dairy Milk is still one of the better chocolates around. Over the years I have sampled Lindt, Ghirardelli, Hershey’s, gourmet chocolates like the ones at Recchiuti in San Francisco, liquor chocolates from Switzerland etc etc. Digressing a bit…damn I am lucky to be in San Francisco…a haven of good wine and fine chocolates!…burn my dear friends, burn in the agony of jealousy

Chocolate I feel is best enjoyed when your mouth and the chocolate are in complete agreement with each other. Your teeth need to take a backseat and in return, the chocolate needs to oblige you by melting at the right rate and time. What you are looking for is a  symphony of sorts with the chocolate melting and running down your tongue ,taste bud by taste bud, an all encompassing richness filling your mouth and the sensation finding its way up to your brain making you forget everything but that moment of sheer bliss. If the picture that I just painted is making you salivate and crave, I recommend making a quick trip and getting that bar of Lindt which reads classic milk chocolate. You will thank me for many eons to come! It is smooth as silk, has just the right touch of richness, it is sweet but not cloyingly so and it tastes like nothing you have ever tasted. The Swiss know their chocolate! I suggest a quick test to tell the difference between awesome and average when it comes to chocolates. There is no such thing as  bad chocolate so we are not venturing in that direction. Its a myth, it does not exist and chocolate as deemed by God is average or better.Period! Coming back to the test. So get a square of Hershey’ s milk chocolate and place it on your tongue. Wait for it to melt. Well it wont! It will feel grainy and tough  just like you would expect of a mass produced chocolate. It will force you to bite into it since the melting is a painfully slow process and not really worth it. Go on and bite into it and get done with it! Now reach out for a cube of Lindt and put it in your mouth. The test is over dearies. The chocolate itself will do the rest. It will melt and flow and dance and fill your senses just like it should. Delightful!

Phewwwww….one long post which has left me thirsty and hungry. I am off to get my fill of Riesling and some Lindt. More later!

Have come to realise that siblings can take undue advantage of all possessions tagged unisex. The brother has very lovingly and tactfully robbed me of my shades. That can be a good thing actually. Gives me a reason to hit the mall without feeling an iota of guilt.I quite like that!