- Sprinkle with some cinnamon powder and brown sugar
- Sprinkle cinnamon powder and drizzle with honey
- Drizzle with honey and vanilla
- ice-cream
- sweetened whipped cream
- ricotta cheese
- feta cheese
Grilled nectarines and feta go really well on pizza as well....absolute slice of heaven! Of course, you might want to skip the honey, sugar, and cinnamon in that case.
Any more ideas?
Beautiful Romanella tomatoes. That's what they are. Absolutely gorgeous! This Italian variety of tomatoes is just a bit bigger than cherry tomatoes and slightly
oblong. Used them to make a lip-smacking antipasto with marinated
bocconcini. The latter, in case you're wondering, are bite-sized fresh
mozzarella balls. Bocconcini literally means "small mouthfuls" in
Italian. As i am typing, I see the rain outside my window, and I feel
glad that i made them yesterday. This cold appetizer was the perfect
way to say goodbye to summers!
Bocconcini
are perfect for marination as their spongy texture absorbs flavours
well. For 4 servings, you could take about 20 bocconcini. Drain out the
whey water that they come in. Place in a bowl and toss with:
1 tsbp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp Dijon mustard (optional)
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
You could throw in some chopped fresh basil as well. I skipped that as i rolled the bocconcini in basil leaves. Cover the bowl with cling-film and leave in refrigerator for 20 minutes.
To serve, you could skewer them on toothpicks with cherry tomatoes, with the bocconcini rolled in in basil leaves. If using romanella tomatoes like me, just halve each tomato before skewering. You could also simply place the basil leaf in between the two, instead of rolling. The basil leaf could be skipped altogether if you add chopped basil in the marination step. Many different ways...so just play with the marinated bocconcini and figure out what you like best!Saw yet another fruit yesterday that was new to me! It was called "figue de barbarie" in French. I assumed it translated into something like 'Barbarian fig' - I had no idea that the english name would be so different. Turns out that it's called Prickly Pear in english and is actually a cactus! Then i knew why I felt a prick when i picked a few up!
I must say that I am a serious fruit-lover....there are very few fruits that manage to disappoint me......and this was one of them! It was just an alien taste. Could get a slight taste of melon but it wasn't really a nice taste. I couldn't even figure out what part of it to eat.....it was so full of seeds!
I don't know if it's just a tasteless fruit or am I doing something wrong here! Anyone know how to eat this or what to do with it??? Any recipes or ideas?
Phew! The mercury has really been rising lately...and that doesn't quite motivate me to stand in front of a hot stove! Paris experienced one of its hottest days of the year this week, and i was in no mood to spend even one minute more than necesary in the kitchen. So the end result was a cold, quick and healthy dinner...a delicious, low-fat, greek yogurt dip with veggies and bread!
I love greek yogurt. It's low-fat, low-carb, and protein-rich.....yet the texture is to-die-for! Thick and creamy, it almost doesn't feel like yogurt...more like a dessert! So its consistency makes it just perfect for a dip!
For 2 servings:
250 gms greek yogurt
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsps fresh mint leaves (finely chopped)
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 clove garlic (crushed)
1 tsbp olive oil
salt and pepper
Croutons - Homemade croutons are way healthier than the store-bought ones. Simply brush the bread with some melted butter or olive oil, cut into desired-size cubes, and bake for 10-15 mins or until brown. You could also season the bread with garlic salt and herbs to add more flavour. Use in soups and salads.
Bread crumbs - It can't get easier than that! Tear into pieces and grind away in a blender. Store in the freezer. Great for stuffings and of course, for coating fried food in.
Fondue - Perfect for cheese-lovers. Bread & cheese...one of the many delicious sins!
French Toast - The classic french way of using stale bread! The french call it 'Pain Perdu' which means 'lost bread'. Here's an eggless version that works really well.
Bread Pudding - There are many ways to make bread pudding. Here's one i came across that i really liked.
Panzanella - An italian salad made with bread, tomatoes, cucumber, basil, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.
My personal favorite - A version of panzanella in a way. I drizzle a few spoons of cream over cubed bread, sprinkle some garlic salt, pepper, and herbs. Then i let it soak for 30 mins before toasting them golden-brown in a large non-stick pan.
Ever since I first made my aubergine and feta rolls, i had been meaning to do the same with
zucchini...and i finally got around to doing it! I used cream cheese instead of
feta this time, and rolled in some asparagus as well...and it was simply
divine! There's no better way to describe it. The soft cream cheese with the
tender asparagus and marinated zucchini gives an absolutely melt-in-your-mouth
sensation. Perfect appetizer for a hot summer day!
And, as a bonus, it is so simple to make!
Slice zucchini length-wise to get thin and long slices. Marinate them in olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Then grill the slices for 3-5 minutes until they are nicely brown. Meanwhile boil some asparagus tips for 4-5 minutes or until they are tender. Lay out the zucchini slices on a tray, place a spoon of cream cheese on the side of each slice, follow it with one asparagus tip and roll carefully. And you're done!
I really enjoyed the natural flavours of the zucchini and asparagus, but you could add a small basil leaf as well for more flavour if you like.
To chiffonade something, start by stacking the leaves, then rolling them tightly, and finally slicing them thinly into long ribbons. It works great for herbs like flat parsley, basil, mint, and sage. Also good for greens like spinach, kale, lettuce etc.
Photo by Flickr user: Lifeflix. Source of photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lifeflix/1121555106/
Finally......an Indian recipe! It was high time...i was feeling too guilty about not having anything Indian on my blog when i love it so much and eat it so often! So that had to change. Love chickpeas in all forms possible...and Chana Masala is just one of them.
2 cans boiled chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
2 tbsp cumin seeds
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 onions, chopped
1 tsp ginger, chopped
1 tsp green chilli, chopped
4-5 tomatoes (chopped) or 1 can peeled tomatoes
3 tbsp oil
salt
1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
Spices:
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp corainder powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp dry mango powder
1-2 bay leafs
2 cloves
1 tsp star anise powder or 1 whole star anise
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder or 1 stick
1/2 tsp nutmeg powder or 1 small piece
1/2 tsp pepper or 4 whole black peppers
Drain the chickpeas and wash if needed. Keep aside.
Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds, onions, garlic, ginger and green chillies.....fry for 4-5 mins or until the onions start to turn brown.
Add all the spices and fry for another 4-5 mins. Then add the tomatoes and cook for 8-10 mins or until the oil starts to seperate and the mixture becomes like a thick puree.
In a large pot, combine the chickpeas and the tomato-onion mixture. Add salt. Bring to a boil and then cook for 30 mins on a low flame, stirring a few times in between.
Serve hot garnished with freshly chopped coriander.
If using whole spices, you might want to remove them before serving so that you don't end up biting into them. And you could also add 100 ml of light cream just 10 mins before turning off the flame, if you want to tone down the 'hot' factor a bit.
My Groups
-
Foodies Updated: 17 hours ago
-
What's Cooking? Updated: 19 hours ago
-
Vegetarians and Vegans Updated: Yesterday
Neighborhood
Explore friends, family, friends & family, or entire neighborhood.
Recent Comments
-
-
-
Purplesque said:
Yeah- I tried them once. Same thing- weird taste, too little pulp to be any good. read more
on Prick-me pear! -
Apeksha said:
ya......its perfect for that! try the aubergine one as well... read more
on Melt-in-your-mouth zucchini and asparagus rolls
ya! but i got to know that the juice from it is used for making candy and colorful drinks! even... read more
on Prick-me pear!