Long Hiatus

Hello Everyone!

I know its been awhile since either of us have posted. But with my graduate thesis completion and Ruchi's undergraduate coursework completion we have both been very much swamped with non-food obligations.

But we are back! In the coming months things I would definitely like to share include calzones (these can be made and then frozen to save for a quick lunch) Gujarati fusion (potstickers filled with indian flavors) and some standard potsticker recipes.

Again a reminder to interested parties - if you want to share a recipe please pass it on, but also if you would like to join Ruchi and myself in sharing your joy for cooking Swaminarayan-friendly food please let either of us know.

Thank you and see you soon.

YUMMMMMMMY Corn Soup

Okay, so i have just about the easiest recipe for amazingly delicious corn soup.

You will need:
1 can of cream style corn (see picture)
1 jalapeno pepper
Black pepper
Milk
Salt
Paprika (if wanted)
Pot
Stove

Start by opening up your can of cream style corn and pouring the entire can in a pot and turning the heat on medium on your stove. Mix the corn around so you lose your lumps and add in milk. The amount of milk depends on how thick/ thin you want your soup. I generally put in 1/3 cup of milk; however, you can change that by adding more or less.

Mix the corn into the milk well. As it is starting to warm up, cut your jalapeno into tiny little chunks. Add in as many pieces as you desire. I generally add in half the pepper because i like my soup a little spicy. If you don't want your soup spicy, add in 1/3 of the pepper. Sprinkle in some salt and black pepper and paprika if you desire.

The big thing about this soup is that it all pretty much depends on how spicy, salty, thick, thin YOU like it to be! You are your own chief so experiment and see what works best for you!

Let the soup boil with all the ingredients for about 3-5 minutes and you're ready to enjoy!

The picture i have attached is basically what the end product will look like!

Jalapeno Poppers

I've had numerous people who have been interested in my past experiments with jalapeno poppers. Though I've never had the opportunity to eat a popper before, they had definitely made my mouth water with their spicy fried cheesy deliciousness.

So I got my experiments to work, the only downside of this experiment was cough and sneezing while removing the seeds. This of course led me to be very weary of poppers. I missed their hot deliciousness because I stared at them in horror of their spicyness. Alas, they were not spicy at all.

On to the recipe.

Cut the jalapenoes in half, leave the top part (see how they are jut 70% up to the top). Leave the stems on.

The most dangerous part - Deseed and remove the membranes. Wear gloves if you are scared. (A secret - if you get really spicy pepper juice on your hands and want to get it off, use DOVE - the soap bar worked wonders for me)

Above you will see the workstation - Cheese, flour and breadcrumbs (I added salt, white pepper and thyme to my breadcrumbs) and an empty bowl. That empty bowl will have the binding agent, the secret to eggless Jalapeno Poppers.

Before we make the secret to Poppers, we stuff string cheese into the jalapenos. Cut the cheese to the appropriate size and get ready for a mess.

To make the secret following the directions below -

1 Tbs Ener-G Egg Replacer Powder

3 Tbs Boiling Water

1/2 Cup Non-Dairy Milk

Combine the boiling water and egg replacer powder and whisk until thick and foamy. Add to a separate large bowl. Whisk in the non-dairy milk until thick and frothy. Set aside.

(This tip is from VeganYumYum, though she hasn't included instructions for poppers yet.)

Then all you do (before getting the oil warm) is dip the stuffed peppers in the egg replacer mixture, roll around in flour - let sit for 10 mins, then redip in the egg replacer mixture and roll around in bread crumbs. Let sit for a bit.

Warm up the oil, and FRY!

(I recommend making two batches of the mixture if you make more then 8 poppers, because the measurements above barely covered 8.)

Dangerous and yummy!

Strawberry Salad

This is for Nicki Auntie!

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette

So the Vinaigrette (recipe can be found here)

The salad -

Main things you need

sliced strawberries

Spinach

Things I've added

candied walnuts

almonds

feta cheese

croutons

(I say it helps to have some nuts)

This is a really yummy salad and simple.

Also the pasta is a fancy alfredo recipe that I got from The Pioneer Woman Cooks. I warn you, its not healthy. (Hence the veggies and salad in the pic)

Good Ekadashi Dish

I know Ekadashi is still about a week away, but this is one of my favorite ekadashi dishes.

Start with a potato - See small yukon gold potato

Grate and put in water, rinse out the potato starch

Lay out to dry on either a cloth or paper towel, layer another on top. (I sometimes add weight so as much of the water gets absorbed.)

Once dry, in a warm pan, put some oil and add half of the shredded potatoes. DO NOT TOUCH. Leave it alone till the edges are looking nice and brown.

Then sprinkle some yummy cheese. (Use good melting cheese.) You can add tomatoes, or chopped serrano or bell peppers, whatever you are desiring. Sprinkle some black pepper. Do not sprinkle salt!

(Its really easy to over salt this dish, but if the cheese isn't salty enough you can always sprinkle it on top after you've tasted it.)

(Look at the gooey cheese. And see the browning on the edges? That's what you have to wait for before you touch it.)

Add the second half of the shredded potatoes, then carefully cover the pan with a plate, and flip the hash browns onto the plate. Then slide it back into the pan, so the beautiful golden bottom is now the top. Cook until the bottom is nice and golden brown. Cut into pieces and enjoy!

This dish is really yummy, and really simple when you are hungry. The first time you attempt this dish it might be hard not to disturb the potatoes, but trust me, leave them alone, otherwise you'll ruin that beautiful crust you see up there.

Enjoy a stuffed hash brown for me!

(Tomorrow Mira's new favorite salad and salad dressing)

Such a long wait....

Sorry for the long absence, been busy trying to finish my paper so I can get closer to graduating. So I get tired of writing.

A simple dish - A Caprese salad with a twist.

Normally, most people make their caprese salad with fresh mozarella, good tomatoes, fresh basil and olive oil.

But I didn't have mozarella and I had amazing tomtatoes and basil. So I made a monterey jack cheese caprese salad.

Remember, do not put salt or pepper. The goal is to enjoy the taste of tomatoes, good cheese, and good olive oil all with some yummy basil.

Dorm Enchiladas Challenge

So the point of this site isn't always to create something elaborate, but mostly something yummy. I know when I lived in the dorm, I would often crave my mom's enchiladas. I don't think I've ever found a more fulfilling enchilada recipe until I started playing with my own. Today I present the DORM Enchiladas.

The recipe below is a little much for a dorm, but parts could be done and stored, but the really nice thing about this recipe? You can make everything in the microwave (especially if you have a microwaveable rice cooker. (The microwaveable rice cooker is one of my trusty kitchen side kicks. All college kids who want easily accessible food should get one!)

So the hardest thing first - Yummy rice that goes well with mexican food.

Ingredients can be seen in the picture (except the water)

Rice

jalapenos chopped

tomatoes chopped

can of tomato juice (when cooking the rice for then 60% should be the juice, you are cooking the rice in the juice, not flavoring the rice with the juice)

Adobo sauce (this is a mexican tomato based paste, usually kept in oil. It is hard to find without onions and garlic, but it is worth the time, and it lasts a long time. It also doesn't go bad)

Bufalo brand Chipotle sauce - also a hard, but yummy find (I love adding this to the 'I'm Lazy quesodillas').

(NO SALT, everything else has plenty)

Mix and cook as you would most rices.

But I warn you this rice is awesome!

Next - the sauce (here I'll give you two, because after I made this, I made another batch that was AWESOME! All due to that amazing Adobo paste and chipotle sauce.

Sauce #1 (Make in a glass bottle - see the bottle!)

Ingredients -

Tomato paste

honey (to sweet the sauce)

salt

cayenne pepper

crushed red peppers (red pepper flakes)

water to thin the paste

Mix, make sure to break up the chunks of tomato paste, then microwave.

Sauce #2

honey

salt

adobo paste

chipotle sauce

cayenne pepper

water

mix, break up adobo paste chunks, microwave

Add tomato puree, mix, taste. (Don't eat it all!)

Beans -

canned beans - (Bearitos is cute brand right?)

other flavorings (I used green tabasco to use it up, and cholula sauce)

thin with water

warm corn tortillas in microwave (20 secs) until they are softened

wrap beans and cheese and put in plate

put sauce on enchiladas

I decorated mine with olives and tomatoes, but I've done bell peppers or hot peppers (anything you have really).

sprinkle cheese - microwave until cheese is melted.

Yummy! I generally love enchiladas, but what I love about Dorm Enchiladas is I make everything in the containers I'll keep the leftovers in (except the rice cooker). So clean up is easy. Enjoy!