Ladled

Thummi kura pappu is had on Vinayaka Chavithi.

I had collected some very fancy recipes for a coconut lovers bday. But it fell on a festival and eggs are not allowed. Vegan coconut cake is the way to go. I have never used vinegar in cakes before. Yesterday, my husband bought green plantain. I have cooked it before but this was Dole's and felt it would ripen, given time. So I wasnt sure if it would be sweet and ruin the curry. But after reading that even banana peel can be used to make Banana peel curry  I went ahead and made the curry, without even boiling like the oriignal green ones are supposed to be prepped. From samosas, there was green chutney remaining. I had to use it.  Mint Chutney rice.

Amaranth Jujube bread Mothers pecan tarts   and Walnut-Tofu Meatballs Dolmadakia Persimmon bread Why you shouldnt eat  too much purslane The Many uses of Cattail

American Lotus Dutchman breeches Chinese Lantern

Black eyed peas

Green toast Broccoli scramble Walnut Banana bread and Avocado Chocolate Mousse Grains Marinara Fully loaded bean burrito Fish with vegetable gratin Chicken stir-fry in lettuce cups Ginger Chicken Chickpea tagine with chicken

When we attend birthday parties in Phoenix, the cake comes either from Euro bakery or Le Napolean .Yesterdays cake had layers of chocolate and raspberry mousse on bedss of cake.

Yesterday our neighbours gave us  a bunch of Drumstick leaves to cook with. And this morning a friend brought a bundle of drumsticks that flew in from Florida. In the middle is Muringayila parippu curry, the one with potatoes is the dry curry suggested by the neighbour who gave the leaves. The other one is the sambhar with drumsticks. On the side are black eyed peas from our garden. The first time, I saw a drumstick tree is in Shankarpally. On the way to my sister's school, there was a small house with both the front and back accesible. In the front, they had this drumstick tree and in the back, the lady had a veggie patch. she gave us a bunch of  bacchali aaku , one of my mom's favourite. She liked all green leafy vegetables. She liked them with green chillies and some soaked dal for crunch.  In south India, the drumsticks are cut finger size and boiled in sambar. The pulp is soft jelly like with pea sized seeds. You can eat the seeds too, but the hard rind is discarded.

This morning we were thinking about 'What for breakfast'. We had upma yesterday morning and semiya upma last night at friends. So it had to be something with cracked wheat. The fast method of letting the steam cook the cracked wheat does not infuse much flavor into the upma as it gets only quick seasoning treatment unlike the boiling method. Since the last week, making the perfect soft pongal has been in my head. Wounded by last failure, the pongal monster roared back with an idea of cracked wheat kichdi. Cracked Wheat Kichdi it is. onions jeera green chillies ginger paste lemon pepper (cause I have it and anyways leave most of the whole pepper when I add them) 1 cup moong dal 2 cups fine cracked wheat 6 cups water definitely salt. (For some reason salt has slipped my culinary dictionary since yesterday. I didnt add it in upma yesterday. saving grace is cucumber pickle . I was focusing so much on adding the spice to it through ginger, pepper and chillies, that salt

This morning when we woke up, my daughter along tagged along with me to  the restroom or so I thought, but her destination is 'chocolate', may be she dreamt of it. A bit later she wiggled a chocolae out of me. the trouble began after she wanted another like she never had one. My dad suggested an apple in the place of a chocolate, and I said banana thinking of the mashable ripe one and she took it along further and said that she wants to mix, mix, mix. Quickly I had to find a recipe while she was mashing the banana. Honey whole wheat banana bread

Spanish style chicken rice Grilled cajun salmon tomatoes green beans Tuna stuffed tomatoes Seared tilapia with pineapple and cucumber relish Salmon couscous salad snap peas orange mint Roasted salmon tomatoes cauliflower Tilapia oranges tomatoes toasted garlic Orange ginger halibut in parchment Blackened fish green rice Ravioli sauteed asparagus walnuts Mexican black bean lasagna

Recipes sweet potato Waffle

Cauliflower popcorn The family cooks Fed up one more interview Cannellini bean tartine

 The air freshener has a pleasant, mild flowers scent. I got creative like the Febreze ads and sprayed it on the mini garbage can with diapers and odds in it. It didnt smell like garbage. I asked my husband to smell it. He said that it has no smell. Even after an hour, the garbage can has the mild flower scent. I dont use air freshener everyday, so how would one test that it reduces allergen? The truth about air fresheners Homemade air fresheners

I saw this different shaped pasta of tiny shells and wanted to give it a try.  Because of the small size of the shells and the single layer, the taste per bite is different from the usual spiral pasta. Not as creamy as the kraft one.

Suds rate is not annoying. Some dishwashing liquid soaps need crazy amount of water. Best part is that it does not cake like the current one I use, so the flow is good, when I need it, instead of wishing for another hand. I usually dont have very greasy dishes, I am satisfied with its cleaning power on the everyday dishes. The tips in the product description on keeping your glass and crystal clean are appreciated.

I cannot use onions for a guest and it being a puja day, I cant use eggs but still I want to make kothu parata . We have lots of roti now. There were enough peppers to make stuffed bell peppers. I thought why not 1. Stuff bell peppers with kothu paratha 2. Stuff bell peppers with bell pepper curry 3. Kothu Paratha wrap - a. Roti with kothu parata stuffing                                       b. Omelette with Kothu parata stuffing Too much or too less is the time for ideas.

Varalakshmi vratham  I performed Varalakshmi vratam with this video and followed the written manta in the top link. Garuda Puranam by Shanmukha Sarma Chaganti Koteshwar Rao Siddhas

From the friend who made  Tofu butter masala pizza Recipe  for Pudina Rice.   Make a paste of the following: 1 bunch Mint leaves handful of Cilantro 6 green chillies (can add more) 2-3 inch piece of ginger (Can add very small garlic piece)   Fried the following Heat 3-4 tbsps oil in a pan and add 1 tbsp of jeera (Can add handful of broken cashews + 1 small onion sliced here) and once fried well then add 1/2 tbsp corriander powder 1/2 tbsp jeera powder 1/2 tbsp garam masala 2 Potatoes cubed   Once the above stuff is ready, add 3 cups of rice (preferably basmati), pudina paste and fried ingredients along with 5+1/2 cups of water (assuming paste comes up to 1/2 cup, making the total water qty to 6 cups) in a rice cooker, mix well and cook.   Things to remember: When adding powders, make sure to have potatoes ready and add immediately before the powders get burnt in the oil If the pudina paste is watery in consistency, then measure it and make

On one of her grocery trips that she went on, she brought this chocolate chip muffin mix that just needs milk to be added to it. we had some almond milk in the house. Lets see how it turns out. Too crumbly for its good. Will not try again. I followed normal baking conditions instead of the elevated temperatures.

Soft and fluffy strawberry banana cake

German chocolate cake balls This was introduced in our cafeteria,  as people wanted healthier options. The inside reminded me Maple Walnut and Honey Almond   spreads from Einstein Bros. Pecans and chickpeas with Maple syrup. Not as smooth as the spreads, because of the chickpeas. A friend told about Flourless peanut butter oatmeal cookies

Peanut butter   and chocolate spread. Going the splendid table way of making your own nutella . Pumpkin pancakes Huevos rancheros Mini frittatas Vegetable couscous Mini pizzas

Joy of kosher spinach in hummus Eggplant caviar   Cilantro corn cakes Zucchini and red bell pepper saute   Waldorf salad   Greek chopped macaroni salad  Cannoli in waffle cones Garlic knots

Francinesegan Lemon avocado spaghetti Silky escarole pine nut pappardelle pasta Ideas in food - Tortelli with a tail Pasta Sushi pasta-wrapped shrimp Pasta cups Corzetti Black pasta Cappuccino caper pasta Author of Dolci Pasta rings reminds me of son papdi preparation in making eight out of the ring of dough Mimosa pasta for International womens day Sweet Crispy pasta nests Pasta Cannoli

I thought Teddy was an animal to begin with. Having been a volunteer at the Phoenix Zoo for the koala exhibit, I was all set to read the book. Phew, the pre-teeners, what they try to pull off. For science week/month this year, Chandler, AZ had a small display to solve a fictional crime with some evidence and lab experts all in one tent. This chase too to solve the mystery, keeps whats in the domain of our little solver - some sleuthing, guessing, elimination, the real brainy things accessible and the lab expert kind of stuff in the hands of characters out of scope. This chiaroscuro of keeping just the things needed to solve the problem in focus makes the young readers easily fall into the game of playing detective.

when underdone tastes like chalupa. Totinos

Saw the Huli Huli Chicken Machine at Aloha Festival Lemon Meringue Smores

Never let a menu pass without perusal. Picked a menu of Gold Chef from Costco. Now interpret it.

Making snacks at home

Wheat Crackers toppings - sesame & carom