Asparagus Stir Fry

The past one week was chaos in our house. I could even go back and say the past on month has been chaos. It first started with the kid, he got the flu, passed it over to me and then the huss took it from there. And then the second cycle started with the kid ofcourse. This time his temperatures started soaring. His birthday has come and gone with no big deal. We kept it simple with a funfetti cake and his favorite t-rex dino fondant topper. He's starting to recover and we are still not into routine. I am keeping it simple for lunch with rasam saadam for the kid and a simple asparagus or broccoli stir fry for me and the night leftovers packed for the huss's lunchbox.

~*What U Need*~ Asparagus - 1 bunch, cleaned and pat dry Olive oil - 1/2 tbsp Chilli flakes - 1/2 tsp Garlic - 3 cloves, sliced Salt to season How I made it: Clean the asparagus and pat dry. Break the stem till the part of the asparagus that is tender. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add the garlic and saute till golden brown. Add the red chilli flakes and saute for 20 seconds. Add the asparagus and saute in high heat till it has brown spots and slightly tender but still crisp.

Serve with a salad.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Lettuce Salad with feta cheese

When I first moved to the US and when it was confirmed that it was Wisconsin, the first thing that got me hooked to the place was the cheese. Well it was a tough battle between the weather and the cheese. The cheese dragged me to the place and the weather kinda wanted me to get shooed away. So the cheese, Wisconsin specializes in Cheese and the cheesecurds here are the best. Ever since I came here, I have been eating cheese to my hearts content and I have been happy with the local cheese. So my salads and pastas have always got an extra helping of cheese and that is how I love them these days.

After all that eating and bingeing all through the holidays and there after, which is clearly visible in my blog, I have decided to go salads and green smoothies and here is a very simple salad for a start.

~*What U Need*~ Iceberg lettuce - 1 head, rinsed and dried Tomato - 1, deseeded and cubed Onions - 1/2 sliced Olives - 1/4 cup, chopped Feta cheese - 2oz, crumbled For the dressing Lemon juice - 1 tbsp White wine vinegar - 1/2 tsp Olive oil - 2-3 tbsp Salt, pepper - to taste Honey - 1 tsp {Mix everything and whisk well} How I Made it: Chop the lettuce into chunks. Mix lettuce, tomato, onions, olives in a salad bowl. Top with feta cheese. When serving drizzle the dressing, toss well. Serve with a healthy grating of parmesan cheese.

Serve with some wine!!!
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Mediterranean Quinoa Salad | Quinoa Recipes | Healthy foods

Quinoa is one among the world's healthiest food. It was one among the many to-try things that I had wanted to try when I moved to the US. But its taken me time and that too a long one but as they say better late than never. I gave in last week and bought a packet of qunioa from my local grocery store. I love the Mediterranean flavors a lot and I thought of making a simple salad to start with it. I served it with some Jamaican Jerk spiced roasted chicken and it was a filling meal on the whole.

~*What U Need*~ Quinoa - 1/2 cup Water - 1 cup Red onion - 2 tbsp, chopped Lemon - 1/2, juiced Olives - 1/8 cup, chopped Red and yellow peppers - 1/4 cup, chopped Extra virgin olive oil - 1 tbsp Cucumber - 1 cup, peeled and diced Tomatoes - 1/2 cup, deseeded and cubed Feta cheese - 1/3 cup, crumbled Chickpeas / Garbanzo - 1/2 cup, cooked till soft Salt and pepper - to season Avocado slices and spur cream - to serve How I Made it: Rinse quinoa and cook as per package instructions with salt. Then fluff with a fork and set aside in a large mixing bowl to cool. Prep the vegetables. Add everything to the quinoa, season with salt and toss. Add the olive oil and feta cheese and toss gently. Adjust seasoning as you taste.

Top with avocado slices and sour cream and serve!!!

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Chicken Salad | Easy & Healthy Chicken Salad

I have always eyed the rotisserie chicken that they sell in walmart or sams. It looks so juicy and whenever I see one I always dream of making potpies, salads and sandwiches. Whenever I think of buying one or whenever I ask the huss to buy one, he always says 'get it if you think that you can finish it'. And then I back off. That word means that the chicken is meant for me and only me. Finally I mustered all my courage and bought a rotisserie chicken last week. We had it on sandwiches and then I made pot pie one day and finally I finished it by making a big batch of this salad which I had for lunch with a side salad and then with some soup for dinner.

~*What U Need~* Cooked Chicken - 1 cup Celery - 1/4 cup, chopped Green onions - 2, chopped Grapes - 1/2 cup, chopped Almonds - 1/4, slivered For the dressing: Yogurt - 1/4 cup Mayonnaise - 1 tbsp Sour cream - 1 tbsp Coriander - 1 tbsp, chopped Brown sugar - 1 tsp Vinegar - few drops Salt - to taste Pepper - to taste Red chilli powder - a pinch(optional) How I Made it: In a mixing bowl, mix mayonnaise, yogurt and sour cream, vinegar, brown sugar, red chilli powder and salt and pepper to taste. Add chopped coriander and mix well. Do taste test and season as needed. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Chill well.

Serve on a bed of lettuce or side of salad or in a sandwich.

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Apple & Spinach Salad with Pesto Dressing

I always have a jar of coriander pesto in my pantry. Its so versatile ~ I spread it on toasts, I stir it into whole grain pastas or I use it to make salad dressing. All you need to do is stir 2 tbsp of pesto with some olive oil to thin it out and then season it as needed. You could add some grated parmesan cheese or if you are a fan of sour cream then a tablespoon of low fat sour cream will never harm you.

BTW, please do not get alarmed at the variety of salads that I am throwing at your face. This is the last of the lot and the next recipe that is gonna come is gonna be a show-stopper for sure. Well, atleast for hardcore non-vegetarians.

~*What U Need*~ Baby Spinach - 1 cup Walnuts - a handful Apple - 1, sliced Pesto - 2 tbsp Olive oil - 1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar - 1 tsp Sour cream - 1/2 tbsp(optional) How I Made it: Rinse and pat dry the spinach. Chop the walnuts. Assemble the salad by placing the spinach first followed by the apples and walnuts. Mix the dressing ingredients and spoon over the salad.

Serve immediately!!!

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Apple Walnut Salad with Peanut Butter dressing

Falling in row with the cucumber coriander salad, here is the next one of the lot. Sliced honey crisp apples with a generous dose of chopped walnuts and peanut butter dressing.

Salads are my go to food when I want to detox my body. A bowl of salad, an exercise regime and gallons of water ~ I would call it a day. But since the onset of winter, my exercise routine has never been the same. I do aerobics but I have never been regular. So I make it a point to stick to the salad regimen atleast. This week is one such week where I am cleansing my body with kale smoothies and spinach salads. I felt like having something sweet and hence took a break from the regular salads and made this apple walnut salad.

Okay, so I thought that I could give you a glance of the pie that is the reason behind all this hooplah. *drum rolls* Here is the Caramel Pecan Silk Supreme which was gifted to me by the huss for Valentines day. I could best describe it as *heaven on a plate*. Look at that layers, how sinful does that look.

~*What U Need*~ Honey Crisp apples - 2 Walnuts - 1/2 cup Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp Peanut butter - 2 tbsp Maple syrup - 1 tsp Chia seeds - 1 tbsp(optional) How I Made it: Mix peanut butter, maple syrup and chia seeds. Set aside. Slice the apples and coat with lime juice. In a serving bowl, place the apples and top with walnuts. Drizzle the dressing.

Serve!!!

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Cucumber Coriander Salad

After all that indulgence, yes we have been indulging a hell lot for the past few days. Thanks to V day, the huss has been asking for special breakfast, special lunch and special dinner menus. And since Friday we have been having cutlets for snack, heart shaped pizza take outs for dinner and homemade badam kulfi for dessert. Oh yeah and not to forget that Caramel Pecan Silk Supreme that the huss got from the bakery as an added surprise for me. Its been only two days and there is hardly two more slices left. I must have gained atleast 5 pounds in the last 3 days. Its time to go back to salads and detoxifying smoothies. I made this simple ka salad for my lunch today. I used homemade yogurt for the dressing but you could use greek yogurt too.

Prep time: 15 mins; Cooking time: Nil; Serves - 1 ~*What U Need*~ Cucumber - 1 large Plain yogurt - 1/4 cup Coriander - 1 tbsp, finely chopped Green onions - 2 tbsp, chopped White vinegar - 1 tsp Sugar - a pinch Salt - a pinch Black pepper - to season Garlic powder - a pinch How I Made it: Clean, de seed and chop the cucumber. In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and mix well. Add the cucumber and toss in the dressing. Season with salt and pepper if needed. Refrigerate till you serve.

Serve chilled!!!

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Watermelon Spinach Salad

There are days when I hate waking up in the morning to prepare lunch for the huss and then there are days when I hate making an elaborate lunch for the both of the us. On such days, the huss is asked to have lunch at office and I make do with a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice. And then I have an apple for snack. But then there are days when you have a bunch of fresh baby spinach and a huss who is unwilling to have anything with spinach for his lunch. Those days he is again asked to have lunch at office and I make a fresh spinach walnut salad with a simple honey olive oil dressing.

Last week I bought a whole watermelon because it was on a sale and since then we have been having glasses of fresh watermelon juice on our evenings. And when that lazy feeling struck again, I knew what I was going to make for my lunch. A whole plate of this refreshing salad with that slightly sweet and sour dressing and the crunchy almonds made a light and filling lunch.

Serves - 1; Cooking time - nil; Prep time - 15 mins ~*What U Need*~ Watermelon cubes - 1 cup, deseeded Baby spinach - 1 cup, washed and patted dry Salted almonds - few For the dressing Extra virgin olive oil - 1/2 tbsp Honey - 1/2 tbsp Lemon juice - 1 tsp Pepper - 1/4 tsp How I Made it: Mix all the ingredients mentioned under dressing. Place watermelon cubes, spinach in a salad bowl. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and sprinkle the almonds.

Serve immediately!!!

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Apple Pom Salad with Sweet & Sour Dressing | Cold Salad Recipes

Its been a long time since I posted a salad recipe in my space. All credits to the huss. The huss has never been a salad person except for the Cold Apple&Candied walnut salad that I serve occasionally. But the salad sans the candied walnuts is a strict no for him. Says the only good thing in the salad is the crunchy sweet walnut thingies. Its just the opposite for me. I heart salads. I can have them any time of the day. The freshness and the crunchiness that you get without devouring the soul of the ingredients is what I love about salads. I don't prefer a fancy dressing, a simple olive oil or red wine dressing is all that I need.

Talking about the recipe, I made this when there were an overload of apples and the huss was fussing over the not-so-tasty lunch that I made for the day. He wanted something sweet, said he and that is when I made this salad. It was sweet, mildly tart and the crunchiness of the toasted pistachios and peanuts made him miss the candied walnuts. We had this for tea, skipping the tea part... and we loved it.

~*What U Need*~ Apple - 1, cubed Pomegranate - 1/2 Honey - 1 tbsp Lemon juice - 1/2 tbsp Hung curd - 1/4 cup Roasted Pistachios, groundnuts - 8 each

How I Made it:
Cube the apples and put them in lemon water to prevent browning. In a mixing bowl, add honey, lemon juice, yogurt till smooth. Add the apple and pom seeds and toss. Pound the roasted pistachios and ground nuts coarsely. Place the salad in serving bowls, top with nuts.

Serve cold.

** My Notes:
** Use nuts and fruits of choice.
** U can skip the lemon juice.
** This is a guilt free salad but if you are serve it to kids then spoon over some melted white chocolate, chill to get a hard shell and then serve.

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Cold Apple & Candied Walnut Salad with Honey Yogurt Dressing

Salads are my weakness. Rather than going for idli/chapathi, I would prefer having a refreshing bowl of salad with fresh veggies / fruits and a simple salad dressing. I prefer red wine for my salads while the huss needs something creamy and yummy (and that has to be mayonnaise... not 1 tbsp but by dollops).
This salad came out when we wanted to have something light yet creamy, not fried, nil of sugar and with added frutis. It is simple to whip up and the salad is cold, refreshing and crunchy.

~*What U Need*~
For the salad
Cubed Apples - 1 cup
Candied Walnuts - a handful

For the dressing
Hung Yogurt - 3 tbsps
Honey/Sugar - to taste (I used honey)
Lime juice - few drops
Chaat masala - to taste
Salt - a pinch

How I Made it:
Mix ingredients under dressing in a large bowl. With this mix the cubed apple pieces and refrigerate till use.
When serving, tip the apple mix on to a serving plate, spread the candied walnuts and garnish with a sprinkle of chaat masala and lime juice.

Serve cold.

Sending this to Fruit Fiesta held at Ramya's Recipe, Cook Eat Delicious Dessert at Sensible vegetarian and Raven’s Blog: CookEatDelicious.com, Summer Splash Event held by Sangeetha originally started by Kalyani



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Red Cabbage Mixed Salad

As I had already mentioned I am a diehard fan of any kinda salads these days. I prefer having a refreshing bowl of salad and a glass of fruit juice to the daily dinner menu. And huss also joins hands with me these days. So we just go chop!! chop!!
Making salads has given me the option to explore many un-tried veggies, fruits and salad dressings. I just play with all the ingredients in hand and am enjoying it.
One such veggie is the red cabbage. I have seen red cabbage many times but was not sure what to do with it and hence usually ignored it. But after I read a few articles on its usage in salad, I grabbed some when I went for my next grocery shopping.

~*What U Need*~

Red cabbage(cut into chunks) – 1 cup
Boiled corn kernels – ¼ cup
White cabbage(cut into chunks) – ½ cup
Cucumber(de-seeded and cut into chunks) – ¼ cup
Tomato(Medium) - 1
Carrot(julienned) – ¼ cup
Capsicum(julienned) – ¼ cup
Pitted black olives – 2 tbsp

For the Salad Dressing
Apple cider Vinegar – 1 tsp
Mayonnaise – 2 tbsp
Olive oil – 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Pepper – a pinch

How I made it

De-seed and dice the tomato into cubes.
Add all the ingredients mentioned and give it a stir.

Refreshing bowl of salad is ready.

Serve immediately. Sit back and enjoy!!!

Though the name suggests Red cabbage, I would say that the overall color of the veggie falls under Purple. So off this goes to Food Palatte Series Purple held at Torview

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Tender Cucumber Salad with Red Wine dressing

The summer has set in with full violence but the good news !!! it has brought on melons, tangy sweet mangoes and of course tender cucumbers in abundance. Cucumber is a perfect cooler for the season and what is best than making a refreshing salad with a simple red wine dressing. Sounds yum na!!! That’s what I made when I got a half kg of tender cucumbers.
Huss always wants mayonnaise to be added to the salads which I didn’t prefer for this salad. I just wanted a mouthful of freshness. So pan-fried some paneer cubes and topped off his salad with this. And he loved it!!!

~*What U Need*~

Tender cucumbers / Vellari Pinji – ¼ kg
Lettuce Leaves – a bunch
Capsicum(julienned) – ½ cup
Salt – to taste
Pepper – a pinch
Chaat masala – a pinch

For Salad Dressing
Olive Oil – 2 tbsp
Red Wine – 3 tbsp
Apple Cider Vinegar – ½ tsp

Optional
Paneer cubes – 10-12
Ginger Garlic Paste – ½ tsp
Oil – 1 tsp
Salt – to taste
Pepper – to taste

How I Made it
Slice the cucumbers thinly. Cut the lettuce leaves. Add the julienne-d capsicum and mix well.

Add the salt and pepper and combine well.
To this add the ingredients in the salad dressing and give it a stir.

Lets prepare the paneer now!!! Heat oil in a pan. Add the ginger garlic paste and sauté till the raw smell goes off.
Add the salt, give it a stir and add the paneer cubes.
Allow it to cook to brown on every sides.
Add the pepper and toss it. Don’t use spoon to work on the paneer, just gently toss it around.
This step is purely optional. I skipped this for my salad.

Add the sautéed paneer cubes on top of the salad. Sprinkle some chaat masala and serve immediately.

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