Strawberries and Banana Breakfast Smoothie

My fridge is filled with boxes and boxes of Strawberries. Yes, tis the season to be jolly …again! I’ve raved about my strawberry love many times before so you already know I’m crazy about the little suckers. And I always stock up whenever they come around. Apart from eating them dunked in hot chocolate fudge or enjoying them with the traditional fresh cream I also like to make a mean smoothie out of it. Besides, I just bought a nice Morphy Richards blender this month … so I need to puree and blend! I call this my breakfast smoothie because it gives me the necessary kick to start the day. Yes, I need a kick… I am NOT a morning person. Come to think of it, I’m not a night owl either. I’m a nine-to-fiver! Unfortunately those kinds of jobs are hard to come by and even if they do, it will involve sucking up to someone in a government office! Now that I’m done ranting about the lack of optimal timed employment, I come back to the smoothie. It’s yummy, it’s easy, it’s healthy and it’s in season. It’s a complete breakfast, so you can give your Masala Dosa a break today!

Penne a La Vodka

Featured on Foodgawker.com and Tastespotting.com on 24th Jan 2013

Featured on The Berry on 26th Feb 2013

 

I’m still detoxing after the excesses of December, but this dish needed to get made! I just got assigned an additional role at work and to add to that, we have a new boss. Changes, changes, changes – how I hate them! (Especially, when I’m not the one making them!) Since I’d sworn off alcohol atleast for a month (part of the detox plan), I needed to find an alternative. (And No, I can’t make the ‘special’ brownies). So I gave myself and my frazzled nerves some loving, in the form of Penne a la Vodka. It doesn’t count as cheating because technically, the alcohol content is supposed to burn off when you deglaze the pan with it. (It’s another story that when you’re off alcohol, even a whiff of it can send you into a happy place). Anyway, this is a classic recipe and loved the world over. It’s sophisticated enough to serve at a dinner party and comforting enough to take it to the couch with you. When you have the best of both worlds you don’t really question it…..ever!

P.S. In case anyone (after reading the above para) thinks I’m an alcohol addicted crazy person who’s headed down the path to rehab in a couple of years…rest assured I’m not! Though I might need anger management sooner than later! (Watch your back…)

Fattoush Hummus (Lebanese Bread Salad)

Featured in Tastespotting.com on 16th Jan 2013

The first time I ate Fattoush, I didn’t pay much attention to it. It was my accompaniment to the more interesting Shawarma. And in the Bangalore of 2000, a Shawarma with all its trimmings was very very exotic. A vertical spit roaster filled with chicken slices rotating ever so slowly, while the chef toasted and filled the strange yeasty bread with Hummus, Tahini, salad and finally the sliced chicken – was a demonstration I thought was fit to bunk classes for. But slowly, ever so slowly, the Fattoush has established a firm place in my heart and I actually forgo the shawarma for just fattoush-hummus these days! So what exactly is the Fattoush? For those of you who have seen ‘Meet the Zohan’ – it’s Zohan’s arch nemisis Phantom’s real name! And for those who have better things to do than indulge in trivial pursuits – it’s a salad. A Lebanese Bread Salad that chefs in the earlier days made as an excuse, to use up stale pita bread. (Ok, no one uses stale bread anymore – just toasted crisps work just fine!)  So why am I acting all Alice in Wonderlandy about an ex-stale bread salad? Because fattoush hummus is my comfort baby. My tummy actually asks for this on a regular basis. Coupled with the hummus and the pita crisps, it’s actually a complete meal – One that will leave you feeling healthy and satiated. (No… KFC doesn’t do that!)

Detox Water for a fresh start in 2013!

Featured in Tastespotting.com on 9th Jan 2013

Let’s get to the basics first…The mayans were wrong, we all lived to see another day and stuff our faces silly… so HAPPY NEW YEAR! Unfortunately, that also means we live to see the ‘consequences’ of stuffing our faces silly. I would love a world where good food and drink don’t add to the waistline but …. That’s not true! So yes, I was looking for shortcuts - because everyone will try one before actually lifting a limb to exercise! I found this concoction for Detox water on a food group in Facebook. Some lovely lady went to a five star hotel and they served her this drink. Then she came back home and googled the recipe and realized it was called Detox water. She loved it so much that she posted it online. And then… I saw it and jumped at the idea because a. it looked so freaking pretty, b. it looked insanely easy to make and finally, c. it was called ‘Skinny’ Water!

I don’t know if it’s made me lose weight or detoxed my system in the last couple of days but it sits pretty on my dining table and every single guest who’s come home has ‘oohed and aaahed’ at the lovely drink I’ve served them. So there’s reason enough for you to try it no? If nothing else, I intend to use the cucumbers as a cooling eye patch over the weekend :P  

So in summary, all I wanted to say was ….Happy New year darlings… and I can’t wait to explore new ways to satisfy my food monster in 2013! Hope that agenda works for you as well…XOXO.