I love making roasted vegetables as sides. So, I usually make a big batch and use the leftovers to make soup, frittata or pasta.

I had roasted onions, bell peppers, broccoli, zucchini, grape tomatoes and garlic. If you haven’t tried making roasted vegetables, you should give them a try. The sugars in the vegetables caramelize when roasted and they taste great. Just toss the vegetables with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast them on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes.

Ingredients: Serves 4
2 cups chopped roasted vegetables
2 tsp olive oil
3 eggs
3/4 cup egg product (egg beaters)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or hot sauce
salt & pepper

Heat a saute pan on medium heat. Add the olive oil and heat the vegetables through for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, in a bowl combine the eggs, egg product, milk, cayenne, salt and pepper. Beat until all ingredients are well mixed. Add the mixture to the vegetables and lower the heat to low. Using a silicone spatula gently mix the eggs and the vegetables. Cook on low heat for 4 minutes and then transfer the pan to a 350 degrees F, preheated oven. Bake for about 20 minutes.

Notes:

• You can use 3 egg whites instead of the egg product.

Here is a secret about my eating habits that only people close to me know. I cannot stand the taste of fresh tomatoes! I know..you think I am crazy! But it is true. I can eat any amounts of tomatoes when they are cooked, but not raw. So I use ketchup on my burgers and sandwiches instead of fresh tomatoes.

This is derived from a recipe that John and Patty shared with me. John and Patty are working on their cook book where they will have healthy recipes and information on harmful chemical ingredients found in prepackaged foods like MSG. More information can also be found on their website.

I have modified John and Patty’s recipe a bit to suit our taste. The first 3 ingredients are the essential ingredients to making a ketchup. You can can use other spices to your liking. I have added 8 ounces of tomato sauce to make the ketchup a little thinner, so if you like your ketchup to be thick, leave it out.

Ketchup can be used as a base to make other condiments like BBQ sauce, Russian salad dressing, cocktail sauce etc.

Ingredients:
14 oz tomato paste
1 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
8 oz tomato sauce
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp crushed cloves
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp all spice
1/2 tsp salt

Combine all the ingredients and cook on medium heat until the mixture just starts to bubble (about 10 minutes). As EASY as that!

I had always wanted to try and use tomatillos because I love their tangy, fresh flavor. So when I saw tomatillos at the farmers market last weekend I went ahead and bought some to make some salsa verde (Green Salsa). The week went on and I didn’t get around to making the salsa. When Friday came and I was clearing my refrigerator I saw the tomatillos sitting there and thought I would make a stew using some chicken and the tomatillos. The salsa verde would just have wait until another day, maybe superbowl?

The stew turned out great. I loved the tangy taste the tomatillos impart to the stew. It is the kind of dish that tastes better the longer it sits. It reminded me of the green curry chicken that my mom used to make, using a lot of cilantro. My big B (brother) used to call it the “Military Curry” because of its color .

Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 pound of chicken breast cut into chunks (you could use bone-in chicken as well)
1 pound Tomatillos
1 large onion diced
1 cup cilantro, chopped
3 large cloves of garlic
1 jalapeno
1 and 1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper
1 and 1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp canola oil

Remove the husks from the tomatillos and wash them under cold water. Cover the tomatillos with some water and cook the on medium heat until they change color. The tomatillos will turn from bright green to a khakhi. Seed and chop the jalapeno. In a blender, blend the tomatillos, water, cilantro, jalapeno,salt and garlic.

Heat a cast iron pot on high heat and add the oil. Add the chicken in one layer and season with salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon cumin powder. You can do this in two batches if the chicken does not fit in the pot in a single layer. Brown the chicken on both sides and remove from the pot. Lower the heat to medium low and add the onions to the pot. Season with salt, pepper, the remaining cumin powder and the oregano. Stir, scrapping the bottom of the pan to pick up the chicken drippings. Cook for about 15 minutes until the onions are softened. Add the chicken back to the pot along with the chicken stock. Cover and let cook until the stock comes to a boil. Add the tomatillo sauce and cook covered for another 30 minutes on low heat, stirring ocassionally.

Serve with rice or warm corn tortillas.

Last Sunday at Church, after the service a kind lady offered me a small loaf of her home made Zucchini bread as a Christmas gift. I was very touched by the gesture. We always sit in the same pews (she in front of me) every Sunday and she never forgets to wish me whenever we meet at church. The irony is, I don’t even know her name! The Zucchini bread was scrumptious. It had chocolate chips, walnuts and raisins and it was soon gone. The best Christmas gift I got this season.

Her Zucchini bread reminded me that I had always wanted to try making it, but had never got to it. So in honor of my dear friend from Church I decided to make my own Zucchini bread.

Ingredients
1 and 1/2 cup wheat flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup shredded Zucchini
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp Salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degree F. Sieve together wheat flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Beat the sugar, essence and oil on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time and beat well. Add the flour slowly while mixing. Do not over beat. Fold in the Zucchini, chocolate chips and walnuts. Bake in a 9 inch loaf pan for about 45 minutes.

Notes:

• To prevent the chocolate chips and the walnuts from settling to the bottom of the bread, toss them in a tablespoon of flour before adding to the batter.

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. It brings back memories of Christmases past and its a time  when you can reminisce about all the things that have happened throughout the year. Its been more than 10 years since I have spent Christmas with my parents. I never get a chance to visit them during the holidays.

The fondest memories I have of my childhood is the time when we would all gather around the kitchen table to help mom make all the Christmas goodies. Santa rarely visited our house back then and it didn’t matter to us. We looked forward to adorning our new clothes and staying awake till we got to the midnight mass on Christmas eve. After coming home from church, mom would have a feast prepared for us. We would all eat, drink and sing Christmas carols.

I try to keep some of the traditions alive, especially where food is concerned . I try to make at least some of the traditional sweets that my mom used to make and also include some quick cooking goodies that I have learn over the years. This year I wasn’t sure if I was going to get around to making the Christmas goodies, but somehow I found the time to make some with the help of my dear hubby.

From left: carrot cake, kul kuls, maple pecan cookies, chocolate fudge, milk toffee, donuts, mava cake

I cannot share all the recipes with you in this post. Here are a couple of simple ones. Enjoy!

Chocolate Fudge with Nuts and Fruit
The recipe is derived from the Eagle brand Condensed milk recipe. I find that adding semi sweet chocolate makes the fudge a bit too sweet. Here is my variation..
Ingredients
1 can fat free sweetened condensed milk
2 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup unsalted cashews
1/4 cup almonds
1/4 cup pecans
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Prepare a 8×8 or 9×9 square cake pan, by lining the bottom and sides with some parchment paper.

Preheat the oven to 300 F. Place all the nuts on a cookie sheet and toast them in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Cool and coarsely chop the nuts.

In a non stick pan, add the condensed milk and the chocolate. Cook on low heat, stirring constantly until all the chocolate is melted. Take it off the heat and add the chopped nuts, cranberries, raisins, salt and vanilla. Pour the chocolate mixture into the prepared cake pan. Refrigerate for about 4 hours. When the fudge is firm, remove it from the pan and cut into desired size pieces.

Use any nuts and fruits that you like in the fudge.

Maple Pecan Cookies
Ingredients (makes 3 dozen cookies)
1/2 cup butter
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
36 pecan halves

Preheat the oven to 375F.

In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the egg and maple syrup. Mix until combined. In another bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour to the wet ingredients a little at a time, while beating it on low speed. When all the flour is mixed in, stir in the chopped pecans.

Drop the dough on parchment lined cookie sheets by rounded teaspoons. Press a pecan half on top of each cookie. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes. Remove on cooling racks and allow to cool.

The recipe for the carrot cake can be found here.

The first snow of the season calls for some comforting soup. There is nothing better then curling up with a warm blanket, a good read and some hot soup on a cold snowy day. So when the weather guys predicted snow for Saturday I got the soup pot out and made this wonderful fall soup.

This soup is made with root vegetables, but any leftover vegetables in the fridge would do. I had some leftover parsnips, sweet potatoes and rutabaga from Thanksgiving. Root vegetables have a longer shelf life and can last for days if stored in a dry place.

Ingredients:
4 slices of center cut bacon (optional and can be replaced with 2 Tbsp of olive oil)
2 Tbsp Olive oil
1 medium onion diced
2 stalks of celery diced
1 large carrot diced
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 large parsnip, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 medium red skinned sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2 a medium rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
2 tsp fresh thyme
2 tsp fresh rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 Qt chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Salt & pepper

In a large bowl toss the parsnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes, rutabaga, salt, pepper and 1 Tbsp olive oil. Spread them on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree F oven for about 1 hour.

In a large pot add the remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil (leave this out if you are not using bacon and use the 2Tbsp olive oil to replace the bacon) and the bacon(cut into 1/4 inch strips). Cook on medium low heat until the bacon has rendered its fat. Remove the bacon and reserve on some paper towels for garnish later. Add the onions, celery, carrots, thyme, rosemary and bay leaves and cook until the vegetables are tender(about 15 minutes). Add the roasted vegetables and the chicken stock and cook covered for another 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and using an immersion blender, puree the soup to desired consistency. Add more chicken stock if you want the soup to be thinner. You can blend the soup in a regular blender as well, but be sure not to overfill the blender jar and allow the soup to cool a little.

Garnish the soup with the bacon bits and some chives or green onions.

I have a subscription to the Bon Apétite magazine and almost every issue has an ad for the Ghirardelli chocolate. The November issue had an ad with these scrumptious double chocolate cookies. The cookies looked so decadent that a chocoholic like me could not resist trying them out. So I made a batch yesterday and decided to share some with a friend and her sweet daughter.

I have tried to stay as true to the recipe as I could. Just reduced the sugar by a third and added some extra flour (recipe called for 1/3 cup) to make the batter a little more thick. The cookies came out great. They require a little more effort than the regular chocolate chip cookies, but they are worth it. Nothing beats the aroma of fresh baked cookies, especially during the holiday season. Santa will be very happy to find these waiting for him when he climbs down that chimney!

Ingredients (Makes 2 dozen cookies)
1 bag Ghirardelli 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips (11.5 oz)
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 eggs
2/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 bag Ghirardelli semi sweet chocolate chips (12 oz)
1 cup chopped walnuts

Melt the bittersweet chocolate and the butter in a double boiler. Combine the flour and the baking powder in a small bowl. In a large bowl beat the eggs and sugar until thick (approximately 5 mins). Stir in the melted chocolate. Slowly add the dry ingredients and stir until well combined (do not over mix). gently fold in the walnuts and the semi sweet chocolate chips.

The dough will be a little wet compared to other cookie doughs. Place the dough in the refrigerator for about 30 mins. Then divide the dough in half and roll into two logs, each 2 inches in diameter and 8 inches long using some plastic wrap. Refrigerate the logs for another hour or until firm.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Unwrap the dough and cut each log into 3/4 inch slices. Place the slices on parchment lined baking sheets about 1 & 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 13 – 15 minutes.

Notes:

• When melting chocolate in a double boiler, make sure that the water is just simmering and not boiling. Also make sure that the water does not touch the bowl in which you are melting the chocolate.

I call this the ‘Blend of Cultures’. This is a very traditional East Indian curry that I have modified and cooked the Malvani way. And I must say I am very happy with the result. For those who do not know, I am an East Indian Catholic and am married to a Malvani (from the Konkan Coast of India) guy. So I am always trying ways to blend the two cultures. In the East Indian version of this dish, coconut milk and vinegar is used in place of the roasted coconut paste and the kokums.

Calabash which is also called Bottle Gourd or Lauki (in Hindi) is widely available throughout India. This is my mom’s favorite vegetable and she would be happy to eat it everyday if she can. Myself and my sister-in-law share this liking with her as well. I think its a girls and guys thing in our family as the guys don’t seem to enjoy it as much , but who cares, they get to eat whatever we cook!

Hope you enjoy the blend of my cultures as much as we did! Comments are welcome as always.

Ingredients:
1/2 pound of raw shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1 small Calabash (bottle gourd or dudhi or lauki) peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes
2 cups chopped onion
3/4 cup grated coconut
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp coriander seed
2 tsp grated ginger
1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
6 curry leaves
3 Kokums
2 Tbsp meat masala
1 and 1/2 cups of water
coriander to garnish
1 Tbsp + 2 tsp cooking oil
salt

In a skillet, heat 2 tsp of cooking oil. Add the crushed garlic and 1/2 cup of the onions. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the coconut and coriander seed and cook it till the mixture is evenly browned. Take it off the heat and allow it cool. Grind the coconut mixture with 1 cup of water and salt till it forms a paste.

In a 3 quart cooking pot heat the oil on medium heat. Add the curry leaves (stand back to avoid getting splattered). Add the onions and ginger and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the calabash,and the salt and let cook for about 10 minutes. Add the meat masala and stir well. Add the crushed tomatoes and 1/2 cup of water. cook on medium heat until it comes to a boil. Add the coconut and onion paste and the kokums. Stir and cooked covered for another 5 minutes.

In the end add the shrimp and cook covered for 5-7 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice.

Notes:

• Calabash or bottle gourd is availbale in Asian and Indian grocery stores. If you cannot find it substitute with Zucchini.
• You may also substitue the kokums with 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar.
• The Cucumber and Onion Salad goes great with this curry.