East Meets West Veg

Fall is in the air here in Detroit, and that has me thinking about warmer weather. If we can't bring ourselves to the tropics, we can at least bring a taste of the tropics to us.

Fruit Vendor in Maharashtra, India

Kelyache Shikran is a very fast, simple dish from the Indian state of Maharashtra, my husband's home state. It can be eaten for breakfast, dessert, or as a accompaniment to a spicy amti or curry.

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana, sliced or diced
1 tsp sugar, optional (if you are using sweetened milk, this may be unnecessary)
1/2 Cup nondairy milk
5 pods cardamom, smashed or a pinch of ground cardamom

Method:
1. Mix all ingredients together, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

2. Serve at room temperature or cool in the fridge before serving.

TCBY

As one of the largest U.S. retailers of soft-serve frozen yogurt, TCBY makes it easy to get vegan soft-serve frozen yogurt for the mainstream. They now have three vegan flavors - Silk Chocolate Almond, Silk Vanilla Almond, and Silk Coconut. All three are vegan, dairy free, and gluten free. I thought it was really cool that TCBY actually uses probiotics in making this non-dairy frozen yogurt. The flavors of the day vary so you probably won't find all three vegan options available on any given day, but this just gives you a reason to keep going back.

In researching this post, I decided to take one for the team and try it out myself. I have tried and enjoyed both the chocolate almond and vanilla almond flavors. I can appreciate the fact that TCBY has so many locations and makes it possible to go out with family and friends and have ice cream or fro yo like I used to. Maybe once I spread the word, they'll start inviting me out for fro yo again. Or maybe there is some other reason they stopped inviting me. ;)

If you go to TCBY on a Wednesday, they have Waffle Cone Wednesday (do they do this everywhere?) and the price of a waffle cone is less than half the regular price of the fro yo. To my surprise, the girl at the store told me that the waffle cone is vegan! Check with your local store though because apparently the store-made waffle cones contain egg. TCBY also has vegan toppings you can put on your fro yo, like fresh fruit, nuts, oreos, and peanut butter sauce.

Silk Chocolate Almond Vegan Frozen Yogurt in Waffle Cone

Vegetarian / Vegan Bowl

A few years ago, my husband and I were making our way back up to Michigan after doing a road trip through select cities in the Southeastern United States. It was not always easy finding vegan food on our road trip, but we were able to do it most of the time. As our snacks started dwindling and my stomach started growling, I started to get concerned. We did not have enough time to travel out of our way because this was the last leg of our journey and we had to get home and get back to work. We crossed into Kentucky and I got a little worried because it wasn't a vegan hot spot as far as I knew. In fact, after crossing into Kentucky, the next billboard I noticed said 'Hell is Real' and I was beginning to wonder if hell was going to be real to me in the way of being super hungry and having no food to eat.

Welcome to Kentucky

Hell is Real Sign

First decide if you want a burrito, bowl, tacos, or salad.

Now you choose your rice and beans. Both types of beans are now vegan.

Add optional fajita vegetables

Choose from salsas of different spice levels, then add lettuce and FREE guacamole (on veggie dishes)

Vegan Bowl with Brown Rice, Black Beans, Fajita Vegetables, Pico de Gallo, Guacamole, and Lettuce

Bhavini's Batata Poha

I got something truly amazing from this blog - my friend Bhavini! She is a friend of my husband's, but we were not in contact before this blog because she had already moved to another state by the time my husband and I got married and we never got the chance to meet. She discovered my blog through my husband and we started bonding over our common love - food! Food may have brought us together but her kindness, compassion, creativity, and zest for life (which food is a big part of!) continually inspire me and make me grateful to have her in my life. Bhavini and I have wanted to do some sort of collaboration for a long time and I am so excited to announce that she has agreed to do a guest post for me - and it's a great brunch recipe just in time for the weekend!

This was one of my favorite breakfast foods when I visited my husband's hometown in Maharashtra, India, where it is a common dish. I can still feel myself sitting at the dining table in his aunt's house, windows open to a view of lush tropical plants, the songs of exotic birds and the aroma of spices filling the air. I sat soaking it all in, eating this mystery dish wondering what exactly it was made from and enjoying every single bite. In my husband's language, Marathi, poha is called pohe. This dish will take your taste buds on a journey to India.

My beautiful (inside and out) friend Bhavini

Here is Bhavini's post:

Batata Poha (Pohe)

This recipe is usually served during breakfast, but my hubby likes it so much that I sometimes make it even for lunch or dinner. It goes great with a hot cup of Coffee or Tea. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family and friends enjoy it!!

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:
2 Cups poha (flattened rice), available at Indian grocery stores
1⁄2 tsp turmeric powder
3⁄4th tsp mustard seeds
3⁄4th tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp peanuts
1 or 2 green chilies (Per your taste)
1 medium potato (Batata), chopped into small cubes (keep it in water to prevent it from oxidizing)
1 medium onion finely chopped
8 to 9 curry leaves
1 tbsp chopped Cilantro leaves
2 to 2.5 Tbsp oil
sugar to taste (Optional)
Lime/lemon wedges
salt per taste

Method:
1. First take the poha in a strainer and keep it under running water for about a minute or two. Rinse it very gently and not too much or else it can become mushy.

2. Once all the water has drained out, transfer it into a bowl while you cook the rest of the ingredients.

Moistened Poha

3. If you feel the poha is not soft and has dried out you can sprinkle a few drops of water.

4. In a pan, add the oil and fry the peanuts till they become a little brown and crunchy. Transfer into a small bowl and keep aside.

Fry peanuts

5. Now in the same oil add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and, once they start spluttering, add chopped onions, curry leaves, green chillies and turmeric and stir all the ingredients.

Sauté spices and onions

6. Now add peeled chopped potatoes, salt and stir and keep it at medium heat. Cover the pot with the lid until potatoes are cooked. Make sure to stir in between to make sure potatoes have not burned.

Before

After

7. Once potatoes are cooked, add the Poha (Flat rice) and mix gently with the rest of the potatoes mixture.

Add poha and mix

8. If required add more salt and optional sugar.

9. Now switch off the flame and cover the pan again just for a minute or so for poha to get steamed for a few minutes.

10. Remove the lid and garnish the poha with chopped cilantro leaves, peanuts, some chopped onions and lime wedges.

Finished Batata Poha

If you think going vegan or giving up dairy means that you have to give up chocolate covered strawberries, or even desserts in general, you are so wrong! You can quickly, easily make inexpensive, dairy-free chocolate covered fruit at home in just a few minutes. You don't have to be a cook to make these and you can have the kids help out too.

Vegan Hot Chocolate

When I was a little girl, I used to love getting all bundled up in my winter clothes and going outside to play in the snow. I remember my mom having to force me to come in because it would start getting dark before I was ready for the fun to end. I would ask for just a few more minutes, sometimes successfully. There was something so magical about the fresh sparkling white snow and all of the wonderful creative things you could do with it - like making snow angels and having snowball fights. I loved watching the little sparkles fall from the sky all around me as I stood in awe.

Although I hated having to come in, it was always a nice feeling to get all of those layers off and come in from the cold. Plus, sledding and building snowmen really makes you work up an appetite. One of my favorite things to have when coming in was have one of those little instant hot chocolate packets with the mini marshmallows. Those of us who grew up in places with cold winters know that one sure way to warm you up is from the inside out. A hot beverage or soup is a surefire way to starting the warming process.

I'm sure that those packets of instant hot chocolate are filled with all kinds of not-so-good for you things and are kind of overpriced when you could just add your own ingredients and make your own. I don't claim this to be a super healthy recipe since it does have sugar, but it is much healthier than the traditional hot chocolate since it is low fat, cholesterol-free and has heart-healthy almonds and chocolate to boot.

On a day like today, with wind chills near -25F (-32C) here in Detroit, it is a perfect time for a warm cup of hot chocolate.

Beautiful White Snow in Metro Detroit

Ingredients:
Chocolate Almond Milk (or other non-dairy milk)
Vegan Mini Marshmallows (or you could cut the big ones into smaller pieces)
Cinnamon (optional)

Method:
1. Put mini marshmallows in your mug. (We couldn't find them nearby so we had to cut the larger ones and used the equivalent of about 1-2 large marshmallows in each mug.) 
2. Fill mug with chocolate almond milk.
3. Microwave on high until hot (it took about 1 1/2 minutes in our microwave).
4. Sprinkle a dash of cinnamon on top.

Vegan Gajar Halwa

Right now there are more than a billion happy people celebrating the Indian holiday Diwali. Diwali is kind of like a combination of Christmas and New Years. Homes throughout India are adorned with colorful decorations and earthen lamps (which are kind of like candles in clay bases) and fireworks are going off all around. People are dressing up in new clothes, getting together with family and friends and exchanging sweets, dried fruits and nuts. Sweets are always such an important part of Indian festivals and holidays, and I am so excited that my friend Anjali has decided to share a recipe with us just in time for this mother of Indian festivals!

Diwali decorations from Anjali's place in Michigan

(This ancient Indian symbol is used to decorate many homes throughout India. The Swastika is an auspicious symbol, not to be confused with the Nazi Swastika which Hitler stole from the Indians and perverted. Most of the people of India are of Aryan origin and preserved this ancient Aryan symbol as a part of their culture. In his quest to find a symbol of Aryan pride, Hitler took this symbol from the Indians and completely changed it's meaning.)

Halloween Blood Red Vegan Salad - Beets, Oranges, Walnuts!

This salad is great for a Halloween Party. It's a very healthy addition to any Halloween lineup. The star ingredient is beets, which are a great antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and detoxifier. Beets have also been shown to decrease tumor growth in some studies. Between the beets, oranges and walnuts, you know you are getting folate, manganese, fiber, vitamin C, Omega 3 fatty acids, potassium, magnesium, iron, etc. The list goes on and on. It's truly scary how healthy this salad is.

Ingredients:
Salad
6 Cups Roasted Beets, diced (about 12 small beets or 4 giant ones)
3 Cups Oranges, each slice cut into thirds
2 Cups Walnut Halves
Seeds from 1 pomegranate, optional
Sliced red onions, optional (directions below)

Dressing
(This dressing will need to be adjusted according to the quality and flavor of your salad ingredients)
1/2 Cup Pear Infused Balsamic Vinegar (or any balsamic vinegar should work)
3 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 tsp salt
1/2 - 1 tsp pepper

Method:
1. Optional Onions: If you are adding the onions, spread sliced onions in a shallow dish and almost cover with balsamic (or any) vinegar and liberally apply salt over them. If you are using a vinegar that is very sour and not sweet, you may want to add a little maple syrup. Allow to marinade on their own until you are ready to eat the salad.
I like this part, but my husband prefers the salad without so we keep our onions on the side and I add them to my portion only.

2. Roast beets whole in the oven for about 50 minutes at 400 F (205 C). Check them a few times around the end because smaller beets will cook a little faster than larger beets. You could also steam the beets, but roasting will give a richer flavor.

3. Now is a good time to chop your oranges and seed your pomegranate, if using.

4. Whisk together dressing ingredients. The proportions may need to change based on the freshness, quality and flavor of your salad ingredients. I made this salad two days in a row and had VERY different tasting ingredients. If your ingredients are very flavorful, you will probably need less dressing.

5. Once the beets are done and have cooled a bit, remove their skin and dice them.

6. Mix all of the salad ingredients together, except onions.

7. Add dressing little by little and mix. You may need more or less than the recommended amount of dressing. I can not stress this enough. The flavor of the dressing will get stronger the more time you allow everything to marinade together. This salad tastes even better the next day.

8. Add onions just before serving or allow individuals to add onions to their own servings if not everyone is a fan of onions. Keeping them aside as long as possible allows them to develop the maximum amount of flavor.

Quinoa with Fresh Vegetables and Herbs

Tonight we had a very fast, simple and healthy dinner. It was one of those 'we need to clear out the fridge and we need to eat right away' type of dinners. Since quinoa cooks in only 15 minutes and goes well with all vegetables and herbs (what was filling my fridge), I knew this would be the perfect combination to meet our needs. If you are not familiar with this ancient superfood of the Incas, it is a versatile seed that is usually treated as a grain and can often replace rice or other more familiar grains in dishes. It's quick cooking time and excellent nutrition have made it very popular as of late.

A lot of vegetarians, especially new vegetarians, like quinoa because it is a complete protein and is packed with minerals and nutrients. It is a good source of protein, iron, fiber, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese, and selenium. It's also a source of vitamin E and calcium. Quinoa has a low Glycemic Index (GI) ranking. Of course, it's also cholesterol free as all plant foods are, and is low in fat, with no saturated fat or trans fat. I found some of this information by looking at the Self Nutrition Data for Quinoa. You can see the amino acid profile and amounts of each nutrient there.

This is not really a recipe, but describing it in a paragraph didn't feel right so I wrote out the steps I followed to give you an idea of a starting place. Again, this was just a very simple meal so you could really get creative here. I also listed the ingredients I used for a reference point.

Ingredients:
Vegetable bouillon or other vegan bouillon
Chicken curry masala (it's vegan)
Turmeric (1/4 tsp)
Quinoa
Cashews
Assorted vegetables (we had green bell pepper, chilies, carrots, radish greens, lima beans, green peas, potatoes)
Assorted herbs (we had fresh basil, parsley, dill and cilantro)

Method:
1. Dissolve vegan bouillon and spices in hot water.
2. Add half as much quinoa as water, chopped vegetables and herbs (you can save the herbs until the end when it's all cooked if you're not feeling too lazy and hands-off).
3. Boil quinoa, then simmer for about 15 minutes.
4. Toast cashews and garnish finished dish with them.

It's TV Tuesday and I have a recipe I discovered on the food network. This recipe is loaded with goodness. Chickpeas, tomatoes, spinach, garlic, onion, spices . . . It's a nutritional powerhouse. There's not much prep work and not much hands-on time. It's no wonder that it has a 5 star rating with over 150 reviews on the food network website. I knew the first time I made it that this recipe was a keeper. It bridges the divide between east and west because it has some of the spices of the east, but also familiar ingredients to westerners.

I might be partial to soups and stews, but I can't help it. I think it's in my DNA. When I was growing up, we ate a lot of soups and stews. I would say they were our favorite meals. My dad's brother and sister used to laugh about the fact that my dad loved eating soup for breakfast! I didn't realize that this was abnormal. I remember my dad's sister asking if my dad still ate soup for breakfast and laughing when the answer was yes. I made a mental note of that. Huh, this is somehow amusing. Maybe people don't normally have soup for breakfast?

My mom told me just recently that when she was younger, she also wanted to eat soup all the time and was sometimes teased for this. She said that when she met my dad, they knew that it was meant to be because the two ridiculed soup-lovers finally found someone share their passion for soup with. Okay, they weren't really ridiculed - more like lovingly teased from time to time.

I remember being home on weekends and smelling the savory aroma of a fresh, homemade soup or stew cooking on the stove. I can still smell the tomatoes, the vegetables, noodles, beans . . . Both of my parents were great cooks, but I looked forward to the weekends when my dad cooked. I don't know why but it seemed special to have something made by my dad.

I was honestly a little skeptical about the cinnamon in this stew, but I tried it without and it's just not the same. It's also not nearly as good without the spinach either. When I tasted this before and after the spinach, there was a huge difference.

This is a really great meal to warm you up on a chilly day, but I could enjoy it any time of the year.

Recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dave-lieberman/moroccan-spiced-chickpea-soup-recipe/index.html

I am so excited for the debut post from my sister from another mother (also my husband's cousin), Shriya. I am always thinking about the time she stayed with us for two weeks and we had so much fun sharing laughs and cooking together. She knows a lot of great tips because she studied Hotel Management in India. In India the word hotel means both restaurant and the place you stay when you are on vacation, so she learned a lot about cooking and catering in her classes. Without further ado, here is a little background and a great tutorial from one of my favorite people in the world!!


This is one of my favorite Indian desserts. Shrikhand always takes me to my childhood and I remember the golden time I spent with my family, my uncles, aunts and wonderful cousins! Shrikhand is also special to me because it is the first Indian dessert I made for my husband the first time after we got married (when I was trying to learn to cook.)

This recipe requires some preparation in advance, but it is simple to make. It is a dessert popular in Marathi and Gujarati cuisine, made of strained yogurt. It can also be eaten as a side dish with Indian breads like poori. This is a lighter, healthier, dairy-free version of the typical Shrikhand. It has no cholesterol and is low fat.

Ingredients: