Chick Pea Stew

Did you know that India is the top producer of chick peas?  It makes more than half of all the chick peas on the world!  Amazing.

Ingredients

• 1lb can chick peas
• 5 Tbsp oil
• 1 hot pepper, sliced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 medium/ large tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 can tomato paste
• 2 cups water or broth
• 1.2 Tbsp salt
• 1.5 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1/2 Tbsp coriander
• 1/2 Tbsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1 Tbsp ginger paste
• cilantro to garnish

Chop up all the ingredients.  

Dry roast cumin and turmeric in the frying pan then add oil.  Saute the onions and the hot pepper for a couple of minutes. Stir in garlic.  

Add chopped tomatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes.  Season with the rest of te spices.  

Stir in the tomato paste and water or broth.  If you are using water, you can add more seasoning.

Add canned chick peas.  If you are using dried chick peas, they will have to be cooked first.  

Cook all together for 20-30 minutes.  Serve over rice.  Garnish with cilantro. 

 

Grilled Potato and Onion Side Dish

When you are turning on your grill to cook a chunk of meet, why not also grill your side dish.

INGREDIENTS:

1 potato

1/2 onion

1 Tbsp butter

Seasoning: salt, pepper, basil, thyme, oregano, dill.

Aluminum foil

(1 potato measure is good for one person. Multiply these measures for however many people are you cooking for)

Cut the potato and the half onion into 1/8 inch slices.

Place on the Aluminum foil and arrange the onions slices in between the potato slices.

Season.

Place butter on top.

Wrap the Aluminum foil tight. Fold the ends so that the butter and seasoning don't leak out.

Cook on the grill for about 30 minutes.

This dish is so simple to make, I could not possibly come up with any more words to write. But if you are still not sure you can do it, I found this book that might help you overcome your fear of grilling potatoes. You will need Kindle though:

ACTION POTATO- If you are obsessed with potatoes but you can't eat any more, here is a game you can play.

ActionPotato is a fun game that involves catching fresh potatoes to make potato stew. Tap pots to jump and catch potatoes thrown from the right side. If you catch a rotten potato, you lose the pot. But if you catch a heart item, a pot comes back.

Product Features

• Catch fresh potatoes to make potato stew
• Avoid rotten potatoes or you'll lost the pot
• See how high you can score

There are some pretty great potato products out there:

Cream of Spinach

Just got a gigantic bag of spinach at Costco and don't know what to do with it? Here is a recipe that will make a Coscto size spinach package disappear in minutes. That whole bag will cook down to only 4 servings and you will again have your fridge space back for other food items.

Ingredients:

2lb baby spinach

2 tbsp butter

4-5 garlic cloves, chopped finely

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 tbsp all purpose flour

salt to taste

Wash the spinach and without drying it place it in the pan and cook covered for about 5-10 minutes. Don't worry, its not too much, it will cook down to a reasonable amount.

Drain the access water and place on the cutting board.

Cut into small pieces. Knife works fine, but I found this pizza cutter to work the best.

Heat up butter and add chopped garlic to it as soon as it melts.

Stir for about a minute, then add chopped spinach. Salt to taste and stir.

Add milk and whipping cream. When it starts to boil again, add flour and stir in in well.

Cook for another 2-3 minutes stirring occasionally. The mixture will thicken up

Serve with fresh bread or as a side for a meat dish.

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Simple Fried Rice

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups rice

2 carrots

1/2 yellow onion

2 cloves garlic

4 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp sesame oil

salt to taste

a pinch of chili powder

a pinch of cumin

1 Tbsp vinegar

1 Tbsp soy sauce

Cook the rice in the rice cooker. Heat up the olive oil in the wok or a frying pan. Cut up the carrots, onion and garlic in the food processor. Fry them in hot oil stirring continuously. Add spices (cumin, chili powder and salt). Add cooked white rice and stir again. Then add vinegar, sesame oil and soy sauce; and stir everything to evenly distribute all the spices and sauces.

Serve as a side dish with fish or meat.

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Let's do some music today. Why not. Maybe this would make a good listening music while cooking:

Braised Greens

Hello there,

I landed just a couple of hours ago, and I already prepared my first meal. I have 3 roommates this weekend, and we had a quiet Friday evening with some wine, cheese and my braised greens. This is the first time I made braised greens. Actually, the idea came from the tapas place in Portland where I went to eat just for their kale salad, which they did not have. Then I decided to order braised greens, it sounded good at the time. But they didn't have that either. 2 days later, at home in California, I saw some random greens in the fridge and realized I am still up for braised greens. So, I made some. It was not bad! I will definitely make more.

INGREDIENTS:

Summer greens

olive oil

Sesame oil

salt or seasoning salt

paprika

Wash and cut up the greens. Heat the oil and fry the greens. Salt to taste and add other spices. Fry for a couple of minutes. Serve as a side dish. Braised greens are also good with cheese and crackers.

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Couscous Salad

Couscous salad takes 15 minutes to make, and its easy. All you need to know is how to boil water and use a knife.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup couscous
• 1 cup water
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• salt to taste
• 1/2 bell pepper
• 1 cup cut tomatoes
• 1/8 cup onions, chopped
• 1 avocado
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Cook couscous according to the instruction on the package.

Let it cool while you chop up the veggies. Mix well. Add salt to taste. Serve cold as a side dish or salad.

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Grilled Veggies

Grilled veggies make a great side dish for grilled meat. Take advantage of the summer time to consume these healthy nutritious foods.

Both eggplant and zucchinis are low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, and very good source of dietary fiber, which makes them a great addition to your diet.

Eggplant contains over eighty different nutrients, so you can't go wrong with an eggplant diet. In addition, it contains numerous vitamins and minerals. Eggplant also contains phytonutrients, antioxidants which can help prevent damage from free radicals and protection from certain types of cancer. One of the photonutrients that helps to make up eggplant nutrition is nasunin, a powerful antioxidant found in the skin of the eggplant. Nasunin helps to protect the lipids which are found in the membranes of brain cells.

There is a wide verity of zucchinis available, but they are not all equally nutritious. The darker the zucchini, the more nutritious it is. Zucchinis are rich in folate, potassium, vitamin A and C. Most of the nutritions are in the skin, so don't peel it, just wash them well.

Ingredients:

• eggplants
• zucchinis
• oregano, thyme, rosemary
• olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper

Slice up the eggplants and zucchinis. Salt the veggies first, then sprinkle some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, pepper and herbs.

Grill on both sides until soft. This should take a couple of minutes per side.

Grilled veggies are good as a side dish with meat, or you can make appetizer sandwiches with them. You can also use grilled veggies as an eatable decoration on the serving plate.

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Stuffed with Cheese Rolled with Bacon

Rule of thumb- you want the dish you are cooking to turn out really well, just add bacon. It's a sure thing! I always keep some bacon in my freezer, you never know when you might need it.

Peppers and cheese go really well together. Peppers, cheese and bacon combination is even better.

I went to my favorite Mexican produce store and got a mix of peppers- jalapeños, poblanos, banana peppers, bell peppers etc. You can use any peppers you'd like.

Ingredients:

Peppers

feta cheese

cream cheese

bacon

Wash the peppers.

Then core them.

Stuff with your favorite cheese. I chose feta and cream cheese.

Wrap them in bacon. One bacon strip per pepper should be sufficient. Maybe two for the bigger ones.

Grill them until bacon is fully cooked and peppers start blistering. Grill them on both sides. Turn them over carefully, making sure they don't unwrap.

Serve as an appetizer or a side dish next to grilled meat.

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Quinoa Salad

It's summer, eat fresh!

Here is a light healthy meal or at least a side dish you've been waiting for. Quinoa is a grainy looking seed of a plant that is related to spinach or chard, but it is not actually a grain. Quinoa is highly nutritious. It is rich in protein content- it contains all 9 essential amino acids, including lysine, which is required by the body to grow and repair tissues. Quinoa also has high Manganese content, which acts as antioxidant in the body and it is low in saturated fats and cholesterol. The presence of potassium and magnesium in quinoa prevents clogging of arteries and hence, relieves stress on the heart. Quinoa is a great source of calcium, fiber, carbohydrates and copper.

If you suffer from migraine headaches, it is a good idea to add Quinoa to your diet. Magnesium helps relax blood vessels and muscils in general. It contains Riboflavin (aka vatamin B2) which is necessary to produce energy in brain and muscle cells. Riboflavin is shown to decrease the frequency of migraine attacks.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups quinoa

4 cups baby spinach

3 persian cucumbers

1/2 lbs chary tomatoes

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

juice of 1 orange

2 tbsp mint leaves

salt and pepper to taste

Start by cooking quinoa according to the directions the package. This should take about 15 minutes. While quinoa is cooking, chop up the tomatoes, cucumbers and mint, squeeze an orange, and prepare salad dressing.

Wash the spinach and dry it.

Mix all the veggies in a large salad bowl.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add chilled quinoa, feta cheese and spinach leaves and mix all together.

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Mimoza Salad (Serbian= Mimoza Salata/ Мимоза салата)

Mimoza salad is a kind of a spread that has distinct layers of potatoes, sour cream, ham, cheese, eggs, etc. It is great to serve at parties as an appetizer, and it is easy to make. Even if you mess up the layers, your guests will like it.

Ingredients:
3 potatoes
3 eggs
15oz ham, shredded
15oz shredded cheese
1 cup mayo
1 1/2 cup sour cream
parsley to garnish (optional)

Layer 1: Cook the potatoes and eggs. Allow them to cool. In a glass dish, shred the potatoes and equaly spread them out to form a base layer of mimosa salad.

Continue with mimosa layers. Make sure you apply uniform layers of each ingredient.
Layer 2: spread 3/4 cup of sour cream over the potatoes
Layer 3: shredded ham (I have to give a credit here to my friend Filip who did such a great job cutting up this ham)

Layer 4: mayo
Layer 5: use 1/2 of the shredded cheese

Layer 6: shredded hard boiled eggs- but save 1 egg yolk for the decoration

Layer 7: remaining part of sour cream
Layer 8: the rest of shredded cheese

I made a flower out of an egg yolk and parsley in this one. You can be as creative as you want. If you think of any other good idea, let me know.

I would also like to extend special thanks to my friend Sale who was holding this dish so nicely while i took this photo.

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