Author Archives: ds331
Pongal Arancini
Happy Pongal. This recipe is a cross between a traditional indian rice, lentil, and peppercorn risotto and the Italian aranccini Continue reading
Sugar free experiment log
I’ll keep my updates on the sugar free stuff here in one post, in case you’re curious how it’s going and see if you might want to join me. I’d love to hear about your attempts too. Week 1 Day … Continue reading
Sugar free January Experiment
I’m aiming to be sugar free for the next 30 days. Who wants to join me? Why? Just feel like I want a break. And I definitely eat too much of it. And diabetes runs in my family, so I … Continue reading
Peanut butter chocolate bars
Warning, these are decadent. And perhaps not a health food. But you can cut them small. But they were a hit of the Christmas party circuit. I recommend freezing or refrigerating them until you are ready to serve them. The inspiration … Continue reading
Crispy Sweet Potatoes
I discovered a trick to really good oven baked sweet potatoes recently. The microwave. Cooking the potatoes first and then crisping them in the oven leads to really good results and in a much shorter amount of time. The microwave … Continue reading
Kale salad with tahini balsamic dressing
The trick here is massaging the kale in olive oil in a ziploc baggie for about 5 minutes. Oh and this recipe is mostly about the dressing–the salad itself is pretty basic. Be creative. 1 bunch of kale 2 T … Continue reading
Butternut squash and sweet potato tart
We had a little adventure at the beginning of our vacation. My sister in law was still on her vacation, but we were staying at her house. When it came time to make lunch upon our arrival, I realized I … Continue reading
Maamiyaar’s Soup
This is my mother in law’s recipe (aka my maamiyaar in Tamil). She made it when we were down in Tampa last week and we loved it so we got the recipe and made it again today. Ingredients 1-2 cups … Continue reading
Butternut Squash Thai Curry Soup
This recipe was on our mega Thanksgiving menu. My parents hosted 23 this year…and so I made a triple batch to serve everyone. I’ll just give you the recipe for a single batch though. My inspirations were these: http://cookieandkate.com/2014/thai-curried-butternut-squash-soup/ and http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/thai-red-curry-squash-soup The … Continue reading
New Years Menu
New year, new posts! Happy 2015 everyone! This year, I’m going to try harder to post once a week. Let’s not call that a resolution…just a goal. Since I’ve been remiss for a few busy months, I’ll give you a … Continue reading
Pumpkinfest 3: A healthier Pumpkin pie!
If you saw the previous recipe, you’ll know that we still had half of a kuri squash already roasted. What does one do with that? Well, if you’re and have a bevy of visitors traipsing through the house (aka campaign … Continue reading
Pumpkinfest2: Pumpkin & Faro
Next up in line was the red kuri squash I bought, which was supposed to have a sweet flesh and taste kind of like a pie pumpkin. It was big enough to make 2 dishes–a pie (next up in the … Continue reading
Pumpkinfest 1: Squash Tart with cornmeal/almond crust
It’s October and pumpkins and squashes are everywhere, so pumpkin & family recipes are on the menu, too. (When did pumpkins go from cool things to carve to “the” thing you must display and cook with all fall/winter long? They … Continue reading
Huevos rancheros with sweet potatoes and avocado
These aren’t your typical huevos rancheros. This is part of my is pantry/fridge challenge–use up ingredients you have. The ingredients: a sad looking avocado. A sweet potato needing to be used up. Some taco shells that happened to be out. … Continue reading
Ricotta Coconut pancakes (pantry-fridge challenge #1)
I woke up last Saturday to a note from my husband requesting pancakes for breakfast (for a friend who was visiting). Um ok, I thought…what do we have to make that happen? (not any kind of “pancake mix” (we rarely … Continue reading
Apricot-Ginger tarts
It was my turn to host book club tonight. We read “The Hundred Foot Journey,” a visual book about an Indian boy who migrates to small town France, becomes a chef in a family Indian restaurant, and then becomes apprentice … Continue reading
Fig & Stilton Cheese Savories
I love fresh figs in the summer. So I bought a bunch the other day. I also bought an apricot Stilton cheese that I didn’t really like. And then had to come up with something to take to a colleague’s … Continue reading
Neyyappam Muffins (brown butter coconut & cardamom muffins)
The other day, when my aunt asked me if I was planning to make Neyyappam this weekend, she sparked a new recipe–reinventing tradition, as I like to call it. Neyyappam is a dessert that Tamilian/Keralan families make for a festival … Continue reading
Arugula Pesto Pizza
For the bday dinner, we talked about going out for pizza, but when I found out they weren’t going to be available until 9 or 9:30 pm, I decided to make pizzas instead. This one was the favorite. The Crust … Continue reading
Cherry Almond Dutch Baby Pancakes
I’ve made “dutch baby” pancakes (Pannenkoeken) before—something I had to try after trips to the Netherlands—but this time, I decided to try making them a little healthier. I used less butter than the original recipes called for, no sugar (just … Continue reading
A Happy Veggie Foodie 