One Day At A Time!

Hey everyone! Hope you all are doing well. Texas is blessed with colder weather now. I am grateful. Winter weather makes me cook cozy, comfort food. What is comfort food for you? Soup with a nice baguette is one of my favorite meals. Let me share multiple ways of adding a variety of vegetables in your everyday diet. Let me start with my favorite Vegetarian soup. Italian Minestrone Soup . Most Italian restaurants serve Minestrone on their menu. Traditionally, this soup is cooked with wine. I make it minus the wine. I love that this meal has pasta, beans, leafy greens and fresh vegetables all in one bowl. My husband and I love soups. But my kiddo doesn't. The 2nd way of eating multiple vegetables is  Indian Mixed Vegetable Paratha . Parathas are usually stuffed flatbread. My kiddo doesn't like stuffed ones. So, I make the Gujarati Thepla. Thepla is made with Fenugreek or Methi leaves. Over the years, I have modified it and my kid calls it Pink Paratha. Click on the pink link and ...

Hey everyone! Hope you all are doing well. Cloudy weather in my part of the world. Such days call for comfort food. Soups, cheesy pasta or sandwiches work so well on lazy days.  I grew up eating  Dal Rice , my kinda comfort meal. Do tell me about your favorite comfort foods.  For today's menu, how about Gluten Free , Vegan crunchy munchy Spinach Fritters ! Ingredients: Spinach Leaves - about 3 cups Spring/Green Onions - 3 sprigs Bell Pepper - about 1 cup Besan/Chickpea Flour - about 1 cup Corn Starch - 1/2 cup White Sesame Seeds/Til - 1 tsp Carom Seeds/Ajwain/Owa - 1/2 tsp Coriander/Dhania Powder - 1/2 tsp Cumin/Jeera Powder - 1/2 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper/ Red Chili Powder - 1/4 tsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tsp Salt Oil for frying How to make Indian Palak Pakora: Chop spinach leaves, green onions and bell peppers. If you don't have green onions, add thinly sliced regular yellow, red or white onions. Sometimes I add thinly sliced potatoes as well. If y...

Hey everyone! Cooler weather has blessed us. Morning walks are so much fun these days. A song comes to my mind " Autumn leaves are falling down, falling down. Oh, so pretty!" My kiddo's favorite fall song!  Today's post is an Indian Vegetable Flatbread , popularly known as Gujarati Thepla . Instead of Fenugreek leaves, I sneak in multiple veggies for my child's everyday meal. Ingredients: Whole Wheat Flour/Atta - about 2 cups Besan/Chickpea Flour - 1/2 cup Grated Carrots - about 1/2 cup Grated Beetroot - about 1/2 cup Avocado - 1/2 Chopped Spinach - about 1/2 cup White Sesame Seeds/Til - 1 1/2 tsp Coriander/Dhania Powder - 1 tsp Cumin/Jeera Powder - 1 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp Chat Masala - 1/2 tsp Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp Salt How to cook Mixed Vegetables Thepla Paratha: Finely grate carrots and beets. Pat spinach leaves dry. In a food processor, add sesame seeds and spinach leaves. Blend until finely chopped. In a big mixing bowl, add grated carrots, beets...

Hey Foodies! Nice sunny weather in my part of the world. Hope all is well in yours as well. Its been a while I blogged about an Indian Curry. Since my kiddo went back to school, I get to cook spinach based recipes for lunch. Today's Mixed Vegetables Curry is a new favorite at our place.  Ingredients: Baby Spinach - about 3 cups Frozen Cut Cauliflower - 12 oz (340g) Frozen Green Peas - 1 cup Medium Onion - 1 Small Tomato - 2 Garlic/Lahsun - 2 big cloves Ginger/Adrak - 1 tsp (grated) Fennel/Badishep/Saunf  seeds - 1 1/2 tsp Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 2 pods (seeds only) Cloves/Lavang/Laung - 5 Black Peppercorns/Kali Miri/Kali Mirch - about 10 Roasted Cashews/Kaju - 8 Half n Half - 1/2 cup (optional) Chat Masala - 1/2 tsp Oil - 1 tbsp Salt How to cook Gobi Matar in a Palak Sauce/Gravy: Microwave frozen peas for about 2 minutes. Set it aside. Roasting Cauliflower florets: Grease the airfryer tray with cooking spray or oil. Add frozen cauliflower and spray some more cooking spray. Ai...

A bright Sunday afternoon in my part of the world. I am watching a Korean movie "Kimchi War" while getting our lunch ready in a microwave. Enjoying my long weekend! Hope your day is going well too! Today's menu... Cheesy Microwave Penne Pasta with loads of rainbow colored vegetables. Ingredients: Dry Penne Pasta - 2 cups Frozen Mixed Vegetables - about 2 cups Half n Half - 1/2 cup Cream Cheese - 1/4 cup Mexican 4 Cheese - about 1/2 cup Italian Seasoning - 1 tsp Ground Black Pepper - 1/2 tsp Granulated Garlic - 1/2 tsp Salt How to cook Penne Pasta with Vegetables in a Microwave: Microwave frozen veggies in a big microwave safe plate/bowl for 2 minutes. Check with a fork if all the veggies are cooked, depending on how soft or crunchy you want the veggies. Microwave another 30 - 60 seconds if required. Set the cooked veggies aside in another bowl.  In the same microwave safe plate/bowl, add dry pasta of any kind you like. Add 1 cup of water and microwave for 2 minutes. Sti...

Hello everyone! Weather is getting warmer in my part of the world. Hope you all are blessed with pleasant weather too. We all have our favorite vegetables and fruits. And multiple ways to enjoy them.. some raw, some grilled, some fried, veggie stew... and so on. Air fried vegetables .. our newest family favorite. I am sharing a few veggies which are regularly air fried in my kitchen. Ingredients: Small Purple Eggplant - 4 Sweet Potato - 1 big Zucchini - 1 medium Black Pepper Powder - 1-2 tsp Cayenne Pepper - 1/4 tsp Kashmiri Lal Chili Powder - 1 tsp Salt  Oil - 3 tsp How to cook your favorite vegetables in an Airfryer? Wipe the washed veggies dry. Dice the veggies slightly thick.  In a mixing bowl, add the veggie slices. Add salt, spice powders of your choice and oil. Mix well and set it aside for 5 minutes.  Kashmiri Lal is a mild chili powder, but adds a nice red color. Spanish Paprika is a good substitute for Kashmiri Lal. I use Cayenne for a little bit of heat. Garlic...

My new favorite ingredient is feta cheese. There are so many cheeses in the market, but some you like and some you don't. Goat cheese is not my kind of cheese. Well, you all have read about cream cheese and ricotta cheese recipes. Now is the time for a refreshing summer salad with olives and feta cheese.

Okra is a vegetable, you either love it or hate it. In my family, everyone loves Bhendi. For Okra lovers, one more Indian recipe from my kitchen. I love this Stuffed Okra with Dal Rice and Papad. Ingredients: Okra/Lady's Finger/Bhindi - 300 gms Raw Peanuts - 1/2 cup Sesame/Til Seeds - 1 1/2 tbsp Finely Chopped Onions - 1 1/2 tbsp Coriander Seeds - 1 tbsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tsp Asafoetida/Hing - 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper/Red Chilli Powder - 2 tsp Jaggery or Brown Sugar - 1/2 tsp Tamarind or Aamchur - 1/2 tsp Salt Oil How to cook Indian Stuffed Okra: Wash okra and pat them dry. Let the okra dry for 2 - 3 hours. Slit the okra lengthwise twice, just enough to fill the stuffing.  Roast the peanuts in a pan till they slightly darken in color. Let them cool. Grind roasted peanuts, sesame seeds, coriander seeds, turmeric, cayenne pepper, asafetida, jaggery, tamarind and salt to a fine or slightly coarse powder. To this powder add finely chopped onions and mix. Add few drop...