I really dislike carrots, so for me to make this is a testament to how delicious it is. It is light, not too carroty, crisp, refreshing, and tart.
Ingredients:
0.5 kg carrots (roughly 6 medium)
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp olive oil
salt
1. Peel, wash and grate the carrots.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients. Add salt to taste. Mix thoroughly.
3. Refrigerate the salad for 20-30 minutes.
This goes well with anything. And it's so easy to get 1 serving of vegetable by serving 1/2 a cup of this. So easy. So good.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Really Great Potato Salad
I saw this recipe on Cook's Country (America's Test Kitchen).
The two main tricks are: cooking the potatoes and dicing them well ahead of time so they get cool and retain their shape, and using some sour cream instead of mayonnaise only.
Ingredients:
3-4 large potatoes
1/4 cup fat free sour cream
1/4 cup: combine fat free and low fat mayonnaise
3 scallions, chopped
1 celery stalk, minced
2 eggs, hard boiled, chopped
1-2 tsp mustard
salt
pepper
1. Boil the potatoes with skin on. When the potatoes are tender, drain the water and cool the potatoes in the fridge.
2. Once cooled, peel the potatoes, and chop into 1cm cubes.
3. Add all the other ingredients and mix thoroughly.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste.
This potato salad has a great texture whereby the potato doesn't melt in your mouth, but retains it's shape and character. The refreshing near tartness of the sour cream is so soothing. The scallions are milder than onions and the celery is, again, very refreshing.
The two main tricks are: cooking the potatoes and dicing them well ahead of time so they get cool and retain their shape, and using some sour cream instead of mayonnaise only.
Ingredients:
3-4 large potatoes
1/4 cup fat free sour cream
1/4 cup: combine fat free and low fat mayonnaise
3 scallions, chopped
1 celery stalk, minced
2 eggs, hard boiled, chopped
1-2 tsp mustard
salt
pepper
1. Boil the potatoes with skin on. When the potatoes are tender, drain the water and cool the potatoes in the fridge.
2. Once cooled, peel the potatoes, and chop into 1cm cubes.
3. Add all the other ingredients and mix thoroughly.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste.
This potato salad has a great texture whereby the potato doesn't melt in your mouth, but retains it's shape and character. The refreshing near tartness of the sour cream is so soothing. The scallions are milder than onions and the celery is, again, very refreshing.
Fake Fried Chicken (using Seitan)
Ok. So: Does deep fried Seitan really taste like fried chicken? The absolutely honest verdict: YES. (If the Seitan has been cut to 1-2cm size cubes.
I was quite shocked. This is really good. You just have to try it out to believe it.
Ingredients:
Seitan
Oil for frying
flour for dredging
egg substitute or 1 egg
bread crumbs + Italian seasoning
1. Make sure all the excess moisture from the Seitan has been thoroughly dried with a paper or cloth towel.
2. Heat the oil on medium heat.
3. Cut the seitan into 2cm cubes.
4. Dredge it in flour.
5. Coat it with egg substitute (mixed with water) or beaten egg.
6. Coat with breadcrumbs you have flavoured.
7. Shallow fry in oil.
That's it.
So so delicious. Gotta try it to believe it.
I was quite shocked. This is really good. You just have to try it out to believe it.
Ingredients:
Seitan
Oil for frying
flour for dredging
egg substitute or 1 egg
bread crumbs + Italian seasoning
1. Make sure all the excess moisture from the Seitan has been thoroughly dried with a paper or cloth towel.
2. Heat the oil on medium heat.
3. Cut the seitan into 2cm cubes.
4. Dredge it in flour.
5. Coat it with egg substitute (mixed with water) or beaten egg.
6. Coat with breadcrumbs you have flavoured.
7. Shallow fry in oil.
That's it.
So so delicious. Gotta try it to believe it.
Vegetable Pot Pie
I don't know why I didn't find a simple recipe like this online. So I went and did it as per my imagination... which wasn't very wild, really. Chicken Pot Pie, a fantastic dish, usually has very little chicken in it. Adding too much chicken doesn't help the pie, because the pie is about the gravy and the texture of the pie crust (at least to me). Theoretically, removing the chicken should also produce a really nice pie. And it did. Here it is:
1.5 cups of steamed vegetables (more on that below)
2 tbsp oil (canola or olive)
2 tbsp flour
1.5 cups of skim milk
30-60 g of cheese (I had mozzarella cheese, you can use anything you like)
1/4 tsp of dry thyme, oregano and basil
salt
pepper
To assemble the pies:
3 ramekins
Prepared pastry dough - I used the individual sized pastry shells from the frozen section of the grocery store. You can either make your own, or buy the full sheet and cut it to fit your ramekins.
Fresh Vegetables: I like to use the fresh stuff as much as I can, mostly for the flavour. There is a big difference between fresh veges and frozen veges.BUT if you're in a bind and need to use up the frozen stuff, feel free to do so.
For this recipe I used what I had in my fridge: mushrooms, orange bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, half a large potato, green beans and a handful of pitted black olives. I cooked each one individually in the microwave as my roux was cooking. I like my pie filling thick, so I drained the cooked vegetables of any excess water, so that it wouldn't water down my pie filling.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees C.
1. The Roux: Warm your pot on medium-low heat and add the oil.
2. Add the flour to the pot and stir frequently. As it is cooking, you want the flour to change colour a little, and have a slightly nutty smell.This took me a good 8-10 minutes on medium-low heat. It's too easy to burn the roux, so keep an eye on this as you stir.
3. Add the milk, 1/4 cup at a time, and stir incessantly. May no lumps form. And may the mixture be a smooth consistency once all the liquid has been added. Let this cook for 5 minutes and stir every minute.
4. Add the cheese and stir till it all melts and becomes a homogenous, smooth mixture. Cook for 2 minutes.
5. Add the spices. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remember you haven't salted your vegetables, but you have added cheese.
6. Add all the vegetables and cook this wonderful concoction for another 3 minutes or so.
Taste this now. Add salt/pepper as necessary.
Putting the pie together:
7. Divide the pie filling amongst the ramekins.
8. Neatly lay out your pie crust on top. Cut a generous cross on top to let the steam out.
9. Place in middle rack of oven. Bake for 10 minutes.
10. If the crust isn't golden yet, broil for another 30 seconds to a minute. Keep an eye on it, so that the crust doesn't burn.
And there you have it. Just absolutely wonderful stuff. Makes 3 servings. Each has 1 (daily recommended) serving of vegetables. This is not a low-fat dish, but it is quite delicious.
Enjoy!!
1.5 cups of steamed vegetables (more on that below)
2 tbsp oil (canola or olive)
2 tbsp flour
1.5 cups of skim milk
30-60 g of cheese (I had mozzarella cheese, you can use anything you like)
1/4 tsp of dry thyme, oregano and basil
salt
pepper
To assemble the pies:
3 ramekins
Prepared pastry dough - I used the individual sized pastry shells from the frozen section of the grocery store. You can either make your own, or buy the full sheet and cut it to fit your ramekins.
Fresh Vegetables: I like to use the fresh stuff as much as I can, mostly for the flavour. There is a big difference between fresh veges and frozen veges.BUT if you're in a bind and need to use up the frozen stuff, feel free to do so.
For this recipe I used what I had in my fridge: mushrooms, orange bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, half a large potato, green beans and a handful of pitted black olives. I cooked each one individually in the microwave as my roux was cooking. I like my pie filling thick, so I drained the cooked vegetables of any excess water, so that it wouldn't water down my pie filling.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees C.
1. The Roux: Warm your pot on medium-low heat and add the oil.
2. Add the flour to the pot and stir frequently. As it is cooking, you want the flour to change colour a little, and have a slightly nutty smell.This took me a good 8-10 minutes on medium-low heat. It's too easy to burn the roux, so keep an eye on this as you stir.
3. Add the milk, 1/4 cup at a time, and stir incessantly. May no lumps form. And may the mixture be a smooth consistency once all the liquid has been added. Let this cook for 5 minutes and stir every minute.
4. Add the cheese and stir till it all melts and becomes a homogenous, smooth mixture. Cook for 2 minutes.
5. Add the spices. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remember you haven't salted your vegetables, but you have added cheese.
6. Add all the vegetables and cook this wonderful concoction for another 3 minutes or so.
Taste this now. Add salt/pepper as necessary.
Putting the pie together:
7. Divide the pie filling amongst the ramekins.
8. Neatly lay out your pie crust on top. Cut a generous cross on top to let the steam out.
9. Place in middle rack of oven. Bake for 10 minutes.
10. If the crust isn't golden yet, broil for another 30 seconds to a minute. Keep an eye on it, so that the crust doesn't burn.
And there you have it. Just absolutely wonderful stuff. Makes 3 servings. Each has 1 (daily recommended) serving of vegetables. This is not a low-fat dish, but it is quite delicious.
Enjoy!!
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Food that is Surprisingly tasty
This morning I made myself some multi-grain toast and as a treat, decided to spread a little bit of butter on it. As I washed a small cucumber, I decided not to eat it. But after I sat down, and then bit into my delicious toast, I thought the cucumber would go well... and did it ever! It tasted refreshing and divine. I felt full for a while after eating this. I did have an egg with this too, but I really wasn't enjoying the taste at all.
Other vegetarian dishes that have worked for me in the last few days have been:
1. Sarson Ka Saag
2. Rice and stir fried Gui lan
3. Rice and Fresh Soft Tofu boiled with bean sprouts. Accompanied with a sauce of chilli paste/soy sauce/vinegar
4. Tomato, Cucumber, Lettuce Sandwich
5. Falafel, Tabbouli Sandwich
6. Rice, Dal, Tomato Chutney, Sabji
Read The China Study. Do it.
Other vegetarian dishes that have worked for me in the last few days have been:
1. Sarson Ka Saag
2. Rice and stir fried Gui lan
3. Rice and Fresh Soft Tofu boiled with bean sprouts. Accompanied with a sauce of chilli paste/soy sauce/vinegar
4. Tomato, Cucumber, Lettuce Sandwich
5. Falafel, Tabbouli Sandwich
6. Rice, Dal, Tomato Chutney, Sabji
Read The China Study. Do it.
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