Simple Yogurt Parfait

I am always humbled how at every turn in my life, I have been offered real friendships by amazing people. The kind who’ll call you on your silliness, who’ll listen patiently to your travails & offer you sanity when all around you, things fall apart. The best thing about these friends are that they offer you the chance to be yourself.

The last time I visited one such dear friend, her husband & she offered me the healthiest breakfast, which included an improvised yogurt parfait.

Here’s how I went about trying to recreate her lovely breakfast item using leftover strawberries & oats & bunch of other goodies.

What We Used (for 2):

Rolled Oats* – 1/2 cup

Almonds – 1/4 cup

Sweetened Shredded coconut – 1/4 cup

Cinnamon – 1 tsp

Chopped Strawberries – 1/4 cup

Honey – a little less than 1/4 cup

Water – as needed

Yogurt – 1 cup

Pure Vanilla extract – 1/2 tsp

Sugar – 1 tsp (optional)

Sliced Peaches* – as needed

Baking Sheet, small saucepan, small bowl – 1 each

How We Did It:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread oats, almonds, shredded coconut & cinnamon on a baking sheet. Toast for about 15-20 minutes or till the mixture turns golden brown.

• In a small saucepan over medium flame, stir together the strawberries, honey and a tiny bit of water for about five minutes.
• In a small bowl, stir well the yogurt, vanilla extract and sugar.
• In a bowl (I used an ice cream serving bowl), spoon the strawberry confection, smooth & spoon the oat mixture, smooth surface and spoon the yogurt combination on top. Top with sliced peaches.

Note:

*The best kind of oats to use are rolled oats. Cook’s Thesaurus has a clear little explanation of the difference between rolled oats & quick oats. If you have no rolled oats, I have seen others use cornflakes, which are sadly, less healthy than the oats. I am thinking you can skip the toasting if you are using cornflakes or any other kind of cereal.
*You can also use any kind of fruit you wish for the topping. And you can even add more sugar if you like your parfaits sweeter. I have also seen recipes where the layers are repeated, so you have a taller parfait. In the end, it all depends on you & your’s personal taste.

Galbi or Ribs, by way of Korea

I was first introduced to Korean food by the redhead’s Korean aunt, who came visiting with pots & pans & mortar & pestle and ground & marinated & fermented & spiced to produce the most divinely scrumptious array of food.

The graciousness with which her aunt fed poor starving college us is so characteristic of the redhead’s entire clan. They so irreverently welcomed me into into their fold with their unlimited conversations, teasing & poking that I felt instant comfortability. I think, as an expat, you don’t quite know a country till you’ve been invited into a native’s home. And for that & much more I thank the redhead & her zany family!

A little note about the recipe: As I understand it, Galbi is made with short ribs & is usually a braised dish. We were in the mood for grilling and had regular ribs, so used that instead. For a more traditional recipe, please see here. We made ours with the help of Deep Fried Kimchee & the good people at Chowhound.

What We Used:

Ribs – 3 lbs

Soy Sauce – 1.5 cups

Rice Wine – 1/2 cup

(I found several links when looking for rice wine substitutes, if it is unavailable in your part of the world)

Sesame oil – 1/4 cup

White rice vinegar – 1/4 cup

Water – 1/2 cup

Honey – 1 tbsp

Dark Brown Sugar – 1/4 cup

Chopped Scallions – 2 bunches

Grated Garlic – 2 tbsps

Grated Ginger – 1.5 tbsps

Black Pepper – 2 tsps

Bowl & Grill – 1 each

How We Did It:

• Combine all ingredients, save the ribs, in a large bowl.
• Add ribs. Check to see if marinade covers ribs. If not, add water & other ingredients proportionally to make it so.
• Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Place on hot grill for 2 minutes on each side. Serve with anything you like.

Note:

When I tasted the marinade pre-ribs addition, I was a bit apprehensive. The flavor of the marinade is different for my palate, since it has little to no heat in it. It’s more tangy, almost sharply sour and yet sweet. But, fear not – you won’t be disappointed in how the meat tastes when it is grilled after soaking in this marinade. The combination of the fat in the ribs & the marinade makes for a very succulent, albeit different, dish.

Spinach & spiced Mozzarella stuffed Tomatoes

Stuffed tomatoes are such an easy addition to any meal. We had ours with an assortment of lovely food for our lazy weekend breakfast.

This post is dedicated to my parents who came, shopped and equipped. They thought of everything our kitchen would possibly want from mandolin slicers to gigantic stock pots & so calmly organized the pantry that I didn’t need to do anything but use it after they were gone. Thanks to them, we have a whole array of spice jars, spices & other what nots that we use to create all sorts of flavor for our dishes.

What We Used (for two):

Roma Tomatoes – 4

Chopped shallots – 2 shallots

Chopped green chillies – 2 small ones

Chopped Spinach – 1/2 cup

Chopped bean sprouts – 1/8 cup

Garlic & Ginger paste – 1/4 tsp each

Salt & Pepper – to taste

Mozzarella Cheese – 1/4 cup

Curry Powder – 2 tsps

Dried basil – a pinch

Olive Oil

Frying pan, greased baking dish, small bowl – 1 each

Melon Baller – 1

How We Did It:

• Slice and keep aside the top of the stem end of the rinsed tomatoes. Core tomatoes using a melon baller. Chop and reserve the core.

• Heat oil in the frying pan. Saute the shallots. When they turn translucent, stir in the chopped tomato cores, green chillies, spinach, bean sprouts, ginger & garlic paste with salt & pepper.
• Once the spinach has wilted, take off heat and put aside.
• In a small bowl, mix the mozzarella cheese with curry powder and dried basil. I wanted a hint of spice in the cheese and stopped at little less than 2 tsps of curry powder. If you like more of spice taste, as always, adjust accordingly.
• Preheat oven to 375 °F.
• In a greased baking dish, add a little salt & pepper to the inside of the tomatoes and rub olive oil on the outside of the tomatoes. (If you wish for the tomatoes to stay upright, cut off a v. thin slice off the bottom of the tomatoes)
• Place reserved stuffing of spinach and veggies in to the tomatoes. Top with mozzarella cheese.

• Bake for 15 minutes or till the cheese on top has melted.

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Breakfast of Eggs & Juice

Continuing with my Anniversary Special thanks to our friends!

Growing up, I never imagined that I would stay in touch with my high school friends. I hoped I would but I recognised that, at best, it might only be a murky probability. I think that’s the curse of the expat life. I lived out my high school in two different countries and while I was blessed to be always surrounded by friends who gave me so much, there was also the reality that leaving was just around the corner and not knowing what the future held made keeping in touch a tenuous affair.

Which was what made having two of my dear friends from high school at my wedding such a joyous victory. Because in spite of time, terrestrial locations, and intervening absences; we had remained friends & better yet, were able to revert back to those abundantly buoyant creatures we were in high school.

So, here’s to friends with whom you grow up & grow old with – they are like a lazy Saturday breakfast – easy & delicious!

Note about omelet: I always love to eat bread with my eggs but unfortunately on Saturday, all we had in the house was day old French bread. And then I remembered this fabulous idea I saw on Nigella‘s show once where she crumbled bread on to an omelet and that’s what we did. My thoughts are you can use any kind of bread here. So here it is.

What We Used (Omelet for 2):

Egg whites – 4

Whole Egg – 2

Finely Chopped Scallions – 4

Chopped, defrosted Frozen Veggies (we used zucchini & carrots) – 1/4 cup

Chopped bean sprouts – 1/8 cup

Diced Turkey Slices – 1/4 cup

Crumbled old bread – 1/8 cup

Pepper Jack Cheese – 2 slices or grated (whatever you have around the house)

Salt & Pepper – to taste

Dried Basil – a pinch

Frying Pan – 2

Whisk & bowl – 1 each

How We Did It:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the egg whites, whole eggs, a little salt & pepper and the dried basil.
• Saute scallions, frozen veggies, bean sprouts, and turkey with a little salt & pepper over medium flame in a small frying pan. After five minutes, remove from flame.

• In a separate pan, over medium heat, pour half the whisked egg mixture. When it starts bubbling and looks like its firming up, place half the sauted mixture over half the egg.
• Crumble bread pieces over it.

• Add a slice of cheese on top of the bread. (I got a little carried away here and added it all over the place. Ideally, you want the veggies, bread and cheese to stay neatly in one half of the egg base, just enough so it’ll be easy to fold).

• Fold omelet.

• Repeat process to make another omelet.

Juice Cocktail
We had some left over store-bought juices from when house guests visited and decided to make a juice cocktail with some home made grenadine. Our grenadine, though not as red as store as the store-bought one, comforts me for it gives me a modicum of control over the ingredients & sugar level. It’s also deliciously tastier .

What We Used:

Pomegranate Juice – 1 cup

Sugar – 1/4 cup (you can add more sugar if you wish. I have seen combinations of 2 cups of juice to 1 cup of sugar, courtesy Cocktail Chronicles)

Passion Fruit Juice – 1/2 cup

Pineapple Juice – 1/2 cup

Lemon Juice – 1/2 of a lemon

Saucepan & Jug – 1 each

How We Did It:

1. In a small saucepan, bring the pomegranate juice to a boil. Reduce heat, add sugar and let simmer for about 15 minutes, or till it is reduced in half. This is grenadine!!!
2. In large juice jug, combine the passion fruit juice, pineapple juice, lemon juice and the grenadine. Stir to mix, pour into glass and enjoy!

Grilled Peach by way of As & Ds

I love how grilled peach tastes. It almost feels like you are biting into a banana fritter, with no fried batter, just the delicious sweetness of a peach.

This is an effortless recipe, with nary the need for cutting or chopping. Just the sweet comfort of our grill, given to us by our fabulous groomsman (Ds) & best man (As).

I think the closer I get to our one year anniversary, the more nostalgic I get for the memories of the wedding. Yesterday I cooed over the grill, remembering the fantastic surprise that it was when it was wheeled into our place. We enjoyed our wedding immensely. We had planned, had scurried to & fro for appointments & multiple tastings, the Mostafa had been forced to sit through countless viewings of chairs & to see all those efforts come to fruition was a fabulous experience. But no amount of planing would have made our wedding the glorious memory that it is, if it hadn’t been for our friends & family.

So, in honor of them, I am hoping in the next week or so, to cook around all the lovely appliances gifted to us. Here’s a small start to that idea!

What We Used (for two):

Peach – 1

Sugar – just enough to sprinkle on the peach halves

Honey – 1/2 cup

Vanilla extract – 1 tbsp

Freshly squeezed lemon juice – 1/2 of a lemon

Water – less than 1/4 of a cup

Bay Leaf – 1

Saucepan & grill

How We Did It:

1. Cut rinsed peach in half, discard pit.
2. Sprinkle sugar on the peach halves.
3. Place on preheated grill & grill till grill marks appear on each side (about 3-4 mins on each side).
4. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine honey, a little water, vanilla extract, lemon juice and bay leaf. Boil till the sauce is thick, about 4 minutes. I stopped boiling once I was sure all the flavours had merged well.
5. Pour sauce over grilled peaches and serve. If you have frozen yogurt or ice cream lying around, add a dollop of that too & enjoy!

Curried Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie – is there anything that sounds more complete and filling than the idea of baked veggies & meat in a crusty pie? It’s almost like a gigantic samosa – if a samosa was baked instead of fried, was a little less compact & was done in a dish.

My brush with chicken pot pies has always been restricted to the frozen or fast food category – quite unwholesome & very unappetizing. Which is why watching Ina Garten cook one from scratch got me all riled up. The recipe is a bit labour intensive and does take time – you have to marinate the chicken, bake it, make the pie crust, make the filling and then bake everything together. But oh, to crack the crust on your very own home made pot pie, pausing just a while to get a waft of the sumptuous filling within, before plunging in and devouring it, is so worth the effort.

A couple of things – If you are strapped for time, ignore the marinade and go straight for baking the chicken with salt and pepper.

I found Ina’s recipe, while full of flavour, lacked the punch of the assorted tastes that my Indian palate is used to. Usually I can forgo the lack of the punch in more meat dominated dishes because of the succulence of the meat. But not so for this dish. So I tried out a wine based marinade for the chicken and curry powder base for the filling. I found that a Pinot Noir marinade works well because the wine is gentler and doesn’t try to overpower the chicken. Also, there’s a hint of spice in this wine that gets along amiably with the curry flavour. If you like more aggressive wine flavour, I am told that Cabernet Sauvignon may be a good idea, but I haven’t had personal experience with marinating with it.

So, that’ s my two cents. On to the recipe now.

What We Used:

For the marinade:

Red Wine – 1 cup

Olive oil – 2 tbsps

Minced garlic cloves – 4

Chopped basil – 2 tbsps

Red Pepper flakes – 1 tbsp

Salt & Pepper – to taste

Skinless, Chicken breasts – 2

Bowl – 1

Baking sheet – 1

For the Filling:

Chicken Stock – 3 cups

Unsalted Butter – 1/4 of a stick

Chopped shallots – 1 cup

All-purpose flour – a little less than half a cup

Heavy cream – 1/8 cup

Frozen vegetables (I used one that had chopped carrots, beans & corn) – 2 cups

Parsley – a handful

Curry Powder – 1/2 tbsp

Red Chilli Powder – 1/4 tbsp

Salt & Pepper – to taste

Saucepan – 1

Big pot – 1

For the pastry:

All-purpose flour – 1 1/2 cups

Salt – a little less than 1 tsp

Baking Powder – 1/2 tsp

Vegetable shortening – 1/4 cup

Butter – 1 stick (room temperature)

Ice water – 1/4 cup

Salt & Pepper – to taste

For the egg wash, 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp of water in a small bowl

Food Processor – 1

Medium Oven Proof Bowls – 2

How We Did It:

1. The Marinade:
   • In the bowl; mix the wine, olive oil, garlic, basil, pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Add chicken breasts and let marinate for an hour or two in the refrigerator.
2. The Filling:
   • Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake marinated chicken on baking sheet for 50 minutes or until cooked through.
   • Set aside to cool, then remove meat from bone and cut into cubes.
   • Heat the chicken stock in the small saucepan.
   • In the big pot, melt the butter and add the shallots. Stir on medium flame till the shallots are translucent.
   • Add the flour and keep stirring over low low flame.
   • Add the heated chicken stock, simmer & stir over low flame till the sauce is thick.
   • To the sauce; add salt, pepper, curry powder, red chilli powder and heavy cream.
   • After a couple of minutes, add the cubed chicken, frozen vegetables, parsley and mix well.
3. The Pastry:
   • Into the food process, add flour, salt and baking powder.
   • Add the shortening and butter and pulse. The shortening and butter makes it lumpy, so keep pulsing till the lumps are in the size of peas.
   • With the motor running, add the ice water, a little at a time, till the dough is moistened.
   • Take the dough out and knead into a ball on a well floured surface.
   • Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
5. Prepare the egg wash by beating the egg with 1 tbsp of water.
6. Divide the well rested dough into 2 portions and circles, a little bigger than the bowls.
7. Spoon the filling equally into two medium oven proof bowls.
8. Brush the outside edge of the bowl with the egg wash and place circle shaped dough on top.
9. Crimp the dough so that it sticks to the edges of the bowl, make 3 slits on top, brush with egg wash, sprinkle with salt and pepper,

10. Place on baking sheet and bake for and an hour & fifteen minutes or till top is golden brown.

Mustard Okra

There’s only one way in our place to make okra & that’s the Food & Wine okra salad way. Our taste buds are so inured to that recipe that they threatened to strike in protest. We heard their protest & decided it was time for a change. Our pursuit for new & exciting ways to cook okra brought us to this recipe from Food in the Main. Like all of Shyamala’s recipes, it’s so simple yet different, with nary a need for modifications, that we couldn’t help but cook it.

What We Used:

Sliced okra – 1 lb

Mustard seeds – 2 tbsps

Ginger Paste – 2 tsps

Dried Red Chillies – 2

Slit Green Chillies – 4

Bay Leaf – 1

Oil – 2 tsps

Garam Masala – 1/2 tsp

Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Water as required

Pan

How We Did It:

1. Soak the mustard seeds in water for 15 minutes.
   
2. Grind the mustard seeds with ginger to a smooth paste.
3. Mix the paste with 1/4 cup of water and 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder and reserve.
4. Heat oil in the pan; add the bay leaf, dried red chillies, garam masala powder and the remaining turmeric powder.
5. When the chillies start to change colour and/or splutter, add the sliced okra and stir well. Cover & let cook for 10 minutes or till the okra is cooked halfway through.
6. To the okra, add the reserved paste, the slit green chillies, salt and stir.
7. If the gravy is too dry, add water and mix well. Cover and let okra cook.

Our Verdict:

This okra tastes exactly as the name suggests – mustardy. We are not particular fans of mustardy anything, but this recipe really blew our minds because it was that unique and charged with taste! Try it, we are sure you’ll love it!