“I’m a man of simple tastes. I’m always satisfied with the best.”
Oscar Wilde
When the Tropical Collection from Chumbak comes knocking at your door, how can you not fall in love with it? It’s fresh, it’s tropical, it’s everything you can celebrate spring with, a line you can usher summer in with as well! It’s an inspiring line, and immediately nudged me to do something fun. Take a look….
I played with the collection endlessly. It brings alive the child in you. You can’t take us Indians out of the our beloved tropics {for long at least}and you can’t take tropical out of India, so the collection is a sure win. I love the crisp, colourful feel, the energy it shares, the vibrancy it spills. The collection is inspired by tropical elements like palm leaves, pineapples, flamingos and the like.Here’s what I was inspired to do – Strawberry Pineapple Smoothies & Watermelon Kiwi Gooseberry Fruit Bowl. When we were young, my dad scooped or rather balled out watermelons and musk melons on our birthdays, then served the fruit chilled in fruit bowls. For some reason, just looking at the collection took me right back there, and before I knew it I was carving a fruit bowl. It’s the funnest thing to do for a pool party, kids birthdays, an evening pick me up in summer, or an anytime fresh healthy snack.I used kiwi stars, halved gooseberries and watermelon balls. I thought I’d throw in strawberry hearts too but forgot the in the fridge. Gah! Summer will see stone fruit galore, so the fun will double. You could do a stone fruit and berry inspired bowl. Or maybe set a watermelon granita in the melon bowl, freeze, slice and serve! No dearth of ideas when your life is flooded with inspiration.
Chumbak had a #spotthepineapple fun campaign to launch the collection. How can you be tropical and not have pineapple? So I figured I’d do a pineapple strawberry smoothie too. I freeze both strawberries and pineapple chunks, so this smoothie is the easiest thing ever. Throw in a cup of each, a cup or two of water, some sweetener, a dash of lime juice into the blender. Whirrrrrrrr it up and you’re good to go.That’s what the coming summer is going to ask for. Quick fresh foods that will keep the spirit light and happy. See how beautifully they paired with the Chumbak Tropical in the light of the afternoon setting sun? Such pretty hues that go so beautifully with the bougainvillea too. Same colours, tropical feel, and I am all set! There’s plenty of choice…
With a range of cushion covers that explode in bright colours, I think this is the best time for a summer makeover! Vibrant, vibrant, vibrant is all I think! Pineapples, flamingoes, elephants, flowers, geometric patterns {♥♥♥}, I want to redo my place! Oh and the sweet little owl too stepped out from a smitten golden ex Diwali into a rustic rainbow coloured creature. Can you imagine that the ullu {owl in hindi} went tropical too? I fell in love with this little fellow, toes and all!The other thing I really liked are the cookie jars. Spacious, clean lines, good quality airtight jars, and beautifully patterned, the counter tops will never be the same again. Even though I am not a gold person, I really like the golden cookie jar too. It fits in so well with the rest. And of course there is PLENTY MORE to the collection. I just picked a few.My all time favourite is of course the palm leaf pattern line. That has my name written all over it. It is fresh, understated, almost like each piece has been hand painted. The teacups are a generous size and stand tall. The pitcher is a winner and I would LOVE for it to sit on my counter. It pours well, it’s easy to clean and is an ideal size for milk or juice. Heck, it even doubles up as a stunning flower vase! It’s lovely to begin the day with for breakfast. Quick granola and fruit parfaits, omelette, toast, a glug of milk from the jug, coffeeeeeee … the leaf pattern is my kind of pattern. For salads too. The interesting bit is that the leaf pattern fits in to every time of the day, every meal too. From a crisp beginning in the morning for breakfast, to a soothing, lilting sun-downer feel, with calming, soothing hues.
Even the coordinated leaf platters are darling. I just find the leaf pattern very very refreshing, something anyone would love to own, serve on, put out for guests, hang on their wall as part of a plate collection. I shot with it a lot as you might notice.You can see I shot it the most. With flowers {poppies} for breakfast, with milk for breakfast too, with onion flowers just like that, then with the Strawberry Pineapple Smoothies & Watermelon Kiwi Gooseberry Fruit Bowl . That’s how versatile and handy it is. The great thing is that it pairs with almost every colour and meal. I’m thinking chilled lemonade through summer!
Strawberry Pineapple Smoothies & Watermelon Kiwi Gooseberry Fruit Bowl
Strawberry Pineapple Smoothies, and a Watermelon Kiwi Gooseberry Fruit Bowl are quick, inspired, no cook, tropical fruit based recipes for summer! Inspired by the Tropical Collection from Chumbak.
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Total Time 15 minutesminutes
Servings 3people
Ingredients
Strawberry Pineapple Smoothies
1 1/2cupfrozen strawberries
1 1/2cupfrozen pineapple chunks
2cupschilled water
Raw sugar as required
Juice of 1/2 a lime
Watermelon Kiwi Gooseberry Fruit Bowl
1small watermelon
1kiwi
1cupcape gooseberries
Fresh mint to garnish
Instructions
Strawberry Pineapple Smoothies
Place all ingredients in jar of blender and process until smooth. taste and adjust seasoning adding more sugar if required.
Garnish with slices of fresh strawberries.
Watermelon Kiwi Gooseberry Fruit Bowl
With a melon baller, scoop out balls of watermelon. gently remove any remaining flesh to take a bowl out of the skin. Carve the edges with a sharp fruit knife if you like.
Peel and slice the kiwi. Stamp out stars with a small cookie cutter.
Halve the cape gooseberries.
Toss them all and put into the watermelon bowl. Chill. Scatter fresh mint over it. Serve chilled.
Note
Run the left over watermelon and kiwi in a blender to make watermelon juice. Add a dash of honey, fresh lime and rock salt. Serve chilled.
It’s the time of the year where your palette changes as the season changes. Springs given way to summer, and thankfully it’s been kind of mild so far. The flavours are shifting gear from hearty earthy soups to salads and smoothies galore.
Grilled is in … sandwiches & barbeque. With it comes breads – wholegrain, chewy, deep, delicious. Yes the yeast in action gives rise to some fine French fougasse and foccacias and no one is complaining. Healthy food in Delhi is in, and it’s fun to see the change in food trends.The past two years have seen a shift in gears towards light food in Delhi. Though the number of stand alone salad bars in Delhi are still limited, most coffee shops and restaurants have a live salad counter which throw up the most amazing of fresh and cooked salads all day long. Nirulas Pot Pourri was possibly the first ‘salad bar in Delhi’, one that brings back old memories of the 1980’s. We would hang out on the ground floor in Connaught Place, having ‘escaped’ from school, sinking our teeth into 21 Love and Jamoca Almond Fudge. the Hot Chocolate Fudge was slightly steeper, so that was for special days, toasted cashews on top and the works! We’d climb upstairs sometimes to treat ourselves to the occasional grilled sandwich, passing by the salad bar, but never stopping for any! The precious pennies were saved to buy real food in our eyes, not pineapples and Russian salad!!
How times change when you grow up. How food on the table changes too! It’s actually a combination of an internet explosion, social media, interest in food, spending time in the kitchen, reading cookbooks and blogs non stop that lead to awakening. One constantly questions ‘what is on the plate’? And it’s a great way for youngsters to learn too!The son will not eat a meal without salad, he begins every morning with a fruit salad … it’s the best thing in the world he declares! What’s the fuss all about you might wonder. Nothing at all. It’s the Strawberry Kiwi Fruit Salad that I’ve been making for years. This is a simple, refreshing, make ahead or make instantly glass of joy.
Strawberries and kiwi are two very vitamin rich fruit, though can try experimenting with maybe melons and kiwi, or mango and strawberries, maybe litchi and melon… whatever is in season and forms part of your local produce. Throw in a bunch of fresh herbs from the garden, sit back and refresh yourself this summer!
[print_this]Recipe: Strawberry Kiwi Fruit Salad
Summary:Strawberry Kiwi Fruit Salad is a simple, refreshing, make ahead or make instantly glass of joy. Strawberries and kiwi are two very vitamin rich fruit. Throw in a bunch of fresh herbs from the garden, sit back and refresh yourself this summer! Serves 2
Prep Time: 5 minutes Total Time: 10 minutes Ingredients:
12 strawberries, hulled, diced
2 ripe kiwi, peeled, diced
2tsp raw sugar {boora} or honey
Juice of 1 lime
Fresh basil or mint
Method:
Place fruit in serving glasses or a glass bowl.
Sprinkle over sugar / honey, squeeze over the lime juice and gently toss to mix.
Spoon into serving glasses or bowls. garnish with fresh herbs.
‘Going green has never been so deliciously exciting. Bon Apetit…’
Farhan Akhtar
Roasted Red Bell Pepper & Broccoli Salad from Vicky Goes Veg. Everything about the book is colourful, fresh, exciting, full of flavour and vegetarian of course! It’s an exciting new book by Chef Vicky Ratnani and holds a LOT of promise. Vegetarianism is no longer considered ‘second food. Slowly but surely vegetarian centric cookbooks are appearing on bookshelves, grabbing eyeballs as they do so!We were hosted by Harper Collins & Nachiketa at the lush and beautiful ‘The Palms‘, Gurgaon for the book launch. Vicky Ratnani has infectious energy, is animated and absolutely passionate about food. I was fortunate to meet him in Jan last year at a tea & food pairing session, and it certainly was a pleasure to meet him again.
He held fort by the poolside under the blazing setting sun, which shouldn’t have been quite so blazing in Mid March … but was! Sporting that he is, he didn’t blink an eyelid, no complaints nothing. He was there well before the guests began to arrive and after a short delay {thanks to the TV crew}, he fired up!
Sauteing, chatting, sharing tips and trivia and a load of his passion, he held the attention of the select audience. As he stirred up magic, we were served the same from the kitchen alongside. The flavours blew us away! Who wants to eat non vegetarian food if vegetarian food can be so exciting. Not me!! The Braised Plantain with Thai spices was out of the world good, as was the Eggplant & Bok choy in sambal.
I love the energy throughout the book. It entices you to ‘try’ something different. I also love that Vicky has stuck to the concept of sourcing local produce, something that makes the locavore in me do a merry dance. The photographs that liberally colour the pages are a journey of the food chain in India including the merchants and the local bazaars.
Vicky is often seen arm in arm with the guys who matter … yes, those who grow, deliver and sell local produce. It’s refreshing to see so much space dedicated to the local sabziwala i.e. vegetable vendors. The recipes in the book are unique, hail from across the world but come with an Indian twist, all green and fresh!
The good thing is that Vicky encourages you to think out of the box, constantly innovate and evolve. He offers his book as a stepping stone for new ideas in vegetarian cooking, and tells you to be fearless. If you don’t have this, use that. There’s plenty of trivia tucked within that makes the book even more interesting. One downside is that the number of portions or ‘servings’ aren’t specified. So I set off to make the RoastedRedBellPepper& BroccoliSalad. Of course, my heart followed his advice and my recipe meandered off as I was short on time. I didn’t blend the dressing, only whisked it. Substituted apricots for walnuts, simplified the dressing a bit. I also made Stromboli from the book which disappeared too quick!
If you’d like to win a copy of the book, VICKY GOES VEG, please leave a comment below telling me which your favourite vegetarian dish from across the globe is. Please be sure to leave a valid email address so I can contact you. This giveaway is open to residents of India, or anyone with an Indian mailing address. {GiveawaysponsoredbyHarperCollins}
[print_this]
Recipe: RoastedRedBellPepper& BroccoliSalad
Summary: Summary Info Goes Here
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutesIngredients:
Salad
1 red bell pepper, roasted
1 yellow bell pepper, roasted
1 big head of broccoli, cut into florets
1 broccoli stem, peeled, thinly sliced
Salt to season
A pinch of cracked black pepper
A few sprigs of thyme
2tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves
Dressing
2 cloves of garlic, cut into chips
2tbsp olive oil
1/2 a white onion, sliced
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 spring onion, cut into 3cm long batons
4-5 dried apricots
Method:
Season the bell peppers, broccoli florets and stems with salt, pepper, thyme and olive oil {I blanched the broccoli for 2 minutes first and then plunged it into ice cold water}
Cut the bell peppers into strips
Fry the garlic in olive oil, and allow to cool and crisp. Reserve the garlic flavoured oil for the dressing.
Dressing
Sauté the white onion in the garlic oil. Deglaze with red wine vinegar. Transfer into a bowl to blend it to a dressing.
Season with salt and pepper. Add the coriander leaves including their juicy stems. Whizz to blend to a smooth, sour, creamy, garlicky dressing.
Mix the spring onion batons and apricots along with the broccoli and peppers. Spoon the dressing over the veggies. Garnish with the fried garlic chips.
Yum! Toss all the veggies along with the dressing. Chill before serving.
“We don’t need a melting pot in this country, folks. We need a salad bowl. In a salad bowl, you put in the different things. You want the vegetables – the lettuce, the cucumbers, the onions, the green peppers – to maintain their identity. You appreciate differences. “ Jane Elliot
Sprouted Mung Dal Salad
Fresh mint & a squeeze of lime…
I posted some bits about this wonderful sprout on the CLICK post for May ’08, where the theme was ‘Beans & Lentils’. Sprouts are easy to make at home, & you don’t actually need special bowls or ‘sprouters’. I sprout the dal at home almost every week, & can hardly stop marvelling at the cute little ‘sprouts’ the dal obliges me with each time.
A super healthy salad, & a very fresh & crisp one at that!
Check out an interesting article about sprouts on Oprah.com, where sprouts are calledSuperfood No. 9. “Sprouts are a highly nutritious food. Grown locally year round, sprouts are a good source of protein and vitamin C. All nutrients necessary for life are contained in seeds—a food category that includes grain kernels, beans, legumes, and nuts. Because sprouts are so fresh, and do not sit for days or weeks in warehouses, we know that we are getting optimum nutrition. ”
Other Great Ways to Serve Sprouts Use in coleslaw (cabbage, clover, radish) Try in wraps and roll-ups (alfalfa, sunflower, radish) Stir-fry with other vegetables (alfalfa, clover, radish, mung bean, lentil) Blend with vegetable juices (cabbage, mung bean, lentil) Mix with soft cheeses, tofu, yogurt of kefir for a dip (mung bean, radish) Stir into soups or stews when serving (mung bean, lentil) Top omelet or scrambled eggs (alfalfa, clover, radish) Combine in oat, barley or buckwheat dishes (fenugreek, lentil, mung bean) Add to sushi (radish, sunflower) Sauté with onions (mung bean, clover, radish) Puree with dried peas or beans (mung bean, lentil) Add to baked beans (lentil)
…There are a great many reasons to eat sprouts. As we age, our body’s ability to produce enzymes declines. Sprouts are a concentrated source of the living enzymes and “life force” that is lost when foods are cooked or not picked fresh from your own garden. Additionally, due to their high enzyme content, sprouts are also much easier to digest than the seed or bean from which they came. “
Sprouted Mung Dal Salad
Ingredients:
Mung dal beans – 1 cup / soaked for 3-5 hours (till you see them start splitting open) Tomatoes – 2-3 / deseeded & chopped small Spring onions – 2-3 / chopped fine (can use 1 small regular onion too) Mint leaves – a handful / chopped fine Cucumber – 1 small / peeled & chopped fine Juice of 1-2 limes Green chili – 1 / deseeded/ chopped fine (optional) Salt to tasteMethod:
Once the dal begins to split, drain it & put it into a sieve lined with cheesecloth or a plastic colander, with a bowl underneath. Cover it keep it in a dark place for 10-12 hours or overnight.
Wash gently the next day, taking care not to disturb the roots (sprouts) too much, to enable them to grow long. Cover & keep in dark place again.
In summer, my sprouts are ready in a day & a half. Check to see if they are done, rinse gently, drain & refrigerate.
Toss all the salad ingredients gently & chill well. This can be made a couple of hours in advance. Try not to keep sprouts for more than 2-3 days as they tend to taste bitter after that. Also, fresh sprouts offer maximum food value.
My son asked me a ‘prudent’ question this evening while eating his salad, “Mama, if we plant these seeds, will these sprouts grow out on the branches?” Hmmmmmmmmmm….another long month of vacations!!
…& also to Lisa @ Lisa’s Vegetarian Kitchen for her colourful No Croutons Required which she is hosting for the month of June. The theme for June is soups or salads featuring legumes because beans and pulses are an important part of a healthy vegetarian diet. Whole, or split, big or small, anything belonging to the legume family qualifies. (Thank you Arundathi for letting me know!!)
“The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a star.”
AnthelmeBrillat–Savarin
A Vegetarian challenge…
Wonder how many of you have heard of the BBC daytime show ‘Ready Steady Cook’? I used to watch it often while visiting the UK years ago. Two members of the public, or occasionally sporting or other celebrities, provide two celebrity chefs with a bag of ingredients they have bought, usually to a set budget of £5 The chefs proceed to make several dishes out of the said ingredients (and a generously stocked kitchen containing basic ingredients and spices), in 20 minutes, with the help of the contestants and the programme host (things have changed a bit now, but the show goes on!). Ainsley Harriott was the presenter then…charismatic, larger-than-life & flamboyant. I googled about the show, & was absolutely delighted to find he’s still on this addictive food show, “My aim is to make cooking fun,” he says!
A medley of flavours…Healthy, wholesome & exciting!
These days my philosophy of cooking is vaguely based on ‘Ready Steady Cook’…without the 20 minutes clause of course! There was a time I used to shop with the end product in mind. Of late, I walk into the supermarket or local vendors shop, & pick up whatever catches my fancy. Then proceed back home to make a meal out of it with no specific plan. Makes cooking fun, & pushes my own creativity to different levels. I enjoy this a lot as it breaks the everyday monotony…& I find it encourages the kids to eat as they look forward now to different stuff showing up on the table!
So here’s what I picked up at the bazaar…baby potatoes (which seldom show up), bell peppers, sweetcorn on the cob & cottage cheese. I had some portion of multigrain elbow pasta which I wanted to use up…& then of course plenty of garlic, basil & mint! Here’s what my home show created on the go…
Baby Potato Sweetcorn Salad
Ingredients: Baby potatoes – 500 gms / boiled, peeled & halved Sweetcorn – 1 cup ( I used 2 fresh cobs; you can use frozen/canned) Hung yogurt/Greek yogurt – 1 cup Cream – 1 tbsp (optional) Ranch Buttermilk dressing powder- 2 tsps / heaped (optional) Juice of 1 lime Fresh mint leaves – 1 handful/ chopped Red Onion – 1/ finely chopped Salt Method:
Whisk the yogurt + cream + lime juice + salt + buttermilk dressing till smooth.
Put the baby potatoes + onion + sweetcorn+ mint in a bowl. Toss well.
Pour in the dressing, toss well. Serve either at room temperature immediately or chill until required.
Grilled Cottage-cheese Slices
Ingredients: Cottage cheese – 500 gms / cut into 8 slices Oil – 2 tbsp Oregano or crushed dried mint – 1 tsp Juice of 1 lime Sea salt or rock salt Freshly ground pepper Paprika – 1/2 tsp Method:
Whisk the oil with oregano + lime juice + sea salt + paprika + pepper.
Marinate the cottage cheese slices in this for at least an hour.
Just prior to serving, pick out a slice gently from the marinade & put onto a hot grill pan. Turn once, & pour a little marinade over the second side.
Multi-grain Elbow Pasta with a basil-walnut Pesto Dressing
Ingredients: Elbow pasta – 250gms Red bell pepper – 1 Yellow bell pepper – 1 Garlic – 2 cloves Salt to taste Fresh basil leaves – 5-10 / chopped
For the dressing: Walnut-basil pesto – 2 tsps (I’ve made my own & keep a jar in the fridge) Olive Oil – 4 tbsps Juice of 1 lime Salt to taste Roasted red chili flakes
Method:
Char grill the bell peppers & garlic cloves & seal in a ziploc until cool.
Put the pasta onto boil.
Whisk the olive oil + pesto + red chili flakes + lime juice + salt to make the dressing.
Drain the cooked pasta & mix into the dressing. Keep aside.
Clean & chop the grilled peppers. Chop the grilled garlic cloves with basil leaves. Toss both these into the pasta & mix in well. Adjust seasoning.
Serve warm or at room temperature. Leftovers can be served chilled as a nice cold salad!
ENJOY!!
This one had a fairytale ending…let’s see what happens when I set out next!!
“In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.”
William Blake
Weekend herb blogging with flowers & herbs!
Summer is almost beating down on us & we harvested the last of the nasturtiums over the weekend. The garden was literally over-run by these very pretty & hardy flowers.
Even a bunch of caterpillars visited to enjoy the leaves…they chomped their way through an entire flowerbed overnight!!
The burst of colour has now gone…but I have a fine bunch of pressed flowers & leaves, & seeds collected for next year.
Ever since I read online that nasturtiums are edible flowers (their leaves too), have been keen to throw them into a salad. These pretty flowers are said to have a peppery taste & do well in salads & stir-fry’s. Not sure if they added much to taste, but certainly made the salad worthwhile with visual appeal & Vitamin C! I served individual portion on nasturtium leaves … even the boy willingly tried a bite if only to prove he could chomp a ‘flower’ (no thumbs up though)!! Basil is universally loved in our house & I have more basil in my corner patch than I can handle. I use basil everyday…even in flower vases for centre-pieces!!
Here’s my bowlful for my Spring salad…
…Tomatoes, basil, grapes…& nasturtiums!!
Nasturtiums,Tropaeolummajus, are simple and pretty trailing flowers with bright rounded green leaves. They look perfect bunched on the top of an elegant cake iced in white or chocolate and they add a feeling of festivity (as flowers often do) to a mixed green salad of arugula, sorrel, mesclun and spinach. Both the leaves and the flowers are edible and they have much more Vitamin C than plain lettuce as well as a slight peppery flavour. Check out this post at Edible Tulip … an interesting blog.
Just chop everything up, toss in a light vinaigrette,
place on individual nasturtium leaves…
…& serve up a ‘BURST OF COLOUR’!!
This post is headed to Susan @ The Well-Seasoned Cook who is the host for this edition of Weekend Herb Blogging. Weekend Herb Blogging is an event created & popularised over the past 2 years by Kalyn @Kalyn’s Kitchen. Entries can be recipes and/or informative posts featuring any herb, plant, vegetable, or flower.
Some trivia …The nasturtium is a vining plant that produces red, orange and yellow edible flowers. It has a peppery flavor and is great for additions to salads or a stir fry. Nasturtium is often called water cress, or Indian cress in some places. Did You Know?
1. All parts of this plant are edible.
2. It was often used for blood cleansing when it was first introduced to Europe in the late 1600s.
Some other posts where I have used the nasturciumflower (crystallised)
