Corn Chowder - light and delicious!

We went apple picking this weekend, and the farm also offered U-Pick corn as well! Of course we had to take some home. I decided to make some corn chowder with our fresh corn, and I was glad I did! This recipe is a lot lighter than some of the other recipes I googled, and truly worthy of corn just off the stalk. The real genius here is making a corn cob broth that captures every last bit of sweet corn essence.

The minimalist's Corn Chowder

Adapted from Mark Bittman

Ingredients

• 4 to 6 ears corn
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tomatoes, cored, seeded, and chopped, optional
• 1 cup milk
• Parsley for garnish

Preparation

1. Shuck the corn and use a paring knife to strip the kernels into a bowl. Put the cobs in a pot with 4 cups water; bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, put the butter or oil in a saucepan and turn the heat to medium-high. When the butter melts or the oil is hot, add the onion and potatoes, along with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, about 5 minutes; add the tomatoes if you're using them and cook, stirring, for another minute or two.

3. After the corn cobs have cooked for at least 10 minutes, strain the liquid into the onion-potato mixture. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down so the mixture simmers. When the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes, add the corn kernels and boil for 3-5 minutes or until tender. Add the milk and heat through. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, garnish with parsley, and serve.

Avocado Garbanzo Salad

I'm willing to bet this dish one of the most delicious healthy things you can prepare in 5 minutes or less. It's sort of like a deconstructed guacamole salad. Tonight we ate it with bread on the side, although tortilla chips would be good too. Good as a meal or as a hearty side dish.

Avocado Garbanzo Salad

-- 1/2 ripe avocado, cubed
-- 1 cup cooked garbanzo beans (from a can is fine)
-- 1 small tomato, cubed, or 1 large handful of grape tomatoes, halved
-- 1 or 2 T. of red onion, chopped small
-- 1/4 lemon
-- salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients in bowl. Squeeze lemon on top. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Vegetarian wedge salad

I don't often buy iceberg lettuce, but when I do, I make this salad. This is a steakhouse classic and what I think of as the "steak" of salads because you have to use a knife and a fork to eat it. We love this salad in the summer -- it's cool and crisp, rich and satisfying, and you can make it in 10 minutes. I live in a house of vegetarians, so here is our vegetarian version of the salad, but if you happen to have some cooked bacon on hand and crumble it on top, that's a happy thing too. Also -- if you don't think you like blue cheese dressing, try making it yourself before giving up entirely.

WEDGE SALAD 

makes 2 BIG servings, or maybe 4 appetizer servings

Ingredients:

Dressing:

-- 1/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
-- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
-- 1/2 tsp. vegetarian Worcestershire sauce (can use soy sauce if you don't have this)
-- 1 small squirt prepared mustard
-- salt
-- pepper
-- 1 clove garlic, minced or crushed
-- 1/4 cup milk
-- 1 ounce blue cheese

Salad:

-- 1 head iceberg lettuce, tough outer leaves and core removed, wedged into 4
-- 2 tomatoes, diced
-- 1/4 cup red onion, diced
-- OPTIONAL: 1/2 lb mushrooms, diced and sauteed with plenty of salt
-- If you really like blue cheese -- add extra crumbles to your salad

Instructions:

1. To make dressing, mix all ingredients in a bowl, add salt and pepper to taste.

2. To assemble salad, put 1 or 2 wedges of lettuce on a plate, drizzle with lots of dressing, sprinkle with tomatoes, red onion, mushrooms (if desired), and extra blue cheese (if desired)

Enjoy!!

Pongal

Pongal is a fluffy savory rice and lentil dish that is commonly eaten for breakfast alongside vada, sambar, and chutney -- but it can be eaten at any meal. Mahesh loves it and it is very easy to make, today I got the recipe from Amma.

PONGAL

Ingredients:

-- 100 ml (between 1/3 and 1/2 cup) Green Gram Dal
-- 1 3/4 cups rice, uncooked
-- 1 heaping Tablespoon Ghee (or oil)
-- 1 1/2 t. whole black peppercorns (can break up for a more spicy taste)
-- 1 1/2 t. whole cumin seed
-- 6 curry leaves, roughly chopped
-- 2 T. peeled and minced ginger
-- 1/4. cup cashews
-- 1 t. salt

Instructions:

1. In a hot dry pan, toast dry dal over medium/high heat until it is very hot to the touch, about 2 minutes.

2. Turn off heat, add dry rice to the pan, and using residual heat in pan, toast rice for another 2-3 minutes.

3. Add ghee, peppercorns, and cumin to a small saucepan or tawa, cook over medium heat for 2 minutes, then add in curry leaves, ginger, and cashews and fry for another 2-3 minutes or until brown and toasty.

4. Pour rice and dal into a large pan that will go into the pressure cooker. Add 6 cups of water, salt, and contents of small saucepan. Cover and cook for 3 whistles or until rice and dal are cooked throughly.

Enjoy with sambar and/or chutney!!

Potato Curry - With Skin

Potato curry is the most popular vegetarian Indian curry (at least in this house). My mother-in-law makes two versions, this is her "skin on" variety. And, because I am so awesome, I even took some photos so you all can see what this one looks like!!

SKIN - ON POTATO CURRY

Ingredients:

-- 6 medium red potatoes, scrubbed, cut into 1/4 inch matchsticks (pictured below), and rinsed to remove extra starch.

-- 2 T. oil 
-- 1/4 - 1/2 t. whole mustard seed
-- 1 1/2 - 2 T. urad dal
-- 3 dashes asofetida
-- 1 1/2 T - 2 T. dried curry leaves (these are not powdered - if it is powdered use much less)
-- 1 t. salt
-- 1/2 t. spicy chili powder

Instructions:

1. Add approx. 2. T. oil to a hot pan, heat up over medium heat. Add in mustard seeds and cook until they pop.

2. Add in urad dal, and cook until a little brown. Add in the rest of the spices, and mix around and cook a bit.

3. Add the potatoes into the pan, and stir so they are coated with the spices and oil.

4. Mix and fry with cover off for a couple minutes, then cover and steam for approx. 10 minutes, until cooked through. Then take the cover off and fry for approx. 10 minutes more over med-low heat, until fried up a little.

Enjoy!

You can eat this with rice and sambar, rice and rasam, or rice and Vetta Kozambo and raita, etc. 

Cracked Wheat Uppama with vegetables

Upama is sort of like "fried rice" in Southern India. It is commonly made with cracked wheat, rice, and puffed rice, although you can make it with quinoa or any small grain. Here is my mother-in-law's version, made with cracked wheat or broken wheat (I think this is what we call bulgur wheat) and loads of vegetables:

Cracked Wheat Upma with vegetables

Ingredients:

1 cup broken wheat -- cracked wheat
3 Tablespoons oil
1/2 tsp. whole mustard seed
1 dash asofetida powder (optional)
1 onion, finely cut
1 green chili (spicy small one), minced
1 1/2 teaspoon of minced ginger
3/4 tsp. salt.
1 big 2 small tomato, finely cut
1 large handful cabbage, chopped small (about 2 cups)
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped small
1 carrot, chopped small

Instructions:

1. Dry fry the broken wheat in a dry pan until it is hot to the touch -- the idea is to take away all the moisture so it is not sticky. Set aside.

2. Put 3 Tablespoons oil in the pan, heat up. Add 1/2 teaspoon whole mustard seed. Heat until it pops, if you want add one dash of asofetida powder.

3. Add in the onion, cook until transluscent, then add in the tomatoes, green chili, salt, and ginger, cook for a while, then add the rest of the vegetables and saute until cooked -- you are looking to cook them through, not brown them too much. NOTE: you can substitute the cabbage, bell pepper, and carrot in this recipe for 3 cups of pretty much any other vegetables you like, chopped small

4. Add your 1 cup of bulgur wheat and 2 1/2 cups of water to the vegetable mixture, boil until about half the water is evaporated, then put the contents of the pan in a pressure cooker (or in a metal container that goes in a pressure cooker) and cook for 3 whistles. Then it will be done! NOTE: If you don't have a pressure cooker, you can boil it until the wheat is cooked through.

Serve with coconut chutney -- Amma adds coriander and mint leaves into her coconut chutney to serve with this.

Vegetarian Muffuletta Sandwich

I've never had a real muffuletta sandwich, but I've drooled over many a photo of the meat-laden Italian classic online. For a long time I've wanted to try making a vegetarian version for us at home but hesitated because M doesn't really like vinegary things that much. Last night M was out and it was a sandwich kind of night for dinner, so I tried making my version of this recipe for Kiran and I. It turned out delicious! M tried it and loved it when he came home. I think it would make an excellent quick easy sandwich dinner for a picnic, or anytime really.

Ingredients (for the tapenade):

• 1/2 cup pitted black olives
• 1/2 cup pitted green olives
• 1.5 Tbsp capers
• 1.5 Tbsp canola oil (or olive oil, for best flavor)
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic
• fresh thyme leaves from about 3 sprigs, or 1/2 tsp dried
• salt and pepper

Process all ingredients except salt and pepper in a food processor until uniform but still coarse.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
Ingredients (for 4 sandwiches):

• One loaf ciabatta bread, cut into 4 squares and sliced open like rolls
• 4 small roasted red bell peppers, jarred or home-roasted
• 4 to 6 marinated artichokes, quartered (I used jarred marinated, already quartered)
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
• 4 slices tomato
• 8 fresh basil leaves, torn
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• olive oil for drizzling

Preheat oven or grill if you want to serve the sandwiches warm.  In a bowl, combine basil, vinegar, garlic, roasted peppers, and artichokes; let sit for 5 minutes.  After optionally warming bread, spread some of the tapenade on one side of each of the ciabatta rolls, then top with tomato, roasted pepper and artichoke mixture, and mozzarella.  Drizzle with extra vinegar from bowl and olive oil.  Easy!
- See more at: http://www.nomeatathlete.com/meatless-muffaletta-sandwiches/#sthash.T5C50aj2.dpuf

Vegetarian Muffaletta recipe

serves 2-3 very hungry people

Tapenade:

-- 1/2 cup pitted black olives (I used kalamata)
-- 1/2 cup pitted green olives
-- 1 1/2 Tbsp. capers
-- 1 1/2 Tbsp. oil
-- fresh thyme leaves from about 3 sprigs, or 1/2 tsp. dried
-- 1 clove garlic (optional, I left this out but might try next time)
-- 1 Tbsp lemon juice (I left this out but might try adding in next time)

Sandwich:

 -- 1 loaf ciabatta bread, or 1/2 large round italian loaf, sliced in half (I hollowed some of the bread out of the middle of the loaf to leave more room for fillings)
-- 2 large roasted red bell peppers, roughly chopped
-- 1/2 to 3/4 cup marinated artichokes, roughly chopped
-- 100 ounces (1/4 pound) fresh mozzarella, or provolone cheese, sliced. (I used provolone, and a bit more than this I think)
-- 2 large tomatoes, sliced
-- 1 bunch fresh basil
-- 3-4 pepperoncini, chopped (optional, I liked this but Mahesh preferred his sandwich without)


1. Turn on oven to 350 degrees. Wrap bread in foil and put in oven to heat up a bit while you make the tapenade.

2. While the bread is warming, make tapenade by processing all ingredients in a food processor until uniform but still coarse. Add salt and pepper to taste (although I didn't feel like I needed any)

3. Take bread out of oven. Spread tapenade on each side of the bread, as thick as you like. Top with tomato, basil leaves, red bell peppers, artichokes, cheese, and pepperocinni, if using.

4. Close sandwich. You can serve it right away, or wrap tightly in plastic wrap and leave in fridge for a while for the flavors to mingle and some of the juices to soak into the bread.

5. Slice up into edible portions, and enjoy!

Ingredients (for the tapenade):

• 1/2 cup pitted black olives
• 1/2 cup pitted green olives
• 1.5 Tbsp capers
• 1.5 Tbsp canola oil (or olive oil, for best flavor)
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic
• fresh thyme leaves from about 3 sprigs, or 1/2 tsp dried
• salt and pepper

Process all ingredients except salt and pepper in a food processor until uniform but still coarse.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
Ingredients (for 4 sandwiches):

• One loaf ciabatta bread, cut into 4 squares and sliced open like rolls
• 4 small roasted red bell peppers, jarred or home-roasted
• 4 to 6 marinated artichokes, quartered (I used jarred marinated, already quartered)
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
• 4 slices tomato
• 8 fresh basil leaves, torn
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• olive oil for drizzling

Preheat oven or grill if you want to serve the sandwiches warm.  In a bowl, combine basil, vinegar, garlic, roasted peppers, and artichokes; let sit for 5 minutes.  After optionally warming bread, spread some of the tapenade on one side of each of the ciabatta rolls, then top with tomato, roasted pepper and artichoke mixture, and mozzarella.  Drizzle with extra vinegar from bowl and olive oil.  Easy!
- See more at: http://www.nomeatathlete.com/meatless-muffaletta-sandwiches/#sthash.T5C50aj2.d