A recipe for a rainy day

as I write from my dorm room, cooped up inside until we hear more information about our situation, I can't help but think about what a trying week this has been for Boston and the greater Boston area.  Shaken by the Boston marathon blasts and with MIT Police officer Sean Collier killed last night, a lot of us have been struggling to handle the shock, disbelief, and sadness we feel.  I want to thank all of my friends and family who have checked up on me, offered their sympathies and prayers for Boston, and been with me through this whole week.  I cannot express how much your support has meant to me.

I haven't blogged in over 2 months (school is hard), but I've decided to bring it back.  One of the reasons I started this blog in the first place was because I believe that food brings people together.  What better way to bring together my group of friends -each of us restlessly updating our twitter feeds for more information- than with food? So, this afternoon, I made a big pot of pulao and set it on the stove. Before I could take a picture of it, it was all gone!

We'll have to save that recipe for next time, but for now I've got another comfort food recipe- spaghetti with a mushroom "marinara" sauce! I use the term marinara loosely, because it definitely isn't your traditional marinara sauce. but you'll love it, i promise!

 Spaghetti with mushroom marinara sauce:

1 lb spaghetti, cooked according to package instructions

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion

1 clove garlic

1 green pepper

1 cup sliced mushrooms

6 medium-sized vine tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp oregano

1 tbsp red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

1 handful basil, chopped

Heat up the olive oil in a large nonstick pan.  Cook the onions and garlic until lightly brown, and add the mushrooms and peppers.  Sautee until they are slightly soft, and then add in the tomatoes and tomato paste, and the spices. if the sauce is thick, add 1/4 cup water. Allow the sauce to simmer under medium heat for 5-7 minutes, and then add the basil. Serve hot over the spaghetti. 

PS: If you would like to donate to help the victims of the tragic events of the Boston Marathon, check out The One Fund for more information.

Applesauce Muffins

 

Happy New Year's Eve, everyone! Since I'm supposed to bake for a big party tonight, I'll keep this post short. Last week, I made applesauce muffins for the first time, and they were a big hit! It was my first time baking with applesauce, but I'm definitely going to use it more often now :)  

Best wishes for 2013!

-Meena

Applesauce muffins (1 dozen):

2 Cups of flour

1/2 Cup of sugar

1 Cup of Applesauce

1 and 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup soy milk or regular milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  In a mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the applesauce, soy milk, vanilla and oil.  Fold the dry ingredients into the applesauce mixture until a thick batter forms.  Pour the batter into a greased muffin tin and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. 

Roasted Potatoes and Carrots

Hello there lovely readers. my goodness, i can't believe it's been over a week since I've posted something on this blog! Thanks to a whole hurricane of midterms, homework assignments, and life in general, I've been feasting on pretty much nothing nutritionally acceptable or worth posting on the internet for the past week.

But now that all that's over, I'm back to gushing over everything related to pumpkins (like every other fall-obsessed New Englander), and cooking classy meals for myself.   Let me tell you, it's good to be back:)

Since exams leave me feeling hungry and like I just ran a marathon,  I decided to make a totally carbalicious roast with potatoes and carrots, flavored with garlic, rosemary, and sage.

for the longest time, I thought that throwing vegetables in the oven was a cop-out. is it really "cooking" to cut up some potatoes and carrots, stick them in the oven, and hope for the best?

Winter Greens Soup

Once in awhile, everyone has one of those weekends where they eat anything and everything they want. Last weekend was one of those weekends for me. After  heavenly pumpkin ice cream, flatbread pizza, birthday cake, and more chocolate chip cookies than i care to admit, i felt a little bit like the Hungry Caterpillar, and I just wanted to eat "one nice green leaf".  This soup is basically my version of a nice green leaf:)

Simple Cooked Cauliflower

Once in awhile, you just have to embrace your cruciferous vegetables.

ok, that's a weird introductory statement for a blog, i apologize.  However, it is true i had a major craving for cauliflower curry last week. 

Unfortunately, since my mom was at work and i couldn't call her, I had to look up 19,492 recipes on the internet. And since that many opinions about anything is overwhelming, i decided to ignore all of them.  Now I'm here adding yet another opinion to the internet about cauliflower curry. go figure:)

i've made this dish about 3 times, and i think i've finally figured out the two things that matter the most: cumin and salt.  I'll admit that salt seems obvious, but i've always been a little hesitant about using it since I can't stand food that's too salty.  however, in the case of cauliflower (and a lot of other foods, probably), too little salt can make it taste like baby food:( and nobody wants that.

fresh cumin is also much better than ground cumin that's been in your pantry for 4 months.  seriously, don't even bother with the ground cumin on this one.  you'll be much happier with fresh cumin seeds,  i promise:)

alrighty then, i think that's enough for a Monday.  Happy Columbus Day and happy Monday to everyone!

Simple Cooked Cauliflower (serves 2)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced

1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil on a large nonstick pan under medium-high heat.  Add in the garlic, ginger, and cumin seeds.  Cook for two minutes and then add in the cauliflower, turmeric, garam masala, salt, and pepper. Saute the cauliflower under high heat until it is tender.  Serve warm.

Cucumber-Corn Cous Cous Salad

I present to you... my c3 salad! I was going to throw in some carrots too, but i ran out:( sad days.

Rajma

Hello lovely readers! it feels like it's been awhile since i've sat down to write about food.

After coming back to school after a fun and relaxing time at home, i had to haul all of my stuff from my summer dorm to my dorm for the school year. naturally, the whole process of packing, moving, and unpacking meant that i mostly lived off of Subway sandwiches and stale cereal.

but i'm mostly settled into my new room now, and ready to cook all of the Indian comfort food I'm missing from back home.

Rajma is basically just a thick soup with kidney beans, lots of tomatoes, and yummy Indian spices.

Roasted Vegetables and Tofu

Let's set the record straight.  I am not a fun person to be around when I'm hungry.  I get grumpy, impatient, and whiny.  Good times.  Anyways, after my Sunday morning workout, I felt the pangs of insatiable hunger that could only be fought with one thing: stir fry. But, the problem with stir fry is that you have to fry the tofu and the vegetables separately before you can combine them and enjoy your meal, and i had little motivation to do this.  So instead,

Spicy Guacamole

Earlier this week, I had a major craving for guac. As a college student, guacamole can be impractical to make.  Avacados are expensive, they ripen and spoil quickly, and they are impossible to judge until you take them apart.  Nevertheless, the stars aligned this week for me.  TJs had moderately priced avacados that looked somewhat promising, and I jumped on the chance. 

Baby Bok Choy and Chickpea Salad

 

Without a doubt, bok choy is one of my favorite summer vegetables.  It's flavorful, versatile, and oh so delicious in stir fry.  That being said, I decided to take my love for bok choy to a new level in salad-style.  With chickpeas and red peppers, it was the perfect starter to a warm-weather dinner!