Sunday, September 25, 2011

eye-candy.


Grilled pork and squid bulgogi at the Korean BBQ House.


Party-food.


Chocolate-chip and key lime muffin.


Deep fried peanut butter cups.


Lamb gyro.


Gyros and fries.


Spanakopita.


Baklava.


Nutella, banana crepes with strawberries and whipped cream.


Breakfast at IHOP.


Pancakes, eggs, and bacons.


Fresh salad.


Pork chops and potatoes.


Mutton biryani and chicken chaap.


Fresh mangoes.


Jalebis.


Aloo torkari and kochuri.


seafood-coriander-soup.


steamed-chicken-momos.


fried-chicken-wontons.


Coffee at CCD.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

five ingredient chocolate pudding.

Now that Fall is almost here, this is the accompaniment to chilly evenings. Easiest thing in the world, delicious to boot. A handful of ingredients.

1/4 cup cornstarch.

1/2 cup sugar and a pinch of salt.

3 cups whole milk.

Chocolate chips. I used a mixture of dark and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

1 teaspoon vanilla extract.


Combine the cornstarch, sugar and salt in a heated saucepan.

Slowly whisk in the milk.

After 15 to 20 minutes, when the mixture begins to thicken, add the chocolate chips.

Continue stirring till the chocolate chips melts and the pudding is smooth and thickens.

Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Pour into ramekins and set to chill in the refrigerator.

Recipe courtesy: www.smitten-kitchen.com

Friday, September 9, 2011

crab and shrimp noodles!

So, it's been a while since I've posted. Not that I have not been eating or cooking (less of the latter) but I've been internally debating between shutting this blog down and/or merging it with my regular everyday blog. However, all that changed when Rimi asked me for a recipe and I hastened to write this post, given that no one EVER asks me for a recipe -- actually that's not true at all, my apple crumble is a huge hit at all school events/ potlucks (thanks Mrs. Strock!) and Suzanne and Marcella did, in fact, ask for that particular recipes several times  -- but as it turns out that Rimi's comment was just the little push that this blog needed.

Any who, on to today's dish. Crab and shrimp noodles. It was inspired by a dish on Iron Chef America which is my favorite thing to watch on Sunday nights. Usually, the stuff they make on it is complicated and a tad too elaborate for my skill level but this one seemed doable in my kitchen and besides, it looked mad good.


So, let's start cooking! You will need boiled noodles, of course -- I had half a packet of glass noodles and half a packet of wide noodles languishing in my pantry so I did the sensible thing and boiled them together. Two eggs. Red and green peppers. I love red peppers but never buy them because they seem like an extravagant purchase but I found them at Talin for less than a dollar the other day and couldn't resist. Shrimp. Crab. Garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, chilli sauce, soy sauce, red onions, spring onions, mushrooms and jalapenos. The last item can be adjusted according to your taste buds.

Okay, now lightly grease wok with a few drops of oil. Break egg and scramble. The chef on television did it wonderfully with a pair of chopsticks but I used the last pair of chopsticks from Taste of Thai to scratch my back while watching The Nanny reruns so I just did it the old fashioned way with a fork.

Throw in some diced onions, red/green peppers, mushrooms, spring onions, jalapenos and let it cook. Season with salt, pepper. Add some garlic paste, sprinkle red pepper flakes.

Last stretch now. Add the shrimp, sautee for a couple of minutes -- you don't wanna overcook the shrimp. I used pre-cooked, frozen shrimp, same thing with the crab. Drop the drained, boiled noodles. To kick up the taste notch a bit, add chilli sauce and soy sauce. I used my favorite Chinese sauce in a bottle -- very unimaginatively named Chinese Hot and Spicy Sauce -- from Talin. Mix everything together, let simmer for a  few minutes while the noodles soak up the sauce. Like everything else, serve hot!