We are back home after a 3 week vacation to Singapore.
What a destination. Singapore is so easy to like with great people, great food and great places.
Coming back home, everything feels foreign and strange. It could be the jet lag or the mystical power of Singapore still hovering over me.
More later…
My favorite item on the grill.
This recipe is a regular at our place, but this was our first time cooking it on the grill. It looked spectacular and the smokiness from the grill added to the flavor. The lamb chops came from Costco.
Method:
After applying salt and pepper on the lamb, sear it on a hot grill, 2 mins per side.
Then move it to a less hot part of the grill, and cook for 10 to 20 mins per side, depending on how much you want it cooked.
You can use a meat thermometer . For rare 120 degrees and medium is 150 degrees.
Few minutes before taking the rack off the grill, slather Dijon mustard on both sides and coat with herbs. We held the lamb rack with mitts, and rolled it in the fresh herb mixture ( parsley, rosemary and thyme). Cook for another 5 min.
Remove from the grill, rest for about 15 mins .
We had it with a salad and linguini with pesto.
I know it is my second post of the day. I am just back from a two day vacation. I am invigorated and have tons of energy. Energy to do such simple posts but not for recipes.
These fruits are from a mulberry plant that has decided to climb over our neighbors fence and give us a share of the bounty too. Feeling unappreciated can make you do things like that. : ) It is a crazy maze of a trumpet vine, a grape vine and the mulberry plant tree. Today I had the energy to find my way into this maze and return with these berries.
Today’s pick
It seems like Americans don’t think these berries are edible. No one else seem to be enjoying these berries around here. I am not complaining, the more for us. As kids in Kerala, these were all the rage. Most of the berries were consumed before they were this ripe because we were impatient to let them get this ripe, and also your friend might eat it before you do if you wait.
Mulberries are sweet and tart and they also stain purple. Natural lipstick, I say.
A recipe that mentions its source as grandmother or mother instantly attracts my attention. I have a sort of blind faith in such recipes. When Heidi of 101 cookbooks blogged this pesto recipe from her friend’s mother, it was instantly bookmarked.
Our basil herbs were fresh with new young sprouts after a recent harvest and it would be perfect with the grilled lamb chops that were making for dinner. And better yet, no food processor to clean.
Original recipe here
Young basil leaves - 1 cup packed.
Garlic- 2 cloves
Pine nuts - 2 tbsp
Parmesan cheese freshly grated- 1/4 cup
Good quality extra virgin olive oil- 2 tbsp
For mincing, you will need a sharp mezzaluna, but I replaced it with a crinkle cutter.
There is only one step. Mince till you get a fine mince of the ingredients. Heidi recommends starting with the garlic and 1/3 rd basil. Keep adding the ingredients in parts till everything is minced. Start with garlic, then basil, followed by pine nuts and cheese.
Once mincing is done, transfer the pesto into a bowl and add the olive oil.
At this point I kept it in the refrigerator. At dinner time, mixed it with some cold angel hair for a cold pasta side dish. It was delicious. Thanks Heidi for sharing this wonderful recipe. It was really relaxing mincing and mixing with hand and using the crinkle cutter.
As Heidi said, there is no salt and pepper in the pesto. So salt your pasta water generously.
This is my entry for Summer Green Blog Project being hosted by Deepz of Letz Cook.
GBP was originally born in the ever scheming head of dear Inji. Ever since many bloggers have discovered their green thumbs and have grown wonderful things. Join the fun!
RP blogged about kale thoran last year. Ever since, it’s been a regular at our household. Coffee’s MBP ( Monthly Blog Patrol) is the perfect event to give thanks for the recipes from fellow bloggers. The theme this month is Going Lite. This was the perfect oppurtunity to thank RP for this wonderful healthy and lite recipe.
The beautiful leaves of the kale plant provide an earthy flavor and more nutritional value for fewer calories than almost any other food around ( Link)
While preparing greens, I have seen that urad dal is added along with mustard. But I used raw rice instead, as my mother would.
Kale Thoran ( original recipe here)
Kale - 1 bunch ( sliced fine)
Shallot- 2
Green chilies - 6
Grated coconut- 1/4 cup
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Raw unccoked rice- 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste.
Add oil to the hot pan. Add mustard seeds and when they start to splutter, add the rice. The rice will start to puff up. Add the kale and give a quick stir.
In a small mortar, mix the shallots, green chilies and coconut. Just a coarse mix is fine. Make a small area in the centre of the pan and add the coconut mixture. Cover it with the kale like this. ( You can add the coconut to the kale and give a mix but my aunt used to make thorans this way. I happened to think of her and followed her method)
Cover and cook for 5 mins on low medium heat. Stir, add salt and cook covered again till the leaves are at your desired texture. Kale leaves take longer than other leafy greens.
Serve with rice.
Last year I tried to make rose petal jam and what I made was not jam, more like rose glass candy. The concotion that I made was poured into a glass jar and hours later, it was solidified into a glass like mass and I needed a pickaxe to break into it : ) And for this year I was all ready with a new recipe.
Then, Anita came with gulkhand. That was my first real education about gulkhand. Armed with her recipe and rose blooms from our garden, I made my first batch of gulkhand.
The gulkhand station
I have to admit that I was pretty skeptical. I like the fragrance of roses, but to eat something that would smell like roses was not an easy concept to digest. After bottling the petals, I forgot about them for the next 2 days. As soon as I remembered I left them in the sun for a day. After a night out and some time in the rain the next day, they were remembered and brought inside. A week later I took a small bite. And then a bigger bite and then a whole spoonful. The next day half the gulkhand and almost a whole loaf of Italian bread was gone.
As of today almost all the gulkhand is gone and I made small tea sandwiches to present my home made gulkhand to all of you.
This is one of the best things I have tasted and I wish I had made more. Thank you Anita for introducing me to this elegant preperation.
Layering the petals:
Layering with sugar
I didn’t do exact measurements. For 3 roses, I used a tablespoon of sugar.
Layer rose petals and sugar till all the petals are done.
I poured honey on the top layer.
I used regular sugar for this batch. But the results were spectacular. Next time, I am using honey.
For this years herb garden, we have thyme, basil and parsley. We also have shallots, chives , rosemary and curry leaf from the previous years.
Thyme doesn’t need a lot of water. This is ideal for gardeners like us who don’t like to water too much.
The flowers of thyme are white and as tiny and delicate as the leaves. This flower is my entry for Flower Fest and the current alphabet is T.
Image of thyme flower at the Bookmann.
Thyme leaves are very fragrant and goes well with veggies, rice, seafood and meat. I remember a Cajun dish with shrimp and thyme from a long time ago. That memory was the inspiration for this dish.
Shrimp with chili-thyme marinade
Recipe:
Garlic- 2 cloves
Thyme sprigs- 3 sprigs ( As the sprigs were tender, I used them whole. )
Crushed red pepper- 1 tsp
Olive oil- enough to make a paste approx. 1 tbsp
Salt to taste.
Shrimp- 1o or 12 cleaned.
Using a mortar and pestle, grind garlic, thyme sprigs, crushed red pepper. After coarsely grinding the above, add olive oil and make into a paste.
Add the paste to the cleaned shrimp and marinate for about half an hour.
Grill or saute the shrimp.
Shrimp served over wild rice
Note: I cooked the shrimp stove top on a cast iron pizza stone. Since the marinade already had oil, there was no need to add any oil to the stone.
The shrimp was very flavorful. I served it with some wild rice. The shrimp would be great as an appetiser.
When summer comes, the roses in our garden steal the show. We have a climbing rose that blooms with a vengeance. Even better, once the summer blooms are gone, they bloom again around fall. What better flower to celebrate Meeta’s birthday. Her dishes are glamorous, her pictures captivating and sleek, and her writing is lots of fun. She has invited us over to celebrate, and I had to make something elegant! Got to keep up, right?
Original recipe: Here
I made this dish when I was really hungry, and so measurements are approximate.
Make the pasta according to package instructions. I only made enough for one serving.
While the pasta is cooking, you can assemble ingredients for the pasta. I took about 15 basil leaves, a tbsp of pine nuts, a garlic clove, generous splash of rose water and streamed in olive oil into the food processor to make a pesto. Then I added parmesan cheese (grated), salt and pepper to complete the pesto.
Once the pasta is cooked, mix it with the pesto and decorate the dish using rose petals. You can leave the petals as it is. I made confetti like pattern by just slicing the petals into thin strips.
I was very very skeptical about the dish, but I ate every bite of it and enjoyed it. The aroma of the rose water is not overpowering. I think the aroma of the basil leaves blends well with the rose water. A simple dish made elegant with the sprinkling of rose flower confetti!!
Meeta, I hope you enjoy the dish and wish you a very happy Birthday!!
Kale Thoran
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