Oven-Roasted-Tomato & Spinach Pasta: 5-Star dish from your own kitchen

Simplicity tastes better. Here is another dish with few and fresh ingredients. This is very similar to ‘loopy linguine pasta’ that I had written earlier though there some subtle differences. In that article, I had mentioned some kitchen hygiene and cooking tips with pasta which are applicable to this dish as well.

To start, turn the oven to 400°F. Cut about 10-15 baby tomatoes into half and remove seeds and pulp. But retain flesh and skin. Baby tomatoes give a nice red color. If you don’t have baby tomatoes, you can use regular tomatoes too.  Put the tomatoes on a baking tray; add little salt and olive oil. Bake it for about 30 minutes. Finely chop about 10 cloves of garlic. Heat up some olive oil in a vessel and add the chopped garlic. Once they start turning brown, add the cooked pasta. You can use any type of pasta. I used bow-tie pasta. Add coarsely chopped spinach. You can add as much spinach as you want. Use dried or freshly chopped basil leaves as seasoning. Grate little bit of lemon zest (skin). Cook everything on medium heat. The spinach will start to shrink. Add salt and crushed red peppers according to your taste.

This dish is a treat not only to your taste buds but also to your eyes. The red color from tomatoes and the green color from the spinach with white pasta back ground is a major “wow” factor of the dish. The garlic infused olive oil and the lemon zest leverages the roasted tanginess from the tomato and the bold flavor from spinach making the whole dish delectable. Serve the dish topped with grated parmesan with a piece of lemon and hot sauce on the side.


Disclaimer: The content of this blog is for information purposes only and may not be applicable to you/your situation. The author(s)/publisher(s) neither warrant the accuracy of the information nor shall be liable for any financial damages or health-related/medical issues resulting from the usage of the content in this blog.

Fun in the Sun with Fajitas!!!!!!!!

With a little beforehand preparation you can rock your grilling picnic party or camping. You need to prepare a sauce to marinate your paneer and veggies. For the sauce you need yogurt, paprika powder, garam masala (substitute with all spice powder), turmeric powder, salt to taste. You can get paneer from the freezer section in an Indian grocery store. Paneer is nothing but fat extracted by curdling the milk with lime juice or vinegar. It is also known as curd cheese. Even meat lovers will get allured to this dish. You can use chicken in lieu of paneer. If you are a vegan, you can use firm tofu. You should let the paneer to reach the room temperature. For veggies you can add your favorite ones. I usually use green peppers, red onions, red bell peppers. If you are not big fan of red onions you can use zucchini, mushrooms etc.

Cut all veggies in a similar shape and size for even cooking. It you are using wooden skewers soak then in water overnight. Take a large bowl and add your veggies and paneer into it. Add the sauce to it coating all the veggies and paneer. With not one particular combination in mind add your veggies and paneer to skewers as shown in the picture to the left. This can be stored in a box and left it in the fridge and next day it can ride with you in the ice box.

This can be grilled on a charcoal grill or propane gas grill. Place an aluminum foil over the grill and place the skewers on it. Remember that paneer does not take a long time to cook. Let each side cook for not more than 2 min. Again the grill should be maintained at medium heat. If it is very hot it can burn your food. You can also use a thick pan to kind of even out the heat. After it is cooked you can drizzle some lime juice on it. You can serve this with tortilla and guacamole salsa and your fajitas are ready.

Guacamole Salsa: Cut a well-ripened avocado into small cubes. Add chopped onions, tomatoes, cilantro. Season it with salt, pepper and lime juice.

Disclaimer: The content of this blog is for information purposes only and may not be applicable to you/your situation. The author(s)/publisher(s) neither warrant the accuracy of the information nor shall be liable for any financial damages or health-related/medical issues resulting from the usage of the content in this blog.

Masala Maestro: Match-maker for Spices

Dear Readers,

I take great pride and pleasure to introduce a new author/team member of my blog, ‘Masala Maestro’ or MM for anonymity. MM has about 10 years of cooking experience and more importantly “goofin’ around with spices” experience. MM likes to experiment all the time and always comes up with something very unique and delicious. MM can mentally simulate the combination of flavors even before cooking and can please our palates with flawless execution. I strongly believe MM would be a great addition to this blog and can aggrandize the quality of the blog. MM would be starting to write articles in the very near future (possibly later today) and I kindly request you all to warmly welcome ‘Masala Maestro’ by sharing our posts with your friends.

Sincerely,

Chan

It’s summer, take a chill pill: Classy Lassi

This drink is so simple yet very effective in cooling down your body in summer. Given the temperature conditions, it is no surprise that it is prevalent all over India with some variations. This drink regulates your digestive system, relieves constipation, reduces the risk of heat stroke tremendously, cures blisters you get in your mouth and tongue during summers. For centuries, this has been and still is a home remedy in India for most of the heat-related health issues. In this article, I will be discussing a sweet and a savory version of this drink.

Lassi (sweet): This drink is very common in Northern part of India, predominantly in Punjab state. Take a cup of plain yogurt/curd in a blender/mixie jar. Add half a cup of water. It is not rocket science. We are just making buttermilk from Yogurt. The amount of water really depends on the consistency you want. Add 2-3 teaspoons of sugar. Take a cardamom/Elaichi (Indian spice), crack it open, add just the seeds and not the skin. The skin won’t ruin the taste, but it will be very annoying to drink. You have to spit out the pieces of skin for every sip. Add few (about 3-4) drops of vanilla extract. Blend everything in a blender and the drink is ready. The variations are infinite. You can also add fresh fruits like strawberry, mango and pineapple while blending to give it an extra kick.

Lassi (savory): This is very common in southern part of India, predominantly in Tamilnadu state. It is not called ‘Lassi’. It is called as ‘Neer More’ (translated as diluted buttermilk). It has the same health benefits mentioned above. If you really don’t have a sweet tooth, you might like this version. Again, the dilution ratio depends on the consumer. But instead of adding sugar and vanilla essence, add some salt, a small piece of ginger, a small green chilly, cilantro and/or curry leaves (which are available in Indian stores). If you don’t want the hassle of going to an Indian store, you can skip curry leaves. Blend everything in blender.

In both the versions, you can pretty much customize anything and you can fine tune it to your taste. You can drink it anytime of the day. You can also drink it with a meal like coffee or iced tea. Try this drink and post your experiences/suggestions in this blog.




Disclaimer: The content of this blog is for information purposes only and may not be applicable to you/your situation. The author(s)/publisher(s) neither warrant the accuracy of the information nor shall be liable for any financial damages or health-related/medical issues resulting from the usage of the content in this blog.

Quick, Simple & Delicious: Loopy Linguine (Pasta)

Here is another delicious meal that you can make in about 20 minutes. This dish is the epitome of simplicity. Let's see how it's done.

Cook pasta: Boil water. Once it starts boiling rigorously, add some salt and olive oil. Then add pasta to the boiling water. Olive oil prevents the pasta strands from becoming sticky and also infuses some flavor into it. Boil for about couple of minutes on high heat. Sample a strand and a check if the pasta core is cooked properly. In other words make sure it is soft and chew-able. If you are using a whole wheat pasta, you have to cook it a little longer. Once it is cooked, drain the water and your pasta is ready to be used.

Cooking: Heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add one/two cloves of finely chopped garlic. Saute one onion, one green pepper (capsicum), a pack of mushrooms (all veggies chopped to a medium-size). You can also add shrimp/chicken (well thawed and cooked before). Deep-fried or plain Tofu/Soya can be added if you are a vegetarian. Add a little bit of salt and pepper. Now comes the key ingredient. Add finely chopped fresh basil or pesto sauce. If you don't have both, add the dried and powdered italian seasoning that you get in any super market. If you don't have anything, go to a restaurant and have some nice food or order pizza ;)

Once the onions become translucent, add the cooked pasta and mix everything thoroughly on a low heat. That's it. Your dish is done. You can top it up with some shredded cheese. I like parmesan, swiss or pepper-jack cheese with this dish. You can also add chilly flakes, paprika or hot sauce to spice it up a bit.

Note: Generally, a standard packet can serve atleast 4 people if not more. It might appear to be small/less in the box and it might be very hard to convince yourself that it will suffice 4 people. But when you boil it and cook it with all the ingredients, believe me, it will. My friends and I have made this mistake and cooked too much of pasta that it took us 3 days to finish it. Though we learnt it the hard way, sometimes we still repeat it :)

Hygiene/Health Tip: If you have some extra cooked pasta that you want to use later in the day, refrigerate it or atleast keep it in a vessel on top of an ice bath. Cooked pasta, left at room temperature for long is a perfect breeding ground for bacteria.

Remember: When you are cooking with olive oil, you don't have to heat it too much before sauteing like you do to a regular cooking oil. Once the oil is little warm, you can start sauteing and let the temperature catch up.

Pastas: Though this dish can be made with any pasta, I recommend linguine pasta. It works very well. You can also use cavatappi (cork opener/helical shape). These pastas enhance the plating and presentation if you are serving it to a guest.

Please post your comments/experiences/suggestions in this blog and help others get benefited.

Disclaimer: The content of this blog is for information purposes only and may not be applicable to you/your situation. The author(s)/publisher(s) neither warrant the accuracy of the information nor shall be liable for any financial damages or health-related/medical issues resulting from the usage of the content in this blog.

Quick & Healthy: Salad Slam-Dunk

This is the time of the year during which we will be obsessive about working out, counting calories and trying to lose some weight that we will never lose ;) May be not all, but most of us.

Here is a salad that is light yet filling, but not too heavy. It will energize you appropriately and not make you feel depressed.

Salad:

Chop a red onion, tomato, peeled cucumber (about quarter-inch by quarter-inch size). Finely chop a bit of cilantro. Now comes the protein part. Add canned black-eyed peas or black beans or pinto beans or even chick peas. I like it with black-eyed peas. You can also boil the peas/beans from scratch. That's totally upto you. You can skip the protein part if this salad is going to be just an appetizer and not your whole meal. You really can control the protein based on your requirement. This is a very good diet if you are working out.

Dressing: This is a total no-brainer. This can never go wrong. Use one tablespoon of lime/lemon juice, grate a bit of lemon/lime skin using a fine grater, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Mix everything together and that forms your dressing.

You can customize pretty much anything depending on your taste and requirement. Try this one and let me know how it went.

Please post your comments/suggestions/experiences in this blog and help others enjoy what you enjoyed.

Disclaimer: The content of this blog is for information purposes only and may not be applicable to you/your situation. The author(s)/publisher(s) neither warrant the accuracy of the information nor shall be liable for any financial damages or health-related/medical issues resulting from the usage of the content in this blog.

Poor farmer's kitchen to Motor City: Supino Pizzeria, Eastern Market, Detroit

Have you ever had pizza? Many of you would say 'Huh, Yeah. What kind of question is this?'. Let me rephrase the question. Have you ever had pizza which was made like how it's been made in Italy for generations? If your answer is 'No' or 'Is there a difference?', please read on.

Brief History about Supino Pizzeria: When I accosted the owner of the shop and introduced myself as a food writer/critic and not as a 'Ph.D. student researching on alternate fuels for diesel engines', it felt funny in my head. I did my homework and found out that owner Dave's dad migrated to US from a small town in Italy called Supino more than 50 years ago. Dave visited Supino in 2001 and had pizza in a small farming community. All the houses had a little backyard kitchen with wood-burning ovens lined with bricks where pizzas were  made at home for everyday meal. The taste and the simplicity inspired Dave to give up his profession as a physical therapist and to resurrect the slanted definition of pizza that we know of.

Supino pizzeria is located in Eastern Market, Detroit. Eastern market is more like a farmer's market where the products are directly sold by the farmers to the consumers with little/no 'middleman interference' in the supply chain. It is reflected in the freshness and the price of the products. The shop owners support each other for mutual benefits.
Opened about three years ago, Supino pizzeria has a nice rustic ambiance with traditional pizza-making cutlery on the wall and simple recycled wooden tables. Thanks to the owner's friend who is into antique crafts. The kitchen did not have the conveyor grill oven, but had a wood-burning oven. The pizza crust was thin (more like a New-York-style pizza), not very cheesy and light unlike other pizzas. The taste was fabulous. The key to that pizza is the fresh ingredients obtained from the market, the oven and last but not the least the dough. It took the owner 6 years of experimentation to get it perfect.
The feeling I got by eating such an authentic pizza in such a setting was unique and it still is beyond my descriptive capability. They also had 'White pizza' options without the marinara sauce. They don't use mozzarella cheese in all pizzas and just change toppings. Every pizza is completely different from the others. They also had pasta, salad and desserts option which I have to try sometime. Must-must-visit place in the town for people not only in Detroit, but anywhere else in the world to try out this 'killer pizza'. This does not apply to people living in Italy ;)

I would like to thank my friend Logesh for recommending this place to me. Please post your comments and experiences in this blog. See you soon with more reviews and recipes. Thank you for reading my blog.

Disclaimer: The content of this blog is for information purposes only and may not be applicable to you/your situation. The author(s)/publisher(s) neither warrant the accuracy of the information nor shall be liable for any financial damages or health-related/medical issues resulting from the usage of the content in this blog.

15-minute Delicacy: Home-made Hashes

Hashbrowns are typically eaten with toast and omlette for breakfast or lunch. It can also be eaten as an evening snack. But have you ever thought of making them at home from scratch? It is unbelievably simple to make. Here's how it's done.

-Peel and grate a medium sized potato (5 min. approx)

-In the mean time, heat up a pan on the stove with about an eighth of an inch thick (3mm) layer of cooking oil on a medium or medium-high heat. 

-Take a handful of the peeled and grated potatoes, squeeze them between your palms to drain out the excess moisture/water and form a patty. Repeat the process for the rest. (5 min. approx.)

-Carefully lay the patties on the heated pan. They won't disintegrate unless you disturb them too much. Let them sit on the pan for about 1.5-2min on one side. Flip them gently and repeat the same for the other side. They should become crisp and golden brown on both sides (4-5 min approx)

-Take them out and lay them on a paper towel to drain some oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper and you are good to go.

Eating them with ketchup is a classic. It tastes great with salsa too.

General frying tips: Whenever you are frying something (deep/shallow), if it gets brown very fast on the outside and remains uncooked inside, your oil is too hot. If it gets more oily than usual, your oil not hot enough.  

Frying tips for the hollow-heads: Please exercise caution when cooking with oil. If not, you will definitely exercise caution from the time after that ;)

Share your comments/suggestions/experience with me and others in this blog. Happy cooking :)

Disclaimer: The content of this blog is for information purposes only and may not be applicable to you/your situation. The author(s)/publisher(s) neither warrant the accuracy of the information nor shall be liable for any financial damages or health-related/medical issues resulting from the usage of the content in this blog.

Quick & Healthy: After-Workout Refreshments

Refreshment 1:
Zesty Magic:

If you don't want to drink water after your workout but feeling guilty to drink pop/soda, we are on the same boat. This simple drink can satiate your thirst and jack up your spirits. Nothing can go wrong in this and it should not take you more than 5 min. If atleast one of these two happens, go to a superstore and see if they sell human brains :)

Chop a small piece of lemon (with skin) and ginger. Blend them with as much water as you want in a blender. Your drink is ready. If you want, you can filter out the pulp. I like to drink with the pulp. It is very refreshing and very light and as bonus you can get the health benefits of lemon & ginger. The key factor is the lemon skin. The mild bitterness of lemon skin/zest showcases the flavor of lemon and ginger very well. You can fine-tune the proportion of the ingredients to your taste.

If you want something more substantial after your workout, check out refreshment 2.

Refreshment 2:

Wonder Melon (with/without additives):

Nothing beats this drink. Perfect for summer. Take out the pulp of watermelon and blend it in a blender. This is the main base of the drink. You can also drink it as it is. Watermelon seeds are good for health as they prevent kidney stones formation. You can also add more fruits like couple of strawberries, blue & blackberries, pineapple slices, grapes. Some of my favorite combinations are watermelon-strawberry, watermelon-pineapple and watermelon-celery. Sometimes I make a cocktail of everything. It is fun to play around with different combinations as every combination is unique. You can try your combos and please post your experiences in this blog.


Disclaimer: The content of this blog is for information purposes only and may not be applicable to you/your situation. The author(s)/publisher(s) neither warrant the accuracy of the information nor shall be liable for any financial damages or health-related/medical issues resulting from the usage of the content in this blog.

Door to knock at 1 O' clock: Olympic Grill, Warren Ave., Detroit

Located in the midtown area of Detroit amidst the Wayne State University campus, Olympic grill is one of my favorite diners. This places buzzes with people especially students all day and that implies that prices are gonna be reasonable. The buzz reaches its peak during lunch time. You can see people waiting to get tables. The restaurant has an amazing hustle-bustle ambiance. This is typical of university diners. I hit this joint atleast 50 times a year. 

The best part of the restaurant is the staff and the menu. The staff are super-friendly and the service is prompt. You go there a couple of times, they would probably remember your favorites. I don't use menu card anymore in that restaurant.  I know what they have and they know what I want. It is a typical American diner and has huge selection of  appetizers, entrees and desserts. My favorite part is the Omlette section. Yes, they have a section just for omlettes. You don't find this in many restaurants. 

My favorite of the favorite is the veggie omlette. It is just not my favorite, but also to many of my friends who are generally extremely carnivorous. The chef packs this gigantic succulent three-egg megatron with a garden of veggies like onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, green peppers, broccoli sauteed to form a perfect blend of flavors honed to perfection with melted cheddar cheese. I customize it with swiss cheese. The taste is out of the world. Every bite tastes like a piece of heaven going down the food pipe. This dish is also served with your choice of toast and hash browns. The hash browns served is one of the best I have ever had. Perfectly seared on the pan to give a nice brown & crisp texture on one side and a soft texture on the other side, these potato grates melt in your mouth as you chow down. Olympic Grill also offers amazing stir-fry combinations. 

If you ever come to Detroit, never leave Detroit without trying this restaurant. If you are in Detroit and if you have never tried this restaurant, you better get your bottom to this place as soon as you can. Please post comments about your own experiences in this midtown buzzer.


Disclaimer: The content of this blog is for information purposes only and may not be applicable to you/your situation. The author(s)/publisher(s) neither warrant the accuracy of the information nor shall be liable for any financial damages or health-related/medical issues resulting from the usage of the content in this blog.

Whats this blog all about?

Hello All,

Thank you for visiting my blog. I don't like to shove a lot of bologna in my writing. I try to keep it simple and to the point.
I am Chan. I am a student currently. I live in Detroit. Cooking and culinary exploration are my passion since my childhood. I have to say that I am partly inspired by Food Network. In this blog, I will share my  restaurant reviews and culinary experiences. I will also try to share my so called 'culinary knowledge' with all of you. I am a big fan of local joints. I believe, one of the best ways to experience a local culture is by eating at a local joint. I believe love and simplicity are the key ingredients in any dish.
One of my strengths, as my friends say is, I cook fast with no compromise on taste. I can cook a meal for about 10 people in 30min. I will also be talking about healthy cooking.
I am new to the blogging world. Please stick with me and help me achieve what I want to achieve from this blog. Hope everyone gets benefited by this blog.

Disclaimer: The content of this blog is for information purposes only and may not be applicable to you/your situation. The author(s)/publisher(s) neither warrant the accuracy of the information nor shall be liable for any financial damages or health-related/medical issues resulting from the usage of the content in this blog.