Healthy Veggie Pizza (?!)

Generally speaking pizza and healthy are not the two words found complementing each other often. Pizza is decidedly an indulge for many of us - something to cave in on a Friday night along-with a movie and a coke/beer. But it really does not need to be so - you can make your pizza every week and eat it too (yes even weekday nights) without the guilt!

The trick is to make it at home so you can control the ingredients without compromising the flavors. Using whole wheat pizza dough, moderate amount of skimmed milk cheese and loading it with lots and lots of veggies will all help with the brownie points..

I have been making this veggie pizza for quite a long time now. What I like most about this recipe is that it is filled with short cuts, all will save time here and there without compromising the taste. Also it's very versatile, the choices of toppings are endless so don't let what's not in your pantry deter you from putting together what would be certainly a delightful home-made meal.

I love many things Trader Joe's but their pizza dough ranks my top 10! They come in three varieties, plain, whole wheat and whole wheat with herbs. The herb dough is my favorite - the dough itself is so tasty and I like the rosemary-thyme herb combo they flavor it with.

You don't need any special tools other than your oven but if you become a pizza regular, I strongly recommend investing in a pizza stone.I own this from Amazon which was a gift from a friend though there are quite a few inexpensive options here. All you need to do is keep pizza stone in oven while you preheat the oven so it gets nice and toasty and can crust the pizza nicely. Then place pizza to cook on the heated stone - the stone will give it an amazing crust!

Ingredients:

1 Trade Joe's pizza dough (I like the whole wheat or herb)

(1 dough makes 2 medium size pizza, below recipe will make enough for 2 medium pizza)

2 large juicy tomato -cubed

1 clove of garlic - grated

mozzarella cheese (grated or sliced)

(I buy skimmed milk cheese slices, and use 1 slice per medium pizza, but you can use more per taste)

whole wheat flour for rolling the dough

1Tbsp cornmeal (optional)

1/2tsp sugar

olive oil

salt

Topping (some or all of below):

1/2 red or yellow paper - sliced

1 tomato - sliced in circular slices

handful of onion slices

mushrooms - sliced

thinly sliced ribbons of spinach

small Japanese eggplants - sliced thin

thinly sliced basil leaves

Recipe:

Remove the dough from fridge and keep on counter nearly 30 mins before you want to cook.

Make a quick marinana sauce - heat olive oil in a small pan. Add garlic, when fragrant add chopped tomatoes. Then add salt to taste and sugar. Let cook on low heat for 10-15 mins until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and let the sauce cool on counter while you prep pizza.

Pre-heat oven to 500F with pizza stone on topmost rack. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Divide the dough into two balls. Add liberal amount of floor to the ball so it's pliable. Sprinkle some cornmeal on the parchment paper which helps with sliding pizza and also adds a nice crunch (optional)

Drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle flour on parchment paper. Add the dough and gently start rolling the dough with your fingers in circular motion. If this is your first time rolling your own dough, check out these helpful videos on youtube covering basic techniques.

Add some olive oil or more flour as needed while rolling. Make sure to leave a little crust towards the edges. Roll as thin as you can without ripping it for a thin crust.

Then brush olive oil on the crust and insides. Add thin layer of marinana sauce on top (about half the sauce you made). Add cheese then top with all the veggies.

Bake for 20mins +/-2mins depending on oven/how crunchy you like the pizza to be. Remove and let sit for 5 mins. Cut into slices and serve!

Grab Them Before They go - Green Garlic

(In this series we feature a seasonal produce or fruit our family is enjoying thoroughly these days. Infact it's so good that we think it deserves you opening another tab of your browser right now and finding out your nearest farmer's market to visit! 

We at G&G believe in simple & quick recipes with local and seasonal produce and fruits; not only you will be enjoying fresh bounties of the nature without the preservatives and 100s of food miles, you will also be helping the local farmer's ecosystem and sustainable growing)

Have you ever cooked with green garlic before? It looks just like a slightly bigger scallion or green onion. Sniff at it and you will identify the distinct young garlic smell. It looks so much like a spring onion that unless youare looking for it, you may have seen it in your local farmer's market but walked right past it thinking it's a green onion (I know I have early on)!

I have rarely seen green garlic in supermarkets or grocery stores but they are in local farmer's markets in California (and likely elsewhere) around this time. Just like fresh snow peas, green garlic are young immature garlic picked right when they are young. You can eat the bulb and the leaves all.

Afterall spring is the season of new beginnings, a young start, life sprouting everywhere after months of cold harsh winter and that feeling is reverberated everywhere in the spring vegetables as well.

Green garlic will give a delicate slightly sweet garlicky flavor to your spring dishes. It gives a very unique and distinct flavor not replicated by adding garlic cloves - you really have to try it to believe!

Prepping green garlic is same as spring onions or green onions. You wash them, pat dry. Trim off the ends and slice the whites and greens very thin. Then you can add whites wherever you want slightly more garlicky woodish flavor and keep the greens for more vibrant garlicky fresh flavor.

Green garlic can be cooked so many ways; practically any recipe where you would use garlic clove, you can use green garlic - my rule of thumb is one green garlic for two cloves to impart similar garlicky flavor.

Some of my favorite ways to use green garlic are:

1) Green garlic daal - daal is a traditional Indian lentil preparation made at our home almost once every week. You can use any lentils in your pantry. My favorite way to prepare daal with lots of garlic and lots of tomatoes. 

In green garlic season, I like to make a green garlic moong daal. Saute 4-5 strands of green garlic (whites and greens) in few Tbsp hot oil tempered with mustard seeds and asafoetida powder. Then add turmeric powder, moong daal, water and salt and cook covered until daal is cooked through - about 40mins or so. Add more or less water for desired consistency. I like this version on the dry side but you can make watery as well. To serve, garnish with splash of good quality olive oil and crushed chili flakes - eat with roti or a good bread.

2) Springtime pasta - green garlic goes great in pasta dishes. One of our favorite is pasta primvera. Saute green garlic and pinch of crushed red chili flakes in olive oil. Add spring vegetables such as asparagus, celery, snow peas, early tomatoes, early zucchini and saute. Add pasta of your choice and handful of parmesan cheese. Season with salt & pepper.

3) as a pizza topping - you may think unusual at first - but give it a go, some green garlic, asparagus, and figs so yummy!

4) Add to any soups. Add white part while cooking and sprinkle green part after cooking for some fresh garlic taste.

Next time you wander in local markets, keep an eye out for these delicious greens near the green onion piles. Add to pasta, soup, pizza or daal - wherever you use garlic cloves, try substituting with green garlic for a distinct mild garlicky taste which only a spring shoot can provide! They are available only for a few weeks in spring, so definitely grab them before they go!

Grab Them Before They Go - Fresh Snow Peas

("Grab them before they go" - In this series we feature a seasonal produce or fruit our family is enjoying thoroughly these days. Infact it's so good that we think it deserves you opening another tab of your browser right now and finding out your nearest farmer's market to visit! 

We at G&G believe in simple & quick recipes with local and seasonal produce and fruits; not only you will be enjoying fresh bounties of the nature without the preservatives and 100s of food miles, you will also be helping the local farmer's ecosystem and sustainable growing)

Spring is in the air. And that means waking up to the hummingbirds dancing endlessly over early pomegranate bloom and the sweet smell of the backyard Jasmine flowers wafting through open windows and of-course new spring produce in the markets to devour!

Are you thinking of strawberries? Quite likely - as the Californian spring means a delight of rows and rows of large fat sweet juicy strawberries - but no, today we are not talking about strawberries but instead a lesser known spring produce which is available only for the few early spring weeks. It's called snow peas.

Snow pea is the young unripe version of more famous and commonly known green peas (or matar). What makes snow peas unique is that since they are picked when they are young and very tender so you can eat the peas and the pods all together.

The snow pea pods are tender and not fibry like the pods of the mature peas. They are sweet, lightly juicy and delicate making them perfect for so many quick dishes and of-course to munch raw..

Here is a good article on wikipedia about snow peas along-with a picture of the pods still on the plant.

Prepping snow peas is very easy. You wash them, pat dry and chop both the ends off. Then you can use them as whole or cut them in half lenghwise.

You can cook snow peas many ways. Some of my favorites are:

1) A quick spring pasta - saute minced garlic in olive oil along-with a pinch of crushed red peppers and handful of snow peas for a few minutes until the peas have a slightly charred color, add a couple of chopped early spring tomatoes and cook on medium heat until tomatoes break down. Add your favorite cooked pasta (I used Trader Joe's lemom pepper pepperdale pasta). Salt & pepper to taste; some chopped basil leaves on top and dinner served!

2) Snow peas are so yummy when browned in a little vegetable oil with salt, pepper and pinch of crushed chili flakes. Heat oil in a skillet on high. When hot, add snow peas and let roast until they start to char. Remove from heat. Add salt, pepper and crushed chili flakes - enjoy warm! Perfect snack or side to a dinner.

3) They are great in stir-frys.

4) Add to salad and stews. Snow peas are perfectly tasty eaten raw or blanched. Chop them and add to salads or to stews towards the end of the cooking. Perfect.

If you are new to snow peas, try them this season. There are so many ways to enjoy them! But be sure to grab them before they run out of season :) 

Daal Methi (Lentil Stew with Fenugreek Leaves)

This year we have been blessed with week after weeks of fresh methi showing up local farmer's markets. One of the advantages of living in highly Asian populated south bay neighborhoods of California is you find these Asian stalls at farmer's markets tailoring to the unique south asian produce like methi!

We are buying and enjoying fresh methi every weekend for the last two months. I have three favorite methi recipes - methi thepla (so good with yogurt or pickles!), aalo methi sabzi and this daal methi. There are many daal methi recipes out there; what makes this version unique is that I am not at-all squeamish about how much methi I put in there. Methi and daal is almost 1:1, just how I like it - a bursting flavor of methi in each and every spoonful :)

Goan Fish Curry

Does it seem like I am posting too many fish curry recipes recently? Well, it's true. We have been eating a different type of fish curry pretty much every Sunday for past few months. So it was only natural that the fish curry fever would seep into my blog too :)

Today's recipe is a traditional Goan fish curry recipe. 

Goa is the smallest state in India situated very close to Maharashtra (my home state). It's an ocean-facing state so the local food is ocean sourced - seafood and coconut are very commonly found in many of the regional recipes. But what I find most unique about Goan food is it's Portugese influence coupled with Indian heritage. 

Goa was ruled by Portugese for 400 some years starting late 1500s and like everywhere else in the world, a ruling of that length leaves significant traces behind in local people, food and culture. For example, use of vinegar in curry is something you will find very unique to Goa - a state where the "vindaloo" dish originated which makes quite the head-line at most Indian restaurants in US. This blend of cultures creeping into food is what interests me so much about this cuisine!

I love love love this goan fish curry recipe. Coconut and tamarind though may seem unlikely ingredients to be paired with fish, they do make a harmonious marriage. I have made this curry with pomfrey, tilapia and most recently with rainbow trout and all three fish types paired very well with this curry. If you can get your hands on fresh coconut, so much the better!! but in it's absence frozen coconut works fairly well.

Recipe:

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

2 large tilapia or rainbow trout fillet

quarter of a large onion - finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic - minced

half an inch piece of ginger - grated

1 tomato - chopped

1 lime

1Tbsp tamarind paste

1/4C fresh or frozen grated coconut

5 whole peppercorns

1/2 tsp coriander seeds

1/4tsp fenugreek seeds (optional)

1tsp cumin powder

1 dried red chili (if using) 

1tsp red wine vinegar

1/2tsp turmeric powder

3Tbsp coconut or vegetable oil

1/2tsp mustard seeds

salt & pepper

Recipe:

Add juice of half a lime, 1/4tsp turmeric powder and salt & pepper to fish fillet and rub well. Set aside for upto half an hour to marinate.

Prep all the veggies. 

Roast the whole spices - peppercorns, fenugreek seeds, coriander seeds, cumin powder with red chili on low medium heat stirring constantly taking care the spices don't burn.

Blend ginger and garlic together with 1tsp water to create a fine paste. Add onions to the ginger and garlic paste and blend together to create onion-ginger-garlic paste; set aside.

Grind together coconut with roasted spices and 1tsp vinegar; set aside.

Blend the chopped tomatoes to make tomato paste.

In a large pan, heat oil. When hot add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds start to pop, add onion-ginger-garlic paste. Cook until all the raw aroma disappears (about 4-5mins).

Then add coconut and spice paste and continue cooking on low-medium heat for another few minutes.

Then add 1/4 tsp turmeric powder. Add tomatoes and continue cooking and stirring until oil start to separate like so:

Then add water slowly to create desired curry consistency. If in doubt, add little water initially and add more later as needed later.

Transfer fish fillet to the cooking pot. Add salt & pepper to taste and continue cooking uncovered for 10-15mins until the fish is fully cooked. 

Remove from heat. Add tamarind paste and mix well. Serve with fresh rice and lime wedges.

Kande Pohe (Savory Rice Flakes Snack from Maharashtra)

Kande pohe is a quintessential Maharashtrian tea-time snack in the arsenal of any Marathi home cook. So why did it take me to the fifth year of this blog to post a version of this - well, it's only recently that I got it really right. The perfect pohe need to be flaky, moist & light but without becoming slightest mushy or lumpy. I am usually not that particular about the texture of a dish, but pohe is one where I think texture matters a lot due to the simple minimalist preparation and lack of spices texture carries a lot of weight. 

Perfect pohe with a cup of Chai can delight a morning or an afternoon and can make an ordinary gathering between friends or a visit from family that much more extra-ordinary!

A fun anecdote: From where I come from in India, a kid is taught to call every married woman approximately mother's age "aunty" and every man approximately father's age "uncle". So there are many uncles and auntys everywhere. I recently caught myself teaching my daughter to call a lady I know "aunty" and burst out laughing - in US obviously aunt is only ever a real aunt :) That reminded me of another analogy: just as aunty used to generalize any mom's age woman, same way pohe generalized any afternoon snack when you invite someone home. 

It was common in childhood to be invited for chaha-pohe (tea & pohe) to neighbors place or to distant relatives. You always invited people for chaha-pohe; you may serve them a different snack but you would still invite for chaha-pohe - that was how popular pohe was as a traditional Marathi afternoon snack. Home cook would make a large pot of these pohe, they were always meant to be shared by 6-7 sometimes upto 10 guests easily. And that was the appeal of pohe. It brought along the social element in quite the affordable manner - a very tasty quick to put together snack, has a perfect harmony with tea and is made of cheap rice flakes and minimal pantry ingredients. 

This is my version of pohe. This recipe has turned out really well for me as many times I made it. Guests always delight in relishing an old favorite, always go for doubles and triple servings. Of-course don't forget to simmer a pot of tea before you start cooking these!

Kande Pohe:

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

4C thick pohe (rice flakes) - ensure you get the thick version.

1/2tsp turmeric powder

1/2tsp mustard seeds

3Tbsp vegetable or canola oil

1/4tsp sugar

salt to taste

2 green chili - chopped

1/2 red or yellow onion - finely chopped

1 small potato (or half of a large russet potato) - small cubes

3 curry leaves

1 lime

Condiments:

handful of chopped coriander leaves

grated fresh or dried coconut flakes

lime wedges

Recipe:

Add 4C pohe to a large colander. Sprinkle handful of water over the pohe and mix thoroughly. Keep adding water slowly and mixing until all pohe grains are thoroughly moist. Don't run pohe under water as that may make them mushy and lumpy. Add 1/4tsp turmeric powder, sugar and salt to taste, mix well. Cover and set aside.

Heat oil in a large pan. When hot, add mustard seeds and wait for them to pop.

Once mustard seeds pop, add chilis and then onions and cook on medium heat until onions start to brown (stirring in between). It is important you don't rush through this onion browning step - this taste of slowly browned onion is what gives this dish the name "kande"-pohe (kande is onion in Marathi). Then add curry leaves and stir a bit.

Add cubed potatoes and mix well. Let potatoes cook for a couple of minutes (they will cook more later with pohe). Add turmeric powder and mix well.

Lower the heat to low-medium. Add pohe. Sprinkle some more water in the pan and mix well. Continue mixing and sprinkle a little more water if pohe seems dry. Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add juice of a lime, mix and serve.

Provide chopped coriander leaves, grated coconut and more lime wedges as condiments.

Photo Journey of California's Scenic Highway 1

My idea of a relaxing vacation is not a long vacation you wait a whole year to take; but instead a bunch of small weekends scattered here and there, spent on a scenic location away from the hustle bustle of the daily chores and enjoyed with lots of fun and happiness with people you love. Add some tasty food, cheese and a glass of wine to pair a breathtaking sunset over the ocean and it's as good a vacation as any.

These small sprinkles of get-away can be so relaxing! We recently took one such 3 day weekend away renting a small cabin overlooking pacific ocean on California's scenic highway 1, central valley coast. It was a beautiful rustic place at the heart of a charming little seaside town.

As anyone who drove on Highway 1 through central valley will tell, the journey in itself is as good as the vacation stay! 

Most of the journey consists of a small road winding through breathtaking views of pacific ocean on one side and shear large cliffs on the other side. In between there are many scenic overlook points to stop and catch your breath. If you go at the right time you can also catch sea lions basking lazily in the morning sun for your little ones to marvel over. 

As if you needed another incentive, the road takes you through some of the best wineries around sporting abundance of grape loaded shrubs. Cattle will accompany you on the way feeding on the ranches overlooking the ocean and you wonder, is that where the happy cow campaign came from :)

Since I was not the one driving, I decided to take my phone out to take as many pictures as I can from a driving car. This is a compilation of my photo journey through highway 1 as seen from the passenger seat :) (incidentally I am very happy with the camera performance of my new phone, Google's Nexus5, which is now the exclusive "camera" feeding this blog, but more on that later). 

Hope you enjoy!

stunning views of pacific ocean and the ever changing rock formations on the other side..

In between you can also see the beautiful California yellow golden grass sparkled with native plants!

We stopped at a place overlooking ocean for a cup of coffee and a bit of sandwich. A simple and delicious meal tasted so out of this worldly when coupled with the views!

and more gorgeous sea and the cliffs!

and historic bridges on the way..

In between you can also see big ranches with cattle feeding on grass and ranchers strolling around.

and more of the golden green valley...

and big farms of fruits and vegetables and local farmer's fruit stands!

It is one of the most beautiful road trips that I have ever been on - and mind you, this is my fifth time enjoying this drive. The stunning beauty never seems to get any the older :)

Until next time...

Thai Yellow Curry

We love Thai food! Our favorite Thai meal starts with a hot bubbling tom yum soup coupled with fresh vegetarian rice-paper rolls and progresses on to some green or yellow curry fish with coconut rice. Oh, and I forget the best part - coconut ice-cream afterwards to satisfy the sweet tooth :)

This Thai yellow curry is so tasty and quick to make - 30mins start to finish! And no, it is not made from store bought yellow curry paste. Infact, I am hoping this recipe will help make the point that you don't need to settle down for a canned taste to enjoy a good Thai curry at home without slogging for hours.

The recipe has 3 steps: coarsely chop, blend and simmer, that's it! The trick is a good stocked pantry or a well purposed trip to grocery store. Many of the ingredients it calls for are not likely to be pantry staples (atleast aren't at our home)

This recipe is my put-together version and not what you would call authentic by any means; but it tastes just as good as any to me and quite close to the yellow curry at our favorite Thai place. I used South Indian curry powder instead of the Thai version but the end effect is very good.

I made this with fish but you can as well use tofu or some thai eggplant for a vegetarian version. I used a light coconut milk as we are trying to be tummy conscious recently, though I can only imaging the curry would taste even better with a regular version coconut milk with cream on top - yum!

So, let's dig in!

Recipe:

Serves 3

Ingredients:

3 tilapia fillets (can substitute with tofu or eggplant for a vegetarian version)

1 15oz can coconut milk (light or regular)

handful of fresh or frozen peas

1/2tsp turmeric powder

2tsp mild curry powder (south Indian version preferred - a Madras curry powder available at Indian grocery stores)

1 dried red chilli - soaked for 15mins and then de-seeded

1/2 stalk of a lemongrass - chopped into pieces

handful of cilantro (optional)

3 green onions 

1/2inch piece of grated ginger or galangal

3 cloves of garlic

3Tbsp vegetable oil

juice of 1 lime

salt

Recipe:

1. Marinate the fish - Cut into each fillet into 2-3 pieces. Add 1/4tsp turmeric, juice of half lime and salt to the fish and rub well. Set the fish pieces aside to marinate for 15-20mins.
   
2. In a grinder/blender, add lemongrass, cilantro, onions, ginger & garlic, chili with 1tsp oil. Chop together.
   
3. To the blender add coconut milk, turmeric, curry powder, some salt and blend everything together, set aside.
4. Sear fish: Heat remaining oil in a non-stick pan and sear the fish 2-3mins on each side (optional step, you can also choose to boil the fish with curry until it cooks through)
5. Pour the blended mixture in a large pot and turn heat on to medium. Let simmer for 15mins until all the raw smell is gone.
6. Add fish pieces and peas to the pan and simmer for another 10mins or until fish is thoroughly cooked.
7. Season with salt & pepper.
8. Serve with some plain rice or coconut rice and lime wedges.