EVENT - WWC - "Cornmeal For Breakfast" - September

Hello Friends,

Here is another Event that I am guest hosting for the month of September. This event was started by "Lite Bite" as "Wholesome Wholegrain Cooking" theme. I am very thankful to her for letting me guest host this event and I am choosing WWC- "Cornmeal For Breakfast" for this months event.

Cornmeal is flour ground from dried maize or corn. It is a common staple food, and is ground to fine, medium, and coarse consistencies. 

You can use any kind or cornmeal, white yellow or blue or multicolored and it can be any recipe for breakfast. I choose cornmeal for breakfast as I thought that cornmeal is a very healthy and heavy ingredient, which one needs to eat during his fist meal of the day that will keep him fresh and energetic all through out the day.

We all should eat a healthy and wholesome breakfast and never skip one, as the first meal of the day will keep you bright and with loads of energy all through the day.

You can use any logo you want...

Now the Event Rules:

1. Bloggers and Non-Bloggers can participate in this event.

2. Non-bloggers can send me email recipe and picture to anu (DOT) healthykitchen (AT) gmail (DOT) com.

3. Post your recipe on your blog during the event schedule dates.

4. Old/ archived entries which are re-posted during this event schedule are allowed.

5. Link back your recipes new and archived to this announcement page and to original anouncement page - "Lite Bite"

5. Only Vegetarian recipes, eggs are ok.

6. No deep fried recipes please.

7. Use of logo is mandatory.

8. Please send in your recipes to anu (DOT) healthykitchen (AT) gmail (DOT) com.

For more information on the event rules go to the original announce page of "Lite Bite".

Hope to see lot of entries!!.........:)

Q&A - Install Flooring Before or after Cabinet Installation?

There is a question about installing tile kitchen flooring over at Hometalk, a new and useful web site where you can get your questions about remodeling answered by other homeowners and pros. I would like to answer the question here; where I have more room, and others can benefit from the knowledge.

Here's a link to the question from Robert:

http://www.hometalk.com/activity/54276?se=stf

And my response:

On installing kitchen flooring first, under everything:

A great deal depends on whether you plan to go to the ceiling with your cabinets. If not - No problem...Ah well...a few.

If so, then you could run into problems with an 8', or less, ceiling and manufactured cabinets. Especially if your new flooring is thicker than the old (tile and floating floors always are). Flooring installers also often "level-up" your floors during installation. Or they add underlayment. These unknowns can impact your cabinet installation later on.

Manufactured cabinets come in standard heights. Most manufacturers make a 96" cabinet (such as a pantry or tall oven cabinet) 96" tall. 96"=8' folks. If you have an 8' ceiling the toekick of the cabinet will have to be removed to even stand it up in the room (Some manufacturers will ship the toekick as a separate piece).

In this situation there is no room in the equation for flooring underneath the pantry cabinet. The ceiling will become less than 8' and the pantry cabinet will have to be cut down in height to fit. Many cabinets these days have doors that fully cover the face of the cabinet leaving no room to shave it down on the job (also no room for crown or trim moldings). You CAN cut down the toekick, but too much there looks really odd.

That means cutting it down at the factory. You discover you are boxed in to semi-custom, or custom, manufactured cabinets at 50-100% higher cost than stock, just to get a 94" high pantry. Even if you planned to buy those anyway, most manufacturers charge an upcharge to make a cabinet a special height, so it'll cost more either way.

A solution might be to cut out the flooring where the cabinets will be installed, leaving flooring under the dishwasher, fridge and range. Better to plan ahead and do the flooring AFTER the cabinets are installed. Remember to allow for the necessary height (usually about 34-1/2") of your dishwasher between the finished flooring and the underside front edge of the countertop. Do the same for refrigerator enclosures.

The second issue is an out-of-level floor (very common - especially in older homes):

Cabinets must be installed level and plumb (straight up and down) to have cabinets that are square and doors and drawers that operate properly. That means the installer finds the high point of the existing floor at the walls where base and tall cabinets are to be installed and draws a level line from that point around the room to establish the baseline height of each base and tall cabinet.

In my 28 year career as a kitchen designer in the San Francisco area, I have seen floors out of level as much as 4" from one end of a run of cabinets to the other (any more than that and you'd HAVE to level up the entire house!). A 4" drop in level around a room means the installer has to shim up the cabinets 4" at the low point to bring them up to level with the ones at the high point. This results in a 4"H toekick at the high point and an 8"H toekick at the low point. All this is a heck of a lot easier to hide if he (or she) isn't dealing with a finished floor already in place.

The third issue is floor damage during cabinet installation:

Installing cabinets and appliances is hard work and the installer is often wrestling with big, heavy cabinets and appliances. He/she is also riding herd on helpers, plumbers, electricians, countertop fabricators, and other subs who have no responsibility for your finished floor. The chances are high that it will be damaged and require repair (if possible). Nobody will know who did it. Much better to have a nice dinged up old subfloor to work on until the very end, and then install the new floor, install the baseboards, and do paint touch-up (or even all the painting.

It's harder to compute the thickness of your finished floor while your kitchen is in the planning stages. It takes an experienced designer, or contractor/installer to do it. But the task is well worth the trouble to avoid the above problems. This is one of the many reasons to use an experienced designer and/or contractor/installer.

It's also one of the many reasons why I recommend that my clients make ALL decisions regarding the products and materials that are going into their kitchen BEFORE ordering anything or taking a crowbar to anything. Simply changing your flooring material thickness after the fact can throw a monkeywrench into the best laid plans.

I usually specify in my drawings that the cabinets be set at the finished floor height of the high point. Then I order the cabinets to fit. If I am dealing with stock cabinets on a low-budget project, then I have to be very careful about taking the floor thickness into account so that the cabinets will fit.

Peggy

P.S. In my experience the only people who recommend installing flooring before the cabinets are the floor guys. Makes their job a lot easier;-D

P.P.S. I forgot to mention one thing that makes finishing off the junction between flooring and toekick much cleaner when installing the flooring after cabinets are installed. That is an additional, over-sized, 1/2" thick toekick cover panel that is installed over the flooring. I order it over-sized to cover any shimming done under the cabinets. It can be scribed to the floor and gives a great finished look. Most all cabinet manufacturers offer such material and it is well worth the additional cost.

Announcing "Serve It" series... Serve It - Steamed

After the rip-roaring success of the Serve It - Fried event (with 117 entries), here we are with the next theme for the Serve It - Series. The theme for this month is "Steamed". If frying makes everything taste better, Steaming is nothing less compared to it. There are authentic recipes in every cuisine which are steamed. 




Steaming makes the food healthier and the amount of nutrients lost 

Raspberry Mint Lemonade

I thought of this recipe for Radhika's - "Blog Hop Wednesday" as I was going through my 3rd week partner - Madhusmita's blog  "RedSpice.in" and found this lemonade very interesting. I basically love lemonade and always keep in the fridge. It's so refreshing and cool during the summer and lot better than coke or pepsi.

The other reason for me to choose this recipe is because it is very easy and simple to make. Tomorrow I am busy most of the day because if "Vinayaka Chaturthi" and I have to take my son to a play date with kids, where I need to stay with him. But I am absolutely happy for trying some refreshing, healthy, homemade and simple yet colorful drink.

Now lets head back to the recipe....

Ingredients:
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1/2 cup fresh or frozen Raspberries
3 cups Lemonade
1/2 freshly squeezed Lime Juice
3 tbsp Sugar/ Honey
5-6 Mint Leaves

Method:
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1. In a blender add raspberries, sugar/honey, mint leaves and blend to a paste, then add enough lemonade and stir it well and strain it.

2. Add crushed ice or ice cubes and serve it cold with raspberry, lime and mint as garnish.

You Might Also Like:

Mango Summer Drink - Aam Ka Panna

Carrot Almond Honey Milkshake

Strawberry Apple Mocktail

Lemon Parsley Rice

I always eat lemon cilantro rice when I go to Chipotle restaurant. I love the aromatic rice and the tangy lemon flavor, so I wanted to try that once at home. I know it is simple, but sometimes you feel like eating simple food which is so aromatic, refreshing and light. My mind started thinking something different, so when I opened the fridge I didn't see cilantro but parsley. I love the flavor of parsley and and use it more in Italian recipes and I know that Shoj and Anush will also like it. So I made this with lot of parsley and it was a great hit. I can say, it's the best dish for lazy days, it will surely lighten up your mind and feel fresh. Now lets go back to the recipe... :)

Ingredients:
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2 cups Cooked Rice ( I used Basmati Rice - cooked it with 3 1/2 cups of water and salt)
1 cup Parsley chopped
1 Juice of Lemon

Method:
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1. In a large mixing bowl, add the cooked rice when it's hot, mix with lemon juice so that each rice is well coated with the lemon tangy taste. (You can add less or more lemon juice according to your taste).

2. Allow the rice to come to a warm temperature and then add the chopped parsley and mix well again gently, making sure not to break the rice.

Note: Adding herbs at the very end of cooking or when the food is warm or cold will make the herbs retain it's color and release their aroma better and also will retain it's nutrients.

You Might Also Like:

Lemon Rice

Tomato Rice

Chicken Spinach and Artichoke Rice

Mixed Vegetable Rice Made Easy

Mango Rice

Black and White Wednesday - First Starbucks Store

The name says it all.. The First Starbucks Store in Seattle. This picture was taken during our last year visit to Seattle. Our friend Denny had invited us over for the Tulip Festival.


Sending this to Susan's Black and White Wednesdays!

Mutter Paneer

Ingredients:
Grind together to a smooth paste:
5 small tomatoes
1 big onion
5 garlic pods
1 green chilli
4 cloves
2 1"cinnamon sticks
small piece of ginger

Other ingredients:
4 tbsp oil
Salt
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp crushed kasoori methi
1 tsp butter
coriander leaves to garnish
1 cup paneer cubes
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup frozen peas

Method:
Heat oil in a pan. Add the ground paste. Add chilli powder, salt and turmeric powder. Add some water if the gravy is very thick. Fry till the raw smell goes away and oil starts to separate from the sides of the pan.
Fry paneer cubes to light golden brown. Add the pieces to the gravy. Add peas. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Garnish with coriander leaves, kasoori methi and butter.
Serve with chapathis or rice.

Idul Fitri Cupcake ( Luli, Cengkareng )

Duhhh ini ada postingan yang ketinggalan waktu libur Lebaran kemaren.Pas lagi ngutak ngatik kamera, baru inget ada postingan yang belom disetor.


Ini pesenannya Luli, temen kantor yang rumah nya 1 komplek ama aku. Mau dikasi ke customer langganan nya.

Buat teman-teman yang merayakan, Selamat Idul Fitri. Mohon maaf lahir dan batin

ALMONDS - September EVENT & GIVEAWAY

I would like to thank Raven for letting me guest host this beautiful event on "Almonds" for the September month.

Life without Desserts is no life at all! Desserts create smiles, laughter, and sweet aromas that fill the house with deliciousness.

This month I am hosting the Monthly Food Blog Event & Giveaway, “Cook.Eat.Delicious-Desserts!” This month’s theme is Almonds.

The event runs from September 1st – 30th

A random recipe will be chosen to win the Giveaway.

Round-up & Winner announcement will be posted on October 5th.

Raven from CookEatDelicious.com is the founder of this event.

Here are the RULES:

1. Cook up any dessert your heart desires, with Almonds being the star.

2. Link back to this announcement and to Raven’s Blog: CookEatDelicious.com in your blog post  (Use of logo is optional but appreciated)

3. New entries are preferred, with archived ones being re-posted.

4. Multiple entries accepted with only one going towards the Giveaway.

5. Non-bloggers are welcome to send in their entry. Please attach a photo & full recipe.

6. Post a comment in this post after emailing me!

Please email your submission by September 30^th, 2011 to anu (DOT) healthykitchen (AT) gmail (DOT) com with “CEDD 2″ in the subject line and the following information:

Your Name:

Your Location:

Blog Name:

Recipe Name:

Recipe URL:

1 Dessert Photo

Now the GIVEAWAY:

 “Nuts in the Kitchen” by Susan Herrmann Loomis.

This cookbook is full of recipes showcasing all of your favorite nuts…including the wonderful Almond!

You Might Also Like:

Carrot Almond Honey Milkshake

Almond Crusted Tilapia

Strawberry Pie with Almond Crust

Bread Almond Upma

Tomatillo and Edamame Almond Curry

Learn About Lead-Based Paint Abatement

The EPA has just released a new RRP Renovate Right consumer pamphlet on how to deal with lead-based paint for owners of pre-1978 homes and buildings.

Well worth a download and read if you plan to remodel.

Peggy

Jowar Laddu

Here is another quick and easy recipe using jowar grains. I remembered the laddu posted by Srivalli and checked it and found it suits my BM theme of cooking with five or less ingredients. Noted the recipe and went to the kitchen straight away and the laddus were ready in 15 minutes.  It makes a very healthy snack for kids and adults alike. There is very little ghee used in the recipe and is sweetened with jaggery.  This fits the bill as a nutritious sweet for your after meal dessert.

Time Taken : 15 minutes
Yields : 11 nos

You need

• Jowar grains - 1/2 cup


• Grated jaggery - 1/2 cup


• Cardamom - a pinch


• Ghee - 1 tablespoon


• Cashew - 5 nos, coarsely ground

Method

To prepare this laddu, jowar pops is ground and mixed with jaggery. Ghee is the binding agent.  First the pops are to be made. Heat a pan. When it is hot, add the jowar grains. Keep stirring it. After 2-3 minutes, the grains will start pop. For me, not even half of the grains popped and I stopped roasting further in the fear of  burning the grains.  

Pulse the jowar pops in the mixer grinder. Don't grind it to a fine powder. Add the grated jaggery to it. Pulse it further so that it makes a homogeneous mix. Take the mix to a bowl. Add cashews, cardamom powder and warm ghee to the mix. Mix well.  The mix may look dry but you will be able to make balls out of it. Make lemon sized balls. Press it tight so that it stays together. It is very tasty that its difficult to stop with one.

Check out what my fellow blogging marathoners have cooked for the last day of the marathon.

Sri Ganesha Chaturti Prasaadams - Anaasa Annam - Pineapple Rice

ANAASA ANNAM

                                                 

Ganesha's most favoured fruits are kapitta ( Wood apple ), Jambu(Rose Apple ), Aamra phalam (Mangoes), Kadali phalam (bananas), Daadimi phalam ( pomoegranate) and Bahunetra phalam or Anaasa phalam ( pineapple).

Ganesha is Beejapooraphalaasakta - The one who loves the fruit Citron (Narthampazham in Tamil and Heralekai in kannada ). A delicious Kalanda Saadam / Chitraanna can be prepared using the juice of this fruit.

But here is a rice dish prepared with another favourite fruit of Lord Ganesha -  the pineapple fruit.

INGREDIENT

Basmati rice - 1 cup
Chopped pineapple - 1 cup
Red chillies - 2

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Coriander seeds - 2 tsps

Bengal gram dal - 2  tsps

Fresh coconut gratings - 4  tbsps

Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
Salt - 3/4 tsp
Crushed jaggery 3/4 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsps
Mustard seeds - 1 pinch
Ghee - 1 tbsps
Cashew nuts - a few

Raisins - a few 

Fresh chopped coriander leaves - 1 tbsp

METHOD

1. Wash and drain basmati rice and allow it to soak for half an hour.
2. Dry roast bengal gram dal, coriander seeds , cumin seeds and red chillies till you get a pleasant aroma.

3. Grind the roasted ingredients with fresh coconut gratings and turmeric powder into a smooth  paste adding little water.

4. Peel and chop pineapple and its core into cubes.

5. Heat oil in a kadai and add mustard seeds.

6. When the mustard seeds splutter add pineapple and the ground paste and saute for a couple of minutes.

                                                 

7. Add the soaked rice and fry, coating the rice with the paste till it starts sticking to the kadai.

                                                  

                                                  

8. Add salt, jaggery and two cups of water to the fried rice.

                                                  

9. When it starts boiling, stir well , cover and cook on low flame for ten minutes.
10. Open the lid, stir once more and replace the lid.

11. Cook for another ten minutes until all the water is absorbed or the Anaasa Annam is done and sprinkle the chopped fresh coriander leaves.

                                                 

Fry cashew nuts and raisins in ghee and garnish the Anaasa Annam  before offering it to Sri Ganesha. Enjoy the flavoursome prasaadam.

                                                  

 THANK YOU FOR  ALL THE SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT

                               

                                                  

WISH YOU A VERY HAPPY GANESHA

CHATURTI

Brown ChickPeas Sprouts

Chickpeas is also known as cecibean, garbanzo beans, chana (North India), Indian pea, bengal gram, is an edible legume. Chickpeas are high in protein and one of the earliest cultivated vegetables; 7,500 year-old remains have been found in the Middle East.

Nutrition

-----------

Chickpeas are a helpful source of zinc, folate and protein. They are also very high in dietary fiber and hence a healthy source of carbohydrates for persons with insulin sensitivity or diabetes. Chickpeas are low in fat and most of this is polyunsaturated. Nutrient profile of desi chana (the smaller version - one shown in the picture) is different, especially the fiber content which is much higher than the light colored variety.

100gms of mature boiled chickpeas contains 164 calories, 2.6gms of fat (of which only 0.27gms is saturated), 7.6gms of dietary fiber and 8.9gms of protein.

Chickpeas also provides dietary phosphorous (49-53 mg/100 g), with some sources citing the garbanzo's content as about the same as yogurt and close to milk.

• 23% Protein


• 64% total  Carbohydrates (47% Starch, 6% soluble  sugar)


• 5% Fat


• 6% Crude Fiber


• 2% Unknown

There is also a high reported mineral content:

• Phosphorous (340 mg/100 g)


• Calcium 


• Magnesium (140 mg/100 g)


• Iron (7 mg/100 g)


• Zinc  (3 mg/100 g)

Recent studies have also shown that they can assist in lowering of cholesterol in the bloodstream.

You Might Also Like:

Punjabi Chole Masala

Quinoa Chichpeas Pesarattu

Awards

I am really sorry for being so so late in accepting the awards....as you all know that I was a lot busy with so many things right from and after my birthday.

I appreciate everyone for giving me so many awards.

I thank Sobha of "Good Food" for giving me so many awards....

Award from Julie of "Tasty Treat" - Thank you dear! - Julie has a beautiful space with lots of yummy recipes with a healthy touch. She has shared 3 awards with me...here they go!!

I really like to thank Shirley of "Welcome to Shirley's Luxury Haven" for sharing this award with me....

I would like to thank Wan of "COOKING VARIETIES" for sharing this beautiful award with me...

and finally would also like to thank Chandrani of "Cuisine Delights" for sharing this award with me....

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Award from Veronica of "Veronica's Kitchen" has shared this award with me...Thank you dear! - she has a very beautiful space which is filled with awesome and unique recipes 

I am forwarding this award to 10 other friends:

1. Parveen of "Blooming Train" for being my first follower.

2. Vardhini - Zesty Pallete for being my helping me a throughout and encouraging me.

3. Reva - Kaarasaaram for being my inspiration with a beautiful space and awesome recipes with the perfect pictorials.

4. Radhika - Tickling Palates for hosting new and interesting events which will help to know and spread the web of food blogs.

5. Krithi of Krithi's Ktichen for doing this wonderful series of events called Serve It and for her comments.

6. Aruna of "Veggie Paradise" for being my early friend blogger who used to inspire me with her comments.

7. Biny of "Biny's Recipes" who used to shower me with beautiful comments and words of appreciation.

8. Melange of "Melange" for her encouraging and appreciation.

9. Jay of "Tasty Appetite" for her nice comments.

10. Priya of "Now serving" for hosting so many events and leaving nice comments.

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28th August 2011

Little surprises bring lot of fun and happiness to us....Don't you all agree upon this?

Very happy to receive two more awards from one of my blogger friend "Kaveri" of  "Palakkad Chamayal".

I would like to thank her for showering me with these lovely awards and for being so generous.

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18th August 2011

Winner of Tarla Dalal's "Healthy Breakfast" recipe Contest! (click on the link to read more about this....), receiving a personally signed COOK BOOK from her. :-))

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Last week was a very happy week, as I received many awards from the event that I sent recipe for the month of July 2011. These words of appreciation was too encouraging, thanks for all of them for being so generous.

The first award for this week, I got it on Aug 3rd from "Good food - cook it healthy" roundup hosted by Sobha. I submitted my "Barley Mint Stoup" and the award was for creative most innovative recipe and for participation.

 

The second award I got was on the 4th of Aug, for the event "Serve it - Grilled" hosted by Krithi and the award was given for me for sending 5 entries and for participation

Today , July 24th 2011....it's already 11.30 in the night and I was about to close my blog, I just checked the comments section and to my surprise I saw this beautiful comment saying that I was one of the three members selected in the Event "Any one Can Cook: Series 27"  for my recipe "Strawberry Swirl Cones"

I am so happy to win this event for the first time. I will sleep so happily today!.

I would like to thank Umm Mymoonah for selecting my recipe.

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Today the 13th of July 2011 received another bunch of awards from Sangee from Typical Indian Cooking. I would like to thank her very much for sharing these awards with me and her fellow bloggers for my recipes and crafts. I was so glad, happy and excited to see these awards. These words of appreciation will make me more motivated to cook healthy food and follow my passion in baking and decorating cakes and also in painting and crafts. 

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I would like to thank Silpi Bose from "It Is Tasty Ma!" and Deepa of "Hanaree Rasoi" for giving me these awards.