My 2012 b'day gift

This is the costliest and more thoughtful gift from my hubby!! He surprised me with a tablet which is the latest on market. Nishok bought me Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. This is very useful for me and he just want to encourage me in all my passions.

Here are few of the pics and screenshots from my Note!!

Arroz Mexicano (or) Spanish Rice

                              


My hubby has visited three continents till now. He is a fan of spicy yet healthy foods. This weekend he suggested me to try Mexican food. Since I am a rice lover, I chose Spanish Rice. This is called Arroz Mexicano (a) Mexican Tomato Rice. The recipe was without Indian masala and it was very spicy and healthy since it has vegetable broth to cook the rice. For broth, I used tomato,chillies, beans, peas in boiling water.

I was quizzed that this recipe was similar to our normal tomato rice. But it was very different and yummy too. We loved the dish.  I served it with potato wafers and spiced yogurt.



Arroz Mexicano

Ingredients

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 c. green onion, chopped
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
3 serrano chiles, stemmed, minced
2 c. long grain rice
1 c. canned crushed tomatoes in their juices
1 c. vegetable broth
salt to taste
pepper to taste


Steps

Heat oil over a medium flame in a heavy-bottomed 4-quart pan.
Add the green onion and green chiles and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Add the garlic and rice and cook for 3-4 minutes more.
Add the tomatoes and broth, stir well, taste, and stir in any salt and/or pepper that may be necessary.
Bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 15-20 minutes or until rice is tender and air holes appear at the top of the mixture.
Remove from heat, fluff with a fork and serve.

YIELD:

Approximately 4 servings


 

Vijayadasmi Day

This is such a auspisious day in this festive season. Saraswathi pooja and Vijayadasmi are my favourite festivals and very close to my heart. These two days fill my heart and mind with bursting new positive energy.

My grandfather always insisted us to do all the things you want to excel in this day. Till marriage, my grandfather and my dad made me and my brother to sit with our favourite books all day. They also encourage us to do our favourite art form. They have taught us that to excel in different areas of our interest , start it on vijayadasmi. So I make it a point to start / practise the arts or studies on this day.

This practise has made me gain more interest on my passions.  I read and do things I want to excel in this day.

Thank you thatha and appa for inculcating this beautiful habit in me.

Happy Vijayadasmi. Stick to your passions and strive for excellence in the same.

Wishes =)

 

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Strawberries are rich in nutrition like vitamins. Bananas add more taste and healthy values to this dish. This Saturday, we were watching The Lord of the Rings. My god !  It was a long movie and it made us hungry. So I decided to make a smoothie with strawberry and bananas.

The smoothie turned out to be the tastier drinks we had.

Ingredients

Strawberry pulpy extract - 1/4 cup
Milk - 3 cups
Banana - 2 (small)
Cardamom - a pinch
Steamed rice - 1 cup
Ice Cubes

Steps

Blend all the ingredients into a smooth drink.
Toppped it with shredded chocolate.

PS: I didnt add sugar. Sugar or honey can be added to the drink.

Hasselback Potatoes : Recipe

Everyone loves potatoes. While googling for different potato dishes, I found this funny dish of potato. This was an easy dish. I was curious to surf how this recipe was named. Then I found that these Swedish version of baked potatoes are very popular in a restaurant named ' Hasselbaken Hotel'. Hence the name.

I loved the dish. My hubby was happy too. ;)

Ingredients:

Potatos - 2-3
Salt - for taste
Ghee (Clarified butter) - 3 tsp
Italian Seasoning - for sprinkling

(Italian seasoning has dried red chilly flakes, basil, oregano, rosemary, etc)

Steps:

 

Thinly slice almost all the way through the potatoes

Drizzle with ghee, salt and Italian Seasoning.

Bake at 425 for about 40 min.

It is a yummy treat. I end this post with a beautiful quotes

" The discovery of a new dish does more human happiness than the discovery of a new star"