Chili Chicken and Spicy Vegetable Noodles

Ranking as favorite cuisine in India, next only to the local fare, is Chinese food. As the saying goes, the Chinese love their rice and noodles, so do Indians- Chinese rice and noodles, done the Indian way. Not always authentic though, it can be called fusion, and even then, not so much fusion as it is adaptation. It is said to have developed from the Chinese community that settled in Eastern India for more than a century. Indo- chinese cooking is an adjustment of Chinese cooking/flavorings suited to Indian tastes. Read lots of flavor, lots of  heat. From five star menus to mobile kitchens and highway dhabas (roadside stalls),  you'll find cooked up creations which include Chicken Manchurian, Hakka Noodles, Chili Fish and the popular "American Chopsuey"( no resemblance to the macaroni and ground beef dish).
And on those days, in our home, when cravings for Chinese just can't be satisfied with a trip to Little Schezuan down the street, I head to the kitchen to create a couple of our all time favorites. These vegetable laced noodles are served alongside a sauced- up, flavor-coated chicken, otherwise known as chili chicken. Chili chicken originally calls for flour- battered pieces to be fried and added to a piquant, curry-like gravy at the end. Here, I just marinade chicken pieces in minimal ingredients, bake at 400 degrees for 15, maybe 20 minutes, then layer into my already made sauce.

So, for those of you who feel a need to hit up  some Chinese take- out, head over here, instead, and hit your dinner menu straight out of the flavor ballpark!
Chili Chicken:

• 4 tbsp oil
• *1/2 tbp cayenne (chili powder)
• 1 tsp salt 
• 4 tbsp corn starch
• 1 lb boneless chicken (cut into1-inch pieces)
•  2 tbsp oil 
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped small
• *1 tsp finely chopped ginger
• *1 tsp finely chopped garlic 
• 1 chopped serrano pepper (green chili)
• 1 chopped bell pepper (capsicum- I use red)
•  3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp ketchup
• 1/2- 1 tbsp chili garlic sauce (depending on your need for heat)
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1/4 cup water

Method:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
•  Mix chicken pieces with cayenne, salt and lightly roll in cornstarch. Marinate  for 30 minutes.
• Smear a lined baking tray with 1 tablespoon oil and arrange your chicken pieces.
• Evenly pour a second tablespoon of oil over the chicken or coat pieces with cooking spray.
• Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes. Take out of oven and keep aside.
• In remaining oil, on medium- high heat, saute onions and celery, 1-2 minutes.
• Add in the ginger, garlic, serrano pepper and finally bell pepper. Saute quickly.
• Pour in soy sauce, ketchup and chili garlic sauce, sugar and water.
• Bring to a boil.
• Add in chicken and take off the heat.

Spicy Vegetable Noodles:

• 16 oz fresh lomein noodles (1 packet)
• pot of boiling water (to soften the lomein)
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1 tsp finely chopped garlic
• 1 tsp finely chopped ginger
• 1 carrot, cut into small pieces
•  1 cup shredded napa cabbage
• 2 green onions, slivered, white and green parts
• *1/4 cup frozen peas 
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp chili oil
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp Sriracha

Method:
Soften the lomein in boiling water for 2-3 minutes before cooking.

Heat oil, add in onion, garlic, ginger and saute 

Keep heat at medium high, throw in the carrots, saute 1- 2 minutes, then cabbage. Don't let the veggies wilt.

Stir in your green onions and peas.

Mix in the sesame oil to the Sriracha, add lomein and combine ingredients so as the coat the noodles well.

Take off heat.

Serve with your chili chicken.

Notes: 
 * update on cayenne/ chili powder* Indian chili powder is just pure ground chili peppers and is what I am referring to or substituting cayenne with, unless mentioned otherwise. It is similar to the heat of cayenne, a red hot chili used in powdered form- so I use both the names in my ingredient list, whichever you have at hand is what you use. It isn't to be confused with the chili that is actually a blend of paprika, oregano, cumin and seasonings, most famously used in the dish known also as "chili".

Ginger and garlic pastes can stand in for finely chopped ginger/garlic.

Substitute fresh lomein with cooked, dried egg noodles or cooked spaghetti.

Peas will thaw once they hit the hot noodles.

Always adjust the level of spice/heat suited to your tastes.

 I freak out when I go to an Asian grocers and usually come back with cartfuls of colorful sauces and oils. As a result, lots of my "Chinese" preparations will contain a medley of seasonings. This combination of flavoring works in these dishes, but feel free to experiment -  heat, tang, sweet, sour- you have it all in these bottles.

Ok, I'm hoping you're seeing progressively decent pictures :-))  Since, I'm not much of a photographer, this past weekend saw me through an extensive walk of various blogs/ food photography sites. Thanks to the help of my sister-in- law, Annies who directed my search to numerous online tips and methods helpful in getting good shots.  Also, a much-needed trip to the library got me hooked on learning how to  take better pictures of my food. Can you see the page is visually flooded as a result of my camera experimentation? So as the viewing gets better, I hope you're all the more encouraged to try out a couple of these recipes:-)

My daily inspiration wells from my relationship with Jesus Christ. Minus Him, this blog or the motivation behind it would not have existed. So, I will share a slice of encouraging hope each time I end a post. Without which, the post and my life are incomplete. 

"Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart."
~ Psalm 37:4 ~

Falooda in red, white and blue

How could I resist the idea to celebrate American Independence with an iconically Indian dessert? If you're, in any way, familiar with my ways, the answer should come pat.

Some call it a drink, others say it's a frozen ice cream meal. Falooda is a combination of this and more, but really can't be defined. It's a favorite sweet course that spans across the Indian subcontinent and is shared by many of its Asian neighbors.

What is falooda? Served in a glass, it is a rich, textured cream( think ice cream Sundae on steroids). Ingredients most often include sweet basil seeds, vermicelli, flavored gelatin, rose syrup, milk, ice cream and fruits. Although you can toy with a number of ingredients, you really shouldn't get past the ones just mentioned.

A large enough display is essential to layer falooda components. Sheeted and wedged together, the visual alone is spectacular, sending the truth that you really do eat with your eyes first. Elements build in exponential awe with each potential bite. 

In no uncertainty,  all the distinct factors shine, transcending to a more magnificent end product, much like the country I live in. Isn't it good to see a motley of components, quite amazingly different, stupendous as a whole while retaining their individual identity?

It makes me happy to know today's story might be the only result in Google searches tag-lined  "red, white and blue falooda".

Here it is, our Fourth of July centerpiece imported from Asia, aflush in the day's patriotic color.

Besides its simplicity, the recipe is highly tweakable and can adjust to many a holiday theme or midnight craving relegated to icebox leftovers.

Finally, I'll raise my glass, a betoken to my first heritage in making my second  heritage a bit more special.

Namaste and happy birthday, America!

❤️🤍💙

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup sweet basil seeds( can sub with chia seeds)
• 4 cups water
• 1 ½ milk ( 2% and higher)
• ¼ cup sugar
• ½ cup cooked vermicelli noodles
• strawberry gelatin ,  prepared  from the .3 ounce box and refrigerated
• 4 -6 tbsp rose syrup 
• vanilla ice cream
• ¼ cup slivered almonds or pistachios
• maraschino cherries, separated from syrup.

Directions and assembly:

• Soak the basil seeds in 1 cup water until gelled and larger in size, about 20-30 minutes. Strain and keep aside
• Heat the milk with the sugar. Boil and reduce flame until mixture  is slightly thickened, about 5-6 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Cook the vermicelli noodles in the remaining water. Boil 5 minutes. Strain vermicelli. Keep aside. 
• Refrigerate the basil seeds, thickened milk and vermicelli at least an hour before assembly, until cold.
• When ready to assemble, have 3-4 serving glasses ready 
• Take out falooda ingredients from the refrigerator.
• Cut the gelatin into half inch cubes.
• Spoon rose syrup into the bottom to coat the bottom and sides of each glass.
• Layer with 1 tablespoon vermicelli, 1/2 teaspoon basil seeds, pinch of rose syrup, thickened milk, and a few gelatin cubes.
• You can repeat the layering, depending on the length of the glass. Top with one to two scoops of ice cream.
• Garnish with almonds/pistachios and cherries.

Notes: You may have more than enough to make faloodas for a few more days. Chill surplus ingredients until ready to use.

I've used blueberries and strawberries for color.  You can use any number of fruits/dry fruits to make yours  pretty/delicious too.

Fourth of July recipes~

2020: white vanilla cake with berries

2019: red, white and blue cake

2017: star spangled meringues

2016: sponge cake with strawberries, Nutella and cream

2013: Crostata di marmellata

2012: Fourth of July tarts

******

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” -Galatians 5:13

Spicy spaghetti with seared scallops and salami

As I throw an argument for an nth pasta recipe to be exhibited on The World of Internet Cooking, I'll have you bear with me in some mere beginning notes, a forewarning perhaps. This implementation could be part and parcel of those heirloom recipes you keep tucked away from everyone's eyes but yours, a gem you'll be entirely grateful for the rest of your life. Your welcome.

I clearly believe it's my righteous duty to affix this treasure here. Today. This moment. My good service to you for being so faithful even after the loud clatter of losing more than a dozen followers, what comes to be after Google's change in policy on who can follow whom, how and why. This for the remaining of you that haven't been thrown over, and several ghost readers that drop in and linger, it's yours to archive, pin, take notes and place on your dinner table. A conglomerate of several outline formulae I've bookmarked, not less than a dozen times, and worked on for an aggregate of half a decade. Again, your welcome.

With just a swift few steps most of which are done in a single pan, it contains  all the elements of a quality meal and may just end the Dominion of any fashionably complex Red Sauce. Angel hair spaghetti  with all the notes of fresh, light, sharp and bite, balancing touches, tastes that weave in and through its entirety, clamoring on to what can only be described as flawlessly perfetto.

Not only does this hit all the right spots for the pasta craver, it may be the antidote to many poorly cooked and oversauced plates of noodles served and experienced throughout the course of your life. Moreover, with the article I include a companion guide on the few don'ts of pastamaking; never overcook pasta; don't drown it in sauce and try not to serve huge portions, which in all fairness is particularly beneficial to the one (ahem) who needs an ease of conscience, every time they go in for second and third helpings.

An excellent almost quicker-than-you-think meal, holding soft scallops with a bite of garlic and enough spots of pepper. Crisp salami to top a terrifically satisfying sauce that could be described as the distant cousin of Alfredo, less the cream, with a more cleaner, brighter feel.

You'd presume that delectably thick juicy bivalves and curlicues of cured seasoned sausage would steal the spotlight from a humble pound of pasta secca. A sprightly drenching of a wine- stock based liquid, emboldened with lemon, completes the same modest bunch, where pasta does inevitably become star, so much that we can fawn over its salient features, al dente firm, lanky thin, enough chew to stand up and thereby respond impressionably well to the whole gamut of texture, flavor and pure awesome.

Finally, with enough parmesan cheese showers, spicy spaghetti takes dimension of much finer levels; luxe dolce, spice, and just about everything way too nice.

If I've not put you to sleep by now, I think all this should be taking you up and off the edge, of your chair, and for sure the drudging dinner routine that needed some serious shaking up anyway.

As my argument reaches conclusion, I leave you with today's edit and a few brazen images that beyond a shadow of a doubt brings clarity to the fact that it's a presentation nothing less than spectacular, and proves most definitely it really is a great bowl of pasta.

Arrivederci.

If this isn't viable dinner potential, then I don't really know what is.

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 pound large sea scallops, about 12-15
• salt
• pepper
• 3 tbsp crushed red pepper
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 10-12 slices genoa salami, cut into 1/2 inch strips, lengthwise
• 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 8-10 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 pound angel hair pasta, cooked, drained according to package directions
• ½-¾ cup chicken stock
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• salt
• pepper
• freshly grated parmesan

Directions:

• Rinse, clean and drain scallops. Pat dry. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, parsley and 2 tbsp crushed red pepper.
• Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a large skillet over medium high heat. Brown scallops 3-4 minutes per side. Remove from pan and cover loosely with foil.
• Pour in remaining 2 tbsp oil, add in strips of salami and cook till almost crisp, about 1 minute. Remove salami from pan and set aside.
• Add tomatoes, garlic, remaining red pepper, thyme to the pan and stir till softened. Add wine and loosen up any bits at the bottom of pan. Let cook and reduce liquid for a couple of minutes.
• Add up to 3/4 cup chicken stock, as much needed, lemon juice and allow to simmer for another 2-4 minutes.
• Stir in cooked spaghetti to the sauce.
• Stir in scallops and salami. Taste and season with more salt and pepper as required. 
• Take off heat.
• Top with freshly grated parmesan.
• Serve warm.

2015~ Chocolate vanilla marble cake and fondant revisit, Bunny buns

2014~ Vanilla cupcakes, Corn in seasoned milk,

2013~Happy bread, Fish tacos

2012~ Armenian Nazook, Chocolate sandwich cookies

******

"Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up." Psalm 71:20

Asian Style Pork and Peppers

On flipping through my prior 70+ entries, recipe rotation dictated that it was over and above that time for a substantial protein intervention. Baking marathon characteristic of any given December had me parading through and vast, scrambling to scribble in the insane cookie recipe here and a confection series there, with not much being done for proper sustenance. Am I right? You know, the kind of meal making that's done daily (in my case, several a day basis) and never gets jotted down. Realizing I had to break off the perpetual sugar high this family was on, in addition to bring in check my ever expanding midsection (ugh!), I was desperate to find an answer for some good plated fare. And with due diligence, my poor pondering head came through.

The inspiration here most definitely came from the innards of my freezer box, wherein it's dark depths was found a tightly bound pack of pork tenderloin. Yes, it helps that it is so totally JZ's favorite white meat and it regularly occupies space back there. This hero has been previously showcased in my sis- in- law's spicy vindaloo, ground into an epic cannelloni, breaded and baked, chops style, to colossal meal status. So forth I knew, the One coming up would be much needed therapy for our Lollie ambushed souls.

And how cinchful it was! Since bottled condiment provision duly rested on the sides of my refrigerator door. The ultimate scavenger hunt, focusing on Asian flavors was completed in an effortless and very craveworthy, like- takeout meal. Asian style pork and peppers seemed the end of all white boxed blah and scooted it's way to being The Absolute Awesome. An incomparable one at that, be it side or main.

A great attribute of pork is that it adapts incredibly well to its surroundings. Roast nuggets of perfect seasoned pork, get part braised into a rich bed of flavor. These wonderful cuts then go on to sponge up a lovely pepper thickened sauce. This same gravy may seem a bit oil-heavy at first, but it is just right on spectacular, cradling and permeating every juicy edge and fiber of meat.

An element that deserves honorable mention, here is the tablespoon or so (I am of the or so set) of fermented soybean paste,which took this whole pork and pepper profile into a wonderfully umami-fied experience. Let me tell you, locating Doenjang will be your next Ta- Da To Do, the task which will steer you from humdrum cooking, straight to fierce, bonafide fabulous Asian cuisine.

Incredible, excellent and easy. Need I say more? Requiring less time than a batch of cookies, consider it my present to you.
Merry Christmas, my friends!

Ingredients:

• 5 tbsp oil
• 2 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp ginger powder
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 lb pork tenderloin, cut into 1 "cubes
• 2 onions thinly sliced
• 2 tsp minced ginger
• 2 green peppers, sliced lengthwise in slivers
• 1 tbsp chili garlic paste
• 1 tbsp fermented soybean paste
• 1/4 c rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• Salt ( according to taste)
• 1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375° F.
• Pour 2 tbsp oil in a foil lined baking sheet. Mix together cayenne, ginger, black pepper, salt and sugar. Toss in pork cubes and coat completely with the ingredients. Loosely cover with foil and bake pieces for 20-25 minutes, or until done.
• In the meantime on medium high flame, heat remaining oil.
• Stir in onions, ginger, garlic, and saute till wilt and slightly crisped.
• Add green peppers, saute for a couple of minutes. 
• Add soybean paste, chili garlic paste and stir to combine .
• Add in vinegar, soy sauce. Mix well and allow sauce to come to a boil. Add in water if you need thinner gravy.
• Taste and if needed add salt.
• Spoon in pork mixture and sesame seeds, cook with sauce for an additional minute. 
• Serve warm piled on a bed of white rice/ cooked noodles.

With Christmas being just a few short days away, I don't know if I will be finishing up my fruitcake post before the date. If not, I don't want to take leave without wishing you all a beautiful and truly blessed Christmas.

******

Isaiah said it nearly 700 years prior to Jesus birth~

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will  be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince Of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Joy to the world, the Lord has come!

Vermicelli pudding (semiya payasam)

It's major, formidable onceinayear phenomena when a holiday possesses a whole region, so serious that when its own citizens take habitat elsewhere in the world, it's no surprise they share the party and make it bigger, posher than the original.

This is no small feat people, celebrations created around a Grand Vegan Menu, ranging in items from fifteen to thirty five, mostly sides to rice,  painstakingly prepared and creatively adorned on a 15 inch banana leaf that will serve as your plate for the time it takes you to finish those items. And how do you end a meal without a minimum of four, more like ten, different sweetmeats, taking food coma to a whole new level? It's no surprise that sleep is not a mere suggestion after the multicourse and you literally get evicted to rooms to take care of the glutton-induced- slumber edging into your very being.

It's the geographical confines that I bear roots from and have pretty much bragged on every chance I got, and the holiday is Onam, celebrated throughout Kerala, India's southernmost state, fondly known as God's own country.

Here then it is, my nod and salute to this favorite, all Malayalee-but-not-limited-to grand festival where public institutions close for days and ecofriendly floral carpets (made just for the day) dot State roads.

And no, I'm not carting any part of the innumerable curry inundated meal here. I believe the WWW is plush with Onam specific/ vegan friendly ideas. Instead, I'll showcase a bit of that banana leaf, the reverential spot where dessert is placed,

Even those that have no clue of what I've been talking about in these past too many sentences, will understand that you really don't need an epic celebration to make what could definitely be nirvana in a bowl.

Semiya payasam is vermicelli pudding's Indian name. Nonunderstadably, but for lack of a better one, the word pudding is used, yet doesn't quite bring it. Payasam reaches a greater destiny, one thats undeniably thick, lush, velvet with options of bite and crunch, something way beyond what pudding could ever aspire to be. Can you ponder thin vermicelli noodles hot-roasted and immersed in a nice blended base. One where milk and sugar unite to altogether wondrous much-likened-to-condensed milk magic. 

A few bites into and you get the softened chew of cashews, spoons flecked with spheres of pearlescent tapioca, those which lend dimension and depth to what is probably one of the easiest Indian desserts. Ever.

And really do you need an occasion to boil milk?

I know it's fascinating, this dialogue of culture and lore. But I think you've heard enough from me.

Create your own epic. Payasam. Holiday. Memory.

Until next time.

Happy Onam.

The vermicelli should cook just past al dente and not be noodle mush.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp tapioca pearls
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp oil or ghee
• 2 tbsp cashews
• 3/4 cup semiya or thin vermicelli
• 3 cups milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 crushed cardmom(optional)

Directions:

• Soak tapioca pearls in 2 tbsp water for 10 minutes.
• In the meantime, add ghee to a skillet over medium, stir in cashews and vermicelli strands.
• Allow contents to brown, including vermicelli strands. Take off heat and set aside.
• In a separate deep wide set pan/dutch oven, add milk. Take heat to medium -high
• Drain and rinse the tapioca pearls to get rid of any stickiness or starch. Add this along with sugar and cardamom to the milk. 
• Keeping heat on medium, simmer contents, stirring at regular intervals, until pearls get semitranslucent about 10 -15 minutes. 
• Add vermicelli and cashews at this point.
• Bring to boil, then lower heat to simmer, occasionally stirring until vermicelli is soft and clear, an additional 12-15 minutes. By this time the tapioca pearls would be clear and the milk considerably thickened,
• Serve hot or cool and refrigerate for 1-3 hours to serve chilled, a favorite here.

Notes~

Although it's dreamy to use whole milk here, I've used 2%, and on most other occasions, skim.

You can drop the sugar amount to the level you'd like, though I'd not go lower than 1/4 of a cup, which would just barely be in the mildly sweet range.

Indian groceries have readymade roasted vermicelli in which case you could altogether skip the step of browning, save for the cashews. Just add it straight to the milk.

These specialized groceries would also be where you'd find tapioca pearls, known as sago palm pearls. These are of the small granule variety and need to be presoaked, should not be confused with the instant. No Indian market nearby? No problem! They're sold here.

Besides cashews, roasted raisins/dates are also added into payasam. You can pick/ choose/forgo as you please.

Another payasam story~

Jackfruit kheer

A star contender for the above said meal~

Sambar

******
"Hear my voice when I call Lord, be merciful to me and answer me."
Psalm 27:7

Fish Pie

• Looking over all of my whopping 36 posts, I notice that, fish has been a most neglected entity. Shameful, indeed I must say! In comparison, there are an imposing 5 recipes dedicated to chicken,  a break even of 3 which utilize the hefty meats of beef and pork and a whirlwind of desserts. How could I have  I managed  to completely ignore this gilled friend of ours? Mind you, it was not purposeful oversight, so regular in our dinner rotation is fish that maybe, just maybe it was overlooked. Sorry Charlie! 
• 
  
• Fish pie is on the menu tonight. 
• 
  
• When you hear pie, it might call to mind various sweet- filled, fruited- up pastry wonders. Nope, this is not that kind of pie. It is savory, sans a topcrust. Actually, it features a seasoned fish production costarring sauced up veggies all auditioning as pie.
• 
  
• This recipe comes from a tradition of sorts. Not the conventional platter of British lore , though it could've very well been adapted from it. This fish pie is of local origin, as in- my- home state- local, that is. A pie made by many kindred culinary mavens( including my mother- in -law) of my husband's clan, typically assembled as a routinely informal spread. 
• 
  
• I learned this from an aunt of JZ's, whom I'd visit on a daily basis, in those early days,when my kitchen was not much of a favored domain ( as it is now), and when someone else's definitely pulled in my interests. It was she who taught me fish pie. I have made thousands of these fish filled casseroles, since (maybe not go that far, we''ll leave it to a modest hundreds).
• 
  
• On that point, I'll also furnish a quick mention of a narrative my husband carries with our time-honored fare.
• 
  
• Once upon a time, long long ago, a mama was baking a massive fish pie for her 5 hungry boys + 1 hungry husband, the smells of it soliciting even greater yearning. They left to go out for an hour or so,  the pie, which by then, would be ready, cooled, and most perfect to eat. Unbeknownst to them a window was left wide open inviting a ravenous cat and her litter to feed on the beautifully made pie. The boys came back and saw that their pie was gone (sniff, sniff), except for the mess of a plate and some tattered leftovers all over the kitchen floor, the trace of a startled black tail trailing out the window. What a plight, the cat and her brood fattened by the much awaited meal, and here, the unfortunate tummies digesting Ramen noodles, in its wake. End of story; told a hundred times, reaching folkloric heights. Sad indeed, don't you think? 
• 
  
• The story and its characters are none other than JZ ( as a boy), his mom, dad, and four brothers. Since the integrity of the tale raises minor dispute on the details amongst the others, perhaps more so to mom, about the evening ( to the likes of, "where were we?" and "when did all this happen?"), I won't claim it as much a fact, as it is a result of my husband's very vivid  imagination memory of a much anticipated childhood dinner and an apt presentation to this meal.
• 
  
• I like to bake the pieces of fish first before merging into bechamel (white) sauce, packed full with almost a garden's worth of vegetables. In my white sauce I have used a method that never fails ( on me that is). I cook the sauce alongside the sauteed vegetables. The result is blended refinement, oozing a smooth creaminess, with a slight tang of cheese. A mellow, but very full toned dish.
• With this recipe, a feeding of four will happen, so double for leftovers which are even better.
• 
  
• Ingredients:

• 1 pound tilapia fillets ( boneless)or any white fish, cut into 2 inch pieces
• juice of ½ lemon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper (red chili powder)
• 2 tablespoons canola oil or any other cooking oil
• 2 serranos or jalapenos (deseed if needed)
• 1 cup broccoli ( cut into small florets)
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped into coins
• 1 large potato, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 red bell pepper cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 tsp ginger, chopped fine
• 3 green onions, cut into ½ pieces
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 heaped tbsp all purpose flour
• *2 cups very warm milk
• ½ cup frozen peas
• *½ cup shredded cheese of choice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 5 pats of butter 

Method:

• Preheat oven to 400.
• Season fish pieces with lemon juice, salt, pepper and cayenne . Place in a foil lined baking sheet.
• Pour 2 tablespoons oil over fish.
• Bake for 12 minutes (fish may not be done, the final cooking will happen in the end bake)
• Take out of oven.
• Reduce oven heat to 350° F.
• Steam broccoli in microwave according to microwave directions until soft but florets retain color.
• In oil, over medium heat, saute potatoes, carrots for 4 minutes, add in all your ingredients from the bell pepper to the green onions for an additional 3 minutes.
• Take off heat. Stir in the broccoli, drained of any water
• Add in peas.
• Take out serranos or jalapenos, if needed, at this point.
• Add in butter to the vegetables, let melt.
• Add all purpose flour. Combine with vegetables using a  wooden spoon for a minute allowing flour cook through.
• Pour in milk, let  it come to a boil and have it simmer for an additional minute or so.
• Stir in cheese and let melt into sauce and vegetables.
• Take sauced vegetables off heat.
• Mix in salt and pepper .
• In an oven proof casserole pan, begin layering sauce and fish pieces. Starting with the sauce pour in a couple of ladlefuls as a base. Then place 4-6 fish pieces on top of sauce. Repeat until you end with sauce.
• Top with breadcrumbs and butter pats. Place final dish in oven, preheated to 350 °F.
• Bake for 20 minutes.

Notes:
To keep it light I always use skim milk, really can't tell the difference.

I used grated Gruyere here, but high moisture, meltable cheeses work well- mozzarella, fontina, cheddar, etc. (On occasion I've used the Laughing Cow wedges)

Fish pie was also one of my entries in a season of online cooking competitions for  RWOP. In lieu, of my white sauce here, I made a sauce from boiled potatoes blended with milk and Philadelphia cooking creme. It was a creamier, richer dish. Since, it required video footage of myself, I don't like to make mention of it too much. In all fairness, it was great fun.

******
You are wearied when you take it up on your own. Trust Him and hand the burden over. He's your refuge, always.


“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Soft sugar cookies with marshmallow cream frosting

The compulsion to bake on a grander, more multifarious scale is purely the result of our newfound quarantine propagate. When the home is full of its members, adult, semi adult alike and nowhere for anyone  to go, all those "ones' cluster around the kitchen and consume copious amounts of food. Included in the isolation bred consumption is the certainty of ceaseless on- demand baking. For example, when your adult kiddo begs for a familiar sprinkle- frosted cookie she's stealth eating like a champion at the dorm, you cede to the request. Purely for the reason that yes, you can better up the whole shortening and forty ingredient store package with your cupboard's supply of a handful of basics.  Plus, mandated social distancing has led to your social circle being the three, and only the three people you do life with. Which isn't bad, but when one is the child that towers over you and believes you are the solution to her weeklong college diet woes... wherein is the freedom of choice, please?

And seriously, those of you claiming millions of hits on Oreo biscuits and gravy - ugh, in the wake of mega viruses and toilet paper rationing, demanded my good self to interrupt, for the sake of sanity. In all, it helps me forget lapses in judgement and especially grace, example in point: morning gym time, now replaced with Bollywood dance workouts that bring me to a daily realization that not all of us Indians can gyrate like an Indian. 

The probability of a homemade cookie with an inferior outcome in my house is near nil. Especially when those cookies par in a fine ratio of butter, which we all know are of higher caliber to those without. Taking it one step further and adding sour cream can unquestionably bring batch after batch to unrivaled heights, with soft bellies and deep, supple bites.

It's quite insane how sour cream makes a definitive difference in the number of cookies you eat. 

The marshmallow frosting completes it, a delightful fluff, draped green, in time for St. Patrick's Day. The one day I pretend I'm Irish. 

Quick and easy, cookie dough makes two dozen. With enough sprinkles, baubles and sugared gems, I believe it can festive up the dullest of days.

Ingredients:

For the cookie~

(adapted from Soft frosted sugar cookie recipe, lifemadesweeter.com)

• ½ cup salted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• ⅓ cup sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
• 1 ½ tbsp cornstarch
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ baking soda
• ¼ tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp orange rind

For the marshmallow frosting:

• ½ cup butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 7 ounces marshamllow creme
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ½ tbsp heavy cream

Directions:
For the cookie~

• Place butter and sugar in bowl of an electric mixer and beat until pale in color.
• Add egg and sour cream, vanilla. Beat until well combined.
• In a separate bowl sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar and orange rind.
• With the mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture and beat until combined.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for an hour, or pop in freezer for 10-15 minutes.
• Preheat over to 375°F.
• Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. Take dough out of fridge/freezer.
• Roll one tablespoon of dough into a ball. Place on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. Flatten each ball with slightly damp hand.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes, until center is lightly puffed, and begin to get  light golden around the edges.
• Cool cookies on sheet for five minutes, then transfer to to wire racks.
• Frost or serve as is.

For the marshmallow frosting:

• Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat in powdered sugar one cup at a time, scraping down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula until combined.
• Stir in marshmallow creme, vanilla extract and cream. Continue to beat until fluffy. Add more cream if you desire a thinner consistency.
• Add food color of choice and pipe or spread onto cooled cookies. Top with sprinkles if desired.

March:

2019~ Vanilla sheet cake

2018~ Date almond cake

2017~ No knead jalapeno cheese bread

2016~ Converse shoe cake

2015 ~ Indian sloppy joes

2014~ Three salads

2013~ Sambar: South Indian lentil stew

2012~ Chili chicken and vegetable noodles

******

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9