Kaadha - the sore throat soother

My parents used to make giant pot of this whenever one of us was sick, because they knew if one went down, the others would follow, and we would all be drinking it. It is a great soother of sore throats. I wouldn't call it a cure, but it definitely has some healing qualities. Some of the herbs you may never have heard of and frankly I had to look up the english definition of them. If you really want to make this you may have to venture to a spice store, or peruse Amazon.

Ingredients:
6 cups water
4 tsp mint leaves (dried or fresh)
4 tsp tulsi leaves (dried or fresh, this is basically holy basil, but don't use regular basil. You can buy these dried leaves on Amazon or Thrive Market)
1 tsp black peppercorn, crushed in mortar and pestle (m&p)
1 tsp cloves, crushed in m&p
2 tsp Jestimadh powder (Marathi), or Yashtimadhu (Sanskrit), or dried licorice root powder
3 tsp minced ginger
4 tsp coriander seeds, crushed in m&p
2 tsp sugar

Preparation:
Bring everything to a boil and let it simmer until it is about 2/3 or half the original volume.
Strain out the herbs for every cup you pour, but don't throw them away, you can keep adding water and boiling a couple more times. It will retain some potency.

Chocolate Almond Larabars

I have been making my own homemade almond milk. I know, I'm crazy. But it tastes so good! And so much better than store bought! Now I'm totally addicted and basically make it at least once or twice a week (if I can contain myself and not drink it all in one go!) But this post is not about making almond milk, which if you want to do you should follow this simple and well photographed recipe: http://ohsheglows.com/2013/01/24/my-favourite-homemade-almond-milk-step-by-step-photos/ This post is about what to do with the mountains of leftover almond meal from making said almond milk. If you are not a crazy person like myself and don't have mountains of almond meal lying around, you can obviously just go buy some. OR you can even use whole almonds.

Ingredients:

2 cups packed almond meal (if using whole almonds, this is probably equivalent to about 3 cups of almonds which you can just pulse through a food processor and see how much you come up with. You can also mix it up with some cashews or pistachios)
2 cups pitted dates (you can use any variety of dates you like. Mejool dates are the most widely available in the US. But if you happen to find yourself in a middle eastern store that has different varieties of fresh dates then feel free to experiment. If you buy dried dates, you can simply reconstitute them by soaking them in water for a couple of hours before using them)
6 oz dark chocolate (bar or chips, as long as it's good quality)
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp peanut or almond butter
1 tbsp honey (optional)

Preparation:

If you have a tiny food processor like I do, you may have to do this in batches.

Process the almond meal with all of the dark chocolate and set aside in a bowl.
Leave half the almond/chocolate mixture in the food processor and set the other half aside in a bowl.
Add 1/2 tsp salt, 1 cup dates and 1 tbsp peanut/almond butter to the food processor and process until all the ingredients are combined.
Transfer to a large bowl.
Process the remaining almond meal/chocolate with the remaining dates, salt, and peanut/almond butter.
Add this to the same large bowl.
Taste the mixture at this point and if you feel like it is sweet enough and has the consistency you desire, you can omit the next step. The consistency should be that of a firm dough.
Add the honey and combine with a fork or your fingers. The honey will loosen the mixture a little bit, as well add some sweetener.
Line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper (this will make it easy to lift the bars out once they are firm).
Press the mixture into the bottom of the baking dish, packing it tightly and making it as flat and even as possible.
Cover and refrigerate overnight, or for at least a few hours.
Lift the mixture out of the dish and cut into desired size bars.
Wrap each bar in plastic wrap or in small Ziploc bags and store refrigerated to maintain firmness and freshness.

Preserved Meyer Lemons

I LOVE this recipe for preserved lemons. Once they are ready, you can use preserved lemons on almost anything and everything. The citrus flavor from these preserved lemons is a very concentrated flavor but without all the acidity. I don't know where all the acidity goes, I can't quite figure out the culinary science behind all that. All I know is that they are very versatile. I have roasted lamb with them, roasted salmon with them, put them on a salad, used the juices in salad dressings, used them in chimichurri, chopped them up and mixed them with tuna to make a delightfuly fresh and healthy tuna salad (minus the mayo). You can use them to make lemon bars, use the juices in cakes or pies... the list is endless. So get those creative juices flowing and find new ways to use them.
This makes a pretty large batch, so if this is your first time making them, you might want to halve it if you are unsure of it's uses. But I promise you once you find new ways of using them, you'll making them over and over again.

Ingredients:

4 Meyer lemons (you can obviously use other lemons if meyers are not available, but the flavor will definitely be very different. Meyers have a much sweeter citrus taste than other lemons, and they also usually have more juice)
2 tbsp sea salt
2 green or red chilies (I use the tiny Thai chilies but you can substitute these for serrano peppers or jalapenos if the Thai variety are not available)
1 cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves
2 tsp whole coriander seeds
1 tsp whole black peppercorn

Preparation:

Thoroughly scrub the lemons until any waxy residue is removed.
Cut the ends off the lemons and slice them crosswise into 1/4"  thick slices.
Put the lemons in a glass bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients.
Press down on the lemons to extract the juices.
Pack the lemons into a glass jar and push down so that they are covered with the juices (if you are not using Meyer lemons, you may need to add extra lemon juice to cover everything).
Cover the jar with plastic wrap and put a rubber band around the neck to hold the wrap in place. Do not use a sealed/air-tight lid as the lemons will release gases as they ferment which need to escape.
Leave the jar of lemons in a cool dark place. They will be ready to use in a week, but it is best to let them sit for at least 2 weeks, so that they are softer and the flavors are more balanced.
Once they achieve a flavor you are happy with, you can put them in the refrigerator to slow down the fermentation process.
ENJOY!

Lemon balm pesto

That's right. You heard me... Lemon Balm! This might be the most delicious smelling herb on the planet. It literally smells like a citronella candle has exploded all over your nose holes.

 Aside from its ridiculous smell, lemon balm also makes an amazing pesto! So the next time you find yourself at a farmer's market, or you're wondering what to do with the bunch of lemon balm from your CSA other than making a LOT of tea(that was my conundrum), try this pesto.

Ingredients:
2 cups tightly packed lemon balm leaves (no stems please!)
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1 tsp sea salt

Preparation:
Blend all the above ingredients together.
Enjoy!

Artichoke-olive crostini

I found this recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Smitten Kitchen, but I changed a couple of things to add some extra punch. The woman is genius and I think is soon to release a book. Make sure you check out her blog (see links on left sidebar). You can use this as an apetizer at parties, or just toss it with some spaghetti for a simple yet flavorful meal.

Spicy Apple Chutney

This recipe was adapted from something I found on the food network website. I made it for a party once and it was quite a hit! Tastes good with crackers, on a toasted pita, with eggs, in a turkey sandwich, with onion fritters... basically ANYTHING! The recipe makes A LOT of it, about 3 cups. But you can freeze half of it and keep it aside so you don't get too bored of it. It lasts for a looooong time since there is some vinegar in it and quite a lot of spices, which act as natural preservatives.

Dadpe Pohe

Sometimes I like to make pohe raw, especially if they are the super thin kind. The fresh crunch of the onion and the oil tempered with spices pair nicely with the soft pohe. This is a very healthy recipe as nothing is really fried or greasy, yet it packs a great flavor punch. You can make these with brown rice pohe too. If you're looking for these in the Indian grocery store, they might be called Aval or Red Aval (brown rice).

Gruyere, Ham & Caramelized Onion Flatbread Pizza

This is a recipe I have used at several parties and it is always the first thing to go. It's a simple pizza (which you can turn into a complicated pizza if you are feeling ambitious) with a lot of flavor. I think the combination of caramelized onions and gruyere cheese originated in the south of France, and the addition of ham or bacon might be an American invention. Wherever it came from, it is all just YUM to me!

Onion Fritters

Cilantro Chutney

Fry Masala

This masala can be used in chicken curry, lentil curry or many other dishes. Just add 1-2 tbsp at end once chicken/lentils are done. Store the rest of the masala in the refrigerator for 6-8 months... YEH it lasts a long time, unless of course you use it a lot :)

Pohe

Pohe is a form of dried rice, which is rehydrated and then cooked with spices. This dish is often eaten for breakfast or brunch. Yummmm!

Sabudana (Spicy tapioca)

Ingredients:
1 cup tapioca pearls, washed and soaked in 1 cup of water for a couple of hours
1 small potato, partially boiled and diced
1 1/2 tbsp crushed peanuts
1 green chili, chopped

1/2" ginger, peeled and minced
1/2 tsp chili pwd

2 tsp cumin pwd
1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp shredded coconut
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp oil

Preparation:
Drain excess water from soaked tapioca.
Mix w/ partially cooked potato, peanuts, ginger, shredded coconut and chili pwd and cumin pwd.

Cook:
Heat oil on medium heat.
Add cumin seeds and green chili.
Once popped, turn heat down to low.
Add tapioca and potato mixture and saute for 5 mins constantly.
Tapioca is cooked when it becomes transparent. If overcooked, will get sticky and thick.
Add salt and sugar.
ENJOY!