Geetha's Kitchen

I recently received gifts of beautiful homegrown limes and freshly picked luscious strawberries. When life brings you limes, you make limeade; but when you get both limes and strawberries, you make strawberry sharbat :D! Every country and cuisine has its own special cooling beverages or Agua Frescas to counteract warm and sultry weather. In India, delicious and refreshing coolers called sharbats are made from various ingredients including fruits - the classic ones being Nimbu Sharbat (Limeade) and Lassi (a yogurt beverage) - pronounced Luh-ssi and not lassie. Stevia extract is a natural sweetner made from the Stevia plant that works well with acidic ingredients; it adds sweetness without a lot of calories. It is available as liquid or fine powders; I prefer the liquid type as it has the least aftertaste according to my taste. If preferred, the sharbat can be made with regular sugar as well. Whichever way it is made, strawberry sharbat should taste limey but balanced in its taste...

Pesarat - pronounced as "pes-sir-rut" - is a delicious crepe-like pancake from the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It gets its bright green color from the moss-hued whole mung beans. It is usually topped with minced onions and green chilies but I like to add my own rainbow-colored topping for better taste, visual appeal, and nutrition. To make the vegan version of O konomi yaki, I just stir in lots of the veggies into the batter and cook into thick pancakes the same way as these ; fabulous! Prepared similar to a dosa or adai , pesarat is a fine addition to one's griddle/pan- cake repertoire. To make a good thing even better, I often allow the beans to sprout a little before processing them into a batter. Although pesarats are made from freshly ground batter, leftover or fermented batter make fine pancakes also. However you make it, it is healthy and yummy. Pesarat is traditionally served with upma . Ingredients: 2 cups whole Mung Beans 2 hot green Chilies (cor...

Polenta French Toast is a wonderful vegan alternate breakfast treat when regular French Toast will not do. Once you prepare the polenta , making the French Toast is a breeze; but you do have to plan ahead and make the polenta ahead of time - preferably a day before :D. Coarse corn meal and cornflour are available in Indian Markets. Corn flour is finely ground corn resembling wheat flour; not cornstarch (cornstarch is known as cornflour in commonwealth countries). If corn flour is not readily available, use more of the regular cornmeal or rice flour instead. Ingredients: 1 Recipe Breakfast Polenta, made with 3 cups of water Finely grated zest from 1/2 Orange A few gratings of Fresh Nutmeg, about 1/8 tsp Canola oil for cooking French Toast 2 Tbsp Corn Flour, for dredging French Toast Fresh Berries of your choice to serve 1/4 cup Pure Maple Syrup to serve Whipped cream or nondairy topping to serve 1/2 cup toasted pecans or other nuts to serve Method: Prepare breakfast pole...

Delicious as well as beautiful bruschetta There is only one word to describe this bruschetta, and that is YUM! It is so easy, nutritious, and satisfying especially if you have a jar of one of the pestos such as the Garlic Pesto on hand. The tomatoes must be vine-ripened and full flavored for best results. If you prefer, fresh mozzarella cheese can be used in place of the ricotta for a Caprese style bruschetta. These make impressively delicious snacks or starters without a lot of work. If all the ingredients are ready, the diners can assemble their own bruschetta. It is another do-it-yourself food that children love to do on their own. Wholesome and delicious, what is not to love? 4 - 6 Snack/Starter Servings Ingredients: 1/2 cup Ricotta cheese 1 small bunch Fresh Mint/Basil Leaves 1 or 2 Fresh Ripe Tomatoes, thinly sliced Coarse Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper 2 or 3 Tbsp Garlic Pesto Extra Virgin Olive Oil, to drizzle 1 Fresh Lime/Lemon Juice (Optional) 4 large slices Sourdough...

Breakfast Polenta is a delicious treat for my friends who cannot tolerate gluten. It can be vegan if you use soy, rice, or a nut milk. Any leftovers can be used to make French Toast ; better yet, make a double batch so that you can have breakfast polenta one day and French Toast another :O! Either polenta (coarsely ground corn) or regular cornmeal may be used to make the polenta. Dried fruits such as blueberries, cherries and strawberries work well also. Cornmeal (corn "rava, suji or sooji") and Cornflour are available in Indian markets. 6 Servings Each serving (without the toppings) contains: 207 Calories; 49 g Carbohydrates; 59 mg Sodium; 3 g Protein; 3 g Fiber Ingredients: 1 cup regular cornmeal 1/2 tsp coarse Sea Salt 4 cups water 1/4 cup Pure Maple or Agave Syrup 1/2 cup Milk, any kind 1 cup Dried Cranberries, Currants, or Raisins (optional) 1 tsp ground Cinnamon (optional) Butter or butter substitute (optional) Chopped nuts, to serve Fresh Berries of your choice t...

Beautiful Ruby Chard growing happily with Sorrel Swiss chard is a very easy to grow plant with ample rewards of succulent stems and leaves. The word "Swiss" was added simply for marketing purposes. Chard originates from the Mediterranean region and is well loved by the cooks there. It has many names such as silver beet, sea beet, perpetual spinach, spinach beet, mangold, etc and is related to garden beets and also spinach. Chard has abundant nutrients that make it a super vegetable that one should eat often. Chard can be grown in the garden or in pots from seeds. Chard comes in many colors in addition to the white ribbed type. I love to grow a variety in large pots for the beautiful colors which are so pleasing to the eye not to mention the palate too. Seeds can be purchased for " rainbow" or " bright lights " chard which include ruby, pink, orange, and yellow-stemmed varieties which are very ornamental no matter where they are planted. Once...

The Great Pumpkin had commented here a while ago about laughter being the best medicine. Apparently laughter does induce physical changes in our body chemistry and hence can help us deal with a variety of ills physically as well as emotionally. Here are some ways in which laughter helps:- Regulation of stress response - hearty laughter fires up and subsequently cools down our stress response resulting in relaxation and a feeling of well being. Stimulation of organs - laughing enhances our oxygen intake and stimulates the heart, lungs, and muscles and increases the endorphins released by our brain. Pain reduction - laughing has been shown to promote production of natural painkillers in our bodies that ease pain. Soothing tension - Laughter soothes and relaxes tension which leads to better digestion, improved circulation, and reduction of physical symptoms of stress including stomachaches. Strengthening the immune system - Laughter and positive thinking cause release of neuropep...

A salad by a fancy name...........Carpaccio has come to denote a thinly sliced composed salad. Although originally made with raw meat, nowadays it is made with all types of veggies. Cucumber and Tomato Carpaccio is one of the tastiest, healthiest, and simplest of salads which I love to make it often. All you need are fresh ingredients and the salad goes together very quickly - slice everything, squeeze the lime over, sprinkle with a bit of salt and herbs, and viola! you have a salad fit for fine dining! I have included Jalapeno chili in the recipe but you can omit it if you prefer a mild salad. This is a typical Indian salad using tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers; other favorite veggies such as fresh fennel (finocchio), jicama, carrots, beets, etc can be used as you wish. I typically use cilantro for this salad; but other herbs such as Italian or flat-leaf parsley, thyme, oregano, chervil, marjoram, etc can be used singly or in your favorite combination. I don't add any oil at...

Veggie Chili I am seeing red - red-hued fruits and veggies. Phytochemicals known as anthocyanins (from Greek anthos=flower and kyanos=blue/purple) are the reason for the vibrant colors in nature from the gorgeous flowers and the spectacular autumn leaves to eminently edible colorful fruits and vegetables. Anthocyanins are antioxidant flavonoids that protect and heal various systems in our bodies. Current research suggests that anthocyanins contribute towards maintaining cardiovascular health as well as protecting against certain cancers. These phytochemicals are present in pigment-rich fruits and veggies. So eat up lots of red, purple, and blue veggies and fruits for a healthy body. Chili is a flavorful one-pot meal that can be made with your favorite beans and veggies which are rich in anthocyanins and provides abundant vitamins, minerals and plenty of fiber too. Serving with whole grains or nuts/seeds will ensue in ensuring abundant protein and heartiness as well. Ch...

A lovely light lemony soup for anytime! I love serving this and other rasams as appetizers or starters with roasted papadams, chundal , or buttered sourdough toast fingers. Rasam is equally good served with a couple of spoonfuls of hot rice. A very quick and tasty Rasam if you have reserved dal broth ready to use. Although fresh is best, dried lemongrass may be used if fresh ones are unavailable. I like to remove the skin from tomatoes so there are no skins floating around in the lovely rasam. Makes about 1 Quart = 4 to 6 Appetizer Servings OR 2-3 Main meal Servings Ingredients: 1/4 cup Toor Dal, cooked until very soft in 2 cups of water (see Rasam ) 1 or 2 stalks Lemongrass, crushed and coarsely chopped 2 Ripe Tomatoes 1 or 2 tsp Rasam powder, or to taste 1 Lime 2 Tbsp Fresh Cilantro Thalippu/Tadka: 2 tsp Ghee/Oil 1/4 tsp Brown Mustard Seeds 1/4 tsp Cumin Seeds 1 pinch Asafoetida 1 stalk Fresh Curry Leaves, finely sliced Method: ...

If you have wondered about how effective the produce washes are, you are not alone. There are so many products used in growing veggies and fruits that leave a residue on the produce. Although there are various washes on the market, one is never sure if they exacerbate the problem by adding to the residues rather than removing them. So when a friend gave me a very helpful tip in cleaning produce the other day, I was quite excited. All it takes is a small amount of apple cider vinegar to get rid of bacteria and just plain dirt! Jeanelle told me that she had heard about using apple cider vinegar as a wash on NPR. Here is one more use for apple cider vinegar in addition to using it in cooking. Read this article for interesting information. I like this idea especially for foods that are not cooked like fresh fruits and veggies for a salad or a snack. Happy and healthy cleaning, cooking, and eating!