February 2009 Roundup

February has been a month of many delicious new trials and some hot favorites. With the winter snow blanketing the ground, and the slushy, slippery streets to deal with, it has been a month of warm, cozy meals by the fireside, safely ensconced in the family home.

We started the month off with the Goat Cheese Salad with Couscous - an easy and quick dish to put together when you are back home tired after a long day at work. Goat cheese gave this salad that gourmet touch, while the Kalamata Olives provided that tangy, salty taste. All in all, it was a healthy, low fat, and satisfying meal.



The Brain food - Stir fried Curried Okra added that crisp, crunchy flavor to any meal. This accompaniment is the enticing pick-me-up to keep your family's intellect sharp and incisive. :)






If you ever needed to entice your taste buds and ensure that you have something at hand to smother over warm bread to make an easy meal, make the Sweet Green Chili pickle. Stock your refrigerator with this pickle and you can lay your hands on a yummy meal in a snap.




For a replete Sunday lunch, after a day spent on the snowy slopes sledding with your children, make the Radish Greens Stuffed Whole Wheat Bread. Serve with the Sweet Green Chili Pickle or with warm jam. Nothing like greens camouflaged in warm, homemade bread to welcome kids home from a long, rambunctious morning of play and fun!



Make the Crisp, Curried Kovakkai, if your family is tired of the same ole' potatoes, peas and cauliflower. Watching your family down the vegetable without any proddding will be a reward in itself.





Fasting one day a week? Don't forget to take a swig of the Fresh Homemade Vegetable and Fruit nectar to keep you alert and hydrated.






When the sweet tooth beckons, make this wonderful, healthy Sugar Beet payasam. No trans-fat laden, unhealthy, artery-choking dessert for you and your family! Enjoy every sensation with healthy, wholesome ingredients!





Cold winds howling outside your window panes with sleet and snow bearing down? Eat this satisfying, sweet and spicy, Sweet Potato Spicy Soup to warm the cockles of your heart.






There are days when you crave a delicacy and all you can think of is to visit the local ethnic restaurant for a meal. Resist that feeling and make this wonderful Edamame and Green Onion Pilaf at home to assuage that craving.





And finally, round up your snack attack with this wonderfully healthy Jicama Mint cutlets.

Radish Greens Stuffed Whole Wheat Bread

I am a big sucker for gourmet produce stores. The sensory thrill of shopping at a store which is bursting the seams with a large variety of vegetables, fruit, prepared foods, cheese and wine, is a high that cannot be matched. :)

Entering a store like Nino Salvaggio's, Papa Joe's or Whole Foods, is an assault on all the senses. The sight of row upon row of shelves stacked almost to the ceiling with all kinds of vegetables in a multitude of colors, the aroma of the fresh, cool, and calming greens, the taste of slices of sweet fruit and slivers of gourmet cheese, the din of the vast crowds of shoppers, the exchange of pleasantries and shop-talk about unfamiliar vegetables with strangers... it is an experience that I love.

Despite the fact that these stores are usually expensive, I manage to shop frugally. I'll let you in on a secret - the trick is to buy whatever is in season - invariably only those vegetables that are not in season are expensive. The rest of the vegetables are usually priced to match the other local big chain grocery stores.

In addition, when I shop for vegetables, I usually look for value. For instance, I love "mooli parathas" (Radish Stuffed Whole Wheat Bread) and will usually pick up a bunch of long white radish for a dollar or two. And if I buy the same radish at a gourmet store, I'll get it with the leaves intact. I know I can use those leaves for something, so I actually end up making two dishes for the price of one vegetable.

So here is my original recipe using Radish Greens. The parathas were mouth-watering - crisp, colorful green parathas stuffed with nutrients like Vitamin C, protein and calcium. In fact the greens (that we generally throw away) are a better source of nutrients than the roots.

Please feel free to share this recipe. As noted in the copyright listed on the site, all I ask is that you indicate the source and share the link to this site. :)

Here is what you need:
1 bunch Radish Greens (washed and chopped)
2 cups whole wheat flour (I recommend my favorite King Arthur Whole Wheat)
1/2 tsp salt
Olive oil to make parathas

Here is how you make this:
Blanch the Radish leaves in hot water. Place in a blender and puree. Now add the Radish greens puree in the wheat flour along with salt and knead to a smooth dough. You may not need to add any water since the liquid in the puree may be adequate for a soft dough. Set aside for 1 hour.

Heat a non stick pan until hot. In the meantime, make small orange sized balls of the whole wheat dough. Dip the balls in flour and roll out into rounds shaped like a flat tortilla.

Dab the dough round with ½ tsp of oil. Fold over and enclose the oiled portion completely. Roll out again into a square or round shape. Place on the hot pan. Cook one side for half a minute. Flip over and spread 1/2 tsp oil on the side facing up. Now flip over again and spread oil on the side facing up so that both sides have oil. Toast on medium hot until crisp and brown.

Remove from the pan and serve hot with either Green apple in yogurt sauce, Potatoes in a jiffy - Paani Aloo or Sweet Green Chili pickle.