Gajar Matar: Indian Curried Peas & Carrots

Gajar Matar. One of my favorite Indian dishes and otherwise known as Shin's Peas & Carrots! My Indian bestie brought a sample of this spicy delight to me at work one day and I just had to get the recipe from her mom! 


The sweetness of the peas and carrots stand up well to the heat of the spices and jalapeno, blending perfectly into this delicious symbiosis. The veggies, of course, are full of vitamins A & C, iron, potassium, antioxidants, among other nutrients. And the spices have great benefits too, as this recent article on turmeric goes to show. This healthy dish can be served with naan, quinoa, or in a wrap, but I prefer to have it over coriander rice. 

Serves 4

• 6-8 cloves garlic
• 1-2 inch section fresh ginger
• 1 jalapeno
• 1 yellow onion
• 4 carrots
• 1 medium potato
• 1 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• dash of cayenne

• 1 cup basmati rice (2 cups water)
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

Mince garlic, ginger and jalapeno together. 

Dice onion.

Peel carrots and dice into small cubes (I dice them quite small, slicing the carrot lengthwise into four before dicing).

Peel potato and dice into small cubes, roughly the same size as the carrots.

Cook rice per package instructions, adding 1 tsp of ground coriander to water. 

In a large frying pan with a lid, heat olive oil over med-high. Add minced garlic, ginger and jalapeno. Stir for a 3min. Add onion and stir for 5min. 

Add cumin, turmeric, salt, pepper and cayenne and stir for another minute til spices are fragrant. 

Add carrots, potato and frozen peas, mixing well to combine. Add a splash of water (about 1/8 cup), cover, and let simmer for 20min over low-med heat. Be sure to stir every 5min or so to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pan. 

Once the rice is ready and removed from heat, add fresh chopped cilantro and fluff to mix. 

Serve curried vegetables over coriander rice. Garnish with some fresh chopped cilantro. 

Iced Mint Tea

What to do with that fresh bunch of mint you're not quite ready to hang-dry yet? Since it's practically summer and I prefer to stay away from sugary juices, I've decided this refreshing iced mix is the healthy way to beat the heat! Low-cal, sugar-free, and just 3 easy ingredients: 

• Mint - rich in Vitamin C and carotenes, contains magnesium, copper, iron, potassium, and calcium, and aids in digestion. 
• Jasmine - excellent source of antioxidants, known for anti-inflammatory properties, lowering cholesterol, and boosting metabolism. 
• Water - because you probably haven't hit 8 glasses yet today!

Yield: 2 glasses (double or triple the recipe below to fill a pitcher!)

• 3 tsp jasmine green tea
• 19 mint leaves
• water
• optional: few drops of fresh lime juice

Boil water in kettle. Only half a cup of boiled water is required. 

Place 3 tsp of jasmine green tea into tea infuser. 

Add 15 washed mint leaves, ripped, to the infuser. Stems can also be included. 

Pour half a cup of boiling water into the infuser set inside a mug. Cover and let steep for 10 min. 

Remove infuser. Distribute the hot jasmine mint tea into 2 glasses. Fill glasses with ice cold water. Add a squeeze of fresh lime, 2 ice cubes and 2 leaves of fresh mint to each glass and enjoy! 

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

One of my best friends gave me a delicious banana bread recipe, printed on a piece of paper with a few patches of butter stains soiled clear through. To me, this was a clear indication the recipe desperately needed a makeover! The end result? A leaner, moister banana bread with a fabulous brown sugar crunchy top! 

Yield: 1 loaf

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 5 ripe bananas
• 2/3 cup brown sugar (reduced from 1cup)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (originally 1/2 cup butter, melted)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1/4 cup instant coffee (optional)

bananas - before & after

Preheat oven at 350 °C.  Lightly grease bottom of 9x5 inch loaf pan.

Mix dry ingredients (from whole wheat flour to cinnamon) in a large bowl and set aside.

Peel bananas. Break off into smaller chunks and place in blender. Pulse til liquified.

In separate bowl, beat brown sugar and eggs with electric beater until creamy. Mix applesauce in with rubber spatula. 
Add dry ingredients and mix with spatula. Add bananas and stir til everything is combined. Stir in chocolate chips (and walnuts and instant coffee if using).

batter

Pour into greased pan. Crumble as much brown sugar as you like for crunchy top and lightly pat into batter.

Bake 60-65min or until wooden pick inserted into loaf comes out clean/dry. Remove from pan and let cool. 

brown sugar crumble top on batter

Garlic Hummus

What to do on a day where Brian disappears to the office and then a work dinner for the next 14hrs? My options seemed pretty clear: 

     a) eat foods I've sadly abandoned because he won't touch them (like chickpeas) 

     b) eat raw, stinky, kiss-of-death-breath garlic

     c) combine the above and make delicious creamy hummus

I seized the day and could really use some heavy-duty breathmints now. All you need is a blender and about 5min of prep to make this low-fat, protein & fibre packed snack/lunch! 

• 1 16oz can chick peas, drained
• 1 lemon
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• a few shakes of cayenne pepper 
• Veggies of your choice for dipping (I used 1 carrot and 1 zucchini)

Wash and slice up dipping veggies and set aside. 

Drain the chick peas into a colander and rinse well with water. 

Juice the lemon (mine produced about 2 tbsp of juice). 

Roughly chop garlic cloves and fresh cilantro.

Add all ingredients into a blender or magic bullet (except for the dipping veggies of course!) and pulse til smooth. Add water as needed (I used about 1/3 cup) to reach desired consistency. Serve! 

Chicken Tikka Masala & Yellow Squash Curry

Two recipes, back to back! They're great on their own, in fact the chicken tikka masala is especially fantastic bundled up with rice in a whole wheat wrap, but I prefer to make them together because the colors contrast brilliantly when served side by side! 

Both dishes are quite spicy, there aren't many options for your burning mouth, tongue and throat to find temporary reprieve other than at the bottom of an ice-cold beverage... so, cheers! 

Serves 4

marinated chicken

Chicken Tikka Masala

• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• Chicken marinade:
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/4 cup basmati rice (2 1/2 cups water) 
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1-2 inch section fresh ginger
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• 1 small onion
• 1/2 green bell pepper
• 2 heaping tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 1 (6oz or 170gr) small can tomato paste
• skim milk (enough to fill the emptied can of tomato paste twice)
• fresh cilantro, garnish

minced garlic, ginger & jalapeno

Trim any fat off chicken breast and cut into small chunks. Add marinade ingredients, mix and set aside.

Cook rice per package instructions. 

Mince garlic, ginger and jalapeno together.  

Dice onion and chop green pepper. 

Heat small amount of olive oil in frying pan with lid over med-high. Add garlic, ginger and jalapeno. Cook for a few minutes, stirring, til fragrant and edges of garlic turn golden brown. Add diced onion, garam masala, cumin, salt, pepper and cayenne, and continue stirring for a few minutes. 

Sweep the garlic-onion-spices mix to one side of the frying pan. To the empty side of the frying pan, add a small amount of olive oil, then the marinated chicken. Stir just til chicken is no longer pink. 

Add tomato paste and enough skim milk to fill the emptied can of tomato paste twice to the same frying pan. Add green pepper Stir well to combine. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 20min. Stir occasionally to avoid sticking to the bottom. Add more skim milk to achieve desired consistency. 

Serve over rice with fresh chopped cilantro. Alternatively, try wrapping the rice, tikka masala and cilantro in a whole wheat tortilla. 

Chicken Tikka Masala

Yellow Squash Curry

minced ginger & garlic,
sliced serrano

• 1 small yellow onion
• 1 green serrano pepper
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 inch section fresh ginger
• 1 tomato
• 2 yellow squash
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp yellow mustard seeds
• 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne 
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• fresh cilantro, garnish

*** Rice cooked with chicken tikka masala recipe will be enough to serve with yellow squash curry as well.

Dice onion. Slice serrano pepper. Mince garlic and ginger together. 

Dice tomato and chop yellow squash into bite size pieces (slice roughly into 1cm coins, then quarter). 

In a frying pan with a lid, add olive oil over med-high. Add mustard seeds and heat til seeds start to sputter (= dance and pop). 

Add diced onion and sliced serrano peppers, and let cook for 1min, stirring occasionally. 

Reduce heat to medium, add minced ginger and garlic, and let cook for another 2min. 

Add diced tomato, and let cook for 3min, stirring occasionally. 

Add yellow squash and all spices and seasoning, stirring well to combine. Add a small splash of water if needed, reduce to low, cover, and let simmer for 10min. 

Add skim milk, cover again and let simmer for 5-10min until curry reaches desired consistency. 

Serve over rice with fresh chopped coriander. 

Yellow Squash Curry

Sloppy Joe Mac "Slops"

This is a quick and easy, healthy dinner your kids are sure to love (even my picky 35-year old loves it ;) ...actually, he's the one who came up with it)! One of the first meals Brian cooked for me was his rendition of sloppy joes on macaroni. Since I do almost all of the cooking, Brian was extremely protective over the making of "his" dinner and wouldn't allow me to do much more than watch, shooing me away when my hands got twitchy and instinctively reached for the spatula. I managed to exercise some self-control the first couple of times he made it, but with a bit more persistence and a lot of stealth ninja moves, I managed to completely hijack the making of slops (and healthified and spicified it)! This recipe is my rendition of his rendition of sloppy joe mac.

Serves 4

• 1 small onion
• 1 small zucchini
• 1/2 bell pepper
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 1/2 lbs extra lean ground beef
• 454 gr macaroni (sneak in whole wheat if possible)
• 1 can tomato soup
• 1 can vegetable tomato soup
• 1 pkg sloppy joe seasoning
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried parsley 
• 1 tsp extra hot red chili powder
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup water, or as needed

Start by dicing the onion, zucchini and pepper. Feel free to incorporate any of your favorite veggies, or whatever you have kickin around in the fridge, into the mix. 

Measure out the frozen peas and corn and set aside to thaw.  

Place extra lean ground beef directly on a frying pan that has a lid (to be used later). Do NOT add oil to pan. Cook over med-high heat until beef is no longer pink. Drain all excess oil from pan. 

Add both cans of soup and all the seasoning to the beef, stirring to mix well. Add all of the vegetables, along with half a cup of water, and stir again to mix. Reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for 20min. Stir occasional to avoid sticking to the bottom. Add small amounts of water as needed if it looks dry. 

Bring water to boil in a large pot. Cook macaroni per package instructions. Strain. 

Serve sloppy joe mix on top of macaroni, under macaroni, or mixed into macaroni! 

Grilled Chicken over Quinoa Salad, Cilantro-Lime Dressing

Protein, protein, protein! And fiber, and omega fatty acids, and vitamins and minerals!! I've included so many nutritious and delicious ingredients to pack a powerful punch, this salad is sure to satisfy, with or without the chicken on top. I portion it out so there is chicken enough to serve with dinner, and salad enough to have as leftovers for lunch the next day. 

If you haven't already discovered and fallen in love with quinoa, you should take this opportunity to do just that. This nutritious low calorie whole grain is a source of complete protein, high in dietary fiber, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin and magnesium. And it's become so popular, you don't even have to go to an expensive specialty store to buy it (I got my 4lb bag at Costco for $10). Once you start getting cozy with quinoa, definitely try Epicurious's Quinoa with Moroccan Winter Squash & Carrot Stew, it's one of B's absolute favorites (he complains all the time that I don't make it often enough)! 

Yield: 2 dinners with chicken & 2 leftover vegetarian lunches

• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• Chicken marinade: 



Only $10 for a 4lb bag at Costco!

• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp hot chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/3 cup quinoa
• 2 1/3 cups water
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 bay leaf
• Dressing
• Juice squeezed from 1 lime
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 3/4 tsp ground cumin
• 3/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 (14oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed 
• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1 small zucchini
• 2 green onions or half a purple onion
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 1 ripe avocado

Trim any fat off chicken breast. Leave whole. Marinade chicken and set aside overnight or for a few hours. 

Quinoa should be cooked in advance so it has time to cool. Add quinoa, water, salt, cumin, coriander and bay leaf to a medium pot over high heat. Once it reaches a boil, reduce to low and cover with lid. Set timer for 15min. Remove from heat, let stand 5min. Discard bay leaf. Fluff and set aside to cool to room temperature (or refrigerate if making well in advance). 

Add all dressing ingredients to a cup/jar, stirring well to incorporate. Set aside. 

Drain and rinse black beans in a colander. Measure out frozen corn and place in colander with black beans.

Dice zucchini and onion. Chop cilantro. 

Remove pit from avocado. Slice lengthwise into 8 strips and remove the peel. Give the peeled avocado a quick cold water soak to prevent them from turning brown. Remove from water and dice into bite size pieces. 

Place cooled quinoa, beans and vegetables in a large salad bowl and toss well with dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and set aside until ready to serve.

To cook the chicken, I use a 2-sided grill (like a George Foreman). Once the grill is warmed up, place chicken breast in the centre and set timer for 8min. Slice and arrange over salad. 

Enjoy!

Golden Beets!!

I saw these at the store yesterday and just had to have them, so I decided to treat myself! Wow, I wish I were talking about a hot pair of heels instead of a bunch of beets... but no, I really am just talking about a bunch of beets. This isn't even a recipe post so much as it is just me getting obsessed and having a photoshoot with these beautiful beets. It's not my fault they're like a brilliant sunset... on a vegetable.

One of the great things about these golden beets is they didn't stain my hands or anything else they come into contact with neon crimson! (I wonder if they stain your hands yellow though? I'm already yellow, so I really didn't notice:) Golden beets have basically the same nutritional benefits as red beets, being high in folate, manganese, potassium, vitamin c, iron, fiber, and other heart disease- and cancer-preventing goodies. The beet greens are an excellent source of vitamin A, carotenoids and anti-oxidants, so I'll definitely be stirring those into to my lunch today! 

These beets inspired me to create a golden stir-fry for sups last night, so I also picked up some yellow squash, yellow onion, ginger and lemons. Here's hoping something beautiful and colorful inspires your dinner tonight! 

Spicy Orange Beef & Broc on Brown

Yeep ngao yook. There are certain Cantonese terms that can't be translated to English in a way that properly conveys the meaning, and/or quite simply, just sound richer and more satisfying when spoken in Chinese. Yeep ngao yook is my best attempt at reverse Cantonese Pinyin for marinate beef, and I love the way it's said. Uttering the 3 short syllables alone seem to imply that some major accomplishment is about to be had. Well, it's true. Because you're about to stir fry a spicy, delicious bowl of health. 


OK, so there's one ingredient in this recipe that isn't healthy at all: Coca-cola. But it's just 1 1/2 tbsps, and you can use Coke Zero if it makes you feel better! This might be an Asian thing since I recall my parents marinating chicken wings with coke, but it also makes sense a soft drink with acidity levels high enough that it can be used as a household cleaner would also work as a meat tenderizer. The beef in this stir fry practically melts in your mouth, so give it a try if you've got some handy. 

Before we get to the recipe, I'm going to take a teeny tiny moment to encourage reducing our enormous ecological footprint. This stir fry calls for 2 broccoli crowns. Now, we all know that any broccoli crown is sold with less of a stem than a broccoli bunch... but there's still stem involved. So, what do you do with it? Throw it out, right? Maybe it's because crowns are more expensive than bunches that people tend to turn their noses up at the stems as something undesirable, inedible, and to be discarded. Although stems are not as pretty and are a bit more high maintenance (requires some peeling), they are just as nutritious as their dark green tops! With the staggering amount of food being wasted in this world (1.3 billion tons per year!!!), I really hope each of us can please do our little part in limiting the food we waste. For this recipe (and you can do the same for any other recipe using broccoli) I've taken the stems, peeled the tough outer part, then grated it down. The tiny pieces will cook faster, and you won't even realize you're eating them once incorporated into the stir fry. 

Serves 2

• 1/2 lb beef (I used a top round eye steak)
• Beef marinade:
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp canola or olive oil
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp coke
• 1 1/4 cup long grain brown rice (2 1/2 cups water)
• Sauce: 



peppers make me :)

• 1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (include some pulp)
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp red wine (optional: only if you have an open bottle handy)
• 1 dried Tien Tsin Chinese chili 
• 1 red serrano pepper (red preferred for color, I could only find green at the store)
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 inch section fresh ginger
• 1/2 small onion
• 2 broccoli crowns
• 1/2 bunch green onion
• 1/3 cup water

Prepare the beef well in advance (preferably a few hours) so it has time to soak and tenderize in the marinade. Slice the beef thinly into 1-inch pieces, taking care to ensure you are slicing against the grain - slicing beef along the grain makes for a tough chew, whereas slicing beef against the grain helps tenderize the meat. Combine all marinade ingredients with beef in an airtight container (ziploc, tupperware, bowl with saran wrap) and set aside in the fridge. 

Cook brown rice in rice cooker if you have one, or on the stove per package instructions. 

Mix all sauce ingredients into a bowl, stirring well to incorporate the cornstarch which tends to lump. Set aside. 

Slice the serrano pepper thinly into coin shapes, keeping the seeds for extra heat. 

Mince the garlic, ginger and Tien Tsin Chinese chili.  

Thinly slice the onion. 

Wash broccoli crowns and cut florets. Peel and grate broccoli stems. 

Wash green onion. Slice 2 inches off the green tops, then another 2 inches. Reserve remaining green onion for other use in airtight container or bag to ensure freshness. 

Heat small amount of olive oil in large non-stick frying pan at high. Once the oil is hot, add marinated beef slices. Separate the beef so each slice touches the pan, stirring quickly as the slices are thin and beef cooks quickly. Remove from pan once most of the beef has turned from red to brown and set aside. 

Using same frying pan, add small amount of olive oil, reduce heat to med-high, then add garlic, ginger, onion and chili and serrano peppers. Stir for 2min until fragrant. Add broccoli (florets and shredded stems) and 1/3 cup of water, cover with lid, and let steam-fry for 3min. 

Add green onions to pan. Give the reserved sauce a good stir (cornstarch will have clumped at the bottom), then add sauce to pan. If it looks too thick, add splashes of water until desired consistency achieved. Add beef slices, mix well, then remove from heat. 

Serve over brown rice. And with a tall glass of water.. since B had spicy sniffles throughout the meal :)