A while back, I was feeling a bit sniffly and stuffy, so I spent a few days on the couch browsing the web. Apparently I was in the frame of mind to check out Ayurvedic remedies for my stuffy nose, and thus I spent a lot of time reading blogs and articles stuffed to the brim with advice and ways of life from the sub-continent.

Kitchari was apparently the new kid on the block (or, as it is, the newly discovered elder on the block). I read multiple articles about its abilities to help you cleanse, its ease on your digestive system, its nutritional values (apparently it is a complete protein, though I’m thinking that has more to do with the dal, less to do with the rice and spices). While I scoffed at the idea of eating nothing but this moong dal and rice mixture for any amount of time, my stomach started to growl and the craving had set in. I already had some leftover, new-age pakora in my fridge; this could just be a spicy rice addition with a little beans. Plus, it’s healthy, right?

So I consulted the various recipes I had found around the internets (that link being one of them), then I cracked open my favorite Indian cookbook from “the food of” series, and I started devising a recipe. (more…)

Filed under:
Dairy free, Dinner, Gluten free, Indian, Lunch, Vegan, Vegetarian, World traveller by Courtney

A couple of weekends ago, I had a friend mention offhand to me that she tried making my green juice, and it didn’t turn out as she expected (that was her nice way of saying it wasn’t so good). She had seen a Daily Nosh lunch posting and decided to put those exact same items through her juicer, but with less than stellar results. (more…)

Filed under:
Dairy free, Drink Time, Gluten free, Vegan, Vegetarian by Courtney

Even though I believe it might be sacrilege in the South, I never was a fan of sweet tea. My mom and dad loved it, and as a child, I would drink it, but I preferred to put so much lemon juice in it that it tasted like tea-flavored lemonade (or, I guess I just loved Arnold Palmers from a young age!). It wasn’t until adulthood set in that I even started drinking tea again. And when I did, it was the discovery of hot tea, unadulterated, that lured me back. When it got the least bit lukewarm, I would throw it away.

That is, until I traveled to Sharjah. While there, I had one of the most refreshing drinks I’d ever tasted on a 100 degree day – iced mint tea, served in a tiny, Moroccan glass no less. (more…)

Filed under:
Dairy free, Drink Time, Gluten free, Mid Eastern, Vegan, Vegetarian by Courtney

I’ve been on a bit of a Thai kick lately. Earlier this week I played around with a couple of recipes for Thai beef salad, and while I was perusing my Thai recipes, I came across a recipe for Tom Khaa Kai, or Chicken, Coconut and Galangal soup.

As I read through the recipe, I realized I had most of the items I needed already in my pantry or freezer to make the tropical-flavored soup. Originally I was going to make the soup to go with the Thai beef salad, but I ended up not being that hungry the other night, so I decided to put my soup and sandwich tray to good use, making monster spring rolls to go with the soup.

And that’s how this recipe became more than a variation on the cookbook recipe. (more…)

Filed under:
Dairy free, Dinner, Gluten free, Sandwiches, Soups, Thai, Vegan, Vegetarian, World traveller by Courtney

Upon receiving my bounty of salmon last week, I knew just what I wanted to make with it. Earlier in the week I had picked up a copy of Saveur magazine on a whim. It promised delightful Corsican foods and bread recipes that I could make. Buried deep inside the issue, though, was a gem of an article on Senegal feasts, with recipes ranging from fritters and stews to magnificent salads. Upon seeing these salads I headed right back out to the store, picking up the ingredients and making them that evening. (more…)

Filed under:
African, Dairy free, Gluten free, Lunch, Salad, Sunday Suppers, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wine pairings by Courtney