Weekend Links

Since I spend most of my waking hours on the web, I come across lots of good stuff that's worth sharing. So I thought to make a note of all the good, must read-see links in a weekly post. Here are this week's list:

• TED talk on Why do we like what we Like : Great talk on how are experiences of pleasure as well as pain are so dependent on our mental perception.
• AIB Roast of Ranveer Singh & Arjun Kapoor: WARNING- This is not for the faint hearted. It's filthy beyond your imagination, it's hard to believe that this was a live show - but it's funny, if you like that sort of thing.
• Valentine's day card for the non-mushy Couples: This was shared by my friend on What'sApp and I just had to share it with the 3 family members that actually read this blog. Super funny stuff.
• A conversation between Swami Vivekanand & Ramakrishna Paramhans: Not sure if its true but its thought provoking for sure: 

1. Swami Vivekanand:- I can’t find free time. Life has become hectic.

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you free.

2. Swami Vivekanand:- Why has life become complicated now?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Stop analyzing life. It makes it complicated. Just live it.

3. Swami Vivekanand:- Why are we then constantly unhappy?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Worrying has become your habit. That’s why you are not happy.

4. Swami Vivekanand:- Why do good people always suffer?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Diamond cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people go through trials, but don’t suffer. With that experience their life becomes better, not bitter.

5. Swami Vivekanand:- You mean to say such experience is useful?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Yes. In every term, Experience is a hard teacher. She gives the test first and the lessons .

6. Swami Vivekanand:- Because of so many problems, we don’t know where we are headed...

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- If you look outside you will not know where you are heading. Look inside. Eyes provide sight. Heart provides the way.

7. Swami Vivekanand:- Does failure hurt more than moving in the right direction?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Success is a measure as decided by others. Satisfaction is a measure as decided by you.

8. Swami Vivekanand:- In tough times, how do you stay motivated?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Always look at how far you have come rather than how far you have to go. Always count your blessing, not what you are missing.

9. Swami Vivekanand:- What surprises you about people?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- When they suffer they ask, “why me?” When they prosper, they never ask “Why me?”

10. Swami Vivekanand:- How can I get the best out of life?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.

11. Swami Vivekanand:- One last question. Sometimes I feel my prayers are not answered.

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- There are no unanswered prayers. Keep the faith and drop the fear. Life is a mystery to solve, not a problem to resolve. Trust me. Life is wonderful if you know how to live.

Yoga - Videos I love

I don't know about any of you but my mind is a wild horse. There is is no knowing where it's gonna leap the next second. At any given point in day - I am juggling between focussing on the task on hand and the web of thoughts in my brain. It's such a struggle to solely focus on one thing at a time and the current digitalized culture isn't really helping the cause.  There are days in a row when I am totally on auto pilot mode - without actually taking a second to breathe or enjoy the surroundings and did I mention I don't have a regular 9-5 gig or any children. I can't even begin to imagine the chaos a working mom faces.

The only saving grace is that I am aware of this and recognize it as a serious hinderance to my emotional and overall well being. As part of my customary new year resolution - I decided to work towards being more present in the moment. I am slowly trying to coordinate by body and brain to function in sync - by actually paying attention to what I am doing especially even if its the everyday somewhat mundane chores.

One big change I have made in the past few weeks is my decision to use one gadget at at time. It might not seem like a big issue to many out there - but having the Television on in the background while working on my laptop with one eye on my iphone is (or was) a pretty common scenario in my house. And the icing on the cake is that I suck at multi-tasking(another concept I seriously believe is a product of this new hyper active digital revolution) - what that essentially means is that it used to take me double the time to answer a simple email as my teeny little brain couldn't compartmentalize. So now its either phone or computer and never both.

However, the thing that helps me the most in this effort is Yoga - which is what I wanted to talk about in the first place (excuse the long background story). I have been fairly regular at doing yoga for the past 2 years. And all I can say is that I have found my true bliss - when I am on the mat, focussing all my energy on my breath - tensions and worries of life just seem to melt away. It's way harder than I make it sound - I have to constantly remind my wandering mind to get back to it. But despite all that Yoga is the only thing that realigns me physically and spiritually - it's the one thing I turn to whenever I need to get some perspective in life. That being said, I think the only reason I stuck around to fall in love with this practice was because of this teacher I found near my house. I had tried my hand at yoga a couple of times before but could never really follow it on a long term basis and I think it was partially because I could not find a teacher that I truly admired.

These days I dont go to my yoga studio very often and try to practice more at home. Over the past few months I have discovered a few very good online sessions that I really like . So I thought I would share some of my favorites links that help me stay on track:

Breathing and relaxation focussed - Great for beginners and for anyone who wants to relax and loosen up a little

1. stlpl.co/1EpnEM8 
2. stlpl.co/1H9pHpR 
3. stlpl.co/1D6W16t 
4. stlpl.co/15Mk7IJ 

Yoga with Adrienne: A good instructor who paces her class well to help you grasp the fundamentals.

Intermediate Level: Involves some serious poses

1. Do Yoga with me: I like this site, they have lots of teachers offering free lessons in different variations and at diff levels of yoga. The instructor that I follow the most is Tracey Noseworthy.
2. Yoga with Dagmar: She is another great instructor whose lessons I have followed for a long time. She has a couple of videos on you tube - One, Two, Three
3. 10 Minutes Pilates Solution: I have tried a couple of DVD's with this instructor 'Lara Hudson' and they are again a pretty good place to start. You can probably find them on Netflix too.

These are the links of a few meditation sounds that I play in the background:

• OM Chanting: So So good
• Tibetan Healing Sounds: So soothing and perfect to play in the background
• Relaxing Music: Another good one

If you guys have any other online instructors or sites that you love, please share in the comments. 

Crunchy Apple Celery & Sweet Potato Salad

This salad recipe was something I saw in a magazine a while back. Although I had written it down, I was a bit doubtful about trying it out primarily because it said to use raw sweet potato. I mean I love sweet potatoes but eating them raw was not very appealing. Anyhow, I made the salad yesterday all the while thinking of a back-up lunch option. Let me just say that not only are you going to love this salad, you will want to make it again and again. It was that good. It was crunchy, savory with a hint of sweetness.

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 small sweet potato - peeled and finely julienned
• 1 apple (preferably green apple) - finely julienned
• 1 stalk celery- thinly sliced
• 2 scallions (green onions) - finely chopped
• 2-3 red radish - finely julienned
• 3-4 tbsp Sesame seeds - toasted
• 1/4th cup cilantro leaves - chopped

Dressing

• 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste

NOTES:

• It's crucial to julienne the all the fruits & veggies because that's what creates the crunch. I tried using the shredder attachment of my food processor but they were coming out too small and slightly mushy.
• I used half a sweet potato - as mine was too big in size
• Green apple would work best here because it's tart and adds to the flavor.

PROCESS:

1. Start by cutting the all the veggies and fruits in a big bowl (Sweet potato+apple_+celery+radishes+scallions) - cut them as fine as you can- this is what's gonna take time - but it adds to the crunchiness. 
2. Put the sesame seeds on a pan toast them on low heat till they are fragrant.
3. Mix all the dressing ingredients (ginger+limejuice+olive oil+ salt &pepper) in a bowl.
4. Add the dressing to the veggie mix
5. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and chopped cilantro
6. Enjoy

Purple Cabbage, Carrots and Fig Salad

This is another one of my go to salads - its simple, healthy and wonderful tasting.

Makes 2 big servings

INGREDIENTS:

• 4-5 medium sized carrots
• 1/2 purple cabbage
• handful of parsley- chopped
• few mint leaves - chopped
• 1/4 th cup Pumpkin seeds
• 1/3 cup dried black mission figs - chopped

Dressing

• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp honey/agave syrup
• 1/2 clove garlic minced
• 1-2 pinch of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 pinch red chilli powder (optional)
• 1 tsp salt 

NOTES:

• I have made this salad with fresh figs when they are in season and it tastes a lot different and maybe slightly better too. 

PROCESS:

1. Cut the carrots into super thin round slices (or you could shred them in the processor) and slice the cabbage as thin as possible (again you can use a food process - I did it by hand). Put both of them in a big salad bowl
2. Make the dressing by mixing all the ingredients
3. Place the pumpkins seeds in a skillet and lightly toast them on low heat until fragrant
4. Chop up the herbs - parsley and mint and add them to the salad
5. Chop the figs and mix them in
6. Drizzle the dressing and fold the salad to combine well. You may need to adjust the seasoning (At times I have to add more lime juice and salt)
7. Top it with toasted pumpkin seeds and Enjoy!!

Recipe Source: My New Roots

Pear and Apple Crumble

This was my first time making a crumble - I had seen lots of crumble recipes with a variety of fruits floating around the web but somehow they never caught my attention. And man am I kicking myself for not trying this out earlier. A fruit crumble like this one serves as a perfect weekend b'fast and the leftovers can help you satisfy your sweet cravings during the week. The recipe might look a bit elaborate but trust me its hard to mess this one up. I overcooked my oat flakes a bit much but they still tasted pretty good.

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pear
• 1 apple
• 2-3 tbsp raisins 
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp ginger -minced
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1-2 pinch cinnamon - ground
• 1-2 pinch nutmeg - ground
• 1-2 tbsp lime juice

CRUMBLE

• 1/3 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup pistachios - ground
• 4-5 fresh dates - pitted and chopped
• 2-3 tbsp coconut oil - melted
• 1-2 pinch cinnamon - ground
• 1-2 pinch nutmeg - ground
• 1 pinch of salt

NOTES:

The recipe I looked at was for a bigger batch - so the measurements here are my best approximation from that.

PROCESS:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F
2. Take a cast iron skillet or any oven proof pan - put all all of the chopped fruits and seasonings (except the crumble ingredients) in the pan - mix well to combine
3. Cook this mixture for about 10 mins - till your fruits are tender
4. Grind pistachios into flour - I used my coffee grinder for this
5. Combine all the crumble ingredients in a bowl - mix it all well 
6. Spread the crumble toppings evenly over the fruit mixture in the cast iron skillet.
7. Bake at 375F for 30-40 mins. Check it at 20 mins and take it out once the crust os golden brown (I baked mine for a bit too long and it turned into a darker brown color)
8. Take it out and let it cool for at least 15 mins - this allows the crumble topping to get nice and crunchy.
9. Enjoy it with a cup of hot tea
10. The leftovers stay good for 5-7 days in the fridge.

Asian Style Green Beans

Let me start by saying that this is by far the easiest way to make beans - the only work involved is the time it takes to chop up the beans. It's one of the meals that I end up making at least once a month because its so simple and not to mention super tasty. The recipe involves one special sauce - Hoisin Sauce - I suggest you not to skip it as it forms the base for the recipe. We usually serve this over a bed of grain - rice, quinoa, millet, barley whatever I have on hand.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound green beans - cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 tbsp Sesame oil (or any other oil)
• 2-3 scallions - chopped only the green part (optional)

Sauce:

• 1 clove garlic - minced
• 1 inch (2tsp approx) ginger - minced
• 2 tbsp Hoisin Sauce ( I use this brand)
• 1-2 tbsp Rice Vinegar
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes

NOTES:

• Plz keep in mind that tbsp= table spoon & tsp=tea spoon

PROCESS:

1. Cut the green beans into 1 inch pieces
2. Heat the sesame oil in a pan on medium heat. Add the green beans and sauté them for about 5-7 minutes. Cook them to your desired preference - I like ours a bit crunchy so I keep an eye on them and stir quite frequnetly
3. Mix the sauce ingredients together and add it to the cooked beans - stir to coat all the beans and cook for about 1 min
4. Serve immediately over the grain of your choice.

Cauliflower Chilla/Pancake

Our weekend routine usually consists of a late brunch and on most days we either have some form of eggs or chilla. This weekend, I tried out a really cool variation of the besan chilla. In fact its not as much a chilla,  it's more like a Swiss Rosti. You use very little besan (chickpea flour) just enough to bind the veggies together - it makes the chilla very very crispy and yummy.
Here is how to go about it:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1.5 cup Cauliflower florets - finely chopped
• 1/2 cup broccoli - finely chopped
• 1/2 cup green peas (fresh/frozen)
• 1/2 cup onions- chopped
• 1/2 cup cilantro - chopped
• green chillies - minced (as per taste)
• 1tbsp ginger - minced
• 1/4 tsp ajwain seeds (carom seeds)
• few pinches of turmeric
• 1/2 cup or less besan (chickpea flour)
• Ghee or oil to fry (I used coconut oil)

NOTES:

• You could try using cornmeal (makki atta) instead of besan as a binding agent

PROCESS:

1. Finely chop the cauliflower and broccoli - I do it by hand. You could try using a food processor, I usually find that it becomes a bit too mushy in the processor. Cutting by hand keeps them crunchy.
2. Mix all vegetables together along with the spices except Besan. 
3. Add besan in portions - just enough to bind it all together. The water from the vegetables will moisten the besan - so you will need to add very minimal water - a few tablespoons probably.
4. The final dough will be a bit sticky and the trick to put in on the pan is to wet your hands before picking it up - make a small ball of the dough- flatten it in your hands and then put it on the hot pan greased with oil. Now, you will need to use your hands to spread it around. If need be wet your hands again and then flatten it some more. Be careful not to burn yourself - its best to make a smaller sized chilla so you dont have to do a lot of patting on the pan.
5. Keep the flame medium and let the chilla cook fully on one side and then flip it over to cook the other side.
6. Serve with: Ketchup or any green chutney. We ate it with my super simple tomato garlic chutney. (Recipe below)

Tomato Garlic Chutney

• 3-4 tomatoes 
• 2-3 garlic gloves depending on the size
• 1tbsp mustard oil
• 1tbsp mustard seeds (rai)

Process:

• Take the skin off the tomatoes - the most common way is to blanch them and then peel the skin off. I however, have bought a soft fruit peeler (I have this set which also includes a julienne peeler that is great for making veggie noodles) and just directly peel the skin off- save me one extra step and I like the taste of raw tomatoes better
• Put the garlic cloves in a food processor then add the tomatoes- blend them into a puree
• In a small pan, heat the mustard oil and add the mustard seeds - once they start to pop - take them off the stove and add to the tomato mixture.
• Sprinkle salt and chilli powder and done!!

Recipe Source: Healthfood Desivideshi

Squash & Kale Salad

This winter, I have been on a squash roll - I have used them in so many new recipes and have loved every one of it. This is another squash salad recipe which turned out to be really yummy. This salad uses Kale - previously whenever I added kale to a salad - I massaged it with oil to make it soft and less chewy. This recipe however asked to cook kale for a bit which honestly I was skeptical about as I really don't like cooking my greens - but here they needed to be on the pan for just about a minute and turned out to be much less work than having to massage them.
Btw, here is an image identifying different kinds of squash available:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 small Acorn Sqash
• 1 large bunch Lacinato Kale
• 1/3 cup Hazelnuts
• 1/3 cup tahini
• 1/3 cup white miso
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1 big garlic clove - crushed
• 1 small shallot - minced
• 1juice of lemon
• Coconut Oil
• Salt & Pepper

Notes:

1. The recipe used Red Kuri squash but I had Acorn squash at home and used that.
2. Also, I didn't have any shallots so I skipped that.
3. This is the Miso brand I use,

PROCESS:

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Cut the squash - remove all the seeds and strings - slice the squash in small half moons, sprinkle a bit of oil, salt and pepper over it and roast it for about 25 mins in the oven or until its soft.
3. Make the dressing by combining Tahini+Miso+garlic+shallot +lime juice+salt+pepper. Add additional water to create a smooth creamy consistency (a couple of tablespoons)
4. Wash the kale and remove the stems and roughly tear the leaves into smaller pieces.
5. Put a little bit of coconut oil in a pan and cook kale for a couple of mins till its wilted - I cooked kale in two separate batches in my cast iron pan -they cooked faster that way as they had enough room.
6. Put the hazelnuts in small pan over medium heat and cook till they are lightly brown and fragrant - then chop them into smaller pieces.
7. Serve: Put cooked kale, top it with roasted squash, cranberries, hazelnuts and drizzle the dressing.

This is by far the best pic, I have taken for the blog so far!!

 Recipe Source: A house in the hills

Spicy Eggplant & Chickpea Salad

This is one of my all time favorite dishes  - I absolutely love the flavor and the texture that the mix of veggies bring out. It's pretty simple to make and doesn't require much prep except that you need to soak the chickpeas (chole) well in advance. I usually make this for dinner, but I suppose it would make for a yummy lunch option too. I know there are people who are not big fans of eggplant and I have one such person in my family but even he loves this version of eggplant, so I suggest you give it a try.

Serves 3

Ingredients:

• 1 medium size eggplant 
• 2 Persian cucumbers (1 regular cucumber)
• 1 cup uncooked chickpeas (or 1.5 cups cooked)
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 red pepper
• Cilantro
• Roasted peanuts (optional)
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• Olive oil

Dressing

• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 to 1.5 tbsp honey
• salt to taste

Process:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F
2. In a bowl mix all the dry spices - 1 tsp salt + 1 tsp garlic powder + 1 tsp chili powder + 1/2 tsp cumin powder + 1/2 tsp turmeric powder.
3. Put the chickpeas in a cooker or pan and let them get fully done (2-3 whistles in a cooker)
4. While the chickpeas are cooking, chop the eggplant into bite sized pieces (about 2 inches wide at most) and sprinkle half of the above spice mix along with 1 tbsp of olive oil to the eggplant. Mix well and roast it in the oven for about 20 mins or till its fully cooked.
5. Once the chickpeas are done, drain the water completely - I use a strainer and let them sit in it for a few minutes. Now mix the remaining half of the spice mixture to the chole
6. Dice the cucumbers, red pepper and onion and cilantro and mix them all in a bowl.
7. Stir together the dressing ingredients in another small bowl and add it to the above cucumber mix. You can adjust the dressing as per your taste - you want the mixture to be mildly sweet and sour so pour dressing a bit conservatively on your first go.
8. Serve: Place the cucumber mix on each plate, top it with the chickpeas and roasted eggplant. Garnish with additional cilantro and roasted peanuts and eat it alone or with chapatis or pita bread. We love it simply on its own.

Cucumber Mix 

Roasted Eggplant

Chickpea Mix

Sweet & Sour Thai Soup

This soup is a quick and tasty fix that can be made under twenty minutes with whatever veggies you have on hand. The only special ingredient that it needs is red miso paste.
Miso is a traditional Japanese food usually used in soups. Its an enzyme rich probiotic paste made by fermenting grains such as soybean mixed in with some barley or rice. There are typically three most common kinds of Miso - white, yellow and red. The darker the color of the miso the stronger it will taste and the longer it has been fermented. Miso is a great source of protein along with iron calcium and Vitamin B.

I made this soup when I was fighting off a nasty cold this past week - apart from helping me with the cold, I loved its different flavors - hot, sweet, savory

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chopped veggies of choice (I used - onions, zucchini, carrots, purple cabbage, mushrooms)
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 2 cups hot water
• 1 tablespoon red miso* (This is the brand I use)
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 garlic - crushed/diced
• 1/2 stalk of Lemon grass (optional)
• 1 tsp ginger - grated
• Chilli suce (optional)
• salt
• 1 tbsp sesame oil

Directions:

1. Heat sesame oil in a pan and add the onions - let them saute them for a minute.
2. Add the ginger and garlic and follow it with the rest of the vegetables (all chopped into bite sized pieces) and let them cook for a bit - about 5 minutes
3. Add lemon grass stalk (if using) then add 2-3 cups of water and let it boil till your veggies are cooked to your liking.
4. Add salt, lime juice, agave and red miso paste - adjust the seasoning to your taste. I like mine a bit bold so I added a little bit more of lime juice and agave. You can also add Sriracha or any other chilli paste if you want it to be spicy. 

*NOTE: Do not allow miso to boil - just add some hot water to make a thin paste and add it in the end once your soup is ready.