Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen

As if the recipes on Richa Hingle's blog weren't amazing enough (cashew cheeze mozzarella sticks, anyone?), she also released her first cookbook in 2015, Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen. Never before has Indian cooking seemed so approachable. Yes, there's a long list of ingredients.  But the instructions are clear and concise, and her amazingly fragrant and flavor-packed dishes come together in way less time than you would think! As this post will show, I haven't been able to put this book down!

Tofu in Spinach Curry (Palak Tofu)...the spiced, crispy tofu contrasts perfectly with a creamy pureed spinach sauce.

Vegetables in Luxurious Royal Sauce (Navratan Korma) allows you to choose your own vegetable combination. I went with zucchini and carrots. In a rich tomato-cashew sauce, any veggie is going to taste delicious. 

Vegetables in Smoky Tomato Sauce (Vegetable Jalfrezi) was one of my favorites, with fire-roasted tomatoes, chipotle powder, smoked paprika, and liquid smoke adding layer upon layer of smoky flavor.

Kofta Balls in Nut-Free Cream Sauce (Malai Kofta) is one of my very favorite Indian dishes, and this allergy-friendly take is just as bursting with flavor as any restaurant version I've had. Love it.

For the Vegan Paneer and Spinach in Tomato Sauce (Kadhai Vegan Paneer Palak), I first made Richa's almond and cashew paneer. So good! I could've snacked on the whole tray, but I held myself back, and turned it into dinner.

Worth the self-restraint!

Chicken-Free Balti...I've seen baltis on restaurant menus before, but never a vegetarian version. So it was nice to try something new. Seitan strips are spiced, sauteed, and mixed into a velvety tomato-based sauce.

I served the balti with a couple of sauces, Mint Cilantro Chile Chutney and Tony's favorite, Quick Tamarind Date Chutney.

Broccoli Onion Fritters in Spiced Yogurt...I'm familiar with the use of yogurt as a condiment (i.e. raita) in Indian cooking, but it's such a big part of this dish, I wasn't sure I'd enjoy it. But, like everything else I made from this cookbook, I did. One thing that I love about Richa's book is that the traditionally deep-fried items, such as these fritters, are baked, and yet they turn out just as crispy as you'd want them to be.

Cabbage Kofta in Creamy Tomato Sauce (Patta-Gobi Ke Kofte) was challenging, as my kofta mixture didn't want to form into balls. It seemed too moist, and I may not have chopped the cabbage small enough. I ended up just forming it into patties and baking them as directed. They were lovely with the spicy tomato sauce and rice.

Vegetables in Vindaloo Sauce...like the balti, vindaloo was a term I'd seen on menus, but never tried, since it is usually a meat dish. Again, you choose your own veggie combination for this dish. Potatoes, peas and carrots worked well in this spicy/sour, vinegar-based sauce.

All of this is really just scratching the surface of Richa's book. I haven't even gotten to the soups, dals, flatbreads, or desserts yet! One other thing, if you are looking for a new kitchen gadget to spring for, I suggest a spice grinder! I got one on Amazon for under $20 and it's been fun making my own spices. Freshly ground garam masala (Richa includes a recipe for this too, of course) smells heavenly and adds that much more flavor to your meal.

Gingerbread Houses

Tony took the kids to Target one day and they returned with gingerbread house kits. While I am not crazy about the indefinite shelf life of gingerbread in a box, I have to admit, it did taste really good. And the kits provided an opportunity for the kids to develop their exterior decorating talents.

We also tried cutting out some Star Wars snowflakes, but even with an x-acto blade, it was pretty slow going. As in, I still have a pile of uncut snowflake templates on the bookshelf.

We had lunch at Bombay Bistro, which I never used to be that fond of, but it had been a long time. I can confirm, I am still not fond of it. C'est la vie.

Masala Yum

Jackson had a rough soccer game this week. Literally rough, as the other team was not showing good sportsmanship, probably thanks to their aggressive, yell-y coach. A tough loss for the boys, but a good lesson in how not to act on the field.

After the game, Tony and I split up and he took Jackson to Mighty Fine, where Jackson had earned a free meal thanks to perfect attendance at school.  Olivia and I went to Masala Wok, her choice. (She had missed just one day of school due to upset tummy.) It all worked out nicely and we were both able to spend some one-on-one time with our kiddos.

We started with garlic naan.

Olivia ordered noodles with veggies. Girl loves her noodles.

I had the sag paneer with tofu, so rich and delicious.

Hope you have a happy Halloween! Tree pose skeleton is spooky!

So. Much. Rain.

The deluge continues! It's been weeks now. I feel terrible for those affected by flooding. We've been lucky in our neighborhood. Aside from a few tree branches down, we've had no damage and our power has stayed on. 

Olivia loves to put on her boots and splash around in the puddles until she is soaked.

I warned her that her rain boots are not waterproof and her feet will get wet if she jumps into standing water. But in her mind, getting all wet and muddy just means that she gets to take a bath. So, win-win.

For dinner I wanted something warm and comforting, and I'd also been craving Indian food. I made the Coconut Cauliflower Chana from Get It Ripe and it hit the spot. That's good, because it made a ton! I served it over rice but I will serve the leftovers with naan bread to change things up. The coconut makes it so different and delicious! I guess that's a South Indian thing. So good.

After Olivia was warm and dry, she helped me frost some cupcakes. I made lavender-rose cupcakes by steeping lavender buds in some almond milk, which I then used in the batter, and adding rosewater to the buttercream frosting. The basic vanilla cupcake recipe is from Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World. I swirled together pink and purple frosting to represent the rose and lavender.

How is the weather where you live?

SXSW

SXSW 2015 has come and gone, but as I am behind in my posting, I will relive my one day of SX festivities now.

While my parents watched the kids, Tony and I took the train downtown to see Run the Jewels play at a free day show. We got to the venue a little early, so we popped down the block for a cocktail at Wonderland. I had a "Green Velvet" with vodka, grapefruit juice, and basil. So refreshing.

We shared a plate of "tater tot chaat" from the Chaat Shop trailer, located in Wonderland's beer garden. Tater tots covered in spicy curry and chili sauce is possibly THE perfect bar food.

Time for the show! As we were expecting, the venue had long since been at capacity, but we were able to get a decent view of the stage from a side street, and we could hear everything perfectly.

We chilled at another bar, The Eastern, until our train came to take us back up to far north BFE.

And that concludes our brief SX 2015 experience. When you are a music lover with two kids, and elderly parents who can only watch said kids for a few hours, you take what you can get! I'm glad I was able to catch at least one show this year and it was the group I most wanted to see.

Ice Cream Friday

Ice Cream Fridays started over the summer, when Jackson and Olivia were asking for frozen treats every day. In order to put a stop to the constant begging, but still maintain my image as a loving, benevolent mama, Ice Cream Friday was created. Now they know that they don't need to bother asking for ice cream throughout the week, because Friday is the day for no-holds-barred, whatever-toppings-you-want, ice cream madness.

At Sweet Ritual, Austin's all-vegan ice cream parlor, my kids are partial to the monkey cones. See the little monkey faces? Strawberry for Olivia, chocolate for Mr. J.

This time I went for the turtle sundae, with salted caramel ice cream, chocolate and caramel syrups, and crushed pecans.

Sugar brings out their competitive nature.

McConaughey watches over us all.

Dinner was Mulligatawny Soup from The 30-Minute Vegan's Taste of the East. The less said about the unattractive dirt color of this soup, the better. But the flavor is good and the rice and lentils make it hearty.

Monday Mornings

It hasn't been easy getting back into the post-winter break, 6:30 a.m. wake-up routine. You can really see the mix of sleepiness and disbelief on our faces. It can't possibly already be time to get up?!

I've gotten tired of oats so I have been switching up my breakfast. Banana and whole wheat toast with peanut butter.

For a post-workout and yoga snack, an old favorite makes a return. Averie's peanut butter chocolate chip protein balls, made with Garden of Life RAW vanilla protein.

Trying to perk up and stay warm with some spicy Indian food, we had lunch at Tarka. I love Tarka, it's like Indian fast food. You order at the counter and it's ready in minutes, but it's so good! I had the kofta malai this time.

Garlic naan on the side.

I only ordered "medium spicy", but it was almost too hot for my taste. I should never deviate from "mild." I was glad to have a mango lemonade to sip on.

How's your Monday going?

More Oh She Glows

As promised, many more attempts from the Oh She Glows cookbook. First, Perfect Kale Chips. They really were perfect! Jackson and Olivia gobbled them up. To be honest, I only ever tried making kale chips in the oven once before, and I burned them. But setting up the dehydrator (and washing it afterwards!) is a process. I find oven-baking much simpler, as long as I make sure to keep an eye on them so they don't burn.

Soul-Soothing African Peanut Stew. Not a lot of peanut flavor, compared to similar recipes I've made, but a good hearty weeknight soup.

Broccoli, Cashew Cheese & Quinoa Burritos. Warm, cheesy comfort food that comes with a nostalgia factor (that is, if you grew up eating broccoli rice casseroles). The filling reheats well, so this was my lunch several days in a row.

Quick & Easy Chana Masala. Now this won't have the depth of flavor of a long-simmered tomato sauce, but when you crave Indian spices on a weeknight, it comes together so easily. I picked up some naan bread at the store and called it dinner.

Bonus, non-Oh She Glows meal! Since we moved, we now live within five minutes of Austin's only raw food cafe, called Premier Raw. I had to try it out, so I called in a lunch order: two Quantum Sliders with a side of caraway slaw, a Veggie Supreme juice with carrot, celery, beet, kale and ginger, and two coconut-pecan truffles for dessert. It was all delicious! I'd never eaten a raw "burger" before. The burger had a different consistency from the buns which, although raw, were soft and bread-like. The truffles were moist and cakey. Apparently you can get a lot of variation in your raw food textures if you know what you're doing! Jackson ate one of the sliders and Olivia had a truffle, so they are fans of raw cuisine, as well. I was surprised how full I felt after my meal. Raw food definitely satisfies. I think we'll become regular customers. 

It's been a lovely, rainy summer! You will never hear me complain about rain and cooler temps. I love being able to drink hot tea in July!

And the kids are happy to bring out the blankets and cuddle up with their babies.