Kale Chips

I made these tasty and crispy kale chips to go with the pita pizzas we were having for dinner.

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch kale
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic powder

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line baking sheets with foil. Wash and thoroughly dry the kale leaves. Remove the inner ribs, tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces and place on the baking sheets. Drizzle oil over them, add salt, pepper and garlic powder, toss to evenly coat,  and bake for 8-10 minutes or until crispy.

 I made 2 batches of chips and they were gone in no time at all!

Bread Pakodas

Fried food tastes so good and is so addictive, but I limit deep-frying to just a couple of times a year since it is an unhealthy way of cooking and the whole process is such a hassle for me. When I do fry, I go all out and fry up different things so that the entire batch of oil is used up all at once. I made these pakodas to go with steaming hot cups of tea recently. 

Ingredients:

• 4 slices of bread, edges trimmed and each slice cut into 4 small triangles
• 1 cup besan/chickpea flour
• 2 Tbsp rice flour
• 3 green chillies, finely chopped
• 3/4 tsp chaat masala
• A pinch of asafoetida
• 1 tsp ajwain/carom seeds
• 3/4 tsp - 1 tsp baking soda
• Salt to taste
• Water, for preparing the batter
• Vegetable oil, for deep- frying

Method:

Mix the chickpea flour, rice flour, green chillies, chaat masala, asafoetida, carom seeds and salt in a bowl. Add enough water to make a smooth and lump-free batter. Add baking soda to the batter just before you start making the pakodas and mix well.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat until very hot.

Drop 3-4 pieces of bread into the batter. Carefully drop the batter-coated bread pieces, one at a time, into the hot oil, taking care not to overcrowd the pan. Fry in 3-4 small batches till the pakodas are crisp and golden-brown. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on a paper-towel-lined plate. Serve hot with ketchup or chutney.

Microwave Potato Chips

I saw these homemade, crispy potato chips  on FatFree Vegan Kitchen and had to make a batch right away. 

These microwave chips are very easy to make and take about 5 minutes from start to finish. They are a healthier alternative to the store-bought potato chips. I make this very frequently especially when I need a quick snack to go with my cup of tea. I've tried a variety of seasonings but my favorite for these chips is red chilli powder and salt.

Here’s how it’s done:

Slice a medium potato into very thin rounds, smear some oil on the slices, sprinkle with  salt, spices and/or dried herbs,  arrange on  parchment paper and microwave for  4-5  minutes turning the rounds over once in between, until the chips are lightly browned and crisp. Cool for a minute and serve. 

Aloo & Quinoa Tikkis (Potato & Quinoa Patties)

Recently, I’ve been trying to incorporate quinoa into my predominantly rice-based South Indian diet. I add quinoa to my dosa batter, use it as a substitute for rice and  also add it to soups, salads and casseroles.

While aloo tikkis have been an all-time favorite in our home, I have only recently started mixing  cooked quinoa in with the mashed potatoes while making tikkis.      

 Ingredients:

(For 8 tikkis)

• 3 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled and grated
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 2-3 green chillies, finely chopped
• 1 tsp roasted cumin powder
• 1 tsp roasted coriander powder
• 1 tsp amchur powder
• 1-2 Tbsp corn starch
• Salt
• Oil for shallow frying

 Method:

Mix the grated potatoes with the cooked quinoa. Add the salt, green chillies, roasted cumin & coriander powders, amchur and corn starch. Mix well. Divide the mixture into 8 portions. Make balls of the mixture and flatten them into thin discs.

Shallow fry the tikkis  in batches till they’re brown and crisp on both sides. Drain the excess oil on paper towels and serve hot. 

  

Sometimes I also use peas while making tikkis. In the picture below, I’ve used black quinoa and peas along with the potatoes and shaped the mixture into patties that were about ½- ¾ inch thick.

Baked Tortilla Chips with Pico de Gallo

Recently, after a meal of quesadillas for dinner, I still had a few tortillas left in the pack.  I used it to make a batch of tortilla chips.

I usually just buy tortilla chips from the store, but at times like this, when I have too many tortillas, I like to make my own chips and try out different flavor combinations.

Here are some of the flavorings I've used  in the past while making tortilla chips-

*Roasted cumin powder + salt

*Salt + Pepper + Chilli powder

*Tomato-Basil-Garlic seasoning blend (I use Mrs. Dash)

*Italian seasoning (I mix together equal amounts of dried marjoram, thyme, rosemary, oregano and celery salt.)

*Old Bay seasoning blend

For making the tortilla chips:

Mix lemon pepper seasoning blend (I use Mrs. Dash this time)  and salt with oil; brush the mixture on both sides of the tortilla. Repeat with all the tortillas, stack them up and cut into wedges.

Spread them out on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake at 350 F for 8-12 minutes or until crisp.

I made some salsa to go with the chips.

To prepare the salsa, chop up 2 tomatoes, a small onion, some cilantro, and a jalapeno. Toss it all together with some lime juice and salt. My salsa was a little too chunky so I pulsed it a couple of times in my food chopper.

Caramelized Onion And Cottage Cheese Pizza

I had a day off from work  a few days ago, and decided to spend it cooking and baking. I wanted to clean out my refrigerator and use  up whatever vegetables I had in the vegetable bin before restocking over the weekend.

 After a couple of hours in the kitchen, I felt very pleased with myself as I lined up the finished dishes on my kitchen counter- a mango pulissery ,  a drumstick and radish sambar, plantain thoran , taro root fry and a radish raita. 

After all that cooking, I still had a can of pizza dough purchased many months ago, a half-used tub of cottage cheese and some zucchini in the refrigerator. With the zucchini, I decided to bake a chocolate and zucchini cake using a long bookmarked recipe.

The leftover cottage cheese along with a few onions and pantry staples went into this pizza.

Ingredients:

• 1 can refrigerated thin pizza crust
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1tsp crushed dried herbs (I used rosemary & thyme)
• 3 Tbsp of balsamic vinegar
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 ¼   cup large curd cottage cheese
• ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Method:

Heat oil in a pan; add the garlic followed by the sliced onions, dried herbs, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Mix well.

Cook the onions on medium heat stirring frequently till they turn brown. This takes about 20 minutes or so. Add a good splash of balsamic vinegar when the onions are done and mix well.

Meanwhile, grease a cookie sheet. Unroll the pizza dough onto the cookie sheet.  Press the dough to the edges of the sheet forming a rectangle. Prebake at 350 F for 7-10 minutes or so.  Remove the pan from the oven.

Spread the cottage cheese as evenly as possible over the partially baked crust; sprinkle the mozzarella cheese all over the surface. Spread the onion mixture over the cheese layer and bake for 15 minutes or so till the cheese melts. Broil for 3-5 minutes for the surface to brown a bit and then pull the pan out of the oven.

Slice and serve.

Notes: I made this pizza while I already had my cake baking in the oven at 350 F.  So I baked this too at the same temperature and it took me 30-35 minutes, a little longer than usual- I’d normally bake  something like this this at 425 F for about 15 minutes.

Baked Plantain Chips

Every time I buy plantains, it usually is to make a thoran or a kootu curry.  This time I decided to do something different and make chips.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line 2 baking sheets with foil and grease well.

Peel 2 plantains (green bananas) and slice into very thin rounds. 

Toss with oil, salt, pepper and red chilli powder and mix well.

Arrange the rounds in a single layer on the baking sheets and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until crisp, turning the chips over halfway through the process.

Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet potato fries make a great side dish or snack and are a nice change from the traditional French fries. I've been making these a lot lately and I use different combinations of herbs and spices every time I make a batch. I've used red pepper flakes and dried thyme here but they also taste great with a mixture of cayenne pepper, roasted cumin powder and dried rosemary. Chaat masala works well too.

Ingredients:

• 3 medium sweet potatoes
• 2-3 Tbsp olive oil
• Garlic powder
• Red pepper flakes
• Dried thyme
• Salt
• Pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place it in the oven for at least 10 minutes while the it heats up- this helps the fries get a little crisp while baking.

Cut the sweet potatoes into ½- inch thick sticks. Toss with olive oil, red pepper flakes, dried thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Arrange the sticks in a single layer on the foil-lined sheet and make sure you don't crowd them, or they will steam rather than bake.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, turning the fries over halfway through. Serve warm. These fries will not get crispy like regular fries. They're a little crunchy and brown on the outside but are soft on the inside.

Poha

This is a breakfast dish that comes together very quickly using simple pantry and kitchen staples.

Ingredients:

(For 3-4 servings)

• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• A pinch of asafoetida
• 4 green chillies, minced
• 4-5 curry leaves
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• A pinch of turmeric
• 2 potatoes, cubed
• 2 ½ cups thick poha (beaten rice)
• ½ cup coriander leaves
• 3 tsp sugar
• Juice of a lemon
• Salt to taste

Method:

Rinse the flattened rice flakes and drain off the excess water. Place in a bowl and pour over just enough boiling water to cover. Let it stand for 5-10 minutes. The rice flakes will absorb the water and swell. Make sure you're using the thick variety of poha here- the thin kind will just fall apart. Fluff with a fork and set aside

Heat oil in a large pan and add the mustard seeds, asafoetida, chillies, curry leaves and turmeric followed by the onions. When the onions turn soft, add the potatoes and cover and cook till they're done.

Stir in the rice flakes and mix. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add the chopped coriander leaves and sugar. Take the pan off the heat and add the lemon juice. Serve hot.

Pesto Palmiers

Recently, we had a houseful of friends with us during the Thanksgiving weekend and I had an elaborate menu planned for the evening. I wanted to make something simple to serve as appetizers since I was simultaneously getting the main course ready. I always have puff pastry sheets in my freezer. They're perfect to have on hand especially when you're looking to feed a crowd with minimal effort. I used puff pastry to make 2 simple snacks- vegetable and cheese pinwheels and these savory pesto palmiers.

For the pinwheels, I got the filling ready ahead of time and kept it in the refrigerator till I was ready to make them.

For the palmiers, I just followed Ina Garten's recipe. I had a small amount of store bought pesto and some sun-dried tomatoes in oil that needed to be used up so that's what I used.

Pesto Palmiers

Ingredients:

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (from a 17.3-ounce package), thawed according to package instructions

Flour (for rolling out the puff pastry)

Pesto

Sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil

Pepper

A handful of coarsely chopped walnuts

Powdered Pecorino Romano

Method:

On a floured surface, roll the puff pastry sheet out to a rectangle and thin it out a bit.

Pulse together the sun-dried tomatoes, pesto, cheese, pepper and walnuts a couple of times to get a coarse paste.

Spread the paste as evenly as possible over the pastry sheet. Roll up the longer sides of the rectangle towards the center so they meet somewhere in the middle. Tightly wrap using plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Slice the chilled log into 1/2- inch slices and place onto a greased baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the palmiers are golden brown. Turn the palmiers over once halfway through baking process if required.

Serve hot. They taste best straight out of the oven.

Zucchini Fritters

I made these zucchini cakes following the recipe on Ree's blog, The Pioneer Woman.

Ingredients:

(for 10 small cakes/fritters)

4 small (or 2 large) zucchini, grated
1/2 grated onion
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper
Red pepper flakes
1/4- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
Oil for pan-frying

Method:

Sprinkle the grated zucchini with salt and set aside while you get the rest of the ingredients ready.

In a large bowl, mix together the grated onion, garlic powder, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, bread crumbs, egg and flour.

Squeeze out the excess liquid from the zucchini and add it the rest of the batter. Mix well to combine.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Use just enough oil to coat the bottom of the skillet.

When the oil is hot enough, drop small mounds of the zucchini mixture into the skillet and flatten slightly. Shallow fry until the cakes are crisp and golden brown on one side, about 3-4 minutes. I was able to fry 3-4 cakes at a time. Flip and cook the other side similarly. Repeat with the rest of the batter.

Drain on paper towels. Serve hot with the dipping sauce of your choice. We had ours with this tasty ranch dip.

Surali Wadi

I make Suralichi Wadi, a popular Maharashtrian snack, also called Khandvi in Gujarat, very often following this recipe from One Hot Stove . Over time, I’ve made a couple of minor changes to the original recipe.

Here’s what I do:
I cook the besan-buttermilk mixture on the stove top- I’d used the microwave for this the very first time, but I find that the stovetop method works better for me.

I like to add a few finely chopped green chillies (or red chilli flakes), some ginger paste and a handful of finely chopped coriander leaves to the mixture while it’s cooking.

I spread the cooked mixture on a few sheets of aluminum foil - makes clean-up so very easy!

In a saucepan, mix together 1 cup chickpea flour (besan), 1 ½ cups buttermilk, chopped green chillies, ginger paste, chopped coriander leaves, salt and a pinch of turmeric. Whisk together to get a smooth and lump-free mixture. Cook on low heat whisking constantly to keep it smooth. The mixture will thicken as it cooks. Cook till done (this usually takes me 5-10 minutes).

Quickly spread the cooked mixture as thinly and evenly as possible on a flat surface. I find that a spatula works really well for spreading.

While the mixture’s cooling, prepare the tempering. Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds and asafoetida. Pour the tempering all over the surface and also sprinkle grated coconut and fresh coriander leaves.

Cut into thin strips and roll.

Mushroom And Bell Pepper Tart

This savory tart along with a side of roasted potatoes was our dinner yesterday. I've used a combination of onions, mushrooms, and bell peppers here since that's what I happened to have on hand; you can use whatever vegetables you'd like as toppings for the crust. I took the easy way out and used a can of store-bought pizza dough for the base, but if you're feeling particularly enterprising, you can go ahead and make your own.
Straight out of the oven, this is one of those meals that brightens up a cold winter's night, and we've certainly had our share of those this year!



Ingredients:
1 can (11 oz) refrigerated thin pizza crust (I used this)
1-2 Tbsp oil
3-4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 onion, finely chopped
¼ cup chopped chives
1 10 oz pack mushrooms, sliced
1 orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup shredded cheese (I used mozzarella)
Red pepper flakes
Salt
Pepper
¾ Tbsp dried fenugreek leaves/ kasuri methi

Method:
Heat oil in a pan and cook the onions over medium heat. Add the garlic, chives, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and dried fenugreek leaves (do not omit the kasuri methi- it lends a wonderful flavor to the tart). Add mushrooms and cook until they are tender and all the liquid has evaporated.

Preheat oven to 425 F. Grease a cookie sheet. Unroll the dough on the cookie sheet. Starting at the center, press out the dough into a rectangle.

Prebake the dough (required only if you want a crispier crust) for 5-7 minutes.

Spread the onion-mushroom mixture on the prebaked crust and sprinkle the bell pepper slices evenly over it. Top with cheese. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until edges of crust are golden brown and the cheese is melted.

Slice and serve warm.

Baked Zucchini Fries With A Yogurt-Buttermilk Ranch Dip

These baked zucchini fries are an easy and healthy alternative to French fries. I made this a few nights ago when I was looking for a simple side that would go well with the grilled cheese sandwiches I was making for dinner. I also made a quick dip for the fries while they were baking in the oven.
The recipes for both the fries and the dip can be found on Faith’s blog.

For the Zucchini Fries:

Ingredients:
2 zucchini, cut into long, thick pieces
1 egg, beaten with a splash of milk
¼ cup unseasoned, dry bread crumbs
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
Salt
Pepper
Red chilli powder
Garlic powder
Dried herbs (I used a combination of basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with foil and grease well.

In a wide, shallow bowl, beat the eggs with a little bit of milk. In another bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, chilli powder, and dried herbs.

Dip the zucchini pieces in the egg-milk mixture first and then roll in the bread crumb- cheese mixture to get an even coating all over.

Place in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake at 425 F for 20- 25 minutes.

My fries were a little soft on the inside and had a crunchy exterior but they were still very tasty. I’ve also tried Ellie Krieger’s recipe for Zucchini Parmesan Crisps using the dry ingredients in this recipe. We liked it so much that I’ve made it twice in the last few days.




For the Yogurt-Buttermilk Ranch Dip:

Ingredients:
Yogurt
Buttermilk
Lemon juice
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Sugar
Dried parsley
Dried dill

Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl and whisk well. Serve with fries.

Vegetable And Cheese Swirls

While looking for ideas on how to use the puff pastry sheets I’d purchased, I came across a good recipe on the Pepperidge Farm website itself.

Ingredients:
1 sheet frozen puff pastry (from a 17.3-ounce package), thawed according to package instructions
Flour (for rolling out the puff pastry)
1 Tbsp oil
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, chopped finely
3 cups mixed vegetables, cooked (I used onions, mushrooms, capsicum, fresh spinach and frozen corn)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
½-1 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning
Salt


Method:
Preheat the oven to 375 F. On a floured surface, roll the puff pastry out to a 16 x 10-inch rectangle.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan and add the garlic, jalapeno and onions followed by the mushrooms. Cook till the mushrooms are moisture-free and then add the chopped bell peppers, spinach and corn. Add the lemon-pepper seasoning. Cook and set aside.

Add the contents of the pan into a bowl. Cool for a bit and add the shredded cheese to it. Mix well.

Top the puff pastry sheet with the cheese and vegetable mixture leaving a 1-inch border on the sides. Starting with the long side of the dough, roll it up to form a log. Cut into slices. Place the slices, cut-side down, onto a baking sheet that is greased well. (This is important: I did not grease my baking sheet properly and had some difficulty getting the baked swirls off the sheet.)

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the baking sheet.

We had a few of these swirls to go with some soup and it made for a delicious and filling dinner.

Vegetable Quesadillas

I made a Mexican-inspired meal recently using a few tortillas and some bits and pieces of vegetables I had in the crisper drawer of my refrigerator. I'd just visited Namratha's blog and had seen her quesadillas and decided that was what I was making for dinner that night.

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp oil
2 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped finely
1 jalapeno
½ onion, finely chopped
8-12 mushrooms, chopped
½ green bell pepper, diced
½-¾ cup corn (I used frozen)
½ tsp roasted cumin powder
½ tsp lemon-pepper seasoning
Salt
½ cup grated cheddar cheese
4 tortillas (I used flour tortillas)


Method:
Heat oil in a pan and add the garlic, jalapeno and onions followed by the mushrooms. Cook till the mushrooms are moisture-free and then add the chopped bell peppers and corn. Add the roasted cumin powder and lemon-pepper seasoning. Cook for another minute or so and set aside.

Next, get the tortillas ready. Place a tortilla in a skillet on medium heat. Evenly sprinkle some cheese all over the tortilla. Top with a layer of the vegetable mixture followed by some more cheese, and place another tortilla on top. (I used very little cheese- just enough to bind the vegetable mixture to the tortilla.) Press down with a spatula.
Cook for a minute or so until the cheese melts and the tortilla is golden brown. Flip over and cook the other side similarly.

Repeat with the remaining tortillas, cheese, and vegetables. Cut into quarters and serve with salsa. I had mine with some Pico de Gallo. (For the Pico de Gallo, I chopped up some tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and jalapenos and then tossed it all together with some lime juice and salt.)

Cheese Crackers

A stack of crackers

I’ve been wanting to try my hand at crackers for a while now and I finally got around to making some yesterday. I had some Gouda cheese left over from a recipe that I’d tried a few days back. I decided to make some cheese crackers. All I needed was a good recipe. As always, I turned to the Internet for help and was inspired by what I saw in a couple of places.

Ingredients:
(For 20 small and 10 medium crackers)
2 tightly packed cups of freshly grated Gouda cheese (I used this)
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp unsalted butter (cold), cut up into small pieces
Salt
Pepper
Approximately 3 Tbsp cold buttermilk

Method:
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil. (I started out using parchment paper for baking the crackers, but halfway through the process, it started to smell like something was starting to burn inside the oven, so I replaced the parchment paper with aluminium foil. I don’t know if the parchment paper that I used was of poor quality.)

Put flour, salt, pepper, shredded cheese and butter in bowl of a food processor. Pulse until flour, butter, and cheese are combined. Add buttermilk and continue to pulse, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Keep adding buttermilk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the mixture comes together to form a dough.

Divide the dough into as many balls as you want to make crackers (many small ones or a few bigger ones), place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake till golden brown.

I was making the crackers in 2 batches, so I divided the dough into 2 portions: I used one portion to make small crackers (I got 20 crackers from this) and the other to make bigger, slightly chewier ones (the yield here was 10 crackers).

For the first batch, I rolled out the dough between sheets of parchment paper and then poked the surface several times with a fork. I then used a drinking glass with a small diameter (since I do not have cookie cutters) to make about two dozen small discs.
For the second batch of crackers, I made small 1-inch balls of the dough, placed them on parchment paper, and then flattened the balls with my hand (you could use the bottom of a drinking glass instead to get uniform thickness). I then pricked each circle several times with a fork.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-20 minutes (depending on size and thickness of cracker) until very lightly browned around the edges. Remove to a wire rack and cool.



Cheese crackers for My Favorite Things: Cheese.

Eggplant Caponata Bruschetta

I made a caponata of sorts a few weeks back using the small purple brinjals (Indian eggplants) that I’d purchased from the store.

Caponata is a Sicilian dish made from eggplants, tomatoes, olives, celery and capers, cooked in olive oil and flavored with vinegar and sugar. It is basically a sweet and sour cooked vegetable stew that is traditionally served as an appetizer with crackers or is accompanied by fresh crusty Italian bread.

Having made these bruschettas just the day before, I had Italian bread and mozzarella cheese left over. I decided to go for eggplant caponata bruschettas this time. I just toasted a few slices of the Italian bread and topped it with some mozzarella cheese and the caponata mixture.
Here are my ingredients for this recipe, listed in the order in which they’ve been used.

For the caponata:
(Adapted from Giada DiLaurentiis’ recipe)
Ingredients:
2 –3 Tbsp olive oil
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp red pepper flakes
½ large onion, sliced
5-7 yellow peppers, chopped (I used Vlasic pepper rings along with a little bit of the liquid that the peppers came in)
5-6 small Indian brinjals or 1 large eggplant, cubed
1 tsp oregano
Salt
Pepper
2 tsp sugar
¼ cup + 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

Method:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, sliced onions and sauté. Add the chopped pepper rings followed by the eggplant cubes and cook until they soften. Add oregano and season with salt and pepper. Add the vinegar and sugar. Mix well. Simmer over medium-low heat until the flavors blend and the mixture thickens, stirring often.

For the bruschetta:
Ingredients:
A loaf of Italian bread, sliced 1-inch thick
Fresh mozzarella, sliced ¼ inch thick
1 garlic clove
Salt

Method:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
On a baking sheet lined with foil, line up the bread slices. Toast in oven for about 5 minutes or until light golden brown. Working quickly, rub the garlic clove on each slice and then place a piece of mozzarella cheese on top. Sprinkle a little salt on each slice. Place bread back in oven and melt cheese slightly. Remove from oven and spread one tablespoon of eggplant caponata on each piece. Serve warm.

Baked Potato Wedges

I like potatoes in all forms, but if I had to pick a favorite, this baked version would easily be it by far.
Potatoes have been getting a bad rap in "healthy-eating" circles these days, and rather unfairly so. Potatoes are good for you as long as they're cooked in a healthy manner. For those of you who are interested in learning more, do check this out.

I made some baked fries the other day. I usually season it in one of two ways: either using a lemon pepper blend , or using whatever fresh herbs and spices I have on hand.

This is what I did recently.

Ingredients:
5 medium potatoes, peeled and washed
3 Tbsp olive oil
Garlic powder
Red pepper flakes
Salt
Pepper
A sprig of rosemary, chopped finely

Method:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Slice the potatoes into even wedges and place in a large bowl with all the other ingredients. Toss well to coat the potatoes with the herb-spice mix.

Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet (I line mine with some foil and grease it for easy clean-up later) and bake at 375 degrees F until lightly browned on the bottom and tender, about 35-40 minutes. Serve hot.

Tomato, Mozzarella And Basil Bruschetta

Bruschetta is grilled bread seasoned with garlic and topped with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Variations may include toppings of spicy red pepper, tomato, vegetables, beans, cured meat, and/or cheese; the most popular American recipe involves basil, fresh mozzarella, and tomato. Bruschetta is usually served as a snack or appetizer. This dish is popular all over the world, although it originated in Italy.
(Source: Wikipedia)

I had a few of these for breakfast the other day. As with most things Italian that I make, this one too is a recipe from my favorite Food Network chef, Giada De Laurentiis’ kitchen.

Ingredients:
1 tomato, chopped
A good handful of fresh basil
2 garlic cloves
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
A loaf of Italian bread, sliced 1-inch thick
Fresh mozzarella, sliced ¼ inch thick

Method:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In the bowl of a food processor, add chopped tomato pieces, basil leaves, 1 garlic clove and olive oil. Pulse a couple of times to get a coarse, but somewhat chunky mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

On a baking sheet lined with foil, line up bread slices. Toast in oven for about 5 minutes or until light golden brown. Working quickly, rub the garlic clove on each slice and then lay a piece of mozzarella cheese on top. Sprinkle a little salt on each slice. Place bread back in oven and melt cheese slightly. Remove from oven and spread one tablespoon of the tomato mixture on each piece. Serve warm.