Grab Bag

The Bollywood

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During the year I was living in Karachi, Pakistan, a large part of the TV programming besides the national programming were Indian music shows and Indian movies of the “Bollywood” Variety, which I came to appreciate and like, so much so that I actually miss it sometimes. So, in honor of the great “Bollywood” shows and movies, I name this sandwich “The Bollywood” 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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naan, tandoori chicken, tomato/cucumber/yogurt salad

The Bollywood

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: marinade boneless chicken tighs overnight in a paste of ghee, garam masala, cumin, allspice, lemon juice, yogurt, paprika, cinnamon, grated ginger, garlic paste, black pepper and kosher salt

: bake chicken on a rack at 425F until cooked through (165F in the center on the bone)

: meanwhile, make a salad with halved grapetomatoes, diced seeded cucumbers, diced chillies, chopped parsley, garlic paste, yogurt, kosher salt and cayenne pepper

: toast naan, brush with butter or ghee, sprinkle with kosher salt

: naan, tandoori chicken, tomato/cucumber/yogurt salad

: naan, tandoori chicken, tomato/cucumber/yogurt salad

: naan, tandoori chicken, tomato/cucumber/yogurt salad

: The Bollywood

: The Bollywood

: The Bollywood

: The Bollywood

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Guilt Free Banana Icecream

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Image by pkgbranding

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Guilt Free Banana Ice Cream

Guilt Free Banana Ice Cream With Sugar-Free Whipped Cream And Sugar-Free Strawberry Coulis

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Since I have started to live a healthier life style, my one problem is how to satisfy my sweet tooth without feeling guilty. The solution to my dilemma are sweets without refined or artificial sugar/sweetener, which are increasingly hard to find. So I took to thinking about new recipes which will make me happy with their natural sweetness and are not too offensive to my diabetic restrictions. The following one is definitely a keeper ! 🙂
An added bonus to this recipe is that you don’t need an ice cream machine for its preparation. I used to have one, but I threw it away after a while because the churning cylinder took up too much space in the freezer department of my fridge.
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P.S. :
This Ice cream is ready for consumption after about 4.5 hours in the freezer. If you freeze it longer or overnight, you might want to put it from the freezer into the cooler for 15 -20 minutes to facilitate easier spooning (That’s spooning of the ice cream kind, not the other one – although….. 🙂 )
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P.P.S. :
If I would still drink alcohol, I would have added a shot of brandy or dark rum to this baby 🙂
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: chop 4 large bananas

: blend 1 large banana with 1 cup organic peach nectar (or any other organic fruit nectar), 1 cup cream cheese, 1/2 cup greek yogurt, 1/2 cup heavy cream, a dash of organic vanilla extract and 2 tablespoon organic honey

: mix with chopped bananas

: freeze in a shallow container, stir with a fork every 1,5 hours

: after 4,5 hours – ready to serve

: Guilt Free Banana Ice Cream

: Guilt Free Banana Ice Cream

: Guilt Free Banana Ice Cream With Sugar-Free Whipped Cream And Sugar-Free Strawberry Coulis

: Guilt Free Banana Ice Cream With Sugar-Free Whipped Cream And Sugar-Free Strawberry Coulis

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Curried Lentil Salad With Tandoory-Style Chicken

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Today, let’s make a salad that is both full of flavor and easy to prepare.
Curried lentils are of course one of my favorite lentil recipes, served either hot or cold (vinaigrette added), by them self as salad or as a sexy side dish (again, either hot or as salad). And tandoori chicken?- well, anytime, please 🙂
While I don’t have a tandoori oven in my kitchen (neither do you, I guess), cooking the chicken without fat in a VERY hot cast iron pan will give satisfying, similar results.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

Tandoori Chicken Salad

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: marinate chicken thighs overnight in a paste of ghee, garam masala, cumin, allspice, lemon juice, yogurt, paprika, cinnamon, grated ginger, garlic paste, black pepper and kosher salt

: cook lentils by slowly simmering in salted water until soft, but not falling apart

: mix greek yogurt, mayo, mustard, curry powder, turmeric powder, rice vinegar, kosher salt and cayenne pepper

: add lentils, chopped cilantro, diced radish, diced cucumbers and sliced chilies, mix well, check / adjust seasoning

: add chicken to VERY HOT cast Iron pan, cook for about 3 minutes on one side

: turn chicken, turn down temperature a bit, cook until cooked through

: dress lettuce with vinaigrette of your choice

: add lentil salad

: top with chicken breast

: top with a dollop of greek yogurt, sprinkle with chopped cilantro

: Tandoori Chicken Salad

: Tandoori Chicken Salad

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Curry Ribs

This recipe uses my standard curry base/sauce, of which I always have a few containers in the freezer.
You can of course make any type of curry base in which you braise your ribs, but this dish is pretty easy and fast to prepare when you start out with a great, readily prepared base/sauce and take it from there. Just remember, when you simmer the ribs, you must add the same amount of water to the base/sauce as will evaporate during the cooking process, so that you end up with the same textured sauce you had when you started. I suggest you don’t add too much water at first and add more as needed while you go.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

Hans’ “Easy Does It” Curry Recipe

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Naan Recipe
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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures

: saute chilies, tomatoes, scallions, onions and garlic paste in butter until onions are opaque

: add curry sauce/base

: add water or stock of your choice

: add single-cut pork ribs

: cover, simmer until ribs are tender but not falling apart

: if sauce is too thick, add more liquid, if sauce is too thin, remove ribs and let sauce reduce to preferred texture

: freshly baked naan

: Curry Ribs

: Curry Ribs

: Curry Ribs

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Chirashizushi -Unagi Kabayaki & Ebi

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Chirashizushi . In my book, sushi does not get better than that!
I am of course aware of the fact that I am in the absolute minority with this opinion, but I just can’t get myself to join the millions of fans of raw fish, so this version of Chirashizushi is my very own ticket to sushi heaven 🙂
Great quality / perfectly cooked sushi-rice with smoked eel , poached shrimp and a chili-soy-yuzu dipping sauce – there you go, baby, sushi perfection without the fuss and sky-high price tag of “the other perfect sushi”.
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Please note that some Chirashizushi dishes contain raw fish.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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How to prepare perfect Sushi Rice
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More Chirashizushi
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Chirashizushi -Unagi Kabayaki & Ebi

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: smoked eel

: perfectly cooked sushi rice

: add the shar-zu

: incorporate shar-zu

: notice the sheen and all rice kernels are individual and whole

: the good stuff…..

: Chirashizushi -Unagi Kabayaki & Ebi

: Chirashizushi -Unagi Kabayaki & Ebi

: Chirashizushi -Unagi Kabayaki & Ebi

: Chirashizushi -Unagi Kabayaki & Ebi

: Chirashizushi -Unagi Kabayaki & Ebi

: Chirashizushi -Unagi Kabayaki & Ebi

: Chirashizushi -Unagi Kabayaki & Ebi

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Steak And Pasta Salad With Pickled Onions

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Some of us “Tough Guy’s” might feel a bit dainty when out with our buddies and would like to actually have “just a salad, please” 😦
Well, boys and girls, not with this baby, I’ll guarantee ! Here we have “just a salad” for every real man and every real woman, anytime and anyplace. Buhaaa ! Enjoy ! 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life (and salad) is Good !
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Steak And Pasta Salad With Pickled Onions

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: onions, chilies, chili flakes, rice vinegar, kosher salt, peanut oil, cilantro

: mix ingredients and let marinade for at least 2 hours

: marinade sliced striploin with soy sauce, garlic oil and sriracha

: sear in a VERY hot pan on both sides (no additional oil required) until browned but still rare

: plate vinaigrette-dressed iceberg salad

: top with vinaigrette-dressed pasta and cucumber salad

: top with steak

: top with onions

: Steak And Pasta Salad With Pickled Onions

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BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 47 – Smoked Salmon On Naan

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What better way to start a day ? –
A wonderful breakfast, followed by a two hour walk around the lake.
Bella had a great start too – same breakfast, then she spotted three squirrels on our walk, which absolutely made her day (both the salmon, which she ate and the squirrels, which she chased) 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Link to more “Breakfast of Champions”
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Breakfast of Champions # 48 – Smoked Salmon On Naan

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: Brush hot naan with butter, sprinkle with kosher salt

: top generously with smoked salmon

: add freshly ground black pepper, onion rings and capers

: add boiled eggs, lemon slices, basil and dollops of greek yogurt,

: Breakfast of Champions # 48 – Smoked Salmon On Naan

: Breakfast of Champions # 48 – Smoked Salmon On Naan

: Breakfast of Champions # 48 – Smoked Salmon On Naan

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Come Together………

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Here are some of the meals I had during the last few days, utilizing some previously posted dishes –
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–Potato Salad
–Pickled Cauliflower
–Pickled Broccolini
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It goes to show that simple individual dishes which are great on their own will be even better when they finally come together as one.
Hopefully this will inspire you a bit to decide what will be next on YOUR dinner table 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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new york strip with pickled broccolini, pickled cauliflower and potato salad

spicy italian sausages with pickled cauliflower and tomato in honey/mustard vinaigrette

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: New York Strip

: new york strip with pickled broccolini, pickled cauliflower and potato salad

: new york strip with pickled broccolini, pickled cauliflower and potato salad

: new york strip with pickled broccolini, pickled cauliflower and potato salad

: spicy italian sausages with pickled cauliflower and tomato in honey/mustard vinaigrette

: spicy italian sausages with pickled cauliflower and tomato in honey/mustard vinaigrette

: spicy italian sausages with pickled cauliflower and tomato in honey/mustard vinaigrette

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EASY DOES IT # 24 – Potato Salad

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This potato salad is a far cry from the one I usually make at home, which is “Schwäbischer Kartoffelsalat” (Swabian Potato Salad), which does not contain Mayo or any other “stuff” besides potatoes, onion, stock, salt, pepper, oil, vinegar and sometimes herbs and/or bacon.
This one is a VERY different baby, but just as delicious 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Link to more Schwäbischer Kartoffelsalat
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Creamy Potato Salad

Potato Salad

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Preparation :
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: Slice and salt cucumbers, let rest for 20 minutes, squeeze out water

: add tomatoes, parsley and scallion

: add warm, freshly cooked potatoes, horseradish, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, a small dash of ketchup, mayonnaise and a dollop of yogurt

: Creamy Potato Salad

: Potato Salad

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Creamy Potato And Carrot Soup With Salami And Shrimp

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A bowl full of this delicious beauty should make you feel good and happy any time of the year, any time of the day.
If for any reason you don’t want to use heavy cream for the ultimate silkiness, you can substitute the cream with tofu and still get great results 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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