The blog of a vegetarian who happens to LOVE food

Image from Gilt Taste During my last trip to India, I discovered what the Bengalis call patali gur. It is sugar extracted from the sap of date palm trees. It's darker in color and richer in flavor. Sumit's aunts brought a large chunk of the stuff from Kolkata and made traditional kheer (Indian rice pudding) with it. I'd had kheer in the past and was never a huge fan. People love it, but to me it was usually just warm, sugary rice milk. Nothing too memorable. The kheer made with patali gur, however, was something very different. The gur imparted a caramel-ly, smoky flavor to the kheer. It was intensely rich, incredibly delicious, and definitely memorable. At the time, I was lucky enough to bring some of it back with me. I used it sparingly and made kheer only for special occasions. But eventually, it was used up. I had been searching for it in vain on the internet and in Indian grocery stores ever since, and only recently came across it on Gilt Taste . When I discov...

Yummy black bean enchiladas. They can be prepped ahead of time and frozen or refrigerated and then baked prior to serving. I adapted this recipe from Can You Stay For Dinner based on the ingredients I had at hand and personal flavor preferences. Enjoy Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 cups black beans, cooked 1/2 cup brown rice, cooked 1 spicy chili, finely chopped (optional) 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 1.5 tablespoon cilantro, chopped 1/3 large onion, finely chopped 4 tablespoons salsa (I use TJs chipotle salsa, because I love it as a tomato base in most of my Mexican cooking, you can also substitute two medium chopped tomatoes) 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (optional) Salt, to taste juice of half a lemon 1/2 cup of water 8 ounces enchilada sauce 2 cups jalapeno jack cheese, shredded 6 tortillas (I use whole wheat) 1. Heat olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Add chopped onions, chili and garlic...

My toor dal. I'll try to get a recipe down for it one day and post it here. Sunday: Dal, chaval, edamame sabzi, roti Monday: dal (leftover), chaval, gajar matar sabzi , roti Tuesday: egg/chicken curry, pilaf style tabouleh, roti Wednesday: hummus sandwiches, quinoa Thursday: Gosia's Friday: three bean vegetarian chili, cornbread Shopping Lists WFs: frozen edamame dates potatoes carrots (extra in excess of salad) cucumber radish tomatoes bell pepper squash fruits (banana, some apple, pear and kiwi) cheese for sandwiches cornbread milk chicken bulk macadamia nuts bulk white wheat bulk red kidney beans bulk brown rice bulk peppercorns almond butter canned beans vegetarian chili wheat naan bread TJs (later in week): spinach herb salad yogurt