Three-in-one Grain Medley

About a week ago I made the Three-in-One Grain Medley from Heaven's Banquet because I was tired of rice and pasta. I found it to be extremely easy, very good tasting and fast to make. I used vegetable stock instead of water and a lot less ghee. This recipe can take the place of a basmati rice dish when you want a lighter grain for the evening meal.

Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Cream

The Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Cream recipe (page 74) was a big hit. Miriam gives us a lot of variations for many of her recipes, so I substituted coconut milk for cream.  It is a very easy recipe especially if you use a food processor to shred the sprouts. John said it was his favorite recipe for Brussels from my cooking repertoire.  I found the effects of eating this recipe very cooling. It clearly was good for reducing pitta.

Pumpkin Cookies

I told John I'd bake him some cookies on the first day it got below 70 degrees. So last night it got down to 64 and today we are having Pumpkin Cookies. The recipe is on page 432. They have pecans, candied ginger and raisins in them. They are definitely a fall feast of flavors with ground cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. The texture is different because of baking without eggs but they held together perfectly.

Cornbread

 I used the cornbread (page 360) recipe with a round pan that I preheated. I like the crusty edges heating the pan gives to the bread. I made the alternate recipe with only 3 tablespoons of sugar and red bell peppers. The recipe is very easy and quick... I served it with collards and black eyed peas for New Year's Day.

Garam Masala

Heaven's Banquet has a section in the back of the book entitled Herb and Spice blends. Here you'll find recipes for many classic combinations such as Garam Masala, Five-Spice Powder and flavored oils. Today I made the Garam Masala (page 566) recipe for the "Delicata Squash Sag" I was making. I liked it so much better than the commercial blends I've tried because it's fresh.

Fruit Crisp

The Fruit crisp is absolutely the best tasting crisp I've ever made. I used the apple filling and the oatmeal topping but Miriam gives us lots of choices and I'm sure I'll wear these pages out. Yummy and so good for vata and pitta.

Sweet Red Pepper Puree

This wonderful puree of roasted red peppers, olive oil and a dab of lemon juice adds a delicious surprise to any dish. We have tried it on soups, sandwiches and pasta. A spoonful will not only add pizazz but introduce a vata balancing element to your dish as well.

Baked Stuffed Pears

For dessert we had Baked stuffed pears page 469. Delightful and good for Pitta and Kapha. The stuffing is pine nuts, orange juice and diced dried apricots. Such a yummy mix of flavors. Today I wanted to try some of the non-Indian recipes in the book. Sometimes people think Ayurvedic meals are Indian food only but Heaven's Banquet has lots of international recipes.

Pumpkin or Winter Squash Curry

Winter squashes are a delightful way to introduce vata calming proprieties into your diet. This curry is delicious and very easy to make.

Sag (Spiced Greens)

In Heaven's Banquet there is a section called "Individual Bitter Greens". Here Miriam discusses the particulars of individual greens such as cooking time, availability and balancing properties for the doshas. After reading this section, I cooked the Sag recipe on page 105 with red chard. It was very light and flavorful tasting. Both my husband and I noticed a good affect from the meal. For us this means no heaviness after eating, no dullness of the mind and a sense of satisfaction and comfort. This is definitely a simple, good recipe for cooking greens and sometimes simple is the best.

Broccoli with Peppers and Cashews

I cooked the Broccoli with Peppers and Cashews on page 70. Yummy, easy and Pitta and Kapha balancing. Makes a great side dish.

Winter Pasta for Vata and Ginger Gremolata

Another delightful thing about Miriam's cookbook is that the recipes she gives you are cooking methods that you can apply to any in-season vegetables. Winter Pasta for Vata on page 260 is an excellent and filling meal by itself. I used pine nuts instead of pecans this time but both are good.

The Ginger Gremolata on page 261 is a very flavorful addition to the Winter Pasta for Vata recipe.

Peas and Lettuce

The Peas and Lettuce (page 114) recipe in Heaven's Banquet is a spin on a French recipe and has become one of my favorite ways to eat greens. The dish calls for shredded lettuce and peas. It also has fresh herbs like parsley and mint. It was delicious and very fast and easy to cook.

Lemon Rice

I love this rice recipe. It is so easy and very good for vata. Just cook your rice in a little cumin and turmeric. Then add a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice at the end of cooking.

Cranberry Sauce

November means cool weather and Thanksgiving will soon be here again. Our organic grocery store had beautiful ripe cranberries, so I decided to make cranberry sauce and use it as a fresh fruit chutney.

I used 3/4 cups of date sugar and 3/4 cups of fruit juice to 1 pint of cranberries. The date sugar made the dish a little darker red than store bought, but the taste was outstanding.

Plum Chutney

 Recently we visited a local organic farm and we found some fresh prune plums. So I decide to make the Plum Chutney recipe on page 519. The prune plums are smaller than most plums and the pits are easy to remove. I cooked them for about an hour with date sugar, ginger and raisins. Miriam says her brother likes this chutney on burritos so we gave it a try with several bean dishes. Very good.

Scrambled Tofu or Panir for Brunch

The Scrambled Tofu or Panir for Brunch recipe (page 211) is one of my favorites. I made it with lots of chopped kale, carrots, and sweet red peppers. I added Maharishi Ayur-Veda Vata churna for a nice depth of flavor. Scrambled tofu served with toast, marmalade and the Oven-Roasted Potatoes (page 120) made a very scrumptious brunch.

Pan-Browned or Oven-Roasted Potatoes

The Pan-Browned or Oven-Roasted Potatoes (page 120) are super simple to make. I chose to oven-roasted them in olive oil then added some thyme and they were delectable. I served them along with Scrambled Tofu (page 211) and toast for our Saturday morning brunch.

Universal Muffins

I made a variation of the Universal Muffins (page 369) which I'll call Pumpkin, Spice, and Pecan. These muffins are made without eggs so you have to mix the batter quickly. I found the muffins to be less crumbly than muffins made with eggs but still very tasty. Miriam gives many variations for these muffins and they are fun and easy to make.

Moussaka

Happy New Year! The Moussaka recipe (page 96) is what I cooked for a New Year pot luck dinner that we attended. Miriam says this recipe is "one of the most popular recipes in the book." With that recommendation, I felt confident to serve it to our friends. I served it with Cranberry and Almond Couscous.

Pistachio Pesto For Edith

The recipe called Pistachio Pesto For Edith (page 511) is shown here mixed with black beans, fresh tomatoes, and Orzo. This is the time of year for traveling to see loved ones so I made this recipe for our lunch on the road. The pesto was delicious and gave us a great simple meal we could feel good about.

Tofu or Panir Quiche with Broccoli

The Tofu or Panir Quiche with Broccoli (page 211) was made with tofu and cream cheese. I also added Miriam's Sofrito (page 218) which adds a real depth of flavor to the quiche. I used broccoli but next time I'd like to try it with artichoke hearts. It was a hearty dish without being heavy and it tastes delicious.

Fig or Date Bars

Today I decided to make the Fig or Date Bars (page 438). Ayurveda highly regards both dates and figs and today I used dates. I also replaced the wheat germ with rolled oats as suggested in the variation. The crust is a little more crumbly than I expected but the bars are still good and chewy. This is a sweet treat with no guilt.

Puris

The Puris recipe (page 352) is made with the basic Indian flat bread dough recipe and then deep-fried until they puff up. After they are cooked the puff deflates, so I decided to take the photograph while it was cooking. Ideally, they get completely round like a ball but since mine started as a square, I only got a pillow. However, it tasted crispy and delicious so I'm happy. I served them with a side of crab apple, pecan chutney. Nice...

Artichoke Filo Pie

Today I made the Artichoke Filo Pie (page 65) recipe from Heaven's Banquet. I do not have a springform pan, so I used an 8" pie pan and cut the recipe in half. It worked beautifully and gave us 6 to 8 servings intead of 10 to 12. The results of this recipe are very impressive as well as tasting wonderful. Who doesn't like artichokes or filo pastry? Everyone had seconds.

Parathas

The Parathas recipe (page 352) is a nice chewy layered flat bread. They look rather triangular in shape from folding them over and layering the folds with ghee. A chef at the Raj Restaurant once made these for me layered with ghee, cinnamon and sugar. He said it was good for my pitta. I always had a hard time keeping the flat breads warm enough until I bought a casserole dish that is insulated. It keeps the bread hot until I bringing it to the table.

Almond Crescents

The Almond Crescent (page 433) cookie recipe is recipe #300 from Heaven's Banquet! I made a big deal of the first 100 recipes I cooked and then again when I reached #200 and now #300. It helps to keep me motivated. So... about this recipe, I can say that these cookies are divine. They are a shortbread cookie filled with ground almonds so they remind me of a delicate nut butter cookie with powdered sugar sprinkled on top.

Savory Tofu or Panir Tart

The Savory Tofu or Panir Tart (page 212) recipe is one I had been avoiding because I thought it was going to be hard and take a long time; it was neither. To my delight this was a joy to make and better still to eat. This would please any crowd of vegetarians or vegans if you use just the tofu.

Almond Milk

The Almond Milk recipe (page 488) is as easy as the name sounds... almonds and milk. I soaked the almonds overnight and served the drink warm on a very cold day. A lovely, energizing drink.

Corn Fritters

The Corn Fritters recipe (page 88) is a simple corn pancake that has a savory flavor from thyme and sage. They are very easy to make just remember to plan for an extra hour to chill the batter before cooking. Yummy.

Cranberry Juice

The Cranberry Juice recipe (page 485) has fresh cranberries, water and sugar and makes a lovely refreshing drink. I'd never had fresh cranberry juice before, but wow... what a difference. It's really delicious and it took less than 10 minutes from start to finish.

Boston Baked Beans

The Boston Baked Beans recipe (page 195) uses good ol' navy beans and cooks them for about 7 hours in molasses and brown sugar. When John tasted them, he commented that they tasted like barbecue. So two thumbs up from him. I was a little disappointed because although I cooked them for over 7 hours the beans never got very tender. The section called "The Ten Commandments of Bean Cookery" says," Thou shalt not add salt to simmering beans... and Thou shalt not add acid ingredients while thy beans are cooking..." Alas, next time I'll boil the beans until tender and then "stir in the remaining ingredients."

Boston Brown Bread

The Boston Brown Bread recipe (page 196) is part of the section called "The Puritan's Feast." The feast includes the Boston Brown bread and Boston Baked beans. Miriam explains this is how Boston became known as "Beantown." The bread bakes for about 2 hours in a pan of boiling water. It is dense but not heavy and sweet from the molasses but not too sweet. I enjoyed it with some of the homemade honey butter.

Butter

Guess what I did today? I made my own butter; it was so easy but it made me feel so farm girl. The Butter recipe (page 528) uses heavy whipping cream beaten until it separates into butter and whey- "the original form of buttermilk." I got the biggest kick out of making this and it's so much nicer than butter from the store! I added some honey to part of the butter to make honey butter. Miriam gives at least 15 different flavorings for butter. This is just so yummy.

Holiday Pudding & Caramel Sauce

The Holiday Pudding (page 450) and the Caramel Sauce (page 458) combined together to make the most decadent dessert I've ever made. The holiday pudding is full of raisins, apples and grated carrots which is a lot of sweet ingredients but then add on the caramel sauce as a topping and that's sweet and delicious. Hope the crew at work will help us eat it.

Hazelnut-Crusted Saffron Potato Cakes

The Hazelnut-Crusted Saffron Potato Cakes (page 120) was made with the recommended variation of pistachios instead of hazelnuts. As you can see, I had some trouble with how long to brown them. All the cakes tasted great, it was just a matter of desired crustiness.

Apple Pie

I have been saving the Apple Pie recipe (page 413) for the fall when the apples are in season. This is a classic recipe which tastes fabulous. I love having a piece of homemade pie when I have a sweet tooth.

Tahini Milk

I selected to make the Tahini Milk (page 488) on a day when I was feeling a little weak, some lack of sleep. I found this simple drink to be a wonderful restorative. It was easy to make, has a lovely taste and was a very comforting drink.

Green and White Lasagna (Lasagna Verde Bianca)

Even though the Green and White Lasagna (page 266) appears to have a lot of tomato sauce on it, there is only about 2 tablespoons which I added on top for color (not in the recipe). The recipe called for parsley and artichoke hearts to form the green. This tasted wonderful! I wish the picture did it justice. Since it's just the two of us, I quartered the recipe and filled an 8" x 8" baking dish. This would be a really nice "green" pot luck dish.

Tomatoes Stuffed with Vegetable Hash

The Tomatoes Stuffed with Vegetable Hash (page 138) is definitely company worthy. I really had fun making and eating this recipe. Miriam suggests topping the tomatoes with sour cream (I used yogurt) and guacamole. For the photograph, I just topped one so that the stuffing shows in the other tomato. I thought it was too pretty to cover completely.

Baked Bananas

The Baked Banana recipe (page 464) is a 15 minute dessert that is especially good for the vata types. Miriam has a fascinating section on bananas with information such as "botanists classify them as herbs." Most interesting to me is that even though a banana tastes sweet to us, Ayurveda identifies bananas as sour. In this recipe the bananas have unsweetened coconut sprinkled on them.

Thai Eggplant Salad (Yum Mekeyau)

The Thai Eggplant Salad (page 302) is a really terrific main course salad. As I've said previously, we don't eat eggplant so I substituted zucchini. I treated it exactly as the directions said for the eggplant except I did not peel the skin off after I broiled the zucchini. I liked the charred flavor the broiling added and the dressing was perfect for the salad recipe.

Acaraje (Black-Eyed Pea Fritters)

The Acaraje recipe (page 193) is a type of hush puppy made with black-eyed peas. It is quite tasty and not difficult to make as long as you remember to soak the beans. I made half the recipe amount and cooked them in oil at 310 degrees to make sure they cooked all the way through.

Candied Sweet Potatoes

The Candied Sweet Potatoes (page 136) looked like a good recipe to test before Thanksgiving. The candied part turns the potatoes into a special treat without being overly sweet.

Apple, Rhubarb or Blueberry Tea Cake

The Apple, Rhubarb or Blueberry Tea Cake (page 397) is wonderful. Not too sweet and filled with the wonderful flavors of apple, pecan, cinnamon, and brown sugar. The recipe is easy, just assembled all the ingredients, put it in the oven for 60 minutes and enjoy. I can't wait until tea time!

Risotto Verde (Green Risotto)

Today I made the Risotto Verde (page 179) and it came out very creamy. I think I added too much liquid but it still tasted wonderful. It's full of herbs, fennel and yellow bell pepper. Since it's still summer here, I used the variation which calls for olive oil and coconut milk. I served it with an Italian spiced Cannellini bean burger and a salad.

Provencal Stuffed Tomatoes (Tomates Farcies A La Provencale)

The Provencal Stuffed Tomatoes (page 137) took no time at all to assemble and they make a lovely presentation. Stuffed with fine bread crumbs, basil and thyme, these tomatoes are an elegant side dish. I served them warm but Heaven's Banquet says they can also be served at room temperature.

Spinach and Toasted Almond Pesto

The Spinach and Toasted Almond Pesto (page 511) is a versatile recipe for pesto. You can change the nuts or change the spinach with green herbs, which is what I did. It is the end of summer and highs are in the 90's this week, so spinach can be pitta aggravating. Instead of spinach, I used basil, parsley, cilantro and mint for a nice cooling effect. I served it over pasta with some roasted asparagus on the side.

Risi E Bisi (Rice and Peas)

The risotto recipe called Risi E Bisi (page 178) is a creamy rice dish that takes about 30 minutes of constant care to cook it. I made it with a very good vegetable stock which was packed full of green herbs, and gave the entire dish a pleasant pale green color. I served the rice and peas dish with braised cauliflower and green beans and a tofu steak. Risi E Bisi is a very delicious rice dish that I would make again for company.