Does My Blog Look Good In This – November 2008

I am honored to host this edition of ‘Does My Blog Look Good in This’ (DMBLGiT), a monthly food-photography challenge that showcases some of the best photographs that have appeared on food blogs. Many thanks to Andrew of Spittoon Extra for this opportunity.

To participate, send a favorite photo of yours that has appeared on your blog during October 2008. A panel of judges will then review your entries on the basis of

• Aesthetics: composition, food styling, lighting, focus, etc.
• Edibility: “does the photo make us want to dive in and eat the food?”
• Originality: the photograph that catches our attention and makes us want to say “wow!”, displaying something we might not have seen before.
• Overall Winner: top overall scores in all three categories combined.
• There are three overall winners for photographs with the highest point totals in all three categories combined, and one winner in each of the three individual categories.

For complete set of instructions on participation, visit Spittoon Extra.

The judges panel for this month consists of these gifted and talented food bloggers/photographers.

• Graeme of Blood Sugar, a student of photography from Lincoln. Photography is a continuous process of experimenting and learning. His blog showcases exactly that. He is currently working on an interesting project called ‘Culture Stills’.
• Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook, the creator of the esteemed and popular event My Legume Love Affair. A multi-faceted, eloquent writer, she makes food blogging all the more interesting.
  
• Lauren of Vegan Yum Yum, who has won the VegNews Veggie Award for best blog of 2008. Congrats Lauren! Her post on food photography is a must read for aspiring food photographers.
• Meeta of What's For Lunch Honey?, a master photographer, a conscious cook and an accomplished food blogger. She is also the owner of The Daily Tiffin. Run by a talented bunch of bloggers, the blog focuses on family, children, health and many more.
  
• And, of course, myself (nothing much to say).

So, here are the rules for participation

1. Send a photo that has appeared on your blog during October 2008. The photo should be food and/or drink related. No diptychs allowed.
2. Only one entry per person
3. The photograph must have been taken by you.
4. Deadline for submissions : 21, November 2008
5. Send your entry to tastypalettes@gmail.com with ‘DMBLGiT’ in the subject line with the following details
• your name
• your blog’s name and URL
• the photograph that you wish to enter, of no more than 800 pixels wide (height doesn’t matter)
• your photograph’s title
• URL of the post containing the photograph
• type of camera used, lens if you wish

(By submitting a photo, entrants agree to their picture being redisplayed and altered in size on the host's page and on the SpittoonExtra DMBLGIT page.)

You can find this month’s entries in this gallery. I will upload your submissions as and when I receive ‘em. You can access the gallery anytime by clicking the icon in the left pane, under 'Events'. For last month's winners, visit Cafe Fernando.

Wishing you all good luck!

Update: Winners announced here.

Announcing Vegan Ventures, Round 2

Well, its that time of the year. Are you thinking Halloween or Thanksgiving? Um… I meant November, the National Vegan Month. And that means, its time for yet another Vegan Ventures. For all those who claimed that vegan foods are dull, we showed how varied they can be. This year, I once again invite you all to bring out the best vegan dishes you already know, or have been wanting to give a try, and showcase your talents, by participating in Vegan Ventures, Round 2.

The guidelines are pretty much the same as last year. But let me list ‘em all for easy reference.

The Don’ts

• Any kind of meat, poultry or seafood
• Dairy products or by-products (milk, yogurt, cheese, butter, whey, etc)
• Eggs
• Honey
• Gelatin
• Any other animal products or derivatives

The Do’s

• Vegetables
• Greens
• Fruits
• Grains
• Legumes
• Soy products (tofu, seitan, tempeh, etc)
• Egg free pasta and noodles
• Nuts and nut butter
• Seeds and seed butter
• Fats with no dairy ingredients (vegan margarine, oil)
• Non-dairy milk (Almond, rice, soy, etc)
• Vegan sweeteners (maple syrup, agave nectar, sucanat, brown rice syrup, molasses, Stevia, etc). As before, I am going to allow sugar for its easy availability.

Here are some useful links – Veganism, Vegan cuisine, Meal ideas

To enter the event

1. Prepare a vegan recipe (keeping the do’s and don’ts in mind) and post about it in your blog between 1st and 30th of Nov ’08. All courses and cuisines are welcome.
2. Do you want to share ideas on vegan living? Have you tried a new vegan substitute recently? Post the article in your blog during this month.
3. Please provide a link to this announcement in your post.
4. Feel free to use the logo.
5. Send your entries to tastypalettes@gmail.com, with “Vegan Ventures, Round 2” in the subject line, on or before 30th of Nov. Please include the following details in your email.
• Your name
• Your blog name
• Name of the entry
• URL of your post
• An optional photo that is 800 pixels wide or 800 pixels long (not both)
6. If you don’t have a blog, you can still participate by emailing me the recipe, along with the other details mentioned above.
7. Posts from your archives are acceptable if they are posted again with a link back to this announcement.

So get cooking and send me those inspiring entries. Looking forward to them!

Update: Event roundup here.

JFI - Whole Grains Roundup

Here it is, the long awaited roundup of Jihva For Ingredients – Whole Grains. Before I proceed with the roundup, I wish all the readers A Very Happy Diwali.

Most of you know that I was away while hosting this event. Indira of Mahanandi, the creator of JFI, graciously allowed me to be flexible with the hosting. Thank you, Indira. A big thank you for all the participants for your gorgeous, wholesome submissions, even though I took my own sweet time to respond to your emails :).

The entries are listed below for easy reference. Click this link or the logo below to visit the gallery for a more detailed look.

Entries at a glance

Wheat

1. ...and a little bit more… - Wholesome Bread Upma with Anaheim chillies
2. My Food Blog - Whole Wheat Bread with Za'atar
3. Krishnaarpanam - Lapsi
4. eCurry - Vegetable & Fruit Whole Grain Bread
5. Enjoy Indian Food - Wheat Appe
6. Everyday Cooking - Cracked Wheat Idli
7. Health Nut - Whole Grain Blueberry Almond Banana Muffins
8. Indian Khana - Wheat Halwa
9. Cooking 4 All Seasons - Bansi Rava Upma ~ Samba Godumai Upma
10. Ahaar - Cracked Wheat Vegetable Cutlets
11. Mom's Recipes - Wheat Payasam
12. Sukanya's Musings - Samba rava uppuma/ Kichadi
13. Kitchen Chronicles - Instant Bulgur Rava Idli
14. My Spicy Kitchen - Foccacia
15. Payt Pooja - Dalia/Broken Wheat Upma
16. One bite at a time - Wholewheat bread with bran and sesame seeds!
17. Tasty Curry leaf - Whole Wheat Breakfast Bagels
18. Dil Se.. - Whole wheat pancakes
19. Few Minute Wonders - Whole Wheat Pastry Flour Appam
20. One bite at a time - Carrot Mini muffins
21. Fun and Food Cafe - Wholegrain Blueberry Pancakes

Rice

1. My Diverse Kitchen - Puttu with Cherupayarukari (Steamed Rice Flour and Coconut with Whole Moong Beans in a Spiced Coconut Gravy)
2. The Fragrant Kitchen - Veg dum biryani
3. The Fragrant Kitchen - Sprouted Fenugreek (Methi) Rice
4. Egglesscooking.com - Brown Rice and Cilantro Savory Crepes
5. Holy Cow! Recipes From a Vegan Kitchen - Beet-Barley-Brown-Rice Pilaf
6. Cardamom - Brownrice with Pinto beans
7. Queen of my kitchen - Adai
8. Lisa's Kitchen - Brown and Wild Rice with Fried Corn

Corn

1. Kailas Kitchen - Cornmeal Methi Adai
2. Jugalbandi - Vegan Quiche with Swiss Chard and Corn
3. Indian Khana - Wholegrain pancakes

Oats

1. Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes - Oats Halwa
2. Any one can cook - Nutri Cookies
3. A Bon Vivant's Chow Chronicles - Banana Wholesome Bread
4. Samaikalam Vanga - Oats Sandwich
5. ...and a little bit more… - Oats dosai
6. Kitchen Chronicles - Nutrition Powered Oats Dosa
7. Kitchen Chronicles - Power Cereal
8. Kitchen Kollections - Oats and semolina laddu
9. Choicest Healthy Recipes for Diabetes and Obesity - Oats uttappam
10. Kitchen Chronicles - Nutty Oats Bar
11. Vadani Kaval Gheta - Carrot Pancakes
12. Paajaka recipes - Oats adai with cauliflower and broccoli
13. Blushing Basil - Oats Pongal
14. Annarasa - Chewy Muesli Bars
15. Tasty Palettes - Vegetable Oats Upma

Millet

1. Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes - Ragi idli
2. Culinary Bazaar - Millet Upma/Pilaf
3. Sindhi Rasoi - Juar jo Dodo
4. Simple Indian Food - Ragi Oatmeal Soya Dosa
5. All Thingz Yummy - Sorghum/Jowar/Jonna Murukulu
6. The Fragrant Kitchen - Raagi Adai / Finger Millet Patty
7. Seduce Your Taste Buds - Ragi porridge
8. Enjoy Indian Food - Millet chi usal
9. Plantain Leaf - Ragi semiya
10. What's For Lunch, Honey? - Millet Vegetable Cakes
11. Bhaatukli - Jwari-Nachaniche Thalipeeth
12. Tasty Palettes - Millet Chickpeas Burger

Quinoa

1. Kopiaste.. to Greek Hospitality - Quinoa fruit salad
2. Cook's Hideout - Quinoa Broccoli Curry
3. A Virtual Vegetarian - Keenwah Khichadi
4. Tasty Palettes - Quinoa-Millet Salad

Buckwheat

1. The Well-Seasoned Cook - Kasha Varnishkes

Articles

• Fusion - Health Benefits of Whole Grains

The next edition of JFI - Festival Treats, is hosted by Srivalli at Cooking 4 All Seasons.

Back To The Grind

I am back from my long vacation. Though its good to be back, I am thoroughly exhausted from my trip. Jet lag, exhaustion and not to mention, the mounds of laundry waiting to be done, has taken off even the littlest energy left in me.

Peas pulao, cherry tomatoes served with Kashmiri baingan (eggplants and apples) from 660 Curries

Nothing fancy is dished out from my kitchen these days too. Simple, comfort food is all I crave for now.

Many thanks to all whom participated in JFI – Whole Grains. I have received all your entries and will be back with the roundup shortly; after I am done with the laundry and unpacking of suitcases, that is.

Millet – Chickpeas Burger

Pearl Millet, called Cumbu in Tamil. I was lucky to find one this time in India.

Burgers are one of the tastiest ways to incorporate whole grains in our diet. In addition to tasting far better than the rubbery soy patties served at the burger joints, they are nutritionally rich too. Adding a handful of legumes or lentils ensures that the patties hold their shape well. With few shreds of vegetables and a sprinkle of fresh herbs, you have one winning formula for a delicious vegetarian/vegan burger.

I have been wanting to make burgers using millet for a long time now. I have successfully used chickpeas many times in burgers before. This time I sprouted ‘em before pairing with millet. With a little bit of onion, carrot and cilantro for color, and sunflower seeds for crunch, this is one of the best burgers I have had. To my surprise, they held their shape extremely well, froze beautifully and most of all, tasted delicious. I have already made these burgers twice and there are many more to come.

Millet burgers specked with sunflower seeds, served with mint-yogurt.

Millet – Chickpeas Burger
(makes about 11 medium sized patties)

Ingredients

Millet – ¾ cup
Chickpeas – 1 cup, cooked till soft, sprouted if desired
Carrot – 1 cup
Onion – ¼ cup
Sunflower seeds – ½ cup
Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
Garlic – 2 cloves, minced
Cilantro – ¼ cup
Corn flour – 2 to 3 tbsp, dissolved in little water
Salt
Pepper
Oil – to spray on the pan

Hamburger buns – as needed, split and toasted
Onion, tomato, pickles, lettuce and other desired condiments
Yogurt mixed with chopped mint - to spread on the bun

Method

Pressure cook millet with 1½ cups of water for 2 whistles. Or cook the grains over stovetop till soft. Cool, fluff and transfer into a big bowl. In a food processor, grind the cooked chickpeas along with garlic, cilantro and red chilli powder. Add this to the millet bowl. In the same food processor, shred carrot and onion. Add the vegetables along with sunflower seeds into the bowl. Season with salt, pepper and mix everything together. Add corn flour+water mixture to the patty ingredients, one tbsp at a time. Mix thoroughly and try forming a ball. If it holds its shape, proceed to forming patties, else add more of the corn flour mixture.

Take about 1/4 cup of the mixture, form into a patty and cook on a flat pan/griddle sprayed with olive oil. When the patty develop charred spots on both sides, remove and serve with burger buns and condiments.

Millet-Chickpeas burger served with onion, tomato, lettuce and pickles.

Wrap the leftover patties in double foil, put them in a zip top bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

This is my third and final entry to JFI – Whole Grains, which is closing today. As announced earlier, I am on vacation and will post the roundup only during mid-October. Meanwhile you are welcome to send your entries till first week of October, in case you have missed sending 'em by now. Srivalli at Cooking 4 All Seasons is hosting the next edition of JFI, inviting Festival Treats.

Quinoa - Millet Salad

Featuring two of my favorite grains, quinoa-millet salad has become a regular in my house these days. Its fairly quick and can easily be prepared for a large group of people. The salad and the dressing is inspired by this Heidi Swanson’s recipe. Light, refreshing, yet filling, there are 101 ways to make this salad. You can serve it with this simple lemon-mustard vinaigrette or with a generous helping of roasted fall vegetables or… well, you get the idea.

To add more nutritional value to this already protein rich salad, I sometimes use sprouted quinoa. As Hannah writes, sprouting quinoa is easy and so much fun, in spite of its miniscule size. Instead of using a sprouting jar or cheesecloth, I use a strainer to sprout the grains effortlessly. This is how I do it.

Take quinoa in a fine mesh-strainer. Rinse thoroughly. Take a bowl into which the strainer sits snugly. Fill the bowl with water, place the strainer with quinoa and let the grains soak for 8 – 10 hours. Later, empty the bowl of water and place the strainer back on top of it. Any residual water will gradually percolate into the bowl, maintaining the right level of moisture for the grains. Leave this setup for 2 days, rinsing only every 12 hours in between. The grains would have sprouted and is ready to be used. Sprouted quinoa cooks faster than in its raw form.

Quinoa – Millet Salad
(Serves 2)

Ingredients

Millet – ½ cup
Quinoa – ½ cup (sprouted as given above, if desired)
Green beans – 3 cups, chopped into 1 inch pieces
Chickpeas – 1 can, rinsed (about 1 cup)
Red onion – ½, chopped
Walnuts – a handful, toasted
Cilantro – chopped
Pepper

Dressing

Tahini – 2 rounded tbsp
Yogurt – 2 rounded tbsp
Garlic – 1 clove
Zest and juice of a lemon
Red pepper flakes – 3 pinches
Water – if needed to thin out
Salt

Method

Pressure cook millet and quinoa with scant 2 cups (1½ cups, if quinoa is sprouted) of water for 2 whistles. Or cook on stovetop for 20-25 minutes until soft. Fluff and cool slightly. Blanch beans in salted water for 5-6 minutes. Switch off the flame, add rinsed garbanzo to absorb the salt and warm the legume lightly. Drain and reserve.

In a large bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Add cooked grains, green beans, garbanzo, red onion and cilantro. Mix together, and check for seasoning. Serve warm with a crack of black pepper. This salad can also be served cold.

This is my second entry to JFI – Whole Grains. I have been notified that the event logo was not being displayed properly. This has been corrected now and I apologize for the inconvenience.

Vegetable Oats Upma

In India, upma is synonymous to quick meal. With oats and tons of vegetables, this one pot meal is not only easy, but healthy and delicious. With little seasoning, this dish gets its flavor from vegetables only. I have always used steel cut oats for this upma. Although rolled oats can be used, please avoid using instant oats. The chewy texture of steel cut oats makes all the difference.

Vegetable Oats Upma
(serves 2)

Ingredients

Steel cut or rolled oats (not instant) – 1 cup
Mixed vegetables like carrot, green beans, potato, peas, etc – 3 cups, cubed
Onion – 1, small, chopped (optional)
Green chillies – 2, slit lengthwise
Ginger – 1 tbsp, chopped
Sambar powder or combination of red chilli powder+coriander powder+turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Oil – 1 tbsp
Salt
Water – about 2 cups for steel cut oats or 1½ cups for rolled oats

Seasoning

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Chana dal – 1 tbsp
Urad dal – 1 tbsp
Curry leaves – few
Oil – 1 tbsp

Method

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large, deep skillet. Splutter mustard seeds, and roast urad dal, chana dal and curry leaves. I usually remove the seasoning from the pan in this stage and add towards the end. This way the dals stay crunchy. You may leave it in the pan and proceed further.

In the same skillet, heat remaining oil, sauté onion, green chillies and ginger. When onion turns soft, add all the vegetables and sauté briefly. Add water to the vegetables and bring to a boil. Add sambar powder (or the combination of spice powders), salt and oats, and mix thoroughly. Cover and cook over a medium flame for 15 minutes. When done, oats should be soft, but chewy. If oats is not cooked through, sprinkle some more water, mix, cover and cook for additional 5 minutes. Add seasoning at the end (if reserved as mentioned previously) and serve hot with a dollop of yogurt.

This is my first entry for this edition of JFI that I am hosting. This month’s theme is Whole Grains.