Category: Food and Drinks

Food and Drinks, Friends, Life

Backyard Shenanigans

nainadg

For the 4th, J and I went to our friend F’s house for a BBQ. There was some amazing food, BBQ Chicken, Hot dogs, Coleslaw, Orzo salad , Brownies, Guacamole and this spicy potato salad. I am determined to get that recipe, even though F says  its a family recipe. I didn’t really take too many pics as J had the camera the whole night and I let him be photographer.

Here are a few I like:

Mmmm…Delicious and Spicy Bloody Mary

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Is it Durham or Singapore? What is DS’s crime?  most importantly why is he enjoying it?

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Some public S&M? hmm….what does this pic say about my upcoming marriage?

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Lighting a roman candle? or pointing out UFO’s?

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*Photos byJ and Y*

Food and Drinks

Infusion Photos

nainadg

J and I tried to experiment with a recipe we found online last week. The recipe didn’t turn out very well and is not worth sharing, however , since we infused vodka with chilli and tomatoes, it made for a very pleasing visual. Here are two photos at different stages of the infusion.

Infusing the chillies

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Infusing the Tomatoes

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Food and Drinks, Life, Recipes

Rainy day…Moping around

nainadg

This morning, what was starting out as a nice relaxing morning quickly ended drastically on my way to school. I noticed my car was driving funny and I pulled over, only to find that I had a flat tire. I know, I know flat tires can happen to anyone  anywhere, but I was especially upset because they were brand new tires. I had just replaced my tires last month and here I was in the pouring rain, on my way to school with a flat tire. I called J and he drove out to help me fix it but for some reason he couldn’t get the tire off to put the spare tire on. So we had to drive to Target, buy a fix a flat and by now it was raining quite hard. When we got to the car, it turned out the fix a flat had a defect and most of the goo ended up on J and we only had a little bit to fix the tire. We finally manged to  get it to the mechanic and they assured us that they could fix the tire and I wouldn’t need new ones. Of course luck wasn’t on our side and they had to end up replacing the tire and it of course took a lot longer than they said it would. Ultimately, I am now poorer and had to come late to work and now I have to stay late too. Boo Hoo.

In other news, since I had a few hours at home this morning because of the car, I was able to make a yummy lunch and i decided to experiment with potato salad. J has been asking for poato salad lately and I’m really picky about potato salad. I absolutely love Jason’s Deli potato salad , where its all mashed and mustardy so I tried to make my own. I used

 Horseradish mashed Potato Salad

smashed potaoes,

horseradish mustard

a little chilli powder

  celery salt

black pepper

onion powder

Mayo

Bacon

 I mixed them all up together until it was smooth and lump free and it was delicious. Next time I am going to add hard boiled eggs, for more flavor explosion. We were in such a hurry to eat lunch that I didn’t take a picture, it looked so creamy and delicious though. 😦

Here’s a generic pic thats close, only mine was creamier

i am so lame, i just blogged about potato salad. oh well

Food and Drinks, Friends, Life, Recipes

Dahi Vada and Potluck

nainadg

I am becoming rather proud of culinary skills lately. I have graduated from just cooking for J and my family to now cooking for big groups of people. Last Sunday DS and Y hosted a Potluck in their backyard and I cooked up a big batch of dahi vada and people actually enjoyed it.

In fact I overheard this conversation between DS and Y

DS: This is great, Did X make this ?

Y: No , this is the dish N and J brought

DS: N made this , really , wow!

The setting was really fun, they had set up a long picnic bench and it felt like this big family meal outdoors. There were Italian dishes, tapas, mac and cheese, shortbread cookies and Tempeh and also DS’s homebrew. After dinner Y and I watched her wedding video and the boys made fun of us.  Also I got an email from DS saying that they will be hosting every sunday , so it will become a summer tradition.

Anyway to celebrate the summer season, I am posting a recipe for Dahi Vada( Dough balls in Yoghurt): A yummy, chilled summer snack

Dahi Vada ( Makes 6 small portions)

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 1/2 cups Urad Daal without skin (black lentils)
  • Salt to taste
  • 2″ piece of ginger grated
  • 2 green chillies chopped very fine
  • Vegetable/ canola/ sunflower oil for deep frying
  • 3 cups thick fresh yoghurt (should not be sour)
  • Red chilli powder to taste
  • 1 tbsp chaat masala
  • 2 tsps cumin seeds roasted gently and ground into a fine powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp sugar
  • Chopped corainder leaves to garnish

Preparation

  • Soak the urad daal in a bowl of water overnight. Grind it into a paste the next morning. Do not add any water while grinding.
  • Add the green chillies and ginger to this paste.
  • Mix 1 cup of yoghurt with 2 cups of water and salt to taste
  • Keep aside.
  • In another bowl mix the remaining yoghurt with the red chilli powder, chaat masala, cumin powder, sugar and salt to taste. Mix well. Keep aside.
  • Heat oil for deep frying on a medium flame. Grease your palms with oil and put 1 tbsp of the lentil mix in your palm. Make into a donut shape (these are the vadas).
  • Slide each vada into the hot oil and fry till light golden. Drain and put immediately into the yoghurt/water mix. Allow to soak for 2-3 minutes.
  • Remove from the yoghurt/water mix and press gently between your palms. Arrange these vadas in a deep platter as you prepare them.
  • When all urad daal paste is used up and the the vadas are done as above and in the platter, pour the thick yoghurt mix over them to cover completely.
  • Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving.
  • To serve, put 1 or 2 Dahi Vadas in a plate and garnish with Tamarind Chutney and green Mint-coriander Chutney. (optional)

    • Food and Drinks, Recipes

    La Michelada and She Crab Soup

    nainadg

    Saturday afternoon at Cape Hatteras, DS had a very strong craving for a Bloody Mary. We went to this little restaurant called Dolphin Den to eat some seafood and drink some cocktails, only to find out that Hatteras was a Booze free island. THat meant that they had beer and wine but not liquor. Being the good wife that Y is , she decided to make this yummy, spicy and delicous beer coctail for us. It is a Mexican Cocktail called La Michelada and here is the recipe

    La Michelada

    The Michelada is a refreshing summer twist on the standard Bloody Mary.  Try it with a light Mexican Beer.  You can’t go wrong with the Michelada!

     

    4 drops of Tabasco Sauce
    1/4 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

    Dashes of Salt and Ground Pepper
    Juice of 2-3  Lime wedges

    1 Bottle of Beer, preferably a Corona Extra

    Optional: Maggi Sauce

     

    Combine above ingredients in a glass and pour beer to top.  Serve with wedge of lime in a salted glass. Serves 1.

     

                              

     

     

    She Crab Soup

     

    Originally this soup was prepared with the meat and roe (crab eggs) from female blue crabs.  However, it is now considered environmentally unfriendly to harvest roe, therefore the soup is just made with female crabs. Since I cannot afford 9- 10 large crabs with shells (just in case there is roe inside), I found this recipe that uses lump crab meat.

     

    Ingredients: Serves 6

    • 2 hard-cooked eggs, optional
    • 3 tablespoons butter
    • 1 scallion including green top, minced
    • 1 rib celery, minced
    • 2 tablespoons flour
    • 2 cups Fish Stock, or bottled clam juice
    • 2 cups milk
    • 2 cups heavy cream
    • 1 1/2 pounds lump crabmeat, picked free of shell
    • 1/4 cup dry sherry
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
    • 1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
    • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
    • 6 thin slices lemon

    1. If using the eggs, separate the yolks from the whites and save the whites for another use. Press the yolks through a sieve and reserve.

    2. In a large pot, melt the butter over moderately low heat. Add the scallion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 4 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in the stock, milk and cream. Bring to a simmer, stirring.

    3. Add the sieved egg yolks, if using, the crabmeat, sherry, salt and pepper and bring almost to a simmer. Ladle into bowls and top each serving with a pinch of paprika and a lemon slice. Serve soup with oyster crackers.

    *Recipe from CulinaryCafe.com*

     

     

     

     

    Food and Drinks, Friends

    Top 10 Cuisines I loooooooooove

    nainadg

    So JJ and I have decided to do Top 10 foods we love. Why you ask, because its friday and we are hungry and not much is happening at work. Anyway, get ready to salivate

    1) Indian: Okay, so its not hard to guess that my fave is Indian, I love all dishes indian, northern, southern, bengali, gujrati , whatever. My fave dishes though would have to be : Tandoori Chicken, Palak Paneer, Garlic Naan, Biriyani and my grandma’s Lamb in dry curry.
    Best restaurant- Sitar India, Bombay house and any restaurant in artesia LA

    2) Thai: I love the spicy coconut curries of thai, fave dishes are: Green curry chicken, Tom Kha soup, Divine Rice from Me Kong Cafe in SLC,
    Fave restaurants: Taste of THai, MeKong Cafe

    3) Mexican: Mexican is cheap and super tasty for eating out. I love getting the combo plates with cheese enchiladas, beans and rice. I also love Taco Truck Tacos
    Fave Restaurants: El Torreros, Cafe Rio, Taco Truck, Baja Burrito. I also like the Station in logan and their chicken in spicy cream sauce

    4) Sushi: Oh I could wax the poetic about Sushi, I love it sooo much! But my tastes in Sushi often tends to run towards the more pedestrian, cuz I often like the more common rolls than the gourmet rolls. Faves are Spicy Tuna, Philly roll, yellow tail and anything with salmon.I also like the fried rolls every once in a while.
    Fave Restaurants: Kanki’s, Mikado,

    5) Malaysian: I have only had this a couple of times, but i loved it. Its like the love child of Indian and Thai. I love Roti Parata with chicken curry and red curry soup with noodles.
    Fave restaurants: I have only had Malaysian a couple of time, so i don’t think i have a fave yet

    6) Middle Eastern/Greek:yummmmm….falafel and hummus. my life would be incomplete without them.
    Fave restaurant:International Delights, Babaghanouj

    7) Chinese: I like regular chinese fine, but what I really love is Indian style chinese, which is available in very few places in the US. My faves are: Chicken Fried Rice, Chow mein, and Chilli Chicken
    Fave Restaurant: Fredricks in Toronto, Shanghai , Japan express( it is basically chinese takeout),they have this sweet and spicy white sauce thats just incredible.

    8) Fast Food: I know its not cool to like Fast food, but when a taco bell or Micky D’s craving hits me, nothing else can satisfy. MMMMM…cheese fries.
    Fave Restaurant: McDonalds, Training Table, Taco Bell, Wendys

    9) Southern/Country Style/Home Cooking:I guess it must have been moving to the south that did this for me, but i don’t know how i made it without Biscuits, Hush puppies, country gravy and fried fish. Bring on the cholestrol.
    Fave Restaurants: Bennetts, Wimpy’s , Cracker Barrell, The Q Shack

    10)Breakfast: I know this is n’t really a cuisine, but I love 99% of breakfast foods. Faves would have to be veggie ommlettes, breakfast burritos, pancakes, oh man, i could go on and on.
    Fave Restaurants: Graysons, IHOP, Dees, Gulgupf cafe

    Food and Drinks, Life

    World Beer Festival

    nainadg

    I had a blast! Till saturday, I had no idea, about how much beer I could actually consume and still stumble home through the mud, w/out getting any mud above my ankle. Thats some special walking I tell you!

    I also got a Terrapin Temporary tattoo, tried Skoal chew (1st time) and got asked to flash for beads, I did not comply with the request.

    Beverage Highlights:

    Cherry Lambic
    Blueberry Beer
    Creme Brule Java Stout, from Knudenhauser
    Milk Stout, from Duck Rabbit
    More to come after I look through my booklet

    Food Highlights

    Sitar India Tikka Masala
    Blue something cafe Fish Tacos
    Rudinos Pizza
    …And yes, I ate 1/2 of everything

    General Highlights:

    Trying Skoal green apple chew, realizing it not to be one of my more brilliant ideas, infact probably something i ‘m not going to live down for a while! Look on Man meat’s face when he found out chew was for me: Priceless. Hee hee

    Walking around barefoot in the mud with J. Ridiculous fun!

    J: Tell me you did not sit on a porta potty
    GG: Of course not, I didn’t even want to go it
    J: I can still love you
    GG: Yaaaaaaaaay!!!

    A new frontier has been crossed/reached (?) whatever it is that you do at a frontier has been done to the more intimate details of our relationship.

    Food and Drinks, Life

    this and that.

    nainadg

    Two and a half days till vacation. I can’t wait!!!!! I am a little nervous about being away from work for so long, but i think everything will go well!!!

    All I need to do tonight is finish packing and then I am going to make Breakfast for dinner. Eggs with Smoked Kielbasa and cheese with Toast. Mmmmmmm…….making my mouth water.

    I can’t wait for Oct, so that my super motivation shows and I look super hot in a bikini…I better , or else I will be crushed!!!

    Food and Drinks

    Tasty

    nainadg

    Mmmmmm……..BBQ……..

    It was a couple of people’s birthday this week, so we celebrated with Don Murray’s BBQ. I love NC Style BBQ. Delicious. We also had hush puppies, potato salad, Macaroni salad, Green beans, and Mini Cup cakes. Needless to say , everyone here is full and sleepy, on this cloudy friday afternoon.

    My b’day is next fri, so I think I will contribute with some Coronas.

    Food and Drinks, Life

    Aint Nobody does it better than J(s)

    nainadg

    I am in love. The 2skinnee J’s were everything I ever hoped they would be and more. Lincoln Theatre turned out to be a super cool venue , and the audience was awesome. We managed to get pretty close to the stage and even got the one of the band members to sign a dvd for Scottie. Fave moments from the show

    When they came out to “Better than J”
    Stockholm love
    Riotnrrrd
    When Special J splashed water and I got some on me
    Their white jump suit type outfits with big frilly hearts
    J Guevara’s hotness and Special J’s cuteness.

    Yeah, I’m lame. I know!

    I am still so giddy from the show , that its hard for me to pin down the thoughts and feelings and write them down. It was really fun to jump and thrash around to good or as J says “fresh” beats and witty lyrics. The crowd was rowdy but without ill will and everyone on the floor wanted to jump around and dance and have a good time. The Skinnee J’s delivered one of the best concerts I have ever seen. The only cons was the fact that I wore sandals and a strapless bra, both are unwise choices in the pit.

    After, we went to cookout and I gorged a cookout style hamburger which is a 1/8 pound patty with coleslaw , cheese, chilli, onion and cheese fries. The burger sounds weird, but its actually really good.